Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
Next event: Amendments tabled in committee 2013/04/08 more...
- Committee draft report 2013/03/25
- Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading 2013/04/23
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading 2013/04/26
- Vote in plenary scheduled 2013/06/13
- Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2013/06/12
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | AFET | BROK Elmar (EPP), GUALTIERI Roberto (S&D) | |
Opinion | BUDG | NEYNSKY Nadezhda (EPP) | |
Opinion | CONT | KALFIN Ivailo (S&D) | |
Opinion | DEVE | SCHNIEBER-JASTRAM Birgit (EPP) | |
Opinion | ENVI | ||
Opinion | JURI | RAPKAY Bernhard (S&D) |
Legal Basis RoP 097
Activites
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2013/06/13
Vote in plenary scheduled
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2013/06/12
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
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2013/04/26
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
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A7-0147/2013
summary
The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted a proposal drawn up by Elmar BROK (EPP, DE) and Roberto GUALTIERI (S&D, IT) for a European Parliament recommendation to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, to the Council and to the Commission on the 2013 review of the organisation and the functioning of the EEAS. Members recall that the EEAS is a new body of hybrid nature, drawing upon community and intergovernmental sources, which has no precedent in the EU and which therefore cannot be expected to be fully functional within two years of its establishment. They are putting forward this draft recommendation to the HR/VP, to the Council and to the Commission, bearing in mind bearing in mind that there has been good progress in setting up the EEAS but that more can be achieved in terms of synergy and coordination between institutions, political leadership and visibility, as well as in terms of tasks. Leadership and a more rational and efficient structure for 21st century diplomacy: on the whole, Members call for a simplification of the command structure of the EEAS and an enhancement of the role of its Executive Secretary General by establishing a clear chain of command to support effective decision-making as well as timely policy response. In this context, they call for the rationalisation of the posts of Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director in charge of Administration, to reduce and simplify the hierarchical structure of the Managing Directorates. Among other things, they call for: a strengthening of the HR/VP's coordinating, initiating and political leadership roles, in particular as chair of the Foreign Affairs Council, by ensuring that, in the next Commission, (s)he realises his/her full potential the possibility of qualified majority voting on CFSP matters, as laid down in Article 31(2) TEU; the safeguarding of the 'community' character of the neighbourhood policy, bearing in mind that Parliament rejects any intergovernmentalisation of Union policies; the improvement of the interface between the Directorate for Foreign Policy Instruments and the EEAS; the development of the practice of joint technical and logistical services between institutions, with a view to achieving economies of scale and improved efficiency; as a first step, to put under a "single joint structure" the various logistical services for early warning, risk assessment and security tasks that cover events outside of the Union and are currently dispersed in different Institutions; deeper cooperation with Member States and the development of joint political reporting between delegations and embassies. On the ‘appropriate structure’ for ensuring a comprehensive approach: Members call for the implementation of the full potential of the Lisbon Treaty by pursuing a Comprehensive Approach that integrates diplomatic, economic, development, and – in the last resort and in full compliance with the UN Charter – military means behind common Union strategic policy guidelines in order to protect and promote the security and prosperity primarily of EU citizens and those in their neighbourhood, as well as further afield. Members particularly stress the need to ensure coherence between short-term and longer-term measures. They call for the EEAS to have the capacity for strategic thinking and to forward proposals for implementing important innovations offered by the Lisbon Treaty, like entrusting the implementation of certain tasks to groups of capable Member States. To this end, they urge the development of an ‘appropriate structure’ (for instance identified as a Crisis Board) that integrates conflict prevention, crisis response, peace building, the foreign policy instruments concerned, security policy and CSDP structures, and assures coordination with the geographical desks, delegations, etc. Members also call for efforts to be made to ensure effective and integrated planning. On reforming financial procedures for effective external action: Members call for the acceleration of procedures in the Foreign Policy Instruments Service for administering CFSP finances against the objective of guaranteeing flexible and timely response to crisis situations. They would like to see greater flexibility and reactivity of EU external assistance and mproved financial accountability by extending transparency to all CFSP budget lines. On the Delegations: Members call for the EEAS to be given a greater say in the (re)allocation of Commission staff in EU delegations in order to ensure that the staff profiles and size of EU delegations reflects the Union’s strategic interests and its political priorities. Further measures are proposed such as: (i) appointments on the basis of merit and sound knowledge of the Union's interests, values and policies; (ii) strengthening the authority of the Heads of Delegation over the whole staff; (iii) mainstreaming of human rights and women’s rights within all the delegations; (iv) ensuring there is the appropriate expertise in various policy areas (such as climate change, energy security, social and labour policy, culture, etc.). On implementing the Declaration on Political Accountability: Members urge the full and effective implementation of the obligation in Article 36 TEU to have the Parliament’s views duly taken into consideration, for example by a proactive and systematic consultation with the appropriate committee of Parliament before the adoption of strategies and mandates in the area of CFSP/CSDP. They also call for Parliament to be kept immediately and fully informed of all the stages in the procedure of negotiation of international agreements, including agreement concluded within the CFSP. On training and consolidating a European diplomatic esprit de corps: Members welcome the idea of common training and other concrete measures for the consolidation of an esprit de corps among EEAS staff. In this regard, they call for a review of the relevant existing training and educational programmes at EU and national levels. On the recruitment base:Members call for the pursuit and intensification of efforts to achieve better gender balance in the EEAS, and the redressing of geographical representativity at senior levels and at all other grades and positions in this service. Given that the target of one third of staff recruited from Member States has been reached, they wish to ensure that members of staff from national ministries are not concentrated at managerial levels, thereby enabling career opportunities for all. In order to develop a truly European esprit de corps and to ensure that the Service only serves common European interests, they oppose all attempts by the Member States to interfere with the recruitment process of EEAS staff. Parliament should see its role strengthened in this regard, given its special role with regard to the definition of objectives and basic choices of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and its competences as a budgetary authority. Lastly, in the context of a future Convention, Members call for the further development of CFSP/CSDP and of the role of the EEAS, including a change of name, to be put on the agenda.
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A7-0147/2013
summary
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2013/04/23
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
- 2013/04/08 Amendments tabled in committee
- 2013/03/25 Committee draft report
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2012/10/25
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE508.192
- Committee draft report: PE504.043
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A7-0147/2013
Amendments | Dossier |
37 |
2012/2253(INI)
2013/01/30
DEVE
15 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Reaffirms the importance of ensuring better coordination and good governance on development issues at the international level, in order to allow the EU to speak with one voice and gain visibility;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Reiterates its plea to the High Representative / Vice-President (HR/VP) and the EEAS to make Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) their clear priority; urges the Commission and the EEAS to come up with a clear strategy in order to ensure PCD; calls the EEAS to acknowledge its responsibility for PCD;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Reiterates its plea to the High Representative / Vice-President (HR/VP) and the EEAS to make Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) their clear priority; inter alia by giving PCD a more prominent place in the EU's policy dialogue with partner country governments, parliaments, CSOs, and other stakeholders, by including PCD in a credible and operational way in strategic programming documents, by participating in the preparation of the next rolling PCD Work Programme, and by developing a PCD training programme for all new EEAS staff;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses also the importance of the EEAS training on the subject of gender- related issues; stresses that such training must raise general awareness of issues relating to gender and equality between women and men;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Points to the potential tension between PCD and the concept of a 'comprehensive approach' to crisis management outside the EU; urges the EEAS and the Commission to make sure that the 'comprehensive approach' does not undermine the specific objectives and principles of development cooperation or divert scarce resources away from poverty reduction; similarly, insists that EU humanitarian aid is not a crisis management tool and reminds the EEAS of its commitment 1 to promote the fulfilment of the objectives of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid; __________________ 1 Recital 4, Council Decision establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service (2010/427/EU), 26.07.2010.
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 c (new) 5c. Calls on the High Representative of the Union/ Vice-President of the Commission, Catherine Ashton, to sign the European Consensus on Development;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6a (new) 6a. Encourages the EEAS to enhance its role in international negotiations covering political and external policy issues, in particular to use the tools of diplomacy available to the EEAS in order to promote the International Criminal Court (ICC) and remind third countries – with special emphasis on developing countries – of the need for them to support it and to sign or ratify its constituent act if they have not yet done so, and to include in agreements with third countries binding clauses that require them to cooperate with the ICC, or indeed to impose restrictions on persons against whom proceedings have been initiated in the ICC.
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Recalls that the EEAS plays a major role in the planning and programming of the EU's bilateral development cooperation with partner countries and regions and is in charge of preparing, jointly with the Commission and under the responsibility of the Commissioner for Development Policy, all strategic, multiannual programming documents associated with the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and the European Development Funds (EDF); welcomes the Joint Programming exercise initiated by EEAS and believes it will strongly contribute to the internal and external coordination and to a better alignment with the Paris Declaration principles;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Welcomes the efforts of the EEAS and the Commission to coordinate more closely the development cooperation policies and crisis management structures of the Union and of its Member States; encourages them to promote such coordination further and to build on the positive experiences of the joint programming of development aid in the next programming cycle, starting in 2014;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Considers that the EU should be an example of good coordination towards its development partners. Also encourages EEAS and the Commission to explore ways to get involved in triangular cooperation initiatives;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Encourages the Commission and the EEAS to improve further the balance of responsibilities between the two institutions in the field of development and to ensure that their respective staffing needs are met; reiterates in this context the need to ensure a balanced geographical and gender presence of nationals from all Member States among EEAS staff;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Encourages the Commission and the EEAS to improve further the balance of shared responsibilities between the two institutions in the field of development and to ensure that their respective staffing needs are met;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Encourages the Commission and the EEAS to improve further the balance of responsibilities between the two institutions in the field of development and to ensure that their respective staffing needs are met; particularly calls for a clearer delineation of responsibilities between the EEAS and the Commission in terms of the implementation of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Is of the opinion that the Council working parties on development cooperation, humanitarian and food aid and cooperation with ACP states would benefit from the continuation of the existing system of a rotating chairmanship held by Member State representatives, bearing in mind the important role of Member States in these fields and the distinctive nature of these external policy areas;
source: PE-504.201
2013/02/08
BUDG
17 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the conclusions and recommendations of the Court of Auditors' report with regard to the
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Highlights the total lack of balance in the distribution of staff in the delegations between the EEAS and the Commission; calls for more staff to be posted from EEAS headquarters to the delegations;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Considers it necessary to review the Commission’s existing procedures in the delegations, such as the annual negotiations on pay increases for local staff in EU delegations, which lead to a cost spiral between international organisations and the EU; calls for a mechanism to relieve the EU ambassador of the need to carry out collective bargaining with his local staff;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Remains concerned as to whether the recruitment objectives of attracting staff from national diplomatic services, and ensuring fair and adequate geographical representation of nationals from all the Member States and at all position levels, are being pushed forward with this aim in mind; is particularly concerned about the high percentage of staff from Belgium and France;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Remains concerned as to whether the recruitment objectives of attracting staff from national diplomatic services, and ensuring fair and adequate geographical representation of nationals from all the Member States and at all position levels, are being pushed forward with this aim in mind; notes that 39.5% of EU ambassadors come from Member States; recalls the agreement whereby one third of all posts should be filled by the Member States;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Remains concerned as to whether the recruitment objectives of attracting staff from national diplomatic services, and ensuring a fair and adequate gender as well as geographical balanced representation of nationals from all the Member States and at all position levels, are being pushed forward with this aim in mind; they should both form part of the long-term recruitment strategy;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Remains concerned as to whether the recruitment objectives of attracting staff from national diplomatic services, and ensuring fair and adequate geographical and gender representation of nationals from all the Member States and at all position levels, are being pushed forward with this aim in mind; suggests that consideration be given to the idea that, as regards EU delegations, special attention should be paid to diplomats from those Member States that have implemented synergies with the EEAS by closing down their national embassies for the benefit of the EU delegation in the country concerned;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Highlights that the interconnection between staffing levels, on the one hand, and identified strategic interests and Heading 4 spending concentrated at certain delegations or functions, on the other hand, should be clearly stated and reviewed;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses the need to make use of the enhanced flexibility provided by the new Financial Regulation and speed up the delivery of aid in crisis situations, respectively in situations of imminent or immediate danger threatening to escalate into armed conflict or to destabilise a country, whereby an early engagement by the Union would be of major importance in promoting conflict prevention;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the conclusions and recommendations of the Court of Auditors’ report with regard to the errors and weaknesses in financial management across the EEAS; acknowledges that some of the problems may be of transitional nature, and that payments are generally free of material error, but wishes to reinforce the focus on the use of best practices and on strict adherence to the Financial Regulation, particularly in the light of the current severe economic crisis in the European Union;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the savings achieved in 2012, and the continuation of this trend in 2013 as projected; re
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the savings achieved in 2012, and the continuation of this trend in 2013 as projected; recalls that Parliament has called on the EEAS several times to show restraint in creating additional high-ranking posts and remains concerned about the considerable number of high-grade and high-cost management posts; highlights, however, the need to strengthen the financial support with regard to buildings and the particular security concerns for the EEAS staff;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the savings achieved in 2012, and the continuation of this trend in 2013 as projected; recalls that Parliament has called on the EEAS several times to show restraint in creating additional high-ranking posts
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Rec
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Recommends low-cost, high-efficiency strategies, such as pooling and sharing of expertise and know-how with Member States’ ministries and diplomatic services, a focused effort to remove any duplication in tasks, functions and resources with other European institutions and within the EEAS itself, and closer cooperation with international organisations and international financial institutions; calls for greater transparency concerning allocation of responsibilities the within the EEAS’s management structure and for the elimination of duplication; calls for the schedule of responsibilities to be published on the internet; takes the view that the inefficiency of the current situation risks seriously impairing the reputation of the EEAS;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Recommends low-cost, high-efficiency strategies, such as pooling and sharing of expertise and know-how with Member States’ ministries and diplomatic services in order to create synergy effects, a focused effort to remove any duplication in tasks, functions and resources with other European institutions, and closer
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Recommends low-cost, high-efficiency strategies, such as pooling and sharing of expertise and know-how with Member States' ministries and diplomatic services, a focused effort to remove any duplication in tasks, functions and resources with other European institutions, and closer cooperation with international organisations and international financial institutions; emphasises the need for synergies between the delegations and EU Member States' embassies for making savings in the rental costs of offices and for better exchange of information;
source: PE-504.365
2013/02/26
CONT
5 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Points out that, when the EEAS was set up, two administrative areas were taken over on cost grounds by the Commission: internal audit and accounts; recognises that savings have indeed been made and advocates continuation of this cooperation;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Insists that, by revising Annex X to the Staff Regulations (third countries), the number of days of leave and other non- working days locally be brought into line with what is applicable to Member States’ diplomatic representations there;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Insists on a review of the 36 delegations comprising only an ambassador, with a view either to closing them or to increasing their staff;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Calls for a five-year plan to be submitted for EU buildings and staff safety and building security in all third countries with EU representations;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 11 b (new) 11b. Insists on further Commission-EEAS service level agreements in order to resolve the administrative management problems;
source: PE-506.107
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History
(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)
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