Awaiting committee decision
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2015/04/28
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
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Opinion | BUDG | ||
Lead | CONT | DLABAJOVÁ Martina (ALDE) | SCHMIDT Claudia (EPP), HOFFMANN Iris (S&D), CZARNECKI Ryszard (ECR), KARI Rina Ronja (GUE/NGL), ŠOLTES Igor (Verts/ALE), VALLI Marco (EFD), ALIOT Louis (NI) |
Opinion | DEVE | MCAVAN Linda (S&D) |
Activites
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2015/04/28
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
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2014/10/20
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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2014/07/17
Non-legislative basic document published
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COM(2014)0487
summary
PURPOSE: to present the final accounts of the 8th, 9th and 10th European Development Funds (EDF) for the financial year 2013. CONTENT: this communication presents the final accounts of the 8th, 9th and 10th EDF, which must be presented to the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors, in accordance with the relevant provisions regarding the EDF. The document also includes a note accompanying the accounts in which the accounting officer in charge of the EFD audit certifies that the accounts present a true and fair view of the financial position of the European Development Funds in all material aspects (signed declaration of assurance). 1. EDF objectives and implementation: the EDF is the main instrument for providing Union aid for development cooperation to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). The 1957 Treaty of Rome made provision for its creation with a view to granting technical and financial assistance, initially limited to African countries which at that time were still colonised and with which some Member States had historical links. The EDF is not funded by the European Union's budget. It is established by an internal agreement of the Representatives of the Member States, sitting within the Council, and managed by a specific committee. The European Commission is responsible for the financial implementation of the operations carried out with EDF resources and the European Investment Bank (EIB) manages the Investment Facility. During the period 2008-2013, the geographic aid granted to ACP States and OCTs will continue to be mainly funded by the EDF. Each EDF is usually concluded for a period of around five years. Since the conclusion of the first partnership convention in 1964, the EDF programming cycles have generally followed the partnership agreement/convention cycles. Each EDF is governed by its own Financial Regulation, which imposes the preparation of financial statements for each individual EDF. Accordingly, financial statements are prepared separately for each EDF in respect of the part that is managed by the European Commission. These financial statements are also presented in an aggregated way so as to provide a global view of the financial situation of the resources for which the European Commission is responsible. Within the framework of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, the Investment Facility was established. This Investment Facility is managed by the EIB and is used to support private sector development in the ACP States by financing essentially – but not exclusively – private investments. The Facility is designed as a renewable fund, so that loan repayments can be reinvested in other operations, thus resulting in a self-renewing and financially independent Facility. As the Investment Facility is not managed by the Commission, it is not consolidated in the first part of the annual accounts – the financial statements of the 8th, 9th and 10th EDFs and the related report on financial implementation. How is the EDF funded: unlike the EU, the EDF is a fund operating on the basis of multiannuality. Each EDF establishes an overall fund to implement development cooperation during a period of usually five years. The EDF resources are “ad hoc” contributions from the EU Member States. Approximately every five years, Member State representatives meet at intergovernmental level to decide on an overall amount that will be allocated to the fund and to oversee its implementation. The Commission then manages the fund. Since Member States have their own development and aid policies in parallel to the Union policy, the Member States must coordinate their policies with the EU to ensure they are complementary. Discharge procedure: the EDF annual accounts and resource management are overseen by its external auditor, the ECA, which draws up an annual report for the European Parliament and the Council. The final control is the discharge of the financial implementation of the EDF resources for a given financial year. The European Parliament is the discharge authority of the EDF. This means that following the audit and finalisation of the annual accounts it falls to the Council to recommend and then to the Parliament to decide whether to grant discharge to the Commission for the financial implementation of the EDF resources for the preceding financial year. This decision is based on a review of the accounts and the annual report of the ECA (which includes an official statement of assurance) and replies of the Commission, and also following questions and further information requests to the Commission. 2. Financial implementation of the EDF in 2013: the report concentrates on the implementation of the EDFs (including previous EDFs). Previous EDFs as the 6th EDF was closed in 2006 and the 7th EDF was closed in 2008, the annual accounts no longer contain implementation tables for these EDFs. However, implementation of the transferred balances can be found in the 9th EDF; as in past years, to ensure transparency in the presentation of the accounts for 2013, the tables set out separately for the 8th EDF the part used for Lomé Convention programming and the part used for programming under the Cotonou Agreement; in accordance with article 1(2)(b) of the Internal Agreement of the 9th EDF, balances of the EDFs previous to the 9th EDF have been transferred to the 9th EDF, and, during the life of the 9th EDF, has been committed as 9th funds. 10th EDF The ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou by the Member States of the European Community and the States of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP States) entered into force on 1 April 2003. The Cotonou Agreement was amended twice, firstly by the agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, secondly by the agreement signed in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010. The Internal Agreement on the financing of Community aid under the multiannual financial framework for the period 2008-2013 in accordance with the revised Cotonou Agreement, adopted by the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Community on 17 July 2006, entered into force on 1 July 2008. Under the Cotonou Agreement, the second period (2008-2013) of Community aid to the ACP States and OCTs is funded by the 10th EDF to the tune of EUR 22.682 billion, of which: EUR 21.966 billion is allocated to the ACP countries in accordance with the multiannual financial framework set out in Annex Ib to the revised Cotonou Agreement, of which EUR 20.466 billion is managed by the Commission; EUR 286 million is allocated to the OCTs in accordance with Annex IIAa of the revised Council Decision on the association of the OCTs with the European Community, of which EUR 256 million is managed by the Commission; EUR 430 million is for the Commission to finance the costs arising from the programming and implementation of 10th EDF resources, in accordance with Article 6 of the Internal Agreement. Since the date of entry into force of the 10th EDF, the initial amount allocated to the 10th EDF has been supplemented by decommitments from previous EDF's, interest income and unused cash balances resulting from the system to guarantee the stabilisation of export earnings from primary agricultural products (STABEX) under the Funds prior to the 9th EDF. All funds are managed in accordance with their specific rules as foreseen in the revised Cotonou Agreement and the Internal Agreement. 31 December 2013 was an important target, the "Sunset clause" of the 10th EDF. This clause sets a clear cut-off date for commitments under the 10th EDF. During the whole year, every effort has been made in order to commit the maximum of the funds available from the 10th EDF. Total 10th EDF uncommitted funds at 31.12.2013 amounted to EUR 74.6 million. Called Fund capital and EDF allocations: the document includes a consolidated overview of EDF allocations at 31.12.2013 in the form of called capital. Called fund capital at 31.12.2013 amounted to EUR 32.529 billion. The called fund capital represents the amount of the initial allocations which has been called up for transfer to the treasury accounts by the Member States for the 10th EDF. The capital of the 8th and the 9th EDF has been called up and received in its entirety. Funding of the EDF at 31 December 2013: 8th EDF: EUR 10.481 billion; 9th EDF: EUR 16.114 billion; 10th EDF: EUR 22.433 billion. Total allocations EUR 49.028 billion. The report sets out a series of tables showing how these resources were used during the financial year 2013, (by project, country and type of action).
- DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/budget/', 'title': 'Budget'}, GEORGIEVA Kristalina
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COM(2014)0487
summary
Documents
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2014)0487
Amendments | Dossier |
83 |
2014/2077(DEC)
2014/12/16
DEVE
3 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. In light of the increased focus on performance of EU aid, draws attention to the fact that Sub Saharan Africa is the region which is lagging behind the most with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the only region worldwide where, according to projections, poverty will most probably not be halved by 2015; is concerned that declining levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to social services, particularly
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. In light of the increased focus on performance of EU aid, draws attention to the fact that Sub Saharan Africa is the region which is lagging behind the most with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the only region worldwide where, according to projections, poverty will most probably not be halved by 2015; is concerned that declining levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to social services, particularly the education and
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses that EFD programming must be predictable but sufficiently flexible to focus resources where they are most needed, guaranteeing an effective impact and a greater capacity to react swiftly to unforeseen situations;
source: 544.396
2015/03/06
CONT
80 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I.
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas direct budget support
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Expresses concern, however, about the Court of Auditors' assessment related to the legality and regularity of payments
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Regrets that according to the Court of Auditors' estimat
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Takes note that the Court's Annual Report concerning EDF activities for the financial year 2013 shows that the error rate has increased compared to the previous year and that this error rate is still too high; urges the Commission to work towards the agreed target of 2% error rate.
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10.
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11.
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13.
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Is worried by the recurring issue that
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Draws attention
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19.
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Concludes that an intensification of efforts is needed in order to accelerate the achievement of the MDGs in Africa by the target date of 2015; calls on the Commission to take the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the negotiations on the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDG) once adopted into account as a basis for the CoA performance audit; welcomes the fact that the EDFs, which are the main instrument for providing Union aid for development cooperation to the ACP States, accounted for as much as 45 % of the total value of new contracts concluded by the Commission's Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation (DG DEVCO) in 2013;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Notes that agreement was found in 2013 on the establishment of the 11th EDF with a total value of close to EUR 27 billion (in 2011 prices),
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24.
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Notes that on the basis of the second study in 2013, the error rate was estimated by DEVCO at 3,35 % (equal to about EUR 228.55 million) compared to the 3,4 % estimated by the Court of Auditors; notes with concern that the main causes identified are the absence of satisfactory documentation provided by beneficiary organisations, errors due to the insufficient evidence available to check the regulatory of transactions, non-compliance with public procurement procedures and unrecovered and uncorrected amounts;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas the specific development policy objectives must be safeguarded under the EEAS; emphasises that other considerations such as trade policy and foreign and security policy considerations should not cut across the Union's development priorities;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 29. Welcomes the inclusion of the overview of all costs in the annual activity report, including
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 31.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 31.
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 32. Considering the
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 a (new) 32a. Draws attention to the need to support the fight against fraud and corruption in all the areas of government covered by the Union’s cooperation strategy; emphasises that the risk of resources being diverted remains high and that it is the areas in which public funds are managed which offer scope for corruption and fraud;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 33. Re
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 33. Recalls that robust and objectively verifiable conditions for any continuing budget support programmes have to be applied with a steadily attention to be given
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 33. Recalls that robust and objectively verifiable conditions for any continuing budget support programmes have to be applied with a steadily attention to be given, both on the use of the differentiation principle to avoid relaxed interpretation of budget support disbursement conditionality and on the support to anti-corruption mechanisms as corruption seems to be the
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 a (new) 33a. Welcomes the Commission's greater focus on the fight against fraud and corruption in particular when assessing the Public Financial Management eligibility criteria in terms of budget support; notes in this respect that corruption and fraud constitute one of the five risk categories identified by the Commission as part of its Risk Management framework developed for budget support programmes; insists that existing reporting on corruption and fraud levels must be taken into account before granting any budget support programme; insists furthermore that an independent national audit body must be an ultimate precondition for granting budget support;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 34. Invites the Court, in this context, to progressively elaborate more on the issue of corruption and to try to quantify and indicate the degree of corruption in its special reports as well as in the Court of Auditor's Annual Activity Report;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas the European Development Funds (EDFs), funded by the Member States, are the Union’s main financial instrument for providing development cooperation to the ACP States for which the Commission is accountable within the discharge procedure;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 35. Demands
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 36. Emphasises the importance of ensuring an appropriate
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Is of the opinion that the Commission has to strongly support the development of parliamentary control
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Is of the opinion that the Commission has to strongly support the development of
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37.
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 38.
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 38. Welcomes the Commission's ability to stop transfers of funds in recipient countries when macro-economic conditions are not met; calls on the Commission to block the transfer of funds to countries which have high levels of corruption and which fail to implement policies designed to combat that phenomenon;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 38. Welcomes the Commission's ability to stop transfers of funds in recipient countries when among others the required macro-economic conditions are not met;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39.
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 43 43. Calls for
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas pre-financing instruments paid by the European Commission reached EUR 424 million and the operating revenue amounted to EUR 124 million for the financial year 2012;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 46 46. Requests that further clarification be swiftly provided on
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 47 47. Requests to be informed about the preliminary survey of controls and management systems performed by the Commission on other associated international organisations
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 49 49.
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 49 49.
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 49 49. Believes that the investment facility of the European Investment Bank (EIB)
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Notes that the Tripartite Agreement mentioned in Article 287 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union governing cooperation between the EIB, the Commission and the Court of Auditors
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Notes that the Tripartite Agreement mentioned in Article 287 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union governing cooperation between the EIB, the Commission and the Court of Auditors with respect to the modes for controls exercised by the Court on the EIB's activity in managing Union funds and Member States' funds is up for renewal in 2015; calls upon the EIB to
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 53. Welcomes the EIB's
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 53. Welcomes the EIB's approach on expected results, notably with the introduction of a Result Measurement Framework which allows for the soundness of projects, their financial and economic sustainability and the EIB's own added value to be assessed; asks that a permanent dialogue on the measurement indicators and on the convergence of results achieved with the associated partners be ensures; reiterates that the EIB’s priority should be to support environmentally sustainable projects, and emphasises the need to focus on the funding of new, not obsolete, technologies;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 a (new) 53a. Emphasises the importance of the EIB’s zero tolerance policy on fraud and corruption; draws attention to the importance of not funding undertakings which have been shown to be involved in fraud and corruption; regards as inadequate the EIB’s current policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions, including the latest addendum, and calls on the EIB to implement without delay a new ‘responsible tax policy’ under which it would carry out a forensic review of the beneficial owners of the undertakings funded and, in cases where multinationals are in receipt of funding, it would require the latter to provide in advance a breakdown of the revenue and profits they generate and the amounts of tax they pay in each country in which they operate;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas cooperation and coordination with other donors and international financial institutions is of paramount importance to avoid duplication, ensure aid, effectiveness and foster capacity building of development aid in the beneficiary countries; must be offered by the European Union in order to help fostering this progress only if the beneficiary state is able to demonstrate the above-mentioned criteria prior to the receival of the budget support assistance.
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 b (new) 53b. Emphasises how important it is that EIB-funded projects should have a broad social impact and that they should support local firms, rather than fuelling speculative transactions; calls for a detailed annual assessment to be drawn up of the social impact of EIB-funded projects;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 c (new) 53c. Asks that the granting from EU be awarded only for financial intermediaries not operating in offshore financial centres, which have substantial local ownership and are equipped to implement a pro-development approach supporting the specificity of SMEs in each country; asks that the EIB shall not cooperate with financial intermediaries with negative track record in terms of transparency, fraud, corruption and environmental and social impacts; stresses that a stringent list of criteria for selection of financial intermediaries shall be established by the EIB jointly with the Commission and be publicly available;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 54 54. Encourages the EIB to fund productive investments and to combine lending with technical assistance when required
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 57 57. Acknowledges that the increased interest in blending
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 62 62. Demands the introduction of common standards of
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 10 a (new) Union support in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1. Reiterates its stance on the troubling situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly regarding the reform of the judiciary system as well as the rule of law situation, public finances, and the issue of decentralisation; 2. Welcomes the Court of Auditors' assessment regarding European Union development aid funded with EDF means; agrees that the lack of political will as well as the lack of absorption capacity largely account for only minimal success in improving governance in the DRC; 3. Acknowledges that the DRC is widely recognized as one of the most fragile states in the world; strongly suggests the development of binding Key Performance Indicators and benchmarks for reliable improvement assessment; also strongly suggests that KPI and benchmarks be drafted in a realistic manner; 4. Asks the Commission and the EEAS to provide the most recent list of priorities for European development aid in the DRC as a follow-up from last year's discharge report, which suggested a more limited number of priorities to allow for a better and more focused development aid strategy;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 64 64. Reiterates the overall satisfaction with the work and efforts carried out by the Commission's services in response to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, in an extremely critical situation for the Union delegation and its staff; welcomes the Commission's ability to withhold payments and disbursements as a consequence of
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 65. Regrets the weaknesses identified in the coordination between donors and within the Commission's services; calls for a better articulation of humanitarian aid and development aid, with a stronger link between relief, rehabilitation and development by means of a permanent LRRD23 interservices platform; considers that integrated approaches with clearly stated coordination objectives and a coherent country strategy between ECHO and EuropeAid alongside with best practices sharing have to be set up wherever possible; invites the Commission to enter into a dialogue with Parliament; believes also that the involvement of local civil society
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 65.
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas the level and nature of the Union's engagement must be differentiated and conditional, depending on measurable progress in various fields such as democratisation, human rights, good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, the rule of law, transparency and the fight against corruption
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 65.
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 66 66. Recalls the recommendations in the aftermath of the CONT delegation visit to Haiti in February 2012 and again insists
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 67 67. Recalls that the 'State building'
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 68 68. Considers that those situations of crisis and fragility require the development of
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 69 69. Encourages the Commission and the EEAS to work more systematically and jointly on the four phases of the disaster management cycle; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to inform Parliament about the developments, in particular with regard to risk management and preparations to
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 73 Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 74 Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 74 74. Considers that the new parliamentary term is a new political window of opportunity to encourage the Union institutions to initiate soon a reflection and an evaluation on the post 2020 scenario for possible replacement of the current Cotonou Agreement; recalls that i
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 75 Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 75 75. Is of the opinion that the integration of the EDFs in the general budget will strengthen democratic scrutiny by involving Parliament in
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H H. whereas the 'budgetisation' of the EDF, consisting of its incorporation and integration into the Union budget structure, remains a priority for Parliament
source: 549.349
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