2014/2139(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. Regrets in this regard, the lack of visibility and democratic accountability of the Agencies, as they are generally not well known with citizens and are vulnerable in respect of external influences from specialist lobbyists, in particular from those representing big businesses;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that on the basis of the agencies’ contribution, the Commission elaborated guidelines with standard provisions for headquarter agreements between decentralised agencies and host Member States; notes with concern that 10 agencies6 still do not have a headquarter agreement; encourages the agencies to address this issue effectively; __________________ 6 CdT, CPVO, EASA, EMA, ERA, ESMA, eu-LISA, EU-OSHA, Eurofound, Frontex.

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that on the basis of the agencies’ contribution, the Commission elaborated guidelines with standard provisions for headquarter agreements between decentralised agencies and host Member States; notes with concern that 10 agencies6 still do not have a headquarter agreement; observes with concern that some agencies have a dual headquarters and considers it necessary to abolish, at the earliest opportunity, all dual headquarters which do not have any operational added value; __________________ 6 CdT, CPVO, EASA, EMA, ERA, ESMA, eu-LISA, EU-OSHA, Eurofound ~~and~~, Frontex.

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Considers it necessary to carry out a serious assessment to evaluate the possibility of merging agencies that perform similar tasks, not only to avoid wasting resources but also to create a critical mass that makes the agencies truly effective;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Ascertains that the Commission improved its service to agencies both in the form of general and specific recommendations by using the information and suggestions provided by the Network; notes that in the context of constrained financial and human resources, these improvements have led to the consideration of possible structural measures to rationalise the functioning of the agencies; notes that these measures already produced results such as sharing services between agencies and encourages agencies to continue these efforts;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Reminds that the principle of annuality is one of the three basic accounting principles, together with unity and balance, which are indispensable to ensuring the efficient implementation of the Union budget; notes that decentralised agencies sometimes do not fully comply with that principle; calls on the agencies to minimize the errors in this regard;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes from the Court’s summary that a high level of committed appropriations carried over remains the most frequent issue of the budgetary and financial management and that that issue concerned 24 agencies; acknowledges that~~, although~~ a high level of carryovers is ~~usually considered to be~~ at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality~~, it often resulted from events which were, completely or partly, beyond the agencies’ control, or was justified by the multiannual nature of operations, procurement procedures or projects~~;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Takes note that ~~the~~in seven cases, the Court of Auditors still noted a high level of cancellations of carryovers from previous years ~~was noted by the Court only in seven cases~~; observes that such carryovers indicate that the appropriations carried over were made on the basis of over-estimated needs or were otherwise not justified; acknowledges from the Network that the level of cancellation is indicative of the extent to which the agencies have correctly anticipated their financial needs, and is a better indicator of a good budgetary planning than the level of carryovecalls upon the Network to do everything in its power to prevent future carryovers, in particular concentrating on those Agencies, that cancelled carryovers from previous years;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Takes note that the high level of cancellations of carryovers from previous years was noted by the Court only in seven cases; observes that such carryovers indicate that the appropriations carried over were made on the basis of over-estimated needs or were otherwise not justified; acknowledges from the Network that the level of cancellation is indicative of the extent to which the agencies have correctly anticipated their financial needs, and is a better indicator of a good budgetary planning than the level of carryovers; therefore calls on the agencies concerned to implement better budgetary planning processes in order to avoid carryovers and calls on the agencies to inform the discharge authority on progress and results;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Regrets the fact that in the case of EIT and Frontex, the Court of Auditors still had to issue qualified opinions on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying their accounts; is concerned by the still high number (97) of comments by the Court of Auditors affecting 35 agencies; urges the Network to see to it that the agencies concerned take all necessary measures to follow up on the Court's observations;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Welcomes the fact that the FFR provides for the possibility of sharing or transferring services where cost efficiency might be gained; recalls that the agencies already seek synergies, exchange best practices and share services for their efficient operation and in order to make the most of their resources; acknowledges the evolution of the agencies’ cooperation amongst themselves which will intensify further in the coming years and enable them to continue to deliver on their objectives; notes that 82 % of the agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding with other agencies; calls on the agencies to continue to expand their already well-established cooperation and shared services; invites the agencies to proactively seek further collaboration amongst each other in order to enhance efficiency and efficacy of their work;

Amendment 2 #

Dennis de JONG

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. Expresses its doubts about the geographical locations of Agencies, many of which are located far away from the other European institutions; is of the opinion that for the protection of the independence of the Agencies geographical distance is not necessary, nor is it in itself a safeguard against undesirable interferences from either the European Commission or Member States, but in all cases it brings with it additional travel costs, and it makes it more difficult to benefit from synergies, such as more centralised administrative and financial services shared by all or a number of Agencies;

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

Performance 19 a. Welcomes that a common set of principles for efficient and effective results oriented management, as well as common guidelines on performance measurement systems, multi-annual and annual programming documents and reporting and evaluation tools have been agreed on; Emphasises that it is important that the Network becomes a member of the new Inter-institutional Working Group on Performance to encourage common understanding of the concept of a good and improved performance; Requests that the Court of Auditors provides an evaluation of the agencies' performance and results in time for the review in the 2016 Multiannual Financial Framework;

Amendment 21 #

Dennis de JONG

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Ascertains from the Network that most of the agencies have ~~already~~ implemented~~, although with great difficulty,~~ the requested staff reduction of 5 % in their respective multiannual staff policy plans; regrets the fact that the Commission has created an additional redeployment pool of 5 % of the staff, thus effectively imposing additional cuts to the agencies’ establishment plans and going beyond the agreed 5 % targe and urges the Network to see to it that agencies have not yet done so, take the necessary measures to implement the staff reductions without further delays; welcomes the fact that the Commission has created an additional redeployment pool of 5 % of the staff and urges the Network to fully co-operate with the Commission in this respect;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Acknowledges from the Network that some agencies are already facing serious difficulties in fulfilling their mandates with the limited resources put at their disposal; notes with concern that it will be difficult for the agencies to provide the same level of quality of work if this process of additional staff reductions continues, as the Union is entrusting an increasing number of tasks and responsibilities to them; calls on the Commission to review its plan regarding the additional staff reductions and to adapt it to the specific situation of well- functioning agencies which are successful in fulfilling their mandates and are valued for the work they do;deleted

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Acknowledges from the Network that some agencies are already facing serious difficulties in fulfilling their mandates with the limited resources put at their disposal; notes with concern that it will be difficult for the agencies to provide the same level of quality of work if this process of additional staff reductions continues, as the Union is entrusting an increasing number of tasks and responsibilities to them; calls on the Commission to review its plan regarding the additional staff reductions and to adapt it ~~to the specific situation of well-functioning agencies which are successful in fulfilling their mandates and are valued for the work they do~~according to the workload and resource demands of each agency;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Invites the agencies to improve their geographical balance with regard to staffing;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Asks any Agency to publish its actual full-time equivalent (FTE), not just for Temporary Agents and contract staff but also the time put in by contractors, expressed in FTEs;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the Network and the individual agencies to further expand their communication and cooperation with the Parliament beyond the discharge procedure;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Notes that the Guidelines are not legally binding on the Agencies and calls upon the Commission to examine how more binding agreements with the Agencies can be concluded to promote transparency and to avoid conflicts of interest;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Notes however that a number of agencies still experience difficulties with implementation of their independence policies, especially with regard to staffing of expert groups and scientific panels and committees; recommends to the agencies to address this issue together with the Commission, taking into account also the recommendations raised by the European Ombudsman´s own initiative inquiry (OI/6/2014/NF) opened on 12 May 2014, outlined in the letter to the European Commission concerning the composition of the Commission´s expert groups;

Amendment 29 #

Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Takes note that 61 % of the agencies have already published the CVs and declarations of interests of their management board members, management staff and external and in-house experts on their website; ~~acknowledges that~~expects the remaining agencies ~~will~~to adopt revised policies and publish the same information ~~upon adoption of revised policies~~without delay;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Reiterates the importanc~~Takes note of the tasks performed by agencies and their direct impact on the daily lives of Union citizens, supports the autonomy of the agencies, in particular of the regulatory agencies and those with the function of independent information collection; reminds that the main reason for establishing agencies was for the purpose of making independent technical or scientific assessments;

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Takes note that 61 % of the agencies have already published the CVs and declarations of interests of their management board members, management staff and external and in-house experts on their website; acknowledges that the remaining agencies ~~will~~have agreed to publish the same information upon adoption of revised policies;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Takes note that 61 % of the agencies have already published the CVs and declarations of interests of their management board members, management staff and external and in-house experts on their website; acknowledges that the remaining agencies will publish the same information upon adoption of revised policies; calls on the agencies to proceed in this regard without any necessary delay;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Notes, however, that seconded national experts, external and interim staff are not specifically mentioned in the guidelines and that especially in the case of so-called independent experts, there is still room for interpretation, for example, in the case of academics who have also undertaken research for individual companies or the business community at large; calls upon the Network to ensure a harmonised approach in this respect, which will also prevent any indirect conflicts of interest;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Invites the Court of Auditors to follow-up on its 15/2012 report on management of conflicts of interest in the EU Agencies;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28b. Encourages the Commission to conduct regular evaluation of transparency and integrity of the Agencies and to make the results of such evaluation publicly available;

Amendment 35 #

Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Acknowledges that in 2014, nearly all agencies have included on their websites the statement that they are agencies of the Union; urges the remaining agencies to add the statement as a matter of urgency;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Acknowledges that in 2014, nearly all agencies have included on their websites the statement that they are agencies of the Union; calls on the agencies to ensure that they and their work are associated with the Union;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Welcomes the initiative of some of the agencies to introduce public consultations on some of their policies; invites the agencies to continue in this practice;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Acknowledges nevertheless that all agencies are working towards applying a multilingual practice in their online presence and aim to have at least a section or document on their website that provides basic information about the agency in all the official languages of the Union; points out that although a multilingual approach requires a significant financial commitment ~~and calls on~~, there is a need for the agencies to take immediate actions in this ~~field within the limits of their available resources~~area;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)

35a. Notes that many of the agencies have strengthened their presence online and have put substantial efforts into raising their visibility and welcomes the proactive approach in this regard; further invites the agencies to expand their visibility through other tools such as social networks, open days, presence at fairs and so forth in order ensure that the European citizens are well informed in a transparent manner about the work of Agencies;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Points out that the role of the executive agencies is to help the commission manage Union programmes on behalf of the Union itself;

Amendment 40 #

Zigmantas BALČYTIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37a. Takes note that a number of Agencies have a regular process assessment carried out in the frame of the ISO Certification (ISO 9001) as well as audits performed by the Quality and Internal Audit Departments and that some Agencies have contracted the assistance of consultants to undertake an evaluation of their internal administrative processes;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8 a (new)

Other comments

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37a. Welcomes the efforts made by the agencies to address the issue of cost- effectiveness and environment- friendliness of work environment; encourages the agencies to further pursue cost-effective and environment-friendly solutions with regard to work and building management and to increase the utility of digital solutions such as videoconferences in order to reduce travel and other expenses;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37a. Self-financed agencies Reiterates that the Union bodies to which the financial rules laid down in the framework financial regulation (Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 ) do not apply should establish, for the sake of consistency, similar rules, where appropriate.* Stresses that current surpluses must be dealt with as soon as possible, and the possibility of re-allocating the money to the Union budget should be explored, Refers the issue to the Inter-institutional Working Group on Performance for consideration. * Currently CPVO (Community Plant Variety Office) at Angers and OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) at Alicante

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point 1 (new)

(1) Calls on the Commission and the Network to improve their communication policies to ensure agencies communicate effectively with citizens, in order to raise awareness of productivity and achievements;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Notes from the Court of Auditors’ summary of the results of its 2013 annual audits of the European Agencies and other bodies (the ‘Court’s summary’) that the agencies’ 2013 budget amounted to some EUR 2 billion, representing an increase of 25 % compared to 2012 and about 1,4 % of the Union’s general budget; notes that this increase mainly results from the newly established agencies and new responsibilities for some agencies; observes from the Court’s summary that the agencies employ around 6 500 permanent and temporary officials representing 14 % of the total number of Union officials authorised under the general Union budget; notes furthermore that around 2 900 contract or seconded staff are working for the agencies;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Reminds that the reputational risk related to the agencies is high for the Union, as they ~~are highly visible in the Member States and~~ have significant influence on policy and decision making and programme implementation in areas of vital importance to the Union citizens;

Amendment 8 #

Dennis de JONG

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that the principle of 'value for money' also holds for Agencies and that they should demonstrate that their performance is effective, ensuring that the citizens are well informed of the results of the Agencies' activities; requests the Network to keep the discharge authority closely informed of the use and added value of the common set of principles and handbooks on performance measurement systems and frameworks, multi-annual and annual programming documents, key performance indicators, reporting and evaluating tools;

Amendment 9 #