Awaiting committee decision
2015/2128(INI) Annual report 2014 on the protection of the EU's financial interests - Fight against fraud
Lead committee dossier: CONT/8/03640
Legal Basis RoP 052
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Opinion | AFCO | BRESSO Mercedes (S&D) | |
Lead | CONT | JÁVOR Benedek (Verts/ALE) | PITERA Julia (EPP), PIRINSKI Georgi (S&D), VISTISEN Anders Primdahl (ECR), ALI Nedzhmi (ALDE), DE JONG Dennis (GUE/NGL), VALLI Marco (EFD) |
Opinion | INTA | LOONES Sander (ECR) | |
Opinion | LIBE | JEŽEK Petr (ALDE) | |
Opinion | REGI | VAUGHAN Derek (S&D) |
Legal Basis RoP 052
Activites
-
2015/06/11
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
Amendments | Dossier |
113 |
2015/2128(INI)
2015/10/21
REGI
51 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the Annual Report as the first by this Commission; stresses that EU funds must be properly managed and used as efficiently as possible, the protection of the EU’s financial interests is at the core of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes, on the one hand, that once again cohesion policy is not the area with the highest number of irregularities reported as fraudulent, and that this is the case for the second year in a row; also notes that expenditure has fallen by 5 % compared to 2013, and, on the other hand, that the largest proportion of such irregularities in this policy area concern the European Regional Development Fund;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes, on the one hand, that once again cohesion policy is not the area with the highest number of irregularities reported as fraudulent, and, on the other hand, that the largest proportion of such irregularities in this policy area concern the European Regional Development Fund; recalls that all irregularities are not fraud and that non-fraudulent and fraudulent irregularities must be differentiated;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes, on the one hand, that once again cohesion policy is not the area with the highest number of irregularities reported as fraudulent, and, on the other hand, that the largest proportion of such irregularities in this policy area concern the European Regional Development Fund; calls on the Commission to prepare an impact study on the impact of the irregularities related to the delays in the implementation of the cohesion policy.
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Notes the last report by the European Court of Auditors, which questioned the procedures followed by the Member States for the disbursement of cohesion policy funds due to the large number of errors occurring in connection with awards of public contracts; notes that errors frequently mean that problems and delays are encountered when implementing projects, and that proven violations of EU rules may result in financial corrections amounting to as much as 100 % of the value of the contract;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Notes that the failure to comply with public procurement rules has been a significant source of error, amongst others the avoidance of public procurement, splitting of contracts into smaller tenders to avoid exceeding thresholds and the use of inappropriate procedures; reminds that the new public procurement directives have to be implemented by the Member States by April 2016;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Welcomes the new ESIF 2014-2020 regulatory framework with ex-ante conditionality concerning public procurement and urges those Member States which have not fulfilled the ex-ante conditionality, to seek to implement effectively the agreed action plans by the end of 2016;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Given that there continues to be a significant number of irregularities in the area of cohesion policy, invites the Commission and the Member States to establish standardised and comparable guidelines aimed at analysing performance of administrative personnel responsible for management and control of funds;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Calls on the Commission to develop a database on irregularities, capable of providing a basis for meaningful analysis in a comprehensive way of the frequency, seriousness and causes of public procurement errors; calls on the relevant authorities in Member States to develop and analyse their own data bases on irregularities in the area of cohesion policy, including those arising from public procurement, and to cooperate with the Commission to provide such data in a form and at a time that facilitates the Commission's work;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. Calls on the Commission to ensure full application of the rules governing the ex-ante conditionalities, including on public procurement, that have to be fulfilled by the end of 2016;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes that
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes that measures to detect irregularities continue to vary significantly between Member States
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes that measures to detect irregularities continue to vary between Member States, mainly on account of differing definitions of irregularities;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes that measures to detect irregularities continue to vary between Member States, mainly on account of differing definitions of irregularities; calls on the Commission to impose all Member States to adopt the same concepts when defining errors and the distinction between error and fraud; welcomes the preventive and corrective measures taken by the Commission to avoid fraudulent irregularities, including by interrupting 193 payments under the
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes that measures to detect irregularities continue to vary between Member States, mainly on account of differing definitions of irregularities; welcomes the preventive and corrective measures taken by the Commission to avoid fraudulent irregularities, including by interrupting 193 payments under the cohesion policy; underlines that non- fraudulent irregularities are often linked to complex rules and requirements for the recipients; believes that simplification of the rules and procedures by the Member States and the Commission will decrease the number of non-fraudulent irregularities; calls on the Member States to encourage exchanges of good practices in order to prevent, detect, transmit and evaluate frauds and irregularities;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes that measures to detect irregularities continue to vary between Member States, mainly on account of differing definitions of irregularities; welcomes the preventive and corrective measures taken by the Commission to avoid fraudulent irregularities, including by interrupting 193 payments under the cohesion policy; encourages the exchange of good practices between Member States to prevent and detect fraud;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Considers that the fight against fraud and irregularities requires a huge effort to raise awareness and to provide incentive for action among all institutional bodies on a European, national, regional and local level and among the general public, through the widespread dissemination of data, news and items of potential interest;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Notes that in 2014 the Commission applied financial corrections totalling more than EUR 2.2 billion, and issued recovery orders for EUR 736 million; notes with some concern that national budgets risk not recovering the amounts that have already been unduly paid to beneficiaries and that are subject to financial corrections;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Calls for the appointment of a European Prosecutor, imperative for proper analysis of fraudulent activity involving the Community budget and in light of the need to take an approach to combating fraud that goes beyond national borders and which takes into account the dangerous transnational dimension of organised crime;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the Annual Report as the first by this Commission and also the first in the new 2014-2020 programming period, which means that particular care should be taken to investigate the relationship between the new cohesion policy rules and the number of irregularities reported; stresses that the protection of the EU’s financial interests is at the core of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; notes that through a number of measures the Commission and the Member States have increased their effectiveness in fighting the overall rate of fraudulent or non-fraudulent irregularities in order to ensure that EU funds are protected from fraud; notes a total of 1 649 cases of irregularities reported as fraudulent, this being 2 % more than in 2013 and representing EUR 538 million in EU funds
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that, pursuant to the Common Provisions Regulation
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures; points out that cohesion policy reform has led to decentralized EU fund management and that the new local management authorities need to be empowered to effectively combat fraud and irregularities; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical and administrative capacities of managing authorities to ensure more robust control systems able to reduce the risks of fraud and increase detection capacity; calls on the Member States to set up coherent national strategies encompassing prevention, detection and law enforcement to efficiently fight against fraud;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures which should be embedded in the anti-fraud national strategies; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical and administrative capacities of managing authorities to ensure more robust control systems able to reduce the risks of fraud and increase detection capacity in particular for less developed regions;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical and administrative capacities of managing authorities - which may be achieved also through promoting the exchange of good practice and exchange of experts - to ensure more robust control systems able to reduce the risks of fraud and increase detection capacity;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical and administrative capacities of managing authorities to ensure more robust control systems able to reduce the risks of fraud and increase detection capacity; recalls the importance of the involvement of partners, especially in the monitoring committees, and their crucial role in the fight against fraud and for transparency and prevention of conflict of interest;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical and administrative capacities of managing authorities to ensure more robust control systems able to reduce the risks of fraud and increase detection capacity; calls on the Commission to lay down consistent reporting principles for all Member States, in order to collect comparable and accurate relevant data;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the Common Provisions Regulation requires managing authorities to put in place effective and proportionate anti-fraud measures; calls on the Commission to reinforce preventive action, in particular by strengthening the technical and administrative capacities of managing authorities to ensure more robust control systems able to reduce the risks of fraud and increase detection capacity; welcomes the establishment of the system for the early detection of irregularities and calls on the Member States to implement an emergency mechanism for dealing with deficiencies.
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Member States to take all necessary measures for appropriate and quick transposition of the 2014 package of EU public procurement directives into their respective national legislation by 18th of April 2016; calls on the Commission to strictly supervise this process providing the respective guidance and technical assistance to the Member States in the context of the correct transposition of the directives into national law;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Stresses how the prevention of irregularities and fraud must involve both constant training and support for personnel responsible for management and control of funds in the competent administrative authorities, and also innovative action, including circulating information regarding the most common errors and criminal methods, but also concerning good control practices;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the Annual Report as the first by this Commission; stresses that the protection of the EU’s financial interests is at the core of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; notes that through a number of measures the Commission and the Member States have increased their effectiveness in fighting the overall rate of fraudulent or non-fraudulent irregularities in order to ensure that EU funds are protected from fraud;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Urges the Member States and the Commission to fully exploit the opportunities of the information technology (IT) tools in public procurement, including e-procurement, good practices exchange, as well as preventive risk-scoring tools; appreciates the developed by the Commission web- based fraud alert tool ARACHNE, aiming to identify the most risky projects, based on a set of risk indicators, and calls on the Member States to use this tool;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Considers that non-fraudulent irregularities are often caused by insufficient knowledge of the rules, complex requirements and regulations and believes that simplification of the rules and procedures will decrease the number of non-fraudulent irregularities; Appreciates the Commission’s decision to carry out a mid-term assessment in 2018 in order to establish whether the new regulatory architecture for the cohesion policy prevents fraud and reduces the risk of irregularities; calls on the Council to endorse the proposal for a directive on the fight against fraud to the EU’s financial interests by means of criminal law.
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Appreciates the Commission’s decision to carry out a mid-term assessment in 2018 in order to establish whether the new regulatory architecture for the cohesion policy prevents fraud and reduces the risk of irregularities, and looks forward to receiving detailed proposals and information about the impact of the new cohesion policy regulations in terms of the risk of irregularities and fraud; calls on the Council to endorse the proposal for a directive on the fight against fraud to the EU’s financial interests by means of criminal law.
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Appreciates the Commission’s decision to carry out a mid-term assessment in 2018 in order to establish whether the new regulatory architecture for the cohesion policy prevents fraud and reduces the risk of irregularities; calls on the Council to endorse the proposal for a directive on the fight against fraud to the EU’s financial interests by means of criminal law. Calls on the Commission to adopt a coordinated regulatory framework for the Member States concerning the recovery of the damages, in order to increase the solvency of beneficiaries.
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Appreciates the Commission’s decision to carry out a mid-term assessment in 2018 in order to establish whether the new regulatory architecture for the cohesion policy prevents
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Notes that the establishment of a culture conductive to combating fraud is of vital importance, not only for the purpose of preventing potential fraud, but also with a view to ensuring maximum commitment to anti-fraud measures on the part of all the institutions involved in implementing the Structural Funds.
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Underlines that a significant part of the money spent in the area of regional policy is spent through public procurement; calls on the Commission and the Member States to fully analyse the frequency, seriousness and causes of public procurement errors in the area of cohesion policy; calls on the Member States to improve the transposition of all directives relative to public procurement;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls on the Council to support the establishment of an independent European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) provided that the relationship between the EPPO and other existing EU bodies is further defined and clearly demarcated in order to avoid an inefficient overlapping of competencies;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Expresses its concern regarding the discrepancy between the information collected in Member States from public and private sources, calls on the Commission to support initiatives aimed at increasing the collection of public information, stresses that this is important for combating corruption in the Member States.
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the Annual Report as the first by this Commission; stresses that the protection of the EU’s financial interests is at the core of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; stresses that not all irregularities are fraud; notes that through a number of measures the Commission and the Member States have increased their effectiveness in fighting the overall rate of fraudulent or non-fraudulent irregularities in order to ensure that EU funds are protected from fraud; notes a total of 1 649 cases of irregularities reported as fraudulent, this being 2 % more than in
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Underlines that fraud and corruption are more and more transnational; calls on the Council to support the establishment of an independent European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) provided that the relationship between the EPPO and other existing EU bodies is further defined and clearly demarcated in order to avoid the inefficient overlapping of competences;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Considers that the highly uneven financial recovery is a cause for concern; calls on the Commission to support initiatives aiming at increasing the effective and useful recovery of the damages (structural funds, cohesion funds); stresses that this is important for the financing of new European projects.
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Underlines the need to introduce a method that allows taking track from the fraudulent cases as reported to the amounts recovered, in order to be able to draw conclusions on the figures presented in the reporting of OLAF;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls on the Commission to prepare an impact study concerning payment discontinuation, both on the Member States and with regard to the effects on the delay of the cohesion policy.
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Notes that around 28 % of irregularities reported as fraudulent in 2014 were detected by anti-fraud bodies or during criminal investigations or other external controls;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Notes with some concern that cases of fraud are, on average, reported twelve months after first being detected, and that irregular practices are, on average, first detected six and a half years after having taken place;
source: 569.843
2015/11/03
AFCO
28 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that making the budget more credible, effective and relevant, so as to sustain citizens’ confidence in
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Welcomes the adoption by the Commission of a multiannual Anti-Fraud Strategy whic is helping to correct significant differences in the number of irregularities notified by each Member State;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Reiterates its call for all the Member States to make public national declarations by their respective Court of Auditors to account for the spending of EU funds;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Asks specifically that a clear distinction be drawn between fraud and error, and that information be disseminated about the most common types of fraud and error, including actual examples of both, so that users of EU funds and the authorities that manage them will be better informed on this, including regarding the serious consequences they may well incur; emphasises that more attention must also be paid to the results of projects that the Union finances – and not only to the accuracy of their accounts – as evidenced through on-the-spot checks by properly qualified
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Stresses the importance of paying particular attention to fraud and crimes against the EU budget of a transational nature, perpetrated by organised crime;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Is keen, too, to see closer cooperation between Member States and the Commission
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Is keen, too, to see closer structured cooperation between Member States and the Commission, as well as
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Asks the Commission to add a chapter on the performance of the EU institutions in its next EU Anti-corruption report to be published in early 2016;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls, therefore, for Article 325 to be implemented right across the spectrum of Union policies, and for action not just in response to cases of fraud but also to prevent them; for compliance with Article 325, and particularly paragraph 5 on annual reports, on which there is currently a year’s delay; for simplification, especially, of the way that EU subsidies are used in cohesion policy; for adherence to agreed procedures and for the ratification of the agreements on combating fraud at regional and international level which have been
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls, therefore, for Article 325 to be implemented right across the spectrum of Union policies, and for action not just in response to cases of fraud but also to prevent them; for compliance with Article 325, and particularly paragraph 5 on annual
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls, therefore, for Article 325 to be implemented right across the spectrum of Union policies, and for action not just in response to cases of fraud but also to prevent them; for compliance with Article 325, and particularly paragraph 5 on annual reports, on which there is currently a year’s delay; for simplification, especially, of the way that EU subsidies are used in cohesion policy; for adherence to agreed procedures and for the ratification of the agreements on combating fraud at regional and international level which have been concluded between the Union and third countries or third-party organisations; for follow-up on the action plan and recommendations in Parliament’s resolution of 23 October 2013 on organised crime, corruption and money laundering: recommendations on action and initiatives to be taken (2013/2107(INI)), especially recommendations 130 (on the visibility of measures by the Member States to combat organised fraud and crime) and 131 (on a general action plan for the period 2014- 2019 to eradicate organised crime, corruption and money laundering – points i-xxii); for every effort to be made to secure the speediest possible adoption of the
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that making the budget more credible, accurate, effective and relevant, so as to sustain citizens’ confidence in the EU institutions and their identification with the project of European integration, must remain one of the core objectives of the policy to protect the Union’s financial interests which the Commission
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls, therefore, for Article 325 to be implemented right across the spectrum of Union policies, and for action not just in response to cases of fraud but also to prevent them; for compliance with Article 325, and particularly paragraph 5 on annual reports, on which there is currently a year’s delay; for simplification, especially, of the way that EU subsidies are used in cohesion policy; for adherence to agreed procedures and for the ratification of the agreements on combating fraud at regional and international level which have been concluded between the Union and third countries or third-party organisations; for follow-up on the action plan and recommendations in Parliament’s resolution of 23 October 2013 on organised crime, corruption and money laundering: recommendations on action and initiatives to be taken (2013/2107(INI)), especially recommendations 130 (on the visibility of measures by the Member States to combat organised fraud and crime) and 131 (on a general action plan for the period 2014- 2019 to eradicate organised crime, corruption and money laundering – points i-xxii); for every effort to be made to secure the speediest possible adoption of the plan
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to swiftly come up with a legislative proposal on the minimum level of protection for whistle-blowers in the European Union; Calls on the Institutions to amend the Staff Regulations to ensure that Staff Regulations not only formally oblige officials to report irregularities, but also lay down adequate protection for whistle-blowers'; Calls on the European Institutions that have not done so and other bodies to implement Article 22(c) of the Staff Regulations without delay;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls for every effort to be made to secure the speediest possible adoption of the plan for a European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the directive on combating fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (the so- called PIF Directive); calls on the Council to keep Parliament informed, on an ongoing basis, about the latest state of play in negotiations about the European Public Prosecutor’s Office; points out that the Court of Justice of the European Union, in its judgment in Case C-105/14 of 8 September 2015, found there was a direct link between the levying of VAT in the Member States and the EU’s financial interests; reiterates therefore that VAT fraud should be governed by the PIF Directive in order to assign to a future European Public Prosecutor’s Office the power to investigate this offence and prosecute suspected offenders.
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Highlights the importance of establishing a coherent and effective European system for the investigation and prosecution of offences affecting the EU's financial interests, reiterates the Parliament's support for the creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office and the urgent need for it, in order, inter alia, to contribute to helping to restore public trust in the effective management of EU funds, calls on the Council to prioritise making progress on this crucial dossier;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Takes the view that establishment of European Prosecutor's office triggers the principle of subsidiarity; calls to safeguard jurisdiction over offences of participating Member States set out in the Directive on the protection of the EU financial interests by means of criminal law and to enforce responsibilities of Member States for anti-fraud activities on national level;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Urges the Commission to publish a corruption index for EU member states in order to allow for an appropriate targeting of the controls;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Takes into consideration the complexity of EU legislation and calls for simplification of regulations applicable to EU budget, to prevent fraud and/or irregularities affecting EU funds;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 c (new) 5c. Urges the Commission to immediately publish the assessment on all agreements with tobacco companies, with a view to establish their efficiency to fight against fraud and counterfeit affecting the financial interests of the EU, and to evaluate the appropriateness to renew these kind of agreements;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 d (new) 5d. Reiterates its call relating to 2013 for a speedy resolution of the remaining issues between OLAF and its Supervisory Committee; reiterates that neither OLAF nor its SC can fulfil their legal duties effectively under the conditions of their current limited cooperation; notes with concern the lack of progress and thus considers the current situation unacceptable; calls on the Commission to play fully its role as intermediary between the two bodies and to actively work on a long-term solution to be put in place without delay.
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that making the budget more credible, effective
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that making the budget more credible, effective, transparent and relevant, so as to sustain citizens’ confidence in the EU institutions and their identification with the project of European integration, must remain one of the core objectives of the policy to protect the Union’s financial interests which the Commission and Member States are required to pursue under Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that making the budget more credible, effective and relevant, so as to sustain citizens’ confidence in the EU institutions and their identification with the project of European integration, must remain one of the core objectives of the policy to protect the Union’s financial interests which the Commission and Member States are required to pursue under Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; calls to this end for greater transparency through enhanced cooperation between the EU institutions;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Is deeply concerned by the validity and quality of data transmitted by the Member States concerning their GNI, the number of open and closed cases, as well as the lack of answers to clarifications requested by the Commission or OLAF;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes, in particular, that levels of corruption and fraud affecting the Union budget are in direct proportion to lack of transparency in the procedures for spending EU funds; calls, therefore, for better communication about the procedures in question, which should involve fewer – but more transparent – rules so as to render fraud virtually impossible; calls, to that end, for best practices to be disseminated as widely as possible; considers for example that where the Council fails to submit to Parliament documents on public expenditure that have been requested, this endangers above all the right of EU citizens to information and transparency: a clearer rule on the forwarding and exchange of documents between the institutions is needed therefore;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes, in particular, that levels of corruption and fraud affecting the Union budget are in direct proportion to lack of transparency in the procedures for spending EU funds; calls, therefore, for better communication between the EU Institutions and the Member States about the procedures in question, which should involve fewer – but more transparent – rules so as to render fraud virtually impossible; calls, to that
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes, in particular, that levels of corruption and fraud affecting the Union budget are in direct proportion to lack of transparency in the procedures for allocating, managing and spending EU funds; calls, therefore, for better communication about the procedures in question, which should involve fewer – but more transparent – rules so as to render fraud virtually impossible; calls, to that end, for best practices to be disseminated as widely as possible;
source: 571.481
2015/11/05
INTA
34 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Believes firmly that
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes the problems of smuggling, trafficking and other forms of illegal
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes the problems of smuggling, counterfeiting, trafficking and other forms of illegal and illicit trade, which not only have an impact on Member States’ collection of customs duties and consequently on the EU budget, but are also strongly associated with organised international crime, threats to consumers and negative effects on the functioning of the single market, and which undermine a level playing field for all competing companies; requests, therefore, better coordination between the European Anti- Fraud Office (OLAF), customs authorities and market surveillance authorities in order not only to combat these problems but also to curb the trade in products that infringe intellectual property laws in the EU; notes that the closure of customs posts has meant that fewer checks are now carried out, and these types of unlawful activity have mushroomed as a result; notes that internet commerce makes new kinds of fraud possible, particular VAT fraud resulting in heavy losses of revenue to Member States;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes the problems of smuggling, trafficking and other forms of illegal and illicit trade, which not only have an impact on Member States’ collection of customs duties and consequently on the EU budget, but are also strongly associated with organised international crime, threats to consumers and negative effects on the functioning of the single market, and which undermine a level playing field for all competing companies, particularly SMEs; requests, therefore, better coordination between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), customs authorities and market surveillance authorities in order not only to combat these problems but also to curb the trade in products that infringe intellectual property laws in the EU; stresses the importance of distinguishing between legitimate generic medicine and fraudulent counterfeiting drugs in order not to interrupt the legitimate flow of medicines;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Notes the problems of smuggling, trafficking and other forms of illegal and illicit trade, which are further compounded by the lack of uniformity in customs checks and procedures in the Member States and not only have an impact
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Welcomes the fact that Member States have taken specific measures to ensure more effective fight against fraud affecting the financial interests of the EU both on the expenditure and revenue sides, so that the EU budget is well-spent, detecting and prosecuting more fraud cases in 2014 than in the previous year;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Calls on Member States to put even more effort into ensuring that money from the EU budget is correctly used for projects that contribute to growth and jobs in Europe;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. Welcomes the proven effectiveness of OLAF’s origin investigations concerning the eligibility of preferential tariff measures and calls upon the Member States to consider these findings and take all necessary and appropriate measures in accordance with the provisions of EU customs legislation; in order to prevent losses to the EU budget due to the import of goods under PTAs not entitled to preferential tariff treatment, the Commission is called upon to continue to verify that Members States improve the effectiveness of their risk management systems and control strategies on the basis of the mutual assistance (MA) communications; furthermore asks the Commission to follow up on their commitment to carry out ex post evaluations on PTAs with significant economic, social and environmental impact including a periodical reporting system by beneficiary countries on their management and control of preferential origin;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes the implementation of the Hercule III Programme under the new financial framework, and considers it useful that this programme be used to assist the law enforcement agencies of certain Member States in combating illegal and illicit trade; hopes to see promotion of this programme stepped up to make it more effective and to facilitate access to it for the national and regional administrations it targets;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes the implementation of the Hercule III Programme under the new financial framework, and considers it useful that this programme be used to assist the law enforcement agencies of certain Member States in combating illegal and illicit trade; notes that the existence in the European Union of a number of tax havens encourages companies to divert monies they would normally use to pay tax, thus undermining Member States’ revenue;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes the implementation of the Hercule III Programme under the new financial framework, and considers it useful that this programme be used to assist the law enforcement agencies of certain Member States in combating illegal and illicit trade; calls on the European Union to put in place its European Public Prosecution Service without delay;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Believes firmly that, at a time of ongoing fiscal consolidation
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Stresses that fight against illicit trade should remain a high priority for the EU as well as for the Member States;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Welcomes the fact that in 2014 there were 48 agreements in place that encompassed mutual administrative
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Welcomes the fact that in 2014 there were 48 agreements in place that encompassed mutual administrative assistance, covering 71 countries, with another 49 countries in negotiations, including major trading partners such as the USA and Japan; notes that VAT carousel fraud is costing EU Member States tens of billions of euro, and calls for a change in the rules on levying VAT in respect of trade between Member States, in order to put an end to this type of fraud;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Welcomes the fact that in 2014 there were 48 agreements in place that encompassed mutual administrative
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Welcomes the fact that in 2014 there were 48 agreements in place that encompassed mutual administrative assistance, covering 71 countries, with another 49 countries in negotiations, including major trading partners such as the USA and Japan; emphasises that the top priority in terms of protecting the EU’s financial interests and combating fraud effectively is to ensure that the existing legislation is applied and that all parties observe the relevant international agreements, including the provisions for sanctions;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 – point 1 (new) (1) Invites once again all EU Member States who have at present signed but not ratified the UN Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products to complete their respective ratification process as soon as possible;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Asks the Commission to publish a list of European companies and their subsidiaries abroad who have fraudulently or unduly used preferential customs regimes when importing into European Union countries and produce data on the amount of duties not collected for the EU budget because of that fraud;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Draws attention to the illicit financial outflows put in place by extra-EU transnational multinational companies engage in fraudulent schemes aimed at avoiding tax payments in the EU;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Recalls the internal EU standards on the fight against corruption and the protection of whistleblowers, and believes that these should be explicitly extended to whistleblowers revealing fraud in relation to international agreements, including trade agreements;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Welcomes the key role played by the EU’s macro-financial assistance (MFA) programme in encouraging reform in the EU’s closest trading countries; requests that the Commission continue to report to Parliament and the Member States with a view to ensuring that all funds are spent in full compliance with the basic regulation; is concerned that much of the macro- financial assistance to Ukraine may be being misused, given that corruption is known to be rife in the Ukrainian authorities.
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Welcomes the key role played by the EU’s macro-financial assistance (MFA) programme in encouraging anti-corruption and anti-fraud reforms in the EU’s closest trading countries; requests that the Commission continue to report to Parliament and the Member States with a view to ensuring that all funds are spent in full compliance with the basic regulation; further requests an long-term assessment of the effect MFA programmes have on tackling corruption and fraud in recipient countries.
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls on OLAF to investigate whether EU macro-financial assistance paid to third countries, and in particular the high amounts paid to the Ukraine, are spent in full compliance with the respective regulations, and to report to the European Parliament and to the Council on an annual basis whether fraud or corruption can be linked with the spending of EU MFA.
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Is convinced that both police and policy issues are at stake, and that, while criminal investigation into illegal trade practices by importers into the EU is necessary, shortcomings and failures related to deficient Commission policy have to be fully revealed and need to be tackled, from missing ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of the effect of trade agreements on the EU budget, to weaknesses in control strategies and risk management of customs duties collection and customs clearance;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Considers that the ongoing deregulation of the financial markets and the diminishment of the existing regulatory frameworks in international trade risks to facilitate phenomena such as corruption, smuggling, trafficking and other forms of illegal and illicit trade, especially at profit of transnational organized crimes; therefore calls to keep this aspect carefully in consideration while negotiating FTAs and trade facilitation agreement;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Urges that the Commission come up with proposals on how it will improve ex- ante assessments of trade agreements in order to estimate in advance revenue foregone following the granting of trade preferences, and believes that reliable analysis models have to be developed as an urgent matter, as the European Union sis concluding an ever increasing number of preferential trade agreements, with effects on its own budget;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Supports the attempt to include a strong and binding anti-fraud and corruption clause that can pave the ground for enhanced cooperation against organized crime, trafficking and other illegal or illicit trade, as structural element in all the Free Trade Agreements involving the EU; considers therefore extremely important the inclusion also in the ongoing TTIP and TISA negotiations;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 c (new) 1c. Is concerned about reported deficient or in-total non-executed recovery of customs debt after discovery of fraud in some member states; is of the opinion that non-recovery is a form of impunity and complicity with those who committed the fraud and paves the way to repetition of customs fraud;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
source: 569.703
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History
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