Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | CONT | AYALA SENDER Inés (S&D) | ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš (EPP), FITTO Raffaele (ECR), ALI Nedzhmi (ALDE), DE JONG Dennis (GUE/NGL), JÁVOR Benedek (Verts/ALE), VALLI Marco (EFD), KAPPEL Barbara (ENF) |
Opinion | EMPL | HARKIN Marian (ALDE) |
Activites
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2017/04/27
Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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T8-0182/2017
summary
The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2015. The vote on the decision on discharge covers the closure of the accounts (in accordance with Annex IV, Article 5 (1)(a) to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure). Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Foundation’s annual accounts for the financial year 2015 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 511 votes to 108 with 4 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations, which form an integral part of the decision on discharge and which add to the general recommendations set out in the resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies. These recommendations may be summarised as follows: Foundation’s financial statements: Parliament noted the final budget of the Foundation for the financial year 2015 was EUR 20 860 000 representing an increase of 0.42 % compared to 2014. Commitments and carry-overs: It stated that the level of committed appropriations carried forward to 2016 was at EUR 2 135 164 (31.2 %) for operational expenditure, compared to EUR 3 814 156 (53.7 %) in 2014. It noted that carry-overs may often be partly or fully justified by the multiannual nature of the agencies’ operational programmes, do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation and are not always at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality. Parliament also made a series of observations regarding the budget and financial management, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal controls and audits. On performance, Parliament noted that the Foundation’s target of 80 % regarding the number of planned outputs in its work programme was not achieved, even though the Foundation improved its performance in comparison to 2014. It acknowledged the fact that the reasons why the Foundation missed the target are principally related to delays by contractors and the scarcity of staff resources. It expressed concern that, with the current resources outlook, the Foundation’s pan-European surveys are not secured in the long term as well as that the Foundation cannot commit to embark on further work, such as on migrants and refugees or undeclared work, despite strongly worded requests by its governing board. Members also expressed concern at the overall 10 % reduction of staff which has had an impact on the delay of some of the Foundation’s projects and contributed to difficult discussions in relation to negative priorities with the governing board’s bureau. They called on the Commission to ensure that potential further cost-saving measures do not hinder the Foundation´s ability to fulfil its mandate. Members noted the high-level impact of the Foundation, particularly in supporting the Union institutions, as reflected in the performance indicators presented in the consolidated annual activity report. Collaboration with the Parliament: Parliament acknowledged the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016 on research to assist the development of social and labour policies. It noted the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, “The future of manufacturing in Europe” and considered it to be important to maintain strong cooperation between the Foundation and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs in order to continue to engage in constructive and evidence-based discussions.
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T8-0182/2017
summary
- 2017/04/26 Debate in Parliament
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2017/03/29
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
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A8-0111/2017
summary
The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Inés AYALA SENDER (S&D, ES) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2015. The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Director of the Foundation discharge in respect of the implementation of the Foundation’s budget for the financial year 2015. Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Foundation for the financial year 2015 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the Foundation’s accounts. They made, however, a number of recommendations that needed to be taken into account when the discharge is granted, in addition to the general recommendations that appear in the draft resolution on performance, financial management and control of EU agencies: Foundation’s financial statements: Members note the final budget of the Foundation for the financial year 2015 was EUR 20 860 000 representing an increase of 0.42 % compared to 2014. Commitments and carry-overs: Members stated that the level of committed appropriations carried forward to 2016 was at EUR 2 135 164 (31.2 %) for operational expenditure, compared to EUR 3 814 156 (53.7 %) in 2014. They noted that carry-overs may often be partly or fully justified by the multiannual nature of the agencies’ operational programmes, do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation and are not always at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality. Members also made a series of observations regarding the budget and financial management, the prevention and management of conflicts of interests, procurement and recruitment procedures and internal controls and audits. On performance, Members noted that the Foundation’s target of 80 % regarding the number of planned outputs in its work programme was not achieved, even though the Foundation improved its performance in comparison to 2014. They acknowledged the fact that the reasons why the Foundation missed the target are principally related to delays by contractors and the scarcity of staff resources. They expressed concern that, with the current resources outlook, the Foundation’s pan-European surveys are not secured in the long term as well as that the Foundation cannot commit to embark on further work, such as on migrants and refugees or undeclared work, despite strongly worded requests by its governing board. They also expressed concern at the overall 10 % reduction of staff which has had an impact on the delay of some of the Foundation’s projects and contributed to difficult discussions in relation to negative priorities with the governing board’s bureau. They called on the Commission to ensure that potential further cost-saving measures do not hinder the Foundation´s ability to fulfil its mandate. Lastly, Members noted the high-level impact of the Foundation, particularly in supporting the Union institutions, as reflected in the performance indicators presented in the consolidated annual activity report.
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A8-0111/2017
summary
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2017/03/22
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
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2016/10/04
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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2016/07/11
Non-legislative basic document published
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COM(2016)0475
summary
PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as part of the 2015 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound). CONTENT: the organisational governance of the EU consists of institutions, agencies and other EU bodies whose expenditure is included in the general budget of the Union. The EU's operational expenditure of these institutions takes different forms, depending on how the money is paid out and managed. From 2014 onwards, the Commission classifies its expenditure as follows: Direct management: the budget is implemented directly by the Commission services. Indirect management: the Commission confers tasks of implementation of the budget to bodies of EU law or national law, such as the EU agencies. Shared management: under this method of budget implementation tasks are delegated to Member States. About 80 % of the expenditure falls under this management mode covering such areas as agricultural spending and structural actions. This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2015 and details how spending by the EU institutions and bodies was carried out. The consolidated annual accounts of the EU provide financial information on the activities of the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU from an accrual accounting and budgetary perspective. It is the responsibility of the Commission's Accounting Officer to prepare the EU's consolidated annual accounts and ensure that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the result of the operations and the cashflows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), with a view to granting discharge. Discharge procedure: the final step of a budget lifecycle is the discharge of the budget for a given financial year. It represents the political aspect of the external control of budget implementation and is the decision by which the European Parliament, acting on a Council recommendation, "releases" the Commission (and other EU bodies) from its responsibility for management of a given budget by marking the end of that budget's existence. The European Parliament is the discharge authority within the EU. The discharge procedure may produce three outcomes: (i) the granting; (ii) postponement or; (iii) the refusal of the discharge. The final discharge report including specific recommendations to the Commission for action is adopted in plenary by the European Parliament and are subject to an annual follow up report in which the Commission outlines the concrete actions it has taken to implement the recommendations made. Each agency is subject to its own discharge procedure, including Eurofound. Eurofound: the Foundation, which is located in Dublin (IRL), was set up by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 aims to contribute to the planning and establishment of better living and working conditions in the Union by increasing and disseminating knowledge which is relevant to this subject. As regards the Foundation’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for 2015: Commitment appropriations: - committed: EUR 22 million; - paid: EUR 22 million; - carried-over: 0. Payment appropriations : - committed: EUR 26 million; - paid: EUR 23 million; - carried-over: EUR 3 million. For further details on expenditure, please refer to Eurofound’s annual accounts.
- DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en', 'title': 'Budget'}, GEORGIEVA Kristalina
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COM(2016)0475
summary
Documents
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2016)0475
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A8-0111/2017
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T8-0182/2017
Amendments | Dossier |
48 |
2016/2162(DEC)
2016/12/14
EMPL
21 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Commends strongly the high budget implementation rate in 2015 (99,9%) and the good overall target delivery;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Commends strongly the high budget implementation rate in 2015 (99,9%) and the good overall target delivery;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Notes the high-level impact of the Foundation, particularly in supporting the EU institutions, as reflected in the performance indicators presented in the consolidated annual activity report;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Notes that the level of committed appropriations carried over to 2016 was high for Title III (31,2% compared to 53,7% in 2014); notes that this is mainly related to multi-annual projects implemented according to schedule; notes, however, that further efforts are needed to meet the target of a timely delivery of planned activities;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Notes that the level of committed appropriations carried over to 2016 was very high for Title III (31,2%); notes that this is mainly related to multi-annual projects implemented according to schedule; notes, however, that further efforts are needed to meet the final target of a timely delivery of planned activities;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Notes that the level of committed appropriations carried over to 2016 was high for Title III (31,2%); notes that this is mainly related to multi-annual projects implemented according to schedule;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Acknowledges the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016; welcomes its input to policy development through a consistently high number of surveys, studies, presentations, events and projects in order to constantly improve the living and working conditions in Europe; notes the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, ‘The future of manufacturing in Europe’; welcomes the high-quality publications produced by the Foundation and considers it as important to maintain a strong cooperation between the Foundation and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs in order to continue to engage in constructive and evidence-based discussions;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Acknowledges the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016; welcomes its input to policy development through a consistently high number and quality of surveys, studies, presentations, events and projects; notes the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, ‘The future of manufacturing in Europe’;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Acknowledges the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016 on research into shaping social and labour policies; welcomes its input to policy development through a consistently high number of surveys, studies, presentations, events and projects; notes the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, ‘The future of manufacturing in Europe’;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Acknowledges the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016; welcomes its input to policy development through a consistently high number of quality surveys, studies, presentations, events and projects; notes the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, ‘The future of manufacturing in Europe’;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Acknowledges the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016; welcomes its input to policy development through a consistently high number of quality surveys, studies, presentations, events and projects; notes the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, ‘The future of manufacturing in Europe’;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Acknowledges the Foundation’s progress in the implementation of the current four-year programme for 2013 to 2016; welcomes its input to policy development through a consistently high number of surveys, studies, presentations, events and projects; notes the start of the European Parliament’s pilot project, ‘The future of manufacturing in Europe’; calls for the Foundation to continue to closely monitor, analyse and report on living and working conditions and to come up with initiatives for improving them;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Notes the high level impact of the Foundation, particularly in supporting the EU institutions, as reflected in the performance indicators presented in the consolidated annual activity report;
source: 595.463
2017/03/07
CONT
27 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions discharge in respect of the implementation of the Foundation’s budget for the financial year
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges the fact that the Foundation was committed to increasing the number of declarations of interest and CVs available on its website and that it aimed to collect declarations from all board members as the new governing board was to be appointed after the expiration of the mandate of the current board in November 2016; notes, however, that some of the governing board’s CVs and declarations of interests are still missing; calls on the Foundation to acquire and publish such documents and allows the public the necessary overview on its senior management;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges the fact that the Foundation was committed to increasing the number of declarations of interest and CVs available on its website and that it aimed to collect declarations from all board members as the new governing board was to be appointed after the expiration of the mandate of the current board in November 2016; notes, however, that some of the governing board’s CVs and declarations of interests are still missing; encourages the Foundation to deliver on its commitments;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Notes
Amendment 13 #
5a. Notes that the level of committed appropriations carried forward under Title III (operational expenditure) was high, amounting to EUR 3 814 156, or 53.7% (for 2013 it was EUR 3 375 781, or 48.6%); notes that those appropriations relate primarily to multiannual projects in respect of which operations have been implemented and payments made according to plan, and to a single multiannual project whose implementation was carried forward to 2014, but for which payment fell due only in 2015;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Points out that carry-overs are often partly or fully justified by the multiannual nature of the agencies’ operational programmes, do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation and are not always at odds with the budgetary principle of annuality, in particular if they are planned in advance and communicated to the Court of Auditors; welcomes the fact that the Foundation, together with the Court, established a procedure which allows a transparent distinction between 'planned' and 'unplanned' carry-overs; asks the Foundation to keep the volume to be carried over to the next year as low as possible;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Notes that the Foundation’s target of 80 % regarding the number of planned outputs in its work programme was not achieved, even though the Foundation improved its performance in comparison to 2014;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Notes that the Foundation’s target of 80 % regarding the number of planned outputs in its work programme was not achieved, even though the Foundation improved its performance in comparison to 2014; acknowledges the fact that the reasons why the Foundation missed the target are principally related to delays by contractors and the scarcity of staff resources; notes, furthermore, that a more realistic number of projects and deliverables was planned and implemented in 2016, in line with the Foundation’s reduced resources; is concerned that, with the current resources outlook, the Foundation’s pan-European surveys are not secured in the long term as well as that the Foundation cannot commit to embark on further work, such as on migrants and refugees or undeclared work, despite
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Is concerned that the overall staff reduction of 10 % had an impact on the delay of some of the Foundation’s projects and contributed to difficult discussions in relation to negative priorities with the governing board’s bureau; acknowledges the fact that the Foundation managed to comply with the reductions imposed by the Commission even though all its establishment plan posts were filled in the previous years; calls on the Commission to
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9.
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12.
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Acknowledges the fact that in 2016 the Foundation was raising awareness of its conflicts of interests and anti-fraud policies among its staff by using specific training offered to all staff members; notes, furthermore, that those training sessions are intended to become standard elements of the induction programme for new staff members; calls on the Foundation to adopt an ethics code and to inform the discharging authority about alleged and confirmed conflicts of interests, how it has dealt with them, and how it will prevent them in the future;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. Notes that the contracts awarded in 2015 are listed on the Foundation's website; notes that the conditions of employment, as well as the levels of remuneration are published on the Foundation's website;
Amendment 23 #
12b. Asks the Foundation to provide the Parliament with the list of meetings with lobbyists and the minutes the these meetings;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13a. Notes the efficiency of the eTendering platform for managing calls for tender, which consists of the publication of tender documents and the management of questions and answers concerning the specifications and the procedure;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 b (new) 13b. Welcomes the publishing of the current Programming document 2017– 2020. It sets out the policy and institutional context for the programme, describes the multiannual programme for the four-year period and sets out the work programme for 2017;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 c (new) 13c. Stresses that the Foundation's host Member State shall provide the best possible conditions to ensure the functioning of the Foundation, including multilingual, European-oriented schooling and appropriate transport connections;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 d (new) 13d. Notes that necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for the Foundation in the host Member State shall be laid down in a Headquarters Agreement between the Foundation and Member State where the seat is located;
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision 2 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the financial year
Amendment 4 #
Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 5 #
- having regards to the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing the European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (Eurofound), and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 2 b (new) - having regard to the Court of Auditors' special Report No 15/2012 entitled 'Management of conflict of interest in selected EU Agencies',
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, Parliament stresses the special importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the institutions of the Union by improving transparency and accountability, implementing the concept of performance based budgeting and good governance of human resources;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges the fact that the Foundation was committed to increasing the number of declarations of interest and CVs available on its website
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges the fact that the Foundation was committed to increasing the number of declarations of interest and CVs available on its website and that it aimed to collect declarations from all board members as the new governing board was to be appointed after the expiration of the mandate of the current board in November
source: 600.893
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