Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | CONT | STAES Bart (Verts/ALE) | SARVAMAA Petri (EPP), LIBERADZKI Bogusław (S&D), MACOVEI Monica (ECR), ALI Nedzhmi (ALDE), DE JONG Dennis (GUE/NGL), VALLI Marco (EFD), KAPPEL Barbara (ENF) |
Opinion | TRAN | DALUNDE Jakop (Verts/ALE) |
Activites
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2018/04/18
Results of vote in Parliament
- Results of vote in Parliament
- Debate in Parliament
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T8-0139/2018
summary
The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in regard to the implementation of the agency’s budget for the 2016 financial year and to approve the closure of the accounts for the financial year in question. Noting that the Court of Auditors has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2016 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular, Parliament adopted by 558 votes to 123 with 14 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: Agency’s financial statements: the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2016 was EUR 193 398 000, representing an increase of 4.30 % compared with 2015. EUR 36 370 000 of the budget of the Agency derives from the Union budget and EUR 95 926 000 is revenue from fees and charges. Legality and regularity of transactions: Members noted that, according to the Court’s report, although in 2016 industry financed activities resulted in a deficit of EUR 7 600 000, budgetary results fluctuate over the years and the agency has accumulated EUR 52 000 000 surplus from this category of activity. They recalled that the Agency’s founding Regulation establishes that industry fees levied should be adequate to cover the Agency’s cost for the related certification activities and thus does not foresee an accumulated surplus. Budget and financial management: budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2016 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99 %, representing an increase of 1 % compared to 2015. The payments appropriations execution rate was stable at 91 %. The commitments for other administrative expenditure increased by EUR 2 140 000 in absolute terms to EUR 24 060 000, representing 16.5 % of the overall percentage of the Agency’s budget. This increase is largely due to the costs of the Agency’s move to its new premises on 6 June 2016. Commitments and carry-overs: the budget implementation rate in relation to the execution of payments against amounts carried over to 2016 was above 96 % (compared to 97 % in 2015), above the Commission target of 95%. Carry-overs are often justified and do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation. Members also made a series of observations regarding procurement, staff policy, internal audits and controls and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests: in 2016 the agency filled all available posts authorised in its establishment plan. Members appreciated the fact that the agency did not receive any complaints, law-suits or reported cases linked to hiring or firing of staff in 2016. However, they regretted that the gender imbalance within the agency management board members, with a ratio of 78 % to 22 %; the agency was called on provide information on its review of its staff “Policy on impartiality and independence: prevention and mitigation of Conflict of Interest”. Members emphasised the need to establish an independent body with sufficient budgetary resources to support whistleblowers wishing to disclose information on possible irregularities negatively impacting on the Union’s financial interests, while ensuring their confidentiality is protected. the headquarters agreement between the Agency and the host Member state has been finalised and came into effect on 17 August 2017. They also noted that a future decrease of the Agency’s revenue resulting from the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the Union is likely and might have a considerable impact on the Agency business plan. A working group should be established to look into this matter; in light of the revision of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the role played by new technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems, must be taken fully into consideration when new competences are assigned to the agency. Members insisted on the importance of allocating adequate funding to the agency to ensure the successful uptake of these new responsibilities and adequate staffing with qualified personnel in order to fulfil additional tasks. Lastly, Parliament urges the Commission and Member States to provide the necessary resources for the new and strengthened competences concerning, among others, risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones, environmental related topics and the certification and registration of unmanned aircraft.
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2018/03/22
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
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A8-0066/2018
summary
The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Bart STAES (Greens/EFA, BE) on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the financial year 2016. The committee called on the European Parliament to grant the Executive Director of the Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the agency’s budget for the financial year 2016. Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2016 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Members called on Parliament to approve the closure of the Agency’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: Agency’s financial statements: the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2016 was EUR 193 398 000, representing an increase of 4.30 % compared with 2015. EUR 36 370 000 of the budget of the Agency derives from the Union budget and EUR 95 926 000 is revenue from fees and charges. Legality and regularity of transactions: Members noted that, according to the Court’s report, although in 2016 industry financed activities resulted in a deficit of EUR 7 600 000, budgetary results fluctuate over the years and the Agency has accumulated EUR 52 000 000 surplus from this category of activity. They recalled that the Agency’s founding Regulation establishes that industry fees levied should be adequate to cover the Agency’s cost for the related certification activities and thus does not foresee an accumulated surplus. Budget and financial management: budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2016 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99 %, representing an increase of 1 % compared to 2015. The payments appropriations execution rate was stable at 91 %. The commitments for other administrative expenditure increased by EUR 2 140 000 in absolute terms to EUR 24 060 000, representing 16.5 % of the overall percentage of the Agency’s budget. This increase is largely due to the costs of the Agency’s move to its new premises on 6 June 2016. Commitments and carry-overs: the budget implementation rate in relation to the execution of payments against amounts carried over to 2016 was above 96 % (compared to 97 % in 2015), above the Commission target of 95%. Carry-overs are often justified and do not necessarily indicate weaknesses in budget planning and implementation. Members also made a series of observations regarding procurement, staff policy, internal audits and controls and the prevention and management of conflicts of interests. The report observed that in 2016 the Agency filled all available posts authorised in its establishment plan. Members appreciated the fact that the Agency did not receive any complaints, law-suits or reported cases linked to hiring or firing of staff in 2016. However, they regretted that the gender imbalance within the Agency management board members, with a ratio of 78 % to 22 %. Members stressed that concerning the seat of the Agency, the headquarters agreement between the Agency and the host Member state has been finalised and came into effect on 17 August 2017. They also noted that a future decrease of the Agency’s revenue resulting from the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the Union is likely and might have a considerable impact on the Agency business plan. A working group should be established to look into this matter. Members reiterated that the revision of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency envisages broadening the scope of competence of the Agency and that, accordingly, the role played by new technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems, must be taken fully into consideration when new competences are assigned. They stressed the importance of allocating adequate funding to the Agency to ensure the successful uptake of these new responsibilities and adequate staffing with qualified personnel in order to fulfil additional tasks. They also called for an acceleration of the entry into force of the European regulation on drones. Lastly, the Commission and Member States are urged to provide necessary resources for the new and reinforced competences concerning, among others, risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones, environmental related topics and the certification and registration of unmanned aircraft.
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A8-0066/2018
summary
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2018/03/20
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
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2017/09/13
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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2017/06/26
Non-legislative basic document published
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COM(2017)0365
summary
PURPOSE: presentation by the Commission of the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2016, as part of the 2016 discharge procedure. Analysis of the accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 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. This Commission document concerns the EU's consolidated accounts for the year 2016 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 cash flows of the EU institutions and bodies, including the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), 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 the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The European Aviation Safety Agency: the EASA, which is located in Cologne (DE), was established by Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council and its role is to maintain a high uniform level of civil aviation safety in Europe and to ensure the proper development of civil aviation safety. As regards the Agency’s accounts, these are presented in detail in the document on the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for 2016: Commitment appropriations: available: EUR 220 million; made: EUR 160 million. Payment appropriations: available: EUR 226 million; made: EUR 144 million. For further details on expenditure, please refer to the final accounts of the EASA.
- DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/budget_en', 'title': 'Budget'}, OETTINGER Günther
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COM(2017)0365
summary
Documents
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2017)0365
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A8-0066/2018
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T8-0139/2018
Amendments | Dossier |
27 |
2017/2158(DEC)
2018/01/26
TRAN
9 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Reiterates the need to ensure the independence of Agency’s staff and external experts; in this context welcomes the ongoing efforts to ensure proper prevention and management of conflicts of interest, taking into account remarks by the Parliament; notes that the Agency provided relevant training to its staff, maintains a Conflict of Interest Register and continues the review of its “Policy on impartiality and independence: prevention and mitigation of Conflict of Interest” in order to further improve the internal process for the completion, review and update of Declarations of Interest for the Agency’s staff members; welcomes the fact that more than 80% of EASA staff were trained on anti-fraud matters by the end of 2016, and encourages the Agency to aim for training 100% of EASA staff; also notes that the Agency produced a Code of Conduct including a policy on Conflict of Interest and a declaration of interest for the external experts supporting the work of the Agency;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Reiterates the need to ensure the independence of Agency’s staff and external experts; in this context welcomes the ongoing efforts to ensure proper prevention and management of conflicts of interest, taking into account remarks by the Parliament; notes that the Agency provided relevant training to its staff, maintains a Conflict of Interest Register and continues the review of its “Policy on impartiality and independence: prevention and mitigation of Conflict of Interest” in order to further improve the internal process for the completion, review and update of Declarations of Interest for the Agency’s staff members; also notes that the Agency produced a Code of Conduct including a policy on Conflict of Interest and a declaration of interest for the external experts supporting the work of the Agency, and that this Code of Conduct has helped improve the quality of the Agency's work and ensure better management of its duties;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Notes the results of the third benchmarking exercise on the Agency’s posts, which showed that 12,5 % of the jobs were dedicated to administrative support and coordination, 81,0 % to operational tasks and 6,4 % to neutral (finance/control and linguistics) tasks; is pleased that a breakdown of staff by category and sector, as well as by source of funding for their activities (fees and charges versus Union subsidies), has been included in the 2016 Annual Report, which shows that that 60,4 % of posts, including 50,1 % of operational posts, are funded from fees and charges and 33,8 % of posts are funded from the Union subsidy; notes that for the second consecutive year the Agency has achieved full occupancy of all posts according to the establishment plan; notes a discrepancy in this establishment plan between the different AD and AST posts authorised under the EU budget and the posts actually filled, and calls upon the Agency to address this imbalance;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Reiterates that the revision of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 envisages broadening the scope of competence of the Agency and that, accordingly, the role played by new technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems, must be taken fully into consideration when new competences are assigned; stresses the importance of allocating adequate funding to the Agency to ensure the successful uptake of these new responsibilities, as well as adequate staffing in order to fulfil additional tasks;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Reiterates that the revision of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 envisages broadening the scope of competence of the Agency and that, accordingly, the role played by new technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft systems, must be taken fully into consideration when new competences are assigned; stresses the importance of allocating adequate funding to the Agency to ensure the successful uptake of these new responsibilities
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Hopes to see an acceleration of the entry into force of the European regulation on drones; highlights the Agency's vital role in ensuring the highest possible level of aviation safety throughout Europe; stresses that, in the context of fast-developing civil aviation services, exemplified by the increasingly widespread use of drones, the Agency should be given the necessary financial, material and human resources to successfully perform its regulatory and executive tasks in the fields of safety and environmental protection, but without compromising its independence and impartiality;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 a (new) 8 a. Welcomes the political agreement on the revision of the common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency1a, as agreed in November 2017 by the Parliament, the Council and Commission; urges the Commission and Member States to provide necessary resources for the new and reinforced competences concerning, among others, risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones, environmental related topics and the certification and registration of unmanned aircraft; _________________ 1aRegulation COM(2015) 613: Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Safety Agency, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 b (new) 8 b. Welcomes the active role of the Agency in the call for proposals under the Horizont 2020 programme; urges the Agency to remain active in the field of research and development;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 c (new) 8 c. Supports the establishment of a working group to look into the potential risks and impact of Brexit; recommends the Agency to work closely together with the other European Institutions regarding this matter; proposes that the Agency presents the outcomes of this working group to the European Parliament in due time;
source: 616.757
2018/03/02
CONT
18 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18 a. Expresses the need to establish an independent disclosure, advice and referral body with sufficient budgetary resources, in order to help whistle-blowers use the right channels to disclose their information on possible irregularities affecting the financial interests of the Union, while protecting their confidentiality and offering needed support and advice;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21.
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21 a. Calls on the Agency to take immediate steps to examine possible conflicts of interest so as better to comply with transparency and accountability requirements;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Notes that the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) performed two audit engagements in 2016 whereby they assessed the design and the effective and efficient implementation of the management and internal controls systems of the Rulemaking and the European Plan for Aviation Safety (EPAS) activities; notes with satisfaction that during the audit of rulemaking,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26 a. Welcomes the Agency’s 2018-2022 European Plan for Aviation Safety (EPAS), with the purpose to provide a transparent framework for safety aviation and to identify major risks and defining the actions to be taken; furthermore calls upon the Member States to develop and implement increased safety programs and share best practices;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 31. Highlights that, according to the Court’s report, 70 % of the Agency’s 2016 budget was financed by fees from the aviation industry and 30 % from the Union funds; stresses that a future decrease of the Agency’s revenue resulting from the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the Union is possible and might have a considerable impact on the Agency business plan; calls on the Agency to work in close cooperation with the Commission regarding Brexit negotiations in order to be sufficiently prepared to minimize any negative operational or financial impact that may occur;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 31. Highlights that, according to
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 31. Highlights that, according to the Court’s report, 70 % of the Agency’s 2016 budget was financed by fees from the aviation industry and 30 % from the Union funds; stresses that a future decrease of the Agency’s revenue resulting from the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the Union is
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Aviation Safety Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 4 #
Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Calls for the continued reduction as far as possible in the level of committed appropriations to be carried over to the following year by means of all available measures, for example by adopting best practices used in other agencies;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that the work-life balance should be part of the staff policy of the Agency; stresses that the budget spent for team building and social and sport activities amounts to EUR 176 207,54; notes that the Agency organised 14,5 days of team building events; observes that the average number of sick leave is 8 days per staff; calls on the Agency to examine that number and the reasons behind it, with a view especially to determining whether workplace stress is a major factor;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Stresses that the work-life balance should be part of the staff policy of the Agency;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14.
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Deeply regrets the gender imbalance within the Agency management board members; acknowledges from the Agency that the representatives are nominated directly and independently by the Member States and the industry and are therefore not under the control of the Agency itself; regrets that by reference to the number of all posts occupied on 31 December 2016, gender balance has not been met since the ratio is 34 % female to
source: 618.237
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