Awaiting committee decision
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
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Lead | CONT | STAES Bart (Verts/ALE) | SARVAMAA Petri (EPP), LIBERADZKI Bogusław (S&D), ALI Nedzhmi (ALDE), DE JONG Dennis (GUE/NGL), VALLI Marco (EFD), KAPPEL Barbara (ENF) |
Opinion | TRAN | FERBER Markus (EPP) |
Activites
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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 Railway Agency (ERA). 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 Railway Agency (ERA), 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 ERA. The European Railway Agency: the Agency, which is located in Lille-Valenciennes (FR), was created by Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Its aim is to enhance the level of interoperability of railway systems and develop a common approach to safety in order to contribute to creating a more competitive European railway sector with a high level of 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 28 million; made: EUR 28 million. Payment appropriations: available: EUR 30 million; made: EUR 28 million. For further details on expenditure, please refer to the final accounts of the ERA.
- 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
Amendments | Dossier |
26 |
2017/2162(DEC)
2018/01/26
TRAN
11 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Regrets that the target of 95 % for the execution of payment within the set deadline of 30 days has not been reached; notes that the reasons for the delays in payment remain the same as in 2015, i.e. delays in processing invoices by the Agency´s staff, shortage of cash and disagreement with suppliers on the content of the invoices; asks the Agency to adopt remedial actions in order to reach the 95 % target within a reasonable period;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 12 12. Notes that, in 2016, the Agency continued the implementation of the action plan defined in the Agency Antifraud Strategy, by organising tailor made training sessions on fraud prevention; welcomes that a comprehensive revision of the Agency's rules on Conflict of Interest (Col) has been carried out in 2017; further notes that, within the framework of the policy on conflict of interest for the Administrative Board (AB), the Agency published the CVs and the declaration of interest of AB Members; notes, however, that some CVs and declarations of interest are missing; requests that CVs and declarations of interests are published without delay after the appointment of AB Members;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 12 12. Notes that, in 2016, the Agency continued the implementation of the action plan defined in the Agency Antifraud
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Regrets that corrective actions related to the Court’s comments of 2013 regarding the double location of the Agency in Lille and Valenciennes have not yet been implemented;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Regrets that corrective actions related to the Court’s comments of 2013 regarding the double location of the Agency in Lille and Valenciennes have not yet been implemented; further
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Notes the results of the annual benchmarking exercise focusing on the efficiency of internal resources showing a decrease of the percentage of staff assigned to administrative tasks (from 23 % to 18 %) and an increase in the percentage of staff assigned to operational task (from 65 % to 70 %), while the staff assigned to control and financial tasks was around 12 %; regrets, however, that the evolution of percentage is mainly due to a correction in the assignment of staff into the various categories;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Highlights the Agency’s strategic role in improving the competitiveness of rail with other modes of transport and helping to develop an efficiently operating single European rail area without borders by reducing administrative and technical barriers, by encouraging market entry and ensuring non-discrimination, by spending public money more efficiently on public rail transport services and by ensuring better governance of the infrastructure; welcomes the focused programme on the cleaning-up of national rules in order to reduce the impact or eliminate the existing barriers between Member States;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 9 9. Highlights the Agency's role in ensuring the safety and interoperability of the European rail system, revitalising the rail sector and improving the quality of rail transport services; supports the
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 9 9. Highlights the Agency's role in ensuring the safety and interoperability of European rail system in order to contribute to creating a more competitive European railway sector; supports the Commission’s vision of a European railway system that leads the world on safety performance;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 10 10. Welcomes the Agency's role in the follow-up of the development, testing and implementation of European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS), as well as in evaluating the specific ERTMS projects; welcomes the start of negotiations between the EU and Switzerland within the framework of the Agreement on the Carriage of Goods and Passengers by Rail and Road with a view to Switzerland's participation in the European Union Agency for railways; stresses that, as the Agency receives greater responsibilities, it will need to be given the necessary financial, material and human resources to perform
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 11 11. Recalls the European Parliament's position in budgetary procedure for recovering total amounts relocated from the Connecting Europe Facility to the European Fund for Strategic Investments; stresses that funding for the completion of the single European rail area should be safeguarded with a view to modernising and expanding rail infrastructures in the outlying regions of the Union also; stresses further that the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) should be brought forward in order to further implement common technical standards and maximise the benefits in terms of interoperability;
source: 616.817
2018/03/02
CONT
15 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15 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 16 16. Takes note
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 6 Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Regrets however that the Agency does not use the input indicators to further improve the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and recommends that this should change;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency is now certified ISO 9001;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. Welcomes the adoption of the Agency Regulation, which entered into force on 15 June 2016; notes with satisfaction that by the end of the transitional period (16 June 2019), this expected strategic change will transform the Agency from a mere policy preparation and dissemination role into an authority working directly for the industry as regards authorisations for safety certifications and rolling stock; acknowledges from the Agency that this transition is expected to deliver huge benefits in terms of reduced costs;
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Railway Agency (now European Union Agency for Railways)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges that it is not in the Agency’s power to decide to centralize all the Agency’s operations into one location; recalls that when it was created in 2004, the Agency’s double seat (Lille/Valenciennes) was decided by the Council; takes note of the analysis made by the Agency on the budgetary impact of having a double seat and of its recommendation to keep that double seat; calls on the Council to reconsider its previous decision and opt instead for centralising all the Agency’s operations into one location;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Acknowledges that it is not in the Agency’s power to decide to centralize all the Agency’s operations into one location; recalls that when it was created in 2004, the Agency’s double seat (Lille/Valenciennes) was decided by the Council; takes note of the Court’s remark about the possible savings that could be achieved with a single location solution; notes, however, the analysis made by the Agency on the budgetary impact of having a double seat and of its recommendation to keep that double seat;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes with concern that 62 % of its staff is male and 38 % is female; re
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes with regret that 62 % of its staff is male and 38 % is female, an almost two to one imbalance; recalls that, regarding the gender balance in the management and Executive Boards, the members are proposed and appointed by the Member States but recommends that this issue should nevertheless be addresses as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Stresses that the work-life balance should be part of the staff policy of the Agency; stresses that the budget spent on well-being activities amounts to EUR 228,7 per staff and a staff away day was organised in 2016; observes that the average number of sick leave per staff is 3,2 days, well below the average in most other agencies;
source: 618.260
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