2019/2098(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Encourages all JHA agencies to consider their registration under EMAS in order to improve their environmental performance;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Regrets the gender imbalance in some agencies; calls on all JHA agencies to work on a balanced distribution on all levels of staff and report to the discharge authority on implemented measures and progress;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Urges all JHA agencies to implement a clear anti-harassment policy to prevent and firmly condemn any such behaviour within their organisations;

Amendment 13 #

Pernando BARRENA ARZA, Clare DALY, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Urges all JHA agencies to take measures to ensure full compliance with Union transparency rules and fundamental rights standards;

Amendment 2 #

Caterina CHINNICI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes note that the Court found that the payments underlying the accounts were legal and regular for all agencies except for EASO, for which a qualified opinion was issued due to irregularities on public procurement procedures and related payments; notes that corrective actions launched by EASO in response to the Court’s findings for the year 2017 regarding its governance and internal control arrangements were still ongoing at the end of 2018; highlights especially that the majority of vacancies opened in 2017 were still not filled at the end of 2018; notes that the Court has identified a horizontal trend across agencies in the use of external staff hired in IT consultancy roles; calls for this dependency on external recruitment in this important area to be addressed; deplores that the legality and regularity of payments only slowly improved in 2018 due to the lack of proper management attention; regrets that a major procurement procedure (EUR 50 million) carried out by EASO in 2018 was again irregular due to major procedural weaknesses; acknowledges that the new Executive Director has already taken actions to improve the management of EASO and shows strong commitment to address the organisational flaws within EASO as a matter of priority;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 4 #

Loránt VINCZE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Deplores the 21 % reduction in the budget of Eurojust compared to 2017 despite the increased amount of cases handled; is extremely concerned that in the context of Eurojust’s constantly growing workload, and the emergence of newly emerging threats to Union internal security, such as terrorism, cybercrime and migrant smuggling, the decrease in financing proposed by the Commission in the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework would hamper Eurojust in fulfilling its role and would weaken an essential element of the Union's security chain;

Amendment 5 #

Caterina CHINNICI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes that the Court has identified a horizontal trend across agencies in the use of external staff hired in IT consultancy roles; calls for this dependency on external recruitment in this important area to be addressed; recalls the need to internalize IT services as much as possible, as current excessive outsourcing poses a serious risk for the protection of sensitive personal data;

Amendment 6 #

Pernando BARRENA ARZA, Clare DALY, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Deplores the lack of ‘emphasis on the matter’ with regard to JHA agencies, with the exception of FRONTEX; notes that FRONTEX reimbursed EUR 60 million of equipment-related expenditure without proper ex ante controls; stresses that ex ante controls are rendered ineffective if expenses are reimbursed without prior verification of whether the expenses are justified; notes as well that FRONTEX did not carry out ex post verifications to compensate the weakness of its ex ante procedure; considers this proceeding highly problematic and calls for an immediate action to resolve this problem and to prevent it in the future, particularly in light of its significant budget increase in the coming years; urges FRONTEX to revisit its financing scheme for equipment- related expenditure and to significantly strengthen its internal controls to ensure that reimbursements are granted for expenses actually incurred;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Deplores the lack of~~Notes that the Court did not address ‘emphasis on the matter’ with regard to JHA agencies, with the exception of FRONTEX; notes that FRONTEX reimbursed EUR 60 million of equipment- related expenditure without proper ex ante controls; stresses that ex ante controls are rendered ineffective if expenses are reimbursed without prior verification of whether the expenses are justified; notes as well that FRONTEX did not carry out ex post verifications to compensate the weakness of its ex ante procedure; considers this proceeding problematic, particularly in light of its significant budget increase in the coming years; urges FRONTEX to revisit its financing scheme for equipment- related expenditure and to significantly strengthen its internal controls to ensure that reimbursements are granted for expenses actually incurred;

Amendment 8 #

Alex AGIUS SALIBA, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Milan BRGLEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Marianne VIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that public procurement remains the main error prone area for all EU decentralised agencies, including those in the JHA area; highlights in particular the illegitimate expansion of contract duration, financial inconsistencies between framework and specific contracts, over- dependency on specific contractors, and non-justified use of negotiated procurement procedures; stresses that, because the agencies rely on public funding, any public procurement management weakness is ultimately detrimental to their efficiency and the achievement of their objectives; calls therefore on the affected JHA agencies, i.e. CEPOL, EASO, EMCDDA, eu-LISA, Eurojust, Europol, and FRONTEX , to improve their public procurement procedures with a view to ~~comply~~ensure full compliance with the applicable rules and t~~hereby achieve the most economically advantageous purchases~~o achieve the appropriate balance between the three pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental, while respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination.;

Amendment 9 #

Morten PETERSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Notes the increasing recruitment of temporary agents as compared to contract agents in the EU agencies; considers that the sensitivity of information accessible to the staff of Agencies in the JHA field requires a strict policy of confidentiality, in particular with regard to the staff recruitment and management;

source: 644.917

2019/12/13 EMPL 15 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Guido REIL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Underlines the important role of~~Notes that there has been a very large increase in the number of EU agencies sin preparing and implementing EU policies, especially regarding tasks of a technical, scientific, operational and/or regulatory nature; in this context appreciates the importance and quality of the work performed by the fource 2000; considers this to be problematic from a democratic point of view, as some of the agencies carry out public administration tasks, the performance of which has a major impact on citizens, but the agencies are independent of the Member States and thus lack democratic legitimacy; points out that between 2000 and 2013 the staffing levels of the EU agencies increased fourfold and their allocation from the EU budget increased eightfold, and that in 2018 a combined total of EUR 4.2 billion was allocated to all the agencies (excluding the SRB), i.e. 20% more than in 2017; notes that, in the social and employment fields, different agencies uand~~er the remit of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (Cedefop, Eurofound, EU-OSHA and ETF)~~ bodies work in parallel, with overlapping remits and powers; notes, in particular, the overlaps between the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the substantial overlap between the European Training Foundation and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Recognises the progress made by the agencies in relation to exchange of information and cooperation and stresses the need for further measures and improved cooperation to help reduce costs, increase efficiency and achieve stronger synergies between the agencies;

Amendment 11 #

Alex AGIUS SALIBA, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Milan BRGLEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Marianne VIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Welcomes the creation of the European Labour Authority (ELA), whose founding regulation was put forward in March 2018 and which started its operation in October 2019; highlights the need to ensure that sufficient financial resources are set aside for its establishment; insists that funding cannot be accomplished by redeploying allocations from the other employment and social affairs agencies and budgetary lines and that the ELA, being a new body, requires fresh resources to run smoothly; stresses in particular that the establishment of ELA should not result in a reduction of resources and capabilities for EURES, which plays a pivotal role in facilitating labour mobility of Union citizens and offers services and partnerships for jobseekers and employers, Public Employment Services, the social partners and the local authorities; highlights therefore the need to maintain clear and separate budget lines for both ELA and EURES;

Amendment 12 #

Alex AGIUS SALIBA, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Milan BRGLEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Marianne VIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)

4e. Points out that the European Labour Authority (ELA) will help ensure that EU rules on labour mobility and social security coordination are enforced effectively and fairly, will assist national authorities in cooperating to enforce these rules, and make it easier for citizens and businesses to benefit from the internal market; is of the opinion that, although the four agencies (EUROFOUND, CEDEFOP, ETF and EU-OSHA) are predominantly research-centred, they could usefully support and contribute to the work of the European Labour Authority.

Amendment 13 #

Marc BOTENGA, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Encourages the Union agencies to consider adopting a fundamental rights strategy, including a reference to fundamental rights in a code of conduct that could define the duties of their staff and training for staff; setting up mechanisms ensuring that any violation of fundamental rights be detected and reported, and that risks of such violations be swiftly brought to the attention of the main bodies of the agency concerned; establishing, whenever relevant, the position of a fundamental rights officer, reporting directly to the management board to ensure a certain degree of independence vis-a-vis other staff, in order to ensure that threats to fundamental rights are immediately addressed, and that a constant upgrading of the fundamental rights policy within the organisation takes place; developing a regular dialogue with civil society organisations and relevant international organisations on fundamental rights issues; making compliance with fundamental rights a central component of the terms of reference of the collaboration of the agency concerned with external actors, including in particular members of national administrations with whom they interact at operational level;

Amendment 14 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Recommends that all agencies focus on public communication and publicity as their existence and activities are often not recognised among citizens;

Amendment 15 #

Marc BOTENGA, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Agencies Network to develop a general policy to not replace permanent staff by more expensive external consultants.

Amendment 2 #

Alex AGIUS SALIBA, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Milan BRGLEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines the important role of agencies in preparing and implementing EU policies, especially regarding tasks of a technical, scientific, operational and/or regulatory nature; in this context appreciates the importance and quality of the work performed by the fourat the role played by the agencies should be more cost- and resource-efficient; regards the number of EU agencies (which reached 43 in 2019), as well as the number of agencies under the remit of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (Cedefop, Eurofound, EU-OSHA and ETF), to which ELA has also been added in 2019) as excessive;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Appreciates that all the agencies, under the remit of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, have delivered their objectives and work programmes, despite inadequate human resources and budget constraints; is of the opinion that such challenges will pose a risk in the future to the agencies’ tasks and stresses the importance of ensuring adequate staff and financial resources allowing the agencies to continue implementing their work programmes with a very high activity completion rate;

Amendment 4 #

Marc BOTENGA, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Highlights that transparency and citizens' awareness of the existence of the agencies are essential for their democratic accountability; considers that usability and ease of use of agency resources and data are of paramount importance; calls therefore for an assessment of how data and resources are currently presented and made available and of the degree to which citizens find them easy to identify, recognise and use;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Expresses its satisfaction that, according to the Annual report of the European Court of Auditors on EU agencies for the financial year 2018, the Court of Auditors issued unqualified audit opinions on the reliability of all agencies’ accounts; notes that the Court issued unqualified audit opinions on the legality and regularity of the revenue underlying all agencies’ accounts; notes further that the Court issued unqualified audit opinions on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the agencies’ accounts, except for EASO;deleted

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Welcomes and e~~Encourages ~~the~~ cooperation among the agencies within and beyond the framework of the EU Agencies Network (EUAN), ~~which has an important role to identify and promote possible~~in order to increase their efficiency ~~gains, to~~, add value ~~and to~~, ensure efficient communication between the agencies and relevant stakeholders; appreciates and encourages the close collaboration among the agencies within the remit of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs in order to ensure synergies, complementarity and sharing resourcescomplementarity and sharing of resources and avoid duplication and waste;

Amendment 7 #

Alex AGIUS SALIBA, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Milan BRGLEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Marianne VIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes with concern that most of the observations the Court made in its Annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2018 concern shortcomings in public procurement procedures, as was the case in previous years; encourages the agencies to further improve their public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules and best value for money procurements; notes furthermore that with regard to sound financial management the Court’s observations refer to excessive dependency on contractors, external consultancy and interims;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Supports the Court’s conclusions that the use of framework contracts must not hinder a fair and competitive procurement procedure and that competition on price must take into account all major price elements; is of the opinion that joint procurement procedures or inter-institutional framework contracts, based on a market analysis and feasibility proof for the joint procedure, could help achieve efficiency gains and economies of scale for the agencies and could be particularly useful for the newly established agencies, such as ELA;

Amendment 9 #

Alex AGIUS SALIBA, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Milan BRGLEZ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Marianne VIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Welcomes the Commission’s evaluation report (published in 2019) of the EU Agencies working in the employment and social affairs policy field (EUROFOUND, CEDEFOP, ETF, and EU-OSHA) on the relevance, effectiveness, coherence and EU value- added of the agencies; stresses that the European Commission has identified several areas for improvement, but overall its evaluation report is very positive stating that the agencies have fulfilled their tasks with a high added-value and value-for-money, and that their work has been relevant and useful for their stakeholders;

source: 644.905

2020/02/03 CONT 74 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard to the Rapid case review "Reporting on sustainability: A stocktake of EU Institutions and Agencies' by the European Court of Auditors"

Amendment 10 #

Jean-François JALKH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes with concern that for the 32 decentralised Union agencies, the 2018 budgets amounted to around EUR 2,59 billion in commitment appropriations, representing an increase of approximately 10,22 % compared to 2017, and to EUR 2,36 billion in payment appropriations, showing an increase of 5,13 % in comparison to 2017; notes moreover that of the EUR 2,36 billion, some EUR 1,70 billion were financed from the general budget of the Union, representing 72,16 % of the agencies’ total financing in 2018 (72,08 % in 2017); acknowledges furthermore that some EUR 657 million were financed by fees and charges and by direct contributions from participating countries;

Amendment 11 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Deems it questionable to operate 32 decentralised agencies headquartered across all the Member States; authorizes the Commission to perform a feasibility study in order to research the possibility of merging certain underfinanced and highly expert agencies with a similar field of operation; recalls concerns that merger of decentralised agencies would create an all-powerful Agency, and that the very idea of decentralisation would be diminished; opposes such claims with remark, that the creation of an agency with a wider range of operation will bring simplicity and effective administration; further notes that the merger and setting- up of shared synergies among several agencies would save significant amount of finances, which may then be used for funding the increased optimized remuneration coefficient needed in several Agencies, especially those in the Member States which joined the EU in 2004, in order to ensure the attractiveness of the vacant positions in those Agencies;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1

Main risks and recommendations identified by the Court

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes with satisfaction that according to its report, the Court considers the overall risk to the reliability of ~~accounts to be low for all agencies, since the~~ agencies’ accounts ~~are~~, based on international~~ly accepted~~ accounting standards, ~~and considering the fact~~to be low, and that only a few material errors arose in the past; notes, however, that the increasing number of delegation agreements with the Commission assigning specific additional tasks and revenue to agencies represents a challenge in terms of the consistency and transparency of the agencies’ accounting treatment;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that according to its report, the Court considers the overall risk to the legality and regularity of revenue underlying the agencies’ accounts to be low for the majority of agencies, and to be medium for the partly self-financed agencies where specific regulations are applicable to charging and collecting fees and contributions from economic operators or cooperating countries; notes that the Court’s considers the overall risk to the legality and regularity of transactions underlying the agencies’ accounts to be medium, varying from low to high for specific budget titles; notes that the risk for Title I (staff expenditure) is generally low, for Title II (administrative expenditure) the risk is considered to be medium, and for Title III (operational expenditure) the risk is considered to be low to high, depending on the agencies and the nature of their operational expenditure; points out that high risk sources usually derive from procurement and grant payments which should be taken into account when the Court decides on a sample of future checks and audits;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Observes that according to the Court’s report the risk to sound financial management is medium and is mainly identified in the areas of information technology (IT) and public procurement; regrets that IT and public procurement remain areas prone to error; reiterates its call on the Commission to provide for additional training and the exchange of good practices for Agencies' procurement teams;

Amendment 16 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the need to have separate administrative structures and procedures for all agencies constitutes an inherent risk to administrative efficiency; calls on the agencies to make additional efforts into widening the scope of their shared services thus improving the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their procedures;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the need to have separate administrative structures and procedures for all agencies constitutes an inherent risk to administrative inefficiency and urges agencies to strengthen their thematic bundling and cooperation according to their fields of policy to ensure harmonisation and efficient sharing of resources;

Amendment 18 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Monika HOHLMEIER, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Emphasizes on the problem with dual operational and administrative headquarters that do not offer operational added value for the agencies and encourages further action to limit the inefficiencies; encourages the agencies to co-locate concentrating on their specific policy fields; notes that the Commission is responsible for providing proposals regarding the possible mergers, closures and/or transfers of tasks;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes, according to the Court’s 9. report, that, following the observations raised in previous years and due to the known Union’s policy developments in certain areas, the risk identified in relation to the level of cooperation of Member States is high for some agencies, namely the European Borders and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA); reiterates its call on the Commission to put these issues on the agenda of the Council to help strengthening Member States' cooperation;

Amendment 2 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- Having regard to the European Court of Auditors Rapid case review “Reporting on sustainability: A stocktake of EU Institutions and Agencies”

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Acknowledges that the effective, efficient and error-free work of the agencies is closely tied to the adequate level of funding needed to cover their operational and administrative activities;

Amendment 21 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Notes the Network’s reply in support of Parliament’s invitation to provide the Union institutions with constructive feedback in the framework of the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework negotiations and that each agency was invited to perform an analysis of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 proposal by the Commission; acknowledges the high importance of the Multiannual Financial Framework on the budgeting of the agencies and encourages them to continue exploring new sources of financing in addition to the existing Union budget contributions;

Amendment 22 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Encourages the agencies and the Commission to apply the principle of performance-based budgeting, to consistently seek the most effective ways to provide added value, and to further explore possible improvements in efficiency in relation to resources management; notes the Court’s suggestion that a publication of agency budgets by activity would allow linking resources to the activities they are used for and would assist for easier budget allocation, efficacy and limit unnecessary expenses;

Amendment 23 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Encourages the agencies and the Commission to ~~apply~~further develop and implement the principle of performance- based budgeting, to consistently seek the most effective ways to provide added value, and to further explore possible improvements in efficiency in relation to resources management; notes the Court’s suggestion that a publication of agency budgets by activity would allow linking resources to the activities they are used for;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Notes with satisfaction that some agencies cooperate effectively according to their thematic grouping, for exeample the Justice and Home Affairs6 agencies and the European Supervisory Authorities7; encourages other agencies also to increase cooperation with each other whenever possible, not only in establishing shared services and synergies, but in their common policy areas as well; notes that a majority of agencies do focus and strive on further enhancing synergies and sharing resources; notes that the Network has established an online catalogue of shared services, mainly IT services, and that in 2018, a pilot has been developed to monitor the use and benefit of the shared services which has been extended in 2019 to all share services; 6. European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), European Agency for the Operational Management of Large- Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), European Asylum Support Office (EASO), European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE),European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), European Police College (CEPOL), European Police Office (Europol), European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), The European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust). 7. European Banking Authority (EBA), European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Amendment 25 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes from the Court’s report that in 2018, some progress was made in relation to the introduction of SYSPER II, the human resources management tool developed by the Commission, with five additional agencies signed up for it in 2018; notes, however, that the progress in its implementation varies, the project being complex and each agency having its own specificities; notes furthermore that good progress was made in relation to the introduction of e-procurement; nevertheless, a number of agencies are still in the process of introducing the tools of electronic invoicing as developed by the Commission;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes from the Court’s report that in 2018, some progress was made in relation to the introduction of SYSPER II, the human resources management tool developed by the Commission, with five additional agencies signed up for it in 2018; notes, however, that the progress in its implementation varies, the project being complex and each agency having its own specificities, thus invites the Commission to further assist and help making good use of the tool developed; notes furthermore that good progress was made in relation to the introduction of e- procurement;

Amendment 27 #

Sándor RÓNAI, Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Expresses its concern that only one EU agency, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, publishes a sustainability report; calls on all agencies to fully integrate sustainability in their reporting information; to publish sustainability reports covering both the running of the organisation and the operations carried out; and to ensure the credibility of sustainability reporting through auditing;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Underlines that the Authority, when carrying out its activities, needs to pay particular attention ensuring compatibility with Union law, respecting the principle of proportionality and complying with the fundamental principles of the internal market;

Amendment 29 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Gilles BOYER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Encourages the agencies to pursue the development of a real policy for the digitalization of its services

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority stresses the importance of further strengthening the ~~efficiency, effectiveness, economy and accountability of Union institutions, and of implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting~~concept of performance- based budgeting, accountability of Union institutions and good governance of human resources;

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Notes that in 2018 at the level of senior management an even gender balance was achieved by 6 agencies, good balance - by 4 agencies, but unbalanced representation existed in 14 agencies (in one of them only male representation); calls on the agencies to do more efforts for better gender balance among management staff;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)

16 c. Notes further that in 2018 within management boards an even gender balance existed for 3 agencies, good balance - for 6 agencies, but unbalanced representation existed for 21 agencies (in one of them only male representation); asks the member states and the relevant organisations which participate in management boards to consider ensuring a better gender balance when nominating their representatives to this bodies;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)

16 d. Observes that only one agency ESMA has reported an even gender balance for both seniormanagement staff and the management board; welcomes this achievement and encourages the other agencies to follow this good example;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Notes the information provided by the agencies concerning the gender balance among senior management and within Management Boards and the remarks of some agencies that they do not have senior management except the executive director; asks in this regard the agencies in future to present data for all categories of management staff;

Amendment 34 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Acknowledges the improvement of gender balance in the presidents, members and executive heads of agencies in recent years from 25% of women in 2012 to 34% in 2018; expresses its concern that gender imbalance is still very high in some agencies; calls on agencies to further improve the gender balance in management and board positions;

Amendment 35 #

Jean-François JALKH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that the 32 decentralised agencies employed 7 626 officials, temporary agents, contract agents and seconded national experts in 2018 (7 324 in 2017)~~, representing an~~; notes with concern this increase of 3,74 % compared with the previous year;

Amendment 36 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Gilles BOYER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Encourages the Agencies to develop a long term Human Resources Policy Framework which addresses the work-life balance of its staff, the lifelong guidance and career development, the gender balance, the teleworking, the non discrimination, the geographical balance and the recruitment and integration of disabled people;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Notes that some of the agencies are facing the challenge of insufficient staff, especially when new tasks are attributed without additional personnel envisaged for their implementation; the discharge authority is concerned specifically with the difficulties that some agencies experience in hiring qualified staff at given grades which hinders the overall performance of the agencies and stimulates the employment of external actors;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes from the Court’s report that, following its rapid case review in 2017 on how agencies implemented the commitment made to cut 5 % of staff in their establishment plans during 2014- 2018, it concluded that the 5 % reduction had been implemented, albeit with some delays; notes that some agencies have implemented a staff reduction of 10% and that several agencies report about insufficient staff to implement new tasks assigned, as well as about increased workload which creates a risk for the proper implementation of their objectives;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to review how the salary coefficient for staff working in different Member States is calculated with the aim of providing for a better geographical balance of the staff in agencies;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that the agencies ~~are highly visible in the Member States and~~ have significant influence on policy, decision making and programme implementation in areas of vital importance to European citizens, such as security, safety, health, research, economic affairs, freedom and justice; reiterates the importance of the tasks performed by the agencies and their direct impact on the daily lives of Union citizens; reiterates also the importance of the autonomy of the agencies, in particular of the regulatory agencies and those with the function of independent collection of information; recalls that the main reasons for establishing the agencies were for the purpose of operating Union systems, facilitating the implementation of the European Single Market and making independent technical or scientific assessments; welcomes in this regard the effective overall performance of the agencies~~, and the progress made in enhancing their visibility to European citizens~~;

Amendment 40 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Monika HOHLMEIER, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17 b. Recognises the steps towards establishing of the harassment-free environment taken by the Agencies, such as the additional training for the staff and the management as well as the introduction of the confidential councillors; encourages the agencies which have not yet introduced such steps to do so and agencies which have received harassment related complains to treat these as a priority;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17 b. Notes that the agencies continuously monitor and assess their staffing levels and their needs in terms of additional human and financial resources, and make relevant requests where necessary; acknowledges that such requests should be subject to a wider inter-institutional process, so that the level of resources corresponds to the tasks and responsibilities of the agencies;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)

17 c. Stresses the importance of a staff well-being policy; stresses that agencies should provide for decent, high quality working conditions for all staff;

Amendment 43 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes from the Court’s report that payments in its audit samples indicate a trend towards compensating shortages of own statutory staff by external staff, particularly IT consultants working in the premises of the agencies on times and means contracts and interim staff; notes that five agencies engaged in the use of interim workers provided by registered temporary work agencies, but did not respect all the rules laid down in both the Directive 2018/104/EC6 and in the respective national law, for instance as regards working conditions for interim workers; notes that three agencies used contracts on the provision of IT and other consultancy services which were formulated and/or implemented in a way that, in practice, might result in the assignment (‘mise à disposition’) of temporary agency workers instead of the provision of clearly specified services or products and as required by Directive 2008/104/EC7 , Staff Regulations and social and employment rules, exposing these agencies to legal and reputational risks; hereby reiterates its call on the Agencies to significantly lower their dependency on external staff in IT consultancy roles, hired through temporary work agencies, to limit any potential risks; _________________ 6Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work (OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, p. 9). 7Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work (OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, p. 9).

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes from the Court’s report that payments in its audit samples indicate a trend towards compensating shortages of own statutory staff by external staff, particularly IT consultants working in the premises of the agencies on times and means contracts and interim staff; notes that five agencies engaged in the use of interim workers provided by registered temporary work agencies, but did not respect all the rules laid down in both the Directive 20108/104/EC6 and in the respective national law, for instance as regards working conditions for interim workers; notes that three agencies used contracts on the provision of IT and other consultancy services which were formulated and/or implemented in a way that, in practice, might result in the assignment (‘mise à disposition’) of temporary agency workers instead of the provision of clearly specified services or products and as required by Directive 2008/104/EC7 , Staff Regulations and social and employment rules, exposing these agencies to legal and reputational risks; calls on the Network to introduce a general policy to not replace permanent staff by more expensive external consultants; _________________ 6Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work (OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, p. 9). 7Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on temporary agency work (OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, p. 9).

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Notes with concern findings by the Court that in some agencies interim workers have poorer working conditions as workers employed directly by the agency; recalls that according to Directive 2008/104/EC and several national labour laws, interim workers should work under the same working conditions as workers employed directly by the user undertaking; calls on the agencies concerned to analyse the working conditions of its interim workers and ensure that they are in line with Union and national labour law

Amendment 46 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Notes the very low number of whistleblower cases in EU agencies; calls to bring whistleblower protection policies of all EU agencies in line with Directive(EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Urges the agencies to effectively utilise their established internal rules or guidelines on whistleblowing and calls on the ones that are still in the process of adopting such rules to do it without unnecessary delay;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on all agencies to disclose their level of annual staff turnover, average absence from work due to a sick leave and to clearly indicate the positions which are ~~effectively~~ occupied byon 31 December of the relevant ~~financial~~ year, in order to ensure inter- agency comparability;

Amendment 49 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Mikuláš PEKSA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Notes with concern that low correction coefficients applied to staff salaries create difficult situations that may hamper an agency's ability to effectively perform its daily duties and lead to high levels of staff turnover; stresses that Agencies located in countries where a low correction coefficient is applied should receive further support from the Commission for implementing complementary measures in order to make them more attractive to current and prospective staff, such as establishing European schools and other facilities; calls on the Commission to assess the impact and viability of applying salary correction coefficients in the future;

Amendment 5 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that the agencies are highly visible in the Member States and have significant influence on policy, decision making and programme implementation in areas of vital importance to European citizens, such as security, safety, health, research, economic affairs, freedom and justice; reiterates the importance of the tasks performed by the agencies and their direct impact on the daily lives of Union citizens; reiterates also the importance of the autonomy of the agencies, in particular of the regulatory agencies and those with the function of independent collection of information; recalls that the main reasons for establishing the agencies were for the purpose of operating Union systems, facilitating the implementation of the European Single Market and making independent technical or scientific assessments; welcomes in this regard the effective overall performance of the agencies, and the progress made in enhancing their visibility to European citizens, even if recognising the need for further improvement;

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Notes that most agencies do not publish their vacancy notices on the website of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO); takes note of the concern regarding high translation costs; welcomes in this regard the inter-agency job board launched and maintained by the Network and invites all agencies to take advantage of the platform;

Amendment 51 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19 b. Encourages the Union agencies that do not have a fundamental rights strategy to consider adopting one, including a reference to fundamental rights in a code of conduct that could define the duties of their staff and training for staff; recommends that effective prevention policies should be implemented and efficient procedures found to resolve harassment issues;

Amendment 52 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Mikuláš PEKSA, Daniel FREUND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes with concern from the Court’s report that shortcomings were found related to excessive dependency on contractors, external consultancy and interims, to the use of inadequate award criteria and the conclusion of contracts with abnormally low tenderers without reasonable justification; notes that several agencies have outsourced, extensively, regular activities and occasionally core business activities, which weakens the internal expertise and control over contract execution, with some weaknesses in the procurement process which may impair fair competition and the achievement of best value for money procurements; notes that for six agencies the framework contract terms for the provision of IT maintenance and equipment were weak, as they allowed the purchase of items not specifically mentioned therein and not subject to an initial competitive procedure, and it also allowed the contractor to charge uplifts on the prices of items purchased from other suppliers; notes that although agencies have no power to change the basic contractual arrangements, their related ex - ante controls did not check the accuracy of the up-lifts charged by the contractor; calls on all agencies and bodies of the Union to strictly abide by public procurement rules; underlines that digitalisation is a great opportunity for the agencies to increase efficiency and transparency, including in the field of procurement; calls, therefore, on all agencies and bodies to rapidly finalize and implement e-tendering, e- submission, e-invoicing and e-forms for public procurement;

Amendment 53 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes from the Court’s report that shortcomings were found related to excessive dependency on contractors, external consultancy and interims, to the use of inadequate award criteria and the conclusion of contracts with abnormally low tenderers without reasonable justification; notes that several agencies have outsourced, extensively, regular activities and occasionally core business activities, which weakens the internal expertise and control over contract execution, with some weaknesses in the procurement process which may impair fair competition and the achievement of best value for money procurements; notes that for six agencies the framework contract terms for the provision of IT maintenance and equipment were weak, as they allowed the purchase of items not specifically mentioned therein and not subject to an initial competitive procedure, and it also allowed the contractor to charge uplifts on the prices of items purchased from other suppliers; notes that although agencies have no power to change the basic contractual arrangements, their related ex - ante controls did not check the accuracy of the up-lifts charged by the contractor; asks the Commission and the Agencies to address the necessary improvements in procurement teams as a matter of urgency, taken into account that the problem is persisting and needs to be addressed systemically;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes from the Court’s report that shortcomings were found related to excessive dependency on contractors, external consultancy and interims, to the use of inadequate award criteria and the conclusion of contracts with abnormally low tenderers without reasonable justification; notes that several agencies have outsourced, extensively, regular activities and occasionally core business activities, which weakens the internal expertise and control over contract execution, with some weaknesses in the procurement process which may impair fair competition and the achievement of best value for money procurements; recommends an adequate ratio between price and quality when awarding contracts, an optimal design of framework contracts, justified intermediary services and the use of detailed framework contracts notes that for six agencies the framework contract terms for the provision of IT maintenance and equipment were weak, as they allowed the purchase of items not specifically mentioned therein and not subject to an initial competitive procedure, and it also allowed the contractor to charge uplifts on the prices of items purchased from other suppliers; notes that although agencies have no power to change the basic contractual arrangements, their related ex - ante controls did not check the accuracy of the up-lifts charged by the contractor;

Amendment 55 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Considers that agencies, bodies and institutions of the Union must set an example in terms of transparency; calls therefore on the publication of the full lists of contracts awarded through public procurement procedures, including those below the 15.000 EUR threshold legally required;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Notes that on 2 April 2019 a workshop was organised upon request of the Committee on Petitions on "Conflicts of Interest: Integrity, Accountability and Transparency in EU institutions and agencies" during which the preliminary findings of an upcoming study on "Conflicts of interests and EU Agencies" were presented; ~~note~~regrets that the study~~, which is~~ is only expected to be published in January 2020, while the date of the presentation was supposed to be July 2019; it will provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of the policies on avoidance of conflicts of interest in the different agencies and that it will also make recommendations in relation to improved scrutiny of conflict of interest policies in agencies; calls on the Network to report to the discharge authority on developments on application and possible changes in terms of conflict of interest regulations and policies;

Amendment 57 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Notes that on 2 April 2019 a workshop was organised upon request of the Committee on Petitions on "Conflicts of Interest: Integrity, Accountability and Transparency in EU institutions and agencies" during which the preliminary findings of an upcoming study on "Conflicts of interests and EU Agencies" were presented; notes that the study, which ~~is expected to be~~was published in January 2020, ~~will~~ provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of the policies on avoidance of conflicts of interest in the different agencies and that it ~~will~~ also makes recommendations in relation to improved scrutiny of conflict of interest policies in agencies; calls on the Network to report to the discharge authority on developments on application and possible changes in terms of conflict of interest regulations and policies;

Amendment 58 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Mikuláš PEKSA, Daniel FREUND, Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Notes with concern that not all agencies and bodies of the Union have published on their respective websites the declarations of interest for members of the management boards, executive leadership and seconded experts; regrets that some agencies still publish declarations of absence of conflict of interest; highlights that it is not up to the board members or executives to declare themselves out of conflict of interest; calls for a unified model of declarations of interest to be implemented by all agencies; stresses the importance of establishing an independent ethics body to assess conflict of interest and revolving doors situations throughout the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the Union; urges the Member States to ensure that all seconded experts publish their respective declarations of interest and CVs on the respective agency websites;

Amendment 59 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Monika HOHLMEIER, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Reiterates that an insufficiently detailed Conflict of Interests policy may result in a loss of credibility of an agency; upholds that for all starting point for these policies is the submission of regular and sufficiently detailed Declarations of Interests and stresses in this light that moving towards positive declarations of interests instead of declarations of absence of interests would allow for more comprehensive controls; stresses that on top of that Conflict of Interests should have a Conflict of Interests screening mechanism in place, proportionate to the size and function of that agency;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. NWelcomes the visible progress made by the agencies in their efforts to respond to the demands and recommendations expressed within the annual discharge procedures; notes with satisfaction that, according to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors’ (the 'Court') on Union agencies for the financial year 2018 (the 'Court’s report'), the Court issued an unqualified audit opinion on the reliability of the accounts of all agencies; notes in addition that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the revenue underlying the accounts for all agencies; observes that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts for all agencies, except for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO); points out with regret that for EASO’s payments for the financial years 2016 and 2017, the Court issued a qualified opinion; acknowledges the continued progress made by the Office in delivering reforms and corrective action plans;

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Welcomes that Agencies are moving from a self-assessed negative declaration of interests towards a "positive" presentation of Declaration of Interests; expresses nevertheless concerns about the different forms of declarations of interests, which creates problems for transparency and comparability;

Amendment 61 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Mikuláš PEKSA, Daniel FREUND, Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22 b. Notes that, in spite of whistle- blowing rules being in place in all agencies and other bodies of the Union, there are hardly any cases reported, raising concern of either staff not being aware of existing rules, or a lack of trust in the system; points out the necessity of an independent disclosure, advice and referral body, with sufficient budgetary resources, in order to support and ensure the proper implementation of whistle- blowing rules and procedures;

Amendment 62 #

Sándor RÓNAI, Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22 b. Calls on all agencies to participate in the inter-institutional agreement on the Transparency Register for interest representatives under negotiation between the Commission, the Council and Parliament;

Amendment 63 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Mikuláš PEKSA, Daniel FREUND, Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)

22 c. Considers regrettable that there are still no clear guidelines and a consolidated policy on the revolving doors issue; stresses the fact that this issue is of key importance, particularly in the case of those agencies working with the industries; calls on the Commission to provide stronger rules, better controls and clear guidelines on cooling-off periods for out-going staff and other revolving-doors related measures;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Underlines the importance of an open, efficient and independent European administration for all European agencies and the whole Union; recalls the problem of revolving door conflict of interest situations and stresses the need for a unified legal framework to address these issues;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Welcomes the fact that most agencies, except the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT) and the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) have guidelines in place for granting public access to documents; however, notes that ~~before the end of this year,~~ CdT foresees to have guidelines in place and eu-LISA is going to develop internal rules on how to handle requests to access public documents and endeavours to adopt them in 2020;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Reiterates its concern that agencies which receive a large part of their revenues as fees paid by the industry are more prone to the risk of the conflict of interests and their professional independence; calls on the agencies and the Commission to reduce the dependency on industry fees;

Amendment 67 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Expresses concerns about the potential conflict of interest in the case of fee-financed agencies, where agencies have to rely on membership fees as their main source of income;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Once again, calls on the agencies to implement a comprehensive and horizontal policy concerning the avoidance of conflicts of interest, and to use the European Chemicals' Agency's (ECHA) Independence Policy as a best practice and an exemplary system of monitoring and preventing any conflicts of interest; encourages all agencies to set up a Conflicts of Interest Advisory Committee;

Amendment 69 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Notes from the Court’s report that ~~fiv~~some agencies do not have policies in place defining their sensitive functions and related mitigating controls, which aim to reduce the risk of the misuse of powers delegated to staff ~~to an acceptable level~~ and should be a standard element of internal control, thus urges those agencies to adopt such policies;

Amendment 7 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Notes with satisfaction that, according to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors’ (the 'Court') on Union agencies for the financial year 2018 (the 'Court’s report'), the Court issued an unqualified audit opinion on the reliability of the accounts of all agencies; notes in addition that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the revenue underlying the accounts for all agencies; observes that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts for all agencies, except for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO); ~~points out with regret that for EASO’s payments for the financial years 2016 and 2017, the Court issued a qualified opinion~~notes that for EASO the Court issued a basis for a qualified opinion, in relation to its findings reported for the financial years 2016 and 2017 on the legality and regularity of the payments, but that except for the effects of the financial years 2016 and 2017, the Court is of the opinion that the EASO payments underlying the annual accounts for the year ended 31 December 2018 are legal and regular in all material aspects;

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes from the Court’s report that the previously London-based agencies, the European Baking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), ~~left~~were relocated from the United Kingdom in 2019 and that their accounts include provisions for the related removal costs; notes, furthermore, in the case of EMA, that the Court referred to developments following the lease agreement of the agency and the ruling of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales; notes the contingent liability of 465 million euro left following the conclusion of the new sublease agreement and to the uncertainty about the total loss of staff following the ~~agency’s~~ relocation; in addition, notes with concern that for both agencies, the Court also referred to possible decreases in revenue following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union;

Amendment 71 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Andrey NOVAKOV

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Welcomes the Court Rapid case review "Reporting on sustainability: A stocktake of EU Institutions and Agencies"; reiterates its findings that the information collected or published mainly relates to how the running of the organisation affects sustainability (such as their internal use of paper or water) rather than on how they have considered sustainability in their overall strategy and operations; stresses that such internal focused reporting does not capture the most material issues for an organisation; calls on all agencies to take stock of the adverse sustainability impacts produced by its operations, and to structurally include this in their sustainability reporting.

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Stresses the urgent need to aim the focus of the agencies on disseminating the results of their research and work to the general public, and to reach out to public via the social media and other media outlets in order to raise awareness of their operations; recalls the general unawareness of the citizens about the agencies even within the country of operation; appeals to the agencies to reach out to the people more effectively and frequently;

Amendment 73 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Gilles BOYER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Encourages strongly the agencies to implement the court's recommendations

Amendment 74 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28 a. Stresses the possible negative effects of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (as of 31.01.2020) on the organisation, operations and accounts of the agencies, specifically when it comes to decrease of direct contributions; urges the Commission to act with extreme diligence when handling risk prevention and risk mitigation for the agencies;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Notes with satisfaction that, according to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors’ (the 'Court') on Union agencies for the financial year 2018 (the 'Court’s report'), the Court issued an unqualified audit opinion on the reliability of the accounts of all agencies; notes in addition that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the revenue underlying the accounts for all agencies; observes that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts for all agencies, except for the European Asylum Support Office (EASO); points out ~~with regret that for EASO’s payments for the financial years 2016 and 2017, the Court issued a qualified opinion~~that the Court and the Commission have recognised an improvement in EASO’s management and introduced corrective measures after the appointment of the new management team in the summer 2018;

Amendment 9 #