2019/2128(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Role	Committee	Rapporteur	Shadows
Lead	CONT	KUHS Joachim ( ID)

Amendments	Dossier
151	2019/2128(INI) 2020/03/10 CONT 151 amendments... Amendment 1 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas de jure the Member States and the Commission have shared responsibility for implementing 74 % of the Union’s budget for 2018; whereas de facto, however, Member States spend those resources and the Commission is responsible for their supervision through its control mechanismsthe Commission in cooperation with the Member States implements the Union’s budget, of which 74 % were implemented under shared management in 2018; Amendment 10 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas according to Article 83 of the TFEU corruption is one of the particularly serious crimes with a cross- border dimension which has its negative effect on the EU financial interests; Amendment 100 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Notes with appreciation the slowing down of the competences granting process of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cross-border terrorist crimes; notes the European Council conclusions from 18 October 2018;deleted Amendment 101 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. ~~Notes with appreciation~~Expresses concern about the slowing down of the competences granting process of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cross-border terrorist crimes; notes the European Council conclusions from 18 October 2018; calls for consideration to be given to extending the competences of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cross-border organised crimes; Amendment 102 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 a (new) 37a. Calls on the co-legislators to reach an agreement on the revision of the OLAF regulation on time, to ensure a clear division of competences between OLAF and EPPO without overlap before EPPO becomes functional; Amendment 103 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 38. Points out two areas for improvement: firstly, to improve fraud risk assessment and fraud risk management, the Commission ~~needs a more comprehensive~~and Member States should strengthen their analytical capa~~bil~~city ~~so that it can scan~~order to better identify data on fraud patterns, fraudsters’ profiles and vulnerabilities in EU internal control systems; secondly, to ensure consistency and to optimise efficiency and effectiveness, ~~decentralised~~the assessment and management of fraud risks need to be strongly coordinated and monitored ~~by a strong review system~~; Amendment 104 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. Highlights the connection between corruption and fraud in EU spending; ~~regrets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report~~deplores that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report; deplores the decision of the Commission to include anti- corruption monitoring within the European Semester economic governance process; takes the view that this has further reduced monitoring by the Commission, with data available for only very few countries; further regrets that this change of approach concentrates mostly on the economic impact of corruption and almost completely overlooks the other dimensions corruption can affect, such as the trust of citizens in public administration and even the democratic structures of the Member States; urges the Commission, therefore, to continue publishing its anti-corruption reports; reiterate its call on the Commission to engage in a more comprehensive and coherent EU anti- corruption policy, including an in-depth evaluation of the anti-corruption policies in each Member State; Amendment 105 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. Highlights that the connection between corruption and fraud in EU ~~spending; reg~~has a negative impact on the EU budget; deplorets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report; disagrees with the decision of the Commission to include anti-corruption monitoring within the European Semester economic governance process; calls however, on all Member States to fully address and follow up on all country-specific recommendations issued within the frame work of the European Semester; Amendment 106 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. Highlights that the connection between corruption and fraud in EU ~~spending~~may have a negative impact on the EU budget; regrets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report; Amendment 107 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. Highlights the connection between corruption and fraud in EU spending; regrets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report; calls on the Commission, moreover, to consider establishing a network of corruption prevention authorities within the European Union; Amendment 108 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. Highlights the connection between corruption and fraud in EU spending; regrets that the Commission no longer deems it necessary to publish the anti- corruption report and it’s to only include anti-corruption monitoring within the European Semester economic governance process; urges the Commission, therefore, to continue publishing its anti-corruption reports; Amendment 109 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 a (new) 39a. Reiterates that the ‘revolving door’ effect can be detrimental to relations between the institutions and interest representatives; calls for the EU institutions to develop a systematic approach to this challenge; Amendment 11 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas fraud involving EU funds is one of the means by which criminal organisations penetrate the economy and undermine economic freedom and free competition; Amendment 110 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 a (new) 39a. Reiterates its call to the Commission to set up an internal evaluation mechanism of corruption for the EU institution; Amendment 111 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 40 40. Calls on the ~~newly elected~~ Commission to devise a Europe-wide strategy for the proactive avoidance of conflict of interests for all financial actors implementing the EU budget, as one of its overarching priorities; Amendment 112 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 40 a (new) 40a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to develop a system of meaningful indicators and easily applicable, uniform criteria based on the requirements set out in the Stockholm Programme, to measure the level of corruption in the Member States and to evaluate their anti-corruption policies; invites the Commission to develop a corruption index in order to rank the Member States; is of the opinion that a corruption index could provide a sound basis on which the Commission could establish its country-specific control mechanism when controlling the spending of EU resources; Amendment 113 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 43 a (new) 43a. Emphasises that a system enabling the authorities to exchange information would facilitate the cross-checking of accounting records for transactions between two or more Member States in order to prevent cross-border fraud in respect of the structural and investment funds, hence ensuring a cross-cutting and comprehensive approach to the protection of Member States’ financial interests; reiterates its request to the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on mutual administrative assistance in those areas of expenditure of EU funds where no provision is made for this; Amendment 114 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 44 44. Is concerned about the risk of undervaluation of supplies of e-commerce goods from third countries; welcomes the steps taken by OLAF to solve the problem of e- commerce VAT fraud; Amendment 115 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 44 a (new) 44a. Recalls that the Commission does not have access to the information exchanged between Member States with a view to preventing and combating Missing Trader Intra Community (MTIC) fraud, commonly called carousel fraud; is of the opinion that the Commission should have access to Eurofisc, in order to better control, assess and improve the exchange of data among Member States; calls on all Member States to participate in all of Eurofisc’s fields of activity so as to facilitate and accelerate information exchange with judicial and law enforcement authorities such as Europol and OLAF, as recommended by the European Court of Auditors; calls on the Member States and the Council to grant the Commission access to these data in order to foster cooperation, strengthen data reliability and fight cross-border crime; Amendment 116 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 46 46. ~~Acknowledge~~Highlights the need to address certain shortcomings of the current EU anti-fraud enforcement system, in particular with regard to the collection of accurate data on fraudulent and non- fraudulent irregularities; Amendment 117 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 47 47. ~~Finds it astonishing that the Commission does not hav~~Urges the Commission and Member States to utilise and improve, where possible, common reporting methods in order to provide comprehensive and comparable information on the detected fraud level in EU spending; Amendment 118 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 48 a (new) 48a. Points out that complete transparency in accounting for expenditure is essential, especially as regards infrastructure works financed directly through EU funds or financial instruments; calls on the Commission to provide for EU citizens to have full access to information on co-financed projects; Amendment 119 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 49 49. Reminds the Member States that ~~it is in their own interest to cooperate fully with the Commission~~working in cooperation with the Commission is necessary in order to ensure effective spending and evaluate results; Amendment 12 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas the diversity of legal and administrative systems in the Member States needs to be adequately addressed in order to ~~overcome~~allow for a more coordinated EU action for prevention of irregularities and combating fraud; whereas the Commission should further~~efore step up~~ strengthen its efforts to ~~ensure that the~~ fight against fraud isand to continue implementeding them effectively ~~and~~in order to produces even more tangible and more satisfactory results; Amendment 120 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Notes that, in the area of shared management, the Commission does not have the power to initiate the exclusion of unreliable economic operators from receiving EU funding when Member State authorities do not do so; calls on the Member States to promptly report fraudulent irregularities in the IMS and to make the best use of the Early Detection and Exclusion System; Amendment 121 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 51 51. Insists that Member States make effective use of the fraud prevention tool offered by the ARACHNE database, by submitting timely data and exploiting the opportunities that big data offers to prevent the fraudulent and irregular use of EU funds; calls on the Commission to consider making the use of ARACHNE mandatory; Amendment 122 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 52. Highlights the role and responsibility of the Member States in the implementation of administrative cooperation agreements, the effectiveness of controls, the enforcement of data collection, and the monitoring of traders’ compliance with the regulatory framework; Amendment 123 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 a (new) 52a. Calls on the Commission to provide for proper legal protection for investigative journalists along the lines of that provided for whistleblowers; Amendment 124 # Motion for a resolution Subheading 6 a (new) Public procurement Amendment 125 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 a (new) 52a. Notes that a significant amount of public investment is spent through public procurement (EUR 2 trillion per year); emphasises the benefits of e-procurement in fighting fraud, such as savings for all parties, increased transparency, and simplified and shortened processes; Amendment 126 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 c (new) 52c. Regrets the fact that only a few Member States are using new technologies for all the major steps of the procurement process (e-notification, e- access to tender documents, e-submission, e-evaluation, e-award, e-ordering, e- invoicing, e-payment); calls on the Member States to make all the forms of the public procurement process, as well as publicly accessible contract registers, available online in a machine readable format; Amendment 127 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 e (new) 52e. Welcomes the Commission’s timetable for the rollout of e-procurement in the EU and calls on the Commission to follow up on it; Amendment 128 # Motion for a resolution Subheading 6 b (new) Digitalisation Amendment 129 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 b (new) 52b. Calls on the Commission to elaborate a framework for the digitalisation of all processes of implementation of EU policies (calls for proposals, application, evaluation, implementation, payment) to be applied by all Member States; Amendment 13 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) Fa. Whereas corruption represents a serious threat to the financial interests of the union, but also on democracy and the trust on public administration; Amendment 130 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 d (new) 52d. Calls on the Commission to develop incentives to create an electronic profile of contracting authorities for those Member States where such profiles are not available; Amendment 131 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 f (new) 52f. Welcomes the decision of the EU to finally join the GRECO as an observer; calls on the Commission to restart negotiations with GRECO as soon as possible to assess in a timely manner its compliance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption(UNCAC) and to set up an internal evaluation mechanism for the EU institutions; Amendment 132 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 54 a (new) 54a. Strongly encourages the Commission, OLAF and all the other institutions and bodies of the Union entrusted with the protection of the financial interests of the Union to actively engage and collaborate with partner authorities in candidate, potential candidate and EaP countries, promoting measures to effectively address possible fraud cases; calls on the Commission to develop specific and regular mechanisms to effectively prevent and combat fraud with EU funds in these states; Amendment 133 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 57 57. Takes note of the expansion of the role of the anti-fraud coordination services (AFCOS) in fostering the effectiveness of the various channels for cross-border cooperation between national authorities, in particular for tackling customs fraud;deleted Amendment 134 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 57 57. Takes note of the expansion of the role of the anti-fraud coordination services (AFCOS) in fostering the effectiveness of the various channels for cross-border cooperation between national authorities, in particular for tackling customs and expenditures frauds; Amendment 135 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 58 ~~58. Invites the Member States to increase their exchange of information about possible fraudulent companies and transactions through the Eurofisc network;~~deleted Amendment 136 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 58 a (new) 58a. Urges the EU agencies, in particular Europol, Eurojust and OLAF, to cooperate ever more closely with national authorities in order to detect fraud more effectively; Amendment 137 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 58 a (new) 58a. Emphasises the important role of whistle-blowers in fraud prevention, detection and reporting; Stresses the need to protect whistle-blowers and to encourage investigative journalism by legal means both in the Member States and within the Union; welcomes the new EU Whistleblowing Directive, which from December2021 will provide protection for individuals from the private or public sector that report breaches; calls on the Commission to closely monitor and assist the Member States, ensuring the complete, correct and timely transposition of the Directive; Amendment 138 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 58 a (new) 58a. Is of the opinion that investigative journalism plays a key role in fostering the necessary level of transparency in the EU and the Member States, and that it must be encouraged and supported by legal means both by the Member States and within the EU; calls on the Commission to develop comprehensive measures for the protection of investigative journalism, including a rapid response mechanism for journalists in distress and effective anti-SLAPP legislation; Amendment 139 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 58 a (new) 58a. Highlights the central role that transparency plays in the prevention and early detection of fraud and conflict of interest cases; calls on all Member States to step up their efforts in order to increase budgetary transparency, by ensuring that relevant data concerning public procurement procedures and the attribution of publicly funded contracts is available and easily accessible to the general public; Amendment 14 # Motion for a resolution Recital G G. whereas VAT collected by Member States is an important revenue source for national budgets and whereas VAT-based own resources constituted 11.9 % of the total EU budget in 2018; Amendment 140 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 59 59. Anticipates that the adoption of the ‘omnibus regulation’ will drastically reduce the fraud rates for the agriculture and cohesion policies, while simplifying the EU’s financial rules; Amendment 141 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 59 59. ~~Anticipates that~~Welcomes the adoption of the ‘omnibus regulation’ ~~will drastica~~and expects that it willy reduce the fraud rates for the agriculture and cohesion policies; Amendment 142 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 59 a (new) 59a. Calls on the Member States to step up their exchange of information about possible fraudulent companies and transactions through the Eurofisc network; points out that exchange of, and access to, information by judicial and investigating authorities, while respecting the protection of personal data, is essential in combating fraud and organised crime; Amendment 143 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 59 a (new) 59a. Invites the Member States to increase their exchange of information about possible fraudulent companies and transactions through the Eurofisc network; Amendment 144 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 60. Recognises the importance of Article 61 of the Financial Regulation ~~and its~~2018/1046 and its enlarged definition redefinition of conflict of interests for all financial actors implementing the EU budget in the various management modes, including at national level; Amendment 145 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 a (new) 60a. Calls on the Commission, as Guardian of the Treaties, to fight all forms of conflict of interests and to evaluate on a regular basis the preventive measures taken by the Member States to avoid them; calls on the Commission to propose common guidelines for the avoidance of conflicts of interest of high- profile politicians; Amendment 146 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 a (new) 60a. Points out that many Member States do not have specific laws against organised crime, while its involvement in cross-border activities and sectors affecting the EU’s financial interests is constantly growing; Amendment 147 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 b (new) 60b. Urges the Council to adopt common ethical standards on all issues related to conflicts of interest and to push for a common understanding of the issue in all Member States; underlines that given the widespread problems of conflict of interests in the distribution of Union’s agricultural and cohesion funds; it is unacceptable for the members of the European Council and the Council of the EU, or their family members to take part in decisions on the future MFF or national budgets allocations in case they’d anyhow personally profit from these decisions; Amendment 148 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 c (new) 60c. Recalls the importance of cooling- off periods for officials formerly employed by the Union institutions or agencies as un-addressed conflict-of-interest situations may compromise the enforcement of high ethical standards throughout the European administration; underlines that Article 16 of the Staff Regulation enables Union institutions and agencies to turn down a former official’s request to take a specific job if restrictions are not sufficient to protect the legitimate interests of the institutions; further calls on the EU administration to strictly publish their assessment of each case as required under the Staff Regulation; Amendment 149 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 61 61. ~~Welcomes the~~Reiterates its position for the need of a clear legal basis enabling OLAF to access bank account information through the assistance of national competent authorities~~, following~~ and to deal with VAT fraud, expressed with regard to the revision of Regulation No 883/2013; Amendment 15 # Motion for a resolution Recital H H. whereas systematic and institutionalised cases of corruption in certain Member States seriously harm the EU’s financial interests while also representing a threat to democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law; whereas the Special Eurobarometer Report 470 on corruption, published in December 2017, stated that overall perceptions and attitudes towards corruption remained stable compared to 2013, which indicates that no concrete results have been demonstrated in terms of improving the trust of EU citizens in their institutions; Amendment 150 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 61 61. Welcomes the proposal for the revision of Regulation No 883/2013 that includes clear legal basis enabling OLAF to access bank account information through the assistance of national competent authorities~~, following the revision of Regulation No 883/2013~~; Amendment 151 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 62 62. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) ~~and~~, the OLAF Supervisory Committee and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Amendment 16 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Subheading 1 ~~Irregularities d~~Detectedion and report~~ed as fraudulent and detrimental to the EU budget~~ing of irregularities Amendment 17 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Welcomes the 30th Annual report on the protection of the EU’s financial interests and the fight against fraud, as well as the progress achieved during the past three decades in setting and developing the legislative foundations and institutional framework (OLAF and EPPO) of the fight against fraud and irregularities at EU level, in establishing cooperation between Member States and between them and the Commission, and in reaching results of protection of the EU budget which would not be possible without the joint efforts of both the EU institutions and national authorities; Amendment 18 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Observes with great concern the permanent modification of fraud methods and new patterns of fraud, with a strong transnational dimension and with cross- border fraud schemes (i.e. fraud in the promotion of agricultural products; shell companies; evasion of custom duties through the undervaluation of textiles and footwear entering the Union and going through customs clearance in several Member States; e-commerce; and counterfeiting), which negatively affect the revenue side of the EU budget and which require new coordinated response at EU and national level; Amendment 19 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Observes the permanent modification of fraud methods and new patterns of fraud, with a strong transnational dimension and with cross- border fraud schemes (i.e. fraud in the promotion of agricultural products; shell companies; evasion of custom duties through the undervaluation of textiles and footwear entering the Union and going through customs clearance in several Member States; e-commerce; increasing cross border dimension of frauds on expenditures side; and counterfeiting); Amendment 2 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas the Commission should fulfil its respective responsibilities under shared management for supervision, control and audit; Amendment 20 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the number of reported fraudulent irregularities and the associated amounts are not a direct indicator of the level of fraud affecting the EU budget; notes that it is unclear how many fraudulent irregularities remain unreported by the Commission and especially by the Member States every year; notes that this makes it difficult for the Parliament draw useful conclusions on the effectiveness of the anti-fraud activities by the Commission; calls on the Commission therefore to develop a methodology to improve the reliability and provide for more accurate estimations of the scale of fraud in the EU; Amendment 21 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the number of fraudulent irregularities and the associated amounts are not a direct indicator of the level of fraud affecting the EU budget; notes that fraudulent irregularities affected 0,71% of 2018 payments and 0,65% of gross amount of TOR collected for 2018; notes further that non- fraudulent irregularities affected 0,58% of 2018 payments and 1,78% of gross amount of TOR collected for 2018; Amendment 22 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Recalls that the number of fraudulent irregularities and the associated amounts are not a direct indicator of the level of fraud affecting the EU budget or that in a given Member State; Amendment 23 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Notes with concern the Court of Auditors’ conclusion that the Commission has an insufficient level of insight into the scale, nature and causes of fraud; reiterates its call on the Commission to establish a uniform system for the collection of comparable data on irregularities and cases of fraud from the Member States in order to standardise the reporting process and ensure the quality and comparability of the data provided; Amendment 24 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Calls furthermore on the Commission to carry comprehensive checks to ensure the full transparency and quality of data reported by the Member States in the Irregularity Management System (IMS); Amendment 25 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Notes that the number of fraudulent irregularities reported in 2018 (1 152 cases) remained stable as compared with 2017; regrets ~~that the financial~~, however, that the amounts involved increased by a significant 183 %~~, mostly related to cohesion policy expenditur~~; This increase is due, to a large extent, to two fraudulent irregularities concerning cohesion policy expenditure; Stresses the need to recuperate these high amounts as soon as possible; Amendment 26 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Notes that while the number of fraudulent irregularities reported in 2018 (1 152 cases) remained ~~stable as compared with 2017; regrets that~~at the same level of those in 2017, the financial amounts involved increased by a significant 183 % which is a cause for a grave concern, mostly related to cohesion policy expenditure; Amendment 27 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. ~~Takes into consideration~~Notes that the fact that the number of non-fraudulent irregularities registered in 2018 showed a fall of 27 % (10 487 cases), while the financial amounts involved decreased by 37 % to EUR 1.3 billion; Amendment 28 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Deeply regrets and points to the fact that many Member States do not have specific laws against organised crime, while its involvement in cross-border activities and sectors affecting the EU’s financial interests, such as smuggling or counterfeiting of currency, is constantly growing; Amendment 29 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. C~~onsiders it advisable for~~alls on Member States to cooperate more closely as regards exchanges of information, in order both to improve their data collection and enhance the effectiveness of their controls; recalls the role of the Commission in coordinating the cooperation between Member States; Amendment 3 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital A b (new) Ab. whereas according to the Article 63 of the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom2018/1046), when executing tasks relating to budget implementation Member States should take all necessary measures to prevent, detect and correct irregularities and fraud; Amendment 30 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Considers it advisable for Member States to cooperate more closely as regards exchanges of information, in order ~~both~~ to improve their data collection ~~and~~, enhance the effectiveness of their controls and guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens; Amendment 31 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Considers it advisable for Member States to cooperate more closely as regards exchanges of information, in order both to improve their data collection and enhance the effectiveness of their controls; calls on the Commission to help in the coordination of establishing a uniform system for the collection of data on irregularities and cases of frauds from the Members States; Amendment 32 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Calls on the European Court of Auditors to continuously include institutions and management bodies responsible in cases of intentional misuse of funds in their audit samples; Amendment 33 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Finds worrisome weaknesses revealed in the verification of beneficiaries’ registered offices; ~~regret~~notes that to reduce the administrative burden on Member State authorities, ~~EU law obliges~~the Common Provisions Regulation 1303/2013 requires from them only to report fraudulent or non- fraudulent irregularities involving more than EUR 10 000 ~~in EU money~~-contributionfrom ESIF ; recalls that for agriculture and the European Social Fund there are a large number of payments below the EUR 10 000 threshold, which are disbursed as entitlement payments (based on meeting certain conditions), and, as a consequence, potentially fraudulent payments below the reporting threshold which are not reported, notes, however, the Court of Auditors’ observation in its Annual Reports for 2017 and 2018 that entitlement payments are less prone to errors than cost reimbursement, which is the disbursement methods for projects above EUR 10 000; Amendment 34 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Finds worrisome weaknesses revealed in the verification of beneficiaries’ registered offices; regrets that in order to reduce the administrative burden on Member State authorities, ~~EU law obliges them only to~~the Common Provisions Regulation 1303/2013 only requires the reporting of fraudulent or non- fraudulent irregularities involving more than EUR 10 000 ~~in EU money~~contribution from ESIF; recalls that for agriculture and the European Social Fund there are a large number of payments below the EUR 10 000 threshold and, as a consequence, potentially fraudulent payments below the reporting threshold which are not reported; Amendment 35 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Finds it worrisome ~~weaknesses revealed in the verification of beneficiaries’ registered offices; regrets~~ that to reduce the administrative burden on Member State authorities, EU law obliges them only to report fraudulent or non- fraudulent irregularities involving more than EUR 10 000 in EU money; recalls that ~~for~~in the area of agriculture and the European Social Fund ~~there are~~ a large number of payments are well below the EUR 10 000 threshold and, as a consequence, potentially fraudulent payments below the reporting threshold which are not reported; Amendment 36 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Strongly condemns the large-scale misuse of European structural and investment funds by high-level government officials in the Czech Republic, and other public actors in Hungary, Greece, Poland, Romania and Italy; notes that such fraud is at the expense of small family businesses who need the subsidies the most; Amendment 37 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Strongly condemns the misuse of Cohesion Funds; regrets that EU funds affected by financial corrections related to fraudulent irregularities can be re-used again without any further consequences or restrictions; is of the opinion that such a system endangers the EU’s financial interest; therefore calls on the Commission to closely monitor there-use of EU Funds and to consider developing a system where corrections are also accompanied by restrictions on the further use; Amendment 38 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Recalls the transparency requirements for CAP and cohesion policies, which oblige the responsible authorities of the Member States to maintain a publicly available list of final beneficiaries; calls on Member States to publish such data in an uniform machine- readable format and ensure the interoperability of the information; calls on the Commission to collect and aggregate the data and publish lists of the largest beneficiaries from each fund in each Member State; Amendment 39 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Stresses the need to make the disbursement of direct and indirect loans conditional on the publication of country- by-country tax and accountancy data, and on the disclosure of information on beneficial ownership by the beneficiaries and financial intermediaries involved in financing operations; Amendment 4 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital A c (new) Ac. whereas in order to protect the financial interests of the Union the Member States should carry out ex-ante and ex post controls, should recover unduly paid funds and bring legal proceeding in that regard where necessary; Amendment 40 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Insists that the Commission proposes a specific complaint mechanism at Union level to support farmers or beneficiaries confronted with e.g. land- grabbing malpractices, misconduct of national authorities, pressure from criminal structures or organised crime, or persons being subject to forced or slave labour, giving them the opportunity to swiftly lodge a complaint with the Commission which the latter should check as a matter of urgency; Amendment 41 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Stresses that the European Commission currently does not take sufficient action to tackle this type of fraud; urges the Commission to conduct effective controls in combination with binding measures; notes that the EPPO should play a major role in conducting cross-border research, detecting and reporting cases of fraud, and bringing fraudsters to justice; Amendment 42 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Subheading 2 Revenue – own resources ~~fraud~~ Amendment 43 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. ~~Regret~~Notes the rise of 1 % in the number of fraudulent registered cases for the TOR collected (to 473 in 2018), a~~s well a~~nd regrets the rise of 116 % in the financial amounts involved; Amendment 44 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Notes that the number of irregularities reported as non-fraudulent for 2018 was 10% lower than the average for years 2014-2018, but regrets that the affected amount is 17% higher; Amendment 45 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. ~~Expresses its~~Is deeply concerned that according to the Commission’s ‘fast estimates’ statistics, the VAT gap in 2018 amounted to approximately EUR 130 billion, which represents approximately 10 % of total expected VAT revenue, and that the Commission estimates that intra- Community VAT fraud cases cost around EUR 50 billion annually; regrets the loss of 5 billion EUR yearly coming from supplies of low-value goods from third countries; Amendment 46 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Welcomes the adoption of the PIF Directive, which clarifies the issues of cross-border cooperation and mutual legal assistance between Member States, Eurojust, the EPPO and the Commission in tackling VAT fraud; Amendment 47 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 b (new) 10b. Reiterates its position that OLAF’s competences in the field of value added tax investigations should in no way be limited or subject to any further administrative conditions; calls on the Council to take account of Parliament’s position on this matter during the negotiations on “Investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office as regards cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the effectiveness of OLAF investigations” regulation; Amendment 48 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. ~~Takes into consideration~~Highlights OLAF’s important role in investigation VAT matters; welcomes the modification of Council Regulation 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and the fight against fraud in the field of value added tax17, ~~resulting in~~passed in 2018 introducing measures for strengthening thed capacity of national tax administrations to check cross-border supplies, extending OLAF’s competences to facilitate and coordinate VAT fraud investigations and addressing the most damaging VAT fraud schemes and diminish the VAT gap; _________________ 17 OJ L268, 12.10.2010, p. 1. Amendment 49 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. ~~Takes into consideration~~Highlights OLAF’s important role in investigation VAT matters; welcomes the modification of Council Regulation 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and the fight against fraud in the field of value added tax17~~, resulting in~~ from 2018 introducing measures for strengthening thed capacity of national tax administrations to check cross-border supplies, and to address the most damaging VAT fraud schemes and diminish the VAT gap; _________________ 17 OJ L268, 12.10.2010, p. 1. Amendment 5 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas sound ~~public spending~~financial management and the protection of the EU’s financial interests ~~should be key elements of EU policy in order~~are key principles of EU budget implementation policy aiming to increase the confidence of citizens by ensuring that ~~their money~~EU budget is used properly and effectively executed; Amendment 50 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. CWelcomes the modified Council Regulation 904/2010 to maximise the new Transaction Network Analysis (TNA) software potential to identify fraudulent networks across the whole EU; with the aim of enhancing the cooperation and information exchange between national tax authorities in order to better detect and swiftly intercept VAT carousel fraud; calls for measures to fully ensure the data protection of economic operators under investigation listed in the new T~~ransaction Network Analysis (TNA)~~NA software; Amendment 51 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. ~~Calls for measures to fully ensure~~Notes furthermore the measures introduced with the modified Council Regulation 904/2010 to maximise the new Transaction Network Analysis (TNA) software potential to identify fraudulent networks across the whole EU; calls the data protection of economic operators under investigation listed in the new Transaction Network Analysis (TNA) software to be fully ensured; Amendment 52 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Welcomes the ~~sharing of~~introduction of measures for the sharing relevant data as from 2020 on customs ‘procedure 42~~/63 data~~’ and ‘procedure/63’ between national tax authorities, allowing cross-checking of VAT numbers, value of the imported goods, type of commodities, etc. by the Member State of import and the customer’s Member State; Amendment 53 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Stresses the ~~dominant~~ importance of prioritising the development of National Anti-Fraud Strategies (NAFSs) by ~~the~~all Member States ~~over the supranational approach imposed at EU level~~; Amendment 54 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Stresses the seriousness of the ~~current situation concerning fraud involving failure to pay~~fraud concerning VAT, in particular the so-called ‘carousel fraud’ which results in the non-payment of VAT to the relevant tax authorities by the missing trader, even if it has been deducted from the customer; Amendment 55 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. ~~Takes into consideration~~Notes that solar panels were the goods most affected by fraud and irregularities in monetary terms in 2018, as was also the case in 2017 and 2016; welcomes the on-the-spot inspections carried out by the Commission and underlines the importance of OLAF’s investigations and OLAF’s coordination role in this field; Amendment 56 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. Welcomes the fact that several Member States have rolled out new IT tools, risk-based approaches and initiatives to counter challenges in the area of traditional own resources collection; encourages Member States to further cooperate in making joint use of these tools, approaches and initiatives, to further exchange good practices and to enhance cooperation under the Eurofisc framework; Amendment 57 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. ~~Finds it worrisome that the undervaluation of textiles and shoes imported~~Is concerned that revenue fraud through the undervaluation of goods imported into the EU from Cthi~~na occurs as a major instance of fraud~~rd countries remains a threat for the EU financial interests; recognises the cross- border e- commerce trade of goods as a considerable source of tax fraud in the EU, especially in the case of smaller goods; calls on Member States to address the issues linked to cross-border e-commerce, particularly for the potential abuse of low- value consignments reliefs by fully implementing the Commission’s recommendations in this sense; Amendment 58 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. Notes that non-fraudulent irregularities were primarily detected by means of post-release controls, but underlines the importance of the custom controls before or at the time of release of goods, as well as of voluntary admissions for detection of irregularities; Amendment 59 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. Finds it worrisome that some Member States regularly do not report a single case of fraud; invites the Commission to investigate the situation, as it considers the likelihood that no fraudulent activities exist in those Member States to be rather low; calls on the Commission to run random spot checks in these countries; Amendment 6 # Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas sound public spending and the protection of the EU’s financial interests should be key elements of EU policy in order to increase the confidence of citizens by ensuring that t~~heir~~axpayers’ money is used properly and effectively; Amendment 60 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Notes ~~with dismay~~ that the average recovery rate for cases reported as fraudulent over the years 1989-2018 was around ~~37 %~~41%; notes as well that the recovery rate for fraudulent cases reported and detected in 2018 was 70% which is significantly above the average rate; reiterates its call on the Commission to develop a strategy for improving the recovery rate in these cases; Amendment 61 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Notes with dismay that the average recovery rate for cases reported as fraudulent over the years 1989-2018 was around 37 %; calls on the Commission to strengthen its strategy for the recovery of funds subject to fraud; Amendment 62 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20a. Notes that the overall recovery rate for non-fraudulent cases reported over the years 1989-2018 was 72%; Amendment 63 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Subheading 3 Expenditure ~~fraud~~ Amendment 64 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. ~~Welcom~~Notes the decrease of 3 % in the number of cases (679 fraudulent irregularities in 2018) reported as fraudulent expenditure; ~~regret~~stresses, however, the alarming rate, of the opposite trend occurring in the financial amounts involved (EUR 1.032 million), resulting in an increase of 198 %; Amendment 65 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Welcomes the decrease of 3 % in the number of cases (679) reported as fraudulent irregularities in 2018) ~~reported as fraudulent~~affecting expenditure; regrets, however, the opposite trend occurring in the financial amounts involved (EUR 1.032 million), resulting in an increase of 198 %; Amendment 66 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. ~~Welcom~~Notes the decrease of 3 % in the number of cases (679 fraudulent irregularities in 2018) reported as fraudulent expenditure; regrets, however, the opposite trend occurring in the financial amounts involved (EUR 1.032 million), resulting in an increase of 198 %; Amendment 67 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 23. ~~Not~~Welcomes the decrease of 4 % in registered non-fraudulent irregularities, as well as thate reduction of 48 % in the financial amounts involved (EUR 844.9 million); Amendment 68 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23a. Welcomes that on the expenditure side, some Member States have adopted several operational measures such as the introduction of IT risk scoring tools, fraud risk assessments and training courses to raise general fraud awareness; calls on all remaining Member States to step up their efforts into adopting such measures as soon as possible; Amendment 69 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23a. Notes the absence of irregularities reported as fraudulent in some Member States; calls on the Commission to continue supporting Member States with a view to ensuring that both the quality and number of controls are improved, and to share best practice in the fight against fraud; Amendment 7 # Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas sound public spending and the protection of the EU’s financial interest contribute to efficient management of the EU-budget and reduce the need for additional own resources and Member States’ contributions to finance the new priorities under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFK) 2021-2027; Amendment 70 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Stresses the importance of respective management and close surveillance of the grants distributed under the programmes of the ESIFs (the European Structural and Investment Funds, i.e. the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund), the FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived), and the EGF (European Globalisation Adjustment Fund)), in the interests of efficient non-inflationary budgeting of the Funds and fraud avoidance;deleted Amendment 71 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. ~~Notes that, with regard to two of the policies most affected by fraud,~~Calls on the Commission, the OLAF, EPPO and Member States, with regard to the common agricultural policy where 249 fraudulent irregularities were registered in 2018 (-6 %) ~~for the common agricultural policy,~~ involving a total of EUR 63.3 million (+10 %), and ~~363, again in 2018 (+5 %), for cohesion policy, the total amount involved being EUR 959.6 million (+199 %)~~to cohesion policy where 363 fraudulent irregularities were registered in 2018 (+5 %), the total amount involved being EUR 959.6 million (+199 %); to apply the strongest measures to fight against fraud involving the public money paid by the EU Budget; Amendment 72 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Notes that, with regard to two of the policies most affected by fraudulent irregularities, 249 fraudulent irregularities were registered in 2018 (-6 %) ~~for~~related to the common agricultural policy, ~~involving~~for a total of EUR 63.3 million (+10 %), and 363~~, again in 2018~~ (+5 %), for cohesion policy, ~~the~~for a total amount ~~involved being~~of EUR 959.6 million (+199 %); Notes, regarding cohesion policy, that this increase was mainly due to two irregularities involving very high sums by one MS and that this fluctuation should be seen and understood in this context; Amendment 73 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26. ~~Regret~~Notes that for the CAP ~~the ‘fraud frequency level’ (FFL) stands at 10 %, while~~for the reporting years 2014-2018 the ‘fraud frequency level’ (FFL) representing the percentage of cases qualified as suspected fraud and established fraud in relation to the total number of reported irregularities stands at 10 %, theat ‘fraud amounts level’ is about 23 %~~; notes with dismay that the ‘fraud detection rate’ (FDR) is only 0.11 %, while the ‘irregularity detection rate’~~ of the total financial amount affected by irregularities; notes further that the ‘fraud detection rate’ (FDR) representing the percentage of total financial amount affected by suspected and established fraud in relation to the total expenditure is only 0.11 %, while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ representing the percentage of total financial amount affected by irregularities in relation to the total expenditure is 0.37 %; Amendment 74 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26. ~~Regrets~~Stresses the importance and consequences of the fact that for the CAP the ‘fraud frequency level’ (FFL) stands at 10 %, while the ‘fraud amounts level’ is about 23 %; notes with dismay that the ‘fraud detection rate’ (FDR) is only 0.11 %, while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ is 0.37 %; Amendment 75 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. Similarly strongly regrets that the ‘fraud detection rate’ for cohesion policy is 0.86 % while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ is about 0.34 %; Amendment 76 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. Similarly ~~regret~~notes that the ‘fraud detection rate’ for cohesion policy is 0.86 % while the ‘irregularity detection rate’ is about 0.34 %; Amendment 77 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 a (new) 27a. Reiterates the importance of transparency on the expenditures, requesting for full access to the information in case of European financing; Amendment 78 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Subheading 3 a (new) OLAF Amendment 79 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 a (new) 27a. Notes that in 2018, OLAF opened 219 investigations and concluded 167, recommending financial recoveries worth EUR 371 million; notes further that at the end of the year, 414 investigations were ongoing; Amendment 8 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas ~~achieving good performance with simplification processes involves~~EU budget supports shared objectives and helps to tackle common challenges and whereas good performance is a precondition for achieving results and priorities, simplification regularly assess~~ing~~ment inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts through performance audits are essential elements for the performance based budgeting; Amendment 80 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 b (new) 27b. Takes note of the expansion of the role of the anti-fraud coordination services (AFCOS) in fostering the effectiveness of the various channels for cross-border cooperation between national authorities, in particular for tackling customs fraud, but also for cooperation with OLAF; Amendment 81 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. ~~Not~~Welcomes the ~~implementation of the 2019~~adoption, in April 2019, of the Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy (CAFS), adjusted to two significant additions to EU anti-fraud legislation adopted in 2017, i.e. the PIF Directive, which sets stricter common standards for Member States’ criminal legislation to protect the EU’s financial interests, and the regulation establishing the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO); Amendment 82 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. Deplores that the Commission has not included yet in its annual work programme a proposal for an instrument for mutual administrative assistance on the expenditure side; believes that such an initiative fits into the provision of Art. 225 of the Treaty; Amendment 83 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. Draws attention to the vital role played by OLAF and the need to strengthen it further and ensure effective coordination with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office; Amendment 84 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 29. ~~Note~~Regrets that only twelve Member States have implemented the new PIF directive for the time being, another eight having implemented it partially and the others not at all yet; notes that the deadline for implementation of the new PIF directive has expired on 6July 2019 already; calls on the Commission to publish, as soon as possible, a list of all Member States which have failed to transpose the directive by the deadline; calls on all remaining Member States to take all necessary measures and ensure the full and correct transposition of the Directive within the shortest time possible; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the transposition process in all Member States, as well as to make use of its prerogatives for launching infringement procedures, where Member States fail to comply with the transposition process; Amendment 85 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 30. Recalls ~~once again~~ that the new CAFS covers: (i) fraud (including VAT fraud), corruption and misappropriation affecting the EU’s financial interests, as defined in Articles 3 and 4 of the PIF Directive; (ii) other criminal offences affecting the Union’s financial interests, e.g. offences linked to an abuse of procurement procedures where they affect the EU budget; (iii) irregularities as defined in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/9523 (insofar as they are intentional but not already captured by the criminal offences referred to above); and (iv) serious breaches of professional obligations by staff or members of the Union’s institutions and bodies, as referred to in Article 1(4) of the OLAF regulation and in the second subparagraph of Article 2(1) of Commission Decision (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 352/1999 establishing the European Anti-Fraud Office18 a; _________________ 18a OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 20. OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 20. Amendment 86 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 32. ~~Not~~Deplores that only eleven Member States have adopted a national anti-fraud strategy (NAFS); calls on all remaining Member States to advance with the adoption of their NAFS; calls on the Commission to push the remaining Member States to advance their adoption of NAFS; Amendment 87 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 32. Notes that only eleven Member States have adopted a national anti-fraud strategy; calls on the Commission to consider adopting national anti-fraud strategies as a condition for access to EU funds; Amendment 88 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 a (new) 32a. Welcomes the new proposal of the EU Anti-Fraud Programme 2021- 2027,which will be implemented by OLAF under its direct management; notes that the EU Anti-Fraud Programme includes (i) the Hercule III spending programme, which supports activities against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union, (ii) the Anti-Fraud Information System (AFIS), which is an operational activity consisting essentially in a set of customs IT applications operated under a common information system managed by the Commission, and (iii) the Irregularity Management System (IMS) which is a secure electronic communications tool which facilitates the Member States’ obligation to report detected irregularities, including fraud, and which supports the management and analysis of these; Amendment 89 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 a (new) 32a. Notes that that the EU Anti-Fraud Programme and its new priorities need sufficient funding on order to achieve results; is therefore concerned about the proposal of the president of the European Council to decrease the budget of EU Anti-Fraud Programme from 156 million Euro for the period 2014-2020 to 111 million Euro for the period 2021-2027; Amendment 9 # Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas the EU has an obligation to act in the field of anti-corruption policies within the limits established by the TFEU; whereas Article 67 of the TFEU stipulates the Union’s obligation to ensure a high level of security, including through prevention and combating of crime and approximation of criminal laws; whereas according to Article 83 of the TFEU corruption is one of the particularly serious crimes with a cross- border dimension; Amendment 90 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 a (new) 32a. Reiterates the need to include in national anti-fraud strategies proactive anti-fraud methods which ensure not only that fraud is detected, but that it is also effectively prevented; Amendment 91 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 ~~33. Calls for the faster closure of investigations, especially if an investigation cannot be closed within twelve months after it has been opened;~~deleted Amendment 92 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 ~~34. Notes the appointment of an interim Administrative Director in 2018;~~deleted Amendment 93 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 a (new) 34a. Underlines that the creation of the EPPO marks a fundamental development in protecting the Union’s financial interests; highlights the importance of the EPPO in combating fraud, corruption and serious cross-border VAT fraud; Amendment 94 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 35. ~~Recall~~Welcomes the fact that in 2018 the Netherlands and Malta decided to join the EPPO; notes that by the end of October 2019 five Member States had not joined the EPPO; recalls, however, that under recital 9 of Regulation 2017/1939 they can join at any time this cross-border cooperation; encourages all remaining Member States to join the EPPO as soon as possible; calls on the Commission to actively promote and incentivise EPPO membership among so-far reluctant Member States, in order to ensure effective and efficient cross-border functioning across the EU; Amendment 95 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 36. Stresses that the selection procedure of the European Chief Public Prosecutor~~, initiated in 2018, registered delays, in view of a disagreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the preferred candidate~~ was finalised in 2019; Amendment 96 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 36. ~~Stresses that the selection procedure of the European Chief Public Prosecutor, initiated in 2018, registered delays, in view of a disagreement between~~Welcomes the appointment of Mrs. Laura Codruta Kovesi as the first European Chief Public Prosecutor, following a selection procedure involving the European Parliament ~~and~~, the Council ~~on the preferred candidate~~and an independent group of experts selected by the Commission; Amendment 97 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 a (new) 36a. Stresses that the underfinancing and understaffing of the EPPO during its build-up-phase is un-acceptable; deeply regrets that the resources needed were largely underestimated by the Commission; emphasises that the EPPO has to process up to 3000cases per year, from the very first moment of its operation; emphasises that the EPPO is in need of at least 76 additional posts and EUR 8 Million to become fully operational as foreseen by the end of 2020; opposes the principle of part-time prosecutors; asks Member States to appoint full-time public prosecutors as soon as possible; strongly encourages that the Commission presents a draft amending budget; Amendment 98 # Corina CREȚU Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 a (new) 36a. Stresses that after the creation of the EPPO, OLAF will remain the sole office responsible for protecting EU financial interests in the Member States that decided not to join the EPPO; highlights that according to opinion 8/2018of the European Court of Auditors, the Commission proposal amending the OLAF regulation does not resolve the issue of low effectiveness of OLAF’s administrative investigations; underlines the importance of ensuring that OLAF remains a strong and fully functioning partner to the EPPO; Amendment 99 # Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 b (new) 36b. Stresses that the future cooperation between OLAF and the EPPO should be based on close cooperation, efficient exchange of information and complementarity, while avoiding duplications or conflicted competences; reminds that the Parliament opposes that OLAF’s staff is reduced by 45 posts; source: 648.436

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas de jure the Member States and the Commission have shared responsibility for implementing 74 % of the Union’s budget for 2018; whereas de facto, however, Member States spend those resources and the Commission is responsible for their supervision through its control mechanismsthe Commission in cooperation with the Member States implements the Union’s budget, of which 74 % were implemented under shared management in 2018;

Amendment 10 #

Corina CREȚU

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas according to Article 83 of the TFEU corruption is one of the particularly serious crimes with a cross- border dimension which has its negative effect on the EU financial interests;

Amendment 100 #

Corina CREȚU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

37. Notes with appreciation the slowing down of the competences granting process of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cross-border terrorist crimes; notes the European Council conclusions from 18 October 2018;deleted

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

37. ~~Notes with appreciation~~Expresses concern about the slowing down of the competences granting process of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cross-border terrorist crimes; notes the European Council conclusions from 18 October 2018; calls for consideration to be given to extending the competences of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to cross-border organised crimes;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37a. Calls on the co-legislators to reach an agreement on the revision of the OLAF regulation on time, to ensure a clear division of competences between OLAF and EPPO without overlap before EPPO becomes functional;

Amendment 103 #

Corina CREȚU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. Points out two areas for improvement: firstly, to improve fraud risk assessment and fraud risk management, the Commission ~~needs a more comprehensive~~and Member States should strengthen their analytical capa~~bil~~city ~~so that it can scan~~order to better identify data on fraud patterns, fraudsters’ profiles and vulnerabilities in EU internal control systems; secondly, to ensure consistency and to optimise efficiency and effectiveness, ~~decentralised~~the assessment and management of fraud risks need to be strongly coordinated and monitored ~~by a strong review system~~;

Amendment 104 #