Next event: Decision by Parliament 2021/04/28 more...
- Debate in Parliament 2021/04/27
Progress: Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | CONT | SARVAMAA Petri ( EPP) | WOLTERS Lara ( S&D), BOYER Gilles ( Renew), FREUND Daniel ( Verts/ALE), ADINOLFI Matteo ( ID), CZARNECKI Ryszard ( ECR), OMARJEE Younous ( GUE/NGL) |
Committee Opinion | PETI | ||
Committee Opinion | REGI | ||
Committee Opinion | AFCO | ||
Committee Opinion | DEVE | ||
Committee Opinion | CULT | ||
Committee Opinion | AFET | ||
Committee Opinion | PECH | ||
Committee Opinion | AGRI | ||
Committee Opinion | ENVI | ||
Committee Opinion | EMPL | ||
Committee Opinion | BUDG | ||
Committee Opinion | ITRE | ||
Committee Opinion | JURI | ||
Committee Opinion | ECON | ||
Committee Opinion | LIBE | ||
Committee Opinion | INTA | ||
Committee Opinion | IMCO | ||
Committee Opinion | TRAN | ||
Committee Opinion | FEMM |
Lead committee dossier:
Subjects
Events
The European Parliament adopted by 612 votes to 83, with 3 abstentions, to grant discharge to its President in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2019.
Budgetary and financial management
Parliament's final appropriations for 2019 totalled EUR 1 996 978 262, or 18.5 % of heading V of the Multiannual Financial Framework set aside for the 2019 administrative expenditure of the Union institutions as a whole, representing a 2.4% increase over the 2018 budget (EUR 1 950 687 373). Four chapters accounted for 67.8% of total commitments: Chapter 10 (Members of the institution), Chapter 12 (Officials and temporary staff), Chapter 20 (Buildings and associated costs), Chapter 42 (Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance), indicating a high level of rigidity for the major part of Parliament’s expenditure.
98.8% of the appropriations entered in Parliament’s budget, amounting to EUR 1 973 232 524, were committed, with a cancellation rate of 1.2%. Members noted with satisfaction that, as in previous years, a very high level of budget implementation was achieved. Payments totalled EUR 1 698 971 864, resulting in a payment appropriations execution rate of 86.1%.
Cancelled appropriations and transfers
Cancelled appropriations for the year 2019, amounting to EUR 23 745 738, mainly related to expenditure related to buildings, as well as to remuneration and other entitlements. Eighteen transfers were approved amounting to EUR 76 028 316 or 3.8% of final appropriations. 45.3% of the funds transferred related to Parliament’s buildings policy and mostly, in particular, to help fund the annual payments for the Adenauer building project. Transfers linked to postponements in relation the UKs decision to withdraw from the EU amounted to 25%.
Members found that the overall audit evidence indicates that expenditure on administration is not affected by a material level of error.
As in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the Court found errors in a payment to one of the European political parties, which resulted from non-compliance with the rules on eligibility of expenditure. Members called for greater transparency in the exchange of information to avoid similar situations in the future.
2019 discharge
Parliament stressed that the European elections in May 2019 resulted in a split in two halves for the Parliament in 2019, the first focused on adopting legislation and the second on starting a new parliamentary term. The 9th legislature of Parliament was constituted with 61% of new Members, a substantial increase on past terms and the projected 50% on the basis of which Parliament’s 2019 budget had been established.
The postponement of the date for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union at three occasions during 2019 had an important impact on Parliament's 2019 budget given that salaries and allowances of British Members and their assistants were paid for a longer period than initially foreseen.
Noting that teleworking and videoconferencing arrangements as well as remote voting are now part of Parliament’s working arrangements for Members, Members called on the Bureau to explore ways and costs to continue facilitating these arrangements for all Members if they wish to do so and explore using the arrangements also in the future.
However, they pointed out that physical presence in the Parliament's premises cannot be entirely replaced by teleworking.
Human resources
Members drew attention to the 6% staff reduction target which in 2019 required Parliament to eliminate 59 posts from its administration establishment plan. They acknowledged the simultaneous increase in the number of contractual agents and warned of the serious consequences that any budgetary cut in administration or any staff reduction may have in the future of the European civil service and the implementation of the Union's policies.
Parliament welcomed the fact that equal opportunities work is a key element of the Parliament's human resources policy in facilitating access to employment for people with disabilities and enhancing their integration. It welcomed the Bureau's endorsement of a set of gender balance targets for senior and middle management positions in Parliament's Secretariat General, to be achieved by 2024, namely 50% female heads of unit and directors, and 40% at director general level.
Members supported the launch of an awareness-raising campaign in 2019 in support of a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment at all levels, including staff, Members and accredited parliamentary assistants.
Voluntary pension fund
Parliament regretted that no further action had been taken on the voluntary pension fund due to the fact that a number of its Members had decided to challenge the Bureau's decision of 10 December 2018 before the Court of Justice of the European Union. It asked the Secretary General and the Bureau to fully respect the Statute for Members and to establish a clear plan for the pension fund so that Parliament fully assumes its obligations and responsibilities with regard to the voluntary pension scheme for its Members.
Communication and elections
Parliament noted with concern that the turnout of the 2019 European elections remained too low in certain countries and called for the campaign to ensure visibility of the European elections and the role of Parliament in the legislative process to be permanent.
Whilst noting with satisfaction that it was the first time since the first direct elections in 1979 that turnout has increased, Members regretted, however, that the Spitzenkandidaten system for the appointment of the President of the European Commission was not followed.
They stressed the need to review the way in which the leaders of the institutions are appointed and elected.
Members considered it extremely important for Parliament to engage in a permanent dialogue with EU citizens through different communication channels, not only during the election year but also throughout the legislature. They called on Parliament to take steps to counter disinformation through regular information and warnings, and to organise appropriate training and awareness-raising activities for Members, staff and visitors.
Members supported the Parliament's efforts in 2019 to mitigate cyber security risks. They called for ensuring that appropriate security measures are in place for Parliament's implementation of cloud computing solutions, including those that support its institutional autonomy.
Geographical dispersal of Parliament - single seat
The Court of Auditors has estimated that a move from Strasbourg to Brussels could generate annual savings of EUR 114 million in addition to a one-off saving of EUR 616 million if the Strasbourg buildings are successfully divested.
Members called on the Council to take account of Parliament's position, which has expressed support in various resolutions for a single seat to ensure efficient use of EU taxpayers' money.
Parliament reiterated that the cost and health consequences of the COVID-19 crisis should not be added to the cost of travelling to Strasbourg. It called on Member States, by way of derogation from the Treaty, not to insist on compensatory part-sessions in Strasbourg.
Greening Parliament
Members welcomed the Bureau's adoption on 16 December 2019 of ambitious new targets for Parliament's environmental management system, including a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2024 for the new legislative term.
The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by Petri SARVAMAA (EPP, FI) recommending the European Parliament to give discharge to its President in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2019.
Parliament’s budgetary and financial management
Members noted that Parliament's final appropriations for 2019 totalled EUR 1 996 978 262, or 18.5 % of heading V of the Multiannual Financial Framework set aside for the 2019 administrative expenditure of the Union institutions as a whole, representing a 2.4% increase over the 2018 budget (EUR 1 950 687 373).
It pointed out that four chapters accounted for 67.8% of total commitments:
- Chapter 10 (Members of the institution),
- Chapter 12 (Officials and temporary staff),
- Chapter 20 (Buildings and associated costs),
- Chapter 42 (Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance), indicating a high level of rigidity for the major part of Parliament’s expenditure.
98.8% of the appropriations entered in Parliament’s budget, amounting to EUR 1 973 232 524, were committed, with a cancellation rate of 1.2%. Members noted with satisfaction that, as in previous years, a very high level of budget implementation was achieved. Payments totalled EUR 1 698 971 864, resulting in a payment appropriations execution rate of 86.1%.
Cancelled appropriations and transfers
Cancelled appropriations for the year 2019, amounting to EUR 23 745 738, mainly related to expenditure related to buildings, as well as to remuneration and other entitlements. Eighteen transfers were approved amounting to EUR 76 028 316 or 3.8% of final appropriations. 45.3% of the funds transferred related to Parliament’s buildings policy and mostly, in particular, to help fund the annual payments for the Adenauer building project. Transfers linked to postponements in relation the U Ks decision to withdraw from the European Union amounted to 25%.
Legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts
Members noted that the overall audit evidence indicates that spending on administration is not affected by a material level of error. On the basis of the three quantified errors, the estimated level of error present in heading V of the multiannual financial framework on administration is below the materiality threshold.
The Court found errors in one payment to one of the European political parties, which concerned non-compliance with expenditure eligibility rules, specifically, no written contractual documents and no supporting evidence for costs actually incurred were provided.
2019 discharge
The report pointed out that the European elections in May 2019 resulted in a split in two halves for the Parliament in 2019, the first focused on adopting legislation and the second on starting a new parliamentary term. The 9th legislature of Parliament was constituted with 61% of new Members, a substantial increase on past terms and the projected 50% on the basis of which Parliament’s 2019 budget had been established.
The postponement of the date for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union at three occasions during 2019 had an important impact on Parliament's 2019 budget given that salaries and allowances of British Members and their assistants were paid for a longer period than initially foreseen.
Human resources
Members drew attention to the 6% staff reduction target which in 2019 required Parliament to eliminate 59 posts from its administration establishment plan. They acknowledged the simultaneous increase in the number of contractual agents and warned of the serious consequences that any budgetary cut in administration or any staff reduction may have in the future of the European civil service and the implementation of the Union's policies.
Communication and elections
The report noted with concern that the turnout of the 2019 European elections remained too low in certain countries and called for the campaign to ensure visibility of the European elections and the role of Parliament in the legislative process to be permanent.
Whilst noting with satisfaction that it was the first time since the first direct elections in 1979 that turnout has increased, Members regretted, however, that the Spitzenkandidaten system for the appointment of the President of the European Commission was not followed.
Documents
- Decision by Parliament: T9-0165/2021
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A9-0044/2021
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE681.059
- Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05792/2021
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE680.810
- Committee draft report: PE657.149
- Non-legislative basic document: COM(2020)0288
- Non-legislative basic document: EUR-Lex
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2020)0288
- Non-legislative basic document published: EUR-Lex
- Non-legislative basic document: COM(2020)0288 EUR-Lex
- Committee draft report: PE657.149
- Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05792/2021
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE680.810
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE681.059
Activities
- Nikos ANDROULAKIS
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Udo BULLMANN
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Lefteris CHRISTOFOROU
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Corina CREȚU
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Ryszard CZARNECKI
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Pascal DURAND
Plenary Speeches (0)
- José Manuel FERNANDES
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Ádám KÓSA
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Gilles LEBRETON
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Emmanuel MAUREL
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Markus PIEPER
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Michèle RIVASI
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Petri SARVAMAA
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Lara WOLTERS
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Sira REGO
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Joachim KUHS
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Ramona STRUGARIU
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Viola VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Hélène LAPORTE
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Sándor RÓNAI
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Tsvetelina PENKOVA
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Jessica STEGRUD
Plenary Speeches (0)
- Alin MITUȚA
Plenary Speeches (0)
Amendments | Dossier |
221 |
2020/2141(DEC)
2021/02/09
CONT
221 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16.
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 c (new) Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 b (new) 72 b. Notes with grave concern that according to the Transparency Register’s Annual Reports in past years, around half of all entries in the Register are incorrect; fears that the Register cannot fulfil its purpose of providing greater transparency on the activities of interest representatives if half of its entries provide incomplete or incorrect information; urges Parliament and the Commission to address the high rate of incorrect entries by increasing, at least temporarily, the Joint Transparency Register’s Secretariat’s Staff, systematically scan all entries for correctness and completeness, and ensure that only correct entries find a way to the register;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 c (new) 72 c. Recalls that Members were obliged to supply greater detail in their declarations of financial interest in relation to category 5 salary band in 2017; regrets that Members are still not required to provide sufficient detail on paid or unpaid outside activities which makes it impossible to check whether such an activity can result in a conflict of interests with their parliamentary activity; calls on the Bureau to update the format of the declarations to require that Members declare their outside activities with sufficient detail; encourages consultations in this regard with relevant Member State authorities in order to exchange best practices; calls on the bureau to empower parliamentary services to request additional information from Members’ parliamentary services to improve monitoring and verification mechanisms of the declarations, that would include detailed checks of at least those declarations in which comparatively high side incomes are indicated;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 d (new) 72 d. Welcomes the two European projects, Red Flags and Digiwhist, which use big data for reducing corruption and encourages the use of emerging technologies as part of the digitalisation;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 73 a (new) 73 a. Notes that as an outcome of the 2019 elections, the proportion of new Members in the 9th Legislature reached a high of 61%; highlights that in the context of the increasing number of former Members, the Secretary-General and the Bureau should establish strong rules to regulate revolving doors, requiring former Members to inform Parliament of their post-mandate activities and employment over a period that extends at least over the time former Members receive the end of term transitional allowance; calls for an independent assessment on whether such activities create conflicts of interests;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 74 74. Is convinced that the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer is a key component of its success; is deeply concerned by the difficulties encountered in recruiting some nationalities and bringing certain job profiles in-house; regrets Parliament’s over-dependence on external expertise; notes that DG PERS is currently running the project ‘Attracting and retaining top talent’ that aims at improving Parliament’s policies to attract and retain talent and at contributing to the development of Parliament’s long-term strategic vision on the jobs of the future; calls on the Secretary-General to do his utmost in order to
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 74 74. Is convinced that the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer is a key component of its success; is
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 75 75. Is concerned by the difficulty of recruiting IT and financial specialists and staff at lower grades in Luxembourg, especially in the AST-SC category; stresses that the introduction of a correction coefficient that takes account of the higher living costs in this place of work together with recruitment at higher grades is necessary to solve this structural problem and reiterates, in this regard, its request to the Commission in the frame of the 2018 discharge procedure; stresses that a preliminary factual analysis that the Court addressed to the Secretary-General in this context shows that the selection process organised by the European Personnel Selection Office is not adapted to small-scale, targeted competitions, which are those most suited to the current recruitment needs of Union institutions; notes with satisfaction Parliament’s active involvement in an inter-institutional effort in reviewing the way competitions are currently run by European Personnel Selection Office; calls for a new selection framework to be developed for specialist competitions and the introduction of a mechanism for regularly reviewing its selection process; calls on the Secretary- General to organise specialist competitions in-house when appropriate;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 75 75. Is concerned
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Notes the fact that no action has been taken in response to some of the recommendations in Parliament's resolution on discharge for 2018, and that the discharge follow-up document does not provide any justification for this; asks the Secretary-General to forward this resolution to the Bureau and highlights all requests for action or decisions by the Bureau; calls on the Secretary-General to establish a plan of action and a timetable enabling the Bureau to follow up and/or to respond to the recommendations contained in Parliament’s discharge resolutions and to include the results in the annual monitoring document; stresses the importance of having more frequent discussions with the Secretary-General and the Vice-President responsible for Budget on issues concerning Parliament's budget and its implementation in Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control; reiterates the need for the Bureau to substantially improve, in a proactive manner, the transparency and accessibility of each milestone of the decision-making procedure, with particular focus on the Bureau's website;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 76 76. Voices great concern furthermore at the fact that it is very difficult for DG ITEC to recruit enough highly qualified experts with very specific profiles, knowledge and experience; calls on Parliament to ensure that this request is properly transmitted to the European Personnel Selection Office to better
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 78 78. Welcomes the fact that promoting equal opportunities is a key component of Parliament's human resource policy; expresses its satisfaction as regards the fact that the gender equality roadmap continues to be implemented through concrete actions and that on 13 January 2020, the Bureau approved a set of
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 78 78. Welcomes the fact that promoting equal opportunities is a key component of Parliament's human resource policy; facilitating the employment and strengthening the integration of disabled persons; expresses its satisfaction as regards the fact that the gender equality roadmap continues to be implemented through concrete actions and that on 13 January 2020, the Bureau approved a set of more ambitious targets for gender balance in senior and middle management posts in Parliament’s Secretariat to be achieved by 2024: 50% female heads of units and directors, 40 % female directors-general;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 78 a (new) 78 a. Reiterates that it is essential that staff representatives are heard when the Bureau discusses general matters affecting its staff policy, and asks again the Secretary-General to take the appropriate measures to implement this key approach; reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take further steps to ensure transparency and fairness during senior management appointment procedures; asks for the full implementation of the measures recommended in Parliament’s resolution of 18 April 2018, notably that officials from staff representative bodies sit on Parliament’s senior management selection panels; calls, furthermore, for ensuring consistency when it comes to external publications of senior management posts and diligence in the publication of these posts as and when they fall vacant;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 78 a (new) 78 a. Reminds the findings and recommendations of the European Ombudsman in joint cases 488/2018/KR and 514/2018/K, and invites the Secretary-General to further improve the procedures of appointment of high ranking official towards more transparency and equality; calls on Parliament’s administration to report annually on the appointment of high ranking officials;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 78 a (new) 78a. Calls on the Secretary-General to make further improvements to the procedure for appointing senior officials, with a view to achieving greater transparency and equality; calls on the Parliament’s Administration to submit annual reports on the appointment of senior officials;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 78 a (new) 78 a. Notes that teleworking arrangements and remote voting are now part of Parliament’s working arrangements for Members; calls on Parliament’s secretariat to continue facilitating these arrangements for Members on maternity, parental, carers, sick or special leave and explore using the arrangements in the future also, so as to allow Members to both hold meetings in their constituencies as well as with their colleagues in Brussels in what could be ‘hybrid’ weeks;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 13 Members, Staff, Accredited Parliamentary Assistants and Local Assistants
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 79. Draws attention to the
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 79. Draws attention to the 6% staff reduction target, that in 2019 required Parliament to eliminate 59 posts from its administration establishment plan; acknowledges the simultaneous increase in the number of contractual agents; is concerned by the negative effects of this significant reduction on Parliament’s performance, both in the short and long term; notes that the work and responsibility of certain Parliament's Committees have increased due to the EU Recovery Plan Next Generation EU of EUR 750 billion, which amounts together with the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 (MFF) to EUR 1.8 trillion; is concerned of the missing administrative staff capacities in the relevant secretariats; calls for the reassessment of the staffing situation;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16.
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 79. Draws attention to the 6% staff reduction target, that in 2019 required Parliament to eliminate 59 posts from its administration establishment plan; acknowledges the simultaneous increase in the number of contractual agents; is concerned by the negative effects of this
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 79. Draws attention to the 6% staff reduction target, that in 2019 required Parliament to eliminate 59 posts from its administration establishment plan; acknowledges the simultaneous increase in the number of contractual agents;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 a (new) 79 a. Stresses that Parliament’s establishment plans have remained relatively stable since 2012, while at the same time increasing the number of temporary staff ; highlights the number of contract staff employed by the European Parliament has increased by 121% between 2012 and 2018 to compensate for the replacement of permanent staff, with a similar trend in 2019; notes the Court’s annual reports on the implementation of the Union budget for 2019 did not scrutinise whether these replacements have resulted from transfers of employees based in Strasbourg or Luxembourg to Brussels; calls on the Parliament’s human resources unit to share information on staff relocation at Parliament's three places of work since 2012, either as part of the annual discharge procedure or by sharing relevant information to the Court for inclusion in the next annual reports on budget implementation;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 a (new) 79 a. Notes that the Court found that the European institutions have reduced the number of posts for officials (i.e. permanent and temporary staff), while gradually increasing the number of contract staff, resulting in a substantial increase of the proportion of contract staff in the total workforce; reiterates that profoundly regrets the lack of career prospects for contract staff in the case of Parliament's administration; invites the Secretary-General to assess the risks relating to employing growing numbers of contract staff, including the danger of creating a two-tier staffing structure within Parliament; insists that core permanent positions and tasks should be performed by permanent staff;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 a (new) 79 a. Invites the Secretary-General to assess the risks related to employing growing numbers of contract agents, including the danger of creating a two- tier staffing structure within Parliament; insists that core permanent positions and tasks should be performed by permanent staff;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 a (new) 79 a. Highlights the fact that current rules on the termination of contract for APAs do not foresee the possibility of a termination by “mutual consent”, which would be a way to recognise the special political relation between Members and assistants, where both parties can acknowledge the mutual trust is no longer persisting, and benefit from a common solution; notes that this issue has been highlighted in several Parliament discharge reports and expects action to be taken as soon as possible;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 b (new) 79 b. Notes that members of staff who work in the Union institutions for less than 10 years cannot claim an Union pension, they must transfer their contributions to another fund which meets Parliament's rules regarding the type of fund and the age at which funds can be drawn; notes that many British APAs have not been able to transfer to United Kingdom pension funds which Parliament considers do not meet requirements; asks the Secretary-General to urgently look into this matter to ensure all members of staff can access their contributions;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 79 c (new) 79 c. Recalls that Parliament has called for Union legislation that grants workers the right to digitally disconnect from work without facing negative repercussions; asks Parliament to promote and apply this principle to itself too;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 80 80. Is worried about the number of members of staff on long-term sick leave; is concerned that some of those cases may relate to exhaustion and disturbed work-life balance; calls on the administration to be proactive towards the concerned staff, to carefully evaluate the staff workload and to ensure a balanced distribution of tasks; stresses, in that regard, the importance of a reasonable working schedule and avoiding meetings outside office hours which prevent Members and staff from keeping the work-life balance; welcomes the ‘Mind Matters’ campaign launch in 2018 by DG PERS to raise awareness and combat stigma related to mental health; urges Parliament to conduct a psychological risk assessment to detect psychological risks in the work environment and to develop targeted action plans to either eliminate them, or mitigate their negative impact; calls for reassessment of the applicable rules to enable quicker hiring of substitutes in cases of long-term sick leave;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 80 80. Is deeply worried about the number of
Amendment 13 #
16.
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 80 80. Is deeply worried about the number of members of staff on long-term sick leave
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 80 a (new) 80 a. Stresses the pressing necessity for a revision of the Bureau decision establishing the categories of committees on the ground of their legislative workload in order to also consider their budget related work; notes that the current situation has a negative particular impact on the Committee on Budgetary Control, which deals with a huge workload due to the discharge procedure but has a low legislative workload; encourages Parliament's administration to additionally reflect on innovative solutions to improve the situation;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 80 a (new) 80 a. Asks the Secretary-General to find a solution for the fact that APAs' salaries can exclusively go to Belgian bank accounts which runs counter to the idea of a single monetary and payments union;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 81 81. Welcomes the development of measures that contribute to a better balancing of professional and private life including the implementation of extended teleworking possibilities for Parliament’s staff and of measures promoting well-being at work; however, highlights the value of physical presence in Parliament; highlights the contribution of teleworking arrangements and remote voting to the further reduction of Parliament’s carbon footprint; stresses the need for Parliament's staff and Members to be provided the opportunity to continue the conduct of so-called hybrid meetings as well as remote voting; calls on the Bureau to continue providing instruments to facilitate these arrangements in future;
Amendment 134 #
82. Supports the continuation of the implementation of the activities of the Action Plan on Equality and Diversity 2014-2019; insists on the importance of better gender balance at all levels, including Directors-General level; support and of the measures of the report on ‘Diversities other than gender in the Parliament’s Secretariat - state of play and roadmap’ adopted by the Bureau on 3 April 2019; celebrates in particular the creation in 2020 of two contact points within Parliament, one on LGBTI+ issues and one on racial discrimination issues, both managed by the DG PERS’ Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Unit;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 82 a (new) 82 a. Deplores the fact that no system exists for Members who are on maternity leave or on long-term sick leave to temporarily continue their work remotely; is of the opinion that this impossibility is fundamentally at odds with core values of the Union because it sends the signal that a vote on a female candidate may entail temporary non-representation; therefore, building on the experience accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic, calls on the development of a hybrid working method which allows for Members on maternity leave or long-term sick leave to participate on meetings and vote online if they wish do so;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 82 a (new) 82 a. Deplores the fact that Members who are on maternity leave cannot be substituted; is of the opinion that this is at odds with core values of the Union because it implies that a vote on a female candidate may lead to temporary non- representation; is of the opinion that the impossibility (under normal circumstances) to vote remotely in plenary and in Parliament’s committees for Members on maternity and parental leave, carers’ leave, but also those on long-term sick leave as well as in cases of force majeure is an unresolved problem; calls on the Council to amend Art 6 of the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (European Electoral Act) in order to remedy the situation; calls on the Bureau to amend the Rules of Procedure accordingly;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 82 a (new) Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 82 a (new) 82 a. Welcomes Parliament's two positive action schemes to recruit 12 contract agents and two trainees with disabilities over the last two years;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 83 83. Supports the launch of an awareness raising campaign in 2019 to promote a zero-tolerance policy on harassment in the workplace; recognises Parliament’s zero tolerance policy towards harassment at any and all levels including
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16 a. Acknowledges the steps taken to ease the transition to the new provider of services for Parliament's Crèche; calls on the relevant services to continuously monitor the performance of the new team, guaranteeing that the level of services remains satisfactory, and between others, making sure that a sufficient ratio of care-taking personal to children is respected;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 83 83. Supports the launch of an awareness raising campaign in 2019 to promote a zero-tolerance policy on harassment in the workplace; recognises Parliament’s zero tolerance policy towards harassment at any and all levels including Members, staff and APAs; notes that following the 2019 elections, all Members
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 83 83. Supports the launch of an awareness raising campaign in 2019 to promote a zero-tolerance policy on harassment in the workplace; recognises Parliament’s zero tolerance policy towards harassment at any and all levels including Members, staff and APAs; notes that following the 2019 elections, all Members were required to sign a declaration confirming their commitment to complying with the code of appropriate behaviour incorporated in Parliament's Rules of Procedure in January 2019;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 83 83. Supports the launch of an awareness raising campaign in 2019 to promote a zero-tolerance policy on harassment in the workplace; recognises Parliament’s zero tolerance policy towards harassment at any and all levels including Members, staff and APAs; notes that following the 2019 elections, all Members were required to sign a declaration confirming their commitment to complying with the code of appropriate behaviour incorporated in Parliament's Rules of Procedure in January 2019; however, regrets that 10 new harassment cases were opened in 2019 out of which 4 cases concerned sexual harassment; calls for mandatory trainings for Member and staff;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 83 a (new) 83 a. Is of the opinion that Parliament should provide basic accommodations for breastfeeding mothers at work, particularly including time and a private space that is not a bathroom;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 84 84. Is aware of the 38 cases involving Parliament pending with European Anti- Fraud Office in 2019 ranging from the proper use of parliamentary allowances and staff conduct to the financing of European political structures; points out the fact that 14 cases were closed in 2019; expresses its strong concern for the high number of cases; asks the parliamentary services to conduct an in-depth analysis of the existing financial, legal, ethical and integrity risks which gave rise to these cases and to propose preventive measures so as to ensure these are not repeated;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 84 84.
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 85 85.
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 85 85.
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 85 b (new) 85 b. Is of the opinion that the protection of whistleblowers is an integral element of democracy and it is crucial in preventing and deterring unlawful activities and wrongdoings; recalls that, among others, APAs are in a vulnerable position due to their contract of employment; notes with concern the Secretary-General’s acknowledgement that “whistleblowing rules are applicable to accredited parliamentary assistants but that the Parliament cannot provide employment protection” as they are dependent on their individual Member; calls on the Secretary-General to take that factor into account when APAs act as whistleblowers, and to look to extend the contract protection options granted by Parliament for APAs who are victims of harassment to APAs who act as whistleblowers;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 85 a (new) 85 a. Is of the opinion that the protection of whistleblowers is an integral element of democracy and it is crucial in preventing and deterring unlawful activities and wrongdoings; recalls that, among others, APAs are in a vulnerable position due to their contract of employment; notes with concern the Secretary-General’s acknowledgement that “whistleblowing rules are applicable to accredited parliamentary assistants but that the Parliament cannot provide employment protection”; as they are dependent on their individual Member; calls on the Secretary-General to take that specificity into account when APAs act as whistleblowers, and to look for and extend the contract protection options granted by Parliament for APAs victims of harassment to APAs acting as whistleblowers;
Amendment 15 #
17.
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 85 a (new) Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 85 a (new) 85 a. Reiterates its call on Parliament's administration to provide, as early as possible in the next parliamentary term, new APAs with mandatory training courses or publications including, in particular, financial and administrative matters (mission orders, medical examinations, accreditation, parking stickers, groups of visitors, exhibitions, etc.) in order to avoid systemic errors hindering the smooth running of administrative procedures that affect them; highlights, in this regard, the necessity of technical training on the work of the parliamentary committees as well as the possibility of attending language courses outside of office hours;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 86. Welcomes the introduction of a wider and more sustainable food choice in Parliament’s self-service canteen; notes the launch of an independent client satisfaction survey via the Happy or Not terminals setup in the main outlets in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg aiming at identifying the outlets where changes and improvements are necessary; observes that The Happy or Not terminal has shown a constant and solid improvement rating of the catering services in the Kohl and Martens buildings, while the satisfaction rate is lower in the Spinelli and Paul-Henri Spaak buildings; calls for the necessary changes to adapt to clients’ needs; is concerned that non-vegetarian meals often cost more than vegetarian meals; requests that all canteens sufficiently display allergy menus next to the counter and offer one gluten-free meal per day;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 86. Welcomes the introduction of a wider and more sustainable food choice, including the introduction of a greater variety of vegetarian and vegan products, in Parliament’s self-service canteen; notes the launch of an independent client satisfaction survey via the Happy or Not terminals
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 b (new) Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86 a. Expresses strong concern for the working conditions of two of the external concessions contracted by Parliament, namely the cleaning and the restauration staff of Parliament, and strongly recommends that DG INLO organises an independent survey about the satisfaction with the working conditions of the staff concerned subcontracted by Parliament, in order to ensure respect and dignity at work; notes that such a survey was recommended in the previous Parliament discharge report, but that it was not followed up on; repeats this recommendation and urges the Bureau to act on this; calls for an evaluation of Parliament’s public procurement policy in light of improving transparent and predictable working conditions for all subcontracted services; calls on Parliament to report to the discharge authority on the results of such evaluation;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 c (new) 86 c. Recalls with disappointment the dismissal of 60 employees working in Parliament’s catering services as of January 2021; notes that the dismissed staff was informed shortly before Christmas 2020 and in the middle of a pandemic; stresses that some of the dismissed staff had worked on Parliament’s premises for decades; recalls Parliament’s repeated calls on companies across the Union to retain their staff during the pandemic; urges the Secretary- General to respond without delay to a letter sent about the dismissal signed by 355 Members; asks to consider if Parliament could guarantee these workers job security by the internalisation of the catering service and directly hiring the catering personnel, following the good example of Parliament's car drivers;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86 a. Is concerned about the increasing use of temporary and interim staff by the external catering company and the impact this is having on the quality of the services provided and on the amenities and quality of life and working conditions for permanent staff; condemns the recent mass redundancies occurred in the external catering company and asks Parliament's administration to find solutions within the frame of the social dialogue;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 d (new) 86 d. Deplores the decision by the COMPASS Group to dismiss 80 members of staff of the catering service by January 2021; welcomes the negotiation undertaken with the COMPAAS group which reduced the total number of dismissals to 50, but expresses complete dissatisfaction that still personnel is to be dismissed;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 e (new) 86 e. Considers the solution for the 50 dismissed members of staff insufficient to face the radical decision as already highlighted by several Vice-Presidents in the Bureau meeting of 12 December;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Welcomes the fact that the use of cash payments has decreased significantly, and that Members have used the possibility offered by the revised rules to give the financial responsibility of sponsored visits to professionals, i.e. paying agents or travel agencies instead of accredited parliamentary assistants (‘APAs’); notes, however, with concern that the Secretary- General has not yet released an assessment of the new rules and calls for preparing of such assessment; emphasises that the
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 f (new) 86 f. Reminds the precondition imposed by Parliament to keep all staff when COMPASS signed the contract with Parliament; invites the relevant Parliament authorities to investigates all possible alternative solutions which would safeguard the employment of all canteen workers; invites the Bureau to reconsider Parliament's externalisation policy in general; recalls the letter signed by over 300 Members to Parliament's President and Secretary-General on this regard;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 15 a (new) Plenary sessions taking place in Strasbourg
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86 a. Geographic dispersion of Parliament - Single Seat
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 b (new) 86 b. Recalls that a vast majority of Parliament expressed in various resolutions support for a single seat to ensure efficient spending of Union taxpayers money;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86 a. Recalls that according to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), particularly the Protocol (No 6) on the location of the seats of the Institutions of the European Union, the European Parliament shall have its seat in Strasbourg, where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session, shall be held; highlights that exceptional circumstances, which affect the functioning of Parliament, are temporary in nature; underlines the will of Parliament to resume back to the normal functioning based on the Treaties as soon as the situation allows; notes that permanent changes would require a Treaty change for which unanimity is needed;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 d (new) Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 e (new) 86 e. Recalls that a majority of the Members have repeatedly expressed that the monthly move from Brussels to Strasbourg entails excessive financial and environmental costs that cannot be justified to voters and taxpayers; urges the Member States to assess whether a continuation of the obligation to hold 12 parliamentary sessions a year in another working place is tenable from a financial, environmental and health perspective in a changed global context;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 f (new) 86 f. Reiterates that the COVID-19 crisis constitutes a ‘force majeure’ situation which has forced Parliament to scrap a substantial amount of the 12 Strasbourg sessions from the 2020 parliamentary calendar; upholds that costs and health consequences caused by the COVID-19 crisis should not be compounded by costly moves to Strasbourg; strongly urges the Member States to, by way of derogation from the Treaty, refrain from insisting on compensatory sessions in Strasbourg;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86 a. Points out that the additional expenditure involved in not having a single seat goes against the principle of sound financial management and against the principle of budgetary discipline; recalls that a vast majority of Parliament expressed in various resolutions support for a single seat to ensure efficient spending of Union’s taxpayers money; notes that the Court estimated that the end of moving from Strasbourg to Brussels could generate annual savings of EUR 114 million plus a one-off saving of EUR 616 million if the Strasbourg buildings are successfully divested, or a one-off cost of EUR 40 million if they are not; notes that a single seat can only be achieved by a unanimous Treaty change; urges the Council to take note of Parliament's position;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86a. Points out that, in a series of resolutions, a clear majority of Members have expressed support for a single seat, to guarantee efficient spending of Union taxpayers' money; notes that having a single seat could generate annual savings of some EUR 114 million, in addition to a one-off saving of EUR 616 million as a result of giving up the Strasbourg buildings; notes that a decision on a single seat requires a unanimous Treaty change; urges the Council to take note of Parliament's position, assume its responsibilities and act accordingly;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Re
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 c (new) 86 c. Notes that the Court has estimated that moving from Strasbourg to Brussels could generate annual savings of 114 million;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 d (new) 86 d. Recalls that additional expenditure caused by the travels to Strasbourg goes against the principle of sound financial management;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 a (new) 86 a. Reiterates its call on the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to reconsider the possibility for APAs, under certain conditions, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions, as already requested by several discharge resolutions; calls on the Secretary- General to investigate the budgetary consequences, and the organisation and logistics of these missions;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 b (new) 86 b. Reiterates its demand for the APAs to receive the same subsistence allowance as the statutory personnel for their missions to attend the part-sessions in Strasbourg; takes note of the follow-up answer provided by the Secretary-General about the different rules concerning the reimbursement of duty travel between Parliament's three places of work that apply to the Parliament's secretariat and APAs; insists on its demand and a subsequent change of the relevant rules mentioned by the Secretary-General;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 c (new) 86 c. Reiterates its concern about the alleged practice of Members obliging APAs to undertake missions, particularly to Strasbourg, without mission orders, mission costs or even travel costs; is of opinion that such a practice leaves room for abuse: where APAs travel without a mission order they not only have to pay for the costs by their own means, they are also not covered by workplace insurance; calls on the Secretary-General to investigate this alleged practice and to report on this by the end of the year;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 d (new) 86 d. Reiterates its call on the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to reconsider the possibility for APAs, under certain conditions to be determined, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions, as already requested by several Members; takes note of the estimated financial impact explained by the Secretary- General on his follow-up to the 2018 discharge but insists on the limited extension of this possibility; suggests a new discussion at the level of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 b (new) 86 b. Reiterates its concern about the alleged practice of Members obliging APAs to undertake missions, particularly to Strasbourg, without mission orders and without the reimbursement of their mission and travel spending; is of opinion that such a practice leaves room for abuse as when APAs travel without a mission order they not only have to pay for the costs by their own means, they are also not covered by workplace insurance; reiterates its calls on the Secretary- General to investigate this alleged practice and to report on this by the end of the year;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 c (new) Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 86 g (new) 86 g. Recalls that Article 6 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union laissez-passer should be accorded to members servants and other agents of the Union, on the basis of the conditions laid down in the Regulation (EU) No 1417/20131a of 17 December 2013; reminds that Rule 5.3 of the Rules of Procedure lays down the right for all Members of to request a laissez-passer of the Union “allowing a Member to circulate freely in the Member States and in other countries which recognise it as a valid travel document”, since the “laissez-passer is to be recognised as a valid travel document by the authorities of the Member States”; regrets reports from some Members that the laissez-passer is not fully recognised as a travel document in some Members States; requests Parliament to enquire on these situations and to coordinate with the relevant authorities to make sure that Members are not restricted and limited in their free movement while going to or returning from Parliament's meetings; _________________ 1a Council Regulation (EU) No 1417/2013 of 17 December 2013 laying down the form of the laissez-passer issued by the European Union (OJ L 353, 28.12.2013, p. 26.
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 87 87. Recalls Article 27(1) and (2) of the Statute for Members of the Parliament which states that “the voluntary pension fund set up by Parliament shall be maintained after the entry into force of this Statute for Members or former Members who have already acquired rights or future entitlements in that fund” and that “acquired rights and future entitlements shall be maintained in full”; is however convinced of the need to further explain the legal consequences of the rules and/or to modify the rules; asks the Secretary- General to guarantee that no taxpayer money is used for the future payments
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19 a. Recalls the 2018 discharge resolution asking the Bureau to increase the number of people with disabilities working in Parliament 's administration;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 87 a (new) 87 a. Recalls paragraph 118 of the 2017 Parliament discharge Resolution which called to investigate the legal foundations of the Voluntary Pension Fund and in particular, whether Parliament as has a legal obligation to guarantee that future entitlements shall be maintained in full and to fill the potential deficits of the fund or put fresh money in to the fund, given that the Voluntary Pension Fund is a SICAV investment fund under Luxembourg law rather than a regular pension fund, which would imply that there is in principle no such obligation; regrets that the Secretary-General has not yet come forward with any findings in response to the investigation called for;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 87 b (new) Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 87 c (new) 87 c. Recalls that for all beneficiaries of the voluntary pension fund the benefits represent an additional rather than their only source of income; underlines that due to a low-interest-rate environment, the amount of defined benefit schemes has radically declined across the Union; objects against sheltering former members of Parliament from this dynamic; rejects any situation in which the actuarial deficit of the fund leads to any form of bail-out with taxpayer money;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 88 88. Further notes that at the end of 2019, the amount of net assets to be taken into account and the actuarial commitment amount to EUR 111 million and EUR 439,6 million, respectively, leading to an estimated actuarial deficit of EUR 328,6 million; is extremely concerned about the possible exhaustion of the voluntary pension fund; recalls that there is no explicit provision on what would happen if the funds were not sufficient; stresses the current situation of the fund which is such that it cannot meet its future commitments;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 90 90. Recalls that, at its meeting of 10 December 2018, the Bureau decided to modify the rules applicable to the pension scheme by increasing the retirement age from 63 to 65 years and introducing a levy of 5% to pension payments for future pensioners with a view to improve its sustainability; welcomes that the immediate effects of the rules change were savings in the 2019 pensions payments amounting to approximately EUR 325 000, that of these, EUR 306 000 stem from the increase in pension age and EUR 19 000 stem from the introduction of a 5% levy to all pensions established after 1 January 2019; asks that the Bureau evaluate all possible options as soon as the Court of Justice has made its decisions regarding the current measures in order to find a fair
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 90 90. Recalls that, at its meeting of 10 December 2018, the Bureau decided to modify the rules applicable to the pension scheme by increasing the retirement age from 63 to 65 years and introducing a levy of 5% to pension payments for future pensioners with a view to improve its sustainability; welcomes that the immediate effects of the rules change were savings in the 2019 pensions payments amounting to approximately EUR 325 000, that of these, EUR 306 000 stem from the increase in pension age and EUR 19 000 stem from the introduction of a 5% levy to all pensions established after 1 January 2019; asks that the Bureau evaluate all possible options as soon as the Court of Justice has made its decisions regarding the current measures in order to find a fair solution to the voluntary pension scheme and fund while keeping Parliament's liability to a minimum as Union taxpayers’ money is involved;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 91 91.
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 91 a (new) 91 a. Invites the Court to present a new opinion on the Voluntary Pension Funds, investing all possible options to limit its deficit;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 15 Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 92 92. Supports the use of the Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS), which is a management instrument of the Union for private and public organisations to evaluate and improve their environmental performance in accordance with Regulation 1221/200910
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Reiterates its call on the Secretary- General to insist on the need for real geographical balance in terms of proportional representation of all Member States at all levels of staff, including top
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 92 a (new) 92 a. welcomes that 100% of all A4 paper used in Parliament's offices is recycled and welcomes the significant decrease of paper purchase in 2019 compared to 2018; welcomes the Parliament's efforts to increase the number of paperless meetings and calls for more training to be ofered to all Members, staff and APAs about the paperless tools which have been created to enable less documents to be printed and for further communication campaigns;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 92 a (new) 92a. Takes the view that Parliament must set an example by making a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030; calls, as a matter of urgency, for detailed reporting and accounting in respect of Parliament's measures to offset carbon emissions and for greater efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 92 b (new) 92 b. Calls for further ambitious actions to be undertaken swiftly and believes that the ultimate goal should be a Parliament free of single-use plastic;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 93 93.
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 95 95.
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 95 a (new) 95 a. Is concerned by the fact that out of the 340 persons that Parliament’s vehicle fleet has a capacity to theoretically carry on the way to Strasbourg per plenary session, only 116 Members and APAs made use of this opportunity in 2019, which corresponds to an occupation rate of less than 3 percent; urges the Secretary-General to introduce a user- friendly on-line booking system and allow this option of travel to Strasbourg to political groups’ and all other staff, too; further requests Parliament to lift the obligation on APAs to use the fleet to go from Brussels to Strasbourg only when accompanied by their Member;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 95 a (new) 95 a. Is concerned by the fact that out of the 340 persons that the Parliament’s vehicle fleet has a capacity to theoretically carry on the way to Strasbourg per plenary session, only 116 Members and APAs made use of this opportunity in 2019, which corresponds to an occupation rate of less than 3percent;, urges the Secretary-General to introduce a user- friendly on-line booking system and allow this option of travel to Strasbourg to Political Groups’ and all other staff, too; further requests Parliament to lift the obligation on APAs to use the fleet to go from Brussels to Strasbourg only when accompanied by their Member;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 95 a (new) 95 a. Recalls its calls on Parliament to allow for all Parliament and political groups' staff to use the drivers service when travelling to Strasbourg and this to reduce the environmental impact of Parliament ; welcomes that opportunity for APAs to join for the trip to Strasbourg and back exists but regrets that this option is not used to full capacity and is quite limited; requests for a better communication to be circulated on this possibility so as to make sure that no cars travel empty to Strasbourg and back;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 96 96. Welcomes the adoption by the Bureau, on 16 December 2019, of new ambitious key performance indicators targets for Parliament’s environmental management system, including a 40% carbon emission reduction target, with a date of 2024 for the new legislative term; calls for the efficient implementation of the necessary actions in order to achieve the target on time and regular reporting to the discharge authority on the progress made; further calls on Parliament to re-evaluate its EMAS target in light of the emissions reductions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 97 97. Commends Parliament’s commitment to green public procurement
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Notes the specific finding, concerning Parliament, contained in the annual report of the Court for 2019; notes with concern that the Court found errors in one payment to one of the European political parties, which concerned non- compliance with the expenditure eligibility rules, specifically, no written contractual documents and no supporting evidence for costs actually incurred were provided; regrets the fact that the Court had reported similar shortcomings in transactions relating to political groups and to a European party in its annual reports in 2014, 2015 and 2016; calls for greater transparency in the exchange of information in order to prevent any repeat of these shortcomings in the future; notes, however, that although there is always scope for improvement there has been a lot of positive development over recent years;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20 a. Welcomes the Secretary-General's note on Disability Management in the administration of the European Parliament, highlights that the ten commitments of the note still have to be pursued during the current legislative period in the fields of digital and physical accessibility, asks to keep the discharge authority informed on the progress made;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 97 a (new) 97 a. Welcomes Parliament's intention to introduce sustainability reporting, which will include social aspects of procurement, calls on the Parliament to monitor developments in the field of social and sustainable public procurement, such as the OECD work on Public Procurement and Responsible Business Conduct and the upcoming Union legislation on corporate due diligence; believes that by incorporating responsible business standards in its procurement and purchasing policies, Parliament can lead by example, safeguard the public interest and ensure the accountability of public spending;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 97 a (new) 97 a. Welcomes the adoption by the Bureau, on 16 December 2019, of a new ambitious key performance indicators target for green public procurement, meaning that on average 90% of contracts in priority-product categories should be classified as ‘Green’, or ‘Green by Nature’ over the 2020-2024 period; underlines the need to develop further green public procurement by setting ambitious targets for greening contracts in the medium term;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 98 a (new) 98 a. Stresses that Parliament has to honour its commitments regarding the fight against climate change, and must consequently take appropriate steps in all its buildings to make sufficient bicycle internal and external parks, where bicycles are protected against theft, vandalism and the elements, available to all staff, and at the very least offer the same arrangements currently available in staff car parks; a system whereby vignettes are used as a means of identification could also be very worthwhile in this regard;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 98 a (new) 98 a. Welcomes the significant increase of use of bicycles in Brussels in 2019 compared to 2018;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 98 a (new) 98 a. Recalls Parliament’s goals of further reducing its emissions and underlines that the least polluting way of necessary air travel is the possibility of direct flights and flexible airline tickets; calls on Parliament's travel agency to make this their default option when choosing travel arrangements;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 98 a (new) 98 a. Notes the environmental impact of Parliament's recurrent relocation to Strasbourg;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 101 a (new) 101a. Expresses concern at the excessive use of English in Parliament debates and documents; points out that multilingualism and the use of the three working languages are principles enshrined in the Treaties and that Rule 167 of the Rules of Procedure lays down Parliament's language regime; calls for the legislation in force to be applied in order to guarantee the full use of the three working languages and multilingualism;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 104 a (new) 104a. Draws attention to the need to rationalise interpreting and translating costs by optimising the way Parliament conducts its proceedings and making English the main language for other work;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 104 a (new) 104 a. Calls on the Secretary-General to analyse the feasibility of the introduction of international sign language interpretation for all plenary debates, in line with the requests adopted by the Plenary, and to implement this decision in respect of the principle of equal access to all citizens;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 106 106.
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Recalls that Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure has introduced an obligation for rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs to publish information on meetings held with interest representatives in the context of their reports; notes with satisfaction that, since the start of the new
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 108 Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 109 109. Recalls the decision that all Members sh
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 109 109. Recalls the decision that all Members sh
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 109 a (new) Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 109 b (new) 109 b. Stresses that the general expenditure allowance is a lump-sum allowance and underlines the necessity of independence of the free mandate as stated in the rules of procedure; welcomes the decision of the Bureau to task a working group with the evaluation of the conduct of general expenditure allowance during the last years and finding feasible practices to manage the general expenditure allowance; invites the Bureau to take a decision until the end of 2021; stresses that the management of the general expenditure allowance should not lead to increased level of bureaucracy for members offices and Parliament's administration;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 110 110. Recalls Rule 11(4) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, as adopted by the Bureau on 11 March 2019, which provides that “The Bureau shall provide the necessary infrastructure on Members’ online page on Parliament’s website for those Members who wish to publish a voluntary audit or confirmation, as provided for under the applicable rules of the Statute for Members and its implementing rules, that their use of the General Expenditure Allowance complies with the applicable rules of the Statute for Members and its implementing measures”;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 111 111. Highlights that the 2018 Bureau decision on the general expenditure allowance stipulates that the Bureau will maintain this decision until the end of 2022 and will evaluate it on the basis of the experience gained during the 9th parliamentary term;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 111 111.
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 111 a (new) 111 a. Underlines that good governance is based on sound financial management and proportionality; invites the Bureau to take into account the cost-effectiveness and proportionality of any further investments and the benefits achieved through further expenditure of tax payers money and increased bureaucracy; notes that a comprehensive system of control of the Members’ parliamentary mandate allowance would necessitate 40 to 75 new administrative posts going against sound financial management and proportionality;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 111 a (new) 111 a. Is of the opinion that the current non-exhaustive list of expenditure is not sufficiently clear and leaves therefore loopholes and room for misinterpretation, calls on the Bureau to establish an exhaustive list of expenditure or at least establish a negative list of expenditure;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Recalls that Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure has introduced an obligation for rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs to publish information on meetings held with interest representatives in the context of their reports; notes with satisfaction that, since the start of the new legislature, the necessary infrastructure has been available on Parliament’s website to allow Members to publish scheduled meetings with interested representatives in order to improve transparency; stresses, however, that the tool for publication of meetings needs further improvement in order to fulfil its function to make Parliament more open, transparent, and accountable to citizens;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 115 a (new) 115 a. Regrets that there have been 1 369 single bidder tenders among all public tenders for contracts for the purchase of goods and services by Parliament; notes that single bidder tenders carry a significant threat to the proper spending of public money; calls on Parliament to investigate the reasons for the apparent lack of competition and take necessary measures to prevent single bidder tenders in future procedures;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 122 122. Calls on the Authority to ensure that information covering the registration and financial situation of European political parties and foundations be
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Recalls that Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure has introduced an obligation for rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs to publish information on meetings held with interest representatives in the context of their reports; notes with satisfaction that, since the start of the new legislature, the necessary infrastructure has been available on Parliament’s website to allow Members to publish scheduled meetings with interested representatives in order to
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21 a. Notes that 324 out of the 705 of current Members had published at least one meeting with an interest representative by 01 December 2020 on Parliament’s website; urges Parliament to take appropriate measures to ensure that all rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs comply with the obligation to publish their lobby meetings, including by enhancing its communication towards Members about the obligation of publishing such information and to further encourage the publication of lobby meetings on Parliament’s website in all other cases as well;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21 a. Reiterates its request that, in addition to the joint Parliament and Commission report on the activities of the Transparency Register, Parliament drafts an annual detailed report on the interest representatives and other organisations that were given access to Parliament's premises, and to publish it in the respect of the data protection regulation;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21 a. Reiterates that Parliament’s President has instructed Parliament’s services to implement a number of changes to the tool to improve its user- friendliness, first and foremost by connecting it to the Transparency Register and Legislative Observatory; calls on Parliament to put in place these changes without any further delay;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21 a. Recalls Article 4 of the Code of Conduct with respect to financial interests and conflicts of interest, that the Members' declarations of financial interests shall be provided in a precise manner; notes that in cases where there is reason to believe that the information provided is out of date, the President may, where appropriate, request the Member to correct the declaration within 10 days;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 b (new) 21 b. Notes that 324 out of the 705 of current Members had published at least one meeting with an interest representative by 1 December 2020 on Parliament’s website; urges Parliament to take appropriate measures to ensure that all rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs comply with the obligation to publish their lobby meetings, including by enhancing its communication towards Members about the obligation of publishing such information, and to further encourage the publication of lobby meetings on Parliament’s website in all other cases as well;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 – subparagraph 1 (new) Regrets the difficulties for Members to recruit swiftly their assistants at the beginning of the term due to DG Pers' increased activity; calls for Parliament's administration teams responsible for the recruitment of APAs to be reinforced at the beginning of each new mandate, for the time necessary to enable Members to recruit their assistants and to provide comprehensive training beforehand and until the high work load has been completed;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Notes the specific finding, concerning Parliament, contained in the annual report of the Court for 2019; notes with concern that the Court found errors in one payment to one of the European political parties, which concerned non- compliance with the expenditure eligibility rules, specifically, no written contractual documents and no supporting evidence for costs actually incurred were provided; regrets the fact that the Court had reported similar shortcomings in transactions relating to political groups and to a European party in its annual reports in 2014, 2015 and 2016;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. Welcomes the successful completion, in 2019, of new working environments for Members in Brussels and Strasbourg; commends the fact that the refurbishment of all Members' offices in Brussels (1 personal office per Member + 2
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28 a. Notes the severely limited possibility for Members to take parental leave; calls for the introduction of measures to facilitate the possibility for substitutes to replace Members - women and men alike - while on parental leave;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28 a. Reminds that the 2014 administrative cooperation agreement between the Parliament and the Europan Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of Regions (the 'consultative Committees') was highly unbalanced for the latter because they transferred a total of 60 translators to the Parliament and in exchange obtained only the use of the services of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); notes with concern that as a consequence the consultative Committees had to hire contract staff and outsourced their translation services; is aware of the requests expressed by the consultative Committees in the frame of the discharge procedure for the ongoing agreement to be respected by the Parliament so they are duly compensated; supports the consultative Committees in the view that an extension or revision of the current agreement must settle all outstanding issues and specifically the imbalance; asks the three institutions to jointly report to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the ongoing revision of the agreement;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 29. Expresses its support for the way Parliament increased the visibility of the European elections by building, animating and engaging with a wide network of media, partners and volunteers who acted as opinion multipliers within their own
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 30. Welcomes that more than 50% of Union citizens eligible to vote took part in the elections, and notes with satisfaction that it was the first time since the first direct elections in 1979 that turnout has increased; regrets, however, that the Spitzenkandidaten system for the appointment of the Commission President was not followed, unlike after the 2014 elections; observes that the system adds to the transparency and accountability of the Commission to Parliament; notes that the President of the European Commission acknowledges the need for improvement in this area in the Political Guidelines; stresses that, as stated in the Guidelines, a review of the way the leaders of the institutions are appointed and elected is needed;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 a (new) 30 a. Recalls nevertheless that the turnout remained too low in certain countries; considers that this type of communication campaign should be ongoing, with a particular focus on those countries;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 30 a (new) 30 a. Emphasizes the need to make the European electoral process more accessible to people with disabilities;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 a (new) Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 33. Notes that Parliament's Bureau assigned to DG COMM the task of increasing awareness among citizens across the Union about the upcoming elections, with the aim of increasing democratic participation; welcomes the contribution of Parliament’s 2019 election and information campaign to the highest- recorded voter turnout in 20 years; expresses its support for Parliament’s innovative institutional communication strategy for the 2019 European elections, aimed at raising awareness about the elections and encouraging people to vote; observes that the strategy was based on reinforcing and strengthening the relations with media and the development of a robust network of partners; considers it is of great importance for Parliament to continuously engage with Union citizens through various communication channels not only during the electoral year but throughout the entire legislature; stresses the importance of establishing synergies with existing channels and enhance cooperation with European Parliament liaison offices to avoid duplication and effectively use taxpayers' money;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Notes the response given by Parliament in the adversarial procedure with the Court, which re-examined and addressed the individual cases highlighted as a result of the Court’s findings; recalls that, while Parliament’s administration is the authorising service for the payment of the grant towards the European political parties, it is not responsible for their actual expenditure, and that the European political parties are themselves responsible for the legality and regularity of their transactions; notes that Parliament provided European political parties with comprehensive information and guidance on topics in respect of which problems have been identified; calls on the Court to check the European political parties' spending on a regular bases;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 a (new) 33 a. Is deeply concerned about the website “EP Today” and its misleading use of Parliament’s name and the Union symbology; notes with alarm that EUvsDesinfo found out that 99% of the articles that appeared on “EP Today” were actually syndicated from other websites such as “Voice of America” or “Russia Today”; is alarmed that the follow-up investigation by EU DisinfoLab has discovered a massive 15-year influence operation successfully targeted the Union with more than 750 fake local media and more than 10 "zombie- NGOs"; is concern that this operation successfully reached and involved Members before it was identified and investigated; call on Parliament’s DG COMM to coordinate with the European External Action Service and the Commission to take action on this matter;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 34.
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 a (new) 35 a. Expresses its concerns regarding the European Data Protection Supervisor's (EDPS) investigation into Parliament’s use of a political campaigning company based in the United States of America to process personal data as part of its activities relating to the 2019 European election; notes that the investigation into Parliament’s use of NationBuilder resulted in the first ever EDPS reprimand issued to an Union institution due to a breach of Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, involving the selection and approval of sub-processors used by NationBuilder; notes, furthermore, that a second reprimand was subsequently issued by the EDPS, after Parliament failed to publish a compliant Privacy Policy for the "thistimeimvoting" website within the deadline set by the EDPS; notes with satisfaction that in both instances, Parliament acted in line with EDPS recommendations; echoes the EDPS's statements about the threat posed by online manipulation and how strong data protection rules are essential for democracy, especially in the digital age;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Notes that, at its meeting of 11 February 2019, the Bureau confirmed the continuation of Parliament’s office in London; notes that on 5 October 2020, the Bureau acknowledged the closure of the Edinburgh antenna office at the end of 2020;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Notes that, at its meeting of 11 February 2019, the Bureau confirmed the continuation of Parliament’s office in London; notes that on 5 October 2020, the Bureau acknowledged the closure of the Edinburgh antenna office at the end of 2020; acknowledges that the liaison office in the United Kingdom will continue to
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Notes that, at its meeting of 11 February 2019, the Bureau confirmed the continuation of Parliament’s office in London; notes that on 5 October 2020, the Bureau acknowledged the closure of the Edinburgh antenna office at the end of 2020; acknowledges that the liaison office in as well as the European Union Delegation to the United Kingdom will continue to play a crucial role for Parliament in providing services to Members on delegations to the United Kingdom and in order to further engage with citizens, civil society, government, the parliamentary environment and media in that country; regrets therefore the refusal of the United Kingdom government to recognise the full diplomatic status of the European Union ambassador to the United Kingdom;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. Notes that, at its meeting of 11 February 2019, the Bureau confirmed the continuation of Parliament’s office in London; notes that on 5 October 2020, the Bureau acknowledged the closure of the Edinburgh antenna office at the end of 2020; acknowledges that the liaison office in the United Kingdom will continue to play a crucial role for Parliament in providing services to Members on delegations to the United Kingdom and in order to further engage with citizens, civil society, government, the parliamentary environment and media in that country; calls on the Bureau and European Union External Action Service to find a practical solution with the British authorities to grant diplomatic status to Parliament's staff working at the liaison office in London;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 a (new) 37a. Questions the need for Parliament to maintain an office in London, given that the remit of Parliament's liaison offices is to cultivate relations and carry out information activities in the Member States;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 a (new) 37 a. Stresses that any new decisions taken concerning parliamentary support to the European Union Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta, the European Union delegation to the African Union in Addis Ababa and the European Union Delegation to the United Nations in New York, must be based on a thorough cost- benefit analysis; acknowledges that the Secretary-General intends to put in place measurable indicators to assess annual performance under the framework of Parliament's strategic planning, monitoring and reporting cycle;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 a (new) 37 a. Stresses the need for the revival of the debating culture in Parliament; welcomes the decision to require members to give speeches from the lectern facing the plenary; believes that the debating culture can also be improved by allowing sufficient time for the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments, for instance by extending the blue card procedure;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 – indent 1 - with regard to the audit of procurement and contract implementation in the catering sector (DG INLO), achieving the internal control objectives through, notably, allowing longer time- limits for procurement that are proportionate to the complexity of the specifications; ensuring clearer, more relevant and accurate tender specifications; ensuring a transparent evaluation of tenders that is based on the published criteria and is properly documented; validating ad hoc contracts on concessions with the legal
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 40 40. Notes that the revised rules governing the payment of financial contributions for sponsored visitors’ groups entered into force on 1 January 2017; recalls that, in accordance with the principle of non-profit enshrined in these rules, heads of groups have an obligation to return any unused financial contribution after verification by Parliament’s services of a financial declaration; seeks greater assurance that the management of sponsored visitors’ groups is strictly in accordance with the applicable rules; reiterates its call to remove the possibility of appointing APAs as head of group and thus giving the financial responsibility of sponsored visits exclusively to a member of the group or to professionals, i.e. paying agents or travel agencies;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 40 40. Notes that the revised rules governing the payment of financial contributions for sponsored visitors’ groups entered into force on 1 January 2017; recalls that, in accordance with the
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 41 41. Recalls that in 2019 Parliament’s internal auditor started an audit on the implementation of the new rules, and that in his findings, finalised in 2020, the internal auditor highlighted that financial contributions for the visitors’ groups should be further aligned with the real costs incurred by the groups, that ex-ante controls should be reinforced when the first contribution is paid out, and that the existing system of ex-post controls should be reinforced; reiterates that the findings of internal auditor should be taken into account
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 41 a (new) 41 a. Points out that receiving sponsored visitor groups of persons with disabilities may occur with additional expenses and requires higher financial contributions, therefore recommends to the Bureau to study the possibility of higher allocations to cover all eligible expenditure of such groups;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 44 44. Is
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 45 45. Is aware of the importance of the
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 45 a (new) 45a. Criticises the delay in the construction of the Konrad Adenauer building in Luxembourg, delivery of which was planned for 2018, but is now not expected before 2023; calls on the Bureau to outline promptly the reasons for the delay and the increase in construction costs;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 46 a (new) 46 a. In the light of the shift to ‘remote work/work from home’ mode that started as the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and will at least in part remain in place for years to come calls on Bureau to update the "Beyond 2019" building strategy to take proper note of the recent changes in the working environment;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 46 a (new) 46a. Emphasises the need to rationalise Parliament's spending by assessing, wherever possible, the scope for reducing the number of building being rented; takes the view that the primary objective must be effective financial management and completion of works at the lowest possible cost;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 47 47. Expresses concern over the overdue actions agreed with the internal auditor in 2018 addressing significant residual risks regarding building maintenance, refurbishment and operation; calls on the Bureau to adopt a comprehensive maintenance policy and report back to the discharge authority; welcomes the gradual phasing out of contracts regarding externalised management functions and the savings this generates;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 – indent 1 - with regard to the audit of procurement and contract implementation in the catering sector (DG INLO), achieving the internal control objectives through, notably, allowing longer time- limits for procurement that are proportionate to the complexity of the specifications; ensuring clearer, more relevant and accurate tender specifications; ensuring a transparent evaluation of tenders that is based on the published criteria and is properly documented; validating ad hoc contracts on concessions with the legal service; the critical importance of managing amendments to concession contracts in line with the rules; improved management monitoring and reporting; underlines the importance of taking criteria for environmental sustainability and social factors into account;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Recalls that in 2020, Parliament launched an international architectural competition with two options, a comprehensive environmental renovation or reconstruction of the Spaak building; expects a detailed evaluation of the cost on the basis of the summary pre-project, which is to be developed by the winning architect in the course of 2021; demands that the renovation/reconstruction take into account Parliament’s current needs as described in the updated building strategy beyond 2019; points out that Parliament has a building which meets its functional needs in Strasbourg, its seat; warns against the potentially high cost of the complete reconstruction of the Spaak building, and calls for the works to be restricted to essential maintenance and renovation, in the interests of European taxpayers;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Recalls that in 2020, Parliament launched an international architectural competition with two options, a comprehensive environmental renovation or reconstruction of the Spaak building; to take into account cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency as leading criteria; expects a detailed and public evaluation of the cost and energy efficiency of the selected proposal on the basis of the summary pre-project, which is to be developed by the winning architect in the course of 2021; demands that the renovation/reconstruction take into account Parliament’s current needs as described in the updated building strategy beyond 2019;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Recalls that in 2020, Parliament launched an international architectural competition with two options, a comprehensive environmental renovation or reconstruction of the Spaak building; expects as soon as possible a detailed evaluation of the cost on the basis of the summary pre-project to be presented to Parliament’s Committee on Budgets and Committee on Budgetary Control, which is to be developed by the winning
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 50 50. Recalls that in 2020, Parliament launched an international architectural competition with two options, a comprehensive environmental renovation or reconstruction of the Spaak building; expects a detailed evaluation of the cost on the basis of the summary pre-project, which is to be developed by the winning architect in the course of 2021;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 51 51. Notes the Bureau's decision of 25 November 2019 to set up a Europa
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 51 51.
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 52 52. Welcomes the idea that Parliament is committed to undertaking the necessary adaptation and renovation of its buildings in order to create an environment accessible to all users in line with Union standards and national legal frameworks; stresses that works to improve the
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 a (new) 53 a. Notes that a first call for tender was launched in 2019 in order to conclude contracts for new banking facilities and ended with only one bank choosing to submit an offer for the same space the bank previously occupied; notes that a second call for tender was organised in 2020 aiming to occupy the other two baking areas and no offers were received; regrets that the ING agency remained open only for the two first months of the current parliamentary term, time to open accounts for many of the new elected Members and contracted APAs, and then closed; notes that the supermarket has also decided not to extend its concession but welcomes the fact that there will be a future food market concession located on the ground floor of the Spinelli building; asks the administration to review and make more attractive the conditions of the exploitation of commercial concessions in order to attract quality services providers;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 a (new) 53 a. Expresses concerns on the Trèves 1 building for its lack of services; invites the Parliament to explore as a priority solution to ensure this building has an effective connection with Parliament's main buildings, where most of the parliamentarian activities take place;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 53 a (new) 53 a. Points to recent media reports that the thermal cameras in use in Parliament's premises for measuring the temperature of all persons entering Parliament is produced by Hikvision, a company importing and producing cameras from China’s Xinjiang province1a; recalls that Hikvision has been accused of providing surveillance equipment to internment camps in this province1b; notes that there is an unacceptable risk that Hikvision, through its operations in Xinjiang, is contributing to serious human rights abuses; recalls that Parliament awarded the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Ilham Tohti for his efforts to protect the rights of the Uyghur population in China; considers the use of thermal cameras of this provider in Parliament's premises therefore to be unacceptable; calls on the Secretary-General to terminate the contract with Hikvision and remove all of Hikvision’s thermal cameras from Parliament’s premises; stresses the need for the Bureau to be more prudent in the selection of equipment providers in the future; _________________ 1ahttps://www.dw.com/en/exclusive-eu- taps-chinese-technology-linked-to- muslim-internment-camps-in-xinjiang/a- 55362125 1b https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/76815042 6/u-s-blacklists-chinese-tech-firms-over- treatment-of-uighurs?t=1611915285989
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 – indent 2 - with regard to the audit of visitors’ groups, increasing the assurance of the
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 55 55. Welcomes the fact that no major security incident has taken place inside Parliament’s premises since 2015; however, is deeply concerned by the total number of Members, secretariats of political groups and the accredited parliamentary assistants reported as victims of thefts within Parliament’s premises;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 56 56. Takes note of the immediate actions, approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 22 July 2020, which included an awareness campaign, protection of valuable IT equipment, prior notification of maintenance works, and provisions of separate master keys for each floor and strict limitation of their distribution; expresses its dismay over the general tone and specific messages of the awareness campaign that seems to hold Members and staff responsible of the protection of the equipment beyond common sense rather than focus on security measures; expects Parliament to adopt long-term measures to prevent thefts including among those envisaged the introduction of different levels of access rights within Parliament’s premises, increased CCTV coverage, and further actions relating to
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 56 56. Takes note of the immediate actions, approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 22 July 2020, which included an awareness campaign, protection of valuable IT equipment, prior notification of maintenance works, and provisions of separate master keys for each floor and strict limitation of their distribution; expects Parliament to
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 56 56. Takes note of the immediate actions, approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 22 July 2020, which included an awareness campaign, protection of valuable IT equipment, prior notification of maintenance works, and provisions of separate master keys for each floor and strict limitation of their distribution;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 56 a (new) 56 a. Urges the implementation of an internal escape strategy for people with reduced mobility or disabilities in case of emergency;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 57 57. Welcomes the measures taken to upgrade Parliament’s buildings security, in particular security screening of external service providers’ personnel, and the internalisation of general security services in Luxembourg, approved by the Bureau in 2012, but which was impacted by the construction work of the new Adenauer II building; underlines that incidents of violent protesters entering public institutions in Member States and threatening staff and members is an issue of concern and therefore encourages DG SAFE to assess the current safety measures and make recommendations for further improvement;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 59 59.
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 60 a (new) 60 a. Notes that the physical presence in Parliament's premises is of great importance for proper functioning of its work;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 a (new) 65 a. Underlines its obligation to manage directly or at least have direct control over the management of its critical infrastructures and sensitive, confidential data; instructs its administration to implement that obligation;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 b (new) Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes that the 2019 follow-up process resulted in the closure of 36 of the 93 open actions; notes with concern that in addition to these validated actions, there was a total of 124 open actions from audit reports, including those not yet due for implementation, and that 62 of this total number of actions address significant risk; expects an effort from different directorates-general’s in ensuring that the overdue actions are closed and that the agreed actions will be implemented in accordance with the set due-dates; calls on the Secretary General to report back to the discharge authority on the closure of the remaining actions during his hearings in the Committee on Budgetary Control in October and November 2021;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 c (new) 65 c. Reminds its preference for free and open source software solutions to proprietary ones when considering new internal applications; asks for situations to be reported to the ICT governing bodies when open source solutions are not chosen;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 65 d (new) 65 d. Recognises the inherent risks to information security and privacy when Members and staff use third-party- dependent solutions for sharing sensitive data without Parliament being able to control how the data is handled; in compliance with the cybersecurity strategic orientations approved by the Bureau and in order to remedy that situation, requests to host in its servers its own, open source-based and secure solutions for virtual meetings and instant messaging, as it is now the case in core institutions among Member States such as the French central administration and the German Bundeswehr;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 70 70. Calls for improvements in the current set up of tracking and tracing of IT- related issues between operating units of Parliament’s services in order to increase efficiency and transparency; stresses that on-site support for Members and their offices often solves IT-related issues quicker and more efficient than telephone support;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 71. Requests that it be ensured that appropriate security measures are taken regarding the implementation of cloud solutions for Parliament
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 a (new) 71 a. Reminds that these politically significant requirements of the cloud policy, i.e. on the decision at the highest level on what categories of data may go to the cloud or not, on the definition of sovereign cloud or on the choice of providers, have been expressed by Parliament's Vice-Presidents, and need to betaken into account in the adoption process of the cloud policy by the Bureau, before any contract with a cloud service provider is signed;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 b (new) 71 b. Requests that the right for Members and assistants to use free and open source office software be ensured;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 c (new) 71 c. Reminds the need to have a more user-friendly, systematic and coordinated approach for creating and converting data of public interest under open, machine- readable format, easily accessible and re- usable for the users; reiterates the importance of having its proper open data policy; asks the relevant services to submit to the Bureau a draft for approval;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 e (new) 71 e. Reminds the importance of developing technological tools that enable Members to interact with citizens; asks its relevant services to test and develop opensource platforms based on open standards where citizens can interact and share with Members their ideas and their draft amendments on future legislation;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 f (new) 71 f. Considers that AI used by Parliament's administration should be released as open source software, under the public procurement procedure, with software documentation and algorithms being accessible and thus allowing competent authorities to review how the AI system arrived at a certain conclusion; emphasises that a fundamental rights audit should be part of a prior conformity assessment;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 g (new) 71 g. Reminds that the overarching principle of the cloud strategy is to secure information and protect data, which requires a specific categorisation of data based on data protection and security assessments; asks the Bureau to approve, after consideration of the risk analysis prepared by the relevant services, what data categories and applications may go to the cloud and what should be retained in Parliament only;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14 a. In the light of publicly declaring transparency as one of the leading principles of Parliament’s work, deeply regrets that Parliament’s internal audit reports are not published once the internal auditor has finalised them and that even Members may only read them in the secure reading room for as long as recommended measures have not been implemented; takes note of Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation and calls on Parliament’s bureau to allow Members immediate, full access to the internal audit reports by changing the confidentiality level of those reports to ‘internal report’; further calls on the Bureau to make each internal audit report available to the public one year after its finalisation, once the internal auditor has validated the previous year’s recommendations;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 h (new) 71 h. Reminds the need to ensure no cloud vendor lock-in effects and achieve higher security by using open source software and open standards wherever possible;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 d (new) 71 d. Requests that a space on Parliament’s website is created, where the plenary voting record of each Member would be available and the repartition of votes per political groups and nationality of Members visible; invites the relevant services to study the feasibility and test the visualisation of the most recent signed amendments in committees and plenary of volunteering Members on their personal Parliament website page;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 71 a (new) 71 a. Asks its administration to create a space on Parliament’s website where the plenary voting record of each Member would be available and the repartition of votes per political groups and nationality of Members visible and comparable; Invites the relevant services to study the feasibility and test the visualisation of the most recent signed amendments in committees and plenary of volunteering Members on their personal Parliament website page;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 a (new) 72 a. Draws attention to four important investigations conducted by the EDPS involving Parliament, namely using NationBuilder to process personal data as part of its activities relating to the 2019 European election, failing to publish a compliant privacy policy for the "thistimeimvoting" website within the deadline set by the EDPS, and the body temperature checks as well as the test- booking website in the context of the COVID-19 crisis; notes that in the two first cases Parliament acted in line with EDPS' recommendations; reminds the aforementioned preliminary review of Parliament's data protection framework; calls on the relevant services of the Administration of Parliament to drawn lessons from the mentioned investigations for the future;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 a (new) 72 a. Notes that the Wi-fi provided at Parliament's premises in Brussels is frequently unstable and does not provide for undisturbed meetings during virtual video calls; asks Parliament to upgrade the current system to the level of performance needed for a full remote working method of Parliament;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 a (new) 72 a. Stresses the importance of having digital systems that can cope with the remote and office activities of Members and staff;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 11 a (new) Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 a (new) 72 a. Notes the current e-tendering instrument TED as part of the digital transformation process of the public procurement, while emphasising the need for a multilingual questions and answers section while ensuring their timely update;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 72 b (new) 72 b. Notes that e-invoices generate significant benefits in terms of savings, decreased environmental impact and reduction of administrative burdens; encourages an enhanced use of e- invoicing in Parliament;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 11 b (new) source: 680.810
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