2021/2120(DEC) 2020 discharge: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
Lead committee dossier:
Progress: Procedure completed
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | CONT |
ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš ( EPP)
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CHINNICI Caterina ( S&D),
STRUGARIU Ramona ( Renew),
EICKHOUT Bas ( Verts/ALE),
KUHS Joachim ( ID),
CZARNECKI Ryszard ( ECR),
OMARJEE Younous ( GUE/NGL)
|
| Committee Opinion | LIBE |
STRUGARIU Ramona ( Renew)
|
Malin BJÖRK ( GUE/NGL),
Peter KOFOD ( ID)
|
Lead committee dossier:
Subjects
Events
2022/10/05
Final act published in Official Journal
2022/05/04
EP - Debate in Parliament
Documents
2022/05/04
EP - Decision by Parliament
Details
The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Executive Director of the European Union Law Enforcement Training Agency (CEPOL) for the financial year 2020 and to approve the closure of the accounts for that year.
Noting that the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency's annual accounts for the financial year 2020 were reliable and that the underlying transactions were legal and regular, Parliament adopted, by 577 votes to 59 with 10 abstentions, a resolution containing a series of recommendations which form an integral part of the discharge decision and which complement the general recommendations set out in the resolution on the performance, financial management and control of EU agencies.
Agency’s financial statements
The Agency's final budget for the financial year 2020 was EUR 30 602 017, representing an increase of 67.52 % compared to 2019, caused by an increase of title 5 ‘other projects’.
Budgetary and financial management
The budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 91.70 %, representing a decrease of 6.28 % compared to 2019. The payment appropriations execution rate was 74.19 %, representing a decrease of 2.32 % compared to the previous year.
Other observations
Parliament also made a series of observations concerning performance, staff policy, internal controls and Covid-19.
In particular, it noted that:
- despite the Covid-19 outbreak, the Agency continued to increase its outreach with the number of training participants increasing by 13%;
- the Agency showed commitment to enhancing its international presence through the successful implementation of two international projects, namely the EU/MENA Counter-Terrorism Training Partnership 2 and the Financial Investigation In-Service Training programme in the Western Balkans, as well as through the negotiation of a EUR 23.5 million project portfolio in the EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy areas;
- on 31 December 2020, the establishment plan was 94% implemented, with 31 temporary agents appointed out of 33 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 32 authorised posts in 2019). Gender balance seems to balanced at senior management level but not among the overall staff. Parliament noted that there were 16 resignations in 2020 (versus 6 in 2019) due to the closure of the Western Balkans project or to new job opportunities in and outside the Agency;
- regarding internal control, several weaknesses in the Agency’s internal control system were noted, notably in relation to the management of budgetary commitments;
- the Agency does not have a policy regarding cyber security and the protection of the digital records;
- the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) launched an investigation in 2020 into a case of external fraud in the Agency;
- the Agency created a Covid-19 task force to support to the Member States and partner bodies, offices and agencies during the pandemic.
Documents
2022/04/07
EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Documents
2022/04/07
EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Documents
2022/03/31
EP - Vote in committee
2022/03/02
EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2022/02/16
CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Documents
2022/02/16
EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2022/01/14
EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2021/10/29
CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
Documents
2021/10/26
EP - STRUGARIU Ramona (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE
2021/09/14
EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2021/07/28
EP - ZDECHOVSKÝ Tomáš (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2021/06/30
EC - Non-legislative basic document
Documents
2021/06/30
EC - Non-legislative basic document published
Documents
Documents
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T9-0170/2022
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A9-0093/2022
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A9-0093/2022
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE704.721
- Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 06003/2022
- Committee opinion: PE702.927
- Committee draft report: PE698.960
- Court of Auditors: opinion, report: OJ C 439 29.10.2021, p. 0003
- Court of Auditors: opinion, report: N9-0044/2022
- Non-legislative basic document: COM(2021)0381
- Non-legislative basic document: EUR-Lex
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2021)0381
- Non-legislative basic document published: EUR-Lex
- Non-legislative basic document: COM(2021)0381 EUR-Lex
- Court of Auditors: opinion, report: OJ C 439 29.10.2021, p. 0003 N9-0044/2022
- Committee draft report: PE698.960
- Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 06003/2022
- Committee opinion: PE702.927
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE704.721
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A9-0093/2022
Votes
Décharge 2020: Agence de l’Union européenne pour la formation des services répressifs (CEPOL) - Discharge 2020: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) - Entlastung 2020: Agentur der Europäischen Union für die Aus- und Fortbildung auf dem Gebiet der Strafverfolgung (CEPOL) - A9-0093/2022 - Tomáš Zdechovský - Proposition de résolution #
2022/05/04 Outcome: +: 577, -: 59, 0: 10
PPE
The Left
NI| Amendments | Dossier |
| 35 |
2021/2120(DEC)
2022/01/19
LIBE
24 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors ('the Court') has declared the transactions underlying the annual accounts of the European Union Agency of Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2020 to be legal and regular in all material respects and its financial position on 31 December 2020 to be presented fairly; recalls that the budget of CEPOL increased in 2020 from EUR 21 to 32 million (+52 %) while its staff increased from 69 to 84 (+21.7 %);
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Welcomes CEPOL’s new Law Enforcement Education (LEEd) platform with user friendliness aiming at a better outreach for training participants; welcomes also the launch of the pilot CEPOL Knowledge Centre on Counter- terrorism; stresses the importance of the requirement that the experts contributing to the new initiatives launched by the Agency have sound expertise in the area of fundamental rights matters, in particular anti-racism and anti- discrimination;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Notes that the two-step residential activity on Fundamental rights, Police Ethics and Management of Diversity was cancelled due to the pandemic, calls on the Agency to increase the number of training activities in this field;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Welcomes that the Agency, in cooperation with the European Council and EMPACT, completed an ad-hoc training need analysis on the impact of COVID-19 on crime patterns;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Calls on the Agency to ensure, in all its activities, including those with third countries, full transparency and full respect of fundamental rights;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Notes that the Agency paid a cancelation fee for a hotel booking connected to a training event in Budapest due to COVID-19 restrictions; notes from the Court's report that the Agency could have cancelled the reservation without cost if a “force majeure” clause had been invoked; regrets that the Agency did not take necessary steps to protect the Union's financial interests and the payment is therefore considered irregular by the Court;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Expresses its satisfaction that the Agency's training activities are closely aligned with the needs identified by the EU Policy Cycle EMPACT groups while expertise was secured from Member States, Europol, Eurojust, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the European Judicial Training Network, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Asylum Support Office, the European Cybercrime Centre, the European Cybercrime Training and Education Group, Interpol and other stakeholders;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4 c. Notes the Agency's assessment of its internal control system which showed that only minor improvements are needed; notes that, according to the Court's report, several weakness were identified in the Agency's internal control system, especially in relation to management of budgetary commitments; calls on the Agency to adopt measures which will address these concerns;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4 c. Expresses its satisfaction that the Agency has completed one outstanding recommendation of the Court, namely the one concerning the publications of the vacancy notices on the website of the European Personnel Selection Office;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 d (new) 4 d. Welcomes the introduction of new IT tools, namely SPEEDWELL for financial workflow, SYSPER for human resources and ARES for document management, in an effort to increase administrative efficiency;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 d (new) 4 d. Welcomes the Agency's cooperation with other bodies, offices and agencies in sharing resources and exploring synergies; notes the joint exchange programme with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency regarding border and coast guard activities;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Stresses that the Court found weaknesses in the internal controls system used in relation to the management of budgetary commitments of the Agency; regrets that the Agency signed three legal commitments before the respective budgetary commitments had been approved which represents an infringement of Article 73 of Regulation (EU) 2019/7151a; further regrets the two additional legal commitments which were not in line with Article 112(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of the Financial Regulation; points out that, according to the Court, this reduces transparency; calls on the Agency to improve its internal control system, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules; _________________ 1a Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 122, 10.5.20219, p. 1).
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 e (new) 4 e. Notes that the Agency reported to have three men (50 %) and three women (50 %) in its senior management and, among its staff overall 35 men (41,7 %) and 49 women (58,3 %); reminds the Member States to consider gender balance when nominating members to management board;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 e (new) 4 e. Notes with appreciation the establishment in 2020 of the pilot CEPOL Knowledge Centre on Counter Terrorism;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 f (new) 4 f. Notes with satisfaction the Agency’s commitment to enhancing its international presence through the successful implementation of two international projects, namely the EU/MENA Counter Terrorism Training Partnership 2 and the Financial Investigation In-Service Training programme in the Western Balkans, as well as through the negotiation of a EUR 23.5 million project portfolio in the Union enlargement and neighbourhood policy areas;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 g (new) 4 g. Highlights that structural deficits in the budget and human resources of the Agency in certain areas may impact its ability to perform all duties under its mandate and fulfil Member States’ training needs; underlines moreover that insufficient office space and uncertainty about the Agency's headquarters create further difficulties; calls on the Commission to engage in an active dialogue with the Agency and the host Member State in order to address these shortcomings and allocate adequate financial and human resources to the Agency;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 h (new) 4 h. Notes that the European Anti- Fraud Office (OLAF) launched an investigation in 2020 into a case of external fraud in the Agency; notes that this investigation was launched at the request of the Agency and that following the investigation conclusions from early 2021, the Agency has already started to implement the recommendations of OLAF;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Regrets that one irregular payment of EUR 5 335 was found by the Court; notes that that payment represents a cancellation fee for a hotel booking done in late June 2020, for an event in September 2020; considers that in view of the evolution of the situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency did not show sufficient foresight to prevent that outcome;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Notes the Court's observations on weaknesses in th Agency's internal control system in relation to the management of budgetary commitments; takes note of the Agency's reply accepting the Court's findings;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1 b. Notes with regret the weaknesses in the Agency's internal control system in relation to budgetary commitments, including the signing of three legal commitments before the budgetary commitments had been approved;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1 b. Welcomes the actions taken by the Agency to implement the Court's recommendations from previous years;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Repeats its concern that CEPOL continues to suffer from a high staff turnover and a limited number of applications from Member States other than that of its seat; reiterates its worries that this might impact the operations of the CEPOL and the well-being of its staff; notes in that regard that the Staff Regulations offer the necessary flexibility for labour market conditions prevailing in the Union to be taken into account when recruiting officials in order to address the specific needs of the institutions; calls on CEPOL and the Commission to take measures to improve the situation;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with satisfaction that as an answer to the COVID-19 pandemic, a COVID-19 Task Force was set up, with the aim of providing the best possible support to CEPOL partners on the training and education of law enforcement officials, and although CEPOL had to suspend its residential training activities, majority of them were transformed into online delivery format;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Expresses grave and alarming concern that the average cost of a training activity facilitated by the Agency increased from approximately EUR 64 000 in 2019 to over EUR 100 000 in 2020; calls on the Commission to urgently conduct a feasibility study to assess the possibility of fully merging the Agency with Europol; highlights the observation of the discharge authority that a merger would mean sharing corporate and support services and the management of common premises, as well as shared ICT infrastructure, thereby delivering on repeated promises of a more cost- efficienct implementation of the Union budget;
source: 704.535
2022/03/03
CONT
11 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1 Paragraph 1 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 a (new) 22 a. Welcomes the introduction of new IT tools, namely SPEEDWELL for financial workflow, SYSPER for human resources and ARES for document management, in an effort to increase administrative efficiency;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23 a. Notes that the European Anti- Fraud Office (OLAF) launched an investigation in 2020 into a case of external fraud in the Agency; notes that this investigation was launched at the request of the Agency and that following the investigation conclusions from early 2021, the Agency has already started to implement the recommendations of OLAF;
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a decision 2 Paragraph 1 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Notes with concern that, according to the Court’s report, the Agency paid a cancellation fee for a hotel booking for a training event in Budapest due to the COVID-19 restrictions;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6 a. Expresses its satisfaction that the Agency's trainings are closely aligned with the requirements voiced by the EU Policy Cycle EMPACT groups, while expertise was secured from Member States, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the European Judicial Training Network, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Asylum Support Office, the European Cybercrime Centre, the European Cybercrime Training and Education Group, the International Criminal Police Organization and other stakeholders;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Observes that there were 16 resignations in 2020 (versus 6 in 2019) due to either the closure of Western Balkans project or due to new job opportunities in and outside the Agency; reiterates its concern that the Agency continues to suffer from a high staff turnover and a limited number of applications from Member States other than the host Member State; notes that the
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10 a. Underlines that insufficient office space and uncertainty about the Agency's headquarters premises creates further operational difficulties; calls on the Commission to engage in an active dialogue with the Agency and the host Member State in order to address those shortcomings;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14.
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22.
source: 704.721
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History
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