2021/2140(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

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 for the Operational Management of Large- Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2020 to be legal and regular in all material respects and that its financial position at 31 December 2020 is fairly presented; highlights that in 2020 the Agency's budget increased from EUR 219 million to EUR 256 million (an increase of 16,9 %) and its staff from 223 to 274 (an increase of 22,9 %);

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Welcomes the fact that the Agency has correctly implemented the Court's recommendation concerning the proper assessment of applications in recruitment procedures;

Amendment 11 #

Malin BJÖRK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes that despite the COVID- 19 pandemic, the Agency ensured the uninterrupted availability of the existing large-scale IT systems (SIS, VIS, Eurodac) and made further progress with the implementation of EES, ETIAS and the interoperability package;deleted

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes that despite the COVID- 19 pandemic, which influenced the Agency's business continuity, the Agency ensured the uninterrupted availability of the existing large-scale IT systems (SIS, VIS, Eurodac) and made further progress with the implementation of EES, ETIAS and the interoperability package;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcom~~Notes that despite the COVID- 19 pandemic, the Agency ensured the uninterrupted availability of the existing large-scale IT systems (SIS, VIS, Eurodac) and made further progress with the implementation of EES, ETIAS and the interoperability package;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes that the Agency improved its cooperation with other Union agencies, especially with the European Asylum Support Office (now the European Union Agency for Asylum), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and with the European Border and Coastguard Agency; encourages the Agency to keep exploring possibilities for further cooperation;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Agency to take measures to ensure full compliance with Union transparency rules as well as with fundamental rights and data protection standards; considers that the disclosure of meetings and interactions between the Agency and third parties is required to ensure enhanced transparency;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the progress made regarding the Court’s observations and Parliament's discharge reports from previous years; recalls that four remaining observations are still ongoing, one of them not being under the control of the Agency;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Welcomes the adoption, in December 2020, by the Commission of the proposal for the new e-CODEX Regulation; welcomes the agreement reached by the co-legislators in this regard; recalls that the Agency will play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the e-CODEX system and recalls that the Commission should envisage appropriate resources dedicated to that increase in responsibilities for the Agency;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Appreciates the Agency's annual assessment of its internal control system which showed that its internal control system is present, functioning and overall effective; calls on the Agency to analyse and to address identified weaknesses in the internal control principles;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Regrets the lack of gender balance and diversity in the Management board and within the staff of the Agency;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Regrets the fact that the budget implementation was less than planned; calls on the Agency, together with the Commission, to improve alignment of budgetary planning with the timing of the related legal acts; acknowledges that the Agency made steps to improve the situation;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Notes that the gender balance reported for 2020 in senior management is two men (100%) and no women; notes that the gender balance on the management board is 44 mean (81,5 %) and 10 women (18,5 %); notes that the staff overall is composed of 184 men (69,7 %) and 80 women (30,3 %); reminds the Member States to consider gender balance when nominating members to the management board of the Agency;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Welcomes the launch of a new approach towards the procurement of engineering services, expected to generate efficiency gains in the years to come;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Stresses that the Agency offers an important contribution to a safer Union by ensuring the highest levels of information security and data protection for the information entrusted to it, providing high-quality services and helping to align Member States’ technological capabilities with their needs; draws attention to the need to take all the necessary measures to avoid any risk to the information processed; notes that the Agency's capacity to both improve existing and develop new information systems was enhanced by its new mandate which entered into force in December 2018; welcomes the continued efforts made by the Agency to adapt to that new mandate in 2020;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Acknowledges that the Court issued a qualified audit opinion with respect to the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts of the Agency for the 2020; notes the Court’s explanation that the qualified opinion was issued in relation to two payments that were considered not compliant to the provisions of framework contracts, amounting in total to EUR 10 405 074 in 2020, representing 4,1 % of the total payment appropriations available in 2020; stresses that once of the payments that contravenes the provisions of the framework contract is related to an order form for maintenance services covering a period of four years signed by the Agency, whereas the contract framework only allowed services to be invoiced in advance for one year; takes note of the Agency’s reply that the largest irregular payment was connected to an administrative omission regarding the acquisition of software different from the software offered by the contractor in the tender for the associated framework contract; notes the Agency’s explanation that ~~the need~~its intention was to change one of the auxiliary software products used in the operation of the shared biometric matching System (sBMS) ~~was of a pure~~and was thus of an operational nature, with the purpose of reducing the duplication of training and support efforts, ultimately reducing the overall operational costs for the Agency; stresses the importance of compliance with framework contracts to avoid reputational risks and considers that any suggestion to reduce the overall operational costs of the Agency should be planned in advance; underlines that following the issuance of the Court’s observation, the Agency responded promptly, signing an amendment to the framework contract in order to rectify the initial omission; points out that shortcomings in dedicated administrative positions may have a negative impact on the functioning of the procurement procedures within the Agency; invites the Commission and the Agency to engage in an active dialogue on improving the Agency’s establishment plan, especially with respect to the level at which posts are allocated;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Acknowledges that the Court issued a qualified audit opinion with respect to the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts of the Agency for the 2020; notes the Court’s explanation that the qualified opinion was issued in relation to two payments that were considered not compliant to the provisions of framework contracts, amounting in total to EUR 10 405 074 in 2020, representing 4,1 % of the total payment appropriations available in 2020 which exceeds the materiality threshold set for the audit; takes note of the Agency’s reply that the largest irregular payment was connected to an administrative omission regarding the acquisition of software different from the software offered by the contractor in the tender for the associated framework contract; notes the Agency’s explanation that the need to change one of the auxiliary software products used in the operation of the shared biometric matching System (sBMS) was of a pure operational nature, with the purpose of reducing the duplication of training and support efforts, ~~ultimatel~~and that non-compliance did not result in any pre~~ducing the overall operational costs for the Agency~~judice to the financial interests of the Agency or the Union; regrets, however, that the Agency did not follow procurement procedures, especially considering the large amount involved; underlines that following the issuance of the Court’s observation, the Agency responded promptly, signing an amendment to the framework contract in order to rectify the initial omission; points out that shortcomings in dedicated administrative positions may have a negative impact on the functioning of the procurement procedures within the Agency; calls on the Agency to ensure that procurement procedures are always respected; invites the Commission and the Agency to engage in an active dialogue on improving the Agency’s establishment plan, especially with respect to the level at which posts are allocated;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Acknowledges that the Court issued a qualified audit opinion with respect to the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts of the Agency for the 2020; notes the Court’s explanation that the qualified opinion was issued in relation to two payments that were considered not compliant to the provisions of framework contracts, amounting in total to EUR 10 405 074 in 2020, representing 4,1 % of the total payment appropriations available in 2020; takes note of the Agency’s reply that the largest irregular payment was connected to a~~n administrative omission~~ specific contract regarding the acquisition of software different from the software offered by the contractor in the tender for the associated framework contract, and that it was a purely administrative matter that the Agency did not amend the respective framework contract in time; notes the Agency’s explanation that the need to change one of the auxiliary software products used in the operation of the shared biometric matching System (sBMS) was of a pure operational nature, with the purpose of reducing the duplication of training and support efforts, ultimately reducing the overall operational costs for the Agency; underlines that following the issuance of the Court’s observation, the Agency responded promptly, signing an amendment to the framework contract in order to rectify the initial omission; points out that shortcomings in dedicated administrative positions may have a negative impact on the functioning of the procurement procedures within the Agency; invites the Commission and the Agency to engage in an active dialogue on improving the Agency’s establishment plan, especially with respect to the level at which posts are allocated;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Regrets that several of the Court's observations previous years are still outstanding; calls on the Agency to step up its efforts to implement corrective measures regarding the Court’s outstanding observations;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the significant decrease in carry-overs as compared to the Agency’s very low budget implementation in 2019 (55 % of appropriations in the final adopted budget); regrets that the rate of carry-overs remain substantial compared to the total budget, especially with regards to Title II (59,4 %) and Title III (23 %); ~~calls on the Agency~~notes the conclusion of the Court that even though the nature of the Agency's operations may spill over to the following year, the large amount of carry-over from the above mentioned titles is indicative of various structural issues affecting compliance with the Agency's financial rules; calls on the Agency to address those issues and to further ensure the respect of the principle of annuality;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the ~~significant~~ decrease in carry- overs as compared to the Agency’s ~~very~~ low budget implementation in 2019 (55 % of appropriations in the final adopted budget); regrets that, according to the Court, the excessive amount of carry-overs is indicative of various structural issues affecting compliance with Articles 9, 12 and 28 of the Agency's financial rules; further regrets that the rate of carry-overs remain substantial compared to the total budget, especially with regards to Title II (59,4 %) and Title III (23 %); calls on the Agency to ~~further~~ ensure the respect of the principle of annuality;

source: 704.532

2022/03/04 CONT 10 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020;

Amendment 10 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes with appreciation that the Agency drafted, negotiated and signed bilateral cooperation plans with the European Asylum Support Office (now the European Union Agency for Asylum), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA); notes that the Agency also continued its cooperation with other partner agencies, for example with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) on training activities, with the European Border and Coastguard Agency on SIS, the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and interoperability, with CEPOL on the Visa Information System (VIS), the Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries (SIRENE), SIS, EES, ETIAS and interoperability; and with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) on the European Asylum Dactyloscopy database (Eurodac) and SIS;

Amendment 2 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large- Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2020 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2020;

Amendment 3 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Regret~~Notes that budget-monitoring efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 75,61 % which, although it represents an increase of 31,10 % compared to 2019, it is still well below the target; notes, furthermore, that the payment appropriations execution rate was 96,24 %, representing an increase of 3,96 % compared to 2019;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with concern the composition of the Agency’s senior management with respect to gender, with two men (100 %) and no women, of the management board with 44 men (81,5 %) and 10 women (18,5 %), and within the staff overall with 184 men (69,7 %) and 80 women (30,3 %); asks the Agency to ensure gender balance at the management and staff levels in the future; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s management board;

Amendment 5 #