BETA


2022/2135(DEC) 2021 discharge: General budget of the EU - 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th EDFs

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead CONT FERNANDES José Manuel (icon: EPP EPP) GRAPINI Maria (icon: S&D S&D), CHASTEL Olivier (icon: Renew Renew), RIVASI Michèle (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), KUHS Joachim (icon: ID ID), CZARNECKI Ryszard (icon: ECR ECR), OMARJEE Younous (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Committee Opinion DEVE GOERENS Charles (icon: Renew Renew) Ilan DE BASSO (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion BUDG
Lead committee dossier:

Events

2023/09/29
   Final act published in Official Journal
2023/05/10
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2023/05/10
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2021.

In its resolution, adopted by 542 votes to 74 with 2 abstentions, Parliament made the following observations:

Budget implementation

Parliament recalled the two events that marked the year 2021, namely that it was the first year following the sunset clause for the eleventh EDF (31 December 2020), meaning that in 2021 there were no further global commitments of projects under the eleventh EDF, and, in addition, in 2021, the financial implementation for the tenth and eleventh EDF contracts (individual commitments: EUR 2 118 million) and payments (EUR 3 393 million) was impacted by the prolonged COVID-19 crisis.

EDF represents 46.1 % of the portfolio of DG INTPA in terms of payments in 2021, which amounted to EUR 3 435 million (i.e., 91.27 % of the annual target). European Investment Bank (EIB) payments amounted to EUR 613 million.

Members deplored that due to the prolonged crisis in COVID-19, 50% of delegations in sub-Saharan Africa had not reached their minimum payment target (90%). They noted that the decrease in pre-financing of EUR 101 million, the significantly lower number of contracts outstanding at the end of 2021, and the overall decrease in expenditure on aid instruments of EUR 1 743 million can be explained both by the reduction in EDFs and by the negative impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical crises on the signing of new contracts.

Reliability of the accounts, regularity of the transactions

The budget for the eighth EDF (1995-2000) was EUR 12.8 billion , for the ninth EDF (2000-2007) EUR 13.8 billion , for the tenth EDF (2008-2013) EUR 22.7 billion and for the eleventh EDF EUR 30.5 billion , of which EUR 29.1 billion went to the ACP countries, EUR 400 million to the OCTs, and EUR 1.1 billion to administrative costs.

Members welcome the fact that, in its annual report on the activities of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the financial year 2021, the Court of Auditors considers that the accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2021 present fairly the EDFs’ financial position, the results of their operations, their cash flows and the changes in their net assets for the year then ended.

Parliament welcomed the Court's opinion that the revenue underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 is legal and regular. It noted with concern that of the 140 transactions examined by the Court, 54 (38.8%) were found to contain errors, compared with 36 (25.7%) in 2020 for the same total of transactions. The typology of errors found in 2021 follows the pattern of 2020, namely estimated error related to ineligible expenditure, serious failure to follow procurement rules, absence of essential supporting documents and expenditure not incurred.

Members are concerned that the level of estimated error consistently exceeds the materiality threshold (2%) at 4.6% of expenditure recorded under the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the year 2021. They reiterate that it is critical to effectively address the causes of this increase.

Transparency and effectiveness of control and assurance systems

Parliament called on the Commission, given the high error rate each year, to review its ex ante and ex post audit strategy, and to further generalise digitisation for more systematic controls with a priority on the partner countries where the most errors have been identified.

Members noted with concern the fact that, as they did in 2020, the Commission and its implementing partners committed more errors in transactions relating to grants and to contribution and delegation agreements with beneficiary countries, international organisations and Member State agencies than they did with other forms of support (such as those covering works, supply and service contracts). Out of the 92 transactions of this type examined by the Court, 39 contained quantifiable errors, accounting for 81% of the estimated level of error.

Members considered it unacceptable that, as in previous years, some international organisations have granted only limited access to documents, which hampers the planning and execution of the audit and leads to delays. They welcomed the Commission's efforts to resolve the problem.

Fraud prevention, detection and correction

Parliament regretted that DG INTPA has only followed up 33% of OLAF's financial recommendations and that overall 20% of the financial recommendations (issued between 2017 and 2021) have been fully implemented, 20% have been partially implemented, 60% are in the process of being implemented or are still being analysed. It stressed the need to increase the rate of implementation of OLAF's recommendations.

As regards the possible impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs, Parliament welcomed the Court's conclusion that there is no financial impact to report on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs and that the accounts of the EDFs as at 31 December 2021 correctly reflect the state of the withdrawal process at that date.

EU budget support

Parliament pointed out the ever-growing gap between the funds needed and those available to respond to the deepening climate, hunger, debt, humanitarian and other crises. As a result, disparities between developed and less developed countries are widening, and poverty levels are rising for the first time in decades.

Nevertheless, Members believe that greater transparency, accountability and due diligence with regard to respect for human rights , as well as the fight against corruption and fraud, are essential to the success of EU budget support operations.

Parliament noted that payments for EDF budget support amounted to EUR 340 million in 2021 . 25 ACP countries and 10 OCTs received EDF budget support in 2021.

Over the past two years, EU budget support has helped countries make payments totalling EUR 4.2 billion, including EUR 3 billion in 2020 and EUR 1.2 billion in 2021, to support reforms in various sectors and prevent further economic and social setbacks. Political blockages and national crises have hampered the implementation of ongoing programmes in several countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the main beneficiary of EU budget support (35%), followed by the European Neighbourhood (31%), Asia (16%), Latin America (6%), the Western Balkans (4%), the Caribbean (3%), the OCTs (3%) and the Pacific region (2%). By type of contract, sector reform performance contracts outweigh state-building and resilience contracts and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) contracts.

Parliament stresses that EU budget support is a means of delivering effective assistance , including in crisis situations, and that it helps to strengthen national budget systems and processes to implement public policies and achieve sustainable results.

Members draw attention to the fact that eradicating poverty, promoting democratic values and combating environmental degradation are among the greatest challenges faced today. They call for adequate financing to redirect the current trajectory, which is inconsistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Members reiterate that education and training are both human rights and the most powerful instruments for combating poverty, social exclusion and inequality.

The report also draws attention to the fact that all people, especially young people, should be able to live, study and work in their own country and region.

According to Members, each recipient country should present a long-term plan , setting out its plans and objectives , along the MFF calendar. This architecture could increase the transparency and predictability of EU development assistance, allowing for long-term objectives to be set by the European Commission, especially in areas that require forward planning, such as energy, health, water supply and the digital and green transition.

The resolution stresses that despite the many challenges facing the EU as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its geopolitical and economic consequences, there is a need to increase spending on development assistance.

Documents
2023/05/09
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2023/04/04
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th European Development Funds for the financial year 2021.

The committee recommended that Parliament approve the closure of the accounts of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2021.

Reliability of the accounts

The budget for the eighth EDF (1995-2000) was EUR 12.8 billion , for the ninth EDF (2000-2007) EUR 13.8 billion , for the tenth EDF (2008-2013) EUR 22.7 billion and for the eleventh EDF EUR 30.5 billion , of which EUR 29.1 billion went to the ACP countries, EUR 400 million to the OCTs, and EUR 1.1 billion to administrative costs.

Members welcome the fact that, in its annual report on the activities of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the financial year 2021, the Court of Auditors considers that the accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2021 present fairly the EDFs’ financial position, the results of their operations, their cash flows and the changes in their net assets for the year then ended.

Legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts

Members welcome the Court's opinion that the revenue underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 is legal and regular.

The report notes with concern that of the 140 transactions examined by the Court, 54 (38.8%) were found to contain errors, compared with 36 (25.7%) in 2020 for the same total of transactions. The typology of errors found in 2021 follows the pattern of 2020, namely estimated error related to ineligible expenditure, serious failure to follow procurement rules, absence of essential supporting documents and expenditure not incurred.

Members are concerned that the level of estimated error consistently exceeds the materiality threshold (2%) at 4.6% of expenditure recorded under the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the year 2021. They reiterate that it is critical to effectively address the causes of this increase.

Transparency and effectiveness of control and assurance systems

The report calls on the Commission, given the high error rate each year, to review its ex ante and ex post audit strategy, and to further generalise digitisation for more systematic controls with a priority on the partner countries where the most errors have been identified.

Members note with concern that the Court's report found that in 15 cases of quantifiable errors and eight cases of non-quantifiable errors, the Commission had sufficient information to be able to prevent, or detect and correct, the errors before accepting the expenditure. They also note that, according to the Court's assessment, if the Commission had made good use of all the information at its disposal, the estimated level of error would have been 2.4 percentage points lower, compared with 1.19 percentage points in 2020.

Members consider it unacceptable that, as in previous years, some international organisations have granted only limited access to documents, which hampers the planning and execution of the audit and leads to delays. They welcome the Commission's efforts to resolve the problem.

Fraud prevention, detection and correction

The report regrets that DG INTPA has only followed up 33% of OLAF's financial recommendations and that overall 20% of the financial recommendations (issued between 2017 and 2021) have been fully implemented, 20% have been partially implemented, 60% are in the process of being implemented or are still being analysed. It stressed the need to increase the rate of implementation of OLAF's recommendations.

As regards the possible impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs, the report welcomes the Court's conclusion that there is no financial impact to report on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs and that the accounts of the EDFs as at 31 December 2021 correctly reflect the state of the withdrawal process at that date.

EU budget support

Members note that payments for EDF budget support amounted to EUR 340 million in 2021 . 25 ACP countries and 10 OCTs received EDF budget support in 2021.

EUR 1.2 billion in 2021 was used to support reforms in different sectors and avoid further economic and social setbacks. Political blockages and national crises have hampered the implementation of ongoing programmes in several countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the main beneficiary of EU budget support (35%), followed by the European Neighbourhood (31%), Asia (16%), Latin America (6%), the Western Balkans (4%), the Caribbean (3%), the OCTs (3%) and the Pacific region (2%). By type of contract, sector reform performance contracts outweigh state-building and resilience contracts and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) contracts.

The report stresses that EU budget support is a means of delivering effective assistance , including in crisis situations, and that it helps to strengthen national budget systems and processes to implement public policies and achieve sustainable results. It recalls the importance of ensuring the continuity of the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility to maximise the chances of people in participating countries getting access to COVID-19 vaccines or other vaccines in the case of a new crisis situation.

Members draw attention to the fact that eradicating poverty, promoting democratic values and combating environmental degradation are among the greatest challenges faced today. They call for adequate financing to redirect the current trajectory, which is inconsistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

An estimated 64 million children in developing countries are not in primary school, with girls in particular having been particularly hard hit. Members reiterate that education and training are both human rights and the most powerful instruments for combating poverty, social exclusion and inequality.

The report also draws attention to the fact that all people, especially young people, should be able to live, study and work in their own country and region . Without effective measures against poverty, simplified support for microfinance and small business development, economic migration, i.e. the brain drain, will continue to grow, raising multiple challenges for both destination and origin countries.

Members believe that each recipient country should present a long-term plan, setting out its plans and objectives , along the MFF calendar. This architecture could increase the transparency and predictability of EU development assistance, allowing for long-term objectives to be set by the European Commission, especially in areas that require forward planning, such as energy, health, water supply and the digital and green transition.

The report stresses that despite the many challenges facing the EU as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its geopolitical and economic consequences, there is a need to increase spending on development assistance.

Documents
2023/03/22
   EP - Vote in committee
2023/02/20
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Documents
2023/02/20
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Documents
2023/02/20
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Documents
2023/02/20
   CSL - Supplementary non-legislative basic document
Documents
2023/02/20
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2023/01/30
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2023/01/20
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2022/10/26
   EP - GOERENS Charles (Renew) appointed as rapporteur in DEVE
2022/10/12
   CofA - Court of Auditors: opinion, report
2022/09/13
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2022/07/14
   EP - FERNANDES José Manuel (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2022/06/23
   EC - Non-legislative basic document
2022/06/23
   EC - Non-legislative basic document published

Documents

  • Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
  • Decision by Parliament: T9-0189/2023
  • Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
  • Committee report tabled for plenary: A9-0114/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05671/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05672/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05673/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05674/2023
  • Amendments tabled in committee: PE742.568
  • Committee opinion: PE739.544
  • Committee draft report: PE738.413
  • Court of Auditors: opinion, report: OJ C 391 12.10.2022, p. 0006
  • Court of Auditors: opinion, report: N9-0066/2022
  • Non-legislative basic document: COM(2022)0321
  • Non-legislative basic document: EUR-Lex
  • Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2022)0321
  • Non-legislative basic document published: EUR-Lex
  • Non-legislative basic document: COM(2022)0321 EUR-Lex
  • Court of Auditors: opinion, report: OJ C 391 12.10.2022, p. 0006 N9-0066/2022
  • Committee draft report: PE738.413
  • Committee opinion: PE739.544
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05671/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05672/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05673/2023
  • Supplementary non-legislative basic document: 05674/2023
  • Amendments tabled in committee: PE742.568

Votes

Décharge 2021: budget général de l’UE - FED (8e, 9e, 10e et 11e FED) - A9-0114/2023 - José Manuel Fernandes - Proposition de résolution (ensemble du texte) #

2023/05/10 Outcome: +: 542, -: 74, 0: 2
DE ES PL FR RO IT PT HU CZ NL BG SE BE IE AT DK LT SK FI HR SI LV EL MT LU CY EE
Total
89
52
45
71
28
58
19
18
21
26
15
21
18
12
17
13
10
13
13
12
8
7
10
5
5
5
7
icon: PPE PPE
157

Hungary PPE

1

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Latvia PPE

2

Malta PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

2

Cyprus PPE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
134

Czechia S&D

For (1)

1

Belgium S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Greece S&D

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

2

Estonia S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
86

Italy Renew

2

Hungary Renew

1
3

Ireland Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1

Lithuania Renew

1

Finland Renew

2

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
68

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Romania Verts/ALE

1

Italy Verts/ALE

2

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Belgium Verts/ALE

3

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Denmark Verts/ALE

1

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

3
icon: The Left The Left
32

Czechia The Left

1

Netherlands The Left

For (1)

1

Sweden The Left

For (1)

1

Belgium The Left

For (1)

1

Ireland The Left

3

Denmark The Left

1

Finland The Left

For (1)

1

Cyprus The Left

2
icon: ECR ECR
55

Germany ECR

1

Bulgaria ECR

1

Sweden ECR

3

Lithuania ECR

1

Slovakia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Finland ECR

2

Croatia ECR

1

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
34

France NI

2

Netherlands NI

Against (1)

1

Slovakia NI

Against (1)

2

Croatia NI

2

Latvia NI

1
icon: ID ID
52

Czechia ID

Against (2)

2

Austria ID

3

Denmark ID

Against (1)

1

Estonia ID

Against (1)

1
AmendmentsDossier
16 2022/2135(DEC)
2022/12/20 DEVE 16 amendments...
source: 739.869

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

events/7
date
2023-09-29T00:00:00
type
Final act published in Official Journal
procedure/final
title
OJ L 242 29.09.2023, p. 0176
url
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2023:242:TOC
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
New
Procedure completed
events/5
date
2023-05-10T00:00:00
type
Results of vote in Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=59796&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
docs/9
date
2023-05-10T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0189_EN.html title: T9-0189/2023
type
Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
body
EP
events/5/summary
  • The European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2021.
  • In its resolution, adopted by 542 votes to 74 with 2 abstentions, Parliament made the following observations:
  • Budget implementation
  • Parliament recalled the two events that marked the year 2021, namely that it was the first year following the sunset clause for the eleventh EDF (31 December 2020), meaning that in 2021 there were no further global commitments of projects under the eleventh EDF, and, in addition, in 2021, the financial implementation for the tenth and eleventh EDF contracts (individual commitments: EUR 2 118 million) and payments (EUR 3 393 million) was impacted by the prolonged COVID-19 crisis.
  • EDF represents 46.1 % of the portfolio of DG INTPA in terms of payments in 2021, which amounted to EUR 3 435 million (i.e., 91.27 % of the annual target). European Investment Bank (EIB) payments amounted to EUR 613 million.
  • Members deplored that due to the prolonged crisis in COVID-19, 50% of delegations in sub-Saharan Africa had not reached their minimum payment target (90%). They noted that the decrease in pre-financing of EUR 101 million, the significantly lower number of contracts outstanding at the end of 2021, and the overall decrease in expenditure on aid instruments of EUR 1 743 million can be explained both by the reduction in EDFs and by the negative impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical crises on the signing of new contracts.
  • Reliability of the accounts, regularity of the transactions
  • The budget for the eighth EDF (1995-2000) was EUR 12.8 billion , for the ninth EDF (2000-2007) EUR 13.8 billion , for the tenth EDF (2008-2013) EUR 22.7 billion and for the eleventh EDF EUR 30.5 billion , of which EUR 29.1 billion went to the ACP countries, EUR 400 million to the OCTs, and EUR 1.1 billion to administrative costs.
  • Members welcome the fact that, in its annual report on the activities of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the financial year 2021, the Court of Auditors considers that the accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2021 present fairly the EDFs’ financial position, the results of their operations, their cash flows and the changes in their net assets for the year then ended.
  • Parliament welcomed the Court's opinion that the revenue underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 is legal and regular. It noted with concern that of the 140 transactions examined by the Court, 54 (38.8%) were found to contain errors, compared with 36 (25.7%) in 2020 for the same total of transactions. The typology of errors found in 2021 follows the pattern of 2020, namely estimated error related to ineligible expenditure, serious failure to follow procurement rules, absence of essential supporting documents and expenditure not incurred.
  • Members are concerned that the level of estimated error consistently exceeds the materiality threshold (2%) at 4.6% of expenditure recorded under the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the year 2021. They reiterate that it is critical to effectively address the causes of this increase.
  • Transparency and effectiveness of control and assurance systems
  • Parliament called on the Commission, given the high error rate each year, to review its ex ante and ex post audit strategy, and to further generalise digitisation for more systematic controls with a priority on the partner countries where the most errors have been identified.
  • Members noted with concern the fact that, as they did in 2020, the Commission and its implementing partners committed more errors in transactions relating to grants and to contribution and delegation agreements with beneficiary countries, international organisations and Member State agencies than they did with other forms of support (such as those covering works, supply and service contracts). Out of the 92 transactions of this type examined by the Court, 39 contained quantifiable errors, accounting for 81% of the estimated level of error.
  • Members considered it unacceptable that, as in previous years, some international organisations have granted only limited access to documents, which hampers the planning and execution of the audit and leads to delays. They welcomed the Commission's efforts to resolve the problem.
  • Fraud prevention, detection and correction
  • Parliament regretted that DG INTPA has only followed up 33% of OLAF's financial recommendations and that overall 20% of the financial recommendations (issued between 2017 and 2021) have been fully implemented, 20% have been partially implemented, 60% are in the process of being implemented or are still being analysed. It stressed the need to increase the rate of implementation of OLAF's recommendations.
  • As regards the possible impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs, Parliament welcomed the Court's conclusion that there is no financial impact to report on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs and that the accounts of the EDFs as at 31 December 2021 correctly reflect the state of the withdrawal process at that date.
  • EU budget support
  • Parliament pointed out the ever-growing gap between the funds needed and those available to respond to the deepening climate, hunger, debt, humanitarian and other crises. As a result, disparities between developed and less developed countries are widening, and poverty levels are rising for the first time in decades.
  • Nevertheless, Members believe that greater transparency, accountability and due diligence with regard to respect for human rights , as well as the fight against corruption and fraud, are essential to the success of EU budget support operations.
  • Parliament noted that payments for EDF budget support amounted to EUR 340 million in 2021 . 25 ACP countries and 10 OCTs received EDF budget support in 2021.
  • Over the past two years, EU budget support has helped countries make payments totalling EUR 4.2 billion, including EUR 3 billion in 2020 and EUR 1.2 billion in 2021, to support reforms in various sectors and prevent further economic and social setbacks. Political blockages and national crises have hampered the implementation of ongoing programmes in several countries.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa remains the main beneficiary of EU budget support (35%), followed by the European Neighbourhood (31%), Asia (16%), Latin America (6%), the Western Balkans (4%), the Caribbean (3%), the OCTs (3%) and the Pacific region (2%). By type of contract, sector reform performance contracts outweigh state-building and resilience contracts and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) contracts.
  • Parliament stresses that EU budget support is a means of delivering effective assistance , including in crisis situations, and that it helps to strengthen national budget systems and processes to implement public policies and achieve sustainable results.
  • Members draw attention to the fact that eradicating poverty, promoting democratic values and combating environmental degradation are among the greatest challenges faced today. They call for adequate financing to redirect the current trajectory, which is inconsistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Members reiterate that education and training are both human rights and the most powerful instruments for combating poverty, social exclusion and inequality.
  • The report also draws attention to the fact that all people, especially young people, should be able to live, study and work in their own country and region.
  • According to Members, each recipient country should present a long-term plan , setting out its plans and objectives , along the MFF calendar. This architecture could increase the transparency and predictability of EU development assistance, allowing for long-term objectives to be set by the European Commission, especially in areas that require forward planning, such as energy, health, water supply and the digital and green transition.
  • The resolution stresses that despite the many challenges facing the EU as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its geopolitical and economic consequences, there is a need to increase spending on development assistance.
docs/9
date
2023-05-10T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0189_EN.html title: T9-0189/2023
type
Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
body
EP
events/5
date
2023-05-10T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0189_EN.html title: T9-0189/2023
forecasts
  • date: 2023-05-09T00:00:00 title: Vote scheduled
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament's vote
New
Procedure completed, awaiting publication in Official Journal
events/4/docs
  • url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-9-2023-05-09-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
forecasts/0
date
2023-05-09T00:00:00
title
Vote scheduled
forecasts/0
date
2023-05-10T00:00:00
title
Vote in plenary scheduled
events/4
date
2023-05-09T00:00:00
type
Debate in Parliament
body
EP
forecasts/0
date
2023-05-09T00:00:00
title
Debate in plenary scheduled
docs/9
date
2023-04-04T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0114_EN.html title: A9-0114/2023
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
events/3/summary
  • The Committee on Budgetary Control adopted the report by José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th European Development Funds for the financial year 2021.
  • The committee recommended that Parliament approve the closure of the accounts of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2021.
  • Reliability of the accounts
  • The budget for the eighth EDF (1995-2000) was EUR 12.8 billion , for the ninth EDF (2000-2007) EUR 13.8 billion , for the tenth EDF (2008-2013) EUR 22.7 billion and for the eleventh EDF EUR 30.5 billion , of which EUR 29.1 billion went to the ACP countries, EUR 400 million to the OCTs, and EUR 1.1 billion to administrative costs.
  • Members welcome the fact that, in its annual report on the activities of the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the financial year 2021, the Court of Auditors considers that the accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2021 present fairly the EDFs’ financial position, the results of their operations, their cash flows and the changes in their net assets for the year then ended.
  • Legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts
  • Members welcome the Court's opinion that the revenue underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 is legal and regular.
  • The report notes with concern that of the 140 transactions examined by the Court, 54 (38.8%) were found to contain errors, compared with 36 (25.7%) in 2020 for the same total of transactions. The typology of errors found in 2021 follows the pattern of 2020, namely estimated error related to ineligible expenditure, serious failure to follow procurement rules, absence of essential supporting documents and expenditure not incurred.
  • Members are concerned that the level of estimated error consistently exceeds the materiality threshold (2%) at 4.6% of expenditure recorded under the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the year 2021. They reiterate that it is critical to effectively address the causes of this increase.
  • Transparency and effectiveness of control and assurance systems
  • The report calls on the Commission, given the high error rate each year, to review its ex ante and ex post audit strategy, and to further generalise digitisation for more systematic controls with a priority on the partner countries where the most errors have been identified.
  • Members note with concern that the Court's report found that in 15 cases of quantifiable errors and eight cases of non-quantifiable errors, the Commission had sufficient information to be able to prevent, or detect and correct, the errors before accepting the expenditure. They also note that, according to the Court's assessment, if the Commission had made good use of all the information at its disposal, the estimated level of error would have been 2.4 percentage points lower, compared with 1.19 percentage points in 2020.
  • Members consider it unacceptable that, as in previous years, some international organisations have granted only limited access to documents, which hampers the planning and execution of the audit and leads to delays. They welcome the Commission's efforts to resolve the problem.
  • Fraud prevention, detection and correction
  • The report regrets that DG INTPA has only followed up 33% of OLAF's financial recommendations and that overall 20% of the financial recommendations (issued between 2017 and 2021) have been fully implemented, 20% have been partially implemented, 60% are in the process of being implemented or are still being analysed. It stressed the need to increase the rate of implementation of OLAF's recommendations.
  • As regards the possible impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs, the report welcomes the Court's conclusion that there is no financial impact to report on the 2021 accounts of the EDFs and that the accounts of the EDFs as at 31 December 2021 correctly reflect the state of the withdrawal process at that date.
  • EU budget support
  • Members note that payments for EDF budget support amounted to EUR 340 million in 2021 . 25 ACP countries and 10 OCTs received EDF budget support in 2021.
  • EUR 1.2 billion in 2021 was used to support reforms in different sectors and avoid further economic and social setbacks. Political blockages and national crises have hampered the implementation of ongoing programmes in several countries.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa remains the main beneficiary of EU budget support (35%), followed by the European Neighbourhood (31%), Asia (16%), Latin America (6%), the Western Balkans (4%), the Caribbean (3%), the OCTs (3%) and the Pacific region (2%). By type of contract, sector reform performance contracts outweigh state-building and resilience contracts and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) contracts.
  • The report stresses that EU budget support is a means of delivering effective assistance , including in crisis situations, and that it helps to strengthen national budget systems and processes to implement public policies and achieve sustainable results. It recalls the importance of ensuring the continuity of the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility to maximise the chances of people in participating countries getting access to COVID-19 vaccines or other vaccines in the case of a new crisis situation.
  • Members draw attention to the fact that eradicating poverty, promoting democratic values and combating environmental degradation are among the greatest challenges faced today. They call for adequate financing to redirect the current trajectory, which is inconsistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • An estimated 64 million children in developing countries are not in primary school, with girls in particular having been particularly hard hit. Members reiterate that education and training are both human rights and the most powerful instruments for combating poverty, social exclusion and inequality.
  • The report also draws attention to the fact that all people, especially young people, should be able to live, study and work in their own country and region . Without effective measures against poverty, simplified support for microfinance and small business development, economic migration, i.e. the brain drain, will continue to grow, raising multiple challenges for both destination and origin countries.
  • Members believe that each recipient country should present a long-term plan, setting out its plans and objectives , along the MFF calendar. This architecture could increase the transparency and predictability of EU development assistance, allowing for long-term objectives to be set by the European Commission, especially in areas that require forward planning, such as energy, health, water supply and the digital and green transition.
  • The report stresses that despite the many challenges facing the EU as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its geopolitical and economic consequences, there is a need to increase spending on development assistance.
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