2023/2160(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the finding of the Court of Auditors that the accounts of the European Union Agency for Railways ('the Agency') for the 2022 financial year are legal and regular in all material aspects; notes that some of the Court’s observations from previous years remain open at the end of 2022;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Welcomes that the Agency achieved a very high degree of digitalisation, eliminating paper-processes and bringing forward online solutions such as e-procurement, e-invoicing, electronic travel booking; notes that the Agency has continuously cooperated with the European Commission to increase its efficiency;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Notes that when the EU candidate countries join the Union, they will have already implemented the framework and the EU acquis; points out that this will allow EU citizens to use rail as environmentally friendly and safe mode of transport and transport their goods from/to South-Eastern Europe, as rail freight corridors are today connecting the Western Balkans with the EU; stresses that the IPA and Western Balkan Project will support the implementation of the Interoperability Directive and the Safety Directive among the project beneficiaries; also notes that this will provide the base for a market opening of rail services and seamless train rides from and to this neighbouring region;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Commends the Agency’s efficiency and budget execution through Strengthening Action Plan adopted as part of Single Programming Document 2023- 2025; notes however that these efforts cannot compensate the insufficient budget; notes that Single Programming Document and the Consolidated Annual Activity Report are key documents ensuring an efficient governance of the Agency, in terms of planning, monitoring and reporting;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Salutes that the Agency contributed to EU cooperation with Ukraine on resilience and development of rail links; the agency supported Ukraine and the people around the world by finding additional ways to increase the volume of transport of Ukrainian food products by rail;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Recalls that the Agency has the smallest budget among the transport agencies despite the outstanding environmental benefits of rail prioritized by Commission; Commends the rise in the fiscal year 2022 budget, accompanied by various efforts aimed at enhancing competitiveness, improving safety, and promoting cross-border interoperability; Nevertheless, calls for an increase of the budget of the Agency in order to ensure it has the essential resources to function as an efficient authority and effectively fulfil its tasks;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Recalls that the Agency has the smallest budget among the transport agencies despite the ~~outstanding~~ environmental benefits of rail prioritized by Commission; calls for an increase of the budget of the Agency in order to provide it with the necessary means to enable it to act as an efficient authority and to fulfil its tasks;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Acknowledges the Agency's efforts towards gender parity; notes that there is significant room for improvement. Currently, the overall staff distribution stands at 65% men and 35% women and this gender gap is even more pronounced in management roles. Urges the Agency to intensify its commitment to achieving a truly balanced gender representation, given the findings of the 2022 gender audit;

Amendment 17 #

Dominique RIQUET

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Welcomes the increase of the ceiling of permanent agents to 154 individuals, compared to 151 agents in 2021;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Commends the Agency’s proactive response to the recommendations put forth in the previous year's observation, urging the Agency to introduce effective checks for verifying SME status of applicants. Welcomes the implementation of enhanced controls for verifying the SMEs status for Single Safety Certificates and Vehicle Authorizations applications;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses that this terrible war has showcased the crucial role railways can play; notes that since the invasion of the Ukraine, railways have been a significant asset for the movement of people and goods, especially with the closure of Ukraine’s airspace for civil aviation; points out that Ukrainian railways have transported soldiers, essential workers, residents, as well as numerous vital goods such as agricultural goods;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Stresses that in 2022, railway companies across the European Union continued their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, its continued resilience, along with its low carbon emissions are two essential contributing factors, which will help the sector to reach pre-pandemic levels in the future;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Remarks that ERA has driven several initiatives, taken at EU level, aimed at boosting rail traffic (both passenger and freight), including measures to better manage and coordinate international rail traffic or the development of new technologies, such as train automation, contributing to the European Green Deal;

Amendment 5 #

Dominique RIQUET

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes that 28 nonconformities have been registered in 2022, with a number of financial nonconformities decreasing compared to the previous years;

Amendment 6 #

Dominique RIQUET

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Notes that out of the 207 key performance indicators, 167 were achieved, 19 partially achieved, 11 not achieved, 8 not possible to assess and 2 postponed;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Acknowledges the Agency’s commendable performance in 2022, fulfilling its role as the EU authority responsible for issuing authorizations for placing railway vehicles on the market, single safety certificates for railway undertakings, and ERTMS trackside approvals; Salutes the increase in Agency’s delivery of authorisations for placing 1861 railway vehicles on the market, 66 single safety certificates for railway undertakings and 2 ERTMS trackside approvals despite the increase in the number of applications received; recalls the importance of completion of ERTMS by 2030; Commends that these accomplishments represent record- breaking figures since the full implementation of the Technical Pillar of the 4th Railway Package by the Agency;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the report on EU Railway safety and interoperability; and the continuous commitment of the Agency to the objective of creating a Single European Railway Area and its sustained work in key areas such as reducing national rules and ensuring the maturity of its technical specifications for interoperability; notes that such an important work will support the strengthening of rail interoperability across Europe, in line with the European Commission policy expectations;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Welcomes the EUMedRail project that promotes regional cooperation with the Southern Mediterranean partners in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy; notes that in particular, the project encourages the exchange of best practices in the field of interoperability and safety of the EU railway system and the promotion of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS);

source: 754.998

2024/02/12 CONT 7 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Jozef MIHÁL, Alin MITUȚA, Ilana CICUREL, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. stresses the importance of continuing support all initiatives for a better common understanding of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) contributing to the development of a strong and competitive European rail industry ;

Amendment 2 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Jozef MIHÁL, Alin MITUȚA, Ilana CICUREL, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Insists for more support for innovation in rail freight and intermodal transport services to achieve competitive integration into the logistic value chain, with automation and digitalisation of freight rail

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Acknowledges that the Agency has achieved a very high degree of digitalisation to increase its efficiency, eliminating paper-processes and bringing forward online solutions such as e- procurement, e-invoicing, electronic travel booking, including through the roll out in 2022 of the HR management system (SYSPER) of the Commission and the migration, in pilot phase, to the new budgetary, accounting and financial system, SUMMA; welcomes that the Agency’s SPD 2023-2025 foresees to further digitise its workflows;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Observes from the Agency's Opinion with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency's for the financial year 2021 (hereinafter The ‘Agency's Opinion’) that the Agency has implemented several measures to reduce the cost of operations in Lille (i.e. missions and travel expenses for staff and external stakeholders have been significantly reduced) and has ended the current lease contract for Lille premises; notes that the intention of the Agency is to organise only the mandatory meetings in Lille in order to comply with the European Council decision on the double seat ‘Lille-Valenciennes’; ~~notes~~welcomes that the Agency has approved its HR strategy (2023-2027) in 2022 based on the Parliament’s observation, with a focus on improving its effectiveness and efficiency; notes in this regard the positive experience and development within the Agency with regard to the use of the teleworking regime during after the COVID 19 pandemic, leading the Agency to conclude that the new normal is that teleworking is accepted as being equal as working at the office for most of the staff, while physical presence remains key for some specific jobs;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes with concern the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s senior management, with 8 out of 10 (80 %) being men; notes the gender distribution within the Agency’s management board (MB), with 34 out of 64 (53 %) being men; further notes the gender distribution within the Agency’s overall staff, with 120 out of 188 (64 %) being men; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior management; notes the Agency’s continuous work towards closing the gender gap, with specific projects such as “Women in transport” to strengthen women’s employment and equal opportunities in the transport sector; notes in this context the Agency’s endeavours to increase the number of women in the transport sector through deliverables such as speed networking events and webinars focusing on diversity and inclusion in 2022;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Welcomes that the Agency strives to ensure a geographical balance of its staff members with encouraging candidates from all Member States to apply for its positions; notes that the temporary posts are published in all EU languages and the calls for application are not only published on the Agency’s website, but also disseminated at the level of Member States’ permanent representations;

Amendment 7 #