10 Amendments of Petri SARVAMAA related to 2017/2178(DEC)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes with concern the number of outstanding issues and ongoing corrective measures in response to the Court’s comments in 2013 and 2015 related to a framework contract for the procurement of services and to the relation between the Agency and Schengen associated countries; urges the Agency to take corrective actions without further delay;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes from the Court’s reporCondemns the fact that the Agency received and accepted supplies amounting to EUR 2 800 000 without having budget and legal commitments (contracts) in place; notes that these were made retroactively in order to regularise the purchases; notes moreover from the Agency´s reply that the purchases were made in this way in order to deal with urgent operational requirements and also in response to rapidly growing storage needs required by Member States; calls on the Agency to significantly improve budget planning and budget implementation; is of the opinion that the growing storage needs of Member States was foreseeable by the Agency; is of the opinion that the Union’s public procurement rules allow for an urgent procedure and thus that retroactive signing of contracts for an urgent purchase is not in accordance with Union law;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the Agency signed a construction contract for its premises in Strasbourg with a value of EUR 21 500 000 in June 2015; notes moreover that stage payments were agreed as the main payment method; notes with concern that the Agency amended the contract in July 2015 to make advance payments the default method to increase budget consumption; is gravely concerned that by November 2016 the Agency had paid the full contract amount although less than half of the work had been completed; notes from the Agency’s reply that the pre- financing payments were associated with a matching financial guarantee and a 5% performance guarantee; calls on the Agency to report to the discharge authority on the implementation of this contract;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes with concern that the Court identified procurements where the Agency did not check for the most economical solution by not checking that the framework contractor had found the best price; calls on the Agency to take the principle of economy and cost- effectiveness seriously and carry out all relevant measures in order to avoid this situation happening again;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Observes with concern that the Agency is increasingly dependent on external staff, who are often more expensive to employ than internal staff and may present inherent risks with regards to retention of knowledge and capabilities in the Agency and the sustainability of its operations;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. RegretsNotes with concern the lack of gender balance among posts occupied on 31 December 2016, given that the ratio iwas 28% female to 72% male member of staff; regrets that the Management Board is even more imbalanced with a ratio of 11 % and 89 %; calls on the Agency to pay greater attention to the gender balance of its staff and take it into account in future recruitment;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Observes with some concern that in 2016, the Agency’s staff was on average on sick leave 10,7 days; notes from the Agency’s replies that the number of days spent per staff member on well-being activities in 2016 was between two and three; notes that the Agency organised different team building activities with more days allocated to operational staff and less to administrative staff; calls on the Agency to consult the medical service on how to lower the absence from work due to sick leave;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that the Management Committee of the Agency has approved its Guidelines on Whistleblowing on 23 May 2016 and that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) gave a positive opinion on the text; notes, however, that the Directorate-General for Human Resources of the Commission was not in favour of it and informed the Agency that the Commission is working on new guidelines; notes with satisfaction that in the meantime the Agency has published the general principles relevant for whistleblowing in its code of conduct published on its website; reiterates that transparency is a key issue for creating and maintaining a trusting relationship between the citizens, the Union and its institutions;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that in 2016 the Agency received eleven requests for access to documents to which the Agency granted a full access in nine cases, while for two requests the access was refused on grounds of protecting commercial interests and protecting the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits; expects the Agency, when deciding on limiting the access to documents to protect commercial interests, also to consider with utmost seriousness citizens’ interests and the Union’s commitment to greater transparency, while taking into account all relevant rules and regulations;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7
Subheading 7