24 Amendments of Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ related to 2020/2222(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. Whereas the Recovery and Resiliency Facility with its over 670bn euro and the REACT-EU with its over 50bn euro are powerful tools to help EU countries recover; whereas already in the spring of 2020, cohesion policy provided emergency response of 11.2bn euro in business support, 7.6bn euro in EU reallocations for health actions and 4.1bn euro in direct support for workers;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the decision on its activation was taken by the Council alone, without Parliament’s involvement; in compliance with the provisions for activation as stipulated in Article 2 (1) of the ESI Regulation(EU) 2016/369; 2a _________________ 2a OJ L 70, 16.3.2016, p. 1-6.
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas because of the pressing nature of the crisis, procurement procedures and means of control have been relaxoptimised in many places in order to expedite implementation;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
M a. whereas the Commission has taken a number of measures to address risks related to corruption and misuse of funds in the Union, including progress on its legislation on anti-money laundering; whistle-blower protection, public procurement and the European Rule of Law Mechanism;
Amendment 18 #
N. whereas according to the latest report from Transparency International and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (WHO CC)18 , the European Commission is violanot entirely respecting its own commitments on transparency and international principles of ‘good practice’ on transparency of public contracts when it uses too much redaction to cover elements of text in the Advance Purchase Agreements (APA) contracts; highlights, however that the Commission is obligated by law to respect the provisions of the Financial Regulation and that a better and improved structure for a more rapid reaction by the Commission in future crises is necessary; _________________ 18http://ti-health.org/wp- content/uploads/2021/05/For-Whose- Benefit-Transparency-International.pdf
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas in a situation of high expectation, severe pressure and unprecedented spending volumes, public officials could be unfit to keep up withit is essential that public officials respect their increased professional standards needed, or not at ease with doing so; whereas, furthermore, officials may not necessarily become promptly aware ofincluding risks imposed by conflict-of- interest situations;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that the recent crises have confirmed the need to be able to mobilise investment and frontload financial support as from the very first years of recovery; is aware that in times of crisis resources have to be made available within tight deadlines and in rapidly changing circumstances; remarks that a significant amount of additional resources to be spent in a short amount of time increases the pressure on control systems; stresses, nevertheless, that rapid deployment of funds and swift adoption of legislative acts need to be complemented by adequate administrative measures; points out that the pressure to provide relief and the urge to use the resources in the shortest time possible could result in increased risk of corruption, fraud and other irregularities, and that such a situation requires efficient preventive measures and control management processes; highlights in this regard that the rules on the protection of the financial interests of the Union apply equally also in the case of emergency support and emergency support instruments such as: CRII, CRII+, REACT-EU and RRF;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its concern, however, that transparency, control and anti- corruption reforms have met a certain resistancAcknowledges all efforts undertaken by the Commission to increase transparency, control and anti- corruption reforms in the Member States through its enhanced rule of law toolbox; expresses its concern, however, that such reforms take longer time in some Member States, which hascan been explained by the fact that they affect the personal interests of the law- makers and government officials in charge of enforcing them;different implications of national legal systems, legislative or institutional gaps; welcomes nevertheless, that several Member States have adopted their national anti- corruption strategies or action plans and others have revised or are currently revising their existing ones and implies on the need for Member States to have robust anti-corruption frameworks;8a _________________ 8a Commission Communication, 2021 Rule of Law Report, The rule of law situation in the European Union, 20 July 2021, COM(2021) 700 final
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes that it is important to keep citizens engaged in the fight against corruption and fully protected from negative personal consequences; calls on the Commission to provide the right platforms for engagementreiterates in this regard the need for the swift implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on whistleblower protection by 17 December 2021; calls on the Commission to provide the right platforms for engagement; acknowledges, in this relation that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) allows any individual to report alleged cases of fraud and crimes affecting misuse of the EU budget directly on its web platform; highlights the possibility to report fraud also to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF); notes, that the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) gives further explanation to citizens on how to report certain types of crimes such as cybercrime;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Insists, however, that in order to curb the potential negative effects of these policies in terms of graft, top-down accountability tools such as audits should by default accompany any relaxation of contracting rules, as flexibility and reactivity should not come at the expense of public accountability and performance; notes that it has been demonstrated by the Commission that accountability, transparency and efficiency of EU spending is guaranteed by the same monitoring and audit systems and rules used with regards to all EU funding under shared management;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Welcomes the initiatives that the Commission has developed to fight disinformation and improve visibility; acknowledges that accountability remains a priority also when it comes to crises- related spending areas;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Believes that sound financial management should be pursued and that absorption should not be prioritised over value for money considerations; underlines that in the context of emergency spending, irregularities should not lead to suspension and interruptions of funds, so that the money flow to the beneficiaries is ensured; acknowledges that recoveries through financial corrections should be the preferred approach;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to evaluate the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to look at how corruption affected the outcome and whether integrity was upheld or undermined, and to report back to Parliament on the main findings; reminds that only after analysing empirical evidence, payment claims and absorption data, effective conclusions on the Union’s response to the crisis can be drawn; calls for the inclusion of dedicated chapter on emergency funds and crises- related spending in the 2020 discharge;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Finds it lamentabledissatisfactory that the Commission makes extensive use of the redaction tool to cover parts of the APA contracts; insists, notwithstanding the sensitivity of the information, that such details are important in improving accountability and the global response to the virus; calls on the Commission to better plan transparency and accountability aspects in response to future crises; notes that the Commission applies Article 38(3)(d) of the Financial Regulation, referring to the case where disclosure of data risks harming the commercial interests of the recipients, and that the Commission is under a legal obligation to follow these rules; calls for proportionality of effective scrutiny and full accountability of the use of the resources with the public interest;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that if relevant data on public procurement were to be made publicly available for analysis, freely and easily accessible, in an open and standardised format, together with data on court convictions and on company registries, this could significantly foster the prevention and detection of potential cases of corruption; is of the opinion, therefore, that all public procurement contracts (using public money) should be publicly available, published on a dedicated website and with the minimum of redaction only when in compliance with legal requirements;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. DeploresNotes, that the decision for activation of the ESI as laid out in Regulation (EU) 2016/369 of 15 March 2016 on the provision of emergency support within the Union is to be taken by the Council on the basis of a Commission proposal; criticises, however, the fact that, despite its strong links to the EU budget, the activation of the ESI as part of the EU response to the COVID-19 outbreak was done without full respect and observance of Parliament’s prerogatives as co- legislatorbudgetary authority and final supervisor of the EU budget;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Objects vehemently, moreover, toCriticises the fact that, despite several attempts to get a clear overview, the Committees on Budgets and on Budgetary Control are not given appropriate access to relevant data on the EU funds spent under the ESI to finance the Advance Purchase Agreements (APA) contracts, amounting to around EUR 2.5 billion for six APA contracts;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. UrgesAcknowledges that the Joint Procurement Agreement allows Member States, EEA and other countries to jointly negotiate better terms for supplying medical equipment; urges with views to this, the Commission to put in place a solid and transparent EU public procurement framework, when funds from the EU budget are fully or partially involved, that would allow for full and unlimited scrutiny by Parliament, especially concerning major economic, security or health crisis-related spending areas;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work together towards the adoption of robust National Anti-Fraud Strategies (NAFS), that offer the benefit of coordinating the actions of several entities and guaranteeing optimisation of resources and coverage of all the areas of interest (expenditures under indirect and shared management, national funds, etc.); notes that OLAF promotes the adoption of NAFS and provides guidance to the Member States; welcomes that 14 Member States have already adopted their NAFS and 5 are considering adopting one as compared to 2019;19a _________________ 19a https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/ committee-on-budgetary- control_20210901-1500-COMMITTEE- CONT_vd
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Insists on the need for collaborative work among the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and other EU bodies such as Eurojust, Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to carry out criminal investigations and prosecutions within the respective mandate/remit; acknowledges in this regard the working arrangements signed between the EPPO, OLAF, European Court of Auditors, Europol and Eurojust; encourages better coordination and cooperation between these institutions, the Commission and Member States’ authorities;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Is of the opinion that advances in the field of AI present a major opportunity for the public sector to detect and prevent fraud, for instance by strengthening the Commission’s central analytical capacity, as IT tools can easily scrape, link and analyse the necessary data and detect potential irregularities, fraud and corruption; suggests, therefore, that the Commission, together with the Member States, develop a framework that aspires to the highest standards calls on the Commission and the Member States to put in use a single integrated, interoperable information and monitoring system including a single data-mining and risk-scoring terms of legality, ethics, transparency, security, privacy and acool to access and analyse the relevant data and increase countability so that public trust and confidence inrol reliability, with a view to a generalised application, including with the usehelp of this tool is preservede Technical Support Instrument;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. Notes, that the collection of data on those ultimately benefitting, directly or indirectly, from Union funding under shared management and for projects and reforms supported by the Recovery and Resiliency Facility, including data on beneficial owners of the recipients of the funding, is necessary to ensure effective controls and audits, the rules related to the collection and processing of such data should comply with applicable data protection rules;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Takes the view that a centralisedsingle integrated, interoperable information and monitoring system would include procurement administration to whichwhere contractors and contracting authorities are obliged toport systematically report highly detailed project data and progress (in a standardised format) should be created, in order to facilitate improved data collection and treatment on an EU level;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32 a. Reiterates the need for increased resources and staff of OLAF and EPPO to facilitate the fight against corruption and misuse of funds; reminds that OLAF is actively participating in the screening of national plans for the RRF and it is expected that the number of its investigations will rise with the risk of new fraudulent activities; reminds also that the EPPO expects at least 2000 new cases within the first year of its operations in addition to the current processing of a backlog of nearly 3000 cases;