Activities of Péter NIEDERMÜLLER related to 2017/2177(DEC)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Asylum Support Office for the financial year 2016
Amendments (6)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that significant additional tasks were assigned to the Office at the beginning of 2015 and that in order to cover its support to Member States of first entry, in particular for the registration and interviewing of asylum applicants and for the relocation scheme, the budget of the European Asylum Support Office (‘the Office’) increased by 273 %; underlines the fact that the Office’s staff increased by only 34 % and that far fewer experts from Member States have been deployed to Member States of first entry than actually needed;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that due to the migration crisis the Office has faced problems absorbing additional Union funds granted in 2016 leadinglevels of migration in 2015-2016, the Office amended its budget on a number of occasions in 2016, which resulted in difficulties for the Office in absorbing those funds and which, in turn, led to considerable cancellations and carry-overs as well as difficulties in complying with budgetary and financial rules;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Regrets the fact that irregularities were found in two of the five audited procurement procedures that audited payments (representing 2.9% of the total expenditures) were irregular due to related irregular public procurement procedures; notes also the signature of an irregular additional framework contract for which no payments were made; requests the Office to cancel allnotes that, according to the Office, it has taken remedial action in 2017 to replatedce the contracts in question;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Requests the Office to improve its internal control processes; stresses the lack ofat the Office needs proper planning for public procurement procedures; notes that the Office did not insure 65 containers (EUR 852 136) located in a risky location where other containers have previously been destroyed by riots; notes, however, that the Office considered that such insurance was not cost effective; notes that the Office had not recovered all its VAT reimbursement in a timely fashion for the years 2014 and 2015;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. NotesWelcomes the fact that the late payment ratio decreased from 65 % in January 2016 to 9 % in October 2016, while the total number of transactions increased from 483 in January 2016 to 806 in October 2016; calls on the Office to complete effective corrective actions in order to efficiently tackle shortcomings, in particular those regarding recruitment procedures, late payments, high staff turnover and reimbursement of costs; calls on the Office to submit to the discharge authority aits plan outlining reforms to improve its budgetary and management performance parameterss to reform its budgetary planning and budgetary management;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. UrgesCalls on the Office to adopt a policy and a practical guide on both institutional management and the prevention of conflicts of interest; calls on the Office to adopt binding internal rules for thebinding internal rules for the effective protection of whistleblowers; acknowledges that the Office indicates that a policy on effective protection of whistleblowers was adopted in 2017.