38 Amendments of Georgi PIRINSKI related to 2017/2136(DEC)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes with concern the high estimated level of error in the policy area of ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’ at 4,8 %, which iremains above the error level for the EU budget as a whole (3,1 %); notes, however, that this represents a small decrease from the previous year (5,2 %); notes that the estimated error level in the area of ‘Competitiveness for growth and jobs’ is 4,1 %;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that, as was the case in previous years, Member States had enough information to prevent or correct a significant number of errors before claiming reimbursement and the estimated error rate could have been reduced below the materiality threshold; calls, therefore, on the Member States to properly enforce their management and control systems; calls on the Commission to effectively use all tools at its disposal, including technical assistance, to provide support to Member States’ authorities;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that State aid errors were an important factor contributing to the estimated level of error in cohesion policy; calls on the Commission to perform a review of the Stakte preventive action to improve the implementation of SAid legislation and propose modifications that would reduce the administrative burden on national authorities and beneficiaries, and would remove obstacles that put European companies and organizations at a disadvantatge aid rules; expressin comparison with their competitors from third countries; its deeply concerned that, three years after the start of 2014-2020 period, the Member States have designated only 77 % of programme authorities; urges the Member States and the Commission to collaborate closely to complete the process;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the achievements of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) in 2016 and the fact that almost three times the number of people were supported by them in 2016 compared to the period 2014-2015 (7,8 million people in 2016 compared to 2,7 million people in 2014- 2015); notes that, as a result of ESF and YEI support, 787 000 participants were in employment, 820 000 participants gained a qualification, and 276 000 participants followed education or training;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Is concerned about the delay in the implementation of ESF and YEI and at their low budgetary execution; notes that the Commission has drawn attention that the ex-ante conditionalities as one of the reasons for their delayed implementation and that the absorption is affected by the introduced annual accounts and by the risk of net financial corrections; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to seriously reconsider the continuation of ex-ante conditionalities and to make efforts to mitigate the side effects of the other novelties introduced for the current period when elaborating its legislative proposals for the post-2020 period;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned by the delays in implementing the 2014-2020 ESIF programmes and that, inas of end 2016, the total amount of budgetary commitments, allocated to selected projects, reached some EUR 238,8186,6 billion, mainly because of those delays, and that only EUR 41,9 billon were paid, thus accumulating more than 77% unpaid commitments (EUR 144,6 billion); underlines that this amount is expected to rise until 2020; emphasises that clearing this backlog should be a priority when planning the next MFF;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Draws attention to the Court ‘s observations in its Annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2016 that over the last five years it did not quantify any errors relating to the use of simplified cost options (SCOs) for transactions under the policy area of ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’; asks the Commission to continue providing guidance and support to Member States on the implementation of SCOs given their increasing applicability, as envisaged in the ongoing amendments of the rules of the European Structural and Investment Funds, in order to facilitate widest possible utilisation of SCOs;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Welcomes the results achieved under the three axes of the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) in 2016; draws attention to the importance of EaSI support, and, in particular, of its Progress and European Employment Services network (EURES) axes, for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights; notes with concern that the thematic section Social Entrepreneurship within EaSI Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis remains underperforming and calls on the Commission to insist that the European Investment Fund commits to full utilisation of the resources under Social Entrepreneurship thematic section;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Is deeply concerned that the major delay in implementing the policies of economic, social and territorial cohesion has exacerbated the multiple inequalities both throughout the Union and within Member States and regions, thus jeopardising the integrity of the Union;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes note of the strategic report 2017 on the implementation of the ESI Funds1 , stressing that the ESI Funds’ investment amounting to EUR 278 billionproject selection has reached an overall EUR 278 billion, or 44 % of the total investment planned for 2014-2020 has been delivered to Europe's real economy since the beginning of the funding period; considerNotes that the implementation of the 2014- 2020 programmes has now reached full speed, provingis still to reach stage of implementation where the added value of cohesion policy investment forwould be visible in all regions in Europe; __________________ 1 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/poli cy/how/stages-step-by-step/strategic- report/.
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the average disbursement rate forfrom financial instruments was only 75 % at the end ofto final recipients reached 93% by 31 March 2015,7 which shows that the potene practical of those instruments is not fully exploitedusefulness of such instruments; points out that the revision of the Financial Regulation which is due to enter into force in 2018 will significantly contribute to the simplification, improvement and optimisation of their use during current programming period;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Insists that the Union budget, as a consequence of the “budget focused on results initiative”, be presented according to the political objectives of the Treaties, the Europe 2020 Strategy and the MFF;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the Court of Auditors Special Report 5/2017 and urges the Commission and the Member States to fully implement Court’s recommendations in order to increase the coverage and effectiveness of Youth Guarantee schemes;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Commission to review, under the EU Budget Focused on Results initiative, the effectiveness of indicators used,take into consideration the European Court of Auditors' recommendations in the 2016 Annual Report with regard the performance reporting framework and to adopt international good practices when reviewing the effectiveness of indicators used under the EU Budget Focused on Results initiative and to improve the overallcurrent performance measurement system, as well as when reconsidering the delivery mechanism post-2020; calls on the Commission to further strengthen the programmes' focus on performance and to simplifiedy ESIF implementation. ;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to arrange a reduction in the fees charged by the European Investment Bank for creating and administering financial instruments and to regularly present information about the beneficiaries and the results achieved by means of these instruments;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes with satisfaction that for the first time in 23 years, the Court has issued a qualified (rather than an adverse) opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts which means that in the Court’s view, this reflects an important improvement in the management of EU finances, as well as that material error was confined mainly to reimbursement-based expenditure, representing around half of the audited population;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets that for the 23st year in a row, payments are materially affected by error because of the fact that the management and control systems are only partially effective at ensuring sound financial management and timely payment;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Endorses the reservations issued by the directors general of DG REGIO, EMPL, MARE, HOME, DEVCO and AGRI, in their annual activity report; is of the opinion that those reservations demonstrate that the control procedures put in place in the Commission and the Member States cannot in all cases give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of all the underlying transactions in the corresponding policy areas;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Points out that the delays in the implementation of programmes in the first three years of the current MFF, due to the late adoption of the 2014-2020 MFF and considerable novelties introduced for the 2014-2020 period causing administrative difficulties despite efforts for simplification, led to the transfer of commitment appropriations from 2014, mainly to 2015 and 2016, and to low payments in 2016;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Recalls that the Union is making increasing use of financial instruments and that the establishment of EFSI creates new governance arrangements with limited public scrutiny, thus requiring more careful surveillance by Parliament;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Is disappointed that three years after the start of the 2014-2020 period, the Member States have designated only 77 % of the programme authorities responsible for implementing the ESI funds, therefore, questioning the need of modifying procedures at the beginning of each programming period;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 57 – point c a (new)
(c a) to provide the Parliament in the context of discharge with a comprehensive report about the indirect managed and implemented EU budget resources by the EIB Group (EIB and EIF) apart from its external mandate starting with 2017 financial year;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 57 – point d a (new)
(d a) to consider as well the possibility to enable authorities designated or accredited to fulfil management, certification and audit functions during the period 2014-2020, which have proven their capacity, to continue implementing such functions in the next programming period without interruption or delay;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 57 – point e a (new)
(e a) to proactively assist Member States which encounter difficulties with timely and smooth absorption of available Union funding by using the available resources for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new)
Paragraph 71 a (new)
71a. Shares the opinion of the Court that the performance reporting framework applied by the Commission could benefit from adopting international good practices;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115
Paragraph 115
115. Is pleased that the employment levelrate in 2016 reached again the 2008 pre- crisis level of 71%, notes however that the employment level developed very unevenly andbut the situation varies markedly across the Union and this rate is well below the Europe 2020 target of 75%; notes with concern that unemployment rates still remains too high, in particular among young people and long-term unemployed;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 138 a (new)
Paragraph 138 a (new)
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 144
Paragraph 144
144. AttacRecalls thes great importance attributed to the ex-ante conditionalities, which set for setting out sector-specific and horizontal conditions to ensure effective spending; believes that once the ex-ante conditionalities are fulfilled, together with the 10% retention from payments foreseen by the revised regulation, implementation of projects will be easier and less error-prone of ESIF, however, stresses the Court's opinion in its Special Report 15/2017 questioning to what extent this has effectively led to changes on the ground;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171
Paragraph 171
Volkswagen Group to be moved under paragraph 283
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 167
Paragraph 167
167. Notes that OLAF has also completed an administrative investigation into a loan granted to the Volkswagen Group by the European Investment Bank (EIB); - to be moved as new paragraph 283a
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 168
Paragraph 168
168. Takes note of a statement made by the EIB President, Werner Hoyer, stating that: “We still cannot exclude that one of our loans, the 400m EUR loan ‘Volkswagen Antrieb RDI’, was linked to emission control technologies developed at the time the defeat software was designed and used. We will now review OLAF’s conclusions and consider all available and appropriate action. [...]We are very disappointed at what is asserted by the OLAF investigation, namely that the EIB was misled, by VW about the use of the defeat device.”; to be moved as new paragraph 283b
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 169 – point c
Paragraph 169 – point c
(c) the economic recovery that started in 2013 has also been accompanied by a continuous reduction in poverty, measured by the rate of people at risk of poverty dropping from 24.7% in 2012 to 23.7% in 2015, however, the recovery is still not reaching all parts of society and there are 118 million people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2016 (1.7 million people above the 2008 level), which is far off-track in reaching the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion target;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 170
Paragraph 170
170. Regrets however, that the disparity in income distribution increased between 2013 and 2014 and has remained stable since then; is concerned that the richest 20% of the population possessed disposable income that was around five times higher than that of the poorest 20% in 2016, with large disparities across countries (and an increase in inequality in some);
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 187 – point b
Paragraph 187 – point b
(b) building a stronger linkcoordination between cohesion, economic governance and the European semester in order to strengthen achievement of cohesion policy objectives as spelled out in the Treaties for overcoming disparities and inequalities within its three dimensions - economic, social and territorial;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 187 – point f a (new)
Paragraph 187 – point f a (new)
(fa) considering whether maintaining ex-ante conditionalities for the post-2020 period would materially improve efficiency and effectiveness of Cohesion policy;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 187 – point g
Paragraph 187 – point g
(g) bringing financial engineering instruments under the EU budgetensure necessary provisions allowing national audit authorities to cover financial instruments under the EU budget, as well as envisaging more stringent rules for reporting by funds managers, including by the EIB Group and other international financial institutions regarding performance and results achieved, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 187 – point g a (new)
Paragraph 187 – point g a (new)
(ga) taking into account lessons drawn from the current period and the need for more simplification in order to establish a balanced system ensuring achievement of results and sound financial management without excessive administrative burden that would discourage potential beneficiaries and lead to more errors;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 191
Paragraph 191
191. Calls on DG EMPLthe Commission to encourage the use of the simplified cost options introduced by the "Omnibus" Regulation;