41 Amendments of Luke Ming FLANAGAN related to 2021/2106(DEC)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned that the amount of outstanding commitments (RAL) at the end of 2020 reached a new record high of EUR 303,2 billion; acknowledges that a certain level of outstanding commitments is a natural consequence of the Union budget system with commitment appropriations and payment appropriations but underlines that an amount of outstanding commitments, which equals two full years of payment appropriations may constitute a risk for the smooth operation of the budget in the future; which would be put under serious pressure, with a possible serious risk to the liquidity of the Union budget;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Welcomes the publication of the Guidance on avoidance of conflicts of interest under the Financial Regulation in April 2021 - after the distribution to Member States in August 2020 - which promotes the uniform interpretation of the rules across all management modes; reiterates its call on the Commission to ensure proper evaluation of the preventive measures taken by the Member States to avoid conflicts of interest; ; emphasises that all form of conflicts of interest are to be tackled efficiently and effectively including within the European institutions;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Reminds that Commission’s audit reports, including for conflict of interest cases, should be published in reasonable timeframe, helping in ensuring that the recommended corrective and follow-up actions are implemented by the audited; reminds the stance of the Budgetary Control Committee that even prior to the finalisation of an audit, the Commission has to share information with the European Parliament upon request in order to allow Parliament to exercise its function of political scrutiny;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Encourages the Commission, the ECA and the Council to work towards accelerating the discharge process to N+1, reminding that this should not undermine the quality of the process;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Expresses concerns that the increasing use of financial mechanisms to deliver Union policies in third countries alongside the Union budget risks undermining the accountability and transparency of Union action and spending; insists that the Commission ensures that the delivery of external aid is subject to the rule of law and respect for human rights in recipient countries; recalls that development and cooperation policy are intended to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality and that funds should reach only their intended beneficiaries;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Is particularly concerned by the Court’s repeated findings that the work of some national audit authorities or certifying bodies is considered too error- prone and therefore unreliable, which compromises the reliability of data for the Commission’s Annual Management and Performance Report (AMPR);; regrets that the Commission has not followed up to this specific comment included in the 2019 Commission discharge resolution; expect the Commission to provide clarifications on this aspect;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Reiterates the requests made by the Parliament in the last years discharge resolutions to the Court, namely the definition of an error rate also for low risks payments, and for each expenditure in the MFF; to expand the chapter on "Administration" in order to have a more in-depth analysis on all institutions; the qualification of the impact of the corrective measures on the overall level of error;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes that according to non- published information provided to the Court, the Commission provided EUR 12,9 billion in commitments under direct and indirect management and EUR 34,2 billion in commitments under shared management for purposes related to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020; regrets that the Commission has no published yet a report on COVID-19 related expenditure;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38 a. Takes note that the Court in this years Annual report reviewed the Commission’s reporting on financial corrections and recoveries and is worried that it found it to be complex and not always clear; call on the commission to make sure that its reporting give a clear idea of the amount of irregular expenditure corrected and returned to the EU budget;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39 a. Reiterates its concerns about the Court’s assessment that the monitoring data from Member States, on which the Commission AMPR and the programmes statements are based, is not fully reliable; regrets in particular the Court’s reiterated evaluation on the AMPR in the Cohesion areas, because of shortcomings of the audit authorities work and the issues identified regarding the residual error rates reported in the DG EMPL and DG REGIO AARs;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 b (new)
Paragraph 39 b (new)
39 b. Takes note of the Commission’s statement that it is not required to align its methodology to the one used by the Court, but regrets that it leads to very different figures, in particular in the Competitiveness area, where the Commission’s estimate of the risk at payment for this MFF heading is even below the ECA range for the estimated level of error; calls on the Commission to step out from a strictly legal requirement and seriously engage in a reflection process on its methodology to make sure that the Court and Commission figures may be more comparable;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Draws attention to the fact that around 20 % of ex-post audits of the entire H2020 family are carried out by DG RTD’s Common Audit Service (CAS), and 80 % on its behalf by private audit firms; notes with concern that the Court found that sampling at the level of the cost statements audited was not always in line with established procedures, highlights that despite the improvements introduced by the Commission, the representative error rate is potentially understated; expresses concerns that weaknesses in the ex post audits by the CAS still persist;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55 a (new)
Paragraph 55 a (new)
55 a. Regrets that when reviewing the information in the Commission’s 2020 AMPR regarding the estimated risk at payment in the policy area under MFF1a, the Court evaluates the rate as a whole being below its range of estimated level of error;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55 b (new)
Paragraph 55 b (new)
55 b. Highlights the risk of the use of Horizon 2020 to fund entities complicit in illegal settlements, including funds to companies listed in the UN database of companies complicit in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise; reminds that the EU "Guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards" state their aim is "to ensure the respect of EU positions and commitments in conformity with international law on the non-recognition by the EU of Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967"; asks the Commission to carefully monitor for, and rectify project management transgressions, in particular in relation to the BOUNCE and GEO-CRADLE projects;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)
Paragraph 60 a (new)
60 a. Recalls the important role of the spending under MFF heading 1b "economic, social and territorial cohesion", which focuses on reducing development disparities between the different Member States and regions of the Union and strengthening all regions’ competitiveness;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 – point -a (new)
Paragraph 78 – point -a (new)
-a. provide an error rate at payments and not a residual error rate in order to improve the evaluation of the scrutiny undertaken;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 – point -a a (new)
Paragraph 78 – point -a a (new)
-a a. continue its cooperation with the Court in order to further align audit methodologies and interpretation of legal texts;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 – point k a (new)
Paragraph 78 – point k a (new)
k a. pay increased attention, and allocate increased technical support, to Member States, whose management and control systems are only partially reliable, or not reliable, where there is an increased risk of fraud and corruption related to funds
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85
Paragraph 85
85. Welcomes that the Commission has committed to providing support to the Member States in developing the new approach with regard to checks by monitoring; notes that Since 2018, Member State paying agencies may perform these kind of checks; highlights that, but regrets its limited coverage in 2020; supports the Court has recommended thatation to the Commission to promotes checks by monitoring as a key control system for the post-20220 CAP;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85 a (new)
Paragraph 85 a (new)
85 a. Regrets the recurrent weaknesses identified by the Court on the risk at payment affecting the spending on ‘Natural Resources", related to the Members States’ controls, reflected in their control statistics;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85 b (new)
Paragraph 85 b (new)
85 b. Reminds the weakness identified by the Court on the CAP anti-fraud policies and procedures both by the Commission and the Member States; recalls the recommendation to the Commission in last year Annual report and takes note that DEG AGRI updated its Anti-Fraud strategy in 2020; awaits for the Court Special Report on CAP and anti-fraud measures delayed to the 2 quarter of 2022, for a in depth analysis of the current situation;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 88 a (new)
Paragraph 88 a (new)
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 91 – point k a (new)
Paragraph 91 – point k a (new)
k a. Increase CAP efficiency by concentrating its support to active farmers whose main activity is farming;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97
Paragraph 97
97. NoteRegrets that the Court was unable to estimate the error ratdid not estimate the error rate and reiterate its call for a clear estimation, because of the public and political interest in this area which is far higher than its financial share; notes with concern that of the 27 transactions examined by the Court, 8 (30 %) were affected by errors; highlights that the Court also found cases of non- compliance with legal and financial provisions, but without a financial impact on the Union budget; notes that the errors concern the selection of projects and the application of procurement rules, the submission of incomplete documentation in support of cost claims, and the defective functioning of an IT system;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)
Paragraph 97 a (new)
97 a. Regrets that the limited sample of 27 transactions for 2020 made impossible for the Court to compare its audit results with the information reported by the DG HOME and DG CONNECT on the regularity of spending; invites the court to extend its sample and made it more representative of this spending area, in order to have a deeper evaluation of this heading;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 100 – point k
Paragraph 100 – point k
k. implement measures to ensure complementarity and better coordination between AMIF and EASO/Frontex (e.g. in the area of forced returns or support to asylum authorities);
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 100 – point l
Paragraph 100 – point l
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 103
Paragraph 103
103. Takes noteRegrets that the Court did not audit sufficient transactions to estimate the level of error for this MFF heading; reiterates its call for the error rate to clearly be identified for this heading; is worried that of the 75 transactions examined, 28 (37,3 %) were affected by errors; notes with concern that some international organisations (UNRWA, UNICEF and IBRD) provided onlythe Court’s work was hindered by some international organisation refusing or limiteding access to relevant audit documents, and someor even questioneding the Court’s mandate;
Amendment 231 #
107 a. Recalls that development and cooperation policy are meant to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality and that funds should reach only their intended beneficiaries;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107 b (new)
Paragraph 107 b (new)
107 b. Insists on the importance of the European Parliament’s active participation in the development of partnership and cooperation agreements with third countries; stresses that future partnership agreements should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny and based on the principles of solidarity, shared responsibility, respect for human rights, the rule of law and international humanitarian law;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107 c (new)
Paragraph 107 c (new)
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 108 – point e a (new)
e a. reintroduce reservations for all areas found to have a high level of risk, regardless of their share of total expenditure and their financial impact;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108 – point e b (new)
Paragraph 108 – point e b (new)
e b. provide an enhanced Parliament scrutiny when developing new partnership agreements with third countries, which should always be based on the principles of solidarity, shared responsibility, respect for human rights, the rule of law and international humanitarian law;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108 – point f
Paragraph 108 – point f
f. encourages the further development of balanced trade agreements and to remain attentive to investments made by foreign powers such as China or Russia;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108 – point f
Paragraph 108 – point f
f. encourages the further development of balanced trade agreements and to remain attentive to investments made by foreign powers such as China or, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Turkey;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 a (new)
Paragraph 116 a (new)
116 a. Insists on the Commission to implement a more transparent appointment procedure for all positions especially the management related ones particularly in the context of the new HR Strategy;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 b (new)
Paragraph 116 b (new)
116 b. Reminds the Commission of the potential risks of Commissioner engaging in new activities and calls for the Commission to keep a clear attention on those cases;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 c (new)
Paragraph 116 c (new)
116 c. Reiterates the European Parliament concern about the termination of the contract with the restaurant service provider, which led to the layoff of 400 workers; invites again the Commission to considers in term of sound financial management the possibility of internalisation of the catering staff in- house;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 d (new)
Paragraph 116 d (new)
116 d. Recall Parliament’s concerns about the increasing number of contract staff hired in the Commission, and the risks related to the transfer and then loss of knowledge when their contracts expires, without forgetting the perspective and job security of the contract agents;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 117 – point e a (new)
Paragraph 117 – point e a (new)
e a. to make the Commission special advisers status more transparent with a clear definition of their tasks and missions, via a revision of the current rules on Special Advisers;
Amendment 276 #
e b. be at the front line of the Whistle- blowers protection, paving the way for a more uniform regulation among all Institutions, based on best practices and on higher standards;