Activities of Ángela VALLINA related to 2018/2105(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Activities of the European Ombudsman in 2017 (debate) ES
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman in 2017 PDF (446 KB) DOC (73 KB)
Amendments (9)
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the positions of the Member States in the EU legislative process must be recorded and made a matter of public knowledge in a timely and accessible manner, as in any system rooted in the principle of democratic legitimacy, co-legislators must be held accountable to the public for their actions; strongly criticises the fact that the Council’s legislative documents are not, to any significant extent, directly and proactively accessible to the public while the legislative process is ongoing; calls on the Council todemands that the Council, in accordance with Article 15(3) of the Treaty on European Union, revise its confidentiality policy in order to ensure the highest level of transparency in its work;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the Ombudsman to continue to monitor the implementation of the Commission’s reform of the expert groups’ system in order to ensure full compliance with legally binding rules and full transparency in the performance of all expert groups’ activities, and to investigate and report any possible conflict of interests; believes that a careful assessment and knowledge of all expert groups is needed in order to arrive at an overall understanding of their independence and added value within EU policymaking;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importance of regularly updating and greatly improving the accuracy of data in the EU transparency register, including the obligation for law firms that lobby to declare all their clients; underlines the need to make available all information on the influence of lobbyists free of charge, fully comprehensible and easily accessible to the public; believes that full transparency of the funding of all interest representatives must be ensured; calls for any organisation that breaks the revolving doors rules to be suspended;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Strongly regretCondemns the decision of the ECB President not to suspend his membership of the G30 in spite of the Ombudsman’s recommendation to do so; stresses that the ECB President’s continued membership of the G30 increases citizens’ mistrust as to the integrity of the ECB and its independence from private financial interests; urges the ECB to amend the relevant rules in order to fully comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations and to ensure that the highest ethical and accountability standards are concretely implemented;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Strongly believes that stricter moral and ethical rules and standards need to be applied throughout the EU institutions, agencies and bodies with a view to securing respect for the duty of integrity and discretion, as well as full independence from the private sector;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Congratulates the Ombudswoman on her strategic inquiry concerning the transparency in the Council legislative process (OI/2/2017/TE) and regrets the fact that the Council did not reply within the deadline in the findings. It is regrettably a recurring topic that is constantly showcased also from complaints submitted to the Ombudswoman. This matter should be considered of high importance in the democratic life of the Union and the effective participation of citizens across the continent hindering the fulfilment of the constitutional treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Most recently a decision in case 1272/2017/LP (the refusal to give public access to the opinion of its Legal Service concerning an inter- institutional agreement on Transparency Register) indicated that the issue is threatening principle institutional balance and the negates the essential practice of the mutual sincere cooperation. It is impossible to perform an ex post check on an ad hoc basis after the refusal of a request.
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Applauds the constant interest of the Ombudswoman with issues pertinent to the Staff of the institutions and highlights the importance of diminishing any discrimination that might arise from differentiated status. Reiterates the significance of the findings on unpaid traineeships in EU delegations of the European External Actions Service (EEAS) (case 454/2014/PMC) and the recommendation that it should pay its trainees an appropriate allowance respecting the principle of non- discrimination. Deplores the fact that other EU institutions follow the same malpractice of unpaid traineeships that does not allow fair opportunities to young people that offer work equal to that of an employee. Young professionals are thus excluded in the lack of sufficient funds to sustain themselves without an adequate remuneration for their services. Shortcomings in the status of trainees are witnessed in other areas, i.e. lacking mechanisms for reporting sexual harassment in agencies of the Union. Calls therefore the Ombudswoman to open a general strategic inquiry on the status of trainees.
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Ombudsman to launch a strategic inquiry in order to assess whether EU Institutions, offices and agencies, such as the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the EMA, ensure that the collection and, examination and publication of scientific evidence is fully independent, transparent, impartial, accurate and free from conflict of interests, and whether the proper policies and procedural safeguards are in place, notably when dealing with GMOs, glyphosate, pesticides, phytosanitary and biocidal products and medicines;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls for greater financial and human resources to be allocated to the office of the Ombudsman to deal with the current and future workload so that it be able to guarantee a service which is of vital importance to the citizens of the Union;