Activities of Viola VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL related to 2020/2140(DEC)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019, Section III – Commission and executive agencies
Amendments (135)
Amendment 3 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 6 #
Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 7 #
Proposal for a decision 3
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Acting Director of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium- sized Enterprises discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Acting Director of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a decision 4
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 9 #
Proposal for a decision 5
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a decision 6
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the Research Executive Agency discharge in relation to the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the Research Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 11 #
Proposal for a decision 7
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Director of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019 / Postpones its decision on granting the Director of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a decision 8
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. the Union budget is a significant instrument for achieving common policy objectives, and on average represents 1.0 % of EU gross national income or 2,1 % of the Member States’ general government expenditure and total public spending in the Union;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. when the Parliament grants discharge to the Commission, it verifies and evaluates whether or not funds have been used correctly and policy goals have been achieved, thus confirming the regularity and the performance – value for money of the Commission’s spending;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. as a direct consequence of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) the Committee on Budgetary Control could not organise or fully carry out all of its planned activities related to the usual controls of the EU institutions’ spending, i.e. its fact finding missions, public hearings or workshops and thus had to rely even more on the work of the Court;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights, with regard to the implementation of the Union budget, the importance of complying with the principle of sound financial management as enshrined in Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); recalls that the fully functioning principle of the rule of law is a precondition of the effective implementation of the budget;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes that the new regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget is applicable since 1st January 2021;stresses that the Court of Justice of the European Union has already unequivocally established in its recent judgment in case C-5/16 Poland v EP & Council[1]that statements contained in European Council Conclusions cannot prevail over or modify the text of the regulation;calls therefore on the European Commission, as “Guardian of the Treaties" to apply the regulation from the date it entered into force and start the rule of law mechanisms when it is necessary; [1] Judgment of 21 June 2018, EU:C:2018:483.
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Is concerned about the state of rule of law in certain member states and urges the Commission to continue monitoring the situation and initiate the necessary procedures as laid down in the Regulation on the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalized deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States without hesitating;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Deplores the fact that the implementation of the CAP and the Cohesion Policy in EU Member States has in total 292 reporting systems, which makes the data fragmented and non- comparable, and prevents the effective use of AI and big data to control the funds; deplores the fact that none of the CAP and Cohesion policy reporting systems contains information on the ultimate beneficiaries, that disclosing this information is not legally required, and that not all information on beneficial owners of the companies is available in the national central registers of all Member States; calls on the Commission remedy the situation as a matter of urgency to create a unified reporting system which is updated automatically with comparable and timely data to make the system capable of monitoring, controlling with the use of AI and big data; calls on the Commission to make the publication of all information on beneficial owners as a legal requirement as a prerequisite for the use of EU funds as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Recalls that Commission established the Early Detection and Exclusion System to reinforce the protection of the Union's financial interests and to ensure sound financial management and to ensure that those companies and beneficial owners cannot benefit from EU funds who have been convicted in relation of fraud or corruption or other criminal activities related to use of Union funds, or against whom at least OLAF issued judicial recommendations to the criminal authorities of the Member States as of 1 January 2016; deplores the fact that this “EU blacklist” contains only 5 companies at the moment, is of the opinion that this tool could help the EU institutions and national bodies to better fight and prevent corruption and fraud in the Member States; calls therefore on the Commission to improve its use of this tool to connect the blacklist to the OLAF and EPPO and the national databases and create an automated system, which updates this database with reliable and timely information;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that Article 61 of the Financial Regulation has provided since August 2018 for an enlarged definition of conflicts of interests; emphasises the Commission’s responsibility to ensure that these provisions are implemented with due diligence across the Union, and all forms of conflicts of interests are tackled efficiently and effectively throughout the implementation of the Union budget; stresses the importance of available public information on final beneficiaries for all EU financial transfers, in order to prevent conflicts of interest in the implementation of EU budget;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls that a number of scandals surrounding the distribution and the misuse of the EU funds in countries such as Bulgaria,Czechia or Slovakia and Romania, triggered massive public protests in recent months and years, with the EU citizens looking to the EU institutions, in particular to the Commission, to ensure the end of such mismanagement of public money;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates its call on the Commission to ensure proper evaluation of the preventive measures taken by the Member States to avoid conflicts of interests; welcomes, in this regard, the guidelines from the Commission “Guidance on avoidance of conflicts of interest under the Financial Regulation”, distributed to the Member States in August 2020, aiming to promote a uniform interpretation and application of rules concerning conflicts of interests and to raise awareness on the applicability of these rules, including in relation to shared management; calls on the Commission to make these Guidelines public and also share the information about the audits carried out on these issues and examples of good practice with both Member States’ authorities and the Committee on Budgetary Control;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the new corporate Anti- Fraud Strategy, adopted by the Commission in April 2019, on OLAF’s initiative, with the objective of enhancing the Commission’s knowledge about fraud and its analytical capability to steer anti- fraud action, to ensure cooperation among departments and executive agencies in fighting fraud, and to strengthen the corporate oversight of the fight against fraud; calls on the Commission to prepare a follow-up report on the efficiency of its implementation and first results achieved and reports back to the discharge authority;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes with concern that in the period between January 2015 and December 2019 there was no decision taken by judicial authorities following OLAF’s recommendation in 199 cases and only in 178 cases was any decision taken1a; calls the Member States to properly follow-up all recommendations by OLAF; 1 _________________ 1ahttps://ec.europa.eu/anti- fraud/sites/antifraud/files/olaf_report_201 9_en.pdf
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Endorses the recommendations from the Court of Auditors’ (the “Court”) Annual report on the 2019 financial year and the Report of the European Court of Auditors on the performance of the EU budget and encourages the Commission and other relevant parties to implement them as soon as possible while emphasising some of the most important and urgent recommendations below;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to pay increased attention and allocate increased staff and budget of the Commission to Member States, whose management and control systems are only partially or not reliable, where there is an increased risk of fraud and corruption related to funds and especially those Member States who did not join to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Notes that the Court audited transactions worth a total of EUR 126,1 billion (out of EUR 159,1 billion of total Union spending), and that ‘Natural resources’ made up the largest share (47,2 %) of the Court’s overall audit population, followed by ‘Cohesion’ (22,5 %) and ‘Competitiveness’ (13,2 %);
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Notes that in 2019 the Court provided specific error rates for four MFF headings: ‘Competitiveness’, ‘Cohesion’, ‘Natural resources ’and ‘Administration’; points out that the Court found the highest estimated level of error in spending under ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion‘(4,4 %);
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Notes that the Court did not estimate levels of error for areas of expenditure under MFF headings 3 ‘Security and citizenship’ and 4 ‘Global Europe’; points out that the provision of error rates would allow comparability between financial years;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deeply regrets, however, that following the worsening trend of the level of error, for the first time in four years the Court had to issue an adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of the expenditure underlying the accounts;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points outo the fact that, as in previous years, eligibility errors (namely ineligible costs in costs claims and ineligible projects, activities or beneficiaries) in reimbursement-based payments, where expenditure is often subject to complex rules, were the main contributors to the 2019 estimated level of error for high-risk expenditure at 74% (compared to 68 % in 2018);
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Deeply regrets that the information and reports the Commission receives from Member States’ authorities often lack the data on concrete results or include too optimistic assessments, and that Commission’s particular role, as reflected in its methodology, and weaknesses in ex- post checks, which are a critical part of the control system, affects the Commission’s estimates of errors;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. RegretsPoints to the adoption of three amending budgets in 2019, adding EUR 0,4 billion to commitment appropriations and EUR 0,3 billion to payment appropriations;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. RegretsIs deeply concerned of the fact that outstanding commitments have continued to grow, reaching EUR 298,0 billion at the end of 2019 (compared to EUR 281,2 billion in 2018); notes that the level of payment appropriations in the annual budgets has been noticeably lower than the MFF ceiling in recent years, which might lead to higher payment needs in the futuredemands for payments in2022 and 2023 and poses a serious risk to the liquidity of the EU budget;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes furthermore that by the start of 2019, after the current MFF had been in place for five years, only approximately 17 % of the total ESI funding committed through Financial Instruments under Shared Management (FISMs) had reached its final recipient; recalls here repeated scepticism expressed by the Parliament over strong support of the Commission of the financial instruments;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. NotesIs concerned that, as in previous years, substantial amounts of unused annual ESIF pre-financing was returned to the Union budget (EUR 7,7 billion in 2019), due mainly to delays in implementation;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. NotesStresses the fact that the main financial risks to which the Union budget was exposed to in 2019 were associated with financial operations in form of loans covered directly by the Union budget (53,7 %), and financial operations covered by an Union guarantee fund (46,3 %); observes that, when adding the possible future payments relating to the EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments) guarantee, the amount of the total risk borne by the Union budget reached EUR 90,5 billion by the end of 2019;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes that the current agreement between the Commission, the EIB and the Court concerning audits of operations which are financed or backed by the Union budget expiresd in 2020; views this an opportunity to ensure that the Court is enabledrenewed agreement will enable the Court to audit the regularity and also the performance of the EIB activities, which do not fall under a specific Union mandate;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – indent 1
Paragraph 25 – indent 1
- closely follow payment needs, prepares possible scenarios with concrete solutions keeping in mind that the Union is not allowed to run on budgetary deficit and take action, within its institutional remit, with a view to ensuring the availability of payment appropriations taking into account the risk of insufficient payment appropriations and the extraordinary needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26 a. In its support to the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) calls on the Commission to provide the EPPO with all necessary resources to allow them to work in full capacity while not weakening the work of OLAF; further calls on all EU Member States to join the EPPO and delegate their Prosecutors chosen based on clear and transparent criteria;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Strongly supports the recommendation that the Commission should improve explanations concerning the determination of targets and supporting data. Targets should be specific, ambitious but realistic and at the same time measurable on basis of reliable data. Emphasises, at the same time, that result and impact indicators are better suited for performance measurement and allow for a broader impact assessment than input and output indicators;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the Commission to include in its performance reports greater analysis of the efficiencyectiveness and economy (cost- effectiveness) of programmes when information becomes available, more systematic analysis of the significant external factors affecting programme performance; clear assessments of all the performance indicators reported on as regards whether they are on track to meet their targets; clear and balanced assessments of performance, covering all programme objectives in appropriate detail;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Underlines that according to the Financial Regulation, sound financial management implies effectiveness, efficiency and economy, and that the Commission should ensure a focus on all three elements; further notes that the International Audit Guidelines on performance now also include elements like Equality, Environment and Ethics and calls on the Commission to broaden its assessments by also looking into these areas;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Notes that in 2019, the expenditure from the Union budget amounted to EUR 147 billion, distributed over more than 240 000 payments; points out that 71 % of the budget was implemented under shared management, and the remainder was either spent directly by the Commission (22%) or indirectly in cooperation with entrusted entities (7 %);
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Observes the Commission’s estimate that, in 2019, climate-related expenditure amounted to EUR 35 billion, equal to 21 % of the Union budget, and that cumulatively over the 2014-2020 period the Union budget will have contributed EUR 211 billion, equal to 19,8 % of total spending, to climate objectives, which falls slightly short of the initial target of 20 % due to lower contributions during the first years of the period; calls on the Commission to do its best to boost climate-related expenditure for the 2014- 2020 period with a view to a much more ambitious targets for the 2021 –2028 period;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Notes that, according to the Commission, the corrective measures confirmed amounted to EUR 1,5 billion in 2019 (25 % higher than in 2018); points to the fact that some Member States have seen a much more substantive correction amounts than others; calls on the Commission to adopt its audit sample to include these countries in their regular checks on a more frequent basis;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Observes that, for 2019, the Commission’s estimate for the overall risk at closure was at 0,7 % (compared to 0,8 % in 2018) of the relevant expenditure; notes that due to the higher risk at payment in relation to cohesion spending, the overall risk at payment estimated by the Commission was higher than in previous years, at 2,1 % for 2019 (compared to 1,7 % in 2018), but as the estimated future corrections were also higher (1,4 %, compared to 0,9 % in 2018), the Commission arrived at a stable risk at closure, and with an estimate of risk at closure of less than 2 %, the Commission considered that its multiannual control systems ensured effective protection of the Union budget; points out furthermore that in the Commission’s own estimate, the expenditure with risk at payment above the materiality threshold was very high at EUR 67 billion;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38 a. Observes that the Commission considered that its multiannual control systems ensured effective protection of the Union budget; points out furthermore that in the Commission’s own estimate, the expenditure with risk at payment above the materiality threshold was very high at EUR 67 billion; urges the Commission to adopt an ambitious action plan with measures allowing to significantly lower these risks;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 – introductory part
Paragraph 39 – introductory part
39. NotesObserves with alert that, with regard to the Commission’s own estimate of risk at payment, the Court has highlighted certain issues for specific MFF headingpresented in the text below for specific MFF headings and urges the Commission to respond to these findings with concrete actions:
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Takes note of shortcomings in the Member States’ management of duties not yet collected, as reported in 15 of the 27 TOR inspection reports issued in 2019 by the Commission; is of opinion that (the findings in 10 of these 15 reports that were classified as systematic in nature) should be made available to the members of the Parliament’s relevant committees;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Underlines with great concern that two main systemic weaknesses concern the lack of Union- wide standards for the performance of customs controls for mitigating the risk of undervalued imports throughout the Customs Union, as well the fact that Member States are not able to identify the riskiest economic operators at Union level for post-release audits; points to the considerable loss of the Union’s revenue and urges the Commission and the Council to address these issues with great urgency;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. NoIs alertesd that, according to the Commission’s assessment, 24 of the 28 Member States had partially satisfactory or unsatisfactory control strategies for targeting the undervaluation risks;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Takes into accountPoints with great concern to the fact that action to identify and select the riskiest importers for post-release audits is limited across the Customs Union because there is no Union-wide accessible database covering all imports effected by economic operators;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Notes with concern that 54 long- outstanding TOR open points verified by the Court out of 122 revealed that the Commission’s follow-up and closing of such points took excessive time; regrets the fact thaturges the Commission had noto established a follow- up system prioritising TOR open points according to significance (either in terms of financial impact, or of systemic significance in the case of non-financial shortcomings) and report back to the discharge authority;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. RegretsPoints with great concern to the fact that 60% of errors was made up by ‘ineligible direct personnel costs’; underlines that despite efforts at simplification of the rules for declaring personnel costs under H2020, their calculation remains a major source of error in the cost claims; supports the opinion of the Court that the methodology for calculating personnel costs has become more complex in some respects under H2020 and this has increased the risk of error (of the 24 transactions affected by quantifiable errors 23 involved incorrect application of the methodology for calculating personnel costs);
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
62. FPoindts wit very regrettableh great concern that ‘unlawful/ / discriminatory selection/ / award criteria’ accounted for 16% of errors;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63
Paragraph 63
63. Similarly, finds it very regrettableworrying that ‘ineligible other direct costs (VAT, travel, equipment)’ accounted for 15% of errors;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 66
Paragraph 66
66. NotesDraws attention to the fact that 22 of the research projects the Court audited had been conducted in currencies other than the euro, meanwhile the exchange rate applied in ten of these projects was not the one stipulated in the rules (the financial effect of such errors is not in itself material, but their frequency demonstrates a lack of awareness of the rules); calls on the Commission to work together with Member States to pay a greater attention to this issue;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 – indent 1
Paragraph 68 – indent 1
- conduct more targeted checks on SMEs’ cost claims and enhance its information campaign regarding H2020 funding rules, with p and declaraticular focus on these important beneficiarion of personnel costs, paying specific attention to the main types of error followed by carrying out targeted checks on their compliance with the rules;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 – indent 2
Paragraph 68 – indent 2
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 – indent 4 a (new)
Paragraph 68 – indent 4 a (new)
- address the acute problem of geographical un-balance (concentration) of the majority of H2020 funds awarded to beneficiaries in few most-developed Member States by tackling the source of the problem in less developed countries, i.e. by supporting the research, industry - universities cooperation, universities' cooperation with governments in public policy-making, the establishment of new university programmes, academia excellence, etc.;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70
Paragraph 70
70. Underlines that in context of the indicator for specific objective 5 ‘share of participating firms introducing innovations new to the company or the market’ the programme statement mentions neither milestones nor a target for this indicator; therefore, it cannot be used to assess whether the programme is on track, thereby lowering this indicator’s useful; calls on the Commission to update the programme statement so that it’ll include specific and measurable targets to allow for an assessment of efficiency and effectiveness;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76 a (new)
Paragraph 76 a (new)
76 a. Regrets that the Commission has not properly assessed the risk of a ‘Dead weight’ of financing in cases where the needed investment could have been financed from other sources without involvement of EFSI funds;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 79 a (new)
Paragraph 79 a (new)
79 a. Observes that the Commission and the EIB have missed the opportunity to use the EFSI funds to further promote a shift from investments in big-scale infrastructure projects to smaller, modern, more sustainable projects while mostly trying just to revamp the EU's economic growth with little consideration about the future potential of these investments; points to some good examples of such investments in smaller - -scale projects the EIB supported outside the EU;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 81 – indent 3
Paragraph 81 – indent 3
- improve the assessment of whether potential EFSI projects could have been financed from other sources, like the so- called loss due to the 'Deadweight', (the EIB should assess at the appraisal stage of the project the likely replacement of other sources of finance. The EIB should use this information in assessing the eligibility of EFSI operations.);
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 94 a (new)
Paragraph 94 a (new)
94 a. Based on the fact that the majority of all found errors were made up by ‘Ineligible projects’ stresses its serious concern on the trustfulness and the reliability of Commission's reporting on the results achieved since all these and such (yet undiscovered) projects should not in any way 'contribute' to the overall assessment of the broader results achieved with the help of EU's Economic, social and territorial cohesion policy; recommends that the Commission reassesses its process of reporting on the actual results achieved;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 100
Paragraph 100
100. Stresses that Cohesion policy objectives, such as those relating to employment rates, economic development, and climate and energy, are heavily influenced by a wide range of national and external factors, in Europe and the world; underlines that in many Member States, cohesion policy funding typically represents a small proportion of the funds dedicated to these issues, and so, without a specially tailored national policies and programmes to work hand-in-hand with cohesion policy objectives, can have only a very limited impact on these Member States' progress towards meeting these objectives;
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 102
Paragraph 102
102. RegretsStresses with concern that of 72 indicators in total, only one third of the indicators are on track to meet their targets and that about half of the indicators are not on track; regrets that of 9 indicators linked to the general objectives, only two are on track, meanwhile about one third of the indicators have a mid-term milestone target set for 2018;
Amendment 370 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 103
Paragraph 103
103. NotesAlthough the ERDF and CF could still be paid out until 2023 it stresses with concern that in total, 40 % of the output indicators are on track, and that for result and impact indicators, this percentage is at low 10 %;
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 105
Paragraph 105
105. Stresses with great concern that of all 10 indicators from the programme statements linked to the objective of supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors, only 1 – ‘Number of households with improved energy consumption classification indicator’ – is on track; demands the Commission, also in the light of the Green Deal targets, makes improvements linked to this objective an absolute priority;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107
Paragraph 107
107. Finds itself in agreement withIs alarmed by the Court’s opinion that there are strong indications that the Union will not meet the 2030 climate and energy targets; notstresses that according to the Commission, there was only limited progress in the reduction of the negative environmental impacts stemming from the use of natural resources; highlights its agreement with the Court that half of the Union Member States were at risk of not generating enough electricity from renewable energy to meet their 2020 targets; notesraises its concern that in the Court’s landscape review of Union action on energy and climate change, the Court reported that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions projected by Member States falls short of the 40 % target for 2030;
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108
Paragraph 108
108. Points out that in a 2019 report3 , 1a,the EEA highlighted that the current rate of progress will not be enough to meet 2030 and 2050 climate and energy targets; therefore calls on the Commission to review Member States’ action plans and together with them introduce the necessary improvements that will allow the Union to stay on the track of the Paris Climate Agreement and Commission’s own Green Deal targets; _________________ 3 1aEEA, European environment — state and outlook 2020, Knowledge for transition to a sustainable Europe, 2019.
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 109
Paragraph 109
109. Regrets thatIs concerned that only half of the 16 indicators linked to the objective of ‘Promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures’ are on track to meet their targets; highlighregrets that Member States have reduced most targets for 2023 in the latest report, approved by the Commission, in some cases by considerable amounts (for example, the combined ERDF and CF target value for the indicator “Total length of new railway line” was reduced from 947 km to 579 km (39 %) and the combined ERDF and CF target value for the indicator “Total length of new or improved tram and metro lines” was reduced from 680 km to 441 km (35 %));
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 110
Paragraph 110
110. HighlightsStresses once again that in this policy area all indicators are output ones: they mainly provide data about the programme’s implementation in terms of infrastructure built but there are no common indicators to measure results (Court’s report on Union co-funded roads41a indicates that the Commission does not report information such as time savings or higher average speed, even though this information is sometimes available); urges the Commission to plan the policy so as to allow for a proper on-going and mid-term assessments of results and broader impacts achieved; _________________ 41aECA, special report no 9/2020, The EU- core road network: shorter travel times but network not yet fully functional.
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112
Paragraph 112
112. Is of the opinion that, as stated in the Court’s audit on TFIs, the traffic forecasts were usually overoptimistic, not well coordinated, not based on sound economic assessments and sometimes very simplistic, and in particular cost-benefit analyses had not been properly used as a tool for policy-making; stresses the fact that such a poor planning is not an exception and that especially in the field of climate change and much needed adjustments the Union will have to implement in the field of environmental protection and use of resources the Commission often uses simplistic and overoptimistic estimates;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113
Paragraph 113
113. Finds it very regrettableDeplores the fact that the Commission in its legislative proposal for the ESIF for 2021-2027 removes all the appraisal requirements specific to major projects, including the cost-benefit analysis requirement, while this is recognised as bringing a reduction in the general administrative burden, this is outweighed by the increased risk that the co-financed investments will not offer the best value for money; calls strongly on the Commission to re-evaluate its proposal;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114
Paragraph 114
114. Finds the fact that only 3 out of 9 indicators (33 %) from the programme statements linked to the ERDF specific objective – ‘Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs’ are on track to meet their targets represents an underperformance; highlights that these three indicators are output- related, measuring the number of businesses supported by the ERDF, meanwhile other indicators, such as those measuring whether the private investment matches public support to businesses, and the employment increase in supported businesses are not on track; urges the Commission to plan the policy so as to allow for a proper on-going and mid-term assessments of results and broader impacts achieved, including assessing the impact of policies to combat long-term unemployment;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 a (new)
Paragraph 116 a (new)
116 a. Notes with concern the lack of clear information on the final beneficiaries of the cohesion funds and calls the Commission to ensure all necessary information on its financing is gathered, not just about the financial intermediaries but especially on the final beneficiaries;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 b (new)
Paragraph 116 b (new)
116 b. Recognises the importance of digital tools such as ARACHNE in the fight against corruption and misuse of EU funds; calls all Member States to implement such tools without any further undue delays; stresses that on top of the ARACHNE tool big data and other IT tools should be taken under Commission's serious consideration not only for investigation but also for monitoring changes in tendencies and prevention of other ways of misuse of EU funds;
Amendment 398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 c (new)
Paragraph 116 c (new)
116 c. Stresses the great potential of public registers of final beneficial owners introduced with the fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive in fight against corruption, misuse of EU funds and conflict of interest; calls on the Commission to ensure the data on beneficial ownership of companies is set up and made available to the public;
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116 d (new)
Paragraph 116 d (new)
116 d. Is appalled by the fact that more than 2 years after the start of Commission’s audits, the situation around the alleged conflict of interest of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš remains unsolved; calls on the Commission to finish the audit as soon as the legal deadlines allow for, present the final audit reports to the broader European public and fully inform both the Parliament and the Council of the audits’ results and advice on the necessary steps that should follow;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 120
Paragraph 120
120. Regrets thatStresses the fact that, as in previous years, 70 % of errors were made up by ‘Ineligible beneficiary/activity/project/expenditure’;
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 124
Paragraph 124
124. Notes with great concern that of 14 transactions concerning market measures, in 5 cases (36 %) paying agencies had reimbursed ineligible costs, including 3 cases of non-compliance with the eligibility rules leading to errors exceeding 20 % of the amount examined;
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125
Paragraph 125
125. Notes with great concern that of 6 transactions concerning fisheries, the environment and climate action, 2 projects (33 %) had ineligible elements in the costs reimbursed;
Amendment 422 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125 a (new)
Paragraph 125 a (new)
125 a. Considers transparency as an essential element for retaining or gaining citizens’/taxpayers’ trust and also the reputation of the CAP; notes the worrying conclusions of the Court, Ombudsman and numerous calls for improvements by the discharge authority on corruption and non-transparency; notes the limited progress made by the Commission; stresses that the Arachne data mining tool goes some way but not all the way to resolving these problems and should be further developed by adding other digital tools to help the Commission carry out efficient controls;
Amendment 423 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125 b (new)
Paragraph 125 b (new)
125 b. Notes that capping should apply always to the parent undertaking where there is one, not the individual beneficiary or subsidiaries in order to avoid splitting up farms to avoid capping or to benefit from the 1250 euro subsidy income exemption to transparency rules;
Amendment 424 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125 c (new)
Paragraph 125 c (new)
125 c. Is deeply concerned by the recent report published by the Slovak Supreme Control Office regarding the work of the Slovak Agricultural Paying Agency, which concluded the lack of transparency in the management of the direct subsidies as well as of the systematic control of applicants and recipients of subsidies1a; is concerned by the limitations in the reliability of the results of the certification bodies’ work, due to weaknesses identified by the Court in some certification bodies’ checks and sampling methodologies; _________________ 1ahttps://www.nku.gov.sk/web/sao/news/- /asset_publisher/FaxZbYV7Oqlp/content/ direct-aid-in-agriculture-without- targeted-control-with-holes-in-legislation.
Amendment 433 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 a (new)
Paragraph 127 a (new)
Amendment 459 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127 b (new)
Paragraph 127 b (new)
127 b. Calls on the Commission to further improve the quality and enlarge the scope of auditing and controls of regularity and achieved results of the EU agricultural policy both on the national and European level as a key condition for the protection of EU financial interests;
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – introductory part
Paragraph 128 – introductory part
128. Finds it extremely worrying that the Court has identified serious weaknesses in the set of CAP performance indicators that could significantly influence the reporting on results achieved, making it overoptimistic, unreliable and unrealistic or even impossible to assess; furthermore, the Court has identified different financial support measures in CAP with little to no impact on the goals the individual measure should help achieve; urges the Commission to react to these findings without undue delays and annually reports back to the discharge authority on the introduced changes and progress achieved::
Amendment 490 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 4 – introductory part
Paragraph 128 – indent 4 – introductory part
- For the general objective on the sustainable management of natural resources and climate action, the indicators focus on the size of the area benefiting from the measures, but not on what has been achieved with the support. Concerning specifically climate change and biodiversity loss, the CAP measures are found to have low impact in addressing climate needs due to their design:
Amendment 493 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 – indent 4 – point b
Paragraph 128 – indent 4 – point b
b. in its latest AMPR, the Commission considers it an achievement that 79 % of the Union’s total agricultural area was subject to at least one greening obligation in 2018. However, the Court found12a that greening had had little measurable effect on farming practices and the environment. It had led to changes in farming practices on around 5 % of all Union farmland and tended to minimise disturbance to established farming practices. G; greening remained essentially an income-support scheme; _________________ 12 and in a much lesser or no part a measure to address the agri-environment- climate practices in agriculture; _________________ 1aECA' Special report No 21/2017 – Greening. Special report No 21/2017 – Greening.
Amendment 517 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 a (new)
Paragraph 128 a (new)
128 a. Is concerned about limited availability and public access to data on agriculture subsidies and their final beneficiaries; is of opinion that such information is of public interest and needs to be made available; Calls the Commission and EU member states to collect and publish such data in a transparent and user-friendly manner (including the machine readable format) in order to enable full transparency of final beneficiaries and public control of the use of the EU money;
Amendment 518 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 d (new)
Paragraph 128 d (new)
128 d. Notes with concern that under the current transparency rules data is available only for a two-year period in case of CAP funding; calls to apply the five-year rule in case of CAP funding similarly to structural funds;
Amendment 539 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 b (new)
Paragraph 128 b (new)
128 b. Calls the Commission to fully enforce the Financial Regulation of the EU, and particularly Article 61 thereof and to make sure the Financial Regulation is applied on all EU funds’ payments includ-ing the direct agriculture payments;
Amendment 540 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 c (new)
Paragraph 128 c (new)
128 c. Calls the Commission to ensure that the Fifth Anti-money laundering directive is implemented fully and correctly in all member states, particularly with regard to the implementations of public registers of beneficial owners and registers of beneficial owners of trusts; Notes that capping should apply always to the parent undertaking where there is one, not the individual beneficiary or subsidiaries in order to avoid splitting up farms to avoid capping;
Amendment 541 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128 e (new)
Paragraph 128 e (new)
128 e. Calls the Commission to provide necessary financial resources for water management, including support the quality and quantity of water resources in agricultural land, forestry and wetlands as well;
Amendment 548 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 131
Paragraph 131
131. Notes with concern that, regarding the regularity of transactions, seven (37 %) of the 19 transactions examined by ECA were affected by errors (i.e. overstatement of salary costs);
Amendment 551 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 133
Paragraph 133
133. Takes into considerationnote of four cases of non- compliance with legal provisions regulating the selection of projects and procurement rules, but without a financial impact on the Union budget;
Amendment 554 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 134
Paragraph 134
134. Notes with satisfaction that the audit authorities in the Member States17 selected by the ECA for a check had developed and implemented detailed procedures of sufficient quality to report as required by the rules; _________________ 17Germany, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland and the United Kingdom for AMIF; Slovenia for the ISF.
Amendment 563 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 137 – introductory part
Paragraph 137 – introductory part
137. Takes into accountPoints to certain shortcomings in the work of audit authorities creating potential risks in failure to detect ineligible expenditure, unreliability of audit conclusions and of limited assurance such as examples below and asks the Commission and the Court to work together with national audit authorities to improve on these shortcomings:
Amendment 564 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 138 – introductory part
Paragraph 138 – introductory part
138. NotesPoints to shortcomings arising from the Commission’s assessments of annual control reports19 such as: _________________ 19From Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovakiaa, Estonia, Spain, Iceland, Malta and Finland.
Amendment 570 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139
Paragraph 139
139. NotesPoints to four general impact indicators (on actual returns compared to return decisions, percentage of voluntary returns, difference in employment rates between Union and non-Union nationals, and convergence of recognition rates for asylum applicants); notes that these that are not directly related to the performance of AMIF, although spending from the fund may contribute to the corresponding target;
Amendment 575 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140
Paragraph 140
140. Notes that 5 of the 24 indicator milestones for 2020 have already been achieved in previous years, but targets have not been adjusted upwards in line with good financial management practice to reflect the potential for more efficiency gainslitical will and potential for achieving even more;
Amendment 578 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140 a (new)
Paragraph 140 a (new)
140 a. Notes with concern that the Court has found a significant delay regarding the achievement of the objective that the AMIF had set for the integration and legal migration;
Amendment 580 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 141
Paragraph 141
Amendment 595 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 145
Paragraph 145
Amendment 597 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 146
Paragraph 146
Amendment 602 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 147
Paragraph 147
Amendment 616 #
148. Is concerned in relation toaware of the existence of two parallel Union funded schemes supporting the same type of return activities (AMIF NPs and Frontex return support) and points to the risk of insufficient coordination between both for forced return operations;
Amendment 625 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 150 – indent 2
Paragraph 150 – indent 2
- strengthen the performance- monitoring framework by a) ensuring that AMIF EMAS projects contain output and outcome indicators with clear targets and baselines where appropriate, and justifying when this is not the case; b) monitoring and reporting the outcomes achieved by EMAS-funded projects; c) for the new MFF 2021-2027, designing the AMIF CMEF and IMBF indicators, including their baselines and targets before the 2021- 2027 projects start;
Amendment 630 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 150 a (new)
Paragraph 150 a (new)
150 a. Calls on the Commission to create a data base regarding all cases of possible non-compliance with the Charter of Human Rights, including the allegations, reports, their investigation and follow-up actions;
Amendment 633 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 151 – indent 1
Paragraph 151 – indent 1
- setting up and planning of DG HOME’s audit activity (DG HOME should define and communicate the mission statement and mandate of the audit function, adjust roles and responsibilities, reporting lines and milestones for the clearance of accounts exercise; updating the audit strategies; analysing the resource needs for the audit activity);
Amendment 634 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 151 – indent 2
Paragraph 151 – indent 2
- executing the audit plan (DG HOME needs to plan and launch audits as soon as possible in the year after the adoption of the Annual Work programme and review of annual control reports and audit opinions; harmonising milestones for the audit process steps; ensuring that the final audit reports are sent to beneficiaries without delay and that this is monitored by senior management);
Amendment 635 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 151 – indent 3
Paragraph 151 – indent 3
- clearing of accounts (DG HOME should ensure that clearance decisions are made on time; it should clarify the procedure for accounts submitted before the year-end); adapting the clearance procedure to new organisational structure and improving the communication between financial units and audit sector (set-up and planning of the audit activity; execution of the audit plan; clearance of accounts);
Amendment 651 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 157
Paragraph 157
157. Regrets that the Union is still practicing budget support to third Countries which is regulated by legal provisions of a broad scopCalls on the Commission to fully introduce the principle of conditionality and regular ex-ante and ex-post checks on the creating a risk of loose interpretation by the Commission regarding the meeting of general conditions; that the Court ‘cannot cover what happens beyond the moment the Commission pays aid to the recipient country, since these funds then merge with that country’s own budget resources’22 gularity and performance of the Union’s funds for support to third countries and makes sure that legal framework that provides for the these support instruments allows for full recovery of funds in case of discovered irregularities1a; _________________ 221a P.211
Amendment 655 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 158 a (new)
Paragraph 158 a (new)
158 a. Recalls the importance of the promotion of Union values abroad, such as democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; thus calls the Commission to use Pre- Accession Fund to support democratic transformation and ensure the proper implementation of public policies and judicial reforms in the Western Balkans;
Amendment 703 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 170 a (new)
Paragraph 170 a (new)
170 a. Encourages the Commission to continue building on the principles of its open source strategy1a and the ISA2 Programme2a in order to prevent vendor lock-in, retain control over its own technical infrastructure contribute to stronger safeguards for user’s privacy and data protection and increase security and transparency for the public; asks the Commission to give preference to open source solutions in procurement and development, with the aim of promoting the sharing and re-use of software solutions, making procurement more sustainable and long-lived, and abiding by the ‘public money, public code’ principle; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/info rmatics/open-source-software-strategy_en 2a https://ec.europa.eu/isa2/isa2_en
Amendment 705 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 171
Paragraph 171
Amendment 714 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 172
Paragraph 172
Amendment 716 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 36
Subheading 36
Amendment 718 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 173
Paragraph 173
Amendment 723 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 174
Paragraph 174
Amendment 730 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 175
Paragraph 175
Amendment 750 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 37
Subheading 37
Amendment 751 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 177
Paragraph 177
Amendment 760 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 178
Paragraph 178
Amendment 784 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 185
Paragraph 185
185. Points out that the institutions and bodies had reduced their establishment plans by 1 409 posts (3 %) and at the same time gradually increased the employment of contract staff. Over the period, the proportion of contract staff in total workforce forecasts rose from 17 % to 22 %; %; expresses its concern as regards the possible negative effects of replacing officials with contract agents such as the necessary transfer of knowledge and also the perspective and job security of the contract agents;
Amendment 794 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 187
Paragraph 187
Amendment 800 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 188
Paragraph 188
Amendment 804 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 189
Paragraph 189
189. NoteRegrets that, for some institutions, there was an increase in FG I contract staff as a result of the conversion of permanent and temporary posts for clerical/secretarial assistants into contract staff;
Amendment 806 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 190
Paragraph 190
190. Finds it highly problematic that at the end of 2018, the institutions, bodies and executive agencies employed 11 962 contract staff, (representing an increase of 37 % since 2012); points out that most were employed by the European Commission, mainly in FG IV, the best paid function group, similarly, a majority of contract staff at the executive agencies were in FG III and FG IV (763 and 715 respectively);
Amendment 809 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 191
Paragraph 191
Amendment 817 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 41
Subheading 41
Amendment 830 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 192
Paragraph 192