17 Amendments of Malik AZMANI related to 2021/0227(BUD)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Finds the proposed reduction in the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) by 0,5 % very disappointing; stresses that the FRA’s tasks of collection and analysis of reliable information on fundamental rights compliance in the Member States are expected to increase in the future; calls instead for a budgetary increase of EUR 27,1 million and for the addition of two temporary agents at AD grade and two contractual agents to function group IV in the establishment plan to allow FRA to continue to operate effectively;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the proposed increase of the budget of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) by 11,2 %; considers that the continuous challenge of migration and asylum management calls for strong support from the agency to strengthen the implementation of the a Common European Asylum System (CEAS), enhance practical cooperation, provide operational and technical assistance and stimulate information exchange as well as convergence in the assessment of protection needs between the Member States; stresses that the interinstitutional agreement reached on June 29th 2021 on the transformation of EASO into the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) requires additional human resources which were not foreseen in the Commission’s draft budget; underlines in particular the need to recruit from 2022 new staff at AD and AST positions for the function of Fundamental Rights Officer, the Asylum Support Teams, the Liaison Officers in Member States or to strengthen legal and training teams; also calls for adjustments to the establishment plan as regards the distribution of posts across different grades to enable reclassification needs and for the publication of planned posts for 2022; emphasises that the latter will not impact the total budget or the total number of staff proposed, set aside the additional staff required for the implementation of the EUAA;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned with the serious and repeated allegations made against European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) related to pushbacks at external borders; is disappointed to note that, according to the Court of Auditors, Frontex has not managed to implement its mandate from 2016, let alone its updated mandate of 2019, and that serious and multiple deficiencies regarding its effectiveness have been identified, while taking note of the conclusion from Frontex’ s Management Board “working group on fundamental rights and legal and operational aspects of operations” (WG FRaLO), that has closed its investigation on 13 incidents in the Aegean Sea and found no evidence of pushbacks; is disappointed to note that, according to the Court of Auditors, Frontex has not managed to implement its mandate from 2016, let alone its updated mandate of 2019, and that serious and multiple deficiencies regarding its effectiveness have been identified; points out that the audit period runs from the end of 2016, when the Agency's new mandate comes into force, to the end of 2020, and therefore does not take into account recent steps from the Agency to comply with its mandate; welcomes the presentation by Frontex on March 3rd 2021 of a comprehensive roadmap addressing the recommendations from the WG FRaLO; considers it is an important step to implement fully the new mandate and expects the recommendations to be implemented by the end of the year; stresses that substantial budget and staff increases for Frontex are conditional on its accountability and transparency, on its commitment to Union law, and on its fulfilment of its mandate; proposes, therefore, to make a part of the budget allocations conditional upon Frontex recruiting 40 fundamental rights monitors at AD gradadequate level to ensure their independence, adopting a clear procedure for the implementation of Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 , and swiftly appointing deputy executive directors in line with Frontex’ 2019 mandate; stresses, meanwhile, that any amount of budget put in a reserve should not prevent the Agency from actually meeting the above-mentioned requirements and the implementation of its mandate, including the recruitment of the standing corps; _________________ 1Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624 (OJ L 295, 14.11.2019, p. 1).
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls the estimate made by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) that it will process 3 000 investigations in 2022; emphasises that EPPO is a prosecutorial body with mandatory competences and obligations to investigate irrespective of budgetary provision; is concerned that the funding proposed for 2022 does not include a meaningful increase as compared with 2021; considers that last year budget was already falling short compared to the workload anticipated and a potential extension of the EPPO mandate covering environmental offences will require sufficient budgetary means, especially for the establishment of a EPPO Green Prosecutor with a special environmental crime unit; stresses that a substantial funding increase to EUR 55,7 million, ands well as 59 additional members of staff at AD grade and 76 additional members of staff at AST grade are required;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Highlights that the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is a cornerstone of the EU Security Union Strategy and plays an ever greater role in the fight against terrorism, radicalisation, organised crimes and environmental crimes, in line with the Agency’s Strategy 2020+; expects an intensification of tasks for Europol to fight criminal infiltrations in the legal economy and prevent fraud to the EU recovery budget; therefore, welcomes the budget increase of 11,2% and the additional 71 Temporary Agents for the Europol; however, regrets that the grade of 14 staff in the draft proposal does not reflect Europol’s request for 2022; therefore requests a reclassification of 14 staff from AST to AD grades; also stresses that EUR 15 987 100 million is put in reserve until the revised mandate of the Agency is adopted, corresponding to the amount required for the recruitment of the 71 additional Temporary Agents; considers that a smaller amount should be put in reserve to allow the recruitment of new staff from early 2022, in order to complete preparatory actions for the implementation of the upcoming revised mandate; recalls that the Agency didn't benefit of any staff increase in 2021;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Regrets the small funding increase of 1,5 % proposed for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA); believes that this will not be sufficient to cover EMCDDA’s needs without hampering the scientific activities of EMCDDA; highlights that the 2021 budget was already insufficient and that EMCDDA was obliged to downsize a significant part of its work programme; notes with concern that the drug market has been remarkably resilient to disruption caused by the pandemic, while globalisation and new technology support the establishment of new trafficking routes and the growth of online markets; requests, therefore, an increase in EMCDDA’s 2022 budget to EUR 18,4 million;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the proposed budgetary increase for the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) which contributes to the EU Security Union policy; is disappointed that the proposed establishment plan would reduce the number of members of staff by two, from 207 staff in 2021 to 205 in 2022; considers that increasing Eurojust’s budget while reducing its personnel sends a conflicting signal on how to handle the challenges faced by Eurojust with its ever increasing caseload; stresses that a staff increase is necessary for the Agency to carry out existing and future tasks, in particular as regards to the digitalisation of Justice, the implementation of new instruments in the field of judicial cooperation such as e-Evidence or the fight against environmental crimes;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes the increase of 44,2 % in commitment appropriations and the increase of 39,1 % in payment appropriations for eu-LISA; requests 24grets however as in 2021 that the proposed allocation of staff in the draft budget falls short of the request from the Agency; recalls that the eu-LISA plays a key role in the development of a fully functioning Schengen area by ensuring adequate border management and internal security tools; stresses that in 2022 eu-LISA will carry out important tasks in the implementation of the EES, ETIAS and the interoperability regulations; therefore requests 27 additional members of staff at AD grade to support the implementation of important large-scale IT projects, including projects relating to interoperability, and in particular to reduce eu-LISA’s dependency on external contractors;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets the decrease of 3,3 % in commitment and payment appropriations for the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and requests rather additional funding of EUR 750 000, including for specific appropriations for training programmes tackling the rise of environmental crime, and additional five posts at AD grade in the establishment plan;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Reaffirms that the EU must continue to provide effective and monitored aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey, ensuring that its funds are directly and in full transparency channelled to non-governmental organisations; insists that the European Parliament will be fully informed about the types of expenditure financed and the channels used to reach all beneficiaries;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the slight reduction in payment appropriations for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) compared to 2021; further takes note of the substantivewelcomes the 25,9% increase in commitment appropriations to get that new fund up to cruising speed as quickly as possible; stresses that this increase is essential at a time where the pressure on national authorities for asylum remains very high, with huge gaps in terms of proper reception of asylum seekers and major delays in the procedures for asylum in the Member States; recalls the importance of providing adequate financial capacities to support the development of the CEAS, to bring concrete solidarity to Member States most exposed to migration and asylum flows, as well as to ensure efficient and fair asylum and return procedures; calls, in the light of the proposed New Pact on Migration, for a further 10 % increase in commitment and payment appropriations for the Common European Asylum SystemEAS and the solidarity objectives of the AMIF;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Welcomes the 47% increase in commitment appropriations and the 20% increase of payment appropriations of the Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF); considers that this programme will provide essential operational support to Member States in the areas of external border surveillance, common visa policy and customs controls;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its call for the creation of a separate budget line per specific objective set out in the legal bases of AMIF and the Instrument for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI); believes that a separate budget line per specific objective would help ensure adequate transparency and funding for all objectives of AMIF and BMVI;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Welcomes the 29,3% increase in commitment appropriations and the 33,3% increase of payment appropriations of the Internal Security Fund (ISF); stresses that this programme is a strong tool to implement the EU Security Union Strategy, by support cooperation and efforts of law enforcement authorities to strengthen cybersecurity, combat terrorism and organised crime in Europe;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Recalls that independent and qualitative investigative journalism is an essential component of a well-functioning democracy, by bringing quality fact-based information, combating disinformation, raising awareness to citizens, and revealing wrongdoings or crimes; stresses that journalism across Europe faces strong challenges, in particular the lack of financial resources, hence threatening their independence or survival; calls for ambitious funding programmes in the European budget in this field;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes with regret the decrease in commitment and payment appropriations of 6 % and 16,9 % respectively for the Justice Programme, in particular in the field of support to judicial training; recalls that Justice is a key component of a Security Union; proposes rather to maintain the funding in 2022 at the level of the 2021 Budget;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Regrets that Member States still provide an insufficient amount of Seconded National Experts (SNE) to EU agencies in the field of Justice and Home Affairs; highlights the importance of such exchanges to support EU agencies’ human resources, but also to develop a European culture in this area and common understanding between national administrations.