Activities of Alexis GEORGOULIS related to 2020/2125(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2019
Amendments (14)
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Congratulates Emily O’Reilly on her re-election as European Ombudsman and on her excellent work; endorses her commitment to continue her efforts to ‘ensure that the EU delivers the highest standards of administration, transparency and ethics’, and to guarantee the accessibility and quality of the services that the EU provides to European citizens; Reiterates that transparency is a principle complementary to the rule of law and democracy and its implementation should aim at allowing citizens to participate in the decision making process;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Repeats its call for a revision of the 1049/2001 which governs the regime for the public access to documents; Regrets the blockage created by the Council in that regard; Believes that the basis for resuming the negotiations should be proposal (2008/0229 (COD)), while (2011/0073(COD)) should be withdrawn by the European Commission as going below the current standards, providing a very limited definition of what constitutes a ''document'' and stresses the need to increase all efforts to maximize transparency as per the practice of the Ombudsman;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Council to follow the European Ombudsman’s recommendations; calls for the systematic identification of Member State governments which set out positions in the preparatory bodies; Further recalls its suggestions in the Resolution of 17 January 2019 on the Ombudsman's strategic inquiry OI/2/2017 on the transparency of legislative discussions in the preparatory bodies of the Council of the EU;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses out the need for increased transparency in the Council including a full record of the meetings by President of the European Council and members of his cabinet that should be published in a structured and proactive manner; Strongly supports the recommendations of the Ombudsman towards the General Secretariat of the Council in relation to case 1946/2018/KR;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that in publicizing documents dealing with external relations of the Union, Commission should enjoy a certain level of discretion as necessary to allow mutual trust between negotiators1a but such discretion should be curtailed when rights of European citizens are at stake; _________________ 1aDecision in case 1392/2019/FP on the European Commission’s refusal to grant full access to a report on property rights in Albania
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Applauds the European Ombudsman’s repeated efforts to combat conflicts of interest, approves the publication, following an inquiry, of the minutes of meetings held between lobbyists and the President of the European Council, and calls for the conclusion of a fair and ambitious interinstitutional agreement on the Transparency Register; stresses, however, the need to adopt in the longer term a decision establishing areiterates its support for the adoption of a fully mandatory register for lobbyists; Regrets the decision of the European Commission not to fuolly mandatory register for lobbyow the recommendations of the Ombudsman in case 1302/2017/MH and its decision not to grant access to the documents relating to the opinions of its Legal Service, concerning the Transparency regists;er
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Highlights the importance of the public access to documents containing the positions taken by Member States in decision making; Supports the findings of the Ombudsman in relation to case 2142/2018/EWM and deplores the Commission's continued refusal to grant access to the requested documents dealing with the risk assessment of pesticides on bees;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the Commission has committed itself to implementing many of the European Ombudsman’s proposals on the issue of ‘revolving doors’, and endorses the recommendation to take a firmer approach; Urges the Commission to implement all recommendations and take a more robust approach including forbidding new activity when there is evidence that this would lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the Commission; Stresses the importance of a compliance monitoring process to ensure that rules occupational activities after leaving the service are effectively enforced and communicated to other institutions; Strongly believes that such rules should not only include high- ranking staff members;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Fully endorses the European Ombudsman’s confirmation of her finding that four instances of maladministration marred the appointment process of the most senior Commission official, and applaudwelcomes the new Commission’s introduction in 2019 of a specific appointment procedure for its Secretary- General;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the European Ombudsman’s role in protecting, promoting and monitoring the implementation of the UNCRPD by the EU administration, and in strengthening the EU agenda for the rights of persons with disabilities; Considers it urgent to address lack of an appropriate legal basis to ensure that the spending of EU funds complies fully with the CRPD;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that the number of inquiries concerning the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) rose from 23 in 2018 to 44 in 2019; urges the European Ombudsman to monitor closely the proper implementation of anti-discrimination measures which apply to all recruitment procedures; suggests a strategic inquiry into the methods utilised by EPSO and other agencies in order to ascertain that principles of fairness and openness are fully in place in all recruitment procedures;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Council to approve the revised Statute of the European Ombudsman, so that the Office of the Ombudsman is better able to promote the highest standards of ethical behaviour in the institutions and properly mandated to perform effectively its tasks;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Urges the European Parliament to overhaul the nomination process for the election of the European Ombudsman, so that the election at the beginning of the parliamentary term can take place in a more informed, uniform, transparent and orderly manner; Specifically calls for a more detailed description of time limits for the collection of signatures and campaigning of the nominees;