Activities of Heidi HAUTALA related to 2018/2177(DEC)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (9)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the increasing role of blended finance, with the EU having leveraged investments of at least EUR 5.6 billion in sub-Saharan Africa with an EU contribution of EUR 900 million; cCommends the EU for the successful launch of the European Investment Plan and the European Fund for Sustainable Development, underscored by the approval of 28 guarantee tools totalling EUR 1.54 billion in guarantees by November 2018, expected to unlock EUR17.5 billion in total investments; underlines that no evaluation exists yet on the implementation results and that any conclusion as to widening the scope and the means is premature; highlights the finding of the EDF 11 mid-term evaluation that blending only mobilises additional resources in 50 % of the cases; regrets therefore that the Commission has proposed more means for blended finance for the future financing period 2021- 2027;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights the highly negative findings by the European Court of Auditors on Public-Private Partnerships1a (PPPs) and the Court’s recommendation “not to promote a more intensive and widespread use of PPPs” inside the EU; calls on the Commission to take this recommendation fully into account when dealing with PPPs in developing countries where the environment for successful implementation of PPPs is even more difficult than inside the Union; ____________________ 1a Special report Nr 9/2018: Public Private Partnerships in the EU: Widespread shortcomings and limited benefits
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Is worried by the findings of the mid-term evaluation on EDF 11 which states that "there is a real threat that EDF will be pushed into responding to agendas that distance it from its primary objective of poverty alleviation, which are difficult to reconcile with the EDF’s core values and compromise what it does well", that "despite consultations, government and CSOs’ views (with some notable exceptions such as in the Pacific region), have rarely been taken account of in programming choices" and that "the EDF11 programming thus used a top- down approach to apply the concentration principle but at the cost of the Cotonou Agreement’s central principle of partnership"; regrets that the Commission has until now completely ignored these findings;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Notes the numerous concerns the European Court of Auditors1a and the authors of the EDF 11 mid-evaluation have expressed on the implementation of the EUTF: In terms of project implementa- tion, the EUTF had only limited impact in speeding up the process compared to traditional development aid; Concerns over the likely effectiveness and sustainability of EUTF projects and over the ability of the Union to closely monitor their implementation; The Northern Africa and Horn of Africa windows have no documented criteria for selecting project proposals; Serious flaws in the measurement of performance; • No specific risk assessment framework. Considers that given such findings, the added value of the EUTF is highly questionable; ___________________ 1a Special report 32/2018
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Regrets that the expenditure recorded in 2017 under the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh EDF is materially affected by error and that the error rate is on the rise on the contrary to EU general budget expenditure; highlights that errors occur predominantly in transactions related to projects implemented by international organisations and Member States’ cooperation agencies and that in the examined transactions of this type, 36 % contained quantifiable errors, which is enormous; urges the Commission to produce detailed explanations in response to these findings and to submit a clear plan to the European Parliament outlining the necessary steps in order to correct this seriously worrying situation;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Regrets that in every annual activity report since 2012, DG DEVCO had to issue a reservation on the regularity of underlying transactions which points to serious internal management deficiencies;
Amendment 9 #
2e. Highlights the negative findings from the Court of Auditors in the area of EU support to African security, which is often financed through the EDF: Strengthening the capacity of the internal security forces in Niger and Mali has been slow and there are serious concerns on ownership and sustainability1a The EU’s support for the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) has had a poor effect2a. Highlights as well the serious risk that EU support through the African Peace Facility to Burundian soldiers participating in the AMISOM mission indirectly finances a Burundian regime exposed to EU sanctions; recalls that for years, DG DEVCO expressed reservations on its expenditure on the support to the African Peace Facility; ____________________ 1a Special report 15/2018, Strengthening the capacity of the internal security forces in Niger and Mali: only limited and slow progress 2a Special report No 20/2018: The African Peace and Security Architecture: need to refocus EU support
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2f. Considers in this context the ever increasing EU focus on the security- development nexus as raising serious sound financial management issues and calls on the Commission and the EEAS to apply a much more prudent approach to EU support for African security;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Given the shift in aid modalities from direct grants to trust funds and blended finance, including through the European Fund for Sustainable Development, invites the Council, Commission and European Investment Bank to adopt an inter-institutional agreement with the European Parliament on transparency, accountability and parliamentary scrutiny on the basis of the policy principles set out in the New European Consensus on Development;