Activities of Eleni STAVROU related to 2023/2045(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2022
Amendments (45)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the rule of law conditionality mechanism applies to the entire EU Budget and allows measures to be taken in cases of breaches of the rule of law principles that affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the EU budget or the EU’s financial interests;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the respect for the values on which the Union is founded and for the fundamental rights, as well as compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union are pre-requisites for accessing EU funding;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that in order to ensure a high level of protection in view of the EU's financial interests, a solid cooperation between authorities conducting administrative investigations and those conducting criminal investigations at both EU and Member State levels is essential;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Suggests that both the EU and national authorities should enhance cooperation and greater utilization of digital tools to combatting fraud;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 3 May 2023 on the fight against corruption (JOIN(2023)0012), acknowledging the seriousness of corruption, as it undermines the efficiency of public spending, the effectiveness of the single market and the sustainability of economic growth; points out that the fight against corruption is one of the commitments of the Union, on a par with transparency and integrity; welcomes therefore the new proposal for a Directive on combating corruption1a; _________________ 1a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating corruption (COM(2023)234).
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Highlights the importance of an impact assessment which evaluate the economic and social impact of fraud on the EU's financial interests and its citizens; calls on an analysis on how the resources allocated for fraud prevention compare to the potential losses prevented;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Maintains that the lack of efficient transposition of national legislation in many Member States and the lack of harmonisation of national legislations offers opportunities to organised crime for a number of illegal cross-border activities in areas affecting the Union’s financial interests; reiterates, therefore, its previous calls for the revision of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on the fight against organised crime11 and for the introduction of a new common definition of organised crime, taking into account, in particular, the use of corruption, violence, threat or intimidation to obtain the control of economic activities or procurement; _________________ 11 OJ L 300, 11.11.2008, p. 42.
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Observes that the EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-202512 aims to set out the tools and measures to disrupt the business models and structures of criminal organisations across borders, both online and offline; calls on the Member States to contribute on the Commission’s efforts and to establish regional cooperation networks for sharing information on cases and strategies to combat fraud perpetrated by organised criminals; recalls, in this regard, the importance of the proposed new Directive on Asset Recovery and Confiscation13 whose effective implementation would provide authorities with better tools to deprive organised crime groups of the financial means to carry out further criminal activities; recalls furthermore that in the fight against cross-border organised crime exchange of best practices and development of common and coordinated strategies are pivotal; _________________ 12 Commission communication of 14 April 2021 on the EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025 (COM(2021)0170). 13 Proposal of 25 May 2022 for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on asset recovery and confiscation (COM(2022)0245).
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has included a specific section on anti-corruption in its report on the rule of law in order to provide an in-depth comparative analysis of the approaches, procedures and tools used by the Member States in their fight against corruption and to help to assess which areas are most at risk; calls on the Member States to take into account the findings of the report on the rule of law when developing their anti-corruption policies;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Reiterates the importance of fully addressing Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) relating to corruption;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the importance of focusing and helping EU countries where structural challenges exist regarding their anti-corruption capacity;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Observes that, via IMS, in the period 2018-2022, 375 cases related to conflicts of interest were reported, which is oftencan also be detected in environments similar to those where corrupt practices occur; underlines that the large majority of reported cases of conflicts of interest are linked to the implementation of cohesion policies (86 % compared to 9 % for agriculture and 5 % for pre-accession), involving almost EUR 117 million overall for this period; underlines that the reported conflicts of interest mainly point to relations between recipients of the funds and their contractors and sub-contractors, while only 7 % of cases refer to conflicts of interest during the stage of awarding and/or evaluating projects, thereby involving members of evaluation committees;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Reiterates its call to make the annual PIF report more holistic, in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the synergies between all relevant actors, identify best practices and address shortcomings; welcomes, in this regards, the inclusion in PIF Report 2022 of findings from EPPO and OLAF annual reports; calls to further improve this holistic approach, aiming at providing a clearer, more complete and more concrete picture of the overall state of play of the protection of the Union's financial interests, encompassing the entirety of the anti-fraud action, both at national and EU level;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls for the provisions on conflicts of interests to be applied in a way that ensures legal certainty, to be based on a clear and proportionate assessment of the risks and allow a practical application by the competent authorities; calls for the Commission guidelines to provide clarity to applicants and decision- making bodies, to avoid unnecessary administrative burden and to respect the principle of proportionality;
Amendment 53 #
22a. Welcomes OLAF’s role in detecting and investigating fraud against the traditional own resources of the EU; takes note of a slight decrease in the number of open investigations in the field of own resources in 2022 and calls on the Commission to ensure that OLAF is provided with adequate resources to fully and effectively exercise its mandate;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Underlines that effective cooperation between OLAF and EPPO is a prerequisite for the sound management and the protection of the financial interests of the EU Budget, both on the expenditure and revenue side; considers in this respect that such strengthened cooperation can lead, on the revenue side, to an increase in the collection of revenue to the EU Budget, thus decreasing the GNI-based contribution of Member States; and on the expenditure side, to ensure that taxpayers’ money is adequately spent;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Stresses the importance that OLAF and EPPO should maintain operational independence;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)
Paragraph 26 c (new)
26c. Welcomes the statement of the President of the Commission Ursula Von der Leyen that the EU needs to safeguard that money are spent according to their purpose and in line with the rule of law principles; and ensure that funds are protected;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Remarks that even if in 2022 the fraudulent irregularities reported under support to agriculture increased in comparison with 2021, the detection rates for rural development were noticeably higher than for support to agriculture; notes that within support to agriculture, the highest level of fraud was reported by the Member States for market measures and that; several complex cases related to the promotion of agricultural products were also investigated by OLAF;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Notes, with concern of the findings of the ECA 2022 Annual Report that despite improvements, audit authorities continue to address the risk of fraud insufficiently, and that Member State Authorities do not report suspected fraud cases in the IMS as required; calls on these issues to be urgently addressed by the Commission;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Reiterates once more its call on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on mutual administrative assistance in those areas of EU funds spending that do not provide for this practice so far, in order to ensure a cross- cutting approach to the protection of the Union's financial interests;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Recalls nevertheless, that delays can be observed in the implementation of the RRF and calls on the Commission to remain vigilant, in particular towards the end of the RRF lifecycle, in order to ensure that Member States protect the financial interests of the EU and that EU taxpayers’ money is adequately spent;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Observes that the Commission assessed these control systems prior to the approval of the plans, and subsequently, in 2022, carried out 16 system audits targeting the protection of the EU’s financial interests14 , covering the coordination and implementing bodies, such as ministries and agencies; expresses appreciationregrets, that in several Member States the control systems were not fully functional when the national recovery and resilience plans started to be implemented; underlines, that such issues pose risks to the regularity of RRF payments and the protection of the EU’s financial interests; notes that the Commission is planning to audit all Member States at least once by the end of 2023, and welcomes the selection of the audit targets on the basis of a risk assessment; _________________ 14 In Spain, Slovakia, Estonia, Denmark, Greece, Czechia, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Latvia and Poland.
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Recalls the findings of the Court of Auditors in the 2022 Annual Report, that control milestones in the national recovery and resilience plans vary in their requirements and granularity; questions why certain Member States were required to merely design their control system, while others were required to have an operational system;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 b (new)
Paragraph 39 b (new)
39b. Calls on the Commission to urgently revise its ex-post audit procedures, in order to ensure adequate verifications on whether the audited targets previously assessed as fulfilled, were not reversed after the respective payment;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 c (new)
Paragraph 39 c (new)
39c. Further calls on the Commission to continuously monitor the fulfilment of milestones and targets relating to the protection of the financial interests of the EU and to apply all necessary measures in case of lack of compliance or reversal of previously fulfilled milestones, including proportionate reduction to reduce proportionately of the support under the RRF and recovering of any amount due to the Union budget, or to ask for early repayment of the loan, in cases of fraud, corruption, and conflicts of interests affecting the financial interests of the Union, or a serious breach of an obligation resulting from the financing agreements, that have not been corrected by the Member State;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 d (new)
Paragraph 39 d (new)
39d. Further recalls that, due to the specific design of the RRF, Member States together with the Commission should ensure that the financial interests of the Union are effectively protected, in line with their respective responsibilities; is concerned about the findings of the Court of Auditors on the limited verified information at EU level, on whether and how Member States’ systems adequately cover the significant risks and the fact that RRF-funded investment projects, do not comply with EU and national rules; recalls that this leads to an accountability gap at EU level and urges the Commission and Member States to put in place additional safeguards to address this issue;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Reiterates that the effective prevention, detection and investigation of illegal activities threatening the implementation of the NGEU, in particular the risks of infiltration of organised criminal groups, depend on the effective collection and sharing of data, including the rapid handling of access requests from investigative services within a Member State, as well as from other countries or at EU level, by OLAF and the EPPO to whom access is to be granted;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Regrets the interpretation of the Commission of the concept of “final recipient” under the RRF; recalls that, according to the modified RRF Regulation, Member States should publish the list of the largest 100 final recipients receiving the highest amount of funding for the implementation of measures under the RRF; regrets that the Commission does not request Member States to provide the information on the final beneficiary or recipient of RRF funding and chose to require Member States to provide information only about “second level recipients”; is of the opinion that such interpretation is not in line with the agreement of the co- legislators;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Recalls the 'NextGenerationEU - Law Enforcement Forum (NGEU-LEF)', a joint initiative co-led by Europol and Italy, bringing together Europol, the EPPO, OLAF, Eurojust, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training, and national authorities, by providing a forum for intelligence sharing and coordination of operations to tackle the infiltration of organised crime in the legal economy, and to protect the NextGenerationEU stimulus package, with a specific focus on corruption, tax evasion, embezzlement and money laundering; welcomes that the initiative 'NGEU-LEF' won the European Ombudsman Award for Good Administration 2023 in the category 'most popular with the public';
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Highlights that enhanced transparency plays a vital role in exposing fraudulent schemes and discouraging fraudulent actions; calls on new transparency initiatives and policies introduced to promote accountability;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)
48a. Highlights the necessity to enhance the level of interoperability of data systems and the harmonisation of reporting, monitoring and auditing in the EU; reiterates, to this end, its call on the Commission to harmonise definitions in order to obtain comparable data across the EU;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Reiterates its support for the single integrated IT system for data-mining and risk-scoring envisaged by the Financial Regulation recast, which should ensure better protection of the Union’s financial interests, along and in complementing the IT tools developed at national level by the Member States;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 a (new)
Paragraph 63 a (new)
63a. Calls for EDES to be extended to all types of management modes and its use to be mandatory; believes that such a reinforcement would strengthen the capacity of the EU and Member States to protect the financial interests of the Union and ultimately taxpayers’ money; urges Member States, in the interest of safeguarding the financial interests of the EU Budget, to accept this extension without any delay;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Welcomes and supports the assessment of ECA in its 2022 Annual Report calling for advancing the deployment of IT system for data-mining and risk-scoring from 2028 to 2025; recalls the position of the Parliament calling for deploying the system as from 2026;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)
48a. Calls on the importance to incorporate visual aids such as charts and graphs to make statistical information more accessible and easier to comprehend;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 b (new)
Paragraph 48 b (new)
48b. Calls on the implementation of advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in identifying irregularities;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Welcomes the actions launched by the Commission in 2022 to enhance the level of protection of the EU’s financial interests; but calls for further vigilance and complementary actions in this field;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Remarks that, in 2022, only 22 Member States already participated in the EPPO, with the same five countries as in 2021 abstaining; insists that Member States which havedo not yet participated, must do so without delay;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Calls on the Commission to engage in a constructive dialogue with the EPPO, with a view to strengthening the Office’s capacity to tackle the constantly increasing challenges in the anti-fraud landscape, including, where appropriate, by addressing the shortcomings identified in the EPPO Regulation;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 a (new)
Paragraph 62 a (new)
62a. Stresses the added value that EU bodies bring to the protection of the financial interests of the Union and the fight against fraud, especially when it comes to cross-border crime, as shown by the operational results from EPPO and OLAF also in 2022; reiterates its call to ensure all relevant EU actors involved in the fight against fraud adequate resources and, in this regards, reminds the Commission and the Council that every euro spent on investigation and anti-fraud actions returns to the EU budget;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63 a (new)
Paragraph 63 a (new)
63a. Highlights the significant differences between Member States that can still be seen in detection, reporting and follow-up of suspected fraud; encourages therefore the Member States to take a proactive approach to protecting the Union's financial interests, to enhance exchange of information between their national authorities and with EU bodies and agencies, also in order to identify and address emerging risks and fraud trends in a timely manner;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
74. Is concerned by the findings of the Third Rule of Law Report15 on the critical situation in Poland, in particular as regards the serious shortcomings in the judiciary16 and the media sector; recalls that Poland’s non-compliance with the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union has resulted in the payment of EUR 360 million in fines since 2021 and strongly encourages the Commission to keep withholding paymentrelease funds from the RRF untilonly once all the conditimilestones for a full integration ofrelated to the rule of law have been fully satisfifulfilled; _________________ 15 Commission communication of 13 July 2022 entitled ‘2022 Rule of Law Report’ (COM(2022)0500). 16 On the independence of the National Council for the Judiciary, concerns regarding the functioning of the prosecution service persist, with the offices of Minister of Justice and Prosecutor- General occupied by the same person; Polish courts have also pointed to concerns that the practice of seconding prosecutors can be considered as a form of demotion and discrimination, and that disciplinary proceedings could be used to curtail judicial independence, as Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court was still issuing rulings.
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77 a (new)
Paragraph 77 a (new)
77a. Underlines that in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU Budget is foreseen to contribute significantly to the proposals for longer-term structural solutions to Ukraine’s funding needs; stresses in this context the need to protect the rule of law and the financial interests of the Union and to prevent, detect and correct fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities in the use of Union funds in Ukraine, which should be based on the principles of transparency and accountability; considers that any related financing instruments should contain stringent provisions and safeguards in order to attain those objectives;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 a (new)
Paragraph 78 a (new)
78a. Calls on international collaboration with international organizations and neighbouring countries in preventing cross-border fraud; reiterates the importance on the exchange of best practices in this context;