14 Amendments of Mélanie DISDIER related to 2024/2019(DEC)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Expresses its dissatisfaction that the Court of Auditors has declared that the budget expenditure in the consolidated accounts of the Union for the year 2023 present fairly, in all material respects, the Union’s financial position at this dateillegal and/or irregular and/or not in line with the principles of sound financial management, with a special incidence in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) expenditure heading 2 'Cohesion, resilience and values', including energy efficiency in buildings;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Observes that the level of error in MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’ is 9.3% out of a total expenditure of €67 billion, that is, €6.2 billion, more than four times the materiality threshold, where the Court of Auditors has found 49 errors out of 238 transactions, numerous weaknesses and irregularities declared by beneficiaries;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Emphasises that a 2% materiality threshold can represent a significant financial amount, given the size of the General budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), including in headings related to employment and social matters; therefore, requests an analysis of the feasibility of applying a lower materiality threshold; warns that maintaining the 2% threshold without significant reduction undermines accountability and transparency; recommends that the report be signed by a physical person, in accordance with sound auditing practices, to ensure personal accountability and to enable European Parliament committees, including the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, to properly hold individuals accountable for the findings presented;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Observes that the total outstanding commitments reached a record high of EUR 543 billion by the end of 2023, mainly due to an increased commitment of shared management funds, as well as NextGenerationEU (NGEU), but notwarns that the European Commission has not addressed research and development (R&D) policies that the total outstanding commitments are expected to decrease in the 2024-2026 periodin the European Semester, despite the NGEU opportunity to boost investments in research and development to 3% of GDP in each Member State;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Warns that the European Commission has not provided assurance that Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) expenditure complies with EU and national rules; observes that seven out of the 23 RRF payments to member states are affected by quantitative findings, as well as payments for which no essential documentation was provided in MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’, to a level which is more than double than in 2022; warns that the European Commission has not provided assurance that Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) expenditure complies with EU and national rules; observes that seven out of the 23 RRF payments to member states are affected by quantitative findings, as well as payments for which no essential documentation was provided in MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’, to a level which is more than double than in 2022;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Warns that the European Commission’s estimate of error for expenditure is significantly outside the range of the Court of Auditors’ confidence interval, particularly in MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses concerns that the Commission forecast decommitments forabout the limitations of the Commission's and Member States' ex post cohesion policy funds, includcks withing the European Social Fund Plus, at EUR 2,2 billion for the 2024-2027 period, five times higher its 2022 forecast, mainly due to persistent low absorption;Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), particularly under Heading 2, 'Cohesion, Resilience and Values.'
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Warns that competition in public procurement has decreased, due to the fact that procurement procedures have not been simplified and shortened;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that high inflation (6,4 %) continued to affect the Union budget; warns that, based on the Commission’s inflation forecast, the Union budget could lose about 13 % of its purchasing power by end of 2025; warns that EU debt from borrowing increased in 2023, particularly for funding for NGEU, while the bulk of repayment is deferred to future MFFs;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Notes the limitation in the European Commission’s annual activity report, which lacks conclusions on the effectiveness of Member State controls over RRF funds; calls for a comprehensive reliability statement from the Commission, based on a thorough assessment of control mechanisms at both EU and national levels, to provide European taxpayers with full assurance that RRF expenditures including in social affairs are in compliance with EU rules; demands enhanced transparency from the Commission and improvements in control systems to safeguard the financial integrity of EU recovery funds;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Warns that EU debt repayment from higher borrowing in 2023 relies on higher taxes on company profits;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that the estimate of error in MFF expenditure has increased from 2022 to 2023 by 33%, mainly due to the increase in MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Concludes that the European Commission merely correlates spending in MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’ to a reduction of unemployment in Central and Eastern Europe, but fails to do it in the rest of the Union; warns that the European Commission completely fails to justify how the expenditure on the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) contributes effectively to a reduction of employment in the youth;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Emphasizes the importance of a rigorous planning and control cycle for EU agencies, whereby the outcomes and evaluations of expenditures are carefully considered in the budgeting process; aims to ensure a realistic and accountable budget based on demonstrated results and performance; therefore urges the European Commission to use the annual report of the European Court of Auditors as input for establishing the budget of the EU agencies, and requests that the available budget not be increased until identified shortcomings are fully addressed;