Activities of Sophia IN 'T VELD related to 2021/2108(DEC)
Shadow reports (2)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020, Section II – European Council and Council
SECOND REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020, Section II – European Council and Council
Amendments (12)
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Grants the Secretary-General of the Council discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and of the Council for the financial year 2020 / Postpones its decision on granting the Secretary-General of the Council discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Council and of the Council for the financial year 2020;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls and supports the Ombudsman recommendations on the transparency of the legislative process in the Council; regrets that the decision- making process in the Council is still far from fully transparent; ask, affecting the citizens' trust in the Union as a transparent entity and thereby jeopardising the reputation of the Union as a whole; urges the Council to take all the necessary measures to implement the Ombudsman recommendations and the relevant rulings of the Court of Justice without undue delay;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Notes that the European Council faced less disruption of its usual (preparatory) tasks compared to Parliament and the Council, because the permanent representatives mostly remained in Brussels during the early phase of the pandemic; notes that the European Council therefore had relatively more leeway and strength to push for its interests compared to the other institutions;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recalls its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the need for a dedicated Council configuration on gender equality2 as a dedicated institutional forum to ensure stronger integration of gender equality in Union strategies, coordination of all related policies and progress in the main files related to gender equality, as well as harmonisation of the protection of women’s rights and gender equality; regrets that the Council has thus far ignored this call of Parliament; _________________ 2 OJ C 445, 29.10.2021, p. 150.
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Welcomes the political agreement on the Transparency Register for interest representatives, reached by Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 15 December 2020; emphasises the importance forurges the Council, including the Member States’ representatives, tof harmonisinge, improvinge and enforcinge the existing ethics rules, in particular with regard to conflicts of interest, revolving doors and lobby transparency rules;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26 a. Expresses its concern that legislative files are increasingly escalated to the European Council which has neither a legislative nor an executive function, does not apply the same transparency standards as the Council and is not being held accountable;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Regrets the use of corporate sponsorship to cover some of the expenses incurred by Member States to finance their Council presidency; reiterates its concern with respect to the possible reputational damage that such practice mighthas caused to the Council and to the Union; regrets that a common set of clear, concrete and binding rules has not been set out in the guidance on sponsorship included in 2021 in the Council ‘s Presidency Handbook; reiterates its call on the Council to examine budgeting the Council Presidency;
Amendment 28 #
30. Reiterates its full endorsement of the Ombudsman’s recommendations on transparency of the Council legislative process, following the Ombudsman’s strategic inquiry (Case OI/2/2017/TE) and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on transparency and access to documents; believes that compliance with the Ombudsman's recommendations would enable citizens to be more involved and to better understand Union law making; welcomes the measures adopted by the Council in July 2020 to strengthen legislative transparency in line with the Ombudsman’s recommendations, including the proactive publication of progress reports on negotiations on draft legislative acts as well as the Council mandate for negotiations with Parliament; regrets, however, that the decision- making process in the Council is still far from transparent; calls therefore on the Council to implement the relevant CJEU rulings according to their letter and spirit and not to circumvent them; urges the Council to keep taking all the necessary measures to implement the Ombudsman’s recommendations and the CJEU rulings without undue delay;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Supports the Ombudsman’s remarks on the need to improve legislative transparency by recording and making the Member States’ positions more accessible and by making more trilogue documents available; , which has already been established in 2013 by CJEU case law1a, and by making more trilogue documents available; _________________ 1a Judgment of the Court of Justice of 17 October 2013, Council of the European Union v Access Info Europe, C-280/11 P, ECLI:EU:C:2013:671
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34 a. Reiterates its call on the Council to use open-source technology in order to prevent vendor lock-in, to retain control over its own technical systems, to provide stronger safeguards for the privacy and data protection of the users, and to increase security and transparency for the public;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. StressDeplores that the current situation, where the Council refuseCouncil for more than a decade has shown that it does not have any political willingness to collaborate with Parliament in the context of the annual budgetary discharge procedure, which makes it impossible for Parliament to make an informed decision on granting discharge, and; underlines that this attitude has had a lasting negative effect on both institutions and has discreditsed the management and democratic scrutiny of the Union budget; and on the trust of citizens in the Union as a transparent entity; deeply regrets the Council’s continuing refusal to engage in loyal cooperation in the framework of the discharge procedure that has lasted for more than a decade; refuses therefore, at this time, to grant discharge to the Council;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. RegretsConsiders it unacceptable that the COVID-19 pandemic and the exceptional situation experienced have been used as an excuse for not resuming interinstitutional negotiations on the discharge procedure; remains nevertheless convinced that an agreement on this matter is possible and, therefore, callsif the Council were to show any political willingness to collaborate; calls, therefore, on the Council to resume negotiations without undue delay in order to find a solution in the current framework of the discharge procedure while securing the differentiation and respect of the respective roles of Parliament and the Councilif it is interested in showing Union citizens that it takes proper budget control and transparency seriously;