Activities of Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42

42. Underlines that the area of security is a very sensitive sector in any parliament, but even more so in a multinational parliament with high visibility and constant visits from Heads of State from all corners of the world; invites the Secretary-General to present to the competent committee the state of play in this area; recalls in this respect the importance of clear communication procedures in the event of major breaches of security of the House;

2009/02/20
Committee: CONT

2008/2276(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 104

104. Welcomes the information that, as advocated in previous discharge resolutions, Members of the fund now pay their one-third contribution from ~~their own resources, rather than out of~~a private external account rather than having it deducted automatically by Parliament's administration from the general expenditure allowance;

2009/02/20
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Underlines its high regard for the results achieved by the Agency and congratulates the Director and its staff for the work done in a very difficult environment, improving considerably the image of the EU and its visibility;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Has seen ample evidence that the Agency had not only the systems (logistics, IT systems, and others) to swiftly implement large amounts of support in post-conflict situations, but that it also had the proven expertise and know-how to design and deliver high quality assistance that had real impact;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Regrets that the Commission did not respect discharge resolutions for the financial years 2005 and 2006 asking to prolong the Agency’s activities which ended in 2008, and is concerned about the consequential risk that the EU may lose much of the expertise the Agency had acquired over the last eight years;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Is therefore convinced that the Agency should have been transformed into an Agency for the implementation of certain EU external actions, in particular the management of EU assistance in post- conflict situations;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2e. Urges the Commission to now create a "RELEX external actions Agency” for assistance in post-conflict situations that would draw heavily on the systems, experience and expertise of the European Agency for Reconstruction;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 f (new)

2f. Considers that this new Agency should play a crucial role in delivering EU assistance in situations in which traditional development assistance cannot be implemented by the Commission’s services in Brussels or its Delegations;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 g (new)

2g. Believes that this new Agency would not only provide an efficient means of delivering well targeted assistance in these situations, but would also greatly increase the EU’s visibility and credibility;

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2256(DEC)

Edit HERCZOG, Paulo CASACA, Herbert BÖSCH, Costas BOTOPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes the Commission's statement, in its follow-up to the 2006 Commission discharge, that the Agency would stop all operational activities by the end of September 2008; that the Agency would have three months, from October to December 2008, to finalise the administrative closure; and that in 2009, a closure cell attached to the Commission would undertake the closing of residual administrative activities during a limited period of a few months;deleted

2009/02/23
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph -1 a (new)

MAIN CONCLUSIONS

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Welcomes further progress made by the Commission and some of the Member States towards a more efficient use of EU funds and the overall control environment, which is reflected by the improvements in the ECA's statement of assurance (DAS);

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)

-1b. Welcomes the considerable progress made in the management of the 7th Framework Programme by the Commission's research family in comparison with former Framework Programmes; reiterates that Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds management has further improved, in particular thanks to the functioning of the Integrated Administrative Control System (IACS); deeply regrets that Greece is still not meeting its obligations to implement IACS;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 c (new)

-1c. Is of the opinion that the accession of Romania and Bulgaria has not been treated by the Commission with the necessary seriousness and that statements of the readiness of the two candidates for enlargement were misleading; regrets that this misinformation has led to the current situation where cohesion funds were released for Member States with non- functioning administrative and legal systems; is of the opinion that the Commission disregarded the Copenhagen criteria and misled public opinion and Parliament about the readiness of these Member States to the detriment of the reputation of the Union and the steady development of the Member States in question;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 d (new)

-1d. Notes that 2007 was the first year of closure of the 2000-2006 multiannual programmes and that many funds were recovered;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 e (new)

-1e. Notes considerable improvements in the field of Research and Technological Development (RTD) financial management where error rates were reduced by more than 50% in the space of 3 years; invites the Commission to continue its simplification efforts in order to improve the use of programmes by the final beneficiary;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE, Herbert BÖSCH, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 f (new)

-1f. Notes positively the efforts undertaken by the Commission in the field of funds lined to Cohesion Policy in the implementation of the action plan to strengthen the Commission's supervisory role under shared management of structural actions which has been adopted in the context of the 2006 discharge; hopes that the first results of the above- mentioned action plan and the simplification efforts will be seen in the 2008 ECA Annual Report;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 g (new)

-1g. Continues to worry about the lack of EU capacity in crisis management; considers that the EU is losing in political guidance, visibility and accountability when using international trust funds which could have been managed by the Commission if it had respected discharge reports 2005 and 2006 and built up an own post-crisis instrument; is highly preoccupied by the lack of control of EU funds implemented by certain UN agencies and the unwillingness by UN agencies to follow up on fraud cases where EU funds are involved;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Regrets~~Notes the improvements in the individual parts which comprise the DAS, regrets, however, that, for the fourteenth year in succession, the DAS issued by the ECA in its annual report for 2007 includes an qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts ~~in which~~; notes that the ECA takes the view that, in a large number of expenditure areas (agriculture and natural resources, cohesion, research, energy and transport, external aid, development and enlargement, education and citizenship), payments are still materially affected by errors, albeit to differing degrees;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 (replaced with paragraph 3)

2. ~~Notes that the situation – in particular as regards control systems – is improving, but not to a sufficient extent or sufficiently quickly~~Welcomes the fact that, according to the ECA's Annual Report, administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to economic and financial affairs, are free from material error;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 (replaced with paragraph 2)

3. ~~Welcomes the fact that, according to the ECA's report, administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to economic and financial affairs, are free from material error~~Notes that the situation – in particular as regards control systems – is improving, but not to a sufficient extent nor sufficiently quickly;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Inés AYALA SENDER, Costas BOTOPOULOS, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it abnormal for the annual accounts to show net assets of - EUR 58.6 billion and wonders whether the amounts to be called from Member States should not be entered as liabilities, given that the estimated EUR 33.5 bn in employee benefits are clearly a commitment; ~~regrets that~~asks for further specification concerning the annexed notes on the other amounts to be called from Member States, totalling EUR 27.9 bn~~, are not very detailed~~;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Fails to understand why the assets received by the European Communities in connection with the Galileo programme were not entered in the annual accounts, given that, according to the ECA's report, the agreements were signed in late 2007 between the European Space Agency, the Galileo Joint Undertaking and the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) Supervisory Authority, which was set up in 2004 and given responsibility for taking over the activities of the former Galileo Joint Undertaking on 1 January 2007; accordingly, calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal concerning the major European projects (Galileo or TENs) which require funding which goes beyond the scope of the multiannual financial framework and which it cannot therefore control;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Calls for examination of the possibility of including provisions in the annual accounts for major maintenance and refurbishment work on the European Communities' buildings stock, given the lack of a buildings depreciation schedule broken down by specific component and setting out the main tangible fixed assets to be replaced at regular intervals; takes the view that such provisions for major maintenance or refurbishment works should be backed by multiannual upkeep programmes designed to keep buildings in a good state of repair ~~without extending their life~~;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Deplores the fact, nonetheless, that in extremely important Community spending areas (agricultural spending that does not come under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), cohesion, research, energy and transport, external actions, education and culture), the ECA notes, once again, that complicated or unclear legal requirements, firstly, result in ~~a large number of~~ errors at final- beneficiary level and, secondly, result in only partially effective monitoring and ~~control systems and~~ that complexity is instrumental in preventing the ECA from issuing a positive DAS (Chapter 1, DAS, paragraphs X and XI); calls therefore on the Commission to conduct an analysis to determine the extent of, and possible solutions to, the problems;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28a (new)

28a. Insists that control systems are a reflection of the complexity of regulations and rules on the various, sometimes overlapping levels; urges therefore the Commission to accelerate the simplification exercise whilst fully involving Parliament; asks Member States and regions to undertake the same efforts;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 a (new) under heading "Transparency"

45a. Recalls the Commission's decision to start with a voluntary register for lobbyists and to evaluate the system after one year; is aware of the legal base for a mandatory register provided by the Treaty of Lisbon; recalls that Parliament's current register is already mandatory and that a possible common register would be de facto mandatory, since registering is, in either case, a prerequisite for gaining access to Parliament;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 b (new)

45b. Regrets that its invitation for a new code of conduct for Members of the Commission, so as to improve and define more clearly their individual and collective political responsibility and accountability for their decisions and for the implementation of their policies by their services, has not been implemented;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 c (new)

45c. Recalls again the Commission's responsibility for ensuring the completeness, searchability and comparability of data provided on the beneficiaries of EU funding and regrets that this objective has still not been achieved;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45 d (new)

45d. Recalls again the importance of complete transparency and publicity with regard to the cabinet staff of Members of the Commission not recruited in accordance with the Staff Regulations;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48a (new)

48a. Invites the Commission to engage at a very early stage in consultations with the other institutions subject to the Financial Regulation;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 59 a (new)

Fisheries subsidies

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 a (new)

59a. Welcomes the disclosure by selected Member States of the names of beneficiaries, the names of the operations concerned and the amounts of public (EU and national) funding and the Commission’s web site which contains links towards Member States' sources of information;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 b (new)

59b. Requests, however, the Commission to ensure that all Member States comply with the requirements of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 Article 53(b) and Article 53b (2)(d) and the requirements of Article 31 second paragraph point (d) of Regulation (EC) No 498/20071;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 c (new)

~~1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 498/2007 of 26 March 2007 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Cou~~59c. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal (COM(2008)0721) to make it legally possible to suspend or reduce financial ~~Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 on the European Fisheries Fund (OJ L120, 10.5.2007, p. 1).~~ assistance from the European Fisheries Fund to Member States which fail to implement the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) adequately;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 d (new)

59d. Requests, however, that the Commission should also propose to exclude Member States which fail to implement adequately the rules of the CFP from benefiting from Fisheries Partnership Agreements;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 e (new)

~~1 Council Regulation (EC) No 1447/1999 of 24 June 1999 establishing a list of types of behaviour which seriously infringe the rules of the common fisheries policy (OJ L 167, 2.7.1999, p. 5).~~59e. Requests the Commission to introduce EU legislation that excludes all vessel owners convicted of serious infringements (in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1447/19991) from receiving Community aid under the European Fisheries Fund and/or benefiting from Fisheries Partnership Agreements; Or. en

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 f (new)

59f. Requests the Commission to ensure that Community aid is not used to modernise fleet segments characterised by overcapacities;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Inés AYALA SENDER, Costas BOTOPOULOS, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59 g (new)

59g. Reminds the Commission of its commitments within the framework of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy approved by the European Council in Göteborg in June 2001 and revised by the European Council in Vienna in June 2006, to removing environmentally damaging subsidies and by 2008 to put forward a roadmap for the reform, sector by sector, of these subsidies with a view to eliminating them;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

61. Notes that the Commission does not ~~seriously~~ dispute that rate of 11%;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Inés AYALA SENDER, Costas BOTOPOULOS, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 a (new)

62a. Welcomes the intensive efforts made by the Commission to bring about an improvement in the situation, in particular by way of the above-mentioned action plan to strengthen its supervisory role under shared management of structural actions and appreciates the detailed reports given to Parliament on the action plan's implementation, particularly the report of 3 February 2009 (COM(2009)0042) and the further information presented during the discharge procedure, which have provided evidence of the effectiveness of the work being undertaken to tackle the problems;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Inés AYALA SENDER, Costas BOTOPOULOS, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63

63. RWhile appreciating the improvements in the overall assessment of the supervisory and control system in the ECA's Annual Report, regrets that, in spite of the Commission's unremitting efforts, management and control systems both at Member State level and at supervisory level at the Commission are not yet sufficiently effective to limit risks of error, and calls on the Commission to report to Parliament in early 2010 on the further actions carried out in 2009 and on the initial impact of the actions under the above-mentioned action plan;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Inés AYALA SENDER, Costas BOTOPOULOS, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64

64. Also reminds the Commission of the ECA's recommendation to make as much use of possible, without undermining the effectiveness of spending, of the scope for simplification provided for by the spending rules, and calls on it to launch a discussion exercise on new simplification measures that might be adopted~~, including computerisation of the system~~;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new) under heading "Research"

71a. Welcomes the development in the RTD area whereby the error rate has decreased considerably between the year 2005 and the year 2007; this major achievement is a success for the implementation of the discharge 2005 by the Commission's research family in close cooperation with the Parliament's competent committee and the ECA;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72

72. Notes ~~with concern~~ that, in 2007, the audit certificates system~~, despite its considerable cost, still did not provi~~ brought down the error rate to 2,5% for projects under the ~~anticipated guarantees, and regrets that the effectiveness of auditors' work is still being criticised by the ECA~~6th Framework Programme in comparison with 4,06% in projects under the 5th Framework Programme, which are not subject to the audit certificates system;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74

74. Calls upon the Commission to ~~continue to fulfil the requirement~~analyse further the appropriateness of the 7th Framework Programme rules ~~for participation, inter alia a~~on flat-rate payment procedures , and to inform the parliamentary committee responsible in the context of the mid-term review, of its contribution to the simplification of the rules for beneficiaries and to the necessary improvements to the system;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75

75. Notes ~~with concern~~ that the two-stage procedure for the 7th Framework Programme for research and development is ~~not~~ being applied systematically and that only 13.87% of projects submitted have been selected, as opposed to more than 25 000 projects rejected; calls on the Commission to submit a specific proposal on this question before the end of 2009 so as to reduce the considerable amount of money lost by research bodies by revising the way in which they make calls for proposals and conduct selection procedurein certain areas; calls on the Commission to consult with research organisations on the appropriateness of extending this experience to other types of project where this would result in considerable reductions in the preparation costs of initial project applications;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75

76. Remarks that, in the research field, the Commission has increased the number of research bodies, cooperation models and management mechanisms; ~~is most concerned at th~~recalls that this is due to the considerable increase in funds made available under the 2007- 2013 financial perspective for research and innovation; invites the ECA to assess possible problems of transparency vis-à-vis the budgetary authority and at the differing way of dealing with beneficiaries under those models; calls for the Director- General to give over a chapter of his annual activity report to each such body, model and mechanism in order to provide information on the use of funds and the outcomes sought with these public-private cooperation models;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86

86. ~~Proposes~~Deplores deeply that the Commission ~~ensure that it can manage th~~failed to create a truly European instrument for implementation of crisis management as it had been asked to do in the 2005 and 2006 discharges; insists that this should be done urgently and reinvites the Commission to create the possibility to manage multidonor trust funds itself, where appropriate, when it is involved in such funds;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Subheading before paragraph 113

Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and the other Western Balkan countries

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Subheading before paragraph 115

~~Kosovo~~deleted

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Inés AYALA SENDER, Dan JØRGENSEN, Paulo CASACA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115

115. Deplores the cases of fraud and mismanagement of European funds managed by the UN identified in connection with EU funding of reconstruction work in Kosovo; and the lack of follow-up by the UN of these clearly identified cases;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2186(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 121

121. ~~Voices its disappointment at the incorrect~~Notes the information given by the Commission in 2005 and 2006 in this area, which is extremely important from a budgetary point of view; acknowledges the efforts made in the meantime as regards transparency on the Commission web site and the annual staff screening report;

2009/02/24
Committee: CONT

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)

-Aa. Whereas in any geographical area all living organisms (people, plants, animals and micro-organisms), their physical surroundings (such as soil, water, air) and the natural cycles that sustain them, are all interconnected,

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A b (new)

-Ab. Whereas developments, interactions and changes within such ecosystems have direct and often unwanted or unforeseen effects on other elements both inside and outside the system and, likewise, developments occurring outside the system can have an immediate impact on the system,

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A c (new)

-Ac. Whereas an ecosystem approach to fisheries currently provides the best basis for the most holistic management and decision-making system which takes into account all of the stakeholders and elements concerned, their requirements and needs, as well as future effects on the system and its interactions,

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. Whereas such an ecosystem approach does, however, have to be dynamic and flexible in its use and its information and decision-making processes, since new scientific knowledge and interrelations may constantly lead to a need for this approach to be adapted,

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Not~~Welcomes the above Commission communication ~~with interest and points out that it is a contribution to the necessary and wide-ranging debate on the CFP and on~~and underlines the need for this initiative as a basis for guaranteeing exploitation of fishery resources in a way that will create sustainable conditions from the social, environmental and economic points of view;

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses the need for such an ecosystem approach to be developed into a system of management, mutual learning and research which remains dynamic and flexible to incorporate further variables that might arise out of unforeseen factors of influence or other scientific disciplines in the future;

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. In this context, calls on the Commission to include in its proposal methods and tools to allow for the mutual exchange of information, input and a continuous learning process for all stakeholders, in order for the ecosystem approach to be further developed by all of them with the objective of showing and proving the benefit for all;

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that, taking account of its own objectives, a CFP must not be subordinate to other Community policies that have since been defined; considers, on the contrary, that these latter policies must safeguard and integrate the objectives of fisheries policy;deleted

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2178(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Recognises that the existing fisheries management instruments, based on total allowable catches (TACs), have until now been the best means of controlling total fishing effort to the extent that they have a direct impact on catches and an indirect impact on fishing effort;deleted

2008/11/14
Committee: PECH

2008/2155(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 - introductory wording

1. ~~Stresses that the European Investment Bank (EIB) should pursue a "zero- tolerance" policy towards fraud and corruption and welcomes in this respect the review of its anti-fraud Policy~~Welcomes the review of the anti-fraud policy of the European Investment Bank (EIB); is concerned however that this policy seems to remain largely passive; reiterates its calls on the EIB to include, in adopting its anti-fraud policy and procedures, measures aimed at:

2008/12/17
Committee: CONT

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2

–- having regard to the IWC's agreement on zero catch limits (the ‘moratorium on’) for commercial whaling that came into effect in 1986,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)

~~1 OJ C 340, 10.11.1997, p. 110~~- having regard to the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union - Protocol on protection and welfare of animals1.

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 b (new)

- having regard to the adoption by, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and its implementation by the EU, of a ban on international commercial trade in the products of all species of great whales,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas almost one in four cetacean species are currently regarded as under threat, with nine species listed as either endangered or critically endangered, whilst the status of many species and populations remains unclear,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas ~~the situation of various types of whale has impr~~although some whale populations have achieved some degree of recovedry since the introduction of the moratorium, several remain critically depleted and endangered, and their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions remains unknown,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the moratorium was originally i~~ntended to last only until an adequate management scheme was put in place, 1 Article 10e of the ICRW http://www.iwcoffice.co.uk/commission/schedule.htm~~mplemented to allow the IWC to “undertake a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this decision on whale populations and consider modification of this provision and the establishment of other catch limits”1,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas ~~not all members of the IWC subscribe to the moratorium~~Norway and the Russian Federation maintain objections to the moratorium and Iceland claims a reservation to it,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the number of whales killed has ~~actual~~steadily increased since the introduction of the moratorium,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the IWC (in over 30 Resolutions) and a number of NGOs and other bodies have expressed d~~oubts as to wheth~~eep concern th~~e scientific study of whales necessitates lethal practices and concerns that the meat derived from them is used for commercial purpo~~at current special permit whaling is “contrary to the spirit of the moratorium on commercial whaling” (IWC2003-2); the meat from such whaling should not be used for commercial purposes; whaling in the name of science is unjustified and should cease,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas~~, despite recent improve~~ the weapons, hunting environments, ~~the methods by which~~size and physiology of whales apre ~~killed still fall short of the desired standard~~sent insurmountable obstacles to ensuring a swift and humane death for hunted whales,

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Believes that the moratorium on commercial whaling, and the international ban on trade in whale products, continue to be essential with respect to both the conservation of whales and animal welfare concerns, and calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States participating in the Working Group to ensure the maintenance of these measures as a priority in all negotiations;

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Hopes that the Working Group will address the issue of lethal whaling for scientific purposes and whaling under objection or reservation in order to find a ~~basis for~~means to eliminat~~ing it~~e them;

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Calls for ~~any such hunting to take place only with clear quotas based on scientific advice,~~Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling to take place only when the IWC recognises a clearly and quantitatively demonstrated subsistence and cultural need for whale products; limits it by quotas based on scientific advice from the IWC Scientific Committee; and regulates it under strict controls ~~and with~~incorporating full recording and reporting to the IWC;

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls also for the establishment, in suitable locations around the world, of more mMarine ~~reserve~~Protected Areas in which whales would receive special protection;

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2101(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls also for threats to ~~the~~ cetacean populations arising from climate change, pollution, ship strikes, fishing gear, ~~sonar~~anthropogenic ocean noise and other hazards to be tackled outside such protected areas;

2008/11/18
Committee: PECH

2008/2026(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

School fruit and vegetables scheme 16. Deplores the fact that, for the second consecutive year, the Council has rejected Parliament's proposal for an amendment concerning the creation of a new line 05 02 08 12 - School fruit and vegetables scheme; welcomes, however, the political agreement of the Council on the legal base for such a programme; had expected the programme to start in time for the school year 2009/2010 and regrets, therefore, that the Council did not accept the Commission's proposal to create already a token entry ("p.m.") in the budget, which would have allowed for a flexible start of, as well as its firm commitment to start it in the 2009/2010 school year; invites the Council to take all the necessary measures to honour its commitments and enable the programme ~~as appropriate~~to start during the budgetary year 2009;

2008/11/27
Committee: BUDG

2008/2026(BUD)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Draws attention to the need to make available more funds to support the millions of Iraqis refugees and displaced people; notes that the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 4 million Iraqis are currently displaced from their homes, including some 2.2 million inside Iraq and up to 2 million refugees; points out, in addition, that Iraq continues to accommodate some 41,000 refugees who are in need of protection and assistance; stresses that the UNHCR is facing a refugee situation which involves the largest urban population that it has ever been called on to attend to, and which places an unprecedented burden on the economies and social infrastructure of host countries (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, the Gulf States and countries further afield);

2008/11/27
Committee: BUDG

2008/2000(DEC)

Proposal for a decision on discharge
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Postpones its decision on g~~Grant~~ing~~s the executive Director of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority's budget for the financial year 2006;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Proposal for a decision on the closure of accounts
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Postpon~~Approves the closure of the accounts of the European GNSS Supervisory Authority for the financial year 2006;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1.Emphasises that it unreservedly endorses the principle of the limited conferral of powers, which, in the current documents providing the legal basis for the European Union, is enshrined, inter alia, in Article 5 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and which stipulates that the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors exercise their powers under the conditions and for the purposes provided for, on the one hand, by the provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the subsequent Treaties and Acts modifying and supplementing them and, on the other hand, by the other provisions of the TEU;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Emphasises that it unreservedly endorses the principle of subsidiarity, which, in the current documents providing the legal basis for the European Union, is enshrined, inter alia, in Article 5, second paragraph, of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) and which stipulates that in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence the Community shall take action only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises, in that connection, that pursuant to paragraph 4 of the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality for any proposed Community legislation the reasons on which it is based must be stated with a view to justifying its compliance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and the reasons for concluding that a Community objective can be better achieved at Community level must be substantiated by qualitative or quantitative indicators;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises, in that connection, that pursuant to paragraph 3 of the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality Community action within the limits of its powers can be either expanded or restricted or discontinued where it is no longer justified;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises, in that connection, that pursuant to paragraph 9 of the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality due account must be taken of the need for any financial or administrative burden falling on the Community to be minimised and proportionate to the objective to be achieved;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Emphasises that it unreservedly endorses the principle of sound financial management, as laid down, inter alia, in Article 274 TEC, and, hence, the objective of achieving the best possible result with a given volume of appropriations or achieving a given result using the smallest possible volume of appropriations;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Emphasises, in that connection, that in its White Paper on the reform of the Commission the Commission laid down as guidelines for the formulation of an externalisation policy cost-effectiveness and the ability to exercise its powers to implement the budget, pursuant to Article 274 TEC;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Emphasises that pursuant to Article 253 TEC regulations, directives and decisions adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council and such acts adopted by the Council or the Commission must state the reasons on which they are based and refer to any proposals or opinions which were required to be obtained pursuant to the TEC;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Notes that decentralisation and devolution were key results of the process of reforming the Commission started in 1999, but that to date the Commission has submitted neither a study, nor an activity report nor an interim assessment of this form of administration; by the same token, the Commission has never given a convincing explanation of the added value provided by the agencies and of why their tasks could not equally well be performed within the Commission itself;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Emphasises, in that connection, that between the year 2000 (publication of the White Paper on the Reform of the Commission) and 2007 the staff complement of the Commission and agencies (excluding executive agencies) increased by a total of 85%;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Notes, in that connection, that in recent years the pace at which decentralised agencies are being set up has steadily increased, and that they are being established unsystematically and with no uniform framework: whereas in 1990 only three, in 1995 six, and in 2000 seven agencies existed, the 2008 budget lists no fewer than 25, seven of which have been added since 2005 alone;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Emphasises, in that connection, that the agencies to which it grants discharge make up only a part of the total and that the increase in permanent and temporary posts for all the decentralised agencies from 166 in the year 2000 to a total of 3151 in 2007 (+1800%) clearly illustrates the problems in this area;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

~~17. Emphasises further, in that connection, that average staff costs increased by more than 40% between 2006 and 2008;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Emphasises finally, in that connection, that the subsidies paid to the agencies from the Community budget have increased disproportionately in recent years, that the appropriations from the Community budget paid to agencies to which Parliament grants discharge, which were established between 1975 and 1997 and have thus gone well beyond the start- up and initial growth phases, increased by some 90% between 2000 and 2008, and that during that period the subsidies paid to some of these agencies increased by more than 210%;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

~~19. Emphasises that only two agencies are not in any way dependent on EU subsidies, whilst most of them are funded exclusively from EU budget appropriations;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes, in that connection, that a clear trend is emerging whereby the agencies revise their need for Community subsidies disproportionately upwards every six months, thus committing a steadily increasing proportion of the available appropriations, and that there are insufficient incentives to use financial resources sparingly;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Takes the view that direct and indirect payments and subsidies to the agencies from host countries (e.g. funding for building projects, office facilities, municipal taxes, etc.) have made it impossible to draw up a comprehensive breakdown of the cost of the agencies and that this practice disguises the true costs;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Takes the view that in most cases there has been no proper strategy underpinning the process of establishing agencies and that political considerations and factors, such as the attempt, with the help of the agencies, to influence the balance of power among the institutions, outweigh, and in some cases run entirely counter to, the original objectives, such as greater responsibility, transparency and efficiency in European administration;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Takes the view that the lack of a proper strategy on setting up agencies has generated unnecessary costs and that the true costs have been hidden from taxpayers, since, for example, missing infrastructure has not been taken into account and additional costs – for instance for the construction of new office and conference buildings, the setting-up of new schools, the development of transport infrastructure in response to an increase in missions between places of work scattered throughout Europe, as a result of serious recruitment problems, etc. – have arisen as a result;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Notes that the Commission's devolution policy has given rise to the duplication of work, above all in the area of administration, generating unnecessary additional costs and requiring the same know-how to be available several times over; notes, at the same time, that many agencies' administrative expenditure is far too high;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Takes the view that, with a few exceptions, no efforts have been made systematically to involve the agencies in the work of the Commission and that the agencies' spheres of responsibility frequently relate only to areas covered by 'open coordination' and bear no relation to the European Union's real needs and taxpayers' expectations;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Takes the view that the Commission no longer regards the decentralised agencies as a means of implementing its policies and has attempted to shed all responsibility for them, for example by stipulating that the Commission's Internal Auditor should no longer be responsible for auditing the decentralised agencies and should in future only confirm that their internal audit practices are consistent with international standards;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

~~27. Notes that in the case of some agencies the number of members of the administrative board exceeds the total number of staff, ruling out efficient and cost-effective decision-making;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Notes, on that basis, that the aim behind the practice of devolution - which is seen as one of the three main aspects of externalisation policy and was put forward as a reform strategy by the Commission in its White Paper - namely the more efficient, more rational and more effective provision of responsible administration, has not been achieved through the setting-up of decentralised agencies and that the Commission's reform efforts in this area have failed;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

~~29. Calls on the Commission to comply strictly with the subsidiarity principle;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

~~30. Calls on the Commission to meet to the letter the requirements to justify compliance with the subsidiarity principle;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

~~31. Calls on the Commission to comply strictly with the principle of sound financial management;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

~~33. Calls for every decision on the final location of an agency to be taken when the regulation establishing that agency is adopted;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal which provides for the number of full members of the administrative board of an agency to be reduced as quickly as possible to a figure equal to no more than 10% of the posts in that agency’s establishment plan and to no more than 20 in total;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Requests that the performance of the agencies be regularly (and on an ad hoc basis) audited by the Court of Auditors or another independent auditor; considers that this should not be limited to traditional elements of financial management and the proper use of public money, but should also cover administrative efficiency and effectiveness and should include a rating of the financial management of each agency;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)

36a. Takes the view that in the case of agencies which are continually overestimating their respective budget needs, technical abatement should be made on the basis of vacant posts; is of the opinion that this will lead in the long run to less assigned revenue for the agencies and therefore also to lower administrative costs;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 b (new)

36b. Notes that it is a serious problem that a number of agencies is criticised for not following rules on public procurement, the Financial Regulation, the Staff Regulations etc.; considers that the principal reason for this is that most regulations and the Financial Regulation are designed for bigger institutions and that most of the small agencies do not have the critical mass to be able to cope with these regulatory requirements; therefore asks the Commission to look for a rapid solution in order to enhance the effectiveness by grouping the administrative functions of various agencies together, in order to achieve this critical mass (taking into consideration the necessary changes in the basic regulations governing the agencies and their budgetary independence), or urgently to draft specific rules for the agencies (in particular implementing rules for the agencies) which allow them to be in full compliance;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 c (new)

36c. Insists that the Commission, when drafting the Preliminary Draft Budget, take into consideration the results of budget implementation by the individual agencies in former years, in particular in year n-1, and, revise the budget requested by the particular agency accordingly; invites its competent committee to respect this revision and, if not undertaken by the Commission, to revise itself the budget in question to a realistic level matching the absorption and implementation capacity of the agency in question;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 d (new)

36d. Recalls its decision on discharge in respect of the financial year 2005, in which it invited the Commission to present every five years a study on the added value of every existing agency; invites all relevant institutions in the case of a negative evaluation of the added value of an agency to take the necessary steps by reformulating the mandate of that agency or by closing it; notes that there has not been one single evaluation undertaken by the Commission in 2007; insists that the Commission should present at least 5 such evaluations before the decision on discharge in respect of the financial year 2007, starting with the oldest agencies;

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

~~37. Calls on the Council to agree to a binding horizontal funding ceiling for the agencies;~~deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

2008/2000(DEC)

Paulo CASACA, Emanuel Jardim FERNANDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. Acknowledges that Parliament, as the body responsible for financial control of the agencies, creates unacceptable conflicts of interest through its practice of appointing members of the agencies’ administrative boards and management bodies, and calls, therefore, for Parliament to halt this practice;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article -1-A (new)

Regulation (EC) No 639/2004)
Article 2 − point 4

Article 1a Article 2(4) of Regulation No 639/2004 is amended to read as follows: "4. In derogation Article 9(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999, public aid for the renovation of fishing vessels may be granted up to 31 December 2011."

2008/09/16
Committee: PECH

2008/0138(CNS)

Paulo CASACA, Emanuel Jardim FERNANDES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. Acknowledges that Parliament, as the body responsible for financial control of the agencies, creates unacceptable conflicts of interest through its practice of appointing members of the agencies’ administrative boards and management bodies, and calls, therefore, for Parliament to halt this practice;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. Acknowledges that Parliament, as the body responsible for financial control of the agencies, creates unacceptable conflicts of interest through its practice of appointing members of the agencies’ administrative boards and management bodies, and calls, therefore, for Parliament to halt this practice;deleted

2008/03/06
Committee: CONT