Activities of Bart STAES related to 2012/2168(DEC)
Plenary speeches (1)
2011 discharge: EU general budget, European Parliament (A7-0063/2013 - Eva Ortiz Vilella) (vote)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2011, Section I – European Parliament PDF (288 KB) DOC (278 KB)
Amendments (20)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights the added value of the parliamentary procedure leading up to the annual Parliament discharge; reiterates that the Parliament discharge is an additional possibility for exercising, in public, a critical scrutiny of the institution's financial management, thereby facilitating Union citizens' understanding of Parliament's particular governance structure and, working methods and the costs of a democratic Europe;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that scrutiny is necessary to ensure that Parliament's administration is held accountable and that only full and complete transparency offers citizens of the Union an insight into Parliament's use of the resources put at its disposal; stresses however that the Parliament's discharge procedure involves non-negligible risks for the reputation of the Parliament as an institution;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that even non-material shortcomings may result in considerable reputational damage overshadowing Parliament's policy achievements and reminds Parliament's Members and staff of their personal responsibility in Parliament's proper financial management;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes with satisfaction the quality of the exchange of views between the Vice- President responsible for the Budget, the Secretary-General and the Committee on Budgetary Control on 22 January 2013 in the context of the 2011 Parliament discharge; reiterates that Parliament's administration is held accountable throughout this process and that the discharge reports on Parliament's implementation of its budget and the activities of its Committee on Budgetary Control over the last decade have played an important role and brought about very positive developments in Parliament's financial management, such as the Members' statute and the assistants' statute; is determined to continue this encouraging development towards excellence and transparency in public financial management;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes that, on 22 September 2011, the representatives of the Bureau and of the Committee on Budgets reached agreement on additional saving measures that were subsequently incorporated into Parliament's 2012 budget; firmly holds that those smart savings measures of almost EUR 40 000 000 do not affect either the efficiency of Parliament's activities or the resources made available to each Member; calls on the Secretary-General to keep the Council and the Commission informed on Parliament's achievements and, to this end, to obtain information on their actions and to request to be informed of the answers received; points out, however, that savings should be made by spending less money and not by advancing or delaying payments or shifts between budgets;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reminds its President and Secretary- General of it resolution of 6 February 20131 where it "recalls the decision adopted in plenary calling for the Council to present a roadmap by June 2013 on the multiple seats of the EP, and expects both the committees concerned, the Secretary- General and the Bureau to provide Members with up-to-date figures and information on the financial and environmental impact of the multiple seat arrangement; suggests that the EP's own impact assessment services examine this question, including with respect to the impact of the EP's presence or partial presence on the respective communities and regions, and present an assessment by June 2013 in order for their findings to be considered in the context of the next MFF"; points out that June 2013 is approaching rapidly;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that the new Financial Regulation (Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012) and its Rules of Application came into effect on 1 January 2013 and brought about major changes in financial management, in particular by ensuring enhanced sound financial management and the protection of the Union's financial interests, introducing financial mechanisms which enable the mobilisation of third-party funds as leverage on Union funds and cutting red tape, while shifting the focus from paperwork to performance; encourages the Parliament's services, as in the past revisions of the Financial Regulation, to implement those rules without delay and with the minimum possible negative impact on Parliament's administration, would like to be informed before the start of the 2012 discharge procedure if the new Financial Regulation has led to a decrease in staff needed for financial management;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the new Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament with respect to financial interests and conflicts of interest adopted by its plenary on 1 December 2011; notes that Members are required to make full disclosure of any remunerated activities outside Parliament, of the remuneration they receive, and of any other functions that they perform which may give rise to conflicts of interest; further notes that the code expressly prohibits Members from accepting any sum of money or other gift in exchange for influencing Parliament decisions; notes with satisfaction that it lays down clear rules on accepting gifts and on former Members engaging in lobbying; expects that the implementing rules will be communicated in an adequate way to the Members, and that declarations will be checked on a sample basis;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes the publication of the social report, which gives a valuable insight into Parliament's human resources; asks for the 2012 report to be published before the end of September 2013; further notes that Parliament's establishment plan increased between 2010 to 2011 by 4 % mainly as a result of the entry into force ofnew responsibilities and extra workload under the Treaty of Lisbon and the anticipated accession of Croatia to the Union;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out that 2011 was the second full year in which the new Statute for Members and the Statute for Assistants has been in force (both effective as of 14 July 2009); notes that the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Assistants have been amended four times in those two years for the application of Title VII of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS) and the Implementing Measures on the basis of proposals from the Temporary Evaluation Group and the Secretary-General; recalls that the implementation of Title VII of the CEOS created a single scheme governing the status of accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs) working in Parliament's three working places, which replaced twenty-seven different national systems of contractual relationships, taxation and social security and that currently there is no evidence that would suggest a need to adapt the rules applying to parliamentary assistants contained in Title VII of the CEOS; suggest a full evaluation of the Statute of Assistants including possible adaptations of the rules before the next European elections;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points Is concerned about the significant increase of carry-overs into 2011 (EUR 240 268 630*1) and calls for improved planning of expenditure; calls on the administration to reverse this trend in the run up to future European elections; 1Or. en Automatic carry-overs: EUR 231 028 630, non-automatic carry-overs: EUR 9 240 000.
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Takes note ofEndorses the responses given by Parliament in the contradictory procedure with the Court of Auditors;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29 a. Stresses that in line with transparency policies towards its citizens the internal audits should be made available after some time on the websites of the Parliament; would like to be informed which of these reports are not yet make public and what were the reasons why;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36 a. Requests for the second time, after this paragraph was adopted already in 2010 discharge procedure, a full report on how Parliament's Free Software projects have developed with regards to use and users in Parliament, citizen interaction and procurement activities; invites for the second time to investigate, in a full study, Parliament's obligations under Rule 103 of its Rules of Procedure with regard to Free Software and Open Standards;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Welcomes the fact that the internalisation of the security services will reduce costs in Brussels and Strasbourg by EUR 16 000 000 in the period up to 2015 and by EUR 6 000 000 for each year thereafter; would like to receive a break down of the savings, including the costs of Parliament's staff being transferred to the new service from other posts/departments; expects that those employed by the actual security firm will be given preference to work for the new internalised service if they wish so, even when this means that they should be given additional training and/or language courses;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Takes note of the fact that the contract with the current travel agency expires on 31 December 2013 and that the preparations of a new call for tenders have started; regrets that, while the possibility of a financial audit was provided for in the contract, this is not the case for an audit of the structure and performance of the travel agency; insists that a future contract should include the possibility of intermediary and final financial and performance audits; as requested by the Committee on Budgetary Control, welcomes the fact that the administration will also have recours; considers that if substantial savings on travel costs by Members and staff are to be realized, as decided by the bureau, it could be more cost effective to exinternal expertise when establishing tender documentation and throughout the selection procedure, thereby ensuring that Parliament chooses the best solution, resulting in major simplifications and cost-savings; stressesise this service allowing a better and more frequent control if the cheapest travel options are applied; request before that thea new contract should take into account the best quality/price ratio and the best value for money with competitive priceall for tender is issued a report comparing the costs for both options;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Regrets that the audience of Europarl TV, although greater in 2011 as compared 1 Direct visits per month on the website: 2010: 30 000; 2011: 39 559. with 2010*with 20101 , continues to be very low in the case of direct individual users (excluding viewers through partnership agreements with regional TVs) despite the considerable financing that it still received in 2011, amounting to some EUR 8 000 000 (item 3 2 4 6); regrets further that no cost-benefit evaluation of Europarl TV has being made, despite the fact that this was requested by Parliamentplenary in its resolution on the discharge 2010; welcomes, howevernotes, the decision of the Bureau of 12 December 2012 to implement a set of reforms in order to achieve significant savings; expects that such a cost- benefit evaluation is presented before the 2012 discharge procedure;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Is concerned at the increased cost of the Lux Prize in 2011*1 ; calls for a more cost- efficient management of this prize; strongly suggest that the costs of the event should be set at a maximum ceiling of 500 000;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Regrets that, for the second time, structural defects have been discovered in Parliament's buildings, this time in the wooden ceiling beams of Parliament's Brussels Chamber; calls on DG INLO to commissionmake a full review of the structural situation of all of Parliament's buildings starting with those ones which still are guaranteed by the project developer against hidden faults, if possible with the support of a few selected experts from the national building offices of different Members States and and, making full use of in- house accumulated knowledge; calls on the Secretary-General to present a plan to the Bureau soon with all the teconomhnical details for these works; plus the costs involved;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69 a (new)
Paragraph 69 a (new)
69a. Would like to be informed about the total KW/H produced by Parliament's solar panels;