78 Amendments of Verónica LOPE FONTAGNÉ related to 2014/2075(DEC)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the Court of Auditors ('the Court') has concluded that regional policy remains one of the policy areas which is particularly error prone and that there is not much difference observed in 2013 as compared to 2012the policy groups most prone to error were, for yet another financial year, regional policy, transport and energy with a most likely error rate of 6,9 %, and rural development, environment, fisheries and public health, with a most likely error rate of 6,7 %; stresses nonetheless that, in spite of expenditure having risen considerably in 2013 on account of this being the final budgetary year of the 2007-2013 programming period, there has been practically no change in the error rate when compared to that of 2012 (6,8 %), asnd the most likelycumulative error rate for 2013 was set at 6,9 % (as compared to 6,8 % in 2012)has remained stable and is below that of the 2000-2006 period; urges the Commission to continue to reinforce its control provisions and to apply them strictly when it detects deficiencies;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the Court detected serious errors in public procurement (39 % of estimated error rate), a high frequency of non-compliance with state aid rules (17 % of the estimated error rate), as well ascontinues to find that the most significant errors in the field of cohesion policy, energy and transport are still those stemming from shortcomings in the application of public procurement rules and procedures, as well as the financing of ineligible projects, activities and beneficiaries and the inclusion of ineligible costs in cost claims, in total errors of this kind are responsible for 82 % of the estimated most likely error rate in this area of spending; extpremely low rates of disbursement of financial engineering instruments to final recipients in 2013sses its concern over the high percentage, 17 %, accounted for by non-compliance with State aid rules and which also affects the functioning of the internal market;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes with concern that a high percentage of cohesion policy funds allocated to financial engineering instruments have not been paid out to final beneficiaries and urges the Commission therefore to take suitable measures to prevent excessive balances for instruments of this kind;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Acknowledges the corrective actions taken by the Commission in terms of suspension and interruption of payments; recalls that these measures may hinder the smooth implementation of projecis of the opinion that suspending payments asin they do not contribute to reaching the goals of cohesion policy, due to the short time required fo event of non-compliance with macroeconomic conditionalities under the pEuroper absorption of Union funds; urges the Commission to undertake interruption and suspension of payments only as a last resort in cases where serious deficiencies in management and control systems are identifiedan Semester may hinder the smooth implementation of cohesion policy, and that said corrective actions do not contribute to reaching its goals; requests the Commission to report to Parliament on the real contribution of interruptions and suspensions of payments to reducing irregularities and errors;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that 80 % of funding is administered under shared management at Member State level and that the Court found that for the majorits are responsible for 80 % of spending from the Union budget and that, once again, the Court finds that many of the errors identified there was sufficient information available for Member States to detect these errors themselves;could have been corrected beforehand as the Member States had sufficient information available to detect them; emphasises the positive impact of recoveries and corrections in that they reduce the error rate by more than one and a half percentage points and points out, therefore, that measures such as improving administrative capacity on procurement, eligibility rules and state aid, and focusing on simplification and on a risk-based approach shouldmust be implemented at Member State level;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the reinforced procedures foreseen in the regulatory framework for the 2014-2020 programming period, and in particular regarding the management verifications and controls before the certification to the Commission of programme annual accounts and the submission of management declarations by the managing authorities; notes that the Commission’s corrective capacity was further improved by removing, under certain conditions, the possibility for Member States to re-use funds, resulting in net financial corrections; welcomes the establishment of a Competence Centre on administrative capacity building to support public administrations managing ERDF and the Cohesion Fstructural and investment funds; supports the enhanced result-orientation and thematic concentration of cohesion policy that should ensure high added value of the co- financed operations.
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Cannot politically ensure that the control procedures put in place in the Commission and the Member States give the necessarStates that, as demonstrated by the reservations issued by the Director- General of DG AGRI in its annual activity report of 31 March 2014, there are a number of shortcomings in the control procedures for fully guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of all the underlying transactions in agriculture and rural development as demonstrated by the following reservations issued by the Director General of DG AGRI in its annual activity report of 31 March 2014:;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – indent 1
Paragraph 1 – indent 1
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1– indent 2
Paragraph 1– indent 2
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – indent 3
Paragraph 1 – indent 3
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1– indent 4
Paragraph 1– indent 4
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Cannot politically ensure that the control procedures put in place in the Commission and the Member States give the necessarStates that, as demonstrated by the reservations issued by the Director- General of DG REGIO in its annual activity report of 31 March 2014, there are a number of shortcomings in the control procedures for fully guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of all underlying transactions in regional policy as demonstrated by the reservations issued by the Director General of DG REGIO in its annual activity report of 31 March 2014; 73 of 322 programmes have been put under reservations as a consequence of partially reliable management and control system (compared to 85 of 317 OPs in 2012); the interim payments made to those 2007-2013 programmes under reservation equal EUR 6 035,5 million; the Commission estimated the amount at risk at EUR 440,2 million;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Cannot politically ensure that the control procedures put in place in the Commission and the Member States give the necessary guaranteeStates that there are a number of shortcomings concerning the legality and regularity of all the underlying transactions in employment and social affairs as demonstrated by the reservations issued by the Director General of DG EMPL in its annual activity report on 31 March 2014; its annual activity report contains a reservation relating to payments made for the 2007-2013 programming period for an amount at risk of EUR 123,2 million in 2013; these reservations covered 36 of 118 the European Social Funds (ESF) Operational Programmes (compared to 27 out of 117 OPs in 2012):
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the financial corrections reported as implemented in 2013 dropped from EUR 3,7 billion in 2012 to EUR 2,5 billion in 2013 and recalls that the high financial correction in 2012 was mainly due to a single EUR 1,8 billion correction in Spain rectifying structural funds expenditures during the period 2000- 2006;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Points out that the accumulation of financial corrections made when programme balances are settled is artificial, at times, and that they are not significant, given that they appear years after they are made; calls on the Commission to analyse whether the shift in methodology which took place in 2012 - from confirmed corrections to implemented corrections - is best suited for reflecting the reality of control and management systems in a given financial year;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that, as a result of that shift in methodology, this decrease was partially compensated by an increase of recoveries implemented: from EUR 0,7 billion to EUR 0,9 billion;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Points out that in times of economic crisis financial resources are scarce; notes, however, that for large parts of the budget, the maximum level of expenditure under the Multiannual Financial Framework headings is broken into yearly allocations per Member State; observes that the way funds are absorbed by Member States often becomestrusts that in view of the new rules, as from 2014, Member States will not absorb funds by pursuing what has been a, if not the, main policy objective (‘'use it or lose it’')90; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to promote a shift from spending to performance culture focussing on quality of spending and the results achieved; __________________ 90 Ibid.
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the Commission to once again prepare and publish a 'long-range cash flow forecast' projecting future payment requirements to ensure that necessary payments can be met from approved annual budgets; recalls the binding commitment adopted during the 2015 budgetary procedure;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Points out that, while the facilities were well set-up and all the projects financed were relevant, the potential benefits of blending werhave not yet been fully realised due to a number of Commission management shortcomings; asks the Commission to disburse funding only when the funds are actually needed by the beneficiary and to improve its monitoring of the Union grant implementation;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Emphasises that in accordance with Article 317 TFEU, the Commission is ultimately responsible for the implementation of the Union's budget; points out that where the Commission implements the budget under shared management, implementation tasks are delegated to Member States, which, pursuant to Article 59 of the Financial Regulation thereby engaging their political and financial responsibility, must fulfil their respective control and audit obligations and assume the resulting responsibilities in order to protect the Union's financial interests;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. WelTakes note of the Commission communication of 28 October 2014 entitled 'On the adoption of the inter- institutional working group recommes the voluntary national declaration provided byndations for the establishment and use of national declarations' (COM(2014)0688); points out that the submission of declarations is voluntary, and therefore welcomes the fact that four Member States - Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom - have decided to submit them; regrets, however, that those declarations differ in form, scope, comprehensiveness and the reporting period; calls on the Commission to strive for national declarations, signed at the appropriate political level, which fit into a single audit chain, as a result of which they are therefore of little use;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading after paragraph 35
Subheading after paragraph 35
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Points out that according to the figures provided by the Court of Auditors as regards the amounts and percentage of funds at risk as to the European Regional Development Funds, the European Social Funds and the Cohesion Funds (source data included in the 2013 annual activity reports of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and DG Regional and Urban policy), Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Spainthree Member States have the highest error rates;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Points out that according to the figures provided by the Court of Auditors as regards the amounts and percentage of funds at risk as to the European Agricultural Guarantee Funds and the European Agricultural Funds for Regional Development (source data included in the 2013 annual activity report of DG Agriculture and Rural Development) Romania, Bulgaria an Portugalthree Member States also have the highest error rates;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Asks the Court of Auditors to develop its own country-specific reporting method bearing in mind not only the amounts at risk but also the management and control systems of the Member States together with the corrective mechanisms applied by the Commission and the Member States in order to adequately assess the evolution of the management in the worst performing Member Statessimilarities or differences between them and recommend the best possible solutions;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Recalls that the Court of Auditors concluded in its opinion No 7/20143 that the Commission's proposal to allow the deferred payments of value added tax (VAT) and GNI balances and adjustments in case of exceptionalspecific circumstances may increase the complexity of the system of own resources and the Member States budgetary uncertainty; __________________ 3 Opinion No 7/2014 concerning a proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 implementing Decision 2007/436 EC, Euratom on the system of the European Communities' own resources (OJ C 459, 19.12.2014, p. 1).
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Points out in particular that the Commission proposal amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 implementing Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom on the system of the European Communities' own resources (COM (2014)0704) refers only to the postponement of the deadline for the Member States to make resources available in case of significant amounts result from positive VAT and GNI balances and adjustments and notes that if Member States have a large negative VAT and GNI balances and adjustments, the Commission could be obliged to collectprovide additional revenuesources by means of an amending budget;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 – indent 4
Paragraph 47 – indent 4
– put in place and closely monitor a detailed action plan with clear targets to address theany problems observed in the compilation of Greece's national accounts,;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 – indent 5
Paragraph 47 – indent 5
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading after heading Agriculture
Subheading after heading Agriculture
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Points out that the Czech Republic followed by Slovakia, Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria maintain the most unequalinequalities still exist in various Member States’ agricultural systems97; calls on the Commission and the Member States to better balance their beneficiaries' structure and demands that the Director General of DG AGRI attach yearly to its annual activity report indicative figures on the distribution of CAP direct aid payment to producers by Member States and category of beneficiaries; __________________ 97Indicative figures on the distribution of aid by size-class of aid, received in the context of direct aid paid to the producers according to Council regulation EC 1782/2003 and Council Regulation 73/2009, transmitted by Commissioner Hogan on 8 December 2014.
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Stresses that the reservations introduced by the Director-General of DG AGRI into its 2013 annual activity report confirm the alarming state of play inin relation to market measures astarget seven aid schemes in nine Member States are targeted, in particular the sectors of fruit and vegetables, the restructuring of vineyards, wine investment, export refunds for poultry and the school milk scheme;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. DeploRegrets the significant shortcomings found in the control procedures applied when granting recognition to producer groups99 for fruit and vegetables in Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdomsome Member States, as revealed by the Court of Auditors in its Annual Report for 2013 and confirmed by the Director-General of DG AGRI who has issued in its 2013 annual activity report a reservation based on its estimate that around 25% of total expenditure under this measure is at risk, namely EUR 102,7 million; __________________ 99 In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (OJ L 299, 16.11.2007, p.1), in certain regions, transitional support may be given to encourage producers who wish to acquire the status of producer organisation (PO) to form producer groups; this funding may be partially reimbursed by the EU and ceases once the producer group is recognised as a PO.
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Regrets in particularPoints out that the deficiencies detected by the Commission as regards the measure concerning 'Vineyard restructuring' in Spainone Member State that justified the reservation issued by the Director-General of DG AGRI on the basis of a corrected error rate of 33 % and an amount at risk of EUR 54 millare based on an incomplete investigation that estimated a corrected error rate of 33 %; stresses that, given the stage reached in the procedure, it is not possible to infer the amount at risk; also draws attention andto the measure 'Poultry export in France' on the basis of a corrected error rate of 69,6% and an amount at risk of EUR 29,3 million;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69
Paragraph 69
69. Notes that according to the data provided in the 2013 annual activity report of DG AGRI103, the worst performing Member States as regards the recoveries of undue payments are Bulgaria with a recovery rate of 4%, 21% in Greece , 25% in France, 25 % in Slovenia, 27 % in Slovakia and 33 % in Hungaryrecoveries of undue payments are very low in some Member States; __________________ 103 See 2013 annual activity report of DG AGRI, Annex 10, table 51:
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 81
Paragraph 81
81. Deplores the lack ofStresses that there must be no doubt as to the reliability of data communicated by the Member States on the results of their checks; notes that certifying bodies issued a qualified opinion stating an error rate above 2 % for only nine paying agencies of 74110 while the Commission issued a qualified opinion for 31 agencies in 24 Member States111; __________________ 110 See the reply to the written question No 12, CONT hearing with Commissioner Phil Hogan on 1 December 2014. 111 See 2013 annual activity report of DG AGRI, table 2.1.24.
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 82
Paragraph 82
82. Regrets the lack ofStresses the need to improve the quality of remedial actions byin some Member States, and the absence ofs well as the need for a systematic approach to eradicate the causes of the errors in all the Member States; stresses that there is a new legislation will go some way to mitigate the lack of preventive action against widespread weakness at Union level;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 84
Paragraph 84
84. Recommends that the Commission actively monitors the application of remedial actions with regard to the deficiencies in the control system applicable to Union aid for producer groups for fruits and vegetables in Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85
Paragraph 85
85. Urges the Commission to demonstrate the Union added value of the agricultural market measures bearing in mind the risk of potential losses affecting the budget of the Union and asks the Commission to consider their suppression if this risk is too high; aAsks the Commission to report in the 2013 Commission discharge follow-up report on the actions taken by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in light of the audit mission for poultry export refunds in France;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
Paragraph 86
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 87
Paragraph 87
87. Urges the Director-General of DG AGRI to consider the real added valueappropriateness of delaying year after year reservations justified by deficiencies in the LPIS while those deficiencies have clear horizontal dimension;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 89
Paragraph 89
89. Urges the Commission to shed a light on the facts reported by the Court of Auditors in Ireland and Italytwo Member States in points 3.24 and 3.25 of its Annual Report for 2013 as regards irregularities in recovering undue payments, to take the necessary corrective measures and to report on those to Parliament by June 2015;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 91
Paragraph 91
91. Asks in particular that the mandate of the Members of the conciliation body involved in the clearance of accounts procedure will be limited in time to an initial term of three years possibly prolonged for maximum one year; requests furthermore that any possible conflicts of interest be avoided in the handling of those files and that the Member States are not represented in the conciliation body when they are directly concerned by financial corrections;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96
Paragraph 96
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97
Paragraph 97
97. Recognises that as the largest source of Union funds to regions, localities and enterprises,regional policy, which representinged 29% of the total Union budget in 2013 - regional policy has assisted Member States to conciliate their fiscal consolidation constraints with the support to long-term investments strategies which are necessary to recove, has been the main source of funding for investment in most regions, mitigating the cash flow difficulties resulting from the crisis and from fiscal consolidation in many of the Member States, and thus constituting a key added value in European action for fgrom the crisis and return to awth and job- creationg growth (EU2020 objective 1);
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 103
Paragraph 103
103. Observes that the Commission considered all nationally audited error rates in the reports of Slovakia to be unreliable, 10 out of 15 error rates in the reports of Hungary, two out of seven in the reports of Bulgaria and one out of four in the reports of Belgiumsome Member States to be somewhat or entirely unreliable; asks the Commission to demonstrate if and how their flat rate corrections imposed to protect the Union budget (25 % for one programme and 10 % for nine programmes in Slovakia, two for Bulgaria and Italy and one for Belgiuma further nine countries113) remedied the situation; __________________ 113 See 2013 annual activity report of DG REGIO, Annex, p. 42.
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 104
Paragraph 104
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107
Paragraph 107
107. Urges the Commission to provide further guidance and technical assistance with a view to addressing the causes of weak administration in the Member Statethe shortcomings and weaknesses in the Member States’ management systems;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108
Paragraph 108
108. Welcomes anthe improvement in the management of the funds since 2011 in Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania; is worried about a worsening of the ERDF management in Slovakia, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom114; __________________ 114See 2013 annual activity report of DG REGIO, Annex, p. 43.een in certain Member States since 2011, and stresses the need for these improvements to be extended to cover the whole of the Union;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 109 – point a (new)
Paragraph 109 – point a (new)
(a) Points out that the corrections applied by the Commission are based on earlier audit reports carried out by each of the Member States, which sometimes gives rise to differing interpretations leading to disparities in the amounts entered in the accounts;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113
Paragraph 113
113. Notes that in 2013 the Commission decided on financial corrections amounting to EUR 912 371 222 on Member States' operational programmes, of which EUR 239,50 million fell on the Czech Republic, EUR 147,21 million fell on Hungary and EUR 95,47 million fell on Greece;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114
Paragraph 114
114. Notes furthermore that, during the programming period 2007-2013, six Member States (the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Poland and Romania) were responsible for 75% (equalling EUR 1 342 million) of the confirmed financial ERDF/CF and ESF corrections;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115
Paragraph 115
115. Regrets that in 2013 EUR 397,8 million had to be de-committed, EUR 296,7 million alone from the Czech Republic; considers that de-commitments run counter to sound financial management;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 118
Paragraph 118
118. Is worried about the problems in implementation ofing the priority projects in Greece under the Task Force management; notes that 48 priority projects have to be accelerated; notes that the main problems are, according to the Commission: a) delays at maturation stage, (b) delays in licensing, (c) dissolution of contracts due to lack of liquidity of contractors and (d) lengthy court appeals during awarding procedures; calls therefore on the Commission to provide an update on progress made by the priority projects for the 2013 follow-up report;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 124
Paragraph 124
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 126
Paragraph 126
126. Notes that the Union-financed the modernisation of a water distribution network in Skorkov (CZ)Member State with EUR 1,1 million; is concerned about the fact that the communal authorities have let the exploitation of the water distribution system to a company which already manages the local sewerage system; notes that the latter was also co-financed with EUR 1,4 million from Union funds and that the price for the supply of drinking water increased by 45 %; notes that citizens whose water quality is inferior must therefore continue to use local wells; calls on the Commission to ensure the success of the project; supports the establishment of an independent water authority;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 127
Paragraph 127
127. Calls on the Commission to inform Parliament about all cases in which projects with an Union share of at least 30 % were afterwards privatised within less than five years from project finalisation;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128
Paragraph 128
128. Underlines that the employment and social policy objectives were primarily implemented by means of the ESFESF resources are contributing substantially to the achievement of employment and social policy objectives; for the reporting year loans for payments worth EUR 14,1 billion were made available for these purposes, of which 98 % were made via the ESF;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 129
Paragraph 129
129. Welcomes the policy area's contribution to achieving the EU2020 objectives not only through ESF projects but also by draftingcontribution made to the achievement of these by not only ESF- funded projects but also the formulation of country-specific recommendations contained in the annual Jjoint Eemployment Rreport and contributing to the country specific recommendations as part of the Annual Growth Surveydrawn up as part of the European Semester process;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 130
Paragraph 130
130. Emphasises that the reduction of youth unemployment is particularly urgent; welcomes that more than EUR 12.4 billion from the ESF andrates, especially among young people, is particularly urgent; welcomes that, in addition to ESF resources, the Youth Employment Initiative haves been earmarked for thelaunched, seeking to fight against youth unemployment during the new programming periodfrom 2014; calls on the Commission to support Member States in implementing the Union funds and make sure that this money will be spent for its indicated purpose; calls on the Commission to establish a system, for the 2014-2020 programming period which allows for reports on progress made in integrating disadvantaged people or groups of people (i.e. youth, elderly, long-term unemployed, Roma) into employmentthe effectiveness of the funds earmarked for stepping up progress in integrating disadvantaged people or groups of people or those at risk of social exclusion;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 131
Paragraph 131
131. Points out thatIs concerned that, while many Roma face discrimination and social exclusion and are living in very poor socio-economic conditions, a portion of the funds available for the integration of Roma werethis community has not always been spent for thiseir intended purpose; icalls concerned that many Roma face discrimination and social exclusion living in very poor socio-economic conditions the Commission to carry out the necessary checks to ensure that the funds are properly used; is also particularly concerned by the information that, following a survey carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in 20121, in 90 % of the Roma households the average income was below national poverty thresholds, and that on average about 45 % of the Roma live in severely deprived housing conditions; __________________ 1 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, The situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States, Luxembourg 2012
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 134
Paragraph 134
134. Regrets that faulty first-level-checks by national management and control systems remained a prime source of error; has therefore the impression that Member States seem to be less scrupulous when spending Union funds compared to the way they spend their national budget; notes that the following programmes showed particular systemic weaknesses: Poland, Spain (Castilla y Leon), Romania, Portugal, Italy (Sicily), Germany (Bund), Germany (Thüringen), Czech Republic and Hungary; notes that in addition, thematic Commission audits revealed weaknesses in the management and control systems of the operational programmes for Ireland (Human Investment Capital), Slovakia (education) and Spain (Comunidad Valenciana);
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135
Paragraph 135
135. Points out that, when reviewing the error rates communicated by Member States (MS) (MS) in their Annual Control Reports (ACR) the Commission increased the error rate by more than 2% for the followinga series of Operational Programmes (OP): Member OP number 2013 interim MS ACR COM Difference State payments error rate correction EUR IT 2007IT052PO009 Bolzano 934 530 4,95 % 7,11 % 2,16 % CZ 2007CZ052PO001 Praha 3,58 % 6,45 % 2,87 % Adapabilita SK 2007SK05UPO002 OP employment 86 718 231 1,65 % 4,66 % 3,01 % & soc. inclusion UK 2007UK052PO002 Lowlands & 74 251 497 1,95 % 10,59 % 8,64 % Uplands Scotland IT 2007IT052PO001 Abruzzi 0,2 % 15,9 % 15,88 % ES 2007ES052PO011 La Rioja 0,38 % 37,76 % 37,38 % In addition the; in addition the Commission considereds some of the ACRs for OPsalso as entirely unreliable, thereby triggering a flat-rate correction: Member OP number 2013 interim MS ACR COM flat- Differenc State payments error rate rat e EUR correction LU 2007LU052PO001 Operational 4 285 659 0,46 % 2,0 % 1,54 % programme ESF IT 2007IT051PO001 Campania 77 486 332 0,38 % 2,0 % 1,62 % BE 2007BE052PO001 German speaking 0,0 % 2,0 % 2% community ES 2007ES052PO002 Castilla y León 10 607 012 0,0 % 2,0 % 2,0 % BE 2007BE052PO003 Federal state 3,66 % 5,0 % 1,34 % IT 2007IT051PO007 Pon istruzione 78 589 393 0,4 % 5,0 % 4,6 % BE 2007BE052PO005 Flanders 118 201 220 1,61 % 10,0 % 8,39 % UK 2007UK051PO002 West Wales & 149 600 091 0,36 % 10,0 % 9,64 % Valleys UK 2007UK052PO001 East Wales 9 476 602 0,36 % 10,0 % 9,64 % IT 2007IT052PO012 Tuscany 61.978.561 1,11 25 % 23,89 % IT 2007IT052PO016 Sardinia 23.478.530 0,13 25 % 24,87 %
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 136
Paragraph 136
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 137
Paragraph 137
137. Notes furthermore that the Directorate-General (DG) EMPL’s annual activity report contains a reservation relating to payments made for the 2007-2013 programming period for an amount at risk of EUR 123,2 million in 2013; notes that that reservation covered 36 of 118 ESF Operational Programmes (compared to 27 out of 117 OPs in 2012): Member OP number Name Reservation State BELGIUM 2007BE051PO0 Convergence Hainaut Full 01 2007BE052PO0 Troika Wallonie-Bruxelles Full 02 2007BE052PO0 Federal Reputational 03 2007BE052PO0 Bruxelles-Capitale : Emploi et cohésion Reputational 04 sociale 2007BE052PO0 Vlanderen Full 05 CZECH 2007CZ052PO0 Praha Adaptabilita Reputational REPUBLIC 01 2007CZ05UPO0 Lidské zdroje a zaměstnanost Partial 01 Reputational FRANCE 2007FR052PO0 Programme opérationnel national FSE Partial 01 GERMANY 2007DE051PO0 Mecklemburg-Vorpommern Full 02 2007DE052PO0 Berlin Full 03 IRELAND 2007IE052PO00 Human Capital investment Partial 1 Reputational ITALY 2007IT051PO00 Campania Full 1 2007IT051PO00 PON Istruzione Full 7 2007IT052PO00 Abruzzo Partial 1 Reputational 2007IT052PO00 Bolzano Full 9 2007IT052PO01 Toscana Full 2 2007IT052PO01 Sardegna Full 6 POLAND 2007PL051PO00 Program Operacyjny Kapitał Ludzki Partial 1 ROMANIA 2007RO051PO0 Human Resource Development Full 01 SLOVAKIA 2007SK05UPO0 OP Education Partial 01 2007SK05UPO0 OP Employment and Social Inclusion Partial 02 Reputational SPAIN 2007ES051PO00 Extremadura Partial 3 2007ES051PO00 Andalucia Full 5 2007ES052PO00 Comunidad Valenciana Reputational 3 2007ES052PO00 Aragon Full 4 2007ES052PO00 Baleares Full 5 2007ES052PO00 Cataluña Reputational 7 2007ES052PO00 Madrid Partial 8 Reputational 2007ES052PO01 La Rioja Reputational 1 2007ES05UPO0 Adaptabilidad Y Empleo Partial 01 2007ES05UPO0 Lucha contra la discriminacion Partial 02 2007ES05UPO0 Asistencia tecnica Partial 03 UNITED 2007UK051PO0 West Wales and the Valleys Full KINGDOM 02 2007UK052PO0 East Wales Full 01 2007UK052PO0 Lowlands and Uplands of Scotland Full 02 2007UK052PO0 Northern Ireland Partial 03 2000-2006 programming period Member OP number Name Reservation State FRANCE 1999FR053DO001 Objectif 3 national 2000FR162DO021 Nord-Pas-de-Calais ITALY 1999IT161PO006 Calabria SWEDEN 1999SE161DO001 Norbotten & Vasterbotten Reputational UNITED 1999GB161DO005 Highlands and Islands of Scotland KINGDOM 2000GB162DO013 Western Scotland
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 138
Paragraph 138
138. Highlights that interim payments to 2007-2013 OPs worth EUR 2 159.4 million, 5.7%, are affected by the reservations; notes that the Commission estimated the amount at risk in 2013 at EUR 123,3 million, 0.97% of the estimated total for the period 2007-2013;
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140
Paragraph 140
140. Remains worried about systemic weaknesses in Spanish and Italian management and control systems aggravated by decentralised and devolved state structureAcknowledges that decentralised structures and devolved administration in some Member States are impeding the proper functioning of the management and control systems by multiplying the number of intermediate bodies responsible for the management, monitoring and auditing of the European funds;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 142
Paragraph 142
142. Is concerned that, by the end of 2014 EUR 129 million may have to be de- committed in six Member States (BE, CZ, DE, ES, IT and UK);
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 143
Paragraph 143
143. Observes that the Union has contributed EUR 100 million to Progress Microfinance; recalls that the European Investment Fund that implements Progress Microfinance on behalf of the Commission and the European Investment Bank reported that 52 microcredit providers in 20 Member States had signed agreements under Progress Microfinance and 31 895 microloans worth EUR 260,78 million had already been disbursed to micro- entrepreneurs; is concerned in this context that not enough attention is paid to the question of democratic accountability when setting up financial instruments;
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 166
Paragraph 166
166. Is surprised by the fact that OLAF has not recommended that the Commission establish a recovery order on the basis of the financial damage caused to the Union budgetCalls on the Commission to carry out more rigorous evaluation and monitoring with regard theo humanitarian support granted to the refugee camp of Tindouf whilst it has estimated in its report (OF 2003/0526) that the number of refugees was considerably lower than indicated by the Sahrawi or Algerian authos , ensuring that the needs and interests of the refugees are under no circumstances sacrificed, given that they are the most vulnerable to the consequences of any irregularities;
Amendment 398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 167
Paragraph 167
167. Urges the Commission to adapt Union aidguarantee that Union aid is channelled towards to the actual needs of the population concerned in order to put an end to, preventing all kinds of trafficking and to the embezzlement of humanitarian assistance;
Amendment 415 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 173
Paragraph 173
173. Is astounded that in nine of 32 cost statements certified by independent auditors the Court of Auditors found a significant level of error; considers that such a level of error is not acceptable as auditors work in the area of their professional expertise;
Amendment 440 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 199
Paragraph 199
199. Is worried about the substantial increase in the number of high officials with grades AD 13 to AD 16 with a monthly income of between EUR 11 700 and EUR 18 500 who used the flexitime scheme in 2013125; sees a reputational risk for the Union as it is difficult to explain that overtime is not seen to be included in such high salariecalls on the Commission to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the European Staff Regulations; __________________ 125 See reply of Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva to question 48 of the questionnaire.