22 Amendments of Michael THEURER related to 2013/2260(DEC)
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 272
Paragraph 272
272. Welcomes the Special Report examining direct Union financial support to the Palestinian Authority as an important contribution to the overall political and financial debate about the Union's engagement with Israel and Palestinethe Palestinian Authority with a view to supporting progress towards the two-state solution in full compliance with the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both the territory administered by the Palestinian Authority and the state of Israel; takes note of the findings, conclusions and recommendations and sets out its observations and recommendations below;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 273 – introductory part
Paragraph 273 – introductory part
273. Welcomes the findings of the report which confirm some important achievements and the need for improvements of the current PEGASE mechanism (Palestinian-European Mechanism for Management of Socio- Economic Aid), in particular stating that:
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 273 – point b
Paragraph 273 – point b
(b) the eligibility verification checks are roegularly conducted bust and further simplification needs have to been addressed by the Commission to increase their efficiency;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 273 – point f
Paragraph 273 – point f
(f) the PEGASE DFS made a significant inputcontributed also to the delivery of essential public services like education and health care;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 274 – introductory part
Paragraph 274 – introductory part
274. NotesExpresses severe concerns that a number of shortcomings in the Commission's management of the PEGASE mechanism remain, inter alia:
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 274 – point a
Paragraph 274 – point a
(a) the Commission does not apply its standard internal quality review procedures to the annual PEGASE DFS programme, which prevents it from fully assessing its efficiency in comparison to other Union aid programmes;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 274 – point b
Paragraph 274 – point b
(b) no performance indicators were included in the financing agreements making it more difficult to assess the concrete results of the support, especially as regards the percentage of the programme's funds spent on administrative costs compared to the percentage of funds disbursed to the eligible beneficiaries;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 274 – point c
Paragraph 274 – point c
(c) the Commission has not prepared a risk assessment addressing issues such as corruption in Gaza with regard to the payroll system, which also raises concerns about the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 274 – point d
Paragraph 274 – point d
(d) significant weaknesses persist in the Palestinian Authority's public finance management, such as inadequate legislative scrutiny of the budget and the external audit reports, or the lack of proper government procurement and commitment controls, which raises questions about the seriousness of the Palestinian Authority's commitment to due diligence for this programme;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 275
Paragraph 275
275. Calls onUrges the Commission and the EEAS to address these issues without delay and to act together with the Palestinian Authority and inform Parliament and the Council about the progress made in due time;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 276
Paragraph 276
276. Welcomes the fact that the Commission addressed the Court of Auditors' concern with regard to use of direct negotiated procedures and the application of more competitive tendering procedures; shares the Court's view that competitive tendering would be more beneficial for contracts for management services and audit; encourages the Commission to further increasmake the application of competitive tendering procedures mandatory with a view to seeking the best value for money and ensuring a level playing field between all market participants;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 277
Paragraph 277
277. Is concerned about the continuing decline in donor funding for the Palestinian Authority from both Member States and third countries but understands that there may be a temporary shortage in donations because of the crisis; notes with concern, furthermore, the Court of Auditors' finding that the Commission and the EEAS have not developed a clear strategy on how to reduce the Palestinian Authority's dependency on Union financial support; takes note of the political constraints which make it very difficult to effectively reduce the Palestinians' dependency on external aid, which is one of the preconditions for the establishment and sustainable development of a sovereign Palestinian state; encourages the Commission and the EEAS to continue the efforts to increase the Palestinian Authority's financial independence from outside sources by, for example, earmarking a greater proportion of Union aid to the Palestinian Authority to the productive sector, including the creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 278
Paragraph 278
278. NotesUrges the Commission and the EEAS to fully take into account the Court of Auditors' findings with regard to the absence of conditionality of the EU direct financial support to the Palestinian Authority which weakens the Commission's and EEAS's potential leverage towards more reforms; recognisnotes that the absence of conditionality is a political choice by the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States in line with their political objectives in the Middle East Peace Process; suggests, howev, but consider,s to introduce benchmarks such as hat this may need to be reviewed in view of increatsing functional institutthe effectiveness of Unions as an incentive for the Palestinian Authority to receive Union fundingid implementation in the region;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 278 a (new)
Paragraph 278 a (new)
278a. Calls, therefore, on the Commission and the EEAS to apply the "more for more" principle regarding the implementation of the PEGASE mechanism from now on and to closely monitor its disbursement;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 279
Paragraph 279
279. Is worried about the Court of Auditors' findings with regard to little progress made by the Palestinian Authority to reform the civil service and pension systems with a view to reducing the fiscal impact of the increasing numbers of staff and pensioners; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to engage with the Palestinian Authority without delay to address these structural issues, and to report regularly to Parliament and Council on the state of play;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 279 a (new)
Paragraph 279 a (new)
279a. Regrets, in accordance with the findings of the Court of Auditors, that the Commission and the EEAS have not paid sufficient attention to the fungibility of the PEGASE funding; expresses concern about the risks also mentioned by the Court of Auditors that PEGASE DFS is being used by the Palestinian Authority as a substitution for its own budget to support the Common Security Policy (CSP) component of its policies, including funding to police and security personnel which are not eligible for PEGASE DFS;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 279 b (new)
Paragraph 279 b (new)
279b. Urgently requests, in this context, a forensic auditing of the PEGASE DFS disbursement to ensure that none of its funding is disbursed or channelled illegally to ineligible groups, and insists on the Commission and the EEAS to raise this problem with the Palestinian Authority to prevent any further diversion of the PEGASE funding in 2014;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 279 c (new)
Paragraph 279 c (new)
279c. Insists that the Palestinian Authority's failure to comply with the agreed disbursement criteria of the PEGASE DFS shall lead to the temporary suspension thereof or even termination of the programme.
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 280
Paragraph 280
280. Takes note ofIs also preoccupied about the Court of Auditors' findings in respect of the increasing number of Palestinian Authority civil servants in Gaza who are receiving salaries from the PEGASE DFS but are not attending work; notes, furcommends, thermefore, the Court's recommendation to discontinue this funding; agrees, however, with the Commission's and the EEAS's view that the Palestinian Authority should continue supporting its workers in Gaza as a key element of maintaining the unity of a future Palestinian state as it is in line with the political decision by the Union to support the two state solution; recognises that in practical terms, these workers are neither allowed to work nor in a position to leave Gaza which is run by Hamas, a Union-listed terrorist organisation since 2003; urges the Commission and the EEAS to discuss this the payment of virtual civil servants does not comply with the PEGASE DFS objectives and constitutes a clear breach of its dissue with the Palestinian Authority and to take the Court of Auditors' concerns into considerationbursement criteria;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 280 a (new)
Paragraph 280 a (new)
280a. Urges the Commission and the EEAS to raise the issue concerning the necessity to establish a robust internal controlling mechanism to prevent further diversion of any public funding from its own budget or the PEGASE DFS to any physical or legal person representing or associated with Hamas, a Union-listed terrorist organisation since 2003, with the Palestinian Authority, without delay;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 283
Paragraph 283
283. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to fully take into consideration the Court of Auditors' findings, and conclusions and to fully implement its recommendations when reviewing the PEGASE DFS mechanism in the future;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 285 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 285 – point c a (new)
(ca) developing a robust internal controlling mechanism to ensure respect for the disbursement criteria and prevent any diversion of PEGASE DFS funding;