2019/2061(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. GPostpones its decision on grantsing the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Committee of the Regions for the financial year 2018;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18 b. Expresses serious concerns about the suspicion of the presence of amiante or other dangerous particules in the VMA building including the parking; deplores that the staff committee and the trade unions have note been informed about this issue; asks both Committees to carry out an inspection by an accredited external body before proceeding to the occupation of the VMA building and to inform the stakeholders and the Parliament’s Committees on Budgetary Control and Budget about the results;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18 c. Expresses serious concerns because of the confirmation of presence of asbestos in critical places of the VMA building including parking; deeply deplores that an inventory realised by an specialised external contractor was carried out in September 2019 just one month after the signature of the agreement with the Commission; deplores that the agreement was signed without informing all stakeholders in due time about the possibly presence of asbestos in the VMA building; also deplores that members and staff have not been informed about the situation and considers that it is not sufficient that the information has been published on the ESSC intranet where it is difficult to find;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)

18 d. Notes that the Committees received an asbestos-safe certificate for the VMA building in September 2019 and that this certificate specifies the building contains asbestos without risk for normal use of the building; taking into account especially that the next use of the building will not be normal use, but a situation of construction, is deeply concerned about the future developments on the issue;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)

18 e. Taking into account that the effects of prolonged and unsafe asbestos exposure on human health are well documented and are always a source of concern and alarm among the population in general; asks both Committees to carry out a policy of total and proactive transparency and information about the management of the situation before and after the effective occupation of the VMA building while at the same time avoiding unnecessary alarmism;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes th~~e administrativ~~at the agreement between the EESC, the Committee and the Commission, on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee concerning the exchange of the Commission's VMA building with the Committees' B 68/TRE 74 buildings for the common use of the EESC and the Committee; notes that the exchange will become effective on 16 September 2022; exchange of the Commission's VMA building for the Committees BEL68/TRE 74 buildings was signed on 28 August 2019; notes that the exchange will become effective on 16 September 2022; notes with concern that the main priority identified by the Committees' buildings policy is the geographical concentration of the buildings; notes with concern that this exchange results in a loss of office space of 10 440 m2 and, thus, a need to find extra offices to accommodate around 200 staff members after the exchange, which could not be entirely offset by alternative measures in the short-term such as densifying the use of space in the other buildings and increased teleworking, but will necessitate the purchase of another adjacent building to compensate this reduction; notes also the need to renovate the VMA building in the short to medium term; fears the consequences that this agreement will have not only for the finances of the Committee but also for the wellbeing of the concerned staff; regrets that the legal service has not been consulted on a matter of such scope and importance for the Committee;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Welcomes all the measures implemented so far to ensure adequate (cyber-)security standards; notes that, following the installation of the new equipment for access control and the IT Security actions, the related security standards have reached the same level as the standards of Parliament and the Commission;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Recognises the added value that free and open source software can bring to the Committee; underlines in particular its role in increasing transparency and avoiding vendor lock-in effects; recognises also its potential for security improvements as it permits the identification and fixing of weaknesses; recommends strongly any software developed for the Committee to be made publicly available under free and open-source software licence;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Regrets that the Committee does not yet have a legal framework to deal with harassment cases involving its members; reiterates the European Ombudsman's call on the institutions to adopt rules on harassment applicable to their members; ~~counts on~~asks the Committee to urgently adopt such rules, along the lines of the Parliament's Bureau Decision of 2 July 2018 on harassment complaints; calls on the Committee to report back on the follow-up to Parliament;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Ask~~Urges the Committee to strengthen its efforts related to the planned Code of Conduct for its members related to the prevention and fight of conflict of interests; asks the Committee to ensure the publication of the concerned rules and procedures on its websites;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Recalls its request1a for a mediation between the former internal auditor of the Committee and the Committee aiming at an amicable settlement in the ongoing dispute in the interest of both parties; acknowledges that at least one mediation meeting has been held in Parliament, together with meetings between the Committee and its former internal auditor; requests the appointed mediator to report back to Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control as soon as possible; _________________ 1aResolution (EU) 2019/1429 of the European Parliament of 26 March 2019 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section VII — Committee of the Regions (OJ L 249, 27.9.2019, p. 123).

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Regrets, as an overall remark, that chapter 10 ‘Administration’ of the 2018 Annual Report of the Court has a rather limited scope and conclusions, even if the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)Heading 5 'Administration' is considered low risk;

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Recognises the efforts of the EESC and the Committee resulting in an important reorganisation under a new strategy for a more resource efficient multilingualism; ~~note~~regrets that ~~during a limited period of time~~from 2014 to 2017 transfers of posts from the linguistic services to the services of Parliament needed to be compensated by an increased number of contractual staff; calls on the Committee to inform Parliament regularly on the related developments;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Notes an establishment plan of 538 staff members in 2018 (compared to 533 in 2017); welcomes the lower vacancy rate of posts in 2018 (less than 2 %) than in 2017 (approximately 2,5 %); welcomes very much that a workload assessment exercise was initiated in 2018 to have an overview of the efficient use of human resources in the Committee and to identify possible gaps; notes that the final report will be delivered in spring 2019; requests a follow- up of the situation in its next annual activity report;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Notes an establishment plan of 538 staff members in 2018 (compared to 533 in 2017); welcomes the lower vacancy rate of posts in 2018 (less than 2 %) than in 2017 (approximately 2,5 %); welcomes that a workload assessment exercise was initiated in 2018 to have an overview of the efficient use of human resources in the Committee and to identify possible gaps; notes that the final report w~~ill be~~as delivered in spring 2019; requests a detailed follow-up of the situation in its next annual activity report;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29 a. Welcomes that the absenteeism rate has decreased over the years (from 4,86 % in 2015 to 4,6 % in 2016 to 4,5 % in 2017 and 4,29 % in 2018); notes, however, that 23 staff members were on sick leave for more than 90 days in 2018, including three cases which respectively lasted 352, 296.5, and 280.5 days and corresponded to serious illnesses; acknowledges the Committee’s comprehensive policy on absence management, including follow-up of absences and the implementation of a structured return-to-work policy;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Notes with interest that the Committee adopted an integrated talent management strategy covering a wide range of areas and policies for ultimately contributing to staff performance and staff commitment; notes that the level of deputy heads of unit, heads of sector and team leaders has been officially recognised as a new management level and that the Committee organised related in-house trainings;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Reiterates the need to streamline and ~~speed up~~improve the discharge procedure; proposes in this regard to set a deadline for the submission of the annual activity reports of 31 March of the year following the accounting year; welcomes the ~~Committee’s readiness~~readiness of the Committee to follow this best practise which shwould ~~help to support the request to shorten the timeline for~~provide the discharge authority with more time to go in depth and better conduct the discharge procedure;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)

35 a. Notes that the cooperation agreement between the Committee and the EESC, signed in 2016, established a firm legal framework for long-term, efficient and effective cooperation, and also demonstrates that the two Committees are acting in partnership while respecting each other's powers and prerogatives; notes that the agreement ended on 31 December 2019 and it has been decided to extend it for one year while a new agreement is being negotiated; asks both Committees to make the necessary efforts to conclude it as soon as possible in order to allow further synergies and savings;

Amendment 27 #

Cristian GHINEA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER, Olivier CHASTEL, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)

35 b. Recalls that once again the Committee, together with the EESC, dedicated less than 3 % of their total budget to IT and that IT projects and equipment have suffered from structurally underfinancing for several years; notes with concern that in order to address their backlog with respect to IT projects and systems, the two Committees continue to use mopping-up exercises at the end of the year to finance IT projects; asks the two Committees to implement as soon as possible the new digital strategy and multiannual IT expenditure plan;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

37. Congratulates the Committee on its e-learning training with a specific area dedicated to ethics designed mainly for newcomers and placed on the first page of the Committee's intranet for easy access for all; appreciates the publication of whistleblowing procedures, occupational activities of former senior officials, etc. on the Committee’s website in the context of transparency; encourages the Committee to continue a real policy for the digitalization of its services;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37 a. Recalls that on 23 August 2018 a former internal auditor lodged a complaint with the appointing authority against the Committee on the basis of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulation, following the Committee's decision of 24 May 2018 to refuse to recognise him as a bona fide whistleblower; deeply regrets the Committee’s decision that is in contradiction with Parliament's position that the internal auditor is a bona fide whistleblower, confirmed in Parliament’s resolution of 13 January 2004; encourages the Committee to fully recognise the internal auditor's status and to publicly apologise for the mishandling of his case;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the Court selected a sample of 45 transactions from the Multiannual Financial Framework (MMF) Heading 5 'Administration' of all Union institutions and bodies; notes that the sample was designed to be representative of the range of spending under Heading 5, which represents 6,3 % of the Union budget; notes that the Court’s work indicates administrative expenditure as low risk; considers however the amount of transactions selected in relation to the 'other institutions' as not sufficient and asks the Court to increase the number of transactions to be examined by 10 % at least;deleted

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 b (new)

37 b. Notes that on 20 December 2019, the Committee made a proposal to the formal internal auditor for an out of court settlement subject to a non-disclosure agreement, which was rejected by the former internal auditor based on the lack of transparency; encourages the Committee to revise its proposal in order to formally recognise the formal internal auditor as a bona fide whistleblower and to allow any conciliation agreement to be public in the interest of transparency;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 c (new)

37 c. Regrets that the launch of a mediation process between the Committee and the former internal auditor, requested in Resolution (EU) 2019/14291a, has not taken place yet and is only planned for the beginning of 2020; further regrets that it took over twenty years for the Committee to enter into a mediation process with the former internal auditor; reiterates its strong support, as expressed in numerous Parliament's resolutions, for the just and fair settlement with the former internal auditor and Committee's public apology for its wrongdoings in handling of this case; _________________ 1aResolution (EU) 2019/1429 of the European Parliament of 26 March 2019 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, Section VII — Committee of the Regions (OJ L 249, 27.9.2019, p. 123).

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)

40 a. Welcomes the appointment of MEP Sophie in t’Veld as mediator in the case of the former internal auditor with a view to reaching a compromise settlement in the case; reminds of its request that such a mediation should also address the bona-fide whistleblower status of the former internal auditor (as recognised by Parliament in its 2004 discharge resolution) and the fact that he was acting in the interests of the Union by reporting wrongdoings within the Union institutions.

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 b (new)

40 b. Notes the decision of the third invalidity committee that unanimously confirms that the internatl auditor was invalided out on occupational grounds and was subjected to a process of mobbing by the Committee;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 c (new)

40 c. Notes that on 20 December 2019, the Committee presented a proposal for an out of court settlement and a draft public statement, which was rejected by the former internal auditor, who expressed the wish for a mediation process to be activated as the most appropriate vehicle for a fair resolution of the case;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 d (new)

40 d. Requests that the Committees promptly accept the mediation in order to implement the decision by the third invalidity committee, taking all necessary measures as to respond to requests by Parliament in its previous resolutions;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Stresses the importance of promoting the involvement of regional and local authorities given their role in the implementation of Union policies;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Underlines the importance of the cooperation with the Parliament and the adoption of a cooperation agreement in 2014; stresses, however, that this agreement must be updated to face today’s challenges such as the new Multiannual Financial Framework and the new cohesion policy rules; stresses that a deeper cooperation will be required in order to better promote the Committee’s priorities; underlines also the benefit of budgetary savings achieved through the cooperation and that the main impact on the Committee’s budget is connected to the gradual transfer of staff to the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); Notes that the administrative cooperation agreement entered into between the Committee, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) (jointly the 'Committees') and Parliament in 2014 came to end on 31 December 2019; notes that until now the 2014 agreement has not been renegotiated or extended; is of the opinion that the 2014 agreement was very unbalanced for the Committees that transferred in total 60 translators to Parliament (36 from the EESC) and in exchange only got to use the services of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); notes with concern that as a consequence the Committees had to hire contract staff and outsource the translation service; notes with concern that Parliament to compensate for the reduction in translation staff provides an additional amount (EUR 1 200 000 since 2015 to 2016) to the EESC and the Committee to cover the outsourcing of the translation services which amount can be reallocated to other policy areas if they are not fully used for outsourced translation (the EESC used this reallocation possibility in the last three years); is of the opinion that these circumstances do not align with the criteria of overall prudent and sound financial management and should be reconsidered in case of extension of the present contract or negotiation of a new agreement; recognise that from a political point of view, the agreement must be updated to face today’s challenges, such as the new Multiannual Financial Framework or the new cohesion policy rules among others;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Appreciates the Committee’s success on social media with 12 658 page likes on Facebook in 2018 (compared to 9 013 in 2017) and 3 727 followers on Twitter in 2018 (compared to 3 425 in 2017); acknowledges the successful use of the online survey/mobile app 'Have your say on Europe!' across the Union; congratulates the Committee with its new website with 101 983 page views in 2018 (compared to 43 748 in 2017); welcomes the open online course (MOOC) in January 2018 under the headline “make the most of EU resources for your region or city” with almost 15 000 participants (compared to 8 500 in 2015 and 5 500 in 2016); further encourages the use of free open-sources self-hosted social network platforms, having special regards to users' data protection;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Welcomes the Committee's achievement in increasing its publication of studies, amounting 27 and surpassing the target of 15; notes that all studies have been published on the Committee’s website and are, therefore, accessible to the public;

Amendment 9 #