2019/2083(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

Olivier CHASTEL, Morten PETERSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the important role of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (‘the Agency’), commonly referred to as Frontex, in promoting, coordinating and developing European integrated border management in full respect of fundamental rights;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Nnotes the continuously high level of carry-overs to 2019 (EUR 83 million EUR or 29 %) and cancelled budget carry- overs (EUR 11 million or 12 %), which were linked to the challenges in meeting the establishment plan, the delay in the launch of the building of the new premises and the multi-annual nature of ICT projects and the overestimation of the scale and cost of activities by cooperating countries; expects the Agency and the cooperating states to improve their budget estimates with a view to decrease the carry-overs in 2019; welcomes the fact that the Agency has adopted new rules on whistleblowing, launched a new simplified financing scheme, introduced an ex-post control system covering all types of expenditure and modified its system of ex-ante checks; regrets, however, that the Agency has still not addressed the problem reported by the Court since 2014 with regard to insufficient proof of actual costs for equipment-related expenditure claimed by cooperating Member States; notes the steps taken by the Agency to address this issue but urges the Agency to adequately respond to the comments of the Court given that equipment-related expenditure amounted to EUR 60 million or 35 % of the Agency’s operational expenditure in 2018;

Amendment 11 #

Morten PETERSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls on the Agency to make more realistic estimates of its service needs in tender documents and apply rigorous financial management to contracts; reminds the Agency that, while framework contracts do not constitute an obligation to purchase up to the maximum contract value, the considerable difference between the maximum value of the contract in one procurement procedure in 2018 (EUR 8 million) and the winning offer (EUR 5,8 million) could create a significant risk to sound financial management;

Amendment 13 #

Nicola PROCACCINI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Considers that the Agency should strengthen ex-ante verifications and reintroduce ex-post verifications to make sure that only substantiated costs are reimbursed in order to avoid the situation whereby financial resources allocated under the Union budget are not dispersed;

Amendment 14 #

Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Robert ROOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Calls on~~Urges the Agency to take corrective action with regard to all ~~outstanding~~the observations of the Court, including the adoption and implementation of a sensitive posts policy in line with its own internal control standards;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Recalls the observation of the Court that, since 2015, there is an unaddressed risk of double funding from the Internal Security Fund, managed by the Commission, and Agency funding; calls, to that end, for the implementation of corrective actions without further delay;

Amendment 16 #

Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Robert ROOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Calls on the Agency to follow up on the outstanding recommendation regarding e-procurement, namely the introduction of e-submission, without delay;

Amendment 17 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Morten PETERSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Reiterates the persisting significant gender imbalance in the Agency’s management board; urges that this imbalance is remedied as soon as possible; calls therefore on the Agency to proactively remind Member States of the importance of gender balance and on Member States to take gender balance into consideration when nominating their members to the management board;deleted

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. RNotes the lack of information on gender balance within the staff of the Agency; reiterates the persisting significant gender imbalance in the Agency’s management board; urges that this imbalance is remedied as soon as possible; calls therefore on the Agency to proactively remind Member States of the importance of gender balance and on Member States to take gender balance into consideration when nominating their members to the management board;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Reiterates the persisting significant gender imbalance in the Agency’s management board; urges that this imbalance is remedied as soon as possible; calls therefore on the Agency to proactively remind Member States of the importance of gender balance and on Member States to ~~tak~~ensure gender balance ~~into consideration~~ when nominating their members to the Agency’s management board;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Reiterates its call on the Agency to ~~be more~~ensure full transparen~~t about~~cy in its activities; welcomes the creation of a section devoted to public access to documents on its website; urges the Agency to create a register of documents, which it is legally obliged to have under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 ; _________________ 1Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (HL L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the Agency should proactively provide information regarding its operational activities ~~in order to protect it from unfounded accusations~~; invites the Agency to come to the LIBE committee to fulfil its specific reporting duties towards Members of the European Parliament by providing regular detailed briefings~~, where necessary in a non-public setting~~ ; calls on the Agency to make the report on the practical application of Regulation (EU) No 656/20142 for the year 2018 available, as it is legally obliged to do, and to provide more tangible information in the future to allow for a proper assessment of the Agency’s activities at sea. _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (HL L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 93).

Amendment 22 #

Pernando BARRENA ARZA, Clare DALY, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the Agency should proactively provide information regarding its operational activities ~~in order to protect it from unfounded accusations~~; invites the Agency to come to the LIBE committee to fulfil its specific reporting duties towards Members of the European Parliament by providing regular detailed briefings, where necessary in a non-public setting; calls on the Agency to make the report on the practical application of Regulation (EU) No 656/20142 for the year 2018 available, as it is legally obliged to do, and to provide more tangible information in the future to allow for a proper assessment of the Agency’s activities at sea. _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (HL L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 93).

Amendment 23 #

Caterina CHINNICI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the Agency should proactively provide information regarding its operational activities ~~in order to protect it from unfounded accusations~~; invites the Agency to come to the LIBE committee to fulfil its specific reporting duties towards Members of the European Parliament by providing regular detailed briefings, where necessary in a non-public setting; calls on the Agency to make the report on the practical application of Regulation (EU) No 656/20142 for the year 2018 available, as it is legally obliged to do, and to provide more tangible information in the future to allow for a proper assessment of the Agency’s activities at sea. _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (HL L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 93).

Amendment 24 #

Nicola PROCACCINI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that the Agency should proactively provide information regarding its operational activities in order to protect it from ~~unfounded~~ accusations; invites the Agency to come to the LIBE committee to fulfil its specific reporting duties towards Members of the European Parliament by providing regular detailed briefings, where necessary in a non-public setting; calls on the Agency to make the report on the practical application of Regulation (EU) No 656/20142 for the year 2018 available, as it is legally obliged to do, and to provide more tangible information in the future to allow for a proper assessment of the Agency’s activities at sea. _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing rules for the surveillance of the external sea borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (HL L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 93).

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Recalls that, in accordance with point (b) of Article 22(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, the coordinating officer of the Agency is to monitor the correct implementation of the operational plan, including as regards the protection of fundamental rights, and report to the Agency thereon; urgently calls, in that regard, for systematic reporting on violations of fundamental rights that occurred at borders where the Agency is present, including where those violations were committed by officers who do not belong to the Agency, as it has an impact on the overall respect of fundamental rights of European border and coast guard operations; calls for particular attention to be paid to potential push-backs and violence; urges the Agency to report those violations to the fundamental rights officer, who should take appropriate action, including possible suspension of European border and coast guard operations in area concerned; _________________ 1aRegulation (EU) 2016/1624 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 on the European Border and Coast Guard and amending Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 863/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 and Council Decision 2005/267/EC (OJ L 251, 16.9.2016, p. 1).

Amendment 3 #

Nicola PROCACCINI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Welcomes the activities carried out by the Agency with the aim of managing the migratory pressure and detecting potential threats at the external borders of the Union, thus contributing to the fight against organised crime and to increasing the level of security and safety; regrets that such activities are not always successful since they are not part of a winning Union strategy on migration;

Amendment 4 #

Morten PETERSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes the slight budget increase to EUR 289 million (an increase of 2 %), of which EUR 171 million or 59 % was assigned to financing agreements with cooperating countries for operational activities; reminds that the management board reduced the initial budget for 2018 by EUR 31,5 million by means of two amending budgets to respond to the lower needs linked to recruitment challenges and savings in return and operational response; recalls the fact that the objective of safer borders in the Union is essential to ensuring the security of Union citizens and of third-country nationals;

Amendment 5 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Morten PETERSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcom~~Stresses the fact that the Agency managed to substantially increase its staff from 526 to 630 (an increase of 20 %) in 2018; ~~regret~~notes, however, that ~~the number stayed well below (17 % less than) the~~it did not achieve the number of 760 staff authorised in the establishment plan for 2018; expresses its concern over the high staff turnover and the continuous difficulties of the Agency to find suitable candidates; ~~acknowledges that the low salary correction coefficient contributes to the problem~~deeply deplores that, despite repeated calls of Parliament and a significant overall staff increase for the Agency, the fundamental rights officer still lacks adequate human resources and is therefore ~~welcomes the intention to consider social measures to address this problem; notes in this regard that the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of E~~clearly hampered in her or his efforts to properly conduct the tasks with which she or he is entrusted; urges the Agency to provide its fundamental rights officer with adequate resources and staff, in particular for further developing and imployement of Other Servants of the European Union offer the necessary flexibility for labour market conditions prevailing in the Union to be taken into account when recruiting officials in order to address the specific needs of the instituting the Agency’s strategy to monitor and ensure the protection of fundamental rights; reminds the Agency of the importance of adhering to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Unions; notes that the Court has identified a horizontal trend across agencies in the use of external staff hired in IT consultancy roles; calls for this dependency on external recruitment in this important area to be addressed; calls on the Agency to publish vacancy notices on the European Personnel Selection Office website to increase their visibility;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the fact that the Agency managed to substantially increase its staff from 526 to 630 (an increase of 20 %) in 2018; regrets, however, that the number stayed well below (17 % less than) the 760 staff authorised in the establishment plan for 2018; expresses its concern over the high staff turnover and the continuous difficulties of the Agency to find suitable candidates; acknowledges that the low salary correction coefficient contributes to the problem and therefore welcomes the intention to consider social measures to address this problem; notes in this regard that the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union offer the necessary flexibility for labour market conditions prevailing in the Union to be taken into account when recruiting officials in order to address the specific needs of the institutions; notes that the Court has identified a horizontal trend across agencies in the use of external staff hired in IT consultancy roles; calls for this dependency on external recruitment in this important area to be addressed; notes the Agency's effort to promote its job offers through online communication channels and calls on the Agency to publish vacancy notices on the European Personnel Selection Office website to increase their visibility;

Amendment 7 #

Pernando BARRENA ARZA, Clare DALY, Konstantinos ARVANITIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Nnotes the continuously high level of carry-overs to 2019 (EUR 83 million EUR or 29 %) and cancelled budget carry- overs (EUR 11 million or 12 %), which were linked to the challenges in meeting the establishment plan, the delay in the launch of the building of the new premises and the multi-annual nature of ICT projects and the overestimation of the scale and cost of activities by cooperating countries; expects the Agency and the cooperating states to improve their budget estimates with a view to decrease the carry-overs in 2019; welcomes the fact that the Agency has adopted new rules on whistleblowing, launched a new simplified financing scheme, introduced an ex-post control system covering all types of expenditure and modified its system of ex-ante checks; regrets, however, that the Agency has still not addressed the problem reported by the Court since 2014 with regard to insufficient proof of actual costs for equipment-related expenditure claimed by cooperating Member States; notes the ssince 2014 the Court has consistently reported that expenditure claimed by cooperating countries is not always supported by invoices or other evidence, but is nevertheless reimbursed; noteps t~~aken by~~hat the Agency has still noto addressed this issue ~~but~~; urges the Agency to adequately respond to the ~~comment~~observations of the Court on the legality and regularity of transactions given that equipment-related expenditure amounted to EUR 60 million or 35 % of the Agency’s operational expenditure in 2018;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Nnotes the continuously high level of carry-overs to 2019 (EUR 83 million EUR or 29 %) and cancelled budget carry- overs (EUR 11 million or 12 %), which were linked to the challenges in meeting the establishment plan, the delay in the launch of the building of the new premises and the multi-annual nature of ICT projects and the overestimation of the scale and cost of activities by cooperating countries; expresses its concerns as regards the part of the budget that could not be absorbed by the Agency; expects the Agency and the cooperating states to improve their budget estimates with a view to decrease the carry- overs in 2019; welcomes the fact that the Agency has adopted new rules on whistleblowing, launched a new simplified financing scheme, introduced an ex-post control system covering all types of expenditure and modified its system of ex- ante checks; regrets, however, that the Agency has still not addressed the problem reported by the Court since 2014 with regard to insufficient proof of actual costs for equipment-related expenditure claimed by cooperating Member States; notes the steps taken by the Agency to address this issue but urges the Agency to adequately respond to the comments of the Court given that equipment-related expenditure amounted to EUR 60 million or 35 % of the Agency’s operational expenditure in 2018;

Amendment 9 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

source: 644.914

2020/02/03 CONT 36 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2018 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for the financial year 2018;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes from the Court’s report that in 2018 the Agency had financing agreements with cooperating countries for operational activities, representing 59 % of the Agency’s budget; notes the launch of a new simplified financing scheme based largely on unit costs for expenditure related to deployments of human resources, and, in late 2018, of a new ex-post control system covering all types of expenditure and also the modification of its system of ex-ante checks embedded in the financial circuits; ~~highlights~~underlines with alarm the Court’s ~~emphasis~~finding that the reimbursement of equipment- related expenditure is still based on actual cost ~~and that the~~contrary to the Agency’s project to move to unit-cost based reimbursements ~~is still~~, which still proves to be unsuccessful; furthermore, notes with concern the Court’s observation that since 2014 the proof of actual costs claimed by cooperating countries for equipment- related costs is still insufficient and that the Agency’s ex-ante verifications of these costs are ineffective if they are not substantiated by supporting documents; ~~notes~~observes with concern the absence of ex- post verifications on reimbursements by the Agency, further increasing the risk of unjustified cost reimbursements; urges the Agency to put in place effective ex-post verifications on reimbursements as soon as possible;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Regrets that since 2014 the Court has consistently reported that expenditure claimed by cooperating countries is not always supported by proper invoices or other evidence, but is nevertheless reimbursed; notes with concern that the Agency has still not addressed this issue; urges the Agency to adequately respond to the observations of the Court on the legality and regularity of transactions given that equipment-related expenditure amounted to EUR 60 million or 35 % of the Agency’s operational expenditure in 2018 and introduce fully functioning ex- post verifications of reimbursements;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes from the Court’s report that the Agency’s budget carry-overs to 2019 amounted to EUR 83 000 000 (29 %), slightly lower than in the previous year; notes that the rate of cancelled carry-overs to 2018 was EUR 11 000 000 (12 %), somewhat lower in relative terms than the previous year; notes that the main reasons for carry-overs and cancellations were the challenges with the staff establishment plan by number and profile of staff, the delay to the launch of the building project for the Agency’s new premises, the multi-annual nature of information and communications technology projects, and the overestimation of the scale and cost of activities from cooperating countries; notes the Agency’s reply that in 2018 operational expenditures were mainly in the form of grants, covering the operation cycle from February N to January N+1, as well as expenditures from contracts with payment in N+1; ~~calls on~~urges the Agency, together with cooperating countries, to strive for more precise costs estimates and budget forecasts;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Agency to make more realistic estimates of its service needs in tender documents and apply rigorous financial management to contracts; reminds the Agency that, while framework contracts do not constitute an obligation to purchase up to the maximum contract value, the considerable difference between the maximum value of the contract in one procurement procedure in 2018 (EUR 8 million) and the winning offer (EUR 5,8million) could create a significant risk to sound financial management;

Amendment 14 #

Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that, following the management board’s approval of the reorganisation of the Agency structures in 2017 affecting the allocation of resources, an updated structure was adopted in 2018 and completed by new internal rules of procedure as well as by delegations and sub-delegations that were formalised by the decision of the executive director;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 16 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Ryszard Antoni LEGUTKO, Raffaele FITTO, Joachim Stanisław BRUDZIŃSKI, Patryk JAKI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses the important role of the Agency in promoting, coordinating and developing European integrated border management in full respect of fundamental rights;

Amendment 17 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that in the context of the European integrated border management, the largest operational activities were the 12 joint operations at the external land, air and sea borders while the main operational focus in 2018 was on the Central, Eastern and Western Mediterranean areas which experienced the most significant migratory pressure; furthermore, notes the interagency cooperation, especially in the field of coastguard function but also in the field of customs and law enforcement cooperation; ~~notes that~~urges the Agency ito brisk up and secure quality of its work~~ing~~ towards setting proper quantitative objectives and specific target values for the joint operations, which are expected to be included in the Single Programming Document 2021-2023;

Amendment 18 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that in the context of the European integrated border management, the largest operational activities were the 12 joint operations at the external land, air and sea borders while the main operational focus in 2018 was on the Central, Eastern and Western Mediterranean areas which experienced the most significant migratory pressure; furthermore, ~~notes th~~welcomes the close interagency cooperation, especially in the field of coastguard function but also in the field of customs and law enforcement cooperation; notes that the Agency is working towards setting proper quantitative objectives and specific target values for the joint operations expected to be included in the Single Programming Document 2021-2023;

Amendment 19 #

Jean-François JALKH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that current policy can only lead to trouble and that it is therefore time to implement a firm policy, such as that pursued by Australia, where no immigrants without visas are admitted into the country; calls, therefore, on the EU and the Member States to enter into negotiations with third countries of origin and transit in order to facilitate and ensure effective implementation of readmission agreements;

Amendment 2 #

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

Amendment 20 #

Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Notes with concern that the Court found in its Special Report No 24/2019 that implementation of the asylum procedures, especially in Greece and Italy, continues to be affected by long processing times, bottlenecks and a lack of judiciary capacity; asks the Agency to seek cooperation with European Asylum Support Office, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, and the Commission in line with the Court's recommendations;

Amendment 21 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Notes furthermore from the Court’s report that although the Agency continued further recruitment efforts and increased the number of staff from 526 to 630 in 2018, it still did not achieve the number of 760 staff authorised set out in its 2018 establishment plan; notes the Agency’s reply that a total of 187 vacant posts were filled, but that due to a high internal and external turnover, the net staff increase in 2018 as compared to 2017 was 117 since many posts had become vacant during the year; notes furthermore that the Agency faces challenges in attracting a large number of suitable external candidates and achieving a sound geographical balance mainly due to the low correction coefficient, which is the lowest among all the Union agencies; stresses that agencies located in countries where a low correction coefficient is applied should receive further support from the Commission in implementing complementary measures in order to make them more attractive to current and prospective staff; calls on the Commission to assess the impact and viability of applying salary correction coefficients in the future; notes that the Agency continues to have difficulties in maintaining a desirable sound geographical balance in staff deployed;

Amendment 22 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that 2018 was the third year of the five-year growth plan following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2016/1624 that significantly increased resources in the area of budget and staff; notes that, following the extension of its mandate, the Agency’s staff is to reach 1 000 by 2020; notes in light of comments and observations from the discharge authority which stressed that the planned increase in staff would require additional office space, that an analysis to identify the optimal real- estate strategy is under preparation ~~and is expected to commit the budgetary authority in the fourth quarter 2019 or first quarter of 2020~~;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Notes, in light of com~~Deplores that, despite repeated calls from Parliaments and ~~observations from the discharge authority related to the need to provide~~a significant overall staff increase for the Agency’s, the fundamental rights officer ~~with~~still lacks adequate human resources and staff and to upgrade the fundamental rights policy within the organisation, that the number of posts fully earmarked to fundamental rights issues increased from 2 to 10 over the period 2016-2019; notes that the budget allocated to fundamental rights was multiplied by eleven over the period 2014- 2019, and that the continuity of the funcis therefore clearly hampered in her or his efforts to properly conduct the tasks with which she or he is entrusted; urges the Agency to provide its fundamental rights officer with adequate resources and staff, in particular for further developing and implementing the Agency’s strategy to monitor and ensure the protection of fundamental rights; reminds the Agency of the importance of adhering to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of ~~fundamental rights officer has been ensured;~~ Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC)No 259/681a; _________________ 1a OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1.

Amendment 24 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes, in light of comments and observations from the discharge authority related to the need to develop a comprehensive business continuity plan, that a business continuity officer was nominated in 2018 ~~and an ad interim business continuity policy and business continuity plan will be adopted by the end of 2019~~;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Notes that the Court has identified a horizontal trend across agencies in the use of external staff hired in IT consultancy roles; calls for the dependency on external recruitment in this important and sensitive area to be reduced as much as possible to limit any potential risks;

Amendment 26 #

Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Notes with concern that the reported gender balance within the management board for 2018 was highly uneven: 50 male members and 8 female members;

Amendment 27 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Petri SARVAMAA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Notes with appreciation that the Agency participates actively in inter- institutional tenders led by other institutions, and that, in the procurement procedures of the maritime surveillance domain, the Agency seeks cooperation with Union agencies with similar activities and prepares the terms of reference accordingly; notes furthermore that in 2018 the Agency has handled its first Agency’s led inter-institutional tender procedure with the European Fisheries Control Agency; strongly encourages the Agency to actively seek further and broader cooperation with all of the Union agencies;

Amendment 28 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 29 #

Jean-François JALKH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Notes with concern the launch by Frontex of a call for tenders for the purchase of maritime surveillance drones, the technical criteria of which de facto exclude European companies; points out that drone technology is of strategic importance for the EU and the Member States and that the EU's agencies should favour European companies when placing orders;

Amendment 3 #

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

Amendment 30 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. A~~cknowledg~~ppreciates the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and whistle-blower protection; notes that the whistleblowing policy was adopted on 18 July 2019; welcomes the fact that the Agency provides staff with access to confidential counsellors and trainings concerning whistle-blowing procedures; furthermore, notes that with the aim of being more transparent, the Agency launched a multilingual version of its website in all 24 official languages of the Union and that the communication strategy will be adopted by the end of 2019; regrets however that the Agency publishes statements of commitment, declaring the absence of conflict of interest for the members of the management board, the executive director, and the deputy executive director, and not declarations of interest; recalls that it is not for the members of the management board, the executive director, and the deputy executive director to declare themselves in absence of conflict of interest; calls on the Agency, with the aim to increase transparency, to publish the CVs and declarations of interest for all members of its management board, the executive director, and the deputy executive director, by June 2020;

Amendment 31 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI

15. Acknowledges the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and whistle-blower protection; notes that the whistleblowing policy was adopted on 18 July 2019; furthermore, notes that with the aim of being more transparent, the Agency launched a multilingual version of its website in all 24 official languages of the Union ~~and that the communication strategy will be adopted by the end of 2019~~;

Amendment 32 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes with concern from the Court’s report that the Agency does not have a sensitive post policy that would identify sensitive functions, keep them updated and define appropriate measures to mitigate the risks of vested interests; calls on the Agency to adopt and implement such a policy to be in line with the Agency’s internal control standards; acknowledges from the Agency's reply that at the end of 2019 the Agency was finalising the process of adopting a sensitive post policy;

Amendment 33 #

Andrey NOVAKOV

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes with concern from the Court’s report that the Agency does not have a sensitive post policy that would identify sensitive functions, keep them updated and define appropriate measures to mitigate the risks of vested interests; ~~calls~~welcomes the reply onf the Agency ~~to adopt and implemen~~and its preparedness to adopt such a policy ~~to be in line with the Agency’s internal control standards~~as soon as feasible;

Amendment 34 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Observes~~Welcomes that, in light of comments and observations from the discharge authority related to the construction of the new headquarters building and the establishment of a European school in Warsaw, that in 2019 an adequate plot of land was attributed to the Agency by the Polish authorities and planning is ongoing to build a purpose- designed premises of the Agency’s headquarters by the end of 2024, and that the board of governors of European schools is to be proposed by Polish authorities in Autumn 2019 to consider accreditation of a Warsaw associate European school of type II, which would be operational partly as from the 2020- 2021 academic year;

Amendment 35 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Calls upon the Agency to consider revising the number of funded projects in the future; further notes that a smaller number of grander and well-funded projects shall greatly clarify the area of operation of the Agency, and make it easier for the general public to comprehend its benefits;

Amendment 36 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19 b. Calls upon the Agency to aim its focus on disseminating the results of its research to the general public, and to reach out to public via the social media and other media outlets;

Amendment 4 #

Andrey NOVAKOV, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Petri SARVAMAA

Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year ~~2018 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year~~ 2018;

Amendment 5 #

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Cristian GHINEA, Katalin CSEH, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast ~~Guard Agency for the financial year 2018 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast~~ Guard Agency for the financial year 2018;

Amendment 6 #

Lara WOLTERS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

- having regard to Court of Auditors' Special Report No 24/2019: Asylum, relocation and return of migrants: Time to step up action to address disparities between objectives and results,

Amendment 7 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes from the Court’s report that 3. in 2018 the Agency had financing agreements with cooperating countries for operational activities, representing 59 % of the Agency’s budget; notes the launch of a new simplified financing scheme based largely on unit costs for expenditure related to deployments of human resources, and, in late 2018, of a new ex-post control system covering all types of expenditure and also the modification of its system of ex-ante checks embedded in the financial circuits; highlights the Court’s emphasis that the reimbursement of equipment-related expenditure is still based on actual cost and that the project to move to unit-cost based reimbursements is still unsuccessful; furthermore, notes with concern the Court’s observation that since 2014 the proof of actual costs claimed by cooperating countries for equipment- related costs is still insufficient and that the Agency’s ex-ante verifications of these costs are ineffective if they are not substantiated by supporting documents; notes the absence of ex-post verifications on reimbursements by the Agency, further increasing the risk of unjustified cost reimbursements; notes with concern that the Agency allowed several reimbursements for expenditures claimed by cooperating countries in spite of the latter not providing the evidence indicated and required by the Agency; acknowledges from the Agency's reply that supporting documents indicating detailed costs were submitted by the cooperating countries in question; calls on the Agency to clearly indicate in the future the type of supporting documents it accepts as required evidence; further calls on the Agency to only reimburse legally justified expenditure; expects the Agency to rapidly introduce solid ex-post verifications on reimbursements and to report to the discharge authority on the progress made in this regard by June 2020;

Amendment 8 #