2024/2030(DEC) | [ParlTrack]

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on EU Agencies to review and evaluate the intensity of work, taking into account the proportion of internal staff and national experts and their respective functions; recalls the importance of providing these Agencies with the necessary technical and human resources to fulfil their tasks.

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes the Court’s observations for agencies concern shortcomings in public procurement procedures, management and control systems and budgetary management and that weaknesses in public procurement procedures remain the main source of irregular payments;

Amendment 17 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Appreciates the five agencies’ efforts to further develop their digital and online communication in order to increase their visibility and raise awareness of their high-impact work;

Amendment 18 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Highlights the necessity for the Agency to report on the specific impacts and significant improvements achieved through its work;

Amendment 19 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Recalls that the EU Agencies have a duty to promote stability in employment; calls, therefore, for all permanent needs to be matched with permanent employment relationships, thus guaranteeing job security for workers and the necessary resources for the agencies to fulfil their functions;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Expresses its satisfaction that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has declared the transactions underlying the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), the European Training Foundation (ETF), and the European Labour Authority (ELA) annual accounts for the financial year 2023 to be overall legal and regular, and that their financial position as at 31 December 2023 is fairly representedDenounces that the multiplication of EU agencies, including those in the fields of employment and social affairs, goes against the principle of proportionality established in the Treaty on European Union;

Amendment 20 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Recommends that, in the absence of demonstrable improvements, a thorough evaluation of the EU Agencies necessity and efficiency is to be conducted;

Amendment 21 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Underlines the need for concrete, tangible and measurable outcomes and that complete transparency about the improvements resulting from the Agencies activities is essential to enhance citizens trust in the European Union;

Amendment 22 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Recalls that from the year 2000 onwards, thirty-two out of forty-three agencies have been set up, including one on employment and social affairs;

Amendment 23 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Acknowledges that the high inflation rate in 2023, and the related increase in various costs and utilities, affects significantly the agencies’ budget dedicated to operational expenditure, in particular for agencies located in Member States experiencing the highest inflation rateRecalls the warning issued by the European Court of Auditors’ Annual report that there is a high operational expenditure risk in EU agencies, including those relating to employment and social affairs;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Welcomes the agencies’ efforts to implement policies on diversity and inclusiveness, particularly when it comes to persons with disabilities; encourages the agencies to enhance comparable data collection on the employment of persons with disabilities;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point 1 (new)

(1) Recognise the progress made within the Agencies towards gender balance within their staff: calls for further efforts to ensure gender balance also at the senior management level and to mainstream gender in all their activities;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point 2 (new)

(2) Calls for the Commission to ensure that the Agencies have sufficient funds to implement effective, inclusive and cross-sectoral Social Dialogue within the European Union with the aim of supporting social and economic progress, ensuring equal opportunities for all, quality jobs and fair working conditions, reducing poverty and inequalities and fostering a just and fair transition to climate-neutrality, as well as the ability to support dialogue and capacity building of social partners in the accession countries;

Amendment 27 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Recalls the importance of health and safety at work, which should not be jeopardised by the increase in the cost of living; calls on all EU Agencies to meet the highest standards of health and safety at work and to ensure that workers have access to their annual medical examination by reviewing procedures, measures and allocation of resources accordingly, including the necessary professional training;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Acknowledges that the total budget of the agencies, including those in the fields of employment and social affairs, amounts to 12% of the EU’s general budget;

Amendment 29 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Commends the Agency for the achievement of 95 % of its annual work programme, with 36 out of 38 outputs delivered in 2023;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Expresses its satisfaction that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has declared the ~~transactions~~revenue underlying the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), the European Training Foundation (ETF), and the European Labour Authority (ELA) annual accounts for the financial year 2023 to be overall legal and regular, and that their financial position as at 31 December 2023 is fairly represented;

Amendment 30 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Appreciates the Foundation’s work on enhancing and disseminating knowledge, and providing evidence-based expertise to support the development of better informed social, employment and work-related policies in Europe, to analyse policy options to improve working conditions, industrial relations, employment and living, and to produce expertise on right to disconnect, telework, hybrid work and related impacts on work– life balance and quality of working conditionsNotes that Eurofound’s budget has increased from EUR 26 million in 2022 to EUR 30 million in 2023 (16% increase), more than double the inflation rate (6.3%);

Amendment 31 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Appreciates the Foundation’s high quality work on enhancing and disseminating knowledge, and providing evidence-based expertise to support the development of better informed social, employment and work-related policies in Europe, to analyse policy options to improve working conditions, industrial relations, employment and living, and to produce expertise on right to disconnect, telework, hybrid work and related impacts on work– life balance and quality of working conditions; highly values the Foundation’s work in providing insights on pressing issues, such as poverty, the inaccessibility of affordable housing, labour shortages, and just transition;

Amendment 32 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Appreciates the Foundation’s continued high-quality work on enhancing and disseminating knowledge, and providing evidence-based expertise to support the development of better informed social, employment and work-related policies in Europe, to analyse policy options to improve working conditions, industrial relations, employment and living, and to produce expertise on inter alia inequality, inclusive labour markets, housing, right to disconnect, telework, hybrid work, the shift to a carbon-neutral economy and related impacts on work– life balance and quality of working conditions;

Amendment 33 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Appreciates the Foundation’s work on enhancing and disseminating knowledge, for its joint outputs and activities with other Agencies, and providing evidence-based expertise to support the development of better informed social, employment and work-related policies in Europe, to analyse policy options to improve working conditions, industrial relations, employment and living, and to produce expertise on right to disconnect, telework, hybrid work and related impacts on work– life balance and quality of working conditions;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Appreciates the Foundation’s work on enhancing and disseminating knowledge, and providing evidence-based expertise to support the development of better informed social, employment and work-related policies in Europe, to analyse policy options to improve working conditions, industrial relations, employment and living, and to produce expertise on right to disconnect, telework, hybrid work and related impacts on work– life balance, psychosocial risks to workers’ well-being, intergenerational inequalities and quality of working conditions;

Amendment 35 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Observes some of the Foundation’s most important publications in 2023 on topics as job quality (including of essential workers), hybrid work, right to disconnect, involvement of the social partners in setting and implementing the national resilience and recovery plans, and minimum wages in Europe;

Amendment 36 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Commends the Agency for the achievement of 95 % of its annual work programme, with 36 out of 38 outputs delivered in 2023;

Amendment 37 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Appreciates the Foundation’s report on right to disconnect published in 2023 which fills an information gap by providing evidence on how the right to disconnect is implemented at company level and what the impact is;

Amendment 38 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Expresses its ~~satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Foundation’s accounts and invites the Foundation to address the ECA’s remarks~~relief that Eurofound’s staff has not increased from 2022 to 2023;

Amendment 39 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Foundation’s accounts, including on the legality and regularity of payments, and invites the Foundation to address the ECA’s remarks;

Amendment 4 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Emphasises that even a 2% materiality threshold can represent a significant financial amount, given the size of the General budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), including in headings related to employment and social matters; therefore, requests an analysis of the feasibility of applying a lower materiality threshold; warns that maintaining the 2% threshold without significant reduction undermines accountability and transparency; recommends that the report be signed by a physical person, in accordance with sound auditing practices, to ensure personal accountability and to enable European Parliament committees, including the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, to properly hold individuals accountable for the findings presented;

Amendment 40 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Notes from the Foundation’s report with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Foundation for the financial year 2022 that corrective actions have been taken in connection to its procurement templates and traineeship scheme;

Amendment 41 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes th~~e 16,8 % of carryover rate, above the 15 % benchmark, and the Foundation’s reply making a distinction between planned and unplanned carry- overs, the latest being assessed at 4 % by the Foundation~~at Eurofound has made a payment of EUR 38.6 thousand to a contract provider for quality assessment of survey data without collecting some key supporting documents relating to the contractual deliverables;

Amendment 42 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes the 1~~6,8~~7 % of carryover rate, above the 15 % benchmark, and the Foundation’s reply making a distinction between planned and unplanned carry- overs, the latest being assessed at 4 % by the Foundation;

Amendment 43 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Welcomes the corrective action taken by the Foundation on the engagement of trainees and on the conditions for the update of their remuneration;

Amendment 44 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Appreciates th~~e Agency’s activities to develop, gather and provide reliable and relevant information, analysis and tools on national and EU priorities in the field of occupational safety and health~~at EU-OSHA’s budget has not been increased from 2022 to 2023, despite the fact that inflation has been 6.3%;

Amendment 45 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Appreciates the Agency’s activities to develop, gather and provide reliable and relevant information, analysis and tools ~~on national and EU priorities in the field of occupational safety and health~~to advance knowledge, raise awareness and exchange occupational safety and health (OSH) information and good practice in order to promote healthy and safe workplaces in Europe in particular their work on the health and social care sector and psychosocial risks at the workplace;

Amendment 46 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Appreciates the Agency’s activities to develop, gather and provide reliable and relevant information, analysis and tools ~~on national and EU priorities in the field of occupational safety and health~~to advance knowledge, raise awareness, and exchange information and good practise on national and EU priorities in the field of occupational safety and health, which contribute to the Union policy aiming to promote healthy and safe work places across the Union;

Amendment 47 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Notes the prominent role of the Agency in delivering on the priorities and principles identified in the European Pillar of Social Rights and the EU OSH Strategic Framework; appreciates in this regard the Agency’s continued significant contribution, through several actions carried out alone or in collaboration with EU institutions, other agencies and bodies;

Amendment 48 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Appreciates that EU-OSHA’s staff has decreased from 65 employees in 2022 to 63 in 2023;

Amendment 49 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Agency’s accounts, including on the legality and regularity of payments, and invites the Agency to address the ECA’s remarks;

Amendment 5 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Calls on all EU Agencies to improve their public procurement procedures by applying the social clause provided for in the current EU Public Procurement Directive, so as to ensure that companies receiving EU funding comply with all applicable environmental, social and labour obligations established by EU law, national law or collective agreements, or by applicable international environmental, social or labour provisions.

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Notes that EU-OSHA split two contracts of €14.7 thousand and €15 thousand, respectively, in order to avoid a tender competition and award them directly;

Amendment 51 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Note~~Considers the 29 % of carryover rate~~, way above~~ unacceptable, as it is almost the double of the 15 % benchmark, and refuses the Agency’s reply linking part of the carryover to commitments planned in the Agency’s Single Programming Document;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Notes with satisfaction the cost- cutting actions performed by the Agency for allocating resources to the Agency’s core tasks; welcomes the Agency’s implementation of the AGM system (Advanced Gateway to Meetings), which will help provide an electronic and automated system for reimbursements of experts which was a significant factor in non-compliance with the payment time limits;

Amendment 53 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Apprecia~~Notes theat Cedefop’s activities to provide research, analyses and technical advice and expertise in vocational education and training (VET), qualifications and skills policies, to compile and disseminate research on skills mismatches, and to ensure digital skills are integrated into VET across the Union, as well as, the Cedefop involvement in the 2023 European Year of Skillsbudget has increased from EUR 26 million in 2022 to EUR 28 million in 2023 (9% increase), fifty per cent higher than the inflation rate (6%);

Amendment 54 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 15

15. Appreciates the Cedefop’s ~~activities to~~high quality work on provideing research, analyses and technical advice and expertise in vocational education and training (VET), qualifications and skills policies~~, to compile and disseminate research on skills mismatches~~ with the aim of promoting high-quality training tailored to the needs of individuals and of the labour market, and to ensure digital skills are integrated into VET across the Union, as well as, the Cedefop involvement in the 2023 European Year of Skills;

Amendment 55 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 15

15. Appreciates the Cedefop’s activities to provide research, analyses and technical advice and expertise in vocational education and training (VET), qualifications and skills policies, as well as modernisation of apprenticeships to compile and disseminate research on skills mismatches and labour shortages, and to ensure digital skills are integrated into VET across the Union, as well as, the Cedefop involvement in the 2023 European Year of Skills;

Amendment 56 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Agency’s accounts and inv~~Notes that Cedefop’s staff has increased from 108 employees in 2022 to 109 employees in 2023, despites the ~~Agency to address the ECA’s observations~~fact that its functions remain the same;

Amendment 57 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 16

16. Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Agency’s accounts ~~and invites the Agency to address the ECA’s observation~~, including on the legality and regularity of payments, and that the Court has no observations for 2023; invites the Agency to address the ECA’s outstanding observations from previous years;

Amendment 58 #

Romana TOMC

Draft opinion
Paragraph 16

16. Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Agency’s accounts and invites the Agency to address the ECA’s observations for previous years;

Amendment 59 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Commends Cedefop for its exemplary commitment (100%) and payment (98%) appropriations rates successfully demonstrating the optimal use of resources entrusted to Cedefop;

Amendment 6 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Appreciates the high quality work performed by the agencies working in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion (Eurofound, EU-OSHA, CEDEFOP, ETF and ELA); recalls the particular mandates of these agencies and the specific composition of their management bodies based on the tripartite principle and thus including representatives of the national authorities and social partners; recognises that trough their members the management bodies ensure the necessary alignment between the agencies’ work and stakeholders’ needs and priorities;

Amendment 60 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Welcomes Cedefop’s cooperation with other agencies in the EMPL remit particularly with ELA with the connection of EURES vacancies data with Cedefop Skills-OVATE;

Amendment 61 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 17

17. Notes the Cedefop’s corrective action taken regarding the daily subsistence allowances paid to Greek seconded national experts, but regrets that the corrective action does not include the monthly subsistence allowances;

Amendment 62 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Notes with appreciation the Centre’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030; welcomes the adoption of a climate neutrality strategy and roadmap in 2023 and the efforts to become EMAS certified by 2025;

Amendment 63 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Appreciates Cedefop’s own committment to climate neutrality, its climate neutrality strategy as well as its roadmap to reduce GHG emissions and impact on the environment in general; strongly encourages other specialised agencies to establish similar plans and policies to reduce their carbon footprint and their energy consumption and overall environmental performance aligned with the EU’s own climate goal applying the EMAS when not in place as yet;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Apprecia~~Notes theat ETF’s activities in helping the Union, Member States and its partner countries to harness the potential of their human capital and to improve the employment prospects through the reform of education, vocational training, skills and labour market systems, as well as, the ETF role in the 2023 European Year of Skillsbudget has increased from EUR 25 million in 2022 to EUR 31 million in 2023 (22% increase), more than triple the inflation rate (6.3%);

Amendment 65 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 20

20. ~~Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Agency’s ac~~Notes that ETF illegally awarded an in-country support services count~~s and inv~~ract for €4 million, despites the ~~Agency to address the ECA’s remarks, especially concerning open procurement procedure~~fact that the economic and financial capacity of the awarded tenderer had not been demonstrated;

Amendment 66 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 20

20. Expresses its satisfaction for the positive ECA’s opinion on the Agency’s accounts ~~and~~, including on the legality and regularity of payments, and that the Court has no new observations for 2023; invites the Agency to address the ECA’s remarks, especially concerning open procurement procedure from 2022;

Amendment 67 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 21

21. Notes theat ETF’s confirmation that it has reviewed its methodologies on financial solvency in the tendering evaluation process and on financial assessment illegally awarded a EUR 1 million framework contract for content support services to a provider that did not reach the financial turnover required in the tender;

Amendment 68 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Notes the Commission’s recommendation to improve the geographical and gender balance among its staff, and to further cooperate with the ELA and the European Institute for Gender Equality~~Under the foregoing circumstances, manifests an impossibility to discharge the implementation of ETF’s budget for the financial year 2023;

Amendment 69 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23

23. Appreciates the Authority’s work to assist Member States and the Commission in ensuring a fair and effective enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility and coordination of social security systems, in facilitating effective labour mobility in Europe through European Employment Services (EURES) activities, and to raising awareness, through training and information campaigns, about the rights and obligations of workers and employersNotes that ELA’s budget has increased from EUR 35 million in 2022 to EUR 39 million in 2023 (13% increase), more than double the inflation rate (6.3%);

Amendment 7 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Stresses the importance, autonomy and added value of the five agencies in their field of expertise; reiterates the need to equip the agencies at a level commensurate to the assigned tasks, with a sufficient number of staff, employed in a stable manner and having sufficient material resources;

Amendment 70 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23

23. Appreciates the Authority’s work to assist Member States and the Commission in ensuring a fair and effective enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility and coordination of social security systems, in facilitating effective labour mobility in Europe through European Employment Services (EURES) activities, making it easier for citizens and businesses to benefit from the internal market, and to raising awareness, through training and information campaigns, about the rights and obligations of workers and employers;

Amendment 71 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23

23. Appreciates the Authority’s work to assist Member States and the Commission in ensuring a fair and effective enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility and coordination of social security systems, in facilitating effective labour mobility in Europe through European Employment Services (EURES) activities, joint inspections and to raising awareness, through training and information campaigns, about the rights and obligations of workers and employers;

Amendment 72 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23

23. Appreciates the Authority’s work to assist Member States and the Commission in ensuring a fair and effective enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility and coordination of social security systems, in facilitating effective labour mobility in Europe through European Employment Services (EURES) activities, and to raising awareness, through training and information campaigns, about the rights and obligations of workers and employers, making it easier for citizens and businesses to reap the benefits of the internal market;

Amendment 73 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Welcomes in particular the Authority’s #EU4FairConstruction information campaign, aimed at raising awareness about the rights and obligations of workers and employers in the construction sector with a dedicated focus on posting of workers and actions on digital tools to support labour mobility, including training on the IMI, EESSI, and ERRU systems as well as its support and coordination to 76 concerted and joint inspections in 2023, more than doubling the number from 2022;

Amendment 74 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Notes that the year 2023 was a final year of the Authority’s setup and growth phase, resulting in reaching full operational capacity, as regards both operational activities and resources;

Amendment 75 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23 b (new)

23 b. Welcomes the adoption of the Authority’s business continuity plan in September 2023;

Amendment 76 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 24

24. Expresses its satisfaction for the overall positive ECA’s opinion on the Authority’s accounts; notes, however, the ECA’s remarks on a basis for qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accountsNotes that ELA’s staff has increased from 117 employees in 2022 to 141 employees in 2023 (21% increase), despite the fact that its functions have not been legally increased;

Amendment 77 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 24

24. Expresses its satisfaction for the ~~overall~~ positive ECA’s opinion on the legality and regularity of underlying revenue and reliability of the Authority’s accounts; notes, however, the ECA’s ~~remarks on a basis for~~ qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts due to irregular expenditure exceeding the materiality threshold;

Amendment 78 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 25

25. In this regards, notes the ECA’s opinion on an irregular contract awarding and the Authority’s reply that the concerned contract was not renewed and ran until the end to avoid disruption in the Authority’s activitiesNotes that ELA illegally awarded a contract for EUR 12.9 million, despite the fact that the tender specifications had established a maximum value of EUR 6 million, thereby allowing for the irregular allocation of public funds at an amount of EUR 6.9 million;

Amendment 79 #

Irena JOVEVA, Hristo PETROV, Brigitte VAN DEN BERG, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 25

25. In this regards, ~~notes the ECA’s opinion on an irregular contract awarding and the Authority’s reply that the concerned contrac~~condemns the practice relating to irregular contract awarding and considers unacceptable the Authority’s reply about the maintenance of the concerned contract under the pretext that it was not renewed and had to ran until the end to avoid disruption in the Authority’s activities;

Amendment 8 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Appreciates the five agencies’ key contribution in promoting the European Year of Skills 2023; congratulates in this regard for successfully hosting the event ‘Skills, skills, skills! Skills for people, skills for competitiveness, skills for sustainability’ with the participation of the five agencies at the European Parliament in September 2023;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 25

25. In this regards, notes the ECA’s opinion on an irregular contract awarding and the Authority’s reply that the concerned contract was not renewed and ran until the end to avoid disruption in the Authority’s activities; welcomes that ELA has revised its tender documents, including financial offer templates, to clarify that tenders exceeding the contracting authority's maximum budget will be rejected;

Amendment 81 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 25

25. In this regards, notes the ECA’s opinion on an irregular contract awarding and subsequent irregular payments under this contract which in 2023 amounted to 1.32 million EUR and the Authority’s reply that the concerned contract was not renewed and ran until the end to avoid disruption in the Authority’s activities;

Amendment 82 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 26

26. Notes theat ECLA’s opinion on shortcomings in ELA’s ex-ante checks and the 3,8 % of irregular expenditure above the materiality threshold; takes note of the Authority’s commitment to enhance its ex-ante checks by reviewing and formalising the process for assessing key parameterspaid EUR 261.5 thousand to a training contractor that had already been paid via a monthly flat rate and that were not included in his financial offer, thereby allowing for the irregular allocation of public funds that have not been recovered;

Amendment 83 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 26

26. ~~Notes the ECA’s opinion on shortcomings in ELA’s ex-ante checks and the~~Condemns ELA's 3,8 % of irregular expenditure above the materiality threshold; ~~takes note of~~urges the Authority’s to commit~~ment~~ to enhance its ex-ante checks by reviewing and formalising the process for assessing key parameters;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 27

27. Notes the 26 % of carryover rate, way above the 15 % benchmark, and the 19 % of Title II appropriations cancelled, and takes note of the Agency’s reply committing to make efforts to enhance budget implementationat ELA overpaid EUR 37.6 thousand in favour of a communication services contractor who exceeded the contractual limit in his invoice, thereby allowing for the irregular allocation of public funds that have not been recovered;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Notes~~Considers unacceptable both the 26 % of carryover rate, (way above the 15 % benchmark,) and the 19 % of Title II appropriations cancelled, and refuses to takes note of the Agency’s reply committing to make efforts to enhance budget implementation;

Amendment 86 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 27 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Commends the Agency for its achievement in almost fulfilling its planned staffing level in 2023 by hiring 67 new staff members, while improving the efficiency of its recruitment process;

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Notes that against ECA’s observation from the previous year, ELA continued to use an interim agent and a trainee to perform core financial activities associated with budget implementation in 2023;

Amendment 88 #

Marlena MALĄG, Chiara GEMMA, Elena DONAZZAN, Francesco TORSELLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27 b. Recalls that at the end of 2023, the proportion of ELA's temporary workers (seconded national experts and interims) remained high at 47 %;

Amendment 89 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 28

28. ~~Expects the Authority to deliver on its commitments and address all~~Under the foregoing circumstances, manifests an impossibility to discharge the implementation of ECLA’s ~~remarks without delay~~budget for the financial year 2023;

Amendment 9 #

Klára DOBREV, Marc ANGEL, Estelle CEULEMANS, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Isilda GOMES, Romana JERKOVIĆ, Idoia MENDIA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Recalls the importance of developing a long term HR policy on work-life balance, ensuring teleworking, right to disconnect and career development, enhancing the geographical balance to have an appropriate representation from all Member States, and recruiting and integrating people with disabilities as well as promoting their equal treatment and their opportunities;

Amendment 90 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 29

29. Asks the ~~Agencies and the Commission~~Council to reduce the number of decentralised agencies related to iempleoyment a~~s so~~nd social affairs from five to one a~~s possible all outstanding ECA's recommend~~nd their staff to a total of one hundred employees, reducing in the same number the staff dedicated in the European Commission to employment and social affairs in order to avoid duplications;

Amendment 91 #

Rachel BLOM, Nikola BARTŮŠEK, Mélanie DISDIER, Marie DAUCHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 30

30. Recommends, based on the facts available, that discharge be granted to the Executive Directors of the Eurofound, ~~EU- OSHA,~~ the CEDEFOP, ~~the ETF,~~ and the ELATF in respect of the implementation of the Authorities’ budget for the financial year 2023 and that no discharge be granted to EU-OSHA and the ELA.

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 30

30. Recommends, based on the facts available, that discharge will not be granted to the Executive Directors of the Eurofound, EU- OSHA, the CEDEFOP, the ETF, and the ELA in respect of the implementation of the Authorities’ budget for the financial year 2023.

source: 766.645

2024/12/11 ENVI 105 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the constructive cooperation between the European Parliament and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (the Agencies), illustrated, inter alia, by the annual exchanges of views that took place in 2023 in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI); calls for the consolidation of overlapping functions among the Agencies to reduce redundancies, streamline operations, and ensure that resources are directed towards core functions that provide tangible value to EU citizens in the area of environmental, public health, and food safety objectives;

Amendment 10 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the fact that the Agencies ~~took~~have implemented effective corrective actions ~~following~~in response to most of the 2022 observations from the ECA; takes note of the 2023 observations ~~for~~regarding the Agencies, in particular ~~observations~~ly those related to ex-ante checks, and ~~calls on them to ensure an effective follow-up.~~emphasises the importance of addressing these issues promptly and thoroughly; calls on the Agencies to maintain their commitment to transparency and accountability through an effective and timely follow-up process;

Amendment 100 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Acknowledges that accessibility to medicine at affordable rates is a national competence; commits however to assuring that the EMA contributes to these ends; encourages the agency to find methods and practices that manages development costs of new pharmacological products;

Amendment 101 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Notes that the Agency has concluded an internal environmental audit in 2023 with a view to obtaining EMAS certification in 2024 ;

Amendment 102 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes that the situation regarding the EMA’s former premises in London became increasingly challenging in 2023, with a need for the EMA to dedicate significant levels of resources to managing commercial real estate in a third country, endangering its core activities; calls on the Commission and the Council to secure a long-term political resolution of this issue and to ~~allow the EMA to fully focus its efforts on its public health mission~~ensure that the EMA has sufficient resources to carry out all of its activities and regulatory mechanisms including facilitating the development and access to medicines, supporting research and innovation and its responsibilities for monitoring and mitigating potential or actual shortages of critical medicines without any delay.

Amendment 103 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes ~~that the~~with concern the increasingly challenging situation regarding the EMA’s former premises in London ~~became increasingly challenging in 2023, with a need for the EMA to dedicate~~, which in 2023 required significant ~~levels of~~ resources to manag~~ing~~e commercial real estate in a third country~~, endang~~; this burden risks diverting ~~its core activities; calls on~~attention and resources from the EMA’s core public health mission; urges the Commission to prioritise secureing a long-term political and financial resolution tof this issue ~~and to allow~~, including exploring options such as renegotiating terms or repurposing the premises, to prevent unnecessary expenditure and enable the EMA to ~~fully~~ focus its efforts on its public health mission.

Amendment 104 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Recommends the establishment of a formal framework for joint procurement of essential medicines across Member States, modelled on the success of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement process, for ensuring equitable access to high- quality medicines through economies of scale.

Amendment 105 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recommends, based on the facts available, that discharge should not be granted to the Executive Directors of the Agencies EFSA and EMA in respect of the implementation of the budget of the EU agencies for the financial year 2023, recommends that discharge be granted to all other Executive Directors of the Agencies .

Amendment 11 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Acknowledges the importance of localized initiatives that strengthen health systems and environmental initiatives, while increasing collaboration with Member States and Agencies.

Amendment 12 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Calls for improvement in the funding distribution approach, prioritizing the reduction of administrative burdens and channelling resources directly to final recipients by simplifying procedures to enhance accessibility to economic players on the ground.

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Acknowledges the ~~key~~ role of the ECDC in identifying and assessing current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases and related special health issues, in order to enhance the capacity of the Union and the Member States to protect human health through the prevention and control of communicable diseases in humans and related special health issue, emphasizing the need to prioritize cost-effective measures and avoid duplicating Member State efforts;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that the ECDC mandate was extended following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/23701 which entered into force on 13 December 2022 in order to strengthen the Union's health security framework in the fields of epidemiological surveillance; invites the Commission to strengthen investments in the public health workforce and enhance coordination mechanisms for responding to emerging threats, such as infectious disease outbreaks; welcomes the fact that the ECDC began to implement its new mandate by reviewing the modalities of collaboration with its main partners and stakeholders, as well as the structure and content of its Strategy 2021-2027; emphasizes the importance of maintaining the annual declarations of interest of all management board members, advisory forum members and their alternates updated and accessible ; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2370 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 amending Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 establishing a European centre for disease prevention and control (OJ L 314, 6.12.2022, p. 1–25 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2370/oj)

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that the ECDC mandate was extended following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/23701 which entered into force on 13 December 2022 in order to strengthen the Union's health security framework in the fields of epidemiological surveillance; welcomes the fact that the ECDC began to implement its new mandate by reviewing the modalities of collaboration with its main partners and stakeholders, as well as the structure and content of its Strategy 2021-2027; , while emphasising the importance of ensuring accountability and transparency throughout this process; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2022/2370 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 amending Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 establishing a European centre for disease prevention and control (OJ L 314, 6.12.2022, p. 1–25 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2370/oj)

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the continued development of the One Health Framework and the creation of the One Health Task Force to strengthen collaboration with EMA, EFSA, EEA and ECHA; considers these important steps to further strengthen the One Health approach ensuring the inclusion of human, animal and plant health, as well as their interactions with the environment; highlights the importance of ensuring good and fair cooperation between the Agencies;

Amendment 17 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the continued development of the One Health Framework and the creation of the One Health Task Force to strengthen collaboration with EMA, EFSA, EEA and ECHA; highlights the importance of ensuring good and fair cooperation between the Agencies, while cautioning against inefficiencies, duplication of efforts, and overlapping mandates;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 19 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes the discrepancy between ECDC and ECA on the 2022 qualified opinion provided by ECA demonstrating that the accounts were reliable but that the transactions underlying the accounts were partly not legal and regular; stresses the importance of such discrepancies to be harmonised, urges ECDC to adhere to the standards provided by ECA 1a; _________________ 1a https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/fi les/documents/consolidated-annual- activity-report-2023_1.pdf , page 56

Amendment 2 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Sigrid FRIIS, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Welcomes the involvement of the EU Agencies in establishing a common data platform on chemicals as proposed by the Commission; regrets, however, the special treatment proposed for EMA to include only data submitted to it after the entry into force of the new Regulation, and only on certain substances, thus withholding the very large majority of data that it holds on chemicals from the common data platform; stresses that inclusion of all chemicals-related data that EMA holds would greatly help to develop predictive toxicity testing and thus to develop alternatives to animal testing; calls on the EMA and the Commission to reconsider their position accordingly;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Stresses that gender balance in the composition of the top management of our agencies and institutions must be a guideline; notes that the Agency's senior management is currently composed of 67% men and 33% women, according to the figures communicated; calls on the Agency to take this into consideration in future recruitments;

Amendment 21 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Acknowledges the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for the need for pandemic preparedness and a unified EU response strategy, that utilises digital early warning systems for prompt and efficient decision making.

Amendment 22 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Welcomes the agency's efforts towards an Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certification, which was finally granted in January 2024;

Amendment 23 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Sigrid FRIIS, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Welcomes the fact that the ECDC has adopted its charter on diversity and inclusion in 2023;

Amendment 24 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4 d. Notes that 22,7 % of the Agency's staff are nationals of the Member State where it is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation;

Amendment 25 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Encourages ECDC to further cooperate with Member States to ensure an approach based on the solidarity principle in vaccine distribution and preparedness, notes that in the case of Mpox Member States undermined the ECDC capacity to face transmittable diseases by withholding vaccines;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Acknowledges ~~that~~ the ECHA ~~is key~~’s crucial role in implementing ~~a growing number of Union legislation that regulat~~core Union legislation on chemicals and emphasizes cthe~~micals for the benefit of~~ need to focus strictly on essential regulatory functions that directly protect public health and the environment, ~~as well as for~~while also fostering innovation and competitiveness~~; recognises that the ECHA collects, evaluates and disseminates a vast amount of information on chemicals, helps companies comply with legislation and promotes the safe use of chemicals~~, and avoiding unnecessary expansion of its mandate;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Acknowledges that the ECHA is key in implementing a growing number of Union legislation that regulates chemicals for the benefit of protecting public health and the environment, as well as for innovation and competitiveness; recognises that the ECHA collects, evaluates and disseminates a vast amount of information on chemicals, helps companies comply with legislation and promotes the safe use of chemicals;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Acknowledges that the ECHA is key in implementing a growing number of Union legislation that regulates chemicals for the benefit of public health and the environment, as well as for innovation and competitiveness; recognises that the ECHA collects, evaluates, and disseminates ~~a vast amount of~~extensive information on chemicals, ~~help~~assists companies in complying with legislation, and promotes the safe use of chemicals;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Observes that the Agencies budget relies on collected fees and a contribution from the Union’s general budget; takes note with concern that after a rise in 2022, in 2023 the ECHA’s fee income has again decreased, increasing the reliance on the Union to finance its operations; stresses the need to address the lack of predictability of the ECHA’s fee income ~~and~~which is hindering its ability to implement its Work Programme effectively; reiterates its previous calls to the Commission to improve the ECHA’s budgetary certainty by urgently presenting its proposal ~~to strengthen the governance of ECHA~~for a founding regulation for the ECHA to strengthen the governance of ECHA and to secure sustainable financing, in line with its commitment expressed in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that regular visits to the Agencies are a key aspect of the scrutiny exercised by the European Parliament over them; notes toin this regard the success of the ENVI delegation to the EMA in February 2023 and to the ECHA in April 2023;, which facilitated constructive dialogue, enhanced transparency, and strengthened the Parliament's oversight role.

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Observes that the Agenciey's budget relies on collected fees and a contribution from the Union’s general budget; highlights the need to ensure full transparency of collected fees; takes note with concern that after a rise in 2022, in 2023 the ECHA’s fee income has again decreased, increasing the reliance on the Union to finance its operations; stresses the need to address the lack of predictability of the ECHA’s fee income and reiterates its previous calls to the Commission to improve the ECHA’s budgetary certainty by presenting its proposal to strengthen the governance of ECHA in line with its commitment expressed in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability;

Amendment 31 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Recalls the necessity of ensuring adequate staffing reflecting the needs of the European Green Deal and the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, Circular Economy Action Plan and, in particular, the zero pollution target, and the associated increase in tasks; laments indicators from the 2023 internal staff survey showing that only 42% agree fully that their units operate in an efficient manner1b, reiterates the need for ECHA to continuously work with staff satisfaction, worker health and well-being, ensuring gender and geographical balance in the work place and facilitating the participation in the work life by parent staff; _________________ 1b https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/ 7362407/annual_Report_2023_en.pdf/ca1 6f5a4-a8ae-ac22-21f1- 57af476f0bb1?t=1713865234883 , page 57

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Recalls the necessity of ensuring adequate staffing reflecting the needs of the ~~European Green Deal and the~~ Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, Circular Economy Action Plan and, in particular, the zero pollution target, and the associated increase in tasks;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Cautions against overburdening the ECHA with additional regulatory tasks introduced by new directives and regulations, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining focus on its primary responsibilities under REACH and CLP;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Acknowledges that in 2023 the ECHA delivered its regulatory tasks under the Union chemicals legislation, in particular REACH and CLP, provided scientific-technical support to the Commission in the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, as well as preparing and starting work on the implementation of new regulatory tasks under the Drinking Water Directive, the Batteries Regulation and the Serious Cross- Border Threadts to Health Regulation;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Notes that, despite falling short of fulfilling key indicators for the identification and prioritisation of hazardous substances, the Agency's 2023 annual report highlights that ECHA screened 61 groups covering approximately 1,380 substances, surpassing its initial target, and identified 320 substances for potential risk management, 280 requiring further data, and 540 requiring no further action; furthermore, acknowledges that by the end of 2023, ECHA had assessed 92% of substances registered above 100 tonnes, leaving fewer than 400 high-tonnage substances still to be evaluated;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls on the ECHA to enhance its communication strategies to prevent the misinterpretation of its progress on the PFAS restriction process; stresses the urgent need to address the growing evidence of health and environmental harm caused by PFAS, including their presence in human tissues, and to ensure these risks are fully considered in the socio-economic assessment of the restriction;

Amendment 39 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Reaffirms the importance of the precautionary principle as a cornerstone of EU chemicals regulation and calls on ECHA to prioritize precautionary approaches when scientific evidence indicates potential risks to human health or the environment; calls on the ECHA to further refine its stakeholder engagement processes to achieve a more proportional balance between industry, civil society, and independent scientific expertise, ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders are adequately represented and that public and environmental health are not subordinated to economic interests;

Amendment 4 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that regular visits to and from the Agencies are a key aspect of the scrutiny exercised by the European Parliament over them; notes to this regard the success of the ENVI delegation to EMA in February 2023 and to ECHA in April 2023;

Amendment 40 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the ECHA’s efforts to promote the use of alternatives to animal testing for the regulatory assessment of chemicals and to foster understanding of the opportunities and challenges in moving away from animal testing while ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment and encourages ECHA to promote the use of non-animal testing methods;

Amendment 41 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with concern the difficulty to recruit sufficient experts from Member States to the ECHA’s Scientific Committees, posing a risk to the ECHA’s ability to meet legal deadlines and targets in regulatory processes that are dependent on the Committees’ outputs, in particular in the light of increasing tasks being attributed to the ECHA, stresses the importance of the Commission working actively to ensure Agencies can recruit adequate competence to fulfil their missions, encourages in this regard an increased cooperation with universities and other relevant institutions;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes with concern the difficulty to recruit sufficient experts from Member States to the ECHA’s Scientific Committees, posing a risk to the ECHA’s ability to meet legal deadlines and targets in regulatory processes that are dependent on the Committees’ outputs, in particular in the light of increasing tasks being attributed to the ECHA; identifies a need for increased localised collaboration with universities, research centers and specialised national services from the Member States;

Amendment 43 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Sigrid FRIIS, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Stresses that gender balance in the composition of the top management of our Agencies and institutions must be a guideline; notes that the Agency's senior management is currently composed of 73% men and 27% women, according to the figures communicated; calls on the Agency to take this into consideration in future recruitments;

Amendment 44 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Notes that 29.1 % of its staff are nationals of the Member State where the Agency is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes the ECHA Strategy Statement for 2024 - 2028 adopted in December 2023, which sets out the priorities for the ECHA in implementing its evolving mandate. and calls for its implementation to prioritize efficiency, financial sustainability, and a reduction in regulatory burdens on businesses and Member States, in order to improve effectiveness in delivering ENVI-related objectives;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the EEA provides sound, independent information on the environment; commends the quality of its outputs released in 2023, such as Pathways towards circular plastics in Europe — good practice examples from countries, business and citizens, Assessing the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation and European forest ecosystems: key allies in sustainable development; appreciates the EEA’s support of members of the ENVI committee by providing excellent, up-to- date data and information;

Amendment 47 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the EEA provides sound, independent information on the environment; commends the quality of its outputs released in 2023, such as Pathways towards circular plastics in Europe — good practice examples from countries, business and citizens, Assessing the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation and European forest ecosystems: key allies in sustainable development, acknowledges the outmost importance of the EEA to reach the Union’s climate goals;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the EEA provides sound, independent and up-to-date scientific information on the environment; commends the quality of its outputs released in 2023, such as Pathways towards circular plastics in Europe — good practice examples from countries, business and citizens, Assessing the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation and European forest ecosystems: key allies in sustainable development;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Acknowledges the adaptability of the EEA, which, in addition to its planned publications for 2023, released additional works on topics ranging from extreme weather to human health, such as The importance on restoring nature in Europe, demonstrating its capacity to inform and fuel current policy debates arising from evolving circumstances; emphasizes that, as climate and environment have become horizontal priorities with the European Green Deal, the EEA provides further added value through its broad and interconnected knowledge base; notes that, through its Eionet network and digitalisation work, the EEA is well- placed to support the implementation of the European Green Deal on the ground;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses its satisfaction that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has declared the transactions of the Agencies underlying the annual accounts for the financial year 2023 to be legal and regular in all material respects, and that their financial position, at 31 December 2023, is fairly represented in all material respects; requires the Agencies to adopt zero-based budgeting practices, ensuring that every expense is justified from the ground up, and calls for a significant reduction in administrative costs to focus funding on essential activities such as environmental, public health, and food safety objectives;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Acknowledges the adaptability of the EEA, which, in addition to its planned publications for 2023, released additional works on topics ranging from extreme weather to human health, such as The importance on restoring nature in Europe, demonstrating its capacity to inform and fuel current policy debates arising from evolving circumstanStresses the need for the EEA to prioritize the production of essential reports directly tied to measurable policy outcomes; calls on the EEA to exercise caution in expanding its scope beyond planned publications, focusing instead on delivering core outputs efficiently without overextending its resources;

Amendment 51 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Acknowledges the adaptability of the EEA, which, in addition to its planned publications for 2023, ~~releas~~produced additional works on topics ranging from extreme weather to human health, ~~such as~~including The iImportance o~~n r~~f Restoring nNature in Europe, demonstrating its capacity to inform and ~~fuel current~~contribute to policy debates arising from evolving circumstances;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the EEA is tasked with tracking progress towards the 8th Environment Action programme (‘8th EAP’), which builds on the European Green Deal and sets the framework for Union environmental policy until 2030, with a long-term priority objective for 2050 of living well within planetary boundaries; welcomes the release of its first annual monitoring report in December 2023, on the basis of a set of 28 headline indicators and corresponding targets such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, circular economy and biodiversityRaises concerns about the practicality, financial sustainability, and scientific reliability of tracking progress towards long-term objectives, such as the 2050 planetary boundaries goal, and stresses the importance of prioritizing achievable, cost-effective short- and medium-term targets that align with current technological capabilities and deliver measurable benefits to Member States and citizens;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes that the work of the EEA is by nature trans-boundary and that the quality and usefulness of the EEA research and activities is significantly enhanced by the inclusion of non-EU EEA member countries and non-EU EEA cooperating countries, for example demonstrated by the excellent standing cooperation with the Western Balkan countries; hopes in the context of enlargement that the EEA will soon be able to welcome Moldova and Ukraine as cooperating or member countries; regrets also in this context that the United Kingdom has not yet returned as an EEA member or cooperating country following its exit from the European Union;

Amendment 55 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Sigrid FRIIS, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the fact that, following the Discharge Authority’s recommendations of 2022, the EEA has established regular progress monitoring processes for both the implementation of key reports and assessments and recently with a stronger focus on indicators, and has consecutively reached a budget execution rate of 100% of the annual budget, a 100% delivery rate of key reports and assessments, and high engagement with key stakeholders and network partners throughout the year; notes the need for more actionable recommendations and enhanced coordination with national agencies to ensure the effective application of EU environmental policies;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses that gender balance in the composition of the top management of our Agencies and institutions must be a guideline; welcomes the fact that the Agency's senior management is currently composed of 50% men and 50% women, according to the figures communicated;

Amendment 57 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that 20.1 % of its staff are nationals of the Member State where the Agency is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes note with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the EEA’s tasks, an imbalance exists concerning the numbers of permanent versus contractual posts, as well as operational staff versus support staff, leading to a constant need for reskilling as well as an overload of administrative work for scientists; takes note that the growing number of collaborations between Directorates- General in implementing the Green Deal has created a complex patchwork of agreements that results in heavy administrative burden for the EEA, whereby some tasks which are long-term in nature are funded by short-term financial agreements; considers that taking into account the substantial increase of workload, and in order to properly perform the tasks on the Union’s goals for, inter alia, climate neutrality, circular economy and nature restoration, the EEA’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to come and the EEA budget needs to increase in proportion in order to keep up with the necessary increase in staff numbers.

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes note with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the EEA’s tasks, an imbalance exists concerning the numbers of permanent versus contractual posts in the Agency, as well as operational staff versus support staff, leading to a constant need for reskilling as well as an overload of administrative work for scientists; considers that taking into account the substantial increase of workload, and in order to properly perform the ~~tasks on~~required tasks linked to the Union’s goals for, inter alia, climate neutrality, circular economy and nature restoration, the EEA’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to come and this should be reflected in the financial resources allocated to the Agency.

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses its satisfaction that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has ~~declared the transactions of the Agencie~~confirmed the legality and regularity, in all material respects, of the transactions underlying the Agencies' annual accounts for the financial year 2023 ~~to be legal and regular in all material respects, and that~~, as well as the fair representation of their financial position, ats of 31 December 2023~~, is fairly represented in all material respects~~;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes note with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the EEA’s tasks, an imbalance exists concerning the numbers of permanent versus contractual posts, as well as operational staff versus support staff, leading to a constant need for reskilling as well as an overload of administrative work for scientists; ~~considers that taking into account the substantial increase of workload,~~opposes however substantial increases in staff numbers, calling instead for and in ~~order~~ternal review of staff allocation and responsibilities to improperly perform the tasks on the Union’s goals for, inter alia, climate neutrality, circular economy and nature restoration, the EEA’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to come.ve effectiveness in delivering ENVI-related objectives; recommends the adoption of automation and digital solutions to alleviate administrative burdens on scientific staff, enabling them to focus on core research activities without requiring substantial increases in staff numbers;

Amendment 61 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes note with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the EEA’s tasks, an imbalance exists concerning the numbers of permanent versus contractual posts, as well as operational staff versus support staff, leading to a constant need for reskilling as well as an overload of administrative work for scientists; considers that taking into account the substantial increase of workload, and in order to properly perform the tasks on the Union’s goals for, inter alia, climate neutrality, circular economy and nature rehighlights the importance of aligning staff resources with the EEA’s long-term responsibilities and growing demands, potentially requiring a gradual and storat~~ion, the EEA’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to co~~egic adjustment in staff numbers over time.;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Cautions against overburdening the EEA with additional tasks arising from new directives and regulations, emphasizing the need to focus on its primary responsibilities; stresses the importance of ensuring that resources are not diluted by attempting to address an overly broad range of objectives, which could compromise the quality and impact of its outputs;

Amendment 64 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Reiterates the need for the EEA to adequately hire staff able to carry out the immense task devoted to the Agency, encourages in this regard the Commission to intensify its measures to assist Agencies in ensuring the competence required, reminds the EEA of the importance of achieving gender and geographical balance among staff, ensuring a healthy work-life balance for everyone but not least for parent staff and to continuously work with improving workers' health and well-being;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcom~~Acknowledges the EFSA's~~' contribution to~~ essential role in ensuring the safety of the Union food and feed chain, and ~~its considerable efforts in providing risk managers with comprehensive,~~providing independent ~~and~~, up-to- date scientific advice on questions linked to the food chain, communicating clearly to the public on its outputs and the information on which they are based, and cooperating with interested parties and institutional partners to promote coherence and trust in the food safety system; stresses the need for the EFSA to focus on its core responsibilities, avoiding unnecessary expansion into non-essential initiatives that may dilute its effectiveness;

Amendment 66 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the EFSA's' contribution to the safety of the Union food and feed chain, and its considerable efforts in providing risk managers with comprehensive, independent and up-to- date scientific advice on questions linked to the food chain, communicating clearly to the public on its outputhowever expresses deep concern over some of the aspects of the Agency's work relating to inadequate actualisation of regulation regarding pesticides and othe ~~information on which they are based, and cooperating with interested parties and institutional partners to promote coherence and trust~~r toxins, deplores the close ties between the agency and agrochemical industry and reiterates the need for a thorough investigation into the ~~food safety system~~se ties;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the involvement of the EFSA in ENVI’s work and more generally the engagement of EFSA with initiatives related to the Farm to Fork and the Union Chemical strategies, with a particular emphasis on pesticides, nutrition, animal welfare, and chemical risk assessment; stresses the need for these efforts to remain firmly grounded in robust, evidence-based policy-making, including the establish~~ing~~ment of an Union chemicals data platform, to ensure that decisions are informed by the best available scientific data and promote effective and balanced regulatory outcomes;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Cautions against overburdening the EFSA with additional tasks linked to broader initiatives such as the Farm to Fork and Union Chemical strategies, emphasizing that its primary focus should remain on food safety and core chemical risk assessments;

Amendment 69 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Believes that EFSA should continue to pay special attention to the public opinion, and commit itself to increased openness, transparency and scrutiny to and by the public and independent scientists;

Amendment 7 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the measures taken by the aAgencies in light of the European Parliament recommendations in its discharge for the financial year 2022; stresses the importance of increasing the Agencies’ efforts in terms of cooperation with other agencies and international organisations, digitalisation, and gender and geographical balance in senior management positions; proposes a comprehensive audit of the Agencies to identify and eliminate non-essential activities, ensuring that resources are concentrated on critical areas of public health, safety, and environmental protection; recommends that appointments to senior management positions in the Agencies be based on merit and expertise, ensuring optimal performance, while remaining unbiased with regard to gender;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the EFSA closed 660 scientific questions in 2023, slightly below the target of 673 but better than the result achieved since 2020; highlights the need to decrease the amount of questions in stock; welcomes the measures put in please to increase the speed of the Risk Assessment process; proposes the establishment of an expedited assessment track for urgent health concerns and response mechanisms for discrepancies between Union standards and trade obligations, to reduce backlog and respond to trade obligations;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 72 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Reiterates its regrets that the EFSA, in relation to the two-year cooling off period, still includes in its independence policy the obligation to screen experts' interests only in relation to the mandate of the scientific group to which the expert is applying, and reiterates its regrets that the research funding from companies in the Authority's remit is not considered relevant to the cooling off period as long as amounts at stake do not rise above 25 % of the total research budget managed by the expert and/or their research team, and that the threshold is applied to individual sources as opposed to all private sources combined; highlights that the Authority's refusal to address these two very serious issues in relation to the Authority's prevention and management of conflicts of interests is unacceptable and needs to be resolved immediately;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Takes note~~Notes with concern that, according to the Annual Strategy Survey launched by the EFSA asking for feedback from its customers, partners, and stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in the delivery of the EFSA’s scientific opinions, the EFSA’s ability to provide its advice in a timely manner remains a point of attention as in the previous year; calls on the EFSA to implement the necessary measures to improve this aspect;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission to increase the budget of EFSA and stresses the necessity of ensuring adequate staffing to reflect the needs of the more systematic implementation of a ‘One Health’ approach to risk assessment;

Amendment 75 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Highlights the need for the EFSA to develop strong cooperation with all its stakeholders, including the other Agencies for better connection and outputs dissemination; welcomes the fact that the EFSA developed cooperation with Member States, including with the increase support of focal points, mainly focusing on support in the area of data collection and communication; encourages EFSA to even further increase its efforts to protect animal welfare and promote the use of non-animal testing methods, also in its cooperation with other institutions;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Highlights the need for the EFSA to develop strong cooperation with all its stakeholders, including the other Agencies for better connection and outputs dissemination; welcomes the fact that the EFSA developed cooperation with Member States, including with the increased support of fthe Focal pPoints Network, mainly focusing on support in the area of data collection and communication;

Amendment 77 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Sigrid FRIIS, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Recalls that since 2015, the Parliament has adopted 83 resolutions objecting to the placing on the market of GMOs for food and feed; highlights that one reason for these objections are gaps in the risk assessment undertaken by the Authority's Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms; urges the Authority to address and close these gaps as a matter of urgency;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses that gender balance in the composition of the top management of our Agencies and institutions must be a guideline; notes that the EFSA's senior management is currently composed of 63% men and 38% women, according to the figures communicated; calls on the Agency to take this into consideration in future recruitments;

Amendment 79 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that a recent report1a highlighted that EFSA’s ‘GMO Panel’, which is responsible for the assessment of genetically engineered organisms, includes a large number of researchers involved in the development of genetically engineered plants, some of whom have links to the industry; urges the Authority to better address conflict of interests and to actively include more independent experts in its panels; _________________ 1a https://www.testbiotech.org/wp- content/uploads/2024/09/Testbiotech_EF SA_GMO_Panel_2024-1.pdf

Amendment 8 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the measures taken by the aAgencies in light of the European Parliament recommendations in its discharge for the financial year 2022; stresses the importance of increasing the Agencies’ efforts in terms of cooperation with other agencies and international organisations, ~~digitalisation, and gender and geographical balance in senior management positions~~stresses the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve gender and geographical balance among institutional staff and in senior management positions, reminds the Agencies in this regard of the importance of protecting the work-life balance not least among parent staff and to continously develop strategies to protect workers' health and well-being;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that 41.8 % of its staff are nationals of the Member State where the Agency is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Highlights that the European Parliament adopted two resolutions at the beginning of the mandate to object to Maximum Residues Levels (MRLs) for pesticides due to cumulative and synergistic effects not having been taken into account in EFSA’s reasoned opinion;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the fact that the EFSA continued implementing its new organisational structure that was put in place in 2022 to reflect the Transparency Regulation; notes that the Transparency Regulation required the Commission to develop and adopt a ‘General Plan for Risk Communication’, which has not been presented by the Commission despite the preparatory work completed by the EFSA; highlights the need to improve efficiency and transparency in the EFSA’s process architecture.

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the fact that the EFSA continued implementing its new organisational structure that was put in place in 2022 to reflect the Transparency Regulation~~; h~~, but emphasizes the importance of ensuring that it leads to measurable efficiency gains, avoids increased administrative complexity or costs, and enhances effectiveness in achieving ENVI-related objectives. Highlights the need to improve efficiency and transparency in the EFSA’s process architecture.;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the fact that the EFSA continued implementing its new organisational structure that was put in place in 2022 to reflect the Transparency Regulation; highlights the need to continuously improve efficiency and transparency in the EFSA’s process architecture.

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Stresses the need to preserve EFSA’s independence by avoiding any ad-hoc future modification to its functioning, such as expanding the scope of pre-submission advice (article 32a of the Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety) to technical matters such as study design and protocols to be tested; notes the potential damage to public trust in EFSA work from ad-hoc changes to its functioning;

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Encourages EFSA to expand its efforts in horizon scanning and early identification of emerging risks in the food and feed chain, particularly in areas linked to climate change and the increasing complexity of global supply chains; stresses the importance of adopting proactive approaches to risk assessment and mitigation to ensure the resilience of the Union’s food system.

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Underlines the significance of enhancing public engagement and outreach activities, including leveraging digital tools to increase public access to scientific information and the rationale behind EFSA’s decisions; calls for the development of user-friendly platforms that promote greater understanding and foster citizen participation in the food safety dialogue.

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Notes the growing importance of alternative protein sources and novel foods in achieving the Union’s sustainability goals; calls on the EFSA to prioritize the development of robust scientific frameworks for assessing the safety and nutritional impact of these products, ensuring that innovation is underpinned by rigorous risk assessment standards.

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. Calls for closer collaboration between the EFSA and the ECDC to enhance the monitoring and assessment of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance; stresses the need for a unified approach to safeguarding public health through a ‘One Health’ perspective.

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the fact that the Agencies took effective corrective actions following most of the 2022 observations from the ECA; takes note of 2023 observations for the Agencies, in particular observations related to ex-ante checks, and calls on them to ensure an effective follow- up.; demands that Agencies failing to implement corrective actions within stipulated timelines face reductions in their administrative budgets, with the aim of improving the efficiency of funding for essential activities such as environmental protection, public health, and food safety objectives in the long run;

Amendment 90 #

Michalis HADJIPANTELA, Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU, Radan KANEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Reiterates the key role of the EMA in protecting human and animal health by assessing and supervising medicines for human or veterinary use ~~and protecting public health by raising awareness on key issues including antimicrobial resistance and prevention of communicable diseases through vaccination~~; emphasizes the importance of focusing resources on its core responsibilities and avoiding unnecessary expansion into broader public health awareness campaigns;

Amendment 91 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Expresses deep concern over reports of conflict of interest and influence of the pharmaceutical industry over EMA 1d, reiterates that the agency serves the public interest of safe and affordable medicine, regrets inaction shown by the agency to tackle accusations of "revolving doors" in the case of scientific experts and their involvement with big pharmaceutical companies, regrets with profound concern the unwillingness of the Agency to challenge financial interests and to properly prioritise public health concerns; _________________ 1d https://www.investigate- europe.eu/posts/deadly-prices-big- pharma-influence-hangs-over-europes- medicines-regulator

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that in 2023, the EMA recommended for marketing authorisation 77 new human medicines, including 39 new active substances, and 14 new veterinary medicines, including 9 new active substances; welcomes the fact that the EMA confirmed seventeen orphan- status designations under the Union framework for orphan medicines, the purpose of which is to encourage the development and marketing of medicines for patients with rare diseases, adopting an expedited mechanism under special conditions;

Amendment 93 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes the EMA decision to lift its COVID-19 business continuity measures, in alignment with the World Health Organisation declaration of the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern; welcomes the fact that it enabled the EMA to shift its focus to address other challenges, including the finalisation of the EMA’s extended mandate obligations, of the medical devices and in vitro medical devices regulations (MDR/IVDR), and the first reflections on the EC proposal for the revision of the general Union pharmaceutical legislation for human medicines; cautions against overburdening the EMA with growing obligations and instead highlights the need to focus on existing tasks in order to directly enhance human and animal health outcomes;

Amendment 94 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the EMA’s efforts to contribute to Union priorities, including via inter alia the implementation of the Union Beating Cancer Plan, the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance.; urges the EMA to further cooperate with relevant agencies and actors to combat new, rare and difficult-to-diagnose cancers; reiterates the need to pay special attention to often misdiagnosed conditions among women and girls and to be conscious of class bias in health related issues and pharmacological needs;

Amendment 95 #

Jonas SJÖSTEDT, Sebastian EVERDING, Anja HAZEKAMP, Li ANDERSSON, Catarina MARTINS, Per CLAUSEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that the EMA is a fee- funded agency, with 88,21 % of its 2023 revenue stemming from fees for applications for marketing licenses for pharmaceutical products and for post- authorisation activities, 11,43 % stemming from the Union budget and 0,36 % from various other sources; highlights the need to ensure transparency of these revenues and welcomes the fact that in the future the EMA will have the obligation to publish in its activity report the annual revenue received per type of fee and charge according to Regulation (EU) 2024/5682 ; reiterates the importance of scientific integrity and patient safety; commits to supporting the EMA to guard these principles regardless of the levels of fee- based incomes to the agency; _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) 2024/568 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on fees and charges payable to the European Medicines Agency, amending Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2022/123 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) No 658/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 297/95 (OJ L, 2024/568, 14.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/568/oj).

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that the EMA is a fee- funded agency, with 88,21 % of its 2023 revenue stemming from fees for applications for marketing licenses for pharmaceutical products and for post- authorisation activities, 11,43 % stemming from the Union budget and 0,36 % from various other sources; stresses that despite the majority of funding coming from private sources, the EMA is a public authority; underlines that public trust in and guarantee of the Agency’s independence and integrity is crucial and therefore highlights the need to ensure transparency of these revenues ~~and~~; welcomes the fact that in the future the EMA will have the obligation to publish in its activity report the annual revenue received per type of fee and charge according to Regulation (EU) 2024/5682 ; _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) 2024/568 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on fees and charges payable to the European Medicines Agency, amending Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2022/123 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) No 658/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 297/95 (OJ L, 2024/568, 14.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/568/oj).

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that the EMA is a fee- funded agency, with 88,21 % of its 2023 revenue stemming from fees for applications for marketing licenses for pharmaceutical products and for post- authorisation activities, 11,43 % stemming from the Union budget and 0,36 % from various other sources; highlights the need to ensure full transparency of these revenues and welcomes the fact that in the future the EMA will have the obligation to publish in its activity report the annual revenue received per type of fee and charge according to Regulation (EU) 2024/5682 ; _________________ 2 Regulation (EU) 2024/568 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on fees and charges payable to the European Medicines Agency, amending Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2022/123 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) No 658/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 297/95 (OJ L, 2024/568, 14.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/568/oj).

Amendment 98 #

Olivier CHASTEL, Christine SINGER, Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY, Vlad VASILE-VOICULESCU, Sigrid FRIIS, Yvan VEROUGSTRAETE, Martin HOJSÍK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that in 2023 the EMA received 6 965 requests for information and 709 requests for access to documents and that the EMA applies a queuing system that leads to delays in the treatment of the requests; emphasises the importance of transparency in the EMA operations, hence the need to ensure a timely access to information and documents in order to reinforce public trust in regulatory decisions and the medicines placed on the EU market;

Amendment 99 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Stresses that gender balance in the composition of the top management of our agencies and institutions must be a guideline; notes that the Agency's senior management is currently composed of 60% men and 40% women, according to the figures communicated; calls on the Agency to take this into consideration in future recruitments;

source: 766.863

2024/12/12 FEMM 47 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 8 TFEU ~~mand~~states that the Union toshall aim to eliminate inequalities and to promote gender equality ~~between men and women~~in all its activities, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming; whereas gender equality must be incorporated into all ~~its activitie~~EU policies and activites, including via gender budgeting at all levels of the budgetary process; whereas equality is a fundamental right under the Treaty of Lisbon and a priority for the Union ~~with~~and achieving gender equality is crucial to upholding these rights; whereas the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has a central role in supporting Union institutions and Member States in achieving that aim;

Amendment 10 #

Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE, Lucia YAR, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Veronika CIFROVÁ OSTRIHOŇOVÁ, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Recital B

Amendment 11 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Recital B

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas EIGE's work focused also on gender-based violence (GBV), by working on a EU wide survey on GBV to close the 10 year data gap on the prevalence of violence against women in the EU; whereas crises exacerbate women’s vulnerability and exposure to violence, intensifying existing structural inequalities and aggravating all types of gender-based violence, including physical, sexual, and psychological and cyberviolence; whereas EIGE continued to support gender mainstreaming efforts in the EU;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas gender equality in the Union has been particularly impacted by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, which women are disproportionately affected by, and the backlashes against gender equality and women’s rights, especially around sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in several Member States; whereas this further deepens inequalities and hampers gender equality;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas EIGE works towards the provision of evidence on gender-based violence (GBV) that can support the EU and Member States (and beyond) in their efforts to eradicate all forms of violence;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) was established in order to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality in the Union, including gender mainstreaming in all Union policies and the resulting national policies, the fight against discrimination based on gender, and raising Union citizens’ awareness of gender equality; whereas crises exacerbate women’s social and economic vulnerabilities, intensifying exposure to violence and deepening existing structural inequalities; whereas the disproportionate economic impacts of crises, including the green transition, often fall on women, particularly those in low-income, caregiving, or informal sector roles;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas EIGE pointed out that women are underrepresented in the creation and development of clean innovation; whereas this has added value for European policymaking;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

B c. whereas EU agencies, such as EIGE, contribute to the implementation of EU policies and strive for the development of a more sustainable, inclusive and competitive Europe for the benefit of all EU citizens; whereas these agencies are decentralised and thereby independent in the development of their work programmes;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Has serious concerns that EIGE’s mission was diverted from improving equality by its focus on the Euro~~Stresses that EIGE was correct in its index’s assertion that high energy prices place a lot of very small businesses at risk of indebtedness and even bankruptcy, many of them owned by women or employing women, especially in personal care services; to that end, underlines that future research on the gender aspects of the Green Deal should seek to address that women are not overburdened with bureaucratic red tape an ~~Green Deal~~d costly energy bills to the detriment of the European economy; points out that EIGE achieved 92,76 % of its work programme objectives;

Amendment 19 #

Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE, Lucia YAR, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Veronika CIFROVÁ OSTRIHOŇOVÁ, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Has serious concerns that EIGE’s mission w~~Stresses that in the last d~~iverted from improving equality by its focus on the European Green Deal; points out that EIGE achieved 92,76 % of its work programme objectives~~ecade economic, social, labour and gender inequalities within and between Member States have become more acute; recalls the important role played by EIGE in understanding and addressing the extent and causes of gender inequality in the EU;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 8 TFEU mandates the Union to aim to eliminate inequalities and to promote equality between men and women in all its activities; whereas equality is a fundamental right under the Treaty of Lisbon and a priority for the Union with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) supporting Union institutions and Member States in achieving that aim; whereas it is EIGE's objective to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality, including gender mainstreaming in all EU policies, a task in which it has proven to be vital and effective; whereas it is therefore underlined that EIGE needs to be provided with sufficient and stable financial and human resources to fulfil its tasks;

Amendment 20 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Has serious concerns that EIGE’s mission was diverted from improving equality by its focus on the European Green Deal; points out that~~Notes EIGE’s continuous high level of budget execution, despite the persistent understaffing of the agency, with commitment appropriations of up to 98 % in and a payment appropriations rate of 83 %; congratulates EIGE for achieveding 92,.76 % of its work programme objectives;

Amendment 21 #

Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE, Lucia YAR, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Veronika CIFROVÁ OSTRIHOŇOVÁ, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. H~~as serious concerns that EIGE’s mission was diverted from improving e~~ighlights that EIGE achieved 92,76 % of its work programme objectives; notes that the 2023 Gender Equality ~~by its~~Index focused on ~~the European Green Deal; points out that EIGE achieved 92,76 % of its work programme objectives~~how gender gaps impact and are impacted by green transition efforts, especially in sectors like energy and transport;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Has serious concerns ~~that EIGE’s mission was diverted from improving equality by its focus on the European Green Deal~~about the lack of gender mainstreaming within climate policies and welcomes EIGE's initiatives shed light on this phenomenom; points out that EIGE achieved 92,76 % of its work programme objectives;

Amendment 23 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Notes that EIGE was established as EU’s knowledge centre on gender equality to produce independent research and share best practises to eliminate discrimination based on gender, combine research, data and tools to help EU and it’s Member States to design inclusive and gender-transformative policies and to mainstream gender equality into all their policies; highlights the urgency for the Union to advance on gender equality, in the light of ongoing crisis, such as climate crisis, wars, backlashes on gender equality and anti-gender and anti- democratic movements; in this regard, recalls that one in three women in the EU experience gender based violence during their lifetime, including physical, sexual and psychological violene or threats of violence1a; recalls that women are more severely affected by poverty and notes in that regard that gender pay gap in the EU is 13%1b and pension gender pension gap is 29%,1c effecting women’s societal wellbeing; notes that women in the EU also experience threats to their fundamental rights and bodily autonomy, as attacks against SRHR, including abortion rights persist; reiterates that women are also disproportionately affected by climate crisis and wars and conflicts; _________________ 1a https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra _uploads/eu- gender_based_violence_survey_key_result s.pdf 1b https://commission.europa.eu/strategy- and-policy/policies/justice-and- fundamental-rights/gender- equality/equal-pay/gender-pay-gap- situation-eu_en 1c https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/product s-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20210203-1

Amendment 24 #

Catherine GRISET, Mathilde ANDROUËT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that the EIGE participated, along with Eurostat and the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, in the EU gender-based violence survey, published on 25 November 2024; calls on the EIGE to prioritise the fight against violence, to tackle this issue without any ideological bias, to ensure that the scale of violence against women in public places is not underestimated, and to gather data on the profiles of perpetrators, not just victims; stresses that this information is vitally important when adopting efficient public policies to combat violence against women;

Amendment 25 #

Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE, Lucia YAR, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Veronika CIFROVÁ OSTRIHOŇOVÁ, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Emphasizes that addressing gender-based violence cannot be decoupled from tackling economic and social inequalities; calls on EIGE to prioritize research and recommendations that focus on reducing the gender pay gap, increasing women’s access to quality jobs, and ensuring their economic independence as a fundamental part of its mission to combat violence against women and girls;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation between EIGE and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality; stresses the valuable contribution that EIGE can make to all Parliament committees, in order to better integrate the gender perspective in all EU policies;

Amendment 27 #

Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE, Lucia YAR, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Veronika CIFROVÁ OSTRIHOŇOVÁ, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Note~~Recalls that the ~~8,5 % increase in~~ EIGE’s sta~~ff costs can be attributed to the continued high~~sk is to collect, analyse, and disseminate inflormation ~~rate as well as a 2,7% indexation of salaries, and that the average number of staff r~~as regards gender equality and to develop, analyse, evaluate and dissemain~~ed at 45; notes that two contract agents were engaged and funded by the IPA contribution agreement with the Commission’s Directorate-G~~ate methodological tools in order to support the integration of genderal for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; acknowledges the persisting understaffing of EIGE and suggests that EIGE focus its work programme on violence against women and girls while deprioritizing actions related to the European Green Deal where necessary in light of current staff capacit equality into all Union policies and the resulting national policies; encourages collaboration between the EIGE and other Union agencies;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that the 8,5 % increase in EIGE’s staff costs can be attributed to the continued high inflation rate as well as a 2,7% indexation of salaries, and that the average number of staff remained at 45; notes that two contract agents were engaged and funded by the IPA contribution agreement with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; acknowledges the persisting understaffing of EIGE ~~and suggests that EIGE focus its work programme on violence against women and girls while deprioritizing actions related to the European Green Deal where necessary in light of current staff capacities~~; notes that Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality, states in article 6 that EIGE should function independently in the public interest; acknowledges that EIGE thus produces independent research and as such is capable of dealing with the prioritization of their work independently as well; encourages the European Commission to prioritise gender mainstreaming in all its policies and ensure that EIGE has sufficient capacity to research this topic;

Amendment 29 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that the 8,5 % increase in EIGE’s staff costs can be attributed to the continued high inflation rate as well as a 2,7% indexation of salaries, and that the average number of staff remained at 45; notes that two contract agents were engaged and funded by the IPA contribution agreement with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; acknowledges the persisting understaffing of EIGE and suggests that ~~EIGE focus its work programme on violence against women and girls while deprioritizing actions related to the European Green Deal where necessary in l~~additional staffing resources, including statuary staff, shall be allocated to EIGE in response to the increasing urgent demands, technical assistance, and requests for its services; further calls for increased budget allocations to support the Institute’s recruitment and research capabilities, enabling EIGE to better address subsequent crisis and the growing backlashes against gender equality, women's rights and rights of ~~current staff capacities~~LGBTIQ+ persons, which disproportionately affect women;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas Article 8 TFEU mandates the Union to aim to eliminate inequalities establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming and to promote equality between men and women in all its activities; whereas equality is a fundamental right under the Treaty of Lisbon and a priority for the Union with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) supporting Union institutions and Member States in achieving that aim;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that the 8,5 % increase in EIGE’s staff costs can be attributed to the continued high inflation rate as well as a 2,7% indexation of salaries, and that the average number of staff remained at 45; notes that two contract agents were engaged and funded by the IPA contribution agreement with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; acknowledges the persisting understaffing of EIGE, a~~nd suggests that EIGE focus its work programme on violence against women and girls while deprioritizing actions related to the European Green Deal where necessary in light of current staff capacities~~s evidenced in the findings of the second external evaluation and calls on the Commission to propose the necessary resources for the Agency to enable it to fulfil its tasks, particularly as regards to gender mainstreaming;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recalls that EIGE has experienced persistent issues with understaffing, which were further aggravated through the sharp increase in requests for technical assistance as a result of the prioritisation of gender mainstreaming in all Union policies and initiatives in the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025; stresses its calls for EIGE to be granted the budget and staff allocations, including an increase in contract agents, required to handle the significant increase in workload;

Amendment 33 #

Paulo DO NASCIMENTO CABRAL, Loucas FOURLAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Welcomes EIGE’s gender equality highlights which presented Croatia and Greece as having the highest share of women among research and innovation personnel in business enterprises in the electricity and gas and water supply sectors; notes that such information has added value to the cause of gender equality in the energy market;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Highlights the importance of resuming actions related to the gender mainstreaming that did not achieve a 100% success rate, particularly those due to procedural reasons;

Amendment 35 #

Catherine GRISET, Mathilde ANDROUËT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes that the overall gender imbalance among EIGE staff has increased in recent years, with women accounting for 75 % of employees in 2023;

Amendment 36 #

Paulo DO NASCIMENTO CABRAL, Loucas FOURLAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Recognizes the high success rates of EIGE in developing actions and communication campaigns on gender equality, emphasizing its importance in creating awareness;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Notes that EIGE already considers violence against women as being one of the most severe human rights violations within societies;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Highlights the important research by the Agency which presents how violence is a result of inequalities that affect all women, but that indeed some groups of women are more vulnerable to experiencing violence such as women with disabilities; calls on EIGE to further develop its future work on this pressing topic;

Amendment 39 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2 d. agrees with EIGE in its research that women and girls with disabilities are often at a higher risk of transport poverty due to limited transport affordability, availability, and accessibility;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas EIGE’s core mission focuses on achieving gender equality in the EU by providing research, collecting and communicating data, and developing methods to improve statistics and data collection, measuring the state of gender equality at both EU and Member State levels, developing methodological tools and providing technical support for gender mainstreaming, and cooperating with EU institutions, it’s Member States, EU agencies, international organisations, academia, civil society and other stakeholders;

Amendment 40 #

Margarita DE LA PISA CARRIÓN, Sebastian KRUIS, Mireia BORRÁS PABÓN, Viktória FERENC

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Acknowledges that specific measures were taken in the area of financial management~~Recalls that the European Institute for Gender Equality was set up to help the European institutions and the Member States to emainsutre ~~a proper implementation of interinstitutional framework contracts.~~am gender equality in all their policies and combat gender-based discrimination by supplying up-to-date studies, and thus makes an important contribution to efforts to achieve genuine gender equality;

Amendment 41 #

Assita KANKO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Acknowledges that specific measures were taken in the area of financial management to ensure a proper implementation of interinstitutional framework contracts. to comply with the observations of the Court;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – point 1 (new)

(1) Strongly opposes the diversion of resources and attention from critical economic and social objectives by earmarking funds specifically for a gender perspective; acknowledges that this approach has proven ineffective, as significant progress in areas such as reducing violence against women or achieving gender equality has not been realised despite the allocation of resources;

Amendment 43 #

Margarita DE LA PISA CARRIÓN, Sebastian KRUIS, Mireia BORRÁS PABÓN, Viktória FERENC

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – point 2 (new)

(2) Affirms that these funds have been exploited for purely ideological purposes, resulting in the imposition of a forced social change that undermines national sovereignty and the rights of families;

Amendment 44 #

Margarita DE LA PISA CARRIÓN, Sebastian KRUIS, Mireia BORRÁS PABÓN, Viktória FERENC

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – point 3 (new)

(3) Advocates for project funding to be objective, effective, and neutral, free from partisan influence, and designed to benefit society as a whole, prioritizing the genuine needs of EU citizens, irrespective of gender;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation between EIGE and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), in particular the Institute’s contribution to the ongoing efforts of the Committee concerning gender-based violence, work-life balance, the gender pay and pension gap, impact of crises on women, gender mainstreaming and budgeting; strongly supports the work of the Institute, which enables the Committee to properly do its work; notes the importance of availability of reliable gender-disaggregated data in order to allow for evidence-based policy making; notes the valuable contribution EIGE can make to all the European Parliament's Committees and other EU agencies in order to better integrate gender mainstreaming in all EU policies; calls on EIGE to adopt an intersectional framework in its research and policymaking to address the compounded social and economic disadvantages faced by women from marginalized groups, including women of color, migrants, persons with disabilities, and LGBTIQA+ individuals; stresses the importance of collecting disaggregated data to develop targeted solutions for these groups;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Is of the opinion, on the basis of the data currently available, that discharge can be granted to the Director of the EIGE in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2023.

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Is of the opinion, on the basis of the data currently available, that discharge can be granted to the Director of EIGE in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2023.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas the Gender Equality Index 2023 for the European Union (EU) surpassed 70 points for the first time, showing a growth of 1.6 points since 2022; whereas the increase in the overall EU score is the highest year-on-year rise since the first edition of the Index in 2013;

Amendment 6 #

Joanna SCHEURING-WIELGUS, Alessandra MORETTI, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabeth GROSSMANN, Lina GÁLVEZ, Marko VEŠLIGAJ

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas gender equality must be incorporated into all EU policies, including via gender budgeting at all levels of the budgetary process; whereas EIGE was established in order to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality in the Union;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas in 2023 EIGE’s work focused on two thematic priorities: the European Green Deal and gender-based violence; whereas crises exacerbate women’s vulnerability and exposure to violence, intensifying existing structural inequalities and aggravating all types of gender-based violence, including physical, sexual and psychological; whereas the effectiveness of EIGE’s actions ofollowing the principle of gender mainstreaming, incorporating gender sensitive perspective, and researching the effect of all policies on women are crucial aspects of achieving gender equality; whereas in 2023 EIGE’s work focused on, among other areas, supporting the objective of a green and gender-equal Europe through the Green Deal, via the Gender Equality index, developing the good practises toolkit and awareness raising; whereas the focus on the Green Deal was appropriate; whereas in EIGE’s publication in October 2023 on Gender Balance in the European Green Deal, ~~which ne~~it was concludeds t~~o be revised and updated to set achievable targets in general to achieve equality and support women~~hat, in order to deliver the European Green Deal with a just and socially fair transition that leaves no one behind, additional efforts are needed to address the under- representation of women in key decision- making positions, especifically ~~in the Union, is questionable~~, greater focus is required at the national level to honour both EU and national commitments to equal representation in positions of power;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas ~~in 2023 EIGE’s work focused on two thematic priorities: the European Green Deal and gender-based violence~~gender equality is far from a reality in the Union, with the 2023 Gender Equality Index having made a modest increase of only 1.6 points to reach 70.2, and with some domains showing signs of regression, in particular in economic and income metrics; whereas crises exacerbate women’s vulnerability and exposure to violence, intensifying existing structural inequalities and aggravating all types of gender-based violence, including physical, sexual and psychological; whereas ~~the effectiveness of EIGE’s actions on the European Green Deal, which needs to be revised and updated to set achievable targets in~~women face systemic social and economic inequalities across the Union, exacerbated by intersecting factors such as race, disability, sexual orientation, gender~~al to achieve equal~~ identity, and ~~support women, especially in the Union, is questionable~~migration status, which hinder their access to opportunities, fair wages, and social protections;

Amendment 9 #