REPORT on the nomination of Karel Pinxten as a Member of the Court of Auditors

25.11.2011 - (C7-0349/2011 – 2011/0814(NLE))

Committee on Budgetary Control
Rapporteur: Inés Ayala Sender

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on the nomination of Karel Pinxten as a Member of the Court of Auditors

(C7-0349/2011 – 2011/0814(NLE))

(Consultation)

–   having regard to Article 286(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C7-0349/2011),

–   having regard to the fact that at its meeting of 23 November 2011 the Committee on Budgetary Control heard the Council’s nominee for membership of the Court of Auditors,

–   having regard to Rule 108 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0417/2011),

A. whereas Karel Pinxten fulfils the conditions laid down in Article 286(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU,

1.  Delivers a favourable opinion on the Council's nomination of Karel Pinxten as a Member of the Court of Auditors;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and, for information, the Court of Auditors, the other institutions of the European Union and the audit institutions of the Member States.

ANNEX 1: CURRICULUM VITÆ OF Karel Pinxten

Born in Overpelt (Belgium) in 1952.

Doctorandus of Economics, specialising in public finance and monetary economics, from the

Catholic University, Leuven. Master's degree in Economics (M. Phil) from Cambridge

University and candidate degree in law from Antwerp University.

From 1977 to 1978, he was a research assistant at the Centre for Economic Studies at the

Catholic University of Leuven. He was an auditor at the Belgian Court of Auditors from 1980

until entering the Belgian government in 1994.

In 1978 Karel Pinxten completed a six-month study trip to Japan as a laureate of the Prize of

the Belgian Foreign Trade Minister.

Karel Pinxten was Mayor of Overpelt from 1983 until 2006. Between 1984 and 1985 he was

an adviser in the private office of the Deputy Prime Minister. From 1985 to 1989 he was an

adviser in the private office of the Finance Minister.

Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1991, he was a member of the Committee

on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Between 1991 and 1994 he was a Member of the Belgian Federal Parliament, and a member

of the Finance Committee. Karel Pinxten was appointed Minister of Defence from 1994 to

1995 and Minister of Agriculture and SMUs from 1995 to 1999.

During his mandate as a Member of the Federal Parliament from 1999 to 2005, he was a

member of the Finance and Foreign Affairs Committee. In 2004 he was elected Chairman of

the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr Pinxten became a Member of the European Court of Auditors on I March 2006 and was

appointed to Audit Group III "External actions".

From 22 March 2006 to 18 April 2007, he was an alternate Member of the Court's Administrative Committee.

Since 1 June 2010, following the reorganisation of the Court, Mr Pinxten is a Member of

Chamber III "External Actions" and an alternate Member of the Administrative Committee

since January 2011.

In April 2011 Mr Pinxten became the Dean of Chamber III "External Actions" and a Member

of the Administrative Committee.

ANNEX 2: SUMMARY BY karel pinxten OF EXPERIENCE AS A COURT MEMBER AND OBJECTIVES FOR A FUTURE MANDATE

When I became a Member of the European Court of Auditors in March 2006, I was assigned to the area of audit of External Actions. I was the reporting member for five special reports (SR) and I was also responsible for contributions to the Court’s Annual Report (DAS chapters) for the years 2006 and 2007. The special reports in question are the following:

- SR 3/2006 - The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Response to the Tsunami,

- SR 6/2008 - European Commission Rehabilitation Aid following the Tsunami and Hurricane

Mitch,

- SR 15/2009 - EU assistance implemented through United Nations Organisations: decision-

making and monitoring,

- SR 1/2011 - Has the devolution of the Commission's management of external assistance from

its headquarters to its delegations led to improved aid delivery?,

- SR 3/2011 - The efficiency and effectiveness of EU contributions channelled through United

Nations Organisations in conflict-affected countries.

I was a Member of the Joint Audit Committee on EUROPOL for the financial year 2009.

Presently, I am responsible for the 2011 DAS - EDF Annual Report and the SR on the European Neighbourhood Policy funded activities in Egypt.

In April 2011, I was appointed Dean of Chamber III and a member of the Court’s Administrative Committee.

Objectives for a possible future mandate

The European taxpayer has the right to know that EU money is spent in a proper and transparent way. This is a prerequisite for the support of the EU citizen for all EU actions. As an independent institution the ECA plays a key role in this process.

My objectives are to contribute, in whatever role I am allocated in the Court, to:

- the maintenance of high standards for the work of the Court

- fostering good working relationships with the European Parliament and our other partners

- making a difference through the quality and impact of our reports

I see our overall goal as providing assurance to our stakeholders that the Court of Auditors is serving them well.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted	23.11.2011
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	23 1 0
Members present for the final vote	Jean-Pierre Audy, Inés Ayala Sender, Andrea Cozzolino, Tamás Deutsch, Jens Geier, Ingeborg Gräßle, Iliana Ivanova, Monica Luisa Macovei, Jan Mulder, Jan Olbrycht, Crescenzio Rivellini, Georgios Stavrakakis, Søren Bo Søndergaard
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Zuzana Brzobohatá, Edit Herczog, Sidonia Elżbieta Jędrzejewska, Czesław Adam Siekierski, Derek Vaughan
Substitute(s) under Rule 187(2) present for the final vote	George Sabin Cutaş, Leonidas Donskis, Pat the Cope Gallagher, Cristina Gutiérrez-Cortines, Marian Harkin, Sampo Terho