Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 10 May 2012 - Brussels

Discharge 2010 (debate)

  Iliana Ivanova, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, as shadow rapporteur for the Parliament’s discharge, I would like to thank our rapporteur, Mr Liberadzki, for the work he has done. In committee, I think, we reached a good compromise which identifies concrete areas for improvement. I urge all my colleagues not to accept any appeals to reject this resolution but, on the contrary, to support it. I will briefly address three points which I consider important in this report.

First: public procurement. We need clearer rules. We call on the Bureau to review all control mechanisms in order to guarantee the most competitive prices for the services and goods offered.

Second: security, which is still a major issue for many MEPs. In the report, we have targeted concrete areas where improvements could be made.

Third: the internal auditors’ report. We hope this will be provided to members of the Committee on Budgetary Control on time, so that we can make a clear assessment of the situation.

Now let me quickly comment on some issues arising from the Commission discharge. First, I want to congratulate rapporteur Christofer Fjellner for his excellent work and energy during the whole procedure. There are a number of important aspects this year, of which the first is shared management. This year again, the Court of Auditors has not been able to issue a positive declaration of assurance on the Union budget. I call on the Commission to find the appropriate tools and to apply stricter and adequate sanctions in order to ensure that Member States assume their responsibilities. I note, however, the presence of the Council at today’s debate.

The second aspect concerns financial instruments. Their use is continually increasing and they are indeed useful, but we do not know to what extent. We need to assess them better, using appropriate indicators, and to establish a clear link between inputs and results.

The third aspect is that of instruments for financial assistance. The EU budget guarantees loans and the balance of payments in the European Financial Stability Mechanism for a maximum of EUR 110 billion. This is almost an annual budget, and we definitely need clearer accountability and greater transparency with regard to operations under these instruments.

Finally, I would like to welcome the important role that the Court of Auditors plays in the whole discharge process, and I am certain that our fruitful cooperation will continue on all aspects of budgetary control.