European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union (COM(2004)0592 – C6-0118/2004 – 2004/0202(COD))

P6_TA(2005)0083 A6-0067/2005

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the proposal of the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2004)0592)(1),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 285 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted its proposal (C6-0118/2004),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development (A6-0067/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal;

2.  Asks the Commission to reconsult Parliament should it propose to amend its proposal substantially or replace it by another text;

3.  Supports the Commission in submitting a communication to the European Parliament and the Council on the appropriateness of establishing rules on a Europe-wide basis for more detailed levels in the NUTS classification, as provided for in Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) N° 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)(2);

4.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ. (2) OJ L 154, 21.6.2003, p. 1.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a view to adopting a Council Decision on protecting the euro against counterfeiting, by designating Europol as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting (14811/2004 – C6-0221/2004 – 2004/0817(CNS))

P6_TA(2005)0084 A6-0079/2005

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (14811/2004)(1),

–   having regard to Articles 30(1)(c) and 34(2)(c) of the EU Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 39(1) of the EU Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0221/2004),

–   having regard to Rules 93 and 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A6-0079/2005),

1.  Approves the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as amended;

2.  Calls on the Council to amend the text accordingly;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Calls on the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend substantially the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Text proposed by of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 1 (1)  As the legal currency of 12 Member States, the euro has increasingly become a global currency and has therefore become a high-priority target of international counterfeiting organisations. (1)  As the legal currency of 12 Member States, the euro has gradually taken on extraordinary global importance and euro counterfeiting is therefore a high-priority target of domestic and international criminal organisations operating both within and outside the European Union. Amendment 2 Recital 2 (2)  The euro has also become the target of third-country counterfeiters. deleted Amendment 3 Recital 3 a (new) (3a) On their own, individual Member States cannot provide appropriate protection for the euro, since euro banknotes and coins circulate outside the territory of the Member States belonging to the monetary union. Amendment 4 Recital 3 b (new) (3b) Cooperation among the Member States themselves and between the Member States and Europol needs to be stepped up in order to strengthen the system for the protection of the euro outside European Union territory. Amendment 5 Recital 4 (4)  The Convention for the Prevention of Counterfeiting Currency, agreed on 20 April 1929 in Geneva (hereinafter referred to as "Geneva Convention"), should be applied more effectively under the conditions of European integration. (4)  The International Convention for the Suppression of Counterfeiting Currency, agreed on 20 April 1929 in Geneva (hereinafter referred to as "Geneva Convention"), and the additional Protocol thereto, should be applied more effectively with a view to ensuring comprehensive, effective and consistent protection of the euro. Amendment 6 Recital 5 (5)  Third countries need a central contact for information on counterfeit euros and all information on counterfeit euros should be brought together at Europol for purposes of analysis. (5)  Third countries need a central contact for information on counterfeit euros and all information on counterfeit euros should be brought together at Europol for purposes of analysis alongside and in close cooperation with the national central offices of the Member States. Amendment 7 Recital 6 (6)  In view of Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting, the Council considers it appropriate for all Member States to become contracting parties to the Geneva Convention and set up central offices within the meaning of Article 12 of the Convention. (6)  In view of the Council Framework Decision of 29 May 2000 on increasing protection by criminal penalties and other sanctions against counterfeiting in connection with the introduction of the euro1 and in view of Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting, the Council considers it appropriate for all Member States to become contracting parties to the Geneva Convention and set up central offices within the meaning of Article 12 of the Convention. ____________________ 1 OJ L 140, 14.6.2000, p. 1. Amendment 8 Recital 7 (7)  The Council considers it appropriate to designate Europol as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting within the meaning of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention, (7)  The Council considers it appropriate to designate Europol as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting (a task which it will perform in close cooperation with the national central offices of the Member States) within the meaning of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention, Amendment 9 Article 1, paragraph 1 1.  For the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, namely Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, Europol shall, in accordance with the Declaration in the annex hereto (hereinafter referred to as the "Declaration"), act as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting within the meaning of the first sentence of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention. For counterfeiting of all other currencies and for central office functions not delegated to Europol pursuant to the Declaration, the existing competencies of the national central offices shall remain in effect. 1.  For all the Member States Europol shall, in accordance with the Declaration in the annex hereto (hereinafter referred to as the "Declaration"), act as the European Union central office for protecting the euro against counterfeiting within the meaning of the first sentence of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention, alongside and in close cooperation with the national central offices of the Member States. For counterfeiting of all other currencies and for central office functions delegated or not delegated to Europol pursuant to the Declaration, the existing competencies of the national central offices shall remain in effect. Amendment 10 Article 1, paragraph 2 2.  Member States, which are not yet Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, namely Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia, shall accede to the Geneva Convention. Upon acceding to the Geneva Convention, they shall, in accordance with the Declaration, designate Europol as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting in accordance with the first sentence of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention. deleted Amendment 11 Article 2, paragraph 1 1.  The governments of the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention shall issue the Declaration and commission the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to forward the Declarations to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 1.  The governments of the Member States shall issue the Declaration and commission the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to forward the Declarations to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Amendment 12 Article 2, paragraph 2 2.  The governments of the Member States which are not yet Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention shall, in the event of accession, promptly issue the Declaration and commission the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to forward the Declaration to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. deleted Amendment 13 Annex, first introductory sentence ………, a Member State of the European Union, has given the European Police Office (hereinafter referred to as "Europol") a mandate to combat euro counterfeiting. ………, a Member State of the European Union, has given the European Police Office (hereinafter referred to as "Europol") a mandate to act as the European Union's central office for action to combat euro counterfeiting for the purposes of the Geneva Convention - a task which it will perform alongside and in close cooperation with the national central offices of the Member States. Amendment 14 Annex, point 1.1. 1.1.  Europol shall centralise and process, in accordance with the Europol Convention, all information of a nature to facilitate the investigation, prevention and combating of euro counterfeiting and shall forward this information without delay to the national central offices of the EU Member States. 1.1.  Europol shall centralise and process, in accordance with the Europol Convention and in close cooperation with the national central offices of the Member States, all information of a nature to facilitate the investigation, prevention and combating of euro counterfeiting. Amendment 15 Annex, point 1.5, introductory sentence. 1.5.  Except in cases of purely local interest, Europol shall, insofar as it considers it expedient, notify the central office of third countries of: 1.5.  Except in cases of purely local interest, Europol shall, insofar as it considers it expedient and taking into account the provisos contained in the Council Act of 12 March 1999 adopting the rules governing the transmission of personal data by Europol to third States and third bodies1, notify the central office of third countries of: _______________________ 1 OJ C 88, 30.3.1999, p. 1. Amendment 16 Annex, point 1.7. 1.7.  Where Europol is unable to carry out the tasks specified in points 1.1. to 1.6. in accordance with the Europol Convention, the national central offices of the Member States shall retain competence. deleted Amendment 17 Annex, point 1 a (new) 1a. The powers assigned to Europol for the purpose of protecting the euro against counterfeiting within the framework of the Geneva Convention shall be exercised alongside those of the national central offices of the Member States and in close cooperation with those offices. Amendment 18 Annex, point 2 2.  With regard to the counterfeiting of all other currencies and for central office functions not delegated to Europol in accordance with point 1, the existing competencies of the national central offices shall remain in effect. 2.  With regard to measures to protect against the counterfeiting of all other currencies, the existing competencies of the national central offices shall remain in effect.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council Decision establishing the European Police College (CEPOL) as a body of the European Union (COM(2004)0623 – C6-0203/2004 – 2004/0215(CNS))

P6_TA(2005)0085 A6-0059/2005

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal (COM(2004)0623)(1),

–   having regard to Articles 30(1)(c) and 34(2)(c) of the EU Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 39(1) of the EU Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0203/2004),

–   having regard to Rules 93 and 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A6-0059/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Considers that the financial statement of the Commission proposal for the period 2005-2006 is compatible with the ceiling of heading 3 of the current Financial Perspective without restricting other policies; recalls that the appropriations for the period after 2006 will be subject to the decision on the new financial framework; requests the Commission, if applicable, to propose adjusted amounts for the period after 2006 to ensure consistency with the new ceilings;

3.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

4.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

5.  Calls on the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

6.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Article 4 The seat of CEPOL shall be in Bramshill, United Kingdom. The seat of CEPOL shall be in Bramshill, United Kingdom. The host Member State shall facilitate the setting up of CEPOL. Amendment 3 Article 5, paragraph 1 1.  Without prejudice to the competencies of the institutions responsible for training of law-enforcement officers in the Member States, the purpose of CEPOL is to help train the senior and other law-enforcement officers of the Member States playing a key role in the fight against cross-border crime in the European Union, with a view to strengthening and improving cooperation in those areas most relevant to the achievement of an area of freedom, security and justice in the sense of Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union. In so doing, CEPOL shall strive to support a European approach to the main problems facing Member States in preventing and combating crime, organized or otherwise, especially as regards its cross-border dimensions, by helping to train senior and other law-enforcement officials of the Member States. 1.  Without prejudice to the competencies of the institutions responsible for training of law-enforcement officers in the Member States, the purpose of CEPOL is to help train the law-enforcement officers of the Member States playing a key role in the fight against cross-border crime in the European Union, with a view to strengthening and improving cooperation in those areas most relevant to the achievement of an area of freedom, security and justice in the sense of Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union. In so doing, CEPOL shall strive to support a European approach to the main problems facing Member States in preventing and combating crime, organized or otherwise, especially as regards its cross-border dimensions, by helping to train law-enforcement officials of the Member States. (This amendment applies throughout the text.) Amendment 4 Article 5, paragraph 2 2.  CEPOL courses and training modules shall focus on ways to improve cooperation among Member States' law-enforcement services in priority areas, such as preventing and combating serious and/or organized crime and terrorism. They shall pay special attention to human rights and ethics as they apply to law enforcement, taking into account relevant instruments. CEPOL courses and training tools shall be directed to police and other law-enforcement officers working in the field of European Union and/or international cooperation in preventing and combating crime. 2.  CEPOL courses and training modules shall focus on ways to improve cooperation among Member States' law-enforcement services in priority areas, such as preventing and combating serious and/or organized crime and terrorism. They shall pay special attention to human rights, the treatment of especially vulnerable groups, such as women, minors and minorities, and ethics, as they apply to law enforcement, taking into account relevant instruments. CEPOL courses and training tools shall be directed to police and other law-enforcement officers working in the field of European Union and/or international cooperation in preventing and combating crime. Amendment 5 Article 7, point 8 (8)  Develop and provide training to prepare police forces of the European Union for participation in non-military crisis management. (8)  Develop and provide training to prepare police forces of the European Union for participation in non-military crisis prevention and management. Amendment 2 Chapter III, title Organs, national units and cooperation with other bodies Organs, liaison units and cooperation with other bodies (This amendment applies throughout the text.) Amendment 6 Article 9, paragraph 1 The Governing Board shall be made up of one representative from each Member State and a representative of the European Commission. It shall be up to each Member State to decide on its representation in the CEPOL Governing Board. Each member shall have one vote. 1.  The Governing Board shall be made up of one representative from each Member State and a representative of the European Commission. It shall be up to each Member State to decide on its representation in the CEPOL Governing Board. Each member shall have one vote. The European Parliament may be represented by an observer if it considers it necessary. Amendment 7 Article 9, paragraph 2 2.  The members of the Governing Board shall preferably be directors of national law-enforcement training institutes of the Member States. Where there are several directors from a single Member State, it shall be up to each Member State to decide on its representation in the Governing Board in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article. The Governing Board shall be chaired by the representative of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council. 2.  The members of the Governing Board shall be directors of national law-enforcement training institutes of the Member States. Where there are several directors from a single Member State, it shall be up to each Member State to decide on its representation in the Governing Board in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article. The Governing Board shall be chaired by the representative of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council. Amendment 8 Article 10, paragraph 2 2.  The Director shall be designated by the Council for a period of five years, from a list of at least three candidates presented by the Governing Board. 2.  The Director shall be designated by the Council for a period of five years, from a list of at least three candidates presented by the Governing Board. The Council, acting on a representation by the Governing Board, may terminate the Director's term of office without notice for reasons of misconduct and with reasonable notice for reasons of unsatisfactory performance of his duties. Amendment 9 Article 10, paragraph 4, introductory part 4.  The Director shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of CEPOL's work. He or she shall support the work of the Governing Board and act as channel between this and the CEPOL national units referred to in Article 12. He or she shall in particular be responsible for: 4.  The Director shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of CEPOL's work. He or she shall support the work of the Governing Board and act as channel between this and the liaison units referred to in Article 12. He or she shall in particular be responsible for: (This amendment applies throughout the text.) Amendment 10 Article 11, paragraph 1 1.  The Director shall be supported by a staff in the discharge of his/her duties. deleted Amendment 11 Article 11, paragraph 2 2.  The staff and the Director of CEPOL are subject to the rules resulting from the regulations and rules applicable to the officials and other servants of the European Communities. 2.  The Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities, the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities and the rules adopted jointly by the institutions of the European Communities for the purposes of the application of those Staff Regulations and Conditions of employment shall apply to the Director and staff of CEPOL. Amendment 12 Article 11, paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Without prejudice to Article 10, the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of employment of other servants shall be exercised by CEPOL in respect of its own staff. Amendment 13 Article 11, paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. CEPOL's staff shall consist of officials seconded from an institution within the meaning of the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities or from Member States and of other servants recruited by CEPOL as necessary to carry out its tasks. The staff shall be recruited on a temporary basis. Amendment 14 Article 11, paragraph 4 4.  The Governing Board may adopt arrangements to permit the secondment of national experts from the Member States to CEPOL. 4.  The Governing Board may adopt arrangements to permit the secondment of national experts from the Member States to CEPOL. Such arrangements shall be approved by the Council prior to their entry into force. Amendment 15 Article 12, paragraph 1 1.  CEPOL national units shall be set up in the national law enforcement training institute of each Member State. Where there are several institutes in a single Member State, it shall be up to each Member State to decide whether to set up one or more national units, as well as on its/their location. 1.  Each Member State shall designate one or more persons, not exceeding three for each national law enforcement training institute, hereinafter called "liaison units", to ensure that CEPOL training programmes are implemented at national level. Where there is more than one liaison unit in a Member State, that Member State shall designate one of those units as the central coordinating unit. Amendment 16 Article 12, paragraph 2 2.  The national units shall preferably be headed by the official directly responsible for the development and implementation of training programs at national level, or a person with equivalent competences and responsibilities. It shall be up to each Member State to decide on the organization and staffing of the national units, in accordance with its national legislation. CEPOL national units may consist of a single person, if necessary, as long as their proper functioning in accordance with this Decision is ensured. deleted Amendment 17 Article 12, paragraph 3 3.  The Member States agree to undertake all necessary measures to ensure good communication and cooperation of all relevant training institutes, including relevant research institutes, with the CEPOL national unit(s). Where there is more than one CEPOL national unit in a single Member State, it shall be up to each Member State to designate one of them as the central coordinating unit responsible for ensuring the necessary communication and coordination with the other CEPOL national units within its territory and with those in other Member States. deleted Amendment 18 Article 12, paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. The liaison units shall support the work of the national law enforcement training institutes in the fight against cross-border crime in the European Union. Amendment 19 Article 12, paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. The training offered by the liaison units shall not replace the actions already undertaken by the national law enforcement training institutes. Amendment 20 Article 12, paragraph 4, introductory part 4.  The CEPOL national units shall be responsible at national level for implementing the training, teaching and learning tools adopted by the Governing Board, and should also participate actively in their development and the evaluation of their use. In particular, each CEPOL national unit shall be responsible for the following tasks: 4.  The liaison units shall cooperate closely with the Director of CEPOL and shall report to CEPOL on the implementation of the training programmes at national level. In particular, each liaison unit shall be responsible for the following tasks: Amendment 21 Article 14, paragraph 3 3.  The Director shall draw up an estimate of the revenues and expenditure of CEPOL for the following financial year and shall forward it to the Governing Board together with an establishment plan. 3.  The Director shall draw up an estimate of the revenues and expenditure of CEPOL for the following financial year and shall forward it to the Governing Board together with a provisional establishment plan. Amendment 22 Article 15, paragraph 3 3.  On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on CEPOL's provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129 of the general Financial Regulation, the Director shall draw up CEPOL's final accounts under his own responsibility and forward them to the Governing Board for an opinion. 3.  On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on CEPOL's provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129 of the general Financial Regulation, the Governing Board shall draw up CEPOL's final accounts on the basis of the draft accounts prepared by the Director. Amendment 23 Article 16 The financial rules applicable to CEPOL shall be adopted by the Governing Board after having consulted the Commission. They may not depart from the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No. 2343/2002 of 23 December 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No. 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, unless specifically required for CEPOL's operation and with the Commission's prior consent. The financial rules applicable to CEPOL shall be adopted by the Governing Board after having consulted the Commission. They may not depart from the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No. 2343/2002 of 23 December 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No. 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, unless specifically required for CEPOL's operation and with the Commission's prior consent. The budgetary authority shall be informed of these derogations. Amendment 24 Article 21 At the latest six months after this Decision takes effect, the Member States shall have set up their CEPOL national unit(s) and transmitted all the relevant information to the General Secretariat of the Council and the Commission. Within six months after this Decision takes effect, the Member States shall designate their liaison units as referred to in Article 12 and shall transmit all the relevant information to the Director and the Governing Board of CEPOL. Amendment 25 Article 22, paragraph 1 1.  At the end of each year the Governing board shall submit an annual report to the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament as specified by Article 9(7)(d) of this Decision. 1.  At the end of each year the Governing board shall submit an annual report to the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament as specified by Article 9(7)(d) of this Decision. The Governing Board shall also submit any report or any further information that may be required of it by the European Parliament or the Council. Amendment 26 Article 22, paragraph 2 2.  Within five years after this Decision takes effect and every five years thereafter, the Governing Board shall commission an independent external evaluation of the implementation of this Decision as well as of the activities carried out by CEPOL. 2.  Within three years after this Decision takes effect and every three years thereafter, the Governing Board shall commission an independent external evaluation of the implementation of this Decision as well as of the activities carried out by CEPOL. Amendment 27 Article 22 a (new) Article 22a The European Police College established by this Decision shall be the successor to the European Police College established by Decision 2000/820/JHA. Continuity in administrative and legal procedures commenced prior to the date on which this Decision takes effect shall be ensured.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament resolution on short sea shipping (2004/2161(INI))

P6_TA(2005)0086 A6-0055/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2000 on the Commission communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions "The Development of Short Sea Shipping in Europe: A Dynamic Alternative in a Sustainable Transport Chain - Second Two-Yearly Progress Report"(1),

–   having regard to its resolution of 12 February 2003 on the Commission White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide"(2),

–   having regard to the Commission White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide" (COM(2001)0370 – C5-0658/2001),

–   having regard to the Commission communication "Programme for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping" (COM(2003)0155),

–   having regard to the Commission communication on short sea shipping (COM(2004)0453),

–   having regard to the Commission communication "Community guidelines on State aid to maritime transport" (C(2004)0043),

–   having regard to the outcome of the informal Transport Council of 9 and 10 July 2004,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A6-0055/2005),

A.   whereas short sea shipping is the waterborne transport of cargo and passengers by sea or inland waterway and part of the logistic transport chain in Europe and the regions connected to Europe, and whereas short sea shipping is an integrated part of the logistic transport chain between supplier and user and is a means of waterborne transport in geographical Europe whether intra-Community or between the European Union and third countries, such as countries on the Mediterranean or on the Black Sea,

B.   whereas the newly conceived trans-European network of 'Motorways of the Sea', particularly the 'Motorways' in the Baltic, Western Europe, South-East Europe and South-West Europe, should have the aim of concentrating the movement of goods on maritime logistic routes in such a way as to improve existing short sea shipping services or create new, viable, regular and frequent short sea shipping services for the movement of goods and passengers between the Member States, so as to reduce road congestion and improve transport links with peripheral or island regions and States,

C.   whereas short sea shipping, which accounts for more than 40% of intra-Community traffic, forms an integral part of the European transport system given that short sea shipping means the movement of cargo and passengers by sea or inland waterway European ports or between those ports and ports situated in non-European countries with a coastline on the enclosed seas bordering Europe,

D.   whereas short sea shipping also offers significant potential for passenger transport,

E.   whereas short sea shipping needs to be developed to fulfil its economic and commercial, social and environmental role; whereas national governments, together with regional and local authorities, will have to provide the necessary political, economic and financial support to achieve this goal, in cooperation with the industries involved,

F.   stressing that, in view of its potential in terms of compatibility with the environment, combating the congestion affecting many roads, and limiting costs, short sea shipping is capable of becoming an even more important link in the intermodal transport system in Europe, with a promising future, if a series of Community, national, regional and local measures are taken by the public authorities and by the private sector in order to develop it fully,

G.   whereas short sea shipping has an important role to play in the economic and social development of all European regions, particularly coastal regions and outlying maritime regions, and, consequently, for Community cohesion,

H.   whereas the development of short sea shipping also affords a unique opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the maritime sector in the years ahead,

I.   whereas, by fostering trade, short sea shipping also promotes the social and economic growth of third countries bordering the peripheral maritime regions and interested in links with the infrastructure of the European transport network,

J.   reiterating the idea that, even though the maritime and logistical industry is chiefly responsible for developing short sea shipping, intervention on the part of European, national and regional institutions is nevertheless essential to create favourable conditions for such development; whereas there have been some positive initiatives, such as the definition of national focal points, agreements on Community legislation in relation to the Marco Polo programme and the simplified use of IMO-FAL forms (International Maritime Organisation - Facilitation of international transport) ,

K.   welcoming the regional initiatives to promote short sea shipping and create short sea shipping links, such as the initiative for the Mediterranean region involving Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Greece, and the initiatives taken by Member States to promote and implement the concept of Motorways of the Sea in the four areas defined by Decision No 884/2004/EC(3), in particular the initiatives in the Baltic Sea region, the initiatives taken by the countries of the Mediterranean Arc including France, Spain, Greece and Italy and the Atlantic Arc Commission,

1.  Calls for short sea shipping to be promoted more strongly as a credible, sustainable and safe link in the European transport system which is well integrated in the transport chain thanks, for example, to inland waterway transport and rail links, in order to reduce congestion; calls for the modal shift from road transport to short sea shipping to be encouraged and for links to be improved with outlying and island areas and states dependent on maritime transport and between regions separated by natural barriers, whilst strengthening cohesion within the European Union and between the Union and its neighbours;

2.  Calls for the administrative procedures which hinder the development of short sea shipping to be reduced as much as possible without compromising aspects relating to security and safety, and particularly procedures which disrupt the logistical process and weaken the competitive position of this mode of transport by comparison with road transport; considers that procedures should be simplified and made easier, in particular by making full use of electronic communication possibilities;

3.  Calls for the development of high-quality corridors for short sea shipping between European Union Member States, with the full participation of all interested parties, public and private, where it is possible to make appropriate use of the instruments recently created by the European Union, in particular those relating to the trans-European transport network and the Marco Polo programme;

4.  Calls for priority to be given to investment in infrastructure in order to improve access to ports from both land and sea, including for example cross-border projects within the trans-European transport network;

5.  Supports, in this context, the Commission programmes aimed at simplifying the legal framework applying to short sea shipping and inland waterway transport, encouraging the creation of one-stop shops organised under private or public law in accordance with the legal situation in each Member State by simplifying administrative and customs formalities and through multimodal partnerships, for example between road hauliers and maritime carriers, which will also enable small and medium-sized undertakings to take full advantage of intermodal transport;

6.  Stresses the need for cooperation between all interested parties, both public and private, in promoting and developing the quality of short sea shipping operations at regional, national and European level;

7.  Stresses the potential of short sea shipping as a complementary mode of transport available very quickly and at low cost pending completion of certain trans-European transport network railway infrastructures; stresses, for example, the pressing need for alternative means of transport between France and Spain pending the opening, in about 2020, of a connection between Montpellier and Figueras;

8.  Calls for short sea shipping to be promoted as an environmentally-friendly mode of transport and consequently for the establishment of Motorways of the Sea with solid environmental requirements;

European uniform system of liability:

9.  Calls for fresh consideration to be given at Community level to unifying liability systems for the multimodal chain, particularly by evaluating the various possible civil liability models and taking an active part in the work being undertaken at international level (in particular within the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)) with the aim of a worldwide and/or European uniform system of liability which is tailored to the needs of intermodal transport in Europe and is a more uniform, simpler and more advantageous system;

Intermodal Loading Units (ILU):

10.  Stresses the need to settle the issue of the standardisation of ILUs, developing an acceptable standardisation system allowing the most widespread and effective use of loading units, with interoperability being ensured between all modes, and particularly between maritime transport, inland waterways, rail and road transport;

11.  Recalls in this connection its position of 12 February 2004(4) on a first reading of a proposal for a directive on intermodal loading units that a European intermodal loading unit should be created, combining the advantages of a container with those of a swap body and thereby maximising intermodality; urges the Councilto adopt a Common Position on the proposal so that the legislative procedure can be completed as soon as possible;

Customs:

12.  Recalls that, as a maritime freight transport mode, short sea shipping is covered by Community customs legislation;

13.  Declares itself in favour of optimum use of the exemptions offered by Community customs rules and the promotion of customs facilities operated under simplified systems for goods which may be moved freely within the framework of authorised regular shipping services;

14.  Invites in this context all parties concerned to develop and use the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) which has been introduced by the customs administrations and which is likely to make customs operations for short sea shipping more efficient and less lengthy;

Electronic communication:

15.  Calls for the setting-up of further electronic offices at sea ports where all mandatory formalities can be completed in a single operation;

16.  Calls on the Member States to consider the possibility of offering electronic communication equipment to their ports, with the necessary Community funding, using a centralised system of electronic communication wherever possible (one-stop-shop);

17.  Stresses that, in order to speed up the development of electronic communication, the setting-up of electronic port communities and their networking within the Union, and if possible also with States adjoining the Union, should be proposed and promoted throughout the European Union, with account being taken of best practice already developed in several Member States;

Support structures for short sea shipping:

18.  Welcomes the European Short Sea Network action plan and calls on the promotion centres to implement it as quickly as possible;

19.  Appreciates the important work being carried out by national short sea shipping promotion centres and their European network, and calls on the Member States to support these offices in appropriate cases, in accordance with Community legislation;

20.  Stresses that a strategic environmental impact assessment of the planned Motorways of the Sea must be performed jointly by Member States and the Commission; considers that this EIA should examine the environmental impact not only of the route itself but also of port developments and the impact on transport movements in the hinterland;

21.  Calls on the Commission to accompany its promotion of short sea shipping by proposing improvements in social standards for employees in this sector;

Environmental aspects:

22.  Recalls the need to promote the positive environmental image of short sea shipping, particularly as regards water and air pollution, and therefore to lay down minimum environmental requirements such as the use of low-sulphur fuel and limits for emissions (of SOx, NOx, CO2, etc.) into air and water; considers that greater attention should also be devoted to promoting the Clean Ship concept adopted at the fifth North Sea Ministerial Conference held in 2002;

23.  Stresses nevertheless the need for stricter Community legislation on gaseous emissions and water pollution generated by short sea shipping;

24.  Reiterates the need to encourage and continue research into less polluting fuels;

25.  Reiterates the need to update statistical data on the growth of the various modes of transport in Europe, especially data on the origin and destination of goods transported by land, in order to help in the intermodal shift to sea transport;

Motorways of the Sea:

26.  Recognises the great importance of the concept of Motorways of the Sea and their ability to become a useful tool for promoting short sea shipping, making it possible to provide encouragement, primarily by cofinancing infrastructure measures in appropriate cases, for the modal shift from road to sea and to improve accessibility between outlying and island regions and central market areas in an appropriate manner;

27.  Notes the current debates on the "Motorways of the Sea Quality Label" which could be developed for intermodal operations using short sea shipping and meeting a number of quality criteria; notes that the Motorways of the Sea Quality Label could be awarded to existing high-quality operations and to other operations where commitments are given to achieving a required quality standard, with or without support from public funds granted in accordance with Community rules, notably the competition rules;

28.  Calls for the adoption of effective, clear and adequate financing arrangements for actions linked to Motorways of the Sea and short sea shipping lines, allowing the optimum level of complementarity or indeed additionality of financing so as to enable lasting and viable new lines to be set up (which, however, must not on any account be detrimental to existing short sea shipping services) where necessary with the involvement of public services, in compliance with Community rules;

29.  Urges that aggregation of demand should be included as a priority criterion in the conditions envisaged in the Community guidelines on State aid to maritime transport;

30.  Calls for clarification of the Community rules applicable to the signing of agreements initiating the exploitation of Motorway of the Sea operations and the competition-related conditions for national public financing of short sea shipping projects and Motorways of the Sea;

o
o   o

31.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ C 121, 24.4.2001, p. 489. (2) OJ C 43 E, 19.2.2004, p. 250. (3) Decision No 884/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 amending Decision No 1692/96/EC on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (OJ L 167, 30.4.2004, p. 1). (4) OJ C 97 E, 22.4.2004, p. 612.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council directive on a specific procedure for admitting third-country nationals for purposes of scientific research (COM(2004)0178 – C6-0011/2004 – 2004/0061(CNS))

P6_TA(2005)0087 A6-0054/2005

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal (COM(2004)0178)(1),

–   having regard to Article 63(3)(a) and (4) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 67 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0011/2004),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A6-0054/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 4 (4)  The number of researchers which the Community will need to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council of 3% of GDP invested in research is estimated at 700 000. This target must be met through a series of interlocking measures such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, extending the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving the career prospects for researchers in the Community and opening the Community up to third-country nationals who could potentially be admitted for research purposes. (4)  The number of researchers which the Community will need by 2010 to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council of 3% of GDP invested in research is estimated at 700 000. This target must be met through a series of interlocking measures such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, promoting women's involvement in scientific research, extending the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving the career prospects for researchers in the Community and opening the Community up to third-country nationals who could potentially be admitted for research purposes. Amendment 2 Recital 5 (5)  This Directive is intended to contribute to achieving these goals by fostering the admission and mobility for research purposes of third-country nationals for stays of more than three months, in order to make the Community more attractive to researchers from around the world and to boost its position as an international centre for research. (5)  This Directive is intended to contribute to achieving these goals by fostering the admission and mobility for research purposes of third-country nationals for stays of more than three months, in order to make the Community more attractive to researchers from around the world, especially those with the highest qualifications, and to boost its position as an international centre for research. Amendment 3 Recital 12 (12)  It is important to foster the mobility of researchers as a means of developing and consolidating contacts and networks between partners at world level. (12)  It is important to foster the mobility of third-country nationals admitted for the purposes of carrying out scientific research in the European Union as a means of developing and consolidating contacts and networks between partners and establishing the role of the European Research Area (ERA) at world level. Amendment 4 Recital 12 a (new) (12a) Given that family reunification is an essential factor in - and may indeed by a precondition for - mobility among researchers, it should be made easier for researchers' families to join them, so as to maintain family unity. Amendment 32 Recital 12 b (new) (12b) Family members of researchers should therefore be able to join them in the host Member State under the same conditions as provided for in Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States1. __________________ 1 OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 77. Amendment 5 Recital 14 a (new) (14a) A full exemption from the restrictions on access to the labour market affecting some EU citizens during existing transitional periods should be sought for any researchers subject to such restrictions going to other Member States in order to carry out research. Amendment 6 Article 1 This Directive lays down the conditions for the admission of third-country researchers to the Member States for more than three months for the purposes of conducting a research project under a hosting agreement with a research organisation. This Directive lays down the conditions for the admission of third-country researchers to the European Union for more than three months for the purposes of conducting a research project under hosting agreements with one or more approved research organisations in one or more Member States. Amendment 7 Article 2, point (b) (b)  "Researcher" means a third-country national holding a postgraduate (master's or equivalent) degree admitted to the territory of a Member State of the European Union for the purposes of conducting a research project at a research organisation; (b)  "Researcher" means a third-country national holding a postgraduate (at least master's or equivalent) degree admitted to the territory of a Member State of the European Union for the purposes of conducting a research project at a research organisation; Amendment 8 Article 4, paragraph 2, subparagraph 1 a (new) Approval granted to a research organisation shall be valid for a renewable period of five years. Member States may grant approval for a longer period. Research organisations for which approval is refused shall receive a full justification for that refusal. Amendment 9 Article 4, paragraph 3 3.  Member States shall approve for an unlimited period public and private organisations whose main tasks consist in conducting research and Member States" higher education establishments within the meaning of their legislation or administrative practice. 3.  Member States may, in accordance with national law, require the research organisation to supply a written undertaking to the effect that, should the researcher remain unlawfully on the territory of the Member State concerned, the organisation will take responsibility for reimbursing residence costs, health costs and the cost of returns paid from public funds. The research organisation's financial liability shall cease no later than six months after the expiry of the hosting agreement. Amendment 10 Article 4, paragraph 4 4.  Member States shall approve public organisations for an unlimited period if they conduct research activities in addition to their main tasks. deleted Amendment 11 Article 4, paragraph 5 5.  Member States shall approve private firms for a period of five years, renewable, if they conduct research activities in addition to their corporate purpose. deleted Amendment 12 Article 4, paragraph 6 6.  When applying for approval, the research organisation shall give the host Member State an undertaking that they will assume responsibility for residence costs, health costs, and the cost of return in respect of the researchers it hosts and to issue them with the statement referred to in Article 5(3). The research organisation shall remain responsible for these costs for one year after the date of expiry of the hosting agreement referred to in Article 5 or the date on which the organisation informs the Member State of an event rendering it impossible to implement the hosting agreement in accordance with Article 5(4), for as long as the researcher has not left the territory of the European Union. deleted Amendment 13 Article 4, paragraph 7 7.  Within two months of the date of expiry of the hosting agreements concerned, the approved research organisations shall provide the authority designated for the purpose by the Member States with confirmation that the work has been carried out for each of the research projects in respect of which they have signed a hosting agreement pursuant to Article 5. 7.  Member States may provide that within two months of the date of expiry of the hosting agreements concerned, the approved research organisations are to provide the competent authorities designated for the purpose by the Member States with confirmation that the work has been carried out for each of the research projects in respect of which they have signed a hosting agreement pursuant to Article 5. Amendment 14 Article 4, paragraph 9 9.  A Member State may refuse to renew or decide to withdraw the approval of a research organisation which no longer meets the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 or which has signed a hosting agreement with a third-country national in respect of whom the Member State has applied Article 8(1). Where approval has been refused or withdrawn or where it has not been renewed on the basis of Article 8(1), the organisation concerned may not reapply for approval before five years from the date of publication of the decision on withdrawal or non-renewal. 9.  A Member State may refuse to renew or decide to withdraw the approval of a research organisation which no longer meets the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 or which has signed a hosting agreement with a third-country national in respect of whom the Member State has applied Article 8(1). Where approval has been refused or withdrawn or where it has not been renewed on the basis of Article 8(1), the organisation concerned may not reapply for approval before five years from the date of publication of the decision on withdrawal or non-renewal. Research organisations shall not be held responsible for violations of the conditions specified in Article 6(a) and (d) unless there are grounds for suspecting that they colluded in the commission by the researcher of unlawful acts. Amendment 16 Article 7 Member States shall issue a residence permit for one year or more and shall renew it annually if the conditions laid down in Articles 5 and 6 are still met. If the research project is scheduled to last less than one year, the residence permit shall be issued for the duration of the project. Member States shall issue a residence permit for the duration of the hosting agreement. This period may be extended by 30 days at the request of the person concerned. Amendment 17 Article 7 a (new) Article 7 a Family members 1.  Member States shall authorise the entry and residence of family members of the researcher. 2. 'Family members' shall be understood as meaning: (a) the spouse; (b) the partner with whom the third-country researcher has contracted a registered partnership, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State; (c) the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants and those of the spouse or partner as referred to in point (b); (d) the direct dependent relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner as referred to in point (b); The host Member State shall be free to apply more favourable conditions. Amendment 18 Article 8 paragraph 2 2.  Member States may withdraw or refuse to renew a residence permit for reasons of public policy, public security or public health. Where they take such a decision, Member States shall take account of the seriousness or nature of the infringement of public policy or public health committed by the person concerned or the threat posed by that person. The competent authority of the Member State concerned may not withhold renewal of the residence permit, withdraw the permit or remove its holder from the territory on the ground of illness or disability suffered after the residence permit was issued. 2.  Member States may withdraw or refuse to renew a residence permit for reasons of public security or public health. Where they take such a decision, Member States shall take account of the seriousness or nature of the infringement of public security or public health committed by the person concerned or the threat posed by that person. The competent authority of the Member State concerned may not withhold renewal of the residence permit, withdraw the permit or remove its holder from the territory on the ground of illness or disability suffered after the residence permit was issued. Amendment 19 Article 11 Researchers admitted under this Directive may teach in a higher education establishment within the meaning of Member States` legislation and administrative practice, subject to a maximum number of hours per year set by each Member State. Researchers admitted under this Directive may teach in accordance with national legislation. Member States may set a maximum number of hours or days per year that researchers are allowed to teach, if such a limitation is provided for in existing national legislation. Amendment 20 Article 13 1.  A holder of a residence permit issued under this Directive may, under cover of the permit together with a valid passport or equivalent travel document, conduct part of his research project on the territory of another Member State, provided the latter does not regard him as a threat to public policy, public security or public health. If necessary, bearing in mind the time needed to conduct this part of the research, a new hosting agreement shall be signed, on the basis of which the researcher shall be issued a residence permit in the second Member State. 1.  A third-country national admitted as a researcher under this Directive shall be entitled to conduct part of his research work in another Member State under the conditions set out in this Article. 2.  Paragraph 1 shall not affect Member States" right to require a short-term visa for third-country nationals not covered by the mutual recognition arrangements laid down in Article 21 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement. 2.  A researcher residing for no more than three months in another Member State may conduct his research work on the basis of the hosting agreement concluded in the first Member State, provided that he has sufficient resources in the other Member State and that that State does not consider him to pose a threat to public policy, public security or public health. 2a. Should the researcher reside for more than three months in another Member State, the Member States may require that a new hosting agreement be concluded, to cover his research work in the Member State concerned. In any event, the conditions set out in Articles 5 and 6 shall be complied with vis-à-vis the other Member State. 2b. Where, under the relevant legislation, mobility is conditional upon the issue of a visa or residence permit, the visa or permit shall be granted without delay and within a period that, while allowing the competent authorities sufficient time to process the application, does not hamper the continuation of the research work. Member States shall not require the researcher to leave their territory in order to submit an application for a visa or residence permit. Amendment 21 Article 13, paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. During the period of validity of his residence permit, the researcher may apply for a new hosting agreement in the same or another Member State. The new application shall be treated by a simplified procedure, which does not include examination of the condition stipulated in Article 5(2)(a)(ii), provided that the initial research organisation provides written confirmation that the work has been carried out satisfactorily up to the time of submission of the new application. Amendment 22 Article 15 paragraph 1 1.  The relevant authorities in the Member State shall notify the applicant in writing, in accordance with the notification procedures laid down in the relevant national legislation, of their decisions regarding his application for admission or for the renewal of his residence permit at the latest within 30 days of the date on which the application was submitted. Member States shall lay down in national legislation the consequences for the authorities concerned of failing to take a decision by this deadline. In exceptional cases involving complex applications, the deadline may be extended. 1.  The relevant authorities in the Member State shall notify the applicant in writing without delay, in accordance with the notification procedures laid down in the relevant national legislation, of their decisions regarding his application for admission or for the renewal of his residence permit at the latest within 30 days of the date on which the application was submitted. Member States shall lay down in national legislation the consequences for the authorities concerned of failing to take a decision by this deadline. In exceptional cases involving complex applications, the deadline may be extended, but in no case by more than 30 days. The applicant shall receive full justification for any such extension. Amendment 23 Article 16 paragraph 1 a (new) Those fees may be covered by the research organisation with which the person concerned has signed a research contract. Amendment 24 Article 18 Periodically, and for the first time no later than [...*], the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive in the Member States and shall propose any amendments that are necessary. To this end, the Member States shall send the Commission statistical data on the application of this Directive. Periodically, and for the first time two years after the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive in the Member States and on progress with implementation of the measures provided for in the Council Recommendation to facilitate the admission of third-country nationals to carry out scientific research in the European Community and the European Parliament and Council Recommendation to facilitate the issue by the Member States of uniform short-stay visas for researchers from third countries travelling within the European Community for the purpose of carrying out scientific research and shall propose any necessary amendments and additions to this Directive and, where appropriate, that the second recommendation be converted into a regulation. To this end, the Member States shall send the Commission statistical data on the application of this Directive. _______________________ * [Three years after the entry into force of this Directive.]

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council recommendation to facilitate the admission of third-country nationals to carry out scientific research in the European Community (COM(2004)0178 – C6-0012/2004 – 2004/0062(CNS))

P6_TA(2005)0088 A6-0054/2005

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal (COM(2004)0178)(1),

–   having regard to Article 63 of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 67 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0012/2004),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A6-0054/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 25 Recital 4 (4)  The number of researchers which the Community will need if it is to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council of investing 3% of GDP in research is put at 700 000. This target must be met through a series of interlocking measures, such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, increasing the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving career prospects for researchers within the Community and opening up the Community to third-country nationals who might be admitted for the purposes of research. (4)  The number of researchers which the Community will need if it is to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council of investing 3% of GDP in research is put at 700 000. This target must be met through a series of interlocking measures, such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, promoting women's involvement in scientific research, increasing the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving career prospects for researchers within the Community and opening up the Community to third-country nationals who might be admitted for the purposes of research. Amendment 26 Paragraph 1, point (c) (c) guarantee third-country nationals the possibility of working as a researcher without any maximum time limit, save where an exception is justified by the needs of the researchers" country of origin; (c) guarantee third-country nationals the possibility of working as a researcher without any maximum time limit, save where the third-country national in question is not in possession of a valid passport or equivalent travel document or constitutes a threat to public policy, public security or public health; Amendment 27 Paragraph 2, point (b) (b) guarantee third-country nationals working as researchers that their residence permits will be renewed indefinitely, save where an exception is justified by the needs of the researchers" country of origin; (b) guarantee third-country nationals working as researchers that their residence permits will be renewed indefinitely, save where the third-country national in question is not in possession of a valid passport or equivalent travel document or constitutes a threat to public policy, public security or public health; Amendment 28 Paragraph 4, point (d) (d) designate a contact person within the ministry that deals with research who would be responsible for the admission of researchers from third countries; (d) designate a contact person within the ministry that deals with research and innovation who would be responsible for the admission of researchers from third countries;

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council recommendation to facilitate the issue by the Member States of uniform short-stay visas for researchers from third countries travelling within the European Community for the purpose of carrying out scientific research (COM(2004)0178 – C6-0013/2004 – 2004/0063(COD))

P6_TA(2005)0089 A6-0054/2005

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2004)0178)(1),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 62(2)(b)(ii) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0013/2004),

–   having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A6-0054/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 April 2005 with a view to the adoption of European Parliament and Council Recommendation 2005/.../EC to facilitate the issue by the Member States of uniform short-stay visas for researchers from third countries travelling within the European Community for the purpose of carrying out scientific research

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 62(2)(b)(ii) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

(1)  With a view to consolidating and restructuring European research policy the Commission decided in January 2000 that it was necessary to create a European research area as the centrepiece of future action by the Community in this area.

(2)  The Lisbon European Council, endorsing the European research area, set the Community the target of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by the year 2010.

(3)  The globalisation of the economy calls for greater mobility for researchers, which was recognised by the European Community's sixth Framework Programme for Research when it opened up to an even greater extent its programmes to researchers from third countries.

(4)  The number of researchers which the Community will need if it is to meet the target set by the Barcelona European Council of investing 3% of GDP in research is put at 700 000. This target must be met through a series of interlocking measures, such as making scientific careers more attractive to young people, promoting women's involvement in scientific research, increasing the opportunities for training and mobility in research, improving career prospects for researchers within the Community and opening up the Community to third-country nationals who might be allowed to enter and travel within the common area for the purposes of research.

(5)  In order to be competitive and attractive at international level, Member States should take the necessary steps to facilitate the entry into and movement of researchers within the Community for short periods.

(6)  For short stays, Member States should undertake to consider researchers from third countries subject to a visa requirement under Regulation (EC) No 539/2001(4) as persons acting in good faith and extend to them the advantages provided for in the acquis for the purpose of the procedures for issuing short-stay visas.

(7)  Measures should be taken to encourage the exchange of information and best practice in order to improve the procedures for issuing short-stay visas for researchers.

(8)  This recommendation respects fundamental rights and complies with the principles laid down in, for example, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

(9)  In accordance with Articles 1 and 2 of the Protocol on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, Denmark will not take part in the adoption of this recommendation and is therefore not affected by it. However, because this recommendation seeks to build upon the Schengen acquis, under the provisions of Part Three, Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Article 5 of the Protocol applies.

(10)  This recommendation builds on the Schengen acquis, which the United Kingdom does not take part in, in accordance with Article 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, with the result that the United Kingdom will not take part in the adoption of this recommendation and is not affected by it.

(11)  This recommendation builds on the Schengen acquis, which Ireland does not take part in, in accordance with Article 4 and 5 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, with the result that Ireland will not take part in the adoption of this recommendation and is not affected by it.

(12)  In the case of the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway, this recommendation is a further development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, which falls within the area referred to in point B of Article 1 of the Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis(5).

(13)  This recommendation constitutes an act building upon the Schengen acquis or otherwise related to it, within the meaning of Article 3(2) of the Act of Accession of 2003.

(14)  This recommendation is also intended to provide a flexible formula for researchers who wish to maintain a professional link with an organisation of their country of origin (e.g. by spending periods of up to three months every semester in a European host research organisation located in the common area while continuing to work the rest of the time in the research organisation of origin),

HEREBY RECOMMEND MEMBER STATES:

1. to facilitate the issue of visas by undertaking to expedite the examination of visa applications from researchers from third countries subject to a visa requirement under Regulation (EC) No 539/2001.

2. to promote the international mobility of researchers from third countries needing to travel frequently within the European Union by issuing them with multiple entry visas. When determining the period of validity of the visas, the Member States will take into account the duration of the research programmes in which the researchers are taking part.

3. to undertake to facilitate the adoption of a harmonised approach to the supporting evidence researchers are required to enclose with their visa application. They will consult the approved research organisations on this matter.

4. to encourage the issue of visas without administrative fees for researchers, in accordance with the rules laid down in the acquis.

5. to take account of the goal of facilitating the issue of visas to researchers from third countries when engaging in local consular cooperation, in order to promote the exchange of best practice.

6. to undertake to supply the Commission by ....(6) with information about best practices adopted to facilitate the issue of uniform visas for researchers, to enable it to evaluate the progress made. Having regard to whether the proposal for a directive on a specific procedure for admitting third-country nationals for purposes of scientific research has been adopted, and to the outcome of the evaluation, the possibility of incorporating the provisions of this Recommendation in an appropriate legally binding instrument will be examined.

Done at ...,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

(1) Not yet published in OJ. (2) OJ C (3) Position of the European Parliament of 12 April 2005. (4) 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 453/2003 (OJ L 69, 13.3.2003, p. 10). (5) 1 OJ L 176, 10.7.1999, p. 31. (6) * One year after the adoption of this recommendation.

European Parliament resolution on the draft Commission decision amending for the purposes of adapting to the technical progress the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (CMT-2005-151 and CMT-2005-642)

P6_TA(2005)0090 B6-0218/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment(1),

–   having regard to the draft Commission decision amending for the purposes of adapting to the technical progress the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (CMT-2005-151 and CMT-2005-642),

–   having regard to the opinion delivered on 16 March 2005 by the committee referred to in Article 7 of Directive 2002/95/EC,

–   having regard to Article 8 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(2), and the Agreement between the European Parliament and the Commission on procedures for implementing Council Decision 1999/468/EC(3),

–   having regard to Article 95(3) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Rule 81 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/95/EC restricts the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market from 1 July 2006 unless exempted under the Annex,

B.   whereas, on 10 December 2004, the committee established under Article 7 of Directive 2002/95/EC voted in favour of a draft Commission Decision to amend the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC in order to add new exemptions and modify existing ones,

C.   whereas Article 7(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC and point 1 of the Agreement provide that the European Parliament 'is to receive, at the same time as the members of the committees and on the same terms, the draft agendas for committee meetings, the draft implementing measures submitted to the committees... and the results of voting and summary records of the meetings and lists of the authorities to which the persons designated by Member States to represent them belong',

D.   whereas Parliament received the draft decision by virtue of its right of scrutiny pursuant to Decision 1999/468/EC only on 28 January 2005 and only upon request,

E.   whereas, by that date, Parliament had received almost none of the documents that it should have received in relation to the meetings of the committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress of EC legislation on waste in the course of 2004,

F.   whereas the committee responsible in Parliament raised the Commission's non-compliance with Decision 1999/468/EC and the Agreement with the Commission on 3 February 2005; whereas the Commission undertook to start a new comitology procedure and to submit all the missing documents on 16 February 2005,

G.   whereas Parliament received a new draft decision on 25 February 2005,

H.   whereas Article 5(1) of Directive 2002/95/EC allows for amendments necessary to adapt the Annex to scientific and technical progress,

I.   whereas safer alternatives to the hazardous substances covered by Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/95/EC are available or being developed for applications that currently benefit from an exemption,

J.   whereas Article 5(1)(b) of Directive 2002/95/EC provides for 'exempting materials and components of electrical and electronic equipment from Article 4(1) if their elimination or substitution via design changes or materials and components which do not require any of the materials or substances referred to therein is technically or scientifically impracticable, or where the negative environmental, health and/or consumer safety impacts caused by substitution are likely to outweigh the environmental, health and/or consumer safety benefits thereof',

K.   whereas Article 5(1)(b) of Directive 2002/95/EC lays down the only criteria that can be taken into consideration with a view to preparing a draft decision for additional exemptions,

L.   whereas the Commission asserts in recital 2 of its draft decision that the 'use of these hazardous substances in those specific materials and components is still unavoidable',

M.   whereas, pursuant to Article 5(2) of Directive 2002/95/EC, the Commission shall inter alia consult stakeholders before amending the Annex and 'shall provide an account of the information it receives',

N.   whereas scrutiny of the stakeholder consultation revealed the following problems:

O.   whereas scrutiny of the report commissioned by the Commission to assess the validity of the requests revealed the following problems:

P.   whereas scrutiny of the draft decision in light of the limited information available from the stakeholder consultation and the report commissioned by the Commission revealed the following problems, in particular with the annex thereto:

Q.   whereas Article 8 of Decision 1999/468/EC lays down Parliament's right to adopt a resolution to indicate that the draft implementing measures 'would exceed the implementing powers provided for in the basic instruments',

1.  Considers, on the basis of the limited information available, that the Commission has not acted in accordance with Article 5(1), 5(1)(b) and 5(2) of Directive 2002/95/EC and has therefore exceeded the implementing powers provided for in that Directive;

2.  Calls on the Commission to re-examine its draft decision amending for the purposes of adapting to the technical progress the Annex to Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment in the light of this resolution, and to ensure that any amendment to the Annex fully respects the provisions of that Directive;

3.  Confirms that subsequent scrutiny of other comitology files has revealed that the Commission's non-compliance with Decision 1999/468/EC and the Agreement in terms of the procedural provisions is not an isolated case;

4.  Calls on the Commission to make a detailed assessment of all cases of non-compliance with Decision 1999/468/EC and the Agreement since the modification of the procedures at the end of 2003, specifying the act and the exact form of non-compliance, and to forward the full assessment to Parliament within 3 months;

5.  Calls on the Commission to respect Parliament's right to information and scrutiny pursuant to Decision 1999/468/EC and the Agreement;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 19. (2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (3) OJ L 256,10.10.2000, p. 19.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council framework decision on certain procedural rights in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union (COM(2004)0328 – C6-0071/2004 – 2004/0113(CNS))

P6_TA(2005)0091 A6-0064/2005

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal (COM(2004)0328)(1),

–   having regard to Article 31(1)(c) of the EU Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 39(1) of the EU Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0071/2004),

–   having regard to Rules 93 and 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A6-0064/2005),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Entire text The words "as soon as possible" to be replaced by "without undue delay" (This amendment applies throughout the text.) (This amendment applies throughout the text. Adopting it will necessitate corresponding changes throughout) Amendment 2 Recital 5 a (new) (5a) The rights laid down in the ECHR should be regarded as minimum standards with which Member States should in any event comply, just as they should comply with the case-law of the European Court on Human Rights. Amendment 3 Recital 7 (7)  The principle of mutual recognition is based on a high level of confidence between Member States. In order to enhance this confidence, this Framework Decision provides certain safeguards to protect fundamental rights. These safeguards reflect the traditions of the Member States in following the provisions of the ECHR. (7)  The principle of mutual recognition is based on a high level of confidence between Member States. In order to enhance this confidence, this Framework Decision provides certain safeguards to protect fundamental rights. These safeguards reflect the traditions of the Member States in following the provisions of the ECHR and of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Amendment 51 Recital 8 (8)  The proposed provisions are not intended to affect specific measures in force in national legislations in the context of the fight against certain serious and complex forms of crime in particular terrorism. (8)  The proposed provisions are not intended to affect specific measures in force in national legislations in the context of the fight against certain serious and complex forms of crime in particular terrorism. All measures shall be in conformity with the ECHR and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Amendment 5 Recital 10 (10)  Five areas have been identified as appropriate ones in which common standards may be applied in the first instance. These are: access to legal representation, access to interpretation and translation, ensuring that persons in need of specific attention because they are unable to follow the proceedings receive it, consular assistance to foreign detainees and notifying suspects and defendants of their rights in writing. (10)   In order to promote mutual trust between Member States, safeguards should be put in place to protect the fundamental rights not only of suspected persons, but also of victims of crime and witnesses to crime. However, the focus of this Framework Decision is the safeguarding of the rights of suspected persons. Five areas have been identified as appropriate ones in which common standards may be applied in the first instance. These are: access to legal representation, access to interpretation and translation, ensuring that persons in need of specific attention because they are unable to follow the proceedings receive it, consular assistance to foreign detainees and notifying suspects and defendants of their rights in writing. Amendment 6 Recital 10 a (new) (10a) This Framework Decision should be evaluated within two years after its entry into force in the light of the experience gained. If appropriate, it should be amended so as to improve the safeguards laid down. Amendment 8 Recital 16 (16)  The right to consular assistance exists by virtue of Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations where it is a right conferred on States to have access to their nationals. The provisions of this Framework Decision confer the right on the European citizen rather than the State. They enhance its visibility and therefore its effectiveness. That said, in the longer term, the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice in which trust is reciprocated between Member States should reduce and ultimately abolish the need for consular assistance. (16)  The right to consular assistance exists by virtue of Article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations where it is a right conferred on States to have access to their nationals. The provisions of this Framework Decision confer the right on the European citizen rather than the State. They enhance its visibility and therefore its effectiveness. Amendment 9 Recital 17 (17)  Notifying suspects and defendants of their basic rights in writing is a measure that improves fairness in proceedings, and goes some way to ensuring that everyone suspected of, or charged with, a criminal offence is aware of their rights. If suspects and defendants are unaware of them, it is more difficult for them to insist upon having the benefit of those rights. Giving suspects written notification of their rights, by way of a simple "Letter of Rights", will remedy this problem. (17)  Notifying suspects and defendants of their basic rights in writing is a measure that improves fairness in proceedings, and goes some way to ensuring that everyone suspected of, or charged with, a criminal offence is aware of their rights. If suspects and defendants are unaware of them, it is more difficult for them to insist upon having the benefit of those rights. Giving suspects written notification of their rights, by way of a simple "Letter of Rights", will remedy this problem. Suspected persons with a visual handicap or reading disabilities should be notified orally of their basic rights. Amendment 10 Recital 18 (18)  It is necessary to establish a mechanism to assess the effectiveness of this Framework Decision. Member States should therefore gather and record information for the purpose of evaluation and monitoring. The information gathered will be used by the Commission to produce reports that will be made publicly available. This will enhance mutual trust since each Member State will know that other Member States are complying with fair trial rights. (18)  It is necessary to establish a mechanism to assess the effectiveness of this Framework Decision. Member States should therefore gather and record information, including information from NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and the professional bodies of lawyers, interpreters and translators, for the purpose of evaluation and monitoring. The information gathered will be used by the Commission to produce reports that will be made publicly available. This will enhance mutual trust since each Member State will know that other Member States are complying with fair trial rights. Amendment 11 Article 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 Such proceedings are referred to hereafter as "criminal proceedings". deleted Amendment 12 Article 1, paragraph 2 2.  The rights will apply to any person suspected of having committed a criminal offence ("a suspected person") from the time when he is informed by the competent authorities of a Member State that he is suspected of having committed a criminal offence until finally judged. 2.  The rights shall apply to any person suspected of having committed a criminal offence ("a suspected person") or, where the suspected person is a legal person, to the legal person's representative, from the time when he is approached by the competent authorities of a Member State until final judgment, including sentencing and the resolution of any appeal. Amendment 13 Article 1 a (new) Article 1a Definitions For the purposes of this Framework Decision, the following definitions shall apply: (a) "legal advice" means: - the assistance provided by a lawyer, or a duly qualified person as referred to in Article 4(1), to a suspected person before and during any police questioning in relation to the offence of which that person is suspected; - the assistance provided to, and the representation of, a suspected person by a lawyer, or a duly qualified person as referred to in Article 4(1), throughout criminal proceedings; (b) "criminal proceedings" means: (i) proceedings for establishing the guilt or innocence of a suspected person or for sentencing that person; (ii) an appeal from proceedings as referred to in point (i), or (iii) proceedings brought by administrative authorities in respect of acts which are punishable under the law of a Member State, and where the decision may give rise to proceedings before a court having jurisdiction in particular in criminal matters; (c) 'persons assimilated to family members" means: - persons who, under the law of a Member State, live in a registered or otherwise legalised same-sex partnership with the suspected person, - persons who cohabit permanently with the suspected person in a non-marital relationship. Amendment 14 Article 1 b (new) Article 1b Right of defence Before they make statements or as soon as they are subject to measures which restrict their freedom, whichever is sooner, suspected persons shall be entitled to be informed by the authorities of the charges laid against them and of the grounds for suspicion. Amendment 15 Article 2 1.  A suspected person has the right to legal advice as soon as possible and throughout the criminal proceedings if he wishes to receive it. 1.  A suspected person shall have the right to legal advice without undue delay (within 24 hours after arrest). 2.  A suspected person has the right to receive legal advice before answering questions in relation to the charge. 2.  A suspected person shall have the right to receive legal advice in all cases before any questioning takes place, at any stage and level of the criminal proceedings and during any kind of questioning. Amendment 16 Article 2, paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Suspected persons shall have the right to: - consult their lawyer in private (even if they are required for security reasons to be kept in police custody), with their conversation with the lawyer to remain entirely confidential; - have access to all material relating to the criminal proceedings, including through the intermediary of their lawyer; - ensure that their lawyer is informed regarding the progress of the criminal proceedings and that he is present during questioning; - ensure that their lawyer is present and that he puts questions to the court, either during the pre-trial stage or during the trial itself. Amendment 17 Article 2, paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Failure to respect the right to legal advice shall invalidate all subsequent acts and those dependent on them throughout the criminal proceedings. Amendment 18 Article 2, paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. Member States shall ensure that the lawyer has access to the entire case-file within good enough time to be able to prepare the defence. Amendment 19 Article 3, introductory part Notwithstanding the right of a suspected person to refuse legal advice or to represent himself in any proceedings, it is required that certain suspected persons be offered legal advice so as to safeguard fairness of proceedings. Accordingly, Member States shall ensure that legal advice is available to any suspected person who: Notwithstanding the right of a suspected person to refuse legal advice or to represent himself in any proceedings, it is required that suspected persons be offered legal advice so as to safeguard fairness of proceedings. Accordingly, Member States shall ensure that legal advice is available to any suspected person, and notably to anyone who: Amendment 20 Article 3, indent 2 – is formally accused of having committed a criminal offence which involves a complex factual or legal situation or which is subject to severe punishment, in particular where in a Member State, there is a mandatory sentence of more than one year's imprisonment for the offence, or – is formally accused of having committed a criminal offence which involves a complex factual or legal situation or which is subject to severe punishment, in particular where in a Member State, there is a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for the offence, or Amendment 21 Article 3, indent 5 – appears not to be able to understand or follow the content or the meaning of the proceedings owing to his age, mental, physical or emotional condition. – is likely or appears not to be able to understand or follow the content or the meaning of the proceedings owing to his age, mental, physical or emotional condition. Amendment 22 Article 3, indent 5 a (new) - is detained for the purpose of making a statement in criminal proceedings. Amendment 23 Article 4, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall ensure that only lawyers as described in Article 1(2)(a) of Directive 98/5/EC are entitled to give legal advice in accordance with this Framework Decision. 1.  Member States shall ensure that lawyers as described in Article 1(2)(a) of Directive 98/5/EC or other persons duly qualified in accordance with applicable national provisions are entitled to give legal advice in accordance with this Framework Decision. Amendment 24 Article 4, paragraph 2 2.  Member States shall ensure that a mechanism exists to provide a replacement lawyer if the legal advice given is found not to be effective. 2.  Member States shall ensure that an independent body is charged with hearing complaints about the effectiveness of a defence lawyer. If appropriate, that body may provide a replacement lawyer. Amendment 25 Article 4, paragraph 2 a (new) 2a.The procedural time limits laid down in this framework decision shall not start to run until the lawyer has been notified - irrespective of whether the suspected person was notified on an earlier date. Amendment 26 Article 5, paragraph 1 1.  Where Article 3 applies, the costs of legal advice shall be borne in whole or in part by the Member States if these costs would cause undue financial hardship to the suspected person or his dependents. 1.  Member States shall ensure that free legal advice and the legal costs themselves (be they fees or expenses) are provided to suspected persons, or the costs of legal advice shall be borne in whole or in part by the Member State in which the criminal proceedings take place, if these costs would cause undue financial hardship to the suspected person, his dependents, or the persons responsible for supporting him financially. Amendment 27 Article 6, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall ensure that a suspected person who does not understand the language of the proceedings is provided with free interpretation in order to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. 1.  Member States shall ensure that, where a suspected person does not speak or understand the language of the proceedings, he shall be assisted free of charge by an interpreter at each stage and level of the proceedings and also (if he so requests) when consulting his lawyer. Amendment 28 Article 6, paragraph 2 2.  Member States shall ensure that, where necessary, a suspected person receives free interpretation of legal advice received throughout the criminal proceedings. 2.  Member States shall ensure that, where a suspected person does not understand or speak the language of the proceedings, an interpreter is present: - at all meetings between the suspected person and his lawyer, if the lawyer or the suspected person considers it necessary; - whenever the suspected person is questioned by law enforcement officers in relation to the offence of which he is suspected; - whenever the suspected person is required to appear in court in connection with the offence. Amendment 29 Article 6, paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Interpreters certified by the competent judicial authorities shall be listed in a national register of interpreters. Amendment 30 Article 7, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall ensure that a suspected person who does not understand the language of the proceedings is provided with free translations of all relevant documents in order to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. 1.  Member States shall ensure that a suspected person who does not understand or read the language of the proceedings, or the language in which relevant documents are drafted where they are not in the language of the proceedings, is provided with free translations of all relevant documents in any of the official languages of the European Union or in another language that the suspected person understands, as appropriate, in order to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. Amendment 31 Article 7, paragraph 2 2.  The decision regarding which documents need to be translated shall be taken by the competent authorities. The suspected person's lawyer may ask for translation of further documents. deleted Amendment 32 Article 8, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall ensure that the translators and interpreters employed are sufficiently qualified to provide accurate translation and interpretation. 1.  Member States shall ensure that a national register of sworn translators and interpreters accessible to professional linguists in all the Member States with an equivalent level of qualification throughout the Union is established. Those listed on the register shall be obliged to respect a national or Community code of conduct designed to ensure the impartial and faithful exercise of translation and interpretation work. Amendment 33 Article 9 Member States shall ensure that, where proceedings are conducted through an interpreter, an audio or video recording is made in order to ensure quality control. A transcript of the recording shall be provided to any party in the event of a dispute. The transcript may only be used for the purposes of verifying the accuracy of the interpretation. Member States shall ensure that, where proceedings are conducted through an interpreter, an audio or video recording is made in order to ensure quality control. A transcript of the recording shall be provided to any party in the event of a dispute. Amendment 34 Article 10, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall ensure that a suspected person who cannot understand or follow the content or the meaning of the proceedings owing to his age, mental, physical or emotional condition is given specific attention in order to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. 1.  Member States shall ensure that a suspected person who cannot understand or follow the content or the meaning of the proceedings owing to his age, state of health, physical or mental disability, illiteracy or particular emotional condition is given specific attention in order to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. Amendment 35 Article 10, paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Failure to assess and notify the vulnerability of the suspected person shall, if not remedied, invalidate any subsequent action taken in the criminal proceedings. Amendment 36 Article 11, paragraph 2 2.  Member States shall ensure that medical assistance is provided whenever necessary. 2.  Member States shall ensure that medical and psychological assistance is provided whenever necessary, and if the suspected person or his lawyer considers it necessary. Amendment 37 Article 11, paragraph 3 3.  Where appropriate, specific attention may include the right to have a third person present during any questioning by police or judicial authorities. 3.   A suspected person entitled to specific attention or his lawyer shall have the right to request a third person to be present during any questioning by police or judicial authorities. Amendment 38 Article 12, paragraph 1 1.  A suspected person remanded in custody has the right have his family, persons assimilated to his family or his place of employment informed of the detention as soon as possible. 1.  A suspected person remanded in custody or transferred to another place of custody shall have the right to have his family or persons assimilated to his family informed of the detention or transfer without undue delay. Amendment 39 Article 12, paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. A suspected person remanded in custody shall have the right to have his place of employment informed of the detention without undue delay. Amendment 40 Article 13, paragraph 2 2.  Member States shall ensure that, if a detained suspected person does not wish to have assistance from the consular authorities of his home State, the assistance of a recognised international humanitarian organisation is offered as an alternative. 2.  Member States shall ensure that, if a detained suspected person does not wish to have assistance from the consular authorities of his home State, the assistance of a recognised international humanitarian organisation is offered without undue delay as an alternative. Amendment 41 Article 14, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall ensure that all suspected persons are made aware of the procedural rights that are immediately relevant to them by written notification of them. This information shall include, but not be limited to, the rights set out in this Framework Decision. 1.  Member States shall ensure that all suspected persons are made aware of the procedural rights that are immediately relevant to them by written notification of them. This information shall include, but not be limited to, the rights set out in this Framework Decision. The written notification - the Letter of Rights - shall be presented to the suspected person when he is first questioned, whether in the police station or elsewhere. Amendment 42 Article 14, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 a (new) Member States shall ensure that the Letter of Rights is made accessible on line for ease of access. Member States shall ensure that, where a suspected person has a visual handicap or reading disabilities, the Letter of Rights is read to that person. Amendment 44 Article 14, paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. The Member States shall determine into which other languages the Letter of Rights should be translated, bearing in mind the languages most commonly used on the territory of the Union as a result of third-country citizens immigrating into or residing in the Union. Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply. Amendment 45 Article 14, paragraph 4 4.  Member States shall require that both the law enforcement officer and the suspect, if he is willing, sign the Letter of Rights, as evidence that it has been offered, given and accepted. The Letter of Rights should be produced in duplicate, with one (signed) copy being retained by the law enforcement officer and one (signed) copy being retained by the suspect. A note should be made in the record stating that the Letter of Rights was offered, and whether or not the suspect agreed to sign it. 4.  The investigating authority shall draw up a statement to the effect that the Letter of Rights has been issued to the suspected person. The statement shall indicate the time at which the Letter was issued and, possibly, the persons present. Amendment 46 Article 14 a (new) Article 14a Prohibition of discrimination Member States shall take preventive measures to ensure that all suspected persons, irrespective of their racial or ethnic background, or sexual orientation, receive equal access to legal assistance and equal treatment at each and every stage of the criminal proceedings. Amendment 47 Article 15, paragraph 1 1.  Member States shall facilitate the collection of the information necessary for evaluation and monitoring of this Framework Decision. 1.  Every year, Member States shall gather, including from NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and the professional bodies of lawyers, interpreters and translators, and forward to the Commission the information necessary for evaluation and monitoring of this Framework Decision. Amendment 48 Article 15, paragraph 2 2.  Evaluation and monitoring shall be carried out under the supervision of the European Commission which shall co-ordinate reports on the evaluation and monitoring exercise. Such reports may be published. 2.  Evaluation and monitoring shall be carried out yearly under the supervision of the Commission which shall co-ordinate reports on the evaluation and monitoring exercise. Such reports shall be published. Amendment 49 Article 16, paragraph 1, introductory part 1.   In order that evaluation and monitoring of the provisions of this Framework Decision may be carried out, Member States shall ensure that data such as relevant statistics are kept and made available , inter alia, as regards the following: 1.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, by 31 March each year, the following information in respect of the preceding calendar year is kept and made available: Amendment 50 Article 16, paragraph 2 2.  Evaluation and monitoring shall be carried out at regular intervals, by analysis of the data provided for that purpose and collected by the Member States in accordance with the provisions of this article. deleted

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section III - Commission (SEC (2004)1181 - C6-0012/2005 - 2004/2040(DEC) - SEC(2004)1182 - C6-0013/2005 - 2004/2040(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0092 A6-0070/2005

The European Parliament,

‐   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

‐   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Communities - Financial year 2003 - Volume I - Consolidated reports on implementation of the budget and consolidated financial statements (SEC(2004)1181 - C6-0012/2005, SEC(2004)1182 - C6-0013/2005)(2),

‐   having regard to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 discharges (COM(2004)0648 - C6-0126/2004),

‐   having regard to the Annual Report to the Discharge Authority on Internal Audits carried out in 2003 (COM(2004)0740),

‐   having regard to the Court of Auditors' annual report for 2003(3) and to its special reports accompanied by the replies of the institutions audited,

‐   having regard to the Statement of Assurance concerning the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(4),

‐   having regard to the Council recommendation of 8 March 2005 (C6-0077/2005),

‐   having regard to Articles 274, 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty and Articles 179a and 180b of the Euratom Treaty,

‐   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5), in particular Articles 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

‐   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(6),

‐   having regard to Rule 70 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

‐   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A6-0070/2005),

A.   whereas under Article 274 of the EC Treaty the Commission implements the budget on its own responsibility, having regard to the principles of sound financial management,

1.  Grants discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003;

2.  Records its comments in the attached resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution which is an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Investment Bank and Member States' national and regional audit institutions, and to publish the texts in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament decision closing the accounts in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section III - Commission (SEC(2004)1181 - C6-0012/2005 - 2004/2040(DEC) - (SEC(2004)1182 - C6-0013/2005 - 2004/2040(DEC))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(7),

–   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Communities - Financial year 2003 - Volume I - Consolidated reports on implementation of the budget and consolidated financial statements (SEC(2004)1181 - C6-0012/2005, SEC(2004)1182 - C6-0013/2005)(8),

–   having regard to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 discharges (COM(2004)0648 - C6-0126/2004),

–   having regard to the Annual Report to the Discharge Authority on Internal Audits carried out in 2003 (COM(2004)0740),

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' annual report for 2003(9) and to its special reports accompanied by the replies of the institutions audited,

–   having regard to the Statement of Assurance concerning the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(10),

–   having regard to the Council recommendation of 8 March 2005 (C6-0077/2005),

–   having regard to Articles 274, 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty and Articles 179a and 180b of the Euratom Treaty,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(11), in particular Articles 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

–   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(12),

–   having regard to Rule 70 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A6-0070/2005),

A.   whereas under Article 275 of the EC Treaty the Commission is responsible for drawing up the accounts,

1.  Approves the closure of the accounts in respect of the implementation of the general budget for the financial year 2003;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Investment Bank and Member States' national and regional audit institutions, and to publish the text in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

3.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which are an integral part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section III - Commission (SEC(2004)1181 - C6-0012/2005 - 2004/2040(DEC) - SEC(2004)1182 - C6-0013/2005 - 2004/2040(DEC))

The European Parliament,

‐   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(13),

‐   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Communities - Financial year 2003 - Volume I - Consolidated reports on implementation of the budget and consolidated financial statements (SEC(2004)1181 - C6-0012/2005, SEC(2004)1182 - C6-0013/2005)(14),

‐   having regard to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 discharges (COM(2004)0648 - C6-0126/2004),

‐   having regard to the Annual Report to the Discharge Authority on Internal Audits carried out in 2003 (COM(2004)0740),

‐   having regard to the Court of Auditors' annual report for 2003(15) and to its special reports accompanied by the replies of the institutions audited,

‐   having regard to the Statement of Assurance concerning the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(16),

‐   having regard to the Council recommendation of 8 March 2005 (C6-0077/2005),

‐   having regard to Articles 274, 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty and Articles 179a and 180b of the Euratom Treaty,

‐   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(17), in particular Articles 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

‐   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(18),

‐   having regard to Rule 70 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

‐   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A6-0070/2005),

A.   whereas implementation of EU policy is characterised mainly by "shared management" between the Commission and the Member States,

B.   whereas, according to Article 53(3) of the Financial Regulation, 'implementation tasks shall be delegated to Member States' where the Commission implements the budget by shared management, and whereas Member States must act in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the Union,

C.   stressing again(19) that the discharge procedure is a process seeking, inter alia, to improve financial management in the EU by improving the basis for decision-taking in the light of the Court of Auditors' reports and the replies and opinions of the institutions,

D.   whereas the Commission has the right of initiative according to the Treaty, and whereas ultimate financial responsibility for implementation of the budget is indivisible and lies - with due consideration to the subsidiarity principle as adopted with Treaty of Maastricht - with the Commission, as laid down by Article 274 of the Treaty, and accordingly the appropriate checks on Community funds must be laid down,

E.   whereas above all the Commission has an interest in ensuring that supervisory provisions are complied with in full,

A.HORIZONTAL ISSUES

1.  Regrets the Court's misleading statement as regards the outstanding commitments on the structural funds, which at the end of 2003 represented "five years' worth of payments at the current spending rate ..." (0.6.) as this figure includes the years 2004 to 2006 which in 2003 could not be committed; recalls that unused funds are reimbursed to the Member States at the end of the period;

2.  Welcomes the fact that the introduction of the rule n+2 (year of commitment + 2) has largely contributed to solving this problem, such that for the last two years there has been an absorption of more than 99% of the structural funds;

3.  Invites the Commission, also bearing in mind the post-2006 Financial Perspective, to find a balance between the preparation of policy and the process of accounting for its proper implementation, and calls on it to undertake a critical analysis by reconsidering the distribution of power within the Commission (governance set-up) as well as administrative processes;

4.  Further invites the Commission to include implementation costs and administrative burdens for Member States and final beneficiaries in the extended impact assessment for new Regulations, thereby creating checks and balances to keep the costs of implementation and the administrative burden within acceptable bounds;

Reliability of the accounts - qualified opinion

5.  Notes that, except for the effects of the absence of effective internal control procedures for miscellaneous revenues and advances, the Court is of the opinion that the consolidated annual accounts of the European Communities and the notes thereto faithfully reflect the revenue and expenditure of the Communities for the year 2003 and their financial position at the year-end (Statement of Assurance, paragraphs II and III);

6.  Draws attention to the following extracts from the "Annual Report to the Discharge Authority on Internal Audits carried out in 2003"(20) as regards the accounting and management information systems:

7.  Regrets that the distribution of power in the governance structure in the Commission downgrades the role of the Accounting Officer to aggregating the information on the accounts that he receives from the authorising officers; believes that the Accounting Officer should assume overall responsibility for the integrity of the accounts for the Institution as a whole, and not rely exclusively on more than thirty individual delegated authorising officers;

8.  Expects the Accounting Officer to sign off the accounts - not the note accompanying the accounts - thereby accepting personal responsibility for the figures presented in them, and, if there are qualifications, to explain exactly the nature and scope of the reservations made; underlines the difference between the formal adoption of the accounts by the College and the certification of the accounts as a true and fair record by the Accounting officer; invites the Commission - once again(21) - to submit the requisite legislative proposals for amendment of the Financial Regulation and/or the implementing provisions relating thereto;

9.  Regrets the Commission's resistance to upgrading the role of the Accounting Officer; stresses that the certification of the accounts is a fundamental element in the control structure and that other elements in the overall control structure are seriously weakened as long as this element is missing; agrees with the thrust of the recent reform of financial management in the Commission which was to give responsibility to each Director-General; is however convinced that the assurance given by the Directors-General must be supported by an overall assurance by the Accounting Officer, who shall be fully accountable and have the necessary means to fulfil this duty;

10.  Expects the Commission to include in the proposal for revision of the Financial Regulation provisions which require the Accounting Officer to certify the accounts, e.g. on the basis of systemic validations or spot checks; considers that the Accounting Officer must be upgraded to Chief Financial Officer (CFO), assuming the role of the management's institutional counterweight to its 39 services, and that his current role, in which he merely gives a very formal validation of information received from the Directors-General without being free to make his own qualifications where required (Financial Regulation, Article 61), is contrary to the aim of the financial management reform;

11.  Stresses that the upgrading of the Accounting Officer is not a retrograde step back the old system, in which the then "Financial Controller" had an authorisation role for payments and commitments and performed ex ante transaction checks; stresses the difference between the old system and the upgrade the Accounting Officer so that he will be able to perform ex-ante system checks and ex-post spot checks of transactions; regrets that the Commission continues to advance the misleading and erroneous argument that an enhanced role for the Accounting Officer in the control structure is a move back to the old system and that the Accounting Officer's signature of the accounts is a mere formality;

12.  Informs the Commission that it cannot accept any purely cosmetic improvement as regards the Accounting Officer's role; expects the Financial Regulation to include a requirement of a declaration from the Chief Financial Officer in which he, on his own account and not on the basis of information received from the Directors-General - declares that the accounts present a true and fair view and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular;

13.  Fails to understand how the Court of Auditors can for 10 years have given a negative Statement of Assurance on payment appropriations whilst at the same time giving a de facto clean opinion on the Commission's general accounts; would appreciate a short written explanation from the Court on the matter;

14.  Recalls that on 17 December 2002 the Commission approved an action plan for the modernisation of the European Communities' accounting system which should be operational as from 1 January 2005; emphasises that the operation of drawing up the opening balance sheet is crucial to the success of the transition from a cash-based accounting system to an accruals-based system;

Court of Auditors' global assessment 2003 - no reasonable assurance

15.  Notes with disappointment that, once again, the Court "has no reasonable assurance that the supervisory systems and controls of significant areas of the budget are effectively implemented [by the Member States] so as to manage the risks concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying operations" (0.4.);

Court of Auditors' specific assessment

16.  Recalls the Court's specific conclusions as regards payment expenditure:

17.  Notes that the Court's findings clearly identify the main problems as regards the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions as being located first and foremost at Member State level and to a lesser degree at Commission level;

18.  Takes the view that, in cases involving shared management of Community funds, the Commission must, as a matter of urgency, find ways to improve accountability at Member State level by dealing efficiently with the "delegation risk" which results from the fact that the Commission, whilst having final budget responsibility for all its expenditure, is also required to bear that responsibility when EU funds are expended in shared management with Member States;

Delegation risk

19.  Notes that, while Member States are in charge of the implementation of the majority of the EU budget, the European Commission bears ultimate responsibility for implementation and - with due consideration to the subsidiarity principle as adopted with the Treaty of Maastricht - hence, also for control measures within Member States and the Commission itself;

20.  Notes that the distinction between the financing and the implementation of a Community policy gives rise to the so-called "delegation risk", which concerns matters such as:

21.  Takes the view that these problems cannot only be resolved by centrally imposed controls, and that the current situation clearly demonstrates the need for new instruments to enhance the Commission's insight into the Member States' management and control systems; considers that only sufficiently comprehensive ex-ante disclosure in a formal Disclosure Statement and an annual ex-post Declaration of Assurance as regards the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions from each Member State's highest political and managing authority (Finance Minister), as suggested several times by the Commission's Internal Audit Service(22), will enable the Commission to fulfil its obligations under Article 274 of the Treaty;

22.  Invites the Commission to present before 1 October 2005 an initial report exploring the road map to a protocol with Member States in which the managing authority (finance minister) will declare, prior to disbursement and on an annual basis, that proper control systems, capable of providing adequate assurance for Commission accountability purposes, are in place;

23.  Recommends that this report require that the annual Disclosure Statement includes

24.  Considers it inappropriate to decide the appropriations for shared management policy for the period after 2007 without giving a concrete answer to the remarks of the Court of Auditors and substantially improving the control mechanisms in the Member States;

25.  Advises the Commission and the Council of the difficulties involved in concluding an Interinstitutional Agreement on the new Financial Perspective until the principle of disclosure statements from each Member State's highest political and managing authority (Finance Minister) as described in paragraphs 21-23 has been fully accepted and its operational implementation given status as a matter of priority;

26.  Takes the view that progress in the European Union's financial management is not possible without Member States' active participation, and that this "participation" must be anchored at political level;

27.  Is convinced that a finance minister will prefer to establish properly functioning supervisory systems and controls instead of running the risk of having to explain to his/her Parliament why the national purse has to repay substantial sums to the European Union;

28.  Calls on the Commission to be more rigorous in its supervision of paying agencies and less tolerant of incompetence, by considering the feasibility of:

The Court of Auditors' Statement of Assurance ...

29.  Recalls that since the Maastricht Treaty entered into force the Court is required each year to provide Parliament and the Council with a Statement of Assurance (known as the "DAS", which is the abbreviation of the French "Déclaration d'Assurance") as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions;

30.  Stresses that the decision as to the criteria and method by which the Court would arrive at the DAS was left to its discretion and not prescribed by the legislative authority;

31.  Recalls that, initially, the Court based its audit opinion entirely on a statistical method which consisted of the direct substantive testing of a global sample and the extrapolation of a most likely error rate;

... and its inherent problems

32.  Summarises as follows some of the limitations inherent in, and the nature of, the DAS, inasmuch as these elements must be taken into consideration when assessing the results of the DAS analysis and the effects of these results on the decision whether or not to grant discharge, as well as possible future improvements of the DAS methodology:

The current reform of the DAS ...

33.  Acknowledges that, in recent years, the Court of Auditors has shown a degree of awareness of the criticisms raised and has attempted to reform the DAS methodology by widening the basis for its evaluation;

34.  Notes that the global DAS is now the result of a consolidation of specific appraisals concerning own resources and each of the operational chapters of the financial perspective, and that the sector-related assessments are now based on four sources of information:

... is a step in the right direction but seems to be too modest

35.  Notes that the central question in the context of the DAS should be whether the supervisory systems and controls that have been implemented at Community and national level provide the Commission with a reasonable assurance as regards the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions;

36.  Invites the Court to further improve the presentation of the global Statement of Assurance and the specific appraisals by continuing the trend towards a more comprehensive description of the reservations, and to include more explicit and specific information on weaknesses in the different sectors and Member States with a view to establishing an operational listing, drawn up on a risk-based approach, of the reservations which can be monitored over time;

37.  Understands that the objective of examining a sample of transactions is no longer to calculate the most likely error rate, and that the results of the testing under the new approach are considered together with the results obtained in the other three pillars;

38.  Invites the Court - in order to assess whether the new approach is fundamentally different from the initial approach - to provide further information on the relationship between the four sources of information of the sector-related assessments;

39.  Invites the Court to explain in detail the degree to which it has been able to obtain audit results from "other auditors" and the role which these results have played in the Court's judgement; notes the absence of references to results from other auditors in the Annual Report; would in particular appreciate information on results and difficulties as regards co-operation with "other auditors" in the different Member States, as these "other auditors" also include national audit institutions which enjoy complete autonomy vis-à-vis the European institutions;

40.  Considers that, although it is a step in the right direction, the present reform of the DAS is not sufficient to correct the limitations and shortcomings listed above; welcomes the fact that the new approach provides some insight into regularity per sector, but regrets that insight into regularity of expenditure per Member State is still not sufficiently available; finds that the DAS is still an instrument which is based too much on analysis of transactions and individual errors; finds, therefore, that the analysis of the functioning of supervisory and control systems should be strengthened with a view to proposing concrete improvements of such systems and identifying the origin of the weaknesses ascertained;

41.  Invites the Court to develop further its qualitative DAS approach in order to take sufficiently into account the multiannuality of many of the programmes and corresponding compensatory controls such as ex-post audits and clearance of accounts corrections, which serve to protect the EU budget by providing for recovery of undue payments; would appreciate it if the Court would present a Special Report on this crucial issue and thereby clarify the relationship between ex-ante controls and ex-post verifications;

42.  Stresses that although compensatory controls are an important element of supervisory systems and controls, they cannot compensate for deficiencies in supervisory systems and controls or - indeed - in policy formulation as such;

43.  Regrets in this respect the increasing number of references for preliminary rulings on the interpretation and validity of Community law; stresses the importance of avoiding poor Community legislation because it has a negative effect on the performance of the Union and leads to legal uncertainty among persons, institutions and enterprises subject to it in the Member States; notes the Court's unambiguous statement as regards the research framework programmes, where "[significant errors of legality and regularity in terms of payments] are likely to persist if the rules governing the programmes are not revised" (Statement of Assurance, paragraph VI(c));

44.  Invites the Commission to reduce the risks of error in the claims on Community funding by ensuring that Community legislation includes clear, workable rules regarding the eligibility of costs, and that it requires the imposition of dissuasive and proportionate administrative penalties when eligible costs are found to have been overstated;

Single audit

45.  Recalls that in paragraph 48 of its decision of 10 April 2002 concerning discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 2000 financial year(24), it requested the Court to provide an opinion "on the feasibility of introducing a single audit model in relation to the EU budget in which each level of control builds on the preceding one, with a view to reducing the burden on the auditee and enhancing the quality of audit activities, but without undermining the independence of the audit bodies concerned";

46.  Also recalls that the Commission was requested by the same decision to prepare a report on the same subject, and notes that the Commission has not yet done so;

47.  Welcomes the Court's Opinion No 2/2004(25) on the 'single audit' model, which it considers to be a very important contribution to the debate on the DAS and therefore deserving of close study by all concerned; notes that the opinion is not mainly about a 'single audit' model in the strict sense of this concept, meaning that a transaction is only subject to one audit by one authority, but first and foremost about the establishment of a "Community internal control framework (CICF)" (paragraph 3);

48.  Notes with particular interest the recommendations set out by the Court for an effective and efficient internal control framework:

49.  Wonders, in the light of the constant criticism levelled at the traditional DAS approach over the last 10 years, why these recommendations have not been published much earlier;

50.  Takes the view that the proposed structure for a Community internal control framework could be an important instrument for the achievement of better and more efficient supervisory and control systems, and could thereby contribute to the much needed modernisation of the DAS methodology;

51.  Underlines that accountability for the use of EU funds begins in the Member States and that disclosure statements, as described in paragraphs 21-23, by each Member State's highest political and managing authority (Finance Minister) must consequently form an integral part of the Community internal control framework;

52.  Notes that the Community internal control framework is - as its name indicates - situated in the "internal control" area and therefore does not deal with the players in the "external audit" area;

53.  Regrets that the Court has not presented any bold proposals as regards national audit institutions' participation in enhancing transparency and accountability (core elements of good public administration) at Member State level, especially inasmuch as the Court's audit results clearly show that that is where it is most needed;

54.  Notes and welcomes the Netherlands Court of Auditors' initiative to publish each year an "EU Trend Report" in which it examines financial management in the European Union and presents its opinion on the monitoring and control of the use of EU funds in the Netherlands(27); would like to encourage other national audit institutions to follow that initiative;

55.  Invites the Commission to initiate discussions with the discharge authority, the Council and - with due respect to its independence - the Court of Auditors as an observer, and to draw up an action plan for the implementation of a Community internal control framework as soon as possible;

56.  Further invites the Commission to make sure that the detailed proposals setting out the legal framework of the policy proposals made by the Commission as part of the political project for the Union until 2013 take full account of the elements contained in the "Community internal control framework" and the principle of annual disclosure statements by each Member State's highest political and managing authority (Finance Minister) as described in paragraphs 21 - 23;

57.  Invites the Court of Auditors to inform the EP's competent committee whether the Commission's proposals are in line with the "Community internal control framework" and the principle of annual disclosure statements;

Improvement of the annual activity reports and declarations by Directors-General

58.  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors "found that for the first time the Commission had presented an analysis of the degree of the assurance provided by the supervisory systems and controls with regard to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions" and that it so assumed "responsibility for the implementation of the budget … by adopting as its own the Authorising Officers by delegation's management representations" (paragraph 1.58 of the Court of Auditors' 2003 annual report);

59.  Notes, however, that the Court of Auditors found (see paragraph 1.69, table 1.2, paragraphs 5.57-5.62, 7.48, 8.36 and 8.38) that "the extent of the reservations expressed by some departments is not compatible or sufficiently justified in view of the assurance provided in the declarations" and that in spite of some improvement, "the annual activity reports and declarations of the Directors-General cannot yet systematically serve as a useful basis for its audit conclusions in the various areas of the financial perspectives" (see paragraph 1.71 and table 1.2);

60.  Invites the Commission to take into account the above-mentioned observations from the Court of Auditors, and to present in each annual activity report the measures taken to limit the risk of error in the underlying transactions together with an assessment of their effectiveness; expects such measures to lead to an improved general understanding of risks and a strengthening of the risk-management culture within the Commission's Directorates-General; notes however, that this will need to be underpinned and supported by a common, centrally driven risk management methodology;

61.  Also calls on the Commission to reinforce the annual activity report and synthesis report process and to strengthen its expression of assurances upon which the Court of Auditors may base the formulation of its Statement of Assurance; acknowledges that initial steps have been taken to improve the understanding of this process and to make the annual activity reports, reservations and declarations more meaningful; calls on the Commission to give careful attention to further improving the reports and to strengthen the follow-up given to observations contained therein; invites in particular the Commission to clarify the definition of qualifications, reservations and other observations in the Annual Activity Reports that might indicate exceptions to the rules;

62.  Invites the Commission to convert the Annual Synthesis Report into a consolidated assurance statement on the Commission's management and financial controls as a whole;

63.  Invites the Court of Auditors to indicate the necessary conditions which might allow it to take more account of the annual activity reports and declarations in formulating its Statement of Assurance;

64.  Calls on the Commission to ensure by means of thorough training and information programmes that all its civil servants are aware of the means by which they can report any suspicions of wrong-doing or mismanagement through normal hierarchical processes and, if necessary, through the procedures for whistleblowers;

Further recommendations

65.  Invites the Commission to produce estimates of error rates by sector and Member State, using the findings of the audit work it already carries out and the control work carried out by the Member States, as well as an analysis of the quality of the information presented by Member States, and to publish the results in the annual activity reports and the synthesis of annual activity reports in such a way as to provide a clear view of the quality of Member States' administrative systems as regards EU accountability;

66.  Invites the Court of Auditors to include in its DAS observations an evaluation of the correctness of the information presented by the Commission and the individual Member States and to evaluate the progress achieved;

67.  Asks the Commission to review the financial regulation, in order to improve application and comprehensibility and to increase the efficiency of controls by critically analysing the quantity and quality of planned controls;

68.  Reminds individual Commissioners of their political responsibility for ensuring that the Directorates General within their competence are well managed and repeats the suggestion that within each cabinet an adviser be given the specific responsibility inter alia of monitoring all audit reports, (as proposed in its resolution of 22 April 2004(28) on Eurostat) where early warnings of problems have in the past been ignored;

69.  Notes that the systematic imposition of sanctions on Member States has resulted in a reluctance by Member States to disclose implementation problems; asks the Commission to stimulate and focus more on the learning element of financial control, by promoting exchanges of information between Member States, benchmarking, participation of national auditors in audit teams and shared investment in better IT systems, and by carrying out preventive audits which focus on giving advice rather than on imposing sanctions;

70.  Expects the Commission in its follow-up report to provide comprehensive details of the actions adopted and implemented in order to address the observations and implement the recommendations made by the Court of Auditors in the 2003 annual report and in the three previous annual reports (2002-2001-2000); requests the Commission to include in its follow-up report a detailed list and a schedule of the measures planned in those cases where no action has yet been adopted and/or implemented;

71.  Invites the Court of Auditors to produce an annual report showing the Court's own activities, its ability to meet production targets, the unit costs, significant areas of development and other relevant factors as regards the institution's performance; notes that such a performance report also would be an excellent way of publishing information on the modernisation of the DAS and other developments in the Court's audit approach;

72.  Further invites the Court of Auditors to study the possibility of publishing its audit manual and information on the DAS approach on its web site;

73.  Welcomes the Council's intention "to further strengthen its treatment of questions of audit and financial control in order to have a more regular and effective monitoring process of the Council's recommendation of the discharge"(29) ;

74.  Invites the Court of Auditors to organise each year a number of 'benchmark audits' of items of delegated expenditure, to be published in special reports, in which

75.  Calls on the Council to work with the Parliament and Commission to give the creation of a comprehensive control and audit framework the priority and political momentum it requires by establishing a high level panel of experts which would:

76.  Will once a year invite a Council representative to inform its competent committee on progress in the work of the expert group, thereby ensuring the "ongoing" nature of the activity;

77.  Considers it essential to examine how national audit institutions can play a more operational role in the process, bearing in mind that they are independent institutions and do not always possess sufficient expertise as regards EU legislation; invites the Court of Auditors to forward an evaluation (including VFM) of the results of the work of the Contact Committee of the Presidents of the SAIs of the European Union and the Court of Auditors as well as the Court's views as to whether the effects of enlargement could revitalise the role of this body;

78.  Further considers that it could be necessary to analyse whether the current structure and functioning of the "top heavy" Court of Auditors should be reformed; recalls that the Court of Auditors currently has 25 Members and 736 employees, of whom 325 are professional auditors (A and B grades), with 275 (A and B grades) working in the audit groups and 50 (A grades) in Members' cabinets;

79.  Regrets that due to time constraints it is not able to give the Council's recommendation the attention it deserves, and invites the Commission to forward - and the Council to adopt - the following proposal for modification of Article 145(1) of the Financial Regulation:"

The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 June of year n + 2 give a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget for year n

80.  Invites its President, in his speech to the next European Council, to address the need to improve Member States' financial management of funds from the European Union;

B.SECTORAL ISSUES
Own resources

81.  Points out that the proportion of own resources calculated on the basis of gross national income is growing constantly and will soon account for two thirds of own resources; therefore expressly supports the Court of Auditors' recommendation (paragraph 3.48) that the Commission carry out more direct verifications of the underlying data from national accounts;

Agriculture, animal health and measures to combat fraud
Recovery of irregular payments

82.  Invites Member States to report cases of irregularities on time every three months whilst accepting that, in exceptional cases, Member States may ask for a derogation; expects the competent services of the Member States to be sufficiently staffed and trained, and expects all Member States, including Germany, Greece and Spain, to use electronic reporting not later than July 2005; calls on the Commission to inform its competent committee on the progress made in this area no later than September 2005;

83.  Notes that the Commission is responsible for having failed to recover, at least, EUR 1 120 million during the period from 1971 to September 2004; considers this to be an unacceptable situation and that the Member States and the Commission have shown a lack of due diligence; expects to receive a report, in time for the 2004 discharge procedure, on how and when this money will be recovered; notes that EUR 812 million is currently the subject of disputes before the courts and may also be recoverable; furthermore expects an evaluation of the efficiency of the 'premium' of 20% payable to the payment agency for successful recovery;

84.  Invites the Commission to propose simplified and more coherent rules on recoveries in preparation for the revision of the financial regulation; expects to be consulted on this aspect before the finalisation of the Commission's proposal;

85.  Notes that the Commission will by March 2005 have reviewed all of the approximately 4 000 cases of irregularities (442 substantial cases and 3 500 smaller cases) which occurred during the reference period;

86.  Welcomes the Commission's intention to refine the "black list", which indicates operators showing annual irregularities of more than EUR 100 000;

87.  Insists that the Commission must achieve measurable progress by realistically benchmarking future improvements and by regularly reporting progress to its responsible Committee;

88.  Asks the Commission to improve the monitoring of the paying agencies who are responsible for implementing the common agricultural policy; points out that before accession the paying agencies in the new Member States were subject to approval by the Commission; requests the Commission to follow up this practice and to submit to Parliament a report on the possibility of the approval of paying agencies by the Commission in the present Member States;

The system for the identification and registration of bovine animals

89.  Notes that, in the absence of common standards, the national databases set up by Member States in the framework of the identification and registration system do not provide for data exchange facilities; regrets that this potentially jeopardises the traceability of animals across borders;

90.  Acknowledges that the current regulation does not enable the Commission to develop binding rules on interconnection facilities for national databases; invites the Commission, in view of the findings contained in the Court of Auditors' Special Report, to submit a legislative proposal extending the Commission's implementing powers so as to ensure compatibility between the national databases;

91.  Calls on the Commission to provide, within the existing legal framework, guidance and advice on exchange of data, especially to new Member States which are currently setting up their national databases;

92.  States that replacing the current eartag system by electronic identification arrangements would not only enhance animal welfare but would also further ensure the traceability of animals from one Member State to another if the information kept on these electronic devices is harmonised; asks the Commission to submit a concrete proposal on the use of electronic identification arrangements instead of eartags; points out that the proposal should confer implementing powers on the Commission in order to facilitate the setting up of common standards for the information kept on the respective electronic devices; considers that the technology for the introduction of an electronic identification system must be at an appropriate standard before it can be implemented;

Management and supervision of the measures to control foot-and-mouth disease

93.  Notes that Community legislation requires the Commission to submit a report to Parliament and the Council every three years on the application of foot-and-mouth disease eradication measures and the corresponding Community expenditure; regrets that the Commission has not hitherto discharged this obligation; asks the Commission to submit such a comprehensive evaluation every three years, starting in 2006; considers that this evaluation should take into account cost-benefit analyses of the Community's strategy;

94.  Points out that not only formal transposition, but also effective implementation by Member States should be closely monitored; requests the Commission to further stimulate the research into vaccines and testing methods and to update the study concerning the ability of Member States' veterinary services to guarantee effective disease control in due time;

95.  Observes that, during the last decade, the volume of animal transport in the single market has multiplied, whereas the problems relating to traceability of animal movements and animal welfare during transport have not yet been satisfactorily resolved; asks the Commission to take further into consideration the possibility of reducing transport by making greater use of local abattoirs; furthermore calls on the Commission to take immediate action to reduce transport of ill or injured animals;

96.  Considers it vital to underline the importance of the role played by farmers in the Community's strategy for preventing and controlling the disease; calls on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal to the Council and Parliament making Community reimbursement of compensation paid by Member States to farmers for disease eradication measures conditional on farmers' compliance with their duty to notify any outbreak quickly;

97.  States that further clarification of the financial framework is needed in order to ensure equal treatment for farmers and transparency in the calculation of compensation; points out that, in its resolution of 17 December 2002 on the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis(30), Parliament considered the fair administration of compensation to be essential in order to prevent fraud; asks the Commission to align reimbursement rates for the different animal diseases and to establish viable criteria for the calculation, such as the current market value of the animal; recognises that, in the event of an outbreak of disease, there is no clearly defined market value for store stock, breeding animals and pedigree animals, but only for finished stock;

98.  Emphasises that since public health is in the interests of the whole of society, public funds must continue to be the main source of funding for Community eradication costs, and that farmers are also taxpayers; notes that farmers in some Member States contribute financially towards the national eradication costs (needed to co-finance the total costs), whereas other Member States do not demand contributions from the farming sector, which may harm the level playing field for agricultural producers in the EU; recalls that Parliament's Temporary Committee on Foot-and-Mouth Disease had requested the Commission to propose solutions as to how farmers could contribute to the Community's costs; notes the efforts made in different Member States and the study carried out for the Commission in 2003 exploring ways of obtaining financial contributions from farmers;

The common organisation of the market in raw tobacco

99.  Welcomes the reform of the CAP support for tobacco adopted by the Council in 2004, which aims at decoupling tobacco aid through a step-by-step transfer of the tobacco premium to form entitlements for single farm payments within a four-year transition period;

100.  Endorses the European Court of Auditors' recommendation that the Commission seeks to ensure that reform proposals are supported by sufficient data and impact analyses; asks the Commission to pay particular attention to the significance of tobacco production for employment and the economy of less-favoured areas;

101.  Notes that the Community's tobacco production covers only 30% of the needs of the industry; points out that the last CMO reform has already introduced mechanisms to bring European production into line with demand within the EU;

102.  Observes that, as a result of the current mismatch between supply and demand, most of the tobacco produced in the EU is exported; regrets that this policy is not in line with the Community's development aid granted to small tobacco producers in developing countries who are dependent on exports, because EU tobacco exports significantly reduce the export possibilities of developing countries; demands that the Community's agricultural and development policy be aligned;

103.  Points out that even if other crops can be cultivated, where tobacco is grown, the economic balance of the agricultural holdings depends largely on tobacco; as Parliament recognised in its report on the last CMO reform, "it is extremely difficult to find economic alternatives capable of generating the same number of jobs as tobacco production"; asks the Commission to pursue its policy on promoting the cultivation of alternative crops and to use the Tobacco Fund as an important instrument both for the improvement of the quality of EU tobacco and for research into alternative crops;

104.  Points out that research into alternative crops has been neglected and that producers have not been encouraged to shift to other economic activities; the Community Tobacco Fund, which is financed by a levy on the tobacco subsidy and managed by both DG AGRI (50%) and DG SANCO (50%), has been under-utilised, most of the unused EUR 68 million being attributable to the DG SANCO information campaigns; from 2006, no measures to promote a switch of production are funded; asks for a more consistent approach;

105.  Considers that compliance by the Member States with their notification duties as laid down in the respective Community regulations is crucial to effective monitoring of the tobacco market and related Community expenditure; insists that financial sanctions be imposed on those Member States which have failed to comply with these obligations;

106.  States that, since farmers face the prospect of payments to them being reduced or excluded in the event of non-compliance, it is essential that they be made aware in advance of their new obligations as regards cross-compliance with environmental standards after the 2006 reform; asks the Commission and Member States to fulfil their duty to precisely define these criteria in good time before the reform comes into force, in order to enable farmers to bring their activities into line with the new rules;

107.  Notes that the Commission will have to submit, by 31 December 2009, a report on the implementation of the 2006 reform to the Council; expresses its interest in this report and asks that it be submitted also to Parliament;

Structural measures

108.  Deplores the failure of some Member States to control and manage taxpayers' money for which they are responsible, and points to the hypocrisy of some Member States in blaming the Commission for failing to control expenditure for which those Member States are responsible;

109.  Notes that the Court of Auditors did not find fault with the internal control mechanisms of the Commission and noted improvements; regrets the fact that, due to insufficient resources, only a limited number of Member States" systems have been subjected to on the spot checks;

110.  Asks the Commission to inform Parliament of the countries which have failed to rapidly implement agreed improvements in their control systems and continue to supply incomplete Article 8 statements;

111.  Encourages the Commission to suspend interim payments to Member States in cases of serious irregularity or when serious failings in the Member States' management control systems are found.

Interreg III

112.  Finds that the lack of measurable objectives and clearly defined indicators makes it difficult to assess the extent to which the objective of the Interreg III programme - to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the Community by promoting cross-border, transnational and interregional coooperation and balanced development of the Community territory - has been met; thus finds it difficult to assess whether the most efficient means for achieving this objective has been used;

113.  Urges the Commission to make greater efforts to draw up clearly defined objectives and indicators allowing the impact of this programme to be measured, so that the added value of European spending in this area can be assessed; stresses the need for a clear and competent analysis showing divergences between private and social costs and benefits or between local and Community level costs and benefits, as it is necessarily those divergences that justify the programme in the first place;

Internal policies
Environment, Public Health and Safety

114.  Considers the overall implementation rates of the budget headings for environment, public health and food safety satisfactory;

115.  Welcomes the measures which aim at improving the implementation cycle of multiannual programmes; calls on the Commission to better focus calls for tenders and to provide more assistance to applicants in order to avoid the submission of numerous project applications which are clearly non-eligible for funding;

116.  Points out that compliance with administrative and financial provisions of the Financial Regulation should not lead to unnecessary delays in awarding grants or selecting projects to be financed;

Research

117.  Notes that the rules of participation in the European RT framework programmes are far too complex; agrees with the Court of Auditors that this is a serious problem for the Commission and the participants; regrets that small organisations in particular, with less developed administrative structures, and SMEs have difficulties in dealing with an excessive volume of rules and requirements;

118.  Recalls that the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) is managed jointly by several DGs; notes that the Court finds that this fragmentation results in dilution of responsibilities, duplication of functions and increased need for coordination;

119.  Takes note of the Court of Auditors' recommendation for a review of "the rules for setting the Community financial participation whilst allowing adequate control over expenditure"; expects the Parliament to be fully involved from the early stages of any such review given its role as co-legislator for the legal framework and the rules of participation in framework programmes;

120.  Notes that the "Lisbon agenda" is likely to be reflected in increased budgetary appropriations for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7); highlights the fact that such a significant increase in the budget will require effective simplification of the administrative procedures both for participants and for the Commission;

121.  Notes with concern the conclusion drawn by the Court that ex-post financial audits again show "a considerable incidence of errors, mainly due to over-declarations of costs ... which were not detected by the Commission's internal controls"; expects the introduction of audit certificates, with possible improvements as recommended by the Court, to eventually result in a reduced need for extensive ex-post financial audits;

122.  Urges the Commission to learn the appropriate lessons from the lack of transparency of accounting in relation to the FP5 due to the number of cost categories, and to ensure that this is not repeated in subsequent programmes;

123.  Asks the Commission to base its proposal for FP7 on effective simplifications such as:

124.  Highlights the fact that it is not enough for the participants to comply with formal rules and procedures, and that it is also important to ensure value for money; encourages the Commission to perform qualitative ex post evaluations of scientific results and impacts;

125.  Calls on the Commission to develop its procedures in such a way that the cost of preparing project applications is reduced to a justifiable level;

126.  Calls on the Commission to redraw the rules for participation, introducing access to mid-term scientific and technical evaluations of ongoing projects as a standard procedure; calls on the Commission to identify a suitable interim evaluation board; asks the Court of Auditors to publish an opinion on these new rules;

127.  Notes with concern the delays observed by the Court in the adoption by the Commission of FP6 model contracts and financial guidelines, as well as in the implementation of the Commission's Internal Control Standards and the deployment of the common IT system, which to some extent offset the "improvements achieved by the earlier adoption of the legal framework and the simplification of the contractual structure"; expects the Commission to profit from experience in order to avoid similar delays in future;

128.  Furthermore, encourages the Commission to include more efficient management structures in FP7:

129.  129 Welcomes the intention of the Commission to set up a guarantee scheme under the FP7 to better leverage loan financing of European research projects and infrastructures, in particular by the EIB; encourages the Commission to take into account, in the context of the proposed scheme, the special needs of SMEs and to consider the possibility of extending such schemes to EUREKA projects;

Internal Market

130.  Notes that because of internal restructuring, according to information from DG Internal Market and Services, not all the funding available might be fully utilised and a number of external studies could not even be awarded;

131.  Is satisfied, in general, at the high degree of utilisation of appropriations for the budget headings coming under DG Health and Consumer Protection, the proportion of 2003 budget funding used having been 99,3%;

132.  Notes that utilisation of appropriations for the budget headings coming under DG Taxation and Customs Union at 86,61% is satisfactory but can certainly not be described as excellent;

133.  Voices its concern at the general trend that consumer programme award procedures are being held up because of over-restrictive rules under the new Financial Regulation and potential applicants' interest is considerably waning because of the bureaucratic procedures.

Transport

134.  Notes that in the 2003 budget as finally adopted and amended in the course of the year a total of EUR 661,8 million was included for transport policies in commitment appropriations and EUR 609,3 million was available in payment appropriations; further notes that of these totals:

135.  Welcomes the increased rates of utilisation of both commitment and payment appropriations for Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) projects, both reaching almost 100%, and expects that this will result in Member States identifying resources from both the public and private sectors to speed completion of these projects;

136.  Expresses its concern that interim and final payments for Trans-European Transport Network projects were often authorised by the Commission in 2003 without specific preconditions in the financial implementing provisions being satisfied and recalls that the Court of Auditors has already drawn this weakness to the Commission's attention in its annual reports for 2001 and 2002;

137.  Notes that despite this high rate of payment appropriation utilisation the volume of outstanding commitments or RAL (reste à liquider) was not reduced and rose slightly to EUR 1 154 million for TEN-T in the course of 2003;

138.  Notes with concern that for the other transport lines the rate of utilisation of commitment appropriations fell from 93% to 83%.The commitment utilisation rate for transport safety was particularly low at 65% of the appropriations available and the payment rate of utilisation was 72%. The equivalent rates for transport safety in 2002 were 99% and 58%. Finds these rates of utilisation for a key objective identified in the White Paper on Transport to be wholly unacceptable, particularly the sharp decline in the utilisation of payment appropriations;

Culture and Education

139.  Welcomes the steps that the Commission has taken to date to overcome the programme design and management weaknesses which marred the first generation of the Socrates and Youth programmes; welcomes the improved architecture and management procedures contained in its recently adopted proposals for the next generation of Lifelong Learning and Youth programmes;

140.  Notes that the Commission faces a difficult task in trying to reconcile demands that the administrative burdens placed on applicants for grants under programmes of this kind be as light as possible, with the obligation imposed on it by the Implementing Rules for the Financial Regulation to ensure sound financial management;

141.  Underlines its conviction that the guiding principle of administrative and accounting requirements in the next generation of Lifelong Learning and Youth programmes should be proportionality; underlines the advantages of targeted derogations from the Implementing Rules for the Financial Regulation allowing:

142.  Emphasises the importance it will attach to the punctual publication of interim and ex-post evaluation reports on the future Lifelong Learning and Youth programmes;

Area of freedom, security and justice

143.  Welcomes the fact that some progress has been made in the implementation of the budget for an area of freedom, security and justice (budget title B5-8) in comparison with the 2002 budget year; notes, however, that the level of execution in particular of payments is one of the lowest of the Commission (68% in 2003; 79% for the entire internal policies) while the level of execution of commitments now reaches the average of the internal policies; calls on the Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security to continue to improve implementation of the budget in the forthcoming financial years;

144.  Takes note of the remarks made by the Court of Auditors in its annual report 2003 concerning the Commission's internal control environment, which are based on an analysis of four of the 14 Directorate-Generals implementing internal policies, including the Directorate-General for Justice and Home Affairs, as it was then called; calls on the Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security to follow the recommendations made by the Court of Auditors;

145.  Notes with concern and regret the remarks made by the Court of Auditors in its annual report 2003 about the implementation of the Refugee Fund; in view of the restructuring of the expenditure programmes in this policy area in the context of the new financial perspective, which will lead to more shared management, requests the Commission to ensure an adequate control environment at national and European level;

146.  Expresses its concern that the Commission has not yet given its opinion on the draft financial regulation of Eurojust, as required by the Eurojust decision, although it was sent to the Commission by Eurojust in November 2003;

Gender equality

147.  Agrees with the Commission's political priorities for the 2003 budget inasmuch as enlargement and the administration's preparations for this process should be considered absolute EU priorities; points out the importance it has attached, in light of the objectives of the Lisbon and Barcelona summits, to the need for an increased rate of participation by women in the enlarged EU labour market, in order, particularly, to promote the socio-economic status of women in the new Member States, and also to the need to establish the necessary financial resources when planning the budget;

148.  Points out that, by virtue of Article 3(2) of the EC Treaty, the promotion of equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of the EU, and is also an objective relevant across the full range of all Community activities and policies; reiterates its demand for gender equality to be taken into due consideration as an ongoing priority objective during budgetary planning, in accordance with the principle of gender budgeting;

149.  Welcomes the significant progress achieved in the implementation of the 2003 budget with regard to all the objectives and also the programming period for the Structural Funds, which translates into a payments implementation rate of 89%, well above that achieved in 2002 (71%); draws attention as a priority to the total absence of data relating to activities promoting gender equality that have received Structural Fund support and calls on the Commission to remedy this situation at the earliest opportunity;

150.  Takes the view that the utilisation of budgetary resources has different effects on women and men because of persistent gender disparities; points out that budgetary data for 2003 give hardly any information on the extent and impact of funding allocated to the promotion of gender equality in the context of gender mainstreaming, and calls on the Commission to present the relevant information to Parliament without delay;

External Policies
Reform of the external aid management system

151.  Points out that the Commission had high hopes for the reform when it was launched in 2000 and has declared it to be a success; notes and endorses the Council Conclusions of 22-23 November 2004, in which the Council commends the Commission on the progress achieved in improving the management and timely delivery of Community assistance and encourages continued efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of implementation; while fully supporting deconcentration, notes that the considerable additional costs entailed need to be backed up by tangible results; therefore welcomes the forthcoming Court of Auditors' evaluation of how deconcentration has been working in the Delegations, as indicated in the Court's 2004 Work Programme and as called for by the Committee on Foreign Affairs in its opinion on the 2002 discharge; trusts that the report will, at the very least, include a cost-benefit analysis of deconcentration;

152.  Notes that, while the 2003 Activity Report by DG Relex speaks of a need for further evaluation of the deconcentration, it would appear that this evaluation would only concern staffing needs; draws attention particularly, therefore, to the Council's invitation to the Commission "to conduct a qualitative assessment of EC External Assistance separate to the Annual Report" and to present this before July 2005;

153.  Draws attention to the continued absence of proper information management systems and a system of supervision of the work of the Delegations regarding the evaluation of financial risks, a situation recognised by DG Relex itself in its Annual Activity Report of 2003 and attributed to a shortage of human resources; points out that, while the Commission's candour and its proposals to remedy the situation are to be welcomed, these must be implemented sooner rather than later, and calls on the Commission to issue an interim report on its progress before July 2005;

154.  Is concerned that, in its audit of implementing organisations at project level, the Court of Auditors found a significant number of irregular transactions (paragraphs 7.38 and 7.39 of the annual report); notes that, in its reply, the Commission agrees with the Court of Auditors that the observance of tender and procurement procedures by project management units and NGOs remains an area of concern; expects the Members of the Commission with responsibility for external aid to submit an action plan by 1 September 2005 in order to bring those problems under control;

155.  Draws attention to the fact that greater coherence between different EU policies can improve the efficiency of EU expenditure;

Court of Auditors' Annual Report

156.  With regard to the Court of Auditors' Annual Report in general, would find it helpful if the Court provided a clearer picture of the actual damage caused by any irregularities which have been identified;

157.  Recognises the need to strike a balance between reporting and procedural requirements for NGOs on the one hand and the feasibility of NGOs meeting these on a regular basis on the other hand, and would welcome reflection by the Court on how these interests could be better reconciled;

158.  Asks whether the Commission has made attempts to compare the efficiency of various international aid donors; if not, proposes that such an exercise be undertaken as soon as possible;

Solidarity Fund for Latin America

159.  Draws attention to the support given by Parliament on numerous occasions to the idea of having a Solidarity Fund for Latin America; notes that, while there is considerable support for such a fund, it would have to be accompanied by greater social commitment from the political and economic leadership of the countries in question; in particular, draws attention to the responsibility of countries with a particularly bad record of income distribution to seek to rectify this; notes that the EU should pursue social objectives in these countries by both delivering aid and convincing the countries in question to do more themselves, and that a satisfactory balance between these two elements should be found;

160.  Expects the Commission to provide a (written) explanation to Parliament each time it does not implement a provision set out in a budgetary remark;

Development

161.  Takes the view that development policy is an essential component of the Union's external activities, its aim being to eradicate poverty by reinforcing social infrastructure, education and health, increasing the production capacity of poor population groups and giving support to the countries concerned so that they can develop growth and local potential; stresses that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) would be a major step towards reaching this objective;

162.  Recognises the Commission's efforts to focus its development operations on the achievement of the MDGs including the identification of ten key indicators; calls on the Commission to step up its efforts in this direction and recommends devoting 35% of the European Union's development cooperation expenditure to achieving the MDGs;

163.  Recognises the problems of measuring the impact of Community assistance on the achievement of the MDGs in multi-donor environments; deplores the fact that the Commission has not made efforts to establish an appropriate mechanism to measure such impact and thus confines itself to measuring the process of the developing countries towards the MDGs; deplores the fact that the Commission's replies to the Development Committee's questionnaire are particularly vague as regards the implementation of the MDGs in the Commission's development actions;

164.  Welcomes the improvements made by the Commission in its reporting system and recognises the improved quality of the Annual Report 2004 on EC Development Policy and External Assistance (COM(2004)0536 and SEC(2004)1027);

165.  Decides to introduce an annual plenary debate on the Commission's Annual Report on EC Development Policy and External Assistance;

166.  Welcomes the fact that the share of spending for social infrastructure and services of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) financed by the general budget and the EDF, which totalled EUR 8 269 million in 2003, increased from 31,4% in 2002 to 34,7% in 2003;

167.  Deplores as unacceptable the fact that only EUR 198 million (2,4%) was earmarked for basic education and EUR 310 million (3,8%) for basic health; urges the Commission to increase funding for these sectors and calls for 20% of the European Union's development cooperation expenditure to be earmarked for basic education and health in the developing countries;

168.  Welcomes the role of the Commission in the debate on donor coordination and harmonisation of procedures; deplores the lack of progress on the international level and the reluctance of Member States; urges the Commission to increase efforts to avoid duplications of development actions and to progress towards complementarity;

169.  Considers that the Commission's support in preparing the new Members States for their participation in the EU development policy was insufficient; urges the Commission to support the new Member States and candidate countries in the establishment of their development policy and in the process of awareness building for development issues;

Pre-accession aid
PHARE

170.  Commends the Commission for the efforts it has made so far through the PHARE programme in helping to prepare the candidate countries for managing the structural funds;

171.  Is nevertheless concerned by the failure to ensure that the accreditation process for many PHARE and ISPA agencies in the new Member States was completed before accession; urges the Commission, however, to endeavour to ensure that such a failure does not occur in relation to Romania, Bulgaria and the future acceding countries;

172.  Notes, however, that the value of the PHARE programme in terms of 'learning by doing' is limited as the programmes managed differ significantly from the ERDF and ESF programmes for which they are meant to be preparing, and that there remains a significant need for greater institution-building support to help manage structural funds after accession; expresses concern about the capacity of the candidate countries to absorb structural funds after accession;

173.  Welcomes in principle, therefore, the proposal for a new single instrument for preparing for management of the structural funds, provided that its design is not overcomplicated; whilst underlining the need for an appropriate control framework, therefore urges the Commission to ensure that the new instrument is as kept simple as possible in order not to hinder its implementation;

SAPARD

174.  Concludes that the aims and objectives of SAPARD, as the first pre-accession aid to be fully decentralised, were excellent, even if it did not fully achieve them; acknowledges the benefit of the SAPARD programme, which not only stimulated economic development in candidate countries but also encouraged people to think in a new way which was more rational and project-based; acknowledges that the programme was beneficial in terms of learning by doing, in that it provided national administrative authorities in the accession states with direct experience in the management of Community funds; considers that the overall experience gained with this programme will definitely be of added value in the implementation of future Community programmes; urges the Commission to improve its ex-ante analysis of needs, so as to further increase added value;

175.  Acknowledges that the decentralised management system used to implement the programme generally functions well, but urges the Commission to improve it further by learning from the problems encountered so far, providing more support to accession states when problems are found and doing more to follow up the programme;

176.  Notes that, among other things, complex procedures and legal uncertainties lead to significant under-utilisation of funds, and is disappointed that after five years of implementation only half of the money was obtained by the (final) beneficiaries according to data as at 15 December 2004; is pleased, however, that no SAPARD money will be lost because of delays; nevertheless, points out to the Commission that under no circumstances should the desirable acceleration of payments eliminate regulation and supervision of the programme;

177.  Notes that most of the SAPARD funds were spent on projects which increased production, and urges that greater emphasis be placed on quality, environmental and health standards in the new programmes;

178.  Admits that clearance of accounts was better managed than in the case of PHARE, but urges further improvements to reduce loss of EU money;

179.  Commends the Commission for the efforts made through the specific financial assistance in the pre-accession strategy for Malta and Cyprus in helping these two countries prepare for membership; regrets, however, that both Malta and Cyprus were excluded from the main pre-accession financial instruments, PHARE, SAPARD and ISPA, and therefore had more limited opportunities to prepare for managing Community Funds.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (4) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (5) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (6) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (7) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p.1. (9) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (10) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (11) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (12) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p.1. (13) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (14) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p.1. (15) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (16) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (17) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (18) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p.1. (19) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 82. (20) COM(2004)0740. (21) Paragraph 21 of its resolution of 4 December 2003 (OJ C 89 E, 14.4.2004, p. 153) and paragraph 68 of its resolution of 21 April 2004 on the discharge for 2002 (OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 82). (22) See "Annual Report to the Discharge Authority on Internal Audits carried out in 2003" (COM(2004)0740), p. 6. (23) Also called "sound financial management audit" or "value for money audit". (24) OJ L 158, 17.6.2002, p. 1. (25) OJ C 107, 30.4.2004, p. 1. (26) See ECA Opinion No 2/2004. (27) http://www.rekenkamer.nl/9282200/v/index.htm. (28) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 1021. (29) Point 8 in the Council's recommendation of 9 March 2004 (Doc 6185/04 Budget 1). See http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/04/st06/st06185.en04.pdf. (30) OJ C 31 E, 5.2.2004, p. 137.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section I - European Parliament (C6-0015/2005 - 2004/2041(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0093 A6-0063/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

–   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet in respect of the financial year 2003 (C6-0015/2005),

–   having regard to the annual report of the Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

–   having regard to the Statement of Assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

–   having regard to Article 275 of the EC Treaty and Article 179a of the Euratom Treaty,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), particularly Articles 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

–   having regard to Article 147(1) of the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002, pursuant to which each Community institution is required to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision,

–   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

–   having regard to Rules 71 and 74(3) of its Rules of Procedure and Annex V thereto,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0063/2005),

A.   whereas the Court of Auditors in paragraph 9.15 of its annual report for the financial year 2003 found as regards the European Parliament that "the transactions audited were substantially legal and regular",

B.   whereas the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002 and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament as amended on 23 October 2002 apply with effect from 1 January 2003 as regards procedural rules governing the discharge procedure,

C.   whereas Parliament's Rules of Procedure were amended on 23 October 2002 to provide that discharge is to be given to the President rather than to the Secretary-General,

1.  Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2003;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which are an integral part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section I - European Parliament (C6-0015/2005 - 2004/2041(DEC))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

–   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet in respect of the financial year 2003 (C6-0015/2005),

–   having regard to the annual report of the Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

–   having regard to the Statement of Assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

–   having regard to Article 275 of the EC Treaty and Article 179a of the Euratom Treaty,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), particularly Articles 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

–   having regard to Article 147(1) of the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002, pursuant to which each Community institution is required to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision,

–   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

–   having regard to Rules 71 and 74(3) of its Rules of Procedure and Annex V thereto,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0063/2005),

A.   whereas the Court of Auditors in paragraph 9.15 of its annual report for the financial year 2003 found as regards the European Parliament that "the transactions audited were substantially legal and regular",

B.   whereas the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002 and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament as amended on 23 October 2002 apply with effect from 1 January 2003 as regards procedural rules governing the discharge procedure,

C.   whereas Parliament's Rules of Procedure were amended on 23 October 2002 to provide that discharge is to be given to the President rather than to the Secretary-General,

D.   whereas its resolution of 21 April 2004(11) on the discharge for 2002 should be followed up and progress in implementing its recommendations assessed,

1.  Takes note of the figures with which the European Parliament's accounts for the 2003 financial year were closed, namely:

2.  Notes that in 2003 98,98 % of the appropriations entered in Parliament's budget were committed with a cancellation rate of 1,02 % and that as in previous years a very high level of budget implementation was achieved;

3.  Recalls, however, (without calling into question Parliament's settled policy of buying rather than renting its buildings) that this high level of implementation is partly attributable to the consistent practice since 1992 of the "ramassage" (mopping-up transfer) for the purposes of transferring any appropriations available at year end to the budget lines for buildings and, in particular, for advance payments of capital to reduce future payments of interest;

4.  Recognises that the greater part of Parliament's property acquisition programme has already been completed; nevertheless urges the budgetary authorities to ensure optimum budgetary forecasting and that the amounts entered in the draft budget reflect Parliament's real requirements rather than resorting systematically to significant transfers from unrelated budget lines;

5.  Considers that capital repayments on buildings should be agreed as part of the budgetary strategy in a separate budget line when the budget is established in the year N-1;

6.  Believes that authorising officers by delegation should be called on to explain, in their annual activity reports, the reasons for the availability of appropriations on their respective budget items for the purposes of the "ramassage";

7.  Notes that in 2003 the European Parliament received revenue amounting to EUR 98 545 334 (2002: EUR 67 256 006);

Presentation and content of the accounts and accompanying analysis of financial management

8.  Notes that the analysis of budgetary management accompanying the 2003 accounts provides a useful statement of the principal financial events of the year under review as well as a succinct summary of the activity reports by the Directors-General;

9.  Welcomes the publication on DG Finance's Intranet site of the report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year 2003; welcomes further the Secretary-General's proposal to draw up each year a document, which would be brief, accessible and attractive, to provide the public with more information on budgetary management in Parliament(14);

Follow-up to the 2002 discharge resolution

10.  Expresses its thanks to the Secretary-General for supplying the reports requested in its resolution of 21 April 2004 on the discharge for 2002 in good time before the beginning of the following discharge cycle;

11.  Recalls that Article 147(1) of the Financial Regulation requires the institutions to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision; concludes that this injunction must also apply to Parliament itself and a fortiori to its component bodies;

12.  Stresses its attachment to the application of the principles of good corporate governance at both political and administrative level;

Implementation of the new Financial Regulation

13.  Points out that much of the management activity of the Institution in 2003 was geared to adjusting to the new requirements of the Financial Regulation, setting up new systems, methodologies and working methods, devising training programmes and establishing new lines of responsibility; notes that the Court praised Parliament's efficiency in putting the new structures in place;

14.  Recalls the key principles of the financial reforms undertaken in 2003, namely decentralisation and the assumption of full responsibility by authorising departments on the one hand and the ending of the centralised financial control function and the establishment of a central financial service and internal auditor on the other;

15.  Notes that initial experience with a strict application of the terms of the new Financial Regulation to an institution such as the Parliament with only an administrative budget to manage is perceived to have led, in some cases, to overly complex systems and financial circuits;

16.  Considers that this perception illustrates that further progress is required in developing a control framework that is based on setting objectives, identifying risks to the achievement of those objectives and developing controls that address those risks; recommends that Parliament's authorities point out and rectify any shortcomings in the next review of the Financial Regulation;

17.  Recalls that in December 2002 Parliament adopted the basic documents necessary to implement the new Financial Regulation, including the new internal rules for the implementation of the budget, charters for the internal audit services, the authorising officers and the accounting officer, minimum standards for internal control and a specific code of professional standards for ex ante verification staff, and adapted the computerised system used in managing budgetary revenue and expenditure (FINORD) to the new rules;

18.  Notes, however, the Court's remark that while the authorising officers could not set up fully operational control systems from the date of entry into force of the Financial Regulation (1 January 2003), the Parliament was nevertheless able in the course of 2003 to begin to implement new 'Minimum Standards for Internal Control' (MSIC), a 'Central Financial Service' and an internal audit function(15);

19.  Points - in response to the Court's criticism of the absence of ex post controls - to Parliament's reply that the need for fully developed ex post verification will be evaluated on the basis of a more developed risk and control self-assessment by the respective authorising officers(16);

20.  Notes with concern the Court's finding that the implementation of certain internal control standards, including the identification of sensitive posts and reporting improprieties, was only at an initial stage(17);

21.  Observes that since the transition to decentralised financial checks the need to ensure continuity of operations and adequate supervision of the ex ante control function has entailed a considerable increase in the number of staff assigned to ex ante control tasks;

22.  Recognises, in conclusion, that the transition from a highly centralised to a decentralised approach to internal control procedures in a short space of time represented a major challenge in 2003; notes with satisfaction that of the smaller institutions, Parliament - thanks to the efforts of its Administration - was one of the few to have succeeded in adopting the necessary subsidiary texts in time for the entry into force of the new Financial Regulation on 1 January 2003;

Annual activity reports

23.  Points out that 2003 was the first financial year for which the Directors-General were required to draw up annual activity reports and that the Secretary-General forwarded them to the President and the Committee on Budgetary Control together with a signed declaration; notes that in that declaration the Secretary-General gave a reasonable assurance that Parliament's budget had been implemented in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and that the control framework put in place provided the necessary guarantees as to the legality and regularity of the underlying operations;

24.  Notes that none of the authorising officers by delegation entered reservations in their declarations, but that two activity reports contained observations relating to (i) the shortage of qualified staff in the area of financial management (DG Information) and (ii) the need for rule changes to bring certain aspects of Members' allowances into line with the Financial Regulation and for a solution to the status of political group financing (DG Finance);

25.  Notes, furthermore, the Secretary-General's recognition in his declaration that the reports received thus far (i.e. by 16 March 2004) from the Internal Auditor on his review of the internal control framework indicated that there were weaknesses which needed to be addressed in the short term;

26.  Notes with satisfaction that the Secretary-General's declaration is accompanied by a detailed action plan intended to remedy the deficiencies identified in the activity reports;

27.  Asks the Secretary-General to report to the Committee on Budgetary Control as part of the follow-up to this resolution on the progress made in implementing the measures set out in the action plan annexed to his declaration in respect of the financial year 2003;

28.  Remarks that the various activity reports differ widely in scope, length, form and the degree to which the information from the component services is integrated; invites the Secretary-General, as proposed by the Court of Auditors in paragraph 9.16 of its 2003 annual report, to harmonise the presentation and structure of the activity reports in future in order to provide greater comparability between Directorates-General; notes, however, that the difficulty of recruiting suitably qualified financial staff is a theme common to several activity reports;

29.  Notes the Court's remark, in paragraph 9.16 of its 2003 annual report, that the annual activity reports should give more detailed information on the results of the controls carried out;

30.  Observes, on the basis of the 2003 activity reports, that for the sake of a better understanding of the true value of the authorising officers' signed declarations, it would be desirable in future years to adopt a standardised format clearly distinguishing between those matters calling for an "observation" by the Director-General (not calling into question his declaration of assurance) and other more serious matters justifying a "reservation";

Internal audit

31.  Recalls that the Internal Auditor's annual report and the declaration and activity reports of the Secretary-General and the Directors-General constitute a major part of the assessment both by the Court of Auditors and by Parliament's discharge authority;

32.  Observes that the concept of internal control henceforth is deemed to refer to ensuring reasonable assurance of key control objectives, namely:

33.  Considers that the Administration should give priority to implementing the Internal Auditor's recommendations in the following areas, arising from his review of the internal control framework in 2003 :

Governance and regulatory framework

34.  Reaffirms the view expressed in its resolutions of 8 April 2003(18) and 21 April 2004 that "the scope of the discharge procedure should cover not only the management activities of Parliament's Secretary-General and Administration, but also the decisions taken by its governing bodies, i.e. its President, Bureau and Conference of Presidents";

35.  Instructs its Bureau and competent committee to respond to the request formulated in paragraphs 16 and 17 of its resolution of 21 April 2004 for proposals intended to define the precise practical meaning of the political responsibility attaching to the members of Parliament's governing bodies as regards the exercise of powers and the taking of decisions with significant financial consequences;

36.  Recalls paragraphs 11 to 17 of its resolution of 21 April 2004 on accountability of Parliament's governing bodies; points out, furthermore, that this is the first discharge report, under the new Rules of Procedure, to be directed to its political rather than simply administrative authority; resolves in future to improve communication and dialogue between its Committee on Budgetary Control and members of its Bureau and Quaestors;

37.  Points out that Parliament's financial management is now scrutinised in a growing number of control bodies, procedures and mechanisms involving the EP discharge report, reports by the Administration in response thereto, the annual budgetary procedure, the annual and sectoral reports of the internal auditor, the Audit Panel, the Court of Auditors, the Financial Irregularities Panel, reports by OLAF (the European Anti-Fraud Office) and the activity reports of the Directors-General, with the concomitant risk of overlap and repetition;

38.  Queries whether the degree of scrutiny and the complexity of the control apparatus currently in place is wholly proportionate in the light of the Court of Auditors' conclusion that overall risk is low in the field of administrative expenditure(19);

39.  Believes that a process of consolidation and tidying-up of control procedures may be appropriate in due course; asks its Secretary-General to submit a report on possible ways of synthesising all the various inputs on control matters so as to enable clear conclusions to be drawn;

40.  Calls upon the Secretary-General to ensure implementation of an integral approach to risk management and risk analysis and thus ensure sound financial and administrative management;

Political groups (review of accounts and procedures - budget line 3701)

41.  Recalls that paragraph 2.7.3 of the rules(20) governing budget line 3701 requires the Bureau and the Committee on Budgetary Control to deal with the audited annual accounts of the political groups in accordance with the powers conferred upon them by the Rules of Procedure;

42.  Reiterates that the political groups are independently responsible for the management and use of their quota of Parliament's budget and that the remit of the institution's Internal Audit Service does not extend to the conditions under which use is made of the appropriations against the 3701 budget line (approximately 3% of Parliament's total budget);

43.  Notes the difficulties that Parliament has been experiencing in applying some of the new provisions of the Financial Regulation to an essentially administrative budget and that these difficulties are equally reflected at the level of the political groups; recognises, however, that efforts have been made to bring the 3701 rules as closely into line with the requirements of the Financial Regulation as possible;

44.  Notes that the political groups and the Administration have established a working group to examine the specific status of the political groups' budgets with respect to the provisions of the Financial Regulation and Implementing Rules; encourages them to use this as a regular forum for contact, where appropriate, with the Administration in keeping abreast of financial and accounting reforms;

45.  Welcomes the decision by political groups to publish their internal financial rules on Parliament's website and urges early implementation; calls on the Bureau to find an appropriate solution enabling the reports and accounts of the non-attached Members to be made available for scrutiny in a transparent manner, broadly comparable with the procedure now followed by the political groups;

46.  Records that in 2003 the appropriations entered on budget line 3701 were allocated pursuant to the Bureau's decision of 10 February 2003 as follows:

47.  Notes the Secretary-General's proposal firstly to develop standard templates for the engagement letter to the groups' external auditors and secondly for the letter from the group chairman accompanying each group's accounts to include additional information which could take the form of a standardised annual activity report relating to the execution of the group's budget in the financial year under review(21); invites the Bureau to take these suggestions into account when next it revises the 3701 rules;

Members' allowances

48.  Recalls that pending the adoption of a common statute for Members of the European Parliament, all Members receive:

49.  Draws attention to the increased discrepancy between salaries since enlargement and the urgent need to find a solution that establishes fair treatment for all MEPs and respects their national laws and provisions;

50.  Supports in this respect the initiative undertaken by the current Presidency of the European Union to reach agreement on the Members' Statute introducing a single remuneration for Members of the European Parliament;

51.  Takes note of the intent of Parliament's Bureau to pursue contacts with the Council with a view to agreeing the terms of a common statute for Members; urges all sides to bring closure to this matter at the earliest opportunity, in order to end speculation and uncertainty surrounding parliamentary remunerations;

52.  Regrets that little progress has been made since its last discharge report on reviewing and reforming the system of Members" allowances; recalls an earlier decision of the Bureau on 28 May 2003 partly addressing the matter but linked to adoption of a common Statute for Members; believes that, even in the absence of a common statute, it should be possible to devise a system that is clear, transparent and fair;

53.  Takes the view that Members who voluntarily repay to the Administration allowances or parts thereof corresponding to a surplus over actual costs incurred, or only want the actual costs of, for example, travel to be paid out to them, should do so on the basis of provisions clearly laid down in the Rules on Members' expenses and allowances;

General expenditure allowance

54.  Requests the Quaestors to review the general rules for reimbursement of allowances to see if changes are required to be able to maximise the use of new IT capabilities;

Secretarial assistance allowance

55.  Notes that on 13 December 2004 the Bureau adopted amendments to the rules(22) governing the secretarial allowance intended inter alia to ensure greater consistency between the rules and the requirements of the Financial Regulation;

56.  Points out that Article 79 of the Financial Regulation and Articles 98 and 104 of the Implementing Rules(23) on the validation of expenditure require the authorising officer to verify a creditor's entitlement on the basis of supporting documents; reminds the Administration of the need to insist on the submission of invoices or fee-statements as a condition for making payments under service contracts (Article 14(6) of the Rules on Members' expenses and allowances);

57.  Calls on the Bureau to propose arrangements, incorporating the results of the work of the parliamentary working party, which make Members' use of the secretarial assistance allowance more transparent; stresses, however, that the fundamentals of contractual freedom must be taken into consideration in the process;

58.  Regrets that the Bureau's decision of 13 December 2004 changes the content of Article 14(5) and (7) point (d) of the Rules governing the payment of expenses and allowances to Members (as established by the Bureau's decision of 9 February 2004) in such a way that the provisions concerning the contractual and social security obligations of assistants and persons working under service contracts once again show a lack of clarity; calls upon the Bureau to revise the text adopted on 13 December 2004;

Travel allowance

59.  Recalls that on 28 May 2003 the Bureau adopted an outline of a set of new rules governing the payment of expenses and allowances to Members providing for the reimbursement of travel expenses on the basis of actual costs but conditional on the entry into force of a Statute for Members;

60.  Recalls that on certain routes actual costs are sometimes higher than the ceilings established by the Administration, owing to a lack of competitive airlines on these routes, and insists that actual costs must be reimbursed in these circumstances;

Voluntary pension scheme

61.  Notes that according to the latest revised actuarial valuation dated 31 December 2003 the fund's future liabilities at that date exceeded its current assets by EUR 41 795 982 and that the actuarial funding level at the end of 2003 was 76,4 %(24);

62.  Recalls the view of the Court of Auditors that there should be clear rules established in the scheme to define the liabilities and responsibilities of the European Parliament and of the Members of the scheme if a future actuarial valuation were to indicate a deficit(25); believes it necessary to clarify precisely the nature of Parliament's liability vis-à-vis future financial obligations linked to the pension fund; believes, furthermore, that Members" contributions to the Fund should be deducted from a personal source rather than the parliamentary allowance system;

63.  Notes the reply of the Administration that proposals will be submitted to the Bureau with a view to defining the respective powers and responsibilities of Parliament and the not-for-profit association incorporated under Luxembourg law and managed by an elected Executive Committee(26);

64.  Notes further that on the basis of the results of the actuarial valuation to be carried out at the start of 2005, the level of financing required for the Fund will be known; is however of the opinion that, as soon as the Statute for Members is approved, a new and separate pension instrument, equal for all Members, should be set up and that from that date all contributions from Parliament's budget to a voluntary pension fund should stop;

65.  Expresses concern at the view taken by the Court of Auditors that if the present scheme is to continue, a sufficient legal basis (other than a Bureau decision) has to be created as soon as possible, and that Parliament's financial contribution to the voluntary pension scheme should be based on an act of secondary legislation adopted in conformity with Article 190(5) of the Treaty(27);

Procurement

66.  Recalls that the Financial Regulation and implementing rules which entered into force on 1 January 2003 modified the procedures for planning, publishing and attributing procurement contracts, as well as abolishing the CCAM (advisory committee on purchasing and contracts) consultation of which was obligatory for contracts above EUR 50 000;

67.  Notes that instead of the CCAM, Parliament's authorising officers may on an optional basis consult the Inter-service group on public contracts (GIMP) for advice; notes further that to replace the annual CCAM report on contract activity, the Secretary-General has - in response to earlier discharge resolutions - produced a report based on data supplied by the authorising officers containing the following information on contracts concluded in 2003:

68.  Welcomes the finding that a significant proportion of contracts in 2003 were concluded following an open invitation to tender;

69.  Notes that the Internal Auditor is carrying out an institution-wide audit of the procurement process, for which the final report is expected to be issued in the first half of 2005; instructs its Secretary-General to inform the Committee on Budgetary Control of the content of the report in the appropriate manner, once the internal consultation process has been completed;

70.  Encourages the Administration in its efforts to set up a contracts database pursuant to Article 95 of the Financial Regulation which, according to the Secretary-General's report(28), is expected to be operational at the end of 2005;

71.  Notes with satisfaction that for contracts above EUR 50 000 the number and value of negotiated procedures in 2003 fell substantially by comparison with the corresponding figures for 2002;

72.  Notes the Administration's concerns in the following fields:

73.  Expects its competent committees to take these matters into account by proposing amendments, where necessary, in the context of the forthcoming reviews of the Financial Regulation, its implementing rules and Parliament's internal rules on the implementation of its budget;

Buildings

74.  Notes that the long-running dispute between Parliament and the French authorities over the final purchase price of the Strasbourg LOW building was resolved at the end of 2003 and that purchase was completed in 2004;

75.  Recalls that the absence of a single working place results in significant extra costs for Parliament's budget; points out that the cost of siting the European Parliament in three countries is put at more than EUR 200 million per year;

The case relating to the Members' cash office

76.  Notes that the procedure provided for in Article 22 of the Staff Regulations has been initiated with a view to defining responsibilities in connection with the discrepancy of BEF 4 136 125 between the cash situation and the corresponding accounts in 1982(30); notes that the Disciplinary Board first met on 17 March 2003 and has now concluded its work, and instructs its Secretary-General to keep the competent committee informed of all further developments;

Environment

77.  Expresses its satisfaction that a comprehensive review of Parliament's internal environmental policy, conducted by a consultancy specialising in environmental management (EMAS), will shortly be submitted to the Bureau with the ultimate objective of putting in place an environmental management system within the Institution(31), instructs its Secretary-General, once the consultancy's report has been discussed in the Bureau, to publish it on Parliament's website;

78.  Notes that many official documents are still being distributed to Members in the form of multiple paper copies despite their availability online; calls on the College of Quaestors to find an ecological balance in providing documents in hard-copy form;

79.  Calls for a system of electronic signature to be introduced, whereby a Member's signature can be applied to documents such as amendments and parliamentary questions without having to have recourse to transmission of documents on paper;

80.  Urges the Bureau to take all necessary measures to speed up the recruitment of linguistic staff in order to ensure the right of all Members to express themselves in their mother-tongue by providing interpretation to and from their respective languages;

81.  Recalls that in his decision of 23 January 2004 on complaint No 260/2003 the European Ombudsman made a finding of maladministration against the European Parliament for failing to take adequate measures to promote compliance with its internal rules on smoking;

82.  Notes that although the Bureau on 13 July 2004 adopted revised rules on smoking they have not been fully implemented and enforced with the result that Parliament runs the risk of a further finding against it by the European Ombudsman; calls on the Bureau to take urgent action to reduce the level of smoke on its premises and to protect the health of all users of its buildings;

83.  Stresses that it is the legal duty of all employers to provide their employees with a safe and healthy working environment; notes that the exception in the Bureau's rules(32) allowing smoking in offices results in an unacceptable level of indoor pollution due to tobacco smoke in buildings and corridors containing offices, with a concomitant risk to the health of those buildings' occupants; notes that the Institution's buildings in the three places of work are subject to national health and safety provisions; urges the College of Quaestors to designate a clearly defined and well ventilated smoking area so as to limit nuisance for non-smokers;

84.  Instructs its Secretary-General to conduct a survey of staff attitudes in all three working places in order to ascertain whether a majority of Parliament's employees would wish to introduce a ban on smoking in all areas of buildings occupied by Parliament employees' offices in advance of the 2007 deadline;

85.  Takes note of the information on the feasibility of equipping Parliament's chambers and committee meeting rooms with wireless technology for its computers and other related devices provided by the Secretary-General(33); notes the warning in the Secretary-General's note as to the potential health risks if the level of electromagnetic radiation generated by wireless transmissions exceeds specified limits; requests a further report on the health aspects of wireless technology by 1 July 2005;

86.  Welcomes the information that an additional internet access will be possible in all Members' offices beginning in April and May 2005, which would make great improvements to the problem of access through Mac computers; stresses however that more should be done to enable users of other known systems to log into the Parliament Intranet;

87.  Calls for a thorough security analysis at regular intervals of the European Parliament's computer systems, networks, connections, hardware and software, to ensure that Parliament's "e-environment" is secure.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (11) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 160. (12) Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977. (13) Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002. (14) Secretary-General's reply to paragraph 9 of Parliament's resolution of 21.4.2004. (15) ECA report 2003, paragraphs 9.7 and 9.8. (16) Reply to paragraph 9.9 of ECA report 2003. (17) ECA report 2003, paragraph 9.8. (18) OJ L 148, 16.6.2003, p. 62. (19) ECA report 2003, paragraph 9.6. (20) Bureau decision of 30.6.2003. (21) Secretary-General's reply to paragraph 42 of Parliament's resolution of 21.4.2004. (22) Articles 14 to 16 of the Rules governing Members' expenses and allowances (PE 113.116). (23) Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 (OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1). (24) Source: ASBL Pension Fund - annual report and accounts 2003. (25) ECA report 2002, paragraph 9.20, and opinion No 5/99, paragraph 22. (26) ECA report 2003, table 9.3. (27) ECA report 2002, paragraphs 9.17 and 9.18. (28) Secretary-General's report on contracts concluded in 2003. (29) OJ L 134 , 30.4.2004, p. 114. (30) Source: question 40, questionnaire PE 338.137. (31) Secretary-General's reply to paragraph 69 of Parliament's resolution of 21.4.2004. (32) Bureau decision of 13.7.2004. (33) 2 Source: letter of 21.8.2003 in response to paragraph 22 of Parliament's budget resolution of 14.5.2003.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 - Section II - Council (C6-0016/2005 - 2004/2042(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0094 A6-0066/2005

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0016/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

-   having regard to the Council's Internal Audit Report for 2003,

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Grants the Secretary-General of the Council discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which form part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section II - Council (C6-0016/2005 - 2004/2042(DEC))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0016/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

-   having regard to the Council's Internal Audit Report for 2003,

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Welcomes the introduction in the Court of Auditors' Annual Report for 2003 of a separate section for the Council; notes the Council's summary of internal audits carried out in 2003; welcomes the enhanced exchange of information between the Council and Parliament through the informal dialogue that has taken place between the two institutions as part of the discharge procedure; finds that these elements have helped to increase transparency with regard to discharge of the Council's budget;

2.  Notes the Council's intention to provide the documentation and adopt the outstanding actions needed to comply with the requirements of the new Financial Regulation, as specified in the Court of Auditors' Annual Report, by the end of 2004 and asks the Council to submit to the European Parliament a list of problems occurring with implementation of the Financial Regulation;

3.  Notes the Court's observation that the Council's legal services were contracted without any tendering procedure, although their value exceeded the threshold above which a tendering procedure was required; notes that the Council fully accepts this observation and has initiated a tendering procedure in order to establish a framework contract for the type of legal services mentioned; stresses the importance of respecting the rules on procurement set out in the Financial Regulation;

4.  Asks the Council to make available to the discharge authority, as all other institutions have done including the European Parliament, the annual activity report referred to in Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002;

5.  Finds that greater clarity with regard to spending on and the management of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the Council would enhance transparency; urges the Council separately to identify CFSP preparatory costs within its budget, as recommended by the Court of Auditors in its Special Report No 13/2001; stresses the need for clarification of the Commission's role in the implementation of CFSP, as recommended by the Court of Auditors in its Special Report No 13/2001; recommends that clear operational principles and arrangements with regard to the Commission's role in implementation of the CFSP be included in the new interinstitutional agreement on the budget;

6.  Regrets that due to time constraints it is not able to give the Council's discharge recommendation the attention it deserves, and invites the Commission to forward - and the Council to adopt - the following proposal for modification of Article 145(1) of the Financial Regulation:"

The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 June of year n + 2 give a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget for year n

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 - Section IV - Court of Justice (C6-0017/2005 - 2004/2043(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0095 A6-0066/2005

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0017/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Grants the Registrar of the Court of Justice discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which form part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section IV - Court of Justice (C6-0017/2005 - 2004/2043(DEC))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0017/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

The European Court of Auditors annual report

1.  Notes that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) administered a budget of EUR 150 599 614, of which 99,34 % (EUR 149 598 960,09) had been committed and 93,32 % (EUR 146 842 346,23) spent by 31 December 2003;

2.  2 Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors, for the first time, has evaluated the control environment of all institutions individually and has published their observations in a separate part;

3.  Notes that some of the most important requirements (minimum control standards, charters for financial actors, scope of the internal auditor's mission) of the Financial Regulation were not fully implemented in 2003;

4.  Recognises in this context that the ECJ nevertheless adopted its new internal financial rules in January 2003 and that it preferred to draft detailed provisions and charters once some experience was gained with the operation of the new system; the documents required by the Court of Auditors were adopted in March 2004;

5.  Is concerned about the ECJ's statement that "... there was available to the institution for the application of the new provisions only an extremely limited number of persons with a thorough knowledge of financial systems and backgrounds";

6.  Is also concerned that the internal auditor could not carry out his work programme in 2003 owing to a lack of staff; welcomes the ECJ's readiness to forward a copy of the internal auditor's 2004 work programme; calls on the ECJ to remedy this staff shortage without delay and within the assigned budgetary means; considers that an internal audit capability constitutes a natural and obligatory component of any sound administration;

7.  Notes that, following the observations made by the Court of Auditors, the verification and audit functions in the ECJ have been separated;

8.  Notes that the ECJ negotiated the purchase of site licences for the use of software by restricted procedure without prior publication of a notice, thereby infringing legal provisions currently in force; the ECJ has admitted its mistake;

Follow-up to the 2002 discharge procedure

9.  Remains alarmed about the growing backlog of cases in 2003, although initial indicative figures for 2004 show, with regard to the ECJ, a slight improvement(11):

10.  Will make this issue one of the focal points in the 2004 discharge procedure;

11.  Welcomes the measures taken by the ECJ with regard to the use of official cars for members, as outlined in its administrative decision of 31 March 2004; recognises that the new provisions are transparent and represent an improvement of the situation; notes that, with a view to reducing the administrative burden, the Court also defrays the cost for 15 000 km, in addition to journeys authorised by travel order, and that the professional use of the car is recorded in the driver's log;

12.  Notes that Article 6 of the abovementioned decision provides that, where the members use their official cars for journeys other than those referred to in Article 5 [i.e. journeys undertaken in the performance of official duties covered by a travel order, or based on a standard rate of 15 000 km/year], they are responsible for any related expenditure (tolls, fuel costs and any additional rental charge resulting from mileage in excess of the overall figure of 45 000 km per year stipulated in the framework contract); is of the opinion that the private use of an official car represents an undisclosed benefit-in-kind, which Parliament considers to be inappropriate;

Annual activity report of the authorising officer and annual report of the internal auditor

13.  Notes the reply of the ECJ Registrar, according to which he is unable to forward the report under Article 86(4) or the internal auditor's report as no internal audit report was finalised(12); will therefore pay special attention to these two documents in the 2004 discharge procedure;

14.  Notes that the 2003 annual activity report of the authorising officer was only submitted in July 2004 and does not contain a statement of assurance; is of the opinion that the annual activity report should be ready in time for the Court of Auditors' audit containing a signed statement of assurance as a visible sign of financial responsibility;

Other remarks

15.  Congratulates the ECJ on the comprehensive preparatory work undertaken in 2003 to prepare for enlargement, as shown in the report of the working group; will follow up the measures taken in its 2004 discharge report;

16.  Asks the ECJ to evaluate the implications of the new Financial Regulation for its administrative and judicial work in time for its review in 2005/2006, which should be forwarded to the European Parliament for its consideration;

17.  Notes that the ECJ agreed, during the discussion on 19 January 2005, to answer a number of additional questions in writing in time for the answers to be considered during the 2003 discharge procedure.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (11) Figures taken from the 2003 Annual Report; the figures for 2004 are preliminary and were supplied by the ECJ's administration. (12) Answer to question 3.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 - Section V - Court of Auditors (C6-0018/2005 - 2004/2044(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0096 A6-0066/2005

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0018/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Grants the Court of Auditors discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which form part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section V - Court of Auditors (C6-0018/2005 - 2004/2044(DEC))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0018/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

The European Court of Auditors' Annual Report

1.  Notes that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) administered a budget of EUR 77 076 689 of which 96,83 % (EUR 74 634 579,94) had been committed and 89,58 % (EUR 69 045 709,53) spent by 31 December 2003;

2.  2 Welcomes the fact that the ECA, for the first time, has evaluated the control environment of all institutions individually and has published their observations in a separate part;

3.  Notes that the ECA has drawn up charters describing in detail the tasks, rights and obligations of the financial actors, and that minimum control standards were adopted in December 2003;

4.  Takes note of the findings of the external KPMG audit concerning the ECA: "In our opinion the ... accounting data and financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with the Financial Regulation, the implementing rules, generally accepted accounting principles and the European Court of Auditors' Internal Rules, of the assets and financial position of the Court of Auditors on 31 December 2003, and of the economic result and the revenue and expenditure for the financial year then ended";

5.  Asks to receive a copy of the evaluation report on the Court's construction policy when it has been finalised;

Follow-up to the 2002 discharge procedure

6.  Recalls that the 2002 discharge report also contained observations with regard to the statement of assurance and the audit system; these observations will be followed up in the 2003 Commission discharge report;

7.  Points out that the investigations into Eurostat by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) have not been finalised at this stage; insists that the ECA schedule a comprehensive audit of the control and supervisory systems in place, once OLAF has completed its investigations;

8.  8 Reiterates its recommendation in paragraphs 21 and 22 of its resolution of 21 April 2004(11) on the discharge for 2002 to the effect that, following the expansion of the Court, each of its 25 Members should take on special audit responsibility for at least one Commission directorate-general, in order to identify at an early stage, and prevent, the occurrence of undesirable developments such as in the case of Eurostat;

9.  Welcomes the fact that, according to the 2005 work plan, the ECA will audit the European system of accounts inventories, the GNI and the quality of the GNI;

10.  Welcomes the fact that the Court has examined the new statute for members of the European Economic and Social Committee; notes that the provisions in the statute itself do not have direct financial implications; is reassured that the Court will take up the issue in the 2004 audit exercise;

11.  Notes that the European Economic and Social Committee adopted detailed arrangements and procedures for the inventory in October 2003; calls therefore on the Court to audit the inventory when preparing the 2004 annual report;

12.  Welcomes the fact that the ECA has forwarded its decisions of 16 December 2004 on the arrangements for co-operation (concerning members, staff and access to audit information) with OLAF; regrets that these decisions were taken rather belatedly;

13.  Welcomes the measures taken by the ECA with regard to the use of official cars for members, as outlined in its administrative decision of 15 June 2004; recognises that the new provisions are transparent and represent an improvement of the situation; notes that, with a view to reducing the administrative burden, the Court also defrays the cost for 15 000 km, in addition to journeys authorised by travel order, and that the professional use of the car is recorded in the driver's log;

14.  Notes that Article 5 of the above-mentioned decision stipulates: 'Where the Members or the Secretary-General use their official cars for journeys other than those referred to in Article 4 [i.e. journeys undertaken in the performance of official duties covered by a travel order, or based on a standard rate of 15 000 km/year], they shall be responsible for any related expenditure (tolls, fuel costs and any additional rental charge resulting from mileage in excess of the overall figure of 45 000 kilometres per year stipulated in the framework contract)'; is of the opinion that the private use of an official car represents an undisclosed benefit-in-kind, which Parliament considers to be inappropriate;

Annual activity report of the authorising officer and annual report of the internal auditor

15.  Acknowledges that the ECA has sent a one-page report (pursuant to Article 86(4) of the Financial Regulation) to the Committee on Budgetary Control; expects such a report to provide a clear picture of the current control environment, for which the improvements should be introduced in the following year;

16.  Calls for the authorising officer's annual report to contain a signed statement of assurance;

17.  Wishes to receive a copy of the internal auditor's annual report; is aware that the ECA considers this to be an internal document; points out, however, that the internal auditor's report usually enables the discharge authority to obtain a clear picture of the control environment and the improvements scheduled for the following year; emphasises that most other institutions trust the Committee on Budgetary Control to handle this document responsibly;

18.  Notes that the ECA has introduced a computerised audit support system designed to facilitate and improve the planning and standardisation of the audit process, quality control at all stages of this process, documentation, presentation of results and drawing up of reports, work at remote locations and the provision of management information;

19.  Notes that, in 2003, only 50% of the money available for exchange of civil servants and experts was used because the applicable financial provisions changed; 2003 could therefore be considered as a transition year;

20.  Is of the opinion that there could be a need to analyse whether the current structure and functioning of the "top heavy" European Court of Auditors should be reformed; recalls that at the moment the Court of Auditors has 736 employees, of whom 325 are professional auditors (A and B grades), with 275 (A and B grades) working in the audit groups and 50 (A grades) in Members' cabinets;

21.  Welcomes the fact that the Court has forwarded the September 2003 report on its buildings' policy to the Committee on Budgetary Control; wishes to be kept informed of progress made in the context of the 2004 discharge procedure;

Other remarks

22.  Congratulates the ECA on the network constructed with audit institutions in Member States and applicant countries (in preparation for enlargement); asks the ECA to report back to Parliament's competent committee, in time for the 2004 discharge procedure, on the progress achieved:

23.  Welcomes the ECA's readiness to supply written answers to the questions in time for the 2003 discharge;

24.  Calls on the ECA to provide the Chairman of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the rapporteur on the Commission discharge with advance copies, confidential if necessary, of the annual report; in addition, wishes to know at an early stage what special reports to expect in the course of the year with a view to giving them proper consideration;

25.  Asks the ECA to evaluate the implications of the new Financial Regulation for its administrative work in time for its review in 2005/2006;

26.  Invites the Court of Auditors to include in its annual activity report information concerning its ability to meet production targets, the unit costs, significant areas of development and other relevant factors as regards the institution's performance; notes that such a performance report would also be an excellent way of publishing information on the modernisation of the statement of assurance and other developments in the Court's audit approach.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (11) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 144.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 - Section VI - European Economic and Social Committee (C6-0019/2005 - 2004/2045(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0097 A6-0066/2005

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0019/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Grants the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which form part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section VI - European Economic and Social Committee (C6-0019/2005 - 2004/2045(DEC))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0019/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

The European Court of Auditors' Annual Report

1.  Notes that the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) administered a budget of EUR 81 166 960, of which 98,12 % (EUR 79 642 494) had been committed and 92,77 % (EUR 73 889 949,11) spent by 31 December 2003;

2.  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors, for the first time, has evaluated the control environment of all institutions individually and has published their observations in a separate part;

3.  Notes that a number of provisions enabling the supervisory and control environment to function properly were not in place before 2004;

4.  Notes the explanation given by the EESC that "... priority had to be given to setting up the basic components of the regulatory framework (e.g. the EESC's internal financial rules) and to the nomination of financial actors"; records that the internal financial rules were adopted on 8 January 2003;

5.  Notes that in the area of procurement several requirements of the Financial Regulation were not complied with in 2003; calls on the Court of Auditors to verify announced improvements in its 2004 audit report;

6.  Welcomes the fact that a new personnel management and payroll system was put in place in early 2004;

7.  Welcomes the fact that the EESC, albeit belatedly, abolished the imprest account for the payment of members' allowances in early 2004;

8.  Reminds the EESC that it gave a public assurance during last year's discharge procedure that "...there have been no further irregularities whatever with regard to the settlement of travel expenses"(11); criticises the EESC therefore for the fact that the Court has found proof that in three cases the travel allowance paid to members was twice the amount provided for in the committee's own rules; notes that the EESC, in the meantime, has clarified the travel reimbursement rules; calls on the European Court of Auditors to follow up its findings in its 2004 discharge report;

9.  Notes that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has completed an investigation into allegations concerning the possible misuse of the committee's travel reimbursement scheme by a member; OLAF has found evidence of "double reimbursement" and, therefore, forwarded its findings to the Belgian public prosecutor; throughout the investigation the EESC fully co-operated with OLAF; OLAF did not question the EESC's financial management system;

Follow-up to the 2002 discharge procedure

10.  Notes, with regard to the Belliard building, that an internal auditor's report "... did not reveal any acts of fraud .... It also recognised the value of the building project for the Committees and the correct price level at which the building was acquired"(12); the audit did however identify some weaknesses in the management of specific works;

11.  Welcomes the EESC's readiness to report back on the follow-up given to the internal auditor's recommendations; in addition the EESC will forward to Parliament's competent committee the 9th progress report on the Belliard building;

Annual activity report of the authorising officer and annual report of the internal auditor

12.  Welcomes the fact that the EESC forwarded the authorising officer's annual report, which was accompanied by a signed statement of assurance;

13.  Welcomes the fact that the EESC has forwarded a synopsis of the internal auditor's annual report to the Committee on Budgetary Control; notes in this context that the internal auditor has

14.  Will follow up these recommendations in its 2004 discharge report;

Other remarks

15.  Calls on the EESC to further improve its public profile as a body representing civil society; calls on the EESC to use benchmarking with a view to achieving measurable progress;

16.  Congratulates the EESC on the comprehensive preparatory work undertaken in 2003 to prepare for enlargement; will follow up the measures taken in its 2004 discharge report;

17.  Asks the EESC to evaluate the implications of the new Financial Regulation for its administrative and political work in time for its review in 2005/2006 and to report its findings to the European Parliament.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (11) Texts Adopted, 21.4.2004, P5_TA(2004)0342. (12) Reply to written question No 3.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 - Section VII - Committee of the Regions (C6-0020/2005 - 2004/2046(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0098 A6-0066/2005

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0020/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Grants the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which form part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section VII - Committee of the Regions (C6-0020/2005 - 2004/2046(DEC))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0020/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

The European Court of Auditors' Annual Report

1.  Notes that the Committee of the Regions (CoR) administered a budget of EUR 38 999 436, of which 97,29 % (EUR 37 942 172,12) had been committed and 86,58 % (EUR 32 851 597) spent by 31 December 2003;

2.  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors, for the first time, has evaluated the control environment of all institutions individually and has published their observations in a separate part;

3.  Notes that the CoR did not comply with a number of rules concerning the supervisory system and controls:

notes, however, that the CoR's internal financial rules were adopted on 29 January 2003 and the charter of accountants in May 2004;

4.  Acknowledges that some delays in implementing the financial regulation can be explained by the fact that the CoR's financial service assisted the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in an internal investigation in 2003;

5.  Points out that the CoR only gained financial and budgetary autonomy under the Amsterdam Treaty in the year 2000;

6.  Recognises that the CoR adopted some control standards in 2003; stresses however that a comprehensive document outlining the system of minimum control standards is still missing; asks to receive a copy of the document when it has been adopted;

7.  Calls on the CoR to systematically verify the entitlements of officials;

8.  Notes that the CoR has published contracts awarded on its website;

Follow-up to the 2002 discharge procedure

9.  Points to the following observations in the 2001 discharge: "... there is evidence of systemic incompetence and disregard for the essential rules of tendering procedures and financial management, including elements of fraud and fake offers"(11);

10.  Notes that the new Secretary-General initiated an administrative inquiry following the results of an OLAF investigation, although its results were not communicated to the Committee on Budgetary Control in time for the 2002 discharge; "... in his report the Secretary-General concluded that the enquiry had identified individual failings and lack of professionalism as well as ... administrative weaknesses. However ..., none of these individual failings could be regarded ... as serious enough to justify the opening of disciplinary procedures against any of the officials concerned"(12); takes note that none of the officials who were the subject of the administrative inquiry has been promoted since the completion of the report;

11.  Notes that the former Secretary-General was initially granted unpaid leave and subsequently early retirement with effect from September 2004, against the express wish of the European Parliament;

12.  Emphasises again its support for the Internal Auditor, who drew the attention of the Committee on Budgetary Control to irregularities which occurred in the CoR, and also its confidence in his personal and professional integrity; is satisfied that this view is shared by the CoR, as recorded in a letter from the CoR President to the Internal Auditor of 26 November 2003: "I am therefore pleased to learn that the acting Secretary General has assured his pre-disposition to assist you to carry out your functions professionally and appropriately as Internal Auditor with the full support and cooperation of both CoR members and staff."; in addition, the CoR Secretary-General stressed in a written communication to the rapporteur " ... the positive role that [the Internal Auditor] has played by highlighting certain weaknesses in the CoR's administration. This was the starting point for the process of administrative reform that the CoR commenced in the last months of 2003 in order to remedy the weaknesses identified, in particular in the area of financial management.";

13.  Acknowledges that the CoR, under the new Secretary-General, has made strenuous efforts to bring its administration up to speed, by initiating an administrative overhaul, and that Parliament has been kept informed about progress achieved on a regular basis; recognises with satisfaction the undertakings given so far;

Annual activity report of the authorising officer and annual report of the internal auditor

14.  Points out that the CoR has spent EUR 117 693 on five external studies; welcomes the additional information on the use of the studies for committee work;

15.  Notices that it has received neither the CoR report pursuant to Article 86(4) of the Financial Regulation, nor the Internal Auditor's annual report; notes that the position of internal auditor was not occupied during the latter half of 2004 and was eventually advertised in a vacancy notice on two occasions; asks to be informed about the outcome of this recruitment procedure;

Other remarks

16.  Welcomes the fact that the CoR regularly evaluates the impact of its political work; asks to also receive the annual impact reports in the context of the discharge procedures;

17.  Remains concerned about the system of political control in the CoR; asks the CoR

18.  Congratulates the CoR on the comprehensive preparatory work undertaken in 2003 to prepare for enlargement; will follow up the measures taken in its 2004 discharge report;

19.  Asks the CoR to evaluate the implications of the new Financial Regulation for its administrative and political work in time for its review in 2005/2006 and to report its findings to the European Parliament.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (11) OJ L 57, 25.2.2004, p. 8. (12) Letter from the CoR President to the Chairman and Rapporteur of the Committee on Budgetary Control of 6 May 2004.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 - Section VIII - Ombudsman (C6-0021/2005 - 2004/2047(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0099 A6-0066/2005

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(1),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0021/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(2),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(3),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(5),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

1.  Grants the Ombudsman discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the 2003 financial year;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments which form part of the decision on the discharge for implementing the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003, Section VIII - Ombudsman (C6-0021/2005 - 2004/2047(DEC))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003(6),

-   having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet for the 2003 financial year (C6-0021/2005),

-   having regard to the annual report of the European Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 2003, together with the institutions" replies(7),

-   having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of the EC Treaty(8),

-   having regard to Articles 272(10), 275 and 276 of the EC Treaty,

-   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(9), in particular Articles 50, 86(4),145, 146 and 147 thereof,

-   having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(10),

-   having regard to Rule 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

-   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0066/2005),

The European Court of Auditors annual report

1.  Notes that the Ombudsman administered a budget of EUR 4 438 653,00, of which 91,29 % (EUR 4 052 488) was committed and 87,65 % (EUR 3 551 999,59) spent;

2.  Notes the Ombudsman's explanation that the lower level of budget execution in 2003 was caused by the transition period following the retirement of the former Ombudsman and the election of the new Ombudsman;

3.  Notes that the Court of Auditors did not make any observations with regard to the execution of the budget; asks, therefore, how the Court intends to evaluate the budget execution of the Ombudsman in future;

4.  Notes, however, that the European Parliament gave a favourable opinion on the work of the European Ombudsman on the basis of his annual report(11); records that 75% of the complaints received fell outside the Ombudsman's mandate, and that the Ombudsman only dealt with 363 enquiries although the overall caseload amounted to 2 611 cases;

Follow-up to the 2002 discharge procedure

5.  Welcomes the comprehensive information supplied to the Committee on Budgetary Control by the Ombudsman in his letter of 13 December 2004;

6.  Notes the documents relating to the framework agreement between the European Parliament and the Ombudsman on administrative and financial assistance; notes furthermore that Parliament performs the financial initiation function concerning Title I, relating to personnel;

7.  Recalls that the Ombudsman was looking into a low-cost way of travelling regularly to Frankfurt and Zurich airport; notes that the European Parliament and the Ombudsman have agreed that Parliament will lease a supplementary official car, to be placed at the Ombudsman's disposal, in return for the payment of monthly charges; wishes to be informed about the final solution;

Annual activity report of the authorising officer and annual report of the internal auditor

8.  Welcomes the fact that the Ombudsman has willingly provided the authorising officer's and the internal auditor's annual reports, including a statement of assurance;

9.  Notes that the Ombudsman's office developed software for a case management system on the basis of a system used by a Belgian Ombudsman;

10.  Observes that the implementation of the Financial Regulation has placed an enormous strain on the Ombudsman's administration; congratulates the Ombudsman on the swift transposition of its provisions and asks the Ombudsman to submit to the European Parliament a list of problems occurring with implementation of the Financial Regulation;

11.  Asks the Ombudsman to report, in time for the 2004 discharge procedure, about the progress made in training financial actors with the help of vocational training courses;

12.  Welcomes the clear structure of the internal auditor's annual report No 4/2002, which states: "The initial findings did not reveal any areas of significant risk to budgetary implementation to the EO [European Ombudsman]..."(12); in addition, action plans have been set up, which will allow further strengthening of the control environment.

(1) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (2) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (3) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (6) OJ L 54, 28.2.2003. (7) OJ C 293, 30.11.2004, p. 1. (8) OJ C 294, 30.11.2004, p. 99. (9) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (10) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. (11) Texts Adopted, 18.11.2004, P6_TA(2004)0065. (12) Internal Auditor's report No 4/2002, p. 5.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge to the Director of the European Agency for Reconstruction in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0216/2004 - C6-0235/2004 - 2004/2051(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0100 A6-0074/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Agency for Reconstruction for the financial year 2003, together with the Agency's replies(1),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6864/2005 - C6-0076/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(2) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction and in particular Article 8 thereof(3),

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A6–0074/2005),

1.  Gives discharge to the Director of the European Agency for Reconstruction, in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Director of the European Agency for Reconstruction, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments accompanying the decision on the discharge to the Director of the European Agency for Reconstruction in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003(N6-0216/2004 - C6-0235/2004 - 2004/2051(DEC))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Agency for Reconstruction for the financial year 2003, together with the Agency's replies(5),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6864/2005 - C6-0076/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(6) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction and in particular Article 8 thereof(7),

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(8) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A6–0074/2005),

A.   whereas the European Court of Auditors (ECA) stated, in its abovementioned report, that the Agency's accounts do not present a true and fair view of the Agency's actual economic and financial situation,

B.   whereas the ECA expressed certain reserves with regard to the funds entrusted to external bodies (both national and international), that Court also stated however that the transactions underlying the Agency's annual accounts were legal and regular,

C.   whereas the ECA had certain reserves as to the validity of some of the supporting documents,

D.   whereas the ECA expressed certain reserves concerning the procurement procedure,

E.   whereas on 21 April 2004 the European Parliament gave discharge(9) to the Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2002 financial year, on the basis of the report of the ECA, and in so doing Parliament in its resolution inter alia:

1.  Notes the following figures for the accounts of the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) for the financial years 2003 and 2002;

2.  Notes that in 2003 the total portfolio overseen by the EAR was EUR 1 900 million of which 81% was contracted and 67,5% disbursed for assistance programmes across its four operational centres (Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina and Skopje), and that the EAR's total budget for 2003 was EUR 358,6 million, the bulk of which was for assistance programmes, and that out of the EUR 327,8 million of new EC credits received by the EAR in 2003, EUR 62,3 million was for Kosovo, EUR 200 million for Serbia, EUR 12 million for Montenegro and EUR 33,5 million for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;

Implementation of the budget

3.  Notes the ECA observation on the practice in the Agency's budget, as adopted by the Governing Board, which does not observe the principle of differentiated appropriations, which results in an accounting out-turn for the financial year that bears no relation to the economic reality, and in a cumulative deficit as of 31 December 2003, i.e. EUR 140,95 million, which is largely artificial;

4.  Notes in the answers of the Agency, that it has now taken steps to clarify the financial presentation of its operation, which results in a consolidated revenue and expenditure account for the whole period 2004, therefore expects that the problem will be solved for the discharge procedure 2004;

5.  Encourages the Commission and the ECA to reinforce their co-operation with the EAR in this field in order to guarantee its budget implementation efficiency;

Financial statements

6.  Notes the ECA's repeated observations on the weaknesses of the Agency's accounting system, in particular the keeping of the general accounts on a single entry basis;

7.  Welcomes the answer by the Agency, which says it has now fully overcome the weaknesses mentioned by the Court and is now using double entry general accounting system along with the budgetary tool SI2;

8.  Invites the Commission to undertake all means necessary to allow all Agencies to share as quickly as possible the Commission's new accounting system as introduced on 1 January 2005;

9.  Expresses its surprise that the ECA has still not received clarification as to the status of funds made available to specialised bodies for the financing of loan programmes in specific fields and invites the Agency to adopt the appropriate solutions as regards the way in which these funds should be recorded in the Agency's financial statements;

10.  Understands from the Agency that only a minor balance of these funds is still remaining and was almost fully expended at the end of 2004; invites the EAR Director to give a full report to the competent committee on the implementation and efficiency of such loan programmes on the earliest occasion;

11.  Notes that the Agency has in the meantime reinforced its accounting staff and instruments and hopes that the improvements undertaken in 2004 will put an end to the repetition of negative remarks by the ECA on this issue;

12.  Is pleased to note that the average time taken by the EAR to make payments for assistance programmes in 2003 was 9 days;

13.  Notes the specific conditions under which the Agency is operating and expresses its recognition for the achievements of the Agency in the fulfilment of its mandate; calls on the Commission to give the necessary support to the EAR to ensure its full adaptation to the procedures and requirements of the new position of the Agency within the Commission (following enlargement);

14.  Notes that since 2003 major changes in the tender system have been undertaken, which should guarantee the transparent treatment of each tender;

15.  Welcomes in this respect the immediate action taken by the Director of the Agency when discovering irregularities in the conclusion of one of the major infrastructure contracts, including the automatic suspension of the person responsible and the transmission of the dossier to OLAF; encourages both the Director and the Commission, as well as the ECA, to go on with this procedure of immediate action and to enhance the required risk analysis in particular as regards sectors with a high risk profile;

16.  Notes that OLAF found strong evidence that the successful firm received assistance from the Agency employee suspended in connection with the infrastructure contract in question in preparing the documents relating to its bid(10); points out that, under the rules governing calls for tenders, even the attempt by a tenderer to obtain confidential information concerning a call for tenders procedure entails his exclusion from the procedure;

17.  Fails to understand why, according to information supplied by the Commission ("Questions for written answers to Commissioners Michel and Ferrero-Waldner" of 3 December 2004) the OLAF final report on this case could not be submitted to members of the Agency's Governing Board; expects this situation to be remedied forthwith so that the Agency's supreme decision-taking body can form a complete picture of events;

18.  Urges the EAR Director in future to apply Article 103 of the Financial Regulation consistently and to suspend the execution of contracts where serious errors or irregularities or fraud have occurred in the award procedure;

19.  Calls on the EAR Director, the Commissioner responsible, the ECA and the OLAF Director to inform the European Parliament as soon as possible of such actions and findings;

20.  Notes the report of the Commission's Internal Audit Service on the activities of the EAR, in line with the request in the European Parliament's 2002 discharge of the Agency;

Legality and regularity of the underlying transactions

21.  Notes the ECA's call for a reduction in the number of authorising officers (56 by the end of 2003) and recognises the efforts by the Agency, which limited this number by February 2004 to only 20 delegations and sub-delegations, which should allow a proper financial implementation while ensuring an efficient implementation of the actions planned at local level;

22.  Welcomes the participation of the Agency's Director in the hearing in the context of the Discharge procedure 2003 which led to a number of clarifications on the level of its achievements in the implementation of its mandate; expects that the Agency will undertake all the necessary actions to achieve fully sound financial management;

23.  Recognises the fact that the presence of the EAR's Director before the Committee on Budgetary Control, and on a later occasion before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, has been helpful in clarifying certain issues and providing explanations for certain situations which had been of genuine concern to the European Parliament, in particular, the question of the allocation of tasks between the Commission's "deconcentrated" delegations in the region and the EAR's operational centres;

General points addressed to the Commission and the Agencies

24.  Recalls its position that while it supported the Commission's efforts to establish a limited number of models, at least for future "regulatory" agencies, it took the view that the structure of current and future agencies merited in-depth consideration at inter-institutional level; also stresses that before the Commission defines the framework conditions for the use of regulatory agencies an inter-institutional agreement should spell out common guidelines; this should happen before setting up a harmonised framework for the structure of the agencies;

25.  Notes the Commission's position(11) with regard to delegating responsibility for the execution of tasks to bodies, including agencies, other than the Commission's core administration; takes the view that this does not answer Parliament's call for in-depth consideration at inter-institutional level of the structure of existing agencies; therefore invites the Commission to provide clarification on this point and on the future overall inter-institutional agreement related to the new arrangements to be set up within or in parallel with the Financial Perspective(12);

26.  Invites the Commission to organise and perform in the medium term, e.g. on a standard three-year cycle, a cross-cutting analysis of the evaluations carried out on individual Agencies in order to

27.  Expects such an overall analysis to be available by the end of 2005 so as to cover the three year period from the time of the introduction of the new Financial Regulation and the consequent new framework in the Agencies" system;

28.  Invites the Agencies to participate actively in such a process and to cooperate with the Commission, providing the necessary input on matters that they feel are of substance to their functioning, role, remit and needs, as well as on any matter which could help to improve the whole discharge procedure, with a view to contributing to the success of such a process and increasing the accountability and transparency of the Agencies; invites Agencies to present such input also to its competent committees;

29.  Calls on the Commission, in parallel with this exercise, to present by the end of 2005 at the latest, proposals for changes to be made in the existing Agencies" Constituent Acts with a view, inter alia, to optimising its relationship with the Agencies; such proposals should aim at

30.  Emphasises that, before any decision is taken to propose the creation of a new agency, the Commission must undertake a strict evaluation of the need and added value of the function of this agency, bearing in mind existing structures, the principles of subsidiarity, budgetary austerity and the simplification of procedures;

31.  Expects the Commission to present swiftly the guidelines concerning staff policy of the Agencies that Parliament had requested the Commission to present before the end of the 2005 budgetary procedure;

General points addressed to the Agencies

32.  Expects to receive from now on, from each of the Agencies, the report summarising information on the audits carried out by the Internal Auditor, the recommendations made and the action taken on these recommendations in accordance with Article 72(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002;

33.  Invites the Agencies to make further efforts to apply correctly the staff regulations and rules applicable to other civil servants with regard to their staff (recruitment procedures and relevant decisions taken, personal files, calculation of remuneration and other entitlements, promotions policy, percentage of vacant posts, quotas for respecting gender equality, etc.);

34.  Notes that, in general, the respective percentage of male and female employees in the overall staff composition of the Agencies shows that an imbalance between men and women exists; regrets that men make up about one third of staff and are over-represented in high grade positions while women are generally over-represented in low grade positions; expects the Agencies to take immediate and effective measures to correct this situation;

35.  Calls on the Agencies to ensure that all the relevant provisions of Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amending Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions(13) are introduced in their respective staff policies;

36.  Expects the Agencies, in response to the relevant observations of the ECA, to comply fully with the budgetary principles as set out in the Financial Regulation, in particular those of unity and budgetary accuracy; calls on the Agencies that have not yet done so to fulfil the Financial Regulation's requirements on accounting matters and to strengthen further their procedures as regards internal management and control with the aim of increasing accountability, transparency and European added value;

37.  Encourages the Agencies, especially those whose activities have points in common with the activities or missions of other Agencies, to strengthen their co-operation, thus opening up opportunities for developing synergies; invites them to formalise, where appropriate, such co-operation through specific agreements (joint declarations, memoranda of understanding, decisions on joint planning and actions/programmes presenting complementary characteristics) so as to ensure that there is no duplication of work, that each Agency's output is clearly identified and that the result of joint efforts maximises the added value and the impact of their work; expects to be informed regularly on this issue;

38.  Calls on the Agencies to pay special attention to procedures for the award and management of contracts; invites them to take all appropriate measures as regards their administrative structures in order to strengthen their internal control procedures, channels and management; takes the view that such measures may include, where necessary or feasible, the setting-up of specialised units entrusted with the task of advising, on the basis of risk analysis, on how best to prepare contract award procedures, to ensure monitoring and to carry out follow-up, as required; on this matter, calls on the Commission and the ECA to strengthen co-operation with the Agencies;

39.  Notes the difficulties to which some Directors, in particular of the "newly created" Agencies, referred with regard to the Agencies" compliance with the calendar and deadlines for reporting as set in the Financial Regulation; invites the Agencies" Directors, in the perspective of the forthcoming review of the Financial Regulation to be held in 2005, to inform its Committees on Budgets and Budgetary Control of the difficulties encountered so far so that these may be considered in the framework of the review; expects the Directors to make specific proposals for alternative arrangements as to deadlines that may best suit their functioning requirements while respecting the reporting obligations of the Agencies as provided for in the Financial Regulation;

40.  Notes the positive response by the Agencies' Directors to the call by Parliament's committee responsible for preparing discharge for the establishment of a more precise system of communication, in particular as regards the transmission by the Agencies to that committee of documents relating to the Agencies' reporting obligations; takes the view that better organisation of such communication will strengthen its co-operation with the Agencies and enhance democratic control;

41.  Invites the Directors of the Agencies from now on to accompany their annual activity report, which is presented together with financial and management information, with a declaration of assurance concerning the legality and regularity of operations, similar to the declarations signed by the Directors General of the Commission;

42.  Invites the Agencies to develop a comprehensive strategy of communication addressing the need to make available, in the appropriate form, the results of their work to the general public beyond the presentation of such results to the Institutions, Member States" competent services, specialists, partners or specific beneficiaries; calls on the Agencies, in view of the development of such a strategy, to intensify their co-operation and exchange information on best practice aimed at achieving this goal; expects its competent committees to be duly informed by the Agencies, before the next discharge exercise, on the progress made in devising such a strategy in order to ensure the effective and timely monitoring of their activities;

General points addressed to the ECA and the Agencies

43.  Welcomes the ECA's initiative to add a table to its specific reports on the Agencies presenting summary information on the competences, governance, resources available and products/output of the particular agency; takes the view that this enhances the clarity and transparency of the work of these Community bodies, while providing a useful basis for comparison, where appropriate, with a view to helping set up the harmonised framework for the Agencies that Parliament has called for;

44.  Invites the ECA and the Agencies to strengthen their co-operation in order to enhance the procedures and technical tools to improve the sound management of all the budgetary and finance issues, with the view to establishing a methodology that prepares the ground for a positive budget discharge from the start of the process; expects to be informed regularly of the progress made and the implementation of best practices;

45.  Calls on the ECA and the Agencies to enhance transparency in the procédure contradictoire prior to the ECA's final report, so as to avoid any contradiction or ambiguity which could jeopardise the credibility of the whole exercise; in this respect, invites the ECA and the Commission to propose a feasible way of updating information on the improvements made and/or the problems found, from the time when the ECA's preparatory report is first discussed until the time of the decision as to whether to grant discharge, in order to offer the most accurate picture of the situation of the Agencies.

(1) OJ C 41, 17.2.2005, p. 35. (2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (3) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 16. (4) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (5) OJ C 41, 17.2.2005, p. 35. (6) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (7) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 16. (8) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (9) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 1. (10) OLAF fifth activity report for the year ending June 2004 (Case Study, p. 34) (11) As set out in Annex 1 of the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament "Building our common future, Policy challenges and Budgetary means of the Enlarged Union 2007-2013", (COM(2004)0101, p. 38). (12) See Annex to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 Discharges (COM(2004)0648, p. 108). (13) OJ L 269, 5.10.2002, p. 15.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0207/2004 - C6-0226/2004 - 2004/2050(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0101 A6-0074/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2003, together with the Centre's replies(1),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6858/2005 - C6-0075/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(2) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Regulation (EC) No 1655/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1416/76(3), and in particular Article 12a thereof,

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0074/2005),

1.  Gives discharge to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments accompanying the decision on the discharge to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0207/2004 - C6-0226/2004 - 2004/2050(DEC))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2003, together with the Centre's replies(5),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6858/2005 - C6-0075/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(6) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Regulation (EC) No 1655/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1416/76(7), and in particular Article 12a thereof,

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(8) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0074/2005),

A.   whereas the European Court of Auditors (ECA) stated, in its abovementioned specific report, that it obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2003 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular,

B.   whereas on 21 April 2004 the European Parliament gave discharge(9) to the Director of the European Centre in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2002 financial year and in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision Parliament, inter alia

–   invited the Centre to continue the co-operation already under way with the European Training Foundation (ETF),

–   encouraged the Centre to continue its efforts with a view to setting-up an internal audit capability and complying with the internal control standards,

1.  Notes the following figures for the accounts of the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial years 2003 and 2002;

2.  Notes the ECA's observation with regard to the handling by the Centre of restricted procedures in awarding contracts as well as the Centre's reply; expects the Centre to make further efforts to better present the results of such procedures in a transparent way abiding by the relevant rules;

3.  Notes the Court's observation as regards the non-completion by the Centre of the announced changes to its financial organisation; invites the Centre to finalise and implement these changes in the course of 2005; expects the Centre to inform Parliament's competent committee upon completion of the adaptation process;

4.  Welcomes the co-operation between the Centre and the European Training Foundation in preparing the accession countries for their participation in the Centre's activities following enlargement; takes the view that such complementary action should continue and be reinforced where appropriate;

5.  Expects the Centre from now on to include in its general budget subsidies and contributions from third countries in line with the ECA's observation;

6.  Expects the Centre to enhance transparency in its procedure for personnel recruitment, mainly by clarifying ex-ante the criteria for the lists;

7.  Welcomes the inclusion of equality in the Centre's staff policy and encourages it to follow up and evaluate such policies regularly to ensure their implementation;

8.  Regrets that top management positions are male dominated, urges the Centre to improve the balance;

9.  Welcomes the Centre's strategy for information and communication, especially its focus on openness and accessibility for citizens.

General points addressed to the Commission and the Agencies

10.  Recalls its position that while it supported the Commission's efforts to establish a limited number of models, at least for future "regulatory" agencies, it took the view that the structure of current and future agencies merited in-depth consideration at inter-institutional level; also stresses that before the Commission defines the framework conditions for the use of regulatory agencies an inter-institutional agreement should spell out common guidelines; this should happen before setting up a harmonised framework for the structure of the agencies;

11.  Notes the Commission's position(10) with regard to delegating responsibility for the execution of tasks to bodies, including agencies, other than the Commission's core administration; takes the view that this does not answer Parliament's call for in-depth consideration at inter-institutional level of the structure of existing agencies; therefore invites the Commission to provide clarification on this point and on the future overall inter-institutional agreement related to the new arrangements to be set up within or in parallel with the Financial Perspective(11);

12.  Invites the Commission to organise and perform in the medium term, e.g. on a standard three-year cycle, a cross-cutting analysis of the evaluations carried out on individual Agencies in order to

13.  Expects such an overall analysis to be available by the end of 2005 so as to cover the three year period from the time of the introduction of the new Financial Regulation and the consequent new framework in the Agencies" system;

14.  Invites the Agencies to participate actively in such a process and to cooperate with the Commission, providing the necessary input on matters that they feel are of substance to their functioning, role, remit and needs, as well as on any matter which could help to improve the whole discharge procedure, with a view to contributing to the success of such a process and increasing the accountability and transparency of the Agencies; invites Agencies to present such input also to its competent committees;

15.  Calls on the Commission, in parallel with this exercise, to present by the end of 2005 at the latest, proposals for changes to be made in the existing Agencies" Constituent Acts with a view, inter alia, to optimising its relationship with the Agencies; such proposals should aim at

16.  Emphasises that, before any decision is taken to propose the creation of a new agency, the Commission must undertake a strict evaluation of the need and added value of the function of this agency, bearing in mind existing structures, the principles of subsidiarity, budgetary austerity and the simplification of procedures;

17.  Expects the Commission to present swiftly the guidelines concerning staff policy of the Agencies that Parliament had requested the Commission to present before the end of the 2005 budgetary procedure;

General points addressed to the Agencies

18.  Expects to receive from now on, from each of the Agencies, the report summarising information on the audits carried out by the Internal Auditor, the recommendations made and the action taken on these recommendations in accordance with Article 72(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002;

19.  Invites the Agencies to make further efforts to apply correctly the staff regulations and rules applicable to other civil servants with regard to their staff (recruitment procedures and relevant decisions taken, personal files, calculation of remuneration and other entitlements, promotions policy, percentage of vacant posts, quotas for respecting gender equality, etc.);

20.  Notes that, in general, the respective percentage of male and female employees in the overall staff composition of the Agencies shows that an imbalance between men and women exists; regrets that men make up about one third of staff and are over-represented in high grade positions while women are generally over-represented in low grade positions; expects the Agencies to take immediate and effective measures to correct this situation;

21.  Calls on the Agencies to ensure that all the relevant provisions of Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amending Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions(12) are introduced in their respective staff policies;

22.  Expects the Agencies, in response to the relevant observations of the ECA, to comply fully with the budgetary principles as set out in the Financial Regulation, in particular those of unity and budgetary accuracy; calls on the Agencies that have not yet done so to fulfil the Financial Regulation's requirements on accounting matters and to strengthen further their procedures as regards internal management and control with the aim of increasing accountability, transparency and European added value;

23.  Encourages the Agencies, especially those whose activities have points in common with the activities or missions of other Agencies, to strengthen their co-operation, thus opening up opportunities for developing synergies; invites them to formalise, where appropriate, such co-operation through specific agreements (joint declarations, memoranda of understanding, decisions on joint planning and actions/programmes presenting complementary characteristics) so as to ensure that there is no duplication of work, that each Agency's output is clearly identified and that the result of joint efforts maximises the added value and the impact of their work; expects to be informed regularly on this issue;

24.  Calls on the Agencies to pay special attention to procedures for the award and management of contracts; invites them to take all appropriate measures as regards their administrative structures in order to strengthen their internal control procedures, channels and management; takes the view that such measures may include, where necessary or feasible, the setting-up of specialised units entrusted with the task of advising, on the basis of risk analysis, on how best to prepare contract award procedures, to ensure monitoring and to carry out follow-up, as required; on this matter, calls on the Commission and the ECA to strengthen co-operation with the Agencies;

25.  Notes the difficulties to which some Directors, in particular of the "newly created" Agencies, referred with regard to the Agencies" compliance with the calendar and deadlines for reporting as set in the Financial Regulation; invites the Agencies" Directors, in the perspective of the forthcoming review of the Financial Regulation to be held in 2005, to inform its Committees on Budgets and Budgetary Control of the difficulties encountered so far so that these may be considered in the framework of the review; expects the Directors to make specific proposals for alternative arrangements as to deadlines that may best suit their functioning requirements while respecting the reporting obligations of the Agencies as provided for in the Financial Regulation;

26.  Notes the positive response by the Agencies' Directors to the call by Parliament's committee responsible for preparing discharge for the establishment of a more precise system of communication, in particular as regards the transmission by the Agencies to that committee of documents relating to the Agencies' reporting obligations; takes the view that better organisation of such communication will strengthen its co-operation with the Agencies and enhance democratic control;

27.  Invites the Directors of the Agencies from now on to accompany their annual activity report, which is presented together with financial and management information, with a declaration of assurance concerning the legality and regularity of operations, similar to the declarations signed by the Directors General of the Commission;

28.  Invites the Agencies to develop a comprehensive strategy of communication addressing the need to make available, in the appropriate form, the results of their work to the general public beyond the presentation of such results to the Institutions, Member States" competent services, specialists, partners or specific beneficiaries; calls on the Agencies, in view of the development of such a strategy, to intensify their co-operation and exchange information on best practice aimed at achieving this goal; expects its competent committees to be duly informed by the Agencies, before the next discharge exercise, on the progress made in devising such a strategy in order to ensure the effective and timely monitoring of their activities;

General points addressed to the ECA and the Agencies

29.  Welcomes the ECA's initiative to add a table to its specific reports on the Agencies presenting summary information on the competences, governance, resources available and products/output of the particular agency; takes the view that this enhances the clarity and transparency of the work of these Community bodies, while providing a useful basis for comparison, where appropriate, with a view to helping set up the harmonised framework for the Agencies that Parliament has called for;

30.  Invites the ECA and the Agencies to strengthen their co-operation in order to enhance the procedures and technical tools to improve the sound management of all the budgetary and finance issues, with the view to establishing a methodology that prepares the ground for a positive budget discharge from the start of the process; expects to be informed regularly of the progress made and the implementation of best practices;

31.  Calls on the ECA and the Agencies to enhance transparency in the procédure contradictoire prior to the ECA´s final report, so as to avoid any contradiction or ambiguity which could jeopardise the credibility of the whole exercise; in this respect, invites the ECA and the Commission to propose a feasible way of updating information on the improvements made and/or the problems found, from the time when the ECA's preparatory report is first discussed until the time of the decision as to whether to grant discharge, in order to offer the most accurate picture of the situation of the Agencies.

(1) OJ C 324, 30.12.2004, p.53. (2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (3) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 41. (4) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (5) OJ C 324, 30.12.2004, p.53. (6) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (7) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p.41. (8) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (9) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 34. (10) As set out in Annex 1 of the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament "Building our common future, Policy challenges and Budgetary means of the Enlarged Union 2007-2013", (COM(2004)0101, p. 38). (11) See Annex to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 Discharges (COM(2004)0648, p. 108). (12) OJ L 269, 5.10.2002, p. 15.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge to the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0208/2004 - C6-0227/2004 - 2004/2060(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0102 A6-0074/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the financial year 2003, together with the Foundation's replies(1),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6854/2005 - C6-0074/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(2) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Regulation (EC) No 1649/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 on the creation of a European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1417/76(3), and in particular Article 16 thereof,

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0074/2005),

1.  Gives discharge to the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments accompanying the decision on the discharge to the Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0208/2004 - C6-0227/2004 - 2004/2060(DEC))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the financial year 2003, together with the Foundation's replies(5),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6854/2005 - C6-0074/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(6) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Regulation (EC) No 1649/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 on the creation of a European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1417/76(7), and in particular Article 16 thereof,

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(8) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0074/2005),

A.   whereas the European Court of Auditors (ECA) stated, in its abovementioned specific report, that it obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2003 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular,

B.   whereas on 21 April 2004 the European Parliament gave discharge(9) to the Director of the Foundation in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2002 financial year and in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision Parliament, inter alia

1.  Notes the following figures for the accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the financial years 2003 and 2002;

2.  Expects the Foundation from now on, in line with the ECA's observation, to record correctly in its budget extra-budgetary subsidies or allocations it receives;

3.  Invites the Foundation to continue developing synergies with other Agencies and in particular with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work as well as with Eurostat so as to avoid overlaps and to build on complementary aspects within common thematic responsibilities; expects such synergy to be strengthened through the exchange of information on best practice in order to enhance results;

4.  Welcomes the Foundation's equality policy and mainstreaming of activities and encourages it to follow up and evaluate such policies regularly to ensure their implementation;

5.  Welcomes the Foundation's commitment to disseminating its findings to citizens and the measures it has taken to develop and strengthen the Agency's strategy for information and communication;

General points addressed to the Commission and the Agencies

6.  Recalls its position that while it supported the Commission's efforts to establish a limited number of models, at least for future "regulatory" agencies, it took the view that the structure of current and future agencies merited in-depth consideration at inter-institutional level; also stresses that before the Commission defines the framework conditions for the use of regulatory agencies an inter-institutional agreement should spell out common guidelines; this should happen before setting up a harmonised framework for the structure of the agencies;

7.  Notes the Commission's position(10) with regard to delegating responsibility for the execution of tasks to bodies, including agencies, other than the Commission's core administration; takes the view that this does not answer Parliament's call for in-depth consideration at inter-institutional level of the structure of existing agencies; therefore invites the Commission to provide clarification on this point and on the future overall inter-institutional agreement related to the new arrangements to be set up within or in parallel with the Financial Perspective(11);

8.  Invites the Commission to organise and perform in the medium term, e.g. on a standard three-year cycle, a cross-cutting analysis of the evaluations carried out on individual Agencies in order to

9.  Expects such an overall analysis to be available by the end of 2005 so as to cover the three year period from the time of the introduction of the new Financial Regulation and the consequent new framework in the Agencies" system;

10.  Invites the Agencies to participate actively in such a process and to cooperate with the Commission, providing the necessary input on matters that they feel are of substance to their functioning, role, remit and needs, as well as on any matter which could help to improve the whole discharge procedure, with a view to contributing to the success of such a process and increasing the accountability and transparency of the Agencies; invites Agencies to present such input also to its competent committees;

11.  Calls on the Commission, in parallel with this exercise, to present by the end of 2005 at the latest, proposals for changes to be made in the existing Agencies" Constituent Acts with a view, inter alia, to optimising its relationship with the Agencies; such proposals should aim at

12.  Emphasises that, before any decision is taken to propose the creation of a new agency, the Commission must undertake a strict evaluation of the need and added value of the function of this agency, bearing in mind existing structures, the principles of subsidiarity, budgetary austerity and the simplification of procedures;

13.  Expects the Commission to present swiftly the guidelines concerning staff policy of the Agencies that Parliament had requested the Commission to present before the end of the 2005 budgetary procedure;

General points addressed to the Agencies

14.  Expects to receive from now on, from each of the Agencies, the report summarising information on the audits carried out by the Internal Auditor, the recommendations made and the action taken on these recommendations in accordance with Article 72(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002;

15.  Invites the Agencies to make further efforts to apply correctly the staff regulations and rules applicable to other civil servants with regard to their staff (recruitment procedures and relevant decisions taken, personal files, calculation of remuneration and other entitlements, promotions policy, percentage of vacant posts, quotas for respecting gender equality, etc.);

16.  Notes that, in general, the respective percentage of male and female employees in the overall staff composition of the Agencies shows that an imbalance between men and women exists; regrets that men make up about one third of staff and are over-represented in high grade positions while women are generally over-represented in low grade positions; expects the Agencies to take immediate and effective measures to correct this situation;

17.  Calls on the Agencies to ensure that all the relevant provisions of Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amending Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions(12) are introduced in their respective staff policies;

18.  Expects the Agencies, in response to the relevant observations of the ECA, to comply fully with the budgetary principles as set out in the Financial Regulation, in particular those of unity and budgetary accuracy; calls on the Agencies that have not yet done so to fulfil the Financial Regulation's requirements on accounting matters and to strengthen further their procedures as regards internal management and control with the aim of increasing accountability, transparency and European added value;

19.  Encourages the Agencies, especially those whose activities have points in common with the activities or missions of other Agencies, to strengthen their co-operation, thus opening up opportunities for developing synergies; invites them to formalise, where appropriate, such co-operation through specific agreements (joint declarations, memoranda of understanding, decisions on joint planning and actions/programmes presenting complementary characteristics) so as to ensure that there is no duplication of work, that each Agency's output is clearly identified and that the result of joint efforts maximises the added value and the impact of their work; expects to be informed regularly on this issue;

20.  Calls on the Agencies to pay special attention to procedures for the award and management of contracts; invites them to take all appropriate measures as regards their administrative structures in order to strengthen their internal control procedures, channels and management; takes the view that such measures may include, where necessary or feasible, the setting-up of specialised units entrusted with the task of advising, on the basis of risk analysis, on how best to prepare contract award procedures, to ensure monitoring and to carry out follow-up, as required; on this matter, calls on the Commission and the ECA to strengthen co-operation with the Agencies;

21.  Notes the difficulties to which some Directors, in particular of the "newly created" Agencies, referred with regard to the Agencies" compliance with the calendar and deadlines for reporting as set in the Financial Regulation; invites the Agencies" Directors, in the perspective of the forthcoming review of the Financial Regulation to be held in 2005, to inform its Committees on Budgets and Budgetary Control of the difficulties encountered so far so that these may be considered in the framework of the review; expects the Directors to make specific proposals for alternative arrangements as to deadlines that may best suit their functioning requirements while respecting the reporting obligations of the Agencies as provided for in the Financial Regulation;

22.  Notes the positive response by the Agencies' Directors to the call by Parliament's committee responsible for preparing discharge for the establishment of a more precise system of communication, in particular as regards the transmission by the Agencies to that committee of documents relating to the Agencies' reporting obligations; takes the view that better organisation of such communication will strengthen its co-operation with the Agencies and enhance democratic control;

23.  Invites the Directors of the Agencies from now on to accompany their annual activity report, which is presented together with financial and management information, with a declaration of assurance concerning the legality and regularity of operations, similar to the declarations signed by the Directors General of the Commission;

24.  Invites the Agencies to develop a comprehensive strategy of communication addressing the need to make available, in the appropriate form, the results of their work to the general public beyond the presentation of such results to the Institutions, Member States" competent services, specialists, partners or specific beneficiaries; calls on the Agencies, in view of the development of such a strategy, to intensify their co-operation and exchange information on best practice aimed at achieving this goal; expects its competent committees to be duly informed by the Agencies, before the next discharge exercise, on the progress made in devising such a strategy in order to ensure the effective and timely monitoring of their activities;

General points addressed to the ECA and the Agencies

25.  Welcomes the ECA's initiative to add a table to its specific reports on the Agencies presenting summary information on the competences, governance, resources available and products/output of the particular agency; takes the view that this enhances the clarity and transparency of the work of these Community bodies, while providing a useful basis for comparison, where appropriate, with a view to helping set up the harmonised framework for the Agencies that Parliament has called for;

26.  Invites the ECA and the Agencies to strengthen their co-operation in order to enhance the procedures and technical tools to improve the sound management of all the budgetary and finance issues, with the view to establishing a methodology that prepares the ground for a positive budget discharge from the start of the process; expects to be informed regularly of the progress made and the implementation of best practices;

27.  Calls on the ECA and the Agencies to enhance transparency in the procédure contradictoire prior to the ECA´s final report, so as to avoid any contradiction or ambiguity which could jeopardise the credibility of the whole exercise; in this respect, invites the ECA and the Commission to propose a feasible way of updating information on the improvements made and/or the problems found, from the time when the ECA's preparatory report is first discussed until the time of the decision as to whether to grant discharge, in order to offer the most accurate picture of the situation of the Agencies.

(1) OJ C 324, 30.12.2004, p. 75. (2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (3) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 25. (4) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (5) OJ C 324, 30.12.2004, p. 75. (6) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (7) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p.25. (8) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. (9) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 53. (10) As set out in Annex 1 of the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament "Building our common future, Policy challenges and Budgetary means of the Enlarged Union 2007-2013", (COM(2004)0101, p. 38). (11) See Annex to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 Discharges (COM(2004)0648, p. 108). (12) OJ L 269, 5.10.2002, p. 15.

1.European Parliament decision on the discharge to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0209/2004 - C6-0228/2004 - 2004/2053(DEC))

P6_TA(2005)0103 A6-0074/2005

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2003, together with the Agency's replies(1) ,

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6852/2005 - C6-0073/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(2) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network(3) and in particular article 13 thereof,

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A6-0074/2005),

1.  Gives discharge to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003;

2.  Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2.European Parliament resolution containing the comments accompanying the decision on the discharge to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003 (N6-0209/2004 - C6-0228/2004 - 2004/2053(DEC))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2003, together with the Agency's replies(5),

–   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6852/2005 - C6-0073/2005),

–   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(6) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network(7) and in particular article 13 thereof,

–   having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(8) and, in particular, Article 94 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002,

–   having regard to Rules 70 and 71 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the Report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A6-0074/2005),

A.   whereas the European Court of Auditors (ECA) stated, in its abovementioned specific report, that it obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2003 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular,

B.   whereas on 21April 2004 the European Parliament gave discharge(9) to the Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2002 financial year and in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision Parliament, inter alia