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 Request for waiver of the immunity of Gunnar Beck |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the request of the Chief Public Prosecutor in Düsseldorf for waiver of the immunity of Gunnar Beck, transmitted by letter dated 25 July 2023 by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, in connection with a preliminary investigation into suspected criminal offences, and announced in plenary on 11 September 2023, – having heard Gunnar Beck in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union and to Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, – having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011, 17 January 2013 and 19 December 2019(1), – having regard to Article 46(2), (3) and (4) of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany and Article 192b of the Richtlinien für das Strafverfahren und das Bußgeldverfahren, – having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A9-0170/2024), A. whereas the Chief Public Prosecutor in Düsseldorf has requested the waiver of the immunity of Gunnar Beck, MEP elected in Germany, with a view to initiating preliminary proceedings for theft of low-value property in combination with intentional bodily injury and resistance to law enforcement officials, pursuant to sections 242(1), 248a, 223(1), 230(1) sentence 1, 113(1) and 53 of the German Criminal Code; B. whereas, on 29 October 2022 in a department store in Neuss (Germany), Gunnar Beck allegedly took some sample of tester products on display for customers to try out, with, allegedly, a view to taking them away without paying for them; whereas a shoplifting offence was reported; whereas Gunnar Beck allegedly tried to leave the premises and the store detectives restrained him; whereas, afterwards, law enforcement officials intervened on the scene and, allegedly, Gunnar Beck did not comply with their requests to not resist; C. whereas the alleged offences do not concern opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of the duties of a Member of the European Parliament within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; D. whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own state, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament; E. whereas Article 46(2), (3) and (4) of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany provides:
F. whereas Article 192b of the Richtlinien für das Strafverfahren und das Bußgeldverfahren (Guidelines for criminal proceedings and fines) governs waivers of the immunity of Members of the European Parliament, and whereas, in particular, paragraph 1 thereof provides as follows: ‘1) Einem Mitglied des Europäischen Parlaments aus der Bundesrepublik Deutschland steht die einem Abgeordneten des Deutschen Bundestages zuerkannte Immunität zu. (...)’ [A Member of the European Parliament from the Federal Republic of Germany shall be entitled to the immunity granted to a Member of the German Bundestag]; G. whereas Parliament cannot assume the role of a court, and whereas, in a waiver of immunity procedure, a Member cannot be regarded as a ‘defendant’(2); H. whereas the purpose of parliamentary immunity is to protect Parliament and its Members from legal proceedings in relation to activities carried out in the performance of parliamentary duties and which cannot be separated from those duties; I. whereas in this case, Parliament has found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, i.e. factual elements which indicate that the intention underlying the legal proceeding may be to damage a Member’s political activity and thus the European Parliament; 1. Decides to waive the immunity of Gunnar Beck; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authority of the Federal Republic of Germany and to Gunnar Beck.
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| Request for waiver of the immunity of Andris Ameriks |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Andris Ameriks from the Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Coordination Section of the Criminal Law Department of the Riga Public Prosecutor’s Office, dated 24 May 2023 and transmitted on the same date by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Latvia, in the context of criminal proceedings to be initiated in the Republic of Latvia, and announced in plenary on 14 June 2023, – having heard Nils Ušakovs, on behalf of Andris Ameriks, in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, – having regard to Articles 29 and 30 of the Latvian Constitution, – having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011, 17 January 2013 and 19 December 2019(1), – having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A9-0169/2024), A. whereas the Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Coordination Section of the Criminal Justice Department of the Riga Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested the waiver of the immunity of Andris Ameriks, Member of the European Parliament, elected in Latvia, with a view to bringing criminal proceedings against him for a criminal offence of obtaining a bribe before committing an unlawful act in the interest of a third party by using his official position, in accordance with Article 320(4) of the Latvian Criminal Code; B. whereas, during the period from 22 July 2017 to 17 September 2017, Andris Ameriks, in his capacity as Deputy Mayor of Riga City Council, invested therefore with public authority in a position of responsibility, among other things allegedly demanded a bribe from the indirect owner of a minibus transport company equivalent to 50% of the amounts which that company received from Riga City Council for carrying passengers entitled to concessionary fares; C. whereas Andris Ameriks was elected to the European Parliament at the European elections in May 2019; D. whereas the alleged offence does not concern opinions expressed or votes cast by Andris Ameriks in the performance of his duties pursuant to Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; E. whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own state, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament; F. whereas Article 29 and Article 30 of the Latvian Constitution state: ‘Article 29 Members of the Saeima shall not be arrested, nor shall their premises be searched, nor shall their personal liberty be restricted in any way without the consent of the Saeima. (...) Article 30 Without the consent of the Saeima, criminal prosecution may not be commenced and administrative fines may not be levied against its members’; G. whereas Parliament cannot assume the role of a court, and whereas, in a waiver of immunity procedure, a Member cannot be regarded as a defendant(2); H. whereas the purpose of parliamentary immunity is to protect Parliament and its Members from legal proceedings in relation to activities carried out in the performance of parliamentary duties and which cannot be separated from those duties; I. whereas the investigation was not able to establish with certainty the precise place and time of the alleged offence; J. whereas the offence of which Andris Ameriks is accused was allegedly committed in 2017 and whereas the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Latvia did not submit the request for waiver of immunity until 23 May 2023; whereas there is no convincing justification for such a delay in taking action; K. whereas it follows from CJEU case-law that Parliament has a ‘broad discretion when deciding whether to grant or to refuse a request for waiver of immunity (...), owing to the political nature of such a decision’(3); L. whereas the concordance of this concrete evidence raises a serious doubt that the intention may have been to undermine Andris Ameriks’ political activity, and in particular his activity as a Member of the European Parliament; whereas on the basis of the information and explanations provided in the present case, including the answers given by the Deputy Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Latvia during the exchange of views with him, there are uncertainties as to the evidence on which the request for waiver of immunity is based and serious doubts surrounding the procedure, including the motivation underlying the request for waiver of immunity; M. whereas it would therefore appear that, in this instance, fumus persecutionis can be assumed, i.e. there is ‘concrete evidence’(4) that the intention underlying the legal proceedings in question is to undermine Andris Ameriks’ political activity, including his activity as a Member of the European Parliament; 1. Decides not to waive the immunity of Andris Ameriks; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the report of its committee responsible, immediately to the competent authority of the Republic of Latvia and to Andris Ameriks.
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| Request for waiver of the immunity of Anna Júlia Donáth |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Anna Júlia Donáth, of 19 December 2023, from the Prosecutor General of Hungary in the matter of criminal case No 2.Nyom.397/2022 in progress at the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Budapest, which is responsible for the investigation, for the use of force, acting as a group, against persons holding public authority and in connection with the criminal proceedings which it intends to bring against Anna Júlia Donáth for alleged violation of Article 310(1)(a) of Hungarian Law C of 2012 on the Hungarian Criminal Code, and announced in plenary on 15 January 2024, – having heard Anna Júlia Donáth in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, – having regard to Article 4(2) of the Fundamental Law of Hungary, Articles 10(2) and 12(1) of Act No LVII of 2004 on the Legal Status of Hungarian Members of the European Parliament and Article 74(1) and (3) of Act No XXXVI of 2012 on the National Assembly of Hungary, – having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice (CJEU) of the European Union of 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011, 17 January 2013 and 19 December 2019(1), – having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A9-0168/2024), A. whereas on 19 December 2023 the Prosecutor General of Hungary submitted a request for waiver of the immunity of Anna Júlia Donáth, Member of the European Parliament elected in Hungary, in connection with criminal proceedings which the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Budapest intends to initiate against Anna Júlia Donáth for alleged violation of Article 310(1)(a) of Hungarian Act C of 2012 on the Hungarian Criminal Code for events which occurred on 21 February 2022 during a search in the context of other criminal proceedings concerning a third person; B. whereas on 21 February 2022, during a search of premises belonging to a well-known Hungarian religious figure, in the context of criminal proceedings in connection with an alleged budget fraud offence which that figure was alleged to have committed, Anna Júlia Donáth, together with three Members of the Hungarian national parliament and others, visited the premises where the search was taking place; whereas, according to the request for waiver of immunity, an altercation occurred with the customs police responsible for protecting the premises where the search was taking place; whereas the members of the crowd involved in that altercation, including Anna Júlia Donáth and the three Members of the Hungarian national parliament, apparently only stopped when police officers, who had been called because the search was being obstructed, arrived at the scene; C. whereas Anna Júlia Donáth was elected to the European Parliament at the European elections in 2019; D. whereas, pursuant to Article 310(1)(a) of Hungarian Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code, anyone who forcibly prevents a person holding public authority from exercising their lawful duties is committing a crime; whereas Anna Júlia Donáth was interviewed as a suspect during the subsequent investigation; whereas a criminal case was initiated against her; E. whereas the purpose of parliamentary immunity is to protect Parliament and its Members from legal proceedings in relation to activities carried out in the performance of parliamentary duties and which cannot be separated from those duties; F. whereas Parliament cannot assume the role of a court, and whereas, in a waiver of immunity procedure, a Member cannot be regarded as a defendant(2); G. whereas the alleged offence does not constitute an opinion expressed or a vote cast in the performance of Anna Júlia Donáth’s duties as a Member of the European Parliament within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; H. whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament; I. whereas, pursuant to Article 4(2) of the Fundamental Law of Hungary, members of the Hungarian Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity; whereas under Article 10(2) of Act No LVII of 2004 on the Legal Status of Hungarian Members of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament enjoy the same immunity as Members of the Hungarian National Assembly, and whereas under Article 12(1) of the same act, any decision to waive the immunity of a Member of the European Parliament falls within the competence of the European Parliament; whereas, pursuant to Article 74(1) of Act No XXXVI of 2012 on the National Assembly, criminal proceedings or, in the event of immunity not being waived voluntarily in respect of the matter in question, misdemeanour proceedings may be initiated or pursued and coercive measures applied against a Member only with the prior consent of the National Assembly; J. whereas it follows from CJEU case-law that Parliament has a ‘broad discretion when deciding whether to grant or to refuse a request for waiver of immunity (...), owing to the political nature of such a decision’(3); K. whereas the Hungarian religious figure who was the subject of the search is regarded as an opponent of the current Hungarian government; whereas, in the debates in her political group in the European Parliament, Anna Júlia Donáth has spoken on a number of occasions in support of this figure in the context of the fight against corruption; whereas Anna Júlia Donáth sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, which regularly deliberates on all matters concerning the rule of law, including in Hungary; whereas she regularly speaks out against her country’s political authorities; L. whereas the alleged offence attributed to Anna Júlia Donáth was allegedly committed on 21 February 2022, while the request for waiver of immunity is dated 19 December 2023; whereas the request was therefore not made until almost two years after the events in question and in the run-up to the 2024 European elections; whereas it appears that of the Members of Parliament present on the premises and implicated in the alleged events, only two, including Anna Júlia Donáth, have been subject to national proceedings; whereas it appears that the two Members of Parliament in question are candidates for the 2024 European elections in Hungary; M. whereas the concordance of this concrete evidence raises a serious doubt that the intention may have been to undermine Anna Júlia Donáth’s political activity, and in particular her activity as a Member of the European Parliament; N. whereas it would therefore appear that, in this instance, fumus persecutionis can be assumed, i.e. there is ‘concrete evidence’(4) that the intention underlying the legal proceedings in question is to undermine the political activity of the Member concerned by the request for waiver of immunity, including her activity as a Member of the European Parliament standing as a candidate in the 2024 European elections as head of list of her political party; 1. Decides not to waive the immunity of Anna Júlia Donáth; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the report of its committee responsible, immediately to the competent authority of Hungary and to Anna Júlia Donáth.
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| Request for waiver of the immunity of Nils Ušakovs |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Nils Ušakovs from the Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Coordination Section of the Criminal Justice Department of the Riga Public Prosecutor’s Office, dated 24 May 2023 and transmitted on the same date by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Latvia, in the context of criminal proceedings to be initiated in the Republic of Latvia, and announced in plenary on 14 June 2023, – having heard Nils Ušakovs in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, – having regard to Articles 29 and 30 of the Latvian Constitution, – having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011, 17 January 2013 and 19 December 2019(1), – having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A9-0167/2024), A. whereas the Prosecutor at the Anti-Corruption Coordination Section of the Criminal Justice Department of the Riga Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested the waiver of the immunity of Nils Ušakovs, Member of the European Parliament, elected in Latvia, with a view to bringing criminal proceedings against him for a criminal offence of obtaining a bribe before committing an unlawful act in the interest of a third party by using his official position, the offence of acquiring property of another by the use, in bad faith, of trust and deceit (fraud), on a large scale and in an organised group, and, finally, as a public official holding a position of responsibility and using his official position in bad faith, committing intentional acts with intent to cause serious consequences, pursuant to Article 177(3), Article 318(3), Article 15(4) and Article 320(4) of the Latvian Criminal Code; B. whereas, during the period from 22 July 2017 to 17 September 2017, Nils Ušakovs, in his capacity as Mayor of Riga City Council, invested therefore with public authority in a position of responsibility, and representative of Riga City Council as a shareholder in Riga Transport, among other things allegedly demanded a bribe from the indirect owner of a minibus transport company equivalent to 50% of the amounts which that company received from Riga City Council for carrying passengers entitled to concessionary fares; C. whereas Nils Ušakovs was elected to the European Parliament at the European elections in May 2019; D. whereas the alleged offence does not concern opinions expressed or votes cast by Nils Ušakovs in the performance of his duties, pursuant to Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union; E. whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union provides that Members of the European Parliament enjoy, in the territory of their own state, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament; F. whereas Article 29 and Article 30 of the Latvian Constitution state: ‘Article 29 Members of the Saeima shall not be arrested, nor shall their premises be searched, nor shall their personal liberty be restricted in any way without the consent of the Saeima. (...) Article 30 Without the consent of the Saeima, criminal prosecution may not be commenced and administrative fines may not be levied against its members’; G. whereas Parliament cannot assume the role of a court, and whereas, in a waiver of immunity procedure, a Member cannot be regarded as a defendant(2); H. whereas the purpose of parliamentary immunity is to protect Parliament and its Members from legal proceedings in relation to activities carried out in the performance of parliamentary duties and which cannot be separated from those duties; I. whereas Nils Ušakovs could not have carried out this criminal offence, i.e. receipt of a bribe, allegedly because the indirect owner of the minibus transport company did not agree to pay such a large sum; J. whereas the investigation was not able to establish with certainty the precise place and time of the alleged offences; K. whereas the offences of which Nils Ušakovs is accused were allegedly committed in 2017, and whereas the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Latvia did not submit the request for waiver of immunity until 23 May 2023; whereas there is no convincing justification for such a delay in taking action; L. whereas on the basis of the information and explanations provided in the present case, including the answers given by the Deputy Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Latvia during the exchange of views with him, there are uncertainties as to the evidence on which the request for waiver of immunity is based and serious doubts surrounding the procedure, including the motivation underlying the request for waiver of immunity; M. whereas it follows from CJEU case-law that Parliament has a ‘broad discretion when deciding whether to grant or to refuse a request for waiver of immunity (...), owing to the political nature of such a decision’(3); N. whereas the concordance of this concrete evidence raises a serious doubt that the intention may have been to undermine Nils Ušakovs’ political activity, including, therefore, his activity as a Member of the European Parliament; O. whereas it would therefore appear that, in this instance, fumus persecutionis can be assumed, i.e. there is ‘concrete evidence’(4) that the intention underlying the legal proceedings in question is to undermine his political activity, and in particular his activity as a Member of the European Parliament; 1. Decides not to waive the immunity of Nils Ušakovs; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the report of its committee responsible, immediately to the competent authority of the Republic of Latvia and to Nils Ušakovs.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - Commission |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(2), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s 2022 Annual Management and Performance Report for the EU Budget (COM(2023)0401), – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), and to the Court of Auditors’ special reports, – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06179/2024 – C9‑0066/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to the national parliaments and the national and regional audit institutions of the Member States, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(6), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(7), – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency for the financial year 2022(8), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(9), – having regard to the statement of assurance(10) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(11), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(12), and in particular Article 14(3) thereof, – having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(13), and in particular the first and second paragraphs of Article 66 thereof, – having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU, 2013/771/EU, 2013/778/EU, 2013/779/EU, 2013/776/EU and 2013/770/EU(14), – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and the resolution forming an integral part of those decisions, to the Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(15), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(16), – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency for the financial year 2022(17), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(18), – having regard to the statement of assurance(19) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(20), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(21), and in particular Article 14(3) thereof, – having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(22), and in particular the first and second paragraphs of Article 66 thereof, – having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU, 2013/771/EU, 2013/778/EU, 2013/779/EU, 2013/776/EU and 2013/770/EU(23), – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and the resolution forming an integral part of those decisions, to the Director of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 4. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(24), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(25), – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency for the financial year 2022(26), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(27), – having regard to the statement of assurance(28) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(29), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(30), and in particular Article 14(3) thereof, – having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(31), and in particular the first and second paragraphs of Article 66 thereof, – having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU, 2013/771/EU, 2013/778/EU, 2013/779/EU, 2013/776/EU and 2013/770/EU(32), – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and the resolution forming an integral part of those decisions, to the Director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 5. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Research Council Executive Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(33), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(34), – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Research Council Executive Agency for the financial year 2022(35), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(36), – having regard to the statement of assurance(37) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(38), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(39), and in particular Article 14(3) thereof, – having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(40), and in particular the first and second paragraphs of Article 66 thereof, – having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU, 2013/771/EU, 2013/778/EU, 2013/779/EU, 2013/776/EU and 2013/770/EU(41), – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and the resolution forming an integral part of those decisions, to the Director of the European Research Council Executive Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 6. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(42), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(43), – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency for the financial year 2022(44), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(45), – having regard to the statement of assurance(46) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(47), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(48), and in particular Article 14(3) thereof, – having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(49), and in particular the first and second paragraphs of Article 66 thereof, – having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU, 2013/771/EU, 2013/778/EU, 2013/779/EU, 2013/776/EU and 2013/770/EU(50), – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and the resolution forming an integral part of those decisions, to the Director of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 7. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Research Executive Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(51), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(52), – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Research Executive Agency for the financial year 2022(53), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(54), – having regard to the statement of assurance(55) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(56), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(57), and in particular Article 14(3) thereof, – having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(58), and in particular the first and second paragraphs of Article 66 thereof, – having regard to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU, 2013/771/EU, 2013/778/EU, 2013/779/EU, 2013/776/EU and 2013/770/EU(59), – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Research Executive Agency discharge in relation to the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and the resolution forming an integral part of those decisions, to the Director of the European Research Executive Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 8. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(60), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(61), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), and to the detailed replies to the specific requests made by the European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission’s 2022 Annual Management and Performance Report for the EU Budget (COM(2023)0401), – having regard to the Commission’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022 (COM(2023)0323), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document (SWD(2023)0214), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(62), and to the Court of Auditors’ special reports, – having regard to the statement of assurance(63) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06179/2024 – C9‑0066/2024), – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the executive agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06181/2024 – C9‑0125/2024), – having regard to Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(64), and in particular Articles 69, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes(65), and in particular Article 14(2) and (3) thereof, – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank, and to the national parliaments and the national and regional audit institutions of the Member States, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 9. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission and executive agencies (2023/2129(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section III – Commission, – having regard to its decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budgets of the executive agencies for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 99 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the letter from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0139/2024), – having regard to the inter-institutional agreement of 16 December 2020 on cooperation on budgetary matters and sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources; Political priorities 1. Recalls its strong commitment to the fundamental principles and values enshrined in the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), including sound financial management as set out in Article 317 of the TFEU and the combating of fraud and protecting the financial interests of the Union as set out in Article 325 of the TFEU; 2. Highlights the importance of the Union budget for achieving the Union’s political priorities, as well as its role in assisting Member States in unforeseen circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, international conflicts or crises and their consequences; notes in this regard the continuing relevance of investments and support from the Union budget for reducing disparities between Member States and regions, for promoting economic growth and employment, for combating poverty and social exclusion, and thus for improving the daily life of Union citizens and economic impact within the Union; urges the Commission not to water down the pace and ambition needed to achieve the climate-related goals set in the European Green Deal and stresses the need for increasing the necessary investments for this purpose; stresses the fact that in 2022 the Union has fallen much short of the level of efficiency needed to achieve the climate-related goals set for 2030, 2040 and 2050; 3. Stresses that the sound and timely implementation of the budget contributes to addressing needs and challenges in different policy areas more efficiently and effectively; stresses that the simultaneous implementation of multiple instruments with different rules under time constraints, in addition to the pressure of the final closure of the 2014 - 2020 MFF, may lead to a delay in implementation and an increase in errors, irregularities and fraud; recalls the role of the Commission as guardian of the Treaties to protect the financial interests of the Union; 4. Stresses the contribution of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in supporting Member States in recovering from the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and creating a resilient Union that can shoulder the challenges of the future; notes the contribution of the RRF and RePowerEU in addressing the energy-related challenges caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; regrets that milestones have not been better defined and calls on the Commission to monitor Member States' implementation of the associated actions in accordance with the agreed milestones and targets; 5. Highlights the crucial role the Union budget played in 2022 in addressing the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, namely to secure food supply chains, address energy-related challenges, support Member States in welcoming Ukrainian refugees, and provide assistance to Ukraine in caring for its citizens; notes that this has put pressure on the budget and that all available flexibility measures have been used; notes in that regard the adoption of the mid-term review of the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) that re-orients funds, raises fresh funds; stresses the importance the Commission presents a clear and realistic roadmap to repay EU debt; 6. Recalls the importance of a strict application of the financial rules of the Union in all programmes and on all beneficiaries, in order to avoid all forms of fraud, conflicts of interest, corruption, double funding and money laundering; reminds in this framework of the key role played by the whole Union’s anti-fraud architecture and expresses some concerns about the refusal of some Member States to cooperate with one of its elements, notably the EPPO; 7. Recalls the importance of carrying out ex-post and mid-term evaluations of financial programmes created to respond to crises, concerning their relevance, coherence and European added value on top of compliance and regularity, efficiency, effectiveness, performance and long-term economic impact; notes that decisions related to the COVID-19 response instruments were made under enormous time pressure, although such instruments will be implemented until 2026; stresses that a quick response should not be to the detriment of proper control over expenditure and calls, therefore, on the Commission to draw lessons from such instruments; 8. Recalls the importance of the RRF in facing the economic downturn following the COVID-19 pandemic, reminds that the RRF delivery model puts much, lighter requirements on the Commission, and reduces the control burden from the Commission towards the Member States; is concerned that the Court, in its assessment of the RRF, identified shortcomings in the Commission preliminary assessment and ex post audits and considers that weaknesses remain in the Member States’ reporting and control systems; is worried that such weaknesses have led to the establishment of ‘control milestones’ indicating that the relevant Member State systems were not fully functional when implementation of the plans began, thus posing a risk to the regularity of RRF expenditure and the protection of the Union’s financial interests; 9. Underlines the risk of conflicts of interest in cases where actors involved in the implementation of the Union budget, at any level, might be compromised for reasons beyond economic interest; notes the highly fragmented legal framework across Member States and regions concerning conflicts of interest and calls for the Commission’s guidance to ensure legal clarity and promote a uniform interpretation and application; supports the Court’s observation in its Special Report 6/2023 that “data mining, by comparing information from different sources, has the potential to help detect possible conflicts of interest”; 10. Emphasises the role of the European anti-fraud office (OLAF), the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) in the fight against corruption; calls for the capacities of the EPPO and OLAF, as well as cooperation between them, to be strengthened further and their competences to be better defined; appreciates the efforts of the EPPO in the investigation and prosecution of fraud and other criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union and highlights the importance of its full independence and impartiality for the effective exercise of its functions; recalls the importance of providing the EPPO and OLAF with sufficient financial and human resources; calls for common anti-corruption rules applicable to all staff of Union bodies and calls to make the inter-institutional Transparency Register mandatory for all EU Institutions and Agencies, to ensure that the independence which is required of certain EU institutions is not affected; reiterates the need to step up the efforts in the fight against fraud both at Union and Member State level, in close cooperation with the EPPO and OLAF; 11. Stresses the deterioration of the Rule of Law in some Member States and emphasises the major importance of the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism for the protection of the Union budget; calls on the Commission to make full use of the tools available to address the clear risk of a serious breach of Union values and to promptly invoke the Conditionality Regulation when breaches of the Rule of Law risk impacting the Union's financial interests; supports the blocking of Union funds as long as the conditions are not entirely fulfilled and not giving in to blackmail; urges the Commission to guarantee a unitary, comprehensive and integrated approach across different funds and legislative instruments and to avoid a technocratic and contradictory approach across various financing instruments; 12. Emphasises, in the context of the rule of law principle, the need to ensure clear standards and the effective separation of powers; highlights that all Union institutions and bodies should fully respect the principle of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and should refrain from acting as a disciplinary chamber outside of the independent judicial system; highlights that in the case of breaches of law, the relevant Union institutions or bodies or the national authorities should be responsible; emphasises the need to avoid unfair denunciation or whistleblowing procedures and that such procedures should be based on clear rule of law standards; 13. Notes the measures undertaken by the Commission in 2022 under the Conditionality Regulation, but considers them to be introduced with considerable delays and following long-lasting political considerations; asks the Commission to conduct thorough assessments and ensure adequate control mechanisms to guarantee the sound financial management and the protection of the Union budget in current and future cases of lack of respect for Union values and the Rule of Law which affect or threaten to affect the Union’s financial interests; 14. Welcomes the agreement reached in the negotiations on the revised Union financial rules in December 2023; welcomes, in particular, the enhancements related to tracking Union funds through digital tools and interoperability that will bolster the protection of the Union Financial Interests, the targeted extension of the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) to shared management post MFF 2027, the reference to the Rule of Law conditionality mechanism and Union values as enshrined in Article 2 TEU, as well as the opportunity to streamline support for small and medium-sized enterprises and individual applicants by the introduction of very low-value grants; 15. Reminds the Commission that all legislative proposals that have a significant economic, social and environmental impact have to be accompanied by solid and thorough impact assessments, including their impact on the cost of living for Union citizens, the level of bureaucratisation for beneficiaries and administration as well as gender-related issues, to guarantee a fair distribution of the Union budget.; stresses that this is part of the Commission’s Better Regulation agenda; underlines that the Commission should conduct impact assessments in a completely neutral and impartial way; furthermore, expects the Commission to improve the costs-and-benefits analysis of the concerned options by enhancing the participation rate of different stakeholders with different views in open public consultations; 16. Highlights that gender equality is one of the founding values of the Union and is enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; recalls the long-standing commitment of the Union to gender mainstreaming in its policy-making in order to identify and redress inequalities, as well as it being a necessary condition for the achievement of the Union's objectives of growth, employment and social cohesion; stresses the importance of continuing the efforts made in gender budgeting in particular, such as the pilot methodology to track gender equality expenditure in the multiannual financial framework, in order to ensure that gender mainstreaming in the Union budget is a success; 17. Recalls that spending areas subject to more complex rules and eligibility criteria are at higher risk of errors and create an excessive administrative burden for recipients of support, specially newcomers; reiterates the need to implement simplification in Union spending programmes to the extent possible, striking a balance with robust checks and controls; stresses that the digitisation of the management, reporting and auditing of Union funds is essential to improve access for potential recipients in an equitable way and to make the management of funds more efficient and transparent for all citizens; 18. Is concerned that the late adoption of several sectoral regulations governing different Union policies, such as the Cohesion policy, resulted in a significant delay in the implementation of the 2021-2027 programming period; urges the Commission and the Member States once more to take all necessary measures to continue to speed up the implementation of the policies on the ground with a better geographical balance, while keeping a high focus on compliance with the rules, quality of projects, achievement of results and protection of the financial interests of the Union; highlights in this context the risk that outstanding commitments bear on the Union budget, possibly generating significant decommitments which in turn would decrease its impact; calls on the Commission to indicate to the discharge authority which measures it intends to take to address this situation; 19. Calls on the Commission to take initiatives, such as technical assistance, to increase the absorption rate in the Member States on a permanent basis; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the progress of implementation in Member States, in particular in cases of under-implementation and low absorption rates and to deliver a country-analysis to the discharge authority, identifying the recurrent problems, as well as the measures taken to optimise the situation; 20. Stresses the importance of Union cohesion policy for economic and territorial convergence and development in the regions of the Union, as well as for supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights; highlights the synergies of the cohesion funds in coordination with other Union programmes, particularly the RRF, to maximise the impact and the efficiency of public spending; CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) The European Court of Auditors' statement of assurance and budgetary and financial management Reliability of the accounts 21. Welcomes that the Court finds in its Annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022(66), that the consolidated accounts of the European Union for the year 2022 are reliable; notes with satisfaction that the Court has given a clean opinion on the reliability of the accounts every year since 2007; 22. Notes that at 31 December 2022, total liabilities amounted to EUR 577,2 billion, compared with EUR 445,9 billion of total assets; notes that the difference of EUR 131,3 billion represented the (negative) net assets, comprising reserves and the portion of expenses already incurred by the Union up to 31 December 2022 that must be funded by future budgets; 23. Notes that at the end of 2022, the estimated value of incurred but not yet claimed eligible expenses due to beneficiaries, recorded as accrued expenses, was EUR 148,7 billion (2021: 129,9 billion), of which EUR 22,6 billion is related to accrued RRF expenditure; 24. Notes that after the end of the transition period following the UK’s withdrawal process, the Commission estimated that, at the balance sheet date, the Union accounts showed a net receivable due from the UK of EUR 23,9 billion (2021: 41,8 billion), of which it is estimated that EUR 9,1 billion will be paid in the 12 months following the reporting date; considers that any amount in excess of the estimated EUR 9,1 billion that is received from the UK should be used to reduce the debt incurred through the borrowing and lending activities of the Commission; 25. Notes that the Court has assessed the impact of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine on the Union accounts; welcomes the Court’s conclusion that this impact has been appropriately accounted for and disclosed in the consolidated annual accounts; 26. Welcomes the Court’s conclusion that the assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, including those related to the European Recovery Instrument 'NextGenerationEU' (‘NGEU’), are presented fairly in the consolidated annual accounts; Legality and regularity of Union revenue and expenditure 27. Regrets the adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of the Union budget expenditure issued by the Court for the fourth year in a row; underlines the importance of reinforcing the control mechanisms of the Commission and Member States which are considered unreliable by the Court, therefore compromising the reliability of the Annual Management and Performance Report (AMPR); notes the Court’s conclusion that the revenue is free from material error and that the managing systems examined by the Court were generally effective; 28. Is concerned that the Court estimates the level of error for the 2022 expenditure to be 4,2 %, which is more than double the materiality threshold; notes that this is a further deterioration compared to the previous two years (3,0 % in 2021 and 2.7 % in 2020); notes with concern that the Court detected substantial issues in reimbursement-based expenditure, which accounts for 66 % of the Court’s audit population, where the estimated level of error is 6 %; notes that the effects of the errors found by the Court are estimated as both material and pervasive to the year's accepted expenditure; 29. Notes that the Commission´s own estimation of the risk at payment is 1.9 % for 2022 (similar to 2020 and 2021), which is below the materiality threshold; notes that the Commission’s estimation of the risk at closure, after ex-post controls and corrections have been applied, is 0,9 %; notes the divergence between the Court’s overall error rate and the Commission’s risk at payment, which is observed for the overall Union budget expenditure in 2022, although not in all expenditure areas, notes that this is particularly evident in headings 1 and 2 as in the past; and remarks the fact that the Commission’s estimates for risk at payment are consistently in the lower range or below the statistical estimations of the Court; welcomes the Court’s estimate of the level of error as important indicator for the existing risks; calls for a common understanding to be found to avoid such divergence between the Court’s overall error rate and the Commission’s risk at payment; 30. Reiterates the concerns about the Court observation that the Commission’s risk assessment is likely to underestimate the level of risk in several areas; is also concerned by recurrent weaknesses identified by the Court on Member States’ ex post checks in heading 2, limiting the reliance that can be placed on their work; 31. Underlines that the general estimate of the level of error in the Union budget, as presented in the Court’s Statement of Assurance, is an estimate of the money that should not have been paid out because it was not used in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations, and not an indicator of fraud or corruption; regrets that the general estimate of the level of error in the Union budget might give each year a negative impression to citizens; 32. Recalls that the audit approach and methodology of the Court are based on international audit standards that require the testing of a random, representative sample of transactions that result in an estimate of the error rate; recalls that the Court differentiates between low-risk expenditure, i.e. entitlement-based payments under simplified rules, and high-risk expenditure, i.e. reimbursement-based payments subject to complex rules; notes that for the 2022 expenditure, the Court has selected 66 % of its audit population from the high-risk expenditure (63,2 % in 2021), amounting to EUR 110,1 billion, and 34 % from the low-risk expenditure, amounting to EUR 56,7 billion; notes that the Court’s estimated error rate for 2022 (4,2 %) is mainly driven by ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’ (2,5 % of the overall error rate), ‘Natural resources and environment (0,8 %), ‘Neighbourhood and the world’ (0,4 %), and ‘Single market, innovation and digital’ (0,3 %), for the most part considered high-risk expenditure areas by the Court; notes that the Commission in its AMPR categorises the expenditure into higher, medium and lower risk segments; notes that the Court uses the risk categories in a large part to determine the sample size to ultimately support its opinion on the legality and regularity of expenditure, whereas the Commission’s use of risk categories serves to identify areas where additional managerial attention is needed to correct errors; emphasises that the use of different risk categories by the Court and the Commission hinders the possibility for the discharge authority to make a comparative analysis between clerical form errors and substantial administrative errors; 33. Recalls that the Court’s audit focuses on the year under review; considers, nevertheless, that the Court takes into account findings of several years in its annual report and deepens the focus on specific topics within its Special Reports; notes that in contrast to this method, the Commission takes into account the whole lifecycle of Union programmes and funds covering multiple years, as well as corrections and recoveries after the end of the year under review; is of the opinion, however, that these different approaches do not entirely explain the large difference in the estimation of the error rate; 34. Recalls that Union spending programmes are multiannual by design and consequently their related control systems and management cycles also cover multiple years; recalls that the Commission’s estimates of the risk at closure have a multiannual perspective that takes account of corrections and recoveries over several years; notes that the Commission’s approach is based on tests as defined in control strategies aiming to check compliance with Union rules to ultimately establish whether funds need to be recovered from beneficiaries; notes that the range of the risk at payment, determined as part of this approach, resembles most of the Court’s estimated error rate and is considered by the Commission as the best estimate to express the exposure to the Union budget; 35. Considers that both approaches serve different purposes and have their benefits, disadvantages, strengths, and weaknesses, and should be used to complement each other while understanding the differences and particularities, such as the different concepts of error and the risk categorisation used by each institution; considers the Court’s error rate to be an important indicator of compliance with the legality and regularity of the implementation of the Union budget; is concerned about the great divergence in the rates provided by the Court and the Commission in relation to the weaknesses identified on the Commission side; welcomes in this regard the Court’s findings, observations and recommendations as a very useful contribution to the further improvement of the budget management and implementation under different management modes and by all relevant stakeholders; deplores that the analysis of the risk alone neglects the real performance, the quality, the sustainability and the European added value of implemented projects; reiterates its support for the audit approach and methodology of the Court which should qualify the impact of corrective measures on the overall level of error and invites the Commission to cooperate with the Court with a view to increasing harmonisation and to providing for more comparable figures; 36. Notes that, on several issues, the Court’s and Commission’s findings are aligned, most notably concerning the main sources of irregularities in ‘Cohesion’, and the higher risks for market measures and rural development in ‘Natural resources and environment’; notes that specifically in ‘Cohesion’ some cases of eligibility errors identified and quantified by the Court are not necessarily considered to be ineligible by the Commission; the Commission does not see a legal basis to qualify the error as an irregularity to be corrected in line with the definition laid down in Article 2(36) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 (‘the Common Provisions Regulation’ or CPR)(67) and thus, the Commission cannot pursue financial correction procedures, and such errors would not enter into the Commission’s estimate of risk at payment; 37. Welcomes that the Commission improved its reporting on preventive and corrective measures to protect the Union budget from illegal and irregular expenditure; notes that the Commission clarified that the total amount reported in the Annual Management and Performance Report (AMPR) as financial corrections and recoveries (EUR 4,95 billion) includes preventive and corrective measures taken by the Commission and Member States; notes that the Commission reported EUR 734 million in net corrections and EUR 195 million in recovered undue payments from final recipients; 38. Notes that the Court, in the exercise of its mandate, does not investigate fraud but does take account of the risk of fraud; notes that the Court forwards to the EPPO suspicions of criminal offences falling in its competences and to OLAF suspicions of fraud, corruption or other illegal activity affecting the Union’s financial interests identified while performing its audits; notes that, in 2022, the Court reported 14 cases of suspected fraud to OLAF, and in parallel reported 6 of these cases to the EPPO, resulting so far in 6 OLAF investigations and 3 EPPO investigations; Budgetary and financial management 39. Highlights that in 2022, 98,5 % of the available commitment appropriations were used (EUR 179,4 billion out of EUR 182,2 billion); notes that the available appropriations were higher than the MFF ceiling of EUR 179,9 billion due to the use of special instruments, justified by unforeseen events, using all flexibility available under the MFF; notes that 98,1 % of payment appropriations were used (EUR 167,3 billion of EUR 170,6 billion available); commends the Commission and the budgetary authority for its decisive and flexible budgetary response to the challenges faced in 2022; 40. Notes with concern that the total outstanding commitments, which represent future debts if not decommitted, reached an all-time high of EUR 450 billion in 2022, caused by both increased commitments related to NGEU (with all National Recovery and Resilience Plans adopted in 2022) and the slow start of the implementation of the 2021-2027 programming period; notes that the Commission expects this amount to further increase in 2023 towards EUR 460 billion, and foresees a decrease from 2024 to 2027 when committed amounts for both NGEU and the 2021-2027 programming period should be paid out; notes that approximately EUR 90 billion of loans will not be used and recalls that the Commission and Member States are currently behind schedule for payments established in the implementing decision approving their national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs); notes that commitments under MFF are still increasing and will continue to rise in the coming years due to the slow start of the programming period with payments following even later; 41. Highlights that the time available for implementing shared-management funds under the 2021-2027 MFF is shorter than under previous MFFs because of the n+2 rule for the last year of the period; is aware of the challenges in relation to managing and controlling the combined MFF and NGEU funds due to their volume and the different managing, programming, implementing and controlling mechanisms; notes with concern the significant differences in absorption rates per Member State; regrets the insufficient initiatives taken by the Commission, in conjunction with the Member States, to increase the absorption capacity of the programs and thus bring about a sharp and lasting reduction in outstanding commitments; demands the Commission takes all the necessary measures and administrative support to the Member States needed especially to improve their absorption capacity; 42. Underlines that the Commission’s projections for the reduction of the outstanding commitments are based on the assumptions that Member States effectively make more efforts to accelerate the absorption of the 2021-2027 shared management funds and that automatic technical adjustments of payments ceiling are sufficient to cover the payments needs; is concerned that these two assumptions may not be fulfilled hence creating a very dangerous situation for the Union budget; 43. Notes the Court’s warning that for the 2021-2027 shared management funds under the CPR, the decommitment risk has risen significantly due to a series of factors, namely the slow start because of the late adoption of sector-specific regulations, the prioritisation of the remaining European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds and NGEU funding, the fact that those funds have a shorter payment timeframe by one year compared to the previous MFF period and the overlap with NGEU payments until 2026; stresses, therefore, the Court’s 2021 recommendation for the Commission to ensure that there is additional advisory support to national authorities so all bodies responsible for managing and controlling these funds can ensure sound financial management; 44. Welcomes the vital role played by NGOs in representing civil society and in promoting and defending the values enshrined in the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’) while implementing programmes and projects financed by the Union budget in full respect of the Union’s financial rules and the protection of the Union’s financial interests; calls to ensure that all Union funding beneficiaries, including NGOs, that have misused or misappropriated Union funds, or engaged in activities contrary to Union values, including inciting terrorism, hate speech, supporting or glorifying violence, political and religious extremism are listed in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) and blocked from access to Union institutions and funding programmes; considers that fraud, conflicts of interest, double funding, corruption and money laundering or embezzlement must be prevented and tackled in all situations and for all beneficiaries irrespective of their nature and legal status (as noted in Parliament resolution of 17 January 2024 on the transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the Union budget ); calls on the Commission to implement the recommendations of that resolution; 45. Notes with concern that Union debt increased from EUR 236,7 billion in 2021 to EUR 344,3 billion in 2022; notes that of the entire debt, only the share of NGEU non-repayable support (EUR 185,6 billion, 53,9 %) creates interest rate risk for the Union budget; notes that, due to growing market interest rates, the cost of new NGEU funding rose from 0,14 % in the second half of 2021 to 1,24% in the first half of 2022, and a further increase to2.60% in the second half of 2022, resulting in EUR 0,5 billion of interest payments for NGEU in 2022, and a considerable increase was projected for 2023; is concerned about the strong increase in interest rates since 2020 resulting in a higher financial burden for the annual budget; recalls that, in addition, the repayments of NGEU borrowing should start in 2028 and must be completed by 2058, which will require sufficient financial resources; notes that the maximum utilisation of the Union budget in 2022, using all available flexibility, does not allow any repayment of debts, unless cuts are made in other areas of Union expenditure; calls on the Members States to develop and agree on a repayment plan out of new own resources without damaging the new MFF; 46. Notes that since December 2022, the Commission has a new debt management strategy in place, namely a “diversified funding strategy” which consists of the techniques and funding instruments used by sovereign issuers; recalls the Court’s Special Report 16/2023 on NGEU debt management that concluded that the Commission quickly established its debt management system, allowing for a timely start of borrowing operations, that met all regulatory requirements concerning debt portfolio and risk management; 47. Supports the Court recommendation that the Commission should act more proactively to ensure the tools available to mitigate the exposure risks have sufficient capacity; 48. Notes that the total exposure of the Union budget because of guarantees and contingent liabilities for loans rose to EUR 248,3 billion, of which EUR 57,8 billion for an additional safeguard has been created through the Common Provisioning Fund (‘CPF’); notes that higher interest rates also require a higher provisioning rate in the future; 49. Notes that in 2022 the Commission changed the disclosure of contingent liability in its consolidated accounts, making the comparison of year by year extremely complex and long; invites the Commission to report more clearly on its annual account, in order to facilitate conclusions and analysis also in view of the discharge procedure; 50. Notes that the exposure of the Union budget to Ukraine increased in 2022 to EUR 15,6 billion, with related provisions; notes with concern that for the MFA+ support to Ukraine with a value of EUR 18,0 billion, agreed at the end of 2022 and disbursed throughout 2023, no provisions were required in the CPF to cover the risks of default, posing a serious risk to the Union budget as expressed in the Opinion 07/2022; draws attention that possible losses related to MFA+ will have to be covered by future Union budgets or by the budgetary ‘headroom’ between the MFF ceiling and the own resources ceiling; invites the Commission to provide additional measures to protect the Union budget from future losses related to the MFA+; 51. Notes that during 2022 consumer price inflation increased significantly, affecting the Union budget in several ways, by reducing the relative size of the Union budget and reducing the efficiency of the Union funds to achieve the objectives to the same extent as initially planned; considers that high inflation affects the proportion of revenue from different sources, with a net reduction of the share of the GNI-based own resources; strongly supports the Court recommendation to the Commission to assess the impact on the Union budget of increasing inflation in order to proactively apply mitigating measures; 52. Welcomes the online based transparency platforms developed and maintained by the Commission which provide data on the implementation of Union spending programmes and allow to search through the recipients Union funding and projects, such as the Financial Transparency System, giving information about Union funding under direct and indirect management, the RRF Scoreboard, the Cohesion Open Data Platform and Kohesio platform; 53. Notes the Commission’s methodology for tracking gender aspects of expenditure as of 2023; recalls that only 2% of the Union’s budget was assessed as having a principle objective of improving gender equality; calls on the Commission to improve this score by mainstreaming gender from the start of programme design; reiterates that further detail is needed so that the majority of spending (73%) currently assessed as 0* ‘potential to contribute to gender equality’ can be fully understood; notes with concern that Special Report 10/2021, published by the ECA confirmed that the Union’s budget cycle does not yet adequately take gender equality into account since key elements, such as gender analysis, gender-related objectives, indicators and accountability through reporting, are largely missing; 54. Repeats its calls for a dedicated budget line for gender equality, in particular within the Daphne programme in the light of the crisis of gender-based violence facing the Union; stresses the importance of strengthening the specifically dedicated Daphne initiative by increasing its resources, in particular measures that aim to combat all levels and all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls and domestic violence in line with Article 7(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/692 and to properly support victims; stresses, in addition, the importance of using European Structural and Investment Funds such as the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to promote gender equality, women’s employment, women's empowerment, entrepreneurship, leadership and management roles, as well as long-term care facilities; notes that a study requested by FEMM committee(68) shows that men are often favoured over women and marginalized groups when it comes to the design of subsidies and support under the Fit for 55 package, as well as in other policies, programmes and funding for the green transition; Recommendations 55. Strongly supports the recommendations of the Court in its Annual Report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (‘Annual Report for the 2022 financial year)(69) as well as in related special reports; calls on the Commission to implement them without delay and to keep the discharge authority informed on the progress of the implementation; 56. Calls on the Court of Auditors to:
57. Calls on the Commission, in particular, to:
Performance of the Union budget 58. Notes the re-integration of the Court’s work on performance of the Union budget into its Annual Report; regrets to note that the content of the related chapter is of considerably less depth than the previous year’s annual report on performance; regrets in particular that the link to the Sustainable Development Goals has become much less evident in the current set-up; notes that the Court’s work on performance as included in its 2022 Annual Report lies primarily in summarising the findings from Special Reports; 59. Notes that the Court has followed-up on the implementation of 213 of its recommendations made in 2019, out of which 179 were addressed to the Commission; notes that four of the 179 recommendations were not yet due for implementation by the time the follow-up review was carried out and that, of the remaining 175 recommendations, the Commission has fully implemented 101 (58 %), 26 in most respects (15 %), 24 in some respects (13 %), and has not implemented 17 (10 %) of them at all, the Court being unable to conclude in 7 cases (4 %) where the auditee had not accepted them or it was too early to assess the implementation; 60. Considers the overview of special reports, which spans the largest part of chapter three of the Court’s Annual report, gives a good overview of reports presented by the Court that relate to 2022 strategic areas; considers a deep analysis of the performance of the Union budget could be an added value to the follow-up of the auditor recommendations; notes the issue of timing concerning to the publication of the AMPR; 61. Notes that the Commission publishes the ‘Programme Performance Statements’, which is an overview of the performance information of the programmes of the 2021-2027 Union budget, and the ‘Horizontal priorities’, a section on how the Commission tracks and reports on what is spent on green budgeting, gender equality mainstreaming, digital tracking and the sustainable development goals; 62. Notes the Court’s review 06/2023 on the Commission’s 2022 AMPR for the Union budget and its conclusion that Volume I of the 2022 AMPR followed the Commission’s corporate management board strategic guidance when it presented the facts and achievements concerning budgetary management for 2022, and notes that there was scope to improve the quality of performance data; notes the Commission’s replies to written questions on an IAS audit on the Commission’s control system in relation to the reliability of performance information and the reassurance given that the identified issue is being dealt with; 63. Welcomes that the Commission has included information in its AMPR on green budgeting, digital tracking and the gender-equality dimension in the Union budget; notes that the number of programmes for which the contribution to gender equality is unknown decreased to 72 %; supports the Commission’s position that this figure needs to be reduced further; 64. Recalls the findings of the Court’s Special Report 09/2022 “Climate Spending in the 2014-2020 EU budget”; notes in addition the Court’s Special Report 26/2023 on the Performance monitoring framework in the RRF; concludes that the Court identified in both Special Reports issues with the method the Commission presents performance information, both in the MFF and the RRF; notes in particular that disclosure about shortcomings in the performance monitoring methodologies show weaknesses in particular because of mixing estimates with actual numbers of achieved results and realised projects or blending budgeted amounts with actually paid amounts; considers that performance data presented by the Commission should not include estimations but only figures of realised actions; remains concerned about the Court’s finding that limited improvements are expected in the 2021-2027 climate reporting; regrets that the Commission has not yet addressed weaknesses in the reported figures of their new methodology; Revenue 65. Notes that the revenue of the Union budget comprises own resources, external assigned revenue and other revenue; notes that in 2022 the Gross National Income (GNI)-based own resource accounted for EUR 103,9 billion (42,3 %), external assigned revenue accounted for EUR 62,2 billion (25,4 %), traditional own resources (TOR) accounted for EUR 25,9 billion (10,6 %), contributions and refunds connected with the Union agreements and programmes accounted for EUR 20,9 billion (8,5 %), value added tax (VAT)-based own resource accounted for EUR 19,7 billion (8,0%), non-recycled plastic packaging waste-based own resources accounted for EUR 6,3 billion (2,6 %), and other revenue accounted for EUR 6,4 billion (2,6 %); 66. Notes the Court’s Special Report 25/2022 on verification of Gross National Income (GNI) for financing the Union budget; recalls that the GNI data reported by Member States are the basis for calculating the Member States’ contributions and considers it therefore essential for the Commission to improve the efficiency in the verification cycle following the recommendations of the Court; welcomes the Court’s conclusions that the verification process of the GNI data carried out by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) was effective; welcomes that Eurostat has prepared an action plan to address the recommendations with a view to implementing them after the 2020-2024 cycle; 67. Notes that the Union budget needs to respond to multiple challenges with additional financial programmes, such as the NGEU recovery instrument; notes that for 2022, the revenue from traditional own resources remained relatively stable, while budgetary guarantees for borrowing and lending operations were a substantial part of revenue; recalls in that regard Parliament’s resolution of 10 May 2023 on own resources: a new start for Union finances, a new start for Europe; 68. Welcomes the Court’s conclusion in its Annual Report for 2022 that the level of error in revenue transactions was not material and that the systems for managing the revenue are generally effective; is concerned by the weaknesses identified by the Court in certain Member States’ accounting and management of TOR, and in the Union action taken to reduce the customs gap and ensure that TOR is complete; welcomes the actions undertaken by the Commission and Member States in that regard; 69. Notes from the Annual Report on the Protection of the Union financial interests (PIF Report(70)) that in 2022, the number of fraudulent irregularities relating to TOR (454) fell by 6,8 % and non-fraudulent irregularities (4 207) rose by 9,4 % compared to the 5-year average for 2018-2022; notes that most fraudulent cases reported in 2022 relate to incorrect value and incorrect classification or misdescription of goods, while smuggling remains one of the primary modus operandi; notes that most fraudulent cases are detected by inspections by national anti-fraud services together with customs release controls; notes that the recovery rate is currently 48 %, although it can be expected that it will go up in the future due to the length of the process; 70. Notes the summary of waivers of recoveries and established amounts receivable in Annex 9 of the 2022 AMPR; notes that the total general value of waived recoveries was EUR 40,4 million, an increase of 28 % in comparison with 2021 (EUR 31,4 million) and considers this is a loss of revenue for the Union budget; 71. Calls the Commission to conduct a deep analysis of all amounts recovered on the basis of EPPO notifications and to inform the discharge authority about the results; recalls that the Member States play the primary role in the follow up and recovery of damages to the EU budget under shared management, including recoveries following EPPO notifications, and the Commission can impose financial corrections; regrets that EPPO until now is not aware of the mechanisms set up by the Commission to that effect; notes that the issue of EPPO notifications has been raised in the inter-institutional exchange of views on Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2223(71)); welcomes the EPPO Working Arrangement and the set up of a working group to ensure that EPPO notifications will enable the Commission to maximize recovery to the EU budget; 72. Welcomes the developments that have resulted in lifting both the quantified and unquantified reservation in the area of textiles and shoes imported from China; notes with satisfaction that the United Kingdom has now paid the total amount due (final payment of EUR 1,57 billion in January 2023) including interest (EUR 1,4 billion in February 2023); notes that by the end of 2023, 27 Member States had made significant provisional payments for their expected amounts due to the Union budget and that in line with the CJEU judgment in the case C-213/19 the Commission will apply the same quantification method for these Member States as for the United Kingdom, which will result in recalculated amounts, allowing the Commission to finalise the exercise completely; Recommendations 73. Calls on the Commission to:
Single market, Innovation and Digital 74. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF heading 1 ‘Single Market, Innovation and Digital’ was EUR 25,2 billion (12,9 % of the Union budget) distributed as follows: EUR 15,8 billion (62,8 %) for Research, EUR 3,5 billion (14.0 %) for Transport, Energy and Digital, EUR 2,7 billion (10.6 %) for InvestEU Programme, EUR 2 billion (8.0 %) for Space, and EUR 1,2 billion (4,6%) for other areas; notes that as of 31 December 2022 the final adopted budget commitments appropriations were EUR 21 845,08 million and 99,99 % of them were implemented (EUR 21 842,58 million); notes further that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 20 605,64 million and 99,35 % of them were implemented (EUR 20 471,31 million); Innovation and research 75. Highlights the importance of Union R&I funding programmes for the scientific, societal, and technological/economic development of the Union, to reduce inequalities, for the recovery, the green and digital transitions and the need to decrease Union energy dependency on Russia; recalls that Horizon Europe is the most significant research and innovation programme in Europe, with a total budget of EUR 95.5 billion, including EUR 5.4 billion from the NGEU instrument; notes that the RRF has allocated around EUR 48 billion in investments to R&I; 76. Notes the late adoption of the Horizon Europe legal bases in 2021 and welcomes that the Commission managed to reach close to 100 % budget implementation in 2021 and 2022; notes that the number of grant agreements signed by the end of 2022 was 5 509; notes that, despite the fact the average success rate of proposals has increased from 11,9 % in Horizon 2020 to 15,9 % in Horizon Europe, 7 out of 10 high-quality proposals still cannot be funded and an extra EUR 34,3 billion would have been needed to fund those proposals; 77. Notes that the Court has examined 127 transactions covering the full range of spending under this MFF heading, notably the Horizon 2020 programme, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), financial instruments and the space programme, including the regularity information in the annual activity reports of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) and Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS); 78. Notes that the Court estimates that the level of error in spending on ‘Single Market, Innovation and Digital’ in 2022 was material at 2,7 % ; notes with satisfaction that this is a considerable decrease compared to 4,4 % in 2021; notes the Court’s observation that the research and innovation expenditure is most affected by error, particularly in the area of personnel costs; is concerned that the Commission calculated an error rate of 1,5 % for this heading, which is in the lower half of the range of the Court estimation; is concerned that the Court’s observation of the underestimation of the rate by the commission has persisted for a number of years, with a specific weakness identified in the Commission’s ex post audits; 79. Notes that quantifiable errors relating to ineligible costs represent 98 % of the Court’s estimated level of error of 2,7 % in 2022; notes with concern, in particular, that the rules for declaring personnel costs under Horizon 2020 remain complex and that their calculation remains a significant source of error (67 % of the estimated error level in 2022); notes that the Commission has developed and promotes the use of the ‘Personnel Costs Wizard’ to help beneficiaries to declare their personnel costs correctly; 80. Notes that Horizon 2020 continues to represent the large majority of projects in the Court’s sample, with just one Horizon Europe project in the 2022 sample; stresses that, according to the Court, certain simplifications in Horizon 2020, in particular the introduction of a flat rate for indirect costs, have reduced the administrative burden on beneficiaries and have the potential to reduce the risk of error; 81. Notes the remarks made by the Director-General for Research and Innovation in his discharge hearing that the Commission intends to increase the disbursement of Horizon Europe funds through lump sums from 2 % in 2022 to 50 % in 2027; notes, in that context, the Court’s specific review of the Commission’s procedures and guidance on lump-sum funded grants in research; notes the Commission’s statement that the level of scrutiny in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness is higher in the evaluation of lump-sum proposals; emphasises the need to check the actual implementation of projects using lump sums; 82. Stresses the crucial role of the private sector in addressing the innovation gap in the Union and improving Union competitiveness and growth; believes, in particular, that it is imperative to keep promoting and facilitating as much as possible the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Union R&I funding programmes; notes the Court’s conclusion that SMEs and newcomers are more prone to errors than other beneficiaries, since they lack the experience and resources to administer the funds, and welcomes the efforts made by the Commission to specifically support them, for example through information campaigns, contacts with the system of National Contact Points and the dedicated helpdesk of the Research Enquiry Service; considers that the simplification of rules and procedures are the most important driver for increased participation of SMEs; 83. Stresses the importance of having transparent and clear rules applied to the selection procedure and to the public procurement procedures in all executive agencies; regrets the rise of complaints of researchers for non-transparency, notably for the Research Executive Agency; recalls that under the 2021-2027 long-term Union budget, the REA manages several Union programmes and support services; calls for the Commission to conduct an assessment of all procedures and an ex-post evaluation of the added value of all their executive agencies in accordance with Article 3.1 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes (OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1)); 84. Notes that the R&I Family Fraud Risk Assessment was updated in 2022 as work preceding the 2023 update of the Common Anti-Fraud Strategy; notes the drafting and adoption in 2022 of the ‘Guidance on Horizon Europe ex-ante anti-fraud checks’, which is part of the Horizon Europe ex-ante control strategy; notes that the main forum of the R&I Family on anti-fraud matters is the committee for Fraud and Irregularities in Research (FAIR Committee), that met two times in 2022; notes that DG RTD also updated its Anti-fraud Strategy in 2022; considers that a zero-tolerance policy for fraud is also necessary in the area of research; in light of the ongoing simplification efforts it is important to guarantee that all European grants and subsidies benefit the projected goals and to develop effective tools to identify fraud and fraud patterns in the context of lump sums; notes that one important element to avoid fraudulent misuse is the referral of respective cases to the Early Detection and Exclusion System panel; 85. Recalls that fostering, attracting and retaining talent is one of the five flagships comprising the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA), adopted on 5 July 2022; notes the statements of Commissioner Ivanova in her discharge hearing on the efforts made by the Commission to increase inclusivity in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe; notes the Commissioner’s acknowledgement that further efforts are necessary to increase the participation of women and young people in Union R&I programmes; notes in that regard the efforts made by the Commission to implement the provisions on gender equality plans in Horizon Europe, and the joint RTD-EAC effort to attract female talent to STEM; welcomes that, in addition to other Union initiatives aiming to support and empower women in tech and innovation, in 2022 the Commission launched the second edition of Women TechEU call with an increased budget of EUR 10 million, which attracted a record number of interest with 467 applications from 35 Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries; 86. Welcomes the role of the ERC in supporting top researchers in Europe, which is underlined by numerous awards, including 14 Nobel Prizes, 6 Fields Medals and 11 Wolf Prizes; welcomes the 2 300 patent applications and 400 spin-off companies generated thanks to ERC projects; 87. Stresses the independence and autonomy of the ERC when fulfilling its role in supporting excellent research in the Union; recalls that the ERC requires a unique set-up to host ERCEA staff, the ERC Scientific Council and the experts responsible for the panel evaluations and that this configuration is indispensable for its work; is astonished by the Commission's plan to move several executive agencies and the ERCEA into new buildings without proper consultation and their agreement, while disregarding their actual office needs and thus endangering business continuity; highlights that even some Commission services were not adequately informed about these plans; stresses that the ERCEA has the right to sign lease contracts on its own and without the Commission's approval to maintain its extraordinary business model; underlines that the Commission must plan and collaborate with the ERCEA in good time to find suitable office spaces that fulfil their requirements and do not endanger their activities; 88. Notes the disparities in R&I development within the Union and welcomes the different measures taken by the Commission to boost Member States’ R&I investments, especially less performing R&I countries, including around EUR 48 billion from the RRF, coupled with EUR 43 billion from the cohesion Policy and EUR 3 billion from the ‘Widening participation and spreading excellence’ component of Horizon Europe; notes that despite the Commission’s efforts to increase funding allocated to researchers in widening countries several ‘catch-up countries’ are not yet showing progress; 89. Notes that, following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Commission stopped the participation of Russian public entities in ongoing Horizon 2020 projects and future Horizon Europe projects; notes that the latest amendment of the ‘main’ Horizon Europe work programme 2021-2022, adopted on 10 May 2022, included actions to support researchers previously active in Ukraine; notes that the Commission provided financial support in the form of a grant of EUR 1.5 million to the National Research Foundation of Ukraine for the establishment of a Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine (Kyiv), which will promote funding opportunities and offer support in drafting proposals and finding partners in Europe; 90. Acknowledges that, in 2022, CEF reached its full implementation phase and deems it an achievement; regrets the decrease, compared to 2021, in funding for calls for proposals under the CEF Transport 2022 funding instrument on projects targeting new, upgraded and improved European transport infrastructure; takes note that CEF Transport 2022 calls that were launched during the 3rd quarter of 2022 opened additional funding possibilities with an extra EUR 6 billion. of Union co-funding; insists that a sufficiently high CEF Transport budget line is key to ensuring implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) network, including the enlargement in the Eastern region to provide connection to the Eastern partners such as Ukraine, greening of European transport, increased military mobility and offsetting the unprecedently high inflation rates; 91. Applauds the initiative of the European Air Traffic Management Voluntary Solidarity Fund for Ukraine and Moldova under the responsibility of Eurocontrol, aiming to sustain staff/training costs and any other costs to ensure operational readiness when air traffic recovers; furthermore, welcomes another Eurocontrol solidarity mechanism to assist the front-line states struggling with the effects of a sharp drop in air traffic; points out that the Eurocontrol Member States decided to establish two specific funds: one in the form of a donation to Ukraine and Moldova of EUR 46.5 million and one in the form of a loan of EUR 46,1 million to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; Energy 92. Notes the complexity of the energy policy framework in the Union and stresses that ensuring better interconnectivity is at the core of the Union energy market; welcomes the adoption of the new trans-European energy infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2022/869 (‘TEN-E Regulation’)(72); considers that the Union has, through TEN-E, CEF and the RRF/ RePowerEU Plan, made a robust legal framework available for investments in energy infrastructure, addressing the challenges of decarbonisation and decreasing dependency on imports of fossil fuel; notes the efforts made to coordinate the construction of high-priority electricity infrastructure across Member States, digitalise the Union energy system, and stimulate the grid investment with the right regulatory environment, in particular through CEF Energy; 93. Notes that, in total, CEF Energy 1 and 2 (2014-2022) provided EUR 6,24 billion of support to energy projects (EUR 5,74 billion works, EUR 0.5 billion studies) to 118 Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) and by the end of 2022, 123 actions that received support from CEF-1 Energy were completed; 94. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and weaponisation of energy upended energy markets in 2022, triggering price volatility and energy insecurity across the Union’s energy system; highlights the Commission’s response to the crisis by developing the REPowerEU Plan aiming to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and phase out Russian energy imports before 2030; notes that the REPowerEU Plan mobilises close to EUR 300 billion, approximately EUR 72 billion in grants and EUR 225 billion in loans; notes that the REPowerEU Plan has additionally provided a legal basis for both Member States and the Commission to modify national RRPs and to check whether Milestones and Targets (M&Ts) are well defined to clarify them where necessary; Recommendations 95. Calls on the Commission to:
Cohesion, Resilience and Values 96. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’ was EUR 79,1 billion (40,4 % of the Union budget) distributed as follows: 53,6 % for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and other regional operations, 23,6 % for the European Social Fund (ESF), 12,6 % for the Cohesion Fund (CF), 4,4 % for Erasmus+, 2,3 % for CEF Transport, 0,6 % for ESI and 2,9 % for other areas; notes that as of 31 December 2022 the final adopted budget commitments appropriations were EUR 67 805,19 million and 98,29 % of them were implemented (EUR 66 644,24 million); notes further that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 63 104,31 million and 99,86 % of them were implemented (EUR 63 054,76 million); 97. Notes that in 2022, the implementation of the cohesion policy under the 2014-2020 programming period continued and that for the 2021-2027 period, the Commission concluded the negotiations of all programmes and made only advance payments, which amounted to EUR 6,5 billion; 98. Recalls that spending under the subheading “Economic, social and territorial cohesion” (Subheading 2a) focuses on reducing development disparities between the different Member States and regions of the Union; stresses the importance of Union cohesion policy in supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and achieving its headline targets and assisting Member States and regions to harness new opportunities and address challenges, such as globalisation, unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, industrial change, digitalisation and supporting up and re-skilling and lifelong learning; 99. Recalls the Court’s Special Report 27/2021 “EU Support to tourism – Need for a fresh strategic orientation and a better funding approach”; recalls the Court’s recommendation to the Commission to set out a consolidated new strategy for the Union’s tourism ecosystem in cooperation with the Member States in order to develop an effective tourism agenda for 2030 and to apply selection procedures for ERDF-funded tourism investments to support this new strategic orientation; underlines the Commission’s responsibility to support the Member States in promoting tourism-related investments, in accordance with the strategic agenda; 100. Notes that the absorption rate for cohesion policy funds under the programming period 2014-2020 reached 79,2 % at the end of 2022 (86 % at the end of 2023, including newly added Recovery assistance for cohesion and the territories of Europe (REACT-EU) in 2021-2022), having a similar level at the same point in time as in the period 2007-2013; is concerned that this level of absorption was only achieved through a temporary 100% Union co-financing rate waiving any requirement for national co-financing of projects that have been a long-established principle of Union finances; notes that the 2014-2020 programmes account for over 1 million projects and that so far, they have supported 2,4 million businesses, created 370 000 new jobs, increased the energy performance of more than 540 000 households, created 6 000 megawatts of new renewable energy sources and that 6,3 million households benefited from broadband; notes that absorption in 2022 improved for a large part because of CRII, CRII+, CARE, and FAST-CARE for the purpose of crisis response, diminishing projects to support the structural cohesion objectives of creating convergence and cohesion in the Union; 101. Welcomes the financial flexibility available in the use of cohesion funds and underlines that, thanks to this flexibility, cohesion policy played a frontline role in addressing the COVID-19 crisis, the war-related emergencies, as well as the energy crisis; reminds, however, that the rationale of this policy is to ensure a long-term planning of measures that should strengthen economic, social, and territorial cohesion between European regions; believes that post-2027 cohesion policy must provide the flexibility needed in the use of funds to enable the Member States and regional and local authorities to steer resources in an appropriate and reliable manner, always in line with cohesion policy long-term objectives; 102. Notes further that, in 2022, Cohesion's Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) and the Flexible Assistance to Territories (FAST-CARE) mobilised over EUR 1,3 billion to help Member States and regions to support millions of Ukrainian refugees seeking shelter in Union territory, including mainstream social integration programmes, healthcare, food or essential assistance, and orientation for the job market; welcomes that the proposed measures are subject to the same obligations regarding adequate management and control systems and sound financial management that apply to cohesion policy funds; 103. Notes that the Court has examined a sample of 260 transactions covering the full range of spending under MFF Heading 2; notes with concern that the Court’s estimated overall level of error in ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’ in 2022 increased to 6,4 %, which is significantly above the materiality threshold, having already taken into account corrections with a total value of EUR 618 million applied by Member States in 2022; draws attention to the marked increase in the overall level of error estimated by the Court in 2022 compared to previous years (3,6 % in 2021, 3,5 % in 2020) while the Commission’s estimates of the payment risk for 2022 is between 1,9 % and 2,7 %, similar to previous years (1,9 %-2,5 % in 2021, 2,1 %-2,6 % in 2020); draws attention to the Court’s report that a significant part of errors (3 % out of 6,4 %) were made in expenditure originating from CRII and CRII+; 104. Is concerned about the Court’s observation that approaching the end of the eligibility period for 2014-2020 programmes (31 December 2023) added absorption pressure and that during the COVID-19 period, the effectiveness of the checks and verifications by managing and audit authorities may have been reduced, potentially increasing the risk of undetected errors and irregularities; notes that the Commission acknowledges that the specific situation and flexibilities given during COVID-19 may have played a role in the risk of irregularities due to the need to find alternative (remote) ways to control expenditure; stresses, however, that according to the Commission the risks and irregularities identified are rather linked to the type of actions implemented during the COVID-19 period or to the implementation or understanding of the flexibility introduced in public procurement rules; 105. Notes the Court’s explanations that its error rate refers to the share of expenditure declared, for which it considers that the conditions for payment set out in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 (‘the Financial Regulation’)(73) , the CPR and in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 on the protection of the Union’s financial interests (‘PIF Directive’)(74) have not been fully met, leading to a direct and measurable financial impact on the payment amount authorised at the time from the Union budget; notes the Court’s clarification that the error rate should not be interpreted as being equivalent to the potential amount of financial corrections the Commission can impose in accordance with the applicable rules; considers that the high error rate indicates a waste of resources, in particular in cohesion policy, where many managing authorities are confronted with the parallel implementation of the RRF; 106. Notes that in the annual activity reports, the Commission reports the risk at payment, for each programme and overall for the funds, that refer to irregularities leading to financial corrections; notes that to impose financial corrections, the Commission needs to conclude that an irregularity within the meaning of the Article 2(36) of the CPR has occurred, while not all formal breaches and errors included by the Court as quantifiable errors in its estimated error rate lead to ineligible expenditure because they do not qualify as an irregularity as defined in Article 2(36) of the CPR; notes that it is helpful for the discharge authority to have a managerial perspective on errors identified; 107. Notes that the Commission accepts all recommendations of the Court under MFF heading 2 ‘Cohesion, resilience and values’, although divergences persist in the classification of the errors identified by the two institutions; calls on the Commission to work closely with the Court, and all relevant stakeholders, to further clarify the applicable rules and reduce divergences while ensuring that audits do not lead to an excessive administrative burden on beneficiaries; 108. Notes with concern that the Court identified an increase in the specific types of errors, such as ineligible costs and projects and infringements of internal market rules, including public procurement and state aid rules, stresses that these types of errors could be related to poor governance; notes that 3 % of the Court’s estimated 6,4 % error rate in Heading 2 is related to 100 % co-financed priorities under the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII+) which allowed for more flexible spending; reiterates that more flexibility should never lead to compromising quality and controls; asks for a review from the Commission of the current situation in order to avoid similar situations in the future; notes that the Commission has not found audit evidence of a significant impact overall of the new types of measures and flexibilities introduced on the programme error rates and notes the fact that the Commission took measures to prevent such risk; 109. Notes that the Court identified cases of projects for which ineligible expenditure was accepted, as well as their contribution to the overall estimated level of error; stresses the importance of remedying the systemic root causes and the need for audit authorities to effectively assess the eligibility criteria; 110. Notes that the Commission considers that self-declarations are a useful tool for providing assurance when finding alternative supporting evidence would be difficult or administratively too costly for the beneficiaries; supports the Court’s recommendation to improve checks by audit authorities of self-declarations issued by beneficiaries of the funds in order to ensure their validity and reliability; 111. Notes that for ERDF and CF, the Commission implemented financial corrections and withdrawals amounting to EUR 11 billion over the programming period, including EUR 2,4 billion for the accounting year 2021-2022; notes that these financial corrections have not resulted in any loss of funding for Member States so far, as the Commission has not yet implemented any net financial correction in the 2014-2020 period; notes further that the Commission continues the implementation of its targeted ‘action plan on public procurement and State aid’ in cooperation with Member States; acknowledges that national authorities are primarily responsible for making the financial corrections decided by the Commission but believes that additional checks shall be implemented in order to confirm that all corrections have been implemented correctly; 112. Notes the Court’s remark that the overlap of programming periods, combined with the availability of additional funding instruments under NGEU (REACT-EU and the RRF), with a more limited lifetime, may have put a strain on the administrative capacity of Member States in the programming period and at the start of the implementation of their 2021-2027 cohesion programmes; notes that in 2022, national and regional authorities had to shift their focus on reprogramming the 2014-2020 cohesion policy programmes, including the introduction of measures funded under CRII(+), REACT-EU, Flexible Assistance to Territories (FAST-CARE) and Supporting Affordable Energy (SAFE), as well as implementing the national plans under the RRF, in order to address different crisis, recovery and rescue measures; notes that the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban policy (DG REGIO) provides support to the national and regional authorities to ensure full implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes; 113. Expresses strong concern about the recent case of alleged misuse of Union funds in contracts involving the purchase of face masks known as the “Koldo case”; is concerned that this misuse of Union funds and Union taxpayers’ money involved EUR 14,6 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and EUR 3,1 million from the EU Solidarity Fund; regrets that the EPPO received the relevant information from a private individual and not from the relevant national authority; urges Member States to report without delay to the EPPO any suspicion of misuse of Union funds in compliance with Article 24 of the EPPO Regulation; encourages the Commission to make use of external experts for audit purposes if a severe lack of capacity is identified in a Member State; notes that the alleged misuse of funds in the case was not discovered by the Commission despite having conducted audits; encourages the use of the four-eyes principle and a multiple step verification during the awarding of contracts in crisis situations if procurement procedures are not possible due to the crisis, in order to avoid possible misuse of Union funding; emphasises that the Commission should conduct in-depth ex-post audits for contracts awarded without procurement procedures during crises in all Member States concerned; further notes that similar situations have occurred in other Member States including in a recently uncovered case of alleged fraud in Portugal involving ERDF funds and several cases in the Czech Republic on alleged misuse of REACT-EU funds in the purchase of medical equipment; 114. Notes that complementarity characterises the relation between the cohesion policy funds and the other Union funding instruments; recalls that, although the cohesion policy funds and the RRF are different in terms of general objectives, timeline, management mode and financing, current experience shows that several RRPs foresee investments which would have been eligible for financing under cohesion policy; highlights that complementarity between cohesion policy funds and RRF is possible and expected, provided that the RRF brings real added value and that the same costs are not covered twice; underlines that the risk of overlaps will increase towards the end of the RRF lifetime and points to the Commission to do its utmost to mitigate these risks; 115. Urges the Commission to monitor the situation, in particular when RRF national coordinating authorities are the same as for cohesion policy funds, and insisted on having sufficient additional administrative capacity and human resources allocated to the different strands of Union funding; nevertheless, points to the potential risks that this parallelism may lead to unidentified cases of double funding; calls on the Commission to draw lessons from the experiences out of two different funding models; 116. Welcomes that for the moment neither the Court nor the Commission identify any cases where the obligatory national co-funding of a cohesion project was paid for by RRF funds in the 2022 RRF disbursements; urges the Commission to continue to monitor the situation and prevent such financing from happening; 117. Is concerned by the Court’s persistent comments on the shortcoming identified in the way audit and managing authorities work notably weaknesses in the ex post checks by the audit authorities and in controls by the managing authorities that do not always effectively prevent or detect irregularities in expenditure declared by beneficiaries and the over-reliance of the Commission on the quality of programme authorities’ work, related to inherent limitations in the Commission’s desk reviews; 118. Notes the Commission’s reply that its assessment, based on a combination of desk and on-the-spot audit work covering the different individual programmes and assurance packages, enables it to establish a reasonable and fair estimate of the error rates for each programme, every year, and cumulatively for cohesion policy funds; agrees with the Court that the Commission’s desk reviews have inherent limitations in confirming the validity of the residual total error rates reported by audit authorities; notes that these weaknesses might also affect the Commission’s estimated risk at closure, as the Commission may not in all cases carry out the necessary corrections to bring the residual error rate below materiality; 119. Stresses with concern that the Court’s finding that the proportion of assurance packages with residual error rates of above 2 % reached a peak of 61 % of the expenditure in the Court’s sample in 2022 compared to 39 % in the previous year, reflecting the persistent shortcomings in the work of the audit authorities; stresses with concern that the Court’s audit results over the last six years demonstrate that the controls currently in place do not yet sufficiently offset the high inherent risk of error in cohesion, and that managing authorities do not always effectively prevent or detect irregularities in expenditure declared by beneficiaries; notes with concern that the errors found by the Court represent significant weaknesses in the audit authorities’ work on verifying the eligibility of expenditures and projects, and the compliance with internal market rules; notes that a part of the residual error rates recalculated by the Court above 2 % in the audited assurance packages are attributable to the aforementioned divergences; 120. Is concerned about the persistent shortcomings observed by the Court in the national audits, which can be due to inadequate scope, unclear documentation of audits and sample filtering performed by national audit authorities, as well as resource issues, such as inadequate funding and a lack of a skilled experts; stresses its concern that the Court observed weaknesses in a wide range of audits, for example cases of insufficient checks on information provided by beneficiaries on the eligibility of projects, on the compliance with internal market rules and on the risk of fraud and conflict of interest; notes that the Commission, on the other hand, considers the work of the majority of the audit authorities to be reliable and that only 10 out of 116 audit authorities need serious improvements; recalls its recommendations in the Parliament resolution of 21 November 2023 on possibilities to increase the reliability of audits and controls by national authorities in shared management; 121. Notes the Commission’s commitment to continue its close work with the audit authorities in order to strengthen their capacity to prevent and correct errors, to better document their audit work and therefore to contribute to the assurance process; 122. Notes the Court’s finding that, as a way to simplify expenditure, beneficiaries of cohesion policy funding used SCOs for 77 transactions, or 30% of its sample, applying either flat rates, standard sales of unit costs or a combination of both; stresses that SCOs are one of the most important measures to reduce administrative costs and burdens for the beneficiaries and thus, to facilitate the access of small beneficiaries to the funding and focus more on the achievement of the objectives while reducing the error rate; highlights that the Court considers that SCO’s are not always adequately implemented and shares the Court’s audit conclusion that SCOs should not result in an excessive financial benefit for a member state; on the other side SCO should in practice lead to real reductions of bureaucratic burden and not to an exhaustive ex-ante and ex-post control; notes that slight variations of prices in SCO estimates compared to the prices identified during ex-post controls should be acceptable; 123. Notes that, for the 2021-2027 programmes, the Commission has encouraged the use by programme authorities of the simplification measures foreseen under the CPR, in particular, the use of SCOs and financing not linked to costs (FNLC) schemes to tackle eligibility issues, ease management verifications and control the burden on beneficiaries; notes that, as a result of this effort, for the ERDF and the CF for example, 120 SCO schemes at programme level were adopted so far in 11 Member States and for Interreg programmes (EUR 5,7 billion of total contribution) as well as 4 FNLC schemes in 4 Member States (for EUR 1,2 billion of total contribution); underlines that urgently further simplification and flexibility is needed; calls on the Commission to find the right balance between necessary flexibility for slight price variations and on the other sider inappropriate intentional cost and price overestimations; 124. Is concerned by the Court’s finding regarding an ERDF programme in Slovakia aimed at renovating a public building’s interior space, despite the fact that under that program only energy-efficiency measures were eligible; notes the Court’s observation that this project should not have passed the evaluation phase, as in the application the threshold of at least 25 % of the expenditure for the project linked to energy efficiency was not met; notes similar cases identified by the Court that lack a Commission response; 125. Recalls that for the 2021-2027 period, Member States need to comply with certain horizontal or thematic enabling conditions of the CPR, which are prerequisite conditions for the effective and efficient implementation of the specific objectives of the funds; recalls that when enabling conditions are not fulfilled at the time of submission of a payment application to the Commission for the specific objective concerned, the related expenditure will not be reimbursed from the Union budget until the Commission is satisfied that the enabling condition has been fulfilled; 126. Recalls that on 15 December 2022, based on a Commission proposal, the Council adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 on measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the Rule of law in Hungary; stresses that the decision was based on the Commission’s concerns regarding severe issues related to the public procurement system in Hungary; welcomes the temporarily suspension of 55 % of commitments for certain cohesion policy programmes for the period 2021-2027; notes that the Commission has been monitoring the implementation of the remedial measures proposed by Hungary in the framework of the ‘Conditionality Regulation’; notes that in December 2023, the Commission reassessed on its own motion the situation in Hungary and concluded that the Union’s budget remains at the same level of risk as there are still commitments that were neither correctly nor timely fulfilled; 127. Notes that in December 2022, the Commission concluded that Hungary was not fulfilling the horizontal enabling conditions under the CPR on the Charter with regard to judicial independence and the provisions of several laws posing serious risks to LGBTIQ+ rights, academic freedom and the right to asylum; strongly regrets the Commission decision of 13.12.2023(75) considering that Hungary has fulfilled the horizontal enabling condition related to the judiciary independence, thus enabling the Hungarian authorities to submit reimbursement claims of up to EUR 10.2 billion without adequate control mechanisms or public procurement procedures in place to guarantee sound financial management and the protection of the Union budget; believes that this decision politically contradicts the prolongation of the measures adopted under the Conditionality Regulation and expresses its disappointment that Parliament was not adequately informed during the process; reiterates its concerns regarding the judicial independence, even after the recent reforms, as expressed in its Resolution of 18 January 2024 on the situation in Hungary and frozen Union funds; 128. Reiterates the need of treating as a single, integral package all the measures required for the release of Union funding under the Conditionality Regulation, the CPRs and the RRF Regulation; stresses the importance of the protection of the Union financial interests also for disbursement of pre-financing; 129. Notes from the PIF Report for the year 2022 that from 2021 to 2022, the number of fraudulent irregularities relating to the Cohesion Policy decreased by 11,6 % (233 reported in 2021 compared to 206 reported in 2022), while non-fraudulent irregularities increased by 9,3 %; notes that the Commission requested audit authorities to pay particular attention to new risks related to the multiplication of Funds and additional funding under NGEU, in particular, ‘double funding’, conflicts of interest, fraud or corruption; notes the efforts made by the Commission to promote the use of the ARACHNE risk scoring tool to the reluctant Member States, and to introduce improvements in the tool; notes that the audit authorities explicitly addressed the risk of fraud for 65 % of the audited operations in the 2014-2020 period, which is an improvement on the 38 % found in 2021 by the Court; 130. Stresses that the Court, OLAF and the EPPO should have access to a single integrated IT system for data-mining and risk-scoring provided by the Commission, in a proportionate manner, within the exercise of their respective competences, as is envisaged in the recast of the Financial Regulation; 131. Highlights the importance of the legality and regularity of cohesion spending as well as the crucial role that managing and audit authorities play in this respect; recalls the need to simplify and rationalise audits, concentrating on what is necessary to fight against fraud; recalls, in addition, that according to the 21-27 Common Provisions Regulation, Member State authorities should report all cases of suspected or established fraud related to Union-funded projects that they identify, and that they should report these cases even if they detect them before declaring expenditure to the Commission; 132. Highlights the significant role of the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in protecting the Union budget; calls on all Member States to join the EPPO; reminds that, in her appearance before the Committee on Regional Development on 25 May 2023, the European Public Prosecutor noted that the management and control system for Union expenditure currently in place is not designed to detect fraud and that audits or administrative investigations rarely detect financial crime, which often has a cross-border dimension; stresses the need to provide the EPPO with the necessary means to carry out its duties; is of the opinion that a strengthened EPPO would make it possible for the legislator to further simplify the regulatory framework for cohesion in order to improve the implementation of the funds; 133. Requests OLAF to carry out a thorough investigation on the possible misuse of Union funds through Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps by networks of associations that present false projects, with the aim of verifying recent reports on this matter by some national agencies, measuring the scale and importance of such cases of fraud, and analysing their treatment by competent authorities in the Member States; Recommendations 134. Calls on the Commission to:
Culture and education 135. Welcomes the Commission’s and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency’s (EACEA) efforts to adapt Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and Creative Europe to a changing reality, for instance by reviewing upwards individual support rates for grants to safeguard their inclusive character, extending application deadlines and project duration, and a voluntary refocusing of activities on Ukraine, and expects more efforts to further reinforce inclusion measures and support to facilitate the participation of vulnerable groups; 136. Appreciates that the Commission and the EACEA managed to achieve nearly full budget execution for Erasmus+ and full budget execution for the European Solidarity Corps in 2022, making it even necessary to redeploy credits from other programmes to cover payment needs; notes the challenges to the payment implementation of Creative Europe in 2022, with some EUR 50 million having been deferred to 2023 as a result of operational issues and delays in the granting processes; recognises DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture’s (DG EAC) and the EACEA’s efforts to limit the impact of these delays and return to a normalised pace in 2023; 137. Reaffirms the need for increasing further the budgetary envelopes of the EU’s youth, cultural and educational programmes, in particular to increase the outreach to and involvement of young people, artists and professionals with fewer opportunities and to support citizenship education; in this respect, requests the Commission to continue cooperating closely with the Member States; 138. Welcomes the fact that, thanks to a EUR 3 million reinforcement of the 2022 European Year of Youth at the Parliament’s insistence, a number of actions under the Year could be strengthened, such as solidarity projects, volunteering and networking activities; underlines that the successful results of the Year should now be sustainably implemented to ensure its lasting legacy; 139. Notes the continued frontloading of the Creative Europe budget in 2022 for mitigating the persisting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cultural and creative sectors; notes that, thanks to this frontloading, a higher number of European cultural cooperation projects could be selected in 2022 than ever before; is, however, concerned that the frontloading of 2021 and 2022 may lead to a shortage of funding from 2023 and deplores that the programme as a whole remains underfinanced in relation to the objectives to be achieved, notably given its high subscription rate; 140. Notes with concern the persisting challenges in 2022 with the e-Grant tools for beneficiaries of calls managed by the EACEA; strongly urges the Commission and EACEA to address these IT issues once and for all to avoid repercussions on target achievement, to reduce the risk of errors and to simplify procedures; believes that a more efficient and accessible IT infrastructure would also facilitate small beneficiaries’ access to programme resources; 141. Notes the positive development in the EACEA’s staffing situation, with a significant increase of staff by the end of 2022; Natural resources 142. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF heading 3 ‘Natural resources’ was EUR 58,3 billion (29,7 % of the Union budget) distributed as follows: 65,9 % for direct payments under the European Agricultural Guarantee fund (EAGF), 26,2 % for the Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EARDF), 4,7 % for market-related expenditure under the EAGF, 1,8 % for Maritime and Fisheries, 0,9 % for Environment and Climate (LIFE), and 0,5 % for other areas; notes that as of 31 December 2022, under MFF heading 3 ‘Natural Resources and Environment’ the final adopted budget commitments appropriations were EUR 56 681,11 million and 98,92 % of them were implemented (EUR 56 069,86 million); notes further that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 55 826,77 million and 98,89 % of them were implemented (EUR 55 205,48 million); 143. Notes that 2022 was the second and last year of the transitional period during which funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2021-2027 budget allocation and an additional EUR 8 billion of externally assigned revenue from the NextGenerationEU funds for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development Fund (EAFRD) could be committed by Member States in anticipation of the entry into force of the new CAP on 1 January 2023 and that the related payments by Member States to farmers and other CAP beneficiaries can be made until 31 December 2025; 144. Notes that, in the financial year 2022, there were more than 5,9 million beneficiaries of direct support schemes, around 3,5 million beneficiaries of rural development measures and some 0,11 million beneficiaries of market measures; stresses that the resilience of the Union farmers and food system has continued to ensure food security in the Union and beyond, despite the challenges they faced in 2022; 145. Notes that Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine triggered, among other actions, the activation of the crisis reserve in the form of a support package that amounted to EUR 500 million, out of which EUR 350 million was made available for affected producers from the reserve and another EUR 150 million from the EAGF; welcomes the high execution rate (above EUR 492 million) and the fast implementation; notes that Member States were given flexibility in deciding on the sectors they considered most hit by the market disturbance and also the types of aid schemes, which determined the control system applied; 146. Notes that the Court has examined a sample of 218 transactions covering the full range of spending under this MFF heading; notes that the Court also examined the regularity information given in the annual activity reports of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), as well as selected systems in 17 Member States and the United Kingdom; notes that the Court estimates the level of error for ‘Natural Resources’ to be 2,2 % (1,8 % in 2021) and that the majority of the errors found affected rural development transactions; notes that DG AGRI estimates a risk at payment of 1,76 %; 147. Notes that the Court found 21 quantifiable errors in rural development, 7 in direct payments, 2 in expenditure related to market measures and 2 in non-CAP expenditure; is reassured by the fact that the Commission stated that 8 of the quantifiable errors have a financial impact below EUR 100 (over-declaration of areas) and for most of them, the amount misspent is below EUR 1 000; 148. Notes that the majority of errors found by the Court were related to the provision of inaccurate information on areas or animals (42 %) and ineligible beneficiary, activity, and project, expenditure; notes with concern, as in 2021, that the Court found in several cases that the Member State authorities and the Commission had sufficient information to prevent, or to detect and correct the error before accepting the expenditure and that, had the Member States' authorities and the Commission made proper use of all the information at their disposal, the estimated level of error for this chapter would have been 1.3 percentage points lower; 149. Recalls that both the Commission and Member States are responsible for addressing fraud in CAP spending; Points out that anti-fraud measures should remain a high priority for the Union and Member States as fraud prevents Union resources from achieving the policy objectives. 150. Notes the Commission’s statement that the 2023-2027 CAP delivery model aims to simplify rules and to emphasise the use of new technologies, such as the Area Monitoring System, that will help reduce errors; notes that, together with errors made by the farmers, the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) is the basis for the geospatial aid application and recalls the significant potential benefits of technologies for monitoring area aid for farmers, administrations and the environment; 151. Notes the example of an incorrect declaration of agricultural activity presented by the Court in its annual report, quoted in several media outlets as the “lemon trees’ case”, where a farmer declared to cultivate permanent crop, where in reality the plot was not cultivated for several years; notes the financial impact of this error was EUR 8 349,06 as reported by the Commission, along with the corrective actions taken by the responsible national authorities, including the recovery of the claimed amount; commends the thorough audit work of the Court and the Commission and the swift follow-up by the paying agency concerned; stresses though that this case should not be understood as an rare and individual coincidence but rather as a risk of systematic way allowing for fraudulent way to receiving the Union funds and should thus not be underestimated; 152. Notes that SCOs are applied across the CAP, including in rural development where eligibility conditions are more complex and the risk of error is higher, and that there is still potential to simplify measures that are not based on area or animal declarations, where Member States can decide whether to reimburse actual costs or pay according to predefined outputs; notes that the Commission reports almost 92 % of Rural Development Programmes make use of SCOs; calls on the Commission to disclose the amount disbursed through SCOs; 153. Recalls that the CAP assurance model includes the first level controls by the paying agencies, the audit work carried out by the independent certification bodies that provide annual opinions on the legality and regularity of the expenditure of paying agencies, and the Commission's work through the clearance of accounts; welcomes that, despite some inconsistencies due to the different update schedules of the control and payment datasets, the Court found that the selected paying agencies’ systems reliably calculated the aid payments, which is a testament to the overall quality and coherence of the Member States’ control statistics and payments data reported to the Commission; 154. Welcomes the increased interest in and use of the integrated IT tool for data mining ARACHNE by the Member States, with 13 Member States using the tool for at least some measures, and five Member States participating in a general introduction workshop on ARACHNE; regrets the fact that the use of the integrated IT tool for data mining ARACHNE by the Member States, is not compulsory; notes the obstacles reported by Member States and the continued efforts of the Commission to improve ARACHNE; regrets the selective adoption of ARACHNE by Member States; 155. Notes that, in 2022, the Commission reported an implementation rate of 99,69 %, for commitments under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), a marked improvement from the 15,98 % implementation rate of EMFAF in 2021; notes, however, that 94,76 % from the EUR 1 135,74 million committed appropriations in 2022 and 97,06 % from EUR 148,12 million in 2021 remained unpaid at the end of the corresponding year; notes further that the implementation rate of the authorised payment appropriations for EMFAF in 2022 was 99,99 % and for EMFF in 2021 was 86,55 %; 156. Notes the Court’s Special Report 09/2023 on securing agricultural product supply chains during COVID-19 and its conclusion that the Commission’s response to the threat posed to agricultural product supply chains by the COVID-19 pandemic was appropriate in most respects but insufficiently targeted; recalls that direct support, with a budget of EUR 712 million, was implemented quickly through reallocation of unused funds from EAFRD, which resulted in this measure mostly being taken up by the Member States with a significant portion of the EAFRD budget unused at the end of 2019; recalls further that 5 of the 14 member states made the Union funding available to all farmers that suffered losses, whereas the other 9 targeted selected sectors and supported beneficiaries irrespective of whether they had suffered losses; 157. Notes that preliminary estimates (based on commitment appropriations) of the climate contribution of the main programmes show that 34,8 % of the Union budget in 2022 was dedicated to climate action, in line with the Interinstitutional Agreement plans for at least 30 % of 2021-27 MFF to be used for this purpose; 158. Notes the changes made to the Commission’s climate-tracking methodology in 2022 in response to the concerns expressed about the Court's finding in Special Report 09/2022(76), stating that the reported spending was not always relevant to climate action, that the amount reported as having been spent for that purpose had been overstated by at least EUR 72 billion, meaning that only around 13 % of the 2014-2020 budget was spent on climate related purposes; is of the opinion that this fact serves as a warning; urges the Commission to distinguish between climate mitigation and climate adaptation in the tracking methodology by breaking monitoring and reporting category into climate adaptation and climate mitigation; 159. Underlines the importance of proper scrutiny of climate and biodiversity expenditure in the Union budget, and holds the Commission accountable for the implementation of a robust and reliable methodology, in line with the commitments undertaken in the MFF agreement and paragraph 16d of the IIA of 16 December 2020; calls on the Commission to avoid misleading approximation of the spending contribution to climate and biodiversity objectives, lack of explicit targets, as well as only partial coverage of potential negative or unclear climate and biodiversity impacts; acknowledges that there are the interventions with common benefits but underlines the need to avoid double counting; 160. Calls on the Commission to provide Parliament with an annual report setting out in detail the contribution of each budget item to the climate mainstreaming and the biodiversity targets, in order to facilitate their monitoring; calls further on the Commission to report whether any budget item fails to respect the "do no significant harm" criterion as referred to in the Taxonomy Regulation; 161. Notes that the European Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA), following its establishment as an internal Commission service on 1 October 2021, increased its operations throughout 2022 and that its mission is to support the Commission’s priorities for public health, preparedness and crisis management in the sectors of health, research and innovation and industry; notes with concern the overlap of responsibilities and duplication of efforts between mandates of DG HERA with DG SANTE and the ECDC; calls on the Commission to ensure the added value of HERA as an integral part of the Commission and to prevent duplication of work and resources; 162. Regrets that the Commission’s decision on financing HERA heavily relied on the EU4Health Programme, cutting its budget by more than half with an EU4Health contribution of EUR 2,795 billion to HERA between 2021 and 2027; notes with concern that such reduction affected EU4Health’s capability of ambitious financing of other activities as foreseen by the Regulation (EU) 2021/522, including putting at risks actions under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the necessary support for creation of the European Health Data Space; deplores that by assigning such significant amounts to HERA, the Commission breached the agreed funding ceilings for minimum and maximum spending set in the EU4Health Regulation; Recommendations 163. Calls on the Commission to:
Migration and Border management, Security and Defence 164. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF heading 4 ‘Migration and Border Management’ was EUR 3,4 billion (1,7 % of the Union budget) distributed as follows: 43,9 % for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), 23,1 % for the Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) and 33 % for three decentralised agencies: European Boarder Coast Agency (FRONTEX), European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) and European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (EU- LISA); notes that, as of 31 December 2022, the final budget commitment appropriations adopted amounted to EUR 3 410,39 million and 99,54 % of them had been implemented (EUR 3 394,69 million); notes further that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 3 372,54 million and 97,61 % of them have been implemented (EUR 3 292,03 million); 165. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF heading 5 ‘Security and Defence’ was EUR 1,2 billion distributed as follows: 45,6 % for the European Defence Fund (EDF), 17 % for the Internal Security Fund (ISF), 19,2 % for decentralised agencies The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Europol and European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), 6,8 % for nuclear safety and decommissioning, and 11,4 % for other areas; notes that, as of 31 December 2022, the final adopted budget commitment appropriations were EUR 1 813,03 million and 99,8 % of them had been implemented (EUR 1 809,43 million); notes further that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 1 158.67 million and 97,54 % of them have been implemented (EUR 1 130,20 million); 166. Notes that a significant portion of the spending under MFF headings 4 and 5 in 2022 concerned the completion of projects remaining from the 2014-2020 MFF; notes that significant amounts of AMIF and ISF national programmes for 2014-2020 remain undisbursed (26 % for AMIF and 33 % for the ISF at the end of 2022) while funding for 2014-2020 has to be spent by June 2024; 167. Notes that the Court examined a sample of 23 transactions, which is not representative enough of the spending under MFF headings 4 and 5 and, therefore, cannot provide an estimate of the error rate; stresses with concern that the Court’s audit results show that the expenditure is affected by eligibility and procurement issues and that it is a high-risk area (11 out of 23 transactions audited, i.e. 48 %, were affected by errors) and thus, invites the Court to provide a clear estimation of the error rate for this chapter; notes that the Court quantified nine errors which had an impact on the amounts charged to the Union budget and that it also found four cases of non-compliance with legal and financial provisions, which had no impact on the Union budget; notes that the Commission concludes that the risk at payment is below 2% for the expenditure on migration and border management, as well as for security and defence; 168. Welcomes the progress identified by the Court in its review of the work done by six Member States’ audit authorities in preparation for the 2021-2027 AMIF, the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) and ISF annual accounts; notes the Court’s observation that, at the time of its visits (between September 2022 and February 2023), the six Member States’ audit strategies had not yet been adopted, which is a prerequisite for submitting an ‘assurance package’; notes that, at the time of the Court’s visit, the IT systems to store information and documentation needed for audits of the six Member States’ managing authorities were either under development or yet to be developed; 169. Notes that DG DEFIS’ anti-fraud strategy was updated in February 2022 and its implementation is being monitored and reported to the management annually; welcomes that 100 % of OLAF’s recommendations regarding DG DEFIS were implemented and that no incidences of fraud have been reported at the Commission level or by its partners; notes that the last update of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME)’s anti-fraud strategy took place in October 2021 and is currently being implemented; welcomes that, by the end of 2022, 72 % of OLAF’s financial recommendations from the previous year were fully implemented and 28 % were under implementation; Migration and border management 170. Notes that in 2022 the funds under MFF heading 4 were instrumental in addressing the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; notes that more flexibility was introduced under the 2014-2020 funds to enhance Member States’ possibilities to channel funding towards new needs, and EUR 400 million of Emergency Assistance was triggered under the Thematic Facilities; notes that the adoption of the Member States’ programmes for 2021-2027 allowed them to access to more than EUR 10 billion under the new funds for the programming period; 171. Notes that more than 16 million people from Ukraine and Moldova have been recorded as having entered the Union since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and over 4 million persons fleeing the war obtained protection in the Union; notes that the Commission provided financial support to the International Organisation for Migration to support the process, as part of a EUR 15 million project facilitating transfers from Moldova of vulnerable people fleeing Ukraine; notes further that on 30 November 2022, the Commission announced the decision to award financial support of EUR 5,5 million to a project to be carried out by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support hosts and all those involved in providing private accommodation to displaced people, putting together good practices for future needs; notes that, in 2022, in the context of financing Ukraine, the Commission adopted decisions authorising the use of the funding not linked to costs amounting to EUR 248 million (May 2022) and EUR 137 million (August 2022), as well as for smaller grants, safe homes and psychosocial support amounting to EUR 15 million; 172. Notes that in 2022 DG HOME provided EUR 27 million for the exchange of security-related information and EUR 25,5 million for combatting and preventing crime, including terrorism; notes further that in July 2022, through the Internal Security Fund (ISF), the Commission allocated EUR 15,7 million to Member States to further support long-term projects and activities within the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) - a security instrument “driven” by Member States to identify, prioritise and address threats posed by organised and serious international crime, Security and defence 173. Welcomes that the participation of SMEs in the EDF (European Defence Fund) (in particular the cross-border participation of SMEs in industrial consortia) is being facilitated through targeted EDF calls, financial bonuses, specific award criteria, and the use of SCOs to decrease the administrative burden; notes that in the 2022 EDF calls, 38,2 % of the participating entities were SMEs, and 20 % of the total funding available through these calls will be for SMEs (EUR 166 million); 174. Recalls that the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) was a precursor programme of the EDF with a budget of EUR 90 million that funded 18 research projects selected following calls for proposals in the years 2017 to 2019; notes with concern that the Court, in its Special Report 10/2023 ‘The Preparatory action on defence research’, observes that the Union still lacks a long-term strategy for the projects under the EDF, particularly in terms of impact, additional research, development, manufacturing, procurement, and other aspects; welcomes that the Commission has accepted all of the Court’s recommendations; 175. Notes the Court’s observations in its Special Report 10/2023 regarding the limited availability of human resources at the Commission and the subsequent risk for the EDF; notes that, as a result of security issues, the number of staff needed to manage defence projects is higher than for other projects; notes that the ever-growing number of proposals to evaluate and projects to manage puts considerable pressure on human resources and creates challenges in terms of recruiting qualified and suitably experienced staff; Recommendations 176. Calls on the Commission to:
Neighbourhood and the world 177. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF heading 6 ‘Neighbourhood and the world’ was EUR 14,5 billion (7,4 % of the Union budget) distributed as follows: 64,8 % for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe), 16,8 % for Humanitarian Aid (HUMA), 14,4 % for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) and 4 % for other actions and programmes; notes that as of 31 December 2022, the final adopted budget commitment appropriations were EUR 17 670,49 million and 99,79 % of them were implemented (EUR 17 632,52 million); notes further that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 13 156,10 million and 99,19 % of them were implemented (EUR 13 049,50 million); 178. Notes that the Court examined a sample of 72 transactions, which is not representative enough of the spending under this MFF heading and, therefore, cannot provide an estimate of the error rate; considering that the Court’s audit results show that this is a high-risk area (34 out of 72 transactions audited, i.e. 47 %, were affected by errors), invites the Court to provide a clear estimation of the error rate for this chapter; notes that the Court found 25 errors that had a financial impact on the Union budget, relating to ineligible costs, absence of supporting documents, public procurement and expenditure not incurred, areas that could point to risks of unreliable functioning of the national authorities’ control mechanism or even the administrative or political unwillingness to properly execute Union financial rules; 179. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) reports the risk at closure in its Annual Activity Reports (AARs) based on a study carried out by an external contractor, known as the residual error rate (RER), the aim of which is to estimate the rate of errors not detected by the internal control system and to conclude whether it is effective or not; notes the results of the 2022 RER study that the residual error rate in 2022 is 1 % and thus, below the materiality threshold of 2 %; 180. Notes that the Court identified limitations regarding the methodology used to determine the RER that may contribute to its underestimation, in particular, that the contractor can rely entirely on the results of previous control work in some cases and the fact that the estimation of the residual error rate for grants under direct management is not included in the calculation of DG NEAR’s overall RER; notes that the Commission affirms that it is not subject to such limitations because (i) the reliance on previous control work is subject to strict conditions and (ii) the global error rate includes grants under direct management; 181. Welcomes that the Commission implemented the Court’s recommendations to disclose the limitations of the RER study in DG NEAR’s AARs since 2021, to strengthen checks by identifying and preventing recurrent errors, and for DG NEAR to establish obligations for the RER study contractor to report to the Commission any suspected fraud against the Union budget detected during its work on the RER study; 182. Notes with concern that the AARs of DG NEAR and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) reported difficulties in the implementation of the new operational information system OPSYS, which was at times unstable, failing to meet expectations, and requiring frequent intervention from DG DIGIT support teams, leading to it being identified as a critical risk in DG NEAR’s risk assessment exercise; 183. Notes that the Court assessed awareness raising among Union delegation staff in the areas of fraud prevention, ethics and integrity; notes with concern that some members of staff interviewed by the Court had not been trained in fraud prevention in the past five years; notes that DG NEAR makes a series of tools and resources available to its staff to cover fraud-related issues, such as training, an anti-fraud network with focal points and guidance; notes the positive results of the surveys carried out by DG NEAR to monitor the level of fraud awareness of its staff, as well as that some areas for improvement were identified and an action plan is being implemented; 184. Recognises the importance of NGOs in ensuring that the Union, as the largest donor of development aid in the world, continues to contribute to promoting stability and peace, overcoming poverty and advancing sustainable development; commends in particular the activity of NGOs in areas of conflict in ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches the civilian population in a rapid and effective manner; notes the control and audit, transparency and accountability requirements applicable to all Union funding and different stakeholders, but considers that there is always room for improvement, particularly by making the most of digitalisation; 185. Stresses the role of local NGOs and partners in service delivery and support to local communities; underlines the importance of enhancing their capacity to manage and implement actions financed by the Union and invites the Commission to facilitate adequate training towards this aim; is concerned about the continued difficulties faced by small local organisations to access Union funding; encourages the Commission to improve these funding procedures and to systematically prioritise local organisations in order to provide better capacity-building on the ground; highlights the efficacy of local ownership in project implementation in terms of prioritisation, allocation of resources and building local know-how; 186. Highlights the fact that the legitimacy and effectiveness of Union development cooperation hinges on the correct implementation of activities and their proper funding; recognises the work of the Commission in applying controls to make sure that transactions are made in a legitimate manner and that activities are implemented in accordance with the priorities set by the legislator; calls on the Commission to further improve controls in order to decrease the amount of transactional errors, to act upon ECA recommendations that have not been implemented and to redouble efforts to find eligible projects and to ensure a sufficient amount of payments under the current expenditure ceiling; welcomes the finding of the ECA report on the Union budget for 2022 that DG ECHO implemented ECA recommendation and established a procedure ensuring that partner organisations base their allocation of shared costs on expenditure actually incurred; 187. Calls on the Commission to send clear signals to those candidate countries in which a backlash against rule of law standards - including limitations on the freedom of expression, the freedom of press, women’s and minority rights, the harassment of NGOs and human rights defenders - is jeopardising or delaying their accession to the Union; invites the Commission to examine the efficiency of the funds spent on the improvement of the state of the Rule of Law in the accession countries and report back to the AFET and CONT committees; 188. Welcomes the implementation by the Commission of several mechanisms to mitigate risks and safeguard the proper use of Union funds spent in unstable or conflict zones; notes that the Commission systematically assesses corruption risks in partner countries and uses an array of tools to mitigate them, at the same time applies conditions and performance indicators to promote fiscal transparency and accountability through its budget support; welcomes the fact that, according to World Bank data, countries benefiting from Union budget support have improved in the control of corruption over time; 189. Notes with concern that the Court, in its Special Report 14/2023 “Programming the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe” found that, although the Commission and the EEAS had merged funding into a single instrument, the NDICI-Global Europe Instrument, which covers more than 70 % of the Union funding allocated for external action in the 2021-2027 financing period, they followed two different fund allocation methodologies for Neighbourhood and non-Neighbourhood countries, and that the multiannual indicative programmes did not ensure that the selected sectors of intervention were those in which Union funding could achieve a high impact; 190. Emphasises the significance of meeting all spending and program-related targets outlined in the NDICI-GE instrument and calls for comprehensive information to be provided on the progress achieved; expresses regret over the significant shortfalls in reaching the Instrument's 30% climate target, in contributing to the 10% biodiversity target in the MFF for 2026 and 2027, and in ensuring that the Union's global financial commitments under the UN framework are fulfilled, in particular as regards the contribution to the Loss and Damage Fund; highlights the increasing pressure climate change puts on food production and access, particularly in vulnerable regions, impacting food security and nutrition; reminds that biodiversity is key in combating climate change, and its loss undermines progress on approximately 80% of the assessed targets for the SDGs; calls on the Commission for a detailed plan outlining how it intends to meet spending and gender targets by the end of the MFF; 191. Urges the Commission to increase transparency and accountability of the programming and implementation of Home Affairs funds in third countries, and NDICI funding, such as in countries like Tunisia and Libya; calls the Commission to generate a publicly available overview of all migration related spending in third countries, and urges for ex ante human rights impact assessments for migration related spending in third countries, and to share these assessments with the Parliament where required by rules; 192. Stresses that, following the despicable terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, the Commission announced on 9 October 2023 its decision to review the Union’s assistance for Palestine; notes that the review, finalised on 21 November 2023, has shown that the Commission applies adequate ex-ante and ex-post controls, that the safeguards in place are effective and that no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes; insists on the need for European funds to go only to beneficiaries that share Union values regarding Rule of law, democracy and human rights; recalls in this regard the Parliament’s report 2023/2122(INI) adopted the 17 January 2024 on transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the Union budget calling for a reinforcement of the Commission control mechanisms and the development of a harmonised monitoring system aiming to track Union funds up to final beneficiaries; 193. Underlines that the Union budget must continue to provide support to build peace and stability in the Middle East region, to combat hate and fundamentalism and to promote human rights; awaits the review the Commission is conducting on the use of Union funds; underlines the interlinkages between stability and sustainable development, particularly in fragile countries and regions; 194. Stresses that Union aid should under no circumstances - directly or indirectly - be financing terrorism, hence it should not support any entity connected to Hamas or any other terror organisation; stresses that the Union should help the Palestinian civilian population and should foster peace in the region; asks the Commission to keep Parliament informed about new developments and efforts undertaken to provide direct support to Palestinian civilians and refugees and to prevent terrorist from diverting funds; 195. Is concerned about credible reports that Union taxpayers’ money or funds of other donors could have been partially misused by the terrorist organisation Hamas; emphasises that the relevant Union funds should benefit the Palestinian civilian population and provide food, medical supplies, housing and basic infrastructure to the suffering population and notably to children, women, elderly and disabled persons; urges the Commission, in the context of delivering support and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population, to diversify trusted partners, such as the WHO, UNICEF or different Red Crescent organisations; furthermore, is worried about other credible reports that certain employees of UNWRA could have been involved in or associated with acts of terror by the Hamas terrorist organisation; urges the Commission to guarantee independent controls of UNRWA by external experts, the European Court of Auditors and experienced international partners, such as, but not limited to, Global Affairs Canada or AusAid; 196. Expresses deep concern regarding the recent announcement by some countries of suspension of funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) pending the outcome of the investigation; calls for increased and sustained funding in recognition of the agency's crucial role in the humanitarian response in Gaza, and to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of vital services to a vulnerable population in the Middle East; recalls the essential role of humanitarian aid given to the Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East; 197. Stresses the importance of education and the critical need to denounce and eradicate all manifestations of hate speech and violent actions on both sides; underscores that the suspension of funding should not occur arbitrarily or without transparent and independent evidence of misuse; 198. Recalls that the findings of the study commissioned by the Commission to Georg Eckert Institute on the Palestinian Textbooks revealed a complex picture where the textbooks (i) adhere to UNESCO standards and adopt criteria that are prominent in international education discourse, including a strong focus on human rights, (ii) express a narrative of resistance within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and (iii) display an antagonism towards Israel; notes that the Union does not fund the Palestinian Textbooks and that neither are they the responsibility of UNRWA, which works to deliver quality education with an emphasis on fostering a human rights culture, even in challenging times; underlines that education and pupils’ access to peaceful and unbiased textbooks is essential; stresses Parliament’s position that textbooks drafted by Union funds, must be made conditional on full compliance with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance; as already was decided upon by the Parliament in its 2023 recommendation on relations with the Palestinian Authority, and as repeatedly requested in its latest adopted resolutions on Prospects for the Two-State Solution; 199. Recalls the Union strategy to promote and ensure quality education for children across the world, especially when specific Union financial support is provided; condemns the problematic and hateful contents encouraging violence, spreading antisemitism and inciting hatred in Palestinian school textbooks drafted by Union-funded civil servants as well as in supplementary educational materials developed by UNRWA staff and taught in its schools; reaffirms in the context of the despicable terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, that education to hatred have direct and dramatic consequences on the security of Israelis as well as on the perspectives of a better future for young Palestinians; therefore requests the Commission to closely scrutinise that no funds are allocated or linked directly or indirectly to the use of such educational materials and that the Palestinian Authority modifies the full curriculum expeditiously as repeatedly requested in the discharge decisions in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the Union for the financial years 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021; stresses that financial support from the Union to the Palestinian Authority in the area of education shall be provided on the condition of a national Palestinian curriculum, with reference textbooks and educational material, that is free from anti-Semitic contents and incitement to violence and complies with quality education; calls in that regard the Commission and Member States to provide expertise, share knowledge, guidance and technical support to empower Palestinian teachers, trainers and experts towards the implementation of education that fully complies with UNESCO standards; 200. Highlights that according to the answers of commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement for the 2021 Discharge Report the ongoing development portfolio for the Palestinians, under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) Regulation, is EUR 681 million between 2021 and 2023, for the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA and development projects in the West Bank and Gaza; notes that about one third of the funding benefitted projects in Gaza and two third in the West Bank; underlines that the Union provided EUR 271 million to UNRWA for the provision of social services to the Palestinian refugees and in addition, the Union provided support to the Palestinian Authority’s recurrent expenditures, mainly the salaries and pensions of civil servants, the social allowances paid through the cash transfer programme and part of the costs of referrals to the East Jerusalem Hospitals through the PEGASE mechanism; 201. Expresses shock over the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023 in which Hamas perpetrated violence, rape and other forms of sexual torture against women, female teenagers and girls of Israeli and other nationalities; emphasises that this targeted form of sexual violence and torture against women is systematically used as a war crime and terrorism; regrets the lack of focus of the EEAS and the Commission in the area of conflict-related sexual violence against women; calls for the setup of a mechanism to identify and provide support to victims, collect testimonies, identify perpetrators and take timely actions to ensure that similar situations do not occur in the future; calls for the establishment of a platform to provide visibility to victims and their suffering; calls for increased support to entities such as the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel or similar entities in conflict areas; emphasises that additional Union funding should be provided to victims of conflict-related sexual violence as well as to relevant education activities; notes the lack of data in annual activity reports on the amount of Union funds budgeted to support such victims and relevant entities; recommends the Commission provide clearer reporting on Union aid provided to such victims and relevant entities; 202. Underlines that the ECA AR 2022 highlights an example of ineligible expenditure included in the cost claim concerning a project in Palestine on the sustainable use of natural resources to support Palestine’s transition to a green economy with an incentive component that was intended to support SMEs in the form of grants for ‘green’ projects in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and pollution abatement; Underlines that EUR 190.500 had been approved and paid to a development agency, with the task to monitor the implementation of the project by the final beneficiary, but the project was not realised(78); 203. Is concerned about the destruction and confiscation of Union-funded projects in the West Bank and notes that in 2022, 101 structures funded by the Union or Member States were demolished or seized by Israel with a value at EUR 337 019, representing the third highest financial injury since 2016; recalls that representatives of Union institutions, concerned Member States and other donors have requested on several occasions the return or compensation for Union-funded assets demolished, dismantled or confiscated; recalls the position of the Council expressing its commitment to ensure that all agreements between Israel and the Union must unequivocally and explicitly indicate the inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, as well as to continue the effective implementation of existing Union law and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products; 204. Notes that, in 2022, DG NEAR paid EUR 910,8 million in bilateral assistance to Ukraine, out of which EUR 698 million was paid through Budget Support; notes that close to EUR 200 million of ongoing projects were successfully repurposed to reach the beneficiaries before humanitarian partners could mobilise their aid programmes; notes that the constraints on adequately monitoring projects in Ukraine lead to a reservation in the 2022 AAR of DG NEAR and that corrective actions are being implemented, such as monitoring progress on project implementation through desk reviews, remote solutions and using a service provider; 205. Notes the Reform Growth Plan for the Western Balkans which was proposed by the Commission to further support convergence efforts in the region; stresses the need for more clarity on the use of different financial instruments toward the region, primarily among IPA III, Economic and Investment Plan, and the Reform Growth Plan; urges the Commission to provide the sub-national level to have more direct access to Union funds; 206. Welcomes that the Ukraine Facility lays out provisions to ensure effective controls; recalls that on 7 April 2022, the Parliament called for the confiscation of Russian assets owned by Russian individuals and entities, frozen as a result of Union restrictive measures, in order to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction; 207. Welcomes the Global Gateway strategy as a concerted Union response to global challenges bringing together public and private investment; notes that 2022 was the first full year of the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy; stresses the need for more transparency, accountability and regular assessments of the Global Gateway implementation as well as for enhanced Parliament’s involvement in respect of its democratic scrutiny role; 208. Welcomes that OLAF signed administrative cooperation arrangements with both the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine on 11 February 2021 and the State Audit Service of Ukraine in March 2023; notes that Ukraine is soon expected to be associated with the Union Anti-Fraud Programme (UAFP) and welcomes that OLAF is providing support to the Ukrainian authorities in their national anti-fraud efforts and strategies; welcomes that the EPPO signed working arrangements with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, in July 2023, aiming to facilitate the cooperation in investigating corruption cases, and with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, in March 2022, to protect the financial interest of the Union and Ukraine through effective investigation and prosecution; Recommendations 209. Calls on the Commission to:
European public administration Human Resources 210. Notes that the budget for the programmes under MFF Heading 7 ‘European Public Administration’ was EUR 11,6 billion (5,9 % of the Union budget), which comprises the expenditure of the Union institutions and bodies on human resources and pensions (about 70 % of the total), buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology; notes that of the total amount, 58,6 % is spent by the Commission (EUR 6,7 billion); notes that, as of 31 December 2022, the final adopted budget commitment appropriations for the European Commission were EUR 6 298,13 million (99,84 % of them were implemented, i.e. EUR 6 288,14 million), as well as that the final adopted budget payment appropriations amounted to EUR 6 298,22 million (94,66 % of them were implemented, i.e. EUR 5 961,72 million); 211. Notes that the Court examined a sample of 60 transactions covering the full range of spending under the MFF Heading 7 involving all the Union institutions and bodies; notes that the Court also examined the regularity information given in the AARs of all the institutions and bodies, including those of the Commission’s Directorates-General and offices primarily responsible for administrative expenditure, and then included in the Commission’s AMPR; notes with satisfaction that the Court estimates that the level of error in the MFF Heading 7 was not material and notes that there are no new recommendations addressed to the Commission; 212. Notes that the Commission adopted its new Human Resources strategy (‘HR Strategy’) in April 2022, which aims to address emerging needs after the COVID-19 crisis and focuses on achieving an attractive workplace, faster and more agile selection and recruitment, and a flexible and rewarding career for all staff; notes that the document is a set of intentions for change and improvement that should gradually be implemented, and that part of its content shall be first negotiated in social dialogue with staff representatives; 213. Notes that the Commission has increasingly recruited contractual or temporary agents on permanent posts to carry out new tasks stemming from rapidly evolving priorities, in response to special or urgent situations and even to compensate geographically unbalanced recruitments; recalls its concerns about the loss of knowledge for the institutions, as well as the negative impact on perspective and job security of the members of staff concerned; highlights that recruiting contractual or temporary agents is not a sustainable solution to the decreasing and geographically unbalanced applications of those applying for Union competitions and, most importantly, to the long-identified and complex issue of the Union’s decrease of attractiveness as an employer; 214. Notes with satisfaction that the percentage of women in management functions has risen considerably since the beginning of the mandate: in July 2023, the share of women in management functions was 45,2 % at senior management level (up nearly 9 percentage points since the beginning of the mandate) and 47,5 % at middle management level (up 6 percentage points); 215. Acknowledges that, in order to ensure recruitment on the broadest possible geographical basis it is necessary to address the causes of the under-representation from the point of initial recruitment; welcomes that, to strengthen geographical balance across different categories of Commission staff, the Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security (DG HR) met all Member States to discuss their representation and finalised all joint action plans taking into account the specificities of each Member State to address the possible causes of under-representation jointly; 216. Notes the adoption and implementation of an action plan to increase the attractiveness of careers in Luxembourg; notes the Commission’s considerations against introducing a correction coefficient for Luxembourg at this stage in its report assessing the evolution of purchasing power of remuneration and pensions of Union officials (COM(2022)0180 final); recalls its reiterated requests to the Commission to find ways to mitigate the growing problem of the purchase power disparity suffered by the members of staff posted to Luxembourg, which is mainly due to the cost of living; 217. Recalls the Court’s audit of the activities of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) and the observations regarding its efficacy and efficiency(79); notes that, in 2022-2023, EPSO introduced remotely proctored testing and deplores that this system is now being reappraised due to the numerous technical difficulties experienced by many candidates; regrets the inconvenience caused to candidates, the direct budgetary costs of the suspension of the external competitions, and the additional effort made by the Commission’s recruiting services to find an adequate replacement; 218. Recalls the Court’s conclusion in its Special Report 13/2019 that “any unethical behaviour by staff and Members of EU institutions and bodies is unacceptable and, even if it is only alleged, attracts high levels of public interest and reduces trust in the EU”; regrets the two cases of potential conflicts of interests involving high-ranked officials in DG MOVE for missions and DG NEAR for ownership reported by the press in 2022; notes the Commission implements effective internal control system in matters of ethics management according to the Court in its 2019 report and the European Ombudsman in its decision on the revolving doors inquiry; points out that unethical behaviour also has a budgetary cost for the institution concerned and reiterates its position and expectations of the Union's Ethics Body; 219. Notes the creation and subsequent recruitment of an EU SME Envoy which is an Hors-Classe Temporary Agent at grade AD15; regrets that multiple media outlets reported that the successful applicant was ultimately appointed despite having been outqualified in the recruitment assessments by the two remaining female candidates from underrepresented Member States, which questions whether the principles of merit, gender and geographical balance were taken into consideration; notes with concern that the successful candidate is an outgoing Member from President von der Leyen’s own German political party; calls on the Commission to rectify the situation by rescinding the appointment and launching a truly transparent and open process for the selection of the EU SME Envoy; Buildings and administration 220. Notes that the new central corporate financial system of the Commission, SUMMA, was planned to go into production by the end of 2023 and had progressed in line with the objective of going live at the beginning of 2024; regrets that the deadline for implementing the new accounting system was extended by one year because implementing the connections of operational programmes (shared management, e-grants, e-procurement, staff payments) with SUMMA simultaneously has proven to be a more complex exercise than expected; stresses with concern that the cost of the SUMMA programme since its inception at the beginning of 2018 until the end of 2022 was around EUR 95 million and that its timeline extension will require additional resources in 2024, estimated at around EUR 7 million euro; 221. Notes the adoption on 5 April 2022 of the ‘Communication on greening the Commission’, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, including an action plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions; notes the Commission intends to achieve these objectives by acquiring more energy efficient and greener buildings, shifting to dynamic collaborative workspaces and reducing the number of offices, and reiterates its warning that staff wellbeing and satisfaction should be taken into account in all future decisions in this regard; 222. Notes the media reports on negotiations between the Belgian Government and the Commission on a real estate transaction worth nearly EUR 1 billion and, likewise, the Commission’s plans to rent office spaces in the Brussels North area, including reluctance on the part of the staff concerned; stresses that any development in the Commission’s real estate policies shouldn't degrade the working conditions of its personnel; 223. Is concerned that the Commission has refused to provide records of the discussions with a pharmaceutical company and regrets the lack of transparency related to the text messages between the Commission’s President and the pharmaceutical companies regarding the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines; notes the European Ombudsman decision on the related case 1316/2021/MIG considering that not recording text messages in its document register constitutes “maladministration” and is concerned that the Commission has not followed up on the recommendation to conduct another search for relevant text messages; notes that, to date, the Commission has not made available to the Members of the European Parliament the non-redacted versions of the contracts signed; recalls the Parliament resolution of 13 July 2023 on public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-2021; European Schools 224. Notes with satisfaction that the Court, in its Annual Report on the accounts for the European Schools for the 2022 financial year, found no material errors in the final consolidated annual accounts of the European Schools for 2022; welcomes further improvements highlighted by the Court in the quality of the final individual and consolidated accounts compared to previous years; 225. Notes with concern that both the Court and the external auditor found immaterial errors, which mainly related to the calculation of provisions for post-employment benefits and that the audit opinions of the external auditor were not in line with the framework contract concluded with the Office of the Secretary-General (the ‘Central Office’); 226. Notes that the Court, while praising improvements in recruitment and procurement procedures in the Central Office, found, for two out of the seven schools it reviewed (Frankfurt and Luxembourg I), shortcomings in these procedures; notes with concern that the Court, once again, noted weaknesses in terms of payment procedures for both the Central Office and the two schools that were reviewed; 227. Recalls that the Parliament, in its resolution of 12 September 2023 on the system of European Schools: state of play, challenges and perspectives,(80) stressed that the current system of teacher recruitment in the European Schools System (EES) has serious shortcomings, resulting in a mismatch between the needs on the ground and the actual staff seconded by the Member States, issues with yearly recruitment plans, difficulties in finding qualified teachers and staff, precarious working conditions for locally recruited teachers and other educational staff and problems with continuous professional development; Recommendations 228. Calls on the Commission to:
229. Furthermore, calls on the Commission to continue to support the European Schools to:
CHAPTER II - Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) General remarks 230. Recalls that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 abruptly changed the economic and social outlook of the Union and led to a unified effort to launch the recovery package for Europe, consisting of the 2021-2027 MFF and NGEU, of which the cornerstone is the RRF; recalls that the objective of the RRF is to provide Member States with financial support to mitigate the serious economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient, inclusive and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions; recalls that the RRF is an innovative, temporary instrument based on performance, which means that payments are linked to the satisfactory fulfilment of milestones and targets (M&Ts) reflecting progress on reforms and investments included in the national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs), which are set in a Council Implementation Decision; 231. Notes that all 27 RRPs were adopted by the end of 2022, allocating EUR 335,1 billion in grants and EUR 165,3 billion in loans, that will be paid out upon the fulfilment of 2 557 measures (consisting of approximately one third for reforms and two thirds for investments), and their related 6 237 milestones and targets, by 2026; notes that, in 2022, the Commission disbursed a total, including pre-financing, of EUR 74,4 billion (EUR 47,2 billion in grants and EUR 27,2 billion in loans); 232. Notes that the REPowerEU Plan was launched in May 2022 to help the Union to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels by saving energy, producing clean energy and diversifying its energy supplies, which is aligned with the green transition; notes that the amendments introduced to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 (‘the RRF Regulation’)(82) by Regulation (EU) 2023/435 on REPower EU(83) added additional financing and priorities to the RRF; notes that all 27 Member States have submitted modified RRPs to include REPowerEU chapters, but also to request additional loan support, to make adjustments following the update of the maximum financial contribution or to make amendments due to objective circumstances, as enabled by the RRF Regulation; notes that the revision of the RRPs are subject to the same assessment criteria as the original plans, together with specific requirements applicable to the REPowerEU chapters; 233. Recalls that, under NGEU, the Commission can raise up to EUR 806,9 billion between mid-2021 and 2026 through the issuance of Union-bonds; notes that in June 2022, the Commission announced a funding plan for the period June to end-December 2022 and raised an additional EUR 50 billion in long-term funding for NGEU, complemented by short-term EU-bills issuances, bringing the total outstanding amount of NGEU bonds to EUR 171 billion, of which EUR 36,5 billion were raised by issuing green bonds; notes that this debt consists of borrowed amounts with different maturities, ranging from 1 year to more than 25 years; notes that repayment of NGEU debt will only start after 2028; 234. Notes the efforts of the Commission to raise funds on the financial markets to provide the financial means for the RRF; notes that, in 2020, an amount of EUR 14,9 billion was planned in the MFF 2021-2027 to cover the interest payments for NGEU non-repayable support; is concerned about the impact of the higher interest rates on the purchasing power of the Union budget, with the interest rates on 10-year EU-Bonds increasing from 0,09 % in 2021 to 3,2 % in 2023; notes that Commission’s AAA borrowing costs are higher than some Member States with a lower rating; notes that borrowed amounts need to be repaid and borrowing activities remain needed not only to raise new funds, but also to replace existing debt; is concerned about the rising interest rates, particularly in 2022, and the resulting debts and uncertain capacity to repay the loans, taking into account the large amount of money that the Commission is borrowing in order to finance the RRF; notes however that the debt is currently EUR 90 billion less than initially forecasted; notes the Commission’s long-term plan for repayment of the debt and calls on the Commission to regularly update it and inform the discharge authority of any new risks that might influence its implementation; notes the Commission’s statement that the Union will meet its obligations towards bondholders in all circumstances and its proposal for a technical modification to the MFF to optimise the budgetary treatment of NGEU borrowing costs; notes that information on the EU debt and planned repayments are part of the regular reporting within the NGEU dialogue; requests that the Commission continues to provide more information to the European Parliament on how repayment will be made and from which institutions funds are being borrowed; emphasises that this debt burdens the EU budget; 235. Welcomes the Commission’s estimate that the full implementation of quantifiable milestones and targets up until the end of 2026 funded by NGEU Green Bonds, corresponding to 57 % of the NGEU Green Bond eligible expenditure, can reduce Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 44 million tonnes of CO2 per annum– equivalent to 1,2 % of the aggregate for the Union’s GHG emissions in 2022, and insists on proper implementation; stresses furthermore the importance that reforms and investments under the Recovery and Resilience Plans meet the climate targets of the regulation and fully respect the “do no significant harm” principle; Court’s observations 236. Notes that the Court issued a qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the RRF expenditure in 2022; is concerned that the Court concluded that 11 out of 13 RRF payments made in 2022 were affected by quantitative findings and that 6 of these payments were affected by material error; notes that in the Court’s opinion, except for those matters, the RRF expenditure accepted in the accounts for the year 2022 is legal and regular in all material respects; notes that the nature of the RRF spending model relies on the assessments to be made by the Commission and thus, the Court does not provide an error rate but estimates the minimum financial impact of its findings to be below, but close to the materiality threshold; 237. Notes that the Court audited 244 out of 274 milestones and all 37 targets included in 2022 payment requests for grants; regrets that the Court considers that 15 of them were affected by regularity issues (below 5 % of the total); notes that the Court considers that the requirements had not been satisfactorily fulfilled for 8 M&Ts in 8 payments and that the Commission had made the corresponding payments; notes that the Court's conclusions are based on extensive audit work and that the Commission contests the Court's interpretation of the legal requirements set by the Council or qualitative judgements different from the Commission; notes that all the RRF payments must be assessed against the framework communicated and applied by the Commission, who must take into consideration for each payment the opinion of the Economic and Financial Committee and the scrutiny by Member State experts under the comitology procedure; 238. Notes that the Court has identified what it considers to be two cases of continuation of a pre-existing project, that started before the eligibility period, and targets that were a substitution of recurring national budgetary expenditure; is concerned about such situations, although this conclusion does not agree with the Court’s own consideration that recurring actions refers to types of expenditure like staff and operating costs of government entities; recalls that the RRF shall not be used to finance recurring budgetary expenditure and calls for adequate measures to be taken, including partial payments, when such cases are identified by the Commission; 239. Recalls the Court’s observation in Special Report 21/2022 and its Annual Report for 2021 that milestones and targets often lack clarity and are not well defined and that the Court makes the same observation in its annual report 2022; calls on the Commission to draw on lessons learned when designing future performance based instruments; 240. Is concerned by the Court’s findings in SR 26/2023 that milestones and targets vary in ambition between Member States and considers this is yet another example where the Commission does not treat Member States equally; notes that the Commission confirmed the differences and will try to enhance equal treatment during the implementation phase; considers that Member States by default should be treated equally and regrets this has not been the case when negotiating the RRPs; insists that equal treatment should be ensured when evaluating the completion of milestones and targets; 241. Notes with concern that the Court considers that a case of double funding occurred in 2022, even though the measure in question does not have any costs attached to it under the RRF; notes the Commission’s observation that, according to the RRF Regulation, ‘double funding’ is explicitly linked to costs and thus, there can be no 'double funding' if the Member State has not submitted any cost estimate as part of its national plan; notes that the Commission underlines that no-cost reforms do not increase the financial envelope but are nevertheless essential criteria for the Commission's positive assessment of RRPs, as well as their full implementation for the relevant payments; 242. Notes with concern that the Court also identified several cases of weak design in M&Ts and problems with the reliability of information that Member States included in their management declarations, notes that the Commission agrees to review M&Ts provided there is a legal justification to change the elements of a Council Implementing Decision, namely that a Member State submits an amended plan and a legal basis justifies the changes; 243. Stresses that, by end 2022, the Commission reported 6 cases of potential irregularities to OLAF, identified during ex-post audits or from open sources in respect of RRF supported actions; welcomes that, in 2022, OLAF disseminated a risk framework for the RRF and provided over 50 fraud awareness-training sessions to Commission departments, agencies and other external partners, including Member States’ authorities; 244. Emphasises that the protection of the financial interests of the Union is a top priority and that more precise implementation and performance monitoring will help prevent and reduce fraud at early stages; emphasises that in particular rule of law and anti-corruption related M&Ts are essential in hindering corrupt individuals, organisations, governments or criminal systems; calls on the Commission to monitor closely the fulfilment of rule of law and anti-corruption M&Ts and report on possible reversals; 245. Expresses concern about the Court’s finding that reporting of fraud involving RRF expenditure lacks a standardised approach with strong coordination and cooperation between Member States; welcomes that the Commission has already adapted the Irregularity Management System so it can be used for the RRF by the competent national authorities; encourages the Commission, EPPO and other relevant entities on Union and national level to engage in a structured cooperation to identify and report, according to their respective competence, cases and possible patterns of fraud and crimes against the financial interest of the Union to better protect the taxpayers’ money; asks Member States to strengthen their capacities to uncover crimes in this area; 246. Welcomes the effort made in the systematic and comprehensive audit work of the Court regarding the RRF, with emphasis on the protection of the Union’s financial interests, which provides a thorough analysis of the relevant aspects of the Facility and valuable insight into its implementation; notes with satisfaction that the Commission broadly accepts and applies the Court’s recommendations and acknowledges that many of the issues identified by the Court are related to the legal basis of the RRF; considers that the Court’s recommendations stemming from its audit work on the RRF are particularly relevant to the co-legislators for future Union performance-based financing instruments; 247. Stresses the fact that the RRF was established as the Union’s common instrument for mitigating the serious economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and for making European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient, inclusive and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions, and its financial means thus can not be understood as Member States’ own budget resources; emphasises the crucial role of the Court and the Commission in their proactive ex-ante and ex-post controls in making sure the funds are spend effectively with satisfactory fulfilment of M&Ts; Audit and control 248. Underlines that the control framework is tailored to the unique nature of the RRF and built upon two types of controls, namely (i) controls by the Commission to provide reasonable assurance over the legality and regularity of commitments and payments, based on the satisfactory achievement of M&Ts as set in the Council Implementing Decisions approving the RRPs, and (ii) controls by the Member States to ensure adequate protection of the financial interests of the Union as provided in Article 22 of the RRF Regulation; 249. Notes that, based on the Court’s recommendations and the experience gained, the Commission presented its methodologies on (i) assessing the satisfactory fulfilment of M&Ts, (ii) calculating the suspended amounts in case of non-fulfilment of a milestone or target, and (iii) dealing with potential situations where M&Ts initially assessed as satisfactorily fulfilled by the Commission were subsequently reversed by the Member State; 250. Notes that the framework for assessing M&Ts lacks explanations, including why the verification mechanism as described in the operation arrangement should not be considered for the assessment; notes that definitions of “satisfactory fulfilment” of the relevant M&Ts are defined through terms that lack a clear definition and contain discretionary elements, such as ‘minimal deviation from a requirement’ or ‘proportional delays’, and that the methodology for the determination of partial payment does not provide an explanation for the values chosen as coefficients; asks that further clarifications are given; 251. Expresses concern that the Commission is dependent on the information provided by the Member States and recommends a more active communication to proactively identify any potential reversal of M&Ts; welcomes that the Commission accepts the recommendation to carry out a revision of its ex-post audit procedures to verify the potential reversal of M&Ts after the payment, although regrets that it does not foresee any post-2026 monitoring on potential reversals; is particularly concerned that there is no legal provision in the RRF Regulation that addresses the reversal of M&Ts after the last date for payments from the RRF and that the Commission’s methodology, consequently, does not provide legal clarity in case a M&T is reversed after the implementation period of the RRF once all payments have been made, especially given that some important M&Ts included in RRPs are probably to be fulfilled in the last part of the RRF lifetime; 252. Notes that 12 national RRPs contain Rule of law or anti-corruption reforms in their milestones and targets; notes the recent case of a potential reversal of two milestones concerning the Rule of law in one Member State; emphasises the need for the Commission to pay more attention to the potential reversal of M&Ts in the area of the Rule of law as they are particularly vulnerable to arbitrary governmental decisions; 253. Notes that the Commission verified the adequacy of the control systems of Member States as a precondition for the positive assessment of the RRPs; notes that additional specific ‘control milestones’ were added, in turn, as a precondition for the first payments in the RRPs of 16 Member States where gaps or deficiencies required additional measures to ensure the full adequacy of the systems to protect the financial interests of the Union; is concerned about the Court’s observation of persisting weaknesses in the Member States’ control systems that put the sound financial management of RRF funding at risk and urges the Commission and national authorities to address them swiftly; welcomes that the Court did not raise any issues related to their satisfactory fulfilment assessed during 2022; notes problems with the reliability of the information provided in the management declarations by Member States, casting doubts on the possibility to rely on them when assessing milestones and targets; notes that the Commission performed 16 system audits in 2022 and 14 in 2023, including whether they check compliance with Union and national rules, so that all Member States’ control systems will have been audited at least once by the end of 2023; understands that the RRF Regulation places the principal responsibility to ensure respect for national and Union law on the Member States but is concerned about the Court’s observation on an assurance and accountability gap regarding compliance because there is an absence of compliance audits by the Commission on RRF funded investments projects; calls on an adequate and equal application of Article 22 of the RRF Regulation for all Member States and recalls that non-fulfilment of M&Ts related to a Member State's control system may lead to the suspension of the full instalment and all future instalments; 254. Recalls that Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (the ‘EPPO Regulation’)(84) provides that the EPPO shall be competent in respect of the criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union that are provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371(85) in the terms set out in the EPPO Regulation and specifically in its Chapter IV; 255. Expresses concern about the cases reported to the EPPO after the first year of implementation of the RRF, namely 15 active cases as reported in the EPPO Annual Report 2022; calls on the Commission to cooperate with OLAF and the EPPO in order to identify patterns of fraud, corruption and money laundering related to RRF and calls on the Commission to act in such situations; calls on the Commission to draw consequences for Member States with too many cases of fraud; 256. Notes with concern, that EPPO’s responsibility in investigating crimes involving RRF funds is being put into question in 9 cases in a Member State; notes that the European Court of Justice was asked via a preliminary question to give an opinion in one of these cases; Implementation and impact 257. Notes that in 2022, the Commission made 13 payments to 11 Member States amounting to a total of EUR 72,2 billion, following the satisfactory fulfilment of 366 M&Ts (328 milestones and 38 targets); notes that as of the date of publication of the second implementation report in September 2023, the Commission has received 32 payment requests from 20 Member States and disbursed a total amount of EUR 153,4 billion (EUR 106,3 billion in grants and EUR 47,1 billion in loans); 258. Notes that the Commission reports that the achievement of M&Ts is broadly on track, after the first year of the RRF's functioning was more focused on the necessary reforms to build the framework for subsequent investment projects to have a higher impact; notes that the Commission reports delays compared to the indicative calendar of payments, due to the process of revising the RRPs in the context of the REPowerEU Plan and implementation challenges Member States are facing, such as administrative capacity issues, investment bottlenecks, and consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including the energy crisis, unexpected price shocks, shortages of certain materials and high inflation; 259. Notes that Member States may be overwhelmed administratively with the transfers of large RRF funds and cohesion funds at the same time, thus delaying implementation and potentially threatening transparency; notes the risk of double funding between the RRF and the European Structural and Investment Funds and encourages the Commission to actively check, including the relevant databases, and to communicate with Member States about their administrative capacities to ensure double funding does not occur; 260. Notes that several Member States have proposed to use RRF funds through financial instruments implemented by the EIB and other national investment banks to incentivise private investments under certain conditions; is concerned about the possible use of these instruments with the goal of extending the use of RRF funds beyond 2026; recalls that the RRF is a crisis instrument and that funding should be implemented within its lifetime; 261. Notes that the Commission is supporting all Member States in accelerating the implementation and revision of their plans, including through the Technical Support Instrument; stresses the importance of the Commission’s proactive role in supporting the Member States to best avoid the delays and under-implementation problem, as well as to ensure that Member States protect the financial interests of the Union and that EU taxpayers’ money is adequately spent; points out that, in particular, the countering of serious irregularities and double funding should receive appropriate resources and attention; notes concerns, as brought to the attention of the discharge authority, about the administrative capacity of the Member States to absorb the funds and the implementation of high quality projects, especially towards the end of the RRF period; 262. Is concerned that according to the Commission’s RRF scoreboard, 3 Member States have not submitted any payment request to the Commission by end December 2023; calls for speedy implementation of RRPs, including an evaluation by the Commission regarding barriers and results; is concerned that under-implementation, unless swiftly mitigated, might result in a payment crisis; 263. Criticises that in contradiction to the main goals of the facility the definition of “resilience” is insufficient to ameliorate the preparedness of future crisis situations; notes that very little emphasis is placed on resilience or added-value in contributing to resilience when milestones and targets are emphasised; urges the Commission to create a ‘contribution to resilience’ indicator for the RRF scoreboard and to present the impact in the area of resilience in a table; further urges the Commission to consider contribution to resilience when considering new milestones and targets that are introduced into revised national recovery and resilience plans; encourages the Court to look more closely at RRF impact of resilience in all the pillars in a future study; 264. Emphasises that when reviewing revised national recovery plans, the Commission should still diligently apply the ‘Assessment guidelines for the Facility’ as outlined in Annex V of the RRF Regulation, which requires the Commission to assess and rate national recovery and resilience plans under the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and coherence (article 19(3)), as well as coverage of the six pillars, namely a) green transition, b) digital transformation, c) smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, d) social and territorial cohesion, e) health and economic, social and institutional resilience, f) policies for the next generation (Article 3); asserts that this is an important process to avoid revised national recovery plans that are much weaker than the original plans or that no longer fulfil the criteria; 265. Notes that the RRF should create synergies and measures implemented should lead to structural reforms that have added-value; is concerned that some countries have repackaged old national reforms into the national RRPs; 266. Emphasises that there should be a better co-governance approach in all Member States so that local and regional authorities, civil society organisations, social partners, academia or other relevant stakeholders are adequately involved in the design and the implementation of the national RRPs; calls for their involvement based on clear, fair, transparent and non-politicised principles, in the implementation of the national RRPs to the maximum extent possible under the national legislative framework; 267. Calls on the Commission to ensure that Member States apply a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and fraud, including embezzlement, without any exception; 268. Welcomes the RRF's crucial contribution to preventing a severe economic downturn and social crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that it enabled an unprecedented wave of reforms and investments across the Union that will have an important long-lasting effect on the Gross domestic product (GDP); points out that the European added value of the RRF has long been proven by the fact that its innovative and flexible nature allows Member States to achieve common Union policy objectives; notes that, at the same time, the RRF enables Member States to address country specific challenges through the design of the RRPs while a single assessment framework is applied equally for all Member States and payments requests; 269. Welcomes that reforms and investments proposed by the Member States in support of the green and digital transitions have exceeded the objectives set in the RRF Regulation, as the estimated climate expenditure amounts to about 40 % and the digital expenditure to 26 %, while the objectives were set at lower percentages of 37 % and 20 % respectively; 270. Notes the progress reported on the six pillars of the RRF and, in particular, on the implementation of country-specific recommendations (CSRs), with at least some progress having been made for 68 % and substantial progress in 12 % of 2019-2020 CSRs, which shows the incentives provided by the RRF; notes that progress in the implementation of the 2022 CSRs has also been substantial, with at least some progress in almost 52 % of the recommendations addressed to Member States in July 2022; 271. Recalls that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed structural weaknesses in health systems across the Union, such as lack of resilience and crisis response capacity; highlights that health is a policy area within one of the six pillars of the RRF, which make possible reforms and investments to strengthen their capacity, quality and resilience; notes that 531 M&Ts and 223 measures, as well as 48 % of the estimated contribution to this pillar is related to healthcare but regrets that some national RRPs have a health-related milestones or targets that do not contribute to strengthening the national health system; notes that an estimated 45 million people can use or be served by new or modernised health care facilities thanks to the RRF; urges the Commission to strengthen M&Ts related to preparedness and resilience in the health sector where possible when revising national RRPs and to report to the discharge authority; 272. Notes from Special Report 26/2023 that, despite the little time available to design the performance model of the RRF, the Commission and Member States managed to set up a monitoring system, including an IT-system, that allows implementation progress to be measured; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to work on the identified issues and implement the related recommendations; 273. Stresses that the mere completion of projects financed by the RRF funds does not guarantee a positive economic and social impact as well as quality and sustainability; notes the Court’s observations highlighting some of the drawbacks of using a performance-based framework, in particular trying to quantify results as M&Ts rather measure outputs; urges the Commission to apply the lessons learned and the Court’s observations, and to ensure that the design of future performance-based instruments also measure results and not only outputs; 274. Welcomes the considerable progress shown by the common indicators and across all policy pillars by December 2022, such as 22 million Megawatt (‘MWh’) of savings in annual energy consumption achieved, 1,43 million enterprises helped either through monetary or in-kind support, 4 million people trained, and support provided to 4 115 196 young people aged 15-29 years; 275. Recalls that on 15 December 2022, the Council adopted an Implementing Decision on the approval of the assessment of the RRP for Hungary based on the Commission’s positive evaluation; recalls that 27 ‘super milestones’ were added to the national RRP with remedial and audit and control measures; notes that on 7 December 2023, the Council adopted the Implementing Decision approving Hungary’s amended RRP, including a REPowerEU chapter, which allows Hungary to receive EUR 0,9 billion in pre-financing of the REPowerEU funds; regrets that the mentioned pre-financing is not subject to the ongoing procedure under the rule of law conditionality mechanism; 276. Notes that the RRF Scoreboard provides real-time information on the disbursements and progress made by Member States, as well as additional data, indicators and thematic analysis and welcomes the launch of the Union-wide interactive map showing RRF projects by geographical location and providing information on the state of play; is concerned, however, that the Court concluded that presented performance lacks transparency as regards inclusion of estimates and that aggregated information is not comparable, as well as that the information on the progress under the six pillars is misleading, i.e. when a measure is assigned to a primary and a secondary policy area belonging to the same pillar, the contribution of each measure is counted twice; highlights that transparency about limitations is of the utmost importance as it affects the (perceived) reliability of all presented information; calls on the Commission to immediately remedy the detected shortcomings and to proactively inform on the limitations of the data presented on the RRF Scoreboard; 277. Notes that many purely national projects are listed as cross-border projects as soon as they have energy saving or energy reducing elements; criticises the overestimation of the published number of cross-border projects as misleading; 278. Notes that the Court found that, concerning reporting on the common indicators, quality and underlying methodologies are not checked by national audit authorities in any visited Member State; is astonished that in a Member State, for expenditure under MFF heading 3, the indicated planting of trees did not exist when the Court made an on-the-spot check; notes that the Commission does not require supporting evidence or explanations on the reported data, except in cases where estimates are reported; notes that the Court concludes that this poses a risk to data reliability and comparability across member states; concludes that data reliability in the absence of audits might affect the performance information reported on common indicators to a larger extent than information based on milestones and targets; considers this, given the issues identified in the milestones and targets by the Court, a worrying situation and calls on the Commission to improve its assurance on the reporting on common indicators; notes the differing practices among audit authorities regarding the timing of the checks on the fulfilment of targets and reforms; believes that such checks should be better harmonised and should include a compulsory check on the reliability and accuracy of the data on milestones and targets before those milestones and targets are included in a payment request; points out the risks of an approach that uses mostly ex-post checks and calls on Member States to avoid such practices; Transparency 279. Notes that the Ombudsman acknowledges that progress has been made in pro-active transparency, specifically through the RRF Scoreboard and the publication of the 100 largest recipients; notes however the points for improvement indicated by the Ombudsman and supports its recommendations to ensure greater transparency and accountability with regard to the RRF; 280. Notes that, following an explicit demand of the Parliament, the amended RRF Regulation requires Member States to publish information on the 100 final recipients receiving the highest amount of funding under the RRF; regrets the late publication of the lists by Member States and notes that all Member States have published the required list on the RRF Scoreboard by December 2023; observes a large variety of the size of the payments both across the Member States and within each country, which is explained by the heterogeneous nature of RRPs; expresses concern over the interpretation of the Commission of the concept of “final recipient” under the RRF, as often they are listed only at the ministry level, and that the descriptions are extremely vague, with many examples available in almost all lists provided by Member States; reiterates its demand that the list of 100 largest final recipients provides the factual natural person or entity that is the last in a chain of money transfers; is concerned that otherwise it will be problematic to measure the impact and guarantee visibility of the RRF funds to the citizens; 281. Recalls that transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Union budget are crucial and stresses, in this context, the need for further efforts by both the Commission and the Member States; welcomes the other initiatives undertaken by the Commission to increase transparency on the implementation of the RRF; notes that key documents governing the implementation, such as RRPs, Operational Arrangements, methodologies for assessment, and documents supporting or containing key decisions concerning Member States’ implementation are publicly available and easily accessible; 282. Is concerned about reports from the Court regarding difficulties in accessing RRF data to perform its duties; urges the Commission to ensure full access to the Court to the relevant databases of the Member States and the Union; urges the Commission to guarantee that data in the FENIX database are updated in a timely manner for the purposes of audit and control; underlines that data should be accurate and transmitted in a standardised format; 283. Recommends when implementing performance-based instruments in the future, that milestones and targets are clearly defined and linked in a timely manner to avoid accountability gaps and that the measuring of outputs and results is possible; recommends for performance based instruments to create a clear and precise verification mechanism from the beginning; notes that this is crucial in the context of transparency and accountability to the Union taxpayer; 284. Is concerned about transparency and accountability towards the public; urges that the Commission communicates with Member States about appropriate labelling of projects including reference that a project received Recovery and Resilience Funds; regrets following the Court’s annual report 2022 that even at the Commission level there is no clear oversight what specific projects RRF funds are supporting; underlines that the European taxpayer has the right to see what projects EU funds are supporting, where the projects are occurring, and what their added value is; calls on the Commission to increase visibility to insist on clear labelling of projects whether in the form of plaques for physical buildings or renovations, notifications on websites, announcements at conferences or trainings, or labelled on printed documents; Recommendations 285. Supports the Court’s recommendations in its Annual Report as well as in related special reports, and welcomes that the Commission accepts a majority of them; calls on the Commission to implement them and to keep the discharge authority informed on the progress of the implementation; 286. Furthermore, calls on the Commission to:
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - European Parliament |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0248/2023)(2), – having regard to the report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year 2022, Section I – European Parliament(3), – having regard to the Internal Auditor’s annual report for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(4), – having regard to the statement of assurance(5) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Article 318 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(6), and in particular Articles 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to the Bureau decision of 10 December 2018 on the Internal Rules on the implementation of the European Parliament’s budget, and in particular Article 34 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 and Rule 104(3) of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0067/2024), A. whereas the President adopted Parliament’s accounts for the financial year 2022 on 22 June 2023; B. whereas the Secretary-General, as the principal authorising officer by delegation, certified, on 26 June 2023, his reasonable assurance that the resources assigned for Parliament’s budget have been used for their intended purpose, in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and that control procedures established give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions; C. whereas the Court of Auditors stated in its audit that, in its specific assessment of administrative and other expenditure in 2022, it did not identify any serious weaknesses in the annual activity reports of the institutions and bodies it examined as required by Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046; D. whereas Article 262(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 requires each Union institution to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying Parliament’s discharge decision; 1. Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section I – European Parliament (2023/2130(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section I – European Parliament, – having regard to Rule 100 and Rule 104(3) of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0067/2024), A. whereas, in his certification of the final accounts, the European Parliament’s (the ‘Parliament’) accounting officer stated his reasonable assurance that the accounts, in all material aspects, present fairly the financial position, the results of the operations and the cash-flow of Parliament; B. whereas, in accordance with the usual procedure, 60 questions were sent to Parliament’s administration and written replies were received and discussed publicly by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 4 December 2023, in the presence of the Secretary-General, the director of the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (the ‘Authority’) and the Internal Auditor; C. whereas there is always scope for improvement in terms of quality, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as transparency in the management of public finances; whereas thorough scrutiny is imperative to ensure that political leadership and Parliament’s administration are held accountable to Union citizens; whereas Parliament’s integrity is paramount for the functioning of European democracy and increases the citizens’ trust in European institutions; D. whereas foreign interference, information manipulation and disinformation constitute a serious violation of the values on which the Union is founded; whereas the Parliament’s Special Committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the Union, including disinformation (INGE), created in June 2022, exposed in detail third countries' efforts and operations to infiltrate, influence and interfere with European democracies and the Union institutions; E. whereas allegedly Members were paid to promote Russian propaganda; Parliament’s budgetary and financial management 1. Notes that Parliament’s final appropriations for 2022 totalled EUR 2 161 million, or 19,55 % of Heading 7 of the Multiannual Financial Framework(7) set aside for the 2022 administrative expenditure of the Union institutions as a whole, representing a 4,76 % increase compared to the 2021 budget (EUR 2 064 million); 2. Notes that total revenue entered in the accounts as of 31 December 2022 was EUR 250 473 772 (compared to EUR 215 332 108 in 2021); notes that assigned revenue made available in 2022 amounted to EUR 61 267 620 (compared to EUR 37 150 962 in 2021); 3. Emphasises that five chapters accounted for 76,5 % of total commitments: Chapter 10 ‘Members of the institution’; Chapter 12 ‘Officials and temporary staff’; Chapter 14 ‘Other staff and external services’; Chapter 20 ‘Buildings and associated costs’; and Chapter 42 ‘Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance’; 4. Notes the figures on the basis of which Parliament’s accounts for the financial year 2022 were closed, namely:
5. Notes that 21 transfers were approved by Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (‘C transfers’), in accordance with Articles 31 and 49 of the Financial Regulation, in the financial year 2022, amounting to EUR 88 449 115 or 4,09 % of final appropriations; notes that the President authorised 11 transfers (‘P transfers’) amounting to EUR 34 246 879 or 1,6 % of the 2022 budget; enquires between which budget lines these P transfers occurred; calls on the presidency to inform the Committee on Budgetary Control proactively of the amounts and budget lines concerned; 6. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to have generated a moderate surplus of EUR 16 417 325, which was transferred out of items such as those related to travel expenses, the organisation and reception of groups of visitors, the operation of Parliament visitors' centres, external in-person training, documentation/publications and local parliamentary assistants and trainees for Members; observes that at the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to reinforce other budget lines by a total of EUR 7 549 000; highlights that those lines relate mainly to the provision of financial support to staff working at home, health and prevention, and additional expenditure on interpretation to support teleworking and multilingual remote and hybrid meetings; 7. Notes the fact that 2022 was a year of transition for the Union institutions, including Parliament; notes that measures introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic were discontinued by June 2022; welcomes the efforts of all DGs and the Secretary-General to put the necessary tools in place to resume parliamentary work so that it functions in the same way as it did before the COVID-19 pandemic; welcomes the successful resumption of in-presence plenary sessions as of March 2022; remarks that this followed a two-year period during which more than 12 000 voting operations had to take place remotely over no fewer than 175 voting sessions, spread over 30 part-sessions; 8. Notes that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the exceptionally high level of inflation, which by the end of the year 2022 still stood at 10,4 % for the Union on an annual basis, had a profound influence on the 2022 financial year; acknowledges that the Parliament’s administration has put considerable effort into the implementation of the budget with a view to meeting urgent needs arising from the crisis situation; welcomes the donations of technical equipment by Parliament to support Ukraine in difficult times of war; European Court of Auditors’ opinions on the reliability of the 2022 accounts and on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts 9. Recalls that the European Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) performs a specific assessment of administrative and other expenditure as a single policy group for all Union institutions; highlights that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology; highlights that the Court’s work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 10. Notes that the Multiannual Financial Framework Heading 7 ‘European public administration’ accounts for EUR 11,6 billion or 5,9% of the Union budget in 2022, of which Parliament accounts for EUR 2,2 billion or 18,9 %; welcomes the fact that the Court found that the level of error in spending on ‘European public administration’ was not material; calls on the Parliament to check and identify which type of transactions had a high share of errors, although below the materiality threshold and explore the changes in procedure needed to avoid and detect similar errors in the future; 11. Notes that the Court’s annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022 presents specific findings on Parliament; notes the Court’s recommendation that Parliament’s administration strengthens its guidance on the implementation of budget appropriations by the political groups and that it keeps working to improve the internal rules and ensure compliance with procurement rules and procedures; 12. Notes that the Court selected a sample of 13 transactions for Parliament, and that they found quantifiable errors in three of them; notes that procurement was one of the issues raised by the Court; highlights that this type of finding has also been raised in the past; 13. Takes note of the observations of the Court with regard to Parliament’s internal rules; recalls that the political groups manage the funds allocated to them according to the principles of indirect management of funds in analogical application of Article 62(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation; considers that these rules themselves replace the ‘contribution agreements’ (as referred to in Article 155(6) of the Financial Regulation); 14. Recalls, that according to Parliament’s internal rules, the political groups are responsible to the institution for the management of appropriations, within the limits of the powers conferred upon them by the Bureau; takes note that the appropriations are to be managed in accordance with these rules and appropriate action should be taken to prevent any non-compliance; 15. The political groups receive assistance and advice from Parliament when they request; notes that in 2022 the financial departments of the political groups intensified their signatures with national delegations in order to ensure the sound management of the appropriations in line 400; 16. Welcomes the commitment of the administration to increase the guidance for political groups on the proper implementation of Parliament’s internal rules and assist them with the aim of improving their internal financial management; welcomes the fact that it will further clarify the guidelines on procurement by political groups; Internal Auditor’s annual report 17. Notes that, at the meeting between the committee responsible and the internal auditor held on 4 December 2023, the internal auditor presented his annual report and described the assurance audits he carried out and consulting services he provided and reported on the outcome of the current state of play, which in 2022 covered a transversal follow-up of open actions from internal audit reports, an audit of staff missions, a review of Parliament’s risk management framework, an audit of the procurement process in DG INLO, an audit of the purchase and use of security equipment and services in DG SAFE, an audit of the financing of European political parties and European political foundations – second assignment, and a periodic review of the ADENAUER 2 building project – Phase 3 (completion of East Wing); 18. Welcomes and supports the actions that the internal auditor has agreed with the directorates-general responsible, as a result of the assurance assignments with regard to the audit of staff missions, with regard to the review of Parliament’s risk management framework, and with regard to the audit of the procurement process in DG INLO; 19. Takes note of the assurance assignments for which preliminary conclusions are currently being prepared or for which fieldwork is still ongoing, and which are currently following the process envisaged by the charter of the internal auditor; 20. Notes that the 2022 follow-up process resulted in the closure of 38 of the 92 open actions and for which the agreed due dates for implementation had expired; is concerned by the fact that as of 31 December 2022, 29 open actions were overdue for more than 12 months; expects the different directorates-general to ensure that the remaining actions are closed without any further delay and that the agreed actions are implemented in accordance with the due dates set in the internal auditor’s annual report; 21. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action taken for their implementation; notes that, in practice, the reports and findings are only published once all recommendations have been implemented resulting in a de facto delay of publication for years; calls on the Bureau to make each internal audit report available to the public one year after its finalisation, once the internal auditor has validated the actions taken to implement the previous year’s recommendation; recalls that Members may only have access to confidential documents under the Bureau's rules on a need-to-know basis; recalls that all Members of the Committee on Budgetary Control have the right to request confidential access to the internal audit report with regard to the discharge procedure; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; 22. Notes that as a consequence of a post that remained vacant throughout the year, envisaged for an information systems auditor, one planned audit in the field of IT (on cybersecurity staff awareness) could not be carried out in 2022; notes the difficulty in finding specific audit staff profiles, including in the field of IT, to perform audits as planned according to their requirements; calls the Internal Audit Service to address the issue in order to ensure the completion of the remaining audit in time for the next discharge cycle; 23. Welcomes the fact that the Internal Audit Service has, through its 2022 quality assurance and improvement programme, continued to seek the enhancement of its activity in providing objective assurance to the decision-making and oversight authorities, to authorising officers and to management; takes note that the internal auditor stated that he did not receive instructions or guidance from any source, which would be such as to compromise his independence; Follow-up to the 2021 discharge resolution 24. Takes note of the written answers to the 2021 discharge resolution provided to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 13 September 2023, the presentation by the Secretary-General addressing the issues in Parliament's 2021 discharge resolution and the exchange of views with Members that followed; 25. Recalls that once the Plenary calls for different rules or measures to be implemented by Parliament, the rules or measures proposed shall be discussed and voted on by the Bureau; recalls, in light of Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, that the Bureau is responsible for taking decisions on financial, organisational and administrative matters concerning Members; recalls that the Bureau is composed of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (non-voting members) democratically elected by Parliament; notes, that the members of the Bureau deliberate on Parliament’s draft estimates; recalls that the discharge is an exercise of democratic scrutiny and that the concrete demands adopted by Plenary in discharge resolutions shall be reflected in the discussions of the Bureau; 26. Is aware of the fact that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and until the gradual lifting of sanitary restrictions at the beginning of 2022, the Bureau’s deliberations were focused primarily on decisions aiming to protect the integrity of Members and staff while ensuring business continuity and implementing practical solidarity measures vis-à-vis the three host Member States of Parliament; Directorate-General for the Presidency 27. Recalls that the Directorate-General for the Presidency (DG PRES) provides expertise and facilitates the legislative and parliamentary work of the President, the Plenary and Parliament's governing bodies and Members at each stage of the parliamentary and legislative process; recalls that it is also responsible for interinstitutional relations, for protocol support to official visits and events sponsored by the President, for the management of Union classified information, and for the management of official and registered mail, and that it was responsible for interparliamentary relations until November 2022; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 364 members of staff, of which 307 were officials, 19 temporary agents, 37 contract agents, and 1 agency member of staff; 28. Notes that DG PRES’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 1 275 565 in 2022, representing 0,1 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 1 169 055,78 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 29. Welcomes the progress made in the implementation of the various components of the eLegislate programme using XML technology for faster and easier drafting of both amendments to legislative proposals and preparatory documents for interinstitutional legislative negotiations; calls on the various services involved to further intensify their efforts and ensure that all steps in the parliamentary legislative process are assisted by the eLegislate tools from the start of the legislative process in the 10th parliamentary term; 30. Stresses that transparency, accountability, and integrity are essential ethics principles within the Union institutions and in particular Parliament as the house of European democracy; welcomes the prompt actions taken by Parliament regarding the events related to alleged corruption cases concerning Members and employees in December 2022; welcomes the contribution of DG PRES to the 14-point action plan proposed by the President and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; further welcomes the efforts by Parliament’s political authorities to enhance transparency, integrity and accountability in Parliament; calls on the administration to track the budgetary and financial impact of these measures; notes that Parliament reconfirms trust in the Union’s decision-making process by improving transparency, ethics and good conduct in the most representative Union institution through its actions; recalls that these events are commonly known as Qatargate; 31. Notes that 2022 marked the first year of the full implementation of the mandatory transparency register under the revised Interinstitutional agreement (IIA), adopted in July 2021(8) by Parliament, the Commission and the Council; notes that while introducing some principles to enhance a common culture of transparency, the IIA leaves it to the three signatories to implement the conditionality and subsequent complementary measures as they see fit; points out that Parliament has improved conditionality while the Council’s participation remains limited; 32. Recalls the significance of this register as a pivotal instrument in fostering transparent and ethical interest representation at Union level, establishing mandatory registration as a prerequisite for interest representatives to be able to engage in specific activities with the Union institutions, including Parliament; calls for the provision of all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules related to the transparency register are effectively enforced, including, where appropriate, the imposition of adequate sanctions; 33. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and increased number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the regular communication, helpdesk and awareness-raising activities undertaken by the Secretariat among stakeholders both within the institutions and outside, as well as the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; recalls the necessity to keep strengthening data quality checks of new applicants; notes that the quality of entries in the transparency register has improved over recent years due to increased targeted quality monitoring and as a result of investigations based on complaints or own initiative investigations by the Secretariat, and commends, despite limited resources, the role of the Joint Secretariat in that improvement; notes that the Secretariat's targeted quality checks of 4 238 entries over the course of 2022 found that 44% provided satisfactory data quality from the outset, (a number similar to 2021, + 4%) while an additional 35,2% of interest representatives improved the information further to the targeted checks, and 13,6 % were removed following the checks as a result of ineligibility or a failure to update; stresses the need to allocate additional resources to the Secretariat to allow for scrutiny of the transparency register to ensure data quality; calls for an expansion of its scope to include representatives of non-EU countries; recommends that IT solutions are used to integrate the transparency register in all Parliament’s activities involving external entities to allow their participation to be recorded and tracked through the relevant databases; 34. Reiterates its concerns about large-scale foreign interference and disinformation campaigns targeting the Union, particularly by Russia; emphasises the need for an enhanced security culture within Parliament; calls for a mandatory and regular security and integrity training for Members and members of staff, appropriate security clearance and reinforced screening of members of staff, in particular those attending in camera meetings; calls for stricter scrutiny of the organisation of events, of the invitation of external guests to Parliament and of access to Parliament’s communication platforms; calls for an urgent investigation into allegations of Russian influence in Parliament; 35. Calls, as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption within the European Parliament that occurred at the end of 2022, for the establishment of robust standards on transparency and access to Union institutions for all entities listed in the transparency register; recalls that NGOs were allegedly misused as vectors of foreign interference in Parliament's decision-making processes; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of all entities, disclosing all funding sources, before they are listed in the transparency register; recalls the obligation of registering in the transparency register prior to participating in the organisation of events and conferences on Parliament’s premises; 36. Calls on the Commission to ensure that all Union funds are effectively traceable from the direct recipient to the final beneficiary when funds are passed on in a chain as reflected in the proposal for a recast of the Financial Regulation and as requested in the own-initiative report “Transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU Budget” adopted on 17 January 2024(9); calls for a revision of the guidelines for registration in the transparency register to disclose all incoming and outgoing funds, including the transfer of funds from one entity stakeholder to another; underlines that all registrants or entities receiving money from third parties, whose registration in the transparency register is not required, need to disclose the source of their funding; 37. Recalls that Rule 11 of the Rules of Procedure obliges members to publish their meetings with interest representatives; notes with great concern that in the period until 26 January 2023, 261 current Members had not published a single meeting with an interest representative on Parliament’s website; recalls that information and reminder notices on the obligation to publish meetings should be sent to all Members at regular intervals; 38. Notes the revised code of conduct for Members and the increased focus on integrity and transparency regarding Members' declarations of financial interests, potential conflict of interests, meetings with representatives and declarations of input; stresses that the new rules are welcomed but that their interpretation has raised many questions and require action by Parliament’s administration and the Code of Conduct committee; highlights that in order for Members to be in compliance with the new rules, clear and reliable interpretation is necessary to allow the highest level of legal certainty; calls for regular information updates to be sent to Members' offices to allow for greater visibility and accessibility; 39. Considers roll call votes (RCV) to be a key instrument for transparency and accountability towards the Union’s citizens; calls for introducing automatic RCV to any final vote except for secret ballots, and for increasing the number of RCV that are possible for a political group to ask for per part-session in Rule 190(2), or exempting legislative files from that limitation; 40. Notes with satisfaction the successful organisation of mid-term elections in 2022 of the President, Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors in a remote format, as decided by the Conference of Presidents; acknowledges the importance of the plenary remote voting system in the successful running of such a sensitive and complex secret vote; 41. Recalls the changes in Parliament’s Rules of Procedure on 20 December 2020 allowing for remote voting and the fact that voting remotely in committee is currently not allowed unless the President establishes the existence of extraordinary circumstances; reiterates its request to the Bureau, adopted at Plenary level on several occasions, to enable Members to exercise their right to vote remotely while benefiting from maternity or paternity leave, during a long term illness or in cases of force majeure, thus capitalising on the great administrative effort and financial investment that Parliament has made in technical solutions to allow remote voting; 42. Notes that DG PRES managed to address needs that arose after the establishment of the 2022 estimates, despite the volatile sanitary situation and its impact on the level of parliamentary activity; remarks that it also generated a surplus that could be used to finance the needs of other Directorates-General arising from the high inflation in 2022; 43. Recalls that according to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Protocol No 6 annexed to the Treaties, Parliament shall have its seat in Strasbourg, where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session, shall be held; underlines that the suspension of sessions in Strasbourg and remote participation are linked to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic; recalls that any change to the Treaties requires the unanimity of the Member States; recalls the support by the vast majority of Parliament for a single seat to ensure efficient spending of Union taxpayers’ money and to assume its institutional responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint; notes that permanent changes would require a Treaty change; 44. Notes that the suspension of Strasbourg part-sessions during the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to total savings of EUR 26 260 608 according to Parliament’s Secretariat, while also significantly reducing Parliament’s carbon footprint; highlights that the Court estimates that “the end of moving from Strasbourg to Brussels could generate annual savings of EUR 114 million plus a one-off saving of EUR 616 million if the Strasbourg buildings are successfully divested, or a one-off cost of EUR 40 million if they are not”(10); considers that given the current climate crisis, retaining the Strasbourg seat is irresponsible; calls on the Council to take Parliament’s position into account and act on it as a matter of urgency; Directorate-General for Communication 45. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) is a multi-site Directorate-General, with staff located in Brussels, Strasbourg and the Liaison Offices in each of the 27 Member States, as well as in London, Washington D.C. (until 1 November 2022 when the two EPLOs were transferred to the new Directorate-General for Parliamentary Democracy Partnerships), and the Jean Monnet House in Bazoches (France); 46. Notes that DG COMM’s key tasks are to collaborate with the media, to inform, explain and enhance the visibility of Parliament’s work, to increase awareness of Parliament among citizens, stakeholders and opinion leaders through the European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) located in the Member States, to foster interaction with citizens through enhanced visitor projects, events and information campaigns and its presence on social media, and to provide expertise to Members and political groups on topics such as media intelligence and public opinion monitoring; and to combat disinformation by all means, particularly in the lead-up to elections; 47. Emphasises the need for Parliament and the other Union institutions to have adequate resources to safeguard their information space against information manipulation campaigns, while fully upholding Union values; 48. Notes that DG COMM’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 121 235 650 in 2022, representing 5,6 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 121 146 177 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 49. Notes the complexity of activities of the DG COMM; notes the need to increase the visibility of the work of Parliament and to increase citizens’ trust in institution of the Parliament, which would require an increase in the budget for DG COMM; 50. Highlights that during the first four months of 2022, DG COMM’s budgetary implementation was still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular with respect to the visitor groups and visitor facilities; remarks that a large part of the surpluses caused by the suspension of activities was re-allocated to other Parliament services to fund other priorities and to tackle the effect of inflation on staff expenditure; notes that several activities of DG COMM, such as audio-visual services, were also severely impacted by substantial price increases; 51. Notes that, on 10 March 2022, the President issued a revised decision on ‘Security measures to limit the spread of COVID-19’ which meant physical presence for several activities was restored, including re-admitting visitor groups; welcomes the decision to increase the paid financial contributions for travel, accommodation, meals and minor local expenses by 10 % for the sponsored visitor groups in 2022; calls on the Bureau to reverse its decision to reduce the annual quota of sponsored visitors per member from 110 to 100 and from 55 to 50 for election years; highlights that the decision to carry over the unused quota from 2020 to 2022, 2023 and 2024 remained unchanged; insists to the Bureau that APAs be eliminated from the list of permitted heads of groups, leaving only a member of the sponsored group or a professional, such as paying agents or travel agencies, to take up the role, in order to prevent APAs from being compelled to take on the financial responsibility, which can amount to substantial sums of money; 52. Notes that following the energy crisis in the Union, prices for travel and meals have increased considerably; takes note of the planned revision of the rules with regard to the payment of subsidies to sponsored visitors groups; 53. Takes note that the progressive withdrawal of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Member States enabled EPLOs to resume operating under normal conditions with the systematic addition of hybrid elements; highlights that a series of activities connected to the European Year of Youth were organised in EPLOs; notes that in Member States, Members are systematically invited to events and activities with media, stakeholders, civil society organisations and the youth community; notes that Liaison Offices also promote the involvement of Members in third party events and activities; 54. Notes that Members were given the opportunity to take part in plenary debates from the EPLOs in their Member States of election as a result of the exceptional measures put in place during the pandemic, this having been facilitated by the actions of DG COMM; welcomes the increased efforts made by DG COMM to make use of new technologies to facilitate the work of Members during the COVID-19 pandemic; acknowledges that the remote access for national media to the communication activities of Parliament has opened up ways to interact with Union citizens; 55. Takes note that, in 2022, DG COMM finished most of its preparatory work ahead of the 2024 European elections; notes that, in 2022, Parliament’s Bureau approved the communication strategy for the 2024 elections; notes that a pan-European call for proposals was launched in mid-2022 and resulted in the award of 19 grants, financing capacity building actions and/or citizen-engagement activities in support of the European elections; 56. Welcomes the adoption of the European Media Freedom Act which introduces a new set of rules to promote media pluralism and independence across the Union; is of the opinion that it represents an additional tool, within the Union’s continued efforts to fight against systematic campaigns of foreign information manipulation and interference aiming to destabilise the Union; 57. Notes that Europa Experiences are positive actions that promote the work of the Union and that explain Union policies to citizens; notes with satisfaction the increased number of visits to Europa Experiences over the last two years; notes that thousands of visitors per month enjoy Europa Experiences every year; takes note that despite the ongoing inflation crisis in 2022, two new Europa Experience facilities (Paris and Rome) were opened, which allowed the Liaison Offices to benefit from different outreach opportunities and to expand their networks; notes that at the end of 2022, over 80% of the Europa Experience roll-out objectives had been met; 58. Recalls the ongoing struggle in which the Union is involved with regard to safeguarding European values and upholding the integrity of our democratic processes; welcomes the actions undertaken by Parliament in the pursuit of those objectives, fighting against disinformation and information manipulation; calls for the reinforcement of those actions in light of the upcoming European elections and, in particular, calls on DG COMM to keep developing and implementing effective strategies to counter disinformation and information manipulation, especially within an electoral context; highlights that one of the most powerful weapons against disinformation is positive, fact-based communication regarding Parliament’s activities; 59. Believes that granting access to Parliament’s resources, such as video recording studios or other communication platforms must not be used to undermine the Union’s values or for the purposes of disseminating hostile information by authoritarian regimes; Directorate-General for Personnel 60. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Personnel (DG PERS) is responsible for the appropriate and efficient management of human resources within Parliament and ensures that Members are supported by a highly skilled workforce to enable them to duly fulfil their mandate; 61. Notes that DG PERS’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 1 090 141 584 in 2022, representing 50,4% of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 1 087 939 413 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 62. Notes that, in 2022, Parliament recruited fewer officials from competitions organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) (48 officials) than from Parliament-run internal and open competitions (139 officials); regrets that EPSO encountered various problems with the proctoring of online tests and the language regime of competitions; acknowledges the general difficulties encountered by DG PERS and other DGs in attracting and retaining talent, which has an impact on the performance of Parliament’s workforce; calls for more efficient, better targeted and shorter selection procedures that would result in increasing the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer and allow the Directorates-General to speedily recruit the specialist profiles needed to support their work; 63. Highlights that ensuring a fair geographical balance is an important part of creating a truly European public service, remarks that over the years, Parliament has taken a number of measures in that respect; notes that there is still room for improvement; notes that the Bureau has created the legal framework for the organisation of nationality-specific competitions and decided to organise the first of such competitions; highlights that competitions should always be based on professional training of the person, regardless of age, gender, faith; 64. Recalls that, on 13 January 2020, the Bureau approved new and more ambitious targets for gender balance at the senior and middle management levels of Parliament’s administration to be achieved by 2024, meaning that women should hold 50% of head of units posts, 50% of director posts and 40% of director-general posts; recalls that a gender action plan for the years 2021-2022 aimed at facilitating the implementation of these targets, as well as comprehensively mainstreaming gender into all activities of Parliament, was subsequently developed and approved by the Bureau on 6 July 2020; notes that in 2022, women held 28,6 % of director-general posts, welcomes the fact that 50,8 % of director posts, and 43,5 % of head of unit posts were held by women; 65. Acknowledges that several Directorates-General have expressed their concerns about attracting talent and specialised profiles that are essential to carry out Parliament’s core business; notes that only services that are essential may be considered for a potential internalisation exercise; highlights that some services are carried out by external service providers due to their specific nature which does not meet the conditions for internalisation; is therefore of the opinion that the services not meeting these conditions should not be considered for internalisation by the governing bodies; 66. Welcomes the work done by DG PERS with accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs); highlights that DG PERS’ Infodesk organised 85 information sessions for officials, temporary agents and contract agents as well as for APAs, in addition to six webinars on retirement, and 14 information sessions for new Members’ trainees; welcomes the work of the APA’s Front Office Unit in relation to recruitment and management of APA contracts and acting as point of contact for all related questions and procedures; notes that this unit replied to 12 405 information requests, including recruitments, contract modifications, renewals, resignations and terminations; notes with satisfaction that 100 % of contracts for APAs were produced within 10 working days; 67. Notes with satisfaction that, as requested in the 2021 discharge resolution, at its meeting of 10 July 2023, the Bureau requested to introduce the possibility for a negotiated termination of contract between a Member and their APA, for cases where it is necessary to terminate the contract of an APA for reasons other than a loss of trust; 68. Acknowledges that the work of APAs is an integral part of the work of Members and that they play an important role in the legislative procedures of the Union; notes that following the adoption of the APA statute in 2009, the recognition of their work has increased gradually over the years; notes the efforts made by Parliament to create a framework for providing support to APAs; calls on the Bureau and the administration of the Parliament to regularly and formally consult the APA Committee on revisions and reforms that directly impact the rights of APAs; calls for due adherence to the rules in place; calls on Parliament’s administration to explore the feasibility of introducing a notice period within APA's contracts in the event of the unexpected departure of an MEP, whether voluntary or involuntary; 69. Notes, that APAs participate in official missions to Parliament’s three places of work; notes that on 11 December 2023 the Bureau adopted amendments to the ‘Implementing Measures for Title VII of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Union’, governing the employment of APAs; notes that according to this decision the rules applicable to missions undertaken by officials and other servants of Parliament will apply to APAs mutatis mutandis; notes that when APAs have a validated mission order to travel to Strasbourg during the European Parliament plenary sessions then they can travel there in charter train; notes that in the event of chartered Eurostar trains being full, APAs are offered considerably worse and more unreliable travel options than Parliament’s other members of staff; calls on Parliament to examine the need for an additional train; reiterates that APAs accompanying Members to the part sessions in Strasbourg, require a mission order and to be reimbursed in accordance with the applicable rules; 70. Observes that the Bureau Decision on applicable rules on Committee missions outside of the three places of work as amended in November 2011, following discussions in the Conference of Presidents in April 2011 and in the Bureau in November 2011, currently prohibits APAs to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and committee missions; notes that allowing APAs to participate to EP missions unofficially puts the Parliament in a serious reputational risk and imposes specific challenges with regards to their insurance coverage; reminds that MEPs are already accompanied by representatives of political groups on these missions but points out that the technical support that APAs provide during missions is of key importance to the participating Members; reiterates its long-standing request to allow APAs, under certain conditions yet to be determined, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions outside of the three places of work, as reiterated by Plenary in several discharge resolutions; urges the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents to respond positively to this demand; 71. Recalls, that APAs, regardless of their experience and qualifications are excluded from participating in the internal competitions of the European Parliament; invites the Bureau to explore the possibility to grant the same opportunities to APAs, on fair basis and according to set criteria by the relevant DGs, to allow for APAs, under yet to be determined conditions to participate in internal competitions on equal footing with the staff of the European Parliament; notes that APAs through years of experience attain a thorough understanding of the political and technical nuances associated with the exercise of MEPs’ mandate as well as the various legal procedures of the union; stresses that stronger involvement of APAs in the internal structures of the Parliament could lead to more inclusive, diverse and geographically balanced workforce; highlights the importance of knowledge retention and transfer within the European Parliament in relation to the internal working methods; 72. Notes that the cooling off period applicable to APAs is at least twice as long as the cooling off period applicable to MEPs; invites a discussion on harmonising cooling off period for employees of the European Parliament; 73. Welcomes the progress made on the revision of the rules governing the employment of accredited parliamentary assistants; welcomes the positive harmonisation that the decision brings for the staff; welcomes the agreement reached on the mutual termination of contract between APAs and MEPs; welcomes the aligning of rules on mission allowances between APAs and staff; welcomes the revision of mandatory training for APAs upon taking up of duties; welcomes the revision of maternity rules for APAs in order to improve efficient use of resources by MEPs; commends the Bureau of the European Parliament for accommodating the requests of the plenary of the European Parliament and the input from APA Committee over the recent years; encourages the EP bureau to pursue this constructive work with the APA Committee on other pending issues; 74. In order to strengthen transparency and accountability in European parliamentary operations, and to promote fair distribution of resources, the following revisions are proposed regarding parliamentary assistance and overall ceilings and budget: 1. The minimum budget allocation for Parliamentary Assistance (APAs) shall be mandated at a minimum of 35%. 2. The maximum allocation budget for other beneficiaries shall be capped at 65% and shall be divided as follows:
75. Notes that following the two editions of the Schuman Recruitment and Development Programme that were finalised in 2022, 16 % of the candidates from those placed in the pool were recruited in 2022; highlights that this action resulted in the recruitment of 50 successful candidates from 16 different Member States; remarks that of those Member States, nine of the Member States that were represented by few or very few members of staff are now more represented and are represented by 70 % of the corresponding successful candidates; highlights the creation of an alumni network of former Parliament trainees approved by the Secretary-General at the end of 2022; 76. Welcomes that DG PERS implemented the Positive Action Scheme for candidates with a disability, resulting in a significantly higher number of applications than in previous years; 77. Recalls the decision of the Secretary-General of November 2022 on the new rules for teleworking in Parliament applicable to Parliament’s Secretariat; recalls that Members and political groups may also decide to apply the teleworking rules as set out in this decision; remarks that a balanced use of a hybrid working environment is beneficial and productive and therefore welcomes the decision to maintain teleworking possibilities; recalls that physical presence is always of crucial importance for the efficient and effective interaction of all actors in every parliamentary process; 78. Suggests that in order to reconcile the needs of Parliament’s administration (including team cohesion, internal communication and on-boarding of newcomers) which would positively impact its performance as well as the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer, an analysis on the new ways of working continues to be carried out; notes the introduction of the possibility for staff to telework from abroad for five days per year; notes that some of the measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic have modified working conditions in specific services; calls for a proactive monitoring and evaluation of the new ways of working so the well-being and satisfaction of staff are not negatively impacted; 79. Notes that out of the 459 Members of the 8th parliamentary term, who were not re-elected in 2019, only a single notification of post-mandate employment was submitted to Parliament (Article 6 of the Code of Conduct); welcomes the prohibition for former Members to engage in lobbying activities during the six months after the end of their mandate and the introduction of a procedure in the event of non-compliance; applauds that it is no longer possible to issue a lobbyist badge to a former Member within the six-month period following the end of their mandate and that their former Member badge is deactivated if a lobbyist badge is issued to the former Member after this period; notes that in 2022, out of the 199 officials who left service, 65 requested permission for an activity after leaving the service (Article 16 of the Staff Regulations); calls on Parliament to establish stronger rules to regulate revolving doors for Members and civil servants; 80. Strongly believes that the sponsoring of events and trips should never serve as a means to compromise Union values or propagate hostile information by authoritarian regimes; reiterates its call for stricter rules for trips taken by Members that are paid for by foreign countries and entities; believes that similar rules should be drawn up for trips taken by APAs or political group staff; Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics 81. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (DG INLO) manages facilities covering 1,3 million m2 in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, as well as the Liaison Offices and Europa Experience facilities in the Member States; notes that DG INLO also provides catering and transport, and manages and equips Parliament’s office and meeting spaces; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 652 staff members, of which 267 were officials, 47 temporary staff and 338 contract staff; 82. Notes that DG INLO’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 271 191 093 in 2022, representing 12,5 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 269 189 287 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; takes note that budget items where the consumption rate was lower than 95 % were in the areas of mobility, an unsuccessful call for tender for the purchase of vehicles, and lower than expected activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in lower internal meeting expenditure; 83. Acknowledges that Parliament’s ‘Building Strategy beyond 2019’ provides a coherent framework for decisions and contributes to consolidating Parliament’s real estate portfolio while adapting facilities to the evolution of meeting patterns, going local and closer to citizens through the gradual roll-out of Europa Experience Centres, enhancing security for Parliament’s buildings, and achieving the interconnection of its central buildings; notes that the majority of the policies and actions referred to in the current Building Strategy are either completed or well under way; 84. Emphasises the need for an effective and results-oriented facility management of Parliament’s buildings; expresses its satisfaction with the 2022 building assessment results, as communicated to the Bureau in June 2022 in the form of building passports, where the Energy Performance Indoor Environment Quality Retrofit (EPIQR) index score was only 0,1, thus testifying to their overall excellent condition and bearing witness to effective preventive and corrective maintenance and upkeep programming by Parliament’s competent services in the framework of the Integrated Facility Management Strategy focusing on the life cycle management of Parliament’s building portfolio, adopted by the Bureau on 8 March 2021; 85. Welcomes DG INLO’s commitment to putting in place environmentally sustainable solutions; notes that, in 2022, Parliament generated over 19 % of its own energy from renewable sources; welcomes the conduction of a study on on-site electricity production in Strasbourg in 2022 and the subsequent and ongoing implementation of 1 400 m2 of photovoltaic panels on the PFLIMLIN, DE MADARIAGA, and CHURCHILL buildings. Stresses that Parliament could share this energy with the city of Strasbourg when Parliament’s premises are mostly empty; calls on the Bureau to also consider renting the roofs’ surfaces to external users for the installation of solar panels and thereby use it as an additional source of income for Parliament; 86. Notes the inauguration of the East Wing of the ADENAUER building in Luxembourg on 10 May 2022, which along with the putting into service of the West Wing after the completion of its construction in 2024 will provide a single building to house all Parliament services located in Luxembourg in one place; 87. Takes note of the opening of the 15 visitor seminar rooms, a multi-purpose agora and a Sakharov Lounge in the ZWEIG building which will contribute to an enhanced visitor experience in the European Parliament in Brussels; notes the completion of the passageway connecting the ZWEIG building with the buildings of the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee; 88. Welcomes Parliament’s efforts to encourage staff to use sustainable means of transport for commuting by putting an increased number of traditional and electric bicycles at their disposal free of charge and by reimbursing part of the cost of public transport tickets in exchange for limiting access to the car park; welcomes the new scheme offering a 90% price reduction for the Brussels seasonal public transport tickets which has led to an 26,57%increase of staff using a seasonal ticket co-funded by the Parliament; 89. Welcomes the possibility for staff to use rent standard and electric bikes during the part-time sessions in Strasbourg; welcomes the expansion of the bicycle fleet; regrets that in practice the bikes are fully booked out days in advance; calls on Parliament to examine the possibility for offering more rental bikes in Strasbourg and extending the timeframes for their pick-up to meet the demand by Members and staff and contribute to enhancing sustainable mobility; 90. Welcomes that the percentage of zero-emission or plug-in hybrid cars in the people transport service fleet has increased from 81% in 2021 to 97% in 2022; 91. Points out that a large share of the seats available in the vehicle fleet commuting between Brussels and Strasbourg for plenary sessions seats remained unoccupied in 2022; reiterates its call on Parliament’s administration to widen the user group and allow Parliament’s staff to travel to and from Strasbourg with the service fleet without the presence of a Member, while making sure that Members’ seats are secured; 92. Recognises the importance and added value of Parliament’s EMAS certification with regard to its sustainable environment and circular economy institutional approach; takes note of the water-saving and waste-management measures taken by the administration to that effect; 93. Takes note of the unanimous decision of the Bureau of 23 October 2019 to approve the creation of an IDEA Lab with the aim of testing new, innovative solutions in the context of offices and facility management; welcomes the creation of a permanent laboratory for innovation which could potentially lead to savings in future renovation projects and calls for the establishment of a separate budget line; points out that the IDEA Lab is supposed to be at the disposal of Members and requests that Members will be informed about innovations and tested solutions that will be rolled-out in the future and those that are not pursued any further and for what reasons; is of the opinion that one of the priorities of the IDEA Lab should be an innovative architectural solution to make better use of the space occupied by the unused showers in the Members’ offices; calls on the Bureau working group on buildings and Parliament’s administration to ensure greater transparency regarding the budget for the IDEA Lab and to regularly present to the Committee on Budgetary Control the list of innovative solutions, their cost and the feedback produced, as well as the potential saving if implemented; 94. Takes note of the various accessibility-related projects and works implemented in all three sites of work as well as the EPLOs and the Europa Experience Centres aiming to ensure total conformity with the applicable regulatory framework in line with Parliament’s commitment to being a barrier-free institution, accessible to all; 95. Acknowledges that due to Russia’a war of aggression against Ukraine and the energy crisis, supply chain disruptions and raw material shortages forced DG INLO to review its projects and adjust its budget; remarks that due to the resulting deficit in the energy budget, DG INLO had to freeze or put on hold some projects to liberate the resources necessary to cope with the high price increase; 96. Takes note of the measures implemented in order to lower Parliament’s energy consumption, such as reducing maximum heating temperatures in office areas and increasing minimum cooling temperatures, switching off the heating and cooling systems during the weekend and public holidays, reducing the lighting of building facades and decreasing indoor lighting levels; acknowledges that the measures are to be reassessed as the energy crisis evolves and should always grant the wellbeing of staff; 97. Acknowledges that the different measures put in place by the administration following the relevant Bureau decisions of May and October 2022 resulted in a significant energy consumption reduction amounting to savings of EUR 10,5 million from May 2022 until October 2023; 98. Acknowledges that throughout 2022 DG INLO continued the implementation of Parliament’s Building Strategy Beyond 2019; notes the contribution of the purchase of the Trèves II building with regard to the implementation of this strategy and to the consolidation of Parliament’s real estate, in particular with the intention of allowing the interconnectivity of Parliament’s central buildings in Brussels; requests a timetable for the interconnection between the Trèves I and Trèves II to the main central buildings in Brussels; 99. Commends Parliament for the accessibility adaptation works that have been undertaken in the Brussels buildings between 2017 and 2022 that amounted to EUR 3,3 Million overall(11); welcomes the fact that the tribune in the visitors’ area of the hemicycle in the SPAAK building is now accessible to people with reduced mobility; recalls that the Union has been at the forefront of promoting inclusivity and equality for all its citizens; recalls that every European citizen should have equal access when visiting the Union institutions; calls on Parliament to pursue the analysis of the needs of visitors with disabilities and asks that the appropriate measures be implemented; 100. Takes note of the Bureau minutes of the additional meeting of 6 July 2022 where the Bureau took note and endorsed the results of the International Architectural Design Competition for the Renewal of the SPAAK building; notes that 5 laureates were endorsed by the Bureau; notes that no other decision was taken during 2022 on this topic and there were thus no financial consequences while at the same time stresses the increasing urgency to start the renewal works as soon as possible; highlights that on 14 February 2024 the final plans to begin renovation works were swiftly approved at committee level, given the deteriorating condition of the building; stresses that the current building has a very low energy efficiency rating and lacks much needed flexibility to be fit for purpose; highlights that the European Parliament should be a forerunner with its own building portfolio in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability to safeguard citizen’s support for the objectives of the Green Deal; notes that the renovation would lead to significant cost savings of several million EUR per year and in addition help to comply with the requirements of the future European Energy Efficiency Directive and Building Performance Directive; 101. Takes further note of the Bureau decision of 6 July 2022, on the building strategy for Strasbourg, focusing on improving hosting and accommodation capacity, optimising the use of Parliament premises, enhancing accessibility and consolidating staff functionality; 102. Notes that Parliament’s self-service canteen on the -1 floor of the Spinelli building is frequently overcrowded at peak hours, resulting in long queues and waiting times; calls on the Bureau to reflect on imposing access restrictions to the canteens in Parliament’s main buildings for external visitors and visitor groups; is concerned about the unsatisfactory price/quality ratio and particularly the lack of affordable vegetarian options; asks the administration to propose solutions to remedy that situation; 103. Notes that in 2022, after the COVID-related capacity restrictions were lifted, the offer of seats in the service fleet going on Mondays from Brussels to Strasbourg was 250 places and that per part-session week in 2022, on average 162 seats or 65% of seats available in the fleet were occupied; reiterates its call on Parliament’s administration to widen the use of seats while making sure that Members’ seats are secured to avoid wastage of resources; Directorate-General for Translation 104. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Translation (DG TRAD) is responsible for the provision of high-quality multilingual legislation and other linguistic services to the European Parliament, Parliament’s services and all citizens of the Union, based on the principle of full resource-efficient multilingualism; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 1 109 members of staff, of which 945 were officials, 97 temporary agents, 66 contract agents, and 1 agency member of staff; 105. Notes that DG TRAD’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 17 105 500 in 2022, representing 0,8 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 16 834 967 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 106. Welcomes DG TRAD’s commitment to providing high-quality language services in a timely manner; notes with satisfaction that, in 2022, over 2,89 million gross pages were translated, representing a 26 % increase compared to 2021; notes with satisfaction that the vast majority of work was delivered on time (98,5 % in normal circumstances and 98,6 % when the requests were not in accordance with the rules); 107. Welcomes DG TRAD’s promotion and production of content in ‘Citizens’ language’, Parliament’s own approach to clear language adapted to people’s needs in the 24 official Union languages; welcomes the establishment of a Ukrainian language team, providing linguistic services in Ukrainian, including translations, audio products and subtitles for a dedicated website; 108. Recalls the deaf community’s long-standing demand, since 2016, for the ability to submit petitions to Parliament in EU national sign languages; stresses that the measure would allow the deaf community to express their right to petition, which is one of the fundamental rights of all European citizens, enshrined both in the Treaty and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; notes the analysis carried out by DG LINC and DG ITEC on the most efficient solution with minimal cost sent to the Committee of Petitions in May 2020; calls on the administration to adopt this solution and to facilitate the submission of petitions expressed in EU national sign languages via the Petitions Portal; 109. Notes with satisfaction the successful completion of the first round of the open competition for intercultural and language professionals, covering 11 languages, and organised by DG TRAD and DG PERS; highlights that DG TRAD also started recruiting successful laureates of its first ever open competition for clear language professionals; welcomes the fact that cooperation significantly accelerated made the recruitment of highly qualified officials with up-to-date and forward-looking profiles; 110. Recalls that the official languages to be used by the Union institutions, bodies and agencies are established in Regulation No 1(12); acknowledges that DG TRAD ensures that Parliament’s procedural content is available in all 24 official and working languages of the Union; welcomes the exceptional work done by interpreters in 2022, ensuring, as far as possible, that public debates are interpreted in all official Union languages; stresses that, under Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, Members have the right to speak in any of the 24 official languages of the Union, which reflects European cultural and linguistic diversity and also makes the Union institutions more accessible and transparent to all Union citizens; notes that one working language in particular is often used widely in the Parliament’s work; calls for multilingualism to be respected by ensuring, where necessary, an adequate number of translation and interpreting staff; 111. Highlights that DG TRAD is the linguistic authority of the European Parliament, both by supporting the adoption of multilingual legislation and by contributing to multilingual communication in clear language with Members Union citizens by introducing clear language standards; Directorate-General for Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences 112. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences (DG LINC) is responsible for providing linguistic, technical and logistical support for meetings and conferences; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 554 staff members, of which 443 were officials, 29 temporary agents and 82 contract agents; highlights that the quality of the interpretation provided has a direct impact on the message conveyed to the citizens of the Union; 113. Notes that DG LINC’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 79 569 347 in 2022 representing 3,7 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 79 282 501 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 114. Highlights that demand for DG LINC services started increasing considerably as from the beginning of 2022 while COVID-19 restrictions were still in place; acknowledges that this put pressure on resources as more interpreters, technical support and complex planning operations were needed due to social distancing and other restrictions; takes note that the effects of inflation had an impact on the remuneration of external conference interpreter agents; notes that the increased cost of interpretation was partially mitigated by remote interpretation of Strasbourg plenary sessions from Brussels; with the aim of improving working conditions, primarily better sound quality and a limitation on the number and duration of interpreting hours of remote speakers; 115. Takes note that interpreter representatives contested the working conditions applicable to interpreting for remote participants due to the impact on the health and well-being of interpreters that resulted from remote interpretation for long periods of time, in particular the reported hearing problems; recalls the duty of care owed by the European institutions to their workers; highlights that the resulting industrial action in the summer and autumn of 2022 led to interpreting stoppages, affecting remote speakers; remarks that interim Interpreter Working Arrangements for meetings with remote participation entered into force on 17 October 2022; notes that they allowed for restoration of interpretation for remote speakers while maintaining the reduced weekly working hours for interpreters, thus resulting in a reduction of the service provision; notes that social dialogue aiming to establish a permanent framework and full restoration of interpretation services was ongoing at the end of 2022 and was concluded in 2023; 116. Welcomes the fact that, in 2022, DG LINC was able to consolidate its provision of interpretation services while adapting to the challenging regulatory environment; notes with satisfaction that DG LINC serviced a total of 5 278 parliamentary meetings with interpretation and delivered an average of 5 266 interpretation hours per working week, up from 4 172 meetings and 4 039 weekly hours of interpretation in 2021; notes that this is still below the 2017 and 2018 pre-COVID averages; 117. Recalls Article 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; reiterates its long-standing request to the Secretary-General to analyse the feasibility of international sign language interpretation for all plenary debates and to implement without delay this request; believes moreover that plenary sessions retransmission in the sign languages used in each Member State would increase participation of persons with disabilities in the EU democratic process; highlights the importance of using digital tools, including AI-powered assistive appliances; also insists on the need for accessible information through easy-to-read formats, pictograms and new technologies, for all persons with disabilities; Directorate-General for Finance 118. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Finance (DG FINS) is the administrative body responsible for Parliament’s budgetary and financial affairs; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 246 members of staff, of which 149 were officials, 27 temporary agents, 63 contract agents, and 7 agency members of staff; 119. Notes that DG FINS’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 396 723 134 in 2022 representing 18,4 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 395 647 243 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 120. Notes that, in 2022, many of the tasks for which DG FINS is responsible more or less returned to pre-pandemic levels; notes that the war in Ukraine had a tangible impact on DG FINS’ activities, requiring resilience and adaptability to ensure the continuity of certain activities in Parliament through the mobilisation and reallocation of the financial resources needed to cope with the inflationary shock; 121. Welcomes the fact that in response to the significant increase in inflation and interest rates, as well as the global energy crisis, DG FINS tightened its supervision of the levels of utilisation of budget appropriations and had to take exceptional measures to ensure the continuity of Parliament’s operations, including through numerous budget reallocations and a request for an amending budget in November 2022; 122. Notes with satisfaction that DG FINS was able to take advantage of the efficiency of its processes and the commitment of its staff to ensure the continuity of the services for which it is responsible and the achievement of the objectives set in its annual work programme; notes the concerns expressed by Members about undue and often significant delays in the processing of reimbursements, with an average time for reimbursement of travel and subsistence allowances of up to 40 days; welcomes that Parliament is continuously modernising its processes in order to offer Members better services by applying automation, simplification and digitisation; calls DG FINS for further speeding up the workflows to provide more expedited procedures; notably by equipping its agents with the necessary tools and software to manage workloads efficiently, thereby reducing processing time; 123. Acknowledges the work of local assistants as an essential part of member’s activities in their constituencies and as first contact point for citizens; stresses that the hiring and contract-signing process for local assistants has been increasingly challenging for some years now due to a myriad of administrational requests resulting in double checks and unclear requirements; stresses that DG FINS should recognise that local assistants are subject to national legislation and therefore requests country-specific desks to deal with the hiring process; further recalls that voluntary and political activities of local assistants, within the rules set by the European Parliament, are often regular occupations, which should not warrant unnecessary checks; 124. Takes note of DG FINS’ involvement in the changes to the regulatory framework for the funding of political structures; welcomes the fact that it contributed to the drafting of the proposal adopted by the Bureau in July 2022 to amend the rules on the use of appropriations relating to the funding of political groups; notes that the amendment takes into account the situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and provides, by way of exception, a method for maintaining the carry-over ceiling from 2022 to 2023 of unspent funds at 75 % instead of 50 %; notes with satisfaction that DG FINS was also involved in the work on the revision of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations(13); 125. Welcomes the sustained efforts made during 2022 to digitalise processes, including the development of new functionalities and the redesign of the e-Portal application; notes with satisfaction that as a result the rate of use of the application increased; 126. Recalls that long-Covid requires long-term care and is still subject to intensive research activities; notes that there are long-term patients among EU Parliament members, staff and APAs, who require continuous assistance; regrets that the current JSIS rules do not foresee adequate reimbursements leaving those concerned with a huge financial burden; stresses that similar unfavourable conditions apply to many persons with auto-immune diseases, which are not appropriately recognised; calls on DG FINS and PMO to modify the reimbursement rules to better reflect their needs; 127. Welcomes the organisation of working sessions on specific public procurement topics, including contract price management and fraud management; takes note of the comparative and feasibility studies that concluded in favour of the Commission’s model based on e-Procurement; 128. Notes that DG FINS coordinates the services connected with the organisation of travel tailored to the needs of Members and all Parliament’s administrative services, including the travel agency; welcomes the fact that DG FINS, in partnership with the travel agency, made efforts to automate the management of the reimbursement of Members’ rail travel expenses; notes that 2022 was the second last year before the contract of the current agency ends; reiterates that the new agency chosen should be able to offer more flexible and well-priced solutions for Members that are similar to the offers they can find on the open market; 129. Is concerned that in 2022, five cases of suspected fraud were found where allegedly Members claimed specific means of transport while in fact using a cheaper one; notes that two recovery orders totalling EUR 39 807 are expected to be issued and that the other cases are currently under further investigation, these covering several budgetary years, and could amount to EUR 801 000; 130. Notes the announcement at the Bureau meeting of 7 March 2022 regarding the setting up of an ad-hoc Bureau Working Group on the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA), which is tasked with evaluating the implementation of the Bureau decision of 2 July 2018 establishing a list of expenses which may be defrayed from the GEA on the basis of the experience gained during the 9th parliamentary term; observes that the Bureau, at its meeting of 17 October 2022, adopted a set of amendments to the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members (IMMS), clarifying the rules applicable to the entitlement and use of the GEA and measures aimed at increasing transparency and providing more legal certainty regarding the entitlement to the allowance; highlights that the ad-hoc Working Group was asked to take duly into account aspects of transparency, accountability and sound financial management of funds made available to Members, bearing in mind the principle of freedom and independence of the parliamentary mandate and the objective of not creating unnecessary administrative burdens for Members, their offices and Parliament’s services; 131. Points out that in 2022 there were only 32 voluntary declarations on the use of the GEA submitted by 26 Members, of which 29 contained an auditor's report; welcomes efforts by the Secretariat to encourage MEP’s to make increased use of these options; 132. Highlights that Members are free to document their use of the funds under the GEA, in detail or by type of cost, on their own or with the support of an external auditor, and to have this information published in whole or in part on their online page on Parliament’s website in accordance with Rule 11, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament; welcomes that a simplified list of types of costs is integrated into the IMMS and that an amendment clarifying the possibility for Members to use the GEA in the case of exhaustion of other allowances has also been adopted; 133. Recalls that OLAF has the mandate to investigate suspicions of serious misconduct by Union staff and members of the Union institutions, including possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament; notes that in 2022 there were no cases in which OLAF requested access to offices or email accounts of Members; notes that a procedure to strengthen the mandate of OLAF in Parliament in cases of substantiated suspicions regarding individual Members when it is strictly needed and proportionate for the investigation and fully respecting confidentiality in accordance with the principle of immunities as laid down in Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union could be completed; reiterates its call on the Bureau to set up such a procedure without delay; 134. Notes that, in 2022, OLAF investigated 32 cases involving Parliament on issues related to, in particular, Members’ financial and social entitlements, the financing of political structures and the discharge of professional obligations by staff; highlights that OLAF issued 14 reports, some of which had more than one recommendation, of which 5 included financial recommendations, 5 included disciplinary recommendations, 1 included an administrative recommendations, and 7 did not include any recommendations; takes note that in 2022 the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) investigated 4 cases involving Parliament on issues related to Members’ financial and social entitlements, and the financing of political structures; notes that none of the investigations conducted by EPPO in 2022 was concluded on the same year; asks the administration to the extent legally possible whether the recommendations made by OLAF have been fully implemented and the amounts at risk have been recovered, as well as to provide a summary, without any sensitive data, of the typology of cases investigated in order to be able to draw conclusions and make improvements; 135. Notes that Parliament has systematically rejected OLAF’s requests to conduct inspections of MEPs’ offices and access their electronic servers and devices; highlights that Members are protected by the non-liability for votes cast and opinions expressed in the performance of their duties and the protection from prosecutions and restrictions of their personal freedom during the sessions of Parliament; recalls that OLAF can only enter Members' offices after Parliament’s President grants access following a request issued by a responsible authority of a Member State, in most cases a judge; recalls that OLAF needs to respect these limits in the observance of its duties and investigations and stresses that alleged misconduct cannot be used as a pretext to request direct access; 136. Regrets that despite at least 25 breaches of the Code of Conduct by Members recorded in the past twelve years, Parliament’s Presidents have not a single time imposed a financial sanction on a Member; calls on the President to consider imposing financial sanctions when it has been proven that Members have breached the Code of Conduct to ensure the sanctions actually have a deterrent effect; 137. Notes that in the year 2022, the amount of EUR 261 891 was recovered by the European Parliament from individual MEPs on revenue budget line 3300 "Repayment of amounts wrongly paid"; notes that large part of this amount is not related to parliamentary assistance allowance; notes that in general, amounts recovered on revenue budget line 3300 (from individual MEPS but also from political groups/parties/foundations, third parties, staff, other individuals, etc.) for the largest part represent technical recoveries such as the regularisation of amounts spent related to contracts evolved or terminated and for a large majority they do not concern APAs; observes that these amounts also include cases which relate to the voluntary reimbursements by a limited number of MEPs and the specific case of corrections, which were due either to administrative errors in the EP calculations or retroactive change of the rules in some Member States and off-set; notes that changes in terms of contracts and potential related recoveries after validated adaptations of the terms of contract are also falling under this category; Directorate-General for Innovation and Technological Support 138. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Innovation and Technological Support (DG ITEC) provides Parliament with information and communications technology (ICT) services and equipment, videoconferencing and multimedia services as well as publishing and printing services; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 543 staff members, of which 349 were officials, 53 temporary agents and 141 contract staff; 139. Notes that DG ITEC’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 134 808 679 in 2022 representing 6,2 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 134 439 573 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 140. Welcomes the fact that DG ITEC partners with client Directorates-General to deliver a user-centred, secure, hybrid and data driven working environment for Members and staff; notes with satisfaction its promotion of the sustainable and responsible deployment of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to enhance the decision-making capabilities of Parliament’s services; 141. Recalls the added-value of free and open source software in improving security since they make it possible for Parliament to identify and fix weaknesses, keep control over the data by hosting in its servers and designing solutions according to its own specifications, while being able to avoid vendor lock-in effects; recalls that only high standards of cyber security should guide the selection of the software used; 142. Notes that Parliament’s cyber-defence activities were strongly marked by a constantly growing cyber threat and risk landscape around Parliament and the other Union institutions, bodies and agencies; welcomes the fact that additional resources have been used by CERT-EU to guide Parliament in the domains of cloud infrastructure applications, enhanced cyber threat intelligence and 24/7 monitoring of the security perimeter, as well as vulnerability identification; 143. Welcomes the creation of the Directorate for Cybersecurity in 2022, responsible for information security and composed of three units, dealing with security operations, security policy and security risk; urges Parliament to maintain its efforts and increase its investment in cybersecurity; welcomes that DG ITEC offered the possibility to check IT equipment for evidence of spyware such as PEGASUS, calls for DG ITEC to keep working in this area; 144. Notes that following the increased use of portable devices in 2022, DG ITEC issued a global study to plan improvements to the Wi-Fi network in Parliament buildings; notes that, in 2022, the SPAAK building in Brussels was reinforced with the deployment of 351 additional antennas; acknowledges the efforts made to improve the Wi-Fi network in Parliament buildings; calls for further enhancement of the mobile network in Parliament buildings in Strasbourg in order to improve mobile phone reception; 145. Highlights that worldwide inflation coupled with supply chain issues are causing cost increases in areas from hardware to professional services; welcomes the fact that DG ITEC has reprioritised ongoing IT investments; welcomes the new and faster IT governance cycle as part of DG ITEC’s Agile IT programme; 146. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for the rapidly accelerated digital transformation of Parliament in the last few years; highlights the move to a hybrid Parliament with fully flexible working arrangements from physical presence to a fully digital working environment; welcomes the resilience demonstrated by Parliament in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that its response was rapid and flexible and benefited from previous investments in digitalisation; 147. Recalls the deaf community’s longstanding demand for the possibility to submit petitions in national sign languages used within the Union; notes the discussions held during the Committee of Petitions meeting on 29/11/2023 and 19/03/2024, specifically addressing Petition 1056/2016, and underlines Parliament’s commitment to enhancing accessibility for all European citizens; recalls that Parliament’s Rules of Procedure require petitions to be submitted in written form; calls on Parliament’s Administration to implement the necessary changes in the Petitions Portal in order to enable Petitioners to support their written petition with a video recorded translation in sign language; encourages the Administration to invite relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the deaf community, to provide input and feedback during the implementation process to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of the proposed measures; 148. Welcomes the fact that the Digital Signature Portal (DiSP) allows Members to digitally sign documents, which improves efficiency, traceability and transparency to the procedures, notes that, regardless of the possibility to send signed plenary AMs to the plenary services by email or via the EP Transfer portal, signing plenary amendments is still an outdated and burdensome procedure; calls on the Bureau to take the necessary steps for introducing the possibility for Members to sign plenary amendments digitally in the future; Directorate-General for Security and Safety 149. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Security and Safety (DG SAFE) seeks to anticipate, prevent and mitigate security risks and threats to Parliament and its Members and staff by using a risk-based approach that takes into due consideration the democratic nature of the institution and the values it embodies, in particular openness and transparency; notes that by 31 December 2022, there were 882 members of staff, of which 170 were officials, 22 temporary agents and 690 contract agents; 150. Notes that DG SAFE’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 29 507 334 in 2022, representing 1,4 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 28 370 796 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; 151. Welcomes the internalisation of general security services in Luxembourg which entered into force on 1 January 2022; confirms the difficulty of attracting and recruiting specialised staff from all Member States in the security field with the conditions offered under function group I; recalls the particular situation in Luxembourg, where the salary offered in this function group is lower than the national minimum inter-professional wage, forcing Parliament to resort to social compensation; 152. Points to the increased demand for DG SAFE to provide additional and exceptional security and safety services in all places of work for a growing number of large-scale events; recognises the challenge it represents for Parliament’s security services, which have a fixed number of agents, to positively respond to these growing needs; 153. Welcomes the return to normal of the level of visitors following the relaxation of COVID-related restrictions in 2022; is concerned that the lack of space in Brussels to welcome and accredit event and conference participants might pose a risk to Parliament’s security; 154. Stresses the importance of thorough forward planning for projects related to European Parliament Liaison Offices and Europa Experience Centres to be able to carefully estimate expenses for security and safety services and equipment; Horizontal issues with implications on Parliament’s budget for the 2022 financial year Harassment 155. Welcomes Parliament’s zero tolerance policy on harassment and the awareness-raising campaigns carried out; stresses that the Code of Appropriate Behaviour for Members of the European Parliament seeks to ensure that Members behave towards everyone working in Parliament with dignity, courtesy and respect and without prejudice or discrimination; recalls that in 2022, 56 MEPs participated in the training session; notes that, since November 2018, when the first sessions were offered, a total of 324 current MEPs (46%) had participated in the training session, plus 56 former Members whose mandate has ended; notes that in 2022, 106 members of staff and APAs had participated in anti-harassment training courses; notes with concern that cases of harassment are still occurring regardless of the activities being carried out to eliminate harassment in the work place; 156. Recalls that in previous discharges the implementation of mandatory anti-harassment training courses for all Members and APAs, as well as staff, including persons in managerial roles in the different Directorates-General and political groups was requested; acknowledges that to help build a better working environment in the European Parliament and avoid any abuse of power, on 10 July 2023, the Bureau further approved a training concept on successful team management as well as harassment prevention; welcomes the Bureau’s efforts to make the anti-harassment training session mandatory for all members as well as Heads of Unit, Directors and Directors-General; 157. Highlights that there should be mandatory anti-harassment training for members, APAs and members of staff and that all members of staff, including medical personnel playing a role in anti-harassment procedures, should be specially trained for these procedures; 158. Highlights the fact that the Advisory Committee on Harassment and its Prevention in the Workplace received two complaints in 2022, lodged by two trainees; notes that in addition, one member of staff contacted the committee for consultation; 159. Highlights that the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members has a mandate to examine allegations of psychological or sexual harassment against Members from all categories of staff, including APAs, trainees, seconded national experts and political group staff; notes that with the aim of further reinforcing Parliament’s anti-harassment policies, on 20 November 2023, the Bureau adopted a number of additional amendments to the rules on the functioning of the advisory committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members; reiterates its calls on the Bureau to include independent experts on harassment issues in both advisory committees to assist in the performance of their duties; 160. Stresses that sexual and psychological harassment are not acceptable under any circumstances; recalls that Parliament has successfully installed several contact points to deal with harassment cases, like the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members, and the Advisory Committee on harassment and its prevention at the workplace as well as confidential counsellors; is very concerned by media revelations of alleged sexual harassment by a Member since summer 2022 without action having been taken; recalls that all political groups are strongly encouraged to report potential cases to these committees and that establishing external structures with the same purpose leads to circumventing Parliament’s anti-harassment protocol and establishes a two-tier system; underlines that this leads to grave uncertainty for victims and establishes different rules for different political parties; 161. Notes that, in 2022, 13 staff members (compared to 9 in 2021) sought the assistance of the institution pursuant to Article 24 of the Staff Regulations; remarks that 6 of the cases (compared to 5 in 2021) related to alleged harassment; highlights that none of the members of staff concerned were officials and that all six were APAs or former APAs; 162. Considers that harassment of the parliamentary assistant by other parliamentary assistants or Parliament officials should also be taken into account; Whistleblowers 163. Recalls that staff members of the Union institutions have an obligation to report any information pointing to corruption, fraud and other serious irregularities that they discover in the line of duty; notes that Parliament recorded one case of whistleblowing in 2022; welcomes the ongoing work in 2022 to update the Internal Rules Implementing Article 22(c) of the Staff Regulations of 4 December 2015 with more comprehensive and detailed internal rules; welcome that a Bureau decision regarding the internal rules on whistleblowing was adopted on 20 November 2023 and applies from 1 December 2023; including provisions for the protection of whistleblowers, transmission of evidence to OLAF and, if appropriate, EPPO as well as deadlines for the handling of complaints; 164. Following Bureau Notice No 18/2023 on the Internal rules on whistleblowing and the obligations placed upon APAs and staff members to report any violations, it is imperative that all services within the Parliament also be obligated to report any information they have of fraud, violations of financial rules, or any conduct that breaches the Parliament's ethical code. This obligation applies to all such information, regardless of its confidentiality, and should be reported to the relevant service within the Parliament; Voluntary Pension Fund (VPF) 165. Notes that the actuarial deficit of the Voluntary Pension Fund (VPF) on 31 December 2021 amounted to EUR 379 million (compared to EUR 371,4 million on 31 December 2020); welcomes the amendments made by Parliament’s Bureau to Article 76 of the IMMS in relation to the Additional (Voluntary) Pension Scheme, which entered into force on 1 July 2023, aiming to reduce future pension obligations from EUR 362,7 million to an estimated EUR 139 million, and the actuarial deficit of the fund from EUR 310 million to an estimated EUR 86 million; 166. Welcomes the latest decisions taken by the Bureau; recalls that the problem will still need to be addressed in the future as the fund is expected to exhaust its assets by 2027 at the latest; acknowledges that Parliament is not involved in the management of the VPF’s investment portfolio; but calls on the Fund’s manager to carry out a proper assessment of the potential reputational risk of its investments; notes that the legal assessment of the latest judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union and their consequences for future Bureau decisions were also made available to the Members of the Bureau in order to allow them to take an informed decision; notes that there are ongoing appeals in the Court of Justice of the European Union and the matter will need to be addressed again after the judgments are handed down; 167. Asks the administration and the Bureau to address the matter once again only after the legal assessment of the CJEU is delivered in order to consider the future of the VPF; Annual report on contracts awarded 168. Recalls that the Financial Regulation specifies the information to be provided to the budgetary authority and to the public concerning the award of contracts by Parliament; notes that the Financial Regulation requires publication of contracts awarded with a value greater than EUR 15 000, a value that corresponds to the threshold above which a competitive tendering procedure becomes compulsory; notes that, of a total of 194 contracts awarded in 2022, 63 were based on an open procedure, with a value of EUR 359,3 million, and 1 on a restricted procedure, with a value of EUR 460 000; notes that there 126 contracts were awarded by negotiated procedures, with a value of EUR 48 million; 169. Notes that the total amount of contracts awarded decreased in 2022 (194) compared to 2021 (221); notes the substantial reduction of the contracted amounts, which in 2022 reached EUR 410 million, compared to EUR 1 016 million in 2021; 170. Notes the following breakdown of contracts by type awarded in 2022 and 2021, including building contracts:
171. Notes the following breakdown of contracts awarded in 2022 and 2021 by type of procedure used, in terms of number and value:
Political groups (budget item 400) 172. Notes that, in 2022, the appropriations entered under budget item 400, attributed to the political groups and non-attached Members, were used as follows(14):
173. Welcomes the fact that independent external auditors for the political groups only issued unqualified opinions for the financial year 2022; 174. Recalls that these appropriations are intended to cover activities in connection with the Union’s political activities, and that political groups are responsible to Parliament for their use; European political parties and European political foundations 175. Notes that, in 2022, the Authority gave European political parties and European political foundations the right to be heard as well as the opportunity for corrective measures in 9 cases; further notes that these were cases relating to reporting requirements, rules concerning revenue and joint activities; highlights that the Authority’s early scrutiny indicates that the immediately relevant corrective measures were implemented by the European political parties and foundations concerned in all these cases; takes note that the Authority will continue to monitor that corrective measures with a long-lasting effect will ensure sustained compliance in the areas concerned; welcomes the fact that no sanctions had to be adopted in 2022; 176. Welcomes the fact that in preparation for the 2024 European elections, the Authority is actively enhancing cooperation networks by exploring further partnerships in defence of democratic integrity; 177. Notes with concern that the Authority reports that it is facing constrained human resources; highlights that this issue is expected to become more pressing due to the evolving challenges in the run-up to the 2024 European elections, including, in particular ,the need to protect democratic integrity against novel forms of foreign interference, as well as the necessary administrative implementation of any new tasks that would arise for the Authority from the ongoing negotiations on a recast of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014; 178. Recalls the key role of a lively and resilient European democracy underpinned by pluralism of political parties at Union level; emphasises therefore that a level playing field has to be ensured and compliance has to be controlled with full respect for procedural rights; welcomes, in this respect, the essential work of the Authority, which independently and in close cooperation with Parliament ensures compliance of European political parties and foundations with the legal framework, provides transparency to citizens and contributes to the integrity of Parliament elections; 179. Notes that, in 2022, the appropriations entered under budget item 402 were used as follows(15):
180. Notes that, in 2022, the appropriations entered under budget item 403 were used as follows(17):
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - Court of Justice of the European Union |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0251/2023)(2), – having regard to the annual report of the Court of Justice of the European Union to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0075/2024), 1. Grants the Registrar of the Court of Justice discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Court of Justice of the European Union for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section IV – Court of Justice of the European Union (2023/2132(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section IV – Court of Justice of the European Union, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0075/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) is the judicial institution of the Union, having the task of ensuring compliance with Union law by overseeing the uniform interpretation and application of the Treaties and ensuring the lawfulness of measures adopted by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies; C. whereas the CJEU helps preserving the values of the Union and, through its case-law, works towards the building of Europe; D. whereas the CJEU comprises two courts: the Court of Justice and the General Court; 1. Notes that the budget of the CJEU falls under MFF heading 7, ‘European public administration’, which amounted to EUR 11,6 billion in 2022 (representing 5,9 % of the total Union budget); notes that, in 2022, the CJEU’s budget of approximately EUR 0,5 billion represented 3,9 % of the total administrative expenditure; 2. Notes that the Court of Auditors in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as were examined in 2021; further notes that the Court of Auditors writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources, including expenditure on pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Notes that, as part of its audit for 2022, the Court of Auditors examined the supervisory and control systems of the CJEU, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management and the functioning of key controls defined in the Financial Regulation, including ex ante and ex post controls on payments; 4. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court of Auditors, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimates the level of error to be below the materiality threshold; 5. Notes with satisfaction that the Court of Auditors, in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022, states that it did not identify any specific issues concerning the CJEU; Budgetary and financial management 6. Notes that the overall budget allocated for the CJEU for 2022 amounted to EUR 467 900 000, an increase from EUR 444 049 000 in 2021 and in 2020, equivalent to an increase of 5,4 % from 2021 to 2022, and that 79 % of the budget in 2022 was used for its members and staff, 14 % for buildings, 6 % for IT and 1 % for other expenditure; 7. Notes that, in the course of the 2022, the CJEU made 19 budget transfers pursuant to Article 29 of the Financial Regulation, representing a total of EUR 12,7 million or 2,7 % of the appropriations for that financial year; notes further that the budgetary implementation rate for 2022 was 98,43 % which is in line with previous years; 8. Notes with satisfaction that the authorising officer by delegation declared that the resources allocated had been used for the purpose intended and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and that the control procedures put in place provided the necessary guarantees as to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions; 9. Welcomes that the CJEU is working on a wide range of IT systems, both internally and via service level agreements, across different areas that will make it more resource efficient; 10. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in various ways created budgetary pressures for the CJEU, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and costs for a number of goods and services; 11. Notes that the general mission budget of the CJEU declined from EUR 405 000 in 2021 to EUR 390 000 in 2022, equivalent to a reduction of 3,7 %, which was primarily due to changes in working methods with a larger number of remote meetings; notes, furthermore, that the CJEU does not have a specific budget line for missions and travel of its President; notes, finally, that the budget line for the missions of all CJEU members declined from EUR 280 000 in 2021 to EUR 270 000 in 2022, equivalent to a reduction of 3,6 %, which was also primarily due to the increased use of videoconferencing tools; Internal management, performance and internal control 12. Notes that, during 2022, the exceptional measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic were phased out and the CJEU started to function normally; welcomes in that regard that the number of visitors increased to 11 653 persons in 2022 which, however, is still not at the pre-pandemic level when there was 17 136 visitors (in 2019), but that that might also partly be due to new possibilities to visit the CJEU virtually; 13. Notes with satisfaction that 2022 marked the 70 year anniversary of the CJEU which constitutes a very important anniversary for the entire Union; applauds that the CJEU used the opportunity to launch initiatives under the theme ‘Bringing justice closer to the citizen’, including the new initiative of offering a streaming service for hearings on the Curia website; 14. Notes that, in 2022, for the Court of Justice, 68 % of new cases were references for preliminary rulings, 24 % were appeals against decisions of the General Court, and 4 % were actions against Member States for failure to fulfil obligations; notes further that, in 2022, for the General Court, 46 % of new cases concerned actions for annulment of acts of Union institutions, 30 % concerned actions relating to intellectual property, and 7 % concerned disputes between institutions of the Union and their staff; 15. Notes that the number of cases brought before the two courts in 2022 is comparable to that of the previous year (1 710 cases in 2022 as compared to 1 720 in 2021) and underlines that, together, the Court of Justice and the General Court were able to complete 1 666 cases in 2022, compared to 1 723 in 2021, which corresponds to the average in recent years (1 692 cases per year between 2018 and 2021); notes, however, that the total number of pending cases is increasing, with 2 585 cases pending in 2022 compared to 2 541 in 2021; 16. Notes that the average length of proceedings for cases brought before the Court of Justice remained similar to the previous year, amounting to 16,4 months in 2022 compared to 16,6 months in 2021; welcomes that the average length of proceedings for cases brought before the General Court decreased compared to the previous year, amounting to 16,2 months in 2022 compared to 17,3 months in 2021; 17. Welcomes that the CJEU has provided a summary of the number and type of internal audits carried out in the CJEU and a synthesis of the recommendations and the action taken on those recommendations in line with Article 118(8) of the Financial Regulation; notes that the internal auditor has an annual work programme with a multiannual component; 18. Notes that the most important internal audits in 2022 concerned bank account management, treasury and payment execution, insurance contracts and risk coverage, dissemination of sustainability information and translation management flow; 19. Notes that, in the replies to the questionnaire from Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control that formed part of the present discharge procedure, the CJEU mentions that the internal audits gave rise to many recommendations which have been welcomed by the relevant services; asks that Parliament be informed if recommendations from the internal auditor are not followed up by the relevant services; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 20. Notes that the Court of Justice is composed of 27 Judges and 11 Advocates General and that no new Judge took office in 2022; notes further that the General Court is composed of 54 Judges and that eight new Judges took office during 2022; 21. Notes with concern that the Court of Justice and the General Court continue to have a very unbalanced gender composition and that of the eight new Judges taking office in the General Court in 2022, five were men and three were women; reiterates its appreciation of the letter from the President of the General Court to the President of the Conference of the Representatives of the Member States in 2021, calling for Member States to take the need for gender balance into account when nominating candidates for the replacement of Judges; regrets that the letter has remained unanswered; 22. Appreciates that the CJEU, as part of its answers to the questionnaire from Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, provided very detailed information on the distribution of staff at the end of 2022; 23. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the CJEU employed 2253 members of staff, a slight increase from 2 247 members of staff at the end of 2021 and 2 239 at the end of 2020; notes that the overall gender distribution at the end of 2022 was 893 men, equivalent to 40 %, and 1 360 women, equivalent to 60 %; notes, furthermore, that the overall distribution among the categories of staff was 1 300 officials (58 %), 774 temporary agents (34 %) and 179 contract agents (8 %), which represents a small decline in the percentage of members of staff that are officials as compared to 2021, mirrored by a small increase in the percentage that are temporary agents and no change with respect to contract agents; 24. Notes that for senior management the gender distribution was nine men and six women, equivalent to 60 % mem and 40 % women; notes that for middle management the gender distribution was 36 men and 24 women, also equivalent to 60 % men and 40 % women; 25. Welcomes that all Union nationalities are represented on the staff of the CJEU; notes, however, with regret that nationals from some Member States are overrepresented; notes in this regard that French nationals constitute 505 out of the 2 253 staff members, equivalent to 22 %, and that the overrepresentation is even higher among assistants (ASTs), where they constitute 223 out of 719 members of staff, equivalent to 31 %; notes that Belgian nationals and Italians are overrepresented at the administrator (AD) level with 108 and 97 staff out of 1 274 respectively; notes also that Cyprus is the most underrepresented country with only 2 nationals in official and temporary agent AD positions and lacks any nationals in AST and assistant-secretarial (AST-SC) positions; notes, that the CJEU should strive for more balanced representation of Union nationals across all the positions and aim to guarantee an adequate geographical distribution; 26. Encourages the CJEU to support a multilingual working environment; remarks that even though according to the Rules of Procedure of the European Court of Justice, Chapter 8, Article 36, the language of a case can be any Union language (Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish or Swedish), the daily administrative work is nonetheless done 90 % in French; encourages the other two working languages of the European Union, namely German and English, to be used more frequently on a daily basis in the daily administrative work of the CJEU to encourage multilingualism and in order to make employment more accessible to nationals of all member states, including those where French is not offered in schools; notes that this would also help contribute to more equal distribution of nationalities among staff of the CJEU, calls on all institutions to guarantee multilingualism; 27. Welcomes the work done in the High Level Interinstitutional Group on enhancing the attractiveness of Luxembourg for staff; encourages the CJEU to continue working with the other Luxembourg-based institutions on different actions, including the idea of introducing a special housing allowance to offset the high rental felt especially by staff on lower grades and to ensure that the CJEU staff benefit from suitable arrangements for their living conditions; asks that Parliament be updated on the progress of all such initiatives; 28. Notes with satisfaction that the CJEU, on 1 May 2022, introduced a new teleworking scheme providing the possibility of working from home two days per week; notes, furthermore, that the scheme allows staff to work up to 10 days per year from outside the place of employment, and that a survey among managers showed global satisfaction with this possibility which has proven compatible with the proper functioning of the services; 29. Notes with concern that the number of days of sick leave in 2022 within the CJEU was 23 702, equivalent to an increase of 38 % from 2021 when the number of days of sick leave was 17 138; notes at the same time that, in 2019, there were 25 629 days of sick leave and that the relatively low number in 2021 might be related to the COVID-19 pandemic; 30. Notes with concern that 46 members of staff reported exhaustion for work-related reasons while the medical services of the CJEU estimates that in 2022 there were 23 cases where members of staff showed symptoms that could be associated with a diagnosis of burnout; notes that the CJEU has offered training courses for managers in order to raise awareness about the different risks related to burnout and about staff well-being; calls on the CJEU to maintain focus on this problem, to further consider how burnout can be prevented and to take all the necessary measures to ensure the wellbeing of its staff in order to bring the number of cases associated with burnout down; suggests the CJEU and other institutions establish a comments box where staff can leave comments ensuring that staff will not be subject to retaliation; urges that the content of such a comments box be taken seriously and analysed in order to help identify and ameliorate sources of burnout; 31. Encourages the human resource department to be more aware of the consequences and symptoms of long COVID, other viral sicknesses and autoimmune diseases; urges for the health insurance provided by CJEU and all other Union institutions to financially cover the therapies needed to treat those conditions; 32. Notes that one administrative enquiry concerning a case that may amount to sexual harassment was launched in 2023, concerning facts that took place in 2022, is currently ongoing; 33. Notes with appreciation that the CJEU is offering training courses to foster and encourage diversity within its services; notes, furthermore, that the CJEU has 27 members of staff with a disability, out of whom 14 are considered to have a severe disability; appreciates that, during 2022, there has been significant follow-up to an internal audit from 2021 in order to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities; 34. Notes that the CJEU welcomed 267 trainees during 2022; notes with appreciation that as of autumn 2022, following Parliament’s recommendation, the CJEU decided to remunerate all trainees except those that receive a grant from other sources; encourages the CJEU to examine whether trainees are proportionally represented from all member states; 35. Regrets that CJEU in 2022 accepted unpaid trainees, whether during the transition period following the adoption of the new decision on traineeships in November 2021 or due to alternative funding sources; highlights the contrast between the CJEU, which lacks a paid policy on traineeships, and other European Institutions that uphold such policies; urges the CJEU to provide transparency on the external financial sources of unpaid trainees and elaborate on the rationale behind maintaining this policy; Ethical framework and transparency 36. Continues to appreciate the reforms made in 2021 concerning the members of the Court of Justice and of the General Court concerning their code of conduct and the declarations of interest which together with the new requirements for the curriculum vitae of the members represents an improvement in the transparency of the CJEU; is, nevertheless, of the opinion that the validity and usefulness of the declarations of interest could be improved through some kind of verification and quality control; 37. Welcomes that, since 2018, the CJEU has published a list of the external activities carried out by the members of both the Court of Justice and the General Court; notes that the list is difficult to read for the general public and recommends that it is made more informative by including information about the nature of the external activity; stresses that the members are expected to devote themselves fully to the performance of their duties at the CJEU and that they can only carry out external activities that are related to the performance of their duties and subject to prior authorisation being granted and only in the event that such activities are compatible with the requirements of the code of conduct and, in particular, with the obligation to be available for judicial activities; 38. Notes the decision from 2021 concerning members’ travel, missions and use of drivers and cars, which implies that members will have to cover all the running costs for the use of a vehicle not covered by a mission order above 10 000 km; is of the opinion that the use of the car fleet outside of the strict performance of the duties of the members of the CJEU should not take place under any circumstance; calls on all Union institutions to agree on a single system to be applied horizontally which would reduce the confusion and increase transparency and efficiency in the use of public money; 39. Welcomes the fact that the CJEU is training all newcomers on all ethical aspects as well as on the rights and obligations of officials and agents as set out in the Staff Regulations, also covering whistleblowing, prohibition of harassment, prevention of conflicts of interest and other ethical issues; also welcomes the organisation of six training courses entitled ‘Rules of Good Conduct’ with the participation of 70 staff members and 11 training courses entitled ‘Internal control’ with the participation 80 staff members; encourages the CJEU to make one ‘Rule of Good Conduct’ training course a requirement for all staff, whether old or new, to encourage a safe and productive workspace and ethical handling of cases; 40. Notes with satisfaction that no new investigations involving the CJEU were opened by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in 2022 but that one investigation, which is dealing with the conduct of staff that may constitute a serious failure to comply with their obligations, is still ongoing, and that four cases handled by the European Ombudsman concerning the CJEU found no maladministration, meaning that no recommendations were issued by the European Ombudsman with regard to the CJEU in 2022; notes that there were no cases of whistleblowing in the CJEU in 2022; 41. Regrets strongly that the new code of conduct for members of staff, which was originally expected to be finalised by the end of 2021, was still not finalised by the end of 2022; notes that the new code of conduct was expected to be adopted by the end of 2023 but it is still in the adoption process; calls on the Court to finalise and adopt a new code of conduct with no delay, in line with requests from previous discharge cycles, and asks that Parliament be informed about its adoption and its content as soon as possible; 42. Welcomes that no conflicts of interest were detected in 2022; notes that 112 requests under Article 16 of the Staff Regulations concerning professional activities after leaving the service were examined and that all were approved; notes, furthermore, that nine cases of outside activity during leave of absence for personal reasons were declared and that all were approved; considers that that area could potentially be examined by the internal auditor or the proposed EU Ethics Body; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 43. Welcomes that the CJEU sped up the implementation of an integrated case management system (SIGA), which will allow it to work on an entirely digital, secure and integrated workflow, and welcomes that the CJEU progressed with the implementation of the HAN/Ares program concerning all administrative services of the CJEU; asks the CJEU to keep Parliament updated on such implementation as part of the annual discharge procedure; 44. Appreciates that the CJEU decided to no longer use cloud platforms for sensitive judicial data processed in order to protect the data and system ownership with the aim of hosting all its data on site and not having a business critical dependency with any external systems; further welcomes the CJEU’s policy to avoid the use of any tool or infrastructure hosted in the cloud for the purpose of handling non-public information in order to protect personal data and keep a complete control of its systems and data; 45. Notes with satisfaction the upward trend of the use rate of e-Curia with 94 % of lodgements before the General Court being made via e-Curia in 2022, compared to 93 % in 2021, and the use rate of e-Curia at the Court of Justice being approximately 87 % of all lodgements made this way in 2022, compared to 85 % in 2021; 46. Notes that no further enquiries by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) were communicated in 2022; awaits with interest the decision concerning the investigation from early 2021 concerning the use of third part web services and the obligation to make available the essence of a joint controller agreement; also awaits with interest the decision on the investigation regarding the use of cloud services provided by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft under Cloud II contracts by Union institutions, bodies and agencies; 47. Welcomes that the CJEU is considering how and to what extend digital technologies should be used in its work, for example to identify similarities between cases, for translation, for speech to text conversion and for automatised summaries of long documents; underlines that, in particular for a legal institution like the CJEU, automatised processes will always need to be accessed with regard to ethical aspects and supplemented with human oversight and control; highlights the importance of being able to cross-reference cases by key terms and key indicators in order to find overlaps or patterns in case content; also encourages the CJEU to look into possibilities to better transmit information to judges and their teams; 48. Welcomes that the CJEU employs open-source operating systems in roughly one third of its server base and that its first choice is to rely on internal hosted systems, based on open source technology, as it allows the CJEU to maintain technical control of its systems and control the data storage and data flows, thus ensuring a better data protection and privacy; encourages the CJEU to join the open-source initiative launched by the EDPS via its implementation of Nextcloud open source solutions; 49. Calls on the CJEU to make available on its website all the files related to a case after the ruling is published while ensuring the non-divulgation of private or sensitive information in order to protect personal data; 50. Welcomes the CJEU’s engagement in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) tools in its work and that a comprehensive strategy concerning AI was adopted in July 2023; underlines that it is of vital importance that AI is used in a manner which fully preserves the independence, the quality and the serenity of the legal processes, is in full consideration of ethical matters and is used under human oversight and allowing human intervention in order to avoid negative consequences or risks, or stop the system if it does not perform as intended; welcomes that the CJEU has created an AI board in charge of addressing ethical aspects and setting clear boundaries for the use of AI; reminds that the CJEU should ensure full user control, in compliance with the European Ethical Charter on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial systems and their environment; expects that staff guidelines on the use of AI were adopted by the end of autumn 2023, as indicated, and asks that Parliament be kept informed about the content of these guidelines; 51. Notes with concern that the CJEU reports that the number of cyberattacks continued to grow in 2022; is relieved that, despite their variety and volume, all attacks were handled by the protection systems in place or by the dedicated team for incident response at the CJEU, according to answers provided to the CJEU to questions posed by Parliament-s Committee on Budgetary Control in October 2023; welcomes at the same time that the CJEU is actively participating in the relevant interinstitutional Union structures in order to strengthen the overall cybersecurity of Union institutions; strongly urges the management of CJEU to keep strengthening cybersecurity a priority, urges management to proactively look into what aspect of the IT infrastructure makes CJEU vulnerable to attacks and to correct this as soon as possible, and to ensure regular audits and tests of its cyber defences; 52. Notes that the CJEU analysed the open data possibilities in 2022 and 2023 and that the CJEU intends to share all the published information available on its website as open data; however cautions the CJEU to have screeners before making published information available as open data, taking security, confidentiality, privacy rights and intellectual property rights into account; Buildings 53. Notes with interest that the CJEU has set up a working group with representation from different parts of CJEU and its staff committee to reflect on the optimisation of the occupancy of the premises of the CJEU and that its conclusions were delivered in 2023; asks that Parliament is kept informed about the implementation of those conclusions and the consequences for the organisation of the workspace; 54. Notes with interest that an internal audit has been carried out concerning accessibility of the buildings for people with a disability and that the CJEU, following new Luxembourgish legislation, are implementing appropriate measures; welcomes that those measures include making courtrooms accessible for people with reduced mobility, such as tactile paving and handrails; asks that Parliament be kept informed about further initiatives in this area; Environment and sustainability 55. Highly appreciates that the CJEU is producing a separate annual report related to the environmental footprint of the institution which could serve as a model for other institutions; 56. Congratulates the CJEU on the results achieved in terms of significantly reducing its general consumption in 2022 compared to the base year 2015; finds it especially impressive that heating was reduced by 23,6 %, paper by 42,6 %, canteen waste by 49,9 % and greenhouse gas emissions by 31,7 %; 57. Notes that the CJEU has had solar panels installed covering 3 447,8 m2, which produced 452 959 kWh in 2022; encourages the CJEU to continue working on identifying possibilities regarding the reduction of general consumption, recycling and the generation of renewable energy; 58. Welcomes that the CJEU has taken several initiatives to support and increase sustainable mobility, including subsidies for public transportation, subsidies for self-service bicycles, improved bike parking facilities and improved facilities for hybrid and electrical cars; Interinstitutional cooperation 59. Welcomes that the CJEU has a wide range of service level agreements with other Union institutions which helps reduce costs for the institutions involved and ensures that similar procedures, techniques and work flows are used across the institutions; appreciates in particular the service level agreements with the Commission’s Office for the Management and Payment of Individual Entitlements and the service level agreement with the Commision’s Directorate General for Digital Services as a service provider hosting CJEU’s information systems including eCuria, Cvria portal and others; also acknowledges the continued cooperation within the Interinstitutional Committee for Translation and Interpretation; welcomes finally that a new service level agreement was signed with the Publications Office of the European Union in 2023 after negotiations in 2022 which covers all the aspects of the collaboration for the first time; 60. Notes with appreciation that the CJEU, together with all other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, have entered into a joint procurement for the supply of accident insurance as referred to in Article 73 of the Staff Regulations; 61. Welcomes the fact that cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has been developed further and that a memorandum of understanding has been signed in order to create in-depth cooperation regarding bibliographic and documentary services for the benefit of both institutions; welcomes further that specific training has been proposed to EPPO prosecutors to enable them to familiarise themselves with the activities of the CJEU; 62. Appreciates that the CJEU fully cooperates with OLAF, the Court of Auditors, the EDPS and the European Ombudsman, including by ensuring its internal decisions on OLAF investigations are updated in order to ensure compliance with the latest requirements; 63. Encourages the CJEU to share the number of intellectual property cases and the specific points of dispute with the Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office to explore reasons why 30 % of concerned actions in the General Court in 2022 were relating to intellectual property, with the goal of assisting in identifying possible gaps in Union legislative acts; considers that the Union budget could be spared handling those cases if a specific point of dispute could be identified and solved by a new Union legislative act; 64. Acknowledges the pursuit of the activities carried out by the Judicial Network of the European Union which contributes to fostering and facilitating the cooperation between the CJEU and the national courts, particularly in the fields of judicial monitoring, legal research, multilingual terminology and emerging technologies, as well as to promoting the pooling of the most efficient practices in the administration of justice; Communication 65. Notes that, in 2022, the budget for communications, covering content preparation and printing of internal and external publications was EUR 527 500, equivalent to an increase of 3,3 % from 2021; 66. Welcomes that the CJEU has used its 70 year anniversary as an opportunity to strengthen its transparency and its communication with Union citizens and to organise two open days with the possibility for citizens to ask questions on-site; encourages the CJEU to consider following up on these initiatives also in the coming years; 67. Notes with appreciation that, in 2022, the CJEU started a streaming service of te case hearings assigned to the Grand Chamber, providing the public with an opportunity to have a better understanding of how the CJEU works; encourages the CJEU to widen this initiative to ensure more transparency; 68. Welcomes that the CJEU actively participates in the EU Voice project launched by EDPS to interact with the public and which intends to promote the use of decentralised, free and open source social networks, as an alternative to propriety ones; 69. Is of the view that, as the Court of Justice is increasingly required to rule on matters of a constitutional nature and related to human rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, transparency and openness of the Union judicial process should be strengthened; in this regard welcomes the setting up of a streaming system for hearings of the Court of Justice which serves to strengthen the CJEU’s ‘Citizen Court’ dimension through increased accessibility for the general public; stresses in this regard that the new streaming system needs to be gradually supplemented by additional external means of communication that will allow for greater visibility of the work of the institution; 70. Welcomes that an initiative offering remote visits to the CJEU was launched in 2022 after the pilot phase was completed in 2021, giving young people between the ages of 15 and 18 an understanding of the CJEU and the impact of case-law on their daily lives and increasing their understanding of their rights as Union citizens and of the democratic values of the Union; encourages the CJEU to expand those remote visits targeted towards youth to people between the ages of 15 and 29; further encourages the CJEU to also offer remote visits to citizens of all ages, emphasizes that remote visits should be as accessible as possible to all Europeans; 71. Notes that the CJEU, together with several other Union institutions, actively participate in a project launched by the EDPS with regular publications on the Mastodon decentralised social media using a free and open-source software; notes that the CJEU also uses the X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn platforms, and that the CJEU continued its former practice of publishing on both the X (formerly Twitter) and Mastodon platforms as soon as a technical solution allowing for an automated parallel publication was found; encourages the CJEU to post regularly where it has a presence on a social media platform to avoid stagnant social media accounts as that risks giving the impression of inactivity in the daily work of the CJEU.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - Court of Auditors |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0252/2023)(2), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0074/2024), 1. Grants the Secretary-General of the Court of Auditors discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section V – Court of Auditors (2023/2133(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section V – Court of Auditors, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0074/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) is the Union’s external auditor, entrusted, through independent, professional and impactful audit work, to assess the economy, effectiveness, efficiency, legality and regularity of Union action in order to improve accountability, transparency and financial management, thereby enhancing citizens’ trust and respond effectively to current and future challenges facing the Union; C. whereas, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 287 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), since the close of the financial year 1987 the Court has had its revenue and expenditure accounts audited by an independent external auditor every year and, since the report on the financial year 1992, the external auditor’s reports have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union; D. whereas management accountability towards the budgetary authorities is provided via the annual activity report of the Secretary-General of the Court, the purpose of which, in accordance with Article 74(9) of the Financial Regulation, is to provide information about the management of resources, including the systems, and about the efficiency and effectiveness of the Court’s internal control systems; E. whereas, by performing its tasks in a transparent and independent way, the Court contributes to democratic oversight, public debate and sound financial management of the Union; F. whereas the Court has taken the position according to which, to assess Union governance, its accountability and transparency and the quality and reliability of the information and data reported on the implementation of Union policies, the best solution would be for the Court to be mandated to audit all Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies set up by or under the Treaties and all the intergovernmental structures of key relevance to the functioning of the Union; whereas the Parliament strongly support the Court in that respect and would welcome any initiative that would entrust the Court with a broader mandate; 1. Notes that the budget of the Court falls under MFF heading 7, ‘European public administration’, which amounted to EUR 11,6 billion in 2022 (representing 5,9 % of the total Union budget); notes that, in 2022, the Court’s budget of approximately EUR 0,2 billion represented 1,4 % of the total administrative expenditure; 2. Notes that the Court in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as were examined in 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources, including expenditure on pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology, and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Calls on the Court to increase the number of transactions under Administration to be examined for all the institutions to be audited in order for Parliament to better fulfil its role as discharge authority for the other institutions; regrets that a plan to produce a special report on the administrative expenditure of the institutions other than the Commission has been revised in order to do an audit on the EU civil service, which will probably only look into a limited part of the administrative expenditure; reiterates the importance of having a more in-depth investigation into the administrative expenditure and repeats its call to include in its work comprehensive data on all institutions in order to provide a coherent basis for a consistent discharge procedure; 4. Notes that the annual accounts of the Court are audited by an independent external auditor in order to ensure the same principles of transparency, accountability and independence of the auditor of the Court as the Court applies to its auditees; notes with satisfaction that the external auditor did not report any specific issues following its audit of the Court; Budgetary and financial management 5. Notes that the overall budget of the Court for 2022 amounted to EUR 162 141 175, equivalent to an increase of 5,5 % from EUR 153 721 727 in 2021; notes that the increase was primarily due to salary adjustments and 20 new temporary posts related to NextGenerationEU; notes that for 2022 90 % of appropriations were for its members and staff, while 10 % were for buildings, equipment and miscellaneous expenditure; 6. Further reiterates the importance of ensuring that the Court is provided with adequate staff in order to adequately fulfil its mandate as well as the new tasks relating to the entry into force of new financing instruments, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (the RFF); 7. Notes that, in the course of the 2022, the Court made 26 budget transfers pursuant to Article 29 of the Financial Regulation, representing a total of EUR 3,4 million or 2,1 % of the appropriations for that financial year, which mainly meant a decrease in expenditures for missions, publications, interpretations and the legal service, and an increase in expenditure for fitting-out of the premises including renovations of the roof, energy costs, contract agents and IT equipment; also notes that the budgetary implementation rate for 2022 was 98,5 %, a slight increase compared to the previous two years; welcomes that the average payment time in 2022 was reduced to 9,8 days compared to 10,7 days in 2021, most probably thanks to the increase in the share of electronic invoices, which was 24 % compared to 19 % in 2021; 8. Notes with satisfaction that the external auditor declared that the resources allocated had been used for their intended purpose and that the control procedures put in place by the authorising officers provided for the necessary guarantees to ensure that financial operations were in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations; 9. Notes that Russia’s illegal and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine in various ways created budgetary pressures for the Court, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing electricity and heating costs; 10. Notes that the general mission budget of the Court declined from EUR 2 988 000 in 2021 to EUR 2 452 000 in 2022, equivalent to a reduction of 18 %, which was a result of continued travel restrictions at the beginning of 2022 and changes in working methods with a larger number of remote meeting; notes, furthermore, that the Court does not have a specific budget line for missions and travels of its President; notes, finally, that the budget line for the missions for all Court members was EUR 290 000 in both 2021 and 2022; 11. Welcomes that, since 2022, the Court has had a detailed control methodology in place for dealing with mission costs with both ex ante and ex post controls; Internal management, performance and internal control 12. Notes that 2022 was the second year of the implementation of the Court’s 2021-2025 strategy and that, at the end of 2022, out of 29 strategic measures 18 had been fully implemented, or the framework for the measure had been established and further actions were ongoing, while 11 measures were ongoing or recurrent; 13. Notes that, during 2022, the Court presented 7 annual reports, 8 opinions, 28 special reports and 1 review, which is very similar to the number of reports, opinions, special reports and reviews presented in 2020 and 2021; 14. Notes that the Court establishes its work programme completely independently, including which special reports should be produced; continues to advise the Court that special reports, which focus on the Union’s current situation and challenges with a clear budgetary focus and relevance, will attract most attention from key stakeholders in Parliament and elsewhere; welcomes, in that regard, the revision in 2022 of its programming process, introducing greater flexibility in addressing pressing challenges in order to better serve the interests of its stakeholders; 15. Appreciates that, as requested by Parliament, the Court has focused its audit work on current European challenges, exemplified by the very quick production of Opinion 3/2023 on the Ukraine Facility and the attention given to monitoring its implementation; is concerned that, for the audit work concerning the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the Court still does not have full access to the new reporting tool on RRF, FENIX, and that the information in that new tool is not updated in a timely manner: supports the Court’s view that Article 257 of the Financial Regulation provides for full and immediate access rights for the Court; further calls on the Commission to grant access to the Court to other types of relevant information in order to fulfil its role; 16. Appreciates the timely and relevant special reports on the implementation of the RRF which allow the discharge authority to exercise its prerogatives and address recommendations to the Commission on improvements on the functioning of that instrument; 17. Welcomes that the Court has provided a summary of the number and type of internal audits carried out in the Court and a synthesis of the recommendations and the action taken on those recommendations in line with Article 118(8) of the Financial Regulation; notes that the internal auditor’s annual work programme implied recurrent tasks, selected tasks and other tasks completed during the year; notes that some actions earmarked for implementation in 2022 have been postponed for 2023 and asks the Court to report to Parliament on their implementation; 18. Encourages the Court to enhance its contribution to combat fraud in the Union budget, not only by identifying and reporting the weaknesses that make Union financed programmes prone to fraud, but also by taking into consideration the ongoing debate amongst components of the anti-fraud architecture and intensifying the audit work in cooperation with the bodies in charge of fraud detection, regularly assessing their activities and providing the discharge authority with feedback relevant for its analysis; 19. Welcomes that the Court’s 2021-2025 strategy refers to the formulation of cost-effective recommendations to contribute to the de-bureaucratisation of the Union institutions; points out that the Court’s recommendations on increasing the efficiency of procedures, using best practices, improving coordination, establishing standard processes, preventing gold plating, and simplifying and digitalising, in particular, serve that goal; 20. Encourages the Court to continue to recommend the development and maintenance of Union-wide databases and efforts to pursue effective data-mining capabilities to carry out data analysis at Union level and to identify Union-relevant risks; calls on the Court to work on identifying the necessary requirements for collection, processing and storing of data necessary for the easy and interoperable auditing of Member States’ use of public funds; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 21. Notes that the Court, at the end of 2022, had 921 members of staff, slightly up from 917 at the end of 2021 and 910 at the end of 2020; notes that the overall gender distribution at the end of 2022 was 434 men, equivalent to 47,1 % and 487 women, equivalent to 52,9 %; calls on the Court to continue its efforts to promote gender balance for the middle and senior management; notes, furthermore, that the overall distribution among categories of staff was 830 officials (90 %), consisting of 620 administrators (ADs) and 210 assistants and secretaries (AST/SCs), and 91 contract agents (10 %); 22. Notes that the number of persons on AD grades 13-16 was 79, out of which 49 were men and 30 were women, equivalent to 62 % men and 38 % women, which represents a small increase in the percentage of women in those categories from 37,5 % in 2021 and 34,5 % in 2020; 23. Deeply regrets the lack of gender balance within the Court’s college: only 10 out of 25 members are women in its current composition, taking into account that Members from Portugal and Bulgaria are not appointed yet; understands that the nomination procedure of its members is challenging for achieving gender balance because national nomination is the sole responsibility of Member States; calls, however, on the Court to analyse its overall composition in order to inform the Council and the Member States involved so that gender balance is taken into consideration in the nomination decision; 24. Regrets that over the years the Council repeatedly proceeds to nominate members of the Court despite those nominees being rejected by Parliament; underlines that Parliament should have a binding role in assessing the suitability of candidates for the Court; 25. Welcomes that all Union nationalities are represented among the members of staff at the Court, both in the AD category and in the AST/SC category; notes with regret, however, that some nationalities are underrepresented and welcomes that the Court has taken the step to advertise directly in some Member States (Denmark, Estonia and Latvia); welcomes the effective use of new ways of publication for selection procedures in order to attract diverse audiences from different Member States; 26. Notes that the Court adopted a decision on hybrid working which came into force on 1 January 2022; notes that the court has a teleworking scheme providing the possibility of working from home up to 10 days per month and up to 10 days consecutively; notes, furthermore, that the scheme allows staff to work up to 5 days per month and 30 working days per year outside their main place of residence; notes, finally, that a survey conducted in October 2022 among the members of staff showed that 95 % were in support of the teleworking arrangements and that 88 % felt that it had a positive impact on their work-life balance; 27. Welcomes the measures taken by the Court in 2022 in order to ensure the physical and mental well-being of staff; 28. Recognises the challenges related to attracting staff to work in Luxembourg and encourages the Court to work together with the other Luxembourg based institutions in the High Level Interinstitutional Group on enhancing the attractiveness of Luxembourg for members of staff and on the different identified possible actions, including the idea of a special housing allowance to combat the high rental costs especially felt by staff on lower grades and the possibility of offering reasonably priced temporary housing for short stays; 29. Notes with concern that the number of days of sick leave in 2022 was 11 622, equivalent to an increase of 54 % from 2021 where the number of days of sick leave was 7 524; notes at the same time that in 2018 the Court had 10 255 days of sick leave and that the relatively low number in 2021 might have been related to the COVID-19 situation; 30. Notes with concern that, in 2022, the Court reported seven cases of burnout; notes further that all seven members of staff were reintegrated, returning gradually under a procedure of reinstatement on a medically-approved part-time basis; appreciates, in this regard, that in 2022 the Court started preparing guidelines for returning to work after long-term sick leave; notes that the Court states that the availability of resources is being taken into account when the annual work programme is being established and that directors and the management team at directorate level are assessing the workload in order to ensure that work is distributed evenly; encourages the Court, nevertheless, to keep focus on that problem and to take all the necessary measures to ensure the wellbeing of the staff in order to decrease the number of cases associated with burnout; 31. Welcomes that, following an extensive collaborative approach, a decision and policy on ensuring a respectful and harassment-free workplace was adopted in December 2022, with a clear focus on prevention, awareness raising and early detection, while setting out a range of measures to be used (confidential counselling, mediation and formal complaints) in case a perception of harassment arises; 32. Welcomes the Court’s diversity and inclusion action plan for 2021-2025’ and welcomes the steps taken during 2022 to raise awareness about the plan and the results achieved during 2022 in terms of the 10 priorities set out therein; notes that only one person with a declared disability was employed by the Court in 2022 and on a temporary contract; 33. Notes that the Court welcomed 54 trainees during 2022; notes with appreciation that all of them were paid by the Court or by national authorities; Ethical framework and transparency 34. Underlines the role and importance of the Court as the Union’s independent external auditor and guardian of its finances which requires the Court to adhere to the highest possible standards and act as a model organisation in order to inspire confidence and credibility; notes that according to Article 285 TFEU, the members of the Court are completely independent; 35. Welcomes the revised code of conduct from May 2022 for the Court’s members and former members, following Parliament’s recommendation, establishing inter alia the obligation for members to reside where the Court is located, limiting the possibilities for members to be involved in politics, regulating the contractual relations between members and staff and setting down an obligation for the members to submit an annual declaration of interests; recalls that the members of the Court should always apply the highest ethical principles and values in order to demonstrate their full integrity, independence, objectivity, professional behaviour, dignity, commitment and loyalty; 36. Stresses that Parliament continues to be of the opinion that information about missions of the members of the Court should be published for the entire period that a member holds office and that members should have no formalised political links, including honorary functions in political parties or organisations; furthermore, requests once again the Court to change its rules concerning its internal ethics committee in order for it no longer to be an exclusive prerogative of the President of the Court to propose eligible candidates; also reiterates its request to be informed by the Court’s ethics committee on the main findings of the internal audit report on ethics which internal audit has been ongoing since 2020 already; 37. Notes with satisfaction that all members of the Court have declared an address to the Luxembourgish authorities and thereby fulfil the requirement for members to reside at the place where the Court has its seat; 38. Notes the decision from 2022 concerning members’ travel, missions and use of drivers and cars which implies that members will have to cover all the running costs, including car rental costs, associated with the use of a car for travelling more than 10 000 km and not covered by a mission order; is, however, of the opinion that 10 000 km is too high and reiterates the concerns expressed in previous discharge resolutions that the system introduced is confusing; reiterates its opinion expressed in previous discharge resolutions that the use of the car fleet outside of the strict performance of the duties of the members of the Court should not take place under any circumstance; invites all Union institutions to agree on a single system to be applied horizontally which would reduce confusion and increase transparency and efficiency in the use of public money; 39. Welcomes that the Court, in recent years, has engaged in a process of updating its ethical framework, so far resulting in an update of the ethical guidelines of the Court in October 2022, an update of a policy to ensure a respectful and harassment-free workplace in 2022 and an update of the rules on whistleblowing in July 2023; also welcomes that workshops, training courses and sessions have been organised on ethics for staff, including staff in the private offices of members; asks the Court to keep Parliament updated on any further plans concerning the ethical framework; 40. Highlights that, in 2021, the Court’s internal audit service concluded that there is no single document consolidating the Court’s anti-fraud policy and that there is no Court-wide anti-fraud strategy; encourages the Court to address that issue as a matter of priority in order to make sure that the current decentralised and fragmented approach is consolidated and to make it more clear how the Court addresses those issues; 41. Continues to reject the Court’s assessment and decision not to join the EU Transparency Register, set up by the interinstitutional agreement of 20 May 2021 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on a mandatory transparency register(6), and encourages the Court to reflect again on the matter, reiterating its strong call for the Court to join the EU Transparency Register in order to adhere to basic principles of transparency while at the same time not creating any obstacles to the full independence of the Court; 42. Notes that European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) opened one investigation concerning a selection procedure of the Court in 2022, concluding that the conduct of the person concerned did not influence the outcome of the procedure; 43. Notes that the European Ombudsman conducted one inquiry following a complaint in 2022 which was closed after the Court replied to the complainant; 44. Reiterates its satisfaction that, in 2022, the Court established a register for the attendance of members of the Court at meetings, following reiterated requests by Parliament in that respect; welcomes that, on request, the register has been made available to the Parliament rapporteur for the discharge procedure as part of the discharge procedure; invites the Court to further pursue practices that enhance transparency and accountability, such as a public calendar of meetings; 45. Welcomes that no conflicts of interest were detected in 2022; notes furthermore that no members of staff leaving the Court because their contract came to an end or for any other reason informed the Court that they wanted to join a private company or notified the Court about taking up activities related to work outside of the Court during the last three years of their service; notes, finally, that no former Member of Parliament, Commissioners or high-level officials received remuneration from the Court; 46. Notes that, in 2022, there were no cases of whistleblowing at the Court; 47. Regrets that an annual list of contracts, including those worth between EUR 15 000 and EUR 60 000 that were concluded in 2022 following a negotiated procedure, is not available on the website of the Court as mentioned in the report of the authorising officer by delegation; calls on the Court to publish that list into a separate document and ensure user-friendly access to it; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 48. Welcomes that the Court has a wide-ranging cyber security plan for 2022-2024 and planned to reassess its cybersecurity framework towards the end of 2023 to ensure full compliance with the upcoming regulation laying down measures for a high common level of cybersecurity of the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies; further appreciates that the Court discontinued a contract with a supplier which was bought by a company from the United States of America as the takeover would result in changes to how personal data would be processed; 49. Welcomes that the Court did not experience any serious cyberattacks in 2022 and that phishing emails continued to be the most dangerous threat; encourages the Court, nevertheless, to stay vigilant and engage with the relevant interinstitutional Union bodies in order to strengthen the overall cybersecurity of Union institutions; 50. Notes that no enquiries concerning the Court were launched, continued or closed by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) during 2022; 51. Welcomes all efforts to improve the digitalisation of the audit work, thus improving the efficiency and accuracy of such work; in particular, welcomes the launch of the ‘data warehouse as a service’ model in October 2022, allowing users to process and analyse structured data with different degrees of autonomy; notes that the digitalisation of audit work depends not only on the Court itself, but also to a large extent on the data that auditees provide, and that limitations still exist in the format of the data and the variety of systems used; appreciates, furthermore, that the number of days of audit fieldwork was 2 984 in 2022, significantly up from both 2021 and 2020 which years were hugely impacted by limitations imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the added value and efficiency of on-the-spot visits has been enhanced by combining them with work done remotely; 52. Notes that the Court has implemented several elements of open source software as part of their systems, including Linux, Belenios and Nagios; encourages the Court to continue to use open-source software when possible; Buildings 53. Notes that the Court carried out significant renovation works on the K2 building during 2022 which was completed in early 2023 and entailed the renovation of four floors in order to provide a modern workplace that is appreciated by members of staff and is more environmentally friendly; 54. Appreciates that the Court, in 2022, initiated an accessibility audit of all the Court’s buildings with a view to improving accessibility and responding to the needs of people with reduced mobility or other disabilities, which audit was delivered in early 2023; asks the Court to keep Parliament informed about concrete initiatives to implement the actions proposed as part of the audit; Environment and sustainability 55. Welcomes that, in 2022, the Court presented its second annual report on the environmental sustainability of its operations in line with internationally accepted reporting standards; 56. Notes that the Court has achieved impressive results in several areas concerning the reduction of its general consumption since 2014 with the consumption of electricity having been reduced by 34,5 %, heating by 22,2 %, paper by 83,5 % and water by 45,3 % and greenhouse gas emissions by 29,5 % and waste by 33,7 %; encourages the Court to continue its efforts in further reducing the consumption of those inputs and welcomes that the Court launched a study in 2023 concerning the K2 building with the aim of renovating the roof and installing solar panels; 57. Welcomes that the Court has taken several initiatives to support sustainable mobility, including the reinforcement of the Court’s shuttle service, providing members of staff with free subscriptions to the City of Luxembourg’s bicycle service, increasing the number of bicycle parking spaces, including spaces for electrical bikes, and installing chargers for hybrid and electrical cars; calls on the Court to further support sustainable mobility including by exchanging best practices with other institutions and keeping Parliament informed about further initiatives; 58. Notes that the Court will analyse how to integrate environmental aspects of missions in an updated mission guide; notes furthermore that a reduction of business travel per full time equivalent by 5 % for the period 2023-2025 has been proposed; calls on the Court to try to implement that target while at the same time ensuring that necessary audit missions are done; Interinstitutional cooperation 59. Notes that several service level agreements and other interinstitutional cooperation agreements were updated during 2022, including agreements with the Commission's investigation and disciplinary office and with the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union; 60. Notes the triparty agreement between the Court, the Commission and the European Investment Bank (the ‘EIB’) from November 2021; welcomes that the Court is of the opinion that that agreement has clarified and streamlined some processes and that the Court has gained improved access to information that relates to operations financed or guaranteed by the Union budget; regrets, nevertheless, that that agreement does not, as a minimum, ensure that the Court can audit performance aspects of activities carried out while implementing Union policies; 61. Stresses that Parliament is of the opinion, fundamentally, that the current limitations in the Court’s role as an auditor of the EIB creates a regulative and supervisory gap and that the Court should be enabled to audit all of the EIB group operations; stresses at the same time that Parliament, as the democratically elected body, should be entrusted to grant discharge to the EIB in order to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of that important Union institution and, thus, improve transparency and accountability and good governance of financial and human resources; 62. Welcomes that the Court cooperates closely with both OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), including through organising workshops, awareness raising events and exchange of knowledge and experience; furthermore notes with appreciation that the Court, in 2022, forwarded 14 cases of suspected fraud to OLAF and 6 cases to the EPPO; underlines its opinion that suspicions of fraud should always be transmitted to OLAF and EPPO for a thorough investigation; 63. Notes that the Court cooperates with the EDPS via its data protection officer (DPO) and consults the EDPS concerning issues related to data protection, and that a case concerning a personal data breach was closed in 2022 with a few recommendations; welcomes that the Court’s DPO participates in a network of DPO, which works on recurrent issues, shares examples of best practises and helps organise the bi-annual meeting of DPOs; 64. Notes that the Court has been cooperating with the European Ombudsman and has provided all information requested in investigations opened by the European Ombudsman; welcomes that the Court has taken part in the interinstitutional discussions on modern communication, including instant messaging, and that the Court is taking the guidelines of the European Ombudsman in this area as a benchmark; Communication 65. Welcomes that the Court adopted a new communication strategy in January 2022 which puts the general public at the centre of its communication efforts and commends that the Court is now able to hold press briefings and web-streamed conferences to a good technical standard; welcomes, further, that the Court updated its website in 2023 to provide a better experience for users and created a portal which can makes data related to audits more accessible for a broad audience including students, academia and the general public.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - European Economic and Social Committee |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0254/2023)(2), – having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee’s annual activity report 2022 and its annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0072/2024), 1. Grants the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Economic and Social Committee for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Secretary-General of the European Economic and Social Committee, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee (2023/2135(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0072/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas the European Economic and Social Committee (the ‘Committee’) is an advisory body of the Union providing a forum for consultation, dialogue and consensus among representatives of the various economic, social and civil components of organised civil society from the Member States; C. whereas the Committee contributes to the Union decision-making process and, by ensuring links between Union policies and economic, social and civic circumstances, pursues its missions of better law making, participatory democracy from the bottom up and promotion of Union values; D. whereas the consultation of the Committee by the Commission or the Council is mandatory in certain cases, the Committee may also adopt opinions on its own initiative and enjoys a wide area for referral, as set out in the Treaties, allowing it to be consulted by Parliament; E. whereas the Committee’s commission for financial and budgetary affairs is the Committee’s supervisory body for all budgetary procedures and, in particular, the establishment of the budget estimates, the budget implementation, the annual activity report, the discharge and the follow up to the annual report of the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’); 1. Notes that the budget of the Committee falls under MFF heading 7 ‘European public administration’, which amounted to a total of EUR 11,6 billion in 2022, i.e. 5,9 % of Union budget spending; notes that, in 2022, the budget of the Committee represented 1,31 % of MFF heading 7; 2. Notes that the Court in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as were examined in 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including expenditure on pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology, and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Notes that as part of its audit for 2022, the Court examined the supervisory and control systems of the Committee, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management and the functioning of key controls defined in the Financial Regulation, including ex ante and ex post controls on payments; 4. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimates the level of error to be below the materiality threshold; 5. Notes with satisfaction that the Court, in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022, states that it did not identify any specific issues concerning the Committee; notes further that the Court, in its follow-up review, considered that the recommendation made to the Committee in the Annual Report for the financial year 2019 with regard to the need for the Committee to develop a sensitive functions policy in line with its internal control standards was implemented in some respects; Budgetary and financial management 6. Notes that, in 2022, the final adopted budget for the Committee amounted to EUR 152 451 643, representing an overall increase of 5,1 % compared to 2021; notes that the remuneration and allowances budget line increased by 5 % between 2021 and 2022 due to the annual indexation of salaries; notes that the budget line for the fitting out of premises decreased by 77 % between 2021 and 2022 and came back to usual levels after the implementation of important refurbishment works in 2021; notes that, otherwise, the distribution of appropriations across budget lines in the 2022 budget remained comparable to previous years’ distribution; 7. Notes that the budget implementation rate was 96,12 % in 2022, after two years of lower budgetary implementation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related travel restrictions; notes that the payment execution rate followed the same trend and reached 88,12 % in 2022; 8. Notes that the carry-over of appropriations to the year 2022 amounted to EUR 20 162 518, i.e. approximately 13 % of the 2022 annual budget, which was substantially higher than the average in previous years; understands that this carry-over was linked to the postponement of buildings works in 2020 and 2021; 9. Notes that the average time for payment in 2022 was 18 days, which represents a sharp decrease since 2019, when it was 30,19 days; appreciates that, at the same time, the use of electronic invoicing rose from 58,54 % in 2018 to 88,84 % in 2022 which presumably contributed to the reduction in the time for payment over that period; welcomes that the Committee changed its practices as result of internal audit recommendations on payment times which was launched and closed in 2022 and contributed to a decrease in the proportion of late payments to around 10 % in 2022; 10. Notes that the Committee’s own services launched 15 negotiated procurement procedures below EUR 60 000 in 2022, mainly for expertise, studies and logistical support; noted that procurement procedures in the field of logistics were launched by the joint services that the Committee shares with the Committee of the Regions (the ‘CoR’); 11. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee continued to improve the cost-effectiveness of its working methods, notably thanks to hybrid work, full dematerialisation of financial circuits and reduced energy consumption; notes further that budgetary and administrative savings were achieved through interinstitutional cooperation, notably through the joint services with the CoR and the outsourcing of specific services to the Commission (for an annual fee) for the handling of HR matters and the use of various IT platforms for financial management and HR, as well as the participation in interinstitutional procurement procedures led by other institutions; 12. Is aware that the decisions pertaining to the Committee members’ allowances for attending meetings and to the amount of such allowances are taken by the Council; regrets that, following the progressive lifting of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council decided against repealing the temporary 2021 decision granting an allowance of EUR 145 for members’ remote attendance of meetings, which remained in force until 25 May 2023, when a new Council decision was adopted with a flat rate of EUR 145 per day for remote attendance of meetings; considers that remote attendance is an important instrument for modern institutions given that, inter alia, it reduces the costs of meetings and allows broader participation, especially during crisis situations, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; considers, nevertheless, that an allowance for remote attendance, despite being reduced, is difficult for the public to understand, even more so when taking into consideration the difference paid to the members of the Committee and members of the CoR for remote attendance; notes the several layers of control carried out to prove that a member is attending a meeting remotely prior to the payment of the allowance; 13. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine created budgetary pressure for the Committee, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and the cost of construction and raw materials; notes in particular that energy costs increased from EUR 726 000 to EUR 3 125 000 between 2021 and 2022, i.e. an increase of 330 %; notes that ad hoc activities in support of Ukrainian civil society incurred direct and indirect costs, such as the costs related to translation and interpretation to and from Ukrainian, the hosting of Ukrainian NGOs, and security services and trainings for missions to Ukraine; 14. Notes that the 2022 budget for staff missions increased by EUR 25 000 as compared to 2021, which was financed by a budget transfer, to cover higher expenses due to the increase in flight and hotel prices in 2022 and amounted to a total of EUR 398 974; notes that, in 2022, the President of the Committee participated in 26 missions with a total cost of EUR 38 042, compared to 12 missions with a total cost of EUR 15 327 in 2021, following the lifting of travel restrictions after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic; Internal management, performance and internal control 15. Notes that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and exploratory opinions, which feed into the Commission’s work on its planned initiatives, and that the Committee’s positions can be highlighted in resolutions or included in evaluation and information reports; notes that, in 2022, the Committee adopted 202 opinion and reports which is in line with its average annual performance, excluding 2019 and 2020 when the activity of the Committee was lower; notes that the Committee also enhanced its engagement in the political and legislative cycle by attending 345 high-level national, Union and international meetings, summits and conferences, and by organising 116 hearings and 29 conferences; 16. Appreciates the projects launched in 2022 in respect of reinforced follow-up opinions with a view to increasing the outreach and impact of selected opinions and improving the Committee’s capacity to prioritise its work and in respect of the improvement of the timeliness of the delivery of the opinions of the Committee; notes that those initiatives were complemented, at the end of 2022, by a reflection on the format of opinions, the aim of which is to promote a more efficient and effective use of the Committee’s opinions in the legislative decision-making process; 17. Notes that, in 2022, Members of Parliament participated in meetings or events organised by the Committee on 68 occasions, which remained at the same level as in 2021, whereas the Committee members almost doubled their participation in events organised by Parliament during the same period; welcomes that, in 2022, the Committee focused on intensifying its relations with Parliament and on promoting the Committee’s added value, thus fostering even closer ties between sections of the Committee and parliamentary committees; 18. Notes the wide participation of the Committee in various initiatives, including key events and annual conferences to engage with European stakeholders; welcomes the efforts made by the Committee to enhance youth involvement in policy-making; 19. Notes that the Committee continued to reinforce its internal control framework in 2022 with the simplification of the financial circuits under the ‘light verification’ procedure for some low-value transactions and to develop its policy on sensitive posts, as recommended by the Court in its annual report for the 2019 financial year; notes that, based on the update of the list of sensitive posts throughout 2022 and at the time of the publication of the updated list of 36 posts at the beginning of 2023, the Committee was still working on reviewing the methodology and the risk management system, taking into account both the size of the institution and the nature of its operations; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority of the progress made in respect of the implementation of the sensitive posts methodology in 2023; 20. Welcomes the Committee’s efforts in establishing a better defined and more consistent audit framework through the finalisation of the internal audit charter and the charter of the audit committee entailing procedural rules which were approved by the audit committee in December 2022 and adopted by the Committee’s bureau at the beginning of 2023; appreciates that the Committee’s internal audit function was reinforced in 2022, notably with the recruitment of an administrator to its internal audit service and close coordination with the internal auditor of the CoR in all aspects relating to the audit of joint services; notes that four audits were launched in 2022 on the topics of late payments, meeting authorisations, the strategic cycle and the selection of delegates to the Committee’s Consultative Commission on Industrial Change; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 21. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Committee had a total of 706 members of staff, compared to 699 in 2021; notes that 50 contract agents and 128 temporary agents were employed by the Committee at the end of 2022 (which represents an increase compared to 46 contract agents and 107 temporary agents in 2021), including 19 contract agents and 3 temporary agents with indefinite contract duration; notes, in addition, that the Committee employed 12 interim agents and 7 external members of staff working on-site, excluding external service providers in the fields of logistics and IT; notes that, in 2022, the occupation rate of the posts in the establishment plan was 95,1 %; 22. Welcomes the continuous efforts of the Committee to improve its HR framework with a view to becoming an attractive employer and a fully inclusive workplace where every individual is valued and can fully develop their potential; notes that the integrated HR strategy, adopted in June 2022, is articulated around the principles of inclusion, retention, competencies and performance; appreciates that one of its first follow-up actions was the launch of a staff satisfaction survey in January 2023with a focus on staff engagement; 23. Underlines that the on-boarding of newcomers constitutes an important factor of strategic alignment by ensuring that staff are informed of the rules and strategies in place in an institution; notes that induction trainings for the Committee’s newcomers resumed in April 2022; welcomes that the Committee developed a mentoring scheme where mentors were provided support and advice in the form of an exchange of best practices to adapt their methods to the hybrid working environment; 24. Notes that, with a view to better distributing its scarce resources, in 2022 the Committee commissioned an external HR mapping which confirmed the heavy workload in many different services across the Committee in light of the scarcity of resources following the reduction of the establishment plan in 2013; notes that, as a follow-up to the external audit on the HR mapping, the Committee started to prepare an action plan including actions in the scope of the HR integrated strategy, such as a review of the appraisal and performance system, the development of an internal communication strategy, the adoption of the new working conditions decision and the organisation of regular monitoring of staff engagement; calls on the Committee to provide an update on the follow-up to the HR mapping in 2023; 25. Notes with appreciation that a new decision on flexible working arrangements, enshrining a flexible and trust-based policy for hybrid working, entered into force on 1 April 2022 in the form of a pilot project, providing a wide range of part-time working patterns and flexible daily and weekly arrangements for the staff; notes that around 25 % of women and 14,4 % of men employed by the Committee applied for non-standard working patterns in 2022; notes that the decision on working conditions provides staff with the possibility to telework up to 60 % of their working time, provided that it is compatible with the interest of services, and to telework somewhere other than at the place of employment 15 days per calendar year; notes that Committee staff is provided with the necessary equipment to have good working conditions when working remotely; welcomes that the evaluation committee conducted a survey on staff satisfaction that was launched at the end of 2022; notes that the final decision on working conditions, following the social dialogue with staff unions and the Committee’s staff committee and legal service, should have been adopted by the end of 2023; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority about the developments in this regard in timely manner; 26. Regrets that, also in 2022, the Committee was not able to provide data on cases of burnout within the Committee; respects the data protection limitations, but reminds the Committee of the importance of anonymised statistical data within an organisation with the purpose of aiding managerial decisions; reiterates that awareness-raising actions, good practices in relation to workload management, communication and conflict solving, as well as return-to-work policy, should be taken into account; understands that the adoption of the new working arrangements are a positive step towards a more effective prevention of burnout at organisational level which should also take into account the findings of the results of the HR mapping; 27. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee continued to employ a high proportion of female staff (64,6 % of all staff), including at middle management level (59 % of all managers); notes that female representation at senior management position still needs to be improved, given that only three senior managers out of seven were women at the end of 2022; encourages the Committee to pursue it efforts in respect of gender balance, notably through awareness raising with respect to the appointing authority and ensuring that the composition of different bodies, including HR recruitment and selection panels, remains gender balanced; 28. Welcomes the work towards the adoption of a new diversity and inclusion policy from 2022 to 2023 in consultation with the Committee’s management, the Committee’s Joint Committee for Equal Opportunities and the Committee’s staff committee; notes that, on top of the internal communications actions carried out, a specific awareness-raising campaign against homophobia was carried out in December 2022; welcomes that a specific training session on diversity and inclusion was made mandatory for managers and recommended for staff and that a dedicated course on diversity and inclusion was offered to the members of the Committee as part of their annual training programme; encourages the Committee to continue its discussions with Parliament with a view to joining Parliament’s Positive Action Programme for Persons with Disabilities in order to recruit contract agents with disabilities; reiterates its call from the 2021 discharge for the Committee to finalise an updated diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan; 29. Notes that, while all Member States are represented among the staff of the Committee, geographical balance has still not been reached as some nationalities continue to be overrepresented compared to others; notes that in 2022 the Committee counted 21 % of managers from the 13 Member States that joined the Union after 2004, which represents a slight increase compared to 19 % in 2021; reiterates its encouragement to the Committee to continue to take action to reach a proper geographical distribution within its staff, with a particular focus on the management level; 30. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee hosted a total of 52 trainees for a five month term, four trainees for a three month term and two trainees on grants awarded by external public bodies; notes that all trainees with a five month term received a monthly grant and allowance while the shorter term trainees were not entitled to any financial contribution; welcomes that, following also the call from Parliament during the 2020 discharge procedure, a revision of the decision on the Committee’s traineeship was launched in 2022 with the objective of discontinuing unpaid short-term traineeships and ensuring that all trainees receive a decent remuneration; underlines that the new decision on traineeships entered into force in July 2023, ensuring a monthly income and travel and mobility allowances and, where applicable, a disability allowance for both long-term and short-term trainees; Ethical framework and transparency 31. Notes that the Committee continued its internal reform process with the adoption of new rules of procedures in March 2022 and their implementing provisions in November 2022; still regrets that the specific relations between a Member and an official is not tackled separately in relation to harassment; notes that the rules of procedure are now aligned and consistent with the code of conduct adopted in 2021 following the Committee’s internal audit on ethics and integrity; asks the Committee to inform Parliament whether an evaluation of the implementation of the ethics and integrity audit action plan was implemented as planned and what the outcome of this evaluation was; welcomes the reflection initiated in 2022 to prepare a charter of values for the Committee’s staff, following an inclusive and participatory process which was finalised and communicated to staff in 2023; believes that only a zero tolerance of harassment policy will prevent the Committee from future allegations of harassment and serious misconduct; 32. Observes that, following the entry into force of the Committee’s revised decision on whistleblowing on 15 December 2021 (Decision 297/21A), as well as of the revised decision on procedures for preventing and dealing with psychological and sexual harassment at work (Decision 090/22A), adopted on 31 March 2022, the renewed ethical legal framework was expected to be completed with a revised decision laying down general implementing provisions on disciplinary procedures and administrative enquiries in 2023, in coordination with the CoR; notes that a new decision on assignments and outside activities (Decision No 141/22A) was adopted in 2022, applicable to active staff, staff on secondment and former staff, in line with the provisions of the Staff Regulations applicable at the time of leaving the service; 33. Notes with satisfaction that, in 2022, the Committee continued to train staff and raise awareness about the ethics framework in place, in particular the new code of conduct, harassment and whistleblowing, and the role and responsibilities of the ethics counsellors whose mandate started in January 2022; notes that, in 2022, 116 members of staff, including managers and newcomers, attended internal ethics training courses and 26 members of staff attended ethics training courses provided by the Commission and the European School of Administration; notes that a tailor-made training course was developed and delivered to the team of ethics counsellors; welcomes that 83 % of the respondents to the staff satisfaction survey launched in 2022 showed a strong awareness of ethical behaviour and the reinforced ethical framework of the Committee; 34. Notes, as regards the harassment cases reported in the last years’ discharges, that the last settlement agreement related to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) case OC/2018/0666/A1 was concluded on 1 October 2022, thus allowing the Committee to fully close all requests for assistance related to that case; welcomes that, on 13 April 2022, the then Committee’s President made a public statement, published on the Committee’s website, addressing her official apology on behalf of the Committee to all the victims, both members of staff and the former member, in the case in question; welcomes that, by its judgment of 6 October 2022 in case C-673/21(6) , the Court of Justice confirmed the legality of the measures taken by the Committee’s bureau in its decision of 9 June 2020; 35. Reiterates its call on the Committee for an external and independent investigation to specifically review the Committee’s procedures with respect to human resources and the effectiveness thereof, with a focus on identifying the responsibilities of the administrative hierarchy in addressing harassment claims and ensuring the well-being of staff; rejects, despite the measures taken to enhance the ethical framework of the Committee in recent years, the Committee’s position that such an investigation is not necessary since the measures in place allowed the harassment case to be addressed and recalls that Parliament already expressed concerns regarding the repetitive slow reaction of the Committee in the cases in question; 36. Notes that the European Ombudsman conducted three inquiries following complaints in 2022; notes that one case led to an investigation, which concluded that no maladministration had taken place; notes that two other cases were closed without investigation, the Ombudsman considering that both cases had been settled in the meantime; 37. Notes with concern that four ongoing cases of alleged harassment were still under the examination of the Committee in 2022; asks the Committee to inform Parliament about the follow-up to those cases in a timely manner; notes that there were no new cases of alleged harassment reported within the Committee, concerning either its staff or its members in 2022, but is aware that allegations of harassment involving a member of staff of the Committee were reported in another institution in 2022; asks the Committee to keep Parliament informed about the follow-up to that case in cooperation with the other institution concerned; 38. Observes that the Committee is a civil party in the ongoing legal proceedings initiated by the Belgian national authorities against a former member accused of misconduct that are currently before the Belgian court awaiting a decision; asks the Committee to inform Parliament about the developments in the case in a timely manner; 39. Notes that three cases of whistleblowing were formally opened either by members or by staff in 2022; notes that all three cases were dealt with and closed swiftly with all due respect for the protection of whistleblowers in accordance with its decision on whistleblowing (Decision 297/21A); notes further that two cases of potential whistleblowing were brought to the ethics counsellors in 2022 but neither of them were confirmed; 40. Appreciates the Committee’s willingness to cooperate with the investigative bodies of the Union (OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO)); notes that, in 2022, OLAF closed two cases of alleged misappropriation of Union funds and possible irregularities and serious misconduct concerning two members in the absence of evidence of fraud and findings; notes with concern that OLAF launched three new cases against members concerning potential fraud in 2023, two of which were closed the same year and transmitted to the EPPO for examination; notes that OLAF referred one case concerning an alleged breach of the code of conduct by a member to the Committee’s ethical committee; asks the Committee to inform Parliament about the follow-up to that case in a timely manner; 41. Congratulates the Committee for taking the decision to formally join, as of 1 June 2023, the EU transparency register set up by the interinstitutional agreement of 20 May 2021 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on a mandatory transparency register(7); notes that the Committee, on 21 March 2023, adopted several transparency measures in accordance with the principles laid down with respect to the EU Transparency Register, such as a recommendation for office-holding members to only meet with registered stakeholders, the obligation for office-holding members to publish their lists of meetings and a voluntary ‘legislative footprint’ for rapporteurs; 42. Regrets that the Committee has a series of measures in place to prevent fraud but has not put an integrated anti-fraud strategy in place yet, despite previous requests from Parliament; welcomes that the Committee has completed an inventory on the areas which are relevant to launching an internal fraud-risk analysis, such as policies and procedures, staff training and cooperation with other bodies, with a view to improving the anti-fraud framework; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 43. Notes that the combined IT budget of the Committee and the CoR amounted to EUR 11 712 000 in 2022, including a reinforcement of EUR 750 000 by an internal budget transfer during the year, compared to EUR 12 860 000 in 2021, i.e. a decrease of 9 %; 44. Notes that the Committee has a digital strategy aiming to provide IT services according to the best practices of IT management while optimising the use of human and financial resources; notes that the Committee worked on the adaptation and development of several strategic IT tools throughout 2022 aiming to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the political work of the Committee and of its administrative processes and workflows; notes that the main IT infrastructure project in 2022 concerned an adaptation of the network typology required for the new computer room in the Jacques Delors Building (JDE) in line with the hybrid cloud roadmap; 45. Notes that the Committee increased the amount of hybrid meetings in 2022 in order to adapt to hybrid work and optimise its ways of working, notably by reducing the number of missions; understands that this new way of working required a technical upgrade in terms of equipment for hybrid meeting rooms; 46. Notes that the Committee did not encounter any cyber-attacks in 2022; notes that the Committee and the CoR’s new joint directorate for innovation and information technology is composed of three units, namely digital transformation, digital solutions and digital platforms; notes that the unit for digital platforms is responsible, inter alia, for cybersecurity; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority on how the creation of this new structure contributed to enhancing the cybersecurity preparedness of its staff, in line with the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) cybersecurity framework and in cooperation with the Cybersecurity Service for the Union’s institutions, bodies and agencies (CERT-EU); encourages the Committee to raise the cybersecurity awareness of their Members and staff, to carry out regular risk assessments of its IT infrastructure and to ensure regular audits and tests of its cyber defences; 47. Notes the use by the Committee of open source technology in its own systems, notably the main operational applications used for managing the political work of the Committee (Agora and Phoenix); notes further that the Committee tracks the use of open source technologies in its annual IT portfolio so that they are applied to new applications; 48. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee was progressing towards the adoption of a new framework for document management in order to enhance transparency and accessibility; observes with interest that the Committee started to evaluate the technical feasibility and financial implications of using the Commission’s Electronic Records Management System (Ares) in due course; Buildings 49. Notes that the Committee and the CoR lost 5 000 m² in office space following the take-over of the rental contract of the former EEAS building at Belliard 100, which took effect in September 2021, and the building exchange between the Committee and the CoR’s Belliard 68 and Trèves 74 and the Commission’s Van Maerlant 2 (VMA), which took effect in September 2022; notes that fitting-out works in the two newly acquired buildings were necessary to enable a denser use of the office space; welcomes, in 2022, the establishment of a joint task force on new ways of working to reflect on possible optimisation of the way work is organised and how office space is used while reducing the environmental footprint; 50. Notes that the total budget committed in 2021 and 2022 to the renovation of VMA from the third to the ninth floor by the Committee and the CoR amounted to of EUR 9,54 million; notes that the renovation works undertaken by the Committee and the CoR integrated the use of smart energy saving technologies with a strong environmental component; asks the Committee to provide an update on the return on investment of these technological installations; 51. Notes that, in 2022, the building strategy of the Committee and the CoR focused on the geographical concentration of the buildings which was achieved by physically connecting all the buildings used by the Committees to their main building (JDE); welcomes the new physical connection to Parliament’s buildings which became operational in November 2022, offering a more direct, easier and 125 m shorter pathway between the buildings of the Committee and the CoR and the buildings of Parliament; 52. Welcomes the commitment of the Committee and the CoR to systematically apply the ‘design for all’ principle to their infrastructure, ensuring accessibility of their building by design; notes that the Committee and the CoR took a range of different measures to ensure accessibility of their buildings for people with various kinds of disabilities; Environment and sustainability 53. Welcomes the sustainable practices and notably the paperless approach of the Committee and the CoR which contributed to reducing their environmental footprint in line with the digital strategy; congratulates the Committees on having exceeded the EMAS objectives for 2021-2025, except the objectives related to gas consumption; notes that a budget of EUR 60 000 was earmarked for the Committee’s carbon offsetting scheme by purchasing high quality carbon credits in 2023; 54. Notes that, in 2022, the total electricity production generated by solar panels on the buildings of the Committee and the CoR was approximately 15,5 MWh, representing 0,25 % of the total yearly consumption of the Committee and the CoR; notes that, as of 16 September 2022, only the JDE was equipped with solar panels; is aware that due to administrative procedures the Committee and the CoR will face a delay before being able to extend their solar panel installation; 55. Congratulates the Committee on establishing a business transport plan in agreement with the mobility department of the Brussels-Capital Region following which the Committee commits to carrying out a compulsory mobility survey among its staff every three years; notes that the Committee put in place a sustainable mobility plan aiming to encourage its staff to use more sustainable transport means, including through a financial contribution to the public transport subscriptions of staff or a monthly financial contribution to members of staff cycling to work; notes that the Committee is exploring additional solutions, such as the provision of electronic bikes and the installation of additional chargers for electric cars; Interinstitutional cooperation 56. Welcomes the budgetary and administrative savings achieved through interinstitutional cooperation, in particular the close cooperation established at administrative level with the CoR with which the Committee shares premises and joint services in the areas of translation, infrastructure, logistics and IT while maintaining its full institutional autonomy; notes that, on 1 October 2022, new joint services were created, including a new directorate for innovation and information technology, a security and safety unit and a public procurement and financial management unit, as part of the new cooperation agreement signed with the CoR in 2022; notes further that 470 members of staff and EUR 55 million were pooled together by the Committee and the CoR in 2022 out of which more than EUR 30 million came from the Committee, excluding salary-related expenditure; calls on the Committee to pursue and expand that cooperation in other areas with a view to avoiding duplication and further rationalising the operating costs of services available in the premises shared by the Committee and the CoR; invites the Committee and the CoR to explore the possibility of setting up a single administration for their joint services, keeping separate directorates or units for the services dealing with matters related to their specific and independent mandates; 57. Welcomes the Committee’s search for synergies by purchasing services from other institutions through service-level agreements and by participating in interinstitutional coordination bodies and interinstitutional procurement procedures; notes that Parliament notably provides interpretation services for the Committee’s plenaries taking place on Parliament’s premises and for some meetings taking place on the Committee’s premises; 58. Welcomes the Committee’s strengthened involvement in the legislative cycle and calls on the Committee to ensure that its opinions are shared with the members of the relevant committees of Parliament in line with the cooperation agreement between Parliament and the Committee; 59. Notes that the Committee pursued and intensified its cooperation with the Commission in 2022 in the context of the service-level agreement with the Commission’s investigation and disciplinary office on administrative enquiries support and in the framework of the cooperation protocol updated in 2022, reinforcing the political, legislative and communication synergies between those two institutions, in particular in the implementation of the European Citizens’ initiative and the European Semester; notes that, according to the updated cooperation protocol, the use of the Committee’s exploratory opinions by the Commission was reinforced, thus strengthening the Committee’s involvement in the Union legislative cycle; 60. Notes that the Committee plays a pivotal role in reinforcing the links with and between the national economic and social councils of the Member States; encourages the Committee to continue fostering the cooperation on topics of common interest and on good practices and highlighting how civil society brings its contribution to the current challenges of the Union, notably through staff exchange and the organisation of common events; Communication 61. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee’s overall budget for communication was EUR 1,5 million, the same amount as in 2021; notes that this budget was primarily allocated to support the development and maintenance of the Committee’s website, social media communication, media monitoring, media relations and promotion of major activities and events of the Committee, such as the Civil Society Prize and the activities related to the Committee in the works of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFE’) and the Committee's support for Ukraine; 62. Welcomes the adoption by the Committee of a new data driven communication strategy in October 2022, aiming to increase the outreach of the Committee’s communication and the impact of its opinions and defining European Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the other Union institutions as its main communication targets; notes further that, in 2022, the Committee updated the rules on partnership with the aim of enhancing its strategic engagement with CSOs through thematic events; 63. Notes that the Committee organised major hybrid events on topical issues of relevance for civil society, such as the CoFE high-level event on ‘Shaping Europe together - the future is in your hands’, the annual youth event ‘Your Europe your say’ for pupils and teachers of the Union and candidate countries, and the annual youth plenary session ‘The Truth about Lies. Youth challenging Disinformation’ for students; notes that the Committee also organised more specialised activities focusing on the Year of Youth and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, addressed to journalists and communication professionals of CSOs; 64. Welcomes that the overall reach of the Committee’s communication increased in 2022 compared to 2021, notably through media coverage and web and social media presence; notes that the number of visits to the central Facebook page increased by 96,9 % (57 000 visits) and the number of visits to the Instagram account increased by 97,9 % (20 000 visits) while the number of Facebook users increased by 1,1 % (6 million users), the outreach on Instagram increased by 33 % (over 3 million users), the posts published on LinkedIn generated almost 1,2 million impressions, and the tweets published on X (formerly Twitter) gathered over 6 million impressions; welcomes the Committee’s participation, as of 2023, in the pilot project led by the European Data Protection Supervisor aimed at bringing Union institutions on EU-Voice and EU-Video, which are two free, open-source social media networks, based on Mastodon software, allowing Union institutions to interact with the public by sharing texts, images, videos and podcasts; 65. Welcomes that the Committee ensures that citizens have open access to its documents via a dedicated electronic register; notes that the Committee contributes to the open data portal of the Commission with its own datasets, thus endorsing greater transparency in its operations through freely accessible data in human and machine-readable formats and strengthening the link with citizens.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - Committee of the Regions |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0255/2023)(2), – having regard to the Committee of the Regions’ annual activity report for 2022 and its report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0073/2024), 1. Grants the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Committee of the Regions for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VII – Committee of the Regions (2023/2136(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VII – Committee of the Regions, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0073/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas the Committee of the Regions (the ‘Committee’) is a political assembly of 329 members elected in the regions, cities, villages and municipalities of the 27 Member States of the Union, operating as a consultative body for the Union institutions with the mission of contributing to the Union policy shaping and decision making process from the point of view of the local and regional authorities and at the same time contributing to make the Union more effective and closer to the citizens; C. whereas the consultation of the Committee by the Commission or the Council is mandatory in certain cases, the Committee may also adopt opinions on its own initiative and enjoys a wide area for referral, as set out in the Treaties, allowing it to be consulted by Parliament; D. whereas the Committee’s activities are defined on the basis of its overall political strategy as set out in its resolution of 2 July 2020 on its priorities for 2020-2025(6), and whereas the Committee adopted three political priorities for the 2020-2025 mandate, accompanied by three communication campaigns: Bringing Europe closer to people, Building resilient regional and local communities, and Promoting cohesion as a fundamental value of the Union; E. whereas local and regional administrations account for one third of public spending, half of public investment and one fourth of tax revenues and, in many Member States, hold competencies in key areas such as education, economic development and cohesion, environment, social protection, health and services of general interest, hence the coordination of local, regional, national and European levels increases the legitimacy of legislation, improves ownership and more effectively pursues the benefit of citizens; F. whereas the Committee pursues its political goal of strengthening its involvement in the entire Union political and legislative cycle while makings more tangible the connection with Union citizens that use the Committee’s members as powerful multipliers in their communities and in their national associations of local and regional authorities; G. whereas the over 400 national and regional programmes in place for the delivery of the Union cohesion policy in the 2021-2027 programming period will make available approximately EUR 380 billion, under different funds, to tackle the economic, social and environmental challenges that regions, cities, villages and municipalities in the Union are facing; H. whereas, as an Union institution within the meaning of the Financial Regulation, the Committee is required to adopt its own annual accounts, prepared in accordance with the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer (European Union Accounting Rules) and based on the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, which are ultimately consolidated into those of the Union; 1. Notes that the budget of the Committee falls under MFF heading 7 ‘European public administration’, which amounted to a total of EUR 11,6 billion in 2022, i.e. 5,9 % of Union budget spending; notes that, in 2022, the budget of the Committee represented 0,95 % of MFF heading 7; 2. Notes that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as were examined in 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources, including expenditure on pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology, and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Notes that, as part of its audit for 2022, the Court, examined the supervisory and control systems of the Committee, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management and the functioning of key controls defined in the Financial Regulation, including ex ante and ex post controls on payments; 4. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimates the level of error to be below the materiality threshold; 5. Notes with satisfaction that the Court, in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022, states that it did not identify any specific issues concerning the Committee; Budgetary and financial management 6. Notes that, in 2022, the final adopted budget for the Committee amounted to EUR 109 976 858, including Amending Budget 5/2022, representing an overall increase of 3,03 % compared to 2021; notes that the appropriations on budget line 1004 for ‘travel and subsistence allowances, attendance at meetings and associated expenditure’ increased from EUR 4 244 488 to EUR 8 158 838, i.e. by 92 %, between 2021 and 2022, owing to the resumption of travel after the COVID-19 pandemic; notes that, otherwise, the distribution of appropriations across budget lines in the 2022 budget remained comparable to previous years’ distribution; 7. Notes that the missions’ budget for 2022 amounted to EUR 419 657, compared to EUR 169 856 in 2021, i.e. an increase of 147 %, which can be explained by the number of online meetings in 2021 and at the beginning of 2022 due to the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the increase in travel prices in 2022; notes that the allowance for the Committee’s Presidency (President and 1st Vice-President) for travel and meeting expenses, which are financed from the general budget for Members expenses, increased from EUR 49 852 to EUR 71 810, i.e. an increase of 44 %, between 2021 and 2022; welcomes the guidance towards a more cost effective, purposeful and sustainable mission policy that was circulated in June 2022 with a view to reducing the Committee’s staff missions to a minimum; 8. Notes that the budget implementation rate was 99,2 % in 2022, which is slightly higher than in 2021, when the budget implementation rate was 98,9 %; 9. Notes that the average time for payment in 2022 was 17,87 days, which is higher than in 2021 when it was 16,11 days; notes that, at the same time, the percentage of electronic invoicing increased from 32 % to 68 %; remarks that there is no correlation between the two figures and calls on the Committee to complete the digitalisation of the payment workflow aiming to improve its efficiency and timeliness; 10. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine created budgetary pressure for the Committee, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and the cost of construction and raw materials; notes further that the Committee mobilised its political support to Ukrainian local and regional authorities and organised activities in relation to the war against Ukraine, which had an impact on the budget for missions, studies and trainings; 11. Notes that the Committee’s own services organised 14 procurement calls for tenders in 2022, including 11 negotiated procurement procedures for remote interpretation services in the Member States; notes that procurement procedures in the field of logistics were launched by the joint services that the Committee shares with the European Economic and Social Committee (the ‘EESC’); Internal management, performance and internal control 12. Notes that the Committee contributes to the Union policy and decision making process from the perspective of the regional and local authorities within the Union and provides a framework to enhance cooperation between the local, regional, national and European levels and to bring Europe closer to its citizens; welcomes the relevance of the contribution of the Committee to important Union topics such as the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility as reflected in Parliament’s resolution of 23 June 2022 on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility(7); further encourages the Committee to assist its members in participating in local dialogues with citizens on European matters; 13. Notes that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and resolutions, which highlight the Committee’s position on specific topics; notes that, in 2022, the Committee adopted 55 opinions and 8 resolutions which is slightly lower than in 2021 when the Committee adopted 60 opinions and 9 resolutions; encourages the Committee to continue boosting its ability to provide evidence from the ground to the principal Union institutions, using data, empirical analyses and compilations of best practice; 14. Welcomes that the Committee took concrete steps to strengthen its involvement in the entire Union political and legislative cycle in line with its prerogatives under the Treaties; welcomes, in particular, the cooperation agreement between Parliament and the Committee and the close cooperation between the Committee and several parliamentary committees, intergroups and directorates-general; notes that, in 2022, the Committee organised 56 preparatory and follow-up meetings with Parliament for the rapporteurs of its opinions; notes further that 20 Committee rapporteurs intervened in Parliament’s committee meetings in 2022; congratulates the Committee for strengthening its involvement in legislative trilogues, notably by being granted access to trilogue documents; considers that members of the Committee and of the EESC should be invited to relevant parliamentary exchanges, including committee meetings, on issues they are dealing with; 15. Welcomes the measures taken by the Committee throughout 2022 to optimise its resources and to improve cost-effectiveness while increasing the impact of its political work in the context of the ‘Going for IMPact’ programme and in particular the 43 simplification and digitalisation projects that contribute to the modernisation of the Committee’s administration and to the digitalisation of workflows as part of the ‘Strategy on the simplification of Committee rules and procedures for the period 2020-2025’; 16. Welcomes the active involvement of the Committee in the works of the Conference on the Future of Europe (‘CoFE’) with a delegation of 30 members, 12 of whom represented the European associations of local and regional authorities; notes that, following the work performed in 2021, in 2022 the Committee organised 14 meetings with CoFE delegates and 9 preparatory meetings; highlights that the Committee created a dedicated task force, ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’, to coordinate the work of all directorates and units involved; notes that proposals contained in the final report of the CoFE, issued on 9 May 2022, were taken up in the Committee’s project ‘Tapping into the regional and local authorities’ potential to strengthen the EU’, which was implemented throughout 2022; 17. Underlines that in its final report, the plenary assembly of the CoFE in its 40th recommendation, under measure 3, calls for a reform the Committee, encompassing adequate channels of dialogue for regions as well as cities, villages and municipalities, giving it an enhanced role in the institutional architecture, if matters with a territorial impact are concerned; 18. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee reviewed and strengthened its internal control framework at the levels of planning and reporting, systems, financial verification and sensitive functions; congratulates the Committee for developing the dedicated convergence tool and platform for planning, reporting, risk assessment and business continuity; notes that the new sensitive posts policy entered into force on 1 January 2022 and was communicated to staff on 27 January 2022; 19. Notes that, until April 2022, all meetings were held online, whereas as of April 2022 statutory meetings are organised in physical presence while other meetings may be organised remotely or in hybrid format; notes that, until the revision of the Committee’s rules of procedure in 2023, a flat-rate meeting allowance of EUR 200 for remote and hybrid meetings continued to be paid according to the rules in place since 2021; notes that as of July 2023 the remote meeting allowance is set at 50 % of the standard meeting allowance (i.e. currently 50 % of EUR 359, equalling EUR 179,50); considers that remote attendance is an important instrument for modern institutions given that, inter alia, it reduces the costs of meetings and allows broader participation, especially during crisis situations as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; notes with satisfaction that the recommendations of the internal audit on the adequacy of the planning and management of allowances and reimbursements to members for attendances at meetings were satisfactorily implemented; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 20. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Committee had a total of 533 members of staff, compared to 547 in 2021 and 537 in 2020; notes that 56 contract agents and 89 temporary agents were employed by the Committee at the end of 2022, out of which 21 contract agents had an indefinite contract and three temporary agents were employed in a temporary position, in two cases with an indefinite contract and, in the case of the Secretary-General, for a fixed duration of five years; notes, in addition, that the Committee employed 8 interim agents and 14 external members of staff working on-site, excluding external service providers in the fields of logistics and IT; notes, in 2022, that the occupation rate of the posts in the establishment plan was 96 %; 21. Notes that a new pilot project on a hybrid working regime, aiming to align the HR framework to new ways of working, entered into force in April 2022, providing the possibility for Committee staff to organise their weekly and daily work with a high degree of flexibility and to telework up to 60 % of their working time; welcomes that the new regime allows for the possibility of a number of part-time formulas based on the statutory rights provided in the Staff Regulation; notes with satisfaction that 90,25 % of those that responded to the staff survey of December 2022 indicated their satisfaction with those flexible arrangements; 22. Notes with concern that 16 cases of burnout were reported in the Committee in 2022; notes further that the Committee managed to reintegrate 15 members of staff in 2022 after long-term absence as a result of burnout, thanks to a personalised follow-up of long-term sickness leave; welcomes the preventive actions taken by the Committee to reduce psychosocial risks and burnout; appreciates in this regard the proactive approach of the medical service and the awareness-raising conferences, trainings and courses organized by the Committee; 23. Notes that the Committee continued to raise awareness about the measures put in place to combat harassment in the workplace in accordance with its Decision of 26 April 2021 on protecting dignity at work, managing conflict and combatting harassment, notably through dedicated guidance, internal communication and the organisation of several information sessions for staff and managers; notes that, in 2022, the Committee had to deal with a new allegation of psychological harassment by a member of staff of the EESC against a member of staff of the Committee which allegation is still under examination by both committees; calls on the Committee to report on the follow-up to that allegation, notably taking into account the inter-institutional perspective; 24. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Committee was employed 56,8 % women and 43,2 % men, compared to 56,6 % women in 2021 and 55,5 % women in 2020; notes with concerns that the distribution of women across grades and status follows the same trend as in previous years and regrets that, despite the appointment of a new female director in 2023 and some efforts to attract more women to management positions, the situation remains particularly unbalanced both at senior and middle management levels; recommends that vacancy notices are made more inclusive and that more women are encouraged to apply for senior and middle management positions, including by ensuring a balanced representation on selection boards, by offering training opportunities for female staff that wishes to prepare for a managerial career and by proposing more flexible work arrangements; 25. Welcomes that, on 7 July 2022, the Committee adopted a new five-year diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan for 2022-2026; encourages the Committee to pursue its efforts to reach the targets set out in that strategy and action plan, notably the gender equality target of 40 % of women in senior management positions by 2024 with the introduction of parity as the ultimate goal; welcomes the awareness-raising and the targeted measures put in place to promote and enhance a more diverse and inclusive workplace at the level of staff representation and contact points across all Committee departments under the coordination of a dedicated diversity and inclusion coordinator; 26. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee employed members of staff representing all Union nationalities and one member of staff of Ukrainian nationality; notes that, while welcoming the Committee’s efforts to balance the geographical distribution among its staff, geographical balance has still not been reached as some nationalities continue to be overrepresented compared to others; encourages the Committee to continue to take action to reach a proper geographical distribution within its staff with a particular focus on the management level; welcomes the participation of the Committee in the interinstitutional taskforce on geographical balance which aims at sharing best practices and creating synergies among Union institutions; 27. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee ran, for the first time, a pilot interinstitutional job shadowing scheme involving three Union institutions and 25 participants, aiming at increasing the understanding of the working methods and processes of other institutions, reinforcing interinstitutional collaboration, promoting mobility and providing for a more flexible workforce; congratulates the Committee for launching this innovative interinstitutional initiative which was then scaled up and taken over by the European School of Administration as of 2023; 28. Notes that the Committee had 60 trainees in 2022 of whom 48 were remunerated trainees and 12 were study visitors, in two cases receiving a social allowance; welcomes the new rules approved in 2022 in relation to the remuneration of trainees, whereby study visits can only be approved if either the trainee receives funding from another source or the traineeship is mandatory in the context of the trainee’s studies and whereby all types of trainees can request a social allowance in duly justified cases; welcomes that trainees’ working conditions are aligned to those of the staff under the new flexible working arrangements, meaning that trainees may telework from abroad one day per month of the traineeship; Ethical framework and transparency 29. Welcomes the Committee’s efforts to enhance ethical awareness among its staff and the Committee’s enforcement of ethics rules in different procedures, such as recruitment, and of ethical obligations and rights in different administrative situations, such as outside activities, training and leaving the service, as a follow-up to the internal audit on staff awareness of ethics; notes that the basic documents and rules underlying the ethical framework are published on the Committee’s intranet in order to raise staff awareness about ethics rules; notes further that 14 collective training courses were organised by the Committee specifically on ethics-related topics in 2022, reaching 107 members of staff, and that 75 % of staff attended the general ethics training course throughout 2022; 30. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee continued the implementation of its 2020 code of conduct for members and, in that respect, intensified its efforts to collect missing financial declarations of members; notes that six alternate members appointed in January 2020 had still failed to submit their financial declarations by June 2023 and that, although none of those six members had attended any meeting of the Committee since their appointment, the Committee launched the enforcement procedure laid down in the members’ code of conduct; 31. Notes that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigated three cases in 2022 out of which one case was new and concerned outside gainful activities and two cases were ongoing and closed that same year and concerned respectively undue payment of travel allowances and allegations of financial wrongdoings, harassment and mismanagement in a joint service of the Committee and the EESC; notes that the case concerning the payment of undue travel allowances was closed at the beginning of 2022 with the request by the Committee to the member in question to reimburse the allowance received for ethical reasons in the absence of a legal basis to recover such amounts; notes that, at the beginning of 2024, the member in question communicated his intention to reimburse the amount initially requested by OLAF for ethical reasons, and that the Committee's financial services were ready to take all necessary steps in this regard; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority of the Committee’s follow-up to this case in accordance with the statutory obligations of staff under the Staff Regulations, in particular because the case involved a member of the Committee who was, at the same time, an accredited parliamentary assistant with Brussels as the contractual place of work, meaning that there was no need for travel expenses for meetings of the Committee taking place in Brussels; notes that the case concerning allegations of financial wrongdoings, harassment and mismanagement in a joint service gave rise to a conflict-management exercise involving the persons concerned, their hierarchy and the respective HR departments with a five-point action plan which was implemented throughout 2021 and 2022; 32. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee continued to implement transparency measures such as the publication of members’ declarations of financial interest on its website but did not formally join the EU Transparency Register set up by the interinstitutional agreement of 20 May 2021 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on a mandatory transparency register(IIA)3; is aware that new transparency measures focusing on office-holding members and rapporteurs, in line with the principles of the EU Transparency Register, were adopted by the Committee in a decision taken by its bureau in July 2023 and notified to the Management Board of the EU Transparency Register; notes that, on 20 November 2023, the Management Board of the EU Transparency Register considered the transparency measures consistent with the objectives pursued by the IIA and welcomed the Committee's regulation as an important step in further strengthening the joint framework and fostering a common transparency culture at Union level; welcomes that the Committee formally joined the EU Transparency Register as from 1 January 2024; 33. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee did not detect any conflicts of interest, which would have required a follow-up by the administration; notes that the Committee continued to rely on the rules in place to prevent conflicts of interest and avoid revolving doors between the public and the private sector and to promote them through ethics trainings and awareness raising; 34. Notes that no cases of whistleblowing were reported to the Committee in 2022; notes that the Committee continued to rely on the measures in place since 2015 concerning whistleblowing and to promote them through ethics trainings and awareness raising; 35. Regrets that the Committee has not adopted an internal anti-fraud strategy; reiterates its call on the Committee in the discharge resolution for 2021 to launch an internal fraud risk analysis and to coordinate with the competent services of the Commission with a view to adopting an adequate internal anti-fraud strategy; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 36. Notes that the combined IT budget of the Committee and the EESC amounted to EUR 11 712 000 in 2022, including a reinforcement of EUR 750 000 by an internal budget transfer during the year, compared to EUR 12 860 000 in 2021, i.e. a decrease of 9 %; 37. Notes that the Committee has a digital strategy aiming to provide IT services according to the best practices of IT management while optimising the use of human and financial resources; notes that the Committee worked on the adaptation and development of several strategic IT tools throughout 2022, aiming to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the political work of the Committee and of its administrative processes and workflows; notes that the main IT infrastructure project in 2022 concerned an adaptation of the network typology required for the new computer room in the Jacques Delors Building (JDE) in line with the hybrid cloud roadmap; 38. Notes that the Committee increased the amount of hybrid meetings in 2022 in order to adapt to hybrid work and to align its practices to the new guidance towards a more cost effective, purposeful and sustainable missions policy circulated in June 2022 by the Secretary-General of the Committee which requires the Committee to optimise its way of working and replace as many staff missions as possible by video-conferencing; understands that this new way of working required a technical upgrade in terms of equipment for hybrid meeting rooms; 39. Notes that the Committee adopted new internal rules on data protection in 2022 that contain restrictions of certain rights of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data in the context of activities and procedures carried out by the Committee; notes further that the European Data Protection Supervisor did not conduct any investigation or enquiry with respect to the processing of personal data by the Committee in 2022; 40. Notes that the Committee did not encounter any cyber-attacks in 2022; notes that the Committee and the EESC’s new joint directorate for innovation and information technology is composed of three units, namely digital transformation, digital solutions and digital platforms; notes that the unit for digital platforms is responsible, inter alia, for cybersecurity; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority on how the creation of this new structure contributed to enhancing the cybersecurity preparedness of its staff, in line with the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) cybersecurity framework and in cooperation with the Cybersecurity Service for the Union’s institutions, bodies and agencies (CERT-EU); encourages the Committee to raise the cybersecurity awareness of their Members and staff, to carry out regular risk assessments of its IT infrastructure and to ensure regular audits and tests of its cyber defences; 41. Welcomes the efforts of the Committee to foster open source technology in its own systems, notably the main operational applications used for managing the political work of the Committee (Agora and Phoenix); notes further that the Committee tracks the use of open source technologies in its annual IT portfolio so that they are applied to new applications; Buildings 42. Notes that the Committee and the EESC lost 5 000 m² in office space following the take-over of the rental contract of the former EEAS building at Belliard 100 (B100), which took effect in September 2021, and the buildings exchange between the Committee and the EESC’s Belliard 68 and Trèves 74 and the Commission’s Van Maerlant 2 (VMA), which took effect in September 2022; notes that fitting-out works in the two newly acquired buildings were necessary to enable a denser use of the office space; welcomes the establishment, in 2022, of a joint task force on new ways of working to reflect on possible optimisation of the way work is organised and how office space is used while reducing the environmental footprint; 43. Notes that, in 2022, the overall Committee budget for the fitting-out of premises amounted to EUR 883 792; notes that the renovation works undertaken by the Committee and the EESC on the B100 and the VMA buildings integrated the use of smart technologies with a strong environmental component; asks the Committee to provide an update on the return on investment of those technological installations, but advises caution nonetheless against entering long-term commitments on new office space before these measures are fully explored; 44. Notes that, in 2022, the building strategy of the Committee and the EESC focused on the geographical concentration of the buildings which was achieved by physically connecting all the buildings used by the Committee and the EESC to their main building (JDE); welcomes the new physical connection to Parliament’s buildings which became operational in November 2022, offering a more direct, easier and 125 m shorter pathway between the buildings of the Committee and the EESC and the buildings of Parliament; 45. Notes that the Committee and the EESC launched a multi-annual project related to the technical upgrade of the interpretation system for all conference rooms starting in 2022; notes that an amount of EUR 200 000 was earmarked by the Committee for this project in 2022; 46. Welcomes the commitment of the Committee and the EESC to systematically apply the ‘design for all’ principle to their infrastructure, ensuring accessibility of their building by design; notes that the Committee and the EESC took a range of different measures to ensure accessibility of their buildings for people with various kinds of disabilities; Environment and sustainability 47. Welcomes the sustainable practices and notably the paperless approach of the Committee and the EESC which contributed to reduce their environmental footprint in line with their digital strategy; notes that the Phoenix application used to support the political work of the Committee was adapted in 2022 so as to generate the carbon reports for travel and allow the Committee and the EESC to calculate their carbon balance; notes that the action plan resulting from the audit on the performance under the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) was implemented with actions in the fields of documentation, review of procedures, improvement of planning, risk management and supervision; congratulates the Committee and the EESC on having exceeded the EMAS objectives for 2021-20025, except the objectives related to gas consumption; 48. Notes that, in 2022, the total electricity production generated by solar panels on the buildings of the Committee and the EESC was approximately 15,5 MWh, representing 0,25 % of the total yearly consumption of the Committee and the EESC; notes that, as of 16 September 2022, only the JDE was equipped with solar panels; is aware that due to administrative procedures the Committee and the EESC will face a delay before being able to extend their solar panel installation; 49. Notes that the Committee put in place a sustainable mobility plan including a financial contribution to the public transport subscriptions of staff and awareness raising activities; notes that no new mobility staff survey was organised in 2022 but one is foreseen for 2024; welcomes the fact that 76 % of the Committee staff uses eco-friendly means of transport for commuting purposes; Interinstitutional cooperation 50. Welcomes the budgetary and administrative savings achieved through interinstitutional cooperation, in particular the close cooperation established at administrative level with the EESC with which the Committee shares premises and joint services in the areas of translation, infrastructure, logistics and IT, while maintaining its full institutional autonomy; notes that, on 1 October 2022, a joint directorate for innovation and information technology was created as part of the new cooperation agreement signed between the Committee and the EESC in 2022; notes further that 470 members of staff and EUR 55 million were pooled together by the Committee and the EESC in 2022, excluding salary-related expenditure; calls on the Committee to pursue and expand that cooperation in other areas with a view to avoiding duplication and further rationalising the operating costs of services available in the premises shared by the Committee and the EESC; invites the Committee and the EESC to explore the possibility of setting up a single administration for their joint services, keeping separate directorates or units for the services dealing with matters related to their specific and independent mandates; 51. Welcomes the Committee’s search for synergies by purchasing services from other institutions through service-level agreements and by participating in interinstitutional coordination bodies and interinstitutional procurement procedures; 52. Calls on the Committee to keep explore synergies with other institutions both in terms of logistics, digital services, driver's service and other administrative tasks, as well as certain outreach and communication activities, particularly in Member States where the Committee's members have varied support networks and rely purely on the members’ own local staff; 53. Welcomes the willingness of the Committee to further develop its cooperation with other institutions, in particular Parliament, ahead of the 2024 European elections through a roadmap predicting a further intensification of cooperation and a bigger role for the Committee and local and regional authorities in that context; notes the review of the cooperation agreements with Parliament and the Commission, as decided by the Conference of Presidents in November 2022; 54. Notes that the Committee cooperates with the Commission (for an annual fee) for the handling of HR matters and the use of various IT platforms for financial management and HR; notes that the Committee holds its plenary sessions at the premises of Parliament and the Commission to compensate for the lack of capacity of its own conference rooms and that the Committee buys interpreting services from those two institutions; notes that the Committee has been looking into the possibilities of using distant interpretation facilities in view of the fast development of that sector; 55. Notes that the Committee promotes the visibility and impact of its work based on inter-institutional cooperation through targeted presentations of its reports to other institutions, e.g. presentations of 11 reports to Parliament in 2022, bilateral meetings at rapporteur level, political exchanges during formal events and conferences, targeted distribution of opinions and work in networks; Communication 56. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee’s overall budget for communication was EUR 2,2 million, compared to EUR 2,1 million in 2021, i.e. an increase of 4 %; notes that, within that budget, approximately EUR 439 000 was used for events, EUR 795 000 for media and EUR 1 099 000 for digital communication; notes that the aim of the Committee’s communication is to raise the Committee’s institutional and political profile as the assembly of the Union’s regions, cities, villages and municipalities and the role of its members; 57. Notes that the Committee continued to host the regular meetings of the directors-general for communication of all Union institutions in 2022, focusing on the preparation of coordinated communication actions in the run up to the European elections in 2024; encourages the Committee to continue its support to the institutional communication campaign of Parliament for the European elections in 2024 through its local and regional networks; 58. Welcomes the data-driven communication strategy developed by the Committee to close the gap with Union citizens at local and regional levels using multiplication channels, such as the European networks of regional and local counsellors that had 2 037 registered members at the end of 2022 and the programme for young elected politicians with 775 participants in events in 2022, i.e. an increase of 15 % as compared to 2021; notes that the Committee also provided trainings and capacity building for local and regional authorities on citizen engagement and participatory democracy called ‘A new chapter for participatory democracy’; notes that, in November 2022, the bureau of the Committee invited every member to hold at least one dialogue in their constituency every year; notes that the Committee established synergies with the network of Europe Direct centres in the Member States for the organisation of local events; 59. Notes that the Committee continued to implement three communication campaigns in 2022 in line with the political priorities for the 2020-2025 mandate on Bringing Europe closer to people, Building resilient regional and local communities, and Promoting cohesion as a fundamental value of the Union; welcomes the Committee’s efforts to extend its audience through digital communication and media outreach, with 18 890 media mentions in 2022, i.e. an increase of 20 % between 2020 and 2022; 60. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Committee had 175 000 followers on its social media channels, i.e. 16 % more than in 2021, of which 54 800 followers (an increase of 8 %) on X (formerly Twitter), 58 100 (an increase of 6 %) on Facebook, 52 100 (an increase of 33 %) on LinkedIn and 10 500 (an increase of 67 %) on Instagram; 61. Notes that the Committee contributes to the open data portal of the Commission with datasets on members’ data and opinion data but also uses and promotes open data among local and regional authorities, thus endorsing greater transparency in its operations through freely accessible data in human and machine-readable formats and strengthening its link with citizens.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - European Ombudsman |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0256/2023)(2), – having regard to the European Ombudsman’s annual activity report for the year 2022 and its report on the Budgetary and Financial Management for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0084/2024), 1. Grants the European Ombudsman discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Ombudsman for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the European Ombudsman, the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European External Action Service, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VIII – European Ombudsman (2023/2137(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section VIII – European Ombudsman, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0084/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas article 228 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union provides for the election of a European Ombudsman by the European Parliament who shall be empowered to receive complaints from any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of the Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role. He or she shall examine such complaints and report on them; C. whereas Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/1163 of the European Parliament of 24 June 2021(6) lays down the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (Statute of the European Ombudsman); D. whereas the Decision of the European Ombudsman adopting implementing provisions are currently under revision following the adoption of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/1163; 1. Notes that the budget of the European Ombudsman (the ‘Ombudsman’) falls under MFF heading 7 ‘European public administration’, which amounted to a total of EUR 11,6 billion, i.e. 5,9 % of Union budget spending, in 2022; notes that the budget of the Ombudsman represented 0,1 % of MFF heading 7 appropriations; 2. Notes that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as for 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Notes that the Court, as part of the audit for 2022, examined the supervisory and control systems of the Ombudsman, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management, and the functioning of key controls defined in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 (the ‘Financial Regulation’), including ex ante and ex post controls on payments; 4. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimates the level of error to be below the materiality threshold; 5. Notes with satisfaction that the Court, in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022, states that it did not identify any specific issues concerning the Ombudsman; Budgetary and financial management 6. Notes that the budget of the Ombudsman amounted to EUR 12 222 108 in 2022, which represents a decrease of EUR 280 000 compared to 2021; understands that this decrease is the result of a rationalisation of the budget based on actual needs; 7. Notes that the budget implementation rate was 96,97 % in 2022, which is higher compared to the previous year, when the implementation rate was 88,8 % due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; 8. Notes that in the course of the 2022, the Ombudsman made 6 budget transfers pursuant to Article 29 of the Financial Regulation, representing a total of EUR 344 460 or 2,8 % of the appropriations for that financial year; notes further that the budget nomenclature for item ‘2000’ was split in four subcategories in order to increase transparency of information required for the Ombudsman’s buildings in both places of work; acknowledges that the appropriations transferred from the rent budget item were unused because the Ombudsman paid all costs incurred for the fitting out works of the new Ombudsman’s building through the 2021 budget instead of spreading them over six years; 9. Appreciates that, despite increasing the time for payments from 11,35 to 13 days from 2021 to 2022, the average time for payments continues to be relatively short; believes that the implementation of an electronic invoicing system as of 2023 can only improve the efficiency of the payment process; 10. Notes that the Ombudsman did not report any impact from the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on its 2022 budget for missions, procurement or building; recommends that the Ombudsman takes into account that the next annual revision of the rent and the lump-sum building charges by Parliament might lead to additional costs in the Ombudman’s 2023 budget; 11. Notes that the budget for staff missions decreased from EUR 135 000 in 2021 to EUR 120 000 in 2022 as a result of savings based on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the wide use of videoconferencing facilities for internal and external meetings in both places of work; Internal management, performance and internal control 12. Notes that the Ombudsman, in the course of 2022, continued to implement specific actions in line with the objectives and priorities of the Ombudsman’s five-year strategy ‘Towards 2024’, as set out in its Annual Management Plan (AMP); highlights, in particular, that the Ombudsman successfully delivered the draft provisions implementing the new Statute governing the Ombudsman’s duties to the Commission, Council and Parliament for consultation in accordance with the 2022 AMP; 13. Underlines that in 2022, noticing the flagrant absence of public information, the Ombudsman anticipatorily asked the European Commission how it will ensure transparency in the negotiations of national recovery plans, how it will guarantee public scrutiny of milestones reached by Member States, and how it will supervise the audits(7); 14. Notes that the Ombudsman received 2,223 complaints in 2022, compared to 2,192 in 2021, 35 % of which were within the Ombudsman’s mandate; notes further that the Ombudsman opened 348 inquiries, including 60 inquiries of public importance, and closed 330 inquiries in 2022 compared to opening 338 inquiries in 2021 and closing 305; 15. Notes with great concern that the Ombudsman receives a lot of complaints from citizens regarding extreme delays in gaining access to requested documents; supports the Ombudsman’s views that access delayed is effectively access denied and that administrative processes should be streamlined to ensure that citizens receive access to documents in a timely manner(8); 16. Welcomes the development of a streamlined process for dealing with “failure to reply” inquiries; also welcomes the rolling-out of a simplified procedure for the handling of “outside the mandate” complaints, thus reducing the time for dealing with such requests from 15 days to 3 days; is worried, nevertheless, that the average time for dealing with a complaint within the mandate increased from 61 to 91 days and the average time for dealing with an inquiry increased from 112 to 166 days between 2021 and 2022; 17. Notes that ethics and transparency have remained important areas of work for the Ombudsman in 2022 which continued to contribute towards progress, but also faced challenges and that the number of complaints related to transparency and accountability amounted to 32 % of all cases in 2022; 18. Notes that public access to documents has continued to be a major priority for the Ombudsman in 2022, with 121 complaints received, the highest number recorded within a year, and inquiries resulted in 90 complaints; welcomes the swift handling of cases in the area of public access to documents, with an average of 46 working days until the closure of the complaint and 67 working days with respect to inquiries only; understands that, despite the increase in the number of cases, the share of fast-track inquiries represented only 28 % of all public access to documents inquiries, compared to 58 % in 2021; welcomes the findings of major inquiries concerning the Commission and other Union Agencies, such as FRONTEX, and institutions and bodies such as the EIB on their administrative management of requests for public access to documents; 19. Recalls that, according to the European Ombudsman, restrictions on access to documents, particularly legislative documents, should be exceptional and limited to what is absolutely necessary; also recalls that any decision denying public access to documents must be based on clearly and strictly defined legal exemptions, accompanied by a reasoned and specific justification, to enable citizens to understand the denial of access and make effective use of the legal remedies available; considers that a more proactive approach would help ensure effective transparency and prevent costly and burdensome legal disputes between citizens and institutions(9); Human resources, equality and staff well-being 20. Notes that the composition of the staff in terms of status and job profiles has remained stable in recent years, with a total of 74 staff members at the end of 2022, the same number as in 2021; notes further that, in 2022, 39 officials were employed by the Ombudsman, compared to 37 and 38 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, 28 temporary staff, compared to 28 and 30 in 2020 and 2021 respectively and 7 contract agents, compared to 8 and 6 in 2020 and 2021 respectively; notes that, in 2022, an equal proportion of around 40 % of staff dealt with administration (HR, finance, process management) on the one hand and 40 % dealt with complaints and inquiries on the other hand; 21. Regrets that the post of the Secretary-General has been vacant since 1 September 2022; 22. Notes that, in 2022, the Ombudsman launched a call for expressions of interest with the aim of establishing a pool of candidates, in order to recruit temporary agents more swiftly; is interested in following-up on the efficiency gains brought about by this procedure; 23. Notes that the Ombudsman has managed to have 18 nationalities represented in its staff, thanks to proactive communication and outreach to more diverse audiences, notably through social media channels; urges the Ombudsman to continue its efforts to achieve a balanced geographical distribution of nationals from all Member States within its staff; 24. Notes that, in terms of gender balance, the Ombudsman employs more women than men in all categories of staff, in particular at management level, with an overall representation of 67 % women and 33 % men, compared to 68 % women and 32 % men in 2021; encourages the Ombudsman to continue its efforts in achieving a gender balanced representation of staff; 25. Notes that, in 2022, the Ombudsman rolled out its new policy on working time and hybrid work that was adopted in October 2021, which includes provisions, for example, on teleworking, including from abroad, provision of ergonomic equipment for working from home, part-time work, parental leave, flexitime and the right to disconnect and welcomes that it applies to all categories of staff; welcomes the overall result of a staff survey carried out in 2023 showing a general satisfaction rate of 97 % of staff towards the hybrid and flexible working arrangements; 26. Acknowledges that managers have a good overview of the staff’s workload, monitor work distribution regularly, and fine-tune it, when necessary; notes that the medical service of the European Parliament, which handles medical matters relating to the Ombudsman’s staff, did not alert the Ombudsman to any long term sickness that originated in burnout; 27. Appreciates that no harassment cases were reported in 2022; encourages the Ombudsman to continue its efforts in ensuring a working environment free from sexual and psychological harassment, notably through awareness raising and training; notes with satisfaction that a survey carried out in the context of an internal audit on the ethical framework has shown that, at the beginning of 2023, 90 % of staff were aware of the policy and guidelines regarding harassment; 28. Welcomes that the Ombudsman welcomed 18 paid trainees in 2022, compared to 16 in 2021, who enjoy a remuneration package and the same working arrangements as the rest of the staff; encourages the Ombudsman to launch, as planned for 2023, a traineeship scheme intended for young people with disabilities; Ethical framework and transparency 29. Welcomes the continued efforts to strengthen and raise awareness about the ethical framework of the institution; notes that the Ombudsman organised, in this respect, a presentation of the Ombudsman’s policy on external activities, a training on harassment and a lunchtime session on conflicts of interest for all staff; notes further that the forms for the declarations of conflicts of interest, external activities, publications and exercising an occupational activity after leaving the Union public service were revised to ensure consistent application of the Staff Regulations and the internal rules; welcomes the internal audit on the Ombudsman’s ethical framework that was launched in 2022 and the results of which will be taken into account to further improve practices in that area; 30. Notes that the anti-fraud strategy of the Ombudsman is largely based on the ethical framework in place and the principle of the segregation of duties for financial functions; notes with satisfaction that no cases of conflicts of interest and no cases of whistle-blowing were reported in 2022; 31. Regrets that the Ombudsman did not formally join the EU transparency register set up by the interinstitutional agreement of 20 May 2021 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on a mandatory transparency register but has aligned its practices on the principles of the transparency register, checking that speakers or interlocutors in events or meetings organised by the Ombudsman are registered therein; welcomes the high degree of transparency achieved by the Ombudsman by the publication on its website of information on inquiries, missions, meetings and events in which the Ombudsman takes part; 32. Calls on the Ombudsman to periodically inform the budgetary authority about the difficulties encountered in its work on the transparency and accountability of the Recovery and Resilience Facility; 33. Welcomes that the Ombudsman published a guide in 2022 for the public on the right of public access to documents, with information on how to best exercise this right; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 34. Congratulates the Ombudsman for actively promoting digitalisation to reduce the use of paper and facilitate the exchange and storage of documents; notes that IT expenditure in 2022 decreased by 48 % compared to 2021 as no specific investment was needed to enhance digitalisation; welcomes the generalised use of videoconferencing and webstreaming, which have reduced the need for travel; 35. Notes that, in terms of IT, the Ombudsman relies on Parliament’s infrastructure and cybersecurity framework and cooperates closely with the Commission concerning the integration and maintenance of the Union’s corporate tools (SYSPER, ABAC, MiPS and ARES) and the use of IT framework contracts; notes that, given that its level of control over the data is limited, the Ombudsman concluded service-level agreements with the institutions concerned to ensure that the handling of personal data complies with the applicable legal framework; notes with satisfaction that the Ombudsman did not encounter any cyberattack in 2022; 36. Encourages the Ombudsman to work closely in cooperation with ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity); suggests to offer regularly updated cybersecurity -related training programmes for all staff within the Ombudsman; 37. Notes with satisfaction that, in 2022, the Ombudsman completed four actions of the five-point action plan adopted following Internal Audit Report 21/03 on the Review of the Institution’s Data Protection Framework, aiming to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the processing of personal data by the institution; 38. Notes that, in 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (the ‘EDPS’) provided feedback concerning a complaint by a citizen arguing that the information on data protection provided by the Ombudsman in its standard acknowledgement of receipt was insufficient; notes with satisfaction that the EDPS closed the case with no further actions after the Ombudsman introduced the suggested changes in its template; 39. Welcomes the fact that an electronic invoicing system is currently being implemented in collaboration with the European Commission (DG DIGIT); asks the Ombudsman to detail a timeline for the full implementation of the electronic invoicing system; 40. Congratulates the Ombudsman for using exclusively open-source software on its website and for prioritising the use of open-source tools for internal purposes where possible; Buildings 41. Notes that, following the move of the Ombudsman Brussels’ Office to new facilities provided by Parliament in 2021, the building was organised as a collaborative workspace with very few individual offices and flexible collaborative meeting facilities; takes positive note that the Ombudsman does not practice hot-desking and that all members of staff have their own desk with ample storage; is concerned that no staff survey was organised by the Ombudsman prior to the moving to collaborative space in Brussels office; notes that a general staff survey conducted in 2023 showed that the majority of staff replied positively to the new physical arrangements; also appreciates that the staff were kept informed regarding some decisions concerning the fitting out of the work space, such as the colour schemes, before the move; 42. Notes that the Ombudsman returned 20,5 % of the surface rented by Parliament in Strasbourg at the request of the latter and that its rent was subsequently reduced; 43. Recalls that the Ombudsman does not own its own buildings but rents a building in Brussels and office space in Strasbourg; notes with satisfaction that the Havel building in Strasbourg is fully accessible to persons with reduced mobility or other disabilities and strongly regrets that accessibility to the building rented in Brussels needs improvement; calls on Parliament to improve accessibility to the building rented to the Ombudsman in Brussels; Environment and sustainability 44. Welcomes that, over the years, the Ombudsman has reduced its environmental footprint, notably through the digitalisation of its processes and publications such as the annual report, the removal of individual printers and measures to make events more sustainable; notes that, in terms of the environmental footprint of its buildings, the Ombudsman relies on the measures taken by the Parliament in its capacity as owner of the buildings; acknowledges that the Ombudsman to forward its request to Parliament, expressed in the 2021 discharge, to install solar panels on the roof of its buildings; 45. Notes that the Ombudsman continued to encourage sustainable mobility in 2022, notably by providing financial support for public transportation’s yearly subscriptions, by limiting available car parking spaces and by improving facilities and parking for cyclists; Interinstitutional cooperation 46. Welcomes the financial and administrative savings achieved through inter-institutional cooperation, in particular the wide-range of service-level agreements concluded with the Parliament and the Commission and the participation in interinstitutional procurement procedures; notes that, in 2022, the Ombudsman developed new synergies with other institutions and signed agreements on the provision of services for the use of the remote qualified signing certificates by the Commission and the provision of services by Parliament’s Staff Front Office and Info Desk; 47. Recognises the importance of maintaining a high level of exchanges and coordination with the European Network of Ombudsmen (ENO); welcomes the organisation of the ENO annual conference and thematic webinar as important discussion fora on topical issues having an impact on the work of Ombudsmen across Europe in 2022; 48. Welcomes the cooperation that the Ombudsman maintains with the EPPO, the ECA and OLAF aiming to avoid duplication of investigations and discussing topics of mutual interest, such as the improvement of the Union’s oversight framework; welcomes equally the cooperation channels put in place with the EDPS to ensure swift cross-consultation in the everyday work of both institutions and the Memorandum of Understanding delineating the respective competences of each institution aiming to avoid duplication of procedures; 49. Welcomes that the Ombudsman has a close cooperation with relevant European Parliament Committees on important inquiries either by presenting the work directly in Committee meetings or through information being sent to the Committee Chairs; highlights that the strategic initiatives and inquiries conducted by the Ombudsman are key to improving the transparency and accountability of the Union administration; Communication 50. Notes that the overall budget for communication and promotional activities increased from EUR 92 100 to EUR 132 400, i.e. 43,8 %, between 2021 and 2022; congratulates the Ombudsman for developing a comprehensive communication strategy which has contributed to increasing outreach to specialised audiences and to the general public; notes that European media issued 60 % more press articles on the Ombudsman compared to 2021; 51. Welcomes the efforts of the Ombudsman to raise citizens’ awareness about the role of the Ombudsman and the possibility of recourse to it in the event of maladministration by a Union institution; recognises the efforts undertaken to provide transparent information and publish data in an informative and user friendly format on the Ombudsman website, although such data is not available in open format; welcomes the adoption of a new logo and visual identity to increase the visibility of the Ombudsman’s work and make it recognisable as a Union body; 52. Appreciates the Ombudsman’s use of an automated tool for translating cases on the website and asks the Ombudsman to ensure a seamless and timely translation of their cases in all languages; 53. Notes that the Ombudsman has social media accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn, X (ex-twitter), where the growth in followers and the engagement rates were higher in 2022 than in previous years; welcomes the participation of the Ombudsman in a pilot project led by the EDPS aiming to bring Union institutions on EU-Voice and EU-Video, which are two free, open-source social media networks, based on Mastodon software, allowing Union institutions to interact with the public by sharing texts, images, videos and podcasts.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - European Data Protection Supervisor |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0257/2023)(2), – having regard to the European Data Protection Supervisor’s annual report for 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118, 260, 261 and 262 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, and in particular Article 54 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0086/2024), 1. Grants the European Data Protection Supervisor discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Data Protection Supervisor for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the European Data Protection Supervisor, the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Ombudsman and the European External Action Service, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section IX – European Data Protection Supervisor (2023/2138(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section IX – European Data Protection Supervisor, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0086/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas data protection is a fundamental right, protected by European law and enshrined in Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; C. whereas Article 16 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that compliance with the rules relating to the protection of individuals, with regard to the processing of personal data concerning them, shall be subject to control by an independent authority; D. whereas Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 provides for the establishment of an independent authority, the European Data Protection Supervisor (the ‘EDPS’), responsible for protecting and guaranteeing the right to data protection and privacy, and tasked with ensuring that the institutions and bodies, offices and agencies of the Union embrace a strong data protection culture; E. whereas the EDPS carries out its functions in close cooperation with fellow Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) as part of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), and it serves the public interest while being guided by principles of impartiality, integrity, transparency and pragmatism; F. whereas, until 13 November 2022, the EDPS delegated the powers of the Authorising Officer to the Director and to the Head of Administration thereafter, in accordance with the charter of tasks and responsibilities concerning the budget and administration of the EDPS provided in accordance with Article 72(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council, while the function of the Accounting Officer of the EDPS shall be performed by the Accounting Officer of the Commission in accordance with the Decision of the European Data Protection Supervisor of 1 March 2017; 1. Notes that the budget of EDPS falls under MFF heading 7 ’European public administration’, which amounted to a total of EUR 11,6 billion, i.e. 5,9 % of Union budget spending, in 2022; notes that the budget of the EDPS represented 0,17% of MFF heading 7 appropriations; 2. Notes that the Court of Auditors (the “Court”), in its annual report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as for 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Notes that the Court, as part of the audit for 2022, examined the supervisory and control systems of the EDPS, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management, and the functioning of key controls defined in the Financial Regulation, including ex ante and ex post controls on payments; 4. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimates the level of error to be below the materiality threshold; 5. Notes with satisfaction that the Court in its annual report for the financial year 2022 states that it did not identify any specific issues concerning the EDPS; Budgetary and financial management 6. Notes that the final adopted budget for the EDPS was EUR 20 266 000 in 2022, which represented an increase of 4,12% compared to 2021; notes that the EDPS received EUR 50 000 of assigned revenue related to services provided to the EFTA Supervisory Authority by means of a Service Level Agreement; notes that the budget of the EDPS also covers the work of the independent Secretariat of the European Data Protection Board (the ‘Board’); 7. Notes with satisfaction that the budget implementation rate was 98 % in 2022, which is higher than the previous year, when the budget implementation rate was 86 %; 8. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine created budgetary pressure for the EDPS, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and the cost of goods and services through public procurement and service-level agreements with other institutions; welcomes the internal reallocations within budget chapters performed in the course of 2022 in order to optimise the budget implementation; 9. Notes that the average time for payment was 21,54 days in 2022, which represented an increase compared to 2021 when the average time was 19,98 days; welcomes the introduction of a new electronic payment system to process invoices related to mission costs prepaid by the travel agency, which is expected to help reduce the time it takes to make payments once fully operational; calls on the EDPS to consider the possibility of extending this system to other types of payments; 10. Notes that the EDPS budget for staff missions increased from EUR 41 000 to EUR 251 000, i.e. an increase of 512 %, between 2021 and 2022 following the resumption of travel after the COVID-19 pandemic; notes further that, within this overall budget, the EDPS had a dedicated mission budget for the Supervisor of EUR 33 000 in 2022 compared to EUR 5 000 in 2021, i.e. an increase of 560 %; notes that the increase in inflation and the substantial increase in energy prices in 2022 linked to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine had an adverse effect on flight tickets and hotel costs, thus leading to an increase in mission costs; Internal management, performance and internal control 11. Notes that, in 2022, the EDPS conducted a mid-term review of its 2020-2024 strategy focusing on three pillars ‘Foresight, Action and Solidarity’, setting out EDPS refocused vision and priorities for the period 2022-2024 with a view to ‘shaping a safer digital future’; 12. Acknowledges the major organisational changes, and the corresponding revision of its rules of procedures, undertaken by the EDPS in 2022 to support the evolution of its tasks and improve the efficiency of its processes in light of the fast-changing international environment; notes that, in particular, as a result of these changes, the EDPS created a new function of Head of the EDPS Secretariat at the level of a Secretary General, a dedicated legal service function, a governance and internal compliance sector, two new operational sectors in the supervision and enforcement unit, a new finance sector in the HR, budget and administration Unit and an antenna in Strasbourg; 13. Notes that, with the entry into force, on 28 June 2022, of Regulation (EU) 2022/991 of the European Parliament and of the Council(6) amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council(7) establishing Europol, the oversight functions of the EDPS in relation to the operational personal data processed by Europol in the framework of its mandate were indeed strengthened; notes that the organisational changes introduced in 2022, in particular the creation of a new sub-sector in the supervision and enforcement unit with specialised staff, sought notably to reflect on the specific powers of the EDPS in relation to the supervision of the area of freedom, security and justice (‘AFSJ’) agencies, taking also into account the new supervisory powers of the EDPS in relation to Europol; calls on the EDPS to keep the discharge authority informed regarding any further extension of its mandate and the impact on resources; 14. Notes that, as part of the changes implemented in 2022, the EDPS has striven to streamline its internal procedures to deal more rigorously with investigations and to redeploy specialised staff; notes that the investigation of complaints in a law enforcement context, e.g. complaints against the replies from Europol, to data subject access requests of citizens, often entail a high degree of complexity and take, on average, longer to investigate than other complaints given the involvement of multiple stakeholders in the process; 15. Notes that the EDPS received 367 complaints in 2022, which 47 more than in 2021, out of which 65 were admissible and 302 were inadmissible, in addition to the 129 admissible complaints ongoing in 2022; welcomes the efforts undertaken by the EDPS to reduce the high number of inadmissible complaints, which doubled since 2019, and therefore increased the need for resources to handle them; notes that the EDPS issued a final decision, opinion or reply in 23 out of 65 complaint cases received in 2022 within 42 days on average; notes further that complaints concerning replies from Europol to data subject access requests from citizens were dealt with, on average, within between 5 and 12 months; notes that the EDPS is continuously re-evaluating its procedures and implementing improvements where necessary based on past lessons learned in order to further streamline its complaint handling for swifter resolution of complaints despite constraints on resources; 16. Notes that, in 2022, the EDPS carried out two pre-investigations where there were concerns about possible infringements of data protection rules by a Union institution and pursued three ongoing formal investigations in the form of data protection audits, one of which was concluded in April 2022; notes further that the EDPS also launched four investigations in the form of data protection audits based on complaints concerning websites of certain Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (EUIs) and one enquiry in the AFSJ sector, and pursued ongoing investigations launched in previous years; notes that the EDPS audit of Europol’s processing of personal data of minors under the age of 15 years marked as suspects, provided to the Agency by third countries and international organisations, was concluded in September 2023 after an almost 10-month investigation and after the topic had already been initially raised by the EDPS with recommendations addressed to Europol in December 2018 concerning the processing of sensitive data; 17. Calls upon the EDPS to enhance the procedure and prioritise the handling of personal data pertaining to minors under the age of 15, given that this represents vulnerable groups requiring heightened protection, and therefore warrants priority status; 18. Notes that, on 16 September 2022, the EDPS brought an action for the annulment of two provisions of the amended Europol Regulation before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which was later rejected by the CJEU; underlines that the fact that important legal matters are brought before the CJEU by the EDPS in its supervisory role should not be seen as affecting the loyal cooperation and good relations between the EDPS and the entities it supervises; 19. Notes with satisfaction that the EDPS developed a new risk management framework at the end of 2022, thus reinforcing its internal control framework and embedding risk analysis in its annual planning, which should determine the input for the priorities of the EDPS on an annual basis; 20. Appreciates the important role of consultation and advice of the EDPS in the legislative process; notes that the EDPS’ advice took the form of 27 opinions (12 in 2021), 49 formal comments (76 in 2021) and 30 informal comments (29 in 2021) to the Commission and to the co-legislators in response to legislative consultation requests in 2022; 21. Calls on the EDPS to review its rules of procedure of ensuring and timely review of complaints by citizens, taking into account all relevant information and to inform the discharge authority on the progress made in this area; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 22. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the EDPS had 127 staff members, compared to 124 at the end of 2021 and 114 at the end of 2020; notes that the EDPS employed 52 contract staff under Article 3(b) of the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants and 6 temporary agents under Article 2(b) and 2(c); further notes that the EDPS employed 8 external service providers working on-site in 2022; calls on the EDPS to inform the discharge authority on the measures put in place to ensure that access to information by external services providers was managed in accordance with the level of confidentiality required by the matters at stake; 23. Believes that given the increase in workload due to new tasks and responsibilities allocated to the EDPS, as well as many more legislative consultations and data sets to monitor, the EDPS would need a proportionate increase in staff to maintain efficient workflows with reasonable response times; encourages the EDPS to provide permanent contracts to its employees to guarantee business continuity and work security; 24. Notes that the occupancy rate of the establishment plan was at 86,9% at the end of 2022; regrets that the occupancy rate of the establishment plan was lower than the target for 2022; acknowledges the shortage of skilled professionals; encourages the EDPS to examine useful strategies to increase visibility of its vacancies; notes that, in 2022, the EDPS organised an external selection procedure to set up a reserve list of specialised candidates in view of recruitment needs as of 2022; 25. Notes that, taking account of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDPS adopted a new decision on working time and hybrid working in May 2022, under which staff may notably vary their working time according to a flexitime regime and telework up to three days per week; welcomes the results of the staff survey carried out in the aftermath of the adoption of that decision, which indicated that a majority of staff were satisfied with the new working arrangements; 26. Congratulates the EDPS for having 22 nationalities represented among its staff in 2022, which represents an improvement in comparison with 21 in 2021 and is, despite the over-representation of 5 nationalities, a good score for such a small institution; calls on EDPS to endeavour to achieve a more equitable geographical representation among all Member States, with particular attention being paid to addressing the underrepresentation of certain countries; 27. Notes that, in 2022, the EDPS employed a total of 64 % women and 36 % men, along the same trend as in previous years, when the distribution between women and men was 63 % and 37 % respectively; regrets that there were no women in senior management positions in 2022, whereas the gender ratio of four middle managers reached a balance during the year; calls on the EDPS to continue its efforts to achieve a gender-balanced representation of staff; 28. Notes with satisfaction that no cases of burnout or harassment were reported among the EDPS staff in 2022; welcomes that the EDPS set up a working group to discuss issues related to the distribution and allocation of work following the results of the biennial staff satisfaction survey conducted in June 2022, according to which some EDPS staff felt that the workload was not equally shared or well distributed across teams and colleagues; asks the EDPS to keep the discharge authority informed of the outcome of the working group discussions and the details of the action plan under preparation; 29. Welcomes the EDPS’ continued efforts to actively improve physical and mental well-being of its staff; 30. Notes with satisfaction that the EDPS recruited 18 trainees in 2022, who were remunerated and enjoyed the same working arrangements as the rest of the staff; Ethical framework and transparency 31. Notes that, in 2022, the EDPS focused its efforts on increasing staff awareness about the EDPS/EDPB ethical framework by organising mandatory dedicated training sessions for all staff and induction trainings for EDPS/EDPB newcomers; encourages the EDPS to continue raising awareness and organising surveys to assess the level of staff awareness of the EDPS/EDPB ethical framework; 32. Welcomes the overall high level of transparency achieved by the EDPS concerning its activities, in particular regarding the publication of the agenda and the declaration of interests of the Supervisor and of the Head of EDPS Administration, in line with the Supervisor’s code of conduct of 2019; regrets that the EDPS decided to apply the Supervisor’s code of conduct to the Head of the EDPS Administration instead of adopting a dedicated code of conduct for senior management positions; 33. Notes with satisfaction that the EDPS has never been involved in any investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) since its establishment; 34. Notes with satisfaction that two inquiries opened by the Ombudsman in 2022 concerning the EDPS were closed with no findings of maladministration; 35. Regrets that the EDPS has still not formally joined the transparency register; welcomes nevertheless the alignment of the EDPS transparency rules to the principles of the transparency register as regards mandatory prior checks in the transparency register for third party meetings with the Supervisor and the Head of the EDPS Administration; highlights that transparency could be better upheld by actively enrolling in the transparency register; reiterates the calls on the EDPS to join the EU Transparency Register; 36. Notes that the EDPS has set up a framework to prevent conflicts of interest at the level of senior management and staff through codes of conduct, awareness raising and declarations; notes with satisfaction that no conflicts of interest were detected in 2022; 37. Notes that the EDPS has internal rules on whistle-blowing, which define safe routes and channels through which staff may raise concerns about fraud, corruption or any other serious wrongdoings without prejudice to the confidentiality of the identity of the whistle-blower and of the information reported; notes that no cases of whistle-blowing were reported in 2022; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 38. Notes that the 2022 budget for IT equipment and projects was 21 % higher compared to 2021; notes that this information has to be assessed against the background that the 2021 budget for IT was itself 20 % higher compared to the 2020 budget; 39. Notes that, in 2022, the EDPS surveyed the IT strategies of several EUIs in the framework of a large IT feasibility study, which served as a basis for defining the EDPS IT strategy for the coming years; calls on the EDPS to keep the discharge authority informed of the outcome of this analysis and its impact on resources; 40. Notes that Parliament provides IT equipment and services to the EDPS, as its corporate services provider; welcomes the EDPS’ efforts to continuously improve its digital workspace in terms of effectiveness and security beyond what is provided by Parliament; notes that this has involved improving the quality and performance of the computers provided to the EDPS staff, in collaboration with Parliament, in view of the generalisation of hybrid work; 41. Acknowledges the leading role of the EDPS in enhancing the cybersecurity preparedness of the EUIs; notes that, in 2022, the EDPS continued to improve its readiness to protect personal data and sensitive information against cyber-attacks in view of the fast changing cybersecurity threat landscape; congratulates the EDPS for reviewing its security policies and methodologies and adapting its cybersecurity contractual requirements in line with the CERT-EU guidance, ahead of the entry into force of the EU cybersecurity act, to the benefit of all institutions; notes that the EDPS did not encounter any cyber-attack in 2022; 42. Notes that EDPS is piloting and developing innovative and privacy-friendly open source IT solutions; believes that the EDPS should share those experiences with the other EUIs; 43. Welcomes the follow-up actions by the EDPS on the Schrems II judgement, especially focusing on the EUIs’ contracts with private entities in 2022, in particular large ICT providers, and on arrangements between EUIs and non-EU/EEA public bodies or international organisations; Buildings 44. Notes that, in 2022, the EDPS and EDPB were the sole tenants of Parliament’s building where they were located, following the move of the Ombudsman at the end of 2021; notes that, following this move, three floors of the building were entirely refurbished in order to accommodate the EDPS and EDPB staff and adapt the premises to the new working conditions prevailing after the COVID-19 pandemic; 45. Notes that, in terms of accessibility to its building, the EDPS relies on the decisions taken and implemented by Parliament, as part of their building policy; calls on the EDPS to advocate for the need to focus on the needs of persons with reduced mobility or disabilities and to inform the discharge authority of any new decision taken in this respect; Environment and sustainability 46. Notes that the EDPS has not joined the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) but has implemented several measures to reduce its environmental footprint, such as the reduction of paper following the digitalisation of HR processes or waste recycling; notes that, in terms of environmental infrastructures, no solar panels were installed on the building rented by Parliament; calls on the EDPS to inform the discharge authority of any new decision to install solar panels on its building; 47. Welcomes that the EDPS continues to promote sustainable mobility of its staff by reimbursing 50 % of monthly/annual subscriptions for the use of public transport and by allocating sufficient space in its garage facilities for staff to park their bikes; Interinstitutional cooperation 48. Welcomes the budgetary and administrative savings achieved through inter-institutional cooperation, notably the conclusion of service-level agreements with t Parliament for the rental of its premises and the use of its IT system applications, hardware supplies and maintenance, and with the Commission for ICT services; 49. Notes that the EDPS cooperates closely, albeit informally, with OLAF, the EPPO and the Court, to whom it provides advice on specific projects and questions, complementary to its supervisory role; welcomes, in particular, the regular dialogue with the EPPO, as a newly created institution, in 2022; welcomes that the EDPS has a more structured cooperation with the Ombudsman through a memorandum of understanding aiming to define the arrangements for their cooperation at the level of complaint handling; 50. Notes that interinstitutional cooperation with the EDPS, in its supervisory role, is key for the other EUIs to enhance their level of compliance with the data protection legal framework; congratulates the EDPS for taking the lead in awarding an inter-institutional contract for the provision of Nextcloud services to the signatory EUIs; 51. Welcomes the pivotal role played by the EDPS in 2022 in the coordination of the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) of the Member States represented in the EDPB to promote consistent data protection across the Union; notes that EDPS participated in the 2022 coordinated enforcement action of the EDPB on the use of cloud services in the Union, the purpose of which was to share knowledge and good practices between the EDPS, EUIs and DPAs; Communication 52. Notes that the budget for public communication and promotional activities in 2022 amounted to EUR 304 665, which represented an increase of 19 % compared to 2021; welcomes the comprehensive communication strategy aiming to raise awareness about its role and the importance of respecting Union data protection rules, targeting the EUIs, EU data protection experts as well as the general public; 53. Notes with satisfaction that the EDPS organised several communication events in hybrid mode in 2022, notably a major international conference on “The future of data protection: effective enforcement in the digital world” with the participation of more than 2000 participants, both in-person and remotely; 54. Notes that the EDPS communicates online via its website and its social media accounts on X (ex-twitter) (29,100 followers), LinkedIn (63,000 followers), YouTube (275,000 followers), EU-Voice (5,100 followers) and EU-Video (690 followers); notes that the EDPS launched several social media campaigns in 2022, targeted towards promoting particular initiatives or carried out in partnership with other EUIs in order to increase outreach and keep its audience well-informed about its activities; 55. Notes the leading role of EDPS in piloting and promoting social media channels contributing to the Union’s strategy for data and digital sovereignty in compliance with the data protection legal framework; 56. Reiterates its support for the EDPS efforts to monitor, and explain to the wider public, emerging developments in technology and their potential impact on data protection and privacy, through the TechDispatch and TechSonar reports for example; further encourages the EDPS to increase its capacities in the field of technology monitoring and launch information campaigns on its findings and recommendations.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - European External Action Service |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022(1), – having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0391 – C9‑0253/2023)(2), – having regard to the European External Action Service’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits carried out in 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2022, together with the institutions’ replies(3), – having regard to the statement of assurance(4) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(5), and in particular Articles 59, 118 and 260 to 263 thereof, – having regard to Council Decision 2010/427/EU of 26 July 2010 establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service(6), and in particular Article 8 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0102/2024), 1. Grants the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European External Action Service for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the European External Action Service, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section X – European External Action Service (2023/2134(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section X – European External Action Service, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0102/2024), A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources; B. whereas the European External Action Service (EEAS) is responsible for the management of the administrative expenditure of its Headquarters (HQ) in Brussels and for the network of the 144 Union delegations and offices; C. whereas the EEAS’ responsibility has been extended to cover the administrative management of the Commission staff in the delegations through a series of Service Level Arrangements (SLAs); D. whereas the role of the delegations is to represent the Union and its citizens around the world by building networks and partnerships, and to promote the values of the Union; E. whereas the peculiarity of the EEAS remains in its nature and origin, as it was when it was formed by the merging of staff belonging to the former external relation departments of the Council and of the Commission, into which diplomats from the Member States have been integrated; F. whereas under the EEAS Internal Rules, the Secretary-General of the EEAS acts as authorising officer by delegation for the institution and the director-general for resource management has the role of principal sub-delegated authorising officer; G. whereas the implementation of the budget is governed by the Financial Regulation and by the Internal Rules of implementation of the Budget of the EEAS; 1. Notes that the budget of the EEAS falls under MFF heading 7, ‘European public administration’, which amounted to EUR 11,6 billion in 2022 (representing 5,9 % of the total Union budget); notes that the EEAS’s budget of approximately EUR 1,1 billion represents around 9,4 % of the total administrative expenditure; 2. Notes that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as were examined in 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk; 3. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimate the level of error to be below the materiality threshold; 4. Regrets that the Court in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 observes that they found two quantifiable errors in the payments made by the EEAS, one concerned the absence of a valid underlying contract for security services acquired by a Union Delegation, the other related to child allowances received by a staff member from other sources but not deducted from their pay; Budgetary and financial management 5. Notes that the budget for 2022 for the EEAS was EUR 786 947 220, representing an increase of 2,5 % from 2021, which is less than the 5,0 % increase from 2020 to 2021; observes that, in addition to its own budget, the EEAS also used EUR 241,4 million (including assigned revenues and carried over amounts) from the Commission to cover the administrative costs of Commission staff working in Union Delegations; notes that this amounted to an increase of 14,3 % from 2021; notes that the EEAS also received additional contributions to cover common costs of European Development Fund staff in Delegations and other amounts bringing the total available budget for the EEAS (in commitment appropriations) to EUR 1 143,6 million, which represents an increase of 4,8 % from 2020; regrets that the EEAS administrative budget for 2022 was underbudgeted despite the important role of the institution for the early 2022 broader international context and the increased costs that implied; 6. Notes that, in 2022, 99,99 % of the final EEAS budget in commitments was executed, which was even higher that in 2021 where 99,37 % was executed and significantly higher than in 2020 where 95,01 % was executed; notes furthermore that 90,56 % of the budget for payments was executed in 2022, which is a significant increase compared to an execution rate of 84,47 % in 2021 and 82,34 % in 2020; 7. Notes that the final budget for the EEAS HQ after transfers amounted to EUR 308,1 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 4,4 % from 2021; notes that 100 % of the budget in commitments was executed; notes that in payments EUR 269,2 million, equal to 87,4 % of the budget, was executed, which represents an increase of EUR 30,9 million from 2021 where 80,8 % of payments were executed; 8. Notes that the final budget for the EEAS delegations after transfers amounted to EUR 478,9 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 1,3 % from 2021; notes that 100 % of the budget in commitments was executed; notes that in payments EUR 443,4 million, equal to 92,6 % of the budget, was executed, which represents an absolute increase of EUR 33,3 million from 2021 where 86,8 % of payments were executed; 9. Notes that the EEAS executed 20 budgetary transfers in accordance with Article 29 of the Financial Regulation out of which three involved information on the budgetary authority; notes that the total amount subject to transfers was EUR 38,2 million, increasing the budget of EEAS Delegations by EUR 0,9 million and decreasing the EEAS HQ staff budget by EUR 0,5 million and EEAS HQ Buildings and equipment budget by EUR 0,4 million; 10. Notes with concern that the EEAS reports that the 2022 budget was especially challenging due to new tasks and increasing running costs and that mitigating measures included reducing or cancelling all non-essential expenditure in Delegations, that publication of posts in HQ and Delegations were carefully considered and several were frozen for a period, non-compulsory salary updates and post upgrades were paused or postponed to the extent possible and recovery of claims towards third parties were accelerated where possible; 11. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine created budgetary pressures for the EEAS, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and other contractor’s costs for a number of goods and services; Stresses the importance of establishing a robust and secure financial foundation for the EEAS, emphasising its pivotal role in effectively executing the Union's common security and foreign policy; 12. Regrets that budgetary pressure continued in 2023 and led the EEAS to decide against sending any staff on any of the planned follow-up missions to the Electoral Observation Missions due to a shortage in the travel budget for a large part of 2023; considers that the EEAS should be given the necessary resources in order to ensure a proper follow-up to these important missions; 13. Notes with satisfaction that the total number of co-locations with Member States and other EU partners in Union Delegations increased from 122 in 2021 to 135 in 2022; welcomes that the EEAS Secretary-General adopted a Decision on co-location policy, which provides a comprehensive and transparent structural framework harmonising the EEAS co-location practice by setting common principles and objectives; 14. Notes that the total paid mission costs for the EEAS was EUR 24,065 million in 2022, which represents a significant increase from EUR 6,128 million in 2021 but which is more comparable with the pre-COVID 19 level in 2019 when the paid amount was EUR 20,972 million; notes furthermore that the EEAS does not have a separate budget line for missions and travel for the High Representative/Vice President and that the missions and travel costs for the HR/VP are shared between the EEAS and the Commission depending on the purpose of the mission; notes finally, that for 2022, the EEAS had costs of EUR 3 502,73 on 6 mission for the High Representative/Vice President and air-taxi costs of EUR 178 320,76; asks the EEAS to inform Parliament about how many times the High Representative/Vice President travelled with commercial planes and how many times charter planes were used; 15. Notes the extensive use of private leased jets for official trips by the HR/VP and understands that travelling is inherent and essential to the mandate as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which includes representing the Union in high-level meetings, conferences and summits worldwide; believes that transparency of work-related activities and sound financial management when using the Union’s public funds should be at the core of the Union institutions; further believes that members of the Union’s institutions should act as an example for the public with regard to following climate policies in line with the flagship European ‘Green Deal’; 16. Recalls the answer received following CONT Member’s written question regarding the details of HR/VP’s travels by air-taxis; regrets that aside from mentioning routes travelled, the EEAS failed to specify the amounts spent on those travels and indicate which trips and what amounts were covered by the EEAS and the Commission’s budgets respectively; stresses the importance of this information being made available to the discharge authority; notes also the fact that the air-taxi costs increased from EUR 0 in 2021 to EUR 178 320,76 in 2022, which is naturally explained by the COVID-19 pandemic; recommends that air-taxis only be used when there are no suitable commercial options or when there are security concerns; Internal management, performance and internal control 17. Notes that during 2022 the exceptional measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic were phased out and the institutions started to resume functioning normally, while the EEAS was affected by the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine as well as security crises in Afghanistan, Haiti and Sahel; also notes that three Union Delegations were marked as Level 3 on the evacuation level, meaning only essential staff were allowed to stay in the country of posting, Ukraine (since February 2022), Haiti (since June 2022) and Burkina Faso (since December 2022); 18. Notes that the EEAS Secretary-General issued an instruction note to Heads of Union Delegations, requesting them notably to report in a timely way during crises (“more regular, direct and systematic reporting”); finds it concerning that the EEAS ambassadors were rather late to inform and react to the changes on the ground, especially in Ukraine and Afghanistan, leading to hasty evacuations of Union personnel; believes that the EEAS should review its risk management methodology, which is used to evaluate the security situation for members of staff in Union Delegations; 19. Welcomes that as a response to the different crises during the last couple of years, the EEAS created the Crisis Response Centre in July 2022, which liaises with external partners like the Union institutions and Member States and brings diplomatic, security and intelligence capabilities together internally; 20. Notes that the Directorate-General for Resource Management, which will continue to handle the administrative aspects of all crisis, was restructured into two directorates and the number of Divisions was reduced from 16 to 13 by grouping similar and related functions together and the coordination team attached to the Director-General was strengthened; 21. Notes that, in 2021, the EEAS created an Internal Control Committee, which has since met twice per year, in order to allow senior managers to discuss mitigating measures devised to address weaknesses identified in internal controls; 22. Notes with satisfaction that no Union Delegations submitted reservations in 2022; 23. Notes that different elements of the EEAS budget are being audited by its Internal Auditor, the Commission’s Internal Auditing Service and by the Court of Auditors; notes with surprise that the EEAS did not launch any internal audits in 2022, but that two audits were finalised in 2022 and that three audits were still ongoing; stresses the importance of conducting internal audits diligently and regularly especially after the EEAS had introduced a new methodology to its internal auditing system in 2021; 24. Notes that four critical recommendations from the Internal Audit Service remained open in 2022; welcomes that the recommendation concerning the security at the Union Delegation in Mali is being closely monitored; regrets that the recommendations concerning the management of the Union Delegation in Washington remains open and that the creation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) has created complex legal issues; asks that Parliament is kept updated about the development of the situation concerning that LLC; 25. Notes that the EEAS Inspection Services issued 5 critical recommendations during 2022 and appreciates that three have been fully implemented or resolved while the last two are being followed closely; asks the EEAS to provide further information in the follow-up to the discharge report; 26. Underlines that last year’s focus on procurement and recruitment procedures organised by Union Delegations due to the findings by the Court continues to be a cause for concern; notes that the EEAS has argued for several changes to the Financial Regulation to take account of the special situation of Union Delegations in third countries; stresses that while certain flexibility might be justifiable, the differences between deadlines and rules for each of the host country might lead to further errors and inconsistencies in procurement procedures; nevertheless, and taking the final outcome of the negotiations on the Financial Regulation into account, calls on the EEAS to adopt necessary measures to ensure that the number of errors by Union delegations is reduced and report to Parliament about measures adopted; 27. Notes that the Union delegation to the UK opened on 1 February 2020 in the office space previously occupied by the Representation of the Commission and the European Parliament Liaison Office (EPLO); notes with appreciation that, after the signing of a Service Level Agreement between the EEAS and the Parliament, the same rights and obligations will apply to Parliament staff posted in London as the rights and obligations arising from the Establishment Agreement for Delegation Staff, and that the Union Delegation in London notifies Parliament staff to the UK authorities in accordance with the Service Level Agreement; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 28. Notes that, by the end of 2022, there were 5 188 people employed by the EEAS, out of which 2 419 (46,6 %) were posted at the EEAS HQ and 2 769 (53,4 %) worked in Union Delegations and Offices, which represents an increase of 2,3 % from 5072 people working in the EEAS at the end of 2021 with 2 303 at the HQ and 2 769 in Delegations and Offices; notes that the increase of 116 members of staff were all employed at the EEAS HQ; finally notes that, for 2022, the EEAS received an additional 32 full-time equivalents from the Budgetary Authority and that four posts (three AD and one AST) were transferred to the Commission as part of the administrative budget; 29. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the staff was made up of 1 247 officials, 468 temporary agents, 596 contract agents, 491 seconded national experts, 1 573 local agents, 144 trainees, 39 junior professionals in Delegations and 630 external, interim and other staff; notes finally that, in addition, there were 3 316 members of Commission staff employed in Union Delegations; 30. Notes that, at the end of 2022, that out of 1 715 officials and temporary agents, 881 (51,4 %) were men and 834 (48,6 %) were women, which represents a slight increase from 2021 when 48,1 % of staff were women; notes that among contract agents 55,9 % were women, slightly down from 57,7 % in 2021 while among seconded national experts 25,1 % were women, which represents an increase from 22,2 % in 2021; however, notes that women are notably underrepresented in senior positions such as AD 9-12 and AD 13-16, while they are overrepresented mainly in AST positions; 31. Notes with concern that for senior management in HQ and Delegations, there were 18 women (29,0 %) and 44 men (71,0 %) at the end of 2022, representing a slight increase in the relative share of women from 26,8 % in 2021; welcomes that for HQ, the share of women in senior management positions increased from 25,0 % in 2021 to 30,6 % in 2022; 32. Notes that for middle management in HQ and Delegations, there were 86 (38,4 %) women and 138 (61,6 %) men in middle management positions at the end of 2022; notes that this represents an increase in the share of women in those from 34,2 %, but that the share of women is still unsatisfactorily low; further welcomes that for HQ, the share of women in middle management positions increased from 40,7 % in 2021 to 44,4 % in 2022; 33. Calls on the EEAS to persist in taking action to achieve more discernible gender balance within its organisation at all levels; 34. Welcomes that the Commission and the HR/VP, in response to the calls from Parliament, has adopted a Gender Action Plan for 2021-2025 as a cross-cutting measure for all aspects of foreign policy as a first step towards a genuine feminist diplomacy; welcomes that the EU Ambassador for Gender and Diversity continues to promote the Union policy framework on Women, Peace and Security and to ensure the participation of women in all diplomatic and political dialogues and welcomes the launch of the EU Women Diplomats Network between Member States and the EEAS to promote Union values on diversity and equality and to support gender equality in the rest of the world; 35. Stresses that the GAP III dictates that by 2025 85 % of new EU actions must contribute to gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment, while the EEAS must accelerate the progress towards the goals of GAP III by focusing meaningfully on its every day work on the GAP III’s key areas of engagement, including ending gender-based violence, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, economic and social rights and empowerment, equal participation and leadership; 36. Expresses concern about the global status of LGBTIQ+ rights and the growing resistance to women's rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights in developing countries; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to address setbacks in recognising and protecting these rights; emphasises the need to prioritise targeted support for civil society organisations (CSOs) and communities advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's rights, gender equality, the LGBTIQ+ community and other marginalised groups, including enhanced measures to decriminalise homosexuality; recalls that a minimum of 85 % of new actions under the NDICI-GE instrument should prioritise gender equality, with at least 5 % specifically dedicated to women's and girls' rights and empowerment; 37. Welcomes that all Member States are represented in the members of staff of the EEAS; notes however that significant imbalances still persist with 25 Member States represented in all staff categories, while there were only two nationals from Luxembourg (1 CA and 1 SNE), and Malta did not have any nationals in the Contract Agent category; notes that Belgium is the most overrepresented Member State making up 12,7 % of staff employed by the EEAS, including 15,4 % of the officials; notes that out of 141 Union Ambassadors, three Member States do not have any (Hungary, Luxembourg and Malta) and Cyprus and Slovenia have just one national each, notably one less than in 2021, whereas the Member States with most Ambassadors are France with 20, Spain with 18, Italy with 17, Germany with 14 and Belgium with 11, implying that these five countries have 80 out of the 141 posts, which is equal to 57 %; notes with satisfaction that this is a reduction compared to last year, when the same five countries had 61 % of the Ambassador posts; regrets, however, that the amount of Ambassador posts held by Member States that joined in 2004 or later (EU13) decreased to 17 % in 2022, compared to 18 % in 2021; calls on the EEAS to publish, annually, a gender and nationality breakdown of middle and senior management positions; reiterates its concern about the geographical imbalance concerning the position of Heads of delegation and calls for the EEAS to continue improving the geographical balance in order to have a proper representation of nationals from all Member States reflecting their diversity, while at the same time respecting the competences and merits of the candidates; 38. Welcomes that the EEAS promotes a flexible, digital and trust-based work environment to enhance efficiency, protect the health and wellbeing of staff, and improve work-life balance; notes that the teleworking rules at the EEAS in 2022 meant that staff in HQ were authorised to telework up to three days per week, while staff in Delegations were authorised to telework one day per week; notes furthermore that new rules on teleworking entered into force in October 2023 and that transitional measures included the authorisation of 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment for both staff in HQ and in Delegations, which on a case-by-case basis can be extended for staff with complex family situations; asks the EEAS to keep Parliament informed about the new teleworking rules and how they are assessed by both staff and management; 39. Notes with regret that the number of staff on long-term sick leave for more than 50 days increased from 91 staff members in 2021 to 111 staff members in 2022, equivalent to an increase of 22 %; notes at the same time that the EEAS has several initiatives in place to ensure support and to educate staff about strategies to avoid burnout, including tasking managers with the responsibility of ensuring that the task allocation is reasonable and that, in the event of burnout, guidance and special working time arrangements are put in place to facilitate the return to work; calls on the EEAS to further consider how long-term sickness, including burnout, can be prevented as much as possible, and to take the necessary measures to ensure the wellbeing of its staff; 40. Welcomes that, during 2022, the EEAS intensified its efforts and launched a number of initiatives to raise awareness about harassment, including an ‘Anti-Harassment Awareness Week’ in October 2022 and the adoption of new ‘Principles of professional behaviour in the EEAS’; notes that, during 2022, two requests for assistance in relation to harassment were submitted, with one being closed in 2022 and the other being closed in 2023, both without sanctions; notes that a further three requests from 2021 and one from 2020 were closed during 2022 and 2023; notes furthermore, that the demand for EEAS mediation services increased during 2022, reaching 218 mediation cases and 19 cases of confidential counselling; asks that Parliament is kept informed about the development in the number of harassment cases and if sanctions are imposed in any of them; 41. Notes that the EEAS does not know the exact number of members of staff with disabilities but that the replies in an anonymous survey from 2021 indicated that 24 of 1 075 respondents declared a disability and 23 declared a short-term or temporary disability; welcomes that the Union Delegations have produced ‘accessibility factsheets’ providing information on the suitability and accessibility of the Delegation premises in order to ensure that staff with disabilities have relevant information before applying for a posting; 42. Welcomes that the EEAS continues to employ a relatively large number of trainees, offering 63 Blue Book traineeships, four short-term traineeships at HQ and 365 traineeships in 102 Delegations; notes that one short-term traineeship at HQ and 22 traineeships in Delegations were not funded and were carried out by students that were required to complete a traineeship as part of their studies in exchange for academic credits; welcomes that similar to staff, the trainees benefitted from hybrid working arrangements in line with guidelines issued by Director-General for Resource Management; reiterates its call on all institutions to make sure that all trainees receive a reasonable remuneration from the institution; 43. Calls for the establishment of a permanent structure and the necessary resources for the European Diplomatic Academy, which can contribute to fully developing an autonomous EU diplomacy with a common diplomatic based on an EU perspective; considers that in the future this Academy should include a system of selection, recruitment and training of Europeans who have completed higher education and are not diplomats of Member States; stresses the need to explore and decide on ways of access to the EEAS for those graduating from this Academy; Ethical framework and transparency 44. Welcomes that the EEAS continues to provide ethics training in the framework of the Newcomer Welcome Sessions and the pre-posting seminars for Union Ambassadors and Heads of Administration; asks the EEAS to provide mandatory training sessions to ensure that all members of staff are reminded of important principles such as ethics, transparency, conflicts of interest and anti-fraud; 45. Regrets that a limited number of fraud-related cases involving misappropriation of Union funds by members of staff at Union Delegation were investigated by OLAF during 2022 and that some are still ongoing; underlines that OLAF needs to conclude its investigations before conclusions can be drawn, but at the same time encourages the EEAS to take all necessary steps to swiftly follow-up on possible criticism from OLAF; 46. Notes that, in 2022, the EEAS handled 16 requests from the Ombudsman, out of which 11 cases concerned administrative procedures and five concerned access to documents; notes that 13 out of the 16 inquiries were concluded in 2022 and that no maladministration was found in 11 cases while one partial maladministration and one maladministration was found in the other 2 cases; welcomes that the EEAS strives to reach a 100 % implementation rate of suggestions or recommendations put forward by the Ombudsman; 47. Welcomes that, in October 2022, the EEAS adopted the ‘Principles of professional behaviour in the EEAS’ summarising the professional behaviour expected from members of staff and that they must declare any conflicts of interest that may arise in the exercise of their duties, by sending a form to the EEAS ethics team; Notes that the EEAS continues to reflect on possible updates of the EEAS ethics framework; asks that Parliament is kept fully updated on any developments in this regard; 48. Stresses that while the EEAS is not an Institution within the meaning of Article 13 of the TEU and does not have a direct role in Union legislation, it does, however, have an important role related to Union legislation with regard to decisions concerning sanctions and the negotiation of international trade agreements, which have a considerable regulatory impact; notes that it would be of great relevance for the EEAS to join the Union Transparency Register on the basis of a service-level agreement; invites the EEAS to publish all meetings with all types of lobby organisations, including those of Heads of Union Delegations, in order to improve transparency; 49. Notes that, in 2022, the EEAS received four declarations of conflicts of interests and that they were handled professionally and on an individual basis; notes that the EEAS rejected granting permission for an outside activity and through relieving an employee from duties in relation to issues, funding or management of projects of his previous employer; 50. Notes that, in 2022, the EEAS received three notifications of intentions to join a private company out of 15 notifications of post-service activities; notes with satisfaction that a two-year cooling-off period was imposed on an established official for an activity of advisor for a law firm; 51. Calls on the EEAS to monitor the positions of former senior staff and heads of delegations, given their sensitive political role; invites the EEAS to systematically review potentially problematic transitions to the private sector or to third country organisations and to continue monitoring the occupation of former senior officials until the end of the mandatory cooling-off period, as conflicts of interest that are left unaddressed may compromise the enforcement of high ethical standards throughout the Union administration; 52. Notes with satisfaction that the EEAS has adopted a new anti-fraud strategy in 2023, which is now being implemented; asks to be updated about the implementation and will return to the issue during the discharge 2023; at the same time notes that the EEAS, together with the Commission, is already providing training courses on fraud and that such training is a mandatory part of pre-posting training; 53. Takes note that a reflection process on adoption of self-standing implementation provisions on outside activities and assignments is undergoing in the EEAS; requests that the Parliament is kept informed of any outcome and recalls the importance of such framework in order to protect the image and reputation of the Union in particular in case of Heads of Delegations; 54. Notes that the EEAS did not receive any cases concerning whistleblowing and that the EEAS applies the Commission guidelines on Whistleblowing; encourages nevertheless, the EEAS to adopt its own policy adapted to the specific characteristics of the EEAS concerning this important issue and to establish a safe channel for potential whistle-blowers; Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection 55. Notes that the EEAS operates its own Security Operation Centre, which deals with incident handling, and is located in Headquarters: warns that 129 cyberattacks on the EEAS were confirmed in 2022 and notes that the EEAS is a very likely target for actors with huge resources who want to create difficulties for Union Institutions, especially those actors that are sponsored by foreign states; regrets that one major security incident that occurred in 2022 was not identified, due to its complexity, until 2023; welcomes that no confidential information was compromised; calls on the EEAS to continue to have a strong focus on cybersecurity and hybrid threats and work together with other Union Institutions and Member States in order to identify such threats and protect Union infrastructure as much as possible; underlines that cyber awareness and a systematic training programme for all staff, including management, are key elements in an effective cybersecurity framework; 56. Notes with satisfaction that the EDPS did not launch or complete any enquiries or investigations specifically targeting the EEAS in 2022; welcomes the EEAS’ decision not to use Microsoft 365 due to security concerns but to continue using internal cloud applications hosted in Europe; 57. Continues to note with satisfaction that the EEAS has adopted a hosting policy and maintains a central repository of all information systems and technical services related to business applications and services; further notes that in the case of information systems hosted on premises, both the system and its data are on servers that are directly owned and controlled by the EEAS and that the Data Protection Officer ensures the sound data protection controls in place; welcomes that information systems hosted on a cloud contain data protection clauses based on joint recommendations from the EDPS and the Commission; 58. Notes that the EEAS’ open source policy for digital solutions implies that open source is a viable solution if after an assessment, all tools and applications are deemed equal; notes that the EEAS is using a series of open source products to retain full ownership and control of its data; 59. Stresses that, ahead of increasing geopolitical challenges and crisis worldwide, the EU needs to be able to rely on necessary first-hand information on global issues occurring outside its borders; calls, in this regard, for strengthening the EU INTCEN, the EEAS Crisis Response Centre and the SatCen by enhancing its staff and financial resources, as well as its capabilities; Buildings and security 60. Notes that the EEAS occupies and manages a very complex building portfolio comprising the EEAS HQ in Brussels and a large number of offices and Residences for Ambassadors around the world; notes that, at the beginning of 2022, the EEAS in Brussels took over 8 334 m2 of building space from the Commission, which was previously occupied by EPSO; 61. Welcomes that, in 2022, the EEAS owned around 58 000 m2 of office space and approximately 20 % of the 153 residences for ambassadors; notes that the EEAS estimates that the total savings coming from owning these building is around EUR 20 million per year; highly welcomes that the EEAS has developed a policy framework for a purchasing strategy, which was presented to the Budgetary Authority in 2023; 62. Notes that, since 2020, the EEAS has been developing its office management policy towards collaborative and flexible office concepts both at HQ and in Delegations; asks that this development is done in close cooperation with staff to ensure that legitimate concerns and points of view are taken into consideration; 63. Welcomes that the EEAS is focused on ensuring that its building are accessible to people with disabilities and reduced mobility; notes that the building in Brussels already fulfils such requirements and welcomes that for Union Delegations the EEAS selection procedures envisages barrier-free construction as a key selection criteria for new office buildings; 64. Notes that the main additional expenses for security in Union Delegations arose from the return of the EEAS to Kabul as the only European mission in Kabul after the takeover of the Taliban, the deteriorating security situation in countries and areas like Ukraine and Sahel and the need for more security equipment in Delegations; notes that the expenses were covered by delaying and postponing other expenses; Environment and sustainability 65. Welcomes that, in April 2022, the EEAS signed a framework contract to assist in the preparation of an Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) for the EEAS HQ and the Delegations, while accepting that a lighter Environmental Management System (EMS) will have to be applied in many Delegations due to local limitations; asks for Parliament to be updated on the results of the implementation of these schemes both at HQ and in Delegations; 66. Welcomes that both the EEAS HQ and 20 Delegation buildings were equipped with photovoltaic panels by the end of 2022 and that three Delegations were equipped with such panels during the year; encourages the EEAS to continue to develop the installations of photovoltaic panels on all its buildings, as it improves the environmental footprint of a Delegation, save emissions, energy and money, reduce the dependency on generators and fuel and also demonstrates that the EEAS leads by example in support of the ‘Green Deal’; 67. Welcomes that, in 2022, the EEAS developed its first Commuting Plan with the objective of increasing the share of members of staff commuting to work via sustainable means, that the number of bike park places at the EEAS main building were doubled and that the EEAS continues to reimburse half of the costs of Brussels public transport for members of staff who do not apply for a car-parking badge; 68. Regrets that co-location agreements currently do not include clauses related to sustainability; notes that it would send a strong signal about the commitment of the EEAS to ensuring environmental sustainability if such agreements in the future would also ensure an explicit element about living up to certain environmental standards and targets; invites the EEAS to explore feasible options and encourage energy efficiency updates also in Delegations which are operating as co-locations; 69. Recalls that the direct and indirect impacts of climate change undermine global peace and security while deepening existing vulnerabilities and inequalities and pose risks to human rights; urges the Commission and the EEAS to design and conduct robust EU climate diplomacy with the aim to foster international cooperation towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, strengthen the external dimension of the Green New Deal and provide tangible support for ambitious CO2 reduction targets in third countries; Interinstitutional cooperation 70. Welcomes that the EEAS agreed two Service Level Agreements during 2022 with the Parliament, the first concerning the secondment of Parliament officials to an initial number of three Delegations (the United Nations in New York, the African Union in Ethiopia and ASEAN in Jakarta), where the staff seconded will integrate in the parliamentary affairs subsection of the political sections of the Delegations, and the second concerning Parliament staff at the liaison offices in London and Washington; 71. Notes that the process of replacing the 2002 interinstitutional agreement between the Parliament and the Council on the Parliament’s access to classified information in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is continuing at a very slow pace and apparently only one technical meeting took place during 2022 and one in 2023; 72. Welcomes that the EEAS declares that it cooperates excellently with OLAF, the EPPO and the Court and that there are regular meetings and exchanges of information between those institutions; further welcomes that the EEAS is negotiating dedicated working arrangements between the EEAS and the EPPO and asks that Parliament is being kept informed about any progress made in these negotiations; 73. Invites the EEAS to place emphasis on the procurement rules when negotiating dedicated working arrangements with the EPPO, as certain procedures might involve highly sensitive and even security-related information; 74. Welcomes that the EEAS actively cooperates with the EDPS through its Data Protection Officer, including by participating in roundtables, meetings to define the future objectives of the DPO network, and by contributing to the Working Group on International Transfers; 75. Welcomes that the EEAS cooperates closely with the Ombudsman and that the Ombudsman is now systematically invited to the EEAS pre-posting seminars to present their work in order to raise awareness about principles of good administrative behaviour; Communication 76. Notes that the EEAS had a total budget of EUR 15,352 million for public communication and promotional activities and that public communication intensified significantly as a consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; 77. Welcomes that the EEAS adopted measures in order to ensure an improvement in the corporate use of social media, including ensuring that such use complies with IT security and data protection rules, to update the guidelines and to suspend paid advertisements on the corporate account; further takes note that guidelines were issued on the private use of social media; 78. Welcomes that the EEAS joined the open-source social media platform EU Voice pilot project by the EDPS and encourages it to also join the EU Video platform, taking into account the evolution of its popularity; also welcomes that the EEAS cooperates with other Union institutions in order to share experience and best practices; 79. Notes that the budget for combatting foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), including disinformation activities represented EUR 7,150 million in total in 2022; welcomes strongly that the EEAS has invested significantly in strengthening and building resilience to counter disinformation and foreign interference in Union affairs; stresses that EEAS is the main Union institution responsible for countering foreign interference; 80. Notes that the East StratCom Task Force stepped up its efforts to expose Kremlin disinformation campaigns following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and that the Task Force worked closely with independent media and civil society partners in the Eastern Europe Partnership countries to counter FIMI and that selected content on the EUvsDisinfo website was translated into multiple languages including some of the official Union languages as well as Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian and Chinese; 81. Calls on the Union delegations in our neighbourhood and in the Western Balkan countries to increase their engagement in order to support a more active and effective communication policy on the European perspective and to be prepared to provide the best possible assistance to the countries engaged in pro-democratic and pro-European reforms; calls on the Union delegations to apply a more credible and merit-based approach based on the Copenhagen criteria, notably on the rule of law, democracy and the protection of human rights, especially given the limited progress made by some countries in the Western Balkans; 82. Calls on Union delegations to enhance support to genuine democratic actors and civil society in the Western Balkans as well as strongly and publicly denounce actions by illiberal and undemocratic actors that go against the Union’s interest and ensure the implementation of IPA III funding is in line with the Union's objectives; 83. Continues to encourage Union delegations to promote and engage with local actors, civil society organisations and social partners in third countries to stimulate social dialogue and dialogue about the rule of law, fundamental rights and fight against corruption as well as to debunk disinformation campaigns threatening democratic values orchestrated by foreign state actors; asks the Union delegations to provide logistical and technological support to human rights and indigenous peoples defenders, in particular women; calls on Union delegations to continue their coordinated efforts to increase the visibility of Union-funded projects, especially in candidate countries; calls on Union delegations to respect high standards for accountability and transparency when engaging With regional partners; asks Union delegations to assure that Union funds awarded in third countries are used effectively, efficiently and in line with the Union’s values, policies and financial rules enshrined in, among other places, the Financial Regulation, which lays down transparency as one of its guiding budgetary principles; asks to pay particular attention to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and support beneficiaries to prevent errors impacting the error rate; calls on the EEAS to strengthen the Union delegations in the Eastern Partnership countries; underlines the need to assist the Eastern Partnership countries that are suffering from Russia’s military aggression on Ukraine and to communicate Union policies more effectively to their citizens; 84. Urges the EEAS and the Union delegations to closely monitor the state of democracy in the different countries and to provide logistical and technological support to human rights defenders and indigenous persons, in particular women; Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in Gaza 85. Notes that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has had a very strong impact on the budget of the EEAS through rising inflation, not least in many parts of the world where the EEAS carries out most of its operations, such inflation has also had an impact on increasing expenses for security and IT equipment; 86. Notes that the delegation in Ukraine has 108 staff members of which around 60 % were local and 40 % expatriate staff before the invasion and that non-essential staff were asked to leave a week before the outbreak of the invasion; notes furthermore, that the Union Delegation to Russia in January had 25 expatriate staff and 36 local staff and two staff from the EIB and that Russia, in April 2022, expelled 18 members of the Delegation after 19 members of the Russian Permanent mission to the EI in Brussels were declared personae no-grata; 87. Emphasises that the Union needs to continue developing a robust and resilient external service with clear political leadership in order to order to tackle the current challenges and ensure the coherence of the Union’s foreign policy; in that respect notes the key role of the EEAS and especially of its Delegations in the context of the geopolitical impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the resulting need to support partner countries around the world and strengthen global alliances; highlights the importance of continued strong political engagement and leverage at bilateral level, as well as in public and cultural diplomacy to promote the Union's values, principles and interests, and in strategic communications to combat disinformation; calls for more efficient use of available resources to be introduced to avoid putting the Union’s effectiveness at risk on the international scene; calls on the EEAS to continue its efforts to modernise its approaches and invest in new skills and capabilities while increasing cost-efficiency; 88. Is extremely concerned about the continued engagement of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban with the Russian President despite Union sanctions and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes against the latter in light of the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; stresses that, under Article 24 (3) TEU, Member States have the obligation to support the Union’s external and security policy actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity, and shall refrain from actions contrary to the Union’s interest; Reminds the HR/VP of his obligation to ensure Member States’ compliance with the principles under this article, and invites him, against this backdrop, to report to Parliament on his consideration of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s policy vis à vis Russia and compliance with this Treaty article, as well as any potential action he has undertaken; 89. Strongly condemns the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war in Ukraine, classifying it as a war crime; highlights the growing reports of human trafficking, sexual violence, exploitation, rape, and abuse faced by women and children fleeing Ukraine to Europe; calls on Member States to address the specific needs of women and girls in reception centres, ensuring immediate availability of gender-based violence services; urges the Union and host and transit countries to guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services; calls on the Union and its Member States to support organisations providing services and shelter to gender-based violence survivors among refugee women and girls; 90. Deeply regrets all conflict-related sexual violence; emphasises that this targeted form of brutal sexual violence and torture against women is systematically used in war conflicts to terrorise and to humiliate the population; in this context, strongly deplores the devastating suffering of women during the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 in which Hamas perpetrated rape and other forms of ferocious sexual torture against women, female teenagers and girls of Israeli and other nationalities, according to a UN mission report and a report of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel; regrets the lack of leadership of the EEAS and the Commission and their delayed reactions to these cruel attacks; strongly calls on the EEAS to establish a better global strategy to prevent these kinds of attacks, to provide support to women living in areas of risk and conflict zones, and to continue to publicly condemn any kind of sexual violence and torture; 91. Welcomes that the HR/VP convened an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on 10 October 2023 shortly after the horrific Hamas terror attack on Israel; further takes note that the European Council established a common position on the situation in Israel and Palestine at its extraordinary meeting on 17 October 2023 including an action plan with several work strands; is extremely concerned about speculation that Union taxpayers’ money could be used by Hamas, instead of benefitting the Palestinian civilian population, and thus, notes with satisfaction that the review of the Union’s assistance for Palestine finalised in November 2023(7) has shown that no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes; is concerned by the serious allegations made by Israel that 12 UNRWA employees might have been involved in acts of terrorand notes that the Agency immediately terminated their contracts, launched a UN investigation and appointed an independent review group; notes the EEAS’ constant monitoring to prevent Union funds being misused by terrorist organisations such as Hamas; notes that the review has also shown that the Commission applies adequate ex-ante and ex-post controls and that the safeguards in place are effective; recalls the Agency's irreplaceable role in the humanitarian response in Gaza, and in ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of vital services to vulnerable Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East; asks the EEAS to keep Parliament informed about changes in cooperation between the EEAS and the Palestinian Authority; 92. Acknowledges that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in Gaza impose a financial burden on Member States, European citizens, and the functioning of Union institutions. Emphasises the importance of reviewing the allocated financial resources for Ukraine and Gaza to ensure transparency and accountability in the utilization of these funds.
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| Discharge 2022: European Public Prosecutors Office (the ‘EPPO’) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06179/2024 – C9‑0077/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’)(4), and in particular Article 94 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0117/2024), 1. Grants the Administrative Director of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office discharge in respect of the implementation of the Office’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Administrative Director of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the financial year 2022 (2023/2139(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06179/2024 – C9‑0077/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’)(9), and in particular Article 94 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0117/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Administrative Director of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the financial year 2022 (2023/2139(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0117/2024), A. whereas the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is the independent public prosecution office of the Union and is responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes against the financial interests of the Union and bringing to judgment the perpetrators of, and accomplices to, criminal offences provided for in Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law(11) and indicated by Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017, implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the Office; B. whereas the competence of the EPPO encompasses several types of fraud, and includes amongst them VAT fraud with damages above EUR 10 million, money laundering, corruption and others in which regard the EPPO exercises the functions of prosecutor in the competent courts of the participating Member States, until the case has been finally disposed; C. whereas the EPPO is one of the component of the European Union Anti-Fraud architecture and, as such, its actions are coordinated with and complementary to those of the other components of said architecture, to achieve a final result which is bigger than the sum of its parts; D. whereas the EPPO intervenes in a scenario where only national authorities could investigate and prosecute these crimes, but their prerogatives stopped at the borders of their country, and other organisations like Eurojust, OLAF and Europol had not the necessary powers to carry out the relevant criminal investigations and prosecutions; E. whereas the procedural acts of the EPPO are subject to judicial review by the national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court of Justice’) – by way of preliminary rulings or judicial reviews of those acts – has residual powers to ensure a consistent application of EU law; F. whereas the EPPO is composed of a central level, with its headquarters in Luxembourg, consisting of the European Chief Prosecutor, 22 European Prosecutors (one per participating EU country) and the Administrative Director, and of a decentralised (national) level consisting of the European Delegated Prosecutors (EDPs) in the 22 participating EU Member States; G. whereas at the central level the European Chief Prosecutor and the 22 European Prosecutors compose the College of the EPPO and supervises the investigations and prosecutions carried out by the EDPs at the national level, who operate with complete independence from their national authorities; H. whereas, under Article 93 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 the EPPO Administrative Director, acting as the authorising officer of the Office, shall implement its budget under its own responsibility and within the limits authorised in the budget and shall send each year to the budgetary authority all information relevant to the findings of any evaluation procedures; I. whereas, in accordance with Article 50(2) of the EPPO's Financial Rules, the Accounting Officer of the Commission shall also act as Accounting Officer of the EPPO and is responsible for the preparation of the annual accounts, which are consolidated with those of the Union; J. whereas, under the current framework, the final annual accounts are scrutinised by the Court and it is with the Council to recommend and to the European Parliament to decide whether to grant discharge to the Administrative Director of the Office in respect of the implementation of the budget for a given financial year; K. whereas the Office started its operational activities on 1 June 2021 and it operates autonomously in the implementation of its budget only since 24 June 2021, and that this short timeframe allows a limited comparative analysis and trend identification; L. whereas the rules governing the management of the EPPO resources and related expenditure need to be adjusted to the peculiarities of prosecution and investigative actions and the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation are being discussed within the recast of that regulation and, in a wider context, between the EPPO and the Commission; 1. Welcomes the European Court of Auditors’ positive opinion on the reliability of the EPPO’s accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 and on the legality and regularity of the underlying revenue and payments; 2. Recalls the Parliament’s strong support for the establishment of the EPPO; acknowledges the important role of EPPO as an independent Union body and stresses the particular responsibility that this imposes on it towards the other institutions and the public at large in the areas falling within the remit of the legal system; highly respects and expresses appreciation for the work that the EPPO does in investigating, prosecuting and achieving justice for crimes against the Union budget and the financial interests of the Union such as fraud, corruption and serious cross-border VAT fraud; recognises the important role that the EPPO plays in contributing to the protection of the financial interests of the Union and, in particular, the budget of the Union; recalls that the unique role of the EPPO in the Union law enforcement framework as a prosecution service creates an obligation for the EPPO to investigate all matters under their competence, when brought to their attention; Budgetary and financial management 3. Notes that the overall final budget allocated to the EPPO for 2022 was EUR 51,2 million, reduced from the initial endowment amounting to EUR 57,1 million, and sensibly increased from the EUR 35,4 million allocated in 2021; remarks that the returned amount of EUR 5,9 million (representing 10 % of the initial budget for 2022) is an improvement compared to 2021, when EUR 9,5 million was returned to the Union’s budget (representing 21 % of initial budget for 2021); observes that such amount was gradually returned in 2022 because in part it was overestimated in respect of the effective needs (for linguistic service it was 65 % higher), in part it was impossible to use it for the reimbursement of the participating Member States’ exceptionally costly investigations, for example Article 91(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (prevented by the Financial Regulation until a derogation was granted in 2023) and, finally, because of the delayed launch of selection and recruitment of new members of staff (which should have been planned in 2021 but became possible only later, when the budget 2022 was adopted); 4. Notes that it is only possible to compare the budgetary performance of the EPPO for the period following its financial autonomy, which began in June 2021; welcomes the satisfactory level of budget implementation of 98,1 % of commitment appropriations (against 97,4 % in 2021) and of 76.6% of payment appropriations (compared to 78,2 % in 2021); appreciates that the overall execution rate for payments progressed in 2022 with 76,6 % of paid appropriations completed in the final budget, compared to 71 % in 2021; observes that the average payment time increased to 23,8 days in 2022 compared to 21,0 days in 2021 and understands that this trend is linked to the substantial increase in payment requests processed in the year (2 316 payment requests compared to 657 in 2021 represents an increase of 252 %); encourages the EPPO, once again, to further implement the electronic invoicing module (e-invoicing) which only started in 2023, to reduce administrative burdens, time-to-payment and the overall processing costs; 5. Observes that, following the achievement of its financial autonomy, in June 2021, the EPPO has prioritised the operational expenditure related to investigation, prosecution and security measures, limiting non-operational expenditure to essential compliance requirements and basic level support services; 6. Remarks the upward trend in a number of operational expenditure lines; notes that the remuneration of the European Delegated Prosecutors reached EUR 8,7 million, and it represents the main operational expenditure because of the increased number of European Delegated Prosecutors in place over 2022; observes that missions and operational meeting costs represented 5,2 % of the operational expenditure (EUR 1,1 million) compared to 2,9 % in 2021, and for missions alone the increase in 2022 compared to 2021 (after the EPPO gained financial autonomy) was 170 %, as a consequence of the increase in staff and external activities in the first full year of operations; also notes that EUR 2,8 million was committed for translation services, representing 14 % of the operational expenditure, compared to 7,6 % in 2021; recognises the need for additional resources for translation given the expected increase in investigative cases in the following years; asks the EPPO to inform Parliament about its plans to further expand the use of automated translation services by the ‘translation portal’ developed internally and by the increased use of national sworn translators paid for by the participating Member States; 7. Observes that a forecast of the expenditure related to the EPPO’s activities is very complex because of the level of detection of fraud, the typology and nature of the cases, the EPPO’s efficiency in leading investigations and prosecutions in consideration of their mandatory nature and of the national judicial systems’ procedures and constraints, the lack of a fixed correlation between the number of investigations and their costs, and last but not least, the magnitude of the financial interests of the Union that are to be protected, including Poland and Sweden’s plans to join the EPPO; also observes that it is difficult to estimate the forecast of expenditure for the caseload related to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) because of the unprecedented implementation mode and sheer volume of resources; 8. Reiterates its call to factor in the impact of the deployment of the RRF in the forecast that the EPPO is to communicate to the Commission in the framework of the budgetary procedure; shares the view that the workload of the EPPO, initially underestimated, has gone through a significant growth and will continue to increase in the coming years, in particular with regard to the number of RRF cases (only 15 cases were opened in 2022, but more will be opened in 2023 as it reaches its’ implementation peak) and that a larger number of cases in the trial phase will require a different focus than those in the investigation phase; 9. Acknowledges that the EPPO clearly contributes to European added value in terms of coordination and cooperation with the Member States in investigating and prosecuting crimes against the financial interests of the Union and that the EPPO has been achieving the goals set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 in that regard; expects Member States to comply with legal obligations and to report all relevant cases to the EPPO; notes with concern that in several instances Member States have been declaring criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union as national cases, which are within the competence of the EPPO; notes that questions of competence between the national authorities and the European Delegated Prosecutors have come up in several cases across several countries; is aware that, according to Article 25(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, cases of disagreement about the EPPO’s competences are to be decided by the same national judicial authority who is responsible for determining the competent body for prosecution at national level; regrets that in many participating Member States the procedures in force and the national authorities entrusted with the decisions on such cases regarding conflicts of competence are not set in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, stresses that in cases of conflicts of competence between the EPPO and a national prosecution authority, the national authority competent to decide on the attribution of competence could come to a conclusion without requesting a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice but rather making a decision that is binding on the EPPO and points out that this is against the spirit of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, which states that the Court of Justice, in accordance with Article 267 of the TFEU, has jurisdiction to give a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of the provision on conflicts of competence between the EPPO and national authorities; believes that the current situation lacks legal clarity; encourages all Member States to work more closely with the EPPO; emphasises that the competence of the EPPO is clearly outlined in Article 22(1) and (2), and in Article 23, and that all Member States should respect Regulation (EU) 2017/1939; notes that when Member States have doubts about the competence of the EPPO in a particular a case, there is the possibility of submitting a preliminary question to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling following Article 267 of the TFEU and Article 42(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 ; urges the Commission, where there is a case breach of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, to submit the case to the Court of Justice; notes with concern that the question of competence can cause a halt of the investigation; is concerned about potential loss of evidence when cases are paused; calls on the Commission to collect information on cases regarding conflicts of competence for the evaluation report that will be submitted in 2026; 10. Observes that, in 2022, of the 15 active RRF cases listed in the EPPO Annual Report, 9 cases occurred in Italy, 2 in Portugal, 3 in Romania, and 1 case in Croatia; strongly encourages the EPPO to look for fraud patterns in countries were more than one RRF case occurred, and to inform both OLAF and the Recovery and Resilience Task Force of these patterns with the goal of reducing the instances of fraud occurring in the first place; 11. Notes that the EPPO currently has an estimated 170 active investigations in over 7 countries involving RRF cases and that the damages in these active investigations is currently estimated at EUR 530 million; notes that the EPPO estimates that the number of new active investigations involving recovery and resilience funds will increase as more countries become the recipients of RRF funds, encourages the EPPO to plan their budget and capacities accordingly; 12. Regarding the amount of resources allocated to the EPPO, underlines that the budgetary and human resources allocated should be adequate to allow the efficient and successful carrying out of its mandate and the normal handling of the related administrative procedures; calls on the Commission to review the EPPO budgetary framework in close cooperation with the EPPO to find adequate ways to support it in its work, with the knowledge that in the context of a growing number of complex cases, additional resources will be needed and these should not be dependent on the revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and/or its mandate; notes that, also in this regard, an increasing number of legal challenges are expected, calling into question the interpretation of the EPPO’s legal framework and its integration into the Member States’ judicial systems or before the Court of Justice; 13. Regarding the use of the resources allocated to the EPPO, understands that the EPPO engages in a continuous update and revision of its internal financial rules governing the financial aspects of its operations; welcomes, to this end, the ongoing dialogue with the Commission and is aware that, in line with the suggestions made the Commission, a recent Decision of the College of the EPPO amended its financial rules by adding the possibility to conclude agreements with the competent authorities of Member States and to conclude contracts without having recourse to a public procurement procedure, where procurement is not possible; 14. Understands that, in 2022, a pilot framework agreement was launched, for the reimbursement of claims made under Article 91(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939, to cover exceptionally costly investigation measures carried out at national level on behalf of the EPPO; 15. Points out the need to allow Article 91(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 to be implemented properly and underlines that the peculiar characteristics of prosecution and investigation expenditure (including the exceptional cases of the EPPO's operational expenditure governed by Article 91.6) have to be taken into account; regrets that the proposal brought forward in the recast trilogue negotiation was dropped; maintains that the Commission, in dialogue with the EPPO, should explore alternative avenues to allow for an effective and efficient implementation of the provision; 16. Highlights that following the start of the EPPO’s operational activity, the 2017 Legislative Financial Statement was no longer fit-for-purpose due to a significantly underestimated workload, and no update to it has been proposed; in this regard, believes that the absence of a mid-term budgetary review for the EPPO prevents the EPPO from having a clear understanding of the resources available for the future activities of the already existing cases and to anticipate budget implementation preparatory activities before the end of the budgetary adoption process; 17. Reiterates its view that the absence of a mid-term resource framework for the EPPO, both in terms of budget and staff, at a time when operations need to be swiftly ramped-up and administrative foundations established, limits the options that should be made available to achieve maximal flexibility in the development of an organisational infrastructure for a project as innovative as the EPPO; 18. is aware that the EPPO has been striving for cooperation and coordination with Member States on how fraud affecting the RRF should be reported to the EPPO and handled at investigative level and during the prosecutorial stage, and on how the EPPO could intervene effectively in this regard; believes that the EPPO’s involvement in the investigation and prosecution of cases of fraud affecting RRF funds is essential in protecting the Union’s financial interests; recalls that the EPPO is an independent body of the Union and reiterates its call on the Commission to provide adequate guidance to the EPPO on how to support and foster the adoption of the remedial measures which follows the EPPO independent investigation and prosecution of fraud affecting the RRF and to keep the budgetary authority informed regarding the available options; Internal management, performance and internal control 19. Observes the increase in crime reports submitted to the EPPO (3 318 in 2022 compared to 2 832 in 2021) and, as a result, the increase in open investigations (865 in 2022 with estimated damages amounting to EUR 9,9 billion, compared to 576 in 2021 with estimated damages amounting to EUR 5,4 billion); notes that the number of closed cases (251 in 2022 compared to 57 in 2021) and the number of indictments (87 in 2022 compared to 5 in 2021) together with the freezing orders obtained by the EPPO amounted to EUR 359,1 million in 2022 alone (compared to EUR 516 million requested); notes that, in 2022, 20 cases were concluded in Court, and deems it important that the EPPO reports systematically on the follow-up to these cases in terms of the financial measures adopted (confiscation and/or recovery) to provide a clearer understanding of the impact of the EPPO’s actions; calls on the Commission to explore the most appropriate avenues to assist the EPPO in the monitoring and follow-up activities, in such a way that the EPPO’s resources are not diverted from their investigative and prosecutorial tasks; encourages the EPPO, where possible and appropriate, to engage in better cooperation with other components of the Anti-Fraud Architecture, such as Eurojust and Europol, or using -via OLAF- the Anti-Fraud Coordination Services (AFCOS) established in the Member States; 20. Calls on the EPPO to put a system in place to monitor efficiency gains, time and cost savings and appreciates the adoption of a quality management system to optimise key processes and achieve an increase in organisational performance, service quality and cost-effectiveness; understands that some procedures have been reengineered to reduce unnecessary administrative burden and redundancies; 21. Understands that the EPPO employs a risk-based approach across its activities, with a focus on identifying high-risk areas; welcomes the adoption of the EPPO Administrative Internal Control Environment Policy and invites the management of the EPPO to monitor the effective implementation of the 17 internal control principles to verify that they are continuously adapted to the EPPO’s organisational maturity growth path; appreciates, in this regard, the assessment recently performed resulting in an implementation roadmap focusing on the deficiencies identified; points out that the main residual high risk areas have been identified as originating from a lack of resources (where the EPPO is forced to choose between activities equally essential to the delivery of its mandate or where there is a failure to deliver reasonable assurance on compliance with all the administrative standards); 22. Welcomes the adoption of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for both operational and administrative activities, linked to the annual and multi-annual work programme; observes that the main KPIs for operational activities do not include any specific reference to the amounts recovered from the Union’s budget, the safeguard of which is ultimately the raison d'être of the Anti-Fraud Architecture of which the EPPO is an important component; asks the EPPO to adopt indicators linked to the achievement of this essential task; 23. Appreciates the adoption by the EPPO College, in 2022, of the Internal Audit Capability’s Internal Audit Charter and risk-based audit plan, identifying the Internal Auditing priorities for 2022–2024; encourages the Internal Audit Service (IAS) and the Internal Audit Capability (IAC) to coordinate their actions with a view to advising and assisting the EPPO in the establishment of its main core processes and the achievement of its objectives; 24. Calls for a better system of monitoring results and following financial impact of the EPPO work; notes the need for more aggregated data concerning cases in order to better identify patterns of fraud; encourages continued coordination with Europol in this area; 25. Remarks that the EPPO is aiming to achieve full compliance with the Union’s public administration management standards, and recalls that the adoption of a comprehensive business continuity plan is amongst such basic requirements; Human resources, equality and staff well-being 26. Observes the upward trend in the number of staff, increasing from 58 in 2020, to 122 in 2021, to 217 by the end 2022; is aware that, for 2022, the EPPO requested 171 temporary agents, 48 contractual agents and 29 seconded national experts, representing a total of 248 posts (compared to the situation in 2021, with 95 temporary agents, 35 contract agents, and 0 SNEs for a total of 130 posts); notes that the budgetary authority granted 100% of the requested posts; 27. Points out that, in 2022, the EPPO’s efforts to recruit an adequate number of qualified staff with fast procedures resulted in the hiring of 85 statutory agents in the central office and 22 EDPs in national offices; notes that, with 217 of the 248 budgeted posts filled at end 2022, the occupancy rate of posts filled by temporary agents, contract agents and SNEs decreased to 87,5% (compared to 94% in 2021) having regard to, while for the EDPs the occupancy rate rose to 82,1% (with 115 out of the 140 budgeted EDP posts filled) compared to 68% in 2021 (with only 95 out the 140 budgeted EDP posts filled) bringing the overall global occupancy rate to 85,56% (compared to 81% in 2021); 28. Underlines that during the visit to the EPPO during the Budgetary Control Mission to Luxembourg in 2023, the EPPO expressed the dire need for more legal experts to handle the large number of investigations; notes that, in 2022, there were over 1117 active investigations (EPPO 2022 statistic); recognises that the Commission has already been active in this area but asks for further capacities to be fulfilled especially considering the backlog and additional RRF-related cases and far-reaching VAT fraud; points out that the Commission may have underestimated needs and capacities; acknowledges that DG Budget and the Commission have fulfilled the EPPO's requests thus far; 29. Understands that the administrative and central support functions are expected to grow, in line with the larger operational population, and that additional recruitment will also be critical in the area of Digital and Security Services; appreciates that the additional operational needs have been included in the EPPO Single Programming Document 2024-2026 and Budget request for 2024; 30. Is aware that the Luxembourgish labour market is very competitive, and that the conditions offered by the Union administration are neither attractive against the local market (subject to diverse salary indexations throughout the year), nor do they adequately take into account the high cost of living (especially in the housing domain); understands that this difficult situation is even more acute for trainees and contract agents, for this reason, contract agents are in the process of being progressively phased out in favour of temporary agent positions as they benefit from a more favourable contract; notes that the attraction and retention of personnel has become even more difficult in 2022 because of the inflation rate and increased cost of living, and that compensation figures are not having the same positive impact as it is outside the Union administration, where national wage indexations have maintained the protection of the citizens’ purchasing power; 31. Notes that the EPPO has been rendered less attractive than the four other Union institutions operating from Luxembourg, as it cannot offer a path towards becoming a Union Official; highlights the need for the EPPO to offer attractive salaries to contract and temporary agents, that are competitive with what is on offer in the private sector, including legal services and IT services, in order to attract the best and brightest talent with international experience; highlights that current salaries and budget may need to be adjusted to reflect this; 32. Observes that, at the end of 2022, geographical and gender balance is adequately pursued overall across the 217 members of staff (with 122 men and 95 women); welcomes that the nationality breakdown of the EPPO population is constantly monitored by the hiring staff, in seeking to ensure balance, especially, in light of the uneven distribution of applicants; remarks, however, that the gender distribution amongst the senior and middle management positions (four to one) is still suboptimal and reiterates that this aspect should be improved in the framework of the overall diversity strategy, including adequate encouragement for people with disabilities to apply; reiterates its request to the EPPO to adopt its charter on diversity and inclusion without delay, in consideration of the increase in staff in the last year; 33. Remarks that, by the end of 2022, 275 out of 332 staff (82,83 % compared to 186 staff that is 86 % in 2021) were deployed in investigative activities (temporary agents, contract agents, SNEs and EDPs) while 57 members of staff were engaged in Administrative Support and Control Functions (17,17 %) and 9 investigative posts stayed vacant; 34. Notes that the appointment of European delegated prosecutors is a shared responsibility of the EPPO and Member States; stresses that the appointment procedure must always be in compliance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and the principle of national procedural autonomy; 35. Is pleased by the increased number of EDPs recruited in several Member States; is aware that the participation of qualified candidates could be enhanced, and the appointment process could be more selective by adopting a clear career perspective and more favourable administrative discipline on social security and health insurance coverage; believes that the creation of a specific status for EDPs, as suggested by the nature of their judicial function, would make these posts more appealing; calls on the EPPO and the Commission to explore all possible solutions in order to enhance their dialogue towards achieving this result, taking into consideration the benefits that this would create in terms of competences and operational efficiency; reiterates its view that this situation provides additional support to the call for a revision of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and of the EPPO’s status; 36. Observes that the EPPO still employs external service providers working on site (39 members of staff in 2022); is aware that, once again, during of 2022, the EPPO had to resort to the use of interim staff for financial transactions, in violation of its own financial rules; understands that this decision, which was transparently disclosed, was imposed by the need to deploy the available statutory staff in investigative and prosecutorial roles; remarks, however, that the EPPO has stopped relying on interim staff to process financial transactions following its increased staffing capacity; 37. Observes the increased costs of training courses in 2022 and understands that this resulted in a more intensive use of the EU Learn platform, the cost of which almost doubled; 38. Stresses that two bodies of rules currently define flexible working arrangements and the teleworking regime, the Decision of the EPPO College on working time adopted in October 2021 is applicable only to prosecutors and the administrative director, and the Decision of the EPPO College adopted in December 2022 is applicable to the remaining staff; stresses that both Decisions are in force and applied simultaneously to the respective addressees; 39. Understands that the first decision is more restrictive and tailors the working time and related options for management levels to the demands of the EPPO, to guarantee consistency and continuity of the decision-making processes, while the second aims to optimise private and work-life balance; observes that a similar distinction is adopted for the teleworking regime, where management is entitled to perform teleworking for a maximum of 60 days per calendar year, while other staff can opt to telework between 20% and 60% of the weekly working time; notes that both staff groups can telework from abroad up to a limit of 10 working days; encourages the EPPO to consult its staff by launching a survey to verify the level of satisfaction and to consult the Staff Committee on any further decisions to be taken on this matter; 40. Remarks that no case of burnout or harassment have been reported and that the number of long-term sick leave is very limited; welcomes the adoption of a structured procedure for reporting cases of harassment by the European Chief Prosecutor and by the European Prosecutors as well as its divulgation to all the staff; 41. Welcomes that staff well-being will represent a key dimension of the broader deployment of the HR Framework and the EPPO will devote increasing resources to staff well-being; strongly encourages the EPPO to harmonise its current and future policies on inclusion, harassment and equality and to periodically launch surveys among its staff, by promoting, where possible peer-review with other components of the anti-fraud architecture (Eurojust, OLAF, etc) and in general encouraging diversity to make the workplace more attractive to candidates with specific needs; 42. Observes that no trainees were recruited in 2022, but preparatory work to establish the conditions for future HR management components included traineeships; endorses the proposal and the execution of a traineeship pilot programme in early 2023, the results of which are currently being examined with a view to implementing a traineeship programme as from 2024; stresses that the challenges imposed by the cost of living in Luxembourg represent a significant obstacle for potential trainees; asserts that the traineeship should be remunerated in order to be aligned with the European Parliament’s resolution of 14 June 2023 on Quality Traineeships in the Union (2020/2005(INL)) which advocates that all interns in Europe should be paid; Ethical framework and transparency 43. Notes that the EPPO’s Code of Conduct outlines the expected standards of behaviour for employees at all levels and that, during 2022, the ethical decision-making processes were reinforced by implementing specific guidelines for addressing ethical dilemmas and making ethical decisions on outside activities and acceptance of gifts and hospitality; 44. Observes that regular training sessions (2 times per month) are organised for the EPPO’s staff on the EPPO’s ethical framework, Code of Good Administrative behaviour and the Anti-Fraud Strategy and that in 2022 a dedicated EPPO intranet section on the ethical framework was launched; remarks, in this regard, that the current participation of staff in awareness-raising courses appears limited (69 members of staff in total participated in training courses in 2022); asks the EPPO to explore viable options aiming to increase participation; regrets that a survey has not been launched yet in order to assess the awareness of staff regarding ethics and encourages the EPPO to intensify its dialogue with staff via surveys and fostering staff attendance at periodic general gatherings; 45. Notes that no effective cases of conflict of interest were detected in 2022; welcomes the conflict of interest policy currently under development; notes that dedicated conflict of interest rules have been established for the members of the EPPO College, the EDPs, and the members of staff of the operational unit; observes that a code of professional standards for EPPO staff responsible for budget implementation and the charter of tasks and responsibilities of authorising officers by delegation provide the rules applicable in situations of possible conflicts of interest; observes, however, that while the EPPO complies with the general provision under Article 16 of the Staff Regulations, it has not adopted a targeted policy on revolving doors; encourages the EPPO to adopt such policy; 46. Notes that, in 2022, the EPPO’s Internal Control Officer performed a review of the EPPO Anti-Fraud Strategy 2021-2022 action plan following which an updated version (Anti-fraud Strategy 2023-2025) was adopted on 1 March 2023 targeting the shortcomings and the emerging risks identified during the first year of implementation; 47. Stresses that a dedicated whistleblowing and anti-retaliation procedure is not yet formalised but it is being developed during 2023 and that, currently, the EPPO’s Financial Rules provide instructions on the measures to be followed by a member of staff or other servant, including national experts seconded to the EPPO; emphasises that the whistleblowing and anti-retaliation policy should be formalised as soon as possible to ensure a safe and protected workplace; urges such a mechanism to be planned and structured carefully to separate true whistleblowers from those making false accusations, asserts that protections should be built in for those falsely accused or defamed, encourages the development of standards similar to other Union institutions in this regard; Digitalisation, Cybersecurity and data protection 48. Understands that the Commission, via its Directorate-General for Informatics (now renamed Digital Services) will not be able to provide the EPPO with digital workplace services after mid-2024, due to a change in the Commission’s IT systems and an IT policy limiting the provision of digital workplace services to only Commission’s services; notes that EPPO’s initial approach has been to prioritise resources on the setting and working of essential digital services linked to its operational activities, such as its Case Management System, while acknowledging that the EPPO’s digital services, which are at least in part diverging from the Commission’s, would have needed, in the mid-term, a tailored approach; observes that the intended interruption of service by the Commission could create an additional problem to the EPPO’s organisation in the crucial phase of consolidating its establishment; calls on the Commission to facilitate the EPPO’s transition towards a satisfactory level of digital autonomy in its core services; 49. Strongly urges the Commission IT service not to be interrupted until the EPPO has a reliable IT system to avoid loss of data in particular on case files; emphasises that clear communication and operational coordination on this is necessary at the highest levels between the Commission and the EPPO; underscores that a smooth and continuous transition between systems is key to workflow continuity, reliability of data and functioning operational structures; 50. Notes that the EPPO is encountering obstacles related to the processing of non-digitalised documents collected by national authorities and private parties in the context of investigations; calls on Member States to digitalise their documents and procedures to allow the EPPO to be more cost-efficient; 51. Understands that the current challenge in digitalisation is enhancing automatised searches and tasks in order to increase the performance and usability of the EPPO’s Case Management System, which is essential to give to the EPPO a “helicopter view” of the criminal networks and identify links between cases; observes that reducing outsourcing and strengthening security are material to an efficient response to increased physical and cyber threats to the EPPO’s central and decentralised offices; 52. Notes the increased budget invested in IT projects in 2022 (EUR 11.3 million compared to EUR 6.1 million in 2021 in the period of financial autonomy); appreciates in particular the attention devoted to the setting up and implementation of the EPPO’s Case Management System (CMS) which is expected to provide the capability of interoperability with 22 Member States; understands that the efficiency of the existing tools in terms of interoperability is suboptimal and that only the adoption of minimum common data exchange agreements and judicial interoperability tools will allow an effective exchange of information and cooperation via the different platforms used by the various Member States; encourages the EPPO to further pursue coordination with Member States and cooperation with the relevant IBOAs to design a common exchange model compared to the current situation where hit-no-hit is based on bilateral models; 53. Underlines the increased threat to the EPPO’s IT structural integrity stemming from the aggressiveness of organised crime, combatted by the EPPO, and resulting in the need to step up physical and digital security; endorses the EPPO’s intention to build on its own cybersecurity capacity to supplement and collaborate with the services of CERT-EU and DG DIGIT; supports the EPPO in its request for additional resources to be allocated to protecting its cybersecurity; encourages the EPPO staff to actively express the need for additional cybersecurity infrastructure or cybersecurity training both within the organisation itself and to Parliament and the Commission through the appropriate channels; 54. Appreciates the EPPO’s development of its own Case Management Ecosystem the components of which are all hosted in the EPPO data centre and managed by the EPPO’s staff, guaranteeing the EPPO control, retention and ownership of systems and data processed; 55. Acknowledges the EPPO’s need for up-to-date equipment, cybersecurity and IT systems to deal with increasingly complicated crimes frequently involving digital elements; notes the EPPO’s presentation during the Budgetary Control Mission to Luxembourg in October 2023 on the steady increase of crimes involving digital elements, including cyber currency fraud; 56. Calls on the Commission’s Digital Services and the EPPO to establish easily identifiable email addresses for the EPPO that are not misleading, as currently the ‘ext.ec’ ending in the email addresses can be confusing for staff in other institutions and for outside communication as this is the ending usually only given to external consultants and undermines the legitimacy of the EPPO’s staff using the email address; 57. Encourages the services of the EPPO and the EDPs to continue their work in a coordinated manner and to ensure the effective supervision of processing of the data they gather, at the same time guaranteeing respect for individuals’ rights with regard to data protection; Buildings and security 58. Welcomes the signature of the lease agreement with the Luxembourg authorities for the use of the building currently hosting the EPPO’s headquarters (TOB building) and formalising the provision of the current EPPO offices rent free until 31 December 2029; understands that such agreement may be extended tacitly on an annual basis, unless terminated by either party with twelve months’ notice; observes that the EPPO pays a service charge of EUR 716 724 per year and one-off costs for additional security and other additional facilities requested by the EPPO; points out that the refurbishment started in 2022 for two additional floors of the TOB to be used by the EPPO and to be adapted to the nature of the EPPO’s work, which is not fully compatible with open spaces and hot desks; 59. Stresses that, in terms of physical security, the EPPO has implemented security measures, equipment and processes to address threats to its premises, assets and personnel; points out that a number of policies, procedures and guidelines also support the implementation of physical security measures; appreciates, in this regard, the carrying out, in 2022, of a physical security risk assessment to identify gaps and to address them; is aware that, in June 2023, the EPPO asked for 21 additional posts to enhance its security capability, reiterates that this need for security was further emphasised by the EPPO’s staff in the Budgetary Control Mission to Luxembourg in October 2023 and that such a request was satisfied in November 2023 with an amending budget covering 8 posts, and the remaining 13 posts will be incorporated into the budget for 2024; underscores the need for the EPPO to continue to have an adequate part of the budget allocated to security measures and security staff to better protect all staff, in particular considering the confidential nature of investigations of high-level, high-stakes fraud cases; urges that prosecutors and staff should be amply protected in order to be able to do their work to the full extent without the threat of physical or psychological violence and without outside influence or pressure; Environment and sustainability 60. Is aware that because the EPPO’s headquarters are in Luxembourg and the relevant services are provided by the national authorities, who are also in charge of investments related to sustainability and energetic performance, the EPPO has not engaged in any specific action for renewable energy such as the installation of solar panels, EMAS rules and CO2 offsetting; 61. Understands that the TOB building is located in the proximity of public transport and invites the EPPO to build on the current situation to adopt a strategy for the sustainable mobility of its staff; Interinstitutional cooperation 62. Praises the efforts deployed by the EPPO to engage in intensive cooperation and coordination with partners and stakeholders and believes that the EPPO’s role as the major operational component of the Anti-Fraud Architecture implies a continuous effort of communication and coordination with the several partners, whose action has been designed to be reciprocally complementary; 63. Takes note that EPPO indicated that of the 3,318 crime reports received in 2022, 103 were from Union institutions and bodies (55 from the European Anti-Fraud office, 16 from the Commission, 9 from Eurojust, 8 from the Court of Auditors, 3 from the European Central Bank, and 1 from Parliament), appreciates the effective interinstitutional cooperation between the EPPO and the relevant institutions in this regard; 64. Points out the importance of the operational coordination and cooperation between the EPPO and OLAF, having specific regard to the opening of complementary OLAF investigations and administrative investigations in support of the EPPO; calls on the two Offices to further progress their dialogue to strengthen their cooperation in consideration of the benefits that would stem from it in terms of sound use of the available resources; further calls on the EPPO and OLAF to avoid overlaps and duplication of activities, and encourages sincere, mutual and synergistic collaboration in the exercise of their mandate, with a view to maximising the efficiency of their actions; 65. Underlines that the notifications from the EPPO to the Commission foreseen by Article 103(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 represent an innovative tool for the safeguard of the Union’s budget; observes that in this specific regard no feedback has been yet provided by either party, preventing the legislators from gaining a comprehensive understanding of the underlying issues; welcomes the efforts of the EPPO and the Commission to improve the internal mechanism ensuring the transmission of such notifications and stresses that the working group recently established with the Commission should ensure that the EPPO notifications, for the purpose of administrative recovery as provided in Article 103(2)(c), duly and effectively enable the Commission to maximise recovery to the Union budget, while complying with the confidentiality and proper conduct of the investigative actions; insists that the annual meetings on the implementation of the Commission-EPPO Working Arrangement should focus on the coordination of adopting protective and corrective measures to safeguard the Union budget; calls on the EPPO to advise the Delegated Prosecutors in the Member States in their efforts that support the Commission’s actions to safeguard the Union budget; once again asks both the EPPO and the Commission to report on this specific matter; 66. Remarks that working arrangements and working agreements have been signed between the EPPO and its main partners: Europol, Eurojust, OLAF, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the EIB Group in the spheres of prevention, detection, analysis and intervention; understands that the EPPO is building an in-house capacity to support its work with case-by-case analysis; encourages the EPPO and its partners to enhance their cooperation in order to build on the set of competences and experiences already tested, to avoid duplication and loss of focus on the core of the mandate of each component of the Anti-Fraud Architecture and to optimise the use of the available resources; 67. Given the large number of active cases involving RRF funds, encourages the EPPO to notify the Commission of an increase in active RRF cases, encourages the EPPO to also notify the Commission, in particular the Recovery and Resilience Task Force, of possible oversight or control gaps or fraud patterns in active RRF cases so that the Commission can update instruments and mechanisms in performance monitoring and in communicating gaps with member states in order to avoid future fraud; reminds all actors that RRF funds are European and not national funds and are under the jurisdiction of the EPPO; 68. Understands that negotiations with Parliament to update the working arrangements are still ongoing; believes that this situation could provide an opportunity to explore new opportunities for communication and cooperation between the EPPO and the competent Parliamentary Committees; 69. Regrets the insufficient appreciation shown by the EPPO in handling the waiver-of-immunity requests made to Parliament for waivers of immunity in 2022; 70. Points out that it was set up recently, but nonetheless invites it, in the official relations it is called upon to develop with national and Union institutions, to gain an insight into the various procedures they implement and to comply with them, taking care not to undermine its status and tasks; 71. Notes that, in 2022, the EPPO had signed 20 Service Level Agreements (SLAs) or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with other Union institutions and bodies and that this allowed for the maximisation of budgetary savings from the contractual instruments in place, in line with the principles of sound financial management; 72. Emphasises the importance of engaging in productive dialogue with non-participating Member States with a view to reaching effective working arrangements with them; notes that, in 2022, the five non-participating Member States were involved in 86 EPPO investigations (compared to 48 investigations in 2021); 73. Observes that cooperation, based on the relevant Union acts on judicial cooperation in criminal matters, works smoothly with Denmark, Hungary and Sweden, even if at a different pace than with the participating countries; notes that, with Poland, the working arrangement has been finalised at technical level but it was not signed in 2022 because the amendments to the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure (recognising the EPPO as a competent authority for the relevant Union instruments on judicial cooperation in criminal matters) only came into force on 27 December 2022; remarks that this also resulted in the EPPO reporting to the Commission, in accordance with the Conditionality Regulation, about the systematic lack of cooperation by Poland during 2021 and 2022 and its direct negative impact on the EPPO’s capacity to protect the Union budget by means of criminal investigations and prosecutions; strongly welcomes, therefore, the starting of the process of joining the EPPO following applications submitted by the new Polish Government in December 2023 and by Sweden, as announced in January 2024, and is convinced that Sweden and Poland joining the EPPO will strengthen the overall protection of the financial interests of the Union; 74. Regrets that, in 2022, the Irish authorities have refused to cooperate with the EPPO and to execute several requests for mutual legal assistance sent by the EDPs, invoking a lack of legal basis; remarks also that this resulted in the EPPO reporting the situation to the Commission in accordance with the Conditionality Regulation; welcomes, however, the recent decision of the Irish authorities to amend their domestic legislation providing the legal framework for mutual legal assistance to the EPPO; 75. Reiterates that the lack of cooperation with the EPPO by any of the Member States, either participating or not in the enhanced cooperation, runs the risk of creating niches of immunity and privilege that make the defence of the financial interests of the Union uneven and inefficient at best; calls on the Commission and the Member States concerned to make any possible effort to integrate the current scenario with the few but still very important missing components, promoting the extension of the participation in the EPPO by the other still non-participating Member States in such a way that strengthens the effectiveness of the protection of the Union and national budgets; 76. Welcomes the conclusion of several working arrangements with authorities from third countries notably the Ukraine, Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, Georgia and North Macedonia; Communication 77. Praises the EPPO’s efforts to enhance internal and external communication; is aware that internal communication has been improved to strengthen cooperation between units and facilitate the exchange of information and best practices; appreciates the intensive actions carried out via social network platforms and is monitoring trends in order to seize the opportunities offered by free open-source self-hosted social network platforms; 78. Believes that the EPPO’s efforts in communicating its activities and raising awareness among taxpayers about the magnitude of its actions is very important; welcomes in this regard the increase of the number of public communications and the efforts to increase the visibility of the “Report A Crime” functionality on the EPPO’s corporate website; calls on the EPPO to clearly communicate results and findings, striking an optimal balance between transparency and public interest, on the one hand, and confidentiality and proper conduct of the investigation on the other; calls on the EPPO to ensure neutral communication regarding its activities and to ensure that any issues previously observed are adequately addressed; Effect of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine 79. Understands that, in 2022, the increased inflation rate, a consequence of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, impacted the EPPO’s general budget implementation, (resulting in a 6.9% indexation in staff remuneration and a general increase of prices in the acquisition of goods and services); 80. Underlines the importance of the EPPO’s actions intended to maintain intensive communication and exchanges with the Ukrainian authorities, as well as with the other Union partners involved in expenditure and fraud detection activities in Ukraine, in order to protect the financial interests of the Union; 81. Appreciates the effort made by the EPPO to clarify that offences affecting Union funds allocated to third countries fall under its jurisdiction, even if committed in whole or in part outside the combined territories of the 22 participating Member States, whenever the offence is committed by a national of a participating Member State or by an Union official, or where a constituent element the offence takes place in Belgium or in Luxembourg -considered as the seats of the Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies involved in the expenditure of the Union budget- and even if the other constituent elements of the offence have occurred in Ukraine or other third country; 82. Observes that the EPPO signed two working arrangements with the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to facilitate cooperation in investigations on the basis of the 1959 Convention of the Council of Europe on mutual assistance in criminal matters; notes that training courses are organised in its premises for Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators to share their expertise in financial and complex investigations and that regular meetings at strategic and operational level have taken place since the signature of the working arrangements; 83. Welcomes the readiness of the EPPO’s central office to activate a task force with Ukrainian authorities to coordinate investigations; believes that, in the context of the future Ukrainian Facility mechanisms, the existing framework and the partnership established with Ukrainian authorities would support investigation and prosecution and it would facilitate swift and reliable cooperation; calls on the authorities concerned to adopt a new agreement in mutual assistance in criminal matters between the Union and Ukraine to further strengthen cooperation in the specific context of the Facility mechanism, in particular for the seizure, confiscation and recovery of assets; 84. Takes note, nevertheless, of the high rate of corruption and fraud present in Ukraine, both before the current war and at present, cautions that extra precautions should be taken when cooperating on investigations, in order to protect staff and witnesses, notes, for example, that the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative financed by the Union which was founded in 2017 was found to be ineffective in fighting corruption by the Court of Auditors in 2021; recognises the efforts of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, in cooperating with the European Union, and notes that further anti-corruption efforts are needed in order to successfully reach transparency goals;
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| Discharge 2022: European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0081/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/128 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75(4), and in particular Article 15 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0080/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2143(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0081/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/128 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75(9), and in particular Article 15 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0080/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2143(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0080/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) (the ‘Centre’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 18 434 420, representing a decrease of 0,29 % compared to 2021; whereas the Centre’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas, besides the Union contribution of EUR 17 960 000, the Centre’s budget available in 2022 included an amount of EUR 464 420 of contributions from associated countries (Norway and Iceland), and an amount of EUR 43 960 of miscellaneous own revenue and reimbursed amounts; C. whereas the Centre joined Protocol 31 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), with effect from 1 January 2023, according to which the Centre will receive contributions from associated countries through the EEA EFTA budget; D. whereas with regard to the Centre’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; E. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Centre’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts resulted in a budget implementation rate in 2022 of 99,98 %, representing a slight decrease of 0,02 % compared to 2021; regrets the low level of the current year payment appropriation rate (77,64 %) representing a decrease of 2,38 % compared to 2021; 2. Recalls form the Court’s report for 2021 the observation regarding weaknesses in the Centre’s transition to a new accounting system (ABAC) also used by the Commission; observes from the Court’s report that in 2022 similar occurrences (inconsistencies between the actual final date of implementation of legal commitments and the date registered in ABAC) were also observed in the carried-over budgetary commitments from 2022 to 2023; notes with appreciation from the Centre’s follow-up report to the 2021 discharge (the ‘follow-up report’) that the Centre has meanwhile put in place a monitoring system to capture those types of inconsistencies that, once detected, are immediately corrected in ABAC; 3. Notes from the Court’s report the observation that the Centre did not correctly apply the contribution calculation method set out in the statement on cooperation between the Centre and EFTA in relation to amendment No 1 to the Centre´s budget; notes, as a result, that for 2022 Iceland’s and Norway’s contributions to the Centre’s budget on the one hand, and the Union’s contribution on the other hand were higher and, respectively lower than they should have been; further notes the Court’s acknowledgment that an amendment of Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement on cooperation in specific fields outside the four freedoms was signed and entered into force as of 1 January 2023 and, therefore, as of 2023, the issue of adjustments of EFTA’s countries contributions because of amendments to the Centre’s budget will no longer arise; Performance 4. Notes with appreciation that, despite the continued challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the unjustified war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the escalating climate emergency, the Centre has fully implemented its work programme in 2022, with noteworthy achievements in all the Centre’s three strategic areas of operation going beyond those planned in the 2022 work programme; notes that the vocational education and training has been identified as a focus area for cooperation under the European Education Area initiative for the period 2021-2030; 5. Takes note, among several achievements in 2022, of: (i) the launch of the Centre’s Green Observatory which looked at the implications of the green transition for cities and three key areas (waste management, agri-food and the circular economy); (ii) the Centre’s analysis of the national implementation plans, which present ongoing and upcoming national vocational education and training (VET) reforms and initiatives; (iii) the presentation of the findings of the Centre’s study on microcredentials which fed the Commission’s proposal for a Council recommendation on that topic; (iv) the feasibility study conducted by the Centre for a survey of initial VET teachers and trainers; (v) the completion of the second ‘Future of VET’ project that contributes to a better overall understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing European VET in the coming years; and (vi) the release of the second European Skills and Jobs Survey (ESJS) which helped cast light on digitalisation and its impact on jobs and skills; 6. Appreciates the Centre’s activities and high-quality work, providing research, analyses and technical advice and expertise in VET, qualifications and skills policies with the aim of promoting high-quality training tailored to the needs of individuals and of the labour market; recalls the importance of the Centre's role in ensuring that digital skills are integrated into VET across the Union, and its role in monitoring the implementation and impact of the Council Recommendations on the European Skills Agenda, VET for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience and the Digital Education Action Plan; highlights the need to keep adequate human and financial resources allowing the Centre to fulfil its mandate and continue implementing its work programme with a high activity completion rate; Efficiency and gains 7. Commends the Centre’s longstanding practice of cooperation and information sharing with the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound); notes that the Centre and ETF work together on shared projects with regard to VET, publications, the platform economy/platform work on skills matching and anticipation or identification, monitoring and analysing countries’ progress, as well as the ESJS; notes also that in 2022 the Centre further strengthened its long-standing cooperation with Eurofound on operational activities by jointly preparing a second flagship report on skills based on the European Company Survey, working more closely on just green transition and jointly leading the preparation and organisation of the ‘Youth first’ event by five Union agencies held in Parliament; commends the conclusion of a specific Memorandum of Understanding between the Centre and the European Labour Authority which covers knowledge sharing and synergies with a focus on skills and labour market trends and cross-border labour mobility; notes the Centre’s service-level agreements with the European Institute for Gender Equality to share accounting services and with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity in fields such as, inter alia, data protection, procurement and ICT, as well as the ongoing discussion with ETF on a shared cyber-security officer; further calls on the Centre and other agencies to explore and identify new synergies and areas of cooperation in order to increase efficiency gains and reduce costs; 8. Notes with appreciation the Centre’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030 and the adoption, in 2023, of its strategy and action plan towards climate neutrality; notes in that context specific actions already taken in 2022, such as installation of energy-efficient window blinds and finalisation of the preparation work to install photo-voltaic panels in 2023 to produce own renewable electricity which are expected to lead to a return on investment of around 50 %; commends the Centre for its success in achieving or exceeding its targets for 2022, having as a basis the year 2019, with regard to a reduction in the use of electricity (by 27 %), heating oil (by 43 %) and paper (by 73 %), as well as a reduction of mission costs (by 71 %) and presential meetings costs (by 56,5 %); 9. Commends the strengthening of the Centre’s core business activities through efforts simplifying and streamlining administration, sharing knowledge and resources with other agencies, digitalising, streamlining and reorganising tasks, as well as reducing the number of presential meetings and increasing online participation to events; notes the outcome of those efforts, among other the transformation of three assistant posts into expert posts and savings of about EUR 390 000 on account of reducing the number of presential meetings, all contributing to a commendable increase in the share of core business staff from 66,5 % in 2021 to 73,2 % in 2022; 10. Commends the Centre for its continued progress in the implementation of its ICT and digitalisation strategy to further reach efficiency gains; notes that in 2022 the Centre digitised all workflows, introduced a digital tool for selection procedures and a new digital working and collaboration environment, and prepared for and launched the use, as of January 2023, of the public procurement management tool; commends that that the Centre has issued digital signatures for all its staff and the mangers are using EU-Sign certificates for contracts, order forms and legally binding documents; 11. Notes from the Court’s report that the Centre is not among the agencies that have some form of environmental reporting integrated in their annual activity reports and have received the EMAS registration; notes nevertheless the Centre’s Environmental Management System that helps the Centre achieve its environmental targets, including by using key performance indicators on consumption of energy, water, paper, as well as on waste and CO2 emissions; notes with satisfaction that the Centre’s performance management system includes an environmental indicator (CO2 (ton) emissions) that assesses the Centre’s environmental performance using CO2 and overall waste emissions; notes further the Centre’s commitment to upgrade its environment management system and take steps to become EMAS certified as of 2025; Staff policy 12. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 95,60 % implemented, with 79 temporary agents appointed out of 83 temporary posts and eight officials out of eight posts authorised under the Union budget; notes that, in addition, 20 contract agents out of 25 posts authorised under the Union budget, and four seconded national experts and five interims worked at the Centre in 2022; 13. Notes that, as regards gender balance reported for 2022, the Centre’s senior management is composed of four men (66,7 %) and two women (33,3 %); notes that the management board is composed of 78 men (53 %) and 68 women (47 %); recalls the mandate of the Centre and that the high number of members of the management board (146) comes from its specific composition based on the tripartite principle, thus including representatives of the national authorities and social partners; recognises that trough its members the management board ensures the necessary alignment between the Centre’s work and stakeholder needs and priorities; notes further that regarding the Centre’s staff overall the gender breakdown is 44 % men (47) and 56 % women (61); recalls the importance of geographical balance and welcomes in that regard, from the follow-up report, the Centre’s commitment to geographically re-balance its staff by making use of reserve lists of other agencies, including through joining forces with them and broadening dissemination of vacancy notices; 14. Observes with appreciation that the Centre works proactively to improve staff’s wellbeing and work-life balance; notes in that respect that in 2022 the Centre offered trainings on, inter alia, managing anxiety in the workplace, getting good at stress and digital wellbeing, ran human resources ‘pulse surveys’, revamped its joint committee which serves to promote staff well-being and good health, and put in place a 24/7 employee assistance programme for confidential support with regard to various life or work related challenges faced by the Centre’s staff; 15. Notes that the Centre launched its regular Staff Engagement Survey in 2022, the results of which showed favourable responses from 65 % of Centre’s staff (75 % response rate), whereas 10 out of 12 dimensions of analysis recorded positive changes in comparison to the 2019 survey results, despite the highly disruptive period since the last survey that year, while some areas need further attention such as workload, transparency in decision-making and internal cooperation; welcomes that the results of the survey were presented to all staff in a general assembly and dedicated question-time meetings; 16. Welcomes, in the framework of the Centre’s equal opportunities and diversity policy and as regards support to persons with disabilities, the measures taken such as trainings (on diversity and inclusion issues) and guidance (on detecting and counteracting unconscious bias) provided to human resources staff and selection boards, as well as accommodation to applicants with disabilities; notes also from the Centre’s replies to Parliament written questions the Centre’s plans to adopt the ‘Charter on diversity and inclusion’ in 2023; 17. Notes with concern from the Court’s report the observation that the Centre, in the period 2017-2022, paid monthly and daily subsistence allowances to two Greek nationals employed as seconded national experts; notes in this context that the two seconded national experts were not entitled to those allowances according to the Centre’s internal rules, since the Centre is located in Greece, therefore the total associated payments made to the two seconded national experts during that period and amounting to EUR 222 647 (compared to EUR 36 608 in 2022) being deemed irregular; notes, moreover, that when the Centre identified the issue in 2022, it registered the two cases in the registry of non-compliance and exceptions, decided not to claim back the amounts irregularly paid and introduced a three months phasing-out period for the seconded national experts still in place at that time; calls for a strict monitoring and avoidance of such situations in the future; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 18. Notes the Centre’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest and whistleblower protection; observes that the Centre requests its staff members to declare potential or actual interests if they act in a situation where a conflict of interest may arise; notes in that context that the Centre has in place its own mechanism, which includes ex ante measures with mitigation actions, ex post controls, as well as assistance from the Centre’s internal control coordinator who receives information with regard to declared conflicts of interest; 19. Recalls that, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/128, all members and alternates who attend management board meetings, or exercise the right to vote, must submit a declaration of interest; welcomes the fact that the declarations of interest of all management board members and alternates, as well as of the Centre’s staff in senior or middle management positions have been published on the Centre’s website; observes from the Centre’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that, as of 2022, management board members or alternates who do not provide a signed declaration of interest are no longer invited to management board meetings, do not receive management board documents and do not participate in written procedures to take decisions; notes the publication, although not formally required, of the CVs of management board members; observes that the CVs of some management board members are still missing, including that of the Chairperson of the management board; invites the Centre to publish the CVs of all its management board members and their alternates; 20. Notes that the Centre acknowledges the importance of ‘revolving doors’ situations and regularly raises awareness of all its staff regarding the implementing rules on outside activities and assignments and occupational activities after leaving service; commends that all staff leaving the Centre are asked to sign a letter on their obligations after leaving the service, including that any future employment should not interfere with their obligation of confidentiality towards the Centre; Internal control 21. Notes that the total internal control cost amounted to EUR 1 101 755 for the year 2022 (EUR 29 024 direct costs and EUR 1 072 731 indirect costs), which represents 6 % of the Centre’s budget; notes further the Centre’s statement that the moderate cost increase compared to 2021 (5,3 %) is due to increase in salary costs and the mix of staff involved in internal control tasks, leading to a higher indirect costs; 22. Acknowledges the fact that, according to it evaluation policy, the Centre carries out ex ante evaluations for procurement procedures above EUR 500 000 and ex post evaluations for projects and activities entailing a total expenditure of above EUR 500 000; notes that a 2022 report by the head of finance and procurement concluded that procurement procedures launched in the period examined were compliant with the requirements of ex ante evaluation; notes that, in 2022, the Centre carried out an ex post evaluation of an activity focused on a framework contract in the area of labour market intelligence and skill needs analysis (contract value EUR 1 088 350); notes that the outcome of that evaluation confirmed that that activity was effective, efficient, coherent and brought Union added value; observes further that, in 2022, a working group appointed by the executive director concluded that, with regard to a sample of three procurement procedures, the criteria related to the effective and efficient internal control were in place and followed, with no corrective actions needed; 23. Notes that the Centre, in 2022, registered 57 non-compliance events and exception requests linked to issues of contract and financial management; further notes that the recommendations issued by the internal control coordinator were implemented and followed up to avoid reoccurrence; 24. Observes that the assessment of the Centre’s overall internal control framework, performed by the internal control coordinator, using the tool provided by DG BUDG, concluded that the internal control framework is effective, all its components are in place and functioning well and for their intended purpose, with some improvements needed with regard to the internal control component ‘control activities’; notes, with appreciation, from the follow-up report that the Centre, as a part of its awareness-raising activities on ethics, integrity and internal control issues, provides regular mandatory sessions on good governance, including fraud-related issues, to all staff as well as to the management board members; Other comments 25. Welcomes the Centre’s efforts to communicate in ways that help in reaching out to wider audiences, including by implementing a machine-translation engine on the Centre’s website to make all its web pages accessible in all official languages of the Union institutions; notes that, in 2022, the Centre invested in several innovative products such as corporate video productions, motion graphics, animations (on the VET systems of countries holding the Union’s presidency in 2022, namely France and Czechia), podcasts, as well as new data visualisations and online data bases that strengthened the Centre’s web portal; notes with appreciation that the Centre’s publications and briefing notes reached tens of thousands of people through direct downloads; commends the Centre for the increase in its social media metrics in 2022; 26. Highlights that the VET and adult education are key priorities for the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) towards the green and digital recovery, whereas the ESF+ has a budget of almost EUR 99,3 billion for the period 2021-2027; 27. Notes the fact that due to the high inflation rates, and the related salary adjustment, salary increases above the initial projections coupled with an increase of the weighting factor, the flexibility for securing additional resources to the core business was limited; o 28. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (Eurofound) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Foundation in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0105/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/127 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing the European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (Eurofound), and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75(4), and in particular Article 16 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0122/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Foundation’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2167(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Foundation in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0105/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/127 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing the European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (Eurofound), and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75(9), and in particular Article 16 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0122/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2167(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0122/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (the ‘Foundation’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 22 438 000 representing an increase of 3,13% compared to 2021; whereas the Foundation’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its report on the annual accounts of the Foundation for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Foundation’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year appropriations of 100 %; takes note of the fact that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 79,93 %, representing a decrease of 3,63 % compared to 2021; 2. Recognises the agility of the Foundation in the 2022 budget execution by conducting formal forecast reviews based on Eurostat reports, as well as by adjusting various budget lines and adopting amending budgets, in the context of the increase in the Irish country coefficient and the staff’s basic salaries; notes that the budget of the Foundation has been either frozen or adjusted with less than 2 % on annual basis over a period of 20 years, which puts at risk the sustainable performance of the Foundation and its ability to deliver high quality, relevant and timely products; notes in this context that the Foundation has actively looked for savings in order to fund the increases in Title 1 of its budget, whereas such savings ranged from a reduction in the number of missions and in-person meetings to reductions in spending on various studies and research projects in 2022; calls on the budgetary authority to address the need of proper adjustment of the Foundation’s budget within the next MFF; Performance 3. Commends the Agency for the achievement of 97 % of its annual work programme, with 30 out of 31 outputs delivered in 2022; 4. Notes that the Foundation uses eight key performance indicators (KPIs), included in its performance monitoring system; observes that the KPIs are grouped into three types related to results, scientifically sound delivery and input and output; notes in particular for a third year in a row an improved performance with regard to the uptake of the Foundation’s expertise in key Union-level policy documents, from 74 % in 2021 to 82 % in 2022; regrets however a decrease in the performance of several KPIs, such as with regard to the uptake of the Foundation’s knowledge in the media (with 572 press articles in 2022 compared to 1 083 in 2021), the Agency’s engagement with stakeholders in meetings and events (44 % in 2022 compared to 48 % in 2021) and the number of articles mentioning the Agency in academic journals (1 143 in 2022 compared to 1 220 in 2021); 5. Notes that the difference in the uptake of the Foundation’s knowledge in the media between 2021 and 2022 reflects the unprecedented increase in this indicator during 2021 due largely to the increased visibility and profile of the Foundation’s work during the COVID period; observes that the results in 2022 represented a ‘return to normal’ for most indicators which now are largely on a par, or higher than pre-COVID results; 6. Observes some of the Foundation’s most important achievements in 2022, such as the publication of the overview report of the sixth European Working Conditions Survey revealing a positive association of the job quality with work-life balance during the COVID-19 crisis, of the fifth round of the ‘Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey: Living in a new era of uncertainty” providing data and analyses on the impact of the pandemic on workers, trust in government institutions and gender divide, as well as the publication of the annual review of minimum wages in 2022 showing, among other, the negative impact of the inflation on low-wage earners; notes with appreciation the review provided by the Foundation regarding the role and involvement of social partners in the just transition and in the implementation of recovery and resilience plans for strengthening social dialogue as foreseen in the Council recommendation as well as of green transition’s and the Fit-for-55 climate package impact on employment; 7. Notes with appreciation that in 2022 the Foundation has attained its strategic objective in ample ways, e.g. by being active across a range of policy debates and legislative activities on platform work, care workers and care services, mental health, telework and the right to disconnect, by providing knowledge and support as input for various meetings organised by the French and Czech Presidencies of the Council, as well as through its research findings having been referenced in around 200 Union-level policy documents, such as the European Care Strategy, the Joint employment report 2022 and the European Parliament’s ‘European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social aspects in the sustainable annual growth survey 2022’ report, among other); reiterates the importance of high-quality data provided by the Foundation’s ongoing monitoring tools for evidence-based policymaking, especially the Europe-wide surveys conducted by the Foundation; 8. Commends the Foundation for having reacted quickly to the Russian illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by providing up-to-date relevant information on topics related to its mandate; notes in this context that the Foundation, among several actions, published an overview of national measures to accommodate refugees from Ukraine and to counter inflation and supply problems and adapted the fifth round of the Foundation’s e-survey to include questions on Ukraine and the record high inflation and sharp rises in the cost of living in the Europe; notes further that the Foundation continues to inform citizens through the ‘Stand with Ukraine’ online hub; Efficiency and gains 9. Commends that the Foundation has a long-standing practice of sharing annual work programmes with six other agencies, including those partnering with the Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, social affairs and inclusion (DG EMPL), in order to improve efficiency, address interconnected issues, share synergies and significant risks and exchange best practices on risk management; further notes that thanks to the Foundation’s contacts with the European Environmental Agency and the European Centre for Disease Control, areas of common interest and joint activity have been identified; 10. Appreciates the Foundation’s close working relationships with international organisations, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), with which a new Framework agreement for cooperation was signed in 2022, as well as the Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD); appreciates that the Foundation is further building on its relations with the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and close collaboration is taking place in the domains of digitalisation and new forms of work, as well as monitoring structural change in the labour market; 11. Observes that the Foundation carried out an exercise of zero-based budgeting in 2022, whereby each contract in place was scrutinised in order to identify potential efficiencies with a view to optimising the allocation of the Foundation’s financial and human resources; 12. Notes the Foundation’s efforts towards digitalisation through the use of EU Signature and DocuSign in case of procurement, contractual documents and internal documents; 13. Notes with satisfaction from the Court’s report that the Foundation is among the 19 decentralised agencies that have a plan to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations and issue an environmental statement as part of their annual activity reports and among the three agencies that planned to start issuing a sustainability report by 2024; commends the Agency for having received the Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme certification in 2022; notes moreover from the Foundation’s replies to written questions that the Foundation is using green procurement criteria in case of tenders regarding canteen services and provision of electricity, among other; notes with satisfaction the Foundation reporting extraordinary cuts in its paper consumption, the latter being in 2022 30 % lower than in 2020 when the Foundation’s premises were mostly closed due the COVID-19 crisis; Staff policy 14. Notes that on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 92,3 % completed (compared to 89 % in 2021), with 9 officials and 75 temporary agents appointed out of 91 authorised under the Union budget (91 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 11 contract agents were working for the Foundation in 2022; notes a staff turnover in 2022 of approx. 5 % (excluding retirements and invalidity pensions); 15. Notes the Foundation’s gender breakdown reported for 2022 at the senior and middle management level with 5 men (56 %) and 4 women (44 %), the management board (MB) level with 90 men (58 %) and 64 women (42 %), and overall staff with 41 men (44 %) and 53 women (56 %); encourages the Foundation to ensure gender balance in the future at all levels of staff; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Foundation’s management board; notes the high number of members of the Foundation’s management board; notes further that the management board of the Foundation has a key role in its governance by providing strategic direction and overseeing its activities, and that the mandate of the Foundation and the specific composition of its board based on the tripartite principle, thus including representatives of the national authorities and social partners; recognises that trough its members the management board of the Foundation ensures the necessary alignment between the Foundation’s work and stakeholder needs and priorities; 16. Notes the launch of the Human Resources Development Programme exercise for 2022 with as a basis an annual training plan, including external trainings related to ethics, legal topics and statistical software; welcomes the efforts in this context that the Foundation has provided its workers with physical and psychological well-being training to maintain their performance while working remotely due to the pandemic situation; 17. Commends the Foundation for its efforts in 2022 focused on increasing the transparency of managerial decisions as well as staff ownership regarding involvement and motivation measures through regular meetings and discussions on relevant issues; further commends that the Foundation has adopted the ‘Charter on diversity and inclusion’ which aims to promote equal treatment and opportunities, irrespective of any ground such as sex, race, colour, etc.; 18. Welcomes the Foundation’s efforts in taking measures for the integration of persons with disabilities, by making sure that all office rooms are wheelchair accessible; welcomes from the Foundation’s written replies its commitment to take specific measures on a case-by-case basis depending on the particular requirements of the affected staff member; Procurement 19. Notes from the Court’s report the observation that the Foundation used in a procurement procedure for networking services the professional and language skills of the team members as an award criteria instead of selection criteria, thus contravening Article 167 of the Financial Regulation; notes from the Foundation’s reply that templates have been modified to underline the distinction between selection and award criteria more clearly; 20. Commends the Foundation for having implemented the eProcurement roadmap and that it uses the Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT) to processes all contracts with value above EUR 15 000; invites the Foundation to implement all PPMT modules once they become available; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 21. Notes that the Foundation made further efforts on prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency; notes that declarations of conflicts of interest (COI) and CVs of staff in management function have been published on the Foundation’s website; notes that in the framework of a new 4-year mandate starting 1 April 2023, new declarations of COI and CVs of the members of the Foundation’s MB have been published; 22. Notes that the Foundation has in place a COI policy with a detailed procedure for situations of potential COI, including with regard to the members of the Foundation’s MB and Advisory Committees; commends in this context that in the framework of its annual event ‘Ethics Month’, the Foundation launched in 2022 an updated version of the practical guide to staff ethics and conduct and organised obligatory thematic sessions on e.g. prevention of conflicts of interest, with an excellent staff attendance rate (91 %); 23. Notes that the Foundation’s staff and management board members have the obligation to submit annually a declaration on the absence of conflict of interest; welcomes that staff are reminded annually of this obligation on the occasion of the ‘Ethics Month’ event which in 2022 led to an increase in the rate of compliance with reviewing the annual declaration; observes that during the year 2022 an investigation was concluded regarding a conflict of interest with a staff member, with regard to whom a disciplinary procedure was conducted and a written warning was given; notes that no whistleblowing cases were reported in 2022; Internal control 24. Notes that all actions with regard to recommendations issued by the internal audit service (IAS) following an audit from 2020 on the Foundation’s human resources management and ethics were implemented by the end of 2022; further notes that in 2022, the IAS completed an audit on procurement and contract management, with three recommendations classified as important which led the Foundation to set up a plan with 20 actions, of which 50 % were implemented by the end of 2022; invites the Foundation to implement all the outstanding actions, including with regard to the IAS recommendations on the appraisal and reclassification process, the recruitment process and the learning and development strategy of the Foundation; 25. Welcomes the efforts of the Foundation regarding the five components of the Foundation’s internal control framework in 2022; notes in this context that the Foundation e.g. participated in a peer review of the draft corporate risks and its underlying process with the agencies related to DG EMPL, carried out a new assessment of sensitive posts, implemented the process improvement procedure of programme development in all its phases, simulated a cyber-attack, piloted a multifactor authentication solution to be rolled out in 2023 and organised the Cybersecurity Awareness Month; 26. Observes from the Court’s report the observation on weaknesses regarding the Foundation’s traineeship programme, firstly in relation to the publication of the rules governing the traineeship that have been published on the website without having been formally adopted, and secondly with regard to the trainees’ remuneration; notes on the latter issue that the Foundation had failed to update the remuneration in line with the changes to the reference remuneration rates paid by the Commission and the Ireland correction coefficient, situation which led to an underpayment of EUR 3 330 for 16 affected trainees; welcomes the Foundation’s reply regarding measures that it has taken to address the Court’s observation, namely by paying adjustments to the trainees from October 2022 onwards and by adopting new rules as of 2023 that set an absolute amount for the traineeship grant instead of linking it to the Commission trainees; Other comments 27. Observes with appreciation the Foundation’s prolific work on increasing its online presence and public visibility during 2022, which ensures delivery of timely data and information customised to the users’ needs; notes in this context the launch of 36 publications on the Foundation’s website, the increase in the use of data visualisation in blog posts, the promotion of the Foundation’s work through partnerships with media (e.g. Irish Times, EurActiv, Politico Europe), email marketing, corporate monthly newsletters and paid advertisements on social media networks to disseminate some of the Foundation’s products, the organisation of visits programmes and other events (Europe Day, Citizen’s Dialogue, Foundation Forum) including in an online format, as well as the organisation of seven webinars with exchanges between the Foundation’s experts and partner organisations, podcasts series (EurofoundTalks, focused on job quality, care, platform work, telework and minimum wages) and the presentation of some of the Foundation’s products (e.g. summaries of research reports) in multiple languages; o 28. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0109/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 of 15 February 2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights(4), and in particular Article 21 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0112/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022 (2023/2171(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0109/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 of 15 February 2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights(9), and in particular Article 21 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0112/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022 (2023/2171(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0112/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 25 857 952, representing an increase of 4,01 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives almost exclusively from the Union budget; B. whereas with regard to the agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; C. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular in all material aspects; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 100,00 % (same as in 2021); notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 73,59 %, representing a slight increase of 2,64 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that in 2022 three budgetary amendments were adopted, increasing the Agency’s budget by EUR 1 562 781, referring to the funds received under the cooperation agreement with the Financial Mechanism Office of the EEA and Norway grants and the partnership agreements with the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, the Greek Ombudsman and the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office, as well as with regard to the rent subsidy received from the Austrian authorities and internal assigned revenue; 3. Notes with concern that, according to the Court’s report, the Agency carried over EUR 6,4 million (26 %) of available commitment appropriations from 2022 to 2023, of which EUR 5,9 million representing appropriations under Title III, related to operational expenditure (74 % in 2021); highlights that high levels of carry overs is a recurring issue for the Agency that has been observed by the Court for several financial years in a row, starting with 2018; notes the Court’s renewed opinion that a high level of carry overs contradicts the budgetary principle of annuality and is indicative of structural issues in the budget process and implementation cycle; notes from the Agency’s reply to the Court’s observation and from the Agency’s report titled ‘European Parliament’s observations on 2021 discharge for the European Union Agency for Fundamental rights and measures taken by the Agency’ (the Agency’s follow-up report) the following observations on the high level of carry overs related to the Agency’s operational activities: the specific frame in which the Agency works makes it difficult to commit to operational expenditure much earlier in the year, enhancements in the IT tool MATRIX have been done in order to have a closer monitoring of the budget execution and an early estimation of the carry overs (C8 credits) for the next year, the budget implementation should be assessed by taking into account the final outturn which in the last 10 years has been higher than 99 %; acknowledges, as in previous years, that the high carry overs are also a function of the nature of the Agency’s core business; Performance 4. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency uses a system of 25 key performance indicators (KPIs) as part of its performance measurement; commends the high rate of achievement against its KPIs in 2022, with the Agency exceeding almost all targets set per KPI, maintaining a high level of stakeholders’ satisfaction in relation to the Agency’s events and the relevance, usefulness and reliability of the Agency’s output, and contributing to a high level of understanding of fundamental rights and trends; commends the Agency’s efforts that have contributed to its achievements in 2022 despite the reprioritisation of all on-going activities and human and financial resources and the postponement and reorganisation of some of the Agency’s projects; 5. Notes with appreciation the Agency’s performance, in particular the high output produced in 2022, including publications, meetings, organisation of events, technical assistance and capacity building activities, as well as written and verbal input; takes note that the Agency’s work has been referenced in 213 publications and mentioned 4 319 times in the media in 2022; commends the Agency’s activities with regard to strategic priority 1, ‘Identifying trends: collecting and analysing comparable data and evidence’, which the Agency’s stakeholders considered as being the most relevant and adding most value; notes in this context the Agency’s achievements in 2022 such as the publication of the report ‘Roma in 10 European countries’ which highlighted, among others, the improvements and gaps in Roma inclusion, the bulletin on asylum and migration which focused on the fundamental rights situation of people arriving to the Member States and Union candidate countries from third countries during the last quarter of 2021, the report ‘Bias in algorithms. Artificial intelligence and discriminations’ which made the Agency the first international human rights organisation to tackle, among others, bias in algorithms, and became the Agency’s 2022’s most downloaded report in its first seven days after publication, as well as the report ‘Protecting civic space in the EU - Key findings and FRA opinions’ which provides an overview of the main civic space issues across the Union; commends with regard to the latter report the Agency’s demonstrated ability to influence policy and legislative processes on civic space, with projects of the Czech Council Presidency and the Commission on that topic involving the Agency in 2022; 6. Welcomes the Agency’s timely response to emerging fundamental rights issues, such as the Agency’s general guidance in its report on ‘Establishing national independent mechanisms to monitor fundamental rights compliance at EU external borders’, providing assistance to Member States in setting up or strengthening their national mechanisms to monitor fundamental rights compliance and ensuring safeguards for the independence of the mechanism; recalls that international law requires non-discriminatory treatment of all refugees; 7. Notes with appreciation that the Agency has swiftly taken measures to respond to the human rights situation in Ukraine following Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, through several major actions such as an online survey on the experiences of displaced persons fleeing Ukraine, two bulletins on fundamental rights implications in Member States with regard to the war in Ukraine, the publication of a table on 16 Member States’ implementation of the Council Directive 2001/55/EC(12) and projects of data collection on the experiences of women fleeing the war in relation to violence and other human rights abuses; 8. Acknowledges the role of the Agency in empowering the national human rights infrastructure, by cooperating and creating synergies with human rights institutions and partnerships with civil society institutions; notes the Agency’s continuous guidance in the area of asylum and migration, with regular overviews of migration-related fundamental rights concerns addressed to Member States; welcomes the Agency’s role in fostering a human rights-based narrative by developing effective communication, engaging in the development of new digital applications and tools, and bringing together human rights actors to promote European values and freedoms; 9. Notes with great concern that for the monitoring of fundamental rights and rule of law situation in Hungary the Agency decided to collaborate with and rely on the information of the National University of Public Service and the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, even though both institutions have a track record of supporting the deterioration of fundamental rights in Hungary; notes, for instance, that the Commission in its 2022 Rule of Law Report, had ‘aggravated concerns’ about the independence of the Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights; deplores that the Agency nevertheless decided not to reconsider the collaboration with institutions that essentially promote democratic backsliding, even though the Agency’s core task should be to contribute to defending fundamental rights, especially in problematic cases such as the one of the Hungarian government; calls on the Agency to suspend its collaboration with the these institutions and to keep the discharge authority updated on its progress in this respect; Efficiency and gains 10. Notes that in 2022 the Agency continued to cooperate and work with the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies’ Network (JHAN) and the agencies comprising it in order to address challenges in their mutual areas of work, such as internal security, migration, organised crime, asylum and borders, by contributing fundamental rights expertise; notes in this context in particular the Agency’s collaboration with the European Institute for Gender Equality on the preparation of a survey on violence against women, with the European Union Agency for Asylum on the review of some training modules and the preparation of a booklet on temporary protection for guardians of unaccompanied children, with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training on facilitating training sessions on hate crime data and reporting and with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation on the development of a handbook on cybercrime and fundamental rights; notes the Agency’s collaboration with agencies and other entities beyond the JHAN, such as European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, European Labour Authority and Eurostat in 2022; encourages the exploration and identification of further synergies in order to increase efficiency gains and reduce costs; 11. Notes from its replies to Parliament’s written questions that the Agency has taken initiatives in order to increase its efficiency and gains through automatisation of repetitive tasks, mapping and re-engineering of current business processes, review of the organisational structure to make better use of existing resources, setting up of cooperation platforms in a more systematic way, simplification of the rules and procedures applicable to the management of financial and human resources, as well as qualitative evaluations of the efforts to increase efficiency; 12. Welcomes that the Agency continued to automate and streamline HR processes in 2022, including by expanding the use of SYSPER; notes in this context that the Agency launched a new recruitment tool to facilitate selections and create a more user-friendly experience for candidates and for HR and that it introduced additional data tools to automate aspects of the payroll processing; also notes that the Agency has in the meantime adopted the Commission’s electronic archiving and records management system (ARES) which resulted in integrating the EU Sign solution which allows for the use of the qualified electronic signature; commends the completion of the preparation for the roll-out of the Commission’s Public Procurement Management Tool (e-procurement) in 2023; 13. Notes the Agency’s “do more with less” approach with savings of EUR 350 000 already made and EUR 200 000 expected to be made due to the use of in-house resources for the development of new IT applications and the new cloud-based technologies which have helped the Agency to further optimise its IT infrastructure; notes that the Agency is also seeking efficiency in the use of its resources by adopting Commission applications, reducing the building heating temperature, using paperless procedures in the finance and contracting area and reducing the postal and courier services, among others; encourages the Agency to export best practices in this regard through its cooperation channels with other EU decentralised agencies; 14. Notes that, according to the Court’s report, the Agency is not among the agencies that have established corporate plans in order to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations, have some form of environmental reporting integrated in their annual activity reports and have received the EMAS registration; notes nevertheless from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that EMAS certification is foreseen once the Agency relocates to its new premises which also shall adhere to the European Green Deal requirements; commends the Agency for the introduction of public procurement green criteria in connection with environmental and social requirements, and selection and award criteria within the inherent limits of the fact that the Agency mostly procures services; Staff policy 15. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 94 % executed with 68 temporary agents appointed out of 72 authorised under the Union budget (the same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 28,4 contract agents full time equivalent (FTEs) and 9 seconded national experts FTEs (including one cost-free) worked for the Agency in 2022; notes a low turnover rate (1,9 %) in 2022; observes moreover that in 2022, the Agency continued to automate and streamline HR processes in order to achieve further efficiencies; 16. Notes with satisfaction the gender balance among the Agency’s senior and middle management, with 3 men (50 %) and 3 women (50 %) at management board (MB) level, with 33 out of 65 members (51 %) being women, and within the Agency’s overall staff, with 57 out of 105 members (54 %) being women; notes that gender balance is one of the Agency’s cardinal non-discrimination targets and retains special focus in the work of its bodies, such as the Equality and Diversity Group, which works to promote gender non-discrimination in all aspects of HR processes at the Agency; 17. Notes that the Agency employed staff from 23 Member States as of 1 October 2022; welcomes the Agency’s efforts to reach geographical balance; notes that as part of the Agency’s Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination Strategy the promotion of diversity, including geographic balance, is part of the overarching objectives in HR processes such as recruitment and selection; 18. Observes that the Agency has taken several measures for integration of persons with disabilities, by providing accommodation, making improvements to its premises to facilitate accessibility, allowing exceptional teleworking and organising regular training on disability awareness for staff; welcomes the Agency’s efforts to attract traineeship applications from candidates with disabilities; notes that the Agency is also preparing a disability support policy; 19. Notes that the Agency has supported its staff wellbeing by providing psychological support services, encouraging physical activity through a new scheme adopted in 2022 which provides a financial contribution for sports membership and by adopting the Commission’s rules on hybrid working; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 20. Notes that the CVs and declarations of interest of the members of the MB and the management team have been published on the Agency’s website; notes that, according to the Agency’s follow-up report, the Agency took the decision to no longer publish on its website the information on in-house experts; 21. Welcomes the Agency’s exercise carried out in 2022 for the revision/update of the declarations of interest of all staff with some preventive recommendations issued as a result; notes moreover that the Agency provides compulsory training for staff on ethics and integrity and gives guidance for the assessment of outside activities; notes, with regard to monitoring of compliance of the Agency’s former staff with the applicable decisions in the area of ‘revolving door’ and related restrictions, that the Agency is assessing the possibility to make random controls; calls on the Agency to report to the discharge authority on the progress made in this matter; 22. Notes that in 2022 the Agency identified a potential risk of a perceived conflict of interest of an MB member in connection with a Project Contract signed by the Agency and funded by the EEA/Norway Grants; notes that, following an assessment, it was concluded that the situation did not constitute an actual conflict of interest; welcomes nevertheless the measures taken to mitigate such risks, including to request ahead of the next MB meeting an update of the declaration of interest by the MB member concerned, as well as to request that that member abstains in any decision taken by the MB in relation to the project in question; Internal control 23. Notes that the Agency assessed in 2022 its internal control systems and has concluded that they are effective and the components and principles are present and overall functioning well, with some minor deficiencies related to principles 5, 13 and 14 in relation to the timely conclusion of the Career Development Report exercise, as well as the need to improve the strategy for internal and external communications stakeholder management; 24. Notes that the action plan, with regard to the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy updated in 2021, is under implementation, with all the actions thereof addressed, including a dedicated fraud risk assessment, raising staff awareness of fraud prevention and whistleblowing rules, and a timely update of the legal framework; Other comments 25. Welcomes the Agency’s efforts made to increase its public visibility and online presence; commends the improved metrics of the Agency with regard to the use of various social media platforms in 2022; notes that in 2022 the Agency developed a social media campaign titled ‘Our Data, Your Ally’ to inform young people about the youth data they can use in their advocacy work; notes further that in 2022 the Agency (co-)organised 134 meetings and events, including workshops and webinars, as well as the fourth Fundamental Rights Dialogue in Paris in collaboration with the French Presidency of the Council, the liaison offices of the Commission and Parliament in France and the City of Paris and the first-of-its-kind residential Human Rights Leaders and Experts Meeting titled ‘Putting human rights at the heart of Europe’s future’ which brought together 60 diverse stakeholders; o 26. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(13) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0095/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction(4), and in particular Article 15 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/1322 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2023 on the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006(5), and in particular Article 41 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(6), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0104/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2022 (2023/2157(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(7), – having regard to the statement of assurance(8) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0095/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(9), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction(10), and in particular Article 15 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/1322 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2023 on the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006(11), and in particular Article 41 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(12), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0104/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2022 (2023/2157(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0104/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(13), the final budget of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (the ‘Centre’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 18 893 136, representing a decrease of 0,71 % compared to 2021; whereas the Centre’s budget derives mainly (94 %) from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Centre's annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98,78 % (a decrease of 1,22 % compared to 2021); notes that the payment appropriations execution rate was 96,65 %, representing a slight increase of 0,30 % compared to 2021; further notes that the implementation rate of payment appropriations carried over from 2021 to 2022 was 88,98 %; 2. Notes from the Court’s report that the Centre, although it paid interest for only one late payment, had a significant number of payments that were wrongly flagged as late (107 out of 1 595) by the Centre’s financial and accounting management (Accrual Based Accounting (ABAC)) because of the incorrect parametrisations or incorrect data inputs, or both, regarding the due date of payment or the reception of the documents entailing a payment obligation; notes from the Centre’s reply that the inconsistent flagging of late payments did not affect the regularity of the operations involved; notes further that the Centre has adopted some measures to minimise the referred risk for ‘false positives’ and to further ensure that its ABAC system may provide for a clear and accurate picture of the actual late payments; calls on the Agency to continue to monitor this issue and mitigate possible future reputational risks associated with this issue; Performance 3. Notes that the Centre’s new performance measurement model identifies a limited number (10) of composite key performance indicators (KPIs), which are used to measure the effectiveness of delivering the desired outputs and the efficiency of using resources allocated, and which are complemented by higher level KPIs that focus on outcomes and impacts; notes that for the assessment of the KPIs, the Centre has defined 65 annual targets, of which 57 targets (87 %) were achieved in 2022; 4. Notes that for the 2022 work programme, the Centre achieved 152 out of 188 of the outputs/results (81 %), partially achieved 12 % of them (i.e. 23 outputs/results, which were delayed and were in progress at the end of 2022), while 12 results (6 %) were not implemented and two results were not applicable; observes that the Centre’s view is that most of the delays or cancellations of activities in 2022 were caused by a lack of resources; notes further that for the implementation of its new mandate (expected to apply from 2024), in 2022 the Centre started preparations which involved key resources and required some adjustments in some of its previously planned activities; 5. Recognises the Centre’s efforts and progress made in its three areas of work (health, security and business drivers); notes in particular the release in 2022 of the new European Drug Report (EDR), which delivers the latest overview of the drug situation in Europe up to 2022, the launch of the e-learning platform PLATO that hosts the European Prevention Curriculum, which is designed to train professionals involved in shaping prevention decisions, opinions and policies in Europe, the release of seven miniguides that cover responses to drugs in recreational settings, local communities, schools and prisons, as well as respond to the needs of families and homeless populations, and the publication of three spotlights on drug consumption rooms, drug checking and e-health intervention; 6. Notes with appreciation that in 2022 the Centre released a new rapid mixed-method trend spotter study to assess the initial service response to the needs of displaced Ukrainians in neighbouring countries within the Union; commends the Centre for collaborating with Europol on preparing the fourth edition of the joint ‘EU Drug Markets: In-depth analysis’, the findings of which are presented in a series of modules, each focusing on the market for a particular drug and covering trends along the supply chain from production and trafficking to distribution and use; commends in this context the launch in 2022 of the first two modules on cocaine and methamphetamine; 7. Notes that, in 2022, the Centre continued to implement the Early Warning System of the European Union (EWS) in collaboration with its partners; notes, in the same context, that in 2022, EWS was formally notified for the first time of 41 new psychoactive substances (NPS); further notes that two NPS that had been risk assessed by the Centre in 2021 (3-chloromethcathinone (3-CMC) and 3-methylmethcathinone (3-MMC)) were included in the definition of ‘drug’ by a Commission delegated directive in 2022; 8. Welcomes the Centre’s participation in drug related training events and capacity building, managing to transfer its knowledge to almost 950 professionals working in the drug field, including law enforcement officers and policymakers; notes, in addition, that around 1 200 professionals working in the drugs field all over the world attended the seven webinars that were organised by the Centre in 2022; commends the Centre for organising, along with its partners, the fourth European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies: Lisbon Addictions 2022 which, under the overarching theme of ‘Global Addictions’, brought together a record number of 1 757 participants from 84 countries; 9. Welcomes the Centre’s unremitting efforts to highlight the social aspects and societal impact of drugs, promote social re-integration policies for drug users, and approach the topic of drugs with a multi-disciplinary outlook; considers it essential to continue raising awareness of the importance of prevention and innovative mental-health-based approach to drugs policies; 10. Welcomes the progress made by the Centre on the joint ‘EU Drug Markets: In-depth analysis’, in collaboration with Europol, with modules on specific drugs released throughout 2022 and with planned releases in 2023; welcomes the work in 2022 on improving the quality and availability of core supply data in collaboration with the Reitox National Focus Points and Europol; welcomes the implementation of all of the Centre’s tasks under the Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats operational action plans on cannabis, cocaine and heroin; recalls that drug trafficking has been identified as a main source of profit and a channel of recruitment of organised crime and terrorism, and highlights the contribution of the Centre to a more secure Europe; 11. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation between the Centre and European Neighbourhood Policy partner countries at regional level, through the EU4MD technical assistance project, as well as the ongoing implementation of the bilateral project with Georgia (EMCDDA4GE); welcomes the establishment of an official partnership in the Cooperation Programme between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union on Drugs Policies; Efficiency and gains 12. Commends the Centre for the commitment to constantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its activities and maximise the use of its resources, expertise and know-how in order to ultimately contribute to a more secure and healthier Europe, in particular through cooperation arrangements with agencies in the justice and home affairs and health areas; notes the measures that the Centre has taken in order to reduce the running costs of its premises, such as the use of solar shading on glass areas and climate-control switches on windows; further notes the agreement with the European Maritime Safety Agency to share the use of common areas (canteen, underground parking area and conference facilities) in the compound where their headquarters are located and the cooperation between the two agencies concerning the joint procurement of shared services (e.g. security, cleaning, catering, among other) and the joint organisation of training activities of common interest for the staff of both agencies; 13. Notes with satisfaction that the Centre has a strategic plan (‘Environmental Strategy 2021-2025’) to become carbon-neutral and that it has included in its annual activity report metrics regarding the Centre’s environmental performance and CO2 footprint, with ever improving yearly results since 2014; welcomes the decision of the Centre’s Director taken in 2022 to obtain the EMAS certification, the process of which was expected to be concluded in 2023; 14. Notes that in 2022, the Centre implemented several projects designed to enhance the environmental performance, by improving the electricity consumption, installing solar power cells on the roof of the building, as well as installing electric car-sharing stations with a view to replacing the Centre’s vehicle fleet with electric or hybrid vehicles; Staff policy 15. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 97 % implemented, with six officials and 68 temporary agents appointed out of seven officials and 69 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (76 authorised posts in 2022, same as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 27 contract agents worked for the Centre in 2022; welcomes the Centre’s 2022 staff screening exercise and the effective and efficient allocation of its resources with 72,44 % of the Centre’s staff allocated to operational activities, 18,20 % to administrative support and coordination, and 9,35 % to neutral operations; commends the Centre for its low staff turnover rate (2,9 %) in 2022; 16. Notes that the Centre reported to have two women (22 %) and seven men (78 %) in its senior management, while it has 20 women (37 %) and 34 men (63 %) in its management board (MB); notes that the staff overall is composed of 36 men (38 %) and 58 women (62 %); recalls the importance of ensuring staff gender balance and calls on the Centre to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitment of staff and of appointments within its senior management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Centre's management board; 17. Takes note of the Centre’s report with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Centre for the financial year 2021 (the ‘Centre's report’) to improve gender balance within the Centre; observes that such measures were taken in the context of the Centre’s recruitment procedures and the dissemination in Members States of information on the Centre’s selection process; commends the Chair of the Centre’s management board for addressing the relevant authorities of the Member States, Norway and Turkey with regard to ensuring gender balance in the nomination of their members of the Centre’s management board; further notes from the Centre’s report, regarding the observation on the non-use of SYSPER, that the Centre has developed and put in place its own information and communications technology tools for digitalised human resources management; 18. Recalls from the Court’s annual report on Union agencies for 2018 the observation regarding the hiring of interim workers through a framework contract without respecting the requirements of Directive 2008/104/EC(14) and Portuguese labour law; notes from the Court’s report that that observation is closed, whereas the framework contract in question expired in March 2022, and the last payment regarding interim workers took place in January 2022; Procurement 19. Notes from the Court’s report that the amount (EUR 75 000) corresponding to a contract concluded in 2022 was not fully covered by a corresponding budgetary commitment, leading to a deficit amounting to EUR 8 000; notes that a similar situation was incurred in 2021 for the same type of contract and in both cases the Centre, according to the Court’s report, was not in line with the requirements laid down in Articles 10(3) and 73(2) of the Centre’s Financial Regulation; acknowledges however from the Centre’s reply that the cost for the contract was shared according to the agreements made with two other entities that use the Centre’s premises in Lisbon; observes in this context that the Centre had to bear just a part of the total cost/expenditure for the contract which relied on corresponding budgetary commitments, whilst the remaining costs relied on offsetting/clearing accounting operations as those costs were borne by the two other entities; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 20. Acknowledges the Centre’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevent and manage conflicts of interest, and provide whistleblower protection; notes that no cases of conflict of interest and whistleblowing were reported, investigated or concluded in 2022; welcomes that the Centre published on its website the declarations of interest and CVs of its senior management staff, management board members and the external experts who are members of the Centre’s scientific committee; recalls that in the case of the members of the management board, a summary of only their current professional activities is available on the Centre’s website; notes the Centre’s commitment to address by the end of 2023 the feasibility of also including in the published CVs the past professional activity of those members; 21. Notes that the Centre did not meet lobbyists in 2022; further notes that, on the basis of the guidelines and recommendations developed by the Commission and by the European Ombudsman on this matter, the Centre has in place a code of conduct and practical recommendations/guidelines for the possible interaction of its staff with interest representatives; notes further that in case that such meetings take place, those guidelines recommend the meeting to be registered and made public; calls on the Centre to follow those guidelines and publish such meetings without delay; Internal control 22. Notes that in 2022, the Internal Audit Service (IAS) carried out two audits for the Centre, namely on international cooperation and on the adequacy of coordination and working arrangements of partner directorate-generals and other stakeholders, as well as of the Union’s decentralised agencies’ governance framework; notes that the audit results for both audit projects were still not available at the end of 2022, at which point there were no outstanding critical risks or recommendations from the IAS, except for one outstanding recommendation, on internal communication, from an audit on human resources management and ethics carried out in 2021; 23. Welcomes the result of the 2022 assessment of the effectiveness of the Centre’s internal control systems which is that all components are present and functioning; notes that the assessment identified five internal control framework principles where some improvements may be needed, in relation to control environment, control activities and information and communication; further notes that a comprehensive risk identification and assessment exercise aimed at improving risk management at the Centre was carried out in 2022, with identified risks related to the new mandate of the Centre and its new business model; calls on the Centre to address all the shortcomings identified on the occasion of the various assessments carried out in 2022; 24. Notes, that the Centre adopted a revised anti-fraud strategy in 2021, with three strategic objectives and an action plan for implementation in 2022, which, by the year-end, was widely implemented, with only one out of 12 actions still open; Other comments 25. Commends the Centre for the communication efforts that were focused on ensuring the production of high-quality publications, with 66 scientific and institutional publications produced in 2022, and 16 scientific articles and book chapters authored or co-authored by the Centre and published in prestigious journals; 26. Welcomes the significant increase in the Centre’s audience reached in 2022 across all channels; notes, in that context, that the Centre had around 2, 6 million unique visitors on the website, a record number (an increase by almost 50 % from 2021), 1, 6 million views on its videos (a 15 % increase compared to 2021), and an increase in followers on two key social media channels, LinkedIn (+57 %) and Instagram (+37 %); 27. Calls on the Centre to focus on disseminating the results of its research to the general public, and to reach out to public via social media and other media outlets; welcomes in this regard the user-accessibility of the reports created by the Centre; 28. Welcomes the resource page, EMCDDA 4 Ukraine, created for professionals working in the drugs field in Europe supporting people displaced from Ukraine; o 29. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(15) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Environment Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0087/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network(4), and in particular Article 13 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0130/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2149(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0087/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network(9), and in particular Article 13 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0130/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2149(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0130/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Environmental Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 88 173 021, representing an increase of 35,93 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives from the Union budget and the EFTA contribution (63,32 %) and contributions under specific agreements (36,67 %); B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 % of the current year commitment appropriations, the same as 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 86,66 %, representing an increase of 1,75 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that the Court concluded in its report in 2021 that the use of a negotiated procedure without prior publication to amend a framework contract by doubling the initial budget to EUR 1 million was irregular and as a result, all subsequent payments made in connection with this procedure are irregular; notes furthermore that the contract expired in December 2022 and the associated 2022 payments amounted to EUR 470 660; notes that the current status of the Court’s observation on this is already closed; Performance 3. Notes that the Agency’s performance framework is structured around five performance objectives monitored by 17 multiannual key performance indicators (KPIs) which include, inter alia, staff occupancy rate, budget execution and delivery of the annual work programme; observes that the delivery rate of the annual work programme as regards key reports and assessment achieved 95 % and 96 %, respectively, as regards updated core set indicators, both above the target established at 90 %; takes note of the indicators that have not yet been achieved or are lagging behind; 4. Welcomes that in 2022, the Agency continued to play a key role in informing actions to support the environment, responding to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the 8th Environment Action Programme (‘8th EAP’), as well as to Europe's overall ambitions and global commitments; welcomes that the Agency continued to deliver on agreed actions and tasks, and took on new ones in support of the green transition and the implementation of the European Climate Law, while linking actions to the EU adaptation strategy; notes furthermore that it was the second year of the implementation of the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) Strategy 2021-2030, which aims to give Union policy makers and the public the best available knowledge to reach the targets on environment and sustainability; 5. Observes that in 2022, amid heat waves, droughts and forest fires affecting large parts of Europe as well as with the continent experiencing the hottest summer on record, the Agency was mentioned in 27 000 online articles, and several staff members were interviewed by media outlets across Europe as result of significant media interest, with a focus on the causes and consequences of extreme weather; 6. Recalls that, in 2022, the Agency undertook new tasks in support of the green transition and the implementation of the European Climate Law, such as the launch of the European Scientific Advisory Board for Climate Change, while linking actions to the EU adaptation strategy, growing the Agency's role in supporting the delivery of Europe's climate targets; appreciates the Agency’s support of members of Parliament’s committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) with science based, up-to-date data and information; 7. Welcomes the establishment in 2022 of the new European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems for the period 2023-2026; Efficiency and gains 8. Recalls that in line with the approach in recent years, in 2022, the Agency continued to pursue efficiency gains through sharing services with the Commission, other Union agencies, and the EU Agencies Network (EUAN) — Shared Support Office in Brussels; notes that following that practice, the Agency pursued joint procurement with the Commission services and EUAN, either by procuring and leading on framework contracts that are also used by the Commission and other Union agencies or by using framework contracts led by others; 9. Notes that the Agency also uses a variety of Commission services (e.g. payroll, IT security) and systems (e.g. ABAC, Sysper, Ares, e-Prior) in line with efficiency gains linked to increased use of electronic tools to support administration processes, including in procurement, finance and human resources; also notes that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the Agency has been using online recruitment, supported by the implementation of a recruitment platform (Systal), which allowed the Agency to complete a large number of recruitment procedures in both 2021 and 2022, giving a low vacancy rate at the year end; 10. Notes, furthermore, that the Agency's continued move to activity-based working has contributed to efficiency gains in the dynamic and flexible use of the refurbished office space, in addition to the extended possibility of teleworking for the Agency’s staff; notes also with satisfaction that the Agency has gone ‘mobile only’, which in turn has produced considerable savings in telephone costs; 11. Recalls the importance of increasing the digitalisation of the Agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the Agency to continue to be proactive in that regard in order to avoid a digital gap between Union agencies; draws attention, however, on the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed; insists on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly those originating from Russia or China; 12. Invites the Agency to continue promoting cooperation with other Union agencies and international organisations, and fostering dialogue with stakeholders and citizens; Staff policy 13. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 97,33 % implemented, with three permanent officials and 143 temporary agents appointed out of 150 posts authorised under the Union budget (compared to 140 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 84 contract agents and 13 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; notes that from 2021 to 2023, the establishment plan authorised under the Union budget has increased by 25 temporary agents and 14 contract agents to address new tasks arising from the Scientific Advisory Board for Climate Change, LULUCF, Seveso and nature restoration legislation; 14. Regrets the lack of gender balance among the Agency’s senior management members, with six out of nine (67 %) being men; notes with satisfaction the gender balance within the Agency’s management board, with 18 out of 36 (50 %) being men; notes the gender balance within the Agency’s overall staff, with 118 out of 221 (53 %) being women; asks the Agency to ensure gender balance at the senior management level in the future; notes that the Agency has not adopted the ‘Charter on diversity and inclusion’ and encourages the Agency to adopt it and actively participate in initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace; 15. Raises concerns about the geographical balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management having no managerial staff from central and eastern Europe; insists that improvements have to be made; asks the Agency to report back on this to the discharge authority; 16. Welcomes that the Agency has a wellbeing coordinator and has carried out extensive work on awareness raising and setting up processes for staff returning from long term absence and, in case needed, staff are offered professional assistance via the medical advisor; 17. Observes that to reduce the risk of burnout, the Agency has introduced a stress monitoring app (called ‘Howdy’) with their health provider; takes note that staff are signed up to the app and asked a series of questions on a regular basis to monitor their stress levels and if there is an increase in this level, they are contacted by a medical psychologist to discuss the outcome; notes that there is the option for staff to consult, for up to three visits, with a psychologist at the Agency’s medical provider to work through issues; highlights that all this is handled anonymously with only statistics fed back to the Agency; 18. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looks forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no cases of harassment reported in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 19. Notes with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the Agency’s tasks, an imbalance exists concerning the numbers of permanent versus contractual posts, as well as operational staff versus support staff, leading to a constant need for reskilling as well an overload of administrative work for scientists; calls on the Agency to review its staffing policy; considers that taking into account the substantial increase of workload, and in order to properly perform the tasks on the Union’s goals for, inter alia, climate neutrality, circular economy and nature restoration, the Agency’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to come; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 20. Recalls that senior management members and management board members should provide a declaration of interest which is to be published on the Agency website; notes that senior management members should, as part of the career development dialogue, update the awareness of conflict of interest based on a self declaration (as part of the self-assessment), where the senior management member, as a member of staff, should state whether any new engagements or activities have been, or are to be, undertaken that could give rise to a potential conflict of interest; observes that when finalising the career development plan, the line manager responsible should specify his or her own assessment of the question of conflict of interest.; notes that there were no cases of conflict of interest identified in 2022; 21. Notes that the Agency continues to keep track of submitted CVs and declarations of interests for management board members and senior managers and they are published in its website; 22. Notes that according to the follow up 2021 discharge observations, the Agency is in the process of reviewing its policy on the prevention and management of conflict of interest to assess its fitness and relevance following a risk-based approach; notes that in doing so, the Agency will consider its internal control and anticorruption mechanisms and make adjustments to any gap which it may identify; calls on the Agency to report back to the discharge authority on the result of the above mentioned assessment; 23. Acknowledges the achieved visibility of the Agency; is of the opinion that there is still a room for greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work and the dangers to our environment known to the citizens; Internal control 24. Takes note that in 2022, the Agency continued to work on the structural changes in its ways of working launched in 2021; notes that once changes are fully in place, full attention will be given to updating the documentation of procedures, which will remedy the weaknesses identified in the Agency’s internal control framework; notes that the Agency's risk management approach is partially compliant, as it identifies and analyses risks across the organisation, but the systematic identification, assessment, and follow-up of risks at the project group level have been limited; 25. Observes that the control activities to mitigate risks are also partially compliant, as, due to structural changes in 2022, they are outdated; notes that the European Topic Centre policy and the policy for grants are also outdated given the change in the verification structure that was put in place in 2022; with regard to business continuity plans, they are in place and have been effectively used during crises, but their measures are scattered across various documents and have not been updated to reflect new ways of working; calls on the Agency to report back to the discharge authority on the measures taken to update the documentation of procedures; Other comments 26. Welcomes that in September 2022, the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) registration for the Agency was successfully extended by a competent body for another year; notes with satisfaction from the Court’s report that the Agency is among the agencies that issue an annual environmental statement; 27. Commends the Agency for its ongoing efforts towards public visibility and online presence in 2022, such as the development of an interactive digital corporate publication ‘EEA 2021: the year in brief’ to explain what the Agency is and does, and the ongoing multiannual web project which delivered key elements in 2022, amongst which, a user-centric navigation logic and updated content across the key knowledge areas based on intense user analysis; 28. Commends the Agency for taking part in a special task force to bring together knowledge, expertise and data for mapping the environmental impact of the Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack against Ukraine; o 29. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0104/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/126 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 2062/94(4), and in particular Article 16 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0115/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2166(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0104/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/126 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 January 2019 establishing the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 2062/94(9), and in particular Article 16 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0115/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2166(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0115/2024), A. whereas according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11) the final budget of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 16 405 100, representing a slight increase of 1,81 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022 and there are no ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriations rate of 98,65 %, representing a slight increase of 1,39 % compared to 2021; further notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was at 72,07 %, representing an increase of 8,54 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that the Agency’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget and a small amount from Spanish local authorities; notes further that the Agency’s budget increase in 2022 is due to the indexation; 3. Notes that the Agency carried over, from 2022 to 2023, eight provisional commitments amounting to EUR 533 676; recalls that such carry-overs are allowed under Article 12(6) of the EU-OSHA Financial Regulation, where a legal commitment, such as a signed contract, exists at the end of the year; notes that however, by 31 December 2022, the Agency had not signed any contracts corresponding to EUR 109 256 of those provisional commitments and therefore, that amount should have been de-committed instead of being carried over to 2023; Performance 4. Notes with appreciation that the Agency’s implementation rate of its work programme in 2022 was 98 % whereas the target was 90 %; 5. Notes the Agency’s performance in research on the impact of digitalisation on occupational safety, health, prevention, practices and policy, will be the knowledge basis for the healthy workplaces campaign in digitalisation starting in 2023; observes that the Agency’s study on circular economy entered its final stage in 2022, which identifies different potential effects on safety and health work; further notes that in 2022 the Agency finalised its three-year healthy workplaces campaign on musculoskeletal disorders which also addressed telework which gained substantial importance during the pandemic; 6. Notes that the Agency provided support on research on supporting compliance looking into how external factors influence workplace risk prevention; states that the Agency has developed data and risk assessment tools such as OSH barometer, with the main objective to provide an authoritative source of Union occupational safety and health data, and OiRA software, to help micro and small enterprises carry out risk assessments; notes, moreover, the Agency’s surveys to facilitate data collection: ESENER, Worker’s Exposure Survey and OSH Pulse; further notes that the Agency’s work in 2022 contributed to the implementation of the Union strategic framework for safety and health at work 2021-2027; 7. Appreciates the Agency’s continued significant contribution, through several actions carried out alone or in collaboration with others, to safer and healthier workplaces for every worker in the Union regardless of the size of the company or the type of contract further to the global health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic; congratulates the Agency on the good results achieved and welcomes in that regard the Agency’s research paying particular attention to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial risks and mental health; notes the prominent role that the Agency has been given when implementing the principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights and achievements of Porto targets; 8. Commends the Agency for having ensured business continuity through a prompt reorganisation, reprioritisation and reallocation of resources in response to the delay in the appointment of its new executive director; Efficiency and gains 9. Highlights that the Agency has sustained its close collaboration with other Union agencies in 2022, namely the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions on survey methodologies and on psychosocial risks and digitalisation, and the Fundamental Rights Agency on the worker’s exposure survey; further notes that the Agency has also formalised its collaboration with the European Labour Authority and participated in its platform on undeclared work and supported the European Securities and Market Authority in the development of guidance for health and safety in oil spill removal actions; notes the Agency’s participation in a joint report on testing and detection of zoonotic influenza virus infections in humans and occupational safety and health measures for those exposed at work with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, European Food Safety Authority and the European reference laboratory for avian influenza and Newcastle disease; 10. Underlines the fact that the Agency has been sharing the accounting services with the European Training Foundation through a service level agreement as of July 2021; 11. Welcomes that the Agency has implemented a paperless process for all its transactions and that all financial and recruitment activities related to human resources have been digitized; observes the Agency’s performance on producing regular environment dashboards that report, inter alia, on CO2 emissions; notes with satisfaction that the Agency fully implemented its efficiency strategy to consolidate the finance and procurement functions under the same unit with the optimisation of resources, harmonisation of processes, better definition of roles and responsibilities to achieve efficiency gains; 12. Commends the Agency for having established a corporate plan to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of its operations; Staff policy 13. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 97,5 % implemented, the same as in 2021, with 39 temporary agents posts filled out of 40 temporary agents posts authorised under the Union budget; 14. Notes the gender balance distribution reporting for 2022 at senior management level with three men and one woman, at the level of the management board with 61 men and 38 women, and for the Agency’s overall staff with 21 men and 44 women; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s management board; takes note that the Agency is in the process of adopting the ‘charter on diversity and inclusion’ which aims to promote equal treatment and opportunities, irrespective of any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation; reminds the Agency of its assurance and commitment to make the job offer to the candidate whose gender is under-represented at the Agency, in case of equal merits between the candidates of different gender; 15. Notes that as of 31 December 2022, the Agency employed 65 staff (including two contract staff on short-term contracts for offsetting reduced full time equivalent) from 15 Member States; notes with concern the underrepresentation of staff from the remaining 12 Member States; recalls the importance of geographical balance and urges the Agency to consider geographical balance with utmost priority in its recruitment procedure and requests the Agency to report to the discharge authority any development in that regard; 16. Welcomes that the Agency in terms of measures linked with people with disabilities has established a disability coordinator (human resources member) as contact point for any related needs of staff; 17. Notes that the Agency has been implementing numerous human resources policies promoting staff well-being at work and work-life balance such as flexible working hours, teleworking, parental leave and psychological support sessions; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 18. Acknowledges the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to ensure transparency and the prevention and management of conflicts of interest; notes that the management board members are requested to provide a declaration of absence of conflict of interest in addition to a declaration of interests; welcomes that both declarations are available on the Agency’s website; welcomes that no cases of conflicts of interest, whistleblowing and ‘revolving doors’ were reported in 2022; 19. Notes that the Agency drafted and finalised the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy 2022-2026 focusing on the consolidation of the existing anti-fraud framework of the Agency; further notes that in June 2022 the management board agreed a note on ‘good practices for the management board and its members’, defining, inter alia, basic principles and practices for professional secrecy and confidentiality; 20. Observes that the Agency’s commitment for transparency is reflected in the publication of key documents on its website, including the Agency’s strategy, SPDs and CAARs, the main evaluation and performance results, minutes, and deliberations by the management board and the executive board; Internal control 21. Notes that the Agency is always striving to maintain and improve internal control and management through regular audits conducted by the internal audit service; further notes that in 2022 the internal audit service has concluded its audit on human resources and ethics according to the plan with no critical findings and a number of actions have been agreed with the Agency to improve further its human resources and ethic areas; 22. Recalls that the internal control framework was adopted by the management board in 2019, based on the internal control framework of the Commission; notes that the assessment of the internal control framework for the reporting year 2022 concluded the adequate functioning of all internal control components; 23. Notes that the Agency’s corporate risk register is linked to the internal control framework and that both are subject to regular reviews by senior management; notes that three risks monitored during 2022 were categorised as related to the ‘external environment’, four risks were categorised as related to the ‘internal environment’ and none of them is classified as a potential threat for the Agency’s reputation or strategic achievement; 24. Notes that in 2022 the Agency’s new anti-fraud strategy 2022-2026 was implemented by the management board by a regular monitoring of the action plan; notes further that this new strategy takes into account that several anti-fraud measures have been established in the last years and aims to consolidate the existing measures; Other comments 25. Notes the Agency’s effort to increase its cyber security protection through different measures such as multi-factor authentication system; notes further the Agency’s cooperation and coordination with CERT-EU in order to implement a new service to support Union institutions, bodies and agencies; 26. Observes that the Agency has not started the implementation of EMAS certification process due to the lack of resources; further notes, however, the Agency’s commitment in reducing its impact on the environment; 27. Welcomes the Agency’s engagement at awareness raising activities with the Agency’s healthy workplaces campaigns, which has successfully developed several activities such as lighten-the-load campaign, Napo animated films and the OSH barometer; welcomes that the Agency is actively collaborating with other agencies, other institutions and the Commission in co-promotion actions for topics of common interest, through their websites, joint publications and social media channels; o 28. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0080/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/1994 of 28 November 1994 setting up a Translation Centre for Bodies of the European Union(4), and in particular Article 14 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0082/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (2023/2142(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0080/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/1994 of 28 November 1994 setting up a Translation Centre for Bodies of the European Union(9), and in particular Article 14 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0082/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2022 (2023/2142(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0082/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (the ‘Centre’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 49 839 955, representing a decrease of 6,02 % compared to 2021; whereas 95,80 % of the Centre’s budget derives from direct contributions from institutions, other agencies and bodies; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Centre for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Centre’s annual accounts are reliable, and that the underlying transactions as regards revenue are legal and regular in all material aspects; whereas the Court identified irregular payments totalling EUR 1,3 million, of which EUR 0,6 million pertained to the Court’s determination that the Centre’s justifications for selecting certain procurement procedures without prior notification were insufficient, and EUR 0,7 million related to a failure by the Centre to monitor the consumption of financial ceilings at the level of individual procedures and framework contracts for translations, cumulatively accounting for 2,4 % of the payment appropriations available in 2022, thereby exceeding the materiality threshold set for the audit and, consequently, resulting in a qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the Centre’s accounts; whereas, except for those irregular payments, the Court concluded that the underlying transactions as regards payments for the year ended 31 December 2022 are legal and regular in all material respects; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 89,08 % representing an increase of 5,55 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 83,50 %, representing an increase of 6,99 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that the Centre’s initial budget for 2022 (EUR 49,0 million) was subject to one amending budget adopted by the Centre’s management board in September 2022 and aimed to include the updated forecasts received from clients and the result of the review by the Centre of all expenditure items; notes further that the final 2022 budget outturn includes the result of the actual calculation of the 2022 budget outturn (minus EUR 0,05 million) plus the 2021 budget outturn of EUR 1,1 million, from which EUR 2,3 million was transferred to the ‘Reserve for pricing stability’ for securing the budget stability of the Centre in the future, resulting in a budget outturn carried forward in 2023 of a deficit of EUR 1,2 million; Performance 3. Notes that the overall implementation rate of the Centre’s work programme for 2022 was 89,6 % according to amending budget 1/2022; regrets that that rate is lower than in 2021 (93,4 %), therefore ending a positive trend of year-on-year improvements since 2018 when the implementation rate was 82,4 %; 4. Notes that with 348 070 pages, the number of pages of documents translated, modified, edited and revised decreased by 5,2 % compared to 2021 (367 264 pages); notes that in 2022, with regard to EU trade marks, the number of translated pages (239 964) further decreased by 12,6 % in comparison to 2021 (274 706 pages), therefore continuing on a significant downward trend; observes that, with a total of 588 033 pages translated in 2022, the actual volume decreased by 8,4 % from 2021; 5. Acknowledges the Centre’s achievements in 2022, such as the development of a new Strategy for 2024-2027 aiming to increase its impact in the wider context of multilingualism in the digital age, the delivery of bespoke services that included providing specific services to a new client, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the further development of the interinstitutional terminology database InterActive Terminology for Europe (IATE) and the support and maintenance of the interinstitutional terminology portal EurTerm; notes further that the Centre upgraded the computer-assisted translation technology in place, Trados Studio 2021, along with the upgrade of the modules dedicated to the management of translation memories and batch project creation; 6. Notes that the respondents (a rate of 36 %) to the annual client satisfactory survey conducted in 2022 expressed high rates of satisfaction with the Centre’s services and mutual relations, while their priorities in order of importance remain the quality of translation, quality of relations, deadlines, price, language combinations and formatting; Efficiency and gains 7. Acknowledges that 2022 was a difficult year for the Centre, considering the external environment with the war in Ukraine, the continuing impact of COVID-19, increasing energy costs and inflation, and, therefore, a consequential increase in internal costs for the Centre’s premises and staff salaries; notes with appreciation that, despite the reduction in the translation efforts of some of the Centre's clients and thanks to its investments in technologies and efficiency gains, the Centre presented a 2023 pricing structure with stable prices, which in real terms represent a price reduction; 8. Acknowledges the important role of the Centre and its translation services in the rationalisation of the working methods of the Union agencies, achieving economies of scale and also absorbing any surplus work of the Union institutions which have their own translation services; 9. Notes that the Centre took a significant step towards sustainability and environmental protection by signing a new lease contract and reducing its office space by 33 %, while establishing new working spaces, including a cafeteria; 10. Notes that the Centre has progressively optimised its structure and working methods and has implemented cost-efficiency measures throughout its business model, for example, by introducing Commission tools such as ABAC, SYSPER, MIPS and ARES; notes from the Centre’s reply, with regard to SYSPER, that the implementation of a new module for the digitisation of personnel records started in 2022; notes further that the Centre introduced Systal (a selection and recruitment tool) and further optimised its use in 2022; 11. Welcomes that the Administration Department of the Centre has improved its performance by reviewing and revising working methods, while introducing new technology to streamline its operations, which has resulted in increased productivity, reduced costs, and overall improvement of the quality of the work; 12. Notes with satisfaction that the Centre was one of the participating agencies in the initiative called ‘Joint EU Forces on AI’, launched by the European Food Safety Authority; 13. Notes with appreciation from the Court’s report that the Centre is among those agencies that have corporate plans to improve the energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations; regrets that the Centre is not yet in possession of an Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certificate, but welcomes that it is actively studying the possibility of starting the EMAS registration procedure in the near future; notes that the Centre is committed to continuously improving its environmental performance and relies on the general principles of EMAS and the ISO 14001 in its daily practices; welcomes the Centre’s measures to reduce gas and electricity consumption at the Centre’s premises for the period 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023; Staff policy 14. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 93,78 % implemented, with 46 officials and 135 temporary agents appointed out of 51 officials and 142 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (193 authorised posts, as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 20 contract agents worked for the Centre in 2022; 15. Notes the Centre’s gender breakdown reported for 2022, with 8 women (42 %) and 11 men (58 %) in senior and middle management positions, with 38 men (59 %) and 26 women (41 %) at management board level and overall staff with 76 men (38 %) and 125 women (62 %); observes that there is an underrepresentation of men in the Centre’s overall staff; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and asks the Centre to work towards gender balance at the staff, senior and middle management level and at management board level; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Centre’s management board; notes the high number of management board members, which does not facilitate decision-making and simplified management; 16. Notes that the Centre has in place a common policy on the prevention of psychological and sexual harassment that includes a formal and informal procedure, with appointed confidential counsellors able to handle the informal procedure; notes the Centre’s reply that in 2022 no harassment cases were reported; 17. Notes with concern that the number of overtime hours requested in 2022 and approved by the management in 2022 rose from 112 to 252, representing an increase of 125 % compared to 2021; observes from the Centre’s reply a staff turnover of 7 % (retirements excluded) for 2022; Procurement 18. Expresses its concern with regard to the observation from the Court’s report that in 2021 the Centre presented several weaknesses in three public procurements by signing the contracts without prior publication of a contract notice, while the justification on the need to protect exclusive rights or on the extreme urgency was deemed insufficient by the Court; notes that in 2022 only one of these three contracts was open and led to one payment of EUR 0,6 million and the Court’s observation is still open; observes that the Court’s qualified opinion regarding the Centre’s expenditure for 2022 covers that payment; 19. Notes with concern the Court’s qualified opinion according to which payments amounting to EUR 0,1 million were irregular along with the two contracts of EUR 110 000 and EUR 52 000, with which those payments were associated and which the Centre chose to negotiate with a single provider without the prior publication of a contract notice; notes that despite the Centre having justified its choice of procedure on the grounds of extreme urgency, the Centre’s justification has been found insufficient by the Court; notes furthermore the Centre’s reply that it chose to procure an extension of the service through a negotiated procedure because no solution to transition from the old to the new framework contract was found; 20. Highlights furthermore the Court’s qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments made in 2022 in connection with 117 separate framework contracts stemming from a single procedure relating to the translation of texts; notes from the Court’s report that the global ceiling for that procedure, which was EUR 1 million, was not stipulated in the associated framework contracts; regrets that this finding was in breach of Article 2(31) of the Financial Regulation; notes moreover that the Centre did not monitor the consumption of that global ceiling either at the level of the individual framework contract or for the whole procedure, but only followed the related spending at the level of the budget line concerned; regrets that this led to an amount of EUR 0,5 million being irregularly paid in excess of that ceiling; notes from the Centre’s reply the actions taken by the Centre to improve the Centre’s controls systems in this area, namely the development of a Business Objects report which lists all framework contracts in force and includes all the necessary details to follow the consumption of the ceiling of each one of those contracts; welcomes in this context the development of technical features that automatically detect, highlight and/or send warning emails when various budget consumption rates are reached (75 % and 90 %); Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 21. Notes that the CVs of the management board members are not published on the Centre’s website, while the declarations of interests of a majority of those members are uploaded thereon; notes that the Director’s declaration of interests and CV are published on the Centre’s website; notes from the Centre's report on the measures taken by the Centre in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Centre for the financial year 2021, that the Centre is still working on the solution that will allow the management board’s members to upload and maintain the declaration of interests and CVs by themselves; urges the Centre to finalise this technical step and calls on the Centre to report to the discharge authority on the progress made in this matter until all documents of all board members are published; 22. Welcomes that declarations of interests are signed by the candidates and staff before being recruited, during employment and before returning from leave on personal grounds or unpaid leave; welcomes further that the staff involved in selection committees for the recruitment of personnel or in evaluation committees for calls for tenders must fill in a declaration of confidentiality and absence of conflicts of interest; notes from the Centre’s reply that there were no cases of conflicts of interest or whistleblowing were in 2022; 23. Notes that, given the nature of the Centre’s core tasks, no meeting with lobbyists are taking place and the Centre does not currently plan to introduce an internal anticorruption strategy; Internal control 24. Notes from the Court’s report the observation that in three audited procurement procedures for services, the tender specifications omitted important criteria for assessing tenderers’ technical and professional capacities and not defined a set of relevant, specific, and measurable minimum levels of the financial capacity, below which tenderers would not be accepted; notes the Centre’s reply that those procedures used older templates for the tender documents and the new templates used by the Centre require that the relevant figures are clearly specified and filled in; 25. Notes that at the beginning of 2022, the Centre had five open audit recommendations stemming from two Internal Audit Services (IAS) audits; acknowledges in this context that by the end of 2022, the two recommendations relating to the 2019 IAS audit on the Centre’s system for the management of the translation workflow and one of the three recommendations from the 2021 IAS audit on planning and budgeting were closed; notes further that for the two remaining recommendations, none of which marked as ‘very important’ or ‘critical’, actions have been addressed and the residual risk for these is minimal; 26. Notes that following-up on the Court’s observation for the financial year 2021 regarding weaknesses identified in the Centre’s documentation in several public procurement procedures, the Centre has in the meantime revised its procurement procedures and templates; notes that the status of that observation is now closed; notes that, in 2022, the Centre finalised and adopted a new anti-fraud action plan for 2022 and 2023, and finalised the last pending actions from the previous plan; 27. Welcomes the quality audits successfully completed in 2022 that provide an additional assurance to the Centre’s management as to the effectiveness, efficiency and conformity of the audited procedures; notes that there were no deviations registered for the audited procedures and a number of remarks and suggestions for improvement were identified and agreed in the audit reports, and were further transposed into action plans for implementation; Other comments 28. Acknowledges the efforts of the Centre in 2022 to increase its public visibility; notes the Centre’s improved social media metrics, with a number of subscribers to the social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) that increased by 11 % in 2022; commends the Centre for maintaining its focus on making its enlarged service portfolio better known to its clients, external language service providers, institutional partners and the public, via leaflets, video tutorials for the internal and external workflow tools, or videos promoting the post-editing service, as a way to reach a wider audience; notes that the best practice exchanges with universities and the global translation community (memoQ podcast, Nordic Techkomm Denmark Conference) continued to be part of the Centre’s outreach activities in 2022; o 29. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Medicines Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0094/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down Union procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human use and establishing a European Medicines Agency(4), and in particular Article 68 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0133/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2156(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0094/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down Union procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human use and establishing a European Medicines Agency(9), and in particular Article 68 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0133/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2156(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0133/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Medicines Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 421 815 000, representing an increase of 11,23 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency is a fee-funded agency, with approximately 88 % of its 2022 revenue stemming from fees derived from the evaluation of medicines and other business-related activities, and 12 % stemming from the Union budget and miscellaneous income; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 96,80 %, representing a decrease of 0,42 % compared to 2021; regrets that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 71,48 %, representing a decrease of 0,88 % compared to 2021; 2. Observes that for one audited payment of EUR 2 million, the Agency authorised the related budgetary commitment only after the legal commitment was accepted; recalls that this goes against Article 73(2) of the Agency’s Financial Regulation; calls on the Agency to take immediate action and to implement measures to ensure that all financial transactions are in compliance with the Agency’s Financial Regulation; 3. Recalls that potential liabilities arising, until 2039, from the lease on the Agency’s former office premises in London remain an ongoing issue; notes with concern that, on 31 December 2022, the total estimated outstanding rent, associated service charges and landlord insurance to be paid by the Agency up to the end of the lease term was EUR 366 million, that is approximately EUR 23 million annually; notes that in July 2019, the Agency reached an agreement with its landlord, and sublet its former premises to a subtenant with effect from July 2019, under conditions that are consistent with the terms of the head lease; acknowledges that the term of the sublease lasts until the Agency´s lease expires in June 2039 and that, since the Agency remains a party to the head lease, it could be held liable for the entire amount remaining payable under the contractual obligations of the head lease, if the subtenant fails to meet its obligations; draws attention to another element highlighted in the Agency’s accounts, namely the uncertainties surrounding the financial performance of the subtenant’s ultimate parent company as a result of the deterioration of its credit rating and the recent debt restructuring, which lead to stopping of its payment; takes note that the Agency and its Management Board are concerned that the Agency, instead of focusing its full effort on its mission of protecting and promoting public health, now must also manage commercial property in a third country, diverting its human and financial resources from its public health responsibilities in relation to Union citizens; is aware that, on 11 January 2024, Parliament’s Committee on Budgets held an exchange of views with the Agency regarding the potential amendment to the Agency’s sublease for the Agency’s former premises in London; insists on the need for a political decision in order to secure a long-term resolution of this issue; insists that while a long-term resolution is being pursued, a short-term measure should be found and deployed to address and contain the problem, given that the subtenant continues to fail to pay its rent; Performance 4. Notes that the Agency in 2022 reported on 41 performance indicators, estimating an implementation rate of 92,60 %; notes that in 2022 the Agency leveraged its position as chair of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities to make progress with regard to the work on the harmonisation of international regulatory systems; observes that it has also delivered the implementation of three major pieces of legislation (Regulation (EU) No 536/2014(12), Regulation (EU) 2019/6(13) and the extended mandate in Regulation (EU) 2022/123(14)) and progress work on data governance; 5. Welcomes the fact that, on 1 March 2022, the Agency’s mandate was extended with the entry into force of the Regulation (EU) 2022/123 reinforcing its role in crisis preparedness and management of medicinal products and medical devices; notes that that Regulation required the Agency to set up new bodies, such as the Medicine Shortages Steering Group and the Emergency Task Force (ETF) and, in addition, the Agency took on the management of the expert panels on medical devices which were transferred to the Agency from the Commission’s Joint Research Centre; notes furthermore that the Agency, under Regulation (EU) 2022/123, is responsible for monitoring events that may lead to a crisis, reporting and coordinating Union responses to shortages of critical medicines, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics during a crisis; 6. Highlights the fact that other key achievements in 2022 include the approval of two new vaccines and two COVID-19 treatments, the ETF recommended the temporary use of the US-approved monkeypox vaccine Jynneos for Monkeypox to support vaccination efforts by national EU authorities, alongside an extension of the use of Imvanex to also protect adults from monkeypox; takes note that additionally, the Agency collaborated with Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam to establish the Coordination Centre for the Data Analysis and Real World Interrogation Network (DARWIN EU®), serving as a pathfinder for the proposed Regulation for a European Health Data Space (EHDS) and connecting to EHDS services for use in medicines regulation; notes furthermore that the Scaled Agile Framework implementation involved transitioning the Agency's IT portfolio to the Agile way of working, establishing value streams aligned with its core mission, and operationalising product teams within them; calls on the Agency to learn from those experiences and to make use of the best practices derived from them in the future; 7. Reiterates the key role of the Agency in protecting human and animal health by assessing and supervising medicines for human or veterinary use and protecting public health by raising awareness on key issues including antimicrobial resistance and prevention of communicable diseases through vaccination; 8. Notes however that inadequate resources for the Agency may undermine the ability of the Agency to deliver on its mission and calls on the Commission and the Council to allocate adequate Union funding to ensure the Agency has enough resources to carry out all of its activities on the wide range of regulatory mechanisms, including facilitating the development of and access to medicines, supporting research and innovation and its responsibilities for monitoring and mitigating potential or actual shortages of critical medicines without any delay; 9. Acknowledges that 2022 was still characterised by a significant level of COVID-19 related activities, with a shift from pre- and initial marketing authorisation activities to post-authorisation activities; 10. Welcomes the fact that 52 % of applicants who have been granted a positive opinion for their medicinal product have received scientific advice or protocol assistance from the Agency during the development phase of their product, with this figure rising to 78 % for applicants for medicinal products with new active substances; is of the opinion that early advice has the potential to significantly streamline the approval process and lead to the development of safe and effective medicinal products; Efficiency and gains 11. Is aware that during 2022 the Agency continued the implementation of its strategy to achieve efficiency gains, focusing on process improvement and digitalisation; 12. Notes that, through the work of its Digital Innovation Lab (DigiLab), the Agency explored opportunities to realise automations of administrative work; observes that DigiLab initiated 14 automation projects, prioritised and endorsed by the Digital Acceleration Leadership Team, alongside the Analytics Center of Excellence (ACE), including automations for email categorisation, clinical breakpoints list generation, and a pilot EU Reference Dates List Database for efficiency gains in maintenance and publication on the Agency's website; observes that the DigiLab also worked with ACE to pilot five potential solutions to business challenges; 13. Welcomes the fact that, as part of its digitalisation efforts in 2022, the Agency completed the integration of good clinical practice and good pharmacovigilance practice inspections into its IT platform, IRIS, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and collaborative work in line with the Agency's digital transformation programme, which oversees inspections for human and veterinary medicines under the centralised procedure or referral process upon request from the Committees for Medicinal Products for Human Use or Veterinary Use; invites the institution to find more internal procedures that could be streamlined via digitalisation; 14. Notes that, as part of the process improvement dimensions, during 2022 the Agency worked on the Agile transformation, with the aim of providing increased transparency, a reduced administrative burden and clearer accountability, through a new governance model and way of working in Information Management/IT; 15. Points out that in 2022 the Agency gradually resumed on-site activities at its building while maintaining flexible working arrangements, allowing up to 60 % teleworking monthly; temporary rules for business travel prioritised virtual participation in conferences, meetings, and trainings, with physical attendance considered for added strategic value, and a decision was implemented to alternate virtual and physical settings for scientific committee meetings and working parties to manage on-site capacity and contribute to carbon footprint control, resulting in lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to pre-pandemic years despite the resumption of physical activities; 16. Recalls the importance of increasing the digitalisation of the Agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the Agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed; insists on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly those originating from Russia or China; 17. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency cooperates with other agencies, in particular with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and with the European Food Safety Authority, including on the European Vaccination Information Portal, for monitoring vaccine safety and reporting side effects, as well as on antimicrobial consumption and resistance; 18. Invites the Agency to continue promoting cooperation with other Union agencies and international organisations, and fostering dialogue with stakeholders and citizens; Staff policy 19. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 99,39 % implemented, with 658 temporary agents appointed out of 662 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 657 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 192 contract agents, 25 seconded national experts and 114 interims worked for the Agency in 2022; 20. Regrets the lack of gender balance on the Agency’s management board, where 36 out of 67 (54 %) are men, while for the overall staff, 568 out of 865 (66 %) are women; regrets furthermore that in senior management positions, 17 out of 27 (63 %) are men; is strongly of the opinion that the gender balance among the members of the Agency’s senior and middle management and the administrative staff needs to be improved with a faster paste; 21. Raises concerns about the geographical balance among the Agency’s senior and middle management having only one managerial member of staff from Central-Eastern Europe; insists that improvements have to be made; asks the Agency to report back on this to the discharge authority; 22. Recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and acknowledges in this regard that the Agency is implementing various initiatives in addressing the gender gap in senior management positions, including a management development programme, internal mobility opportunities, and the creation of management communities to encourage and support female staff; notes that a pipeline is being built from the Heads of Office/Service/Work stream, with a progressive increase in female managers; notes furthermore that the retirement of key senior male managers provides recruitment opportunities for females, complemented by an enhanced employer branding strategy, targeted recruitment marketing, the establishment of a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and the endorsement of the diversity and inclusion charter in March 2022; 23. Notes that in 2022 the overtime declared of 72 463 hours was 30 % lower compared to 102 912 hours reported in 2021; notes furthermore that the average overtime in 2022 was 4,3 % compared to the 6,3 % reported in 2021, which is close to the average of 4,0 % recorded during the period 2016-2019; highlights the importance of a good work-life balance, flexible working hours, teleworking, and the right to disconnect, in relation to improving the wellbeing of the staff; 24. Welcomes the fact that in 2022 the Agency conducted a comprehensive well-being survey, and the resulting recommendations have been integrated into the Agency human resources strategy for 2023-2025; 25. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looks forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 26. Observes that, to maintain impartiality and objectivity in the Agency's operations, it regularly adjusts the policies’ scope and implementing processes vis-à-vis emerging risks stemming from new activities and/or interactions with new categories of stakeholders; notes that in 2022, as a result of the Agency’s new responsibilities in the area of medical devices, in vitro medical devices, as well as the responsibilities under its extended mandate, the policy on competing interests for members of the Management Board, policy on competing interests for experts, and the implementing rules on handling declared interests of staff and candidates before recruitment, have been revised; 27. Notes that the Agency has a breach of trust (BoT) procedure, which sets out how it deals with incorrect or incomplete e-DoIs by experts and committee members, as well with disclosure of confidential information; observes that the BoT procedure was revised in December 2022; highlights the fact that the revised BoT procedure states that it also applies to the other bodies that have been established within the Agency under the extended mandate (e.g. ETF and both Shortages Steering Groups); 28. Observes that in 2022 two BoT procedures were initiated for experts; notes that one case involved a committee member failing to disclose a lecture honorarium, resulting in revised declarations and a three-year restriction and the second case concerned a committee member omitting a close family member interest, leading to a 9-month restriction from the Agency’s activities; 29. Highlights that departing Agency staff sought permission for post-employment occupations, with 22 applications in 2022 resulting in varied authorisations, including both unrestricted and restricted cases; acknowledges that the Agency has been publishing decisions on senior members of staff that leave the organisation on its corporate website since December 2020, contributing significantly to transparency in handling competing interests; 30. Notes with satisfaction that the Commission’s Internal Audit Service report, which was published during 2022 and focused on human resource matters, confirmed the robustness of the system in place based on a very high staff awareness of the risks involved and the maturity of the internal controls to manage potential conflicts of interest; 31. Notes that, as a technical, scientific body of the Union, the Agency does not formally engage or meet with lobbyists, however, the Agency does engage and meet with stakeholders in accordance with its formal stakeholder frameworks; notes furthermore that meetings with external stakeholders are public and the details are published on the events page of Agency’s website; 32. Acknowledges the visibility that the Agency has achieved; is of the opinion that there is still room for it to achieve greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work and the dangers to our environment known to the citizens; 33. Notes that in 2022 the Agency received 676 requests for access to documents, fewer than the number of requests received in 2019 (783 requests) or 2021 (710 requests) and released 216 666 pages, more than compared to 165 943 in 2021 but considerably fewer than the 318 013 pages in 2019; notes that the Agency applies a queuing mechanism to manage the processing of multiple access to documents requests from the same requester representing a bottleneck for timely access to documents held by the Agency and discouraging requesters from introducing new requests; calls on the Agency to provide detailed information on the number of access to documents requests remaining inactivated in the queuing system and the average time spent in the queuing system before being activated; calls for the launch of an audit on the Agency’s rules to process access to documents requests, the queuing mechanism, the evolution of requests over time and the effects on applicants; 34. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the Agency receives adequate resources to implement the tasks that were assigned to the Agency by the adoption of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 and avoid staff shortages that will negatively affect the Agency’s transparency policy, including with regard to timely publication of clinical data, meeting minutes and timely responses to access to documents requests; Internal control 35. Observes that a questionnaire was prepared to assess the implementation, functioning, and improvement of the 17 principles within the internal control framework; notes that managers and staff responsible for specific principles or elements received the questionnaire, and interviews were conducted for further clarification; notes furthermore that the overall conclusion is that the internal control system is deemed to be effective and efficient, its components and principles are generally present and functioning reasonably well, while some principles could benefit from minor clarifications or additional information, and adjustments and improvements are suggested; 36. Draws attention to the fact that, as result of its relocation in 2019, the Agency leased a building in Amsterdam, which was fully fitted and furnished using the Dutch government’s EUR 15 million incentive scheme, including the donation of furniture and catering equipment; notes that the Court found that the Agency had not assigned clear identification (such as labels with bar codes) to some of those assets, mainly furniture; notes furthermore that four inventory counts the Agency had carried out since relocation repeatedly showed discrepancies (which, with time, decreased from EUR 534 331 to EUR 15 000) between the list of assets donated by the Dutch government, the Agency’s asset register and the assets found on the premises; highlights the fact that the absence of a complete and updated inventory list, specifying the location of tangible assets, is contrary to Article 87 of the Financial Regulation, and adversely affects the Agency’s ability to ensure its assets are safeguarded; welcomes the fact that, with a view to continuously improving its processes, the Agency will release updated internal guidance for the management of its assets inventory, adopt a risk-based approach to the labelling of furniture and release a rolling physical checks plan to continuously confirm the accuracy of its inventory; 37. Notes the observation from the Court’s report regarding the Agency’s contribution towards certain types of staff childcare costs, such as pre- and after-school care in the Netherlands; notes that for school meals, the Court found that the Agency was not able to provide full evidence of the checks done to ensure that the costs of school meals were excluded, therefore putting into question whether such checks were systematically carried out; observes from the Agency’s reply that meal costs are excluded from school fees and the Agency will file the evidence that school meal costs are excluded from the calculation of the contribution; 38. Notes the result of the activities carried out by the Agency’s internal audit capability, with 6 critical and 19 very important recommendations issued in 2022; calls on the Agency to address the 14 major recommendations awaiting an improvement action plan as of 31 December 2022 and report back to the discharge authority on the developments in this regard; Other comments 39. Welcomes the fact that the Agency aligned its long-term climate objectives with the target laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119(15) of a 55 % net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) and achieving climate neutrality by 2050; notes that for energy and water consumption, the Agency translated those objectives into a 15 % reduction per square metre of office space to be achieved between 2012 and 2021; observes that this target took into account the Agency’s growth in that period, and the fact that it had moved into a bigger but also more energy-efficient building, following its relocation from London to Amsterdam; notes that the target was exceeded both for energy and water achieving a 45 % reduction in energy consumption and 63 % in water use per square metre; 40. Notes that the Agency is preparing for the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme certification; 41. Welcomes the fact that in 2022, in order to increase cybersecurity, the Agency adopted the Information Security Strategy and the related implementation plan aiming to enhance the existing safeguards and security processes to protect the Agency’s information assets whilst supporting new business and technological challenges; notes that other important measures were also implemented in 2022 including the establishment of the security training and awareness programme and the implementation of the Security Operation Centre, which aims to continuously monitor and improve the Agency’s security posture while preventing, detecting, analysing, and responding to cybersecurity incidents; notes furthermore that the Agency has been working in close collaboration with the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity covering many aspects of the information security and cybersecurity domains, also including discussions and regular updates on the upcoming cybersecurity regulation for Union institutions, agencies, and bodies; 42. Commends the Agency for issuing initial advice for sponsors on how to manage the conduct of clinical trials in the context of the disruptions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; o 43. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(16) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0106/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), and replacing and repealing Council Decision 2002/187/JHA(4), and in particular Article 63 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0099/2024), 1. Grants the Administrative Director of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Administrative Director of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2168(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0106/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), and replacing and repealing Council Decision 2002/187/JHA(9), and in particular Article 63 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0099/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Administrative Director of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2168(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0099/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 50 183 522, representing a decrease of 5,84 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives almost exclusively from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts resulted in a budget implementation rate of 2022 commitment appropriations of 99,93 %; notes that the execution rate of current year payment appropriations was 89,22 %, representing an increase of 4,64 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that various new financing needs emerged during 2022, including linked to infrastructure for the new Case Management System (CMS), reinforcement related to the new Core International Crime Evidence Database (CICED) tasks and salary increases due to high inflation; notes that those financing needs were covered through two amending budgets (of in total EUR 5,7 million) and several budget transfers; 3. Notes the roll-out by the Agency in 2022 of the Commission’s new financial management and accounting system (SUMMA) and the related technical issues which impacted the Agency’s budget implementation and reporting; notes in particular the Agency’s view that those issues also impacted the high rate of payments not executed on time (52,9 %) and complicated the monitoring of areas with high cost volatility such as coordination meetings (CMs); notes in this context the observation from the Court’s report that the Agency, contravening some of the provisions of the Financial Regulation, did not update its risk management and control strategy to cover risks linked to the implementation of the SUMMA, nor its financial circuits and ex-ante and ex-post checks strategy and does not specifically check the rights that have been attributed to a user in that system, which constitutes a risk that the user roles in SUMMA may not be correctly assigned and updated; 4. Notes with concern the observation from the Court’s report that the Agency did not comply with the time limits for payments stipulated in the Financial Regulation for 1 222 out of the total of 2 308 payments (52,9 %); reminds and underlines that in 720 of all cases (31,5 %), payments were late by more than 30 days; notes that the Agency attributes this shortcoming, that in the Court’s view exposes the Agency to financial and reputational risk and goes against the principle of economy, to the implementation of SUMMA; notes the Agency's reply that SUMMA has been in a pilot phase and there were delays and technical difficulties in processing the transactions which impacted the staff training and created some challenges on the budgetary management; notes lastly that despite the increased amount of late payments, the Agency did not pay any late interest; calls on the Agency to fully address this observation, tackling technical difficulties in processing transactions and report to the discharge authority on the progress achieved; Performance 5. Notes that the Agency uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the added value provided by its activities and improve its budget management; highlights the new Multi-Annual Strategy 2022-2024 (MAS) of the Agency that sets five objectives each covering a number of strategic action areas; observes that the Agency defined 67 KPIs in its annual working plan for 2022 and 14 multi-annual KPIs for the MAS; notes that, excluding the KPIs deemed not measurable or relevant, the Agency achieved the targets for 47 out of 59 KPIs (88 %), representing an increase comparing to 2021 (73 %); notes that in 2022 the Agency made a steady progress towards achieving its multi-annual KPIs with 10 of them (72 %) being on track for achieving their target and three (21 %) needing further attention, whereas the final results for the MAS KPIs will be reported on at the end of 2024; 6. Notes that the number of cases referred to the Agency by the Member States continued to grow, with a total of 11 544 cases handled in 2022 (of which 5 227 were newly opened), which represents a 14 % increase compared to 2021; commends in this context the contribution of the Agency in providing legal advice, analysis and operations assistance resulting in 941 operational deliverables in support to 528 cases, including with regard to complex cases that led to the arrest of smugglers of people (including migrants), as well as the cracking down on or actions against criminal networks in areas such us money laundering, sexual exploitation, online investment fraud or drug-trafficking; notes with satisfaction moreover that, in 2022, the Agency supported 265 Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) (of which 78 JITs newly established), organised 528 CMs and 22 Coordination Centres (CCs), facilitated the execution of 1 262 European Arrest Warrants (of which 504 new cases) and enabled the use of 5 415 European Investigation Orders (around half of which newly opened); notes that the Agency maintains cooperative relations with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), with a view to enhancing the fight against crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union; 7. Commends the Agency for the actions undertaken in response to the Russian illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022; notes that three weeks after the war began, the Agency supported the establishment of the JIT investigating alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine with the aim to facilitate investigations and prosecutions in the states concerned; notes that the Agency delivered legal and operational support to the national desks related to the extension of the JIT agreement to new parties (Estonia, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia), as well as legal analyses and opinions related to the participation of the International Criminal Court in the JIT; notes further that the Agency provides operational support to the ‘EU Freeze and Seize’ Task Force set up by the Commission by coordinating Member States’ enforcement of Union sanctions through criminal law, done through several actions, such as regularly cross-checking the list of individuals and companies sanctioned by the Union against the Agency's data on existing cases handled by the Agency and collecting relevant information at national level on past and ongoing investigations related to those listed in the sanctions list to facilitate criminal proceedings; 8. Welcomes that in 2022 the Agency enhanced its operational and strategic cooperation with various stakeholders, such as the European justice and home affairs agencies (JHA), the Union's institutions, OLAF, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), as well as judicial practitioner networks, third countries and international organisations; notes in particular the Agency’s cooperation with the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) on a joint report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) supporting cross-border cooperation in criminal justice, with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) on 16 courses covering judicial cooperation and with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) on the SIRIUS project and the Europol’s ‘hit/no-hit’ system, with national authorities from 20 Member States, Europol, OLAF and EPPO on Operation SENTINAL targeting fraud against COVID-19 recovery funds; highlights the Agency’s contribution to the Commission’s initiatives in the area of justice digitalisation (SIS II, CMS, ECRIS-TCN, among other); notes that the Agency has been relying on an ever-growing network of Contact Points with the competent authorities in third countries, whereas in 2022, the Agency's total number of Contact Points grew to include Australia, Bahrain and Morocco; commends the expansion of the Agency’s cooperation on criminal matters at international level, in particular through the EuroMed Justice Programme with the South Partner Countries and an EU-funded project focusing on cross-border cooperation in criminal justice in the Western Balkans; 9. Appreciates the transnational cooperation between judicial authorities facilitated by the Agency and the close cooperation with all actors in the criminal justice chain, which contributed to the arrest of more than 4 000 suspects, the seizure and or freezing of criminal assets worth almost EUR 3 billion and the seizure of drugs worth almost EUR 12 billion; Efficiency and gains 10. Highlights that, in addition to the rolling out of SUMMA, the Agency further enhanced its Activity Based Management processes and tools, by increasing the efficiency, data quality/integrity and usability of its planning tool, by introducing a new activity-recording tool, and by continuing its gradual move from output to result KPIs; commends the Agency for initiating a discussion with Europol to explore the potential sharing of medical services in the future; commends further the Agency’s decision to retain certain efficiencies gained during the COVID-19 pandemic; notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that in 2022 the Agency organised online 47 % of CMs and all staff trainings and selection procedures, thus reducing significantly the related financial and human resource costs, as well as 29 % of all CMs in hybrid mode; 11. Notes that, with a view to increase efficiency, two organisation-wide projects went live in 2022, the Agency’s Self Service Portal and Pexip, the new videoconferencing system for CMs and CCs, with up to at least 10 simultaneous interpretations; notes further that the analysis for the migration of the existing Extranet and the selection of suppliers for the replacement of the Library system have been completed, while a certified e-signature tool is still in progress with expected outcome in 2024; commends the Agency for implementing four new SYSPER modules (Appraisal, Job titles/Job descriptions, NDP, Reporting), in addition to the five modules already implemented in the previous years; notes the Agency’s commitment to fully implement SYSPER by 2024; 12. Notes from the Court’s report that the Agency is not yet among the agencies that have established corporate plans in order to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations, have some form of environmental reporting integrated in their annual activity reports or have received the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) registration; recalls that in 2021 the Agency initiated the implementation of the EMAS / ISO 14001 compliance framework; notes in this context that in 2022 the Agency received the final report from the external consultancy company, including all relevant information regarding the environment-related regulations in the Netherlands; notes further that during 2022, the Agency joined the public tender for consultancy in Environmental Management Systems and Reduction and Offsetting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Staff policy 13. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the Agency’s establishment plan was 100 % executed (same as in 2021), with 221 temporary agents appointed out of 221 temporary agents (TAs) authorised under the Union budget for 2022, whereas 209 out of 221 TAs were in post and 12 offer letters were sent; notes that, in addition, 18 contract agents and 22 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; notes further that a reclassification exercise was carried out, which led to 53 staff members being reclassified; 14. Notes the gender representation within the Agency for 2022, with 6 men (60 %) and 4 women (40 %) in senior and middle management, 16 men (64 %) and 9 women (36 %) in the Agency’s management board, and with 85 men (33 %) and 175 women (67 %) for the overall staff; calls on the Agency to ensure better gender balance at all levels of staff and to further encourage female candidates to apply for management positions, as well as applications from male candidates in external selections for the remainder of staff positions; acknowledges that the Agency is not responsible for the composition of its management board (hereinafter ‘the College’) as the National Members of the College are appointed directly by the respective Member States; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the College; 15. Notes that between 2017 and 2022, the Agency sought the advice from an external law firm specialised in Union civil service law for several requests for assistance in relation to alleged psychological harassment; notes that a request for assistance received in 2021 led to the opening of two separated administrative inquiries in which the Agency sought the support of two external investigators; notes that in both cases the inquiries were closed without further action, whereas one of them was further taken before the court; invites the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the outcome in this matter; 16. Highlights that in 2022 the Agency adopted implementing rules to the Staff Regulations concerning, among other, the conduct of administrative inquiries and disciplinary proceedings, the home leave for staff serving in a third country and the payment of the education allowance provided to staff members under certain conditions; welcomes the measures taken by the Agency for the integration of persons with disabilities, as well as the Agency’s commitment to adopt, in the framework of the implementation of the HR strategy, the ‘Charter on diversity and inclusion’ endorsed by the JHA Network’s Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion; 17. Notes that the Agency’s staff were primarily teleworking until March 2022; notes that, as of April 2022, all staff returned to the Agency's premises; notes in this context that the Agency put in place transitional measures regarding work in the office and teleworking and organised workshops to help staff to mentally adapt to the return to the office after continually teleworking for two years; notes also that the results of the Agency's 2023 Staff Survey indicate that the welfare measures taken by the Agency in 2022 effectively alleviated the impact that extended teleworking had on staff; notes, in particular, that 96 % of respondents were positive about being able to coordinate with team members despite working from different locations; 18. Notes with satisfaction that as of 31 December 2022, the Agency has employed staff from 26 Member States; notes that the most represented nationalities among the Agency’s staff were the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Romania; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation; Procurement 19. Recalls the observation from the Court's report for 2020 that a framework contract for vehicle leasing with a single economic operator was not appropriate for the nature of the services required and the contract awarded as the outcome of the procedure, as well as all the related payments, were irregular; notes from the Court’s report that in 2022 the Agency irregularly paid EUR 59 281 under this contract and the observation is still open; calls on the Agency to examine the possibility of putting an end to that framework contract and launching a new procedure with reopening of competition as considered appropriate by the Court in the case of vehicles leasing; 20. Notes from the Agency's follow-up report for the 2021 discharge (hereinafter ‘the follow-up report’) that the Agency continues the testing of the Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT), with the intention to make use of it for all new procurement procedures launched from 2024 onwards; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 21. Notes the Agency’s standard operating procedure regarding the management of conflicts of interest applicable to all candidates that are offered a position in the Agency, newcomers, staff that change position, as well as to all staff leaving the Agency; highlights that the Agency has put in place a Code of Ethics for the members of the College and Executive Board, however without a policy in the area of ‘revolving doors’; notes that, in 2022, there have been cases of conflicts of interest reported and managed, in particular regarding the involvement of members of the College in staff related proceedings; notes with appreciation that the persons concerned recused themselves and did not participate in the deliberations and decision-making of the College in this regard; 22. Notes that, although the Agency does not have meetings with lobbyists, the meetings of the Agency’s Executive Board with externals guests visiting the Agency were published on the Agency’s twitter account in 2022 and, as of 2023, on the Agency’s public website; deeply regrets that, despite Parliament’s repeated calls in several discharge resolutions, the Agency still does not publish on its website the CVs of all its senior management staff and in-house experts and external experts; urges the Agency to publish those CVs or explain the reasons why the Agency has not yet done so; Internal control 23. Recalls that in 2021 an OLAF investigation, carried out following an anonymous complaint regarding allegations of irregularities in recruitment procedures, was ongoing; notes that in 2022 OLAF reported that no irregularities were found thereon; notes further in this context that because this investigation was partially still pending at the end of 2022, and due to confidentiality reasons, OLAF decided not to share more details at that stage; welcomes from the follow-up report the Agency’s commitment to keep the discharge authority informed of any development on this matter in due time; 24. Notes that at the end of 2022, there were four significantly delayed recommendations issued by the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) in 2019 and 2021; notes in this context that, as regards the IAS recommendation from 2021 on own initiative on operational tasks, the Agency’s relevant internal working group agreed on a strategic document and an action plan, with short and mid-term actions, some of which have already been implemented in 2023, whereby, subject to final IAS assessment, the Agency has marked that recommendation as implemented; notes further from the follow-up report, as regards the IAS recommendation from 2021 for the Agency to carry out an iCAT survey to strengthen the assessment of soft controls, that the launch of that survey, planned in Q4 2022, was delayed due to the implementation of major cross-organisational projects (e.g. SUMMA), the increase in workloads due to new priorities related to the war in Ukraine, and the transitional period between the departure of the previous administrative director and the appointment of the new one; notes in this context that the relevant iCAT questions were integrated into the Agency's Engagement Survey (SES) launched in Q2 2023; notes lastly that, subject to the IAS final assessment, that recommendation also is deemed implemented by the Agency; calls on the Agency to speed up the implementation of the remaining open IAS recommendations, in particular those that are significantly delayed; 25. Notes with concern the significant increase in the number and value of non-compliance events in 2022 (43 events of value EUR 294 000) compared with 2021 (33 events of value EUR 18 000), whereas such events were mainly linked to issues such as an invoice being higher than the legal commitment, the budgetary commitment taking place after the legal commitment was assigned or the absence of a purchase order or specific contract; notes the Agency explaining that that increase is linked to the difficulties encountered in budgetary and financial management in 2022, due to the introduction of SUMMA; calls on the Agency to address these observations and explore models so that these kind of situations no longer occur in the future; 26. Notes that in 2022, the Agency’s internal control framework components and principles were present and functioning, and the system was overall effective, with some improvements needed as regards e.g. the implementation of SUMMA and the need to adopt a Disaster Recovery Plan; commends the Agency for the adoption of a policy on sensitive functions, the draft assessment of the cost-effectiveness and benefit of appointing an Internal Audit Capability (IAC), and the absence of critical audit recommendations or observations in 2022; invites the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the outcome of the assessment regarding IAC; commends lastly the Agency’s further actions following-up on the adoption in 2021 of the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy; notes in this sense that the Agency adopted in 2022 new internal procedures for assets and inventory management; Other comments 27. Commends the Agency for investing in its communication activities in order to raise the Agency’s visibility and understanding about its work reaching a wide-ranging audience; notes as a result an increase of the Agency’s social media metrics by 40 %, the number of visitors of the Agency’s website by almost 100 %, and the number of press releases and news items by 16 % in 2022 compared to 2021, with the latter indicator leading to an increase of close to five times more mentions compared to 2021; 28. Commends the Agency’s continued efforts in 2022 to strengthen its data protection compliance; welcomes the increase in the team of the Agency’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) with two more staff for the new tasks in connection with the Regulation (EU) 2018/1725(12) and the extension of the Agency’s mandate for core international crimes, which adds to the data protection requirements; notes that in 2022 the DPO and the European Data Protection Supervisor continued holding regular (bi-monthly) meetings, as well as ad-hoc ones, and consultations on various data protection issues such as data breaches and complaints, among other; 29. Commends further the Agency for implementing in 2022 several measures in order to increase the cyber security and protection of the digital records in its possession, such as the deployment of centrally managed and secured corporate mobile phones, the introduction of internal CyberCafe awareness raising sessions and the implementation of protection against Distributed Denial of Service attacks, among other; o 30. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(13) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Training Foundation |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Foundation in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0101/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1339/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a European Training Foundation(4), and in particular Article 17 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0114/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Training Foundation discharge in respect of the implementation of the Foundation’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Training Foundation, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2022 (2023/2163(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Foundation in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0101/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1339/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a European Training Foundation(9), and in particular Article 17 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0114/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Training Foundation, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2022 (2023/2163(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0114/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Training Foundation (the ‘Foundation’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 25 051 848, representing an increase of 17,05 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Foundation derives entirely from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Foundation for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Foundation’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a high budget implementation rate of 99,98 %, representing a slight increase of 0,07 % compared to 2021; points out that the payment appropriations execution rate was 97,70 %, representing an increase of 11,48 % compared to 2021; 2. Welcomes the fact that despite the budget crisis caused by inflation and utilities prices in 2022, the Foundation has been able to effectively manage its expenses, introduce cost-saving measures and reprioritise without major disruptions to its work programme; Performance 3. Notes with satisfaction that the Foundation uses certain measures as key performance indicators to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management; 4. Notes that the Foundation achieved a 93 % activity completion rate, a slight decrease compared to 2021, with a timely completion of 89 %; commends that the Foundation has achieved all the key performance indicators above or well above targets set; 5. Notes the Foundation’s key achievements of 2022, which are based on three strategic objectives: skills relevance and anticipation, skills development and validation, and performance and quality of education and training policies; notes that those objectives are delivered by the Foundation under three core services: knowledge hub, monitoring and assessment, and policy advice; 6. Notes the new initiatives launched by the Foundation in 2022, such as the new Team Europe Initiative in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean and the network gathering Governance Learning Action and Dialogue (GLAD); notes the growth of its network for excellence and the Foundation´s network for excellence online conference in November 2022 which provided the opportunity for participants to share developments and results on the work of the thematic partnership; 7. Highlights that the Foundation is supporting Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine as candidate countries in their aspirations to align their education and employment policies with those of the Union, by providing technical expertise and advice on various issues to the national authorities in close cooperation with the Union delegations and Commission services; 8. Welcomes that the measures taken by the Foundation in response to shocks, such as the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian aggression in Ukraine, were very effective in ensuring a continued and very high level of delivery of the annual work programme; commends the initiative of the Foundation to support Ukraine through the online resource hub for the recognition of qualifications, skills and study periods of Ukrainian refugees, and other means, and to respond, where possible and relevant, in close contact with different Commission services, tapping into its thematic expertise and knowledge of education and training systems of the country; 9. Underlines that the Foundation has suspended all activities and cooperation with Belarusian authorities since the beginning of 2022; 10. Welcomes the Foundation’s activities in helping Union partner countries harness the potential of their human capital and improve the employment prospects of their citizens through the reform of education, vocational training, skills and labour market systems, in the context of the Union’s external relations policies; 11. Welcomes in particular the Foundation’s new concept of entrepreneurial centres of vocational excellence that have been developed to contribute to the international debate in the entrepreneurial learning community, and to inspire training centres to better respond to the changing needs of citizens, economies and societies; Efficiency and gains 12. Notes that, in 2022, the Foundation continued to identify opportunities to introduce efficiency gains in its operations, such as improving digital workflows and proactively participating in the Union agencies network and its different working groups; notes, among others, the sharing of the Foundation’s accounting services with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work through a service level agreement signed in 2022 and the evaluation of the possibility of sharing resources in the areas of recruitment, cyber-security, EMAS, sustainability and greening, procurement and IT tools and systems with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training; 13. Notes that the Foundation has put in place measures, including in the areas of energy consumption and building management, for example, closing the offices in August 2022, sensors for lighting and water, timers for boilers, heating and air conditioning; notes the increased efforts on energy management that have led to savings of 2,000 mc of gas and 49,107 KwH of electricity in 2022 despite the increased presence of staff in offices throughout the year due to hybrid working arrangements in place; 14. Welcomes the Foundation´s commitment to adopting all the Commission’s e-procurement tools and the fact that Foundation’s procurement process is fully digitalised; 15. Commends the Foundation for having established a corporate plan to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of its operations; Staff policy 16. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 98,8 % implemented, with 85 officials and temporary agents appointed out of 86 officials and temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (the same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 39 contract agents and one local agent worked for the Foundation in 2022; 17. Notes that 21 Member States were represented among the Foundation’s staff in 2022; reiterates with concern that geographical balance is a challenge; notes that 42 % of the Foundation´s staff are nationals of the Member State where it is located; acknowledges that the Foundation uses merit-based selection procedures, whereby in presence of equal merits, the Foundation would favour the under-represented nationalities; recalls the importance of geographical balance and calls on the Foundation to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation, including at middle and senior management positions, while at the same time respecting the competences and merits of the candidates and report any developments in that regard to the discharge authority; 18. Notes that the gender balance among middle and senior management in 2022 was four women out of nine posts; notes that the gender balance among the members of the management board is 41 % men and 59 % women (11 and 16 respectively) and among staff overall 33 % men and 67 % women (41 and 84 respectively); recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Foundation to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its middle and senior management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Foundation’s management board; 19. Notes that according to the follow up on 2021 discharge observations, the Foundation has revised its vacancy notices to increase the attractiveness of the place of employment and is diversifying the communication channels to target countries which are less represented via LinkedIn; 20. Notes that the Foundation adopted the charter on diversity and inclusion in December 2022; notes that, in 2022, the staff had many benefits to improve the well-being at work and, additionally, new rules were adopted on working time and hybrid working that continue to provide staff with opportunities for new flexible ways of working; Procurement 21. Takes note of the Court’s observation regarding the award of a EUR 1 million framework contract for content support services, initiated in 2021, according to which it was irregular due to a deviation from technical specifications; notes that tenderers were required to provide closed and signed accounts showing a turnover of at least EUR 250 000 for the last two financial years, namely 2019 and 2020, to demonstrate their financial capacity; observes that the winning tenderer’s turnover for 2019 had not reached the required threshold but, however, the Foundation instead of rejecting the tenderer, decided not to reject it on the basis of the higher turnover shown in the 2021 provisional accounts; highlights the fact that the Court concluded that the evaluation procedure and the resulting contract are irregular and so are all the related payments, which, in 2022, amounted to EUR 100 100; takes note that following the Court’s observation, the Foundation will be simplifying its methodology, which will continue to assess the financial reliability of contractors, however, making it more tailored to the current financial situation (post COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine); 22. Notes that in another open procurement procedure for in-country support services for an amount of EUR 4 million, the tenderers’ financial and economic capacities were to be assessed by two criteria: (i) stable financial position, demonstrated by a set of parameters, including positive net profit; and (ii) a yearly turnover of at least EUR 1 million in the last two financial years; observes that the Foundation awarded the contract to a consortium of five non-commercial entities even though none of the members of the consortium had reported any profits in the last two years, and in addition, it decided to disregard the turnover requirement, which the winning tenderer did not meet, as non-applicable to non-commercial entities; highlights that the Court concluded that the Foundation applied the selection criteria incorrectly and that the economic and financial capacity of the winning tenderer has not been demonstrated; notes furthermore that the evaluation procedure, and the resulting contract, are therefore irregular, as are all the related payments, which, in 2022, amounted to EUR 70 500; observes that the procurement procedure in question was targeting human capital development in Central Asia and following the Court’s observation, the Foundation will pursue discussions with the relevant Commission services on possible alternative methods to implement the activities in its partner countries and in parallel will be simplifying its methodology on financial assessment to target, where applicable, the non-Union market; 23. Recalls the importance, for all procurement procedures, to ensure fair competition between tenderers and to procure goods and services at the best price, respecting the principles of transparency and the sound use of public resources, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; calls on the Foundation to take actions to guarantee that in future procurement procedures there is full compliance with the applicable rules ensuring transparency, fairness, and integrity in the tendering process; 24. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Foundation had only one open Court finding on the procurement procedure for interim workers, issued in 2018, and previously acknowledged by the Parliament in its discharge report; notes, additionally, that the Foundation addressed this issue when launching the new framework contract, due to be signed in 2023; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 25. Notes that the Foundation published all the declarations of conflict of interest and CVs for management board members, and senior and middle managers; notes, furthermore, that the Foundation lists all meetings held by its director and organisations and self-employed individuals on its website; 26. Notes that the Foundation has an internal anti-fraud strategy, which is regularly updated, and it may consider complementing that strategy with an anticorruption section; further notes that it is now developing a policy on conflicts of interest issues; Internal control 27. Welcomes the positive opinion the internal audit service issued on the complementarity and cooperation mechanisms between the Foundation and the Commission in its final audit report in December 2022 highlighting the Foundation’s staff expertise and the set up of a bi-annual structured dialogue to ensure better coordination for the preparation of governing board meetings; observes that, nevertheless, the internal audit service also points out two very important issues regarding the Foundation's mandate and monitoring of indicators, as well as two important issues on priority alignment and Union requests database and procedure improvements; acknowledges that in response, the Foundation, in collaboration with DG EMPL, has devised an action plan to tackle those recommendations, which were to come into effect in 2023; Other comments 28. Notes the Foundation’s dedicated attention to cyber security and digital records and data management and the actions undertaken in order to follow the relevant guidelines from the Union, such as backup improvements and the Foundation’s main websites’ penetration tests; notes, additionally, that following a Foundation-wide information security risk assessment performed in 2021, a risk treatment plan was developed and agreed in 2022; 29. Notes that, in 2022, the Foundation retained both the EMAS certification and the ISO 14001 certification following an environmental audit carried out in March 2022 (and 2023); 30. Welcomes the fact that the Foundation has continued to implement different measures to increase its public and online presence, including through the production and promotion of 10 podcasts, two international awards and 10 joint communications, the streaming of seven LIVE LearningConnects interviews, and taking part at the UN COP conference to present its work on green skills; notes in that context a significant increase in the Foundation’s social media metrics in 2022 compared to 2021; 31. Reiterates its call on the Foundation to ensure greater transparency and public accountability by better-utilising media and social media channels; o 32. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Maritime Safety Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0096/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency(4), and in particular Article 19 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0107/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2158(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0096/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency(9), and in particular Article 19 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0107/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2158(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0107/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Maritime Safety Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 115 807 269,88 representing an increase of 9,48 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives from the Union budget and operational income; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; D. whereas with regard to the Agency’s internal control systems, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriations rate of 99,80 %, representing a slight increase of 0,14 % compared to 2021 and a current year payment appropriations execution rate of 98,42 %, representing also an increase of 1,10 %; Performance 2. Welcomes the fact that the Agency uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the implementation of its annual work programme in the key areas to which the Agency contributes and its horizontal activities (sustainability, surveillance, safety and security, simplification, digitalisation, technical assistance, capacity building and strategic support); commends that overall the targets have been achieved, with very few targets lagging behind mainly due to justified reasons; further notes that the Agency has achieved its objectives of 2022 in accordance with the annual work programme and the multi-annual strategic framework; 3. Takes note of the fact that the Agency has been actively involved in several initiatives related to the European Green Deal and has provided support and data to the Commission and to Member States with a particular emphasis on different proposals within the “Fit for 55 package” such as the FuelEU Maritime proposal and the proposal aiming at the extension of the Emission Trading Scheme to maritime transport; 4. Welcomes the fact that the Agency has become an important actor regarding the monitoring and reporting of vessels of interest after the illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022; notes in this regard that the maritime support service (MSS) reported on Russian-flagged vessels to Member States and the Commission, on ship calls to EU ports to specific Member States and to the Commission, and on ship calls related to sanctions (e.g. coal imports); 5. Notes that the Agency’s Earth Observation services continued to develop and deliver surveillance capabilities, with emphasis on CleanSeaNet, Copernicus Maritime Surveillance to Frontex and the support to maritime emergencies at sea in the context of the Agency’s contingency plan; 6. Welcomes the fact that the Agency provided technical support to the Commission and to the EFTA Surveillance Authority by participating in the inspections they organised to assess and verify the implementation and enforcement of EU maritime security legislation in the Member States; 7. Observes that in 2022 the Agency provided the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) with access to maritime and surveillance information services to support them in the areas of law enforcement and organised crime activities at sea; 8. Notes that the Agency maintained its role as a centre of excellence for capacity building, implementing the IPA II project and concluding projects for technical assistance in the Mediterranean Sea (SAFEMED IV) and the Black and Caspian Sea (BCSEA) in 2022; 9. Welcomes the Agency’s support to the Commission at IMO, particularly in forums such as MEPC, PPR and CCC; this support covers crucial areas of pollution prevention and sustainability, including the IMO Strategy on reducing GHG emissions, carbon intensity of shipping, safety, evaluation, deployment and use of sustainable alternative fuels and technologies, marine litter and underwater noise; highlights that the upcoming IMO work on developing the corresponding requirements and standards for the use of new fuels and technologies will be of key importance in their uptake at both global and EU level; Efficiency and gains 10. Notes that in the framework of the new mandate for European cooperation on coast guard functions the Agency has shared information, expertise, procedures, training materials and tools with the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and Frontex; further notes that the Agency continues to work closely with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCCDA) in order to increase its efficiency and save costs due to the geographical proximity of both agencies; welcomes the fact that the Agency was supporting EMCCDA via knowledge sharing in respect of EMAS registration and with EFCA continued to ensure the mutual back-up arrangement in place for the accounting function in both Agencies; points out the horizontal benefits of working together and adapting best practices and that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; 11. Notes that the Agency has worked to improve its efficiency and effectiveness by the automation of procedures with the aim to significantly decrease the administrative workload of specific staff members, enabling them to focus on tasks in related areas with higher added value; observes that additionally, the Agency has initiated pilot projects for the Qualified E-signature and the integration of corporate tools with ARES; invites the Agency to identify more internal procedures that could be streamlined via automation; Staff policy 12. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was stable, and fulfilled by 99,06 %, with 210 officials and temporary agents (TAs) appointed out of 212 authorised under the Union budget (same as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 28 contract agents and 16 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; 13. Notes the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management members, with 5 out of 16 (31 %) being women; notes the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s administrative board members, with 10 out of 57 (18 %) being women; further notes the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s overall staff, with 99 out of 264 (38 %) being women; recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; welcomes in this regard that the Agency has launched a Gender Action Plan for 2022-2025, focusing on the improvement of gender balance and equality in the long term on a quality basis; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s administrative board; encourages the Agency to also adopt the “Charter on D&I” and continue to participate in initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace at all levels of hierarchy; 14. Stresses the ongoing challenge of recruiting Seconded National Experts (SNE) given the difficulty in attracting experts from the Member States; points out that the Agency had some unsuccessful calls; proposes to give internal contract agents an opportunity to advance to the next function group through a general selection procedure; regarding the efficiency gains, it notes that the Agency aims and works to improve its procedures to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness for the optimal use of human and financial resources; 15. Welcomes the fact that in the context of prevention of harassment in the workplace six new Confidential Counsellors were appointed after having successfully completed a compulsory training and are now active in this role in the Agency; 16. Notes that the Agency launched an HR Strategy project with the consultation of staff, management and the Staff Committee, a project to create an online induction programme for newcomers, and the preparatory work related to the decision on working time and hybrid working, that were expected to be adopted in 2023; asks the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed of the progress in these matters; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 17. Acknowledges that Members and Alternates of the Agency’s Administrative Board are requested to sign a Declaration of Commitment and Confidentiality at their nomination and annually, to declare any (potential) conflict of interest which might be considered prejudicial to the treatment of any item on the agenda at the beginning of each meeting of the Administrative Board; notes that all staff (including senior management involved in specific procedures) are required to declare (potential) conflicts of interest in various procedures such as procurement and recruitment; takes note that during the course of 2022 one case of conflict of interest was declared by a selection committee member in a recruitment procedure and after analysis of the declared conflict, the member was replaced; 18. Notes that the Agency has adopted the ‘EMSA Administrative Board Conflict of Interest Policy’, establishing principles to govern impartiality and independence of its members and their alternates and define the measures to ensure their practical application in order to prevent and mitigate the risks that past, current or future interests might improperly influence the impartiality and the independence of the Board members during the performance of their duties; 19. Takes note of the fact that the CVs for Administrative Board members and Management Staff are published on the Agency’s website; Other comments 20. Commends that in accordance with the Agency’s Risk Management Framework the risk register was fully updated and fine-tuned in 2022, and that during this exercise special attention was given to the identification of potential fraud-related risks and overall opportunities; further welcomes that following the invasion of Russia in Ukraine, some new identified risks and opportunities related to this major crisis were identified and included in the updated risk registers; 21. Congratulates the Agency on developing a number of ad hoc products to assist the Member States and Commission in the implementation of EU sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, such as reporting on ship calls for specific cargoes and flags; further welcomes the fact that the Agency has developed and provides to relevant stakeholders a monthly report on the impact of developments in Ukraine on maritime traffic and trade; 22. Welcomes the fact that the Agency has carried out different greening activities in 2022, such as an extensive greening communication campaign, creation of a reusable stationary room, participation in the European Mobility Week, and lowering the basic temperature in the premises during winter season, among others; 23. Recalls that the Agency launched in 2019 the ‘Greening EMSA’ project, aiming to introduce environmental management, and the final step with the external verification audit took place in January 2022; notes that consequently the Agency has received the EMAS label and has its environmental statement published; 24. Notes that the Agency has intensified its cooperation with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity by participating in the pilot project for the future implementation of the upcoming Cybersecurity Regulation; notes furthermore that the Agency has strengthened its collaboration with CERT EU by renewing a specific Service Level Agreement which now incorporates more actions, such as an increased number of security assessments, and by providing access for real-time monitoring of security events in the EMSA IT infrastructure; further notes that the Agency is performing regular security assessments with CERT EU and the Council’s Interinstitutional Security Services provider; 25. Notes that the Agency has implemented different measures in order to increase its public visibility and online presence, such as hosting conferences, sharing videos explaining the Agency’s main activities and competences, live streaming, and the launch of the ‘EMSA open day’ concept; 26. Applauds the commitment of the Agency to enhance its multilingual communication ensuring greater accessibility for all European citizens; notes that the Agency’s five year strategy, the European Maritime Environmental and the European Maritime Safety Reports are now accessible in all 24 EU languages; 27. Stresses the importance of the Agency’s activities in maritime security and requests its continued technical assistance to the Commission during inspections in this framework under Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on enhancing ship and port facility security; stresses a significant increase in cybersecurity incidents in the maritime sector in recent years; 28. Calls for promotion of digitalisation in the maritime sector by facilitating the electronic transmission of data, supporting simplification and providing integrated maritime surveillance and awareness systems and services to the Commission and the Member States; 29. Stresses that the EU's fleet growth (in terms of both ships and tonnage) is slower compared to the growth of the global fleet; in the last five years, the EU fleet experienced a growth of 3,4 %, in contrast to the global fleet, which exhibited a more substantial growth rate of 7 %; o 30. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Aviation Safety Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0083/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91(4), and in particular Article 121 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0116/2024), 1. Grants the Acting Executive Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Acting Executive Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2145(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0083/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91(9), and in particular Article 121 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0116/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Acting Executive Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2145(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0116/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 224 265 965, representing an increase of 10,04 % compared to 2021; whereas EUR 39 678 000 of the Agency’s budget derives from the Union budget and EUR 120 435 031 is revenue from fees and charges; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ’Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 97,08 %, representing an increase of 0,77 % compared to 2021; further notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 87,18 %, showing a slight decrease of 0,16 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that the Agency ended the year with a fees and charges budgetary result of negative EUR 8,2 million (compared to EUR 11,2 million in 2021); observes as a consequence that the Agency’s accumulated fees and charges surplus was brought down from EUR 72,1 million to EUR 63,9 million; notes that the rate of cancelled appropriations relating to commitments carried over to 2022 was at 2,82%, below the 5 % ceiling set by the Commission; 3. Notes that, according to the Court’s report, the Agency collects fees and charges for the provision of certification services, but does not document the checks it performs to ensure that this revenue is correctly collected, therefore not complying with the Articles 74(5) and 75 of the Financial Regulation; notes the Agency’s reply whereby the Agency commits to take the necessary actions to guarantee that checks are properly documented; Performance 4. Notes that in 2022 the Agency used certain measures to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management, through a mix of 128 objectives and 66 key performance indicators (KPIs) across 11 key areas of operation; notes that in 2022 the Agency had a very good performance with a 97 % implementation rate of its 2022 Annual Work Programme and 77 % of the Agency’s KPIs on-track; 5. Recognises the Agency’s key achievements and progress in 2022 in emerging areas linked to green solutions and digitalisation; notes in this context that the Agency stepped up its efforts for a clean aviation through the EASA Sustainable Aviation Programme - 2022 with various actions such as the publication of the third edition of the European Aviation Environmental Report and the successful contribution to the conclusions on environment of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) 41 Assembly; notes that the Agency conducted in 2022 a comprehensive review of the strategic priorities in addressing the risks to the system in connection with the European Plan for Aviation Safety system (EPAS); notes in this context that the review resulted in a stronger focus on the management of risk interdependencies, as well as on the competences of personnel, and included additional priorities for the safe integration of emerging technologies and new business concepts; notes that these new strategic priorities are included in the 2023-2025 EPAS edition adopted in 2022; 6. Notes the Agency's actions in 2022 for the implementation of the roadmap to Urban Air Mobility through the publication of the guidance for the design of vertiports, the proposed new regulatory framework for the operation of air taxis in cities, the guidelines to establish the noise levels of drones below 600 kg and the Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material to support the harmonised, safe and efficient implementation of U-space across the Union; 7. Salutes digital transformation of the European skies, including enhanced mobility options and streamlined qualifications for Air Traffic Controllers licencing and training and ATM Ground Systems; calls for the amendment of SERA RT phraseologies for communication between pilots and air traffic controllers; stresses that digital transformation of the European skies comprises several individual components and building blocks that are critical solutions for the future airspace architecture and aim to support safety, efficiency, and environmental performance; 8. Highlights the importance of Single European Sky tackling the fragmentation of European airspace and aiming at improving ATM performance from the safety, capacity, cost-efficiency and environmental perspectives; welcomes the Agency’s work in Single European Sky 2+ reform in 2022, particularly in the harmonization of ATCOs through licensing and the certification by the Agency of ATM/ANS ground systems; commends that both reforms reduce cost and increase capacity for ATM, and provide significant added value for the Single European Sky 2+ package of initiative; 9. Understands concerns about Russian passenger fleets; in particular, welcomes the involvement of the Agency in the Civil-Military Airspace Safety Team Ukraine, especially in relation to the increasing demands for airspace to facilitate State and NATO military exercises; acknowledges the successful implementation of the work programme with the European Defence Agency (EDA), which has significantly bolstered collaboration in the emerging frontier of innovation; welcomes that the Agency supported Commission initiatives in the framework of RescEU programme (fire fighters’ contract and aeronautical MEDEVAC/transport capacity); 10. Notes the Agency’s actions in response to the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, such as the publication of a Conflict Zone information Bulletin recommending operators to not overfly the areas with intense or heightened military activity, and the publication of Safety Information Bulletin on intermittent GNSS outages near Ukraine conflict areas; commends in this context that, after the trial phase of the initiative, the European Information Sharing and Cooperation Platform on Conflict Zones became operational with the objective to share information on threats to civil aviation arising from zones of conflict or armed insurgency; further highlights that illegal invasion of Ukraine has resulted in new safety issues and has strengthened pre-existing ones; reiterates its call for close relationship with European State and Military Aviation Authorities, EDA, Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and NATO, as appropriate for the discharge of the Agency’s tasks, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, to improve flight safety and security in Europe; 11. Acknowledges that the Agency complied with the sanctions and policies set by the Commission after the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and all cooperation activities with Russia were suspended, while the Agency focussed its attention on activities supporting Ukraine; welcomes in this context the fact that the Agency's Ramp Coordination team has supported the Commission in establishing a list of aircraft registrations that are used or controlled by Russian nationals, whereas the list was updated 38 times and covered more than a thousand aircraft in 2022; Efficiency and gains 12. Commends the Agency for sharing resources on overlapping tasks and competences with other Agencies, including in the areas of human resources advisory services, digitalisation and tools, e-learning and surveys, as well as for the participation in inter-institutional and inter-agency calls for tender; notes that the Agency is collaborating closely with the European Environmental Agency for the elaboration of reports such as the European Aviation Environmental Report, with Eurocontrol for mutual opportunities in aviation related learning solutions and with European Union Agency for Railways through a Memorandum a Cooperation signed in 2022 that establishes a regular structured dialogue and enhances the sharing of information, knowledge and experience in various cooperation areas; welcomes that the Agency has strategic partnerships on the sharing of resources and information with almost all of the national competent aviation authorities in its Member States; 13. Welcomes that the Agency has established a number of partnerships with other Union bodies to improve efficiency and coherence, including the European Environment Agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, the SESAR3 Joint Undertaking; welcomes the cooperation on learning solutions with several agencies on issues of common interest in the fields of human resources advisory services, digitalisation and tools, e-learning and surveys, including the European Medicines Agency, the European Securities Market Authority, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office; 14. Recalls that in 2020, the corporate transformation programme "Destination: Future-proof" was put in place to reduce costs, improve efficiency and address the Agency’s key ‘drivers’; notes that that programme, formally concluded in 2022, has delivered on key changes that include, among other, a simplified rulemaking procedure, pre-application services for innovative technologies and an improved corporate programming process, as well as a gain of 12 % in productivity (when comparing 2022 to 2019 outputs) equivalent to a reduction in the Agency’s overhead of 36 full time equivalents; welcomes the fact that the programme approach for achieving efficiency, as well as the infrastructure to initiate new initiatives has been established so that the Agency can continue to improve processes and digitalise; 15. Welcomes the actions taken by the Agency to monitor and manage its environmental footprint in areas related to its building, utilities and supplies, among other; notes in this context that the Agency has optimised the use of energy and water consumption in its building, purchases 100 % renewable electrical energy, has centralized waste collection points in the Agency’s team spaces and has measures in place to reduce paper and office supplies; 16. Notes that the Agency continues to apply the relevant Green Public Procurement criteria and requirements using the available toolkits on its calls for tenders; further notes that in 2022 one staff member was recruited with the aim of ensuring resources to re-start the analysis of instruments of continuous improvements in the environmental performance of organisations, with primary focus on EMAS and ISO 14001; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority on the results of that analysis; Staff policy 17. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 95,59 % implemented, with 651 temporary agents appointed out of 681 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 680 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 95 contract agents and 23 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; 18. Notes that the Agency made significant investments on reinforcing technical capabilities during 2022 and on offering career progression opportunities with a renewed competence policy; notes in this context that in 2022 the Agency successfully recruited over 60 newcomers, deployed the third generation of Junior Qualification Programme (JQP), offered internal career development opportunities to over 70 staff members and delivered 98 % of planned technical trainings to staff; commends the Agency’s very low turnover rate (0,1 %) in 2022; 19. Observes with concern the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management members, with 17 out of 22 (77 %) being men, and within the Agency’s management board, with 59 out of 79 (75 %) being men; further notes the gender balance within the Agency’s overall staff, with 525 out of 757 (69 %) being men; notes that the Agency is systematically monitoring the gender distribution among applicants and actively reaches out for female candidates, by publishing the positions in the right forums, explicitly encouraging applications from female candidates, and drafting positions with precise information as it may affect work-life balance; calls on the Agency to continue its efforts towards gender balance at management and overall staff level through concrete actions that attract applications from women for posts offered by the Agency; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s management board; 20. Welcomes that the Agency maintained focus on gender balance, geographical balance and diversity; recalls the importance to develop a long term human resources policy on work-life balance and the offer of specific training possibilities for career development, home office, right to disconnect, the enhancement of a geographical balance to have an appropriate representation from all Member States, and the recruitment and integration of people with disabilities, as well as the promotion of their equal treatment and their opportunities; 21. Notes from the Agency’s report with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency's for the financial year 2021 (he ‘Agency's report’), that, based on its competency management and strategic workforce planning programme, the Agency identified a stable staffing scenario 2022+ with significant external resource investments in technical and corporate expertise areas both for traditional tasks and emerging domains based on the Agency’s mid-term strategic priorities, including e.g. new technologies, cybersecurity, safety assessment, flight test and research; 22. Notes that in 2022 one case of harassment has been reported for which the Agency used the services of an external investigator of the Inter-Agencies network, with the conclusion that the harassment could not be confirmed; further notes that a total of 4 burnout cases was reported in 2022, the same number as in 2021; 23. Recalls from the Court's annual report on Union agencies for 2021 the observation regarding the Agency’s non-compliance with Article 16 of the Union’s Staff Regulations; notes that, according to the Court’s report, that observation remained open; notes however from the Agency’s report that the Agency has in the meantime formally established a Joint Committee, in addition to having revised its procedures to address weaknesses identified by the Court; Procurement 24. Notes that, according to the Court's report, the Agency concluded a contract with one service provider for the continued development of an incident reporting system for the value of EUR 1,9 million by using an extreme urgency procedure; notes the Court’s observation that since the legal conditions for the use of that procedure were not satisfied, the procedure was irregular, as were all the associated payments (EUR 261 385) made in 2022; notes nevertheless the Agency’s reply that the awarded contractor was the only one able to continue the development of that system without creating disruption and an immediate safety risk with potential catastrophic consequences; 25. Notes that, according to the Court's observations, the Agency, after having launched a tendering procedure for events management services, modified the price of the tender without following the provisions of the Article 151 of the financial regulation; observes that following complaint from the bidder, the Agency carried out a second evaluation that led to excluding the bidder on the grounds that it “did not meet the requirements set in the tender specifications“, however without specifying which requirements had not been met; notes the Court’s conclusion that the bidder’s exclusion was not properly justified; calls on the Agency to take the necessary actions to guarantee that in future procurement procedures any correction in price or exclusion of the tenderers are justified according to the applicable legal basis; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 26. Acknowledges the Agency’s existing system for the prevention and mitigation of conflicts of interest which includes an annual exercise during which staff is asked to review and update (if necessary) any change in their situation that could lead to an actual or potential conflict of interests; notes that in 2022, from all declarations of interest submitted by staff in various contexts (annual declaration, new recruits, post-employment or outside activities/ leave on personal grounds) and assessed by the Agency in line with the applicable procedure, 4 cases were referred on for opinion to the Agency’s Ethical Committee; welcomes the fact that in 2022 there were no confirmed cases of conflicts of interest and all cases where a risk of an actual or potential conflict of interest was identified could be mitigated via specific measures put in place, for example cooling-off, lobby-bans, non-involvements in certain assignments; 27. Notes that CVs and declarations of interest of board members and senior and middle managers are published on the Agency’s website; further notes that the Agency does not list all its meetings with lobbyists or interest representatives on its webpage and calls on the Agency to do so without delay; 28. Notes that the Agency is open to the possibility of an internal anticorruption strategy for the future, but considers at this moment that, according to the records in the past years, there is no threat in this regard; nevertheless, calls on the Agency to re-evaluate its position and take steps towards setting up an internal anticorruption strategy; Internal control 29. Notes that in 2022, the Commission's Internal Audit Service (IAS) carried out an audit on standardisation activities that assessed whether the controls in place provide reasonable assurance regarding compliance with the relevant legislation and the standardisation activities are organised in an efficient way to effectively support the achievement of the Agency's business objectives; further notes that as a result of that audit three recommendations were raised for which the Agency drafted an action plan to be implemented in the course of 2023; 30. Notes that the 2022 audit programme of the Agency’s Internal Audit Capability (IAC) consisted of 8 engagements, namely 4 assurance audits, including 1 audit performed by IAS, 2 consulting, and 2 follow-up audits; notes that during the 2022 follow-up audits, 2 out of the 13 actions identified in the initial audits from 2021 could be closed, while six actions were assessed as partially implemented and five actions remained open; calls on the Agency to take the necessary measures to address those actions; Other comments 31. Salutes the focus of the Agency to integrate Ukraine as a candidate country into the Union system; 32. Notes from the Agency’s report that in 2022 the Agency performed a comprehensive usability study involving tree testing and one-to-one user interview; notes that the study has provided qualitative insights that, in combination with the quantitative insights, are expected to improve EASA Pro, EASA Light and communities on the Agency's website; commends the Agency for having put in place a project to make EASA Light (a dedicated area of the Agency’s website which explains its activities in a simple non-technical English) available in all official languages of the Union; o 33. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Food Safety Authority |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0089/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety(4), and in particular Article 44 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0129/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2151(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0089/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety(9), and in particular Article 44 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0129/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2151(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0129/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Food Safety Authority (the ‘Authority’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 149 841 816,93, representing an increase of 15,99 % compared to 2021; whereas the Authority’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Authority for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Authority’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; D. whereas with regard to the Authority’s internal control systems, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriation rate of 99,95 % representing a slight decrease of 0,04 % compared to 2021; notes, furthermore, that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was at 89,77 % representing an increase of 0,92 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that a lack of resources and posts for plant protection products regulatory authorities results in delays in approving low risk active substances and updating assessment methodologies according to scientific developments, which would lower the environmental impact of plant protection products in the long term; calls on the Commission to take appropriate steps to ensure that the Authority has sufficient resources and posts to support Member States to meet their deadlines as set in Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, to double the amount of assessments of active substances for plant protection products per year and to triple the speed of development of methodologies to keep risk assessments abreast of the latest scientific developments and in line with societal expectations; Performance 3. Welcomes the Authority’s contribution to the safety of the Union food and feed chain, and its considerable efforts in providing risk managers with comprehensive, independent and up-to-date scientific advice on questions linked to the food chain, communicating clearly to the public on its outputs and the information on which they are based, and cooperating with interested parties and institutional partners to promote coherence and trust in the food safety system; 4. Notes with satisfaction that the Authority has implemented an integrated performance framework connecting resources and activities to outputs and expected results, complemented by a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and drive performance; notes, furthermore, that the performance against the targets set out in the Performance Framework reached an overall rate of 96 %; observes that the areas of Strategic Objectives 2 (Ensure preparedness for future risk analysis needs) and Strategic Objective 3 (Empower people and ensure organisational agility) featured a good performance overall, whilst the area of Strategic Objective 1 (‘Deliver Trustworthy Scientific Advice and Communication of Risks from Farm to Fork’), heavily impacted by the implementation of new rules and procedures under Regulation (EU) 2019/1381(12), featured a deviation from the target; 5. Highlights that the Authority has finalised 586 scientific questions out of the targeted 701 questions regarding the Objective 1: ‘Deliver Trustworthy Scientific Advice and Communication of Risks from Farm to Fork’; notes that despite the number of scientific questions closed was lower than forecasted, it broadly equated the new incoming questions received during the year, thus ensuring that the stock of open questions did not increase; 6. Welcomes that the area of communication of findings registered very positive results, with the timeliness of publication on the Authority’s Journal maintaining the positive performance achieved over the past 2 years; 7. Takes note that 2022 marked the first year of the implementation of the Strategy 2027; the Strategy 2027, designed as an evolution of the Strategy 2020, is focused on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 (in the short term) and prepares the Authority to address new evolving Union policies (in the longer term); 8. Welcomes the Authority’s organisation of ‘ONE Conference - Health, Environment, Society’ in June 2022, highlighting the connection between human, animal and environmental health and leading to a ‘one health-one environment’; 9. Notes that the Authority has launched a campaign on African Swine Fever in partnership with 18 Member States; further notes that the Authority has made a contribution to the conception and implementation of the EU Chemicals Strategy; 10. Notes that, according to the Annual Strategy Survey launched by the Authority asking for feedback from its customers, partners, and stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in the delivery of the Authority’s scientific opinions, the Authority’s ability to provide its advice in a timely manner remains a point of attention; Efficiency and gains 11. Observes that the Authority has been collaborating with the European Chemicals Authority, in the context of the new Union Chemicals Strategy, and with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to develop systems for the collection and analysis of genome sequencing; notes moreover that the Authority has shared human resources and research resources with Sister Agencies and the Joint Research Centre; further emphasizes the horizontal benefits of working together and adapting best practices; 12. Notes that the Authority has increased its efforts in 2022 on consolidating the implementation of new processes and IT tools, trying to achieve a high level of efficiency and to maximise synergies with other agencies; further notes that some of the Authority’s results regarding efficiency and gains in IT tools taken in 2020-2022 has not been targeted until the end of 2023; 13. Welcomes the Authority's intention to strengthen joint data management with Member States and other agencies in order to improve data quality and interoperability (in line with the One Health approach); Staff policy 14. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 95,55 % implemented, with five officials and 382 temporary agents appointed out of 405 posts authorised under the Union budget (compared to 380 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 170 contract agents and 14 seconded national experts worked for the Authority in 2022; notes furthermore that in order to implement Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 the Authority was granted 31 new staff posts in 2022, and 15 extra contract agents (CAs) for the period 2022-2024; 15. Takes note that in 2022 gender balance was achieved within the Authority’s overall staff, with 335 out of 557 (60,1 %) being women and within the Authority’s management board with 37 out of 70 (52,9 %) being women; observes that in senior and management positions, there is a higher proportion of positions occupied by men (63 %) compared to women (37 %); calls on the Authority to intensify the efforts to bridge the gender gap in senior and managerial positions; 16. Takes note that three cases of burnout were reported in 2022 by the medical service; emphasises the critical importance of maintaining equilibrium between professional responsibilities and personal life; calls on the Authority to continue promoting a healthy work-life balance among staff; 17. Notes that the Authority is committed with the values of the EU Agencies Network and the Charter on Diversity and Inclusion and is working for the adoption as soon as possible; further notes the Authority’s participation in the EU Agencies Network Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion by way of sharing synergies, information and resources regarding diversity and inclusion; in addition, some internal initiatives were implemented, such as a new career website and video about working at the Authority, with a special topic on diversity and inclusion; 18. Observes that the Authority has adopted the Guidelines for the Implementation of Aid for Persons with Disabilities promoting social policy and equal treatment at the work place; notes, moreover, that the Authority’s building has been designed in accordance with the Italian Accessibility Regulations for people with disabilities; 19. Notes that a new organisational structure designed to support the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 and ambitions of the Authority’s Strategy 2027 was implemented as of 1 January 2022; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 20. Notes that the Authority’s management board and operational management have signed a Declaration of Conflict of Interest and it is published and available in the website; further notes that the CVs of the members and alternate members of the management board were to be published by the end of 2023; 21. Observes that in 2022 the Authority identified and managed seven conflicts of interest at the level of annual declarations of interest pertaining to external experts; notes that the Authority prevented them from participating in the scientific activity; 22. Acknowledges that the Authority has in place a voluntary code of conduct according to which management board members oblige themselves to communicate to the Authority occupational activities carried out within a period of 2 years following the the end of their mandate; 23. Takes note that the Authority plans to adopt a new post-employment standard procedure by the first quarter of Q1/2024, which would include the criteria and procedure to discontinue the access to confidential information to staff leaving the service, monitoring and implementation requirements, and transparency standards; 24. Notes that the Authority has in place an anti-fraud strategy, developed in close cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office, accompanied by related implementing rules and an action plan to prevent fraud and corruption; Other comments 25. Observes that in June 2022 the Internal Audit Service (IAS) issued the audit report on information security and disaster recovery, with the objective to assess the adequacy of the design and implementation of the governance, and identified two observations and three important observations on IT Security Governance; notes that the Authority accepted the recommendations of the IAS and is currently implementing an action plan; 26. Welcomes the Authority’s efforts to increase its public visibility and online presence through the launch of the ‘#EUChooseSafeFood’ campaign for a second year, delivered in partnership with Member State competent authorities, with the objective of explaining the science behind food safety in the Union in an accessible way, and the organization of the ‘ONE – Health, Environment, Society - Conference’ in partnership with the other four ENVI agencies, which led to the launch of a joint Instagram channel called ‘One Health One Environment’; further notes that the Authority invested in making its website multilingual, with artificial intelligence via the Commission’s eTranslation widget; notes, moreover, that the Authority continued in 2022 to invest in developing its ‘OpenEFSA’ portal, in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2019/1381; 27. Welcomes that for the last few years the Authority has been one of the EMAS certified agencies; takes note that depending on the type of purchase the Authority applies ‘Green Public Procurement (GPP)’ standards as minimum tender specification requirements in selection and/or award criteria; o 28. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(13) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0085/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control(4), and in particular Article 23 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0109/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2022 (2023/2147(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0085/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control(9), and in particular Article 23 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0109/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2022 (2023/2147(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0109/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (the ‘Centre’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 99 872 000, representing a decrease of 40,59 % compared to 2021, as a result of changes in European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) grants; whereas the Centre’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Centre’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Centre’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions as regards revenue are legal and regular; whereas the Court audited four grant agreements with a total value of EUR 7,9 million and detected that three of those included VAT to the value of EUR 0,6 million (8,1 %) among the eligible costs; whereas the beneficiaries were engaging in activities as public authorities and consequently VAT is not an eligible cost under Article 186(4), second subparagraph, point (c), of the Financial Regulation; whereas the estimated total amount of non-compliant expenditure based on the rate and amount of VAT found in the sample described above represents 2,8 % of the total payment appropriations available in 2022 which exceeds the materiality threshold set for the audit and, consequently, resulted in a qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the Centre’s accounts; whereas, except for the matter explained above, the Court concluded that the revenue and payments underlying the accounts of the Centre for the financial year that ended 31 December 2022 are legal and regular in all material respects; C. whereas with regard to the Centre’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 98,86 %, representing an increase of 0,49 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 73,61 %, representing an increase of 9,53 % compared to the previous year; 2. Calls on the Commission to grant to the Centre the necessary resources to fulfil the objectives of the Strategy 2021-2027 and to implement the Centre’s revised mandate in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2022/2370(12); Performance 3. Recalls that the mission of the Centre is to identify, assess and communicate current and emerging threats to human health posed by infectious diseases and works within the six following fields, namely surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response support, scientific advice, microbiology surveillance, public health training and communication; 4. Notes that the Centre delivered 89 % of the outputs planned in its Single Programming Document 2022–2024; notes that 8 % of the planned outputs were postponed, while 3 % were delayed or cancelled by the end of the year; takes note that most of the outputs that have been postponed or delayed were dependant on the adoption and publication of the Centre’s revised mandate, which took place at the end of 2022; calls on the Centre to analyse the postponed outputs and report back to the discharge authority about its plan to deliver them; 5. Notes that throughout 2022, for the third consecutive year, the Centre maintained its public health emergency (PHE) plan in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic; takes note that in June the PHE level was gradually downgraded from Level 2 (Acute Phase) to Level 1 (Maintenance Phase); is of the opinion that the Centre acted speedily and efficiently throughout the entire period of the pandemic; considers that there could be a larger role for the Centre in shaping the European crisis response agenda for the future; 6. Notes that following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the influx of refugees fleeing the country, the Centre worked with the authorities of the five countries surrounding Ukraine providing technical and operational response activities within its remit, based on identified needs; takes note that in the second half of the year, the focus shifted from operational response to more medium-/longer-term and strategic response actions and the Centre’s experts were deployed to Poland and Romania in support of national authorities and the World Health Organization which were assisting Ukrainian displaced populations; 7. Observes that during the spring and summer of 2022, the Centre supported simultaneously three ongoing PHEs, namely COVID-19, Mpox, and hepatitis of unknown origin in children; notes with satisfaction that this experience was unique for the Centre and tested the limits of the Centre’s capacity to develop risk assessments and guidance for multiple health threats; 8. Welcomes the Centre’s modalities for the implementation of its reinforced mandate which entered into force in December 2022, as well as the transformation programme ASPIRE (Anticipate, Support, Prepare, Inform, Respond and Empower) developed to aid the implementation; Efficiency and gains 9. Recalls the importance of increasing the digitalisation of the Centre in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the Centre to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed and insists on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly those originating from Russia or China; 10. Welcomes the fact that the Centre continued its efforts towards delivering efficiency gains with the introduction of new methodologies, including the automation of support and operational processes; notes that during the year, four new administrative processes were automated through electronic workflows and a new cost-effective solution for the electronic workflows platform was also implemented to replace K2; notes that an overall analysis of the use of the electronic workflows already shows that a significant number of users have adopted them and that they have markedly reduced processing time, due to the elimination of unnecessary steps, while ensuring legal compliance; Staff policy 11. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan consisted of 215 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 208 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 112 contract agents and 5 seconded national experts worked for the Centre in 2022; 12. Notes with concern the lack of gender balance within the Centre’s senior and middle management, with four out of six (66,67 %) being men; notes the gender distribution among the Centre’s overall staff, with 198 out of 331 (60 %) being women and 133 out of 331 (40 %) being men; welcomes the fact that the Centre is in the process of adopting the charter on diversity and inclusion and it will be in place by Q4 2023; recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and calls on the Centre to take that aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitment of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members for appointment to the Centre’s management board; 13. Raises concerns about the geographical balance within the Centre’s senior and middle management; asks the Centre to report back on this to the discharge authority; 14. Notes that the first draft of the ‘People Strategy’ was developed in 2022, which aims to guide the modernisation and consolidation of the Centre’s HR management services; notes, furthermore, that individual strategy projects, such as the e-recruitment tool and the online induction programme were finalised in 2022, while others are underway; calls on the Centre to report to the discharge authority on any development in that regard; takes note that the Centre further enhanced its support to staff learning and development by increasing the allowance for individual training and facilitating staff access to e-learning platforms (EU Learn, LinkedIn Learning and the Centre’s Virtual Academy); 15. Notes that the Centre has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Centre is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looks forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Centre to continue to develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 16. Notes that the additional posts allocated to the Centre following the extension of its mandate have been filled in 2022; underlines that the addition of new tasks and its increasing workload must be accompanied by adequate corresponding increases in the Centre’s staff and resources, and that a shortage of staff puts the continuity of its operations under significant pressure and threatens the quality of the Centre’s work; 17. Notes with concern the overlapping mandate between the Centre and HERA and calls for reduction of duplication of efforts between the two entities and clear division of tasks; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and transparency 18. Notes that the Centre continued to apply and strengthen its independence policy for non-staff and staff members; observes that in 2022, the Centre lacked a small percentage of declarations of interest; notes furthermore that all external experts consulted during the production of rapid risk assessments declared their interests before publication; notes that all members of the management board and advisory forum attending the meetings and thus contributing to the discussions had valid annual declarations of interest and the director and heads of unit filled their annual declarations of interest as well as 99 % of external experts attending the Centre’s meetings that required a conflicts of interest check submitted an annual declaration of interest; 19. Calls on the Centre to ensure that all management board members, advisory forum members and their alternates have dutifully submitted the required annual declarations of interest; calls on the Centre to ensure that appropriate experts are engaged in the Centre’s work throughout its activities and that a high level of compliance with conflict of interest rules is maintained; 20. Takes note that the Centre’s independence policy for persons that are not members of staff provides for the procedure to be followed to identify and avoid potential conflicts of interest; notes that in summary, this involves the collection of declarations of interest in particular circumstances, for example when a scientific output will be produced, which are then assessed by the Centre’s member of staff responsible for the relevant activity, with support of the Centre’s compliance officer; notes that no actual conflict of interest was reported in 2022; 21. Notes that the internal procedure for the Centre’s meetings with commercial organisations active in the field of its mandate was developed in 2022 and formally implemented in January 2023; notes, furthermore, that the Centre did not, however, hold any such meetings in 2022; 22. Acknowledges the visibility the Centre has developed during the pandemic; is of the opinion that there is still room for greater visibility in the media, on the internet, and on social media in order to make its work known to citizens of the Union; 23. Calls on the Centre to ensure there is full transparency in the publishing of scientific studies and to enhance its external communications capacity as regards the general public, by ensuring that all key information, especially related to public health emergencies is available in all official languages of the Union and making it easily accessible and understandable to citizens of the Union; Internal control 24. Highlights the Court’s qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments due to the inclusion of VAT as an eligible expense under grant agreements whose beneficiaries engage in activities as public authorities representing 2,8 % of the payment appropriations available in 2022; recalls that when managing grants, the Centre should ensure compliance with the applicable rules, in particular regarding the reimbursement of VAT to beneficiaries which are public authorities; 25. Notes that the Centre assesses the effectiveness of the internal control system at least once a year by assessing the implementation of the internal control framework, including the implementation of the indicators defined, and by evaluating the main shortcomings identified by the Centre itself or reported by others, including the Internal Audit Service and the Court; notes, furthermore, that in 2022, a number of improvements were made to the internal control framework, such as an improved control strategy, including new indicators, an improved information asset catalogue and the development of a new internal communications policy; Other comments 26. Welcomes the fact that the Centre aimed to be EMAS registered in 2023 and is planning a project for CO2 offsetting (to commence in Q1 2024) that will include measures on calculating its CO2 impact and how to minimise it; notes that specific targets will be part of the EMAS implementation, commencing in 2024; 27. Commends the Centre for moving in 2022 more towards using electronic tools in the procurement process; notes that the Centre now uses the Commission Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT) for the registration and publication of all procurement procedures, including ex ante publications; notes that the PPMT system is linked to eTendering, where the publication as well as Q&A during the publication is handled; notes, furthermore, that the Centre also uses an internal eWorkflow for purchases under framework contracts and for the review before launch; 28. Welcomes the fact that overall stakeholder satisfaction with the Centre’s work reached 86 % in 2022; o 29. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(13) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0097/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/881 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and on information and communications technology cybersecurity certification and repealing Regulation (EU) No 526/2013 (Cybersecurity Act)(4), and in particular Article 31 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0134/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2159(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0097/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/881 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) and on information and communications technology cybersecurity certification and repealing Regulation (EU) No 526/2013 (Cybersecurity Act)(9), and in particular Article 31 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0134/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2159(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the Special Report No 05/2022 of the Court of Auditors; – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0134/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of ENISA (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 39 207 625 representing an increase of 67,03 % compared to 2021; whereas the increase in the Agency’s budget is mainly explained by additional tasks related to the pilot implementation of the Cybersecurity Support Action programme; whereas the budget of the Agency derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriations rate of 99,93 %, representing an increase of 0,42 % compared to 2021; notes furthermore that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 52,02 % representing a decrease of 25,38 % compared to 2021; 2. Highlights that the amount of the Agency’s final budget is the result of an amendment of EUR 15 000 000 adopted by the management board on 5 August 2022 due to the implementation of a cybersecurity support action aiming to strengthen the Agency’s response in supporting Member States in accordance with its mandate; notes that the majority of the commitments under the cybersecurity support action were signed late in the year, which explains the relatively low payment rate (and the subsequent large carry-forward); Performance 3. Commends the Agency for having implemented 100 % of its work programme in 2022; welcomes that the Agency uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess its activities and the results in respect of the objectives of the work programme; observes that certain outputs did not achieve their objectives in full due to the reprioritisation of resources in order to provide the cybersecurity support action in response to the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Russia against Ukraine; notes that some of the outputs that are more affected due to that reprioritisation were, inter alia, outputs 4.2 “Develop and enhance standard operating policies, procedures, methodologies and tools for cyber crisis”, and 5.3 “Initiate the development of a trusted network of vendors/suppliers”; 4. Is aware that the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Russia against Ukraine dominated the Union’s security agenda in 2022; notes with satisfaction that the Agency stepped up its coordination and preparedness, and contributed to the Union’s shared situational awareness by providing regular situational reports of cyber activity; highlights that there was also intensified coordination and exchange of information with cybersecurity networks, such as the European cyber crisis liaison organisation network (EU-CyCLONe), which consists of national cybersecurity crisis management authorities, and numerous sectorial communities supported by the Agency; welcomes the efforts carried out by the Agency to ensure channels of communication between political, operational and technical levels, and enhanced cooperation with the computer security incident response teams’ network; 5. Notes with satisfaction that in 2022 the Agency piloted the Union heat map, which aimed to provide a quick overview of cyber incidents and cyber events affecting Union’s critical sectors as a result of the cyber activity related to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; notes that those sectors contributed to the integrated situational awareness and analysis report from the Commission, with 52 updates on the current situation and incidents in regard to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, contributing to the Union’s crisis management mechanism; 6. Takes note of the fact that, according to the Court’s special report 05/2022: “Cybersecurity of EU institutions, bodies and agencies”, the number of cyberattacks on EU bodies is increasing sharply and the level of cybersecurity preparedness within Union bodies varies and is overall not commensurate with the growing threats; observes that since Union bodies are strongly interconnected, a weakness in one can expose others to security threats; highlights that the Court recommends that the Agency together with Computer Emergency Response Team for the Union should increase their focus on Union bodies that have less experience in managing cybersecurity by: (a) identifying priority areas where Union institutions, bodies and agencies need most support, for example through maturity assessments, and (b) implementing capacity-building actions, in line with their memorandum of understanding; calls on the Agency to address the issues raised by the Court and report back to the discharge authority on any measures taken on this matter; 7. Takes note of the fact that the Agency conducted various activities in 2022 to fulfil its role in supporting the Union; notes that while the Agency was able to offer its support to several policy files, such as network and information security, cyber resilience and digital operational resilience, resource constraints prevented the Agency from actively supporting policy files with cybersecurity provisions, such as the European health data space, and other key policy files, such as digital markets and the digital services; notes that other activities included informing policymakers about the effectiveness of existing cybersecurity frameworks and providing support to critical sectors; notes furthermore that the adoption of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council(12) (NIS 2 Directive) stands out as a measure to address challenges and harmonise policies across the Union; understands that the lack of harmonisation in the NIS 1 Directive implementation led to a fragmented policy landscape, addressed by the NIS 2 Directive; is aware that the latter expands its scope introducing new horizontal tasks for the Agency, such as the Union register for digital entities; highlights that the Agency adjusted its services and resources with a new strategy to meet the evolving demands of the cybersecurity landscape; Efficiency and gains 8. Notes that the Agency sought to increase its use of services shared with other agencies and/or the Commission, including, for example, through interagency and interinstitutional procurement processes, and sharing services with European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC); notes furthermore that in 2022, the Agency signed a service-level agreement with the newly established European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre, for the provision to the centre of data protection officer and accountant services, to be implemented in 2023; 9. Takes note of the steps taken by the Agency to move away from the traditional headcount methodology to a strategic workforce planning to anticipating and addressing staffing gaps in order to build an agile workforce and allocate resources to priority areas; 10. Welcomes the Agency’s contribution to the promotion of shared services among agencies through several networks in the areas of procurement, human resources, ICT, risk management, performance management, data protection, information security and accounting; points out the horizontal benefits of working together and adapting best practices and that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; encourages the Agency to find internal procedures that could be streamlined via new IT tools; 11. Notes with satisfaction the involvement of the Agency in the pilot exercise within the EU Agencies Network intended to support Union agencies to increase their preparedness for the upcoming new cybersecurity regulation; 12. Recalls the importance of increasing the digitalisation of the agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; Staff policy 13. Notes that on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 89,02 % implemented, with 73 temporary agents appointed out of 82 authorised under the Union budget (compared to 76 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 27 contract agents, 10 seconded national experts, 10 interim staff and 16 contractors worked for the Agency in 2022; 14. Notes with concern the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management with 12 out of 17 being men (71 %); considers that the gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management needs to be improved; recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future appointments within its senior and middle management; takes note of the gender distribution within the Agency’s management board, with 41 out of 55 (75 %) being men; acknowledges that the composition of the management board depends to a large extent on Member State nominations; insists that the Commission and the Member States take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s management board; notes the balanced gender distribution within the Agency’s staff overall, with 57 men (52 %) and 53 women (48 %); notes the steps taken by the Agency with the aim to tackle issues in relation to gender balance which includes the revision of its recruitment policy with a view to encouraging applications from women; notes furthermore that the Agency has planned in its corporate strategy to obtain EU Agency’s Network Certificate of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion by the end of 2025; 15. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looks forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 16. Raises concerns about the geographical imbalance within the Agency’s senior and middle management and other staff, with a 40,9 % representation of Greek nationals; insists that improvements have to be made; asks the Agency to report back on this to the discharge authority; 17. Notes with concern that during the development of the 2023 work programme, the Agency identified a resource shortfall of EUR 734 000 and two FTEs in operations, and EUR 2,5 million in corporate services; notes furthermore that a thorough evaluation of human resource needs for 2023-2025 revealed a significant gap, particularly in critical areas of activity and without additional posts, the Agency may need to prioritise and adjust future work programs to offset the resource shortfall; takes note of the fact that the Agency’s management board has also expressed the need to increase staffing posts for the Agency to be able to fully deliver its mandate in a sustainable manner; 18. Welcomes the Agency’s efforts to integrate persons with disabilities setting accessible infrastructure and support services; 19. Notes that in 2022 the Agency continued with its complementary support to staff in vouchers, internet reimbursement and fit@work programme and developed its code of conduct, outlining Agency’s expectation regarding members of staff behaviour and conduct; Procurement 20. Notes, with concern, that the Court found two cases where the Agency had awarded low-value contracts (below EUR 15 000) without issuing an evaluation report and an award decision duly approved and signed by the authorising officer which contravenes points 30.3 and 30.4 of Annex I to the Financial Regulation; recalls in this regard that the Court made a similar observation in their 2021 report and the Agency’s reply stating that it had already taken the necessary steps to address this concern; insists on the importance to implementing procedures to ensure full compliance with the Financial Regulation; calls on the Agency to address the issues raised by the Court and report any developments in that regard to the discharge authority; 21. Takes note that according to the Court, during 2022, the Agency offered its managers a professional appraisal performed by an external provider, designated by the Agency; notes that in three cases, the Agency paid the provider directly for these services, while in the remaining 23 cases, it reimbursed its managers, who had paid the provider themselves; observes that the total amount paid by the Agency for the 26 appraisals was EUR 120 276; regrets that the Agency selected the provider without launching an open procurement procedure, and for this reason the Court concluded that those payments were irregular; calls on the Agency to address the issues raised by the Court and report back to the discharge authority on any measures taken on this matter; 22. Insists that the objective of public procurement rules is to enable procuring entities to obtain the goods and services they need at best price, while ensuring fair competition between tenderers and compliance with the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; calls on the Agency to further improve its public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules, so that they achieve the best possible value for money; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 23. Notes the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and notes that the CVs of the members of the management board, and their declaration of commitment and declarations of interests are being published on its website, although some of the CVs are missing; 24. Notes that the Agency has not reported any cases of conflict of interest in 2022; further notes the Agency’s adoption of its management board Decision 15/2021 on the prevention of conflicts of interest and the update of the templates for the declarations; insists on the importance of having procedures in place for monitoring compliance with the rules related to ‘revolving doors’ and actively monitoring the professional activity of their senior members of the staff, including those who have left the agency within the last two years, in order to be able to detect undeclared ‘revolving doors’ situations; 25. Takes note that the calendar of the meetings between the Agency's management and external stakeholders is publicly available on its website; 26. Recalls the importance for the Agency to develop greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work known to the citizens; Internal control 27. Notes that the internal audit service conducted in 2021 an audit on strategic planning programming and performance management and issued its final audit report in April 2022, with three important recommendations notes further the Agency’s agreement with the audit observations and having taken the necessary steps to address those concerns; 28. Observes that according to the Court the Agency has no pre-determined model assessment, namely guidelines, to help the evaluation committee to assess the tenders; notes that this entails the risk that the tenders may not be evaluated consistently by each member of the evaluation committee; calls on the Agency to address this issue raised by the Court and report back to the discharge authority; 29. Takes note that in 2022, the Agency performed ex post controls of financial transactions made during 2021 financial year as per Article 45(8) and (9) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715(13); draws attention to the fact that three weaknesses were identified, leading to three recommendations on financial transactions, none of which was deemed critical; observes that to address the main weakness, weekly monitoring of time to payment was introduced in 2022 to alert the relevant financial staff to urgent transactions remaining to be processed, to comply with the legal framework on payment time limits; 30. Notes that in 2022, the assessment of the effectiveness of the internal control systems of the Agency was based on the indicators of the framework, and also additional information from specific (risk) assessment reports, audit findings and other relevant sources; observes that the assessment of the Agency's internal controls indicates reasonable assurance in facilitating effective and efficient operations, ensuring quality reporting, and compliance with regulations but some improvements are needed in relation to certain principles to increase effectiveness and ensure proper implementation of the internal controls; calls on the Agency to report back to the discharge authority on its follow-up action on the improvements assessment; Other comments 31. Notes that the Agency has implemented important measures in order to increase cyber security protection, such as secure email solution (SECEM2), red team exercise and follow-up fixes and hardening, decommissioning of legacy systems, update of internal cybersecurity policy framework; 32. Welcomes the fact that the Agency’s management board added to the Agency's Single Programming Document 2022-2024 the goal for the Agency to achieve climate neutrality across all its operations by 2030; notes that with the adoption of the Agency’s corporate strategy, the EMAS certification and green public procurement are key objectives of the Agency; takes note of the fact that the certification process is expected to be completed in the course of 2024; o 33. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(14) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for Railways |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Railways for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0098/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004(4), and in particular Article 65 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0092/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Railways for the financial year 2022 (2023/2160(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Railways for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0098/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004(9), and in particular Article 65 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0092/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Railways for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Railways for the financial year 2022 (2023/2160(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Railways for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0092/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Union Agency for Railways (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 34 814 691, representing an increase of 9,38 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Agency derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), has stated that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency's annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year appropriations of 99,95 %, representing a slight increase of 0,13 % compared to 2021; further notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 94,97 %, representing an increase of 1,43 % compared to 2021; notes that the budget outturn in 2022 was EUR 81 821, up from EUR 69 638 in 2021; 2. Acknowledges that the main impact on the budget implementation in 2022 was due to global external factors such as the volatile geopolitical context and the energy crisis, which led to high volatility resulting in unpredictable increase of the Agency’ s costs; notes that the Agency has implemented strong measures to control its expenditure, has adjusted the fees and charges level (i.e. hourly rate increased and regularly adjusted according to inflation rate) and has put in place a regular monitoring process of the budget execution with several planning and monitoring tools to automatize that process; 3. Notes that the Agency joined the Commission’s pilot phase of replacing its budgetary and accounting system with a new system, SUMMA; notes in this context, from the Court’s report, the observations on the shortcomings and deficiencies experienced by the Agency, namely lack of risk management and control strategy for implementing the new system, non-updated financial circuits and ex-ante and ex-post checks strategy, as well as with regard to user attribution rights not being checked; notes from the Agency’s replies to the Court’s observations that mitigation measures have pro-actively been taken along the inherent learning curve, including by starting to update in the second half of 2022 the Agency’s financial circuits and ex-ante and ex-post checks strategy, with the relevant documents expected to be updated in 2023; calls on Agency to address the Court’s observations in full and keep the discharge authority informed on the progress on this matter; 4. Notes the Court’s observation on the non-respect by the Agency of the time limit foreseen in the Financial Regulation regarding payments, with 12,2 % of payments being late by more than 30 days in 2022; acknowledges the Agency’s position that such delays were linked to the implementation of the new system SUMMA and that measures have been in the meantime been put in place to avoid payments delays; 5. Notes further that the Agency also incurred delays in issuing invoices (or ‘debit notes’) for the associated fees and charges, whereas such delays are also attributed by the Agency to the implementation of the new system SUMMA, and in receiving statements of cost from the National Safety Authorities (NSAs), thus being in breach of the relevant articles of the Financial Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2018/764 on the Agency’s fees and charges; acknowledges from the Agency’s replies to the Court’s observations that avoiding or reducing such delays would be possible if the NSAs would submit their statements of costs in good time to the Agency, but the Agency has no lever to ensure NSAs respect deadlines; 6. Recalls that the Agency has the smallest budget among the transport agencies despite the outstanding environmental benefits of rail prioritized by Commission; commends the rise in the fiscal year 2022 budget, accompanied by various efforts to enhance competitiveness, improve safety, and promote cross-border interoperability; nevertheless, calls for a budget increase to ensure the Agency has essential resources to function as an efficient authority and effectively fulfil its tasks; Performance 7. Notes that the Agency reported a 81,13 % achievement of its 2022 annual work programme AWP), compared to 76,41 % in 2021, a welcomed increase for a second year in a row; notes that in 2022 the Agency adopted a new structure of its work programme, moving from an activity-based work programme to a strategic statement-based one and launched a new platform for monthly reporting of all projects and services and a new monitoring dashboard; notes that the AWP includes 9 strategic statements which have been designed according to the impact the Agency strives to have on society; acknowledges that the Agency has successfully delivered on its strategic statements with a high degree of achievement of the Agency’s targets for the various outputs and its set KPIs in 2022; notes, however, that some KPIs have not been achieved, such as those related to the launch of the “Study-Phase 3” for the new building of the Agency in Valenciennes, the implementation of a new system (ARES) for document management, payments made by contractual deadlines linked to the adoption in pilot phase of a new financial system (SUMMA) and the Women in Transport initiative; 8. Notes some of the Agency’s main achievements in 2022, such as the adoption of the Strengthening Action Plan (SAP) 2023-2027, the timely delivery of a substantially increasing number of Vehicle Authorisations (1861) and Single Safety Certificates (66), the finalisation of the Agency’s recommendation on the TSI revision package 2022 which will support the strengthening of rail interoperability across the Union, the launch of the second NSA monitoring audit cycle encompassing all tasks assigned to NSA by Union legislation, the delivery of an exceptionally high number of reports (eight instead of three expected) in the area of monitoring Notified Bodies and the work on the Agency’s first report based on the results of the Safety Climate Survey (which, launched in 2021, has received 46 500 replies); commends the Agency for the development of safety training modules on Just Culture, which would enhance safety across the sector, as well as for its achievements (toolkit, guidance and training material, actions for raising awareness, training modules) with regard to the integration of Human and Organisational Factors, which will help improve railway safety performance and efficiency; 9. Stresses the importance of continuing support all initiatives for a better common understanding of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) contributing to the development of a strong and competitive European rail industry; insists for more support for innovation in rail freight and intermodal transport services to achieve competitive integration into the logistic value chain, with automation and digitalisation of freight rail; 10. Welcomes the report on EU Railway safety and interoperability; acknowledges the continuous commitment to the objective of the Agency to creating a Single European Railway Area and its sustained work in key areas such as reducing national rules and ensuring the maturity of technical specifications for interoperability; notes that such an important work will support the strengthening of rail interoperability across Europe, in line with the Commission policy expectations; welcomes the Agency’s continued contribution within the field of national rules with the cleaning up in 2022 of the remaining national technical rules (for Czechia and the Netherlands) constituting obstacles to smooth rail operations; 11. Commends the Agency’s proactive response to the recommendations put forth in the previous year's observation, urging the Agency to introduce effective checks for verifying SME status of applicants; welcomes the implementation of enhanced controls for verifying the SMEs status for Single Safety Certificates and Vehicle Authorizations applications; remarks that the Agency has driven several initiatives aimed at boosting rail traffic (both passenger and freight), including measures to coordinate international rail traffic and the development of new technologies, such as train automation, contributing to the cohesion, boosting EU economy and green and digital transition; welcomes that the Railway Package Steering Group successfully continued its activities evaluating the Agency’s preparedness for the 4th Railway Package; 12. Stresses that the illegal and unjustified Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has showcased the crucial role railways can play; notes that since the invasion of the Ukraine, railways have been a significant asset for the movement of people and goods, especially with the closure of Ukraine’s airspace for civil aviation; points out that Ukrainian railways have transported soldiers, essential workers, residents, as well as numerous vital goods such as agricultural goods; acknowledges that the Agency contributed to EU cooperation with Ukraine on resilience and development of rail links, it supported Ukraine and the people around the world by finding additional ways to increase the volume of transport of Ukrainian food products by rail; Efficiency and gains 13. Commends the Agency for having adopted in 2022 the Strengthening Plan (SP) and the Strengthening Action Plan (SAP) 2023-27; notes that the SAP is organised along components and objectives and is at the core of the Agency’s strategy for efficiency gains for the upcoming five years; notes that an internal task force has been set up across the Agency on the SAP and its milestones and a rapporteur will be appointed to support, guide, and monitor the implementation of the SAP; 14. Notes that thanks to its SAP, the Agency received 12 additional temporary agents (TAs) in 2022, representing an increase that can offer a good basis for the Agency to proceed with the implementation of the SP; regrets that the allocation of posts was not accompanied by a corresponding subsidy allocation which, together with the extraordinary indexation of salaries and the general increase of prices for utilities, has put additional constraints on the Agency’s planning of work and resources, with several negative priorities noted for 2022, such as the work on the NSA annual performance review or the development of the information sharing system for safety occurrences in Europe; 15. Notes that, based on the continuous screening of services provided by the Agencies and Commission services, ‘sharing capacities’ were identified with items of cooperation being gradually implemented by the Agency in the field of meeting organisation, IT security, HR (e.g. payroll and management of individual entitlements of staff, investigations related to harassment cases), procurement (e.g. inter-agency tenders, shared framework contracts), translation and accounting; notes that in 2022 the Agency has concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) that establishes a regular structured dialogue between those two agencies and enhances the sharing of information, knowledge and experience in various cooperation areas, including on the exploration of the possibility to adapt one of the existing IT solutions in the aviation sector (European Co-ordination centre for Accident and Incident Reporting Systems) to fit the Rail Information Sharing System for the collection and analysis of railway safety occurrence reporting; calls on the Agency to report to the discharge Authority on the outcome of that exploration phase; 16. Notes that the Agency’s first Environment management strategy was drafted and published in 2022, as part of the Agency’s Single Programming Document (SPD) 2023-2025; commends the Agency for anticipating and accomplishing already some initiatives and actions by the end of 2022, such as reducing temperature in the building, repairing/replacing faulty sensors to solve lights always on in some offices, adjusting auto-off settings of lights, and setting-up of ERA Environment (Volunteering) Group to drive dissemination actions, collect ideas and push for the progress of environment actions; notes with satisfaction from the Court’s report that the Agency is among the agencies that plan to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations; encourages the Agency to include in that plan quantified baselines and targets for reducing carbon footprint and energy consumption, as well as to ensure that its new building in Valenciennes will be EMAS certified; 17. Acknowledges that the Agency has achieved a very high degree of digitalisation to increase its efficiency, eliminating paper-processes and bringing forward online solutions such as e-procurement, e-invoicing, electronic travel booking, including through the roll out in 2022 of the HR management system (SYSPER) of the Commission and the migration, in pilot phase, to the new budgetary, accounting and financial system, SUMMA; welcomes that the Agency’s SPD 2023-2025 foresees to further digitise its workflows; 18. Observes from the Agency's Opinion with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency's for the financial year 2021 (hereinafter The ‘Agency's Opinion’) that the Agency has implemented several measures to reduce the cost of operations in Lille (i.e. missions and travel expenses for staff and external stakeholders have been significantly reduced) and has ended the current lease contract for Lille premises; notes that the intention of the Agency is to organise only the mandatory meetings in Lille in order to comply with the European Council decision on the double seat ‘Lille-Valenciennes’; welcomes that the Agency has approved its HR strategy (2023-2027) in 2022 based on the Parliament’s observation, with a focus on improving its effectiveness and efficiency; notes in this regard the positive experience and development within the Agency with regard to the use of the teleworking regime during after the COVID 19 pandemic, leading the Agency to conclude that the new normal is that teleworking is accepted as being equal as working at the office for most of the staff, while physical presence remains key for some specific jobs; Staff policy 19. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 97,40 % executed, with 150 temporary agents appointed out of 154 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 151 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 36 contract agents (out of 36 authorised) and 2 seconded national experts (out of 4 authorised) worked for the Agency in 2022; 20. Notes with concern the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s senior management, with 8 out of 10 (80 %) being men; notes the gender distribution within the Agency’s management board (MB), with 34 out of 64 (53 %) being men; further notes the gender distribution within the Agency’s overall staff, with 120 out of 188 (64 %) being men; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior management; notes the Agency’s continuous work towards closing the gender gap, with specific projects such as “Women in transport” to strengthen women’s employment and equal opportunities in the transport sector; notes in this context the Agency’s endeavours to increase the number of women in the transport sector through deliverables such as speed networking events and webinars focusing on diversity and inclusion in 2022; 21. Notes from the Agency's opinion that the Agency performed a Participatory Gender Audit in the second half of 2022 the findings of which were thereafter used to help prioritise between the objectives of the Agency’s Human Resources Strategy 2023-2027 and served as input for a document describing the commitments of the Agency’s management team for diversity and inclusion; notes further that concrete, short-term actions are defined to improve diversity and inclusion within the Agency on all levels, e.g., work done on recruitment and engagement (use of the reserve lists, on boarding, mentorship); 22. Welcomes that the Agency strives to ensure a geographical balance of its staff members with encouraging candidates from all Member States to apply for its positions; notes that the temporary posts are published in all EU languages and the calls for application are not only published on the Agency’s website, but also disseminated at the level of Member States’ permanent representations; 23. Notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that, with regard to the reported cases of harassment within the Agency, that are handled by the internal Confidential Counsellors, four members of staff were put on the register, two of which were taken off the register at the end of 2022, with no investigation carried out or conclusion drawn; encourages the Agency to further develop its policies and methods to prevent such cases more efficiently in the future; Procurement 24. Notes that the Agency carried out 2 open calls for tenders, 3 negotiated procedures and one reopening of competition in 2022 and 2 open calls for tenders and 3 negotiated procedures financed by administrative appropriations; 25. Notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that Green Public Procurement implementation is underway and is one of the initiatives/actions of the Agency’s environment management strategy; 26. Notes from the Agency’s replies to the questions of the discharge authority that, in 2022, the Agency’s procurement processes were already fully digitalised; welcomes the fact that in July 2023 the Agency started the onboarding of the Public Procurement Management Tool; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and transparency 27. Notes that the Agency has published the CVs and declaration of interests of management board members and its senior management on the Agency’s website; notes that the Agency does not publish the CVs of external experts and in-house experts; 28. Welcomes the Agency’s efforts to enhance the transparency of the Agency’s activities by regularly publishing on its website information on all meetings held by the Executive Director with organisations or self-employed individuals; notes that the Agency uses several mechanisms to identify and avoid conflicts of interest through the listing of interests belonging to specific categories (e.g. professional, family), reviewing of declarations of interests, requiring spontaneous declarations of absence of conflicts of interest and regular training; 29. Commends the Agency for its whistleblowing procedures through which staff members can report potential conflicts without fear of retaliation; notes in this context that in 2022 potential situations of conflict of interests have been reported at the level of the Agency’s MB members and members of staff, with mitigating measures having been taken and recorded in the MB meetings or documented in the declarations of interest of the staff members concerned; 30. Notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that the Agency has procedures in place for the handling of potential ‘revolving door’ situations in the case of former members of staff; regrets in this context that the Agency does not conduct a systematic monitoring of compliance with the applicable rules, with the effect that undeclared ‘revolving door’ situations may remain undetected or compliance with instructions previously imposed on members of staff having left the Agency may not be ensured; 31. Notes that the Agency continued the training sessions on Ethics and Antifraud, which are mandatory for all staff, being part of a 4-year rolling cycle of training sessions with the purpose of reaching 100 % participation at the end of the cycle; notes that the overall rate of participation in 2022 was 22,1 % for antifraud and 31,11 % for ethics, and that both trainings are tailor made, in line with the Agency’s risk environment; Internal control 32. Notes with concern from the Court’s report the observations on some shortcomings in the Agency’s management and control systems, namely a lack of a policy for classifying and protecting sensitive information and the use of non-valid approval methods, other than physical or qualified electronic signatures, in the area of procurement procedures; notes from the Agency’s replies to the Court’s observations that those shortcomings have in the meantime been addressed through various actions and measures; calls on the Court to include those actions and measures in its follow-up audits; 33. Notes from the Agency’s opinion that, concerning the recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) after the audit performed in 2019 on Information Management and Information Security, the Agency has implemented the very important recommendation on data governance framework and the important recommendation on data and IT operations (already closed by IAS), while work is ongoing to implement the remaining three recommendations in 2023 (on data interoperability and quality, data and IT security, and IT continuity and physical security); calls on the Agency to report to the budgetary authority on the progress made in this regard; 34. Notes that within the Agency, each deviation from an established process or procedure is documented, justified and approved at the appropriate management level; notes with satisfaction a decrease in the number of registered nonconformities (NCs) from 35 in 2021 to 28 in 2022; observes that, in 2022, 28 NCs were registered concerning compliance with, for example, administrative rules (deviation from teleworking rules), procurement procedures/rules (irregular use of the negotiated procedure), mission rules (going on missions without an authorised mission order) as well as with rules in areas such as contract management, commitments and selection of staff; notes that 13 of the 28 NCs were exceptional (ex-ante nonconformities) and transparently documented and justified for e.g. ensuring business continuity or economic reasons; welcomes the fact that the Agency has put in place mitigating or monitoring actions to address every NC; invites the Agency to continue performing risk based and periodical assessments of the functioning of the main areas of internal control supporting the assurance process; 35. Notes that, in 2022, the Agency has carried out the risk assessment exercise aligned with its annual strategic planning and has reviewed the relevance of the risks and the related mitigating measures continuously throughout the year; takes note of the major challenges/risks identified relating to budget execution, implementation of a new IT corporate financial tool (SUMMA), staff constraints, IT security issues, and COVID fallouts; 36. Notes that the OLAF investigation has been closed in December 2022 with no findings or further recommendations; Other comments 37. Notes that, following the steps which have been taken with the European Parliament and the Council in relation to the new building of the Agency, the Executive Director debriefed the Management Board on the several meetings with Valenciennes Métropole in 2023; notes further that the building permit should be ready in March 2024 and the construction could start in the summer of 2024 with the building ready in 2026; 38. Welcomes the continued efforts of the Agency in strengthening its communication, implemented through various channels to reach the largest public possible; notes the development and launch of the new ERA website in November 2022, which provides a clearer, streamlined, and modern tool to present the Agency’s contribution to the railway sector and EU citizens at large; acknowledges the Agency’s efforts of organising 9 webinars and preparing several publications and videos in 2022; welcomes that the Agency maintained a strong presence in the media and increased its social media following in 2022; 39. Stresses that in 2022, European railway companies continued their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; railway sector’s continuous resilience, along with its low carbon emissions are two essential contributing factors to return to pre-pandemic levels in the future; 40. Regrets that the current requirements on the reporting of railway safety accidents and incidents are fragmented across Europe, limited to an oversight function only, and not supported by an appropriate enabling tool, and calls therefore on the Commission to address this gap and provide any necessary funding to that end; 41. Notes that upon EU candidate countries joining the Union, they will have implemented the framework and the EU acquis; points out that this will allow EU citizens to use rail as environmentally friendly and safe mode of transport and transport their goods from/to South-Eastern Europe, as rail freight corridors are today connecting the Western Balkans with the EU; stresses the IPA and Western Balkan Project’s role in supporting the Interoperability Directive and Safety Directive implementation among the project beneficiaries; also notes that this will provide the base for a market opening of rail services and seamless train rides from and to this neighbouring region; o 42. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0082/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/2219 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and replacing and repealing Council Decision 2005/681/JHA(4), and in particular Article 20 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0098/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2144(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0082/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/2219 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and replacing and repealing Council Decision 2005/681/JHA(9), and in particular Article 20 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0098/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2144(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0098/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) (the 'Agency') for the financial year 2022 was EUR 28 295 362 representing a decrease of 5,82 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency is financed by a contribution from the Union and external assigned revenue for specific projects; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the 'Court'), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the 'Court’s report'), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions as regards revenue are legal and regular in all material aspects; whereas the Court identified irregular payments of, in total, EUR 4,2 million of which EUR 4,1 million in connection with 359 payments made under two framework contracts implemented through service requests sent by staff members who did not have the authority to enter into legal commitments on behalf of the Agency and EUR 152 655 as payments made in 2022 under a framework contract with regard to which some of the amounts paid could not be reconciled with the services provided, representing in total 13,5 % of the payment appropriations available in 2022, thereby exceeding the materiality threshold set for the audit and, consequently, resulting in a qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts; whereas, except for those non-compliant payments, the Court concludes that the underlying transactions as regards payments for the year ended 31 December 2022 are legal and regular in all material respects; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 100 %, representing an increase of 3,21 % compared to 2021; notes that the payment appropriations execution rate was 84,66 %, representing an increase of 12,93 % compared to 2021; notes furthermore that EUR 1,6 million, representing 15 % of the commitments in 2022, were carried forward to 2023; notes that the budget execution rate with regard to the Union external assistance funds dedicated to assist third countries in building their capacities in relevant law enforcement policy areas reached 48,5 % by the end of 2022; Performance 2. Commends the Agency for the implementation rate of the 2022 working programme of 100 %, based on the fact that 418 training activities were implemented versus 417 planned; notes that in 2022 the Agency continued to deliver training to law enforcement community by reverting to online environment to the maximum extent possible; notes with appreciation that the customers’ satisfaction rate remained high in 2022 with 97 % of the participants in the Agency’s training activities having declared to be satisfied or very satisfied; 3. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency uses certain measures as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management; notes that, in 2022, almost all KPIs were achieved, and only one remained in progress with a deadline by the end of 2023, i.e. the KPI related to the percentage of audit recommendations closed in accordance with the agreed action plan; 4. Notes with appreciation that in 2022, the Agency’s trainings were attended by 43 838 participants, which is a substantial outreach compared to the 27 800 of participants planned; commends the Agency for publishing the second EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment, which identifies strategic and training needs of law enforcement officials for the next European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats cycle 2022-2025 and starting its implementation; notes furthermore that the newly appointed executive director of the Agency has initiated in 2022 the elaboration of a new strategy setting the direction of the Agency for the period 2023-2027; further appreciates the Strategy Paper by the Expert Group on Fundamental Rights aiming at including the fundamental rights aspects in all training activities; notes with satisfaction that an ad hoc training was organised on the protection of investigative journalists in 2022; welcomes the specific training actions on topics of hate crime and the spreading of knowledge on effective solutions concerning the support of victims; 5. Commends the Agency for its rapid response to the unjustified war in Ukraine, and for delivering a tailor made open source intelligence course for the Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office, in cooperation with the Council of Europe; 6. Notes from the Agency’s consolidated annual activity report for 2022 that the exponential increase in trainings offered in the last years (from 18 000 in 2016 to almost 44 000 in 2022) reflects a growing demand for training activities the Agency needs to deliver; notes in that context that in 2022, due to insufficient resources, this demand could only be followed by increasing the online learning component, which does not entirely satisfy the needs of the stakeholders; supports the Agency’s aim to continue to provide multidisciplinary activities that attract both participants from the police, as well as customs and border officials; 7. Notes that in 2022 the Agency continued to successfully implement four capacity building projects in third countries, directly contributing to strengthening the internal security of the Union, as well as training activities under the umbrella of the CEPOL Knowledge Centre on Counter-terrorism and the CEPOL Knowledge Centre on Law Enforcement Cooperation, Information Exchange and Interoperability; welcomes the implementation with success of the CEPOL Research & Science Conference in cooperation with the Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania, strengthening the cooperation between law enforcement and research sectors, with close to 200 participants attending; 8. Recalls that the law enforcement training at Union level needs to reflect the Union priorities in line with Member States' training needs and to support Union’s response to serious and organised crime and other threats to internal security, as well as the protection of fundamental rights should be a central pillar in the Agency’s training activities; notes the training activities in the area of counter-terrorism, including on financing of terrorism, terrorism and firearms, foreign terrorist fighters and activities targeted against extremism and radicalisation; calls for more trainings on cybercrime, cyber forensics, artificial intelligence, data protection, fundamental rights and anti-racism at Union level; calls on the Agency to ensure, in all its activities, in particular its activities with third countries, full transparency and full respect with fundamental rights and international law; 9. Notes that the Agency successfully maintained its certification in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, and made preparations to further expand the use of ISO 29993:2017 standard for learning services, which continues to demonstrate that the Agency ensures efficient operation of the quality system; Efficiency and gains 10. Notes that the Agency continues to closely cooperate with the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies’ Network, and the agencies comprising it, including in particular European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, by sharing training activities and organising courses together; notes that, in this context, the Agency chaired the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies’ Network in 2022; notes further that the Agency has an agreement, in place since 2023, with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) to provide a tenancy in the Agency's learning platform LEEd, thus providing EMCDDA with a modern learning platform for its community at no cost; calls on the Agency to continue its cooperation with other agencies so that all available resources can be used; 11. Commends the Agency for achieving a relatively high level of digitalisation through many of its processes having been converted to paperless or electronic form, for example e-Procurement submission system for open procedures and e-Tendering, e-Recruitment, e-HR management (SYSPER), e-Invoicing, electronic travel booking, often in close cooperation with the Commission’s Directorate General for Digital Services; 12. Notes that the Agency has internal rules in place pursuant to which, for short distances, staff (and participants in training activities) are to use alternatives to flying, such as train or bus; notes with appreciation that since 2022 the Agency offers reimbursement for the costs of using public transport for its staff; notes further that many expert group meetings previously held onsite now take place online; regrets that the Agency does not have a system in place to monitor in objective and granular ways the evolution from one year to another of gains and savings and invites the Agency to set up such a system; 13. Notes from the Court’s report that the Agency does not have a corporate plan to improve the energy efficiency and climate neutrality of its operations; regrets that the Agency has not yet started the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certification process; notes, however, that in the requirements for its new headquarters building, the Agency indicated that it will move towards EMAS certification in the near future; notes, in the same context, that the Agency is following the guidance of the Commission, whereby in the majority of the procurement procedures award criteria related to environmental considerations are also included; calls on the Agency to follow examples in the field of green procurement from other fellow agencies; Staff policy 14. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 79 % implemented, with 26 temporary agents appointed out of 33 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (the same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 59 contract agents (of which 20 were for regular activities and 39 for externally financed capacity building projects) and six seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; notes moreover that, on 31 December 2022, 24 interim staff were employed with tasks related to core business such as e-learning, information and communication technology, legal and management support; 15. Notes that the staff fluctuation continued to be relatively high in 2022 and had a significant impact on the Agency; notes in this context that in 2022 there were 4 resignations due to new job opportunities inside and outside the Agency, 3 departures due to retirement and on 31 December 2022, 4 staff members on unpaid leave; 16. Reiterates its support for the increase in the Agency’s staff numbers commensurate with the tasks and ambitions set by the Agency’s current mandate; notes with satisfaction from the Agency's follow-up report entitled “CEPOL Action Plan in response to the EP discharge decision for financial year 2021” (hereinafter the 'Agency’s follow-up report') that, in order to substantiate future request for resources, the executive director of the Agency has set up a task force to systematically document and justify the needs for additional budgetary and human resources, in the context of the new strategy for 2023-2027; 17. Notes that the staff turnover rate remained high in 2022, at 11,8 %, with a significant impact on the organisation; notes from the Agency’s follow-up report that the turnover rate is beyond the Agency’s control because the main trigger is the low country correction coefficient and the relatively low graded positions for key support functions in the Agency; notes that in 2022 the Agency continued to implement staff retention and business continuity measures, using a number of interim staff and seconded national experts to fill in for staff absence, until recruitment of statutory staff was completed and continuing reclassification of staff and functions, maintaining the social arrangement (e.g. schooling for children of staff), teleworking and flexitime arrangements; reiterates its call on the Commission to revise the correction coefficient in order to better reflect the economic realities of relocating to and living in the Agency host city; 18. Notes with appreciation, regarding the SYSPER tool, that the Agency has onboarded modules such as REPORTING, ETHICS and STAGE and is working on onboarding other Sysper modules (e.g. EVAL/PROMO); 19. Welcomes the Agency’s reported gender breakdown for 2022 with 3 men and 3 women in management functions (1 senior manager and 5 middle managers), with 15 men (56 %) and 12 women (44 %) in the management board, and overall staff with 37 men (44 %), and 48 women (56 %); commends the Agency for the gender balance achieved in 2022; 20. Notes from the Agency’s consolidated annual activity report for 2022 that 17 Member States were represented among the Agency’s staff in 2022; notes that 39 % of its staff are nationals of the Member State where the Agency is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and calls on the Agency to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation; 21. Welcomes that in 2022 the Agency adopted a new decision founded on the principles of objectives-based and results oriented management and a culture of trust; notes that that decision introduced more flexibility for staff, both in terms of working time and teleworking, by granting the right to disconnect and clearly indicating a disconnection period that should contribute to a better work-life balance and protect staff against digital work-overload; 22. Welcomes from the Agency's follow-up report, with regard to the observation on staff working on procurement related procedures, that the establishment plan for 2023 foresees the transformation of the relevant AST-5 post (recruitment grade AST-3) to an AD-5 post; Procurement 23. Notes with concern from the Court’s report that, since the 2020 financial year, the Court has made new observations every year relating to the Agency’s procurements; highlights from the Court’s report the observation representing the basis for the Court’s qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of 359 payments of a total value of EUR 4,1 million made in 2022 under two framework contracts implemented directly through order forms (service requests) that were sent by Agency’s staff members who did not have the delegated authority to enter into legal commitments on behalf of the Agency, or by interim employees who could not legally have such delegated authority because of their interim status; takes note of the Agency's reply to the Court’s observation that, even if there was a weakness in the formalisation of the legal commitment, the services were ordered in line with the Agency’s needs and controls were applied in full to ensure that the funds were used for the intended purpose and no actual loss was incurred; notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that those contracts were not affected by other irregularities and the Agency has taken measures to address the Court’s observation by amending the Agency’s internal procedures to ensure that orders will be communicated to the travel agent only by statutory staff, who have been delegated by an authorising officer to engage in a legal commitment; notes the Agency’s reply whereby the Agency has immediately introduced corrective measures, even before the end of the audit process; calls on the Agency to fully address those observations and improve its procurement procedures in order to avoid similar situations in the future; 24. Highlights further from the Court’s report the qualified opinion according to which all the amounts paid in 2022 (EUR 152 655) for the implementation of a framework contract (for educational editorial services) could not be reconciled with the services provided and some categories of tasks did not reflect the nature of actual work performed, and for some categories, the amount of work paid for did not correspond to the amount actually done, thereby rendering those amounts irregular; notes the Agency's explanation that the number of pages ordered, delivered and paid did not fully match, as due to nature of work, namely editorial and educational content development, this was not always precisely quantifiable in advance; notes further that, according to the Agency's reply, checks were carried out on the deliverables and the categories of tasks were based on those listed in a previous contract with the Publications Office; calls on the Agency to put in place measures allowing the Agency to better quantify deliverables in advance and avoid such situations in the future; 25. Notes from the Court's report for the financial year 2021 that one observation remained open, regarding the evaluation process of a procurement procedure whereby the Agency put emphasis on a criterion that was not clearly presented in the tender specifications, therefore creating the risk of bidders being treated unequally; takes note that the contract was in place until September 2023 and, at the time of the review by the Court of the status of that observation, the Agency had no intention to renew the contract for another 12 months; 26. Commends the Agency for having onboarded the Public Procurement Management Tool which, as of October 2022, is used for all types of procurement procedures; calls on the Agency to speed up the adoption and implementation of tools that allow for the use of electronic signature to obtain approvals and signatures from both internal and external counterparties in procurement and contractual documents; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 27. Notes with appreciation the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency and the prevention and management of conflicts of interest; notes with satisfaction that declarations of interests and CVs of the management board members and senior management are published on the Agency’s website and the format of the declarations allows the listing of professional, financial, personal and other interests that could relate to the Agency’s activities; notes from the Agency’s follow-up report, with regard to the discharge authority’s observation that declarations of conflicts of interest and confidentiality for the remunerated experts are not published on the Agency’s website, that the Agency has assessed that due to data protection considerations, publishing the experts’ applications and CVs would lead to a significantly reduced number of applications from experts, given that most of the experts working for the Agency have law enforcement background; 28. Notes with appreciation from the Agency's follow-up report that, with the launch of its new website in 2022, the Agency improved its public register of documents and the technical changes introduced allow citizens to search for the Agency’s official documents by category or to ask for access to a document via a web form when direct access through the public register of documents is not granted; notes that in 2022, the Agency received five requests for public access to documents and handled 920 public inquiries from citizens; Internal control 29. Notes from the Agency's follow-up report that, concerning the several weaknesses in the Agency’s internal control system, in particular in relation to procurement procedures and the management of budgetary commitments, the Agency has taken steps, including training and workshops, to increase awareness and reduce occurrence of administrative errors; notes in this context from the Court’s report that the status of its observations (for the financial year 2021) corresponding to those weaknesses is closed; 30. Notes the Agency’s assessment of its internal control system in 2022 and its conclusion that it is effective, present and functioning well and that only minor improvements are needed; calls on the Agency to address the shortcomings identified with regard to the internal control components ‘Control activities’ and ‘Information and communication’ and to keep the discharge authority informed of the progress in that matter; notes with appreciation from the Agency’s follow-up report that, in the assessment of the component ‘Monitoring activities’, principle 17 ‘assess and communicate deficiencies’, the Agency has taken into account the Court’s relevant observations from previous years; invites the Agency to continue addressing all the observations from the audit on the Agency’s ‘Human resources management and ethics in CEPOL’ carried out in 2021 by the internal audit service; 31. Notes that the Agency implements a process for registration and authorisation of exceptions that are analysed to identify specific areas of concern and relevant improvement action; notes that the 2022 report on exceptions confirms that the Agency's internal control system is well functioning, and events of non-compliance are detected and mitigated with corrective and preventive actions; notes further that in 2022 a total of 46 exceptions were raised (compared to 27 exceptions in 2021), with a value of EUR 51 697 (compared to EUR 257 825 in 2021), whereas 13 of those exceptions had a financial impact above EUR 1 000 (ranging from EUR 1 053 up to EUR 12 240); Other comments 32. Notes from the Agency's follow-up report, regarding the issue of the Agency of not having enough office space and area for operational activities, that the Hungarian government made a commitment to ensure continuity and provide the Agency with proper facilities by adopting a decision to ensure new headquarter (6 000 sqm) in form of a rental; notes further that a removal to new premises may take place until the end of 2024, in parallel with the signature of a new seat agreement; 33. Commends the Agency for its efforts to increase its public visibility and online presence; welcomes in this context the launch of the Agency’s new website in 2022 that incorporates key enhancements, such as a clearer presentation and structure, improved appearance, and web responsiveness; notes further that, in 2022, the Agency's social media activity was significant, with 1 590 content uploads, which represents 54 % more posts than in the previous year; notes in this regard the upward trend with the Agency’s web users with over 200 000 visits registered, and with its social media fan base with 38 500 followers across LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook; o 34. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Border and Coast Guard Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0110/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624(4), and in particular Article 116 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0113/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2172(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0110/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1052/2013 and (EU) 2016/1624(9), and in particular Article 116 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0113/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2172(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0113/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 693 122 859, representing an increase of 29,50 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas all Union bodies, offices and agencies should be transparent and fully accountable to the citizens of the Union for the funds entrusted to them; C. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; D. whereas since December 2019 the Agency has been implementing a new mandate with an essential scale-up that is significant in terms of missions and staff, that requires an adequate budget; E. whereas in 2022 there was a significant increase in the Agency’s budget and execution of the establishment plan due to the enlarged mandate under Regulation (EU) 2019/1896; F. whereas the Court in its Special Report No 8/2021 on the Agency’s support to external border management concluded that there were several shortcomings related to the Agency’s primary activities, namely situation monitoring, risk analysis, vulnerability assessment, joint operations and rapid border interventions, return operations and the Agency’s training and the lack of needs and impact assessments prior to the exponential increase in the Agency’s expenses; 1. Recalls that the Agency, following the findings of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the resignation of the former Executive Director of the Agency in April 2022, has drawn up an action plan (AP) presenting specific actions to be undertaken to address various shortcomings in areas of needed improvement such as organisational culture, transparency and accountability and the fundamental rights framework; notes, according to the Agency’s report (signed 24 October 2023) regarding the third quarter of 2023 addressed to the Frontex Scrutiny Working Group of the European Parliament (FSWG), the implementation of most actions pertaining to recommendations by FSWG, the Working Group of the Agency’s Management Board (MB) on Fundamental Rights and Legal and Operations (FRaLO), the European Ombudsman (EO) and OLAF; calls on the Agency to fully implement the AP and continue to inform the discharge authority on the progress in this matter; calls on the Agency to fully implement, as a matter of priority, all pending recommendations from FSWG, the Working Group of the Agency’s MB, the FRaLO, the EO, the Court and OLAF; reiterates the importance of constantly reviewing and controlling the activities of the management team in order to ensure timely identification and resolution of issues; notes that, to further follow-up on the issues raised in the OLAF report that led to the resignation of the Agency’s former executive director, the head of the newly established Inspection and Control Office (ICO) has drafted an action plan which was presented to the MB in January 2023; requests the Agency to step up ongoing efforts and take all actions needed to ensure full respect of Union standards, in particular in the field of budgetary and financial management, fundamental rights, organisational culture and transparency; recalls the second OLAF investigation into management practices at the Agency which is underway, only nine months after the first OLAF investigation was closed; requests that allegations of misconduct are thoroughly checked and investigated; calls on the Agency to ensure the full and sincere cooperation with OLAF throughout all stages of the investigation and to regularly report to the Parliament about the progress of the state and outcome of the investigation; 2. Expresses concerns about the several outstanding legal cases and criticism on the Agency´s involvement in human rights violations, which does not comply with its own regulations and fundamental rights obligations; 3. Notes the Agency’s measures on transparency and scrutiny, namely providing Parliament and the Council with an overview of its activities through a new reporting tool called the ‘dashboard’; encourages the chairpersons of the Agency’s MB to continue inviting Parliament observers to its meetings and to consider extending the invitations to all agenda items, including in camera points, and to continue providing all supporting documents without exception and, if deemed necessary, in a confidential manner; Budget and financial management 4. Notes that, after two budget amendments reducing the Agency’s budget for 2022 by approximately EUR 47 million, the budget-monitoring efforts during that year resulted in a budget implementation rate of commitment appropriations of 99,40 %, representing an increase of 4,70 % compared to 2021; 5. Notes with concern that, in spite of the Agency’s sustained efforts, reported in 2021, to improve its budget execution, the payment appropriations execution rate (50,25 %) continued to be low in 2022, representing a decrease of 0,17 % compared to 2021; acknowledges, nevertheless, that in absolute terms, the yearly value of the payments has increased between 2020 and 2022; notes the Agency’s renewed explanation linking the low level of the budget execution rate to the nature of the Agency’s expenditure; 6. Expresses its great concern about an increasing level of the Agency’s C8 funds (automatic carry-over) in the last years, with EUR 240,4 million in 2022, while in the previous two years it was EUR 159,4 million (in 2021) and EUR 102 million (in 2020); notes in this context also the increase in the Agency’s C8 funds relative to the increase in the Agency’s annual budget, whereas from 2019 to 2022 the latter has increased by a factor of 2,1, while the former by a factor of 2,9; notes that the level of payments (84 %) of C8 funds has further decreased in 2022 (87 % in 2021); notes, however, the Agency’s observation that this indicator has been affected by a difficult situation in the supply-chain which resulted in delays in deliveries of ordered services and products; in addition calls on the Agency and on the Commission to provide the discharge authority with details on the origins and evolution of the financial liability of EUR 9,3 million accounted for in 2022; 7. Notes with concern from the Court’s report, for a second year in a row, the ‘Emphasis of matter’ regarding the declaration of the Agency’s accounting officer whereby the Agency’s accounting system could not be validated because of missing information relating to an IT system owned by the Commission which supplies accounting data; notes from the Court’s report the Agency’s reply in that matter whereas the missing part of the accounting system validation of the Agency is the mission management system (MiPS); 8. Notes for a third year in a row a recurrent ‘Emphasis of matter’ drawn by the Court on the basis of the notes to the Agency’s final annual accounts, regarding an understatement of the contribution from the Schengen associated countries (SAC), which in 2022 was equivalent to the amount of EUR 3,2 million whereas the Union’s contribution was overstated by the same amount; is concerned that the agreements between the Union and the SAC serving as legal basis for calculating their contributions to the Union budget are unclear and allow divergent interpretations resulting in a lower contribution by SAC calculated around 7 %; notes from the Court’s report the Agency’s reply that the understanding between the Agency’s Accounting Officer on the one hand and the Agency’s MB, the Commission and SAC on the other hand is different with regard to the modality of application of the calculation of the SAC contribution based on the current agreements in place with SAC; notes that in the Agency’s interpretation the methodology used since 2016 is in line with the applicable legal framework and agreements and the Agency’s MB concluded in 2021 that the calculation methodology for the SAC contributions would not be revised; notes the Court’s renewed arguments as to why the Agency’s interpretation is flawed; is of the opinion that in no way SAC should contribute less than expected to the Agency’s budget and calls for a review of the Agency’s interpretation of the methodology; 9. Notes with concern from the Court’s report the observations with regard to an overestimation of accrued charges incurred in 2022 for the Agency’s mission costs and the lack of formalised guidance or procedures in the Agency to ensure consistent calculation of accrued charges; calls on the Agency to address this shortcoming and report back to the discharge authority; Performance 10. Notes that in 2022 the Agency used a wide range of (240) measures as key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the performance of its (58) activities, adopted by the Agency’s MB, stemming from the single programming document 2022-2024; notes an implementation rate of its Annul Work Programme for 2022 of 85,20 % as self-assessed by the Agency; commends the overall improvement of the Agency’s qualitative KPIs; notes, however, the deterioration of some of the Agency’s KPIs, such as the rate of delayed payments which was 20 % in 2022 (compared to 12 % in 2021); 11. Expresses its gratitude for the swift actions taken by the Agency in the wake of the illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine that led millions of Ukrainians to flee their country and arrive in the Union; commends the Agency in this context for: the activation of a crisis response mechanism and a dedicated crisis response team that has operated 24/7; the signing in record time of the Status Agreement with Moldova which led to the launch of a new joint operation JO Moldova 2022; the deployment of about 500 standing corps officers working at the border of the Union with Ukraine and along the entire eastern Union border from Finland to Romania and; the deployment of other assets (maritime, aerial, terrestrial) in 102 new operational locations; notes that the war in Ukraine has transformed the Union and the way the Union’s citizens see its security, especially at the eastern borders; highlights that the Union is facing the highest number of illegal border crossings since 2016; 12. Notes the various initiatives taken by the Agency in 2022, including the signature of a status agreement with North Macedonia and a Memorandum of Understanding and an Operation Action plan with Cyprus, as well as the doubling of the Agency’s presence in the joint operation JO Serbia Land 2022 and the opening of a new operational area at the Serbian-Hungarian border; stresses that the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Hungary’s activities are incompatible with the Return Directive and Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union; notes with concern that even though the Agency said it withdrew operations from Hungary in 2021, it nonetheless continued to support Hungary’s return operations; reiterates the FSWG’s calls on the Agency’s executive director to suspend operations from Hungary; 13. Notes that the Agency finalised and evaluated the pilot project on deploying Member States’ Liaison Officers to the Agency’s headquarters; welcomes that an internal evaluation of that pilot project was carried out and the Agency has decided to continue this form of cooperation with the Member States; calls on all the Member States to deploy Liaison Officers to the Agency; 14. Notes that operational activities conducted on land borders in 2022 resulted in approximately 49 000 incidents reported, involving more than 26 000 apprehended irregular migrants and 700 smugglers arrested; notes the Agency’s efforts that led to the return by air of 24 850 non-EU nationals (increase of 35 % compared to 2021), of which 9 919 persons on 291 operations by charter flights to 32 countries of return and 14 931 persons (increase of 84 % compared to 2021) by 8 789 scheduled flights to 116 countries of return; notes further the Agency’s efforts under all maritime joint operations in 2022 which led to the detection of 1 105 facilitators and 11 traffickers of human beings, the seizure of tens of tons of smuggled drugs and the rescue of thousands of migrants; notes, at the same time, the many recent tragedies of shipwrecks and other deadly incidents with migrants on the Mediterranean Sea; calls on the Agency to fully cooperate with the Ombudsman investigation; observes that 1 422 multipurpose surveillance missions were carried out by the Agency in 2022 with as a result 1 177 events and 51 362 migrants detected; 15. Notes the increase in the Frontex-supported returns implemented on a voluntary basis from 26 % in 2021 to 39 % in 2022; commends the implementation of the first fully fledged Frontex-led return operations, whereby the Agency - taking over the role of the organising Member State - returned 80 third-country nationals to Albania and Nigeria; notes the Agency’s report titled ‘Cooperation between the Agency and third countries in 2022 in which the Agency elaborates on its external dimension activities, such as: further developing dialogue and cooperation with various partners (e.g. Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership Region, Africa and the Middle East); its work on data protection standards and fundamental rights; providing technical and operational assistance to third countries to tackle, among others, cross-border crime; and capacity building actions (e.g. training); expresses concern about some reports, that might suggest the involvement of the Agency in human rights violations, including in its external dimension activities, particularly the alleged facilitation of illegal pushbacks at Union’s external border; notes that according to recent information provided by the Agency, it has been sharing coordinates of migrants in distress with Libyan actors in the last three years; notes two pending Serious Incident Reports on interceptions of migrants by Tareq Bin Zeyad following the Agency´s detection; 16. Welcomes the Agency’s first report on the functioning of EUROSUR, a key instrument meant to improve situational awareness and increase reaction capabilities for the purpose of border management through information exchange and cooperation between Members States and the Agency; notes with appreciation from that report the progress made in different areas such as the technical developments of the applications used for EUROSUR purposes, the development of 17 services under the EUROSUR Fusion Services (with a relatively high number of service requests from Member States for satellite imagery and coastal monitoring) and the development of a roadmap for the re-design and development of EUROSUR 2.0 aiming at full interoperability of the different applications and systems by year 2026; takes note from the Agency’s Consolidated Annual Activity Report 2022 (CAAR) of the progress made by the Agency regarding EUROSUR in 2022 and invites the Agency to speed up its efforts to fully align it with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 and the EUROSUR Implementing Regulations; 17. Commends the Agency for the significant progress made in 2022 with regard to the establishment of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) Central Unit (ECU) through activities such as the development of internal rules and procedures, a mid-term strategy, an engagement framework, a business impact analysis, as well as the drafting of security, business continuity and disaster recovery plans and the conduct of the ECU’s first risk assessment; notes that for the setup of ECU, in 2022 the Agency finalised the recruitment of the second wave of ECU’s staff reaching a rate of 55 % of all posts envisaged and launched other recruitment procedures; welcomes the fact that the Commission has put in place in 2022, with the support of the Agency, a public information campaign promoting the ETIAS among the nationals of 60 visa-free countries; notes the other operational achievements of the Agency such as the initiation of the development of a new chain of command for standing corps with a single operational coordination structure and the delegation of more decision-making responsibilities to the field; 18. Welcomes the Agency’s Annual Report on the practical application of the Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 regarding the Agency’s maritime operations in 2022, namely the Joint Operations: Themis (Italy), Poseidon (Greece), Indalo (Spain), Opal Coast (Belgium and France) and Multipurpose Maritime Operation Black Sea (Bulgaria and Romania); notes the Agency’s observation that there is an asymmetry between the standards and requirements applicable to the Agency according to Regulation (EU) No 656/2014 and those applicable to other actors (e.g NATO, EMSA, EFCA) that are involved in maritime operations, whereas such actors, when acting with the Agency’s support, follow the international maritime law; supports the Agency in exploring the possibilities of including in the relevant status agreements similar standards to the ones reflected in Regulation (EU) No 656/2014; 19. Highlights the importance of a strong, effective and well-functioning Agency able to assist Member States to manage the common external borders of the Union and to ensure an integrated border management with a view to managing those borders efficiently and in full compliance with fundamental rights; notes the shared responsibilities that the Agency and the Member States have in the fulfilment of fundamental rights obligations; stresses that the effective and just management of the external borders is of crucial importance for the protection of the Schengen as an area of freedom, security and justice; stresses that close cooperation and agreements with third countries in aspects such as readmission agreements, technical assistance, training, and lawful return activities, together with development aid are important to promote an efficient Union border management if they fully respect fundamental rights; calls on the Agency and the Member States to further develop structures of cooperation, information-sharing and the exchange of best practices; 20. Acknowledges the key role of the Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO) since 2021 in the implementation of various fundamental rights related recommendations stemming from the EO, FSWG and FRaLO; notes from the annual report of the FRO for 2022 (the ‘FRO Report’) that the majority of those recommendations have been implemented; calls on the Agency to fully cooperate with the FRO and implement all of its recommendations; 21. Recalls that the Agency and relevant Member States authorities constitute the main guarantor for strong and protected European external borders while upholding fundamental rights and international protection obligations; notes that the FRO has concluded in his opinion of 1 September 2022 that the conditions for triggering Article 46 of the Frontex Regulation were met; further notes that the Agency Working Group on Fundamental Rights Art 46 issued series of recommendations concerning fundamental rights in Greece of which in October 2023 four were fully implemented; notes that the Agency Working Group intends to monitor further progress and that recommended measures continue to be applied; calls for all recommendations to be fully implemented as matter of priority and on the Agency to continue informing the Parliament on the progress made; 22. Notes the European Ombudsman’s inquiry into the Agency’s role in search and rescue operations (OI/3/2023/MHZ), which was launched after the Adriana tragedy of June 2023; notes with concern the Ombudsman’s conclusions that the Agency is unable to fulfil its fundamental rights obligations and too reliant on Member States to act when migrants are in distress, because the Agency lacks internal guidelines on issuing emergency signals and the Agency’s fundamental rights monitors are not always sufficiently involved in decisions on emergencies, and that since the Adriana tragedy no sufficient changes have been made to prevent such incidents from happening again; recalls that the discharge authority has repeatedly pointed out those shortcomings in previous discharge resolutions and regrets that the issue remains unresolved; notes the Ombudsman’s call on the Agency to address the identified shortcomings, and its call on the Parliament, Commission and Council to establish an independent commission of enquiry into the matter; 23. Welcomes the decision of the Agency’s MB of 20 July 2022 that has strengthened the cooperation and communication between various Agency entities, including the Consultative Forum (CF) and the FRO through rules for the Agency’s Executive Director and MB to inform the CF of the follow-up to the recommendations of the CF and to ensure that action is taken with regard to the recommendations of the FRO; welcomes further the adoption in 2022 of the standard operating procedure on Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 and standard operating procedure regarding the working methods related to FRO’s investigative powers; 24. Welcomes that, following the recommendations for an effective border agency compliant with fundamental rights and in order to improve accountability, regularity, and legality of all of the Agency’s activities, an additional 22 Fundamental Rights Monitors (FROMs) were externally recruited; recalls that all FROMs should be recruited on AD level, as soon possible through the appropriate procedures; notes that, based on the Agency’s updated mandate, there will be a demand for additional FROMs in the future; welcomes that the Fundamental Rights Office conducted 1 183 deployment days visiting 50 countries which is a substantial increase in comparison to the previous year; 25. Stresses that Agency’s direct and indirect involvement in border management and border surveillance activities must go hand in hand with respecting fundamental rights; 26. Notes from the FRO Report a further increase in the number of the serious incidents reports (SIRs) from 62 SIRs in 2021 to 72 SIRs in 2022, all covered by the standard operating procedure as amended in 2021; commends the FRO for the development of procedures standardising how its office evaluates and processes the received information on incidents; notes that in 2022, in most SRI cases (38 out of 72) the primary source of information were the Agency’s deployed officers, however the FRO also relied on other sources of information such as media (4 cases) and non-governmental organisations (10 cases); recalls that the necessary additional revision of the standard operating procedure on the SIR mechanism has been delayed; expects the Agency to implement the recommendations of the FRO as set out in his 2022 annual report; 27. Notes from the FRO Report that in 2022 the FRO received a total of 69 complaints (an increase from 27 in 2021); notes further that nine of those complaints were declared admissible (an increase from 6 in 2021), welcomes the revised rules on the complaints mechanism adopted by the Agency’s MB in 2022 which provide for timelines and adequate follow-up to be enhanced; commends the FRO for its additional efforts in the complaints mechanism related area such as actions to raise awareness by e.g. updating the information materials and capacity buildings activities in the form of training to the Agency’s deployed officers and local partners during visits to the Agency’s operational areas; 28. Commends the Agency for the progress made in implementing the fundamental rights action plan (FRAP) which foresee 87 activities; notes from the FRO Report that 18 of those activities have been fully implemented (i.e. no further action is required), 62 are on-going (i.e. implemented on a systematic manner and on a rolling-basis), one is partly implemented and six are delayed; regrets these delays and calls upon the Agency to swiftly progress on the outstanding actions; recalls in this context the important role that the FRMs have, including with regard to their access to the operational areas and close cooperation with the Agency’s operational staff, as well as their efforts in the implementation of the FRAP activities (nº 23, 63 and 83 among other); commends that the standard operating procedure on the roles and responsibilities of the FRMs in the Agency’s operational activities was finalised and approved; welcomes the creation at the beginning of 2022 of a network of fundamental rights focal points in all the Agency’s divisions to develop fundamental rights expertise in all areas of activity; Efficiency and gains 29. Commends the Agency for its close cooperation and/or resource sharing with various agencies and other stakeholders such as the Commission, Member States or third countries; points out the horizontal benefits of working together and adopting best practices and that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; notes in this sense the Agency’s actions in connection with, among others: the negotiations on the renewal of working arrangements that structure bilateral cooperation with several agencies in the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) field; the relocation of some of its staff to eu-LISA for the period 2022-2024 for EES and ETIAS related projects and to Europol as of 1 January 2024 for projects in the area of the Union’s interoperability of systems; - and the contributions by the Agency on a regular basis to annual work programmes of other agencies for alignment of activities; 30. Notes in particular the Agency’s cooperation trough a Tripartite Working Arrangement with the European Fisheries Control Agencies (EFCA) and European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in order to coordinate and share resources in various areas such as information sharing, surveillance and communication services or capacity sharing; commends the launching of Multipurpose Maritime Operations (MMO) which ensure the implementation of different coast guard functions into one operation that touches upon the mandates of those three agencies and enhances cross-sectorial and cross-border cooperation; welcomes that the MMO concept was further developed with the implementation of the MMO Black Sea from August to November 2022 in cooperation with EFCA, EMSA and six authorities from Romania and Bulgaria; welcomes further that those three agencies agreed to expand the implementation of the MMO concept to Adriatic and Baltic seas in 2023; 31. Supports the Agency’s plans regarding the design and construction of a new building for its future headquarters (permanent premises), whereas such building, expected to meet the highest sustainability standards, shall remain environmentally friendly throughout its entire lifetime; notes that the tender procedure, launched in July 2022, is based on Green Public Procurement Guidelines; notes further that in this context the Agency has developed a concept which is rooted in the idea of activity-based working, supporting the underlying principles of time- and place- independent work, diversity of workspaces and an emphasis on cross-entity collaboration and knowledge exchange and which will first be tested in the current premises of the Agency; invites the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed of the results of that test and follow-up thereto; 32. Notes that on its path towards the integration of environmental sustainability in all its processes, policies and operations, and ultimately towards carbon neutrality by 2050, the Agency has launched in 2021 and published in 2022 a study called ’The Green Deal and the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG)’, based mainly on case studies of best practice in various international organisations (e.g. European Central Bank, the French Ministry of Interior, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, among other); notes with satisfaction that the report identifies ten different areas (including with regard to sustainability in operational activities where the EBCG community has the highest impact on the environment) with road-maps for short, medium and long-term horizons; notes from that study that the change management framework, the reporting and risk management systems and the EMAS implementation and certification are fundamental for the successful transformation that the Agency seeks together with the EBCG community; 33. Notes that the Agency integrates environmental criteria into its procurement procedures in connection with e.g. flights, catering, the Agency’s permanent premises; acknowledges, however, that the specificities of the Agency’s acquisitions (e.g. purchases of body armour items) do not always allow for integration of such criteria; notes further the Agency’s external consultancy project on how to establish a baseline for measuring the energy and environmental footprint of staff and technical operational equipment, as well as the pilot training in eco-driving conducted to a group of standing corps members and the inclusion of awareness raising training on eco-driving practices in the basic trainings on-line for newcomers (standing corps members); Staff policy 34. Acknowledges the Agency’s sustained efforts and critical improvements in the recruitment area, in spite of delays; notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 88,46 % executed (82 % in 2021), with 1 150 temporary agents appointed out of 1 300 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget; notes that, in addition, 723 contract agents (of which 11 staff financed from external budget) and 190 seconded national experts worked for the Agency (with 964 contract agents and 220 seconded national experts authorised for the Agency in 2022); welcomes an increase (by approx. 6,5 % compared to the year 2021) for a second year in a row in the Agency’s occupancy rate thanks to the recruitment in 2022 of 509 newcomers leading to a net increase in the Agency’s number of staff overall from 1 554 in 2021 to 2 063 in 2022, and in particular of the standing corps category 1 officers from 595 in 2021 to 963 in 2022; welcomes in this context that 65 new staff were recruited and on-boarded for the ETIAS Central Unit Division, as well as 22 new FRMs, whereas as at 31 December 2022 the Agency had filled 44 (46 as of 1 September 2023) FRM posts, thus coming closer to the full implementation of the Agency’s extended mandate; notes moreover that as of October 2022, the Agency’s pool of forced-return monitors counted 60 monitors from 24 Union Member States and SACs, five of which were from the pool of FRMs; commends a decreasing trend in the Agency’s annual vacancy rate in all types of contracts in both pillars A and B; 35. Is deeply concerned regarding the Agency’s gender breakdown reported for 2022 at senior and middle management level with 19 men (79 %) and 7 women (21 %), at the level of the MB with 54 men (87 %) and 8 women (13 %), and for the Agency’s staff overall, with 1 473 men (71 %) and 590 women (29 %); recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency's management board; notes from the Agency’s report titled “Frontex’s individual follow up report for the 2021 budgetary discharge” (hereinafter the ‘Agency’s follow-up report’) the measures and initiatives the Agency has taken to improve gender balance; notes that, in spite of those efforts, the Agency’s declared goal to have at least 40 % of the underrepresented gender at all management levels is still far from being reached; calls on the Agency to address this issue and to report back to the discharge authority regarding progress; notes nevertheless from the Agency’s follow-up report that gender balance is being monitored by also taking account five major categories of staff, for some of which, such as managerial posts, the recruitment pool (national law-enforcement services) is mostly made of men; notes nevertheless from that report that, in the administrative posts category, the Agency has reached in May 2023 nearly ideal gender balance (417 men and 426 women); 36. Welcomes the Agency’s extensive anti-harassment measures and policies put in place that rely on Confidential Counsellors (17 staff, of which 6 from the standing corps team) whose role is key in protecting the dignity of the Agency’s staff and preventing psychological and sexual harassment; welcomes from the Agency’s follow-up report the actions already implemented and those in progress, as well as the list of proposed measures, all aiming at ensuring zero tolerance towards sexual harassment in all of the Agency’s activities; calls on the Agency to remain pro-active and fully implement its action plan with regard to anti-harassment measures; highlights that this is an essential element of reforming the organisational culture of the Agency and calls on the Agency to periodically report on progress achieved in this regard; 37. Notes with concern from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that in 2022 31 anonymous harassment cases (psychological: 27 or sexual: 4) were reported, of which 22 were closed at the anonymous stage, 4 cases were in the process of conciliation with the alleged harasser and 5 were transferred to a formal procedure; notes further that 11 cases of psychological (7) or sexual harassment (4) were opened in 2022, whereas 5 cases were closed after the preliminary assessment stage and in 6 cases recommendations were made ranging from the taking of harassment prevention awareness courses to the termination of contract; calls on the Agency to carefully assess each pending case, taking a zero-tolerance approach to psychological, sexual or any other kind of harassment, and to proceed swiftly with holding those responsible for this misconduct accountable; notes the from the Agency’s follow-up report the Agency’s conclusion on the reopened investigation with regard to the tragic death of a staff member in 2020 that no harassment was substantiated, and therefore nor a direct or indirect link between the suicide of the alleged victim and the working environment could be established; 38. Commends the Agency for the multitude of trainings offered to its staff in 2022; notes in this regard that the Agency provided 21 specialisation courses to standing corps category 1 (1 194 attendees), 15 different courses for standing corps category 2 and 3 (with more than 1 450 attendees), 34 courses for different categories of officers (almost 4 000 attendees) and an extended basic training programme for 325 standing corps officers, whereas fundamental rights aspects including data protection remained central elements of the trainings; notes further the adoption of the ‘Charter on diversity and inclusion’ and the variety of measures the Agency has taken for the integration of persons with disabilities and to improve staff well-being and work-life balance; 39. Notes with concern the information provided by the European Ombudsman regarding the Agency’s standing corps officers who performed standby duty before 5 October 2022, for which they did not receive any financial compensation; is worried in this context that due to the lack of additional information and a proper inquiries, the Ombudsman concluded that it remains unclear why the Agency considers that there is no legal basis to make the necessary payments; urges the Agency to set up specific taskforce with a view to collect and verify all the declarations concerning standby duty performed before 5 October 2022 and keep the discharge authority informed of the progress made in this matter; 40. Welcomes the steps taken by the Agency to undergo a transition process to improve the management culture and promote staff well-being; calls on the new management to continue engaging in deeply reforming the organisational culture of the Agency; Procurement 41. Notes from the Court’s report the observation regarding an increase (from EUR 79 000 to EUR 502 900 via four amendments) in the value of a contract beyond the limit (50 %) allowed by the Financial Regulation (Article 172(3)(a)(iii)); notes that the increase led to payments of which those amounting to EUR 384 000 were irregular; acknowledges in this context from the Agency’s reply that, in order not to delay recruitment of standing corps, exceptions to the rules were needed and were registered in the Agency’s registry of exceptions and non-compliance events; 42. Notes that in 2022 the Agency launched 53 open tenders, of which 20 resulting in signed contracts for a total value of EUR 140,5 million, and 25 still ongoing, with an estimated value of EUR 486,51 million; notes further that the Agency handled 33 low- and medium-value procedures (negotiated with three and five candidates) with a total value of EUR 3,4 million, whereas out of the 33 procedures, 20 resulted in signed contracts in 2022 for a total value of EUR 2,03 million, while four of these still ongoing, for a total value of EUR 524 000; notes further that 228 very low-value procedures (negotiated with one candidate) for a total value of EUR 1,62 million were handled by the Agency in 2022; notes finally that 116 procedures under existing framework contracts for a total value of EUR 188,9 million have been handled in 2022 with 983 resulting in signed specific contracts or order forms, with a total value of EUR 153,4 million, while 32 of them for a total value of EUR 16,6 million still ongoing; observes a decrease by approx. 15 % in the total value of procurement procedures finalised, from EUR 406,9 million in 2021 to EUR 348,5 million in 2022; 43. Commends the Agency’s efforts in 2022 to secure strategically important contracts in areas ranging from the provision of interim staffing services to the provision of services for geographical information system, geospatial intelligence and imagery intelligence; notes that significant progress was made with critical procurement procedures for significant amounts of money with regard to the Agency’s permanent premises (EUR 140 million, provision of travel related services (EUR 666 million) and infrastructure and software related services (EUR 32 million); 44. Notes the Agency reporting on having improved the planning and monitoring of the annual procurement plan; calls on the IAS to include this plan in its future audits; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 45. Notes with satisfaction that the CVs and declarations of interest of the members of the Agency’s MB and of its executive management are published on the Agency’s website; notes further that in 2022 five cases of whistleblowing were processed, of which three cases were closed or concluded in the preliminary assessment phase and two cases are currently under OLAF investigation; calls on those concerned and on the Agency to ensure full cooperation with OLAF in the course of the investigation; notes lastly that in 2022 no cases of conflicts of interest were investigated; 46. Notes from the Agency’s reply to Parliament’s written questions that the Agency is working on a policy for monitoring of compliance of the Agency’s current and former senior staff in the area of ‘revolving door’ situations; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed of the progress in this matter; reiterates its call on the Agency to also put in place for the members of its MB principles, procedures and specific mechanisms to deal with conflicts of interest of those members and with ‘revolving door’ situations; 47. Notes the reply to the discharge authority which provides information on the contacts and meetings registered and documented in the Agency’s Transparency Register in 2022; notes the various meetings (Industry Days) of the Agency that gave companies from the industry the opportunity to present their products and services that can support border management activities and encourage dialogue between the EBCG community and the industry; notes that in the framework of the Industry Days for 2022 the Agency received 277 applications on solutions, invited 88 companies to showcase their technologies and organised online sessions where information on 175 solutions were shared; welcomes that the list of the participating companies are published on the website of the Agency; 48. Notes from the Agency’s CAAR that the Agency’s transparency office processed a significantly higher number of applications (469) for public access to documents (PAD), representing an increase by nearly 34 % year-on-year; notes further that the Agency’s public register of documents website was established with around 1 900 key documents uploaded in 2022; notes the EO’s conclusions from its own initiative enquiry (case OI/2022/PB) that the Agency systematically takes too long to process PAD-requests, specifically when it concerns a large amount of documents and when the Agency considers the request to be imprecise, and that this amounts to maladministration; deplores that the Agency has failed to accept the recommendation of the Ombudsman and calls upon the Agency to start dealing with PAD-requests more swiftly and transparently as a matter of priority; 49. Recognises the general presumption of non-disclosure of public access for documents pertaining to ongoing OLAF investigations(12); reiterates nevertheless its call for OLAF reports on the Agency to be made public in cases of overriding public interest in disclosure and, in all cases, for the relevant Members of Parliament to be given access to such reports within a reasonable period of time in order to allow them to effectively carry out democratic scrutiny and hold the Agency to account for its actions; believes that the current rules need to be revised to ensure that Parliament is fully informed in its role as policymaker and co-legislator, in particular regarding its budgetary powers; 50. Takes note of the Ombudsman inquiry into the Agency’s refusal to grant public access to the report by its FRO concerning the Agency’s operation in Albania (case 652/2023/VB)(13); 51. Recalls the EO’s decision in its own initiative enquiry (case OI/4/2021/MHZ) on the Agency’s compliance with its fundamental rights obligations; recalls in this context that the Agency has an obligation to ensure proactive transparency as stated in Article 114(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896; calls on the Agency to finalise the implementation of all the Ombudsman’s recommendations; notes from the Agency’s follow-up report that work on merging the three codes of conduct (two with regard to operational areas and one applicable to the entire staff of the Agency) into one code of conduct covering the specific provisions for the operational areas is ongoing; asks the Agency to keep the discharge authority updated on the progress in this matter; 52. Acknowledges the Agency’s briefing note of 27 June 2022 on actions taken by the Agency’s management during the transition period, in particular its efforts to strengthen the procedures needed for good governance and accountability in the organisation, through enhancing transparency, proactive communication and engagement with internal and external stakeholders; welcomes the Agency’s initiative for an operational brief informing the public about its operational activities in a comprehensive way; calls upon the new leadership to undertake reforms that are needed in respect of transparency and efficiency in internal procedures, and to increase accountability towards the Parliament and Council in accordance with the applicable legal framework; Internal control 53. Welcomes the Agency’s decision to issue, in an improved format, a quarterly report addressed to FSWG covering the state of play on the implementation of the recommendations stemming from various scrutiny bodies; acknowledges receipt of that report for the third quarter of 2023 (hereinafter the ‘Q3 2023 report’); commends in this context the significant progress made by the Agency in implementing 36 out of 42 FSWG recommendations; notes from the Q3 2023 report the implementation rates of the recommendations and/or required actions from the FWSG (91 %), the FraLO (87 %), the Ombudsman (79 %) and OLAF (54 %); acknowledges the role of the Agency’s ICO in the support provided to addressing those recommendations through liaison functions and coordination tasks; notes further from the Q3 2023 report that 10 IAS recommendations (covering a total of 32 actions) are still open, whereas 21 actions are marked as very important, while none of them is deemed critical; further commends the progress made by the Agency in addressing the remaining open recommendations stemming from the Court’s special reports 22/2020 (recommendation 2) and 8/2021 (recommendation 1, 2 and 4); reiterates its call on the Agency to fully address all pending recommendations and related actions, including with regard to the Court’s relevant observations stemming from the Court’s annual audit reports from previous years (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021); invites the Agency to continue to inform regularly the discharge authority of the progress made in these matters; 54. Notes with concern from the Court’s report a series of observations indicating weaknesses in the Agency’s management and internal control systems in the areas of procurement and contract management, recruitment procedures and delegation of powers to authorising officers by delegation; is deeply concerned that for a second year in a row the Court issued observations in the area of procurement of travel related services, whereas the amounts at stake are very important; stresses that it is of utmost importance that the Agency abides to the principle of sound financial management in the implementation of Union funds, as stipulated in the Financial Regulation, whereas the Agency is leading among Union’s decentralised agencies regarding the Agency’s annual budget which has more than doubled since 2019; 55. Notes with concern from annex 12 to the Agency’s CAAR the comments of the former Executive director ad interim (currently deputy executive for standing corps management) whereby, with regard to a contract for accommodation and travel services for standing corps officers, overpricing, payments made without supporting documents and failure to provide contractual services allegedly took place during 2021; 56. Notes from the Court’s report the observation with regard to a significant risk of overcharging when it comes to payments made for travel services (framework contract of EUR 30 million), in particular accommodation, whereas invoices issued by the travel agency were not supported by the actual invoices of the hotels, but by a travel agency’s subsidiary; calls on the Agency to improve its internal controls such that the relevant invoices are produced by the actual provider of the service; 57. Notes further the risk that payments related to the travel agency’s costs may not be correct because the information in the Agency’s system for managing its travel-related costs does not reconcile actual costs paid with the travel agency’s costs, which are reported and processed separately from those paid by the staff on mission; understands from the Agency’s reply the reason why there are discrepancies between the MiPS and the accounting system (ABAC) and that in the Agency’s opinion there is no risk of making payments with a wrong amount; 58. Notes from the Court’s report, for a second year in a row, an observation on the Agency’s internal control weakness in the area of recruitment procedures; notes in this context that in 2022 in a procedure for recruitment of temporary agents, individual scorings by members of the selection committee (SC) were used, instead of applying a consensual method as stipulated by the Agency’s internal rules; regrets the reoccurrence of such weakness, in spite of the Agency having adopted in January 2022 new implementing rules with clearer instructions to the selection committee members aiming to ensure more consistent assessment and harmonised procedures; welcomes the Agency’s commitment to extend to the recruitment of temporary agents the rules whereby only one final evaluation report agreed between the SC members is considered, without taking into account their individual scorings; invites the Agency to strengthen the application of the new rules and its internal controls in the area of recruitment procedures; 59. Takes note of the assessment of the internal control system (ICS) of the Agency carried out in 2022; notes the assessment conclusion that the ICS is present and functioning effectively, with some areas needing improvements with regard to components ‘Control environment’ (in particular principle 1 titled “Demonstrates a commitment to integrity and ethical values”) , ‘Control activities’ (in particular point 10.5 titled ”Sensitive positions identified”) and ‘Information and communication’ (in particular point 15.1 titles ‘External communication’); observes an overall improvement in 2022 compared to 2021 on the scores given to principles in all five ICS components; 60. Notes with satisfaction the reinforcement of the Agency’s internal oversight in 2022 through the establishment of the Internal Audit Capability (IAC) and the adoption of the Internal Audit Chapter; welcomes that the head of IAC took up his duties in 2023 and the first IAC Annual Audit plan has already been adopted by the MB; 61. Recalls the recommendation from the Court’s report for 2018 that the Agency should adopt and implement a sensitive post policy; notes the Agency reporting on the preparations carried out for a decision on such policy which meanwhile was adopted (at the end of 2023); Other comments 62. Notes that the opinions of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on the Agency’ s MB decisions 68/2021 and 69/2021 were negative; notes that the Agency created an implementation plan to address all EDPS recommendations in that regard; notes further that those MB decisions have been redrafted and re-adjusted after regular meetings and informal exchanges of the Agency’s Data Protection Officer with the EDPS staff, as well as by taking into account the EDPS audit report published on 24 May 2023 (hereinafter the ‘audit report’); notes that the audit report verified the compliance of the Agency’s processing of personal data in the context of Joint Operations with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and the relevant provisions of the Regulation (EU) 2019/1896; notes further in this context that the audit report identified 36 formal findings and issued 32 recommendations with regard to the screening of persons and debriefing interviews, joint controllers’ arrangements, low reliability of information used for the production of risk analyses and the implementation of data protection by design and by default, among other; notes with concern from the audit report that the EDPS findings also indicate that the Agency has breached multiple articles of legal basis applicable to the Agency (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 and MB Decision 58/2015) by not assessing the strict necessity of sharing data packages with Europol for the performance of its mandate and, consequently, the EDPS has opened an investigation, which may result in the exercise of enforcement actions; regrets that EDPS identified after its audit new six cases of transmission from the Agency to Europol of personal data relating to NGOs' staff whose lawfulness needs to be further investigated; calls on the Agency to address all recommendations within the deadlines for implementation issued by the EDPS in its audit report and keep the discharge authority informed of the development in this matter; 63. Welcomes that over the course of the last two years the Agency went through significant managerial changes, including a new deputy FRO, a new chair of its Management Board, two new deputy executive directors and the appointment of a new executive director; notes the establishment of action plans with national authorities to right the wrongs of the past and present; o 64. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(14) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for the Space Programme |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0108/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU(4), and in particular Articles 85 and 86 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0121/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme for the financial year 2022 (2023/2170(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0108/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU(9), and in particular Articles 85 and 86 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0121/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme for the financial year 2022 (2023/2170(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0121/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2022 was EUR 70 032 491,77, representing an increase of 22,58 % compared to 2021; whereas the actual revenue of the Agency amounted to EUR 1,2 billion being the difference with the above mentioned budget, explained by operational activities that are financed through assigned revenue which are included in the approved budget as a token entry; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that the Court obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; whereas the Court presents an “emphasis of matter” paragraph in relation to the impact of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in the Agency’s operations; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s internal control systems, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 100 %, representing the same rate as in the previous two years; regrets however that the execution rate of the current year payment appropriations was 72,86 %, representing a decrease of 1,92 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that the Agency’s administrative board approved three budget amendments in 2022, first in January increasing the overall appropriations by EUR 1 687 363,77, with the second budget amendment the Agency’s administrative board approved reallocation of overall amount of EUR 2 659 300, mostly from the operational budget to the data processing line, and the third amending budget decreased payment appropriations by EUR 4 640 000, bringing the overall amount of payment appropriations to the EUR 65 392 491,77; 3. Notes that in addition to its core budget, the Agency continued to manage a large amount of delegated budget (earmarked appropriations), and a total of EUR 574,5 million was committed under delegated budget in 2022 and EUR 1,26 billion made in payments; Performance 4. Welcomes that the Agency uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the outcomes related to its objectives, which include, among others, operate effective administration of the security accreditation board so as to support timely decision making, Galileo threat and risk analysis, managing and reporting on the Agency budget, efficiently handling all legal arrangements, ensuring the operational capability of Agency premises, and fulfilling statutory audit and control obligations; notes that most objectives have been achieved, however recommends to address the KPIs that remain unfulfilled or are progressing slower than expected; recommends that the Agency fine tunes KPIs on a regular basis in order to optimise its performance; 5. Takes note that the Agency has disclosed potential impacts from the war in Ukraine, including the interruption in using Soyuz launchers for Galileo satellites due to the unilateral withdrawal of the Russian Soyuz launcher team; notes that the Agency does not envisage any direct, immediate impact on its financial performance but recognises that intensive work is required to minimize delays in the launch of new satellites, which could then lead to delays in expense recognition and the clearing of receivable assets paid in the form of pre-financing; notes with concern that this amount cannot be reliably estimated at this point; 6. Notes furthermore that the work on the Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) ground stations in Ukraine has halted due to the conflict, but this has no direct impact on EGNOS system functionality; highlights that the Agency has taken all the steps that it could to protect the equipment already installed as far as possible, but its exact condition is not currently known; notes that there is a force majeure raised by the hosting entity and that, as soon as removed, the contract in place is expected to be re-activated; asks the Agency to report back to the discharge authority on the state of the installed equipment as soon as the war allows; 7. Observes that the Agency has implemented measures to monitor ties with Russian and Belarusian institutions, and market condition changes from sanctions are not expected to materially affect the Agency's operations; 8. Notes that in 2022 a set of important accreditation decisions for EGNOS were achieved and regarding EGNOS highlights include the signing of the next EGNOS service provision contract and a new search and rescue service contract, the maintenance contract for EGNOS v2, and the launch of the EGNOS GEO4 payload, notably, a common mode failure in EGNOS was identified and resolved; notes with appreciation that the global impact of Galileo is emphasized with over 3,5 billion enabled devices worldwide; observes that two new Galileo satellites entered into force; notes with appreciation that Galileo Services, including security monitoring and public regulated service demonstrated outstanding performances despite the challenges of COVID-19; 9. Takes note that other achievements of the Agency in 2022 include the organisation of the EU Space Week 2022 in Prague in cooperation with the Commission and with the support of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the creation of the Agency's network of 1 000 start-ups and 28 investors and the first CASSINI entrepreneurship day, the entry into service of two new Galileo satellites, and the publication of the first market report covering both Earth Observation and GNSS; 10. Stresses that the Agency should become the main implementing agency of all components of the Union space programme, guaranteeing secured services provision and accreditation of all space programme components Galileo, EGNOS, Earth Observation, Space Traffic Management and governmental Telecom and Connectivity, offering robust services that continuously evolve in accordance with the needs of current and future users, also to governmental users with resilience, defence and security needs; 11. Calls on the Agency to make use of its added value for the implementation of the future Union Space Law, as cornerstone for ensuring the Union’s security, safety, and sustainability in space addressing the Union economic Security in space activities and the acceleration of New Space growth; Efficiency and gains 12. Notes that the Agency dedicated significant effort to further streamline and automate the human resources management processes to achieve efficiency gains; observes that in this context, the Agency continued on the deployment of various Sysper modules (e.g. TIM, FLEX, TELEWORK), and interconnecting them with the existing in-house supporting applications (e.g. Intranet-based working time recording tool); notes that the human resources department has introduced an e-ticketing system to streamline processing of various requests from its staff; invites the Agency to find more internal procedures that could be streamlined via new IT tools; 13. Notes that, under the Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA), the Agency is obliged to collaborate with the Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) to jointly define arrangements to reach the European Union climate objectives, and to cooperate on activities contributing to these targets; notes further that, under Art. 30 FFPA, the Agency is obliged to implement the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) by the end of 2023; 14. Notes that, in regard to the Green Public Procurement (GPP), in 2022 there has been some progress in the identification of cases of tender procedures with “green” aspects and the consideration of application of green criteria; notes further that in 2023 the Agency gradually develops a more robust approach in order to actually implement GPP on a permanent basis, train its staff and gradually introduce green criteria in its public procurement in line with its environmental policy and the ongoing EMAS certification; 15. Commends the Agency for the commitment to the process of reducing its environmental impacts, optimising resource consumption and decreasing its carbon footprint and for the first step in this direction, the adoption and publication of its environmental policy on 16 December 2022; 16. Recalls the importance to increase the digitalisation of the agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed, insist on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly originating from Russia or China; 17. Calls on the Agency to further identify and stimulate the synergetic use of the Union Space Programme components and of IRIS2, among others for the implementation of the Union Space Strategy for Security and Defence in order to ensure that all tasks can be merged long-term into one unified space programme allowing for better synergy between the various components; 18. Calls on the Agency to continue its work in partnership with the Commission for GOVSATCOM Hubs and looks forward to the synergies which will be realized with IRIS2 system; highlights the role of EUSPA in the development, deployment and operations of IRIS2 ensuring the access to highly secure, sovereign and global connectivity services based on advanced encryption technologies; 19. Highlights the Agency’s role in the evolution of Copernicus in particular when it comes to the governmental use of Earth Observation given the geopolitical situation and recalls the need to make use of the Agency's expertise in the security accreditation, monitoring and contract implementation in this regard in order to strengthen the operational capacity of the Union to act in all phases of disaster risk management, in both natural and man-made disasters; Staff policy 20. Commends the Agency for the fact that on 31 December 2022 the establishment plan was 100 % implemented, with 231 temporary agents appointed out of 231 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 191 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 46 contract agents and 9 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022, bringing the total number of staff to 286; 21. Notes with concern the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management, with 3 out of 3 being men; regrets the lack of gender balance within the Agency’s administrative board members, with 22 out of 28 being men; further notes the gender balance within the Agency’s overall staff, with 153 out of 232 being men; notes from the Agency's report with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for the financial year 2021 (the ‘Agency's follow-up report’) that the Agency has adopted a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in 2023, accompanied by an action plan including concrete measures how to contribute to diversity and inclusion, including gender perspective; notes that the gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management and the administrative board needs to be improved; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments especially within its senior and middle management; insists that the Commission and the Member States take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s administrative board; 22. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looking forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 23. Recalls the Court’s observation from 2021 concerning the procedural deficiencies in two audited recruitment procedures, that the Agency implemented further changes in its selection processes, and templates and instructions provided to the selection board members have been modified, and more guidance is being provided to selection board members when setting the criteria for a vacancy notice; notes further that the Court has found these improvements satisfactory, therefore the observation is closed; 24. Recalls that, the Agency continues to implement the gradual and progressive reduction in the total number of contract agent posts to be in line with the overall resourcing provided to the Agency; notes that at the same time, the Agency continues to further focus its remaining contract agent posts on security and Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC) operations functions; highlights that in this regard the Agency continues to note that there are risks associated with the reduction of contract agent posts and that this indeed requires additional outsourcing which induces increased financial costs and results in the development of competency and knowhow outside of the public sector; 25. Recalls from the Court’s report the 2021 observation regarding the restrictions imposed by the Agency to a senior member of the staff taking a new job elsewhere, but without providing justification for these restrictions; notes further that this observation is closed, the Agency has revised its procedures to address the identified shortcoming and in 2022 no similar cases were observed; 26. Welcomes that, in 2022, the Agency has fully on boarded the time management module including teleworking and flexitime and has signed an additional service level agreement for the human resources reporting and analytics module, to be deployed in 2023; notes that the Agency has adopted the Commission decision on working time and hybrid working C(2022)1778 and is closely monitoring the results of this decision, which is expected to improve the staff’s wellbeing at work and facilitate work-life balance; Procurement 27. Notes from the Court's report that in September 2021, the Agency launched a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice with a national public entity for the provision of various services in relation to search and rescue activities; highlights that the tenderer had already been providing similar services to the Agency since 2016 and the Agency intended to conclude a new framework contract with an expiry date set on 31 December 2032 and a maximum budget of EUR 120 million; notes that the final framework contract was signed on 1 December 2022, including the involvement of several subcontractors; observes that Court noted that there were some discrepancies between the tender specification requirements and the evaluation committee’s assessment; notes that, for example, the requirement to declare absence of a conflict of interest for the contractors in the evaluation phase was either waived or not properly analysed, another example is that the offer received, instead of using 2021 as reference year for setting the prices, as per the technical specifications, used 2022 as the reference year; takes note of the Agency's considerations that the discrepancies were justified by the status of the main contractor which is a national public entity and by the checks performed by the latter and that, in regards to the reference year used for setting the price in the offer, the Agency accepted the deviation because of the length of the procedure which led to the conclusion of the contract at end of 2022; 28. Highlights that the objective of public procurement rules is to enable procuring entities to obtain the goods and services they need at best price, while ensuring fair competition between tenderers and compliance with the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; calls on the Agency to further improve its public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules, so that they achieve the best possible value for money; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 29. Notes that the Agency executed a broad assessment of the implementation of its anti-fraud strategy in 2020 and, consequently, in 2022, the Agency released its new anti-fraud strategy, which has been adopted by the Agency’s administrative board; observes that the Agency is now starting to implement it with major and broad measures affecting in particular its staff; notes with satisfaction that declarations of interests and CVs of the administrative board members and senior management are published on the Agency’s website; 30. Notes that the Agency had one whistleblowing case during 2022 that caused several investigations, some of which are still ongoing in 2023; calls on the Agency to report to the discharge authority on the developments in that regard; notes from the 2021 Agency's follow up report that, concerning the whistleblowing case from 2021, the Agency has cooperated as required with OLAF providing all information available as required; notes that no cases of conflict of interest have been investigated or concluded in 2022; 31. Takes note of the fact that an internal register is kept for senior management meetings with industry but it is not published on the Agency's webpage; emphasizes the importance of transparency and calls on the Agency to publish them without delay; 32. Insists on the need to continue working on transparency, incompatibilities, conflicts of interest, illegal lobbying and revolving doors; 33. Recalls the importance for the Agency to develop greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work known to the citizens; Other comments 34. Commends the Agency for continuing to be active on the biggest social media platforms, for opening accounts in the privacy-aware Union social media channels Mastodon and Peertube, for publishing 107 news stories on its website and 13 press releases (majority in all official EU languages), aiming to reach all the member states; notes further that the Agency organised events as EU Space Week (3 000 visitors onsite and online), EUSPA Open Days, CASSINI Hackathons, Horizon Europe info sessions, and numerous webinars on public procurement opportunities; o 35. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Fisheries Control Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0088/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency(4), and in particular Article 45 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Fisheries, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0100/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2150(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0088/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency(9), and in particular Article 45 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Fisheries, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0100/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Fisheries Control Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2150(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Fisheries Control Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Fisheries, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0100/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Fisheries Control Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 34 967 797, representing an increase of 61,73 % compared to 2021, with approximately 41 % increase in the general EU subsidy and a considerable rise in assigned revenue from multiannual contribution agreements and grants; whereas the additional EU subsidy granted to EFCA, initiated in 2021, was linked to the legislative financial statement addressing the escalated monitoring requirements in EU waters neighbouring the United Kingdom; whereas approximately 84 % of the budget of the Agency derives from the Union budget and approximately 16 % from earmarked revenue; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) states in its report on the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’) that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriation rate of 99,41 %, representing a slight increase of 0,34 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was at 57,78 %, representing a decrease of 16,70 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes with concern that, according to the Court, the Agency carried over EUR 11,9 million (41 %) of available 2022 commitment appropriations to 2023; observes that this included EUR 1,6 million (or 53 %) of appropriations under Title II, related to administrative activities (34 % in 2021), and EUR 10,1 million (or 63 %) of appropriations under Title III, related to operational activities (42 % in 2021); highlights that high rates of carry-overs contradict the budgetary principle of annuality and are indicative of structural issues in the budget process and implementation cycle; takes note of the Agency’s reply on this matter highlighting that the high carry-overs of 2022 are the consequence of very particular circumstances which are not expected to be repeated; 3. Notes that the financial year 2022 was marked by a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the previous two financial years, while at the same time EFCA's budget and resources continued to grow for additional tasks and projects as envisaged in its Single Programming Document for 2022; points out that the war in Ukraine could have an impact on the recognition and measurement of some assets and liabilities on the balance sheet and also on some revenue and expenses recognised in the statement of financial performance for subsequent reporting periods; 4. Stresses that it is the Member States that are primarily responsible for the control of fishing activities, while the Agency’s tasks are supportive in nature; stresses that the recent revision of the Union fisheries control system will increase the Agency’s supportive workload; emphasises the importance that growing obligations without sufficient resources to do so would be incoherent; stresses, therefore, that the financial and human resources available to the Agency need to be sufficient in the coming years; Performance 5. Welcomes the fact that, in 2022, the Agency implemented 95,4 % of the Annual Work Programme (AWP) adopted by the Administrative Board in the framework of the Single Programming Document; 6. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency employs key performance indicators to evaluate the outcomes of its activities within two primary domains: operational activities and horizontal activities; acknowledges further that operational activities encompass key areas such as operational cooperation, assistance to cooperation, international dimension, and Union cooperation in Coast Guard functions; takes note that horizontal activities include communication and representation, information and communications technology and information security, as well as administrative and governance processes; 7. Observes that, during 2022, additional resources were granted to the Agency providing it with the necessary operational capacity for assisting the Member States and the Commission in the monitoring, control and surveillance regime harnessed to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), including the measures resulting from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the United Kingdom; notes that, in addition, in 2022 three new projects subsidised by grants in the framework of the upcoming European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) were included; observes that those projects encompassed a study on the weighing process of fisheries products across the Union, a virtual regional training academy in the Western Mediterranean Sea for fisheries control and inspection, and the maintenance of the Handbook and online sectoral qualification framework (SQF) for Union cooperation in Coast Guard functions; 8. Recalls that the Agency is required to carry out an independent evaluation every five years responding to the legal obligation laid down in Article 48 of Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council(12); observes that, for the period 2017-2021, the External Evaluator presented a draft final report in July 2022 which was submitted to the Members of the Administrative Board for comments; notes that the evaluation assessed the Agency’s performance against the five criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, and Union added value, in line with the Commission’s Better Regulation Guidelines; highlights that the evaluation has outlined ten recommendations focusing on different aspects, namely organisational aspects, whether the role and activities continue to be appropriate to meet the objectives set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/473, as well as specific activities of the Agency; 9. Recalls the Agency’s vital contribution to the implementation of the CFP, in particular as regards fisheries control and the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; welcomes the strengthening of the Agency’s chartered offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to carry out fisheries controls and inspections in Union and international waters and to support national authorities; underlines the participation of the Agency in major international coalitions against illegal fishing, such as the Programme for Improved Regional Fisheries in Western Africa (PESCAO) operation; 10. Notes that, in 2022, the Agency reported 47 592 inspections (at sea and ashore), which led to the detection of 5 167 suspected infringements, representing a decrease in inspections of 11 % and an increase in suspected infringements of 28 % on the 2021 figures, respectively; points out that that observed decrease is not necessarily linked to a decrease in Member States’ control efforts; invites the Agency to provide more detailed information on the reasons for those changes; points out that inspections and other follow-up activities play a key role not only in the proper management of fish stocks but also in ensuring a level playing field for Union fishers; 11. Highlights the role of the Agency in offering capacity-building and training to third countries and the Agency’s crucial role in securing a level playing field with all coastal states; Efficiency and gains 12. Highlights that the Agency continues to benefit from the efficiencies gained by adhering to the roadmap of the Commission in terms of on-boarding their existing corporate IT systems (SUMMA, e- Procurement pre-award and post-award modules, MIPS, AGM, Sysper modules, PPMT, etc.); notes that, in addition to the advantages found on the integration aspects between all those systems, there are clear benefits from reducing the maintenance costs of supporting the amendments and updates; 13. Welcomes that the Agency accepts the invitations for interinstitutional calls for tender received from the Commission and other agencies; notes that currently the Agency uses over 45 framework contracts signed by other entities; notes that this results in rotating the leading role between agencies, bringing efficiencies to the procurement efforts of agencies overall; 14. Draws attention to the centralisation of common administrative tasks that has also been successful in achieving efficiencies; takes note that the financial initiation and verification continue to be centralised, which allows for greater control of transactions, unifying the methodologies and containing the knowledge in those areas; 15. Notes that another efficiency gain in the area of Human Resources is achieved by sharing existing reserve lists of recruitment procedures with other agencies where the profile of the reserve list matches the needs of the requesting agency; notes that this practice allows use to be made of the reserve list of another agency, without the need to organise a resource-consuming recruitment procedure; 16. Takes note of the Agency’s continued cooperation with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to support national authorities carrying out coastguard functions in line with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2019/473; considers that cooperation to be an example of synergy between Union agencies that should inspire agencies in other areas; calls on the Agency to continue its efforts in that regard and considers it appropriate also to increase the cooperation between the Agency and the European Environment Agency; Staff policy 17. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 96,10 % filled, with 74 temporary agents appointed out of 77 authorised under the Union budget (65 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 11 contract agents, six seconded national experts (SNEs) and 16 interim staff and consultants have worked for the Agency in 2022; notes furthermore that, in addition, a total of 13 contract agents were supported by ad hoc grants and contribution agreements across various projects; 18. Takes note of the reorganisation that took place in February 2022 to adjust the organisation to the additional tasks and resources assigned to the Agency to enhance the necessary operational capacity for assisting in the monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries as required by the CFP, including the measures entailed by the TCA with the United Kingdom, and several new projects under the contribution agreements; highlights that the increase in staff was of almost 50 % as compared to the situation at the beginning of 2021, including temporary agents, contract agents and SNEs; 19. Takes note of the Agency’s policy of promoting equal treatment of staff and of its goal of gender equality in terms both of numbers and of grades and responsibility levels; acknowledges the gender balance within the Agency’s overall staff, with 54 out of 106 (51 %) being women; deplores the fact that 38 % of the staff of grade AD 8 (administrator’s function group, grade 8) and higher were female (the same as in 2021); recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and calls on the Agency to take that aspect into consideration with regard to appointments within its senior and middle management; notes that although the Agency has not adopted the “Charter on diversity and inclusion” in 2022, its actions were addressed to comply with goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality, as stated in its objectives; 20. Notes that as of 31 December 2022, the Agency has employed staff from 18 Member States; notes that 33 % of its staff are nationals of the Member State where the Agency is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation; 21. Takes note that, since 1 October 2022, the Agency applies the rules on working time and hybrid working of the Commission by analogy; 22. Observes that in 2022, the implementation of Sysper modules included the introduction of the CCP "Leave on Personal Grounds" functionality, the addition of "NDP Payslips" for temporary and contract agents, the deployment of a new feature enabling the request for teleworking from abroad (Occasional Teleworking) for temporary and contract agents, along with an ADI "ad interim" workflow; furthermore, Sysper functionalities related to the implementation of new rules on working time and hybrid working were implemented, the STAGE module was deployed, and preparatory work was carried out for the EVAL and OBJ modules; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 23. Is aware that the Agency publishes on its website the declaration of interests and curricula vitae (CVs) of its Administrative Board members and of senior management; notes, furthermore, that the Agency updates regularly the table with all the meetings convened between its Executive Director and staff with organisations and self-employed individuals engaged in Union policy-making and policy implementation so as to ensure full transparency and trust in the Agency’s activity and notes that the table is available through its website; 24. Calls on the Agency to continue regularly to update and make publicly available the information on relevant Executive Director and staff meetings with organisations or self-employed individuals engaged in Union policy-making and policy implementation so as to ensure full transparency and trust in the Agency’s activity; 25. Takes note the Agency applies its conflict of interest policy to its staff, SNEs, remunerated external experts, trainees and members of the Administrative and the Advisory Board; notes that it is communicated to its staff through the intranet and training, and other servants and experts commit for compliance by signing declarations and confidentiality undertakings; notes furthermore that specific provisions on conflict of interest for the Agency contractors, including temporary agency personnel (interims) providing services, are laid down in the general conditions of the Agency’s contracts; 26. Acknowledges that the Agency has had an anti-fraud strategy in place since 2014, which is regularly updated and is currently focusing on implementing actions to mitigate fraud risks identified in risk assessments; notes that the latest update in 2022, approved by the Administrative Board, emphasises continuous efforts in raising awareness on ethics and integrity; Procurement 27. Takes note that, according to the Court, in 2022 the Agency signed a framework contract to the value of EUR 90 million for chartering three OPVs, with an initial duration of 24 months, to be tacitly renewed four times, each time for an additional 12 months, up to six years in total; recalls that point 1.1 of Annex 1 to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(13) (the Financial Regulation) allows framework contracts with a duration of more than four years, but only in exceptional, duly justified cases; notes that the Agency justified the longer contract by the need to ensure an adequate return on investment to contractors, who were required to fit out the vessels with rigid-hull inflatable boats; notes furthermore that the Court found that justification to be insufficient, because the fit-out costs were estimated at around only 1 % of the total value of the contract and, in addition, the Agency retained the option to terminate the contract unilaterally after the first two years and after each subsequent year, which undermines the argument that the contractor needed a guaranteed six-year contract duration to secure a return on investment; highlights that the Court will consider subsequent associated payments irregular if the contract is extended beyond the four-year limit; observes that according to the Agency when preparing the procedure, the Agency considered that a normal four-year contract duration may not have been perceived by the market as providing sufficient return on investment and the successful delivery and continuity of the service subject of the related framework contract is critical for the its core operations; 28. Recalls the importance, for all procurement procedures, of ensuring fair competition between tenderers and of procuring goods and services at the best price, respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; calls on the Agency to improve its public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules, so that they achieve the best possible value for public resources; Internal control 29. Expresses concern regarding the Court’s finding that the procedures used for selecting and contracting external experts systematically lacked an adequate audit trail required under Article 36(3) of Regulation (EU) the Financial Regulation; notes that specifically, there was insufficient evidence obtained to support that experts were assigned to tasks based on pre-defined selection criteria related to their relative merits and that the principles of non-discrimination and equal treatment set out in Article 237 of the Financial Regulation were adhered to; calls on the Agency to strengthen its internal processes for selecting and contracting external experts and to report back to the discharge authority on any steps taken in this regard; 30. Notes with concern that according to the Court, in May 2022, the Agency launched a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice for the lease of an OPV to be used in the waters between the Union and the United Kingdom, signing the contract in June 2022 to bridge a gap between previous and upcoming contracts under an ongoing open procedure which had lasted longer than initially expected; takes note that the Agency justified the urgency using an exception in the Financial Regulation, citing unforeseeable events which is an exception permitted by point 11.1 (c) of Annex I to the Financial Regulation; observes that the Court concluded that, while some of the factors which produced that urgency may not have been foreseeable, some others were and the fact that they were not adequately taken into account indicates a weakness in the Agency’s planning and its management of the procurement for chartering the three vessels; calls on the Agency to address and rectify the weakness in its planning and procurement management, as indicated by the Court, and to report back as soon as possible to the discharge authority on the measures taken in that regard; Other comments 31. Takes note that the Agency has not implemented the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certification as efforts are directed towards supporting other projects; recalls that the objective of the scheme is to promote continuous improvements in the environmental performance of organisations; encourages the Agency to take steps towards the implementation of EMAS; o 32. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(14) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Chemicals Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0086/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC(4), and in particular Article 97 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0135/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2148(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0086/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency, amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC(9), and in particular Article 97 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0135/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2148(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0135/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Chemicals Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 114 777 691 representing an increase of 5,83 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Agency is funded from mainly two sources of revenue, namely, collected fees and the contribution from the general budget of the Union; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; D. whereas with regard to the Agency’s internal control systems, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 98,61 %, representing a slight decrease of 0,23 % compared to 2021 and that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 85,06 %, representing a decrease of 1,17 % in comparison to 2021; 2. Recalls that the Agency is financed through fees paid by industry and by an EU balancing contribution, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006(12) of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European parliament and of the Council(13) and Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council(14); highlights the fact that, due to the one-off nature of the fees and their dependence on strategic decisions of the chemical industry players, there is high uncertainty as to their amount and timing; recalls that the Commission promised a proposal to strengthen the governance of the Agency and increase the sustainability of its financing model in 2020; insists that the Commission should present it immediately; 3. Notes with satisfaction that in 2022, for the first time since the final registration deadline under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 in 2018, the Agency's fee income has increased, while reliance on the Union to finance its operations has slightly decreased; Performance 4. Observes that the Agency is the driving force in implementing the Union's chemicals legislation for the benefit of public health and the environment, as well as for innovation and competitiveness; notes that the Agency collects, evaluates and disseminates information on chemicals, helps companies comply with legislation and promotes the safe use of chemicals; 5. Notes that the Agency implemented 93 % of the Work Programme and achieved 151 of the 162 specific actions and outputs planned for 2022, with 8 actions still 'in progress' as planned; notes furthermore that the three “not completed” actions would either have required a contribution from Member States or the work-stream being de-prioritized; 6. Notes that the Agency focused on delivering its core tasks and on supporting the European Commission to implement its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability in line with the direction set out by the Management Board in the Strategic Plan 2019-2023 and in its review conducted in 2021; 7. Draws attention to some of the challenges the Agency faced in 2022, including an inefficient authorisation system, identified in 2021, with a growing number of applications for hexavalent chromium set to continue into 2023, straining the opinion-making capacity of scientific committees, and a lack of experienced members; notes furthermore that a low number of draft assessment reports for biocidal active substances was submitted by Member States, which hinders the completion of evaluations by the end of 2024 as mandated by Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 highlights the fact that, in line with the Active Substances Action Plan, the Agency has made efforts over recent years to support the Member States to make further progress; 8. Welcomes the Agency’s activities for promoting alternatives to animal testing and the steps taken to increase the effectiveness and visibility of this work; Efficiency and gains 9. Commends the Agency for its strategy for efficiency gains, which seeks to achieve added value through performance-based governance, and for the development of the new tools to support planning and reporting, which are more user-friendly, provide better reporting capabilities and save time for all of its staff; notes that the reporting dimensions have been revised to better reflect the Agency’s Work Programme and allow better linking of the Agency-level objectives and those of individual staff members; 10. Notes that in 2022 the Agency also started an infrastructure capacity optimisation exercise to minimise any excess capacity in the IT infrastructure and that the results from the second half of the year show that the Agency was able to reduce the usage of such infrastructure (both CPU i.e. processors and RAM i.e. memory) by roughly 25 %; welcomes the efforts made in the optimisation exercise and encourages the Agency to continue its efforts in this regard; 11. Observes that the Agency continues to share its internal audit capability with the EU Agency for the Space Programme (formerly the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency); notes that the Agency and the European Food Safety Authority maintain regular contacts at working and senior management level, where cooperation opportunities are routinely assessed (by conducting a detailed review of the work programmes) and exploited; 12. Notes furthermore that the Agency continued its strategic cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority on providing the data format IUCLID as a service, delivered from its Cloud Services, for the European Food Safety Authority’s work under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council(15) and, as a result, economies of scale were achieved by building on existing IT platforms; 13. Recalls the importance of increasing the digitalisation of the Agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the Agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed; insists on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly those originating from Russia or China; 14. Welcomes the fact that the Agency, in cooperation with the European Food Safety Authority, has taken steps to promote the 'one substance - one assessment' principle to ensure greater consistency in the hazard and risk assessment of active substances; Staff policy 15. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 98,07 % executed, with 458 temporary agents appointed out of 467 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that in addition 128 contract agents, 48 interims, five consultants and 2 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; 16. Recalls the importance of ensuring staff gender balance and welcomes in this regard the fact that the Agency has put into effect an action plan to implement the objectives of its Charter on Diversity and Inclusion adopted in 2022, aiming to achieve gender balance in the management team, among other inclusion measures; asks the Agency to report to the discharge authority about the implementation of its action plan; acknowledges that achieving results in this area takes time; notes, however, that the gender balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management has slightly decreased with 76 % positions occupied by men (82 % in 2021) and 24 % by women (18 % in 2021); notes that gender balance in the staff overall is 261 men (45 %) and 317 women (55 %); 17. Notes with satisfaction that, as of 31 December 2022, the Agency employed staff from 26 Member States; notes that 32 % of its staff are nationals of the Member State where the Agency is located; recalls the importance of geographical balance and encourages the Agency to continue to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation; is, however, concerned about the geographical balance within the Agency’s senior and middle management having only one director from Central-Eastern Europe; insists that improvements have to be made; asks the Agency to report back on this to the discharge authority; 18. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looks forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 19. Notes that, as of March 2022, the Agency’s staff started to return gradually to the Agency’s premises, ending with the implementation of new hybrid working rules in October 2022; notes in this context that the new rules promote flexibility and staff empowerment while maintaining social cohesion and collaboration through regular weekly presence at the office; 20. Observes that the Agency made use of more internal mobility to respond to the evolving needs for scientific, technical and administrative expertise in its work; notes that this offered career enhancement opportunities and thereby contributed to motivating the Agency’s staff and maintaining a culture of high performance, continuous improvement and responsiveness; welcomes the fact that, to motivate employees and build skill sets, it also introduced new initiatives including mentoring and coaching; 21. Underlines the necessity of ensuring adequate staffing reflecting the needs of the European Green Deal and the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, Circular Economy Action Plan and, in particular, the zero pollution target and the associated increase in tasks; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 22. Notes that, based on a thorough risk assessment of its activities, the Agency has identified the processes and sub-processes that require conflicts of interest to be managed; notes furthermore that in all of those processes, a review of the annual declarations of interest is performed by the process owner each time a task is assigned to a staff member, while for some sensitive processes this is complemented with a case-specific declaration of no interest by the member of staff; 23. Welcomes the fact that, to improve post-employment conflict of interest practice, the Agency’s conflict of interest policy was last revised by the Management Board in June 2023; notes that the changes introduced strengthen the systematic monitoring of compliance with post-employment duties by former Agency staff members, in line with the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors and observations of the discharge authority in previous years; 24. Observes that the Agency publishes on its website the meetings held by its senior management with interest group representatives; 25. Welcomes the fact that, during 2022, the Agency introduced a new electronic tool for collecting and reviewing the annual declarations of interest of the external experts contributing to the Agency’s work, providing further assurance to the process; 26. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency’s Anti-Fraud Strategy was last revised by its Management Board in December 2022 and focuses on maintaining and further developing the anti-fraud culture in the Agency and regularly reviewing key policies and procedures; notes that the strategy strengthens the internal anti-corruption mechanism by specifying the roles and responsibilities for fraud prevention and the means and resources which are engaged in tackling fraud; welcomes the fact that all the Agency’s staff participated in anti-fraud training in 2022; notes with satisfaction that the Agency has guidelines in place for whistleblowers so that the Agency’s employees can provide notification of any activity which goes against the public interest; 27. Recalls that the decision-making processes of the Agency are designed to be clear, open and to ensure a balanced outcome based on a reasoned scientific approach; notes that information on the intentions of the Agency and the Member States, for example, to look into substances or create dossiers is available online, so companies have access to the data they need to make informed business decisions; notes furthermore that accredited stakeholder organisations may participate in scientific meetings as observers, except where confidential business information requires sessions to be closed; notes, furthermore, that the reflections, opinions and conclusions of the Agency’s scientific committees are recorded in opinions and minutes and these are published online; 28. Recalls the importance for the Agency of developing greater visibility in the media, internet and social media, in order to make its work known to the citizens; Other comments 29. Welcomes the fact that in 2022 the Agency adopted a cybersecurity policy and performed an IT-wide risk assessment exercise; notes, furthermore, that the Agency has introduced the possibility of biometric authentication, improved the visibility of the security operations centre and has conducted failover testing between datacentres; 30. Notes with satisfaction that in 2022 the Agency joined PPMT (the European Commission’s Public Procurement Management Tool) trial phase in order to test this e-procurement tool (before its complete onboarding in 2023); notes that the Agency had already onboarded other e-procurement tools such as eTendering or eSubmission and in parallel, it renewed in 2022 its subscription to Cloudia – the e-procurement platform of Hansel (central purchasing body for Finnish public authorities) so that all administrative procurement carried out through Hansel is fully digitalised; 31. Observes that the Agency’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and ISO 14001 certificates were successfully renewed in 2022; notes with satisfaction from the Court’s report that the Agency is among the agencies that issue an annual environmental statement; 32. Highlights the fact that the Agency has continued its efforts to phase out animal testing in Europe to the extent possible under the current regulatory framework; notes that the Agency promotes alternatives to animal testing in three ways: focusing on groups of substances through a separate strategy, investing in international activities that promote alternatives and new approach methodologies, and making the data the Agency holds available; reiterates its call on the Agency to speed up the phasing out process; notes in addition that the Agency is collaborating with the Commission and other stakeholders to support the Commission in developing a roadmap towards the full replacement of animal testing for chemicals; 33. Welcomes the fact that the Agency has continued to implement different measures to increase its public and online presence through new releases and numerous updates on its website, the launch of a joint Instagram channel with four agencies called ‘One Health One Environment’, and its presence in social media; notes in this context a growth of the general media coverage and an increase in the Agency’s social media metrics in 2022 compared to 2021; o 34. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(16) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: Euratom Supply Agency |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Euratom Supply Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0099/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 68 thereof, – having regard to Council Decision 2008/114/EC, Euratom of 12 February 2008 establishing Statutes for the Euratom Supply Agency(4), and in particular Article 8 of the Annex thereto, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0108/2024), 1. Grants the Acting Director General of the Euratom Supply Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Acting Director General of the Euratom Supply Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Euratom Supply Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2161(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Euratom Supply Agency for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(5), – having regard to the statement of assurance(6) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0099/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(7), and in particular Article 68 thereof, – having regard to Council Decision 2008/114/EC, Euratom of 12 February 2008 establishing Statutes for the Euratom Supply Agency(8), and in particular Article 8 of the Annex thereto, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0108/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Euratom Supply Agency for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Acting Director General of the Euratom Supply Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Euratom Supply Agency for the financial year 2022 (2023/2161(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Euratom Supply Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0108/2024), A. whereas, according to its financial statements of revenue and expenditure, the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2022 was EUR 167 000, representing a decrease of 20,48 % compared to 2021 (EUR 210 000); whereas the entire budget of the Agency derives from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s internal control systems, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in the implementation of the current year commitment appropriation rate of 96,88 % representing a slight a decrease of 2,88 % compared to 2021, and notes that the execution of current year payment appropriation rate was 34,81 % representing a decrease of 16,4 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that a large part of the Agency’s expenses are covered by the Commission, including the salaries calculated in EUR 1 937 817, the premises and IT expenses calculated in EUR 467 708 and the nuclear observatory and ESA management of information (NOEMI) IT system calculated in EUR 84 644; notes moreover that this expenses are included in the Commission annual accounts contributing positively to the Agency’s administrative capacity; Performance 3. Highlights that the year 2022 was marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, raising EU concerns for the energy security in general, and in particular undermining the Union’s security of supply for nuclear materials and fuel and aggravating dependence issues; notes that, many Union nuclear power plants rely on Russian suppliers for fuel, and the Union utilities as a whole are dependent for the 20 to 30 % on Russian supply of nuclear materials and the fuel cycle services; notes that recognizing the role of high payments for energy imports in supporting Russia's actions, the Union has decided to reduce its dependence on Russia across various sectors and the nuclear market, given its unique characteristics, may also undergo changes in the future as part of this broader shift; asks the Agency to report back to the discharge authority on how it has reduced the Union’s dependence on Russian nuclear fuel since 2022 in particular since the beginning of the war when the nuclear industry was exempted from sanctions and how the reduction and diversification affected the costs; 4. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency paid special attention to reviewing contracts with risks of dependence on Russia, involving a thorough analysis of clauses, technology information, supply chains, alternative fuel availability, and the operational autonomy of utilities on existing fuel stocks; commends that the Agency took steps to simplify the contract submission process while maintaining high level of security, and dedicated secure IT tools facilitated remote completion and submission; observes that in 2022 as result of these efforts the number of electronically signed acts conforming to regulations on identification for electronic transactions in the single market increased; 5. Notes that the Agency, in line with its strategic objectives and Commission policies, aimed to distribute sources of supply in the nuclear fuel cycle for power and non-power uses, contributing to secure supplies in the medium and long term; 6. Observes that the Agency is responsible for monitoring the market to identify trends likely to affect the Union’s security of supply of nuclear material and services; notes moreover that the Agency has published a market analysis in its annual report, has provided information on the Union and global nuclear markets and have shared information and knowledge with other international market analysis organisations; 7. Welcomes that in 2022 the Agency has lead the actions towards securing the supply of source materials for the medical radioisotopes, having contributed to the implementation of the ‘Strategic Agenda for Medical Ionising Radiation Applications’ (SAMIRA), and lead the European Observatory on the supply of Medical Radioisotopes; 8. Welcomes the Agency’s efforts in cooperate with partners and stakeholders to strengthen the security of supply of nuclear materials in view of the illegal and unprovoked Russia invasion to Ukraine; Efficiency and gains 9. Notes that the Agency has worked closely with the Commission in order to promote the diversification of supply; further notes that the Agency has long-established relationships on nuclear energy with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Energy Agency under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; points out the horizontal benefits of working together and adapting best practices and that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; 10. Observes that the Agency is developing the IT system NOEMI to enable full digital processing of nuclear supply contracts and market information in full compliance with the information protection rules and in parallel, it is working to extend its analytical capacity on the data available; 11. Notes that the Agency has made efforts to achieve efficiency gains and re-allocation of human resources to the new upcoming tasks and challenges; notes that further efficiency gains would only be possible by using synergies and support by the Commission through the provision of specialised support functions, extending the use of corporate tools and increasing the allocation for the development of NOEMI IT; invites the Agency to find more internal procedures that could be streamlined via new IT tools; 12. Recalls the importance to increase the digitalisation of the agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed, insist to step up against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly originated from Russia or China; Staff policy 13. Notes that on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 100 % filled with 17 permanent posts, 8 administrators, 7 assistant posts and 2 assistant and secretarial posts; notes, moreover, that the higher number of administrators than authorised is caused by an upgrade of one assistant post which was granted by the Commission; 14. Recalls the Agency’s difficulty to find assistants at lower grades, given the specialised profile required and the associated pay levels compared to the cost of living in Luxembourg; notes however that the Agency, despite its efforts, recruited 2 temporary agents on permanent posts (1 assistant and 1 assistant and secretarial) in 2022; 15. Notes that the Agency has reported a gender ratio for all staff of 59 % women and 41 % men in 2022 showing the equal opportunities policy; 16. Recalls the importance to develop a long-term human resources policy on work-life balance, lifelong guidance and the offer of specific training possibilities for and career development, gender balance at all staff levels, teleworking, right to disconnect, the enhancement of a geographical balance to have an appropriate representation from all Member States, and the recruitment and integration of people with disabilities as well as the promotion of their equal treatment and their opportunities; Procurement 17. Notes from the Court’s report the observation that the Agency has systematically awarded low-value contracts (below EUR 15 000) without issuing corresponding evaluation reports and award decisions, being against the points 30.3 and 30.4 of Annex I to the Financial Regulation; further notes from the Agency’s reply that takes into consideration the recommendation and will provide appropriate guidance to all staff involved in procurement and financial management; calls on the Agency to improve its public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules, so that they achieve the best possible value for money; Other comments 18. Notes that the Agency has reinforced the access security to its premises, all members of staff and all external contractors hold security clearance; 19. Takes note that the NOEMI IT system underwent a vulnerability assessment, to be repeated after each development phase or all recommendations are implemented; 20. Notes with appreciation that the Agency has participated in the World Nuclear Symposium in London in September 2022, delivering a clear message to the participating top nuclear industry leaders, experts and executives on the need to tackle the risks related to the new market setup; further notes that the Agency’s market analysis and outlook were presented at the Warsaw Security Forum and at the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and was represented at the First International conference on Nuclear Law and at the European Research Reactor Conference; notes moreover that the Agency has contributed to the European Nuclear Society’s events; 21. Notes that the Agency does not issue an environmental statement nor has implemented Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS); encourages the Agency to report on its climate, energy and environmental performance and in addition implement EMAS; o 22. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(9) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0107/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA(4), and in particular Article 60 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0119/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2169(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0107/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA(9), and in particular Article 60 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0119/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2169(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0119/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 197 759 722, representing an increase of 10,91 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget mainly derives from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that budget monitoring efforts resulted in a budget implementation in 2022 of 96,62 % in commitment appropriations, representing a decrease of 2,10 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 79,73 %, indicating a decrease of 3,78 % compared to 2021; commends the Agency’s efforts to further reduce its payments delays from 32,8 % in 2020 and 7,8 % in 2021, to 7,2 % in 2022; however, notes with concern that the observation from the Court stressing that the Agency faces challenges regarding late payments is still ongoing; shares the opinion of the Court that this recurrent weakness exposes the Agency to reputational risks; 2. Notes a low implementation rate (85 %) of the funds (C8) carried over from 2021 to 2022, leading to an unused amount of EUR 3,8 million of appropriations; notes with concern that appropriations related to the current budget carried forward from 2022 to 2023 are at a relatively high level of 17 % or EUR 32,5 million; observes further an increasing trend in the last years (2020 to 2022) with regard to the Agency’s surplus (budget result) at the end of the financial year, whereas for 2022, such surplus was EUR 10,3 million, more than the double of the same figure in 2021 (EUR 5,1 million); notes that, according to the Agency’s 2022 Consolidated Annual Activity Report (CAAR) and the Agency’s report with follow-up to Parliament’s discharge decision on the implementation of the Agency’s budget for 2021, the Agency assessed the root causes of the high levels of surplus at the end of the financial year and the carry-forward budgetary implementation performance; notes in this sense that the Agency also prepared an action plan; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed on the progress made in this regard; 3. Notes that the Agency’s final budget for 2022 is the result of a first amendment of EUR 4,3 million, for the 2022 contribution from Denmark and a second amendment of EUR 1,1 million, for contribution agreements and Service Level Agreements (SLAs); Performance 4. Notes with satisfaction from the Agency’s CAAR that the Agency used key performance and work programme indicators to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management in 2022; notes that the Agency monitored 15 key performance indicators (KPI) and 56 work programme indicators (WPI); notes that 10 KPIs and 40 WPIs reached or exceeded the set targets; appreciates in this context the increase of some KPIs, compared to previous years, in connection with the number of operations (2 758) and the number of action days (394) supported by the Agency, as well as the number of searches performed in EIS and QUEST (13 million) and the number of cross border crime checks in EIS related to persons (2 339); 5. Commends the Agency for its ample achievements delivering on its five multi annual strategic priorities set in the Europol Strategy 2020+; notes in particular the set up of the Information Management Unit (IMU), the development of an ICT Strategy which is expected to help in the implementation of the Agency’s strategy in the area of information management and the implementation of a new business value model for monitoring the progress of ICT delivery; notes that the Europol Innovation Lab became part of IMU in a structure expected to lead to closer collaboration that is needed in the implementation of the revised Europol Regulation and launched the Europol Tools Repository to support research and innovation in the Member States, encourage exchange of experiences, and promote synergies; notes further the launch of the Digital Support Unit aimed at an efficient and effective answer to the investigative needs of the Member States and within the Agency, in particular with regard to complex cases that require digital forensic support; 6. Commends the Agency’s prompt responsiveness and its support to Member States in combatting crime in the wake of the illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, by, for example, deploying experts and guest officers to support local law enforcement authorities in countries bordering Ukraine or supporting financial investigations targeting criminal assets owned by individuals and legal entities sanctioned in the context of that war; notes moreover that in 2022 the Agency issued several threat assessments on potential implications of the war, as well as early warning and intelligence notifications on e.g. weapons trafficking and trafficking in human beings; further encourages the Agency to do its utmost to support Union’s and Member States’ actions in this field; notes that the illegal military invasion has caused a humanitarian crisis and prompted large numbers of refugees to flee from Ukraine to the Union, meaning that opportunistic criminal networks may use this situation to further their criminal activities; further expresses that the extension of the Agency’s competences as regards support to Member States and cooperation with private parties, third countries and international organisations would require the establishment of additional internal and external oversight mechanisms to guarantee respect of Union law and ensure protection of fundamental rights; 7. Notes that the Agency continued to work closely with eu-LISA on establishing automated checks of travel application data from the European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS) against Europol data; notes that entry into operation of the ETIAS was postponed to November 2023 by the decision of the Council; appreciates that the Agency expanded its cooperation with the European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) in 2022 whereas by the end of the year it supported 21 major EPPO operations in the area of tax fraud; Efficiency and gains 8. Notes with appreciation that the Agency revised its Europol Strategy 2020+ adapting its strategic priorities to the current operational needs of the Member States and security threats they are facing, thus aiming at improving the Agency’s performance; notes in this sense a new strategic priority to bring the relevant partners together for cross-border cooperation and joint action, including the Schengen Associated Countries, Interpol and the Union agencies in the field of Justice and Home Affairs; 9. Notes with appreciation from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions the Agency’s extended measures and practices to increase efficiency and gains in the areas of core business ICT solutions (in-sourcing instead of outsourcing), digitalisation of HR services (e-recruitment, e-training), and tools for the monitoring of budgetary implementation, vacancy rate, contractual ceilings in procurement procedures and environmental indicators, among other; commends the Agency for implementing the Public Procurement Management Tool, as well as for sharing procurement procedures with other agencies; 10. Notes that, in the wake of the change in the planning of the Union’s Interoperability Agenda (IA), the re-planning of the Agency’s internal activities and resources was required, which brought a need for additional staff; notes in this context an agreement reached whereby 25 staff of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency will, as of 2024, support the Agency in delivering on its obligations in the IA; notes further a strain on the Agency’s resources linked to consultation procedures with the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), with 25 of the Agency’s staff assigned to EDPS generated actions; commends the Agency for its close collaboration with the EDPS and for addressing the latter’s recommendations with regard to the use of various systems such as EPRIS. ADEP, SIS, PERCI and QUEST+; notes the Agency’s observation with regard to the delay in the rolling-out of PERCI (the Union Platform on Illegal Content Online) due to the impact the EDPS’s opinions and ensuing recommendations had on developments of key operational importance; commends the Agency for designating its Fundamental Rights Officer who will support the Agency in safeguarding the respect of fundamental rights in all its activities and tasks; 11. Commends the Agency for having received in 2022 the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) registration; further commends the Agency for the use of green public procurement criteria in, as well as for the integration of the Agency’s environmental policy and objectives into its procurement procedures; notes that the Agency initiated a feasibility study project for the development of the Agency’s environmental vision for 2030 to define reduction targets of the Agency’s greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement measures needed to meet those targets; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the results of that study; invites the Agency to consider implementing also intermediate sustainable and energy-efficient solutions both to its infrastructure and internal processes, such as increased use of digital tools and document management; Staff policy 12. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 99,41 % implemented, with 682 temporary agents (TA) appointed out of 686 authorised under the Union budget (615 in 2021); notes that, in addition, 236 contract agents (of which 19 funded by grants/agreements) and 55 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022, with 235 and 71 authorised under the Union budget respectively; also notes that 11 additional TA posts, outside the establishment plan for 2022, were assigned for a limited period to keep the number of vacant posts to a minimum; notes that the Agency differentiates between five categories of seconded national experts, with four categories bearing no or limited costs for the Agency’s budget and representing another 152 persons, bringing the total number of seconded national experts to 207 in 2022; commends the Agency’s low vacancy rate of 0,6 % in 2022, well below the annual target of a maximum vacancy rate of 2 %; notes further the increase of the Agency’s turnover rate from 6,9 % in 2021 to 9,12 % in 2022; 13. Highlights that in light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Agency has deployed operational teams composed of cost free seconded national experts (SNE) in several Member States such as Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria, as well as in partner countries such as Moldova, thus increasing its use of cost free SNEs; pinpoints that the income of cost free SNEs remain dependent on national decisions and that a number of Member States have decided not to continue to pay salaries when such situations occur, thus leaving them dependent on the amounts paid to them as daily subsistence allowances (DSA); recalls that while the DSA should be adjusted with the Correction Coefficient and should compensate higher cost of living, with the inflation figures, every 3 years, these rates have remained unchanged over the past 6 years; calls for the Agency to engage in a substantive dialogue with the Commission and competent national authorities in order to ensure a fair compensation for all experts employed by the Agency; 14. Notes with concern the Agency’s gender distribution reported for 2022 for senior and middle management, with 82 % being men (28 men and 6 women), for the management board (MB), with 75 % being men (38 men and 13 women), and for the overall staff, with 65 % being men (556 men and 295 women); acknowledges that the proportion of women (35 %) employed by the Agency in 2022 is above the average (based on Eurostat’s 2021 statistics) proportion of women (21,6 %) employed in law enforcement in the Union (police officers, professional judges and prison personnel); recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s MB; 15. Observes that three new burnout cases were reported by the Agency’s medical service in 2022; further observes that the Agency has implemented measures to improve the well-being of its staff such as occupational health and lifestyle advice, medical part-time work schedule, referrals to medical specialists and advice to management supporting staff members, among other; notes that the Management Board agreed with the application, by analogy to the Agency, of Commission Decision C (2022) on working time and hybrid working, replacing the previous implementing provisions on working time and on telework, aiming at providing a framework where working at the office and telework are considered equivalent ways of working; calls on the Agency to continue exploring solutions for reducing burnout cases and report back to the discharge authority about the progress achieved; 16. Notes that, according to the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions, although the Agency has not implemented the ‘Charter on Diversity and Inclusion’, it has put in place its own Diversity and Inclusion Strategy; further notes that in 2022 the Agency has revised and adopted the Manual of procedures for the implementation of the decision of the MB on the policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment; notes that during the period 2017-2022, the Agency sought external legal advice on two cases of alleged harassment; notes that no harassment cases relating to the Agency’s staff were brought before a court in 2022; stresses the importance of having robust anti-harassment frameworks in place, especially in highly-stressful and demanding work environments; invites the Agency to introduce a training scheme on the matter both for newcomers and existing staff; Public procurement 17. Notes the observation from the Court’s report that in 2022 the Agency paid a grant of EUR 3,3 million to fund the activities of a national police force in a member state, including EUR 1,4 million as reimbursement for the purchase of five boats and a 7 % provision for associated overheads, including VAT; notes that, according to the Court’s assessment, for the acquisition of the boats for police trainings, in light of Article 186(4)(c) of the Financial Regulation, VAT should not have been reimbursed because the beneficiary is a public authority, governed by public law, and engaged in activities as public authority, therefore that part of the grant, amounting to EUR 0,2 million being found irregular; acknowledges from the Agency’s reply that, having regard to Article 5 of the Council Decision 2008/617/JHA on the improvement of cooperation between the Special Intervention Units (SIUs) of Union Member States which provides that SIUS shall ensure joint training exercises, whereas the operational grant concerned the activities of SIUs coordinated by one member state, the Agency considered that, under Article 186(4)(c) of the Financial Regulation and the corresponding specific implementation guidance of the Commission on grant administration, VAT was an eligible cost where it is not recoverable under applicable national legislation and where it relates to training, awareness raising or similar activities in the area of security, except for VAT paid by the member states when acting as public authorities in their sovereign capacity, in particular where private companies could not provide the related services; notes lastly, on the way forward, the Agency's commitment to assess the eligibility of VAT in operational grants in light of the Court’s observations; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 18. Notes the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, the prevention and management of conflicts of interest and whistleblower protection; notes with satisfaction that the declarations of interests and CVs of all MB members and senior management are published on the Agency’s website; calls on the Agency to consider measures preventing also the revolving doors phenomena; 19. Notes that, in the course of 2022, the Agency handled six cases concerning conflicts of interest situations, of which two with respect to the role of advisor in the selection process, one surfaced during the recruitment of a successful candidate prior to taking up duties at the Agency and two by members of staff after leaving the service; further notes that adequate measures in relation to those situations were taken, including conditional authorisations for employment after leaving the service; takes note that the Agency dealt with one whistleblowing case in 2022, which was closed without further action in terms of a potential breach of professional obligations; 20. Expresses concern over media reports regarding conflicts of interest occurring among the Agency’s staff; notes that in December 2023 the European Ombudsman decided to open an inquiry to investigate how the Agency dealt with the moves of two former members of staff to positions related to combatting online child sexual abuse; notes that the first member of staff joined a major technology stakeholder in early 2022, and the second joined the same stakeholder as a board member later that year; takes note of the reply provided by the Agency and calls for allegations to be thoroughly investigated and outcome reported to the discharge authority; Internal control 21. Notes the observation from the Court’s report that over a period between 2020 and 2022 the Agency paid daily subsistence allowance (DSA) to three Dutch nationals employed as seconded national experts (SNE); notes that, as the Agency is located in the Netherlands, the three SNEs were not entitled to those allowances according to the Agency’s internal rules; notes further that, although in December 2022 the Agency stopped the payment of the DSA to the three SNEs, the Agency decided not to claim back the payments made in excess during that period; notes that the total amount associated to those payments was EUR 155 553, of which EUR 90 605 were paid in 2022; is concerned of the shortcomings in connection with the Agency’s ex-ante checks for a period spanning over three years; notes that, according to the Agency’s reply to the Court’s observation, the Agency enhanced ex-ante verifications in order to secure assurance on the legality of staff’s financial entitlements prior to payment; 22. Commends the Agency for the progress achieved in implementing pending audit recommendations, with 89 % of those critical or very important being implemented in 2022; notes that at the end of 2022, seven very important recommendations (intended for implementation and applicable) were still pending with regard to reports of audits carried out in 2018, 2019 and 2021; notes that the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) issued the Strategic Internal Audit Plan for the Agency for the period 2022-2024 covering three themes, including an audit on coordination and working arrangements with DG HOME carried out in 2022, the results of which are expected in 2023; 23. Notes the conclusion of the Agency’s self-assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control system (ICS), through both quantitative measurements and qualitative aspects, including a set of 76 internal control indicators, that overall all components of the ICS were present and functioning in an integrated manner and there were no prominent internal control weakness identified in 2022; notes that the Agency’s Internal Audit Capability completed a review of the Agency’s internal control framework for 2022, concluding that the Agency had a robust system of internal controls in place; 24. Takes note that the Agency developed and released a risk management policy in 2022; further observes that the Agency’s corporate risk profile in 2022 was characterised by the increasing mandate and tasks, rising demand on the successful delivery of key ICT solutions for the processing of personal data, the continuous response to mitigate the security and law enforcement impact resulting from the war in Ukraine and increasing supervisory and related scrutiny activities (including on data protection), among other; commends the Agency for adopting in 2022 its revised Anti-Fraud Strategy for the period 2022-2024, reflecting the principles, the fraud risk assessment, anti-fraud objectives and actions, and an implementation review of Anti-Fraud Strategy 2017-2020 actions; notes that the European Anti-Fraud Office completed an investigation (regarding incorrect mission costs statements of one of the Agency’s staff), the report of which was issued in 2022; notes that the Agency’s decision making in this case is still in the final stage; calls on the Agency to report to the discharge authority on the follow-up and final decision regarding this case; Other comments 25. Notes that the Agency has continued to implement different measures to increase its public and online presence through the launch of a podcast series, the consolidation of its website, the organisation of conferences, the launch of reports (such as ‘Spotlight Report’ series and the revamped ‘In Brief’ report) and its presence in social media (with more than 1 100 posts published in 2022); notes in this context a growth of media mentions in high-impact media and a significant increase in the Agency’s social media metrics in 2022 compared to 2021; 26. Calls on the Agency to take measures to ensure full compliance with Union transparency rules as well as fundamental rights, data protection standards and accountability, including when cooperating with other Agencies; considers that the disclosure of meetings and interactions between the Agency and third parties is required to ensure enhanced transparency; welcomes in this regard the appointment of the Agency’s Fundamental Rights Officer; 27. Notes that on 16 September 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) requested that the Court of Justice of the European Union annul two provisions of the amended Europol Regulation, namely Articles 74a and 74b, arguing that seriously undermine legal certainty for individuals’ personal data and threaten the independence of the EDPS; further notes the Order of the General Court in Case T-578/22 from 6 September 2023 by which the action brought by EDPS against the amended Europol regulation was deemed inadmissible and as regards any effects of the contested provisions on the EDPS’s decision of 3 January 2022, EDPS cannot rely on them in support of his action; notes that the EDPS has appealed the Case T-578/22 and that it is mandated to supervise the legality of personal data processing of the Agency under Regulation (EU) 2016/794; welcomes the efforts by the Agency to address EDPS recommendations in particular that all contributions from before the entry into force of the amended Europol Regulation have meanwhile been assigned with a Data Subject Category (DSC); 28. Recalls the findings of the EDPS’s audit report on the Agency on 16 December 2022, which conducted specific checks of third country nationals’ datasets held by the Agency; recalls that EDPS found that the general process for the assessment of information provided by partners on minors (including minors under 15 years old) is clear and well developed; recalls that EDPS found multiple cases where attributing the same level of suspicion (in terms of classification) to data of minors apparently involved in relatively minor infraction within a broader framework of an organised crime group may not meet the threshold of ‘strict proportionality’; stresses that the Agency has the obligation to respect the principle of ‘strict proportionality’ established in Article 30(1) of the Europol Regulation; o 29. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Institute for Gender Equality |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Institute in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0090/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality(4), and in particular Article 15 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0096/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality discharge in respect of the implementation of the Institute’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022 (2023/2152(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Institute in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0090/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on establishing a European Institute for Gender Equality(9), and in particular Article 15 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0096/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022 (2023/2152(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0096/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Institute for Gender Equality (the ‘Institute’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 8 432 919,91, representing a decrease of 2,99 % compared to 2021; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the European Institute for Gender Equality for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Institute’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that in all its activities the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming, and to promote gender equality between men and women; whereas gender equality must be incorporated into all Union policies, including via gender budgeting at all levels of the budgetary process; D. whereas the 2023 Gender Equality Index demonstrates that Member States have made a modest increase of only 1,6 points to reach 70,2, with some domains showing signs of regression, in particular in economic and income metrics(12); whereas the Institute was established in order to contribute to, and strengthen the promotion of, gender equality in the Union, including gender mainstreaming in all Union policies and the resulting national policies, to fight against discrimination based on gender, and to raise Union citizens’ awareness of gender equality; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 97,91 %, representing a decrease of 1,01 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 81,10 %, representing an increase of 9,72 % compared to 2021; commends the Institute for the close monitoring of budget implementation and the satisfactory budget implementation rates in 2022, despite the challenges of that year linked to the war of aggression against Ukraine and the economic volatility in the Union; acknowledges the decrease in the Institute’s carry-over operating expenditure to 42,28 % in 2023, compared to 54,79 % in 2022; 2. Notes that the amount of the Institute’s final budget is the result of amending budgets of a total of EUR 175 000 adopted by the Institute’s management board due to the sharp rise in the rate of inflation in the Union and particularly in Lithuania in 2022, an indexation of salaries of 6,9 % and a rise in the correction coefficient applicable to Lithuania of 7,3 %; 3. Notes with concern that, according to the Court’s report, the Institute had not disclosed, for a framework contract for event organisation services, the related earmarked budget appropriations of EUR 3,7 million in the Institute’s single programming documents (SPD), thus undermining the budgetary transparency towards the Institute’s board and other stakeholders; calls on the Institute to include all operational framework contracts in its single programming documents; Performance 4. Observes that the Institute uses certain key performance indicators in relation to operational objectives to assess the added value provided by its activities; notes with appreciation that the Institute achieved 96,1 % of its work programme in 2022 and reached the targets set in the amended 2022-2024 single programming document; 5. Welcomes the fact that in 2022 the Institute supported Union policymaking by monitoring gaps and trends in gender equality by launching the Gender Equality Index, and organised its first Gender Equality Forum, which featured various panel discussions, workshops and experience sessions by high-level political decision-makers and members of civil society; notes further that the Institute produced a policy brief regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young women and men, providing recommendations to engage and empower the youth; notes in addition that the Institute published a report entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence, platform work and gender equality’ showing that artificial intelligence and platform work have the potential to improve gender equality in the economy; 6. Recalls that the Institute was established in order to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality in the Union by providing quality research and comparable data, to help the Union institutions and the Member States to mainstream gender equality in all their policies and to combat gender-based discrimination; stresses, therefore, the fact that the Institute has a crucial role in collecting, analysing, processing and disseminating data and necessary information for policy makers and the policies of the Union and the Member States; 7. Stresses the importance of combating inequalities among and injustices against women; calls on the Commission and Member States to take urgent action to address poverty and increasing inequalities among women, especially among groups in vulnerable situations, including single mothers, women with disabilities, racialised women, LGBTIQ+ women, migrant women and refugees, elderly women and women in rural or scarcely populated areas; notes that that could be achieved by meeting the need for increased funding for gender equality actions in terms of employment and growth, as well as to combat gender-based violence and the pay gap between men and women, the pension pay gap between men and women, the impact of crises on women, gender mainstreaming and budgeting, the increasing poverty rate among women, as well as in terms of rights and democracy and the rule of law; Efficiency and gains 8. Notes the Institute’s synergies with, inter alia, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Agency for Safety and Health Work; observes that, according to the Institute’s replies, the Institute is an active member of the justice and home affairs (JHA) agencies’ network, keeps regular contact with all the other JHA agencies and actively participates in activities of the EU Agencies Network of Scientific Advice; further notes the Institute’s cooperation with data providers such as Eurostat, FRA, Eurofound or Eurojust; 9. Commends the Institute for the progress made to improve its internal efficiency in 2022 through further digitalising its work processes as well as maximising the use of online communications and virtual participation in meetings and events; notes, in particular, that in 2022 the Institute developed or deployed several tools, such as the electronic signature tool, Sysper2 (the Commission’s human resources management tool), the e-recruitment tool and the project management tool, contributing to the automatisation and digitalisation of key processes (human resources and project and financial management); observes that the Institute has shared its human and financial resources in order to use the inter-agency contract for the provision of services for the evaluation of projects; observes further that the Institute defined several measures to reduce CO2 emissions and adopt environmentally friendly work practices (environmental sustainability clauses in the Institute’s contracts, the recycling of paper and plastic, electronic workflows and the collection of data on CO2 emissions caused by the Institute’s business travels); Staff policy 10. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 100 % filled, with 27 officials and temporary agents (TAs) appointed out of 27 TAs and officials authorised under the Union budget (the same number of posts as in 2021); notes that in addition in 2022 the Agency’s staff turnover rate was 11 %, identical to the rates in 2021 and 2020; 11. Notes that the Institute completed the annual performance appraisal exercise for all 62 members of staff and ensured that members of staff were offered appropriate training opportunities aimed at improving their skills and competencies; welcomes that, in order to promote and facilitate professional development in the Institute, 19 different group training programmes were organised in 2022 with 414 participants, while 20 statutory members of staff took part in 42 individual training courses; notes that the Institute continued to promote language training for its TAs, contract agents, seconded national experts and trainees, reimbursing up to EUR 500 per staff member; encourages the Institute to keep focusing on career development by developing a long-term human resources policy on offering specific training possibilities for career development; 12. Welcomes the fact that balanced gender distribution, which was achieved in 2021 in senior and middle management (2 men (50 %) and 2 women (50 %)), was maintained in 2022 and notes the recurrent unbalanced gender distribution on the management board (8 men (21,62 %) and 29 women (78,38 %)) and among staff overall (14 men (29,17 %) and 34 women (70,83 %)); reiterates its call on the Institute to ensure gender balance in the future; acknowledges, nevertheless, that, according to the Institute’s written replies, in order to achieve gender balance among its staff, it has taken concrete pro-active steps and measures such as increasing the reach of vacancy notices to attract a more diverse talent pool or the use of gender-sensitive wording in vacancy announcements to attract the attention of both women and men; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Institute’s management board; 13. Notes that, according to the Institute’s replies, there were no cases of harassment reported, investigated, concluded internally or taken before the courts in 2022; points out, however, that that does not automatically mean that there were no such cases, particularly because harassment might take various forms and remain unreported; calls on the Institute to continue its work in order to maintain the existing trend, while putting in place all relevant safeguards to ensure that no case remains unreported; commends the Institute for having organised in 2022, for both management and staff, training on the prevention of harassment; notes further that the Institute made use of its appointed external law firm to manage legally previous harassment cases; observes that the Institute does not have its own legal services unit or a post of legal advisor; 14. Notes that, in 2022, an ongoing case against company UAB Manpower Lit, instituted with the Vilnius City District Court at the beginning of 2018 by a number of former interim workers, was finalised; recalls that the judgment of the Court of Justice of 11 November 2021(13) confirmed that Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(14) applies to the decentralised agencies of the Union and confirmed the principle that interim workers and statutory members of staff be treated equally; notes that the Supreme Court of Lithuania upheld that ruling by the Court of Justice and ruled in favour of interim workers; welcomes the fact that the Institute no longer hires interim workers as of 1 January 2022; 15. Welcomes the Institute’s comprehensive wellbeing policy, with a number of measures in place to support work-life balance, teleworking and a healthy lifestyle for its staff members; notes the Institute’s sustained efforts to enhance the working environment in 2022 through a combination of respect and integrity, team spirit and cooperation across units to strengthen staff’s understanding of and support for the Institute’s zero tolerance on psychological and sexual harassment; further notes the Institute’s measures to support staff such as extending the possibility for teleworking in the case of documented personal situations or reimbursing non-statutory staff for psychotherapeutic sessions; Procurement 16. Notes with concern the observation from the Court’s report regarding a framework contract, for which the payment by the Institute in 2022 of an amount of EUR 25 571,18 (out of a total of EUR 511 296 paid under that contract) for the cost category ‘unforeseen expenditure’ was found irregular due to the fact that that cost category was not included in the framework contract; welcomes the fact that the Institute has introduced a formal amendment to the framework contract defining the percentage of the budget for and the purpose of usage of unforeseen expenditure; 17. Notes another observation from the Court’s report regarding the irregularity of the procedure and the resulting contract in connection with an audited negotiated procedure with at least three candidates, with a value below EUR 60 000; acknowledges, nevertheless, with regard to the latter observation that in 2022 no payments were made under that contract; calls on the Institute to address the shortcomings of its internal control deficiencies in the area of procurement; Prevention and management of conflicts of interests and transparency 18. Notes the Institute’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, the prevention and management of conflicts of interest and whistle-blower protection; notes in particular that the Institute prevents and manages conflicts of interest by raising awareness and by monitoring the validity of the declarations of interest signed by its management board, senior management and staff involved in recruitment and procurement procedures; further notes that the Institute updated its conflicts of interest policy in 2023 to take into account the recommendations on ‘revolving doors’ issued by the Court in its 2021 audit report on decentralised agencies of the Union and other relevant reports or studies issued by the discharge authority and the European Ombudsman; calls on the Court to include the Institute’s new conflicts of interest policy in the Court’s future audit plans; 19. Notes that the Institute published on its website the CVs and declarations of interests of its Director and management board members; recalls the importance of CVs and declarations of interests being published; calls on the Institute to publish its meetings with interest representatives without delay and provide the discharge authority with information on the webpage where such meetings are published; Internal control 20. Welcomes the Institute’s measures taken in 2022 to strengthen its internal control system; notes in that context that the Institute is on track with regard to the progress made in its internal control and audit related activities, such as the implementation of the recommendations or observations issued by the Court and the Internal Audit Service (IAS) in their audit reports from 2021 and the actions and measures set out in the Institute’s 2021-2023 anti-fraud strategy; welcomes the fact that those actions and measures include the provision of fraud prevention training, awareness-raising though a dedicated anti-fraud intranet page and dedicated controls and fraud risk assessments; 21. Notes that the IAS performed a specific assessment of the Institute’s internal control system in 2022; notes further the results of that assessment, in which four moderate deficiencies related to components I (the control environment), III (control activities) and IV (information and communication) and one major deficiency related to component III and the need for the improvement or significant improvement of various principles (4, 10, 11 and 13) were identified; calls on the Institute to report to the discharge authority on the progress made in addressing the IAS’s findings; 22. Observes that a second independent external evaluation of the Institute was published in 2022; notes in that context that the Institute’s management board has addressed to the Commission a letter with recommendations regarding the Institute’s experts’ forum, the functioning of the management board and staffing issues; understands from that letter that addressing those recommendations might require an amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006(15) that established the Institute; calls on the Commission to support the Institute in the follow-up analysis and discussions regarding the outcome of that external evaluation; 23. Commends the Institute for having taken the necessary actions with regard to the Court’s observations from 2021, which have all been deemed closed by the Court; Other 24. Notes that the Institute signed in 2022 a new lease contract for its premises in Vilnius for a period of 10 years; further notes that the Brussels liaison office started its activities in 2022 and helped strengthen the visibility of the Institute as a stakeholder; 25. Welcomes the Institute’s commitment to digitalise its procurement procedures through the onboarding of the Public Procurement Management Tool, expected to be completed in Q4 of 2023; notes that, according to the Institute’s replies to the questions from Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, it updated its cybersecurity policy in 2022 to enhance security measures; recalls the importance of regularly updating arrangements for cybersecurity audits, tests and IT risk assessments; 26. Notes that the Institute has further increased its public visibility and online presence by launching or hosting several campaigns or events such as the #SafeSpaces campaign to show, inter alia, how cyber violence undermines the safety of women and girls; and the Institute’s first Gender Equality Forum with forum sessions open to public via livestreaming and recordings; 27. Insists on the importance of its report on feminicide published in 2022 entitled ‘Feminicide indicators: pilot study of data availability and feasibility assessment’ and encourages the Institute to continue its campaign to raise the visibility of feminicide in national policies and highlight the potential benefits of recognising it as a separate criminal offence; o 28. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(16) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Banking Authority |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0084/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC(4), and in particular Article 64 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0111/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Banking Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Banking Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2146(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0084/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC(9), and in particular Article 64 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0111/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Banking Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2146(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0111/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Banking Authority (the ‘Authority’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 50 315 014; whereas the Authority is primarily financed by a contribution from the Union (EUR 18 685 999), and contributions from national supervisory authorities of the Member States and observers (EUR 31 629 015); B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the European Banking Authority for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 99,56 %, representing an increase of 1,05 % compared to 2021; further notes that the rate of execution of current year payment appropriations was 87,00 %, representing an increase of 3,00 % compared to 2021; Performance 2. Welcomes the fact that the Authority continues to use certain measures as key performance indicators to assess its activities and the results thereof with respect to achieving the objectives of the work programme; observes that for 2022, the Authority has defined five vertical priorities (e.g. monitoring and updating the prudential framework for supervision and resolution, revisiting and strengthening the EU-wide stress testing framework) and two horizontal priorities (providing tools to measure and manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and monitoring and mitigating the impact of COVID-19) for its work programme; notes that in 2022, the Authority executed 95 % of the approximately 250 tasks set out in its work programme, including 15 % of tasks which had to be added to the work in the course of the year; further recognises that this is an improvement compared to the previous year; 3. Is aware that Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine has led the Authority to consider challenges and uncertainties arising from that conflict for areas within its remit and to address them accordingly; welcomes the fact that, as a result, the Authority placed a significant focus on assessing the risks for banks and the financial sector, and took action to monitor that sector; notes furthermore that the Authority focused on efforts contributing to the application and enforcement of imposed sanctions and, on a level which is more immediately relevant for people affected by that conflict, welcomes the efforts of the Authority to provide guidance to facilitate access to the financial system; 4. Observes that some of the important drivers of the Authority’s activity in 2022 were contributing to shaping the legislative procedures which led to the adopt of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554(12) and Directive (EU) 2022/2556(13) (the Digital Operational Resilience Regulation and Directive) and of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114(14) (the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) by way of the response provided to different calls for advice on digital finance and related issues; notes that another point of focus lied on preventing the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF); further notes that developing a relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework for banks, and monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on their balance sheets remained at the forefront of the Authority’s work; acknowledges that the Authority also updated its Peer Review work plan for the period 2022-2023, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010; Efficiency and gains 5. Welcomes that in the area of procurement, the Authority takes the approach of inviting other agencies to participate in its open procurement procedures, whenever there is a possibility of interest by other agencies; notes that in 2022, the Authority was the lead agency on one inter-institutional procurement procedure in which the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) participated; notes furthermore that the Authority has also participated in many inter-institutional procedures led by other Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, predominantly those run by the Commission; observes that in 2022, 77 % of the Authority’s 96 framework contracts in force were procured by other Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies; 6. Notes that the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities, which brings together the Authority, EIOPA, ESMA, the Commission and the European Systemic Risk Board, is a key forum to discuss common regulatory issues and agree joint initiatives; recalls that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; 7. Welcomes the fact that the Authority engages in extensive cooperation and resource-sharing initiatives with various agencies, such as sharing accounting services with ESMA, sharing a security officer with EIOPA, joint IT projects, investment in career development and providing experiences to assist other agencies in obtaining EMAS certification; further emphasises the horizontal benefits of working together and adapting best practices; 8. Commends the Authority for having taken various initiatives such as process optimisation, resource management, digitalization, collaboration enhancement, and fostering a continuous improvement culture; notes that key strategies include process automation (financial paperless transactions, mass payment load, workflow tools), resource optimisation, data-driven decision-making, technology integration (cloud services, HR digitalization), collaboration through cross-functional teams and project management; 9. Underlines that the Authority is an active member of the EU Agencies Network, and synergies are constantly being developed with the other European Supervisory Authorities, such as the sharing of recruitment reserve lists between the Authority, ESMA and EIOPA; Staff policy 10. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 98,14 % implemented, with 159 temporary agents appointed out of 162 temporary agent posts authorised under the Union budget (the same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 44 contract agents (out of 50 authorised) and 13 seconded national experts (out of 19 authorised plus six cost-free seconded national experts) worked for the Authority in 2022; 11. Observes that the overall turnover rate in 2022 was 11,5 % (compared to 12 % in 2021); notes that the overall turnover rate includes the end of contract of seconded national experts whose contracts run shorter term by nature whereas the staff turnover rate for statutory staff (temporary agents and contract agents) was 9 % (being slightly higher for contract agents than temporary agents); highlights that since 2020, the Authority has started enriching its talent management approach with further measures to empower staff and support long-term engagement (strong employee value proposition, tailored career development programmes such as mentoring, work-life initiatives such as social club, etc.); 12. Notes the gender distribution within the Authority’s senior and middle management, with 16 out of 29 senior and middle management members being men (55 %), and within the Authority’s overall staff, with 114 out of 222 members of staff being men (51 %); supports that the Authority has adopted the Charter on Diversity and Inclusion of the EU Agencies Network; notes that the Authority is member of the “Choose Paris Region” network of international organisations promoting a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace and provides specific accommodations to persons with disabilities as part of the recruitment process; 13. Is aware that a Staff Engagement Survey (SES) was launched in 2022 resulting in a response rate of 71 %; notes that the overall total favourable score which represents staff engagement was 65 % – higher by 1 % than in the previous SES of 2019 (despite the challenging COVID-19 period) and compared to the EU Interagency benchmark; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 14. Welcomes that in 2022 the Authority streamlined the ethics process, in particular through the introduction of an electronic workflow system including a closer and more efficient assessment of notifications regarding potential conflicts of interest of departing staff and notifications of post-employment activities; 15. Highlights that the guidelines on whistleblowing, encompassing anti-corruption guidelines, have been incorporated into the course material of the Authority’s training programmes focusing on ethics and integrity; 16. Appreciates that in 2022, the Board of Supervisors adopted an amendment to its Rules of Procedure, as well as to those of the Management Board and to the mandates of the Standing Committees on resolution and on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, obliging members who have declared a conflict of interest to be absent from both the vote and the discussion itself, without exception; 17. Notes that following the closure of an OLAF investigation with no indication of irregularities regarding compliance with the relevant legal framework, the Authority received a recommendation to take administrative actions, particularly concerning senior management employment contracts; observes that the investigation revealed a lack of contractual provisions related to gardening leave or a ‘cooling-off’ period; highlights that in response, the Authority introduced a new article in contracts for directors, advisers, and above in February 2022; notes that, due to limitations within the Staff Regulations legal framework, the Authority informed OLAF that it cannot impose requirements on staff outside that framework, such as providing compensation when a former staff member is restricted from pursuing an occupational activity or faces substantial conditions in doing so; 18. Welcomes that the Authority discloses all staff meetings with external private sector stakeholders within a period of two weeks following the meeting for the Chairperson, pursuant to Article 49a of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and that this is applied in the same way to the Executive Director, although Article 52a of that Regulation requires meetings of the Executive Director to be made public but does not specify how soon after they are held; notes that in the meetings of other staff with private sector stakeholders, disclosure is done on a quarterly basis; 19. Draws attention to the closure of one whistleblowing case in 2022; notes that actions taken involved contacting a national competent authority to understand the allegations and actions being taken domestically, which resulted in the closure of the case without any action required from the Authority; 20. Recalls that CVs of members of governing bodies and alternate members, senior managers and directors are published on the Authority’s websites; notes that those CVs include information regarding professional experience and education; notes furthermore that as regards experts, the Authority publishes the CVs of the Banking Stakeholder Group; Procurement 21. Notes that according to the Court the Authority sought to procure services in two open tenders, one for market research for financial services and another for consultation on data protection; notes that in one tender there was an overlap between the selection and award criteria; highlights that such an overlap goes against Article 167 of the Financial Regulation, which stipulates that there must be complete separation between selection and award criteria; states that selection criteria are used to evaluate the capacity of the tenderers and award criteria are used to evaluate the price and quality of the offers; notes with regret that in both cases, the Authority overestimated the maximum value of the contracts because of shortcomings in the research on market prices it had carried out before launching the tender; 22. Notes that according to the Court the procurement weakness affecting two separate negotiated procedures reported in 2021 have been corrected as the Authority is now using the Commission’s templates, thereby bringing its procedures in line with the Court’s observation; 23. Highlights that since the 2020 financial year, the Court has raised new procurement-related observations every year for four agencies, including the Authority; recalls that the objective of public procurement rules is to enable procuring entities to obtain the goods and services they need at the best price, while ensuring fair competition between tenderers and compliance with the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; calls on the Authority to ensure full compliance with the applicable procurement rules to achieve the best possible value for money; Internal control 24. Recalls that the Authority started to work with a dedicated risk management partner to enhance the compatibility of the Authority’s current risk management programme with the COSO Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework in 2021 and continued that work in 2022; notes that in order to further strengthen internal controls, the Authority plans to integrate its risk management programme into the COSO ERM framework, intensify ethics-related activities, and provide tailored internal controls training in 2023 with the goal of upholding and enhancing the effectiveness of the overall internal controls system; 25. Notes that according to the Court the internal control weaknesses affecting recruitment procedures reported in 2021 have been corrected as the Authority modified its procedures accordingly; Other comments 26. Welcomes that in 2022, the Authority continued to promote its work and deliverables via a wide range of communication channels such as the corporate website, press interviews and social media platforms; notes that the Authority also increased the number of dynamic data visualisations aimed at presenting large amounts of data in a more comprehensive and digestible manner and published 149 press releases and news items, promoted the Authority’s work in the press and media, conducting 74 interviews and briefings with the press, and responded to 706 queries via email; 27. Welcomes that in 2022, the Authority was awarded the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certificate and successfully achieved its 2022 environmental objectives and targets in the areas of travel, energy, waste, procurement, and core business; highlights that those achievements include a reduction of at least 50 % in travel-related activities, a 10 % decrease in building energy consumption, a commitment to recycling at least 70 % of waste, and consideration of the environmental impact in 100 % of contracts procured by the Authority; 28. Commends the Authority for undertaking to reduce energy consumption by 10 % in 2022 (compared to 2019); points out that in order to achieve that target, the Authority has introduced measures such as shifting heating schedules and decreasing setpoint temperatures on thermostats, switching energy supply fully to renewable energy sources, monitoring of meters on a daily basis to evaluate the results of the action taken, and conducting an energy saving awareness campaign for staff; notes that the energy reduction achieved by the end of 2022 (compared to 2019) was 16,4 %; o 29. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(15) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0091/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/79/EC(4), and in particular Article 64 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0097/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2153(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0091/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/79/EC(9), and in particular Article 64 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0097/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2153(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0097/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (the 'Authority’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 34 571 120, representing an increase of 5,27 % compared to 2021; whereas the Authority is financed by a contribution from the Union (EUR 12 932 000, representing 37,40 %) and contributions from national supervisory authorities from the Member States (EUR 21 076 120, representing 60,96 %); B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99,46 %, representing a decrease of 0,52 % compared to 2021; notes however that the payment appropriations execution rate was 92,07 %, representing an increase of 12,95 % compared to 2021; Performance 2. Notes that the Authority uses certain measures such as key performance indicators to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management; notes that in 2022 the Authority set 17 strategic level targets for performance across its seven main areas of work; notes with appreciation that the Authority achieved or exceeded 15 of those targets, while the other two targets were deemed not applicable to be reported upon due to their dependency on the legislative timelines of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and technological disruption; 3. Observes that 342 products and services, representing 91 % of the total, were delivered as planned by the Authority, with a further 20 products and services experiencing minor delays and 13 not taken forward, often as a result of dependency on timelines of legislative decisions such as the Solvency II Review or on technological developments in the market, and competing priorities; commends the Authority for an increase in its speaking engagements from 167 in 2021 to 214 in 2022; 4. Recognises the Authority’s numerous achievements in 2022 that delivered to a great extent on its objectives in the areas of supervision convergence, consumer protection and financial stability; notes in particular that the Authority carried out its first IORP climate stress test to gain insights into the effects of environmental risks on the European occupational pension sector, submitted to the Commission implementing technical standards laying down supervisory reporting and disclosure requirements under Solvency II, published a number of papers, reports and guidance on the integration of sustainability risks in the risk management of insurers, reinsurers and occupational pension funds, and provided input and technical advice to the European Parliament and the Council throughout the legislative process with regard to the Artificial Intelligence Act and DORA; commends the Authority for its various initiatives and actions in the area of digital transformation supporting the objectives of Union’s Digital Finance Strategy, including by contributing, together with several stakeholders, such as the European University Institute, to the setting up of the ‘EU Supervisory Digital Finance Academy’; 5. Notes that the Authority used for the first time a number of powers and tools conferred on it by the EIOPA Regulation; notes in that context that in 2022 the Authority issued a recommendation to the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) following the Authority’s conclusions that a breach of capital requirements committed by a Slovakian insurance company had not been appropriately addressed from a supervisory perspective; notes further with concern that the NBS was found by the Authority to be in breach of Union law and, as a consequence, the Commission issued a formal opinion requiring it to take the action necessary to comply with Union law and an inquiry was conducted on the basis of Article 22 of the EIOPA Regulation; calls on the Authority to keep the discharge authority informed on the follow-up and results of that inquiry; 6. Notes that the Authority contributed to ensure financial stability and protect consumers by thoroughly monitoring the markets and assessing impact in the new context of Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine and the progressive monetary policy tightening in response to record-high inflation rates across Europe; welcomes the timely publication in 2022 of a supervisory statement on inflation focusing on how inflation affects technical provisions, investments and solvency capital requirements; 7. Notes that in September 2022, the Authority set out its strategy for the period 2023 – 2026, in which it has identified strategic priorities, including strengthening the resilience and sustainability of the insurance and pensions sectors, and ensuring the strong and consistent protection of consumer interests across the Union; Efficiency and gains 8. Notes that the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) coordinate, share and support each other in many areas, both in core business and support areas; welcomes the fact that the ESAs joined forces on strategic initiatives such as software application development, network infrastructure and IT consultancy by, for example, sharing the same suppliers; notes in that context that the Authority’s Cloud Strategy, which was approved in 2022, was developed by the Authority together with the two other ESAs, other Union Institutions and the national competent authorities (NCAs) and aims to deliver more autonomous, automated and self-service products to serve the Authority’s experts and NCAs; 9. Commends the Authority for its investment in and allocation of staff for projects in the area of digital transformation, to reach new levels of efficiency by automatizing and streamlining business processes and improving the time-to-market and the collaboration within and across functions, among others; welcomes in this context the Authority’s projects carried out in 2022 focussing on improving data analysis capabilities to achieve the goal of turning the Authority into a fully digital, data-driven organisation; 10. Observes that as regards day-to-day business practices, the Authority has implemented a range of measures to enhance cost-efficiency, such as hybrid working, desk-sharing, as well as modern video conferencing solutions that have prompted the reduction of business travel; notes that in order to preserve institutional knowledge, expertise and efficiency in executing core tasks, the Authority further enhanced its integrated Talent Management System that allows for strategically aligned HR processes, better sourcing of candidates and more leveraged learning and development; invites the Authority to provide the discharge authority with data and figures regarding the impact of that system; 11. Notes from the Court’s report that the Authority is among the agencies that have a corporate plan to improve the energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations, and that issue an environmental statement (e.g. on carbon footprint reporting) as part of their annual activity reports; further commends the Authority for having been certified EMAS (European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) in 2022 with a view to achieving the formal EMAS accreditation in 2023; Staff policy 12. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, 99 %, the same as in 2021, of the establishment plan was completed, with 137 temporary agents appointed out of 138 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget; notes that, in addition, 36 contract agents and 24 seconded national experts were employed by the Authority in 2022; 13. Notes the Authority’s gender breakdown reported for 2022 with 15 men (65,20 %) and 8 women (34,80 %) in middle and senior management positions and in its Management Board, and 104 men (53,60 %) and 90 women (46,40 %) in its overall staff; recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and calls on the Authority to take that into consideration with regard to the future recruitment of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; 14. Welcomes the fact that in 2022 the Authority continued the implementation of the diversity and inclusion strategy (adopted in 2021) and its detailed action plan in line with the EUAN Charter on Diversity through initiatives that cover cross-cutting measures such as collaborating with other institutions, attracting and selecting a more diverse workforce, preventing discrimination, harassment, conscious and unconscious bias, and monitoring diversity and inclusion related data; notes that in 2022, one case of alleged harassment was reported, but the case was closed without further actions since, upon preliminary assessment, no prima facie evidence was found; 15. Welcomes the fact that the Authority is devoted to fostering and providing a diverse and inclusive work environment that is also attuned to the needs of persons with disabilities; notes in that context that in 2022 the Authority’s internal disability coordinator and ambassador was nominated to further strengthen and focus the attention on that particular area, a dedicated survey of staff and management was carried out and awareness-raising actions were taken; 16. Notes with satisfaction that the Authority remained deeply committed to improving staff well-being and work-life balance, with positive outcomes seen in staff engagement and satisfaction; notes that the key areas of focus included flexible work arrangements, teleworking, lifelong guidance and career development, wellness programmes and supportive management; Procurement 17. Notes the observation in the Court’s report that the Authority made payments totalling EUR 25 607 after the end of a contract through which the Authority procured telecommunication services for mobile phone communication for a period of four years (2017-2021); notes the Court’s conclusion that those payments were irregular; notes further the Court’s observation that an amendment to that contract, signed in April 2022, was made in breach of point 1.1 of Annex I of the Financial Regulation; 18. Recalls from the Court’s annual report on Union agencies for 2021 the observation on an amount of EUR 288 125 irregularly paid by the Authority with regard to the rental contract for its premises; notes in that context from the Authority’s report on measures taken in light of the discharge authority’s recommendations (discharge 2021) the Authority’s position that disregarding the contractual obligations would have had a negative legal and reputational effect on the Authority; notes from the Court’s report that the status of that observation remains open; calls on the Authority to make all the necessary efforts when launching the procurement procedure for a new lease contract to prevent any conflict between the obligations imposed by the rental agreement and the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 19. Welcomes the fact that, in accordance with the Authority’s legal requirements, the CVs of the Members of the Authority’s board of supervisors and management board, the resume of the Authority’s Chairperson and Executive Director and a short resume of the Authority’s Heads of Department are published on the Authority’s website; notes that individual declarations of interests and declaration of intention are publicly available for each Management Board member, each member of the board of supervisors and of the Authority’s senior management; welcomes further the publication of the Authority’s staff meetings with lobbyists on the Authority’s website; 20. Welcomes the fact that in 2022 the Authority strengthened its ethics rules for staff and non-staff members, thereby addressing the observations from the Court’s report on the Authority’s annual accounts for 2021 and aiming to preserve impartial, objective and independent decision-making and promptly identify and handle any possible conflicts of interest; notes in that regard the revision of the Authority’s Rules of Procedure, the adoption of a policy on independence and decision-making processes to avoid conflicts of interest for non-staff, the approval of a revision of the decision regarding the appraisal of the chairperson and the executive director and the adoption of a revision of the Authority’s Ethics Rules for staff members; 21. Observes with regard to whistleblowing that in 2022 one staff member raised concerns about a potential case of irregularities and that those concerns have been managed by the Authority in line with the applicable rules; notes in that context that the Authority informed the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) thereof without delay and that OLAF carried out an assessment and dismissed the case on grounds that there was no sufficient suspicion to open an investigation; 22. Welcomes the fact that in July 2022, the Authority’s board of supervisors revised its Rules of Procedure implementing the Court’s observation regarding the presence of conflicted members of the board of supervisors during discussions and voting; further notes that the Authority’s management board approved in December 2022 a revised decision regarding the appraisal of the chairperson and the executive director, in line with the Court’s observations; Internal control 23. Notes that in 2022 the Authority carried out the annual assessment of its internal control framework, concluding that all components and principles are implemented and function as intended, with some improvements required due to a moderate deficiency detected; 24. Observes that in 2022 the internal audit service issued a report regarding the audit carried out in 2021 on the ‘EIOPA Intervention Measures’ targeting NCAs and the market operators in the Union’s insurance and occupational pensions sectors; observes further that the Authority’s quality control committee issued a review report on the ‘Lessons learned from the cooperation and interaction between EIOPA and the NCAs during the COVID-19 pandemic’; calls on the Authority to keep the discharge authority updated with regard to the implementation of the recommendations issued by the internal audit service and the quality control committee; 25. Notes with appreciation that in 2022, the Authority identified, monitored and took measures to mitigate the effects of risks with regard to not having sufficient capacity to implement new powers and tasks, whilst delivering existing commitments, lack of skilled staff with the required competences due to issues related to attractiveness and recruitment and cyber security threats and business continuity; 26. Notes that the Authority continued in 2022 to address the remaining recommendations from the audit on the ‘Oversight Tools in the Consumer Protection Area’ (2019-2020); notes further that this audit resulted in four recommendations which have been addressed such that two recommendations were officially closed by the IAS in November 2021 and two recommendations were officially closed in June 2022; Other comments 27. Notes that in 2022 the Authority, together with the other ESAs, issued warnings to consumers in relation to the high-risk and speculative activities associated with many crypto-assets; 28. Notes from the Authority’s replies to the questions of the discharge authority that the Authority is currently benefiting from the Commission e-tendering tools (e-tendering, e-submission, e-invoicing) and the public procurement management tool (PPMT) has meanwhile been implemented (from July 2023); welcomes the fact that EIOPA tender procedures include requirements of green public procurement criteria, where possible, and EIOPA tenderers have to sign the Declaration on Honour on Compliance with environmental and social obligations, among others; 29. Notes that in 2022, the Authority published the results of its work in the form of reports, on its website and social media, most of the reports being accompanied by a press release; welcomes the fact that in some instances, the reports are also accompanied by summaries, short social media clips, or short interviews to explain the content in simpler terms; o 30. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Securities and Markets Authority |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0100/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC(4), and in particular Article 64 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0103/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2162(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0100/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC(9), and in particular Article 64 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0103/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Securities and Markets Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2162(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0103/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Securities and Markets Authority (the ‘Authority’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 68 068 551, representing an increase of 12,32 % compared to 2021; whereas the Authority is financed by a contribution from the Union (EUR 17 301 544, representing 25,41 % of the total budget), contributions from national supervisory authorities of the Member States (EUR 27 293 765, or 40,10 %) and fees received from supervised entities (EUR 22 228 234, or 32,66 %); B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the European Securities and Markets Authority for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with satisfaction that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 98,78 %, representing a small decrease of 1,17 % compared to 2021; notes that the execution rate of payment appropriations was 89,83 %, representing a slight decrease of 0,08 % compared to the previous year; 2. Notes from the Authority’s opinion of 5 July 2023 with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Authority for the financial year 2021(hereinafter ‘The Authority’s Opinion’), that given the growing complexity of its budget structure, the Authority considers it necessary to revise its fee-funding model to enable it to react both suitably and swiftly to significant financial market developments while being able to manage more efficiently the increasing number of fee sources derived from direct supervisory mandates; Performance 3. Notes that the Authority uses certain measures such as key performance indicators to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management; commends the Authority for having completed 90 % of its 2022 work programme, with most of its key performance indicators having been achieved or exceeded; 4. Welcomes the Authority’s response to geopolitical challenges in 2022; notes in that context that the Authority has intensified its risk monitoring and supervisory activities in response to Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, ensuring heightened vigilance in assessing potential impacts on Union’s financial markets and taking necessary actions to safeguard market stability and investor protection; also notes that in the context of the energy crisis, the Authority made public its high-level assessment concerning the areas where the Commission requested input on measures to limit excessive volatility and to alleviate liquidity pressures on non-financial counterparties active on gas and electricity markets, and has adopted temporary emergency measures to address those liquidity constraints; 5. Notes that in 2022 the Authority’s strategic priorities focused on three cross-cutting topics, namely supporting the development of sound capital markets, promoting sustainable finance and innovation, and fostering innovation and digitalisation; welcomes the fact that the Authority delivered on those priorities in 2022 through a range of actions, such as the delivery of technical input to the Commission on investor protection aspects of the MiFID II and MiFIR review and with regard to the Listing Act, the publication of the Authority’s 2022-2024 sustainable finance roadmap, and the issuance of warnings to investors and national competent authorities (NCAs) about the risks of crypto assets, among others; 6. Recognises the Authority’s achievements in 2022, which was a significant year from the supervisory convergence perspective, with several common supervisory actions, three major peer reviews in addition to the mandatory annual peer review on central counterparties, including one detailing the actions undertaken by NCAs linked to relocations following the UK’s withdrawal from Union, and the first recommendations issued by the Authority to a NCA under Art. 16 of its Founding Regulation, with the aim of structurally strengthening the supervisory approach and capacity of NCAs; 7. Notes the publication by the Authority in 2022 of a report on the European market for emission allowances and derivatives, which put forward a number of policy recommendations to improve market transparency and monitoring, as well as the coordination by the Authority of the first ever mystery shopping exercise among a number of NCAs, and the launch of the Authority’s new strategy for 2023-2028; Efficiency and gains 8. Observes that the Authority continues to pursue efficiency gains and synergies in its areas of activity; notes in that context that the Authority conducted an evaluation of its annual work programme to enhance efficiency by allocating resources effectively in response to external factors such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including with regard to the legislative proposals on the European Single Access Point, which were initially not envisaged in the Authority’s 2022 annual work programme; commends the fact that, as part of its efficiency strategy, the Authority continues to share an accounting officer with the European Banking Authority; 9. Notes some of the internal measures implemented to achieve efficiency gains and synergies, such as a full internal redeployment that permitted the Authority to take over new mandates and tasks, without the need for additional resources, a further optimisation of procurement resources by joining more inter-institutional procedures and by leading major inter-agency procurements, a simplification of processes in the area of budgetary management and investments in audio, video conferencing, as well as voting tools made during the pandemic, which are allowing for remote work; notes furthermore that the Authority plans to have fewer missions for its staff and more remote meetings in the future, thereby increasing its flexibility and reducing costs; 10. Acknowledges that all of the Authority's administration and support functions, namely human resources, ethics, finance, procurement and facility management processes, have been digitalised for several years, thus pursuing a zero paper policy; notes that in 2022 the Authority had its information and communication technology infrastructure migrated to the public cloud, with savings expected when systems are scaled up; welcomes the fact that in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Authority started the process to onboard the public procurement management tool; Staff policy 11. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 87,60 % implemented, with 219 temporary agents appointed out of 243 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget, compared to 250 authorised posts in 2021; notes that, in addition, 91 contract agents and 12 seconded national experts worked for the Authority in 2022; 12. Notes that in 2022, the total number of staff increased by 45 % compared to 2021; further notes that, with regard to geographical balance, at the end of 2022, the staff of the Authority, namely temporary agents, contractual agents and seconded national experts, included 24 different nationalities of the Union; recalls the importance of ensuring a balanced geographical representation among the Authority's management and overall staff; 13. Welcomes the fact that the Authority is close to achieving gender balance at management and staff level; notes the gender distribution within the Authority’s senior and middle management staff, with 16 out of 30 being women (53 %); notes the gender distribution within the Authority’s Management Board, with 4 out of 7 being men (57 %); further notes the gender distribution within the Authority’s overall staff, with 175 out of 322 being men (54 %); 14. Acknowledges that the Authority has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment; welcomes that in 2022 there were no harassment cases reported, investigated, concluded internally or taken before the court; further welcomes the Authority’s engagement in developing a ‘Diversity and Inclusion policy’; Procurement 15. Notes that the Authority managed, in 2022, 14 procurement procedures, out of which three were open tenders in the area of IT representing a total value of EUR 99,4 million; 16. Recalls from the Court’s report on the annual accounts of the Authority for the financial year 2021 the observation with regard to the Authority’s decision to launch a negotiated procedure without advertising it in breach of point 3.1 of Annex I to the Financial Regulation; notes from the Authority’s Opinion that the omission of ex-ante publicity was justified by the specific scope of the procurement and duly documented ex-post, further underlying that all necessary measures to prevent a similar situation from happening in future were undertaken; 17. Draws attention to note IV.1 to the Authority’s annual account for 2022, which describes an uncertainty related to the outcome of a lawsuit (“UniSystems Luxembourg and Unisystems systimata plioforikis vs ESMA”) in relation to the decision in a joint procurement procedure contested by an applicant at the Union’s General Court; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 18. Notes that the Authority revised the conflict of interests policy for non-staff in 2022, which covers staff members, seconded national experts and trainees; commends the Authority for undertaking several actions to raise awareness of conflicts of interest and ethics rules, including by conducting induction sessions for newcomers, and for holding an all-staff session to brief staff about the main facts and figures in ethics, provide in-depth clarifications on dealing with financial instruments and share the priorities for 2022; 19. Notes that for the annual declarations of conflicts of interest examined by the Authority in 2022, no issues were raised relating to potential conflicts of interest; observes that, in addition to the annual declarations, the Authority reviewed and assessed in 2022 a considerable number of requests and declarations from staff, namely 54 declaration in selection procedures, 13 declarations on gainful employment of spouse, 41 requests for outside activity, 21 requests for publication or speech, 23 requests to deal in financial instruments, 10 requests for activity while on leave on personal grounds, and 10 declarations on intended activity after leaving the Authority; notes in that context that, while the majority of the declarations raised no conflict-of-interest concerns, in two instances a change in the composition of the selection board was recommended, and in one instance safeguards were imposed in respect of a manager leaving the Authority, such as a cut-off from confidential information and a one-year ban on lobbying staff; 20. Welcomes the fact that the Authority publishes CVs and declarations of interest of its Management Board members and management staff; commends the transparent manner in which the Authority reports the meetings of its staff with external stakeholders and makes them available on its website; 21. Recalls from the Court’s report on the annual accounts of the Authority for the financial year 2021 the Court’s observation regarding the weaknesses found in the Authority’s management and control systems relating to conflicts of interest; notes in that context that in 2022 the Authority’s ethics team initiated a practice of systematically collecting declarations of interest from the reporting officers of senior managers, to ensure no conflict-of-interest risks arise during the process of appraisal of the Authority’s senior managers; also recalls that the board of supervisors adopted an amended conflict of interest policy to introduce an explicit requirement for conflicted individuals, i.e., board members, alternates or NCA coordinators, to leave the room for the deliberations on the relevant item, and to abstain from voting in written procedures; commends the Agency for having addressed the Court’s observation that is now deemed to be closed; Internal control 22. Welcomes the annual assessment of the Authority’s internal control system and the conclusion that it exists and functions well; notes that the Authority measured 77 internal control indicators, covering all internal control principles and identified 42 deficiencies, most of which were minor or moderate and none of which called into question the existence and proper functioning of the internal control principles; notes that the observed opportunities for improvement are mainly related to the control environment, control activities, and information and communication components; 23. Notes that the Authority was audited by the Internal Audit Service of the Commission (IAS) on data management in 2022, acknowledging the achievements made in setting up the data management framework, as well as the continued efforts to define a more coherent vision on the data management activities; notes nevertheless that the IAS identified weaknesses in both the design, and effective and efficient implementation of the internal control systems set up for the data management processes and issued five recommendations, two of them being very important; calls on the Authority to address those weaknesses and report to the discharge authority on the progress made in this regard; 24. Notes that following its annual organisational risk assessment, the Authority identified risks in 2022 such as fragile, more volatile markets that may affect financial stability, put investors at risk and increase supervisory risk for the Authority, the risk of inadequate resources or lack of expertise in certain areas to adapt to the new challenges and the risk of a cyberattack targeting the Authority and affecting the security of IT systems; calls on the Authority to take all the mitigation actions necessary to address those risks; Other comments 25. Commends the Authority for being officially recognised for its environmental management system under EMAS (European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) and for obtaining the EMAS registration in 2022; commends further the Authority for its commitment to foster and integrate as much as possible green requirements in its procurement procedures; notes with satisfaction from the Court’s report that the Authority is among the agencies that issue an annual environmental statement; 26. Notes that in 2022 the Authority, together with the other European Supervisory Authorities, issued warnings to consumers in relation to the high-risk and speculative activities associated with many crypto-assets; o 27. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0078/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/942 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 establishing a European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators(4), and in particular Article 35 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0120/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2140(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0078/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/942 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 establishing a European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators(9), and in particular Article 35 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0120/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2140(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the Special Report No 03/2023 of the Court of Auditors; – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0120/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the Agency for the financial year 2022 was EUR 24 827 843, representing an increase of 5,25 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Agency is funded from mainly two sources of revenue, namely collected fees and the contribution from the general budget of the Union; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that the Court has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriations rate of 99,26 %, representing an increase of 5,20 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 70,12 % (short of the Agency planned target of 75 %), representing an increase of 4,16 %, compared to 2021; 2. Notes with concern that the Agency had high rate of carry-overs of the commitment appropriations for several consecutive years, EUR 7,2 million in 2022 (29,4 %), a slight increase as compared to 2021 (29,9 %); reminds that the discharge authority has asked the Agency to resolve the issue; notes furthermore that EUR 5,5 million (or 66,2 %) of appropriations under Title III, related to operational expenditure, mainly the Agency’s core activities under Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council(12) (66,4 % in 2021); insists that recurrent high rates of carry-overs could indicate a structural issue, weak budgetary planning, or possibly a contravention of the budgetary principle of annuality; notes that as 2023 the Agency introduced quarterly awareness sessions for its budget line managers that are conducted before each budget review aiming to improve the budget planning and timely implementation of both budget and procurement plan in line with the principle of annuality; Performance 3. Notes that as in previous years, the Agency’s management monitored the achievement of the work programme objectives through the Agency’s key performance indicators (KPIs) using the Agency’s ‘traffic light’ system; also notes that according to the Agency most KPIs usually remain the same from year to year to ensure consistency in comparisons, but the targets to be achieved in the year in question are set on an annual basis; recommends however that the Agency addresses the indicators that have not yet been achieved or are lagging behind and that the Agency fine tunes KPIs on a regular basis in order to optimise its performance; 4. Observes that 82 % of the work programme was achieved or achieved with a small issue and 18 % was not achieved or the related tasks deprioritised or postponed due to the limitation in available human resources; recommends that the Agency reassess the feasibility of the work programme in relation to the human resources available, as the limitation of human resources has proved to be an explanatory factor in the implementation of the work programme in previous years as well; notes furthermore that the KPI targets were met, with the exception of the payments appropriation rate that reached 70,1 % (target 75 %) in 2022 as compared to 65,9 % in 2021; 5. Acknowledges that the Russian invasion of Ukraine called for extraordinary policy actions to preserve energy security of supply and protect consumers which increased the responsibilities of the Agency and affected the Agency's work in various ways; notes that in this context several additional comprehensive tasks were assigned to the Agency throughout the year (e.g. publication of the Final assessment of the Union wholesale electricity market , publication of the liquefied natural gas price assessment or benchmark and application of the market correction mechanism); welcomes the efforts of the Agency to deliver on those additional tasks and the additional support to the policy-makers provided in the high price energy environment; 6. Takes note of the Court’s observation in its Special Report 03/2023 on internal electricity market referring to weaknesses in the Agency’s monitoring and reporting framework; recalls that although the Agency’s annual work programmes have consistently mentioned that monitoring is a critical task the work programmes are not sufficiently explicit in order to clarify how the monitoring and reporting is planned, despite the Agency’s obligation to present all expected outputs; highlights that this risks undermining the Agency’s accountability and could also hamper stakeholders’ understanding of the Agency data needs and involvement in implementation monitoring; Efficiency and gains 7. Observes that the Agency regularly re-assesses, optimises and streamlines its support functions and administrative processes by various means: knowledge sharing and introduction of best practices from other agencies, review, documentation and automation of certain processes and centralisation of certain support functions; 8. Takes note that the Agency conducted a workload activity analysis with the support of an external consulting company to assess its current state of task or activity distribution and to identify potential organisational gaps and issues, as well as space for synergies and improved spans of control and task allocation; notes that this resulted in an action plan which is monitored during senior management meetings and dedicated sessions for this purpose; 9. Welcomes the use by the Agency of a number of IT tools for procurement processes (e-Submission portal, e-Tendering portal, e-Notices and e-Invoicing for invoices under DIGIT contracts); notes that the Agency also uses Sysper, ARES (including Qualified Electronic Signature) and MiPS; calls on the Agency to further develop its internal processes by making use of digitalisation, especially when it generates efficiency and savings in operating costs; 10. Recalls the importance to increase the digitalisation of the agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed, insist on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly originating from Russia or China; Staff policy 11. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 97,40 % implemented, with 74 temporary agents appointed out of 76 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 71 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 38 contract agents, seven seconded national experts 19 interim staff and two consultants worked for the Agency in 2022; reiterates Court’s recommendations on assigning permanent and ongoing tasks to directly employed members of staff; 12. Notes that given the long-term contracts of the Agency’s senior management members (excluding that of the Director, who is not selected by the Agency and has a fixed-term mandate), the Agency is currently not in a position to alter in the short term the existing gender balance of its senior management; notes that the Agency’s administrative board is composed of ten women (53 %) and nine men (47 %); reiterates that among its staff overall, the underrepresentation of women persists, 40 women (35 %) to 73 men (65 %), (37 % and 63 % in 2021); recalls the importance to ensure staff gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior management; is aware that the Agency endorsed the charter on diversity and inclusion, and confirmed its commitment in improving its policy and endeavours with regards to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion; strongly reiterates its call for concerted efforts to address the underrepresentation of women and report back to the discharge authority on quantifiable targets for its achievement within the Agency; 13. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looking forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 14. Encourages the agency to pursue the development of a long-term human resources policy framework which addresses work-life balance, lifelong learning and career development, gender balance, teleworking, geographical balance and the recruitment and integration of people with disabilities; Procurement 15. Takes note of the fact that the Agency has partially resolved previous procurement weaknesses identified by the Court, especially with its orders of out-of-price list items that resulted in a qualified opinion; welcomes that the Agency has in place a complete set of guidelines for its project managers including templates and detailed instruction for the workflows in place in line with the requirements of the financial regulation in public procurement; notes that the observation of the Court will be kept open until the underlying framework contracts expire; 16. Notes that a total number of 246 procurement procedures of different types were concluded in 2022, compared to 200 in 2021; recalls the importance for all procurement procedures, to ensure fair competition between tenderers and to procure goods and services at the best price to ensure efficient use of the available budget, respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; notes with concern the Court’s observation regarding the public procurement weaknesses are increasing and remain the largest source of irregular payments for most of agencies; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 17. Notes that in 2022 the Agency continued to implement its comprehensive policy for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest, including provisions related to staff, its boards, working groups and task forces; also notes that the administrative board adopted in December 2022 more stringent guidelines on the prevention and management of conflicts of interest for the administrative board and the board of appeal; notes furthermore that the guidelines complement the existing Agency’s overall policy on the prevention and management of the conflict of interest that was established in 2015 providing additional understanding to the administrative board’s members in fulfilling their duties according to the Agency policy on the prevention and management of conflicts of interest, while they also provide additional guidelines to the review panel in the assessment of circumstances that could lead to conflicts of interest; 18. Observes that in 2022 one case of conflict of interest concerning a staff member was indicated; takes note that the head of department resolved the matter by deciding that the staff member should not be involved in certain cases involving their former employer which was furthermore confirmed by the legal services of the Agency, ethics correspondent, human resources and reflected in a note to the file; 19. Regrets that according to the Court’s Special Report 03/2023 on Internal electricity market, the Agency’s website is run ineffectively as key documents for stakeholders and the general public are not easily accessible, or are not published at all; notes furthermore that the website lacks the transparency needed for a communication tool and in certain cases, it does not even comply with the regulatory requirements; calls on the Agency to urgently improve the transparency and accountability of its work by facilitating public access to the documents and data contained on its website, ensuring full and timely publication of its decisions and data in accordance with legal requirements, and introducing a clearly defined transparency policy based on best practices; 20. Is concerned by the observations in the Court's Special Report No 03/2023 on the internal market for electricity, which indicate that the Agency's governance structure hampers its effectiveness and independence; notes that as highlighted by the Court the Agency’s director must obtain from the Board of Regulators (BoR) approval for key regulatory outputs; notes furthermore that despite the BoR being composed of one National regulatory authority (NRA) representative per Member State and tasked with acting in sole interest of the EU as a whole, the Agency Regulation has no legislative safeguards to avoid representatives’ involvement in BoR decisions that conflict with specific NRAs’ decisions or national interests (where defended by NRAs in accordance with their legal status); also notes that external expertise at the Agency greatly depends on the involvement of NRAs’ experts in the working groups and task forces and although NRAs’ experts may also be subject to conflicts of interest they are not required to sign any declaration concerning conflicts of interest; calls on the Commission to evaluate and propose improvements to the Agency’s governance by enhancing independence from NRAs and national interests, enforcement powers, and convergence tools; 21. Observes that in the above mentioned special report, the Court also noticed weaknesses in the implementation of the Agency’s internal rules on the management and publication of the declarations of interests for the BoR’s and the administrative board’s members; highlights that more transparency in the decision making processes of the Agency’s boards and working groups could contribute to the public scrutiny of conflicting interests (e.g. publication of minutes and voting results); 22. Takes note of the fact that the Agency’s meetings with lobbyists are registered at the level of the director’s meetings and published on the Agency’s website; 23. Recalls the importance for the Agency to develop greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work known to the citizens; Internal control 24. Notes that with the aim of strengthening the internal control system a number of internal policies have been revised during 2022 including Director Decision 2022-14 of 13 September 2022 establishing the register of exceptions and non-compliance events, laying down the procedure for requesting exceptions and reporting non-compliance events; Director Decision 2022-08 of 21 June 2022 adopting the policy and procedure for managing sensitive functions and repealing Director Decision 2019-06 of 2 April 2019 on the adoption of the Policy and procedure for the management of sensitive functions; and administrative board decision amending Decision No 17/2022 of the administrative board of 13 December 2018 on the internal control framework of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators; 25. Takes note that according to the Court’s annual report, in December 2022, a payment order of EUR 714 720 was authorised by an authorising officer by delegation whose powers of authorisation were limited to EUR 500 000; highlights that this indicates a weakness in the Agency’s internal controls with regard to the delegation of powers for authorising payments; calls on the Agency to take steps to ensure that limits are enforced per payment order; Other comments 26. Notes with appreciation that in 2022 the Agency started implementing a penetration testing plan to review all existing and newly built applications exposed to the internet with the aim of having regular penetration testing at least once every 3 years; 27. Welcomes the fact that the Agency signed in 2022 the interinstitutional framework contract on consultancy services for implementing and registering an environmental management system (EMAS); notes furthermore that the Agency continued the implementation of its Greening Action Plan 2021-2022 and looked into the possibility of taking further steps to better meet EMAS standards together with the Landlord due to the limitations and constraints imposed by the specificities of the rented premises; o 28. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(13) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0079/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009(4), and in particular Article 28 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0123/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2141(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0079/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1971 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1211/2009(9), and in particular Article 28 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0123/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for Support for BEREC (BEREC Office) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2141(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for Support for BEREC (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0123/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final adopted budget of the Agency for the financial year 2022 was EUR 7 428 456, representing an increase of 1,19 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Agency derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Agency’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that the Court has obtained reasonable assurances that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; C. whereas with regard to the Agency’s procurement sector, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; D. whereas with regard to the Agency’s internal control systems, no issues requiring corrective actions were reported for 2022, nor are there ongoing or outstanding corrective actions from previous years’ audits and assessments; Budget and financial management 1. Notes with appreciation that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 99,99 % for the commitment appropriations of the final adopted budget for the year, representing an increase of 0,02 % compared to 2021; welcomes that the budget implementation rate is within the threshold of above 95 % established by the management board; notes that the current year’s payment appropriations execution rate was 82,78 %, representing an increase of 13,44 % compared to 2021; Performance 2. Notes that the Agency uses key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the results achieved in respect of its objectives, including among others on support to working groups, communications activities, centralised finance and procurement and human resources management; notes that most objectives have been achieved, however recommends to address the KPIs that remain unfulfilled or are progressing slower than expected (e.g. Improvement of reimbursement process through the advanced gateway for meetings (AGM) tool, signature of contract in support to the development of “BEREC ICT strategy 2022-2025”; recommends that the Agency fine tune KPIs on a regular basis in order to optimise its performance; 3. Welcomes that Agency continued to provide high-quality administrative and professional support to the BEREC Board of Regulators, the BEREC Contact Network, the Public debriefings, the BEREC Working Groups, including the Ad Hoc Working Groups and the BEREC Office Advisory Group; 4. Welcomes the fact that Ukraine's telecoms regulator NCEC was taken on board of the Agency as a member without voting rights; Efficiency and gains 5. Notes that the actions for achieving efficiency gains in 2022 were aimed at the following main areas: centralisation of some functions, procurement, efficiency gains achieved through the increased use of Commission IT applications or the introduction of new ones and use of external resources to compensate lacking human resources capacity or for tasks of a technical and auxiliary nature; 6. Notes that in the field of procurement in 2022 the Agency continued the use of interinstitutional procurement procedures and joined seven interinstitutional procurement procedures, which resulted in the conclusion of six framework contracts during the reporting period; 7. Welcomes the efficiency gains achieved via the higher use or introduction of additional Commission IT applications; notes that in particular, in 2022 the Agency had fully on-boarded and actively used all Sysper2 basic modules, e.g. identity management, organisation management, personal data management, working conditions, talent management and document management and three from the optional set of modules, e.g. flexitime, teleworking, and individual rights; 8. Notes that the Agency has been operating since its establishment with lacking human resources capacity for certain posts; takes note that the Agency compensates some capacity constraints, where feasible, prioritizes the use of services offered by the Commission and other Union agencies as a primary solution; observes that this approach includes leveraging services provided by the Commission Office for the administration and payment of individual entitlements (PMO) and the computer emergency response team for the Union’s institutions, bodies and agencies (CERT-EU) for IT and security service; welcomes that the Agency has a very successful cooperation with the European Union Intellectual Property Office in the area of IT, which includes hosting, IT development, disaster recovery, development of the new design of the Agency’s web site, and other IT services; 9. Recalls the importance to increase the digitalisation of the agency in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the agency to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed, insist on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly originating from Russia or China; Staff policy 10. Notes that on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan consisted of 16 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (the same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 19 contract agents, 8 seconded national experts and 10 interim staff and consultants worked for the Agency in 2022; 11. Welcomes the efforts of the Agency to align its operation with the principles of the Joint Statement of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission of 19 July 2012 on decentralized agencies, including the expected minimum critical size; 12. Observes that the main challenge in the staff area policy was the high staff turnover, which in 2022 went up to 16,3 % in comparison to 4,6 % for 2021 and 5,4 % in 2020; takes note that the sharp increase of the staff turnover particularly affected the administration and finance unit; notes that to fill in the posts becoming vacant and to ensure staff with new competences needed for the Agency and its administration in 2022 the Agency launched selection procedures in order to fill in five vacant posts (one temporary agents and four contract agents) for which it did not have suitable reserve lists in place while for remaining three posts which became vacant, the Agency ensured fast recruitment from its active reserve lists; asks however, the Agency to analyse the reasons for the high staff turnover and make the necessary steps to avoid it in the future and report back to the discharge authority; 13. Commends the Agency's initiatives to enhance staff members' work-life conditions, including legal advice for private matters, financial support for kindergarten, tuition fees for international schools, language courses, a VAT-exempt goods for Seconded National experts, an induction program for newcomers, and assistance for family members settling in Latvia, some in collaboration with Latvian authorities; 14. Welcomes that in 2022 as well as in 2021 gender balance was achieved overall within the staff, with 52 % female and 48 % male; insists on intensifying the efforts to maintain a reasonable gender balance among Agency’s staff; acknowledges that the Agency has only three middle management positions and that an acceptable gender balance was also achieved in middle management, with one woman and two men; 15. Notes that the Agency has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Agency is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looks forward to receiving their report and recommendations; notes that there were no reported cases of harassment in 2022 and encourages the Agency to continue and develop the work to prevent cases in the future as well; 16. Regrets that the Agency has not adopted the “Charter on diversity and inclusion” which aims to promote equal treatment and opportunities, irrespective of any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation; recalls that one of the objectives of charter consists in achieving the goal of at least 40 % of underrepresented gender in middle management on short- to mid-term basis; takes note of the Agency reply to the discharge standardised questionnaire; considers that having an odd number for both senior manager and middle manager post category doesn’t prevent from the adoption of the charter; encourages the Agency to adopt the charter and actively participate in initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace; 17. Welcomes that the Agency continued its traineeship programme during 2022; notes that in total 7 trainees joined the Agency and 15 trainees participated in the Agency’s traineeship programme; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 18. Notes that the Agency publishes on its website the CVs and declarations of conflicts interest of its management board members; 19. Takes note of the fact that prior to commencing their roles at the Agency, statutory staff, seconded national experts, trainees, and interim workers are required to submit a declaration of interest, which is then reviewed by the appointing authority or director before assignment approval; notes furthermore that staff must regularly update this declaration during employment to address any ad-hoc conflict of interest situations and must proactively inform the Agency of any external activities, professional undertakings during personal leave, gift retention, spousal employment, and potential conflicts through publications or speeches; notes that, upon service termination, statutory staff and trainees are required to disclose their planned future professional engagements to the Agency within a specified timeframe post-employment; 20. Takes note of the fact that the Agency’s Director adopted a Note to manage staff members' conflicts of interest (CoI) during selection and recruitment, requiring to declare any professional/personal relationships with applicants irrespective of whether this relation constitutes a conflict of interest or not; notes furthermore the staff members should also state whether they can or cannot maintain impartiality; notes that once the applicant names are disclosed, selection committee members must submit a CoI declaration in line with the aforementioned note as well as with the guidelines on prevention and management of conflicts of interest concerning staff members involved in s selection, recruitment or reclassification procedures at the Agency; 21. Notes that the management board adopted the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy 2023-2025 that aims at improving the detection, sanctioning and prevention of fraud and counteract any other illegal activities that may affect its financial interest; welcomes that the Agency deployed in production the ethics modules in Sysper, which covers the conflict of interest declaration, gift or hospitality declaration, publication declaration, request for authorisation of outside activity, request for outside activity while on leave on personal grounds, spouse employment declaration; 22. Recalls the importance for the Agency to develop greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work known to the citizens; Other comments 23. Notes that as of February 2022 the Agency started the use of the Commission services Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT), which has further streamlined its public procurement processes and ensures the use of the latest Commission templates and best practices in each step of the process; 24. Acknowledges that in order to increase the cyber security and protection of the digital records in its possession the Agency makes use of two-factor authentication, web application firewalls, automated backups, applied encryption (where applicable/possible) and regular recovery tests of business-critical systems; notes furthermore that additionally, the Agency is using software-based protection for end user devices such as laptops and mobile phones, and the ICT-security services provided by CERT-EU; 25. Welcomes the efforts of the Agency to treat the new legislation laying down measures on cybersecurity at the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union with priority; notes with concern the potential disproportionate burden of the cybersecurity regulation on small size agencies, like the BEREC Office, that might put the compliance at risk; calls the Commission to take this into consideration in next years’ programming cycles; 26. Welcomes the fact that the Agency’s management board has set up the EMAS certification as a target for the next 3 years; is aware that the Agency has started internal preparation for the certification, which includes further updates on the agency’s carbon footprint calculation, participation in the twinning exercise of the greening network of the EU Agencies Network and others; 27. Welcomes with appreciation the Ukrainian national regulatory authority's participation in the Agency's daily operations; applauds the Agency and its members for establishing a collaborative framework to address connectivity challenges and pave the way for harmonizing Ukrainian electronic communications regulations with the European telecoms framework; further appreciates that based on data gathered by the Agency from Union and Ukrainian operators about the applied retail measures a Joint Statement was agreed, which established a stable framework to help people fleeing the war in Ukraine to stay connected with their families and friends back home and maintain access to information; 28. Commends the Agency’s efforts in 2022 to increase public awareness of its mandate and work in Latvia through small-scale communication initiatives, like as for example hosting visit from Riga Stradiņš University students, fostering a partnership that enhances their understanding of EU agencies, particularly in Latvia, taking part in the livestreamed event to celebrate Europe Day in Latvia, organized by the European Commission’s representation in that country and other events; calls on the Agency to keep working on increasing the visibility of the Agency, especially in the host Member State; 29. Welcomes the fact that the local offices of Parliament and the Commission in Riga and the Agency have joined their efforts to work together to establish a joint House of Europe, which will be the “home” of all Union Institutions and the Agency in Latvia; o 30. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Institute in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0092/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/819 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology(4), and in particular Article 23 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0132/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Institute’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2154(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Institute in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0092/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/819 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology(9), and in particular Article 23 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0132/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2154(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (the ‘Institute’) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0132/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the Institute for the financial year 2022 was EUR 406 585 390,99 representing an increase of 12,65 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Institute derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Institute’s annual accounts for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), states that the Court has obtained reasonable assurance that the Institute's annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a current year commitment appropriations implementation rate of 94,03 %, representing a decrease of 3,88 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 98,42 % representing a decrease of 1,06 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes that the amount of the Institute’s final budget is the result of an amendment of EUR 656 930,67 adopted by its governing board (the ‘Board’) due to modifications made to the Institute’s annual work programme 2022; 3. Notes with concern that the Court’s observation regarding the legality and regularity of the Institute’s grants was verified ex post by an independent external auditor, the error rate in 2021being 1,73 % (compared to 0,66 % in 2020), highlights that although the error rate is still below the materiality level of 2 %, the critical risks due to increased budget, mandate and activities under Horizon Europe coupled with an increase in the number of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) may strain the Institute’s ability to supervise and monitor KICs effectively which could result in higher error rates and undetected irregularities in the future; calls on the Institute to take concrete steps to reduce the error rate; 4. Observes from the Court’s report that in 2022 the Institute paid interest on late payments in relation to grants in two cases totalling EUR 32 070; notes with concern that in both cases, the Institute did not adequately monitor the regulatory deadlines, which demonstrates a weakness in the Institute’s payment workflow; takes note that according to the Institute’s reply to the Court’s observation, as of 2023 it has reviewed its grant management processes, trained relevant members of staff and is using the Commission’s grant management IT system (eGrants), thereby significantly reducing the likelihood of the occurrence of a similar error in the future; Performance 5. Notes with satisfaction that the Institute uses a system of key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to operational activities, governance and corporate communications; further notes that the Institute achieved with some delays approximately 95 % of its Work Programme 2022; takes note that under the framework of the New European Innovation Agenda the Institute was tasked with new activities, which were not included in the initial plan and no additional resources were allocated for accomplishing these activities; 6. Welcomes the fact that the Institute continued to increase its impact during 2022, enabling almost 1 670 innovative products and services, training thousands of entrepreneurs and supporting 5 600 start-ups and scale-ups that attracted close to EUR 6 billion in investments; further notes that the Institute concluded its integration into Horizon Europe, having transitioned into a multiannual funding model; 7. Observes that the Institute has progressed in the implementation of the pilot initiative ‘Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education’ launched in 2021, increasing interest and participation of higher education institutions; notes that the Institute has been highlighted as one of the key contributors and actors of the European Innovation Ecosystem, with the launch of its Deep Tech Talent Initiative which aims to skill, re-skill, and upskill at least 1 million talents in the next three years; 8. Welcomes the fact that the Institute supported the people of Ukraine after the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Russia in February 2022, providing assistance to students, entrepreneurs, researchers and higher education institutions and business; further notes that the Institute launched the European Battery Alliance Academy under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe programme, being the first major allocation of funds from another programme to the Institute; Efficiency and gains 9. Notes that the Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training, covering several joint activities and security assessments; reminds that joint activities bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; further notes that the Institute in order to improve its efficiency started implementing its transition from Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe in 2021 and concluded in 2022 in collaboration with the Commission; 10. Observes that the Institute has adopted different process efficiency reviews, having as a result the adjustment of job descriptions, staff objectives and the allocation of tasks and resources, among others; notes that the Institute performed in 2022 a restructuring exercise and adopted a ‘Way of Working’ document among other issues to increase efficiency, for example for the use of email, meetings and remote work; 11. Welcomes that in 2022, new IT tools supporting the Institute’s administrative operations were launched with the ultimate objective of increasing the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation, including the Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT), Q-Sign (electronic signature), and the introduction of various modules of the Human Resource Management information system of the European Commission (SYSPER); invites the institution to find more internal procedures that could be streamlined via new IT tools; 12. Recalls the importance of increasing the digitalisation of the Institute in terms of internal operation and management but also in order to speed up the digitalisation of procedures; stresses the need for the Institute to continue to be proactive in this regard in order to avoid a digital gap between the Union agencies; draws attention, however, to the need to take all the necessary security measures to avoid any risk to the online security of the information processed, insists on the need to step up action against cyberattacks or infiltration attempts particularly those originating from Russia or China; Staff policy 13. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 93 % implemented, with 40 temporary agents appointed out of 45 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (the same number of authorised posts as in 2021); notes that, in addition, 25 contract agents, 10 interim members of staff and one seconded national expert worked for the Institute in 2022; 14. Is concerned about the fact that the continuous understaffing of the Institute, as highlighted by the Court in its annual reports has not been not been matched by additional posts; highlights that the Institute reiterated its request in early 2023 to receive the additional 10 staff positions, which would allow it to deliver on its 2024 work programme; draws attention to the need for the alignment of the Institute’s resources with its mandate expectations; 15. Notes the gender distribution within the Institute’s senior and middle management positions, with 5 out of 8 members of staff being men; is concerned about the gender balance within the Board, with 9 out of 14 members of staff being men; notes the gender distribution within the Institute’s staff overall, with 28 out of 65 members of staff being men; observes that the Institute’s Gender Equality Policy and Action Plan was approved in 2022; recalls the importance of ensuring gender balance and calls on the Institute to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating its members to the Institute’s governing board; 16. Raises concerns about the geographical balance within the Institute’s senior and middle management having only one managerial staff from Central-Eastern Europe; insists that improvements have to be made; asks the Institute to report back on this to the discharge authority; 17. Welcomes the Institute’s initiatives to strengthen the importance of gender balance like Girls Go Circular programme, at school level, and Supernovas, promoting the women entrepreneurship and leadership; notes furthermore that the Institute adopted the EUAN Charter on Diversity & Inclusion in 2023, confirming its commitment to securing equal opportunities at every step of the career and empowering working environment where diversity is regarded as a source of innovation, enrichment, and creativity and where inclusion is promoted by managers and all members of staff; 18. Observes that the Institute had implemented most of the SYSPER modules in 2022 and will be continued in 2023; notes that the Institute has adopted the European Union Agencies Network Charter on Diversity and Inclusion showing its commitment to secure equal opportunities and empower working environment; further notes that the Institute has established several measures to improve their staff’s well-being at work and work-life -balance, covering, inter alia, public transport costs, enrolment of their children in international kindergartens, flexible and hybrid working conditions; 19. Notes that under the training map programme, which was developed to the need of the Institute and its staff to improve the general performance, the Institute continued to offer trainings for its members of staff online, including ethics and integrity, prevention of harassment, data protection, effectiveness in hybrid meetings, IT security awareness, and security training; 20. Welcomes the fact that two traineeship calls were successfully launched in 2022; notes that as a result, a total of 23 young professionals participated in traineeship opportunities at the Institute, either starting or completing their traineeships in 2022; 21. Notes that one former Commissioner and one former Member of the European Parliament, as members of the Board, are receiving honoraria of EUR 2 000 per Board meeting attended from the budget of the Institute; 22. Is concerned that one harassment case was reported in 2022, and an administrative inquiry was opened and is still ongoing; calls on the Institute to report back to the discharge authority on any development in that regard as soon as possible; notes that the Institute has a policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, and that the Institute is part of the interagency task force of confidential counsellors; looking forward to receiving their report and recommendations; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 23. Acknowledges the Institute’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and to ensure the protection of whistle-blowers; notes that the Institute published on its website the declarations of interest and CVs of the members of its Board and management team; notes furthermore that the Institute publishes on its website information on all meetings held by its Board and management team in public events and meetings per month; 24. Notes that the Institute has adopted a policy regarding the prevention and management of conflicts of interest for staff, including procedures for issuance and assessment of annual declarations of interest and procedure regulating the breach of trust of the Institute’s rules on declaration of interest; further notes that the Institute has established a conflict and advisory committee, has provided awareness sessions for its staff on ethics and integrity and is developing a decision on Col templates and administrative procedures; 25. Welcomes the Institute’s efforts regarding the declarations of interest of the members of its governing board, with three different declarations being conducted: the annual declaration of interest, declaration of interest on the evaluation of the KIC’s proposals and declaration of Interest on the KIC’s business plan; notes that conflicts of interest situations were identified regarding some members of the Board with the annual declaration of interest, consequently, they were informed and mitigating measure were adopted; 26. Notes that the Institute is working on the drafting of a new policy for assessing post-employment restrictions and prohibitions for its senior members of staff for taking up certain positions after their term-of-office; observes that the policy will specify those positions that are forbidden to be taken up after the term of office, as well as the criteria for when it will prohibit such moves in the future, with a limitation of two years; welcomes the fact that the Institute will also adopt a corruption policy or decision at the beginning of 2024, which will set up the basis to develop internal anticorruption mechanisms to be implemented; 27. Takes note of the fact that OLAF issued two recommendations following two different investigations, with one out of the two recommendations implemented in the course of 2022, while the remaining recommendation is currently in the process of being implemented; asks the Institute to report back to the discharge authority as a follow up of those recommendations; 28. Recalls the importance of the Institute to develop greater visibility in the media, internet, and social media in order to make its work known to the citizens; Procurement 29. Takes note of the fact that for three audited administrative payments amounting to EUR 337 116, the Institute authorised the budgetary commitments only after the related legal commitments were signed; emphasises that this is not an isolated incident, as the Court has previously observed a similar issue in its 2021 report; recalls that this goes against Article 73(2) of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715(12) (Framework Financial Regulation); observes from the Institute’s reply that will take additional measures to ensure full compliance with that provision, namely dedicated staff information sessions, update of the procedures in place and strengthening of related internal controls; urges the Institute to take immediate action and to implement measures to ensure that all financial transactions are in compliance with the Framework Financial Regulation; Internal control 30. Notes that the Institute concluded the transition of the internal audit capability function to a KIC’s monitoring and supervision function adopted by the Board’s Decision 12/2022 with date effect on 1 April 2022; acknowledges that the internal auditing function is now performed by Commission’s internal audit service (IAS); observes that additionally, the role of the internal control coordinator was strengthened, with tasks including coordinating internal control activities and reporting at the Institute, implementing audit recommendations, coordinating audits, liaising with external auditing bodies, and contributing to financial and operational management in areas such as procurement, contract implementation, payments, and reporting; 31. Notes that the IAS started preparations in 2022 for the 2023-2025 strategic internal audit plan of the Institute; notes furthermore that the IAS commenced an audit, concluded in 2023, on the management of experts in the Institute to assess the effectiveness of the internal control system for expert management processes, including selection, contracting, and payment in the Institute; 32. Points out that an important recommendation issued by IAS from the 2021 human resources management audit, focusing on the appraisal and reclassification exercise, was significantly delayed by 15 months; notes that the risks identified included potential delays and ineffectiveness in the exercise, the possibility of incorrectly justified management decisions leading to challenges in review procedures or before the Court, staff dissatisfaction and demotivation, is concerned about the Joint Reclassification Committee not fulfilling its role, and the overall loss of credibility for the reclassification exercise and review mechanism, leading to members of staff demotivation; calls on the Institute to take proactive measures to address any potential delays and ineffectiveness in the appraisal and reclassification exercise and to report back to the discharge authority on the progress in this matter; 33. Observes that the Institute has increased its interaction with OLAF, having celebrated bilateral meetings and anti-fraud awareness sessions; further notes that the Institute has in place its anti-fraud strategy 2021-2023, adopted on May 2021; 34. Notes that the Institute implemented the risk assessment exercise and recorded in the Institute’s risk register 2022, having identified the following risks: non-implementation of elements of the Annual Work Programme due to insufficient human resources, improper implementation of KIC agreements, delays in the Institute procurement procedures and in the on-boarding to the Commission IT systems, among others; calls on the Institute to report to the discharge authority any development in that regard; 35. Notes from the Court’s report that for a software renewal order the Institute did not carry out an ex ante verification, to confirm whether the contractor had charged the correct price and uplift fee, as set out in the applicable framework contract, notes that this is contrary to the provisions of Article 30 of the Framework Financial Regulation on ex ante controls and creates a risk that the Institute will pay incorrect amounts for the services obtained ; observes that according to the Institute’s reply, it will require a breakdown from the contractor when requesting an offer, which would clearly indicate the price and the mark-up to assess any price-related risk; Other comments 36. Notes that during 2022 the Institute organised events to enhance its visibility across the Member States and the Union and also open days in order to inform about the opportunities offered at the Institute for potential candidates; further notes that the Institute also launched the ‘Deep Tech Talent Initiative’ which is part of the New European Innovation Agenda, and it will help to skill citizens in tech areas for the future; 37. Observes that the Institute has been working to become a climate neutral agency taking the necessary steps towards environment management; notes that the Institute is the Union’s largest innovation ecosystem and a leading instrument under Horizon Europe to tackle climate change and related issues; welcomes the Institute’s actions during 2022 to achieve its environmental objectives: the creation of the Sustainability Committee, becoming a member of the EU Agencies Network Greening Subnetwork and the celebration of EITree, an event where different member of the staff planted trees in an urban area; 38. Notes that the EMAS certification is on the medium or long term agenda of the Institute; o 39. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(13) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for Asylum (before 19 January 2022: European Asylum Support Office) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0102/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing a European Asylum Support Office(4), in particular Article 36 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010(5), and in particular Article 55 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(6), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0106/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of European Union Agency for Asylum (before 19.1.2022 the European Asylum Support Office) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2164(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(7), – having regard to the statement of assurance(8) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0102/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(9), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing a European Asylum Support Office(10), in particular Article 36 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010(11), and in particular Article 55 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(12), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0106/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Asylum, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of European Union Agency for Asylum (before 19.1.2022 the European Asylum Support Office) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2164(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Asylum for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0106/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(13), the final budget of the European Union Agency for Asylum (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 186 842 192, representing an increase of 12,46 % compared to 2021; whereas the budget of the Office derives mainly from the Union budget; B. whereas in June 2022, the Agency signed a Contribution Agreement with the Commission for the implementation of phase III of the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA) “EU regional support to protection-sensitive migration management systems in the Western Balkans, Phase III, Contract 2” (hereinafter the ‘IPA III Western Balkans’) with a total value of EUR 6 million and an implementation period of 47 months; C. whereas in 2022 there was significant increase in the Agency’s budget due to expanded tasks under Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 aiming for the Agency to become a centre of expertise on asylum; D. whereas in the Union there were almost 1 million asylum seekers and about 4 million beneficiaries of temporary protection in 2022; E. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations (CA) of 96,23 %, representing a slight decrease of 0,44 % compared to 2021 (96,67 %); notes that the current year payment appropriations (PA) execution rate was at 89,55 %, representing a decrease of 1,36 % compared to the previous year 2021 (90,91 %); notes with concern a relatively high cancellation rate (15 %) of funds carried over from 2021 to 2022, thus missing the Agency’s annual target rate of less than 10 %; 2. Highlights that in 2022 the Agency’s Management Board (MB) adopted two budgetary amendments (BA); notes in this context that the Agency conducted a mid-year review of its 2022 budget which determined the Agency to ask the Commission for an additional subsidy of EUR 12 million in CAs and EUR 6 million in PAs to address the additional tasks stemming from the humanitarian crisis instigated by the illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine; notes that those amounts were included in the Agency’s first BA adopted in September 2022; regrets however that the Agency’s autumn budget and planning review highlighted unforeseen delays in the implementation of operational plans (OP) relevant to the Ukraine crisis leading to a negative (second) BA adopted by the MB in November 2022, which reduced PAs by EUR 12 million; observes lastly that the Agency’s BAs also reflected Denmark’s voluntary contribution (second instalment of EUR 94 063) for the implementation of the “Roadmap for Cooperation between EASO and Egypt”, and the first pre-financing (of EUR 2 968 129) for the IPA III Western Balkans; 3. Notes the observation from the Court’s report, with regard to the contributions of Schengen associated countries’ (SAC) to the Agency’s budget, that the arrangements concluded between the Union and these countries which serve as a legal basis for calculating those contributions, are unclear and allow divergent interpretations, leading to contributions by each SAC (to the Agency’s budget) equivalent to underpayments of around EUR 0,7 million (7 %) due to the use of a calculation formula which the Court considers flawed because the contribution ratio is multiplied by an amount which reflects only the Union’s budget’s subsidy for the Agency’s activities, while, according to the Court, that amount should also include the share of the SAC; calls on the Commission to address this issue in the coming negotiations with the SAC on new Agreements that will cover SAC’s participation in the work of the Agency, with a view to ensuring more clarity therein; Performance 4. Observes that for 2022 the Agency’s performance was measured against 204 annual targets, of which 48 % were exceeded, 26 % achieved, 10 % nearly achieved, 12 % delayed and 4 % not applicable; 5. Commends the Agency for the significant progress made in 2022 towards the full implementation of the new provisions of Regulation (EU) 2021/2033; notes in particular, from the Agency’s follow-up report for the 2021 discharge (hereinafter the ‘follow-up report’), that the Agency established the Consultative Forum (CF), as well as the Asylum reserve pool which mid-June 2023 already comprised 360 Members States’ approved experts (out of 500 as required by that Regulation), and carried out the process of recruiting its Fundamental Rights Officer who took office in May 2023, as well as consultations with stakeholders with a view to drafting and adopting the Complaints Mechanism; observes with regard to the Monitoring Mechanism that the methodology and programme have been under development with the adoption thereof planned for Q1 2024, followed by a pilot monitoring exercise; 6. Notes with regard to the activity area covering the deployment of liaison officers (LO) to Member States (MS) and third countries, that human resources limitations led the Agency to cluster MS whereby one LO covers up to four MS, as well as to a lack of timeline for the development of LOs to third countries; acknowledges the Agency’s need for additional resources to fully implement the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 in that area and renews its call on the Commission to better reflect the operational needs of the Agency when deciding upon future establishment plans; 7. Acknowledges that in 2022 the Agency faced new tasks and multiple challenges due to the Russian illegal invasion of Ukraine; notes in this context that, upon request of the relevant national authorities, the Agency expanded its operations to six additional MS, leading to operational plans in a total of 14 MS; commends the Agency for also assisting those MS in the implementation of the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD); notes furthermore that the Agency supported a voluntary transfer programme assisting persons fleeing Ukraine to relocate in the Union and apply for temporary protection, delivered trainings on TPD to national administrations, developed country specific communication products (booklets, leaflets and posters) with tailored information on temporary protection, increased production of situational analyses and deployed personnel for the first time to a non-Union country (Moldova); further appreciates the Agency’s strong engagement in the external dimension of Common European Asylum System (CEAS) supporting EU+ countries resettle 2 585 persons through support for 13 selection and 3 pre-departure missions; 8. Highlights, among other achievements for 2022, that the Agency created around 3 000 pages of country of origin (COI) products, addressed more than 1 000 individual medical requests linked to the Agency’s medical COI activities, delivered trainings that reached a record number of, in total, 13 000 participants, and published and/or updated country guidance notes (on Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq); commends the Agency also for assisting Western Balkan countries through the provision of institutional capacity building, training and on-the-job coaching on core asylum procedures in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia; Efficiency and gains 9. Notes that the Agency has been cooperating with several justice and home affairs agencies (e.g. Frontex, eu-LISA, FRA, CEPOL) with regard to situational awareness products, support to meeting operational challenges (including the personnel deployed), learning and exchange of information, as well as training and capacity building, among other; stresses the importance of cooperation for the correct allocation of resources; notes further that, based on a service level agreement, eu-LISA hosts the recovery site for the Agency’s ICT Logical Infrastructure and Communications; encourages the Agency to continue exploring ways for exchanging best practices and opportunities, within the Agency’s new mandate, in order to share resources and further develop synergies with other agencies in areas of mutual interest with a view to improving efficiency; 10. Welcomes the Agency’s measures taken in 2022 to increase efficiency and simplification such as the reduction of procedural steps, the automation of repetitive tasks, and the roll out of an organisational model for the provision of horizontal services that brings administrative expertise closer to the point of use through remote, on-site or hybrid presence, thereby benefitting country operations in areas such as financial initiation of transaction, ICT support, legal support and facility management; commends the Agency’s increased efficiency in assuring security of staff across more country operations using the same resources as in 2021; further notes that the Agency implemented several actions aimed at improving efficiency in the areas of cybersecurity (through e.g. an automated incident response workflow), procurement (through the nomination of focal points for the most frequently purchased goods and services in order to enhance quality and timeliness of procedures and provide support from the early phases of procurement), ICT (by providing users with a single point of reference on the status of their requests) and HR (by opening the first SYSPER modules on identity, organisation, carer, personal data and time management, among other, as well as an HR ticketing system for support services provided to all the Agency’s staff); invites the Agency to fully implement the Commission’s public procurement management tool; notes from the Agency’s consolidated activity report for 2022 (hereinafter the ‘2022 CAAR’) a renewed increase in the share of resources allocated to the Agency’s operational activities corresponding to 79,13 % in 2022 (compared to 72,14 % in 2021 and 68,68 % in 2020); 11. Notes with regret from the Court’s report that the Agency is not among the agencies that have established corporate plans in order to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations, have some form of environmental reporting integrated in their annual activity reports and have received the EMAS registration; highlights, nevertheless, from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions, that in 2022 the Agency launched a first phase in preparation for the design and implementation of an environmental management system and took preparatory actions for the subsequent phases thereof; encourages the Agency to continue engaging in capacity building activities, as well as collaborating with other agencies and Union institutions with a view to speed up the Agency’s EMAS certification process; highlights that the Agency includes environmental aspects in the technical specifications or award criteria e.g. for building contracts, canteen service, cleaning services, among other; calls on the Agency also to consider developing its green public procurement policy; urges the Agency to consider implementing intermediate sustainable and energy-efficient solutions both to its infrastructure and internal processes, such as increased use of digital tools and document management; Staff policy 12. Notes the Agency’s gender distribution with 9 men (69 %) and 4 women (31 %) in its senior and middle management (same distribution as in 2021), with 27 men (48 %) and 29 women (52 %) on its MB (an improved distribution compared to 2021) and with 203 men (39 %) and 316 women (61 %) for staff overall (same distribution as in 2021); recalls the importance to ensure staff gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; observes with appreciation the Agency’s commitment to include in its upcoming HR strategy actions that will prioritise the promotion of gender representation and diversity with the Agency, and promote leadership development programs tailored to aspiring managers; asks the Agency to report to the discharge authority about the implementation of this commitment; 13. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 90 % executed (87 % in 2021), with 333 temporary agents appointed out of 371 temporary agents posts authorised under the Union budget (compared to 366 authorised posts in 2021); welcomes a renewed increase in the Agency’s occupancy rate; regrets an increase in the Agency’s turnover rate from 4,1 % in 2021 to 8,2 % in 2022; notes that, in addition, 184 contract agents (CA) and 10 seconded national experts worked for the Agency in 2022; highlights that in the framework of the war in Ukraine and the implementation of the TPD, the Commission granted the Agency 90 short-term CA posts for a two-year period; observes that in 2022 the Agency published 29 vacancies and issued 138 job offers for temporary and contract agents; 14. Welcomes the Agency’s policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment, the implementation of the Commission’s rules on the conduct of administrative inquiries and disciplinary proceedings and the internal guidance on requests for assistance under Article 24 of the Union’s Staff Regulations (USR); notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that the Agency received three harassment cases in 2022, two of which were rejected since no prima facie evidence of harassment was present and closed without further action, while in the third case, an administrative inquiry was opened; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed of the outcome of that inquiry; notes with satisfaction that, following a recommendation made by the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS), the Agency adopted in April 2023 the guidance on administrative inquiries and disciplinary procedures; stresses the importance of having robust anti-harassment frameworks in place, especially in highly-stressful and demanding work environments; invites the Agency to introduce a training scheme on the matter both for newcomers and existing staff; 15. Notes from the Agency’s follow-up to Parliament’s horizontal observations made in connection with the 2021 discharge procedure, as well as from the Agency’s follow-up report, that in recent years (as from 2019) the Agency has been using the services of an external law firm (specialised in Union civil service law) when dealing with cases of alleged harassment (i.e. requests for assistance under article 24 of the USR); observes in this context that the Agency’s Legal Services Unit performs an assessment to determine whether there is a need to request support or advice from an external law firm and that unit manages the relevant procedure and collaborates with the Agency’s Human Resources Unit in all those cases; 16. Recalls the Court’s finding that in 2020 the Agency had 16 vacant management posts, with 10 of those occupied on an acting basis for more than one year, as well as other issues such as acting managers occupying two posts, in the Agency’s establishment plan; notes with appreciation from the Agency’s follow-up report the subsequent mitigating actions it took in order to comply with Article 7(2) of the USR, first by reducing the number of temporary occupations of management posts exceeding one year to two at the end of 2022, and, as of 2023, discontinuing them altogether, whereas no staff members are on temporary management positions for longer than a year anymore; welcomes the Agency’s commitment to prioritise recruitment of managerial posts; commends the Agency for the progress made in 2022 and 2023 with regard to recruitment procedures for various middle and senior management positions, including that of the Deputy Executive Director, whereas, according to the Agency’s follow-up report, two selection procedures are completed, while nine selection procedures are ongoing or not finalised; observes lastly from the Agency’s website that as at 15 January 2024, the head of the Agency’s Administration Centre is on an ad interim position, while the head of the Agency’s Institutional and Horizontal Affairs Centre on an acting position; notes that the selection procedure for the Head of the Administration Centre is ongoing and is expected to be finalized in Q1 2024; further notes that the selection procedure for the Head of the Institutional and Horizontal Affairs Centre is ongoing and is expected to be finalized in Q1 2024; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed of the outcome of all those procedures; 17. Highlights that the mitigating actions taken by the Agency in order to comply with Article 7(2) of the USR, the fact-finding mission carried out by the IAS in October 2022, the Court’s fieldwork for the audit of the financial year 2022, the Parliament’s relevant observations addressed to the Agency in Parliament’s discharge resolution for 2021, as well as the (ongoing) investigation launched by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) on 24 November 2022 also came up as a result of an anonymous email which contained numerous allegations of, inter alia, staff-related irregularities caused by the Agency’s entire senior management team; calls for full cooperation of the Agency with OLAF in the ongoing investigation; notes from the 2022 CAAR the Court’s conclusions that the calculation of the allowances for the grading of temporary occupation of management posts was legal and regular, while the temporary occupation of posts exceeding one year was non-compliant however without resulting in irregular payments; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority about the progress and stages of the investigation; 18. Is concerned about the internal management and procedures of the Agency given that in 2022 OLAF launched one investigation into the management and staffing policies, allegedly involving nepotism and also an investigation relating to lack of observance of human rights; reiterates its call on the Agency to fully cooperate with the investigative body and timely inform the discharge authority about outcomes and remedial measures; 19. Recalls that in 2018 OLAF concluded another investigation which led to findings linked to e.g. mismanagement of human resources, the resignation of the Agency’s executive director at that time and the adoption by the Agency’s MB of a governance action plan aimed at restoring trust internally and externally, reinforcing the governance structure, and rebuilding internal capacity; observes that the Court, in its Annual Report, closed and deemed as being addressed the observation regarding the high number of management posts which were vacant as well the issues related to the precarity at the level of managerial positions which may have impaired the Agency’s leadership and its strategic continuity; acknowledges that according to Article 41(1)(t) of the EUAA Regulation, the Management Board shall take all decisions on the establishment of the Agency’s internal structures whereas the Commission as a member of the Agency’s Management Board regularly oversees Agency’s reorganisations; observes nevertheless that in spite of the reorganisations performed by the Agency in recent years, issues still appear to exist as the anonymous letter from January 2023 points out; notes the conclusions of the Court for 2022 financial year based on the corrective actions taken by the Agency; calls in this context on the Commission to identify solutions for the performance of an independent assessment of the Agency’s recent reorganisations and expects that the ongoing audit by the IAS on Human Resources Management will provide relevant evaluation regarding the degree to which the Agency’s current organigram and distribution of responsibilities among the Agency’s middle and senior management positions are prone to risks of inefficiencies, mismanagement of human resources, and lack of transparency (including towards the Agency’s MB) among other; 20. Notes with concern that the Agency has not adopted the ‘Charter on Diversity and Inclusion’, nor it has reported on measures taken for the integration of persons with disabilities; reminds that the Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits discrimination on the ground of disability and recognises the right of people with disabilities to benefit from measures to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community; notes however the Agency’s commitment to address those areas through measures that will be implemented once the upcoming HR Strategy will be adopted; further observes that the Agency has taken initiatives and put in place various measures in order to improve its staff’s well-being at work and work-life balance such as targeted training courses, service level agreements with childcare providers and schools, a psychological and social support service, awareness raising campaigns, as well as free-time activities; Procurement 21. Recalls the Court’s observations for the financial years 2017 and 2020 according to which procurement procedures for rented premises in Lesbos and Rome were irregular due to insufficient competition and non-respect of the principle of economy; notes from the Court’s report that all subsequent payments made in connection with those procedures are irregular, including the associated payments amounting to EUR 281 095 which were made in 2022; notes with satisfaction from the Court’s report the corrective actions taken by the Agency, whereby the rental contracts for the premises in Lesbos and Rome have come to an end on 30 April 2023 and 31 July 2023, respectively; notes from the 2022 CAAR that a sustainable solution for the rent in Lesbos is sought in cooperation with the Greek authorities; 22. Notes the observation from the Court’s report that the Agency had purchased IT equipment from a provider’s online catalogue instead of from the pre-approved pricelist included with the financial and technical offers, consequently entailing a purchase price that was 44 % (the equivalent of the amount of EUR 49 224 considered irregular by the Court) more expensive than it would have been if it had been based on the pre-approved pricelist; notes from the Agency’s reply that the decision to purchase those items was determined by the operational needs and urgency as well as limited market availability of IT supplies and adequate controls have been defined to provide reasonable assurance that purchase replacement items from the online catalogue will be limited to the price for the corresponding item as listed in the contractor’s initial bid; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 23. Commends the progress made by the Agency in 2022 in the area of management and prevention of conflicts of interest, and ethical guidance through preparatory work which led to the adoption in January 2023 of one decision applicable to the Agency’s MB members, as well as to the organisations and competent bodies that are members of the Agency’s CF and two decisions applicable to the Agency’s staff; welcomes the appointment of the Agency’s ethics correspondent as well as the Agency’s commitment to include standard texts on conflicts of interest declarations in the invitations to meetings that include external participants; notes with satisfaction that the Agency has developed a guidance on post-employment rules and procedures applicable to staff leaving the Agency; 24. Notes that the declarations of interests and CVs of the members of the MB are published on the Agency’s website, as are the declarations of interest and CVs of the Agency’s management staff ; observes however that CVs of in-house and external experts are not available on the Agency’s website; notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions that in 2022 there were no cases of conflicts of interest or whistleblowing open, closed or ongoing, at the level of the Agency; commends the Agency for maintaining a close dialogue with relevant civil society organisations operating in the field of asylum through the Agency’s CF, the latter having been reconstituted (116 members) in June 2022 with a new set of rules deriving from the Regulation (EU) 2021/2303; Internal control 25. Notes the observation from the Court’s report that that three cases of sub-delegations that required reconfirmation in April 2021 had not been reconfirmed until February 2022, when the situation was rectified, consequently the Agency being in breach of its internal rules which specify that sub-delegations of financial authority are to be renewed as soon as a new authorising officer by delegation has been nominated; 26. Welcomes the progress made by the Agency in addressing the recommendations remained open from previous audits carried out by the IAS and the Court; notes from the 2022 CAAR that some recommendations, in connection with IAS’ audit from 2020 (‘Human Resources Management and Ethics in EASO’) and 2021 (‘IT governance & IT project management’) are still ongoing or significantly delayed; notes further from the Court’s report that three recommendations from past audits carried out by the Court are still open: two recommendations with regard to the rental contracts for the Lesbos and Rome premises which the Agency expects to have them deemed as closed by the Court in 2024 after the last associated (irregular) payments were carried out in 2023 and one recommendation with regard to the establishment by the Agency of effective financial ex-post controls; calls in this context on the Agency to speed up the implementation of the pending corrective actions and keep the discharge authority informed of the progress made in this regard; 27. Notes that the Agency performed a self-assessment of its internal control system (ICSA) for 2022, concluding that overall controls in place are working as intended with 10 principles being fully effective and 7 being effective, whereas some improvements are required at the level of the components ‘Control environment’, ‘Control activities’ and ‘Monitoring activities’; highlights moreover that in 2022, a risk-based strategy for financial ex post controls was implemented based on sampled transactions and procurement operations covering two financial years (2020-2021); observes from the 2022 CAAR that the results of those controls included 44 observations and proposed 122 corrective actions; notes that as part of the ICSA exercise for 2022, during Q1 2023 the Agency performed controls on the state of play of the implementation of those 122 (pre-agreed) corrective actions, of which only 45 corrective actions (40 %) had been timely and adequately implemented by the relevant business owners; calls on the Agency to address all corrective actions remained open and keep the discharge authority informed of the progress made in this regard; observes with appreciation that the Agency transparently presents (Annex IX of the 2022 CAAR) the detail and state of play of the identified deficiencies and agreed corrective actions stemming from various sources (management of exceptions and non-compliance events, internal control monitoring criteria, ICSAs, financial ex ante and ex post controls, audit reports, risk management, etc.); 28. Recalls that the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy for the period of 2020-2022 was adopted in July 2020, establishing 25 priority measures monitored through a series of control activities; notes with appreciation that in 2022, 93 % of the control activities related to the implementation of that strategy were considered as implemented; welcomes the awareness raising efforts of the Agency with regard to anti-fraud related matters, whereas 56,7 % of the Agency’s statutory staff have participated in trainings on fraud prevention and fraud risk identification; notes with satisfaction that the Agency transparently presents (Annex XII of the 2022 CAAR) the detail and status of the control activities with regard to the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy; Other comments 29. Notes that the Agency has implemented different measures to increase its public visibility and online presence by e.g. launching an upgraded website and a new corporate visual identity, upgrading its social media portfolio with a focus on audio-visual formats and welcoming student groups to its premises; 30. Recalls the role of the Agency in providing support for the processing of applications for international protection as well as for the training of caseworkers responsible for processing asylum claims; states the need for the Agency to continue providing support to Member States and third countries in dealing with asylum and migration applications; calls to focus the budget on further staff recruitment if needed to help member states to ensure fair and just examination of the asylum applications for international protection, especially of interpreters and psychologists for applicants that belong to vulnerable groups; o 31. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April(14) 2024 on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0103/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), and amending Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Council Decision 2007/533/JHA and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011(4), and in particular Article 47 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0105/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2165(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0103/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 on the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), and amending Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Council Decision 2007/533/JHA and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011(9), and in particular Article 47 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0105/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2165(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0105/2024), A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11), the final budget of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large‑Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 351 630 151, representing an increase of 62,41 % compared to 2021; whereas the Agency’s budget derives almost exclusively from the Union budget; B. whereas the increase in the budget of the Agency for 2022 is mainly justified by the Agency’s additional tasks related to the management of new large-scale IT systems and the interoperability of IT systems; C. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its report (the ‘Court’s report’) on the annual accounts of the Agency for the financial year 2022 states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Agency’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions as regards revenue are legal and regular in all material aspects; whereas the Court identified a total amount of payments of EUR 17,8 million made in 2022 of which EUR 10,9 million linked to three specific contracts was found to be irregular and EUR 6,8 million was considered not to be compliant with the provisions of the associated framework contracts, representing in total 4,80 % of the payment appropriations available in 2022, thereby exceeding the materiality threshold set for the audit and resulting in a qualified opinion with respect to the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts; whereas, except for those non-compliant payments, the Court concludes that the underlying transactions as regards payments for the year ended 31 December 2022 are legal and regular in all material respects; Budget and financial management 1. Notes that the budget-monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 91,13 % in commitment appropriations, which represents a decrease of 8,87 % compared to 2021;furthermore notes with concern that the payment appropriations execution rate was 86,71 %, representing a decrease of 7,94 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes with concern that according to the Court’s report the Agency carried over EUR 14,4 million (23 %) of available 2022 commitment appropriations to 2023 and that that amount included EUR 13,7 million (or 95 %) of appropriations under Title II, related to administrative expenditure (97 % in 2021); observes the recurrence of carry-overs of appropriations which lead the Court to recall that recurrent high rates of carry-overs contradict the budgetary principle of annuality and are indicative of structural issues in the implementation of the budget or weak budgetary planning; notes the Agency’s reply that in 2022 carry-overs were performed for administrative activities which were necessary or recurrent, providing reassurance with respect to the sound financial management of the underlying operations; notes that according to the Agency's report with regard to the follow-up measures taken in light of the discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for the financial year 2021 (hereinafter the ‘Agency's follow-up report’) the Agency has drawn up an action plan that includes several measures implemented as of 2023 with a view to respect the annuality principle and to reduce the level of carry-overs; notes in this context that the signature in the fourth quarter of 2023 of the new framework contract for the provision of external support services is essential to reach those objectives; expects that the implementation of that action plan will lead to a significant improvement and calls on the Agency to report to the discharge authority on the progress made in that regard; Performance 3. Welcomes the fact that the Agency uses certain tools such as key performance indicators to assess the added value provided by its activities and to improve its budget management; notes that its annual work programme for 2022 included 135 activities, with 90 activities delivered (67 %), 16 ongoing (12 %), 20 ongoing and delayed (15 %), and 9 postponed (7 %); notes the Agency’s new approach whereby its activities are streamlined into portfolios and programmes to reflect the Agency’s operating model and the interdependencies between projects and activities; invites the Agency to identify and report on the improvements achieved as a result of that new approach; 4. Commends the Agency for adopting all statutory corporate programming documents and mandatory corporate reports, in line with regulatory requirements an within legal deadlines, such as the Single Programming Document 2023-2025; notes that the Agency also adopted a strategy implementation roadmap to align its strategic operational objectives and to monitor the implementation of the Agency’s long-term strategy for 2021-2027; notes further the Agency’s efforts to improve its multiannual and annual planning processes through a new tool (Anaplan); notes that the Agency used the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) to analyse its strengths and weaknesses which led to the delivery in April 2022 of a self-assessment report with an action plan to serve the roadmap, detailing the Agency’s priorities for operational development; notes that the Agency applied for the label of ‘Effective CAF user’; 5. Welcomes the Agency's continuing support to the implementation of Union policies in the areas of free movement of people and goods, common travel visa, border control, and immigration and asylum, as well as to the cooperation between national law enforcement and judicial authorities, including with respect to combating organised crime, human smuggling and trafficking, and terrorism; expects a significant contribution of the Agency to the digitalisation of justice in order to improve cooperation between Union’s judicial authorities and providing better access to justice for Union citizens and businesses; 6. Recalls the Agency’s key role in ensuring the stable operation and continuous availability, as well as the evolution and maintenance of the Union's justice and home affairs (JHA) information systems such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) and the European Asylum Dactyloscopy database (Eurodac); recalls that those systems are critical in the areas of border control and law enforcement cooperation, visa insurance and checks, and the examination of asylum applications; notes that in 2022, excluding some incidents that resulted in short-term unavailability and delays, all core business systems complied with their respective service-level agreements, with SIS availability at 99,94 %, VIS availability at 99,69 %, and Eurodac availability at 99,88 %; 7. Commends the entry into operation of the renewed SIS in March 2023 (postponed from November 2022); notes the progress made, however with delays at various levels, with regard to analysis, design, development and testing of the new JHA systems, namely the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and the European Criminal Records Information System on third-country nationals (ECRIS-TCN), as well as with regard to the integration of those systems, including the shared biometric matching service; notes further that 947 carriers (both from inside and outside the Union) and 54 software providers for carriers registered with the Agency or applied for such registration in order to set-up system-to-system connections for EES and ETIAS; commends in this context the organisation of the industry roundtable titled ‘EES, ETIAS and Carriers Getting Ready for the Entry into Operation’ and the carriers registration and awareness campaign meant to increase awareness and boost registration; acknowledges that the VIS is undergoing major changes in line with the revised VIS Regulation; notes in this context that in 2022 the Agency launched two projects, one on the revised VIS and one on VIS interoperability, in order to structure the evolution of the VIS; 8. Notes further the progress made with regard to the new interoperability (IO) architecture that will integrate all the information systems managed by the Agency in order to improve information exchange and collaboration between law enforcement and judicial authorities across the Union; notes in that context that according to the Agency’s 2022 Consolidated Annual Activity Report (CAAR), while the Agency remained committed to delivering those new systems, the hindering effects of the supply chain disruptions, combined with the difficulties of some of the Agency's contractors to abide by the implementation schedules, resulted in delays that necessitated the review and revision of original plan; notes that such delays, in particular regarding the entry into operation of the EES central system, a cornerstone of the interoperability architecture, have had a domino effect on the timeliness and execution of all interconnected projects; notes the measures taken by the Agency to address that issue by endorsing a new strategy for the implementation of the EES, the minimum viable product approach and a new interoperability roadmap, with the full revision of the IO timeline comprised of a number of waves that aim to deliver the components of the interoperability architecture components with intermittent releases every six to nine months up to 2026, as set out in the Agency’s follow-up report; notes that according to the declaration of assurance by the Agency’s executive director the extended timelines for the entry into operation of the EES programme is likely to impact the resources required to complete the development; 9. Notes with satisfaction that the Agency continued to deliver several other closely related statutory objectives, such as training for Member States on the use of JHA information systems and preparing statutory reports on their technical performance, annual statistics and lists of designated authorities; commends in this context that in 2022 the Agency delivered 48 trainings activities that reached over 3 000 participants, upgraded its e-learning platform and finalised its Member States training roadmap and the associated action plan; notes further that the Agency continued to expand its role in the Union’s justice domain by starting preparations for the takeover of the e-CODEX system (a platform facilitating cross-border judicial proceedings through secure transmission of information), published a report on how the digitalisation of international travel will affect travellers headed to the Union, and co-authored a report with European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) on using artificial intelligence solutions to support cross-border cooperation in criminal justice; 10. Notes the Agency’s cooperation with other Union agencies, especially with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on the development of ETIAS, with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) on the implementation of the SIS Recast, EES, ETIAS, and Interoperability Regulations, with Eurojust) on the implementation of ECRIS-TCN and e-CODEX and the Interoperability Regulations and the coordination of activities related to the digitalisation of judicial cooperation, with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) on implementing the Commission Regulation on the 'DubliNet' electronic communications network, with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) on organising joint training courses on the use of JHA systems and with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights on organising joint training courses highlighting the aspect of fundamental rights in the management of JHA information systems; encourages the Agency to continue its cooperation with other Union agencies; Efficiency and gains 11. Notes the measures taken by the Agency to improve its energy efficiency and environmental performance, including with regard to climate neutrality objectives, as set out in the Agency’s follow-up report, CAAR, the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions and the Court’s report; notes in this context that in 2022 the Agency started to gradually implement its own environmental management system (EMS), based on the principles of EMAS and the Commission’s European Green Deal Action Plan, and adopted its environmental policy; notes that the full implementation of the EMS and, consequently, the EMAS registration are foreseen to be achieved by 2024; welcomes the Agency's participation in the greening network of the EU Agencies Network (EUAN) which offers the opportunity to benefit from material from other Union agencies with more experience in EMAS implementation; notes further that the Agency uses green public procurement criteria in business areas such as facility management, hardware projects and IT infrastructure and projects; commends the Agency for reporting on its environmental performance through a key performance indicator that indicates the Agency’s carbon footprint; notes that the baseline for volumetric indicators for water, energy, paper consumption and waste production will be set in 2023 to be used for the calculation and evaluation of such indicators from then on; 12. Notes that according to the Agency's written replies to the Parliament’s horizontal questions the Agency has concluded service level agreements (SLA) with several other Union agencies with respect to providing support in business continuity matters as well as to increase efficiency in other areas of cooperation; notes in this context that the Agency has SLAs with Frontex and EUAA for hosting their disaster recovery sites and an annual SLA with Europol for the organisation of joint Europol and eu-LISA security committee meetings; calls on the Agency to continue its cooperation with other Union agencies so that all available resources can be used; commends the Agency for its cooperation with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) through an SLA that covers support services offered by ENISA on the planning, execution and evaluation of annual cybersecurity exercises; 13. Notes that in February 2022, the Agency adopted a sourcing strategy to clarify and harmonise its human resources (HR) planning in order to optimise the use of resources, in particular to balance the overall composition of the Agency’s human resources (i.e. the ratio of in-house staff to external service providers); notes further that the Agency achieved efficiency gains using existing reserve lists created during previous selection procedures and grouped profiles and longer reserve lists to cover several posts within one recruitment procedure; 14. Commends the Agency for the progress made in 2022 towards the digitalisation of its processes; notes in the area of HR that the Agency implemented new modules of the SYSPER system (the Commission’s integrated information system for HR management), namely the HR reporting module and the ATS module; notes in the area of procurement that in 2022 the Agency started to familiarise itself with the Commission’s Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT) and its requirements in order to meet the onboarding prerequisites which was successfully completed in 2023; notes that the Agency applies the eSubmission module for calls for tender above EUR 15 000; notes further that the physical signature from tenderers has been discontinued since the introduction of that module; calls on the Agency to step up its efforts towards the full implementation of the PPMT; notes lastly that in the area of prevention and management of conflicts of interest the Agency digitalised the submission of the mandatory declarations or requests to implement the relevant rules; Staff policy 15. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 89,3 % implemented, with 192 temporary agents (193 in 2021) appointed out of the 215 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget (compared to 213 authorised posts in 2021); notes that, in addition, 121 contract agents (CA) and 11 seconded national experts (SNEs) worked for the Agency in 2022, out of 167 CA and 11 SNEs authorised; notes that the number of budgeted CA posts increased by 35, from 132 to 167, due to the budget authorisation for the new tasks entrusted to the Agency (revised VIS, ETIAS, and Interoperability); notes that, despite the efforts of the Agency, the staff turnover increased from 5,5 % in 2021 to 7,1 % in 2022 and the occupancy rate dropped at 82 %, lower than the Agency’s target of 94 %, in particular due to the a number of short duration and lower grade posts that the Agency has to offer; 16. Notes with concern the composition of the Agency’s senior and middle management with respect to gender, with 12 men (86 %) and 2 women (14 %), of the management board with 50 men (82 %) and 11 women (18 %), and within the staff overall with 209 men (67 %) and 101 women (33 %); notes that according to the Agency’s follow-up report the Agency continues the efforts towards reaching overall gender balance, focusing on communication and on the recruitment procedures to attract a higher number of female applicants; welcomes the Agency’s participation in 2022 in the online global career fair ‘Women in Tech’; welcomes further the appointment of the new Executive Director, thus reaching gender balance in senior management positions; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to continue its efforts towards gender balance at all levels through concrete actions that attract applications from women for posts offered by the Agency; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency's management board; 17. Commends the Agency for its efforts in the HR area, striving to attract a diverse pool of candidates, to position the Agency as an employer of choice and to maintain talented staff; notes in this context that, in 2022, the Agency represented the EUAN at the virtual career fair for international organisations and intensified its employer branding activities through dedicated campaigns such as testimonials of members of staff in social media; commends the Agency for launching an internal mobility pilot programme, aimed at capitalising on the existing competencies of members of staff and fostering continuous professional growth within the Agency for its staff; notes in this context that the Agency has started developing its competency-based HR management strategy and revising its competency framework which will have an impact on vacancy notices and assessments of candidates; 18. Commends the Agency’s policy for zero-tolerance on harassment; takes note that, in 2022, three administrative inquiries related to harassment were performed and concluded internally, with an additional case taken before the courts; calls on the Agency to proceed swiftly with holding those responsible for misconduct accountable; notes that, as of 2022, the Agency has signed a contract with an external law firm in order to be able to deal promptly with an increasing demand for administrative inquiries, including such inquiries linked to sexual or psychological harassment or to other disciplinary matters; notes that the Agency completed the selection of new confidential counsellors, with five new counsellors selected and trained to support the organisation in promoting further respect and dignity at the workplace and to support members of staff seeking assistance in situations perceived as psychological or sexual harassment; 19. Notes the Agency’s measures to improve its employees’ experience and well-being; notes that a mental health programme for staff and their families was initiated which includes a self-care subscription service, webinars and individual counselling sessions; notes that, upon derogation received in anticipation of a model decision, the Agency did not apply by analogy the Commission’s decision of 24 March 2022 on working time and hybrid working; notes that as of September 2022, the Agency applied a decision by the executive director on interim hybrid working arrangements; further notes that on 16 November 2023 the Agency adopted the model decision with effective date of 1 January 2024; notes lastly, with appreciation, that the Agency has adopted EUAN’s Charter on diversity and inclusion; Procurement 20. Highlights the observations in the Court’s report that led to a qualified opinion due to the irregularity of several payments made in 2022 for a total of EUR 17,8 million in connection with seven specific contracts, representing 4,8 % of the total payment appropriations available in 2022; notes that the irregularity of those payments is mainly linked to deviations from the corresponding framework contracts; notes that according to the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions the irregularities with regard to payments made in 2022 can be grouped under three categories, namely amendment of fixed term contracts (EUR 6,5 million); extension of specific contracts beyond the maximum allowed time period (EUR 3,7 million); and lack of details on requirements in specific contracts (EUR 7,5 million); notes that some of those irregular payments, totalling EUR 10,5 million, relate to three specific contracts based on which payments were also made in 2021 and found irregular by the Court in its annual report on Union agencies for that year; notes that according to the statements made by the executive director of the Agency during her meeting with Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 29 November 2023 (the ‘statements of the executive director”) six of the seven specific contracts identified in the Court’s report have expired without outstanding payments; highlights that this has been a recurring issue for the Agency; notes the measures the Agency has taken to address them as set out in the Agency’s replies to the Court’s observations; calls on the Agency to continue to address that issue fully and report back to the discharge authority on the progress achieved; 21. Notes with grave concern that 2022 was the third year in a row for which the Court issued a qualified opinion regarding the Agency’s procurement and contract management area, with elevated costs borne by the Agency, due to irregularities, delayed and inadequate tender procedures and lack of diligence displayed by the Agency with regard to procurement rules; notes the Agency’s action plan for an in-depth review of its processes in order to identify and remove the root causes of the recurrent observations of the Court in that area as set out in the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions, in the Agency’s follow-up report and in the statements of the executive director; expects therefore a lasting improvement as a result of implementing that action plan, in particular given that six of the seven specific contracts deemed by the Court irregular have expired without outstanding payments; calls on the Agency to periodically report to the discharge authority on the progress achieved in the implementation of the action plan and any corrective actions undertaken; 22. Highlights that according to the Court’s report in 2022, just as in 2021, the Agency made payments based on a specific contract (of an amount of EUR 40 million) that did not properly implement the associated framework contract because it did not specify the details of the services acquired (the quantities and the date of delivery); notes that under that contract the Agency paid EUR 7,5 million in 2022; acknowledges that according to the Agency’s comments included in the note of 13 November 2023 titled ‘2022 Discharge - ECA findings on eu-LISA. Brief note for MEPs’ the root cause of the indeterminate nature of that contract, signed at the end of 2018, was the need to preserve funding for the EES-VIS interoperability, for which the budgetary planning, outside the Agency’s control, shifted significantly from the actual adoption of the relevant legislation; notes that without that contract, the associated amount, necessary to ensure interoperability, would have been lost; notes, as set out in the Agency’s reply to the Court’s observation, the corrective measures that the Agency has taken through an amendment to that contract whereby a more detailed description of services provided was added; notes that the Agency did not extend that contract, which expired in 2022; recalls in this context that delays in the adoption and implementation of relevant legal acts are key factors in determining the level of detail and precision that the Agency is able to offer when initially establishing framework contracts; notes the view set out in the Agency’s follow-up report that the shortening of the preparation period for the implementing acts would have a direct impact on the Agency’s capacity to better plan its procurement and limit contractual changes; 23. Notes with concern that according to the Court’s report the Agency used a negotiated procedure to award a contract, without prior publication of a contract notice; notes that the Agency justified this decision on grounds of extreme urgency against the advice of the Agency’s procurement and legal services; notes the reasons of the Court as to why the use of that procedure was not justified; notes nevertheless the Agency’s reply that a risk of maintenance gap of several months would have materialised because the timelines for implementing the EES programme formally changed at a later stage and the overall time necessary for the contract award and for transition to a new contractor was estimated to be of at least eight months; considers in this context that the Agency’s approach was a sensible one; notes that according to the Agency’s reply the awarded contract has meanwhile expired; 24. Notes further two observations regarding the Agency’s management and control systems contained in the Court’s report; notes the first observation with regard to the acquisition of hardware (EUR 27,7 million) for which the price lists of the hardware vendors were not obtained and ex ante checks were not performed; notes the second observation with regard to the procurement of a transversal operations framework contract with an estimated value of EUR 490 million that for six meetings of the evaluation committee no records were kept and only the final report was signed; calls on the Agency to improve its internal control systems to avoid such shortcomings in the future; 25. Notes that the Agency has eight observations from the Court’s reports from previous years (2017, 2018 and 2021) with the status ‘open’; urges the Agency to close those observations without delay and inform the discharge authority of the progress made in this regard; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 26. Notes that the Agency has implemented decisions on the prevention and management of conflicts of interest for its staff and on the outside activities during and after service of the Agency; welcomes that all members of staff have to submit declarations of interest once in two years, with the exception of members of staff involved in financial circuits and staff in senior management positions who have to submit such declarations annually; notes further that all Agency’s staff has the obligation to also submit such declarations at any time when the situation changes; notes that the Agency publishes on its website the declarations of interest and the CVs of the staff in senior management positions; welcomes that as of 2022, both declarations of interest and CVs of the management board members and their alternates are published; 27. Welcomes that in March 2022, the Agency adopted the revised guidelines on whistleblowing; notes the Agency’s statement that in 2022 it increased the clarity and visibility of the separate communication channels available to the staff, such as confidential counsellors or for whistleblowing; welcomes further the adoption of the guidelines on public access to documents; welcomes the entering into force as of September 2022 of the Agency’s decision 09/08/2022 establishing a transparency register whereby meetings between the Agency’s senior management and economic operators are published on the Agency’s website; Internal control 28. Acknowledges the importance of external audits on data protection compliance to ensure a high level of protection in connection with the Agency’s processing of personal data; notes that, in 2022, the Agency continuously followed up on implementing recommendations identified in the audits conducted by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) of SIS, VIS and Eurodac; notes that, in 2022, a new EPDS inspection was carried out of Eurodac, VIS and SIS II which focused on the overall IT security governance, security incidents and data breaches, and methodology and practices for the secure development and testing of the systems, focusing on access control management in the different environments; notes that according to the Agency's follow-up report the status of the 2018 EDPS audit on VIS and SIS is ‘completed’ as all 43 recommendations have been completed, while the status of the 2019 EDPS audit on Eurodac is ‘partially implemented’ with 23 out of 29 recommendations completed; 29. Welcomes the Agency’s annual self-assessment of its internal control system in 2022 resulting in 81 % of the Agency’s internal control monitoring criteria being achieved or partially achieved; notes that the conclusion of that assessment is that the internal control system is present, functioning and effective, although some improvements are needed with regard to e.g. enforcement of accountability, ex ante controls and contract management; notes that a major deficiency on principle 10 ‘Selects and develops control activities’ under the component ‘Control activities’ persists for a third year in a row; notes that, in 2022, the Agency continued to strengthen its controls on information management with the revision of the Agency's document long-term preservation policy and document preservation procedures, and with the adoption of Guidelines on Public Access to Documents; calls on the Agency to continue its efforts to reduce weaknesses in the area of control activities in order to mitigate risks related to the achievement of policies and operational and internal control objectives; 30. Notes that at the end of 2022 the implementation rate of audit recommendations from various audit and investigative bodies was 63 % with 20 recommendations implemented out of 32 recommendations due (12 recommendations were past the due date); notes that in total 33 recommendations were open at the end of 2022 out of which three were critical; calls on the Agency to implement the outstanding recommendations and to report to the discharge authority about the progress made; 31. Notes that, in 2022, the Agency requested the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to assess two cases of alleged fraud in recruitment procedures and one case of the possible existence of fraudulent activities on the part of a member of staff; notes that, in response to all three requests, OLAF decided not to open an investigation case; notes that, in 2022, the Agency addressed recommendations from OLAF investigations related to cases OC/2020/0441/A2 and OC/2017/1121/A2; welcomes the adoption of the Agency’s anti-fraud strategy for 2022-2024 together with an action plan that comprises 12 actions; Other 32. Notes that in 2022 the Agency was focused on ensuring the visibility of the Agency’s achievements and increasing public awareness of its role in serving the interests of the Union citizens and delivering IT services to its stakeholders; commends in this context the Agency for the completion of its new online portal ‘Discover eu-LISA 2.0’ which provides stakeholders with an updated overview on the Agency's core tasks and business areas and for the publication of a special booklet to commemorate its 10th anniversary, with the latter being marked by the organisation, in cooperation with the Czech Presidency, of the Agency’s conference '10 Years as The Digital Heart of Schengen', hosting 20 speakers and 388 participants; commends the Agency for having received in 2022 the Forbes Social Award for its innovative and inspirational initiatives in the field of public communication, standing out for its strong ethical vocation and its use of innovative communication strategies, techniques and tools; notes the improvement of the Agency’s social media metrics in 2022; 33. Notes that, in 2022, the Agency adopted a large number of security and business continuity plans for its core business systems in order to guarantee a higher level of cybersecurity and resilience as required by the legal instruments and organised a cybersecurity exercise to verify the effectiveness of the security measures implemented for the protection of the central SIS; notes that the Agency substantially increased the level of monitoring of the corporate IT systems connected to the internet due to the increased cyber threat level derived from the Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine; 34. Notes the continuing provision of hosting services for the backup systems of Frontex and the EUAA; notes the development and implementation of the ‘data-centre-as-a-service’ for centralising the operational management, monitoring and capacity planning of the IT infrastructure used by JHA systems; welcomes the progress made on the preparations for the future modular data centre which will provide additional buffer capacity and 50 % capacity increase for hosting new JHA systems; recalls the importance of compliance with Union law, notably in terms of data protection; o 35. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Discharge 2022: European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0116/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Decision 2007/198/Euratom of 27 March 2007 establishing the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy and conferring advantages upon it(4), and in particular Article 5 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0090/2024), 1. Grants the Director of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Director of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2178(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0116/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Council Decision 2007/198/Euratom of 27 March 2007 establishing the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy and conferring advantages upon it(9), and in particular Article 5 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0090/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy), the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2178(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0090/2024), A. whereas the European Joint Undertaking for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the Development for Fusion for Energy (the ‘Joint Undertaking’) was established in April 2007 for a period of 35 years by Decision 2007/198/Euratom(11) of 27 March 2007; B. whereas the members of the Joint Undertaking are the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), represented by the Commission, the member states of Euratom(12), and third countries which have concluded a cooperation agreement with Euratom in the field of controlled nuclear fusion; C. whereas the objectives of the Joint Undertaking are to provide the Union’s contribution to the ITER international fusion energy project, to implement the broader approach agreement between Euratom and Japan, and to prepare for the construction of a demonstration fusion reactor and related facilities(13); D. whereas the ITER project involves seven global partners, namely the Union, represented by Euratom, the United States, Russia, Japan, China, South Korea and India, with the Union taking the lead with a share of 45,4% of the construction costs and other partners involved 9,1% each; which will change in the operational fusion testing phase, with the Union providing 34% of the operating costs(14); E. whereas the Commission’s current estimate regarding the total Euratom budget needed for Joint Undertaking to finance the European part of the implementation of the ITER project and the associated activities up to 2035, amounts to EUR 15 billion (in current values); whereas the ITER host state (France) and the Euratom Member States are to contribute an additional EUR 3,2 billion (in current values)(15); F. Whereas the UK and Switzerland are no longer associated with the Joint Undertaking’s ITER activities or with the members of Joint Undertaking(16); G. whereas, to increase transparency, the Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the Joint Undertaking should continue to improve transparency; General 1. Notes that the report of the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) on the Joint Undertaking’s annual accounts (the ‘Court’s report’) finds the annual accounts for the financial year of 2022 to present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Joint Undertaking at 31 December 2022 and the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in net assets for the financial year 2022, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes, in addition, the fact that the underlying transactions to the accounts for the financial year 2022 are, in all material respects, legal and regular; 2. Underlines that the Court draws attention to the fact that the Joint Undertaking disclosed in the 2022 annual accounts its estimate of the total cost for completing its delivery obligations for the ITER project (estimate at completion), assessed at EUR 19,1 billion (in 2022 values), consisting of the total payments made up to the end of 2022, amounting to EUR 9,2 billion and the estimate of the future payments, assessed at EUR 9,9 billion (in 2022 values); 3. Notes, however, that the 2022 estimate at completion is still based on 2016 milestone and cost assumptions and that these estimates will be subject to significant revision, once the new ITER project baseline and requirements are finalised, approved by the ITER Council, and formally communicated to the Joint Undertaking; 4. Acknowledges that, during 2022, the Joint Undertaking experienced strong inflationary effects, initially due to COVID-19 induced supply chain issues and then (after February 2022) due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; is worried that the estimated impact of these on the Joint Undertaking’s total estimate at completion amounts to EUR 144 million (2008 values) per the latest assessment; notes in addition that this estimate at completion increase is expected to materialise as additional expenditure in the years 2023-2026; notes, moreover, that this inflationary effect is clear in raw material prices, both in existing contracts and tenders received in 2022, and is likely to continue in the future depending on the developing international situation; 5. Notes with concern that Russia is a member of the ITER-IO, with the obligations to deliver several components for the ITER project to the ITER assembly site in France (Cadarache) and to provide annual contributions to the ITER-IO; stresses that this situation presents a high risk of delays and higher costs for the ITER project; insists on the need to develop solutions in order to mitigate these risks appropriately; considers that any decision taken should safeguard Union's strategic interests and policy priorities; 6. Is aware that, in November 2022, the 31st ITER Council(17) agreed on a baseline update and in its 32nd meeting of 21-22 June 2023(18) it commissioned the ITER director-general to present a proposal for the updated ITER baseline for review and approval in 2024; 7. Notes with concern that the risk to budget management was categorised as medium for the Joint Undertaking because of new risks of further delays and cost increases to the ITER project, related to the planned new baseline, delivery problems due to the sanctions on Russia, and delays of the French Nuclear Safety Authority(19) in approving design changes occurring during the assembly process; Budgetary and financial management 8. Welcomes that the Union budget for the 2014-2020 period was fully implemented in commitments at the end of 2020; notes, moreover, that the payment plan for the outstanding commitments is aligned with the delivery plan: EUR 232,2 million for 2022 and EUR 150 million for 2023 and the other remaining payments will materialise in the following years(20); 9. Notes that for the Multiannual Financial Framework period 2021-2027, the European Council has agreed a budget for the Euratom contribution to ITER amounting to a total value of EUR 5 614 million (in current values) of which EUR 5 560 million (in current values) of direct contribution to the project; notes, in addition, that the ITER Host State and Membership contributions will be added to this figure, subject to the final decision by the relevant budgetary authorities; 10. Notes that the Joint Undertaking’s governing board (GB) originally adopted the Joint Undertaking’s 2022 budget for EUR 854,49 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 845,45 million in payment appropriations and that it was modified in two amendments in the GB meetings of July and December 2022; 11. Notes that the final available appropriations, including the carry-over from the previous year amount to EUR 981,18 million in commitment appropriations (compared to EUR 1 069,9 million in 2021) and EUR 844,02 million in payment appropriations (compared to EUR 764,8 million in 2021); 12. Notes that the execution rate of the Joint Undertaking’s final available budget stood at 72 % in commitments and 91 % in payments (compared to 99,7 % and 97,4 % respectively in 2021); notes that, the low implementation rates resulted from the slowdown of operational activities at the level of both the ITER-IO and the Joint Undertaking, mainly due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and recent technical design issues concerning the current assembly phase of the ITER project; 13. Notes, moreover, that the Joint Undertaking reduced the operational payments budget by EUR 92 million by means of an amended budget, and in addition, transferred EUR 9,5 million from its operational payments budget to the administrative budget (salaries), to finance the Joint Undertaking’s pension fund obligations to the Commission; 14. Underlines that the Court considered that there are weaknesses in the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s administrative budget, due to the fact that this budget is set up as non-dissociated appropriations; notes that, as a result, administrative commitments based on administrative contracts and obligations for which payments that have not been made at the year end, may be carried over for payment to the following year; 15. Notes with concern that, at the end of 2022, for Title 2 - Infrastructure and Operating Expenditure, the implementation rate was 63 % when considering the new 2022 administrative payment budget only, and 69 % when also considering the unused administrative payment budget of previous years reactivated in 2022 for implementation, and the cancellation rate of commitment carried over from the previous year was high with an average of 20 %; Staff and recruitment 16. Notes that, from 31 December 2022, the occupied staff posts at the Joint Undertaking included 46 officials, 224 temporary agents and 164 contract agents; notes, in addition, that the Joint Undertaking relied on the support of 12,5 interim staff (in FTE) and three seconded national experts; 17. Notes, in addition, that 11 newcomers (six temporary agents and four contract agents and one seconded national expert) took up duties in 2022 and that four members of staff (all contract agents) became temporary agents on the basis of selection procedures; 18. Notes that the Joint Undertaking has slightly improved the gender imbalance; notes from the consolidated annual activity report, as regards gender balance, that around 38 % were female and 62 % male in the Joint Undertaking’s workforce; suggests that the Joint Undertaking continues to improve gender imbalance and strives for a balanced geographical balance in this respect; 19. Underlines that the Court considered that the Joint Undertaking’s senior management situation has remained unstable and in a significant state of transition at the end of 2022 with the departure of the director in June 2022, and the appointment of the head of the broader approach department as ITER-IO director-general in September 2022, resulting in personnel changes for four of the Joint Undertaking’s seven senior management positions; 20. Echoes the Court’s concern that this situation presents a risk to the Joint Undertaking’s sound management and continuity, at a time when experienced senior management staff will be required to implement the new ITER baselines, which have a significant impact on Joint Undertaking’s activities; 21. Notes with concern the letter(21) addressed by trade unions in the beginning of 2022 to the Commission describing management and human resources issues and alerting the Commission of the risks of the situation for the proper functioning of the Joint Undertaking, the wellbeing of its staff and the reputation of the Union in the ITER project; Prevention of fraud and conflict of interest 22. Notes, from the Consolidated Annual Activity Report 2022, that the implementation of the actions in the anti-fraud action plan has been systematically followed up using a dedicated database (RAPID) which documents further progress as regards the implementation of anti-fraud actions in 2022; 23. Notes, with satisfaction, that throughout the year, the anti-fraud and ethics officer provided information and support on fraud prevention matters to staff involved in procurement, contracts management, finance, and human resources management and that anti-fraud awareness-raising events were organised for the Joint Undertaking’s staff and management, including training sessions for newcomers; notes that the implementation status was reported at audit committee meetings, and, in addition, the Joint Undertaking’s internal network of fraud correspondents was kept informed individually and in the context of the regular Assurance Network meetings; 24. Notes with appreciation that rules, procedures, processes, and best practices related to ethics and conflict of interest prevention and management were communicated to staff, notably through the Joint Undertaking’s manual on its intranet; 25. Welcomes the fact that, from 2022 on, all of the Joint Undertaking’s staff have been obliged to issue a General Declaration of Interest every year; the issuing and assessment of the declarations is now managed through a newly created digitalised Joint Undertaking’s conflict of interest register, improving follow-up and traceability, and thereby the prevention and management of its conflicts of interest; Management and control systems 26. Notes with concern that the Court considers that the Joint Undertaking’s contract management has weaknesses that have seriously affected the achievement of contract’s objectives and – if not addressed - may also affect other operational activities of Joint Undertaking, considering the significant amendments to ongoing complex contracts that may be required, resulting from the updated baseline of the ITER project; 27. Notes, in particular, that the contract signed in 2013 amounting to EUR 500 million for the design, equipment, and installation of the ITER nuclear and non-nuclear buildings; in December 2020, Joint Undertaking and ITER-IO, reacting to concerns and dissatisfaction with the contractor’s progress and efficiency related to the work still outstanding on the non-nuclear buildings, assessed with the help of external legal experts, the potential consequences of alternative procurement strategies such as the retendering of equipment services or transfer of the remaining work to other contractors; notes that in February 2021, the contractor submitted a cost claim totalling EUR 150 million for nuclear design and equipment services, followed in September 2021 by another cost claim of EUR 30 million for the remaining work on the non-nuclear buildings; based on legal experts’ risk analysis and feedback, the Joint Undertaking’s director settled with the contractor only the first cost claim for an amount of EUR 75 million, and the contractor opened a dispute for the unsettled second cost claim; 28. Points out that, according to the Court, the analysis of the documentation on the contract’s implementation revealed weaknesses in the Joint Undertaking’s management of this contract, in particular, the Court underlined the Joint Undertaking’s inability to notify material non-compliance in the contractor’s programming, leading to different interpretations and disagreement between the parties about the scope of the work, timelines and project requirements; moreover, the legal experts concluded that, because of the way the relevant clauses were worded, the Joint Undertaking could not terminate the contract with a view to executing the de-scoped work itself or arranging for it to be executed by other contractors; regrets that due to the absence of project records, the Joint Undertaking could not clearly establish the contractor’s liabilities; 29. Observes that, the consolidated annual activity report 2022, states that the Joint Undertaking continues to implement a recognised, mature and well-functioning internal control system; notes, however, that Joint Undertaking recognises that the changes in the top management (director and senior managers) that are taking place since mid-2022 have a direct impact on the implementation of some of the actions as well as on the Joint Undertaking’s organisational culture, and that the visibility of full implementation of initiatives may take some time; 30. Acknowledges that, in applying the principle of prudence, two deficiencies in relation to the external service providers (human resources, competence and continuity) and workload and wellbeing of staff have been classified as major by the Joint Undertaking; 31. Notes, in addition, that the Joint Undertaking’s senior management is continuously monitoring the actions launched in those areas identified as having major deficiencies and consider that Joint Undertaking has significantly mitigated the related risks and has formulated concrete action plans to address outstanding concerns, hence justifying the removal of the 2021 reservation in 2022; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 32. Notes that “observations” in the Joint Undertakings specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that the Court follows up on those observations annually by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 33. Notes that from the five observations issued by the Court on 2019 and 2021 only two are closed; 34. Notes that the open observation for 2019 is on the excessive use of contracted or insourced resources (around 62 % in 2019), which presents significant risks for the Joint Undertaking, concerning the retention of key competences, unclear accountability, possible judicial disputes, and lower staff efficiency due to decentralised management; 35. Notes that, in 2022, the Joint Undertaking created a working group to assess the high use of external resources with the objective to better plan and justify their need; 36. Notes that, for 2021, the open observations refer to (i) the lack of evidence of efficiency and of positive impact on the system of the regular annual assessments by external experts and intensive internal audits covering most of the Joint Undertaking’s critical areas of its activities; which resulted in an increase of the administrative burden and (ii) the deterioration of the working environment at the Joint Undertaking(22) and the disproportionate use of external staff resources, increasing challenges and risks for the working environment; 37. Notes that, in 2022, following two recommendations from the 10th annual assessment report(23) on human resources management, the GB approved an action plan for their implementation.
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| Discharge 2022: Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0119/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0094/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2181(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0119/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0094/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2181(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0094/2024), A. whereas the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research 3 (SESAR 3) Joint Undertaking (‘Joint Undertaking’), located in Brussels, was set up in November 2021 under the Horizon Europe programme for the period ending on 31 December 2031(11); notes that the SESAR 3 JU replaced and succeeded the SESAR JU that was set up in February 2007 under the Seventh Research Framework Programme for a period of eight years(12) (SESAR 1) and extended in June 2014 to continue to operate under the Horizon 2020 programme for a period until 31 December 2024(13); B. whereas Joint Undertaking is a public-private partnership for the development of modernised air traffic management (ATM) in Europe and to accelerate through research and innovation the delivery of the Digital European Sky; whereas its founding members are the Union, represented by the Commission, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), and more than 50 organisations covering the entire aviation value chain, from airports, airspace users of all categories, air navigation service providers, drone operators and service providers, the manufacturing industry and scientific community; C. whereas, to increase transparency, the Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the Joint Undertaking should continue to improve transparency; General 1. Notes, from the Consolidated annual activity report(14), that the Digital European Sky programme commenced in 2022 with the approval of the multiannual work programme and the first biannual work programme, and the launch of the first two calls within the framework of Horizon Europe for (1) exploratory and industrial research and (2) fast-track to innovation and market uptake; notes that of the 127 project proposals received, 48 have been selected, representing a total investment of EUR 350 million; 2. Welcomes the contribution of the Joint Undertaking to react to the illegal and unjustified Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as some traffic flows were affected, necessitating the adaptation of air traffic control (ATC) operations of the Joint Undertaking, which led to an increased need for air traffic controller (ATCO); 3. Notes, that in 2022, the Joint Undertaking made progress in completing the research and innovation (R & I) activities of the SESAR 2020 programme while enabling the new SESAR 3 JU partnership to become fully functional and the Digital European Sky R & I programme to get up and running; 4. Notes, furthermore, that the activities developed are an important contribution to the European Commission’s strategic priorities and initiatives, namely the single European sky, the European Green Deal and a Europe fit for the digital age; Budgetary and financial management 5. Welcomes the contribution of the Joint Undertaking to react to the illegal and unjustified Russian war of aggression against Ukraine as some traffic flows were affected, requiring the reworking of ATC operations, which led to an increased need for ATCO; 6. Notes that, for 2022, the available budget(15) was EUR 146,9 million in payment appropriations (EUR 69,9 million in 2021) and EUR 158,8 million in commitment appropriations (EUR 34,8 million in 2021); 7. Notes that the changes in the size of the Joint Undertaking’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes; notes that, in 2022, the Joint Undertaking started with the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme, therefore, the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the first Horizon Europe calls planned for 2022, and the payment budget for the related pre-financing payments; 8. Notes that the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking adopted the 2022 budget in December 2021 and that this decision approved some transitional elements related to the annual work programme, budget, staff establishment plan and procurement plan of the Joint Undertaking for 2021 and 2022; notes that the 2022 budget was amended twice in October 2022, and with the third amendment, in December 2022(16); 9. Notes, from the Court of Auditor’s (the ‘Court’) report, that, in the Joint Undertaking’s 2022 annual accounts, the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (Union, private members, and Eurocontrol) differ significantly from each other; notes that this is because Union cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the Joint Undertaking at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; 10. Notes that the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions on the one hand and in-kind contributions on the other hand, should be addressed by providing information on the Joint Undertaking members’ legal commitments at year end, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts; 11. Notes, as regards the implementation of Horizon 2020, that, at the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking had fully committed the maximum EU operational contribution of EUR 555,8 million for signed grant agreements and contracts under the programme and that of this committed amount, around EUR 65,7 million (or 11,8 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects and contracts yet to be completed; notes, in addition, that the private members had legally committed to provide their entire in-kind contributions of EUR 280 million, defined as target in the industry membership agreement and that of this amount, industry members reported EUR 278,5 million (or 99,5 %) at the end of 2022; notes, moreover, that Eurocontrol had fully committed the target of EUR 467 million of operational contributions, defined in the bilateral agreement and that of this amount, it reported EUR 313,6 million (or 67 % of the target) at the end of 2022; 12. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 activities, the Joint Undertaking received no new operational commitment appropriations, as the Joint Undertaking had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2020; notes that the Joint Undertaking’s implementation rate for its 2022 operational budget was significantly lower than in previous years (54% in 2022 - 93% in 2021), owing to the rising costs and delivery problems faced by beneficiaries in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and the war of aggression against Ukraine; notes, therefore, that the duration of most Horizon 2020 projects had to be prolonged and final payments postponed to 2023; 13. Notes, that the Horizon Europe appropriations for 2022 were fully implemented for the first two calls launched in April 2022; notes that the Commission made a cash contribution of EUR 83,5 million for the implementation of these projects in 2022; notes, however, that as the evaluation phase was not finalised by the end of the year, the cash contributions could only be used in the first half of 2023, when the grant agreements are signed, and the related pre-financing payments can be made; 14. Welcomes the fact that the Joint Undertaking continued to manage 71 projects in exploratory, industrial and validation research, with 300 different beneficiaries, of which nearly 20 % are SMEs, 17 % are higher education institutions and 9 % are research organisations; recalls that the Joint Undertaking creates new opportunities for SMEs; 15. Notes that in 2022, the Joint Undertaking continued to strengthen its partnership with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), aiming to foster cooperation with it as part of the service-level agreement (SLA), and to task EASA with providing services within the area of ATM or air navigation services, including the implementation of the Single European Sky; stresses the importance of the further development of the Single European Sky; 16. Notes the 2022 surplus of EUR 107,2 million, attributed to the late adoption of the Single Basic Act; 17. Stresses the importance of the Joint Undertaking in achieving the Digital European Sky, resulting in 48 selected projects, including the launch of five Digital Sky Demonstrators, with a total investment of EUR 350 million; welcomes the close dialogue since 2011 between the Joint Undertaking and the European Defence Agency (EDA) on military matters and inputs into the Digital European Sky programme; notes that the EDA now serves as the main interface between the Digital European Sky programme on the one hand, and military aviation and ATM on the other, and is responsible for coordinating military views with regard to the Single European Sky and SESAR; Management and control systems 18. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure, the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s DG RTD performed the ex-post audits; notes that for Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments), the Joint Undertaking reported a representative error rate of 2,4 % and a residual error rate of 1,8 %(17); notes that for the Horizon Europe programme, ex-post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 19. Notes that to assess the operational payments controls of the Joint Undertaking, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(18); notes, furthermore, that the Court did not find serious quantifiable errors at the Joint Undertaking beneficiaries sampled; notes, nevertheless, that for one case the Court reported a systemic issue resulting from ineligible costs declared by the beneficiary for non-mandatory certificates of financial statement, related to interim financial statements; 20. Notes that the Court considered that half of the Joint Undertakings, including SESAR 3, lacked a structured risk-based approach to ex-ante controls for Horizon 2020 grants; 21. Reminds that, pursuant to Article 21 of the Joint Undertakings’ financial rules, the purpose of ex-ante controls is to prevent errors and irregularities before the authorisation of operations and to mitigate risks of non-achievement of objectives; 22. Notes, in this regard, that for SESAR, based on the review of internal documentation, and interviews with Joint Undertaking’s staff, the Court found that at the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking’s risk monitoring approach only considered beneficiaries that had been ex-post audited, mainly top beneficiaries; notes, moreover, that potentially risky beneficiaries that had never been ex-post audited and newcomers were therefore excluded from the risk assessment; 23. Notes, in addition, that the Joint Undertaking did not assess risk at project level; 24. Calls on the Joint Undertaking to enhance its risk monitoring approach to ex-ante controls to identify potentially risky beneficiaries currently not included in the population (such as beneficiaries that had never been ex-post audited and newcomers) and risky projects; 25. Calls on the Joint Undertaking to address weaknesses in the use of the reinforced monitoring tool(19); reminds in this regard that the tool it is designed to help in targeting ex-ante controls on the most important risks assessed for a project or beneficiaries, allowing officer at any moment during the project implementation, to record identified important risks and trace the respective monitoring and risk mitigating action; 26. Notes that for an effective and efficient use of the tool, officers should define a relevant and achievable deadline (due date) for the targeted completion of the reinforced monitoring action; notes, however, that, for the Joint Undertaking, upon expiry of the defined due date, the reinforced monitoring flag was neither renewed nor closed and that, additionally, the risk level was not reassessed by the officer after the implementation of the control actions; 27. Agrees with the Court that the Joint Undertaking should ensure that all reinforced monitoring actions are accompanied by specific control actions targeting the identified risks, and that they are followed-up at a pre-defined deadline; 28. Notes that, in line with the Court’s assessment, the importance for Joint Undertakings to implement their specific risk-based approach to grant management has increased under Horizon Europe; 29. Highlights that the beneficiary or project structure of the Joint Undertaking is changing significantly under the Horizon Europe programme, such as the increased number of SMEs, newcomers and larger consortia, as well as the requirement to only use open call procedures for Horizon Europe activities and, as a result, the risk factors identified in previous programmes may no longer be relevant and new risk factors may emerge; 30. Agrees with the Court that these changes highlight the importance for the Joint Undertaking to implement or adapt their specific risk-based approach to grant management; 31. Welcomes the Joint Undertaking's commitment to address the new risk factors stemming from the Horizon Europe framework and adaptation of its new risk-based approach to ex-ante controls as well as putting in place new risk-based tools for assessing risks at project level and for newcomers; invites the Joint Undertaking to provide information on these activities in its 2023 annual activity report; Procurement and staff 32. Notes that due to its ramp-up activities, the Joint Undertaking focused on the management of its existing contracts covered by operational appropriations and on selecting the providers of specific programme management services and, as a consequence, the Joint Undertaking decided to move the indicative dates of some operational procurements to the first quarter of 2023; 33. Notes that the Joint Undertaking’s approved 2022 staff establishment plan allows for 37 temporary agents, one contract agent and two seconded national experts, as set out in the annual general budget of the European Union for the European Commission; 34. Notes that the effective allocation of staff remained a priority for the Joint Undertaking during 2022 and that efforts were focused on the professional and career development of its staff, in addition to ensuring that allocated staff were used in the most economic, efficient and effective way; 35. Notes that the vacancy rate at the end of 2022 was 8,1 %; notes from the Consolidated Annual Activity Report, that as the Joint Undertaking’s staff establishment plan has only 37 temporary agent positions, each temporary staff departure increases the relevant vacancy rate by 2,7 %; 36. Notes that the implementation of the Sysper Job information system module began during 2022; notes from the Consolidated Annual Activity Report, that the Joint Undertaking will complete Sysper human resources management System in 2023; 37. Notes that, regarding gender and geographical balance, the Joint Undertaking remained committed to ensuring that its overall balance remains stable, notes that at the end of 2022, 59 % of the 37 staff were female and 41 % were male, with 15 nationalities represented; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 38. Notes that “observations” in the Joint Undertakings specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that the Court follows-up on those observations annually by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 39. Welcomes that the Joint Undertaking has taken corrective action in response to the Court’s observation issued in 2021.
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| Discharge 2022: Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0111/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0087/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2173(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0111/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0087/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2173(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0087/2024), A. whereas the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (the ‘Joint Undertaking’), located in Brussels, was set up in November 2021 by Regulation (EU) 2021/2085(11) (the ‘Single Basic Act’) under the Horizon Europe programme for the period ending on 31 December 2031; whereas the Joint Undertaking replaced and succeeded the Joint Undertaking for the implementation of the Joint Technology Initiative in Aeronautics, that was set up in December 2007 under the Seventh Research Framework Programme for a period of ten years(12) (Clean Sky 1) and extended in May 2014 under the Horizon 2020 programme for a period until 31 December 2024(13) (Clean Sky 2); B. whereas the Joint Undertaking is a public-private partnership focusing on research and innovation for transforming aviation towards a sustainable and climate neutral future; C. whereas the founding members of the Joint Undertaking are the Union, represented by the Commission, and the organisations from the aviation sector listed in the Annex I of the Single Basic Act; whereas, in addition, the Joint Undertaking has associated members selected by calls for expression of interest; D. whereas, to increase transparency, the Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas, the Joint Undertaking should continue to improve transparency; Budgetary and financial management 1. Notes that, according to the report of the Courts of Auditors (the ‘Court’s report’) the annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the financial year that ended on 31 December 2022 present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Joint Undertaking at 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes that the underlying transactions to the accounts are legal and regular in all material respects; 2. Commends the launch of the Clean Aviation programme (the ‘CA programme’) in 2022 and the role of the Joint Undertaking in developing innovative technologies to reduce aircraft emissions and noise; 3. Notes that the Joint Undertaking’s final available budget for 2022 (including re-entered unused appropriations of previous years, assigned revenues, and reallocations to the next year) comprised commitment appropriations of EUR 411,2 million (compared to EUR 182,6 million in 2021) and payment appropriations of EUR 415,3 million (compared to EUR 189,9 million in 2021); 4. Notes that the changes in the size of the Joint Undertaking’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes; notes that, in 2022, the Joint Undertaking started with the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme, therefore, the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the first Horizon Europe calls planned for 2022, and the payment budget for the related pre-financing payments; 5. Notes that in its 2022 annual accounts, the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (Union and private members) differ significantly from each other; notes that this is because Union cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the Joint Undertaking at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; calls on the Joint Undertaking to address the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions on the one hand and in-kind contributions on the other hand by providing information on the Joint Undertaking members’ legal commitments at year end; welcomes the commitment of the Joint Undertaking to address the issue fully in the next year's annual accounts; 6. Notes, regarding the Horizon 2020 programme, that, at the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking had fully committed EUR 1 716 million of the maximum Union operational contribution for signed grant agreements under the programme and that of this committed amount, around EUR 70,1 million (or 4,1 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects yet to be completed; notes, as well, that the private members had legally committed to provide in-kind contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s operational activities of EUR 968,3 million, and in-kind contributions to additional activities of EUR 1 223,1 million or 101,6 % of the minimum target of EUR 2 154,9 million; notes, furthermore, that these committed amounts were fully reported at the end of 2022; 7. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 activities, the Joint Undertaking received no new operational commitment appropriations, as the Joint Undertaking had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2020; notes that the implementation rate for the operational payment appropriations was 78 % (compared to 2021: 83 %); 8. Notes that for a considerable number of ongoing Horizon 2020 projects, the technical activities were delayed or reduced due to COVID-19 and the war of aggression against Ukraine, and that, therefore, these projects had to be amended or prolonged and final payments postponed to 2023; 9. Notes, as regards Horizon Europe, that, in 2022, the Commission made cash contributions of EUR 178 million and that the Joint Undertaking almost fully used the operational contribution of EUR 176 million for pre-financing payments related to the first grant agreements concluded under that programme; 10. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the implementation rate for the Joint Undertaking’s administrative payment budget (Title 2) was low at 54 %; notes that, according to the Joint Undertaking’s report on budgetary and financial management, this was mainly due to IT and communication services provided during the last quarter of 2022 and to be paid in 2023, and reduced costs for the services provided by the Commission; Procurement and staff 11. Notes, from the Joint Undertaking’s 2022 Consolidated Annual Activity Report, that in 2022, the Joint Undertaking published two open tender procedures of which the first one was launched to cover its own needs and the second one was launched on behalf of six Joint Undertakings as an inter-institutional call for tenders (Managed IT Services); notes in addition, that, at the beginning of 2022, the Joint Undertaking awarded and signed eleven inter-institutional framework service contracts in communication, which were a result of the inter-institutional open tender procedure launched on behalf of three Joint Undertakings in 2021; 12. Welcomes the first open call for proposals by the Joint Undertaking, resulting in 19 grant agreements by year-end, totalling EUR 654 million around three core thrusts: Hybrid Electric Regional aircraft, Hydrogen-powered aircraft and Ultra-Efficient Short and Medium Range aircraft; the call for proposals comprised 14 topics covering 13 Innovation Actions and one Coordination Support Action; in total 244 participants were selected across 24 different countries; 13. Welcomes the 20 projects to steer aviation towards a sustainable future; notes that the call for proposals has brought together a wide array of public and private partners, research centres and academia to find impactful solutions that can deliver sustainable aircraft and, climate-neutral aviation future, supported by a budget of EUR 654 million in Union grant funding; 14. Notes that the Joint Undertaking’s establishment plan for 2022 contained a total of 44 statutory staff (temporary agents, contract agents and seconded national experts) with 40 posts filled at the end of the 2022; notes that the two seconded national expert posts were not filled in because the establishment plan for 2023 foresees only 41 posts and no seconded national experts; Management and control systems 15. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure, the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) performed the ex-post audits; notes that for Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments), the Joint Undertaking reported a representative error rate of 1,6 % and a residual error rate of 0,4 %(14) and that for the Horizon Europe programme, ex-post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 16. Notes that to assess the operational payment controls of the Joint Undertaking, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(15); notes that, for one case, the Court found and quantified a serious error resulting from overclaimed personnel cost because the beneficiary submitted a cost declaration based on budgeted staff costs; 17. Welcomes that, at the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking had developed and implemented a complete risk-based approach to ex-ante controls in line with the guidance of the Common Implementation Centre of the Commission’s DG RTD, considering the risk circumstances specific for the Joint Undertaking; notes, to this end, that the Joint Undertaking identified the most relevant risk criteria and designed, based on them, a risk-based monitoring approach; notes that such an approach allowed the Joint Undertaking to assess the risk level of each project and beneficiary during the main phases of project implementation, such as grant agreement preparation, grant agreement amendment, reporting, and payment; notes, in this regard, that the Joint Undertaking also drew up internal guidelines on their risk-based approach and trained and guided its staff on applying it properly and consistently; 18. Notes that the Court’s detailed analysis of a sample of the Joint Undertaking’s reinforced monitoring cases revealed several weaknesses, which prevented their effective and efficient monitoring; notes that upon expiry of the defined due date, the reinforced monitoring flag was neither renewed nor closed and that the risk level was not reassessed by the officer after the implementation of the control actions; 19. Agrees with the Court that the Joint Undertaking should ensure that all reinforced monitoring actions are accompanied by specific control actions targeting the identified risks, and that they are followed-up at a pre-defined deadline; 20. Stresses, as does the Court, that the importance for the Joint Undertaking to implement their specific risk-based approach to grant management has increased under Horizon Europe; 21. Underlines that the beneficiary and/or project structure of the Joint Undertaking is changing significantly under the Horizon Europe programme, such as the increased number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), newcomers and larger consortia, as well as the requirement to only use open call procedures for Horizon Europe activities and that, as a result, the risk factors identified in previous programmes may no longer be relevant and new risk factors may emerge; 22. Welcomes that in September 2022, Clean Aviation became a founding member of the Alliance for Zero-Emission Aviation (AZEA), which brings together public and private stakeholders from across the aeronautical sector to support the roll-out of hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft; 23. Notes the CS2 programme’s transition to the delivery phase and acknowledges the increased workload in 2022 due to simultaneous management of several CS2 projects alongside the launch of the CA programme; 24. Notes an independent study revealing a EUR 8,6 billion estimated socio-economic benefit for Europe from Clean Sky 2 Programme; further highlights the study’s findings that the Clean Aviation programme’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda is both “resilient” and “fit for purpose”; points out that this would apply even in a wide range of possible economic scenarios, potential developments and structural changes to the aviation system; 25. Calls to expand and foster integration of climate-neutral aviation research and innovation value chains, including academia, research organisations, industry and SMEs, exploiting synergies with national and European programmes, while facilitating the uptake of industry-related skills across the value chain; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 26. Notes that “observations” in the Joint Undertakings specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that the Court of Auditors annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 27. Notes that out of the three Court’s observations (one in 2020 and two on 2022), two are closed: notes that the open observation refers to the use of interim staff, which the Joint Undertaking justifies with the limitations of the fixed staff establishment plan and the workload caused by the parallel implementation of the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes.
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| Discharge 2022: Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0112/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Regional Development and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0088/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2174(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0112/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0088/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2174(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Regional Development and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0088/2024), A. whereas the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (the ‘CBE JU’), located in Brussels, was set up in November 2021 under the Horizon Europe programme for the period ending on 31 December 2031(11); whereas the CBE JU replaced and succeeded the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (the ‘BBI Joint Undertaking’) that was set up in May 2014 under the Horizon 2020 programme for a period until 31 December 2024(12); B. whereas the CBE JU is a public-private partnership focusing on research and innovation for a sustainable and competitive circular bio-based industries sector; whereas its founding members are the Union, represented by the Commission, and industrial partners represented by the Bio-based Industries Consortium; C. whereas, to increase transparency, the CBE JU should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the CBE JU should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the relevant programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the CBE JU should continue to improve transparency; General 1. Notes that, according to the report of the Court of Auditor’s (the ‘Court’) on the annual accounts of the CBE JU for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’)(13), the annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the CBE JU on 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes, furthermore, from the Court’s report that the underlying transactions to the accounts are, in all material respects, legal and regular; 2. Welcomes the CBE JU s role in advancing competitive circular bio-based industries in the Union; 3. Notes that the changes in the size of the CBE JU’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes, which it is implementing; 4. Notes that, in 2022, the CBE JU started with the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme and, as a consequence, the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the first Horizon Europe calls planned for 2021 and 2022; Budgetary and financial management 5. Notes, from the CBE JU’s Consolidated Annual Activity Report 2022(14), that the total available budget for 2022 was EUR 264,2 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 80,3 million in payment appropriations(15); notes, as regards budget implementation/execution, that, for commitment appropriations, it was EUR 125 million (47 % execution)(16) and for payment appropriations EUR 52 million (65 % execution)(17); 6. Notes, that the Governing Board adopted the 2022 budget for the CBE JU in two stages - on 16 December 2021, the budget for the BBI JU legacy part was voted for a total of EUR 6 million in commitment appropriations (CA) and EUR 85,6 million in payment appropriations (PA)(18); 7. Notes, moreover, that no grants were signed under the mandate of the CBE JU and that 142 grants were signed under the mandate of BBI JU for a total value of EUR 822 million; 8. Notes that, on 31 May 2022, with a budgetary amendment to add the 2022 (fresh) budget for the CBE JU, comprising EUR 254,9 million in CA and EUR 1,7 million in PA; notes that the amendment also included a reduction of EUR 11,2 million to the BBI JU operational PA reactivations, deemed at that stage to be surplus to needs (so total CA budget amendment was -EUR 9,6 million (minus); 9. Notes that, on 28 November 2022, another amendment to the budget provided an extra EUR 1 million PA for the CBE JU expert evaluators under Title 3(19), and in order to reflect at accounting level the approach taken by the European Commission for the treatment of PA for expert evaluators in the calls; 10. Notes that the original BBI JU budget included a relatively large surplus of unused budget from prior years (2019, 2020 and 2021): on the administrative side, EUR 1,1 million in CA and EUR 1,6 million in PA and on the operational side EUR 40 million in PA; 11. Notes that these reactivated appropriations were consumed in line with CBE JU Financial Rules Article 6(5), and reached 69 % consumption on the admin CA side, 88 % on the admin PA side and 100 % on the operational PA side by year end; notes that the main reason for the lower execution in the administrative budget is that a large amount of appropriations were kept available on the Title 2(20) communications budget lines until the very end of the year, in view of committing the contract for the Stakeholder Forum event taking place in 2023; 12. Notes, however, that, according to the CBE JU, it was not possible to manage this, and the contract was eventually signed in mid-January 2023 and the appropriations reactivated in the budgets of 2023 and 2024; 13. Notes that, at the end of 2022, there was a total surplus of BBI JU unused appropriations of EUR 1,1 million in administrative CA and EUR 1,5 million in administrative PA and that in operational PA there was EUR 25,2 million; 14. Notes that on the CBE JU side there were no significant reactivated appropriations as no budget had been requested for prior 2021; notes, however, that a budget originally foreseen for the CBE JU on the side of the Commission (including a 2021 call which never took place) had been committed by DG RTD, the CBE JU had to assume in its 2022 administrative and operational budget the foreseen CBE JU CA and PA for both years 2021 and 2022; 15. Notes, moreover, that, on the administrative side, the execution of the BBI JU legacy budget will be prioritised until end of 2024, as almost none of the CBE JU admin budget was executed in 2022; notes that this reduces the overall budget execution, but for this exercise the implementation rates of the BBI JU - only admin budget will also be given for a realistic comparison; 16. Notes, from the Court’s report, that in the JU’s 2022 annual accounts, the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (the Union and private members) differ significantly from each other; understands that this is because Union cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the CBE JU at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; 17. Calls on the CBE JU to address the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions on the one hand and in-kind contributions on the other hand by providing information on the JU members’ legal commitments at year end, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts; welcomes the commitment of the CBE JU to address the issue in the following year's annual accounts; 18. Notes that the validated private members’ in-kind contributions for operational activities remained low at EUR 65,9 million because the CBE JU only certifies the contributions when the final payments for the Horizon 2020 projects are made, and the certificates of financial statement are due; 19. Notes with concern that for Horizon 2020 private members will not achieve their indicative contribution target for operational activities at the end of the programme implementation; 20. Notes the risks in relation to programme implementation for the CBE JU in the event that private members will not achieve the minimum contributions targets by the end of the Horizon 2020 programme; 21. Notes that, regarding the CBE JU’s achievements for the Horizon 2020, the CBE JU, at the end of 2022, had fully committed the maximum Union operational contribution of EUR 815,8 million for signed grant agreements under Horizon 2020 programme; notes, in addition, that, of this committed amount, around EUR 94 million (or 11,5 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects yet to be completed; 22. Notes, furthermore, at the end of 2022, the private members had legally committed to provide in-kind and financial contributions to the CBE JU’s operational activities of EUR 258,4 million or 54 % of the indicative target of EUR 475,3 million set in the JU’s adopted annual working programmes; notes that, of this committed amount, the CBE JU reported EUR 154,7 million (or 32,5 % of the target) at the end of 2022; 23. Notes, moreover, that, in 2022, the JU had to cancel around EUR 8,2 million of signed projects due to the unforeseen termination of a Horizon 2020 flagship project and suspension of several other projects and, as all Horizon 2020 calls were closed at the end of 2020, the CBE JU will not achieve the indicative target for private members’ contributions to the JU’s operational activities by the end of the programme period; 24. Welcomes the fact that the CBE JU stated that it achieved the operational objectives for its Horizon 2020 calls; notes, nevertheless that the Court considers that this significant reduction in private members’ contributions presents a risk to the overall achievement of the CBE JU’s Horizon 2020 programme; 25. Notes that to ensure the achievement of the private members’ overall contribution target of EUR 2 730 million set in the CBE JU’s Founding Regulation by the end of the programme period, the JU revised upwards to EUR 2 235,5 million, its target for private members’ in-kind contribution to additional activities; notes that at the end of 2022, the private members reported total in-kind contributions to additional activities of EUR 1 797,9 million or 73,8 % of the new target, but for EUR 658 million or 37 % of the reported amount, the certification process was not concluded; 26. Welcomes the fact that in order to mitigate the CBE JU’s risk of not achieving the new target for in-kind contributions to additional activities by the end of the programme, the Bio-based Industries Consortium proposed to the CBE JU’s Governing Board in November 2022, to approve further private members’ investment of EUR 416 million for additional activities in 2023; 27. Notes with concern that the Court considers that the implementation of the 2022 budget payments for Horizon 2020 activities worsened; acknowledges that this was due to the fact that beneficiaries faced rising costs and delivery problems; 28. Notes that for Horizon 2020 activities, the CBE JU received no new operational commitment appropriations, as the CBE JU had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2020; notes that the implementation rate for the operational payment appropriations fell to 65 % (2021: 85 %), which, according to the CBE JU, was due to the rising costs and delivery problems faced by beneficiaries arising from the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, therefore, the duration of most Horizon 2020 projects had to be prolonged and final payments postponed to 2023; 29. Agrees with the Court that the CBE JU should establish a time-scheduled action plan for finalising the implementation of projects approved under previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks (MFFs); 30. Agrees with the Court that to ensure the achievement of their private members’ contribution targets for the 2021- 2027 MFF, the CBE JU should, based on a strategic programme implementation plan, monitor the private members’ individual contribution achievements on an annual basis; 31. Notes that, in 2022, the JU implemented only 47 % of its commitment budget for projects under the first significant Horizon Europe call of EUR 120 million, it had launched earlier in the year; 32. Notes that, in 2022, the Commission and private members made cash contributions of EUR 0,8 million each to the administrative costs of the CBE JU; notes that the CBE JU did not request cash contributions for its Horizon Europe activities, as it only expected to finish the first Horizon Europe call it had launched early in 2022, in the first half of 2023; 33. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the implementation rate regarding the CBE JU’s salary payment budget (Title 1) was low at 55 % and that, according to the CBE JU, this was due to the delayed start of employment contracts of staff newly recruited in 2022; Procurement and staff 34. Notes that, in 2022, the CBE JU continued exploiting as much as possible the existing framework contracts at the level of the European Commission; notes that when these contracts were not available to the CBE JU or they had expired, it was necessary to launch specific tender procedures, most of them for low-value contracts(21); 35. Notes that the CBE JU also signed specific contracts under the framework contract jointly managed with the other JUs namely for common IT services; notes, in addition, that throughout 2022, the CBE JU used Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in force with the Commission; 36. Notes from the Consolidated Annual Activity Report that 2022 was a transition year from BBI JU to the CBE JU; notes that, by the end of 2022, the CBE JU Programme Office comprised 26 members of staff (compared to 22 in 2021), almost reaching its full staff establishment plan(22) under its new mandate; welcomes the fact that eight new colleagues have joined under the new mandate of the CBE JU; 37. Notes that, in 2022, the CBE JU confirmed gender balance in management positions with 50 % female representation; 38. Notes that the CBE JU staff managed an increasing number of ongoing projects for multiple MFF programmes simultaneously; draws attention to the fact that such a trend must not weaken the effectiveness of the CBE JU’s internal controls and their management of these funds and delay the implementation of the new programmes; Management and control systems 39. Notes from the Court’s observations on the management and control systems that for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure that the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s DG RTD is responsible for the ex post audits; 40. Notes that for Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments), the JU reported a representative error rate of 1,9 % and a residual error rate of 1,2 %; 41. Notes that for the Horizon Europe programme, ex post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 42. Notes that to assess the operational payment controls of the CBE JU, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(23); notes that, for one case, the Court found and quantified a serious error resulting from over claimed personnel cost because the beneficiary changed the calculation method for the hourly rate within the financial year and included ineligible pension costs and bonuses in the costs declared; 43. Appreciates that the CBE JU developed a risk-based approach to ex post audit with the aim to reduce its error rate by better targeted sample to detect the most error-prone beneficiaries and thus, strengthening the cleaning effect of their ex post audits; this is an important positive change in ex post audit approach as the Commission internal control framework for Horizon Europe grants does not allow for establishing CBE JU specific representative samples and consequently, to calculate specific representative and residual error rates for joint undertakings; 44. Notes that the Court found that joint undertakings with a well-developed risk-based ex post audit approach have a residual error rate below the average of the joint undertakings without such an approach due to the systematic identification and audit of the riskiest beneficiaries; Follow-up of previous year’s observations 45. Notes that “observations” in the CBE JU specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that ECA annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 46. Notes that the Court issued 3 observations (2020/2021) of which 2 remain open - relating to the contributions of the CBE JU’s industry and private members; 47. Notes that the CBE JU acknowledges the low level of private members’ in-kind contributions to its operational activities and that it considers that this situation can be partly explained by the openness of the CBE JU’s calls, where also non-members of BIC(24) may apply for BBI grants without any obligation to support the CBE JU initiative with in-kind contributions; understands that the number of successful applicants from BIC decreased to its minimum for the last three calls, causing a significant decrease in in-kind contributions.
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| Discharge 2022: Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0300/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0093/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2179(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0300/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0093/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2179(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0093/2024), A. whereas the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU), located in Brussels, was set up in November 2021 under the Horizon Europe programme for the period ending on 31 December 2031(11); whereas the IHI JU replaced and succeeded the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking, which was set up in December 2007 under the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7) for a period of ten years(12) (IMI 1) and extended in May 2014 under the Horizon 2020 programme for a period until 31 December 2024(13) (IMI 2); B. whereas the IHI JU is a public-private partnership focusing on interdisciplinary, sustainable, and patient-centric health research and innovation; whereas its founding members are the Union, represented by the Commission, and the European industry associations COCIR, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, including Vaccines Europe, EuropaBio, and MedTech Europe; C. whereas, to increase transparency, the Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the Joint Undertaking should continue to improve transparency; Budgetary and financial management 1. Notes that, according to the report of the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’s report’), the accounts of the IHI JU for the year ended in 31 December 2022 present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the IHI JU at 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in its net assets for the year that ended, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; highlights, moreover, the fact that, according to the Court’s report, the transactions underlying the accounts are legal and regular in all material respects; 2. Welcomes the role of the IHI JU in transforming health research and innovation into tangible benefits for Union citizens; 3. Notes that the IHI JU available budget for 2022(14) was EUR 272,4 million in commitment appropriations (EUR 11,0 million in 2021) and EUR 174,8 million in payment appropriations (EUR 210,4 in 2021); 4. Notes that the budget execution of the commitment appropriations and the payment appropriations reached 96,60 % (75,91 % in 2021) and 86,25 % (95,39 % in 2021) respectively; 5. Notes that the changes in the size of the IHI JU’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes; notes that in 2022 the IHI JU began the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme, and, therefore, the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the first Horizon Europe calls planned for 2022; 6. Notes that in the IHI JU 2022 annual accounts the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (Union and private members) differ significantly from each other; notes that this is because Union cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the IHI JU at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; calls on the IHI JU to further address the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions on the one hand and in-kind contributions on the other hand, by providing information on the IHI JU members’ legal commitments at year end, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts; 7. Notes that the IHI JU has not yet completed the implementation of the FP7(15) programme; 8. Notes, in this regard, that at the end of 2022, the IHI JU had fully committed the maximum Union operational contributions of EUR 966 million for signed grant agreements under the programme; notes, ten years after the end of the FP7 programme, around EUR 44,9 million (or 5 %) still remains to be paid for projects yet to be completed; notes that this gap corresponds to 5 projects carrying out research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR); notes, furthermore, that 2 of those projects completed their activities by the end of 2022; acknowledges that AMR is a challenging field of research and appreciates the scientific and societal value of funding the development of novel approaches to fight antibiotic resistance; 9. Notes, moreover, that the private members had legally committed to provide in-kind contributions of EUR 914,2 million or 94,6 % of the minimum operational target of EUR 966 million and that, of that committed amount, they reported EUR 831,9 million (or 86 % of the target) at the end of 2022; 10. Notes, as regards Horizon 2020, that Members’ legal commitments are at the level of their contribution targets; 11. Notes, in this regard, that at the end of 2022, the IHI JU had committed EUR 1 452,1 million (or 91 %) of the maximum Union operational contribution of EUR 1 595,4 million for signed grant agreements under the Horizon 2020 programme; notes, in addition, that of that committed amount, around EUR 484,8 million (or 33,4 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects yet to be completed; notes, furthermore, that private members and associated partners had legally committed to provide in-kind contributions of EUR 1 499,4 million (or 94 %) of the minimum target of EUR 1 595,4 million and that, of that committed amount, they reported EUR 1 078,9 million (or 67,6% of the target) at the end of 2022; 12. Notes that, according to the IHI JU, the lower achievement rates are partly explained by the long project duration required by the nature of the IHI JU-specific research area and the large scale of global consortia implementing projects; 13. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 activities, the IHI JU received no new operational commitment appropriations, as it had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2020; notes that the implementation rate for the operational payment appropriations was at the level of 87 % (96 % in 2021); 14. Agrees with the Court that the IHI JU should establish a time-scheduled action plan for finalising the implementation of projects approved under previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks; 15. Notes, as regards implementation of the Horizon Europe programme that, in 2022, the Commission only made cash contributions of EUR 1,4 million to the administrative costs of the IHI JU; notes that the IHI JU did not request cash contributions for its Horizon Europe activities, as the two first calls launched in 2022 under Horizon Europe will only be finished in 2023; 16. Notes, from the 2022 Corporate Annual Activity Report, that the IHI JU has performed well against the majority of the IMI2 key performance indicators (KPIs), often exceeding the established targets; welcomes, in particular, the fact that the IHI JU’s projects funded under IMI2 have completed 24 regulatory procedures, including two regulatory letters of support, ten regulatory qualified opinions, two submissions for a qualification opinion and the inclusion in six regulatory guidelines; 17. Notes with satisfaction that a share of 58,3 % (above the 50 % target) of the IHI JU’s projects funded under IMI2 have made their resources and outputs accessible beyond the consortia partners; highlights examples such as the library of chemical compounds, the European Compound Collection, established by the ESCulab project, the open source RADAR-base data platform developed by RADAR-CNS, the European federated data network, established by the EHDEN project, or the self-sustaining pluripotent stem cells biobank delivered by EBiSC2; 18. Welcomes the fact that about 67 % of papers produced by the projects funded by the Joint Undertaking have co-authors from different sectors, demonstrating the cross-disciplinary nature of the research and the collaborative approach of its projects; Procurement and staff 19. Notes that the majority of IHI JU’s contractual commitments in 2022 were concluded on the basis of existing multiannual framework contracts (FWCs); notes, in addition, that, in terms of volume, the FWCs used most were in the field of IT, human resources, and audit services; welcomes the fact that several of the framework contracts in question are interinstitutional, thus minimising the administrative burden and ensuring economies of scale; 20. Notes from the Consolidated annual activity report 2022(16) that IHI JU launched two tender procedures(17) in 2022 outside existing FWCs, with a value exceeding EUR 15 000; 21. Welcomes the fact that all procedures were administered in compliance with the IHI JU Financial Rules and the Financial Regulation to ensure fair competition amongst economic operators, and the most sound and efficient use of IHI JU funds; 22. Notes that the staff establishment plan (SEP) allows for 39 temporary agents, 15 contract agents and 1 seconded national expert (SNE), in total 55 members of staff; notes that, on 31 December 2022, there were 49 positions occupied: 36 out of 39 temporary agents (92,30 %), 11 out of 15 contract agents (73,30 %) and 0 out of 1 seconded national experts (0 %); 23. Notes, as regards gender balance and geographical balance, that around 65 % of staff are women and around 35 % are male, coming from 15 different nationalities in IHI JU in 31 December 2022; Management and control systems 24. Notes that, for FP7 expenditure, the IHI JU performed ex-post audits, whilst for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure, the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s DG RTD was responsible for the ex-post audits; 25. Notes that the IHI JU reported a representative error rate of 2,1 % and a residual error rate of 0,8 % for its FP7 expenditure, and a representative error rate of 2,7% and a residual error rate of 0,9 % for its Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments)(18); 26. Notes that, for the Horizon Europe programme, ex-post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 27. Notes that to assess the operational payment controls of the IHI JU, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(19); notes that the Court found no errors or control weaknesses regarding the IHI JU beneficiaries sampled; 28. Welcomes the fact that, at the end of 2022, IHI JU had developed and implemented a complete risk-based approach to ex-ante controls in line with the Common Implementation Centre (CIC) guidance, considering the IHI JU-specific risk circumstances; notes, to this end, that the IHI JU identified the most relevant risk criteria and designed, based on them, a risk-based monitoring approach; notes that such an approach allowed the IHI JU to assess the risk level of each project and beneficiary during the main phases of project implementation, such as grant agreement preparation, grant agreement amendment, reporting, and payment; 29. Notes, in this respect, that the IHI JU also drew up internal guidelines on its risk-based approach and trained and guided its staff on applying it properly and consistently; 30. Notes with satisfaction that IHI JU developed a risk-based approach to ex-post audits with the aim of reducing its error rate by using better targeted samples to detect the most error-prone beneficiaries, thus, strengthening the cleaning effect of its ex-post audits. This is an important positive change in the ex-post audit approach as the Commission internal control framework for Horizon Europe grants does not allow for joint undertaking specific representative samples to be established and, consequently, specific representative and residual error rates cannot be calculated for joint undertakings; 31. Notes that the Court found that joint undertakings with a well-developed risk-based ex-post audit approach have a residual error rate below the average of the joint undertakings without such an approach due to the systematic identification and audit of the riskiest beneficiaries; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 32. Notes that “observations” in the IHI JU’s specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that ECA annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 33. Welcomes the fact that the IHI JU has taken corrective action to address the 2021 Court’s observation related to part of the employer’s contributions to the Union pension scheme.
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| Discharge 2022: Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0113/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0089/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director ad interim of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director ad interim of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2175(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0113/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0089/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director ad interim of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2175(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0089/2024), A. whereas the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (the ‘Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’), located in Brussels, was set up for the period ending on 31 December 2031 in November 2021 under the Horizon Europe programme by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085(11); whereas the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking replaced and succeeded the Joint Technology Initiative on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (the ‘FCH Joint Undertaking’) that was set up for the period up to 31 December 2017 in May 2008 under the Seventh Research Framework Programme by Council Regulation (EC) No 521/2008(12) and extended in May 2014 under the Horizon 2020 programme for a period until 31 December 2024 by Council Regulation (EU) No 559/2014(13) (the ‘FCH 2 Joint Undertaking’); B. whereas the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking is a public-private partnership in the field of hydrogen and fuel cells technology research and innovation; whereas its founding members are the Union, represented by the Commission, the industry association (Hydrogen Europe) and the research association (Hydrogen Europe Research); C. whereas, to increase transparency, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; suggests that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking continues to improve the transparency; Budgetary and financial management 1. Notes that the report of the Court of Auditors on the annual accounts of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking (the ‘Court’s report’) finds the 2022 annual accounts to present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking on 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with its financial regulation and with account rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes, furthermore, from the Court’s report that the underlying transactions to the accounts are legal and regular in all material respects; 2. Welcomes the role of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking in supporting research and innovation activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe; 3. Notes that the available budget for 2022(14) in commitment appropriations(15) was EUR 314,3 million (compared to EUR 15,8 million in 2021), of which EUR 305,8 million for operational activities and EUR 8 million for administrative expenditure and in payment appropriations(16) was EUR 118,3 million (compared to EUR 56,2 million in 2021), of which EUR 109,7 million for operational activities and EUR 8,1 million for administrative expenditure; 4. Notes that the changes in the size of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes, which it is implementing; notes that, in 2022, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking started with the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme and that, therefore, the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the first Horizon Europe calls planned for 2022, and the payment budget for the related pre-financing payments; 5. Notes that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) considers that the information on members’ contribution at programme level is insufficient; welcomes the commitment of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking to address this issue; 6. Notes than in the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s 2022 annual accounts, the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (EU and private members) differ significantly from each other; notes that this is because Union cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; 7. Calls on the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking to address the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions, on the one hand, and in-kind contributions, on the other hand, by providing information on the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking members’ legal commitments at year end, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts; 8. Welcomes the fact that, as regards the implementation of the Seventh Research Framework Programme, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking achieved the members’ contribution targets; 9. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking had committed EUR 425,8 million (or 95 %) of the maximum EU operational contribution of EUR 450 million for signed grant agreements under the Seventh Research Framework Programme; notes that of this committed amount, around EUR 3 million (or 0,7 %) remained to be paid in 2023 for the closure of the last ongoing Seventh Research Framework Programme project; notes, furthermore, that, at the end of 2022, private members declared in-kind contributions at the level of the minimum target of EUR 450 million, which had been fully validated by the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking; 10. Notes that, as regards the Horizon 2020 programme, the low level of validated private members’ in-kind contributions for operational activities of EUR 51,7 million (2021: EUR 38,6 million), is because the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking certifies them later, when the final payments for the Horizon 2020 projects are made and the certificates of financial statement are due; 11. Notes from the Court’s report that Members’ legal commitments are at the level of their contribution targets; 12. Notes that, regarding the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s achievements for the Horizon 2020 programme, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts, at the end of 2022, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking had fully committed the maximum Union operational contribution EUR 646 million for signed grant agreements and contracts under that programme; notes, moreover, that of this committed amount, around EUR 88,5 million (or 13,7 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects and contracts yet to be completed; 13. Notes, in addition, that the private members had legally committed to provide in-kind contributions to the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s operational activities of EUR 190,5 million, and in-kind contributions to the additional activities of EUR 1 039 million (or 340,6 %) of the minimum target of EUR 361 million; notes that these committed amounts were fully reported at the end of 2022; 14. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 activities, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking received no new operational commitment appropriations, as the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2020; 15. Notes from the Court’s report, that implementation of the 2022 budget operational payment for Horizon 2020 activities decreased (81 % for 2022 compared to 88 % for 2021) as beneficiaries faced rising costs and delivery problems in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and of the war of aggression against Ukraine and that, as a consequence, the duration of most Horizon 2020 projects had to be prolonged and final payments postponed to 2023; 16. Notes that, as regards the Horizon Europe programme, in 2022, the Commission made cash contributions of EUR 80 million, of which the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking used EUR 47 million (or 59 %) for pre-financing payments related to the first grant agreements concluded under the Horizon Europe programme; 17. Notes that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking launched the first call for proposals on Hydrogen under Horizon Europe, with a total value of EUR 300 million; notes that the evaluation of the 2022 call resulted in the withdrawal of four topics for which no suitable proposals had been submitted(17); notes that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking transferred the unused payment budget of EUR 33 million to 2023, for the payment of pre-financings related to new grant agreements, planned to be signed at the beginning of 2023; 18. Notes, from the Court’s report, that, at the end of 2022, the implementation rates for the rates for the administrative budget (Title 2) were low with 62 % of commitment appropriations and 51 % of payment appropriations; notes that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking explained that this was due to the payment suspensions concerning the arrangement of the Hydrogen Week event, the postponed procurement for the refurbishment of the office building, and the delayed conclusion of an important service framework contract; Procurement and staff 19. Notes, from the consolidated annual activity report, that, in 2022, in continuation of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s practice over the past years, the management of tenders and contracts has included interinstitutional procurement procedures launched by the Commission or other EU bodies and the resulting multiannual framework contracts; notes, furthermore, that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking also cooperates with other Joint Undertakings on tendering needs in order to minimise the administrative effort; 20. Notes that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking has made intensive use of eTendering, eNotices and eSubmission modules and has started the process of integrating the public procurement management tool – (PPMT) which will be in operation in 2023; 21. Notes that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking team of statutory staff consists of 29 positions (27 temporary agents and two contract agents); notes, in addition, that staff resources include two Seconded National Experts; 22. Notes, from the 2022 consolidated annual activity report, that the digital workplace for each member of staff is constantly modernised: the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking members of staff were ensured adequate access to the complete set of Commission applications for grant management; the hardware renewal roll-out was executed as planned together with the necessary license renewal for essential applications such as Slido, Webex, Business Object, Adobe or Mobile telephony, allowing each member of staff more flexibility under the new teleworking working scheme; 23. Notes that, according to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68(18) and the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s guidelines, the staff committee should designate at least one member to the selection committee for external recruitment procedures; notes that the Court found that the selection committee for the audited recruitment procedure did not include a member designated by the staff committee and that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking could not establish a staff committee despite launching several calls for interest amongst its staff; Management and control systems 24. Notes that for Seventh Research Framework Programme expenditure, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking performed ex-post audits, whilst the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation was responsible for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure ex-post audits; notes, in addition, that for the final Seventh Research Framework Programme expenditure made in 2022, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking did not perform ex-post audits, due to the insignificant amounts and that, accordingly, it published, as final error rates for Seventh Research Framework Programme expenditure, the representative error rate of 2,0 % and the residual error rate of 1,1 % it achieved at the end of 2021; 25. Notes that, for the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments), the Joint Undertaking reported a representative error rate of 2,9 % and a residual error rate of 0,9 %(19); notes, furthermore, that for the Horizon Europe programme, no ex-post audits were carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 26. Notes that to assess the operational payment controls of the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(20); notes that, for one case, the Court found and quantified a serious error resulting from personnel costs because the beneficiary claimed hours worked during leave periods and included ineligible additional remuneration costs in the costs declared and for another case, the Court found and quantified a serious error resulting from cost claimed for equipment, which the beneficiary did not use during the reporting period, and from incorrectly calculated personnel costs; 27. Welcomes the fact that that, at the end of 2022, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking had developed and implemented a complete risk-based approach to ex-ante controls in line with the Commission’s Common Audit Service of the guidance, considering the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking specific risk circumstances; notes that, to this end, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking managed to identify the most relevant risk criteria and designed, based on them, a risk-based monitoring approach; 28. Notes that such an approach allowed the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking to assess the risk level of each project and beneficiary during the main phases of project implementation, such as grant agreement preparation, grant agreement amendment, reporting, and payment; notes, in this respect, that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking also drew up internal guidelines on its risk-based approach and trained and guided its members of staff on applying it properly and consistently; 29. Welcomes that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking developed a risk-based approach to ex-post audit to reduce its error rate by strengthening the cleaning effect of their ex-post audits; 30. Notes from the Court’s report that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking developed a tailored risk-based approach to strengthen the assurance it obtains from ex-ante controls and ex-post audits: at the beginning of 2022, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking analysed the entire population of its Horizon 2020 beneficiaries and flagged those presenting the highest risk for risk-based ex-post audits; notes that the riskiest beneficiaries were all top beneficiaries with the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking contribution amount above EUR 1 million over all Horizon 2020 projects operated by the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking, which had never been ex-post audited and had a risk profile of small and medium enterprises or newcomer status; 31. Notes that the remaining top beneficiaries were invited to complete a brief self-assessment questionnaire that focused on the most common errors detected by previous ex-post audits, such as the complexity of the personnel cost option chosen, significant sub-contracting, purchases of assets, internal supplies, method of cost reporting, and the implementation of previous ex-post audit results; notes that, based on their replies, the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking identified those top beneficiaries with a high ex-ante control risk, it held financial webinars with them, focusing on the key characteristics of a correct cost declaration with significant cost items; notes, furthermore, that the outcome of the webinars was used by the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s project and financial officers to improve the effectiveness of its ex-ante controls on the upcoming cost declarations by these top beneficiaries (payment phase); 32. Appreciates that the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking developed a risk-based approach to ex-post audit with the aim to reduce its error rate by better targeted sample to detect the most error-prone beneficiaries and thus, strengthening the cleaning effect of their ex-post audits; considers this an important positive change in ex-post audit approach as the Commission internal control framework for Horizon Europe grants does not allow for establishing Joint Undertaking’s specific representative samples and, consequently, to calculate specific representative and residual error rates for Joint Undertakings; 33. Notes that the Court found that Joint Undertakings with a well-developed risk-based ex-post audit approach have a residual error rate below the average of the Joint Undertakings without such an approach due to the systematic identification and audit of the riskiest beneficiaries; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 34. Notes that “observations” in the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking’s specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that ECA annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 35. Notes that, for the Clean H2 Joint Undertaking all previous years’ observations were closed because of the Clean H2 Joint Undertakings’ corrective actions taken during 2022.
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| Discharge 2022: Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0114/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0091/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director ad interim of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director ad interim of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2176(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0114/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0091/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director ad interim of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2176(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0091/2024), A. whereas EU-Rail Joint Undertaking was established by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085(11) (the ‘Single Basic Act‘); B. whereas, in accordance with Article 174(6) of the Single Basic Act, EU-Rail Joint Undertaking is the legal and universal successor in respect of all contracts, including employment contracts and grant agreements, liabilities and acquired property of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking which it replaced and succeeded; C. whereas EU-Rail Joint Undertaking is a public-private partnership for research and innovation in the railway sector; whereas its founding members are the Union, represented by the Commission, and rail industry partners, including rail equipment manufacturers, railway companies, infrastructure managers, and research centres; D. whereas, to increase transparency, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking should continue to improve transparency; General 1. Notes, from the report of the Court of Auditor’s (the ‘Court’s report’) on the annual accounts of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, that the annual accounts present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking on 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes, furthermore, from the Court’s report that the underlying transactions to the accounts are, in all material respects, legal and regular; 2. Welcomes the successful commencement of activities by the EU- Rail Joint Undertaking in the end of 2021; welcomes furthermore its role in delivering an integrated EU railway network for European passengers and cargo; 3. Acknowledges, from EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s Consolidated Annual Activity Report(12) that 2022 was an ambitious and successful year achieving the ramp up phase of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking and its programme which are now fully operational, including Innovation Pillar, System Pillar and, soon, the Deployment Group; notes, at the same time, that 2022 was a pivotal year for the innovation programmes of EU-Rail; 4. Takes note that all the technical demonstrators have either already demonstrated results of the work that has been ongoing since the launch of the programme or are gearing towards final preparation steps for demonstrations to happen in 2023; 5. Notes that, during 2022, the founding members have been working together to operationalise their commitment to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking submitting major proposals to the Call 2022-1, that following an open, transparent and independent assessment resulted in 6 Flagship Projects covering Phase 1 of the EU-Rail Programme; notes that these projects were operational by the end of 2022; notes, in addition, that, in parallel, the System Pillar was funded following a major call for tender; 6. Notes, moreover, that 2022 was marked also for the consistent implementation of a system approach to rail evolution, driven by the Commission´s Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) policy, where EU-Rail Joint Undertaking represents the research and innovation arm length and European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) the key system authority for European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and telematics applications, creating the opportunity for the European rail industry to bring forward its views and ambitions with “one voice” with the expectation for a systemic and coherent approach at institutional level; 7. Notes the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking's Master Plan and its adjustment to the Plan with the "Rail Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda" of the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC); 8. Commends close collaboration with key stakeholders, namely ERRAC, ERA, and other programs/partnerships, signifies a proactive effort to foster synergies and explore opportunities for joint projects within the European rail sector; welcomes EU-Rail Joint undertaking's engagement with associations and third-country programs, aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the industry; Budgetary and financial management 9. Notes from the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s report on Budgetary and Financial Management 2021, that as a result of three budget amendments, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s adopted budget amounted to EUR 171,4 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 180,8 million in payment appropriations(13); 10. Is aware that the changes in the size of the EU-RAIL Joint Undertaking’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes, notes that, in 2022, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking started with the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme, and therefore, the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the first Horizon Europe calls planned for 2022, and the payment budget for the related pre-financing payments(14); 11. Notes that, at the year-end 2022, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking had implemented 100 % of its commitment appropriations made available in its active budget (Titles 1 to 3); notes, in addition, that the payment appropriations were implemented up to 79,1 % of the active funds (respectively 79 % of implementation when compared to the full EU-Rail Joint Undertaking budget including Title 4)(15); 12. Notes, that, by means of the Governing Board Decision No 08/2021 of 25 November 2021, the Governing Board of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking adopted the initial Annual Work Plan and Budget for 2022, which continued to apply to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking by means of adoption by the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking Governing Board of the so-called “omnibus decision”; notes that, by the time of such adoption, the budget appropriations included in the Budget 2022 were not foreseen to cover the full financial year 2022, but to ensure the running of the activities till the launch of the new partnership, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking, and to ensure the necessary business continuity of the activities; 13. Notes that, as regards the administrative costs, the implementation rate in commitment appropriations was 100 % and in payment appropriations was 84 % (compared to 95 % in 2021); notes that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking justified this decrease with the fact that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking could only expect to reach its full staffing by the end of the year at the earliest; 14. Notes that the implementation rate of the Operational Budget in commitment appropriations was 100 % and 79 % in payment appropriations (compared to 84 % in 2021); understands that the implementation rate also includes EUR 76 000 relating to Expert Evaluators which are managed by the Services of the European Research Executive Agency; 15. Notes that the amount (EUR 41,1 million) under Title 5 - Unused appropriations not required in current year - established to support a transparent implementation of EU-Rail Joint Undertaking Financial Rules’ Article 6.5, the so-called n+3 rule - will be reactivated in the future year budget(s) and used first; 16. Notes, from the Court’s observations, that the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (Union and private members) differ significantly from each other; understands that this is because EU cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; 17. Calls on the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking to address the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions on the one hand and in-kind contributions on the other hand by providing information on the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking members’ legal commitments at year end, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts; welcomes the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s commitment to address this observation in the next year’s (2023) annual accounts; 18. Notes, regarding the implementation of the Horizon 2020 programme, that, at the end of 2022, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking had fully committed the maximum EU operational contribution of EUR 384,5 million for signed grant agreements and contracts under the Horizon 2020 programme; notes, moreover, that of this committed amount, around EUR 68,2 million (or 18 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects yet to be completed; 19. Notes, with satisfaction, that the private members had legally committed to provide in-kind contributions to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s operational activities of EUR 320,7 million, and in-kind contributions to additional activities of EUR 244 million or 123,7% of the minimum target of EUR 456,5 million, and that these committed amounts were reported at the end of 2022; 20. Notes, still for Horizon 2020 activities, that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking received no new operational commitment appropriations as the it had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2021; notes that the implementation rate for the operational payment appropriations, including operational unused and reallocated appropriations, fell to 47 % (compared to 2021: 61 %); understands that, according to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking, this was due to the rising costs and delivery problems faced by beneficiaries arising from the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine and that, as a consequence, the duration of most Horizon 2020 projects had to be prolonged and final payments postponed to 2023; 21. Notes, for the implementation of the Horizon Europe programme, that, in 2022, the Commission made cash contributions of EUR 108,9 million; notes that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking successfully closed the first two calls under the Horizon Europe programme, and almost fully used the operational contribution part of EUR 107,5 million for pre-financing the first grant agreements concluded under the programme; 22. Commends the pivotal milestones achieved by the Shift2Rail Programme by the end of 2022, with full commitment of resources and about 86 % of the Programme realized and 91 % in term of financial Programme execution for 2023, in view of reaching the TRL6/7 operational demonstrations planned for conclusion during 2023; 23. Notes that, with regard to the provisional accounts of EU-Rail Joint Undertaking no audit certificate on 2022 IKOP/IKAA was received; awaits validation of 2022 IKOP following project cost submissions in February 2023; 24. Notes that, in 2022 the cumulative value of activities awarded by EU-Rail Joint Undertaking to Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking for research and innovation activities amount to EUR 619,4 million and realised for EUR 92 million; 25. Stresses the importance of delivering a sustainable and resilient rail system by developing a zero-emission, silent rail system and climate resilient infrastructure, applying circular economy, piloting innovative processes, technologies, designs and materials in the life cycle of rail systems and developing other innovative solutions for guided surface transport; 26. Calls for increased support for Research and Innovation activities to deliver an integrated European railway network, eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration, covering traffic management, vehicles and infrastructure, and integration with non-standard gauges (such as 1520, 1000 or 1668 mm railway, which showed to be important for the Solidarity Lanes in Ukraine); highlights the importance of addressing the needs of passengers and businesses, accelerating the adoption of innovative solutions to support the Single European Railway Area, while increasing capacity, reliability and decreasing costs of railway transports; 27. Calls for a fast transition to more attractive, user-friendly, competitive, affordable, easy to maintain, efficient and sustainable European rail system integrated into the wider mobility system for supporting the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry; Procurement and staff 28. Notes, with regard to the implementation of procurement activities, that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking has complied with the principles of the Financial Regulation and the guidance provided in the Commission´s Procurement Vademecum, this resulting in the implementation of activities obtaining the best value for money; notes that the values established for the different procurement procedures, which are below any materiality level considering the total value of the research and innovation activities and the Programme, result from the collective knowledge of involved staff and their experience in previous private and public organizations; 29. Notes that, in 2022, for open procedures, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking continued using the e-tendering and the e-submission platforms available from the TED e-Tendering website and accessible on the Funding and Tenders Opportunities portal54; notes that, in the context of the eProcurement strategy, in 2022, EU-Rail Joint Undertaking started the on-boarding process of the Public Procurement Management Tool (PPMT), the tool that will replace TED e-notices and e-tendering(16); 30. Notes that, during 2022 several guidance documents and templates for procurement procedures continued to be updated by the Chief Legal Officer (i.e.: calendar, tender specifications, opening and evaluation of tenders, award procedures for low value contracts, etc.) to adapt them to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking needs and to the DG BUDG recommendations, in particular to the e-submission procedure; 31. Notes that, in 2022, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking conducted an open tender procedure: Europe’s Rail System Pillar (3 lots) – framework services contracts for the provision of services to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking in the fields of System Pillar; notes that the awarded total amount is EUR 45 million with EUR 4 million awarded to lot 1, EUR 37 million awarded to lot 2 and EUR 4 million awarded to lot 3(17); 32. Notes that Title 1 and Title 2 of the budget were executed up to 100 %, with Title 1 (Staff Expenditure) being used mainly for staff salaries; notes that, during the year, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking also made use of external support to fill the gaps until the recruitments of staff are finalised and to cope with the workload related to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking activities; 33. Notes that, at the end of 2022, 28 posts were filled; 34. Notes that the current EU-Rail Joint Undertaking Staff Establishment Plan was adopted by the Governing Board on 1 March 2022, introducing temporary agent positions in relation to the new role of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking in the System Pillar and to further strengthen the support to policy activities with its integrated research and innovation Programme; 35. Notes that, according to the Staff Establishment Plan, EU-Rail Joint Undertaking shall be staffed with 29 staff members including 2 seconded national experts; notes that, in 2022, most of the vacant posts were being progressively filled, while having no staff members leaving, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking still experienced some temporary leaves; notes that to fill temporary gaps or long-term absences, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking also made use of external competencies and expertise to achieve its operational activities, as well as of temporary outsourcing of some administrative tasks; 36. Notes that from the Consolidated Annual Activity Report of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking, improvements are still expected regarding gender balance, at management board as well as in all other EU-Rail Joint Undertaking levels; notes that EU-Rail Joint Undertaking had in 2022 for the management board, 28 (58 %) men and 21 (42 %) women; notes that the gender ratio at the level of EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s management was 78 % men and 22 % women and the whole staff was made up of 65 % men and 35 % women ; welcomes that the management board has appointed a second female Head of Unit position to the management team of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking; suggests the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking to continue to improve gender balance and strive for a balanced geographical balance in this respect; Management and control systems 37. Acknowledges that, for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure, the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) is responsible for the ex-post audits; notes that, for Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments), the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking reported a representative error rate of 2,2 % and a residual error rate of 1,3 %; 38. Notes, that for the Horizon Europe programme, ex-post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 39. Notes that, to assess the operational payment controls of the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(18); notes that, for one case, the Court found and quantified a serious error resulting from over claimed personnel cost because the beneficiary considered indirect costs in the calculation basis of the cost centres’ unit cost rates; notes that such costs are, however, covered by the 25 % flat rate for indirect costs; 40. Notes that , while the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking performed on an ad-hoc basis risk-based ex-ante controls on risky projects, it had not yet implemented a structured risk-based approach to ex-ante controls by the end of 2022; notes, in particular, that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking had not aligned ex-ante controls to the high-risk factors identified by targeted risk assessments and that it had not developed internal practical guidance on how to implement a risk-based monitoring, including instructions on how staff should use the risk management module available in COMPASS; 41. Consequently, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking did not ensure a complete and harmonised assessment of their relevant project and beneficiary-related risks, which may result in inefficient and/or ineffective ex-ante controls increasing the risk of co-financing ineligible costs, non-achievement of project objectives, project delays or even project failures; 42. Echoes the Court call for action that EU-Rail Joint Undertaking should implement a structured risk-based approach to ex-ante controls covering relevant project and beneficiary-related risks; agrees, moreover, that EU-Rail Joint Undertaking, should develop internal, practical guidance on how to implement a risk-based monitoring at the level of projects and beneficiaries, and how staff should use the risk management module available in COMPASS; 43. Calls on the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking to address weaknesses in the use of the reinforced monitoring tool; agrees that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking should ensure that all reinforced monitoring actions are accompanied by specific control actions targeting the identified risks, and that they are followed-up at pre-defined deadline; 44. Notes that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking would like to underline that the risk of errors in Horizon 2020 grant payments was highly mitigated by the use of lump-sums; 45. Notes, in particular, that the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking ensured reasonable lump sums by using financial experts during the call evaluation procedures and carefully investigated and negotiated all cost items questioned by the financial experts during the grant agreement preparation phase, in accordance with Commission Decision C(2017)7151 of 27 October 2017 on authorising the use of reimbursement on the basis of a lump sum for the eligible costs of actions under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme; 46. Notes, with satisfaction, that the Joint undertaking, while having embedded procedures for the ex-ante identification of high-risk factors for Horizon 2020 grant agreements, it recognises that these procedures could be better aligned with the Commission guidance on risk-based ex-ante controls; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 47. Notes that observations in the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that ECA annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 48. Notes that, as regards two Court’s observations for 2021, one is still open, it concerned the low implementation rate for the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking’s 2021 operational payment budget available, including operational unused and reallocated appropriations (fell to 61 % (compared to 2020: 76 %)); 49. Notes that this situation was mainly caused by the poor quality of the beneficiaries’ technical reports and the need of additional evidence confirming the achievement of the project results and the fact that the delay of a single beneficiary affects the payment of the whole lump-sum amount; 50. Appreciates that, in 2022, the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking developed an action plan to improve the beneficiaries’ financial reporting, which is important in particular for reimbursements on the basis of a lump-sum for the eligible costs of actions where the delay of a single beneficiary affects the payment of the whole lump-sum amount.
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| Discharge 2022: Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0118/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(4), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0101/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (now the Chips Joint Undertaking) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2180(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0118/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014(9), and in particular Article 26 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0101/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (now the Chips Joint Undertaking) for the financial year 2022 (2023/2180(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0101/2024), A. whereas the Key Digital Technologies Joint Undertaking (the ‘KDT Joint Undertaking’), located in Brussels, was set up for the period ending on 31 December 2031 in November 2021 under the Horizon Europe programme by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085(11); B. whereas the KDT Joint Undertaking replaced and succeeded the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL JU) that was established under the Horizon 2020 programme in May 2014 by Council Regulation (EU) No 561/2014(12)for a period until 31 December 2024; whereas, on 26 June 2014, the ECSEL JU replaced and succeeded the European Nano-electronic Initiative Advisory Council and the Joint Undertaking for Advanced Research and Technology for Embedded Intelligence and Systems; C. whereas the KDT Joint Undertaking is a public-private partnership focusing on research and innovation in key digital technologies essential for Europe's competitive leadership in digital economy, in particular, in the electronic components and systems sector; D. whereas its founding members are the Union, represented by the Commission, the Participating States, and three industry associations, namely the European Association on Smart System Integration, the Association for European Nano Electronics Activities, and the Inside Industry Association, representing stakeholders in micro-electronics and nano-electronics, smart integrated systems and embedded or cyber-physical systems; E. whereas in July 2023 pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2023/1782(13) the KDT Joint Undertaking was transformed into the Chips Joint Undertaking; whereas according to the amendment, the Chips Joint Undertaking’s enhanced remit is to foster the development of innovative next-generation semiconductor technologies and reinforce the European chip-production capability under the “Chips for Europe Initiative”; whereas Union contributions to the KDT Joint Undertaking will increase from EUR 1,8 billion to EUR 4,2 billion, with EUR 2,7 billion to be funded from the Horizon Europe programme, and EUR 1,5 billion from the Digital Europe programme; F. whereas, to increase transparency, the KDT Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the KDT Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the KDT Joint Undertaking should continue to improve transparency; General 1. Notes that the changes in the size of the KDT Joint Undertaking’s budget largely depend on the implementation phase of the multiannual research and innovation programmes, which the KDT Joint Undertaking is implementing; 2. Welcomes the KDT Joint Undertaking's contribution to reinforcing EU's strategic autonomy in the electronic components and systems sector; 3. Notes that the KDT Joint Undertaking started to launch the first Horizon Europe calls already end 2021; notes in addition that the 2022 budget includes the commitment budget for the Horizon Europe calls planned for 2022, and the payment budget for the related pre-financing payments; Budgetary and financial management 4. Notes from the report of the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’s report’) that the annual accounts of the KDT Joint Undertaking present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Joint Undertaking at 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows and the changes in net assets for the year that ended, in accordance with its financial regulation and with account rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes, furthermore, that the underlying transactions to the accounts are legal and regular in all material respects; 5. Notes that in 2022 the total available appropriations reached EUR 261,4 million for commitment (compared to EUR 214,0 in 2021) and EUR 222,2 million for payment appropriations (compared to EUR 199,3 in 2021)(14); notes in addition that the budget implementation reached 100 % in terms of commitment appropriations and 55 % in terms of payment appropriations; 6. Notes that in its 2022 annual accounts the KDT Joint Undertaking did not disclose important information regarding members’ contributions at programme level, relevant for the complete communication of the KDT Joint Undertaking’s achievements at the year-end; notes, in particular, that the KDT Joint Undertaking did not compare the contributions received from each member category up to the year-end under each programme with the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme; notes, moreover, that in these accounts, the KDT Joint Undertaking did not disclose the Participating States’ contributions to the KDT Joint Undertaking(15); calls on the KDT Joint Undertaking to address these issues and welcomes its commitment to provide information, in particular regarding the comparison of the legal targets of the respective programmes; 7. Notes that most of the KDT Joint Undertaking’s private members’ in-kind contributions remain to be validated (EUR 1 172,5 million); 8. Notes that at the end of 2022 the KDT Joint Undertaking had fully committed the maximum Union operational contribution of EUR 1 169,7 million for signed grant agreements under the Horizon 2020 programme and that, of this committed amount, around EUR 139,2 million (or 11,9 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects yet to be completed; 9. Notes that at the end of 2022 the KDT Joint Undertaking estimated the private members’ potential final in-kind contributions for operational Horizon 2020 activities at EUR 1 579 million or 97,6 % of the minimum target of EUR 1 617.5 million; notes that the KDT Joint Undertaking can only calculate and validate private members’ in-kind contributions once all payments have been made by both the KDT Joint Undertaking and the Participating States and all end-of-project certificates and related certificates of financial statements have been received; notes that, in this context, and given that at the end of 2022 only a limited number of Horizon 2020 projects had been finalised, the validated industry in-kind contributions amounted to EUR 406,5 million (or 25 %) of the target; 10. Notes that, based on the KDT Joint Undertaking’s Public Authorities Board funding decisions for the calls for proposals from 2014 to 2020, the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) estimated that, at the end of 2022, the Participating States signed contractual commitments amounting to EUR 1 106,2 million (or 95 %) of the target and that of this amount, they declared total financial contributions of EUR 495,3 million, which they paid directly to the national beneficiaries of the Horizon 2020 projects they supported; notes that the difference arises because Participating States only recognise and report their costs to the KDT Joint Undertaking on the completion of the Horizon 2020 projects they support; 11. Notes that the implementation of the 2022 budget payments for Horizon 2020 activities worsened as beneficiaries faced rising costs and delivery problems; 12. Notes that for Horizon 2020 activities, the KDT Joint Undertaking received no new operational commitment appropriations, as the KDT Joint Undertaking had finished its last call for proposals by the end of 2020; notes that the implementation rate for the operational payment appropriations fell to 74 % (compared to 85 % in 2021), which, according to the KDT Joint Undertaking, was due to the problems beneficiaries faced arising from COVID-19; notes, moreover, that for a considerable number of ongoing Horizon 2020 projects, the technical activities were delayed either because of shortage of chips materials or because staff was not able to access the development and testing facilities and therefore, these projects had to be amended or prolonged and final payments postponed to 2023; 13. Echoes the Court’s observation that the KDT Joint Undertaking should establish a time-scheduled action plan for finalising the implementation of projects approved under previous Multiannual Financial Frameworks (MFFs); 14. Notes that, regarding the implementation of the Horizon Europe programmes, at the end of 2022, the Commission made cash contributions of EUR 171,1 million, of which the KDT Joint Undertaking used EUR 42,3 million for pre-financing payments related to the first grant agreements concluded under Horizon Europe; 15. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the implementation rate regarding the KDT Joint Undertaking’s administrative payment budget (Title 2) was low at 63 %; notes that, according to the KDT Joint Undertaking’s 2022 budgetary and financial management report, this was mainly due to the postponement of the IT tools in support of the central management of financial contributions, and the reduced communication activities; 16. Notes, in addition, the KDT Joint Undertaking saw a decrease in its operational budget implementation rate owing to the rising costs and delivery problems faced by beneficiaries in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and the war of aggression against Ukraine; Procurement and staff 17. Notes, from the consolidated annual activity report 2022, that procurement and contracts are managed in accordance with the provisions of the KDT Joint Undertaking’s financial rules and coordinated within its administration and finance team; 18. Notes, moreover, that in the context of sound financial management and efficiency, the KDT Joint Undertaking made to the most possible extent use of the various service level agreements already concluded with relevant Commission Services, as well as its private members and also made use of inter-institutional framework contracts (such as IT services and equipment, interim staff services and external audit services); 19. Notes that, in 2022, the KDT Joint Undertaking ran very few procurement procedures, essentially for low value contracts and that no procurement procedures related to operational activities were launched during that year; 20. Notes that the KDT Joint Undertaking’s staff establishment plan for 2022 provides for 30 temporary agents or contract agents and that, at the end of 2022, the KDT Joint Undertaking employed 25 statutory members of staff, with 8 nationalities (8 BE, 5 FR, 4 ES, 2 BG, 2 EL, 2 RO, 1 IT, 1 PL), including 11 male and 14 female members of staff; 21. Notes that six external recruitment procedures were launched in 2022; executive director, accounting and finance correspondent, programme office, budget officer, financial assistant, head of sector, positions to be filled in 2023; 22. As for the staff turnover, the Head of Communications retired on 1 April 2022, the accounting correspondent left the KDT Joint Undertaking on 1 October 2022 and the budget officer left on 1 November 2022, the executive director’s contract ended on 31 October 2022; Management and control 23. Notes that, for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe expenditure, the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation is responsible for the ex-post audits, for Horizon 2020 expenditure (clearings and final payments), the KDT Joint Undertaking reported a representative error rate of 2,6 % and a residual error rate of 0,8 %(16); notes that, for the Horizon Europe programme, ex post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 24. Notes that to assess the operational payment controls of the KDT Joint Undertaking, the Court audited randomly sampled Horizon 2020 payments made in 2022, at the level of the final beneficiaries(17); notes that the Court found no errors or control weaknesses at the KDT Joint Undertaking beneficiaries sampled; 25. Welcomes that the KDT Joint Undertaking implemented a risk-based monitoring of projects in line with the Commission’s baseline, as well as a risk assessment of small and medium sized enterprises and newcomers; notes, however, that the KDT Joint Undertaking has not yet developed internal guidelines to consolidate the processes; notes that for the KDT Joint Undertaking, the risk of errors in grant payments was mitigated by the fact that the Participating States performed detailed ex ante controls on the eligibility of project costs reported for national co-financing, for the beneficiaries operating in their national territory; 26. Notes with satisfaction that Participating States closely cooperated with the KDT Joint Undertaking and notified it of detected major errors, irregularities, and registered bankruptcies on a timely basis; notes, furthermore, that contrary to other joint undertakings, the 90 % threshold for pre-financing was applied at the beneficiary level, and any changes to the cost budget among consortia members required an amendment to the grant agreement; notes that the KDT Joint Undertaking controlled the fulfilment of these specific criteria outside of COMPASS(18), and project officers made standardised manual checks in Excel spreadsheets; 27. Agrees with the Court that the KDT Joint Undertaking should develop internal, practical guidance on how to implement a risk-based monitoring at the level of projects and beneficiaries, and how staff should use the risk management module available in COMPASS; 28. Calls on the KDT Joint Undertaking to address weaknesses in the use of the reinforced monitoring tool; 29. Notes that, according to the Court, specific control actions related to the identified risks were not defined, or the due date for their implementation was not set; notes that upon expiry of the defined due date, the reinforced monitoring flag was neither renewed nor closed; notes, moreover, that, additionally, the risk level was not reassessed by the officer after the implementation of the control actions; 30. Agrees with the Court that the KDT Joint Undertaking should ensure that all reinforced monitoring actions are accompanied by specific control actions targeting the identified risks, and that they are followed-up at a pre-defined deadline; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 31. Notes that “observations” in the KDT Joint Undertaking’s specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court; notes that ECA annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 32. Notes that, in 2021, the Court issued three observations, of which two are closed; the open observation relates to the need to recruit more members of staff to reach the planned 50 statutory staff by 2025, as the KDT Joint Undertaking will implement projects of about EUR 10,9 billion under the 2021-2027 MFF.
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| Discharge 2022: European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0115/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488(4), and in particular Article 19 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0095/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking discharge in respect of the implementation of the Joint Undertaking’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2177(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2022, together with the Joint Undertakings’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06182/2024 – C9‑0115/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 71 thereof, – having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1488(9), and in particular Article 19 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0095/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022 (2023/2177(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0095/2024), A. whereas the European High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking (the ‘Joint Undertaking’) located in Luxembourg, was set up in October 2018 for a period until 31 December 2026(11); B. whereas in July 2021, the Council adopted a new founding Regulation extending the lifetime and remits of the Joint Undertaking under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, for the period ending on 31 December 2033(12); C. whereas the new work programme for 2021 and 2022 including new activities and financing as set out in the new founding Regulation were only adopted by the Joint Undertaking’s governing board in December 2021 and that this delayed implementation of activities, development of internal control activities and recruitment; D. whereas the Joint Undertaking is a public-private partnership, enabling the pooling of resources from the Union, participating states, and private members for the development and deployment of high-performance computing in Europe; E. whereas its members are the Union, represented by the Commission, the participating states, and three private members, represented by the European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing, the Big Data Value association, and the European Quantum Industry Consortium; F. whereas, according to regulation (EU) 2018/1488, the participating states and private members were only required to contribute to the administrative costs from 2024 onwards; whereas this was repealed under the new regulation (EU) 2021/1173 and, since August 2021, the administrative costs are covered by the financial contributions of the Commission, on behalf of the Union (under Horizon 2020 and Connecting Europe Facility 1); G. whereas under the 2021-2027 MFF, the Joint Undertaking receives significantly more funds from the Horizon Europe, Digital Europe and Connecting Europe Facility programmes, to support the acquisition and development of high-performance computing and quantum computers as well as the upgrading and operation of the infrastructures for supercomputers; H. whereas, to increase transparency, the Joint Undertaking should disclose in its annual accounts, relevant information regarding members’ contributions at programme level; whereas, for each programme under which they operate, the Joint Undertaking should present per member category up to the year-end, all relevant information made available by the members including the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme, the volume of contributions received, and the volume of legal commitments; whereas the Joint Undertaking should continue to improve the transparency; General 1. Notes that the report of the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’s report’) finds that the accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the year ended 31 December 2022 present fairly, in all material respects, its financial position at 31 December 2022, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in net assets for the year ended, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; notes, in addition, that according to the Court’s report the underlying transactions to the accounts are legal and regular in all material respects; 2. Welcomes the Joint Undertaking’s objective and role in developing a supercomputing ecosystem in Europe; 3. Notes, however, that the Court assessed the risk to the legality and regularity of recruitment procedures as medium for the Joint Undertaking, due to the need to recruit a large number of staff quickly, to implement its enhanced remits and activities under the 2021-2027 MFF; 4. Notes, in addition, that the risk related to the Joint Undertaking operational contract expenditure was assessed by the Court as medium due to its complex procurement procedures for high-value contracts; Budgetary and financial management 5. Notes that, for 2022(13), the available payment budget amounted to EUR 629,9 million (EUR 348,2 million in 2021) and the available committed budget amounted to EUR 1 374,5 million (EUR 753,4 million in 2021); notes that the available budget includes unused appropriations of previous years, which the Joint Undertaking re-entered in the budget of the current year, assigned revenues and reallocations to the next year; 6. Notes that the Court categorises the risk to budget management as medium because the complex and lengthy acquisition process for supercomputers; 7. Notes that due to the length of time it takes to procure supercomputers, the low implementation of both 2022 operational - commitment and payment appropriations were at 79% and 24% respectively (2% and 47% in 2021)(14) - and administrative budgets - 45% for administrative commitment appropriations and 37% of its administrative payment appropriations; 8. Notes the risks in relation to programme implementation due to the possibility of the Joint Undertaking not achieving the minimum contributions targets for their private members by the end of the Horizon 2020 programme; understands that, according to the Joint Undertaking, the lower achievement rates are explained by the involvement of participating states; 9. Notes that, in 2022, the Joint Undertaking only implemented 45% of its administrative commitment appropriations and 37 % of its administrative payment appropriations, partly due to the partial completion of its recruitment plan for 2022 and to the no reallocation of significant amounts of unused payment appropriations of previous years when planning its 2022 budget; understands that the late adoption of the Joint Undertaking’s new founding regulation made the achievement of its ambitious recruitment plan impossible; 10. Agrees with the Court that the Joint Undertaking should establish a time-scheduled action plan for finalising the implementation of projects approved under previous MFFs; 11. Is concerned that the Court assessed the information on members’ contributions at programme level as insufficient; 12. Notes that in the Joint Undertaking’s 2022 annual accounts, the amounts of contributions recognised per member category (Union and private members) differ significantly among each other, because Union cash contributions are validated and recognised when paid to the Joint Undertaking at the beginning of the project implementation, but members’ in-kind contributions are only recognised after validation of the costs incurred and declared for project implementation; is concerned that the gap between the recognised amount of cash contributions on the one hand and in-kind contributions on the other hand, was not sufficiently addressed in the Joint Undertaking’s 2022 annual accounts and could be improved in future by providing information on the Joint Undertaking members’ legal commitments at year end, in terms of signed grant agreements and contracts; welcomes the commitment of the Joint Undertaking to fully address the issue in the next year's annual accounts; 13. Calls on the Joint Undertaking’ to disclose important information regarding members’ contributions at programme level, relevant for the complete communication of the Joint Undertaking’s achievements at the year-end; notes, in particular, that the Joint Undertaking did not compare the contributions received from each member category up to the year-end under each programme with the legal contribution targets set for the respective programme; 14. Is worried with the Court’s finding that private members will not achieve their minimum contribution target at the end of the programme implementation(15); 15. Welcomes that, at the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking fully committed the maximum Union operational contribution of EUR 526 million for signed grant agreements and contracts under the Horizon 2020 and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF 1) programmes; takes note with concern that, of this, around EUR 266,3 million (or 50,6 %) remains to be paid in the coming years for projects yet to be completed; 16. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the participating states signed contractual commitments amounting to EUR 447,3 million for the Joint Undertaking’s Horizon 2020 and CEF 1 activities; notes that, in respect of these commitments, they declared financial contributions of EUR 124,8 million to the Joint Undertaking for pre-exascale(16) supercomputers procured by the Joint Undertaking itself, and EUR 38 million of in-kind contributions related to the hosting entities’ operating costs; notes, in addition, that the participating states paid EUR 48,2 million directly to the contractors of the petascale supercomputers that are jointly procured by the Joint Undertaking and the participating states; notes that the remaining difference between commitments and declared contributions arises from participating states only recognising and reporting their costs to the Joint Undertaking when the Horizon 2020 projects they support have been completed; 17. Notes, however, that, at the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking’s private members had only committed and reported EUR 11 million (or 2,6 %) in in-kind contributions for Horizon 2020 projects, a figure considerably below the minimum private members’ target of EUR 420 million(17) to be achieved by the end of the Horizon 2020 programme; notes that the Court found that the Joint Undertaking’s current financing arrangements for Horizon 2020 grant actions only allow private members to provide in-kind contributions for one type of project (innovation projects, capped at 30 % of project costs); notes that, consequently, the Joint Undertaking’s financing arrangements could not leverage private members’ in-kind contributions at the level of the target set in its founding regulation for the Horizon 2020 programme; 18. Fears that the significant reduction in private members’ in-kind contributions to the Joint Undertaking’s operational activities presents a risk to the overall achievement of its parts of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme; 19. Agrees with the Court that to ensure the achievement of their private members’ contribution targets for the 2021- 2027 MFF, the Joint Undertaking’ should, based on a strategic programme implementation plan, monitor the private members’ individual contribution achievements on an annual basis; 20. Notes that, according to the Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 (18) , the Joint Undertaking will have to implement projects amounting to EUR 7 billion, of which EUR 3 billion should be leveraged from the participating states and EUR 900 million from private members, in the form of cash and in-kind contributions; welcomes this significant increase, compared to the previous MFF, of around EUR 1,4 billion; regrets, however, that as the Joint Undertaking’s financing arrangements remain the same for the 2021-2027 MFF, there is a high risk that the Joint Undertaking will not achieve the private members' contribution targets under the new founding Regulation; calls on the Commission to re-assess the feasibility of the current contribution targets from the private members in the new founding Regulation; Procurement and staff 21. Is concerned that the Joint Undertaking’s lengthy process, which must be in line with the EU Financial Regulation, for the acquisition of supercomputers significantly affected the implementation of the 2022 operational budget; understands that delays by Hosting Entities and supply issues for key components also contributed to the low implementation rate; 22. Notes that the lower implementation rate for the operational commitment budget arose from the fact that the Joint Undertaking could not make an important global commitment related to an exascale computer hosting agreement, due to delays in the negotiation process with the participating state and the hosting consortium; 23. Notes, moreover, that the main reasons for the low implementation rate of the operational payment budget were (i) delays in completing the pre-exascale supercomputers that prevented interim payments related to the Joint Undertaking’s operating grants; (ii) delays in the procurement for supercomputers that prevented the related pre-financing payments; (iii) the postponement of the CEF 2 call on Hyperconnectivity to 2023 due to the need of a pre-study; and (iv) delays in beneficiaries’ cost claims for ongoing research activities; 24. Notes, according to the Court’s report, that the Commission's Internal Audit Service (IAS) carried out a limited review on the Joint Undertaking´s human resource management in 2022; notes that, regarding recruitment planning, the review reported that the Joint Undertaking lacked a documented analysis of resource needs, based on a robust ex-ante workload assessment to better prioritise the planned recruitments; 25. Notes that, in response, in December 2022, the Joint Undertaking developed an action plan, which the IAS considered to be adequate; 26. Notes that the staffing level for the Joint Undertaking under the 2021-2027 MFF was set out in the legal financial statements included in the Commission’s proposal for a new founding regulation(19); notes, in addition, that, to implement around EUR 7 billion of funds under the 2021-2027 MFF, the Joint Undertaking received 39 additional staff posts to be recruited by 2023; 27. Notes with concern that, by the end of 2022, the Joint Undertaking had only recruited eight staff members and 20 by mid-2023, and therefore did not meet its 2022 recruitment target(20); notes that the Court considers that this situation negatively impacted the implementation of the 2022 administrative budget; welcomes however the gender distribution of the staff in the Joint Undertaking in 2022; 28. Observes that the proportion of contractual staff remained high with 70% at the end of 2022; 29. Stresses that the absence of key staff could adversely affect business continuity and the achievement of the Joint Undertaking’s objectives, particularly given the highly technical nature of its projects and the requirement for highly qualified staff with very specific knowledge; Management and control systems 30. Notes that for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe co-financed expenditure, the Common Audit Service of the Commission’s DG RTD is responsible for the ex-post audits; notes that for Horizon 2020 co-financed expenditure (clearings and final payments), the Joint Undertaking reported a representative error rate of 2,3% and a residual error rate of 1,9%(21); 31. Calls on the Joint Undertaking to include specific ex-post audits for CEF co-financed expenditure for the acquisition of supercomputers in their internal control system; notes, in addition, that for the Horizon Europe programme, ex-post audits have yet to be carried out, as the first interim payments are only expected in 2024; 32. Notes that, according to the Court’s report, that Joint Undertaking performed on an ad-hoc basis risk-based ex-ante controls on risky projects, and that they had not yet implemented a structured risk-based approach to ex-ante controls by the end of 2022, notes, in particular that the Joint Undertaking had not aligned ex-ante controls to the high-risk factors identified by targeted risk assessments; notes, in addition, that they had not developed internal practical guidance on how to implement a risk-based monitoring, including instructions on how staff should use the risk management module available in COMPASS(22); 33. Agrees with the Court that the Joint Undertaking should implement a structured risk-based approach to ex-ante controls covering relevant project and beneficiary-related risks; agrees, moreover, that the Joint Undertaking should develop internal, practical guidance on how to implement a risk-based monitoring at the level of projects and beneficiaries, and how staff should use the risk management module available in COMPASS; 34. Notes with concern that a Court’s detailed analysis of a sample of the Joint Undertaking’s reinforced monitoring cases revealed several weaknesses, which prevented their effective and efficient monitoring; notes, moreover, that in the Joint Undertaking specific control actions related to the identified risks were not defined, or the due date for their implementation was not set; 35. Supports the Court’s assessment that the Joint Undertaking should ensure that all reinforced monitoring actions are accompanied by specific control actions targeting the identified risks, and that they are followed-up at a pre-defined deadline; 36. Draws attention to the fact that the beneficiary and/or project structure of the Joint Undertaking is changing significantly under the Horizon Europe programme, such as the increased number of SMEs, newcomers and larger consortia, as well as the requirement to only use open call procedures for Horizon Europe activities; underlines, therefore, that, as a result, the risk factors identified in previous programmes may no longer be relevant and new risk factors may emerge; Follow-up of previous years’ observations 37. Notes that “observations” in the Joint Undertakings specific annual reports are in fact “not timed recommendations” by the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court‘); notes that the Court annually follows-up on those observations by assessing their status as “open” or “closed”; 38. Notes that from the nine observations issued by the Court in 2020 and 2021, only two (from 2021) are closed; 39. Notes that the remaining observations relate to (i) validation and certification of in-kind contributions, (ii) staff recruitment, (iii) low contributions from private members, (iv) low implementation rates, amongst others; 40. Notes that the Joint Undertaking in its reply acknowledges the Court’s observations and will address the issues in its 2023 annual accounts.
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| Discharge 2022: EU general budget - EDF (9th, 10th and 11th) |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the financial statements and revenue and expenditure accounts for the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0392 – C9‑0302/2023), – having regard to the financial information on the European Development Funds (COM COM(2023)0392), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the activities funded by the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022, together with the Commission’s replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), – having regard to the Council’s recommendations of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the operations of the European Development Funds for the financial year 2022 (05889/2024 – C9‑0123/2024, 05891/2024 – C9‑0122/2024, 05892/2024 – C9‑0124/2024), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), – having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000(3) and amended in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) on 22 June 2010(4), – having regard to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union (‘Overseas Association Decision’)(5), – having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 of 5 October 2021 on the association of the Overseas Countries and territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other (Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland)(6), – having regard to Article 33 of the Internal Agreement of 20 December 1995 between the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the financing and administration of the Community aid under the Second Financial Protocol to the fourth ACP-EC Convention(7), – having regard to Article 32 of the Internal Agreement of 18 September 2000 between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the Financing and Administration of Community Aid under the Financial Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States signed in Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000 and the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the EC Treaty applies(8), – having regard to Article 11 of the Internal Agreement of 24 June 2013 and 26 June 2013 between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council, on the financing of European Union aid under the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 in accordance with the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement and on the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the TFEU applies(9), – having regard to Article 319 of the TFEU, – having regard to Article 74 of the Financial Regulation of 16 June 1998 applicable to development finance cooperation under the fourth ACP-EC Convention(10), – having regard to Article 119 of the Financial Regulation of 27 March 2003 applicable to the 9th European Development Fund(11), – having regard to Article 50 of Council Regulation (EC) No 215/2008 of 18 February 2008 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the 10th European Development Fund(12), – having regard to Article 48 of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/323 of 2 March 2015 on the financial regulation applicable to the 11th European Development Fund(13), – having regard to Article 44 of Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1877 of 26 November 2018 on the financial regulation applicable to the 11th European Development Fund, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2015/323(14), – having regard to Rule 99 and the third indent of Rule 100 of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0110/2024), 1. Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022 (2023/2183(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the financial statements and revenue and expenditure accounts for the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022 (COM(2023)0392 – C9‑0302/2023), – having regard to the financial information on the European Development Funds (COM(2023)0392), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the activities funded by the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022, together with the Commission’s replies(15), – having regard to the statement of assurance(16) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), – having regard to the Council’s recommendations of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the operations of the European Development Funds for the financial year 2022 (05889/2024 – C9‑0123/2024, 05891/2024 – C9‑0122/2024, 05892/2024 – C9‑0124/2024), – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)384), – having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000(17) and amended in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) on 22 June 2010(18), – having regard to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union (‘Overseas Association Decision’)(19), – having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2021/1764 of 5 October 2021 on the association of the Overseas Countries and territories with the European Union including relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other (Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland)(20), – having regard to Article 33 of the Internal Agreement of 20 December 1995 between the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the financing and administration of the Community aid under the Second Financial Protocol to the fourth ACP-EC Convention(21), – having regard to Article 32 of the Internal Agreement of 18 September 2000 between Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the Financing and Administration of Community Aid under the Financial Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community and its Member States signed in Cotonou (Benin) on 23 June 2000 and the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the EC Treaty applies(22), – having regard to Article 11 of the Internal Agreement of 24 June 2013 and 26 June 2013 between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council, on the financing of European Union aid under the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 in accordance with the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement and on the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the TFEU applies(23), – having regard to Article 319 of the TFEU, – having regard to Article 74 of the Financial Regulation of 16 June 1998 applicable to development finance cooperation under the fourth ACP-EC Convention(24), – having regard to Article 119 of the Financial Regulation of 27 March 2003 applicable to the 9th European Development Fund(25), – having regard to Article 50 of Council Regulation (EC) No 215/2008 of 18 February 2008 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the 10th European Development Fund(26), – having regard to Article 48 of Council Regulation (EU) 2015/323 of 2 March 2015 on the financial regulation applicable to the 11th European Development Fund(27), – having regard to Article 44 of Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1877 of 26 November 2018 on the financial regulation applicable to the 11th European Development Fund, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2015/323(28), – having regard to Rule 99 and the third indent of Rule 100 of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0110/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the, ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022 (2023/2183(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2022, – having regard to European Court of Auditors Special Report No 35/2018, – having regard to Rule 99 and the third indent of Rule 100 of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0110/2024), A. whereas Union development cooperation, as referred to in Articles 208 to 211 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, operates in a global context, defined by United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (‘Agenda 2030’) and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); B. whereas the Union has cooperative relations with a large number of developing countries, the main objective being to promote economic, social and environmental development, with the primary aim of reducing and eradicating poverty in the long-term by providing beneficiary countries with development aid and technical assistance; C. whereas, from 1959 and until 2020, the European Development Funds (EDFs) provided development cooperation aid to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and overseas countries and territories (OCTs); whereas the framework governing the Union’s relation with the ACP countries and OCTs was a partnership agreement signed in Cotonou (‘the Cotonou Agreement’) on 23 June 2000 for a period of 20 years, later temporarily extended; whereas the Samoa Agreement was signed on 15 November 2023; D. whereas the eleventh EDF has reached its final stage as its sunset clause came into effect on 31 December 2020; whereas, however, specific contracts for existing financing agreements will still be signed until 31 December 2023, and the implementation of the ongoing projects funded by the EDF will continue until their final completion; E. whereas, for the 2021-2027 MFF, development cooperation aid to ACP countries is integrated in the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (‘NDICI-Global Europe’) and development cooperation aid into the OCTs is incorporated into the Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland; F. whereas the ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs were not incorporated into the Union general budget and continue to be implemented and reported on separately until their closure; G. whereas the EDFs are managed almost entirely by the Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) with a small proportion (5 %) of the 2022 EDF expenditure being managed by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO); H. whereas development cooperation is evolving from a more traditional donor-recipient model towards a stronger emphasis on mutual interests, covering not only social sectors but also sustainable investment, trade, and the development of high value-added economic sectors, and on international partnerships to tackle global challenges; whereas according the TFEU “Union development cooperation policy shall have as its primary objective the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty”; I. whereas by means of a Team Europe approach, the Union works together with the Member States in the field, with local beneficiaries and with the other donors to bring a tangible impact and transformation change in the partner countries; Budget implementation 1. Notes that, in 2022, the financial implementation for the 10th and 11th EDF (individual commitments: EUR 853 million and payments EUR 2 386 million) was marked by the Council Decision (EU) 2022/1223 to reuse EUR 600 million of de-committed funds from the 10th and 11th EDF; 2. Notes the Council’s decision which allocated EUR 600 million from de-committed projects under the 10th and 11th EDFs for the purpose of financing actions addressing the food security crisis and economic shock in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; believes that in view of the exceptionally dire food security situation in ACP countries, those funds need to be complemented with appropriate measures to enhance food autonomy of local communities; 3. Notes that in 2022, the implementation of the EDF contributed to improvements in water and sanitation, access to electricity, access to legal aid, food security and nutrition, environmental protection, climate change mitigation strategies and natural ecosystems, health, education, and entrepreneurship/employability; 4. Observes that the EDF represents 33,2 % of the portfolio of DG INTPA in terms of payments in 2022, which amounted to EUR 2 452 million (i.e., 98,08 % of the annual target); notes that European Investment Bank (EIB) payments amounted to EUR 461 million; observes that, since the sunset clause of the eleventh EDF elapsed on 31 December 2020, there were no new commitments in 2022, with the exception of commitments of the funds stemming from the reuse of the 10th & 11th EDF reserve under the Council Decision (EU) 2022/1223, regarding the special measures for the Union response to the food security crisis and economic shock in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries; notes that EIB payments concerning the ACP Investment Facility amounted to EUR 400 million; 5. Stresses the importance of Team Europe approach for the effectiveness and visibility of Union assistance and welcomes the initiative of the Commission to deepen coordination with Member States and make the most of their existing expertise in partner countries, ensuring a stronger Europe in the world; notes the regional Team Europe Initiatives on the Western Mediterranean migration route, where its management group includes representatives from both DG NEAR and DG INTPA ensuring coherence of action and optimal use of financial resources; 6. Points out that 60 % of the contracts have been closed under the eleventh EDF, and that the Commission should complete the closing of the 9th EDF in 2024; notes the progress in the closing of the 10th EDF with 95,2 % of the contracts closed; 7. Notes the efforts of DG INTPA to reduce old pre-financing with a target of 40 % and old unspent commitments with a target of 35 %; notes that DG INTPA exceeded the target by reducing the EDF’s old pre-financing by 54,31 % and by 52,51 % for both the EDF’s old unspent commitments and across its entire area of responsibility; notes that on unspent commitments it achieved the target of 35 % for the EDFs with 36,83 %; 8. Notes, however, that, according to the report of the Court of Auditors (‘the Court’), the DG INTPA’s KPI on reducing old pre-financing does not take into consideration the number of years for which each pre-financing transaction has remained open, therefore the Court considers that achievement of this KPI did not reflect the difficulties it had encountered in clearing older pre-financing transactions, some of which had been open for up to 12 years; notes the Commission’s reply that as to the ageing of open invoices and pre-financings that have remained uncleared for up to 12 years, the majority of these old pre-financings are linked to litigation cases; calls on the Commission to continue to report to Parliament on these litigation cases, as already done subsequent to Parliament’s recommendation n° 2015/PAR/0463; notes furthermore that, in order to reduce the old pre-financing and to address the ageing of invoices, the Commission has already put in place annual controls, with 93 % of the EDF payments made in due time in 2022, is using a Portfolio Management Dashboard (updated in October 2023) allowing staff to monitor the ageing of pre-financing and to follow up on long overdue invoices, and is taking additional actions, including ad hoc campaigns, seminars and guidelines; 9. Notes that DG INTPA achieved its target of having not more than 13 % of old expired contracts for the EDF; notes that it achieved a score of 10,56 % for the EDF and 8,39 % for the Union general budget; 10. Points out that the amount of outstanding commitments of the EDFs reached 12,6 % or EUR 8 250 million in 2022; Impact of the activities in the financial statements 11. Notes that pre-financing experienced a decrease of EUR 239 million largely as a result of fewer advances paid out due to the decrease in the number of contracts signed (EUR 2 118 million in 2021 compared to EUR 853 million in 2022), and that, consequently, cash and cash equivalents increased by EUR 34 million as a result of the decrease in pre-financing and other payments; 12. Notes an increase of EUR 123 million of accrued charges as a result of the increase in the number of open contracts at the end of the year for which no cost claims were validated by year-end and thus expenses had to be estimated; 13. Notes, furthermore, the overall decrease in operating expenses of EUR 74 million mainly as a result of the winding down of the Trust Funds which resulted in a decrease in the contributions needed to cover their expenses, and that the expenses relating to emergency aid increased as decommitted funds from the 10th and 11th EDF were reused to combat the negative effects of the war in Ukraine; 14. Underlines, that as regards the impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union, the Court concluded that there is no financial impact to report on the 2022 EDF accounts and that the EDF accounts as at 31 December 2022 correctly reflect the state of the withdrawal process at that date; Reliability of the accounts 15. Notes that the budget of the 9th EDF (2000-2007) was only EUR 13,8 billion, and that the10th EDF (2008-2013) nearly doubled to EUR 22,7 billion, and that the 11th EDF provides a high amount of EUR 30,5 billion, of which EUR 29.1 billion has been allocated to the ACP countries and EUR 0,4 billion to the OCTs, with EUR 1 billion for administrative costs; 16. Notes the Commission’s announcement to close the 8th EDF made in October 2021; points out that, in the annual accounts of the EDF for the financial year 2022, the Commission indicated that all 8th EDF activities had been completed and that all contracts and financial decisions had been closed in the EDF accounts and the remaining open recovery orders had been transferred to the 9th EDF; notes, however, that financial information on the 8th EDF still appeared in the accounts, and some 8th EDF balances were still open in 2022; notes that the operational closure of the 8th EDF took place as foreseen in 2021 and that the full accounting closure of the 8th EDF is pending due to ongoing recovery orders; 17. Notes the fact that the Court, in its annual report on the activities funded by the ninth, tenth and eleventh EDFs for the financial year of 2022, concludes that the accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2022 present ‘fairly, in all material respects’, the EDFs’ financial position, the results of their operations, their cash flows and the changes in their net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with the provisions of the Council Regulation (EU) 2018/1877(29) (‘EDF Financial Regulation’) and the accounting standards for the public service; Legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the accounts 18. Notes the Court’s opinion, according to which the revenue underlying the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 is legal and regular in all material respects; 19. Notes that the implementation of the European Development Funds (EDFs) concerns countries that are facing aggravating impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity and are weakened by the consequence of the COVID pandemic, Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, as well as rising debt, new and forgotten humanitarian crises and conflicts, generating growing inequality and poverty; insists, therefore, that the remaining projects under the EDFs should focus on advancing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals; reiterates that security, mutually beneficial partnerships and international cooperation are fundamental conditions for the world to make progress on the SDGs towards 2030 and beyond; 20. Reiterates its concern over the many possible reasons for the succession of adverse opinions of the Court on the legality and regularity of expenditure due to the fact that the expenditure accepted in the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 is materially affected by error; notes at the same time that the context in which the implementation of the EDF takes place is risky, complex and fast-evolving, with a remarkable diversity in terms of geographical dispersion, implementing entities and partner countries and of assistance delivery methods; 21. Notes that to audit the regularity of transactions, the Court examined a sample of 140 transactions, representing the full range of spending from the EDF; notes, furthermore, that this comprised 27 transactions related to the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, 98 transactions authorised by 20 EU delegations(30) and 15 payments approved by Commission headquarters; 22. Notes with concern that, out of the 140 transactions examined, 57 (40,7 %) contained errors, compared to 54 (38,8 %) in 2021 for the same number of transactions; stresses, moreover, that the Court quantified 48 errors (43 in 2021), on the basis of which it estimated the level of error for the financial year 2022 to be 7,1 % (4,6 % in 2021); 23. Notes with concern that by typology of errors the estimated level of errors in the financial year 2022 related to expenditure not incurred was 51 % (14,9 % in 2021), to ineligible expenditure was 24 % (38,6 % in 2021), to serious failure to respect public procurement rules was 16 % (14,6 % in 2021), to absence of essential supporting documents was 7 % (23,3 % in 2021) and related to other types of errors was 2 % (8,6 % in 2021); notes the Commission’s reply that most errors that could have been avoided are relevant to excess clearing (expenditure not incurred), which is due to insufficient financial reporting provided by implementing partners in indirect management and does not affect the implementation of the projects; 24. Notes the Commission’s reply that in 2022 approximately 50 % of the summed errors are due to excess clearing, a practice where expenditure not incurred is included in the accounts as expenditure incurred, and are therefore temporary, since they will no longer exist after the final clearings; notes furthermore the actions taken by the Commission to allow for easier identification of incurred expenditure and calls on the Commission to refer to the discharge authority on the effects of these actions; 25. Notes that in 2022 DG INTPA’s ex-ante controls have prevented the payment of a total amount of EUR 167,94 million of ineligible expenditure, representing 2,91 % of the total invoiced amount and above the benchmark set by DG INTPA for this indicator (2 %) and above the result of 2021 (2,62 %); encourages the Commission to further improve the control systems; 26. Is concerned that Benin´s EDF national authorising officer awarded a contract to a consultancy company to strengthen civil society involvement in the country, in serious breach of the public procurement rules; notes with concern that according to the Commission, the Evaluation Committee used its “discretionary power” to apply a calculation method which was not sufficiently documented in the procedure; notes the actions taken by the Commission to address the weaknesses identified in this Delegation and to avoid similar problems in other Delegations; notes that the level of error in the EU Delegation in Benin accounted for approximately 30 % of the total error and that if it were not included, the total error would have been approximately 4,7 % instead of 7,1 %; recalls that transparency and accountability are essential for NGOs, which are called upon to act in full compliance with Union financial rules and values, especially in the management of Union funds, and stresses that NGOs should be supported in their control and monitoring systems, especially those operating in third countries; reminds that NGOs are submitted to the same level of control and investigations as any other recipient of Union funds; 27. Notes with concern that the estimated level of error systematically surpasses the materiality threshold (2 %); notes with concern that, compared to the financial year of 2021, the increase in the estimated level of error is of 2,5 % compared to the increase of 0,8 % between the financial years 2020 and 2021; 28. Notes that, in 2022, 333 Recovery Orders were issued by the Commission on 293 contracts for a total amount of EUR 62,92 million; Transparency and effectiveness of the monitoring and assurance systems 29. Notes the Court’s observation that in 2022 the Commission and its implementing partners committed more errors in transactions relating to programme estimates and grants and to contribution and delegation agreements with beneficiary countries, international organisations and member state agencies than they did with other forms of support (such as those covering works, supply and service contracts); notes, in addition, that out of the 99 transactions of this type examined by the Court, 46 contained quantifiable errors, which accounted for 86 % of the estimated level of error; notes that DG INTPA is currently reviewing its control strategy, including reporting requirements, and exploring potential remedial measures; asks the Commission to inform the discharge authority about its revised control strategy; 30. Notes that, according to the Court’s report, in 23 cases of quantifiable error and five cases of non-quantifiable error the Commission had sufficient information to prevent, or to detect and correct the error before accepting the expenditure; notes, moreover, that, according to the Court’s assessment, had the Commission made proper use of all the information at its disposal, the estimated level of error would have been 5,5 percentage points lower, compared to 2,4 percentage points lower in 2021; notes the Commission’s reply that most errors that could have been avoided are due to insufficient financial reporting provided by implementing partners in indirect management; notes the Commission’s commitment to review its control strategy, including reporting requirements and calls on the Commission to refer on the remedial measures taken; 31. Notes that, according to the Court’s report, 22 transactions containing quantifiable errors, contributing 2,3 percentage points to the estimated level of error, were subject to an audit or expenditure verification; notes, furthermore, that DG INTPA’s control system is based on ex ante checks, and that the information provided in the audit/verification reports describing the work actually done did not allow the Court to assess whether the errors could have been detected and corrected during these ex ante checks, as the reports do not cover 100 % of the reported expenditure, nor do they give sufficient detail to confirm whether the items where the Court identified errors had been part of the ex-ante checks; notes in this regard that the Commission is regularly updating the terms of reference for the expenditure verifications, in order to increase the completeness and clarity of reporting; calls on the Commission to refer to the discharge authority about the improvements achieved; 32. Underlines that the Court identified two spending areas where transactions are less prone to errors due to specific payment conditions: (a) budget support and (b) multi-donor projects implemented by international organisations and subject to the ‘notional approach’; notes that, in 2022, the Court audited two budget support transactions and eight ‘notional approach’ projects managed by international organisations; 33. Highlights the role of local implementing partners and the need to ensure their support and capacity building; notes that with the phasing out of EDF projects, local know-how on dealing with Union funds should be maintained, with a view to using them for projects under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) - Global Europe instrument underlines that Union projects should be subject to evaluation, monitoring and reporting in order to determine their effectiveness and avoid unintended negative impacts; 34. Is concerned that, as in previous years, some international organisations provided only limited access to documents (e.g., in read-only format), which hindered the planning, execution and quality control of ECA audit and led to delays; notes that control issues were discussed with UN entities and the World Bank on several occasions, including in the context of joint technical reference group meetings and the EU-UN FAFA working group, and that Joint Technical Groups were set up to discuss regularly audit and control issues; notes furthermore that the Commission is working with the concerned International Organisations and has intensified communication with them on ECA’s access to documents; encourages the Commission to increase these efforts; 35. Notes that DG INTPA’s eleventh residual error rate (RER) study, carried out by an external contractor on its behalf in 2022, estimated the overall RER to be below the 2 % materiality threshold set by the Commission for the seventh year in a row: 1,15 % (1,14 % in 2021); 36. Stresses that, according to Court’s assessment, the RER study does not constitute an assurance engagement or an audit and is based on the RER methodology and manual provided by DG INTPA; notes that DG INTPA clarifies that the RER study is meant to be a key indicator for the estimated financial impact of residual errors, i.e., it measures the proper functioning of the internal control system and thus, demonstrates the Commission’s corrective capacity; stresses that, as in previous years, the Court has found limitations in the study; notes that the Court, by reviewing the calculation method used in the 2022 RER study, considered that the RER was underestimated and that the Court’s calculation yielded an RER of 1,35 %; notes, furthermore, the Court’s opinion, as in previous years, that the RER methodology allows the contractor to rely entirely on the results of DG INTPA´s management checks, and that placing reliance on the work of other auditors is contrary to the purpose of an RER study; 37. Notes that, from 2018, DG INTPA significantly reduced the scope of reservations (i.e., the share of expenditure covered by them) in the annual activity reports (AARs) and that, similarly, the 2022 AAR does not include any reservations; notes that the Court finds the lack of reservations in the 2022 AAR unjustified and considers that it results partly from the limitations of the RER study; notes the Commission’s reply that the absence of reservations is justified by the correct implementation of the RER methodology and instructions by its central services; 38. Notes that DG INTPA estimates the overall amount at risk at payment to be EUR 83,3 million (1,4 % of 2022 expenditure) and the overall amount at risk at closure to be EUR 71,7 million; notes, furthermore, that, the amount at risk at payment, DG INTPA estimates that EUR 11,6 million (19 %) will be corrected by its checks in subsequent years (this amount is known as the ‘corrective capacity’); 39. Notes that DG INTPA’s 2022 Action Plan addressing identified control weaknesses and high risks include the improvement of the follow up of ECA/RER findings and that new versions of the RER manual and methodology were adopted in September 2022 to address issues raised in the previous Court’s observations; notes the Commission’s reply that the amended rules avoid overreliance on previous control work, as it is now required that instances of reliance on prior control work should be monitored in the light of historical averages; notes furthermore that the Commission has fully implemented ECA’s recommendation from 2020 annual report to establish obligations for the RER study contractor to report to the Commission any suspected fraud against the Union budget during its work; regrets, however, that the Commission does not accept the recommendation, included in the 2022 Court’s annual report, to improve the RER methodology and verify its proper application as it sees no necessity to change the methodology used for the RER study for the extrapolation of high-value items; Fraud prevention, detection and correction 40. Notes that, since 2014, DG INTPA has developed and implemented its own anti-fraud strategy on the basis of the methodology provided by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and that the strategy has been updated three times since its entry into force; notes that DG INTPA decided to postpone the mid-term assessment of its anti-fraud strategy (initially planned in 2022) due to several ongoing auditing and updating exercises led by the IAS, ECA and OLAF; notes, moreover, that DG INTPA implemented 90 % of the accompanying action plan, and that all actions have been implemented within the deadlines announced, apart from exploring with OLAF the possibility of circulating anonymised examples of fraud cases within the Commission internal network, which was implemented in 2023; 41. Notes that DG INTPA also contributed to the Commission anti-fraud strategy and followed up to OLAF’s financial recommendations issued in 2018-2022 resulting in the closure of only 24 % of financial recommendations and the follow-up of 76 % of financial recommendations; welcomes, the results achieved during 2022, such as the entry into force of new internal guidelines on the handling of fraud-related information, reinforced appointing system of DG INTPA’s anti-fraud network, launch of external awareness actions towards DG INTPA's implementing partners and beneficiaries, continued update of all internal webpages, manuals and databases, and annual note to all staff on professional ethics standards, fraud prevention and detection, and rules for disclosure of information; 42. Notes that, at the end of 2022, DG INTPA was aware of 24 on-going investigations, and was informed by OLAF of the closure of 6 investigations with financial and/or administrative recommendations, 7 without recommendation, and the transfer of 2 cases to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office; notes that DG INTPA systematically transmitted all cases of suspected fraud or irregularity to OLAF and followed closely all financial recommendations notified by OLAF; 43. Notes that the first priority objective of DG INTPA’s anti-fraud strategy 2021-2024 is to increase internal and external awareness on fraud-related issues, including through training opportunities; regrets however that the Court ECA found a lack of fraud prevention training in their mission to four delegations (staff had not received training in fraud prevention training in the past 5 years); 44. Welcomes the fact that DG INTPA has optimised the use of the Early Detection and Exclusion System as a fraud-sanctioning tool and enhanced the anti-fraud measures related to budget support; Union budget support 45. Notes that the budget support payments made under EDF in 2022 amounted to EUR 105,2 million; 46. Notes, for the sake of comparison, that Ukraine came out as the third budget support portfolio in 2022, with nearly EUR 800 million of ongoing operations; 47. Highlights that, in the past 3 years, EU budget support has provided payments of EUR 6 billion overall – EUR 3 billion in 2020, EUR 1,2 billion in 2021 and EUR 1,8 billion in 2022; notes, furthermore, that budget support accounted for 15 % of the European Commission’s payments within the framework of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI – Global Europe), the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), the decision on the overseas association including Greenland (DOAG) or under predecessor instruments; 48. Notes that in 2022, the European neighbourhood became the largest recipient of budget support (38 %), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (24 %), Asia (18 %), the western Balkans (8 %), Latin America (6 %), the Caribbean (2 %), overseas countries/territories (2 %) and the Pacific region (2 %), and that by contract type, sector reform performance contracts (SRPCs) outweigh state- and resilience-building contracts (SRBCs) and SDG contracts (SDG-Cs), with 74 % of the portfolio in value compared to 24,5 % and 1,5 % respectively; 49. Recalls that the Court’s regularity audit(31) cannot cover what happens beyond the moment the Commission pays budget support to the recipient country, since these funds then merge with that country’s own budget resources; 50. Notes that, in 2022, the largest recipients of EDF payments were Mozambique, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, while the sectors with the highest funding were government and civil society, agriculture, energy and social infrastructures and services; notes that the implementation of the EDF concerns countries that are facing aggravating impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity and are weakened by rising debt, new and forgotten humanitarian crises and conflicts, generating growing inequality and poverty; calls for the EDF to be conditional when there is evidence of human rights violations and to be checked against corruption and tax evasion; 51. Calls for stronger coordination between the Commission, the EEAS and the EU delegations to facilitate discussions and cooperation with relevant local actors on the ground in order to identify the projects that best meet development effectiveness objectives; 52. Notes that local, non-governmental actors are well placed partners to deliver Union assistance for people in need, notably in remote areas; highlights that a strengthened Union engagement with these organisations could accelerate efficiency of development cooperation; Follow-up to the 2021 discharge 53. Notes from the Commission follow-up report to the 2021 discharge that the digitalisation of controls in external action is ongoing, with the view to adopt the corporate practices and tools and that the upcoming transition to the corporate eAudit will facilitate a more systematic and integrated monitoring of findings from audits and verifications facilitating thus a more holistic follow-up process; 54. Notes that joint trainings with UN staff have resumed in 2023, and the Commission has agreed with the UN to set up Joint Technical Groups to discuss regularly audit and control issues and that the Commission will continue to take action to find practical and long-term solutions to these issues; 55. Notes that in 2022, DG INTPA assessed the systemic findings in expenditure verifications of actions implemented by 20 globally operating International Organisations whose audit task management is centralised and that it shared its findings, as well as proposed mitigating measures, with relevant HQ and Delegation staff in January 2023; 56. Notes that the Commission and its partner institutions (including development financial institutions and development agencies) actively engage with local private sector organisations to discuss challenges and opportunities to increase access to finance through financial instruments such as blended finance operations, and that policy dialogue is held in partnerships with partner countries through the EU delegations and National Investment Forums; stresses the importance of private sector mobilisation for closing the development financing gap and achieving the SDGs; 57. Welcomes the Global Gateway strategy as a concerted Union response to global challenges; is of the opinion that in times of new geostrategic challenges, Union foreign and security policy and development cooperation actors must coordinate better in order to increase the Union’s presence and visibility worldwide by means of hard and soft infrastructure investment that creates national value in partner countries through cooperation with the private sector and development financing institutions, in line with the SDGs; 58. Recalls that global crises have generated and expanded inequalities both within and between countries, undermining social cohesion and, in this context, welcomes the development of an Inequality Marker (I-Marker) to create a sound reporting and benchmarking system on the contribution of all interventions to reducing inequalities; 59. Echoes the recommendations to the Commission made by the Court:
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| Discharge 2022: Performance, financial management and control of EU agencies |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to its decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union agencies for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Commission’s report on the follow-up to the discharge for the 2021 financial year (COM(2023)0384), – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(2), and in particular Articles 68 and 70 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0118/2024), A. whereas this resolution contains, for each body within the meaning of Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, cross-cutting observations accompanying the discharge decisions in accordance with Article 262 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and Article 3 of Annex V to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; B. whereas this resolution also contains, for the Euratom Supply Agency, cross-cutting observations accompanying the discharge decision in accordance with Article 262 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and Article 3 of Annex V to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; C. whereas Union agencies should focus on missions with clear European added value and the organisation of such missions should be optimised to avoid overlaps in the best interests of the Union taxpayer; D. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority aims to emphasize the significant importance of enhancing the democratic legitimacy of Union institutions; whereas this involves enhancing transparency and accountability, as well as implementing performance-based budgeting and ensuring good governance of human resources; 1. Notes that for the 33 decentralised Union agencies, the cumulative total for the 2022 budget amounted to around EUR 3 471 million in commitment appropriations, representing an increase of 8,2 % compared to 2021, and amounted to EUR 3 035 million in payment appropriations, a decrease of 1,78 % compared to 2021; notes moreover that of the EUR 3 035 million in payment appropriations, approximately EUR 2 781 million were financed from the general budget of the Union, representing 74,85 % of the agencies’ total financing in 2022 (compared to 77,27 % in 2021); acknowledges furthermore that approximately EUR 935 million were financed by fees and charges and by direct contributions from participating countries (an increase of 28,23 % compared to 2021); 2. Notes that the total final budget for 2022 (after amending budgets) of all decentralised Union agencies was approx. 16 % higher than that for 2021, while the inflation rate in the Union reached up to 11,5 % in October 2022; notes, in this context, that the increase in the budget of some agencies from 2021 to 2022 has been significant, representing more than + 60 % (for ENISA, eu-LISA, EFCA), approximately 30 % or more (for ELA, EEA, Frontex) and more than +20 % (for EUSPA, EUAA); 3. Notes the conclusion of the European Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) in its annual report on Union agencies for the financial year 2022 (the ‘Court’s report’), that the Court’s audit of the annual accounts of the agencies for the financial year ended 31 December 2022 had less positive results than the previous year (2021), with weaknesses in public procurement procedures having remained the main source of irregular payments; Main risks identified by the Court 4. Notes from the Court’s report the overall risk to the reliability of agencies’ accounts, as established by applying the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer and based on international accounting standards, to be generally low, as was the case in 2021; 5. Underlines that, according to its report, the Court considers the overall risk to the legality and regularity of revenue underlying the agencies’ accounts to be low for most agencies, and to be medium for the partly self-financed agencies where specific regulations are applicable to collection of fees and other revenue contributions, as was the case in 2021; 6. Remarks that the Court considers the risk to the legality and regularity of payments underlying the agencies’ accounts overall to be medium, varying from low to high for specific budget titles; notes that the Court considers the risk for Title I (Staff Expenditure) to be generally low, for Title II (Administrative Expenditure) to be medium, and for Title III (Operational Expenditure) to be low to high, depending on the agency in question and the nature of its operational expenditure; points out that the Court considers the risk as regards Title III similar to the risk of Title II, but since there are far higher amounts at stake under Title III, the impact is considered to be higher; 7. Notes with concern that the Court, for a fifth year in a row, considers the risk to sound financial management to be medium, primarily associated with public procurement procedures that did not ensure that the best possible value for money was achieved; further notes that public funds must always be used effectively, taking into account taxpayers’ interests; 8. Notes that the Court considers the risk to budget management to be low, with the Court’s audit showing high carryovers of committed appropriations, which were, however, justified according to the Court by the multiannual nature of operations or for reasons beyond the agencies’ control; calls on the Agencies to strengthen their budget management and financial planning by setting ambitious financial KPIs and actively monitoring the financial and budgetary performance throughout the year in order to keep the carryovers in an acceptable percentage; 9. Recalls that, in 2020, the Court piloted automated audit procedures in the area of the audit of the accounts of several executive agencies; notes that, in 2021, the Court extended the use of such procedures to all agencies, however - in the case of decentralised agencies - the Court applied ten procedures relating to salaries only; recognises the Court’s commitment to expanding the use of digital audit technology to other areas and to all agencies; welcomes; in this context; the pilot project launched by the Court in 2022 to digitalise aspects of the audit on agencies’ public procurement; calls on the Court to keep the discharge authority informed of the outcome of that pilot project; 10. Welcomes the fact that the Court has declared that in most cases (67 out of 121 observations that had not been completed at the end of 2021) the agencies have taken corrective action to address previous years' audit observations; notes with concern, however, an increase in the number of observations from previous years that remained open at the end of the year, from 48 in 2021 to 54 in 2022; calls on all the agencies concerned to identify the proper corrective actions and to continue their efforts to follow up on the Court's observations that are ongoing or outstanding; Budget and financial management 11. Underlines with satisfaction that, according to the Court’s report, an unqualified audit opinion on the reliability of the accounts of all agencies was issued; notes in addition that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the revenue underlying the accounts for all agencies; observes that the Court issued an unqualified opinion on the legality and regularity of the payments underlying the accounts for all agencies, except for four agencies: the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT), the Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA); notes with concern that the qualified opinions were issued by the Court due to non-compliant expenditures of EUR 1,3 million (for CdT), EUR 4,26 million (for CEPOL), EUR 0,6 million (for ECDC) which led the Court to estimate a total amount of non-compliance expenditure representing 2,8 % of the total payment appropriations available in 2022 and EUR 17,8 million (for eu-LISA); 12. Notes that, as regards the reliability of accounts, the Court issued an ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), eu-LISA, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex); notes that the ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for EMA was related to the ongoing issue regarding the lease agreement for its former premises in London that lasts until 2039, with no provision for early termination and potential liabilities estimated at EUR 366 million on 31 December 2022, as well as to uncertainties surrounding the financial performance of the ultimate parent company of the subtenant of those premises; is aware that, on 11 January 2024, the European Parliament Committee on Budgets held an exchange of views with the Authority regarding potential amendment to EMA’s sub-underlease for the Agency’s former premises in London; notes that the ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for ERA and Eurojust was related to the implementation of a new budgetary, accounting and financial system (SUMMA) as a pilot for the Commission; notes that the ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for the EUAA was related to the impact of the Russian’s illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine on the EUAA’s activities; notes that the ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for eu-LISA was related to delays in the implementation of the Entry/Exit System and the related impact on eu-LISA’s operations; notes that the ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for Frontex was related to the fact that its accounting system was not validated for the second year in a row, as well as to an incorrect calculation of the contributions from non-EU Schengen area countries with EUR 3,2 million less than they should have paid to the budget of Frontex for 2022; notes that the ‘emphasis of matter’ paragraph for ESMA was related to the uncertainty related to the outcome of a lawsuit and, as per Court’s report, that paragraph also applies in full for the legality and regularity of ESMA’s payments; 13. Notes the Court’s recurrent observation, related to the contributions from Schengen associated countries (SAC), that different methods in the agreements for calculating contributions entail a risk of erroneous implementation of those contribution agreements; notes; from the Court’s report; its invitation to the EUAA and Frontex to work with the Commission to clarify the legal basis for calculating SAC contributions to the budgets of those agencies, if necessary by re-negotiating agreements with SAC, so that their contributions correctly reflect the size of SAC’ economies compared to the size of the Union’s economy; calls in this context on the Commission to address this issue in the coming negotiations with the SAC on new agreements that will cover SAC’s participation in the work of the EUAA and Frontex, with a view to ensuring more clarity therein; 14. Notes with concern the Court’s observation regarding weaknesses related to various aspects of budgetary management such as excessive levels of carry-over of appropriations, high rates of late payments and fee/revenue related issues in the case of 16 agencies; notes in particular; the Court’s observation with regard to structural and recurrent high carry-overs in the case of five agencies (ACER, EFCA, ELA, eu-LISA and FRA); renews its call for respect for the budgetary principle of annuality; echoes the Court’s recommendation that the agencies concerned should further improve their budget planning and their implementation cycles to avoid excessive delays in the implementation of work programmes or procurement plans; welcomes the actions launched and measures implemented in 2022 by several agencies (e.g. ACER, eu-LISA and FRA) aiming to improve their budget planning and implementation cycles; 15. Recalls, nevertheless, that in certain cases the level of high carryovers is also a result of factors that are outside of the Agencies' control such as the nature of their activities expanding on multi-annual periods, or the necessity to recur to external contractors over periods that extend beyond the financial year, due to understaffing; 16. Notes, from the Court’s report, the observation that, in 2022, several agencies (e.g. ECDC and Europol) included in their payments to the grant beneficiaries a reimbursement of the value-added tax (VAT) associated with the claimed costs, thereby contravening Article 186(4) of the Financial Regulation, because, in the Court’s view, the beneficiaries were public authorities in activities of a public authority and therefore they were not entitled to VAT reimbursement; notes the arguments of the agencies concerned as to why they differ from the Court’s position on this issue; echoes the Court’s recommendation to the agencies to manage grants by ensuring compliance with the applicable rules, in particular regarding reimbursement of VAT to beneficiaries that are public authorities; calls on the European Union Agencies Network (EUAN) to establish a common understanding on VAT reimbursement according to the financial regulation; 17. Recalls the importance of establishing and maintaining an active dialogue between the Commission and the agencies over the allocation of appropriate resources and the design of the respective establishment plans, especially with regard to the grade at which posts are allocated; Performance 18. Notes that all agencies use various systems of key performance indicators (KPIs), planned outputs or strategic targets set as part of their performance measurement; stresses that EUAN could help agencies to use a common system of KPIs; notes that for 15 agencies, the implementation rate of their Annual Working Programme (AWP) exceeded 95 %, while for 14 agencies that rate was below 95 % in 2022; reiterates its call on all the agencies to report to the discharge authority on the implementation rate of their AWP as a consolidated figure expressed in percentage; appreciates the KPI’s fulfilled by the Agencies and the fact that the Agencies have drawn attention to measures that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work; however calls on the Agencies to take note of the indicators that have not yet been achieved or are lagging behind; encourages the agencies to use the EUAN facilities to improve the achievement of these indicators; 19. Notes the achievements and successes of all agencies in 2022, the first year of the unprovoked and unjustified Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; commends, in this context, the swift actions taken by the agencies, in various areas such justice and home affairs (e.g. EUAA, Frontex, Europol, FRA), supervision of financial systems (e.g. ESMA), security and defence (e.g. EASA), and employment, social affairs and inclusion (e.g. Eurofound), despite the challenges posed not only by the illegal war in Ukraine, but also record-high inflation rates across the Union and the energy crisis; 20. Stresses the valuable role played by Union agencies in helping Union institutions design and implement Union policies, and in carrying out specific technical, scientific, operational and managerial tasks, as well as evidence-based research; reiterates in this regard the need to equip the agencies at a level commensurate to the assigned tasks, with a sufficient number of staff, employed in a stable manner and having sufficient material resources; reiterates therefore the need to ensure adequate human and financial resources to allow them to continue implementing their work programmes with a very high activity completion rate; 21. Highlights the important role of the EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) agencies, as they are indispensable for the implementation of Union policies, and the important support they ensure to the Union institutions and bodies and Member States in the sectors of fundamental rights, security and justice, by carrying out operational, analytical, managerial and monitoring tasks; reiterates therefore the need to ensure adequate financial and human resources to JHA agencies; 22. Appreciates the high quality work performed by the agencies working in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion (CEDEFOP, Eurofound, EU-OSHA, ETF and ELA); recalls the particular mandates of these agencies and the specific composition of their management bodies based on the tripartite principle and thus including representatives of the national authorities and social partners; recognises that, through their members, the management bodies ensure the necessary alignment between the agencies’ work and stakeholder needs and priorities; notes with satisfaction the introduction of hybrid meetings and the use of written procedures which contribute to reducing the cost of in-person meetings; 23. Stresses that the agencies are the most qualified in assessing the use of resources in order to implement their annual work programmes and perform their mandates effectively; stresses the need for agencies to co-operate with each other in order to allocate resources correctly; highlights that the agencies play a crucial role in supporting the right projects in line e.g. with the European Green Deal, the European Pillar of Social Rights or the Union’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum; 24. Welcomes the cooperation and coordination of the work between agencies dealing in the same field, such as the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), the JHA agencies, the agencies in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion, as well as others, but also cross-cutting cooperation between agencies from different policy areas; 25. Notes with concern, from the Court’s report, the disclosures of two agencies (the EUAA and EUSPA) reporting on the impact that the unprovoked and unfair aggression against Ukraine had on their activities; notes, in this context, the increased demand for assistance from Member States accepting refugees from Ukraine and the interruption in the use of Russian Soyuz launchers for Galileo satellites; Efficiency and gains 26. Calls on the agencies to continue developing synergies (in areas such as human resources, procurement, digitalisation, building management, IT services and cyber-security), as well as cooperation and exchange of good practices with other Union agencies with a view to improving efficiency, in particular given the impact of the war in Ukraine and inflationary strains; calls on all the agencies to put a system and criteria in place to monitor in objective and granular ways and report to the discharge authority on the evolution, from one year to the next, of the gains and/or savings registered by the agencies in terms of time, staff, energy used, etc.; invites all agencies to coordinate, including with the EUAN, in order to identify and use a common tool allowing for the reporting of such gains/savings in a comparable way; 27. Insists on the important role of the EUAN in the development of synergies, including by helping the agencies to optimise the use of their budgets through coordination, inter alia, of joint procurement procedures, partnerships, reassessment of priorities, cost reductions; acknowledges, in this context, the work done by the ten thematic EUAN sub-networks; further recalls that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; encourages the EUAN to strengthen its role of coordination and to propose more common tools that can help the agencies; 28. Welcomes the Court’s horizontal audit providing an analysis of the agencies’ responses to the climate and energy crises and how they reported on their climate and energy performance; notes from the Court’s report and from the agencies replies to Parliament’s written questions that, at the end of 2022, 10 agencies (6 in 2021) were EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)-certified and 22 agencies were not EMAS-certified (of which for 15 agencies the process for EMAS certification was ongoing); calls on all the agencies concerned to speed up the process for receiving the EMAS certification; 29. Notes with appreciation that all agencies have put measures in place to varying degrees in order reduce their environmental impact and make a positive contribution to sustainable development; commends the agencies (e.g. ACER) which have formally adopted (and implemented) a greening action plan; reiterates its recommendation for all agencies to adopt multiannual action plans that include commitments regarding CO2 reductions which can be achieved, inter alia, by using sustainable buildings and working spaces, optimising energy consumption, promoting low carbon travel modes, using hybrid working methods, prioritising the purchase of sustainable products and services; calls on all the agencies to consider environmental aspects when looking for new office space; reiterates the potential role of EUAN in this context to assist the agencies by establishing an had hoc multiannual action plan; 30. Welcomes that 19 out of 33 decentralised Agencies have implemented corporate plans to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality; regrets however from the Court’s report that, 14 out of 33 decentralised Agencies have not yet implemented any corporate plans to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality of their operations; notes that, in 2022, no agency published a sustainability report, with Cedefop, EIT and Eurofound having plans to do so by 2024; echoes, in this context, the Court’s recommendation and urges all agencies to improve their climate neutrality and energy efficiency through up-to-date corporate plans that foresee clearly defined, quantified baselines and targets for reducing carbon footprint and energy consumption, as well as to report on their climate, energy and environmental performance through the publication of sustainability reports or environmental statements; 31. Recalls the importance of increasing the level of digitalisation of the agencies in terms of internal operation and management, as well procedures, in order transition to paperless processes; notes that this positive development has an impact on cost-effectiveness; is pleased that, in 2022, further progress has been made with regard to digitalisation and optimisation of their workflows and procedures, in particular in the fields of HR and procurement procedures; encourages all agencies to adopt and implement the Advanced Qualified Signature and Qualified Electronic Signature software to obtain approvals and signatures from both internal and external counterparties in procurement and contractual documents; asks the EUAN to support all initiatives to speed up this process of digitalisation and to keep reporting to the discharge authority on the progress made in digitalisation matters; 32. Calls on the Commission to ensure better use of the Agencies’ expertise in relevant policy areas regarding, for example, elaboration of reports and studies, conducting research and surveys, which can allow for more efficient utilisation of Union budget resources compared to alternative solutions; stresses, in this regard, the unused potential of the agencies working in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion in providing for specific, relevant information and the same quality products as external consultants, when their mandates allow it; Staff policy 33. Notes that, in 2022, the 33 decentralised agencies reported that they employ a total of 10 146 members of staff, comprising officials, temporary agents, contract agents and seconded national experts (SNEs) (compared to 9 631 in 2021), representing an increase of 5,34 % compared to 2021; notes from the Court's report that most of the increase in the number of staff members employed since 2021 is attributable to the continuing build-up of the agencies set up recently (e.g. ELA) and to the growth of agencies which were assigned new tasks (EFCA, the EUAA and Frontex); commends the agencies (EIGE and EUSPA) having achieved a 100 % execution rate of their establishment plan in 2022; 34. Notes that burnout cases (in total 16) were registered in 5 agencies and overtime was taken by several employees in 19 agencies in 2022 (13 in 2021); highlights that not all burnout cases are recorded officially; notes in particular that a high number of employees haven taken overtime in EFSA (81 % of staff) and Eurofound (97 % of staff); 35. Notes with concern that, in 2022, the staff turnover rate was more than 5 % in 15 out of 33 agencies, whereas four of them exceeded the 10 % rate; commends the agencies (e.g. EBA) for the targeted measures they took to prevent high staff turnover rates; highlights the importance for all agencies to implement measures with a view to improving talent management and retention; counts on the EUAN to be a forum for its member agencies with regard to exchanging good practices and, where possible, joining forces in this matter; 36. Notes that the geographical balance of staff of Union decentralised agencies follows the population of the Member States as a percentage of the EU27 more closely than the geographical balance of staff of the Commission; regrets an under-representation for seven Member States, an over-representation for seventeen Member States and an approximate balance for three Member States; recalls that the Agencies need to take concrete measures for geographical balance to be improved; notes from the study on ‘The use of contract agents in decentralised agencies’ published on 15 May 2023 (hereinafter the ‘Study’) that the financial attractiveness of the CA posts in various regions can impact the geographical diversity of applicants; 37. Highlights that geographical balance is still a challenge for several agencies for which considerable percentages of their staff are nationals of the Member State where the agencies are located, e.g. BEREC (58 % Latvians), CEDEFOP (47 % Greeks), EFSA (49 % Italians), EU-OSHA (46 % Spanish); acknowledges that the agencies use merit-based selection procedures, whereby in presence of equal merits, the agencies would favour the under-represented nationalities; calls on the agencies to take the necessary measures to have a balanced and fair geographical representation; 38. Acknowledges that attracting talent and ensuring a geographically diverse workforce are linked to agencies’ individual specificities (e.g. location, infrastructure, schooling, policy area), as well as to external limiting factors (e.g. competition with the private sector, job uncertainty due to short term contracts, low correction coefficients); notes with appreciation from the EUAN’s follow-up report to the discharge for 2021, the actions taken by the EUAN to remedy the lack of attractiveness and improve the representativeness of the agencies’ staff in terms of age, gender and geographical origin; 39. Notes with concern the observations from the Court’s report on the weaknesses related to allowances to SNEs, traineeship grants and recruitment procedures, and notes that the Court made 8 observations of which 3 linked to irregular payments; calls on the agencies concerned to improve their ex-ante checks so that payments are made based on documentary evidence and the rules in force; 40. Notes a slightly improved gender distribution in 2022, compared to 2021 at the level of senior and middle management, with 66,59 % men and 33,41 % women (68 % and 32 %, respectively in 2021) and within the management board members, with 60,33 % men and 39,67 % women (62 % and 38 %, respectively in 2021); notes that the gender balance reported for staff overall deteriorated, with 54,26 % men and 46,74 % women (50,3 % and 49,7 %, respectively in 2021); calls on the agencies to work on improving further the gender balance in senior management; reiterates its calls on the Commission and Member States to observe gender balance when nominating and appointing members of the management or administrative boards; recalls the ambition of the agencies to align with the Commission to reach a gender balance of 50 % at all levels of its management by the end of 2024; 41. Notes that all agencies have put in place measures to improve staff’s well-being at work and work-life balance; notes that the number and impact of such measures varies significantly from one agency to another and that no common framework of reference across agencies appears to exist; calls on the EUAN to coordinate efforts for the development of a common framework of reference in this this regard; notes with satisfaction that a large majority of agencies have put measures for integration of persons with disabilities in place, where as such measures range from physical adaptations such as making buildings wheelchair-accessible and installing ramps at main access points, to adaptations in staff workstations, specific working arrangements for employees with disabilities, and provision of specific equipment based on individual needs; welcomes in addition other measures that include integrating inclusive practices into HR policies, such as encouraging applications from candidates with disabilities, ensuring that recruitment procedures are non-discriminatory in the case of disabilities, providing training for HR staff and Selection Boards on diversity and inclusion issues, and offering guidance on detecting and counteracting unconscious biases; calls on the agencies with larger budgets to reflect their investment in measures for the integration of persons with disabilities and for the improvement of staff’s well-being at work and work-life balance, accordingly; 42. Notes that 17 agencies have already adopted the Charter on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) that had been endorsed by the Working Group (WGDI) dedicated to issues in the area of D&I; invites the remaining agencies to adopt that Charter without delay; welcomes the active evolution of the Working Group (WGDI) dedicated to issues in the area of diversity and inclusion (D&I) created by the EUAN; notes with appreciation in this context the various activities and events organised by the EUAN in 2022, such as: - online talks on “Redefining Leadership – Women at the helm of the EU Agencies”, on “Overcoming alpha leadership culture: how everyone can become a successful leader”, and on the commemoration of the International Day of People with Disabilities, under the name “Finding our Strength in Vulnerability”; - the EUAN D&I Awards that will reward administrative and HR initiatives that foster awareness and implementation of D&I practices currently taking place within the agencies; calls on the EUAN to provide the discharge authority with the results of the survey on D&I amongst the agencies staff; invites the EUAN to keep reporting to the discharge authority on the progress made in D&I related matters; 43. Recalls the importance of developing a long term HR policy on work-life balance, lifelong guidance and the offer of specific training possibilities for career development, gender balance at all staff levels, teleworking, the right to disconnect, the enhancement of a geographical balance to have an appropriate representation from all Member States, and the recruitment and integration of people with disabilities as well as the promotion of their equal treatment and their opportunities; 44. Notes that all agencies have put in place for all their staff a policy and measures to prevent and fight against harassment, with some of the agencies having specific measures (e.g. training courses, awareness or coaching sessions) in place for senior and middle management; further notes that 8 agencies reported to have 23 ongoing or closed harassment cases in 2022; observes that in some agencies (e.g. ECDC, ENISA, EUAA), for staff related procedures (e.g. harassment cases), support from external law firms specialised in Union Civil service law (Union Staff Regulations) is sought, even when the agencies have their own legal services department/unit; notes from the EUAN’s follow-up report to the discharge for 2021 that in the majority of cases, agencies did not face any cases of harassment where they needed to seek support from external law firms or counsels; 45. Notes that the Supreme Court of Lithuania, in its decision of 23 February 2022, upheld the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-948/19 which considered temporary agency workers to Union agencies as part of the scope of the application of Directive 2008/104/EC; calls on all the agencies to prioritise permanent staff over external consultants, in order to guarantee high quality working conditions and to prevent knowledge and experience from being lost; 46. Recalls that decentralised agencies have the possibility for up to 65 % of their total staff number to be made up of contract agents (CAs), in accordance with the Union’s Staff Regulations, a provision which aims at flexibility; notes, in this context, from the exchange of views expressed during the public hearing (called ‘Personnel and other resources at Union agencies, Bodies and Joint Undertakings’, hereinafter the ‘Public Hearing’) held in Parliament on 27/06/2023, as well as from the Study, that the Commission’s uniform procedures for defining the number of CAs leaves no flexibility to hire CAs based on workload assessment in line with the mandate of the agencies and limits their ability to adapt to emerging needs in an agile way; notes also from the Public Hearing that the costs associated with interim staff services, used to address short-term business needs and absences, significantly exceed the costs associated with CAs which is a challenge in light of the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 11 November 2021 (Case C-948/19), given that it obliges the agencies to follow the principle of equal pay for equal tasks, regardless of their contractual situation; reiterates its call on the agencies to rely as much as possible on permanent staff in order to guarantee quality working conditions, and to prevent knowledge and experience from being lost and on the Commission to ensure appropriate allocations of human resources; 47. Notes, from the Study, that in terms of workforce composition, the number of CAs has been increasing over the last decade across decentralised agencies, both in absolute terms and as a relative share of the total workforce: from 17 % in 2012 to 21 % in 2021, whereas the number of CA staff in category IV has seen the largest increase over time (with a share of up to 46 % across all function groups in 2019), potentially indicating that agencies may be employing CAs to perform core tasks within the agencies’ mandate; understands that employing CAs as an integral part of the workforce helps agencies address the exhaustion of options for efficiency gains while accommodating the increased scope of responsibilities with fewer posts; points, however, to the fact that discrepancies in contract types for similar tasks have important implications for the overall work experience of CAs and their motivation and the higher rotation of CAs working within more specialised roles could pose challenges for the retention of organisational knowledge; notes in addition from the Study the differences between the CA and local salaries across Member States, whereas for some agencies (EEA, Eurofound, Europol) the CA salaries of all function groups were lower than the average salaries on the Member States (DK, IE, NL), while the salaries of CAs employed in other agencies (e.g. ENISA, EIGE) were higher than the local salaries (EL, LT); observes that the recruitment process for CAs varies from three to nine months or more and the differences between the salaries for the variety of roles can impact the recruitment procedures and their success rates; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 48. Notes that, with the exception of one agency, all agencies have a policy for prevention and management of conflicts of interest in place; welcomes the steps taken by most agencies to strengthen their internal procedures and controls covering potential ‘revolving door’ situations and ensure full compliance with the applicable rules foreseen in the Union’s Staff Regulations; notes from the EUAN’s follow-up report to the discharge for 2021, that agencies’ members of the management boards come, in most cases, from public institutions at national level, which places the potential conflict of interest to a relatively low level; notes from the same report that for the most part, management board members are responsible for governance and supervision (only in very few cases they take operational decisions) and when such members are going to work in regulated industries, certain restrictive measures addressed to them are taken, taking into account that there is no legal obligation for those members to e.g. apply for authorisation to take up a job; calls on the EUAN to provide the Parliament with an exhaustive list of such restrictive measures that are taken in practice by the agencies; observes lastly from the Study, that CAs do not seem to be at higher risk of contributing to the ‘revolving door’ issue; 49. Notes from the EUAN’s follow-up report to the discharge for 2021 that in some cases, agencies consider their degree of exposure to risk of conflicts of interest and lobbyist pressure to be low, due to their missions, tasks they perform and the environment and context in which they operate, which has an impact on their consideration to what extent they need an anticorruption strategy, while other agencies, due to their higher exposure to such risk, have introduced fully fledged anticorruption strategies, in some cases developed with OLAF; reiterates, in this context, the need to regularly update the rules on transparency, incompatibilities, conflicts of interest and ‘revolving door’ situations, and illegal lobbying, as well as anti-fraud strategies; notes from the agencies’ follow-up report to the discharge for 2021, that most agencies do not plan to develop an internal anticorruption strategy, while in the case of some agencies (e.g. EBA, EIOPA), their anti-fraud strategies include an anti-corruption strategy; 50. Welcomes the publication of the record of all the meetings of interest representatives, stakeholders and lobbyists with the agencies where such meetings are applicable; calls on the agencies (e.g. EASA) who haven’t set up a webpage for the publication of such meetings to do so without delay; notes that, due to the nature of their business, some agencies (e.g. BEREC, CEPOL, CdT, EU-OSHA) do not organise meetings with lobbyists; 51. Notes that all agencies request declarations of interest for their management board members and senior management and that they publish them on their website; notes further that most agencies publish on their website the curriculum vitae (CV) or a short description of the background of their management board members, management staff, external experts and in-house experts; highlights that in the case of some agencies (e,g. Cedefop, EFSA, ELA, ENISA), the CVs of some of the management board members and alternates are not published; calls on those agencies to publish all those CVs on their websites without delay; 52. Highlights that most agencies reported that they did not have cases of conflicts of interest in 2022, while 9 agencies have reported such cases; notes that the cases investigated concerned former employment (ACER), failure to declare financial interests regarding e.g. honorarium received or a close family member interest (EMA), recruitment procedures (EMSA), involvement of management board members in staff related procedures (Eurojust) and employment after leaving the service (Europol); commends the agencies’ overall closure rate (19 cases concluded out of 21 reported and investigated) of such cases, with response measures taken with a view to avoid adverse impact on those agencies’ interests in 2022; reiterates the importance of having robust internal rules and frameworks in place aiming to prevent any phenomena of harassment, conflict of interest or revolving doors, thus ensuring utmost ethical standards and increasing public trust in the Union institutions; 53. Notes that all agencies have a whistle-blower policy in place; observes that 52 whistleblowing cases were reported and investigated, of which 47 cases concluded (including 37 external whistleblowing received by EMA) and 2 cases (Frontex) under investigation by OLAF in 2022; calls on all the agencies to ensure they have specific, safe and effective reporting channels in place in line with the relevant requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4) on whistleblowing; Procurement 54. Notes with great concern that the Court observed 48 weaknesses in public procurement in 2022 (compared to 34 in 2021 and 18 in 2020) and that the number of agencies concerned is increasing with 24 agencies concerned in 2022 (compared to 22 agencies in 2021 and 14 agencies in 2020); is concerned that such weaknesses remain the largest source of irregular payments, stemming from irregular procurement procedures reported either in 2022 or in previous years; echoes the Court’s recommendation that, when implementing framework contracts, the agencies concerned should only use specific contracts to procure goods or services covered by the associated framework contract; further echoes the Court’s recommendation that the agencies concerned should further improve their public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules, including with regard to the conditions for modifying existing contracts; 55. Welcomes the increased use of e-procurement tools by Union agencies; notes that the most common e-PRIOR modules used by agencies are e-Tendering, e-Submission and e-Invoicing; notes moreover that in 2022, 20 agencies adopted and implemented the Public Procurement Management Tool, 7 agencies were testing it and 23 agencies have implemented the qualified electronic signature tools; calls on all the agencies to implement those tools, work further toward the full digitalisation of their procurement processes and keep the discharge authority updated on the progress in this matter; 56. Recalls the importance for all procurement procedures, to ensure fair competition between tenderers and to procure goods and services at the best price, respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; invites all agencies to implement all the e-procurement IT tools developed by the Commission; calls on all agencies to further improve their public procurement procedures as well as to lead by example and make use of the social clause in the existing EU Public Procurement Directive to ensure that economic operators involved in public contracts comply with all applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law established by Union law, national law or collective agreement, or by applicable international environmental, social or labour law provisions; Internal control 57. Notes with concern the Court’s findings in the area of management and control systems (other than procurement and HR issues), where weaknesses were observed in 2022 regarding deficiencies in data quality and completeness, expenditure implemented without the proper delegation of power of an authorising officer, absence of adequate ex-post/ex-ante checks, and weaknesses in the management of allowances, grants and commitments; notes that from the total of 24 findings in these areas, 3 were linked to irregular payments; strongly insists on the requirement of effective management and control systems to avoid such deficiencies; reiterates its call for the strengthening of management and control systems in order to ensure the proper functioning of the agencies; 58. Notes that, at the end of 2022, all agencies reported that they had implemented the revised, COSO-based, internal control framework (ICF) and that they had performed the annual assessment of the ICF; reiterates its call on all agencies to provide as a minimum the results of the assessment at component level, encourages the agencies however to report on a more detailed level, such as per internal control principle; 59. Notes that, in 2022, according to the Court’s report concerning follow-up of previous years’ observations, 64 observations were closed and 57 observations were still being implemented or outstanding; calls on the agencies to diligently implement the observations and further improve their internal control frameworks; notes finally that 8 agencies reported to have 23 cases handled by OLAF in 2022, with 11 of those cases closed that year; Other 60. Welcomes the further steps taken by the agencies in 2022 to strengthen their cybersecurity and protection of the digital records in their possession; commends the agencies (ECDC, ECHA, EIGE, ENISA) having adopted or updated their cybersecurity and information security policies, in light of the Union regulations on cybersecurity and information security in Union institutions and bodies; notes that some agencies (e.g. CEPOL) have not yet adopted such policies due to absence in their establishment plan of allocated posts that would be needed to implement those regulations; calls on the agencies concerned to find temporary solutions (such as sharing the relevant resources with other agencies) as soon as possible and identify a way to a permanent solution; asks the EUAN to facilitate a better exchange between agencies in this context; calls on the agencies concerned to keep the discharge authority on the progress made in this matter; 61. Notes from the exchange of views expressed during the Public Hearing that (1) cyber threats are ever increasing and ENISA’s budget should increase accordingly, even if it is not entrusted with new tasks, but simply undergo an increase in the scope thereof; (2) with the Commission’s cyber solidarity and cyber resilience acts, ENISA would receive new tasks without additional resources; (3) it is very important to carry out and formalise together with agencies, through a clear and transparent method, an assessment of the resources needed when the agencies’ mandates are reinforced or their scope increases; calls on the Commission to take into account these aspects and recalls that, when it comes to cybersecurity, investments need to be made by each agency in order to comply with the legal requirements; 62. Welcomes the steps taken by the agencies to disclose and publish the results of their work through various channels, including their websites and social media; invites the agencies to continue their efforts to report relevant performance information to the Union citizens and the general public in clear and accessible language to ensure greater transparency and public accountability by better-utilising media and social media channels; expects the agencies to report to the discharge authority in this regard; 63. Welcomes the Commission communication entitled ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’ aiming to rationalise and simplify reporting requirements by 25 % for each of the green, digital and economic thematic areas, and calls on the Union agencies to streamline their internal procedures to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens; o 64. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the agencies subject to this discharge procedure, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).
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| Discharge 2022: European Labour Authority |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Labour Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(1), – having regard to the statement of assurance(2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0093/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(3), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European Labour Authority, amending Regulations (EC) No 883/2004, (EU) No 492/2011, and (EU) 2016/589 and repealing Decision (EU) 2016/344(4), and in particular Article 28 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0131/2024), 1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Labour Authority discharge in respect of the implementation of the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2022; 2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below; 3. Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Executive Director of the European Labour Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 2. European Parliament decision of 11 April 2024 on the closure of the accounts of the European Labour Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2155(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Labour Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on EU agencies for the financial year 2022, together with the agencies’ replies(6), – having regard to the statement of assurance(7) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2022, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 22 February 2024 on discharge to be given to the Authority in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2022 (06180/2024 – C9‑0093/2024), – having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012(8), and in particular Article 70 thereof, – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European Labour Authority, amending Regulations (EC) No 883/2004, (EU) No 492/2011, and (EU) 2016/589 and repealing Decision (EU) 2016/344(9), and in particular Article 28 thereof, – having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), and in particular Article 105 thereof, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0131/2024), 1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Labour Authority for the financial year 2022; 2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Executive Director of the European Labour Authority, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series). 3. European Parliament resolution of 11 April 2024 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Labour Authority for the financial year 2022 (2023/2155(DEC)) The European Parliament, – having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Labour Authority for the financial year 2022, – having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0131/2024), A. whereas according to its statement of revenue and expenditure(11) the final budget of the European Labour Authority (the ‘Authority’) for the financial year 2022 was EUR 34 689 842, representing an increase of 43,23 % compared to 2021; whereas the Authority gained financial autonomy in May 2021, and the start-up period is set to continue until 2024, both its staff and budget are expected to progressively increase throughout this period; whereas the budget of the Authority derives from the Union budget; B. whereas the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its report on the Authority’s annual accounts for financial year 2022 (the ‘Court's report’), states that it has obtained reasonable assurance that the Authority’s annual accounts are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular; Budget and financial management 1. Takes note that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation of current year commitment appropriations rate of 96,52 %, representing an increase of 0,72 % compared to 2021 and that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 34,93 %, representing an increase of 4,56 % compared to 2021; 2. Notes with concern that the Authority’s budget for 2022 was adopted by its management board on 17 December 2021, but it was not published in the Official Journal of the European Union until 31 May 2023; recalls that this contravenes Article 31 of the Authority’s financial rules and the principle of transparency it establishes; 3. Highlights the fact that this is the Authority's second discharge report; underlines that the Authority is still in its early stages, undergoing its formative phase; recalls that the Authority started its operations in 2019 and achieved financial autonomy in 2021; highlights that further development and integration of internal processes are essential in the upcoming period until the Authority achieves full operational status in 2024; 4. Observes that the Court reports that the Authority had carried over EUR 21,8 million (65 %) of available 2022 commitment appropriations to 2023 including EUR 3,4 million (or 79,6 %) of appropriations under Title II, related to administrative expenditure (compared to 63,2 % in 2021) and 16,4 million (or 90,6 %) of appropriations under Title III operational expenditure (compared to 37,7 % in 2021); recalls that recurrent high rates of carry-overs contradict the budgetary principle of annuality and are indicative of structural issues in the budget process and implementation cycle; takes note of the Authority’s reply on this matter highlighting that under Title III a significant part of the carry overs come from the high uncertainty related to the EURES portal and budget planning should be more effective following the adoption of the EURES portal strategy 2023-2030 and that at the end of June 2023 more that 80 % of carry overs from Titles I and II were already contracted; 5. Emphasises that after gaining financial autonomy in May 2021, the Authority has accumulated substantial amounts of carry-over; underscores that the Authority, as an Authority engaged in operational activities, relies heavily on the involvement of Member States, and the extent of their participation significantly influences the execution and scope of these activities; underlines that due to the voluntary nature of most activities, not all Member States partake in every activity, and some participate only to a limited extent; calls on the Member States to acknowledge the enhanced benefits provided by the Authority and to enhance collaboration between their competent authorities and the Authority; Performance 6. Notes that in 2022,the Authority, for the first time, presented a work programme within a multiannual framework (the single programming document for 2022–2024 and continued to improve its programming documents; notes furthermore that theAuthority identified the main strategic areas of work and its objectives and developed a new set of KPIs linked with the strategic areas; observes that those indicators, included in its single programming document for 2023–2025, will be used as of 2023; 7. Welcomes the Authority’s achievements in fulfilling its mandate and meeting the objectives of the 2022-2024 single programming document, especially the work for 2022, despite the challenges arising from the continued growth and development of the organisation; 8. Notes that the Authority has successfully implemented the road transport action framework and the related #Road2FairTransport campaign, in cooperation with other Member State authorities, social partners and stakeholders, among others; further notes that the Authority executed 33 concerted and joint inspections with the participation of 25 Member States and assisted a roadside demonstration inspection; 9. Commends the Authority’s commitment in expanding its capacity-building activities, with the launch of IMI-PROVE programme and in facilitating digital technologies and innovation, with the organisation of the Authority’s TECH conference 2022; notes furthermore the Authority’s launch of its mediation service, having dealt with its first cases; 10. Notes with appreciation the Authority’s reaction to the situation of those fleeing the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, implementing information and enforcing activities focused on supporting Member States in the protection of vulnerable people from the risks of undeclared work and exploitation in the workplace; 11. Notes with concern the significant reductions in the job registration rate and the employer registration rate of the European employment services (EURES) portal (– 77 % and – 37 %, respectively, compared with 2021due to the introduction of the EU Login requirements; calls on the Authority to simplify the process in cooperation with the Commission; 12. Appreciates the fact that the Authority’s work to assist Member States and the Commission in ensuring a fair and effective enforcement of Union rules on labour mobility and coordination of social security systems, in facilitating effective labour mobility in Europe through EURES activities, and, effectively, making it easier for citizens and businesses to reap the benefits of the internal market; in this regard, welcomes the work of the Authority’s four working groups on information, inspections, mediation and European platform tackling undeclared work; 13. Notes that one of the Authority’s objectives is to facilitate and enhance cooperation between Member States in the enforcement of relevant Union law across the Union, including facilitating concerted and joint inspections; looks forward to the forthcoming Commission evaluation in 2024 of the Authority’s performance in relation to its objectives, mandate and tasks; notes that the Commission on the basis of that evaluation may, as appropriate, submit a legislative proposals to review the scope of the Authority; Efficiency and gains 14. Observes that in 2022 the Authority has developed its cooperation with other Union bodies and organisations to avoid overlap and promote synergies; further notes that the Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commission, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training; observes that the Authority has also signed a framework for cooperation with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and has started talks with the Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation; 15. Welcomes that the Authority is promoting a modern, digital and flexible work environment enhancing staff’s wellbeing and decreasing its environmental impact through the implementation of hybrid working rules, contributing to reducing CO2 emissions; further notes the Authority’s achievement regarding its premises in Slovakia, having received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certificate, fulfilling the European Commission rigorous criteria; 16. Notes that the Authority has continued to implement its functionalities of the Advanced Records System, the Sysper system, eProcurement and Speedwell, among others in order to improve efficiency of systems and workflows; 17. Notes that the Authority is among the Union agencies which yet has to established a corporate plan to improve the energy efficiency and climate neutrality of its operations; 18. Encourages the Authority to develop an active cooperation with other agencies and to report regularly to Parliament on its progress made; Staff policy 19. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 86 % implemented, with 49 temporary agents appointed out of 57 temporary agents authorised under the Union budget; notes that, in addition, 13 contract agents and 55 seconded national experts (SNEs), including 27 national liaison officers (NLOs) worked for the Authority in 2022; notes that the Authority achieved an important growth of its workforce after intensive recruitment efforts in 2022; 20. Notes the gender distribution within the Authority’s senior and middle management, with 4 out of 6 (67 %) being men; notes the gender balance within the Authority’s management board, with 20 out of 34 (59 %) being men; further notes the gender balance within the Authority’s overall staff, with 41 out of 65 (63 %) being women; recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Authority to persist in taking this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments especially within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Authority’s management board; observes with satisfaction that the Authority had 27 nationalities based on its establishment plan posts (statutory staff) at the end of 2022; 21. Notes that the capacity of the Authority has grown significantly in 2022 thanks to its commitment to attract high quality talent, with 117 staff members (in 2022); further notes that the Authority needs to continue with its strong effort in recruitment, as well as the onboarding of newcomers and dealing with challenges such as turnover and decline of jobs; further notes that the Authority’s recruitment policy will continue to be based on the principles of equal treatment and open and transparent recruitment procedures, as well as published and communicated to all interested parties; 22. Observes that the end of 2022, the proportion of temporary workers (SNEs and interims) at the Authority was 58 %; draws attention to high reliance on temporary workers leads to a regular high staff turnover, entailing the risk of losing expertise (specialised knowledge, contact networks built with stakeholders), which could negatively affect its operational capabilities; appreciates the Authority's call for the conversion of 15 SNEs posts into temporary agents posts (TAs), without the need to increase the budget envisaged in the multiannual financial statement, in order to assure the Authority operational stability, knowledge retention and the effective implementation its objectives; 23. Takes note that the Authority hired an interim agent and a trainee for five months (November 2022 to March 2023) and granted them ABAC access rights allowing them to enter data and initiate operations to support the annual budget closure procedure; recalls that the use of interim workers to perform the Authority’s core financial activities associated with budget implementation contravenes Article 41(1) of its financial rules, which states that only staff members can be delegated the power of budget implementation; observes that according to the Authority and to ensure business continuity in case of lack of statutory staff and of abnormal workload exceptionally granted data entry agent and financial initiating agent roles to interim agent/trainee for a limited period, after receiving necessary training and having a supervising verifying agent for all financial transactions; 24. Welcomes the fact that the Authority continued in the adoption and implementation of human resources rules and regulations such as the policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological harassment and sexual harassment, new human resources rules on work time and hybrid working and the learning development framework implementing the provisions on the conduct of administrative enquiries and disciplinary provisions; 25. Notes that the Authority offered measures in support of integration, including team-building and social events and activities, information packages, various training sessions and support with the registration of staff and family members with the national authorities ; further notes that the Authority runs an annual well-being pulse survey to measure wellbeing, staff satisfaction and collect staff views; welcomes that the Authority carried out first elections for the staff committee and established it successfully in 2022; 26. Notes that the Authority is committed to promoting and acting on equality and diversity at work, ensuring that its recruitment procedures do not discriminate on the grounds of gender, colours and race, among others; notes that this work led to an improvement in the statistics on staff diversity compared to 2021; further notes that the Authority has developed a series of measures for the integrations of persons with disabilities, ensuring equal participation in interviews and tests; Procurement 27. Notes that the Authority established in 2022 its procurement plan in line with the operational activities and its corporate needs, while considering environmental and social aspects in calls for tender and promoting socially responsible public procurement; further notes that the Authority worked on enhancing the efficiency and the timely implementation of its procurement plan, and intends to use the request module of the public procurement management tool in the preparation of its procurement plan for 2023; 28. Takes note that according to the Court, in a procurement procedure to support the Authority’s activities in the field of designing, organising and implementing training events, the tender specifications established a maximum contract value at EUR 6 million over four years; observes that the Authority awarded the contract to a tenderer whose financial offer was EUR 12,9 million; recalls that this contravenes point 12.3 (a) of Annex I to the Financial Regulation, which stipulates that tenders are to be considered unacceptable “when the price of the tender exceeds contracting authority’s maximum budget as determined and documented prior to the launch of the procurement procedure”; notes furthermore that the Court concluded that this procurement and the contract award are irregular although no payments associated with this contract were made in 2022; 29. Recalls that the objective of public procurement rules is to enable procuring entities to obtain the goods and services they need at best price, while ensuring fair competition between tenderers and compliance with the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; calls on the Authority to further improve its public procurement procedures, ensuring full compliance with the applicable rules, so that they achieve the best possible value for public resources; Prevention and management of conflicts of interest and transparency 30. Notes the Authority’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and takes note that the declarations of conflict of interest of its management board members are published in its website; 31. Notes that the Authority publishes the CV of its executive director and is working on the publication of their members of the management board and middle management CVs in 2023; calls on the Authority to report to the discharge authority any development in that regard; 32. Is aware that in 2023 the Authority adopted a decision of the executive director on the publication of information on meetings with interest representatives and other externals; notes that with this decision the Authority shall make public information on all meetings held by the executive director, the management board chair and deputy chair when acting in this capacity and of heads of units with interest representatives and other externals; 33. Observes that the Authority has adopted in November 2022 a conflicts of interest policy, which covers members and observers of the management board, the stakeholder group, the Authority’s working groups and panels, including the platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work, external experts and SNEs, including NLOs; further notes that no cases of conflicts of interest or whistleblowing were reported in 2022; 34. Notes that the Authority has in place an ‘end of service checklist and confidentiality form for all its staff’ including references to staff regulations obligations on end of service; Internal control 35. Notes with concern from the Court’s report that the Authority’s internal rules require SNEs and NLOs to reside in Bratislava; is aware that SNEs and NLOs receive daily and monthly allowances to cover living expenses in Bratislava and that in order to receive them, they must make a formal declaration that they actually live there, and commit to providing proof of residence on request; observes that the Authority was unable to provide proof that a particular NLO lived in Bratislava in response to request by the Court, leading to the conclusion that the allowances received by this NLO, totalling EUR 83 734 – of which EUR 50 700 was paid in 2022 –, were irregular; considers that the Authority’s ex-ante checks on these declarations are weak as they are based solely on the declarations of the SNEs and NLOs, and not on documentary evidence; regrets the lack of ex post checks and that this creates the risk that the amounts the Authority pays for these allowances may not be correct; takes note that as from 2023, the Authority has strengthened the management and control of the SNE file, especially for ex ante checks, where all SNEs are asked for proof of residence; 36. Draws attention to the Court’s observation that the Authority had not fully established and formalised its ex-ante checks, and had not set up ex-post checks, in the area of contract implementation; notes that in particular, the Authority had authorised payments for translation, event organisation, training and communication without fully verifying key parameters determining the prices to be paid such as quantity of services provided, compliance with minimum quality requirements, and unit prices applied; expresses its deep concern in this regard and points out that these shortcomings and the failure to remedy them may pose a risk to the use of public funds; 37. Urges the Authority to reassess and update its internal processes, ex-ante controls, ex-post methodology in order to credibly address the Court’s observations and to report back to the discharge authority on the measures taken in this regard; 38. Underlines the fact that from 2023 onwards, initiatives to enhance the Authority's ex ante controls have been implemented, including specialised training for staff on financial procedures and ex ante controls; 39. Notes that the Authority’s Management Board adopted its internal control framework in 2020 and its development will be finalised in 2023, based on the recommendations of the Internal Audit Service on the internal control framework; 40. Notes that the Authority carries out an annual risk assessment exercise and in 2022 finalised and developed a draft action plan to lower its risks; further notes that the Authority adopted and implemented its 2021–2023 anti-fraud strategy, and that the implementation of the strategy is monitored via a dedicated action plan; 41. Recalls that the Authority has not adopted yet its business continuity plan which is under development and which will be finalised during 2023; 42. Is aware that the Authority is currently in a period of growth; notes that the development of the internal control framework indicators will be finalised based on the recommendations of the IAS audit on the internal control framework, which will be conducted in 2023; Other comments 43. Notes with concern the substantial work that the Authority needs to accomplish, particularly in strengthening its internal control mechanisms; acknowledges the Authority's backlog of plans that were scheduled for implementation in 2023, in which the discharge authority expects the Authority to deliver and communicate concrete results in order to effectively address the identified shortcomings; however understands that the work is still in progress since the Authority started it operations in 2019; 44. Notes that the Authority has implemented important measures to increase its cybersecurity such as CERT EU covering log, double key encryption and connectivity to the European Commission systems among others and to digitalised its procurement processes; 45. Welcomes that the Authority has initiated an environmental analysis and preparation for its environmental statement and action plan for the implementation of the EMAS certification, which will be completed by 2023; 46. Notes that the Authority has adopted in early 2023 its new communication strategy 2023-2026 aiming to increase its visibility, reputation and awareness about its work; further notes that the Authority organised, jointly with other Agencies, and in cooperation with Parliament an event to explore the challenges and opportunities for young people; 47. Notes that the Authority implemented several measures to reduce its environmental impact, however has not developed a written environmental strategy yet and plans to commence in 2023; o 48. Refers, for other observations of a cross-cutting nature accompanying its decision on discharge, to its resolution of 11 April 2024(12) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.
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| Internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen (recast) |
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(Ordinary legislative procedure – recast) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0804), – having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0470/2021), – having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the reasoned opinions submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Czech Chamber of Deputies and the Czech Senate, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, – having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 19 May 2022(1), – having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 12 October 2022(2), – having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts(3), – having regard to the letter of 2 February 2023 sent by the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in accordance with Rule 110(3) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 20 December 2023 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Rules 110 and 59 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0032/2023), A. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the Commission proposal does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance; 1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission; 2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; 3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 11 April 2024 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, amending Regulations (EU) No 1227/2011, (EU) 2017/1938, (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2022/869 and Decision (EU) 2017/684 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 (recast)
(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1789.)
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| Common rules for the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen (recast) |
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(Ordinary legislative procedure – recast) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2021)0803), – having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0468/2021), – having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the reasoned opinions submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Czech Chamber of Deputies and the Czech Senate, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, – having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 19 May 2022(1), – having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 12 October 2022(2), – having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts(3), – having regard to the letter of 2 February 2023 sent by the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy in accordance with Rule 110(3) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 20 December 2023 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to Rules 110 and 59 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinions of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0035/2023), A. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the Commission proposal does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance; 1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission; 2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; 3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 11 April 2024 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, amending Directive (EU) 2023/1791 and repealing Directive 2009/73/EC (recast)
(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Directive (EU) 2024/1788.)
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| Union’s electricity market design: Regulation |
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(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0148), – having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0049/2023), – having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 June 2023(1), – having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 5 July 2023(2), – having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 22 December 2023 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the decision by the Conference of Presidents of 21 February 2024 to authorise the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy to split the legislative procedure and to proceed with the tabling of two separate consolidated texts for consideration in plenary, – having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, – having regard to the letters from the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0255/2023), 1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; 2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; 3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 11 April 2024 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 as regards improving the Union’s electricity market design
(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1747.)
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| Union’s electricity market design: Directive |
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(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0148), – having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9‑0038/2024), – having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 June 2023(1), – having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 5 July 2023(2), – having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 22 December 2023 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, – having regard to the decision by the Conference of Presidents of 21 February 2024 to authorise the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy to split the legislative procedure and to proceed with the tabling of two separate consolidated texts for consideration in plenary, – having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, – having regard to the letters from the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0151/2024), 1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; 2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; 3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 11 April 2024 with a view to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directives (EU) 2018/2001 and (EU) 2019/944 as regards improving the Union’s electricity market design
(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Directive (EU) 2024/1711.)
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| Inclusion of the right to abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights |
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The European Parliament, – having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, – having regard to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979, – having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) of 2000, – having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU(1), – having regard to its resolution of 14 November 2019 on the criminalisation of sexual education in Poland(2), – having regard to its resolution of 26 November 2020 on the de facto ban on the right to abortion in Poland(3), – having regard to its resolution of 11 November 2021 on the first anniversary of the de facto abortion ban in Poland(4), – having regard to its resolution of 24 June 2021 on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health(5), – having regard to its resolution of 5 May 2022 on the impact of the war against Ukraine on women(6), – having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2022 on global threats to abortion rights: the possible overturning of abortion rights in the US by the Supreme Court(7), – having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2022 on the US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and women’s health in the EU(8), – having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2023 on proposals of the European Parliament for the amendment of the Treaties(9), – having regard to the WHO guidelines entitled ‘Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems’, – having regard to the WHO 2017-2021 strategy on women’s health and well-being in Europe: beyond the mortality advantage and to the 2016 action plan for sexual and reproductive health: towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Europe – leaving no one behind, – having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152), – having regard to the Commission communication of 12 November 2020 entitled ‘Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0698), – having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, – having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), – having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which opened for signature in Istanbul on 11 May 2011 (the Istanbul Convention) and was ratified by the EU on 28 June 2023, – having regard to the UN Human Rights Committee general comment no. 36 (2018) on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life, – having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2024 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union – annual report 2022 and 2023(10), – having regard to its resolution of 28 February 2024 entitled ‘Report on the Commission’s 2023 Rule of Law report’(11), – having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure, A. whereas access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe and legal abortion care, constitutes a fundamental right; whereas the fulfilment of SRHR is essential in upholding human dignity and is intrinsically linked to combating sexual and gender-based violence, and achieving gender equality and a wide range of other human rights such as a person’s right to life, health, privacy, security of the person, non-discrimination, equality before the law and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; B. whereas people’s ability to exercise their reproductive autonomy, control their reproductive lives and decide if, when and how to have children is essential to the full realisation of human rights for women, girls and all persons who can be pregnant; whereas a person’s body, their choice, and thus their full autonomy are what must be guaranteed; C. whereas the Charter enshrines the main fundamental rights and liberties for people living in the EU; whereas the protection of safe and legal abortion care has direct implications for the effective exercise of the rights recognised in the Charter, such as human dignity, personal autonomy, equality, health and physical and mental integrity; whereas being deprived of access to abortion care constitutes a violation of these fundamental rights; D. whereas the UN Human Rights Committee has specifically recognised that an individual’s decision to pursue voluntary termination of pregnancy falls within the scope of the right to privacy; whereas the UN Human Rights Committee has further found that failure to act in conformity with a woman’s decision to undergo a lawful abortion is a violation of the right to privacy, including when the judiciary interferes with such a decision; E. whereas in its General Recommendation No. 35, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) explicitly stated that the criminalisation of abortion is a violation of women’s SRHR and a form of gender-based violence, and urged states to repeal all legislation that criminalises abortion; F. whereas SRHR are among the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, notably Target 3.7 calling for universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes, and Target 5.6 pointing out the need to ensure universal access to SRHR as agreed in line with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences; G. whereas countries with less restrictive abortion laws generally have lower abortion rates than countries with highly restrictive abortion laws(12); whereas in view of ensuring full bodily autonomy, including reducing unintended pregnancies and enabling people to make informed decisions about their lives and bodies, access to comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based sexuality and relationship education for all is key, as well as to high-quality, accessible, safe and free contraception and family planning counselling; whereas age-appropriate, comprehensive sexuality education is essential in building children’s and young people’s ability to form healthy, equal and safe relationships, notably by addressing gender norms, gender equality, power dynamics in relationships and consent and respect for boundaries; whereas it also contributes to achieving gender equality; H. whereas in a landmark vote on 4 March 2024, French lawmakers enshrined the guaranteed freedom to have an abortion in the French Constitution; whereas France is the first country in the world to explicitly make abortion a constitutional right; whereas this constitutional revision aims to establish a safeguard in the context of the backsliding on abortion rights in the EU and globally, including in the US, Poland, Hungary and Malta; whereas the work and commitment of feminist organisations and parliamentarians in France was key in ensuring a majority in support of the constitutional protection of the right to abortion; I. whereas since the inclusion of the right to abortion in the French Constitution, similar initiatives have already been considered in other countries such as Spain and Sweden, which shows the need for a European response to the pushback on gender equality and SRHR backsliding and to constitutionally protect the rights that are under attack; J. whereas financial support needs to accompany positive legislative changes to make the right to access abortion care a reality; K. whereas although the EU has some of the highest SRHR standards in the world, women and members of the LGBTIQ+ community still face obstacles in enjoying their bodily autonomy; whereas these obstacles can be of a legal, policy, financial, cultural or information-related nature; L. whereas some Member States still have highly restrictive laws prohibiting abortion except in strictly defined circumstances, resulting in women having to seek unsafe and life-threatening procedures, travel to other countries or carry their pregnancy to term against their will, which is a violation of their human rights and a form of gender-based violence; whereas some Member States that have legalised abortion on request or on broad social grounds nonetheless continue to maintain specific criminal sanctions for abortions performed outside the scope of the applicable legal provisions; M. whereas several Member States are currently trying to further limit access to SRHR through highly restrictive laws, resulting in limited access to healthcare and gender-based discrimination and violence; whereas these initiatives and this backsliding obstruct the fulfilment of people’s rights, hinder countries’ development and undermine democracy, European values and fundamental rights; N. whereas a coordinated and well-funded backsliding on gender equality, LGBTIQ+ diversity and feminism is taking shape globally; whereas across the globe, regressive forces and ultra-conservative religious and far right actors are trying to undo decades of human rights advances and impose a harmful world view on gender roles in families and public life; whereas these movements and attacks are closely connected to the trend of authoritarian rollbacks on global democracy; whereas this represents a clear threat to the rule of law in Europe; O. whereas these anti-gender and anti-rights movements are specifically attacking sexual and reproductive rights and women’s autonomy, and influencing legislation and policy, leading to retrogressive initiatives being implemented in several Member States with the aim of undermining SRHR; P. whereas Poland has further restricted access to legal abortion care, following a ruling of the illegitimate Constitutional Tribunal on 22 October 2020(13) entailing a de facto abortion ban and leading to the death of at least six women; whereas women have been under investigation for allegedly having abortions and women human and reproductive rights defenders have been prosecuted for helping women access abortion care, or for protesting for the right to abortion; whereas the recent judgment of the ECtHR in M.L. v. Poland found that there had been a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to respect for private and family life in the case of a woman that was forced to travel abroad for an abortion at considerable personal expense and away from her family support network and entailing a significant psychological impact; Q. whereas the newly-elected Polish Government is committed to proposing new laws to ensure women’s rights and access to SRHR, including abortion care; whereas, regrettably, a vote on proposals for bills to decriminalise and ensure access to abortion care was postponed in the Polish Sejm; R. whereas in Malta, abortion is de facto banned and criminalised; whereas the July 2023 reform saw a worrisome shift in the Maltese Parliament, removing rights and adding even more risks and barriers than before to access to abortion care; whereas among these barriers, doctors can only terminate a pregnancy if the person’s life is at immediate risk and before ‘fetal viability’, and are required to refer the dying pregnant person to a medical panel of three consultants; whereas cases of grave jeopardy to health are excluded from the law; whereas a pregnant person with cancer in Malta cannot be treated accordingly and must wait for the birth of the child before accessing cancer treatment, resulting in lower chances of successful treatment; S. whereas medical abortion is not legal in Slovakia or Hungary; whereas in September 2022, Hungary passed a decree obliging women seeking an abortion to listen to the ‘fetal heartbeat’; whereas in Slovakia, repeated attempts to restrict access to abortion care through retrogressive bills in the parliament have been observed; T. whereas access to abortion care is also being eroded in Italy(14); whereas in countries such as Italy, Slovakia and Romania, a large majority of doctors declare themselves conscientious objectors, making the de facto access to abortion care extremely challenging in some regions; whereas access to timely and appropriate abortion care is being denied in other Member States as a result of practical obstacles, such as in Croatia(15); U. whereas several attempts to fully decriminalise abortion in Belgium have been delayed in the Belgian Federal Parliament; V. whereas in some countries, abortion procedures and unbiased counselling remain taboo and rarely form part of the obligatory medical training, leading to a lack of knowledge and practice among physicians to the detriment of patients’ physical and mental health; W. whereas disinformation on abortion, including online, poses a real obstacle to women’s autonomy; whereas until recently in Germany, the provision of information on doctors’ websites about medical abortion methods was considered as promoting abortion and was penalised; whereas the ‘abortion advertising ban’ was only lifted in July 2022; X. whereas Ukrainian refugees have been unable to access abortion care in some Member States, including in cases of sexual violence, which constitutes a grave violation of their human rights and amounts to torture and inhuman or degrading treatment; Y. whereas criminalising, delaying and denying access to SRHR, specifically abortion care, constitutes a form of gender-based violence; whereas these restrictions and bans do not reduce the number of abortions, but instead force people to travel long distances or resort to unsafe abortions, which also makes them vulnerable to criminal investigation and prosecution; whereas they affect those most lacking in resources and information; whereas almost all deaths stemming from unsafe abortions occur in countries where abortion is severely restricted; whereas these deaths are preventable; whereas unsafe abortion is a leading – but preventable – cause of maternal morbidity; Z. whereas marginalised persons and groups, including racial, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, people living in rural areas, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and victims of violence, often face additional barriers, intersectional discrimination and violence in accessing healthcare; whereas this is a result of laws and policies that allow for coercive sexual and reproductive healthcare practices and a failure to ensure reasonable accommodations in access to quality care and information; 1. Recalls, once again, that SRHR are fundamental human rights which must be protected and enhanced and cannot in any way be watered down or withdrawn; 2. Recalls the EU’s commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual, in particular of every woman and girl, to have bodily autonomy and full control over and decide freely on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights, free from discrimination, coercion and violence; 3. Urges the European Council to launch a Convention for the revision of the Treaties, as requested in its resolutions of 9 June 2022 and of 22 November 2023, and to adopt its proposal included in its resolution of 22 November 2023 to add sexual and reproductive healthcare and the right to safe and legal abortion to the Charter and amend it as follows:
4. Condemns, in the strongest terms, the backsliding on women’s rights and all regressive attempts to restrict or remove existing protections for SRHR and gender equality taking place globally, including in the EU Member States, as well as all forms of threats, intimidation and harassment directed against human rights defenders and civil society organisations working to advance these rights; 5. Is concerned about the significant surge in funding for anti-gender and anti-choice groups in the world, including in the EU; calls on the Commission to make use of all available tools to ensure that organisations working against gender equality and women’s rights including reproductive rights do not receive EU funding; 6. Urges the Member States to fully decriminalise abortion in line with the 2022 WHO guidelines, and to remove and combat obstacles to safe and legal abortion and access to SRHR; calls on Poland and Malta to repeal their laws and other measures concerning bans and restrictions on abortion; urges the Polish authorities to prioritise legislative efforts to ensure full access to safe and legal abortion as soon as possible; urges the Maltese authorities to immediately decriminalise abortion and provide access to safe and legal abortion in line with the 2022 WHO guidelines; 7. Urges all Member State governments to guarantee access to safe, legal and free abortion care, to pre-natal and maternal healthcare services and supplies, voluntary family planning, contraception and youth-friendly services, and to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, without discrimination; 8. Condemns the fact that, in some Member States, abortion is being denied by medical practitioners, and in some cases by entire medical institutions, on the basis of the ‘conscience’ clause; deplores the fact that this clause is often used in situations where any delay endangers the patient’s life or health; 9. Calls on the Member States to ensure access to the full range of SRHR services including comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based sexuality and relationship education for all, high-quality, accessible, safe and free contraceptive methods and supplies, and family planning counselling, paying special attention to women of colour, Roma women, older women, women with lower education levels, LGBTIQ+ people, women with disabilities, adolescents, migrant women, including irregular migrants, and single women; 10. Calls on Member States and local governments to increase their spending on programmes and their direct subsidies to structures, including healthcare and family planning services and other organisations active in this field; 11. Urges Member State governments to make abortion methods and procedures an obligatory part of the curriculum for doctors and medical students, in particular gynaecology students; 12. Calls on all Member States to remove the legal, financial, social and practical barriers and restrictions on abortion, including those disproportionately affecting women in poverty, in particular racialised women, including black women and ethnic minority women, and women of single-parent households; 13. Acknowledges the important role of civil society organisations and SRHR human rights defenders as service providers and advocates for SRHR, and encourages them to continue their work; calls for the EU and the Member States to ensure and politically support an enabling civic space in the EU through a civil society strategy, to ensure the protection of women and SRHR human rights defenders through a protection mechanism for human rights defenders and to support them financially, notably through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme; calls on Member States to improve access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including abortion, through the EU4Health programme; 14. Calls further for the EU to act as an advocate and make the recognition of this right a key priority in negotiations within international institutions and in other multilateral forums such as the Council of Europe and the UN; calls for the EU to ratify the European Convention on Human Rights; 15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.
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| Legal notice - Privacy policy |