Parltrack

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes the general concept of '~~corporate~~good governance~~' as a set of processes, customs, policies and rules affecting the way a company or institution is directed, administered and controlled~~’, particularly its inherent principles of administrative transparency, efficiency, participation and responsibility, with the aim of reducing costs and improving output for the benefit of the groups concerned;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Views the prevention and investigation of corruption as a fundamental precondition of 'good governance';

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Draws the attention to the need urgently to introduce a clear and transparent corporate governance system in Parliament defined as a set of responsibilities and practices exercised by Parliament's principal decision-makers (the Bureau, the Secretary-General and senior line management) with the aim of: - providing strategic direction, - ensuring that Parliament's objectives are achieved, - ascertaining that risks are managed appropriately, and - verifying that Parliament's resources are used responsibly;deleted

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – introductory part

2. Draws ~~the~~ attention to the need urgently to introduce a clear and transparent ~~corporate~~system of governance ~~system~~ in Parliament, defined as a set of responsibilities and practices exercised by Parliament's principal decision-makers (the Bureau, the Secretary-General and senior line management), with the aim of:

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls that a draft report on Parliamentary control of the implementation of the budget by the policy department on budgetary affairs was issued on 12 March 2009 and recommends that a set of best practices be adopted by Parliament;

Amendment 6 #

Marta ANDREASEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses that key elements of good corporate governance include ~~honesty and integrity,~~ transparency and openness, responsibility and accountability of the persons entrusted with corporate governance in an organisation;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses that key elements of a good ~~corporate~~system of governance include honesty and integrity, transparency and openness, responsibility and accountability and some degree of independence from top management on the part of the persons entrusted with ~~corporate~~ governance in an organisation;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that Parliament is a complex organisation in which the boundary between political and administrative decisions is not always clear due to the multilayered character of the institution's governance structure ~~and the fact that high-level administrative decision-makers are not always appointed on the basis of their managerial capabilities alone~~;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that Parliament is a complex organisation in which the boundary between political and administrative decisions and responsibilities is not always clear due to the multilayered character of the institution's governance structure and the fact that high- level administrative decision-makers are ~~not always~~usually appointed ~~on the basis of~~not for their managerial capabilities ~~alone~~, but rather on the basis of their position of trust within a political group;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that complex governance structures and management procedures need ~~more sophisticated~~ internal control and risk management systems ~~than less complex governance structures~~ in order to ensure accountability and protect the political leadership and the administrative managers from financial and non-financial risks;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Believes that ~~complex governance structures and management procedures need~~ more sophisticated internal control and risk management systems ~~than less complex governance structures in order to ensur~~will improve accountability and protect the political leadership and the administrative managers from financial and non-financial risks;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Invites the competent services, therefore, to review and, if necessary, reinforce the minimum internal control standards in order to include lessons learned and to keep in line with developments in risk management and corporate governance; recalls that authorising departments are under an obligation to respect the standards in developing their internal control systems and implementing measures; invites the competent services to seek the opinion of its Committee on Budgetary Control before the revised minimum internal control standards is sent to the Bureau for review and approval;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Invites the competent services, therefore, to review and reinforce the minimum internal control standards in order to include lessons learned and to keep in line with developments in risk management and ~~corporate~~ governance; recalls that authorising departments are under an obligation to respect the standards in developing their internal control systems and implementing measures; invites the competent services to seek the opinion of its Committee on Budgetary Control before the revised minimum internal control standards is sent to the Bureau for review and approval;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses that the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty has increased Parliament's powers and the workload for its Members and their auxiliary staff; opines that the working conditions in all places of work should adequately reflect the increased need for labour and material; calls on its Secretary-General to submit plans for providing adequate office-space in particular in its Strasbourg offices, where the hygiene cubicles in the offices should be removed and a visitors' reception office should be created;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. In that regard recalls its findings concerning the asbestos rehabilitation works, and asks its Secretary-General to report on the operational and financial results of the works and possible future needs for consequential remedial measures;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Draws attention to the payments of Strasbourg renovations borne by Parliament and is of the opinion that it those payments should not be borne by the taxpayer but by Strasbourg City Council;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Suggests that its Committee on Budgetary Control receive the buildings questionnaire and the answers thereto at the same time as its Committee on Budgets;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Stresses that there is very little added value of Parl-TV because of the small number of its viewers; is of the opinion that Parl-TV's financing and the whole project should be reviewed;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that, according to the 2009 Eurobarometer, 76 % of the citizens of the Union agree there is corruption within the EU institutions;

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 8

The discharge process ~~- an occasion for learning and critical scrutiny~~

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Recognises that it is unusual for a public institution to discharge itself; s~~Stresses that the added value of the parliamentary and public procedure leading up to Parliament's discharge of itself is the additional possibility for exercising, in public, a critical scrutiny of the institution's financial management and thereby facilitating European citizens' understanding of Parliament's particular set-up, governance structure and working methods;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recognises that it is unusual and requires high responsibility for a public institution to discharge itself; stresses that the added value of the parliamentary and public procedure leading up to Parliament's discharge of itself is the additional possibility for exercising, in public, a critical scrutiny of the institution's financial management and thereby facilitating European citizens' understanding of Parliament's particular set-up, governance structure and working methods;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Draws attention to the fact that Parliament's financial management is an extremely vulnerable and high-risk area and that even non-material shortcomings may result in considerable reputational damage and may cast doubt on Parliament's overall policy achievements;deleted

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Draws attention to the ~~fact that~~need for further risk reduction in Parliament's financial management ~~is an extremely vulnerable and high-risk area and that~~where even non-material shortcomings may result in considerable reputational damage ~~and may cast doubt on Parliament's overall po~~overshadowing Parliament's policy achievements and reminds Parliament's Members and staff of their personal responsibilicty ~~achiev~~in Parliament's proper financial managements;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Stresses that critical scrutiny is necessary to ensure that Parliament's financial managers are held fully accountable, because only full and complete transparency offers European citizens an insight into Parliament's financial management and its use of taxpayers' money;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Stresses that critical scrutiny is necessary to ensure that Parliament's financial ~~manage~~actors are held fully accountable, because only full transparency offers European citizens an insight into Parliament's financial management and its use of taxpayers' money;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Further stresses that Parliament's discharging of itself must be seen as an expression of its acknowledgement of its particular governance structures and management procedures as well as its political will and readiness: to ensure that: - 'appearance' does not substitute critical reality checks, and - ownership of any critical area is clear, and to avoid: - intrinsic oversight failure, and - a culture in which riding the waves becomes the rule and causing the waves the exception;deleted

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Further stress~~Acknowledges that Parliament's discharging of itself must be seen as an expression of its acknowledgement of its particular governance structures and management procedures as well as its political will and readiness: to ensure that: - 'appearance' does not substitute critical reality checks, and - ownership of any critical area is clear, and to avoid: - intrinsic oversight failure, and - a culture in which riding the waves becomes the rule and causing the waves the exceptionis due to particular governance structures in place in the Union and the process must always ensure that there is rapid ownership and rapid solution of any problems identified;

Amendment 29 #

Marta ANDREASEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Further stresses that Parliament's discharging of itself must be seen as ~~an expression of its acknowledgement of it~~this EU institution’s particular governance structures and management procedures as well as its political will and readiness: to ensure that: - 'appearance' does not substitute critical reality checks, and - ownership of any critical area is clear, and to avoid: - intrinsic oversight failure, and - a culture in which riding the waves becomes the rule and causing the waves the exrogance which is not unusual within the EU environment and opposes the most generally accepted and common sense corporate government concept~~ion~~s;

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading (before paragraph 12)

~~The activities of its Committee on Budgetary Control...~~deleted

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Invites its Committee on Budgetary Control, therefore, not only to continue but also to strengthen its critical analysis of whether Parliament's governance structures and management procedures are sufficient to ensure transparency, correct transactions, and sound financial management;deleted

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Invites its Committee on Budgetary Control, therefore, not only to continue but also to strengthen its critical analysis of whether Parliament's governance structures and management procedures are sufficient to ensure transparency, completeness, correct transactions, and sound financial management;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that it is a distinctive feature of its internal organisation that Parliament's suppliers (Members) are also customers (Members) and that Parliament, as institution, has a fundamental interest in full transparency in regard to its financial management; expects its Committee on Budgetary Control, therefore, to comply fully with its specific and important parliamentary role by clearly highlighting where improvements can be done;deleted

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that ~~it is a distinctive feature of its internal organisation that Parliament's suppliers (Members) are also customers (Members) and that~~ Parliament, as institution, has a fundamental interest in full transparency in regard to its financial management; expects its Committee on Budgetary Control, therefore, to comply fully with its specific and important parliamentary role by clearly highlighting where improvements can be ~~done~~made, as it does with other institutions;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Fully understands that objective, professional and comprehensive analysis of complex decision-making and management structures and procedures is more challenging and time-consuming than purely rhetorical statements and recommends that the Committee on Budgetary Control be better equipped to accomplish its increasingly demanding tasks by reinforcing substantially the establishment plan for that committee's secretariat;deleted

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Fully understands that objective, professional and comprehensive analysis of complex decision-making and management structures and procedures is ~~more~~ challenging and time-consuming ~~than purely rhetorical statements~~ and recommends that the Committee on Budgetary Control be better equipped to accomplish its increasingly demanding tasks by reinforcing substantially the establishment plan for that committee's secretariat;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Stresses that the new wording of Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (introduced by the Lisbon Treaty) will be very challenging for Parliament's control activities and expects that the secretariat of its competent committee - the Committee on Budgetary Control - will receive additional resources so that it can continue to ensure a high-quality service for its Members;deleted

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Stresses that the new wording of Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (introduced by the Lisbon Treaty) ~~will be~~presents very challenging tasks for Parliament's control activities and expects that the secretariat of its competent committee - the Committee on Budgetary Control - will receive additional resources so that it can continue to ensure a high-quality service for its Members;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Stresses that the reinforcement of the committee secretariats cannot be effected on the basis of purely quantitative parameters and invites the Secretary- General to include qualitative parameters as well;deleted

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 17

~~... are an integrated part of the institution's core business~~deleted

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes the tradition according to which the Committee on Budgetary Control requests the administration to provide information on various topics in its discharge reports; recommends that those reports be sent directly ~~from DG Finance~~ to the Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control and published - for the information of the members of the Committee as well as the European citizens - on that Committee's homepage as soon as they have been received by its Chair;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Further invites the Committee on Budgetary Control to organise a specific exchange of views with the Secretary- General on the replies given by the administration to requests contained in discharge resolutions at its ordinary committee meeting in September of each year so as to ensure proper political follow-up in a timely fashion;deleted

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

~~20. Also recommends that Authorising Officers' Annual Activity Reports be published on the Committee's homepage as soon as received by the Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control;~~deleted

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Notes that the Belgian government will reimburse EUR 85 896 389 to Parliament at the beginning of 2010; invites the Secretary-General to inform ~~in due time~~before taking any irreversible measures the Ccom~~mittee on Budgetary Control~~petent Committees on how that money will be used;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 25

Public procurement ~~– a high-risk area~~

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. ~~Recalls the fundamental principles concerning procurement as expressed in paragraph 18 of its resolution of 24 April 20071 accompanying the discharge decision in respect to the financial year 2005; n~~Notes that the Internal Audit Service carried out a comprehensive audit of the management and control of the public procurement process in Parliament in 2004 and 2005 and that the final report adopted on 31 March 2006 comprised 144 specific measures for implementation over the period to 31 March 2008;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Draws attention to the fact that as interface between the public and the private sector, public procurement is a high-risk area and that Parliament must devote even more efforts to ensure: - compliance with applicable laws, regulation and policies - including the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non- discrimination, - reliability of management information and recording, and - economy, effectiveness and efficiency of operawhich requires continued close attentions;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 – introductory part

27. Draws attention to the fact that as interface between the public and the private sector, public procurement is, in general, a high-risk area ~~and that Parliament must devote even more~~; would welcome a strengthening of Parliament's efforts to ensure:

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 - introductory part

27. Draws attention to the fact that as interface between the public and the private sector, public procurement is a high-risk area and that Parliament must devote ~~even mor~~considerable efforts to ensure:

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. DNotes that public procurement is the area most vulnerable to mismanagement, fraud and corruption, which distort the market, increase the prices paid by consumers for goods and services, and negatively affect the confidence of citizens in the Union; draws attention to the fact that as interface between the public and the private sector, public procurement is a high-risk area and that Parliament must devote even more efforts to ensure: - compliance with applicable laws, regulation and policies - including the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination, - reliability of management information and recording, ~~and~~ - economy, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, - periodical evaluation of its systems of procurement to prevent fraud and corruption, - clear conditions for participation in public procurement are defined and implemented, as well as criteria on which public procurement decisions are made, and - risk management and internal control systems are in place and implemented;

Amendment 52 #

Marta ANDREASEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. ~~Recall~~Notes that ~~at each stage of the procurement process - initial assessment of needs, preparing the call f~~no rules of public procurement have been set up for the purchase or trender, drawing up the calls for tender and the specifications, contacts with tenderers, opening of tenders, evaluation of tenders, award decision, conclusion of contracts - there are significant risks to the tal of buildings an area where the European Parliament operates at its own discretion and where there is prima fachie~~vement of the abovementioned objectives and that action needs to be taken by the authorising officers by delegation, with the assistance of Parliament's central services, to reduce exposure to risk~~ evidence that the deals negotiated do not correspond to the best in the market, nor are the needs for further room laid out before any such decision is taken;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that at each stage of the procurement process - initial assessment of needs, preparing the call for tender, drawing up the calls for tender and the specifications, contacts with tenderers, opening of tenders, evaluation of tenders, award decision, conclusion of contracts - there are significant risks to the achievement of the abovementioned objectives a~~nd that action needs to be taken by the authorising officers by delegation, with the assistance of Parliament's central services, to reduce exposure to risk~~s a result of a complex legal environment and factual necessities;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that at each stage of the procurement process - initial assessment of needs, preparing the call for tender, drawing up the calls for tender and the specifications, contacts with tenderers, opening of tenders, evaluation of tenders, award decision, conclusion of contracts ~~- there are significant risks to the achievement of the abovementioned objectives and that~~, action needs to be taken by the authorising officers by delegation, with the assistance of Parliament's central services, to reduce exposure to risk;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Recalls that at each stage of the procurement process - initial assessment of needs, preparing the call for tender, drawing up the calls for tender and the specifications, contacts with tenderers, opening of tenders, evaluation of tenders, award decision, conclusion of contracts - there are significant risks to the achievement of the abovementioned objectives and that further action needs to be taken by the authorising officers by delegation, with the assistance of Parliament's central services, to reduce exposure to risk;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Emphasises the decisive importance to Parliament's credibility of ensuring that the EU rules on public procurement, agreed with significant input from Parliament, are properly and rigorously applied;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28b. Welcomes and supports the European Ombudsman's efforts to ensure that the rules on the award of public contracts are properly applied and that errors and infringements are investigated and corrected, because only in this way can transparency and fairness be guaranteed;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 c (new)

~~1 OJ L 209 of 24.7.1992, p. 1.~~28c. In connection with the application to the procedure for financing Parliament's Altiero Spinelli Building of Council Directive 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts1, notes with regret the European Ombudsman's finding that 'OLAF failed seriously and objectively to examine the applicability of the Directive. This constitutes an instance of maladministration.' (Paragraph 45 of draft recommendation 1450/2007/(WP)BEH, available only in English); Or. de

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 d (new)

28d. Points to Special Report No 2/2007 of the Court of Auditors, in which the Court reviewed the procedure for the Willy Brandt and Jószef Antall buildings and found that in place of the competitive tendering normally envisaged by the Financial Regulation and the directives on public procurement, the method of 'negotiated procedure' (without advertising) had been used, which meant that the prices paid 'have not been determined under conditions of open competition' (Report, paragraph 23, Official Journal C 148 of 2.7.2007, page 1);

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 e (new)

28e. Points to the fundamental significance of the European Court of Justice's judgment of 29 October 2009 in case C-536/07; welcomes the fact that this judgment enables the City of Cologne to renegotiate a contract with a private undertaking for the lease of exhibition halls, since the original contract breached Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts1;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 f (new)

28f. In the light of the C-536/07 judgment and on the basis of Article 103 of the Financial Regulation, calls on the Praesidium of Parliament to investigate whether sums already paid to private contractors for the Willy Brandt and Jószef Antall buildings might not be recovered if tendering rules have been infringed;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 29

~~Urgent ac~~Reform of the Financial Regulations

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Invites the Secretary- General to take urgent action in regard to the following areas: (a) Training: Recognises that progress has been made in the provision of training courses on procurement; considers the drafting of full, clear and precise technical specifications and particularly of adequate exclusion, selection and award criteria a priority; (b) Specialist function: Takes the view that procurement needs to be recognised as a 'specialist function' in Parliament's register of professional skills because full expertise is needed to deal with all the complex requirement of procurement procedures; stresses that 'full expertise' cannot be expected by staff whose main concern is their core operational tasks; recommends the creation of 'specialist procurement officers'; (c) Sensitive posts: Recommends that posts entailing significant decision- making powers in the procurement area should be considered as 'sensitive posts' and should therefore be made subject to appropriate rotation and/or to additional internal control measures; (d) External staff - Code of Conduct: Recommends - on the basis of Article 57 of the Financial Regulation - that staff from external service providers should, as a general rule, be excluded from performing tasks linked to management of the procurement process; notes that the former Secretary-General issued "Guidelines on relations with external staff" on 2 July 2008; invites the Secretary-General to clarify the status and enforceability of those 'guidelines' and to make them mandatory in all procurement procedures by having them adopted by the Bureau; (e) Procurement compliance function: Believes that adequate 'checkpoints' must be built into the procurement process at all critical stages and finds that the performance of this function could be entrusted to a 'procurement compliance function', which should be understood as a set of control activities to be carried out during the procurement process and not as an additional post; (f) Organisation of procurement: Stresses that Parliament's strategic challenge is to determine how the benefits of decentralisation can be maintained while maximising 'cross-departmental' efficiency and effectiveness in the interest of fair and open procurement; recommends a strategic shift aiming at creating a central Parliament support unit that would act as a service provider to the contracting departments; takes the firm view that there is scope for combining a degree of centralisation of expertise with the maintenance of departmental control over the subject of the tender, specifications, evaluation and awardan active part in the upcoming tri-annual revision of the Financial Regulation by giving administrative advice on areas in need of reform;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29d

29d. External staff - Code of Conduct: Recommends - on the basis of Article 57 of the Financial Regulation - that staff from external service providers should, as a general rule, be excluded from performing tasks or introduce appropriate controls to avoid conflict of interest situations, linked to management of the procurement process; notes that the former Secretary- General issued "Guidelines on relations with external staff" on 2 July 2008; invites the Secretary-General to clarify the status and enforceability of those 'guidelines' and to make them mandatory in all procurement procedures by having them adopted by the Bureau;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 35

Article 54 of the Implementing Rules1 ~~- "reverse that trend"~~

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Takes the view that the increase registered between 2007 and 2008 clearly obliges the authorising officers to take measures to 'reverse the trend'; is ~~unhappy with~~concerned about the administration's remark that "it is difficult to reduce further the use of negotiated procedures" (Annual report on the contracts awarded by the European Parliament, 2008, paragraph 39);

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Takes the view that the increase registered between 2007 and 2008 clearly obliges the authorising officers to take measures to 'reverse the trend'; i~~s unhappy with the administration's remark that "it~~nvites the Secretary-General to report to its ~~difficult to reduce further the use of negotiated procedures" (Annual report on the contracts awarded by the European Parliament, 2008, paragraph 39)~~Committee on Budgetary Control on measures taken before 1 September 2010;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 43

~~Article 60(4) and (7) of the Financial Regulation1~~deleted

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43

43. Notes that Article 60(4) of the Financial Regulation requires each Authorising Officer by Delegation to "put in place (...) the internal management and control procedures suited to the performance of his/her duties (...)" and that the second paragraph of Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation requires the same actor in the financial management to report on "the efficiency and effectiveness" of the systems he/she has put in place; takes the view that the two functions are incompatible and that they should be carried out by different actors;deleted

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43

43. Notes that Article 60(4) of the Financial Regulation requires each Authorising Officer by Delegation to "put in place (...) the internal management and control procedures suited to the performance of his/her duties (...)" and that the second paragraph of Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation requires the same actor in the financial management to report on "the efficiency and effectiveness" of the systems he/she has put in place; ~~takes the view that the two functions are incompatible and that they should be carried out by different actors;~~

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44

44. Draws attention to the fact that the Financial Regulation as adopted by the EU legislator is a political text and not a professional one, that it is drafted by the Commission and that its wording mainly reflects the interests of the Commission's Directors-General which are not necessarily the same as the interests of Parliament's Secretary-General in his capacity as the institution's Principal Authorising Officer;deleted

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44

44. Draws attention to the fact that the Financial Regulation as adopted by the EU legislator is a ~~political text and not a professional one, that it is drafted by the Commission and that its wording mainly~~text, drafted by the Commission, the wording of which tends to reflects the interests of the Commission's Directors-General which ~~are~~may not ~~necessarily~~be the same as the interests of Parliament's Secretary-General in his capacity as the institution's Principal Authorising Officer;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 45

~~Second opinion on management representations need~~deleted

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45

45. Believes that Parliament could - on its own initiative - take measures to mitigate the risks inherent in the Authorising Officers' role as both 'manager' and 'controller' following Article 60(4) and (7) of the Financial Regulation and thereby strengthen (i) the protection of Parliament's political leadership and its Secretary-General and (ii) its internal accountability chain;deleted

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46

46. Expects initiatives aiming at giving the Secretary-General the possibility to demonstrate - on the basis of further analysis - that the management representations contained in the annual activity reports and the declarations of the Directors-General present a complete and reliable picture and that any problems have been brought to his attention;deleted

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46

46. Expects initiatives ~~aiming at giving~~by the Secretary- General ~~the possibility~~ to demonstrate - on the basis of further analysis - that the management representations contained in the annual activity reports and the declarations of the Directors-General present a complete and reliable picture and that any problems have been brought to his attention;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46

46. Expects initiatives ~~aiming at giving~~from the Secretary- General ~~the possibility to demonstrate - on the basis of further analysis - that the management representations contained in~~ who, as Principal Authorising Officer by Delegation has the responsibility for the overall internal control system, to carry out further annualysis of the activity reports and the declarations of the Directors-General ~~presen~~so that a complete and reliable picture ~~and that any problems have been brought to his attention~~is available for review and that remedies can be put in place for any problems which are identified;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47

47. Takes the view that management representations and declarations in general should be considered with healthy scepticism if a second opinion on such documents is not available; invites its Committee on Budgetary Control to deal with this matter in the upcoming revision of the Financial Regulation;deleted

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47

47. Takes the view that management representations and declarations in general should ~~be considered with healthy scepticism if a second opinion on such documents is not available~~routinely include a second opinion; invites its Committee on Budgetary Control to deal with this matter in the upcoming revision of the Financial Regulation;

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48

48. Notes the Secretary-General's reply to question No 4.6 in the Committee's "Questionnaire" according to which the Secretary-General, as Principal Authorising Officer by Delegation has the "responsibility for the overall internal control system";deleted

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49

49. Further notes ~~- and strongly regrets -~~ that only some Directors- General "indicated the risks associated with their operations or reported on the working of their internal control systems" (reply to Question 4.2.1) while the Financial Regulation in the second paragraph of Article 60(7) clearly states that Authorising Officers shall indicate in the annual activity report "the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control system";

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49

49. Further notes - and ~~strongly~~ regrets - that only some Directors-General "indicated the risks associated with their operations or reported on the working of their internal control systems" (reply to Question 4.2.1) while the Financial Regulation in the second paragraph of Article 60(7) clearly states that Authorising Officers shall indicate in the annual activity report "the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control system";

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50

50. Notes ~~with surprise~~ that that failure was "no doubt due to the fact that the instructions for the drafting of the 2008 annual activity reports left the Authorising Officers by delegation greater latitude in the manner in which they reported, notably on their internal control systems" (reply to Question No 4.2.); is pleased however to note that the instructions in this regard for the 2009 reports were stricter and expects that all Director-Generals act accordingly;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 51

~~Protection of the institution's leadership~~deleted

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51

~~51. Recalls that the objective of an internal control system is to protect the institution's political and administrative leadership from unpleasant surprises;~~deleted

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51

51. Recalls that the objective of an internal control system is to ~~protect the institution's political and administrative leadership from unpleasant surprise~~ensure correct expenditure in line with the financial regulations;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51

51. Recalls that the objective of an internal control system is to protect the institution's political and administrative leadership ~~from unpleasant surprises~~;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52

52. Further recalls that such protection will only be efficient if decentralisation of financial management is carried out in full recognition of the fact that central, institutional interests may be different from those of individual Authorising Officers;deleted

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 53

~~Better checks and balances~~deleted

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53

53. Stresses that in any system of financial management there must be a counterweight to those who authorise expenditure and is of the opinion that the present counterweight function only offers Parliament's political and administrative leadership a minimum degree of protection;deleted

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53

53. Stresses that in any system of financial management there must be a ~~counterweight to those who authorise expenditure~~ppropriate checks and balances when expenditure is authorised and is of the opinion that the present counterweight function only offers Parliament's political and administrative leadership a minimum degree of protection;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53

53. Stresses that in any system of financial management there must be a counterweight to those who authorise expenditure and is of the opinion that the present counterweight function ~~only~~should be improved in order to offers Parliament's political and administrative leadership ~~a minimum degree of~~the best possible protection;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 54

~~Measures to be taken~~deleted

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54

54. Invites the Secretary-General, therefore, to inform the discharge authority as soon as possible and no later than 1 July 2010 about the precise measures - and deadline for implementation - he has taken or will take in view of reinforcing the internal control system and in particular as regards: - obtaining a second opinion at random on management representations, - reinforcing the Central Financial Unit allowing it fully to shoulder its central responsibility for the systemic adequacy of the internal control system on behalf of the Principal Authorising Officer by Delegation, - ensuring full compliance with Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation by all Authorising Officers, - strengthening the counterweight function, - achievingby means of clearer, shorter, more precise, more relevant, more professional annual activity reports aiming at providing the discharge authority with relevant information on the institution's use of public money~~, - adopting any other measure necessary for the Secretary-General to issue a meaningful declaration of assurance~~;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54

54. Invites the Secretary-General, therefore, to inform the discharge authority as soon as possible and no later than 31 ~~July~~December 2010 about the precise measures - and deadline for implementation - he has taken or will take in view of reinforcing the internal control system and in particular as regards: - ~~obtaining a second opinion at random on management representations, - reinforcing the Central Financial Unit allowing it fully to shoulder its central~~ensuring activity respo~~nsibility for the systemic adequacy of the internal control system on behalf of the Principal Authorising Officer by Delegation, - ensuring~~rts fully compl~~iance~~y with Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation byfrom all Authorising Officers, - ~~strengthening the counterweight function, -~~ achieving clearer, shorter, more precise, more relevant, more professional annual activity reports aiming at providing the discharge authority with relevant information on the institution's use of public money, adopting any other measure necessary for the Secretary-General to issue a meaningful declaration of assurance;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54

54. Invites the Secretary-General, therefore, to inform the discharge authority as soon as possible and no later than 1 ~~July~~September 2010 about the precise measures - and deadline for implementation - he has taken or will take in view of reinforcing the internal control system and in particular as regards: - obtaining a second opinion at random on management representations, - reinforcing the ~~Central Financial Unit allowing it fully to shoulder its central~~services with responsibility for the systemic adequacy of the internal control system on behalf of the Principal Authorising Officer by Delegation, - ensuring full compliance with Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation by all Authorising Officers, - strengthening the counterweight function, - achieving clearer, shorter, more precise, more relevant, more professional annual activity reports aiming at providing the discharge authority with relevant information on the institution's use of public money, - adopting any other measure necessary for the Secretary-General to issue a meaningful declaration of assurance;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54 – indents 6 a, 6 b and 6 c (new)

- performing internal controls for negotiated and restricted contracts dating back to 2008 and making their findings public; intensifying such internal controls and applying dissuasive sanctions in the event of any irregularities, - publishing a complete annual list of all companies that were awarded negotiated and restricted contracts from 2008, and - the Parliament shall assume formal responsibility for the content of the information published on its website regarding invitations to tender.

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54a (new)

54a. Calls on the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to periodically verify negotiated and restricted contracts awarded by Parliament; further stresses the need to check which companies are linked by their shareholders to the staff or Members of the Parliament and are in a situation of conflicts of interest;

Amendment 99 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 55

~~Parliament's budget too big to be implemented on trust?~~deleted

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 55

~~Parliament's budget too big to be implemented on trust?~~deleted

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55

~~55. Recalls that Parliament's budget for 2008 amounted to EUR 1 453 million and takes the firm view that a statement of assurance on such an amount of public money must be based on solid systems;~~deleted

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57

57. Recalls that the financial resources of Parliament comprise taxpayers' money and that any institution using public funds has an obligation to explain how those funds have been used and to give comprehensive, objective and relevant information on the degree to which the funds have been used for the intended purposes and in accordance with the principles of sound financial management (economy, efficiency, effectiveness) and transparency;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57 a (new)

57a. Recalls that all grants are subject to the principle of transparency and equal treatment, in particular, Article 109 (1) and Article 110 (2) of the Financial Regulation and Article 169 of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 (the implementing rules); stresses that this applies to all beneficiaries of Union funds, including Parliament staff and their relatives receiving subsidies for private excursions (skiing or other); asks the administration to follow up on the examination of such payments;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 58

~~A missed opportunity?~~deleted

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58

58. Believes that in this context and having regard to the well-known reputational risk involved in the activities of Parliament it would have been ambitious and forward-looking to include in the abovementioned objectives new ideas and strategies aimed at strengthening Parliament's accountability towards European taxpayers;deleted

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59

59. Notes that the identification and achievement of world-class, risk-based, sound financial management in Parliament and full transparency towards European citizens on how Parliament uses public funds were not among the objectives for 2008 - 2009;deleted

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59

59. ~~Notes that the identification and achievement of~~Calls on the Secretary-General to ensure that world-class, risk-based, sound financial management in Parliament and full transparency towards European citizens on how Parliament uses public funds ~~were not among the objectives for 2008 -~~is an objective to be reached in 20109;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60

60. Stresses that some reputational risks are much more dangerous than financial risks and invites the Secretary-General together with the authorising officers to ~~take the opportunity to make Parliament the first public sector institution in the world to be up-front about its own~~fully evaluate Parliament´s risk profile;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

61. ~~Notes that~~Welcomes the creation of the post of risk manager ~~is in the administrative work programme 2009 -~~on 24 February 20110 and stresses that the post should be created as soon as possible and no later than 1 May 2010 due to the size of Parliament's budget and the well-known, high reputational risk involved in the activities of Parliamentasks the newly appointed risk manager to inform the competent committees at the earliest possible convenience of the concept for a risk approach and strategy to be taken in the future;

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

61. Notes that the creation of the post of risk manager is in the administrative work programme 2009 - 2011 and stresses that the post should be created as soon as possible and no later than 1 May 2010 due to the size of Parliament's budget and the well-known, ~~high~~ reputational risk involved in the activities of Parliament;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

61. Notes that the creation of the post of risk manager is in the administrative work programme 2009 - 2011 and stresses that the post should be created as soon as possible and no later than ~~1 May~~the end of 2010 due to the size of Parliament's budget and the well-known, high reputational risk involved in the activities of Parliament;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62

62. Notes that ~~risk management is primarily a matter for the responsible managers and that~~ the role and function of a specific risk manager should be to assist Authorising Officers in their managing of risks by advice and coordination;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 63

63. Stresses that the independence, role and functioning of ~~the~~a risk manager is ~~more~~ important ~~than his/her placing in the establishment plan; notes and agrees~~; notes and welcomes the fact that the risk manager will be attached directly to the office of the Secretary-General;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67

67. Expects that its principal decision- makers in this area - the Bureau, the Secretary-General and the Director- General for Personnel - take, as soon as possible after the return of a decision, the necessary measures to ensure that Parliament's internal rules and procedures as regards missions fully and consistently comply with the principle of sound financial management and the Staff Regulations;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 a (new)

68a. Calls on the Secretary-General, the Director-General for Personnel and the Director-General for Innovation and Technological Support to look at how far use might be made of new video- conferencing technologies as a way of reducing the cost of missions; points especially to the use of Open Source software as a secure and cheap way of conducting video conferences;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 b (new)

68b. Calls on the Secretary-General and the Director-General for Personnel to end the system of flat-rate reimbursement of mission expenses and replace it with a system whereby only costs actually incurred are reimbursed; points in this context to the need to encourage staff to choose less expensive travel and accommodation options, perhaps by publishing individuals' mission expenses on Parliament's website so that they are fully transparent;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70

~~70. Takes the view that this budget line should not be increased before an evaluation has provided evidence that the system in fact provides for transparency, legality and sound financial management;~~deleted

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70

70. Takes the view that this budget line should ~~not~~only be increased ~~before an evaluation has provided evidence that the system in fact provides for~~in parallel with an evaluation of the system's transparency, legality and sound financial management;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71

~~71. Welcomes the newly established framework as a step in the right direction; stresses that European citizens have a right to be informed about Members' use of public funds;~~deleted

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 73

73. Believes that Members are to be considered as "final beneficiaries" of EU funds and that they consequently have to make the use of those funds public by means of an easily accessible database and in line with the Commission's Transparency Initiative (COM(2006)0194);deleted

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75

75. Recalls - as stated in paragraph 104 of its resolution of 23 April 20091 accompanying the discharge decision in respect to the financial year 2007 - that the Members' additional voluntary pension scheme (the fund) originally should have been established as a self- governing entity outside the structure of Parliament and that ultimate financial responsibility for the fund should be 1 OJ L 255, 26.9.2009, p. 3. carried by the fund and its members and not by Parliament;deleted

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75

75. Recalls – as stated in paragraph 104 of its resolution of 23 April 2009 accompanying the discharge decision in respect to the financial year 2007 – that the Members' additional voluntary pension scheme (the fund) originally should have been established as a self-governing entity outside the structure of Parliament ~~and~~; takes the view that ultimate financial responsibility for the fund ~~should be carried~~is borne by the fund and its members and not by Parliament and that tax money may not be used to cover any losses of this fund;

Amendment 123 #

Søren Bo SØNDERGAARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76

76. Recalls the European Court of Auditors' remarks in its 2006 and 2007 Annual Reports on the need to establish clear rules to define the liabilities and responsibilities of Parliament and of the members of the fund in the event of a deficit; calls on the Secretary General to put forward a proposal by 31 December 2010 to resolve this, while respecting the decision by the Plenary that no additional tax money will be used to cover the deficit;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77

77. Is shocked that on 31 December 2008, the Fund incurred an actuarial deficit of EUR 121 844 000 and that, on the same date, the fund evaluated the remaining benefits to be paid to the members of the fund as EUR 276 984 000 (ECA Annual Report Annex 11.2) while having assets in the form of investments in the amount of EUR 155 140 000;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77

77. ~~Is shocked~~Notes that on 31 December 2008, the Fund incurred an actuarial deficit of EUR 121 844 000 and that, on the same date, the fund evaluated the remaining benefits to be paid to the members of the fund as EUR 276 984 000 (ECA Annual Report Annex 11.2);

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 79

79. Notes the independent auditor's report according to which "the provision for pensions and similar obligations has been calculated based on a return of investment of 6,5% per year", which figure is not realistic;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 80

~~Bureau takes a different position from Plenary~~deleted

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 80

80. Notes that in this particular case the Bureau has on several occasions taken a different position from that expressed by Plenary in its resolutions on discharges in respect of the implementation of the Parliament's budget for the financial years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007;deleted

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 81

~~Practical meaning of political responsibility~~deleted

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 81

81. Regrets that the recommendations in its resolutions of 21 April 20041 and 26 September 20062 accompanying the discharge decisions in respect to the financial years 2002 and 2004 concerning the identification and definition of "the precise practical meaning of the political responsibility attaching to the members of Parliament's governing bodies as regards the exercise of powers and the taking of decisions with significant financial consequences" have not been fully acted upon;deleted

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 82

~~82. Believes that the difference of opinion between Plenary and the Bureau is an example of the risks involved in the multilayered governance structure of Parliament;~~deleted

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83

83. Regrets the present situation which allows the Bureau - contrary to the opinion expressed by the Plenary - to take decisions with enormous financial consequences for Parliament without corresponding and adequate provision for accountability;deleted

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 84

~~Towards adequate provision for accountability~~deleted

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 84

84. Stresses th~~at the only way to reduce this reputational risk is to provide~~e need of full transparency concerning decisions to be taken by its governing bodies, namely, the President, the Bureau, the Quaestors and the Conference of Presidents;

Amendment 135 #

Andrea COZZOLINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85

85. Invites the ~~Vice-President res~~Bureau to consider the ponssible for budgetary affairs together with the competent service to consider in which way he/she can improve the information on decisions with major budgetary consequences to the discharge authority; takes the view that oral information as given to the Committee at present is not adequate and does not satisfy European taxpayers' need for comprehensive and relevant informationility of making the information given to the Committee on Budgets on decisions with major budgetary consequences more readily accessible to the Committee on Budgetary Control in order better to satisfy the information needs of the discharge authority and European taxpayers;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85

85. Invites the Vice-President responsible for budgetary affairs together with the competent service to consider in which way he/she can improve the information on decisions with major budgetary consequences to the discharge authority; ~~takes the view that oral information as given to the Committee at present is not adequate and does not satisfy European taxpayers' need for comprehensive and relevant information;~~

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85

85. Invites the Vice-President responsible for budgetary affairs together with the competent service to consider in which way he/she can improve the information on decisions with major budgetary consequences to the discharge authority; takes the view that oral information ~~as given to~~for the Committee ~~at present is not adequate and does not~~, on Bureau decisions already taken, be supplemented with written information, in order to satisfy the European taxpayers's need for comprehensive and relevant information;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85

85. Invites the Vice-President responsible for budgetary affairs together with the competent service to ~~consider in which way he/she can improve the information~~inform the discharge authority in writing on decisions with major budgetary consequences ~~to the discharge authority~~; takes the view that oral information as given to the Committee at present is not adequate and does not satisfy European taxpayers' need for comprehensive and relevant information;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86

86. Takes the view that the Bureau as the body competent within Parliament for financial and administrative decisions affecting Members and the running of the institution, has a particular responsibility to foster democratic accountability ~~and recommends, therefore, that the Vice- Presidents of its Committee on Budgetary Control be appointed permanent observer of the Bureau with a speaking right but no voting right~~;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 88

88. Draws attention to the fact that matters concerning accountability in public politics and management of public institution's reputational risks are issues which cannot and should not be reduced to legal considerations ~~and that its Legal Service should not, therefore, be dealing with such questions~~;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 88

88. Draws attention to the fact that matters concerning accountability in public politics and management of a public institution's reputational risks are issues which cannot and should not be reduced to legal considerations ~~and that its Legal Service should not, therefore, be dealing with such questions~~;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 89

~~The Annual~~ Reports of the Parliament's Internal Auditor

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 90

90. Stresses that its former position within the organisation did not prevent the Internal Audit Service from performing its functions in accordance with professional and regulatory requirements; ~~expects that~~welcomes its new position and expects that it will improve the flow of essential information on risk issues from the Secretary-General and thereby facilitate the Internal Auditor's role of advising the institution on dealing with risks;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 94

~~Too many~~Remaining open actions?

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 95

95. Welcomes the improvements in the DG's' management and internal control systems but questions the ~~high~~ number of uncompleted actions showing an overall completion rate of only 80,53% over a relatively long time period which should have given the responsible services sufficient time to undertake corrective action;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 97 a (new)

The European Parliament's prizes

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)

97a. Finds the European Parliament’s Prize for Journalism inappropriate. Parliament should not award prizes to journalists whose task is to critically examine EU institutions and their work.

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 b (new)

97b. Finds the LUX Prize inappropriate and does not consider that Parliament’s budget should be used for film competitions; emphasises that neither should Members of the European Parliament be considered best suited to assessing and awarding cultural prizes;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)

97a. Believes that a review of Parliament's internal audit office should be conducted with a view to strengthening that service and thereby further improving financial scrutiny, and all the instruments should be provided that guarantee the fulfilment of the tasks of the Committee on Budgetary Control;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)

97a. Insists that, in accordance with Parliament's commitment to transparency and sound financial management, the Secretary-General ensure that copies of all reports prepared by the Internal Audit Service are made available for inspection by any Member, and are published on the Parliament's website, subject to the removal of any references within them that would identify specific individuals;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97 a (new)

97a. Demands that Parliament receives a full explanation and precise answers why the new Visitors' Centre is not yet opened and demands that the Visitors' Centre be opened by 30 September 2010;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 98 a (new)

98a. Believes and recommends that the use of appropriations by the political groups should be discussed by the leaders and treasurers of the political groups, who should aim for a sound balance between independence, full transparency and high level of efficiency;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 101 a (new)

101a. States that the matter upon which the President of the Bureau said that the Bureau would have to reflect carefully at its meeting of 16 June 2009, namely the decline in turnout in European elections, is a political issue and as such is a matter exclusively for the appropriate political bodies of Parliament, that is to say the committees and the Plenary;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 101 b (new)

101b. Deplores the Bureau's decision to transfer, shortly before the elections, supplementary appropriations of EUR 6 million to budget item 4000 for additional information campaigns during the election period;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 104

104. Notes that at its meeting of 16 June 2009(Minutes of the meeting of 16 June 2009, PE 426.193/BUR): - when considering its decision on the closure of accounts of the political groups 2008, the Bureau~~, without debate,~~ noted and approved the documents submitted by the groups, - when considering its decision on the closure of the ITS Group's accounts, the Bureau~~, without debate,~~ endorsed the conclusions contained in the Secretary- General's note on the matter, - the Bureau instructed the Secretary- General to establish the definitive amount of the claim against a Member and carry out any regularisations required;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 105

~~Management's responsibilities~~Deleted

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 105

105. Stresses that the management of the groups are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the annual accounts and that this responsibility includes designing, implementing and maintaining internal control systems relevant to the preparation and presentation of annual accounts;Deleted

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 106

106. Recalls that in accordance with Article 2.2.3 of the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 4 0 0 0 each group "must introduce an internal control system"; invites the management of the groups to issue a formal declaration on the effectiveness of the groups' internal control systems as well as to ask the external auditor to deliver an opinion on that declaration;Deleted

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107

107. Repeats its worries as regards the highly disparate nature of the internal financial rules drawn up by the various political groups (paragraph 86 of its resolution of 23 April 2009) and recommends for the sake of transparency and effective risk management that the groups' financial management be subject to the general Financial Regulation;Deleted

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107 a (new)

107a. Notes that, since the political groups receive funds from the European Parliament budget, the Financial Regulation is fully applicable to them;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 111

111. Notes that the Bureau~~, without debate,~~ at its meeting on 14 September 2009 approved the final reports on the implementation of the respective programmes of activities and the financial statements of the three European political parties whose reports were not available for the Bureau meeting of 17 June 2009, namely ADIE (Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe), AEN (Alliance for Europe of the Nations) and EUD (EUDemocrats) (Minutes of the meeting of 14 September 2009, PE 426.393/BUR);

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112

112. Further notes that the Bureau~~, without debate,~~ established that the authorising officer was required to recover a balance of EUR 90 604,58 from the three parties concerned (ADIE, AEN and EUD), taking account of the final amount of the grants to be awarded to those parties;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 a (new)

113a. Believes that the large annual increase in the allocation to European political parties is not justifiable, and asks that the amount should at least be frozen;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 b (new)

113b. Notes that the audit reports submitted by European political parties are far too sketchy; asks that Parliament should only accept proper audit reports which express an opinion on the legality, appropriateness, fitness for purpose and efficacy of the expenditure in question;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 114

~~"Maximum transparency" still to be achiev~~Deleted

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115

115. Stresses that "maximum transparency" cannot be achieved without (i) a thorough implementation ~~of all the Internal Auditor's recommendations and~~ in particular the introduction of a model structure for the description of programme activities and for the final activity reports and (ii) a sufficient number of ex-post on- the-spot checks of those grants by the authorising officer;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 116

116. Is unable to understand how the Bureau ~~- without debate -~~ can comply with its responsibility under Rule 209(2) (to "decide whether to suspend or reduce funding and whether to recover amounts which have been wrongly paid") and Rule 209(3) (to "approve the beneficiary political parties' final activity reports and final financial statements") of the Rules of Procedure without introducing of the abovementioned model structures which are crucial to achieving a transparent evaluation and payment process;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 117

117. Expects the Bureau to take the necessary measures in order to bring itself in a position in which it is able to comply fully with the obligations given to it by Parliament's Rules of Procedure as soon as possible;Deleted

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 117 a (new)

117a. Deplores the Bureau's careless and inadequate attitude in regard to the scrutiny of spending by European political parties;

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 119

119. Notes that the Bureau~~, without debate,~~ at its meeting on 17 June 2009 approved the final reports on the implementation of the programmes of activities and the financial statements of six of the ten foundations and established that the authorising officer was required to recover the surplus of EUR 85 437,44 from the Institute of European Democrats and to pay a balance of EUR 482 544,35 to the other five foundations (Minutes of the meeting of 17 June 2009, PE 426.231/BUR);

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 120 a (new)

120a. Notes that the failure of almost all the political foundations to submit detailed work programmes prompts the conclusion that they are unable or unwilling to meet the statutory requirements for receiving European grants, and as a result render themselves ineligible to receive such grants;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 120 b (new)

120b. Decides that grants to a political foundation which fails to submit a detailed work programme will be halted forthwith;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 120 c (new)

120c. Deplores the Bureau's careless and inadequate attitude in regard to the scrutiny of spending by European political foundations;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 121

121. Notes that the Bureau ~~without debate,~~ at its meeting on 14 September 2009 approved the final reports on the implementation of the programmes of activities and the financial statements of three of the four European political foundations which had been unable to send in their reports for consideration at the meeting on 17 June 2009 (European Liberal Forum - ELF, Transform Europe - TE and Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe - FPED) (Minutes of the meeting of 14 September 2009 and note to the members of the Bureau D(2009)40444 of 9 September 2009);

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 122

122. Further notes that the Bureau~~, without debate,~~ also established that the authorising officer is required to recover the surplus of EUR 15 144,39 from ELF and EUR 32 178,58 from FPED and to pay a balance of EUR 21 965,56 to TE and has deferred its decision concerning closure of FEUD's financial year until a later meeting;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 123

123. ~~Supports fully the creation of European political parties and European political foundations and their activities;~~ believes that full transparency as regards the parties' and foundations' financial management and achievement of planned results is of utmost importance ~~for the~~to European citizens;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128

~~128. Expects that the Secretary-General has set out the risks associated with the new schemes and the costs of administration and control necessary to contain those risks;~~deleted

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 128a (new)

128a. Welcomes the Secretary-General's statement that Members reimbursed approximately EUR 455 000 by September 2009 in relation to the Parliamentary Assistance Allowances received; believes that it is of the utmost importance that Parliament is seen to be pursuing alleged transgressions by Members with vigour, and requests the Secretary-General to provide Members of the Committee on Budgetary Control with a quarterly statement listing all cases currently being pursued (without naming individuals), the reason why a repayment is sought, the amount in question, the date when repayment was requested, the amount repaid to date, and whether the matter has been referred to OLAF;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 129

129. Is critical of the fact that several Head of Unit and Director posts have been vacant for several months; stresses that the establishment plan for a service is the expression of the will of the political authorities and the expectations of the performance of that service;deleted

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 131a (new)

Buildings policy

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 131a (new)

131a. Repeats its call for Parliament to adopt a long-term strategy for property and buildings; points again to its demands in paragraph 30 of its resolution of 22 October 2009 on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010, Section I – European Parliament, Section II – Council, Section IV – Court of Justice, Section V – Court of Auditors, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee, Section VII – Committee of the Regions, Section VIII – European Ombudsman, Section IX – European Data Protection Supervisor; stresses in particular that any such property and buildings strategy must also take into account the rising costs of maintaining buildings purchased and the necessity over the medium term of renovating them; points out that the property and buildings strategy must ensure the sustainability of Parliament's budget; stresses that account must also be taken of the requirements created by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and expects to be kept informed of the results;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 131b (new)

131b. With regard to information offices, calls on Commission and Parliament to agree a buildings policy for the medium and long term which plans well ahead and in particular sets out clearly the procedures for purchasing property, the role of the respective institutions and repayment periods; stresses that the need for such an agreement is all the greater in that the Commission and Parliament currently prefer different forms of financing for information offices;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 134

134. Invites the Secretary-General to take measures aiming at creating - at all levels - greater understanding for the need to avoid unnecessary waste in general and in particular as regards the number of paper dossiers produced - but not used - for different meetings, especially in light of the great amount of effort in the field of economy and finance spent on the development of digital infrastructure; suggests, therefore, that the use of Parliament's existing digital equipment be improved;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 134a (new)

134a. Notes that every car purchased by Parliament in 2009 had CO2 emissions that exceeded the average from new cars placed on the Union market in that year, believes that Parliament should practice what it preaches and is aware of the growing number of high-performance cars, including hybrids, now available that have emissions below the average, and insists that Parliament should not purchase any car with CO2 emissions that exceed the Union average for the latest year in which Commission figures are available;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135

135. Invites the competent authorities to renew Parliament's own fleet of cars for protocol and representational purposes with hybrid cars which are less polluting and to reserve the use of those cars to the President, political group Chairs and high-profile visitors;Deleted

Amendment 186 #

Søren Bo SØNDERGAARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135

135. Invites the competent authorities to renew the whole of Parliament's own fleet of sedan cars for protocol and representational purposes with hybrid cars which are less polluting by 31 December 2010 and to reserve the use of those cars to the President, political group Chairs and high- profile visitors and to ensure that the cars at the disposal of the Members in Brussels and Strasbourg conform with European Emission Standard 5 by that date;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135

135. Invites the competent authorities to renew Parliament's own fleet of cars for protocol and representational purposes with ~~hybrid~~ cars which are less polluting and to reserve the use of those cars to the President, political group Chairs and high- profile visitors and encourages Members to use public transport;

Amendment 188 #

Søren Bo SØNDERGAARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 135a (new)

135a. Is surprised that a majority of the cars purchased in 2008 (an AUDI A 8 3.0 Tdi and 3 BMW 730 i) were considered to be the most environmentally friendly cars fitting the needs of the users, knowing that there were less energy consuming and more environmental friendly alternatives available at the time of the purchases;

Amendment 189 #

Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 138 a (new)

138a Requests that Parliament review its bicycle service for transport within Brussels with a view to extending that service; requests that Parliament set up its own bicycle service during plenary sessions in Strasbourg with sufficient bicycles available;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 140

~~Independence of parliamentary committees~~Deleted

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140

~~140. Calls for initiatives enabling the Committees to decide their delegation visits on the basis of a two-year programme ;~~Deleted

Amendment 192 #

Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 140a (new)

Security

Amendment 193 #

Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 140 a (new) before the heading Independence of parliamentary committees

140a. Expresses its concern at the continuing cases of petty crime in the premises of Parliament; requests that the Secretary-General pay special attention to this matter in order to reduce petty crime;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 143 a (new)

Travel Allowances

Amendment 195 #

Véronique MATHIEU HOUILLON, Jean-Pierre AUDY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 143 a (new)

143a. Recognises that expensive air tickets do not provide any shorter journey times than cheap ones, but is aware that some Members choose to purchase business-full-fare or other exchangeable air tickets only because they cannot reclaim any costs incurred if they purchase much less expensive tickets but are subsequently unable to make use of them, and invites the Secretary-General to propose an arrangement whereby Members who can demonstrate that they regularly claim less than the maximum permissible price of air tickets can, on an ad hoc basis, request reimbursement for the cost of occasional unused tickets that cannot be exchanged;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 143 a (new)

Reimbursement of the costs of visits by sponsored groups

Amendment 197 #

Véronique MATHIEU HOUILLON, Jean-Pierre AUDY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 143 a (new)

143a. Asks that the costs of a sponsored group visit should always be reimbursed to the group leader by bank transfer and not in cash; asks also that Parliament reimburse the costs actually incurred, on presentation of documentary evidence;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 143 a (new)

143a. Notes that in 2008 approximately 500 temporary agents worked in Parliament's administration; is concerned that those temporary agents are not offered any career perspective although they may stay in the institution for up to six years or even indefinitely; insists that temporary staff be offered a career development based on merit; calls on the Secretary-General to put the appropriate measures in place in 2010 and report to the Committee on Budgetary Control during the 2009 discharge on the progress made;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Heading before paragraph 144 a (new)

Independence of the Staff Committee

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 144 a (new)

~~1 Article 9(3) of the Staff Regulations "T~~144a. Reminds that the Staff Committee ~~shall~~is in charge of representing the interests of the staff ~~vis-à- vis~~of their institution ~~and maintain continuous contact between the institution and~~in accordance with Article 9(3) of the sStaff~~. It shall contribute to the smooth running of~~ Regulations1; in theis service by providing a channel for the expression of opinion by the staff. It shall bring to the notice of the competent bodies of the institution any difficulty having general implications concerning the interpretation and application of these Staff Regulations. It may be consulted on any difficulty of this kind. The Committee shall submit to the competent bodies of the institution suggestions concerning the organisation and operation of the service and proposals for the improvement of staff working conditions or general living conditions. The Committee shall participate in the management and supervision of social welfare bodies set up by the institution in the interests of its staff. It may, with the consent of the institution, set up such welfare services".nse the Staff Committee has to be independent in its decisions including in decisions concerning the use of its fund; recalls in this sense the decision of the Secretary-General in 2007 concerning the increase of funds of the Staff Committee in order to support the activities of traineeships for children of Parliament officials;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas, in accordance with the usual procedure, a questionnaire was sent to the Parliament administration and replies were received and discussed by the Committee on Budgetary Control, in the presence of the Vice-President responsible for the Budget and the Secretary-General,

Amendment 202 #