What changed

OPINION

The Committee on the Environment,Civil PublicLiberties, HealthJustice and FoodHome SafetyAffairs calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its proposalmotion for a decision:resolution:

General considerations

Part I – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation for the financial year 2023

1. Welcomes the constructive cooperation between the European Parliament and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (the Agencies), illustrated, inter alia, by the annual exchanges of views that took place in 2023 in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI);

1. Notes the emphasis of matter to the annual accounts issued by the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’); acknowledges the response of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), notably that the high rate of late payments were due to technical difficulties in processing the transactions when using SUMMA, a new budgetary, accounting and financial system still in a pilot phase; calls on Eurojust to take specific measures in order to minimise payment delays and ensure the full implementation of the system;

2. Considers that regular visits to the Agencies are a key aspect of the scrutiny exercised by the European Parliament over them; notes to this regard the success of the ENVI delegation to EMA in February 2023 and to ECHA in April 2023;

2. Welcomes the increase in Eurojust’s budget in 2023 from EUR 67 million to EUR 88 million (+31%) and its staff from 285 to 298 (+5%); underlines that the casework carried out by Eurojust has increased in 2023 by 14%, more than 13 000 cases were handled by Eurojust, which also organised 577 Coordination Meetings and 21 Coordination Centres, provided legal, technical, financial and/or operational support to 288 Joint Investigation Teams, facilitated the execution of 1 259 European Arrest Warrants, contributed to the arrest of more than 4 200 suspects and the seizure and/or freezing of criminal assets worth over EUR 1 billion, drafted 1 013 operational deliverables in support to cases (analyses, legal notes etc.) and enabled the use of 6 299 European Investigation Orders; acknowledges Eurojust’s reply stressing that the agency has reviewed the procedure for registering and reporting non-compliance events;

3. Expresses its satisfaction that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has declared the transactions of the Agencies underlying the annual accounts for the financial year 2023 to be legal and regular in all material respects, and that their financial position, at 31 December 2023, is fairly represented in all material respects;

3. Commends Eurojust’s efforts towards the digitalisation of justice, namely the implementation of a new Case Management System following the latest amendment to the Eurojust Regulation, the implementation of the new JITs Collaboration Platform, notes the role of Eurojust as the contact point for third countries and international organisations regarding ECRIS-TCN requests in the context of criminal proceedings;

4. Welcomes the measures taken by the agencies in light of the European Parliament recommendations in its discharge for the financial year 2022; stresses the importance of increasing the Agencies’ efforts in terms of cooperation with other agencies and international organisations, digitalisation, and gender and geographical balance in senior management positions;

4. Stresses the importance of Eurojust’s continued support to Ukraine, by the JIT investigating alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine, by operating the Core International Crimes Evidence Database (CICED) to preserve, store and analyse evidence of core international crimes in a single, secure, central database, by ensuring a safe digital data transmission method for the evidence submission, and its analysis; further welcomes the launching of the new International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) at Eurojust with the aim to support national investigations and agree on common investigative and prosecution strategies, and by actively contributing to the work of the Seize and Freeze taskforce in order to ensure the effective implementation of EU sanctions across the European Union;

5. Welcomes the fact that the Agencies took effective corrective actions following most of the 2022 observations from the ECA; takes note of 2023 observations for the Agencies, in particular observations related to ex-ante checks, and calls on them to ensure an effective follow-up.

5. Notes with satisfaction the strong collaboration with the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies, notably the conclusion of a new working arrangement with European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the opening of 15 new cases where Eurojust supported European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) as well as the cooperation on 42 cases with European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) stresses that Eurojust and Europol launched a pilot project for the systematic and structural exchange of data for link detection purposes, which will be reviewed in the first half of 2024; welcomes the Eurojust-OLAF Action Plan 2022-2023 to fight crimes affecting the European Union’s financial interests;

Part I – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for the financial year 2023

6. Notes with satisfaction that Eurojust continues to support the Commission in the revision of the negotiations of the international agreements on cooperation with Eurojust, between the Union and 13 third countries, that the Commission negotiates on behalf of the EU.

1. Acknowledges the key role of the ECDC in identifying and assessing current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases and related special health issues, in order to enhance the capacity of the Union and the Member States to protect human health through the prevention and control of communicable diseases in humans and related special health issues;

Part II – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for the financial year 2023

2. Notes that the ECDC mandate was extended following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2022/2370 which entered into force on 13 December 2022 in order to strengthen the Union's health security framework in the fields of epidemiological surveillance; welcomes the fact that the ECDC began to implement its new mandate by reviewing the modalities of collaboration with its main partners and stakeholders, as well as the structure and content of its Strategy 2021-2027;

1. Notes the Court’s observation on recurrent high rates of carry-overs related to operational activities amounting to EUR 6,4 million (23 %) of available 2023 commitment appropriations to 2024; notes that it is a lower rate than in 2022, when the rates of carry-overs were 26%; welcomes the fact that the Court has declared the transactions underlying the annual accounts of European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the financial year 2023 to be legal and regular in all material respects; highlights that the budget for 2023 was 34 million EUR; notes and reiterates its concern that FRA continues to suffer from financial and staff resources constraints; welcomes that FRA was able to fulfil its objectives and to deliver on the activities foreseen in its Annual Work Programme despite the continuous shortage on human and financial resources; notes that the number of meetings and events organised or co-organised was 421 compared to the set target of 260, and that the number of communication materials was 1809 compared to the set target of 250; notes with satisfaction that FRA has a very high level of outturn which is above 99%; considers it an important indicator of sound financial management and respect of the budgetary principles; welcomes the cooperation with other EU agencies; bodies and civil society in order to ensure there is compliance with fundamental rights;

3. Welcomes the continued development of the One Health Framework and the creation of the One Health Task Force to strengthen collaboration with EMA, EFSA, EEA and ECHA; highlights the importance of ensuring good and fair cooperation between the Agencies;

2. Highlights the role of FRA as a key guardian of fundamental rights and the rule of law, as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and commends its support to ensure the respect, protection, and fulfilment of fundamental rights in existing EU laws and policies in the field of equality and anti-discrimination, such as EU law and policies combating racism and antisemitism and islamophobia, supporting the collection of equality data and the implementation of equality and anti-racism strategies such as the national Roma strategic frameworks, and providing input for to the mid-term review of the 2020–2025 LGBTIQ equality strategy, the protection of civil society and of human rights defenders at risk, as well as supporting the revision of the victims’ rights directive, the Anti-racism Action Plan and the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, and advising on the fundamental rights compliance regarding the development and use of AI systems and the implementation and use of EU funds;

4. Welcomes, following the observations in the 2022 discharge, the signing of the Working Arrangements between the ECDC and Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in order to avoid overlaps and duplication of efforts;

3. Emphasises FRA’s guidance and engagement in the area of asylum and migration, borders and interoperability and its important focus on fundamental rights, Member States’ international obligations and EU human rights law in this area, including cooperation with the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) to enhancing the understanding of the importance of guardians and legal representatives assisting unaccompanied children seeking international protection within the Union and the training provided to staff of Europol enhancing awareness and understanding of fundamental rights considerations in relevant operational contexts; welcomes FRA’s timely input on the temporary protection directive implementation in the context of refugees fleeing from Ukraine, as well as on identifying the challenges with regard to the implementation of Union law on long-term residence, as well as identifying the shortcomings in the visa code and the list of actions the Union and its Member States can take to reduce fatalities at sea;

5. Welcomes the fact that the ECDC was able to deliver 90% of the outputs planned in its Single Programming Document 2023−2025, with 5% of the planned outputs postponed, and 4% cancelled, delayed, not implemented or not applicable by the end of the year.

4. Welcomes FRA's contribution to the evaluation of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation (‘the EBCG Regulation’), participation in European Border Coast Agency (Frontex) Management Board meetings and co-chairing the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights, and cooperation with the Fundamental Rights Office at Frontex;

Part II – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for the financial year 2023

5. Notes with satisfaction that FRA provided fundamental rights analysis and expertise to support the activities and work of other EU justice and home affairs (JHA) agencies, including the EUAA, Frontex, Europol, the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA), and European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL); welcomes FRA’s contributions in 2023 to advancing the respect for fundamental rights, including through guidance on EU funds and addressing challenges posed by new technologies; calls on FRA to determine the extent to which the rule of law and fundamental rights are intrinsically linked, and how its work could be incorporated or developed in synergy with that of the European Commission in the framework of the annual Rule of Law Report;

1. Acknowledges that the ECHA is key in implementing a growing number of Union legislation that regulates chemicals for the benefit of public health and the environment, as well as for innovation and competitiveness; recognises that the ECHA collects, evaluates and disseminates a vast amount of information on chemicals, helps companies comply with legislation and promotes the safe use of chemicals;

6. Welcomes FRA’s cooperation with the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) on safeguarding privacy and data protection throughout the development and implementation of cybersecurity initiatives, and with eu-LISA on guaranteeing that the design and use of IT systems adheres to fundamental rights standards.

2. Observes that the Agencies budget relies on collected fees and a contribution from the Union’s general budget; takes note with concern that after a rise in 2022, in 2023 the ECHA’s fee income has again decreased, increasing the reliance on the Union to finance its operations; stresses the need to address the lack of predictability of the ECHA’s fee income and reiterates its previous calls to the Commission to improve the ECHA’s budgetary certainty by presenting its proposal to strengthen the governance of ECHA in line with its commitment expressed in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability;

Part III – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Asylum Agency for the financial year 2023

3. Recalls 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;

1. Notes that in 2023, over 1,1 million applications for international protection (+18 % compared to 2022) were submitted, and more than 1 million decisions granting temporary protection were issued in 29 EU+ countries; highlights the substantial support EUAA has provided to Member States in that context; calls for appropriate levels of funding to the EEAA, in particular if there is a significant increase of the tasks entrusted to the agency in the context of the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum;

4. Acknowledges that in 2023 the ECHA delivered its regulatory tasks under the Union chemicals legislation, in particular REACH and CLP, provided scientific-technical support to the Commission in the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, as well as preparing and starting work on the implementation of new regulatory tasks under the Drinking Water Directive, the Batteries Regulation and the Serious Cross-Border Threads to Health Regulation;

2. Notes the increase in the EUAA’s budget in 2023 from EUR 208 million to EUR 228 million (+10%) and its staff from 519 to 529 (+2%); points out that the Court found in its 2017 and 2020 reports that the EUAA’s contracts for the rental of premises on Lesbos and in Rome were irregular owing to insufficient competition and a failure to comply with the principle of economy, meaning that all subsequent payments under those contracts were irregular; recalls the auditors’ observation that by 2023 such irregular payments totalling EUR 123 800 had been made;

5. Welcomes the progress made on the Integrated Regulatory Strategy and the Joint Evaluation Action Plan; recognises the advancements in identifying substances and substance groups as candidates for regulatory action; regrets that the ECHA has, however, fallen short on fulfilling key indicators for identification and prioritisation of hazardous substances; stresses the need to complete the identification of hazardous substances to ensure their safe use;

3. Welcomes the fact that the Asylum Reserve Pool became operational and, by the end of 2023, included close to 350 experts; regrets that due to delays in nominations by some Member States of their respective experts, the envisaged number, 500, was not yet reached; calls on Member States to comply with their obligations as regards national experts in order to avoid the need for the agency to rely on external contractors;

6. Welcomes the ECHA’s efforts to promote the use of alternatives to animal testing for the regulatory assessment of chemicals and to foster understanding of the opportunities and challenges in moving away from animal testing while ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment;

4. Welcomes the fact that the EUAA’s first fundamental rights officer (FRO) took office on 16 May 2023; appreciates the establishment of a visible and easily accessible complaints mechanism developed by the FRO in consultation with the Commission and the Consultative Forum;

7. Notes with concern the difficulty to recruit sufficient experts from Member States to the ECHA’s Scientific Committees, posing a risk to the ECHA’s ability to meet legal deadlines and targets in regulatory processes that are dependent on the Committees’ outputs, in particular in the light of increasing tasks being attributed to the ECHA;

5. Welcomes the adoption of the EUAA revised external cooperation strategy and strategy on vulnerability; underlines that both should serve as a guarantee for the protection of fundamental rights in the asylum and reception systems of EU+ countries;

8. Welcomes the ECHA Strategy Statement for 2024 - 2028 adopted in December 2023, which sets out the priorities for the ECHA in implementing its evolving mandate.

6. Appreciates the efforts of EUAA to move towards digitalisation, including by adopting the strategy on digital innovation in asylum procedures and reception systems;

Part III – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency (EEA) for the financial year 2023

7. Notes with satisfaction that 1 000 training sessions were organised by EUAA, and that there is a constant increase in terms of the number of asylum and reception officials and civil society actors trained (+6 % compared to 2022); welcomes the further development of the European asylum curriculum, with training modules such as the ones addressing gender-based violence, vulnerability and the situation of children in the asylum process;

1. Stresses that the EEA provides sound, independent information on the environment; commends the quality of its outputs released in 2023, such as Pathways towards circular plastics in Europe — good practice examples from countries, business and citizens, Assessing the costs and benefits of climate change adaptation and European forest ecosystems: key allies in sustainable development;

8. Reiterates its call from last year that the EUAA should keep Parliament regularly updated on all OLAF investigations.

2. Acknowledges the adaptability of the EEA, which, in addition to its planned publications for 2023, released additional works on topics ranging from extreme weather to human health, such as The importance on restoring nature in Europe, demonstrating its capacity to inform and fuel current policy debates arising from evolving circumstances;

Part IV – 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 for the financial year 2023

3. Notes that the EEA is tasked with tracking progress towards the 8th Environment Action programme (‘8th EAP’), which builds on the European Green Deal and sets the framework for Union environmental policy until 2030, with a long-term priority objective for 2050 of living well within planetary boundaries; welcomes the release of its first annual monitoring report in December 2023, on the basis of a set of 28 headline indicators and corresponding targets such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, circular economy and biodiversity;

1. Regrets that in 2023, an amount of EUR 12,6 million, representing 3,2 % of the total payment appropriations available, was non-compliant expenditure which exceeded the materiality threshold set for the audit and therefore resulted a qualified opinion on the legality and regularity of payments by the Court; calls on eu-LISA to prepare a detailed corrective action plan which includes a timetable and accountability for the elimination of non-compliant expenditure; calls on the Agency to keep the Court of Auditors regularly informed of progress in the implementation of the corrective action plan;

4. Takes note that, in June 2023 and following a pre-selection by the Commission, a selection by the Management Board and a hearing in ENVI, Leena Ylä-Mononen took over as EEA Executive Director from Hans Bruyninckx, who had served in the role for 10 years; welcomes the swift and effective process which led to this appointment;

2. Notes with concern the emphasis of matter to the annual accounts issued by the Court due to two active framework contracts; reiterates its concern that several observations form the Court from previous years are still ongoing; calls on eu-LISA to follow up on the observations from the Court and to step up efforts to implement corrective actions in all remaining cases of non-compliance and to report to the discharge authority on the progress achieved;

5. Welcomes the fact that, following the Discharge Authority’s recommendations of 2022, the EEA has established regular progress monitoring processes for both the implementation of key reports and assessments and recently with a stronger focus on indicators, and has consecutively reached a budget execution rate of 100% of the annual budget, a 100% delivery rate of key reports and assessments, and high engagement with key stakeholders and network partners throughout the year;

3. Takes note of eu-LISA’s efforts to achieve the objectives set for 2023 in the Single Programming Document 2023–2025; notes with satisfaction the full implementation of the renewed Schengen Information System (SIS) in March and the smooth integration of Cyprus to SIS in July 2023 and the integration of Croatia into Visa Information System (VIS);

6. Takes note with concern that despite the multi-year nature of the EEA’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 as an overload of administrative work for scientists; 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 EEA’s staff number should continue to substantially grow in the years to come.

4. Notes the new Interoperability roadmap; regrets that the new timeline for the roll-out and interoperability of EU information systems was necessary due to delays in development of the Entry/Exit System (EES), European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and European Criminal Records Information System on third-country nationals (ECRIS-TCN); calls on eu-LISA to prioritise the swift implementation of those information systems and set a new specific operational start date; underlines that swift, effective, and reliable information exchange is critical for sustaining and strengthening the Union’s area of freedom, security, and justice;

Part IV – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for the financial year 2023

5. Welcomes the fact that eu-LISA also focused on cybersecurity and combating threats in the cyber domain, in particular making necessary preparations for obligations stemming from the new Union regulations on information security and cybersecurity; highlights the fact that eu-LISA operates and maintains a security monitoring platform, cybersecurity incident plan, response playbooks, and 24/7 stand-by duty arrangements to ensure timely identification of and response to cyber threats; welcomes the role of eu-LISA in supporting inter-agency cybersecurity exercises in cooperation with the JHA Agencies Network (JHAAN);

1. Welcomes the EFSA'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;

6. Welcomes the fact that eu-LISA started preparations for taking over the operational management of the e-CODEX system (e-Justice Communication via Online Data Exchange) and that also commenced preparations for the design and development of the Joint Investigation Teams collaboration platform (JITs CP) to provide secure electronic information exchange for cross-border criminal investigations; notes the review of the rules for the prevention and management of conflict of interest concerning the representatives of the management board and the advisory groups.

2. Welcomes the involvement of the EFSA in ENVI’s work and more generally the engagement of EFSA with initiatives related to the Farm to Fork and the Union Chemical strategies, with a particular emphasis on pesticides, nutrition, animal welfare, and chemical risk assessment, including establishing an Union chemicals data platform;

Part V – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Border Coast Agency for the financial year 2023

3. Notes that the EFSA closed 660 scientific questions in 2023, slightly below the target of 673 but better than the result achieved since 2020; highlights the need to decrease the amount of questions in stock; welcomes the measures put in please to increase the speed of the Risk Assessment process;

1. Notes the significant increase in returns, with Frontex exceeding its target of 20 000 by assisting 39 239 returns in total, including an impressive 87% increase in voluntary returns and a 20% rise in forced returns compared to 2022; welcomes the enhanced support provided to Member States in post-return and post-arrival assistance, with Frontex exceeding its target of 5 000 cases in the Joint Reintegration System, successfully managing 6 438 cases in 2023;

4. Takes note that, according to the Annual Strategy Survey launched by the EFSA asking for feedback from its customers, partners, and stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in the delivery of the EFSA’s scientific opinions, the EFSA’s ability to provide its advice in a timely manner remains a point of attention as in the previous year; calls on the EFSA to implement the necessary measures to improve this aspect;

2. Notes the progressive expansion of cooperation with third countries throughout 2023, marked by a variety of activities such as familiarisation visits, identification missions, and workshops, totalling 36 initiatives aimed at strengthening collaboration;

5. Highlights the need for the EFSA to develop strong cooperation with all its stakeholders, including the other Agencies for better connection and outputs dissemination; welcomes the fact that the EFSA developed cooperation with Member States, including with the increase support of focal points, mainly focusing on support in the area of data collection and communication;

3. Emphasises the key role and main task of Frontex in protecting the Union’s external borders; acknowledges the essential role Frontex also plays in Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, with maritime and aerial assets deployed in joint operations responding to 785 incidents involving 43 508 migrants, underscoring the critical contribution of Frontex to humanitarian efforts; notes with concern that in 2023, Statista estimates that 3105 migrants died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea; emphasises the need to step up efforts to prevent human smuggling and trafficking;

6. Welcomes the fact that the EFSA continued implementing its new organisational structure that was put in place in 2022 to reflect the Transparency Regulation; highlights the need to improve efficiency and transparency in the EFSA’s process architecture.

4. Highlights the positive progress in implementing Fundamental Rights targets, including the ongoing execution of the Fundamental Rights Action Plan and the independent evaluation of the Agency’s compliance with the Fundamental Rights Framework, in line with the EBCG Regulation; welcomes the proactive follow-up by Frontex on complaints related to fundamental rights, with the majority being dismissed for non-admissibility; highlights the importance of close cooperation with national authorities to ensure the appropriate follow-up on allegations of fundamental rights violations in line with national fundamental rights mechanisms; stresses that Frontex officers must avoid involvement in any actions that could directly or indirectly violate fundamental rights; welcomes Frontex's reinforced commitment to transparency and accountability; stresses the need for more detailed post-operation information;

Part V – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the financial year 2023

5. Supports Frontex’s continued efforts to strengthen its FRO, noting the employment of 46 Fundamental Rights Monitors (FRM) in 2023; stresses the importance of ensuring that all FRMs are recruited in AD grade, to further enhance their capacity and independence; recognises that Frontex has taken significant steps in responding to the opinions of the FRO, particularly on issues such as gender mainstreaming and human trafficking;

1. Reiterates the key role of the EMA 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;

6. Notes with appreciation that most Fundamental Rights targets were met in 2023, contributing to a more robust and rights-based approach to Frontex operations; regrets, despite official replies by the Executive Director of Frontex, the lack of concrete action on some of the opinions issued by the FRO and thus calls for continued focus on implementing such concrete actions based on the recommendations of the FRO and for further strengthening Frontex’s human rights framework;

2. Notes that in 2023, the EMA recommended for marketing authorisation 77 new human medicines, including 39 new active substances, and 14 new veterinary medicines, including 9 new active substances; welcomes the fact that the EMA confirmed seventeen orphan-status designations under the Union framework for orphan medicines, the purpose of which is to encourage the development and marketing of medicines for patients with rare diseases;

7. Acknowledges the reception of 217 reported incidents of alleged violations of fundamental rights, the submission of 104 serious incident reports in 2023, 48 of which were related to fundamental rights, the reception of 67 complaints via the Frontex Complaints Mechanism, the launch of 55 serious incident investigations in 2023, and the closure of 39 serious incidents, with fundamental rights violations found to have likely happened in nearly 50% of the closed cases; acknowledges that the conducted investigations also highlight Frontex's commitment to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement;

3. Notes the EMA decision to lift its COVID-19 business continuity measures, in alignment with the World Health Organisation declaration of the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern; welcomes the fact that it enabled the EMA to shift its focus to address other challenges, including the finalisation of the EMA’s extended mandate obligations, of the medical devices and in vitro medical devices regulations (MDR/IVDR), and the first reflections on the EC proposal for the revision of the general Union pharmaceutical legislation for human medicines;

8. Urges Frontex to ensure, without further delay, the full implementation of all the recommendations from European audit and scrutiny bodies, particularly OLAF and those from the European Parliament’s Frontex Scrutiny Working Group, the European Ombudsman, the Court, and the Frontex Working Group on Fundamental Rights and Legal Operational Aspects of Operations (WG FRaLO);

4. Welcomes the EMA’s efforts to contribute to Union priorities, including via inter alia the implementation of the Union Beating Cancer Plan, the Union Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance.

9. Notes with concern that the Court has been highlighting since 2018 a high level of carry-overs and cancellations by Frontex and that this problem persists in 2023; notes furthermore that Frontex continues to struggle to meet its required occupancy as laid down in its staff establishment plan and that this problem also dates back to at least 2018; draws attention to the Court’s ongoing concern regarding lack of rules on declared conflicts of interest in relation to recruitment procedures in Frontex;

5. Recalls that the EMA is a fee-funded agency, with 88,21 % of its 2023 revenue stemming from fees for applications for marketing licenses for pharmaceutical products and for post-authorisation activities, 11,43 % stemming from the Union budget and 0,36 % from various other sources; highlights the need to ensure transparency of these revenues and welcomes the fact that in the future the EMA will have the obligation to publish in its activity report the annual revenue received per type of fee and charge according to Regulation (EU) 2024/568;

10. Notes the emphasis of matter to the annual accounts issued by the Court regarding the calculation of contributions from Schengen associated countries (SAC), which were raised in 2022; notes Frontex’s reply that these calculations follow established practices endorsed by the Management Board and the Commission; calls on the Commission to review these agreements to ensure greater consistency in the method of setting contributions to the Union and its agencies;

6. Notes that in 2023 the EMA received 6 965 requests for information and 709 requests for access to documents and that the EMA applies a queuing system that leads to delays in the treatment of the requests; emphasises the importance of transparency in the EMA operations, hence the need to ensure a timely access to information and documents;

11. Calls on the Commission, in light of the challenging migration crisis, in particular following the entry into force of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and the hybrid operations by Russia and Belarus, to follow up on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement of July 2024 declaring that Frontex is well-positioned to further increase its staff to up to 30 000 agents; underlines that this expansion would significantly enhance Frontex’s capacity to address and manage migration flows and ensure security and the respect of fundamental rights at the Union’s external borders, reinforcing its vital role in the Union’s broader migration strategy; calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps to provide Frontex with resources adequate to the current geopolitical situation and to combatting smuggling.

7. Notes that the situation regarding the EMA’s former premises in London became increasingly challenging in 2023, with a need for the EMA to dedicate significant levels of resources to managing commercial real estate in a third country, endangering its core activities; calls on the Commission to secure a long-term political resolution of this issue and to allow the EMA to fully focus its efforts on its public health mission.

Part VI – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training for the financial year 2023

Conclusion

1. Acknowledges that CEPOL intensified its efforts to provide a comprehensive training portfolio on all areas of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT); notes that Serious and Organised Crime and Cybercrime were the most popular topics attended by almost 62% of total number of participants in 2023; highlights that when auditing payments under a framework contract for travel and events organization services, the Court observed that CEPOL monitored contract consumption at the level of payments rather that budgetary commitments; agrees with the Court that this approach does not comply with Article 111 of the EU Financial Regulation;

1. Recommends, based on the facts available, that discharge be granted to the Executive Directors of the Agencies in respect of the implementation of the budget of the EU agencies for the financial year 2023.

2. Welcomes that CEPOL published the EU Strategic Training Needs Assessment 2022-2025 mid-term review, which identifies newly emerged strategic and EU-level training needs of law enforcement officials;

3. Welcomes the fact that CEPOL continued to provide a cyber training portfolio through its CEPOL Cybercrime Academy; welcomes the fact that the dedicated training activities improved cybercrime knowledge and cyber capacities in Europe in the fields of the fight against child sexual exploitation, online fraud schemes and cyber-attacks and that CEPOL developed its first ever dedicated workshop on artificial intelligence;

4. Notes with regret that the training activities in the area of fundamental rights and data protection decreased in 2023 (when 19 activities were implemented with 2063 participants) in comparison to 2022 (30 activities with 4 014 participants); underlines that the core objective of CEPOL is to support, develop, implement and coordinate training for law enforcement officials, while putting particular emphasis on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of law enforcement; acknowledges at the same time that the total number of participants increased to 46 431; call on CEPOL to increase transparency in the planning and monitoring of the implementation of these training needs, especially in the context of new challenges, such as the increasing role of technology in law enforcement.

Part VII – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2023

1. Notes that on 1 July 2023, the new Regulation of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), repealing and replacing the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Regulation, entered into force and welcomes the new, broader mandate for the EUDA; recalls that the EUDA Regulation aims at addressing the drugs phenomenon in a holistic and evidence-based approach and calls on the agency to ensure the full implementation of its new mandate; notes the increase in the EMCDDA’s budget in 2023 from EUR 26 million to EUR 29 million (+13%) and the reduction of its staff from 110 to 101 (-1%);

2. Welcomes the contribution of EMCDDA to the EMPACT and to the operational action plans (OAPs) of the EU policy cycle on organised and serious international crime; appreciates the contribution provided by EMCDDA to new EU Roadmap to step up the fight against drug trafficking and criminal networks;

3. Welcomes the continuous efforts from EMCDDA to implement the EU Early Warning System (EWS) in collaboration with partners in Member States; notes that 26 new psychoactive substances (NPS) were notified and that the total number of NPS currently monitored is approximately 950; appreciates the technical reports published by the agency;

4. Acknowledges that EMCDDA produced 30 scientific and institutional publications in 2023, and also authored or co-authored 14 scientific articles and book chapters, appreciates the scientific and evidence-based expertise provided by the agency;

5. Welcomes the launch of the digital-first, modular, European Drug Report 2023, and the launch of the modules on amphetamine and cannabis of the joint EMCDDA-Europol report EU Drug Markets: In-depth Analysis;

6. Notes with satisfaction that EMCDDA provided regular valuable support and information on drug policies to national policymakers and coordinated preparatory scientific reviews of drug-related harm, treatment and harm-reduction practices; emphasizes the importance of continuing this essential work to address evolving trends and challenges and calls for further strengthening of these activities by fostering closer collaboration with Member states and ensuring the proper dissemination of findings to a wider audience, including healthcare professionals and the general public;

7. Highlights that EMCDDA trained more than 3 300 professionals working in the drugs field, including health workers, law enforcement officers and policymakers within and outside the Union and that the eight webinars organised by EMCDDA were attended by approximately 4 800 professionals; welcomes the cooperation with other EU Agencies.

Part VIII – Discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation for the financial year 2023

1. Is concerned about the Court’s observation on the legality and regularity of transactions connected to an operational grant intended to fund the activities of a national police force in a Member State; notes that the Court concluded that part of the grant, amounting to EUR 279 000, was irregular; underlines that at the request of the Court, Europol identified other grants through which VAT was reimbursed for similar activities in 2023, leading to irregular payments; takes note of Europol’s reply that Europol will no longer consider VAT an eligible cost for operational grants, hence ensuring its compliance with the Financial Regulation 2018/1046;

2. Notes with satisfaction that, in 2023, Europol accepted 107 856 operational contributions, supported 3 155 operations, established 27 Operational Task Forces, delivered 21 096 first line SIENA responses, and provided increased operational information capabilities to national authorities, Member States and third parties;

3. Commends the successful deployment of PERCI (EU Platform on Illegal Content Online), particularly with the full implementation of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recommendations; appreciates the strong cooperation with EDPS and the joint working group established with Frontex to follow up on EDPS’ recommendations in relation to Frontex’s PeDRA (Processing personal data for risk analysis) programme where both agencies share a strong interest in protecting fundamental rights while advancing security;

4. Requests that cooperation between Europol and other JHA Agencies is fully transparent and accountability ensured in accordance with EU rules on transparency as well as fundamental rights and data protection standards;

5. Welcomes the implementation of the Europol Regulation as amended in 2022, especially the swift appointment of an FRO in January 2023, marking a significant step towards enhancing Europol’s commitment to human rights in its operations;

6. Notes with concern the increased recruitment of children and young people into organized crime; stresses the importance of a clear and comprehensive strategy to prevent and combat this phenomenon;

7. Appreciates Europol’s ongoing and invaluable support to Ukraine, particularly through its participation in the Joint Investigation Team focused on investigating alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine; notes with satisfaction the creation of an Operational Task Force (OTF) aimed at providing targeted support to ongoing investigations into war crimes, showcasing Europol’s crucial role in international justice and accountability;

8. Further acknowledges the Commission's efforts towards a stronger and more secure Europe, as outlined by President Ursula von der Leyen in her statement of 2024; calls on the Commission to double Europol's staff and recognise Europol’s central role in ensuring security across the Union and its capacity to respond to emerging threats; further underlines that this expansion will further enhance Europol's ability to support Member States in combating serious and organised crime, both online and offline, thereby contributing to a safer and more secure Europe for all.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

ThePursuant Chairto inArticle his8 capacityof asAnnex rapporteurI forto the opinionRules declaresof underProcedure, histhe exclusiverapporteur responsibilityfor thatopinion hedeclares didthat nothe receivereceived input from any entity orthe personfollowing toentities beor mentionedpersons in this Annex pursuant to Articlethe 8preparation of Annexthe Iopinion, prior to the Rulesadoption ofthereof Procedure.in committee:

Entity and/or person

European Border and Coast Guard Agency (“Frontex”)

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur for opinion.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur for opinion declares that he has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

Date adopted

6.2.2025

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

37

13

9

Members present for the final vote

Magdalena Adamowicz, Giuseppe Antoci, Jaume Asens Llodrà, Nikola Bartůšek, Krzysztof Brejza, Saskia Bricmont, Jaroslav Bžoch, Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, Lena Düpont, Marieke Ehlers, Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle, Branko Grims, Evin Incir, Irena Joveva, Erik Kaliňák, Marina Kaljurand, Fabienne Keller, András László, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Erik Marquardt, Michael McNamara, Birgit Sippel, Krzysztof Śmiszek, Petra Steger, Cecilia Strada, Georgiana Teodorescu, Milan Uhrík, Tom Vandendriessche, Charlie Weimers, Sophie Wilmès, Alessandro Zan, Javier Zarzalejos, Tomáš Zdechovský

Substitutes present for the final vote

Fredis Beleris, David Casa, Sigrid Friis, Markéta Gregorová, Hannah Neumann, Gaetano Pedulla’, Oliver Schenk, Alexander Sell, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, Malika Sorel, António Tânger Corrêa, Marco Tarquinio, Pekka Toveri, Loránt Vincze, Petar Volgin, Axel Voss, Michał Wawrykiewicz, Lucia Yar

Members under Rule 216(7) present for the final vote

Bart Groothuis, Rima Hassan, Anja Hazekamp, Pär Holmgren, Sérgio Humberto, Evelyn Regner, Carla Tavares, Ingeborg Ter Laak

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION

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