On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I – European Parliament

1. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I – European Parliament

(2025/2146(DEC))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024,

– having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2024 (COM(2025)0359 – C100146/2025),

– having regard to the report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year 2024, Section I – European Parliament,

– having regard to the Internal Auditor’s annual report for the financial year 2024,

– having regard to the Court of Auditors’ annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2024, together with the institutions’ replies,

– having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2024, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Article 314(10) and Article 318 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, and in particular Articles 260, 261 and 262 thereof,

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, and in particular Articles 266, 267 and 268 thereof,

– having regard to the Bureau decision of 10 December 2018 on the Internal Rules on the implementation of the European Parliament’s budget, and in particular Article 34 thereof,

– having regard to Rule 102 and Rule 106(3) of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A10-0081/2026),

1. Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2024;

2. Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

3. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

2. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I – European Parliament

(2025/2146(DEC))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I – European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 102 and Rule 106(3) of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A10-0081/2026),

A. whereas, in the certification of the final accounts, the European Parliament’s (‘Parliament’) accounting officer stated to have reasonable assurance that the accounts, in all material aspects, present fairly the financial position, the results of the operations and the cash-flow of Parliament;

B. whereas, in accordance with the usual procedure, 55 questions were sent to Parliament’s administration and written replies were received and discussed publicly by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 8 December 2025, in the presence of the Secretary-General, the Parliament’s Vice-Presidents responsible for the Budget, the Internal Auditor, and the director of the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations;

C. whereas there is always scope for improvement, and scrutiny is necessary to ensure that political leadership, Members and Parliament’s administration are transparent and have integrity, and thus are held accountable to Union citizens, and contributes to increased quality, efficiency and effectiveness of management of public finances, including fiscal discipline, safeguarding Parliament's credibility in exercising its discharge function over other institutions;

D. whereas legal certainty is one of the guiding principles for implementing administrative decisions; whereas an ever-increasing number of rules and obligations may lead to confusion and ambiguity where legal certainty is necessary for members and their offices, obliging the administration to engage in clear, comprehensive and legally sound communication;

E. whereas Members shall receive financial and logistical support from the administration to fully carry out their mandate; whereas the relations between Members, their offices, and the administration are built on mutual trust, which should be a guiding principle when equipping Members with financial support; whereas this should be reflected in the level of checks and reviews ex-ante and ex-post applied by the administration; whereas it is evident that clear, proportionate, targeted, standardised, and simplified procedures are the best and most effective way to conduct reviews and controls of financial entitlements, with the ultimate goal of providing the highest level of transparency and accountability, increasing democratic legitimacy and thereby Union citizens’ trust;

F. whereas trust in Parliament’s integrity and the rule of law is paramount for the functioning of European democracy, while fully respecting citizens’ rights;

G. whereas Members are protected by non-liability for votes cast and opinions expressed in the performance of their duties and are protected from prosecution and restrictions on their personal freedom while carrying out their duties in Parliament;

H. whereas gender equality and the elimination of inequalities are core values of the Union as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU); whereas the Union is committed to promoting gender equality in all its activities under Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting;

I. whereas under Rule 249, the Bureau shall adopt a gender action plan to integrate a gender perspective into all of Parliament’s activities;

Parliament’s budgetary and financial management

1. Notes that Parliament’s final appropriations for 2024 totalled EUR 2 383 million, or 20,2 % of Heading 7 of the Multiannual Financial Framework set aside for the 2024 administrative expenditure total for the Union institutions, representing a 6,05 % increase compared to the 2023 budget (EUR 2 247 million);

2. Notes that total revenue entered in the accounts as of 31 December 2024 was EUR 281 517 001 (compared to EUR 255 205 473 in 2023); notes that assigned revenue made available in 2024 amounted to EUR 40 277 555 (compared to EUR 50 186 995 in 2023);

3. Notes that the following six chapters accounted for 85,7 % of total commitments: Chapter 1 0 ‘Members of the institution’, Chapter 1 2 ‘Officials and temporary staff’, Chapter 1 4 ‘Other staff and external services’, Chapter 2 0 ‘Buildings and associated costs’, Chapter 2 1 ‘Data processing, equipment and movable property’ and Chapter 4 2 ‘Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance’;

4. Notes the figures on the basis of which Parliament’s accounts for the financial year 2024 were closed and which are reported in the annual accounts of the European Parliament for the Financial Year 2024, the Report on Budgetary and Financial Management for Section I: European Parliament, and the Report on Contracts and Concessions Awarded by the European Parliament;

5. Notes that 12 transfers were approved by Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (‘C transfers’), in accordance with Articles 31 and 49 of the Financial Regulation, in the financial year 2024, amounting to EUR 82 768 000 or 3,47 % of final appropriations; notes that the President authorised 9 transfers (‘P transfers’), in accordance with Article 29 of the Financial Regulation, amounting to EUR 11 479 000 or 0,4 % of the 2024 budget;

6. Welcomes the Secretary-General's commitment to simplification, good administration, and reinforcement of the scrutiny function of Parliament; notes with satisfaction that simplification is embraced not merely as a goal to be achieved but as a guiding principle to be systematically applied across all areas of Parliament's work, ensuring more effective and accessible (administrative) processes; welcomes the continued emphasis on Parliament’s core business, its legislative, budgetary and scrutiny activities, and in particular the creation of four thematic directorates-general, including the Directorate-General for Budgetary Affairs;

European Court of Auditors’ opinions on the reliability of the 2024 accounts and on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts

7. Recalls that the European Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) performs a specific assessment of administrative and other expenditure as a single policy group for all Union institutions; highlights that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2024 accounted for about 69 % of the total administrative expenditure, and on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology; highlights that the Court’s work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk;

8. Notes that the Multiannual Financial Framework Heading 7 ‘European public administration’ accounted for EUR 13,3 billion or 6,9 % of the Union budget in 2024, of which Parliament accounts for EUR 2,4 billion or 18,1 %; stresses the fact that the Court found that the level of error in spending on ‘European public administration’ was not material;

9. Notes that the Court’s annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2024 specifically examined the supervisory and control systems of Parliament, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management, and the functioning of key controls defined in the Financial Regulation, including ex ante and ex post controls on payments, as well as a statistically representative sample of 70 transactions covering the full range of spending under this Multiannual Financial Framework Heading and the information on compliance with rules and regulations given in the annual activity reports of all Union institutions and bodies;

10. Takes note of the Court’s observations on Parliament’s internal rules; notes that Parliament’s administration is subject to the Financial Regulation and its public procurement rules; notes, however, that for the political groups, the Bureau adopted the Rules governing the use of appropriations from budget line 400, which contain a number of specific provisions for certain procurement procedures; recalls that political groups manage the funds allocated to them in accordance with the principles of indirect management of funds by applying Article 62(1), point (c), of the Financial Regulation by analogy; considers that these rules themselves replace the ‘contribution agreements’ referred to in Article 158(7) of the Financial Regulation; stresses that one external auditor for each group, selected from a list of audit firms drawn up by Parliament’s administration, certifies their respective annual accounts in order to ensure compliance, which ensures a neutral level of control; stresses that the Court also examines the activities of the political groups in its annual report;

11. Notes that only three auditors were included in the list of audit firms selected to audit the political groups’ accounts, regretting the limited choice available; calls on the Directorate-General for Finance (DG FINS) to strive to include more external audit firms in the list by actively inviting all qualified European auditors, including those based outside Belgium, providing a sufficient number of options in order for the political groups to have more choices to select an auditor that complies with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB); considers further that the budgets allocated by political groups for the audits should be increased to ensure a more thorough audit on sound financial management and attract a broader range of auditing expertise; notes the direction and guidance already provided to external auditors and encourages DG FINS to ensure quality of the external audits that certify the accounts of the political groups;

12. Notes that according to Article 1.4 of the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 400, political groups shall be responsible to the institution for the use of appropriations, within the limits of the powers conferred upon them by the Bureau; remarks that they shall ensure that the appropriations are used in accordance with these Rules; welcomes the efforts of Parliament’s administration in assisting political groups with the aim of guiding their knowledge and capacity on financial management;

13. Recalls that the Union budget may be awarded to European political parties in view of their contribution to forming European political awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union; notes that the Court audited one transaction, where it considered the expenditure ineligible, and found that Parliament’s administration was of the same opinion and had taken steps to recover the related expenditure; welcomes the conduct of Parliament’s administration in that regard, and in particular its commitment to applying a horizontal approach, guaranteeing equal treatment of all political parties;

Internal Auditor’s annual report

14. Notes that, at the meeting held on 8 December 2025 between the committee responsible and the internal auditor, the internal auditor presented his annual report;

15. Welcomes and supports the actions that the internal auditor has agreed with the responsible directorates-general as a result of the Internal Audit Service’s (IAS) assurance assignments; notes that the follow-up to these recommendations is systematically audited;

16. Notes that the 2024 follow-up process resulted in 24 of the 57 actions being considered as effectively implemented and therefore validated by the IAS; notes that the residual risk profile of 33 overdue actions concerned 24 actions with a significant risk, mainly related to cybersecurity and identity and access management; notes the enhanced cooperation with Directorate-General for Information Technologies and Cybersecurity(DG ITEC) to monitor the implementation and the residual risk;

17. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public, while ensuring adherence to data protection and confidentiality rules, as soon as the internal auditor has validated the actions; notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; takes note that Members of Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control have the right to request confidential access to the internal audit report in view of the discharge procedure and welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out;

18. Welcomes the continued quality assurance and improvement programme of the IAS, primarily preparing for the introduction of the new global internal audit standards that were due to become effective in January 2025; welcomes, in particular, the adoption of the updated audit charter by the Bureau and the preparation of a 2025-2029 strategy for the internal audit function that strongly reflects the need for positive change and an ethics driven approach; takes the fact that 70 % of members of staff of the IAS’ have passed the certification exam to become an internal auditor as a further indicator of quality improvement;

Political priorities

19. Recalls that, in accordance with Articles 1.3.2, 2.7.1 and 2.7.2 of the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 400, the former political group Identity & Democracy (ID Group) submitted its final financial report on 8 October 2024 covering the period from 1 January to 15 July 2024; recalls that Parliament’s administration received the ID Group’s full financial archive in both electronic and paper format and conducted a risk-based ex-post verification of the 2024 accounts, focusing on consistency checks and sample testing of high-risk contracts and donations; recalls the findings of Parliament’s administration that at least EUR 4 333 635,78 of budget item 400 appropriations were unduly spent by the group over the 2019-2024 term, exposing Parliament to a significant financial and reputational risk; shortcomings in the public procurement procedures were identified, and represent significant reputational risks for Parliament;

20. Notes that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announced in July 2025 that it had opened an investigation into the alleged misuse of Union funds by the ID Group between 2019 and 2024;

21. Stresses that Parliament’s administration has transmitted the case file and cooperates fully with the EPPO’s investigation; notes that the Bureau awaits to know the outcome of the EPPO’s investigation before taking any recovery action; calls upon the Bureau to provide Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control a written update on the state of play before the next discharge cycle starts; calls on Parliament’s administration to take all the necessary measures parallel to the EPPO’s criminal investigation, administrative interim protective measures (including precautionary set-offs and/or reserves, where legally feasible) to protect the Union’s financial interests and Parliament’s reputation; considers that, according to Article 3(3) of the Working Arrangement between the European Parliament and the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the EPPO will inform Parliament about ongoing or closed investigations in which Parliament appears to be in a position to take precautionary measures to protect the financial interests of the Union including disciplinary procedures or recovery procedures within the applicable time limits; notes that criminal proceedings should not be automatically used as a generalised justification for possible inaction;

22. Calls on the Bureau to ensure that the external auditors fully comply with the letter of engagement, and to ensure, for future audits, adequate oversight by external auditors for groups by making more hours available for external auditors to perform their oversight role; calls on DG FINS to ensure adequate staffing within DG FINS responsible for budget item 400 to provide clearer guidance on the correct interpretation of rules for budget item 400 to avoid discrepancy between considerations of external auditors and DG FINS, in full respect of the auditors’ independence, in particular as regards procurement, and to provide more training and support on procurement to groups;

23. Calls on the Secretary-General to launch a reflection on the external audit system in place for budget item 400;

24. Welcomes the use of Parliament as a platform for raising awareness of gender-based violence and domestic violence, stresses the importance of the Union’s and Parliament’s missions contributing to the promotion of gender equality, including those that provide support, protection, and essential services to women and girls who are victims of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations;

25. Recalls the Opinion of Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control for the Bureau on the political group Identity and Democracy - Dissolution and final financial report 2024, as approved on 4 September 2025, calling to explore the possibility of opening without delay the required procedures with a view to recover the amount of ineligible expenditure as soon as possible, to assess the potential liabilities of the responsible (former) Members and hierarchy for intentional or gross-negligent authorisation of irregular expenditure; recommends to the Bureau to suspend, for the duration of the enquiry, the external auditor who certified the ID Group’s accounts from the list of approved external auditing companies made available to political groups, replacing the suspended auditor immediately and ensuring that a sufficient number of alternative options are available to the political groups; awaits the Parliament administration’s analysis of the 2024 accounts of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group;

26. Calls on the committees to strive for better gender balance, including in the composition of leadership positions; calls on the President and the Bureau to ensure horizontal representation and gender balance throughout all plenary proceedings, across committees and delegations; calls on groups to take gender into consideration, and enforce gender quotas, for the appointment of coordinators, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and the distribution of speaking time; requests that measures to tackle horizontal inequalities be put in place to ensure gender balance in different committees; encourages the inclusion of more men in the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, including those actively supporting gender equality as allies, to foster shared responsibility and take up the mantle of promoting equality in practice for women and girls and to put an end to the gendered concentration of portfolios;

27. Notes that political groups have substantial autonomy over their IT services, which are used to store information related to their activities; notes that, in a geopolitically turbulent world, such data should be stored on European servers by European providers to avoid external dependencies and risks; welcomes therefore the recent announcement to deliver a secure, sovereign cloud infrastructure to eliminate this dependency;

28. Emphasises the importance of maintaining institutional integrity and preventing undue external interference; condemns any improper attempt to influence the legislative activities of Parliament;

29. Notes that the Commission has acknowledged allegations regarding the use of Union funds for advocacy activities targeting Parliament by several entities but has stated that such activities fall within the scope of the applicable regulation; recognises, however, that this might have nonetheless entailed reputational risks;

30. Recalls that allegations of Russian influence in Parliament posed serious risks to democratic integrity, noting that some Members openly supported Russia, including in their side activities, underscoring the need for stronger safeguards; notes that Parliament’s response to foreign interference has become more vigilant, however, more robust measures should be taken to ensure effective protection against undue external influence; underlines, in this context, the essential responsibility of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to carry out all necessary in-depth investigations;

31. Notes that 2024, including in the run-up to the European elections, was marked by heightened risks of foreign interference and influence operations targeting democratic institutions and elected representatives; recalls that public allegations and investigations concerning attempts to influence political positions and voting behaviour underline the need for robust preventive and detection mechanisms within Parliament; calls on Parliament, therefore, to ensure internal safeguards, transparency requirements and cooperation with relevant Union bodies, in order to protect the integrity of Parliament and the Union budget;

32. Recalls that Article 4 of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament Regarding Integrity and Transparency requires precise declarations of financial interests by Members; calls for sufficient details to be provided in declarations on paid or unpaid outside activities, in order to avoid any concerns about the quality of checks on conflicts of interests, which are essential to ensure the effective prevention, identification and management of conflicts of interest;

33. Takes note of, in the interest of transparency, the obligatory publication of meetings and declarations of private interests, in particular declarations of material and financial support; notes, however, that the current framework experiences recurring issues relating to completeness and clarity, which may reduce its overall effectiveness; considers that improved guidance to Members, as well as proportionate and consistent follow-up by the administration where declarations appear to be inaccurate or inconsistent, deserves careful attention, particularly in light of concerns related to foreign interference;

34. Expresses serious concern regarding allegations that Member States have engaged in spying and targeted Parliament; notes that the Commission has established an internal group to investigate these claims; urges close cooperation between Parliament and the Commission, and urges the Commission to share the working group’s findings with Parliament, provided that such sharing does not compromise any ongoing or potential legal proceedings;

35. Calls on Parliament to strengthen protective measures, including secure device management, rapid incident reporting channels for Members and staff, and regular threat-briefings in cooperation with CERT-EU and relevant Union bodies, while ensuring full respect for fundamental rights and data protection;

36. Notes the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for ensuring accurate and transparent information within the Union and its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, while appropriately designed and governed AI systems can help detect and mitigate misinformation and disinformation, promotes accountability and upholds high standards of transparency in order to maintain public trust and strengthen democratic governance; is worried by the dominance of AI tools from companies in third countries and by data protection and confidentiality considerations when making use of third-party AI tools; calls for full transparency regarding the use of AI systems in the Parliament’s decisions and procedures, including the publication of detailed information on algorithms, and impact assessments; calls on Parliament’s administration to make a suite of AI tools available to both Members and Parliament staff, adapted to the needs of each category, that answers to business needs of Members and guarantees confidentiality, integrity and availability of data processed by it by using on-premise infrastructure to prevent data leaks, and does not disclose information to third parties, in line with the current policies regarding the use of AI;

37. Notes the increasing use of AI and large-language-model tools in human-resource management and recognises the potential it has for efficiency gains which should be further explored; stresses at the same time the need for clear governance, human oversight, transparency and robust data protection safeguards; calls on the administration to inform the discharge authority of the scope, risk assessment and ethical safeguards of such tools;

38. Notes that according to the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, a secret ballot is generally used for elections and for votes concerning individual persons; further notes that voting shall also be taken by secret ballot if this is requested by Members or a political group or groups reaching at least the high threshold; takes note in this context that the Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs has been tasked with assessing the use of the latter option and awaits the conclusions and proposals of the committee; considers that roll-call votes constitute a key instrument for ensuring transparency and accountability towards Union citizens; calls on Parliament to present measures that avoid abuse of voting by the secret ballot procedure;

39. Welcomes the progress made on gender mainstreaming and budgeting and the adoption of the 2025 Gender Action Plan; calls for this action plan to be made public and swiftly implemented via its gender action plan roadmap and thoroughly assessed with regular reports monitoring the progress made; urges consistent gender budgeting in Parliament’s budget and the incorporation of a gender mainstreaming guide; welcomes the work of the Gender Mainstreaming Network in Parliament; further calls for strengthened gender mainstreaming across parliamentary committees;

Directorate-General for the Presidency

40. Recalls that the Directorate-General for the Presidency (DG PRES) provides expertise and facilitates the legislative and parliamentary work of the President, the Plenary and Parliament's governing bodies and Members at each stage of the parliamentary and legislative process; recalls that it is also responsible for inter-institutional relations, for protocol support to official visits and events sponsored by the President, for the management of classified Union information, and for the management of official and registered mail; notes that by 31 December 2024, there were 406 members of staff, of which 320 were officials, 29 were temporary agents, 55 were contract agents, 1 seconded national expert and 1 agency member of staff;

41. Notes that DG PRES’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 2 970 957 in 2024, representing 0,2 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 2 930 107 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations;

42. Notes that DG PRES’ activities were influenced by the end of the ninth and the start of the tenth legislative term, which caused challenges for the plenary planning and finalisation capacity at the end of the ninth term given the very high number of ordinary legislative procedure files agreed in the last months of the term, and the constitution of the new Parliament at the start of the tenth term with the election of the President and the Bureau;

43. Commends DG PRES for its activities concerning the implementation and follow-up of the new rules on integrity and transparency which included a first overall assessment of the technical implementation of the reform, and awareness-raising activities and provision of technical expertise and services on transparency, integrity and accountability issues; further welcomes the role of the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members in monitoring how Members comply with the Code of Conduct and its implementing measures;

44. Calls for the continuation of interinstitutional cooperation and dialogue on integrity and transparency, within the Union institutions;

45. Welcomes that DG PRES continued its effective cooperation with the Council and Commission on all elements concerning the interinstitutional secretariat of the transparency register, with a view to continuing to keep enhancing the operation of the Register;

46. Highlights the persistent delays in the Commission’s handling of Parliamentary questions for written answers in recent years; regrets that the process has become increasingly bureaucratic and slow, resulting in systematic lack of respect for the deadlines laid down in Rule 144 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; notes with concern that in 2024 the Commission replied within the deadlines set in Parliament’s Rules of Procedure to only a limited proportion of written questions, including a particularly low rate for priority questions, and in many cases after the deadline; stresses that the longest reply time was 475 days; recalls that timely replies are an essential element of parliamentary scrutiny and democratic accountability; welcomes the efforts made by DG PRES in recent years to meet the deadlines set; calls upon DG PRES to work to ensure full compliance with the deadlines set by Parliament and to pursue, including at political level, more binding arrangements with the Commission on replying to written questions within the deadlines and to report to the discharge authority on the progress that is made, with the aim of restoring Parliamentary questions for written answers as an effective oversight instrument;

47. Notes that internal processing, including editing, translation and admissibility checks, contributes to the overall transmission time of written questions; calls on the administration to continue streamlining these procedures, while fully respecting linguistic quality and data protection requirements, in order to support Members’ scrutiny work more effectively;

48. Calls on DG PRES to actively engage with parliaments of other Member States and third countries to develop proposals for effective scrutiny mechanisms, as well as ways to improve the quality and attendance at plenary debates within Parliament; calls on DG PRES to draw lessons from the structure of congressional hearings;

49. Welcomes that Parliament recently initiated the legislative procedure to amend the Union electoral law in order to introduce a new temporary proxy voting option for Members during late pregnancy and early motherhood; welcomes that, with its vote on 13 November 2025 in plenary, Parliament committed to gender equality, inclusivity and work-life balance despite the fact that broader parental leave is not covered by the act;

50. Notes that up-to-date attendance data at Committee level is currently unavailable; calls on the Parliament’s services to publish these attendance figures at Committee level annually aggregated per Committee;

Directorate-General for Communication

51. Notes that Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM)’s mission is to ensure that citizens understand the importance of Parliament so that they can improve engagement in the European democratic process; highlights that its key tasks are to collaborate with the media, to inform, explain and enhance the visibility of Parliament’s work, to increase awareness of Parliament among citizens in all Member States, stakeholders and opinion leaders through the European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) located in the Member States, to foster interaction with citizens through enhanced visitor projects, events and information campaigns and its presence on social media, and to provide expertise to Members and political groups on topics such as media intelligence and public opinion monitoring;

52. Notes that DG COMM’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 137 463 777 in 2024, representing 5,8 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 137 467 355 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations;

53. Recognises that communication regarding the European elections was at the forefront of DG COMM’s activities in 2024, most notably with the successful ‘Go-to-vote’ communication campaign, partnerships with over 300 civil society organisations and more than 18 000 journalists briefed; notes that all of DG COMM’s strategic projects in 2024, with a 94 % completion rate, were aimed at the European elections, with the remaining 6 % relating to the implementation of the new website structure;

54. Notes that DG COMM facilitated coverage of the European elections, which reached a record volume of reporting (+18 % compared to the previous elections), which DG COMM reports as particularly noteworthy in the final moments of the election cycle with election night (on 9 June 2024) covered by 149 television channels across 51 countries, and a majority of reporting online;

55. Notes the role of the EPLOs in liaising between Parliament and the public and stakeholders in the Member States in general, and in communicating about the European Elections; notes that all EPLOs have been equipped with audiovisual services for the Members, political groups and third parties to use in the Member States;

56. Calls for adequate monitoring of expenditure of the EPLOs and Europa Experience Centres;

57. Emphasises the critical role of the EPLO in Washington for fostering transatlantic relations and enhancing the connection between the US and Union parliaments; highlights that, in light of the new US administration and emerging global challenges, the role of the EPLO in Washington is even more crucial; calls for an adequate budget and staffing to support the EPLO’s activities in Washington;

58. Notes 14 Europa Experience centres were open in 2024, attracting a total number of 957 209 visitors, with a wide range of visitor numbers, with Strasbourg (381 687) and Berlin (122 672) attracting the highest numbers of visitors, and Copenhagen (18 182) and Dublin (8 312) the lowest, however the Dublin centre only opened in October 2024; notes the remark that Europa Experience centres are used as a Union hub for democratic engagement by EPLOs in the respective Member States and that they offer opportunities to attract a wider audience for Parliament’s messages;

59. Underlines the importance of thoroughly evaluating the lessons learned with the Europa Experience centres so far, in particular regarding the search for adequate buildings and how target groups can be reached effectively, identifying best practices, and adapting the future development of the Europa Experience centres to local needs and demonstrated impact; stresses that this reassessment should guide future adjustments or reconsiderations in further expansion, ensuring that all future investments are more efficient in serving their intended purpose of bringing Parliament closer to citizens and improving their understanding of the Union’s democratic process;

60. Recalls that new rules on payment of subsidies for sponsored visitor groups were adopted by the Bureau on 11 September 2023, with an entry into force date of 1 January 2024; notes that in 2024, 300 000 sponsored and non-sponsored visitors were invited by Members in Brussels and Strasbourg; notes that subsidies for such visitors’ groups amounted to 17 % of DG COMM’s expenditure in 2024; notes the additional efforts implemented by political groups supporting their Members in interacting with citizens, including young people, in order to ensure an adequate information about Members’ work in Strasbourg and Brussels with the financing from funds under budget item 400;

61. Notes the constant struggle that the Union faces with regard to safeguarding Union values and the integrity of the democratic process; acknowledges the growing attempts by foreign actors to influence the work of Parliament and emphasises the need for vigilance in countering disinformation originating outside the Union; recalls in that regard the European Parliament Resolutions of 1 June 2023 on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation (2022/2075(INI)), and of 23 January 2025 on Russia’s disinformation and historical falsification to justify its war of aggression against Ukraine (2024/2988(RSP)); welcomes the actions taken by Parliament to prevent and react to disinformation; while recognising that no significant incident has yet occurred, stresses the importance of maintaining proactive measures to preserve the integrity of Parliament's public debate and votes; highlights the added value of initiatives like fact-checking meetings and summits, which play a crucial role in fostering transparency, equipping stakeholders with tools to counter misinformation, and strengthening collaboration among fact-checking organisations within and beyond the Union;

Directorate-General for Personnel

62. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Personnel (DG PERS) is responsible for the appropriate and efficient management of human resources within Parliament and ensures that Members are supported by a highly skilled workforce to enable them to duly fulfil their mandate; notes that by 31 December 2024, there were 499 members of staff, of which 290 were officials, 82 were temporary agents, 120 were contract agents, 2 seconded national experts and 5 agency members of staff;

63. Notes that DG PERS’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 1 225 341 375 in 2024 (EUR 1 163 329 780 in 2023), representing 51,4 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 1 160 835 147 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations;

64. Welcomes that, in 2024, DG PERS continued to organise competitions and selection procedures, handling an increasing pool of applicants, and it also organised four nationality-specific competitions; welcomes the efforts made by DG PERS to organise competitions, ensuring their timely completion and maintaining the necessary quality standards; welcomes that over 441 candidates were successfully shortlisted on reserve lists; regrets however that the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) has encountered systematic issues with the organisation of competitions and the lack of an available pool of candidates suited to Parliament’s needs; regrets that the average duration between publication of the notice of competition and the final interview for each competition, is more than a year; acknowledges the general difficulties encountered by DG PERS and other directorates-general in attracting and retaining talent, which has an impact on the performance of Parliament’s workforce; calls for more efficient, better targeted and shorter selection procedures that would result in increasing the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer and allow the directorates-general to speedily recruit the specialist profiles needed to support their work; stresses that selection procedures must be conducted in full respect of the principles of equal treatment and geographical balance, ensuring fair representation of all Member States;

65. Welcomes Parliament's nationality-specific competitions with a view to improving the geographical balance among Parliament's staff by creating a wider pool of candidates from under-represented Member States; notes, however, that an analysis of data on Parliament staff by nationality and function group reveals a persistent imbalance in career progression, whereby staff from certain Member States, although well represented in the administration, remain under-represented in senior function groups and in decision-making positions; regrets the geographical imbalance in Parliament's senior and middle management; recruitment shall always be based on merit and should always respect fundamental principles such as equality, non-discrimination and proportionality; emphasises that improvement is needed, and calls on the Secretary-General, in cooperation with DG PERS, to present concrete, measurable and time-bound measures to address these imbalances and to report regularly to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control and the discharge authority on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff; calls on the Secretary-General and DG PERS to include in the regular reporting to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control information beyond the overall staff count and include data on, in particular, career development and promotions by nationality and function group, the appointment of management and senior positions, participation in talent management and leadership programmes and the use of temporary appointments and duties as part of career development paths;

66. Notes DG PERS’ key achievement of the efficient recruitment of an unprecedented number of 1 339 Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs) by the July constitutive session, with the total number of APAs holding effective contracts by the end of the year increasing to 2 024, and the off-boarding of about 800 APAs; considers APAs to be a great asset to the Institution and commends DG PERS in its efforts in supporting efficient and effective recruitment by the Members;

67. Acknowledges that the work of APAs is an integral part of the work of Members and therefore of Parliament; notes that following the adoption of the APA statute in 2009, their status over the years has been protected by the rules; notes the efforts made by Parliament to create a framework for providing support to APAs; calls for due adherence to the rules in place; notes, that since then, APAs participate in official missions to Parliament’s three places of work; welcomes that the rules concerning the reimbursement of APA’s missions between the three place of work have been aligned with those applicable to officials, ensuring equality of treatment for APAs; calls on the Bureau and on Parliament’s administration to formally consult the APA Committee on revisions and reforms that directly impact the rights of APAs; calls on Parliament's administration to explore the feasibility of introducing a notice period within APA's contracts in the event of the unexpected departure of a Member; reiterates its call on the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to revise the implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside the Union; underlines that such a revision should consider the possibility for APAs, subject to certain conditions, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions; highlights that this change would not result in any change to the envelope and would be budget neutral;

68. Recalls that APAs cannot participate in Parliament’s internal competitions; invites the Bureau to explore the possibility of allowing APAs, under yet to be determined conditions, to participate in internal competitions in a similar way toParliament’s staff; stresses that stronger involvement of APAs in the internal structures of Parliament could lead to more inclusive, diverse and geographically balanced workforce; highlights the importance of knowledge retention and transfer within Parliament in relation to the internal working methods;

69. Notes with great concern the reports of a data breach centred on Parliament’s recruitment application PEOPLE, affecting mainly non-permanent members of Parliament staff, including APAs; regrets that the data breach involved ID card details, birth certificates, diplomas, employment history, medical records, rights to entitlements, insurance and documents related to proof of work dating back 10 years in some cases; welcomes the reimbursement scheme that the Secretary-General introduced, in line with Parliament’s duty of care, to cover the costs of replacing ID cards and/or passports of affected PEOPLE application users, with EUR 51 874 paid to date; regrets that the cost of the travel to the country of origin for these administrative procedures was not covered; calls on the administration to ensure that support measures are effective and equitable, including clear one-stop guidance, identity-protection support and reimbursement that does not leave affected persons bearing unavoidable administrative costs linked to document replacement procedures; notes that the administration provided its analysis of the reasons for the breach to the discharge authority; calls on the administration to provide to the affected staff, including former members of staff, a clear analysis of the reasons for the breach and the measures taken to recover the system concerned; is fully aware that Parliament will remain a target for cyber-attacks in the future and that utmost vigilance is essential; welcomes the measures taken by the administration to further reinforce the cyber-security maturity and governance of its IT environment;

70. Notes that DG PERS has implemented a new APA-People IT system, enhancing the recruitment process by centralising contract management and enabling Members’ access, alongside a fully digitalised procedure for medical recruitment check-ups; calls on DG PERS, in cooperation with DG ITEC, to make sure the cybersecurity of this system is up to standard, preventing leaks of personal data; considers that the cybersecurity of IT systems containing the personal data of all members of staff is of the utmost importance and calls on DG PERS to closely cooperate with DG ITEC to achieve this;

71. Notes that, in 2024, DG PERS supported the implementation of gender and diversity roadmaps and developed training courses on diversity and inclusion for all members of staff; welcomes that the Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Unit (EIDU) of DG PERS streamlined its internal reasonable accommodation procedure in 2024, fostering equality, inclusion and diversity, and also provided advice to the Learning & Development Unit on reasonable accommodation for training courses; welcomes that the unit also organised 20 training courses and awareness events for 2 334 participants, including a new diversity and inclusion course for all members of staff, and hosted events on gender equality, disability and LGBTQI+ inclusion;

72. Welcomes the adoption of a common inter-institutional decision regarding a housing allowance for lower-grade staff living in Luxembourg; considers it a necessary instrument to support lower-grade staff to balance the disproportionately high housing costs, as well as a necessary tool to increase the attractiveness of Parliament’s Luxembourg site; notes that the instrument is temporary and calls on Parliament to ensure long-term predictability for the staff concerned;

73. Recalls the launch of the Parliament wide anti-harassment campaign ‘United against Harassment’ on 22 October 2024, contributing to a safe work environment; welcomes that, in addition to the information campaign, the training course ‘Respect and dignity at work - Preventing conflict and harassment in the workplace’ for Members was mandatory and completed by Members in the first year of the legislature; highlights that the effectiveness of these measures should be evaluated;

74. Welcomes the possibility for members of staff to telework away from the place of employment; notes that Parliament’s members of staff can use this form of telework for five days per year; notes that other Union institutions on average provide for 15 days per year; calls for a proactive monitoring and evaluation of the new ways of working; recalls the importance of a genuine dialogue with members of staff on crucial matters related to new ways of working;

75. Stresses that quality childcare services provided to the Members and staff are crucial measures to ensure the effective implementation of the work-life balance policy; draws attention to the fact that quality of the services provided by the Wayenberg childcare facility in Brussels for pre-school age children has been suffering in quality due to the frequent change of service provider since 2020; calls in this respect to consider the need to adopt high-quality standards;

76. Recalls Parliament's recommendation to the Commission in European Parliament resolution of 18 April 2018 on the integrity policy of the Commission, in particular the appointment of the Secretary-General of the European Commission (2018/2624(RSP)) ‘to review its administrative procedure for the appointment of senior officials with the objective of fully ensuring that the best candidates are selected within a framework of maximum transparency and equal opportunities’; is of the opinion that Parliament, with regard to appointment procedures, should always meet the highest standards in terms of transparency, accountability and good administration;

77. Invites Parliament to optimise the use of its human resources, including through the implementation of appropriate ongoing training measures, aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of internal services; calls on providing first aid training at beginner and intermediate level regularly, as well as making first aid training a voluntary part of the onboarding program for new staff; calls on the administration to explore the possibility of installing additional defibrillators in view of enhancing health and safety for Members and staff, including the provision of training;

Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics

78. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (DG INLO) is responsible for Parliament’s buildings, works, facility management, and logistics; notes that DG INLO also provides catering and transport, and manages and equips Parliament’s office and meeting spaces; recalls that DG INLO most notably managed Parliament's building portfolio of around 1.3 million m² in Brussels, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, the Liaison Offices and Europa Experience facilities in the Member States; notes that by 31 December 2024, DG INLO was made up of 635 members of staff, of which 311 were officials, 20 were temporary staff, and 326 were contract staff;

79. Notes that DG INLO’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 258 638 966 in 2024, representing 10,9 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 256 935 431 was committed; notes the high use of appropriations;

80. Recalls the support expressed by the vast majority of Parliament for a single seat; notes that according to the TEU, Parliament shall have its seat in Strasbourg, where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions shall be held and that any change to the Treaties requires the unanimity of the Member States; notes that within the current Treaty framework through the optimisation of operations savings can be attained; calls for the establishment of concrete milestones and an action plan for achieving identified cost-reductions;

81. Encourages the administration to continue to assess the quality, pricing and range of catering services offered within Parliament, with a view to ensuring that procurement criteria adequately balance price and quality considerations; invites DG INLO to explore options to enhance competition among catering service providers in order to improve service standards, choice and cost-effectiveness, particularly in the context of official events and visitors’ services; calls on Parliament’s administration to report back to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the outcome;

82. Welcomes that, in 2024, the administration implemented Parliament’s ‘Building Strategy Beyond 2019’, and achieved its main objectives; notes with satisfaction that DG INLO, after years of expansion brought on by the growth of Parliament’s institutional powers, now concentrates on the consolidation of Parliament’s building stock and renovation of existing premises, welcomes DG INLO’s commitment to further developing Parliament’s role in the cities of Strasbourg, Brussels, and Luxembourg, fostering projects of common interest, and connecting the sites to the surrounding areas;

83. Calls on Parliament’s administration to continue to pursue an active building strategy, integrating infrastructural and logistical needs, reviewing cost-saving measures, such as the use of hybrid meeting technologies, and the consolidation of parliamentary activities; calls on Parliament to ensure that its biodiversity-mainstreaming objectives are also taken into consideration in building management and renovation projects, including an estimation of the associated costs; notes that major building projects involve complex negotiations and significant legal scrutiny; calls on Parliament’s administration to ensure structured ex-post reporting to the discharge authority on such projects, including negotiation processes, risk-mitigation measures and legal assessments, in order to strengthen transparency and institutional learning;

84. Notes with concern the persistent shortage of meeting and seminar rooms within Parliament, which makes booking spaces increasingly difficult and requires planning far in advance; regrets that this situation hinders the efficient organisation of parliamentary work and limits flexibility for Members and members of staff; takes note of the upcoming renovation of the SPAAK building which is in line with Union’s energy performance requirements; calls on Parliament’s administration to implement measures to mitigate the impact of the renovation and to ensure that sufficient facilities are available to support Parliament’s operational needs;

85. Takes note of building projects in 2024, and in particular, the completion of the West Wing of the ADENAUER II building in Luxembourg, bringing all Parliament’s members of staff and services together under the same roof; notes that the new security and visitors’ reception pavilion in the WEISS building in Strasbourg was completed in time for the start of the new legislature in July 2024; notes the acquisition of the TRÈVES II building in Brussels, further consolidating Parliament’s stock of buildings in the city’s European quarter; requests to be provided with an updated timetable for the interconnection of the TRÈVES I and TRÈVES II to the main central buildings in Brussels; requests to address some structural problems that are still pending in the TRÈVES I building such as the unstable heating system, the lack of air conditioning and toilets for persons with reduced mobility, the poor sound proofing, as well as the sewage problem; encourages more frequent cleaning of heating air vents in the SPINELLI building to prevent the build-up of dust and mould in offices and to improve the health of staff at work;

86. Recalls that during its meeting on 12 June 2023, the Bureau discussed the steps for the renovation of the SPAAK building; notes that the Bureau expressed a preference for a comprehensive environmental renovation and approved the project on 11 December 2023; notes that DG INLO has made progress with the preliminary projects in connection with the renovation of SPAAK building by launching studies in connection with the new central technical room of the Directorate-General for Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences (DG LINC), the reorganisation of the Print Shop, the move of the Cabinets and the media and press area;

87. Takes note that EUR 4 million is included in the 2026 estimates for studies and the contractor's preparatory works related to the renovation of the SPAAK building while the overall costs are estimated at EUR 36 million; notes therefore that EUR 32 million of costs related to the renovation of the SPAAK building are not included in the 2026 estimates; notes that the Secretary-General intends to cover these costs by a mopping-up transfer or the use of a loan; requests the Secretary-General to provide Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control with detailed information on a possible loan to cover these costs as soon as possible; notes that as of December 2024, the direct costs of the SPAAK project amounted to EUR 14,12 million; is of the opinion that the evolution of costs of the renovation of the SPAAK building must be closely and carefully monitored;

88. Notes that DG INLO develops a concept for optimisation of office space with the aim to use current offices in a manner which uses the full potential of Parliament’s members of staff and keeps them socially engaged inside Parliament; notes that for this concept the MARTENS, TRÈVES II and ARENDT buildings in Brussels are used as an inspiration, focusing on an 'activity-based workplace' including social areas for meetings, informal gatherings and exchanges; notes that a general concept was also studied for the KOHL building, taking into account its structural limitations and budgetary constraints; calls on DG INLO to make the perspectives of users central to the development of this concept and to prioritise its implementation in buildings where optimisation is most needed, and always in consultation with the staff representatives;

89. Points out that a large share of the seats available in the vehicle fleet commuting between Brussels and Strasbourg for plenary sessions remained unoccupied in 2024; calls on the Parliament's administration to look into widening the user group making more efficient use of the service fleet, while making sure that Member's seats are secured;

90. Encourages the gym to offer more courses that support physical and mental well-being, in order to reach a wider range of staff;

Directorate-General for Finance

91. Recalls that DG FINS is the administrative body responsible for Parliament’s budgetary and financial affairs; notes that by 31 December 2024, there were 262 members of staff, of which 134 were officials, 51 were temporary agents, 77 were contract agents, and there were no agency members of staff;

92. Notes that DG FINS’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 442 954 175 in 2024, representing 18,6 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 441 848 935 was committed (99,75 %); welcomes the high use of appropriations;

93. Calls on DG FINS to actively engage with the OECD’s Best Practices for Parliaments in Budgeting (2022–23) recommendations and strengthen implementation of performance-based budgeting; recalls that many Member States have already adopted performance-based budgeting and reported significant savings;

94. Notes that the current fiscal pressure calls for financial prudence and efficiency, also within Parliament’s administrative budget, in order to demonstrate institutional responsibility, where appropriate and without jeopardising its role in the Union institutional setting and its core functions; calls on Parliament’s administration to explore innovative budgeting tools, including performance informed budgeting, that could enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency of the budgeting process, ensuring public resources are spent responsibly; notes that such options should not be to the detriment of the financial commitments already planned or undertaken and should not affect in any way the quality of services provided to Members and staff and neither the financial obligations incurred based on the existing rules in force;

95. Notes that 2024 was a special year for DG FINS in that it was the year of the European elections, which took place in June 2024; notes that support activities for Members increased significantly in 2024, managing rights and obligations of both outgoing and newly elected Members;

96. Recommends that DG FINS establishes a risk-based approach to controlling and auditing Members’ expenditure and processes aligned with the principles of good governance, notably transparency, accountability, responsiveness and equity; acknowledges that it is essential to have a (sample based) baseline level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes that, in the event of a higher risk of irregular spending by a Member, the administration can exercise its right to check the funds concerned; emphasises that, while such controls are welcomed, their effectiveness depends on the carrying out a follow-up in a timely manner to irregular spending that has been identified;

97. Acknowledges the problem of attracting members of staff to DG FINS, caused by a lack of candidates on EPSO lists in finance and IT fields, and difficulties in attracting members of staff to Luxembourg, where 45 % of DG FINS posts are based; notes the difficulty in attracting members of staff to Luxembourg because the remuneration on the local labour market is equal or better than in Parliament, and the cost of living is high, particularly as regards housing;

98. Takes note of the ‘2024 DG FINS Digital and Capital Transformation’ initiative, the first two programmes of which (‘Digital transformation for improved financial services for Members’ and ‘Digital transformation for improved services for Parliament’s administration’) seek to further the digital transformation of the services offered by DG FINS, whether those be Members or the institution’s financial actors; notes that the third strategic programme (‘Capital Transformation for a more productive and cohesive workplace’) aims to create a more productive and cohesive working environment;

99. Welcomes the work done by DG FINS in the aftermath of the 2024 European Elections, with the departure of outgoing Members, and welcoming of new Members and the related administrative proceedings; recalls the successful welcome village and the information from various services brought together to allow Members to avail of a one-stop-option for being informed and making the necessary declarations at the start of their mandate; commends DG FINS for preparing 705 individual files, including simulations of the status of their social and financial entitlements, and for preparing the four notices from the Quaestors to inform Members of their rights and obligations at the end of the parliamentary term;

100. Notes the statement of assurance signed by the director-general of DG FINS; notes the remark made in the statement of assurance concerning the residual risk of errors or irregularities in the reimbursement of certain travel expenses for Members, mainly concerning the reimbursement claims for travel by car, and the payment of a distance and duration allowance; notes the mitigating actions suggested by DG FINS and calls for swift implementation of risk-reducing measures; requests the provision of a report to the discharge authority on the financial impact and the effectiveness of the measures taken, presenting the costs of control of different evidence-based options;

101. Notes with concern that the reimbursement of travel expenses for Members frequently exceeds three months; calls on the administration and DG FINS to significantly accelerate reimbursement procedures, including through further digitalisation, simplified verification processes and clearer internal deadlines, while fully respecting financial control requirements;

102. Welcomes the intensified work on the ‘EP Finance Academy by DG FINS’ which concerned the provision of twelve online video tutorials, in addition to the existing offering of in-person and hybrid training courses; underlines the importance of training on financial matters for members of staff across Parliament, and welcomes the procurement training sessions for members of staff of the political groups, and invites DG FINS to provide enhanced support to political groups in the public procurement processes, in particular in light of the findings of the Court; suggests to DG FINS to provide an alignment of practices applied by different political groups in the public procurement field;

103. Highlights that Members are free to document their use of the funds under the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA); highlights that they can do so voluntarily in detail or by type of cost, on their own or with the support of an external auditor, and that they can choose to have this information published in whole or in part on their online page on Parliament’s website in accordance with Rule 11(2) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; welcomes that a simplified list of types of costs is integrated into the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members and that an amendment clarifying the possibility for Members to use the GEA when an exhaustion of other allowances has also been adopted; notes that all Members have been informed about the specifics of this allowance; considers maximum transparency a good practice;

104. Notes that the GEA was EUR 4 950 per month in 2024 and accounts for approximately EUR 40 million per year; recalls that no indexation of the allowance was made in 2022 or 2024; notes that Parliament complies with current rules regarding the GEA; recalls the need to avoid an unnecessary administrative burden for Members;

105. Notes that the current Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members does not lay down transparency requirements for financial management of the GEA; notes that, at its meeting on 17 October 2022, the Bureau adopted this decision without establishing any oversight framework;

106. Recalls that the European Ombudsman, in her recommendation of 29 April 2019 in case 1651/2018/THH, found that Parliament’s refusal to grant public access to documents related to the revision of the list of expenses covered by the GEA constituted maladministration, recommending access be granted to the Parliament Bureau’s ad hoc Working Group proposal; regrets that Parliament rejected this recommendation and urges reconsideration;

Directorate-General for Information Technologies and Cybersecurity

107. Recalls that DG ITEC provides Parliament with information and communications technology (ICT) services and equipment, videoconferencing and multimedia services as well as publishing and printing services; notes that by 31 December 2024, there were 579 members of staff in DG ITEC, of which 369 were officials, 70 were temporary agents and 140 were contract staff;

108. Calls on Parliament to adopt a comprehensive digital transformation strategy, incorporating technical solutions for document management and communication to ensure transparency, improve efficiency, safeguard security and move towards a paperless administration; calls for the development of user-friendly digital platforms to enhance e-participation, allowing Union citizens to provide feedback on proposed legislation and access Parliament's activities in real-time;

109. Notes that DG ITEC’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 179 396 522 in 2024 representing 7,5 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 179 349 479 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations;

110. Takes note of DG ITEC’s continued efforts to provide cybersecurity given the ever growing threat and risk landscape affecting Parliament; notes the entry into force of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2023/2841 of the European Parliament and of the Council which formalised the mission of CERT-EU as the Cybersecurity Service for Union entities; notes that Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2023/2841 also establishes an Interinstitutional Cybersecurity Board (IICB), responsible for monitoring and supporting the implementation of that Regulation in all Union entities; notes that Parliament has been the Chair of this board since 2024;

111. Takes note that following the Bureau’s decision in February 2021 regarding the necessity to house Parliament’s data centre in the highest available industry standard (Tier IV), DG ITEC awarded the contract in 2022, allowing for the set-up and roll-out of the data centre in 2023; highlights that this significant investment ensures a futureproof infrastructure for years to come, and is key in maintaining a robust hybrid work environment for Parliament;

112. Underlines that cybersecurity must be seen as an integral, ongoing priority across all stages of operations rather than merely as a target; highlights that cybersecurity requires a comprehensive strategy that encompasses all aspects of digital governance within Parliament; calls for a review of Parliament’s IT governance structures, advocating for a more robust and adaptable approach to cybersecurity that considers the full lifecycle of information systems, in view of the increasing number of applications, currently more than 20, that are directly accessible via the internet; highlights that this situation requires enhanced oversight to minimise vulnerabilities and protect institutional data from external threats;

113. Calls for continued investments in cybersecurity infrastructure, as well as ongoing education and resources for members of staff, to reinforce a culture of security consciousness that strengthens Parliament's resilience against potential digital threats;

114. Notes the emphasis on creating awareness among all Members and staff concerning cybersecurity; welcomes the training offer provided by DG ITEC and DG PERS; notes the high number of participants in the training courses on cybersecurity, reaching 33 participants for training courses and at least 1 800 participants in awareness raising activities;

115. Notes that the current Human Resources Management system (HRM Portal) remains insufficiently integrated with other Parliament systems; takes note that simple procedures such as leave requests still require APAs to download, print, scan and manually transmit documents, while leave balances must be checked on a separate platform; stresses that these fragmented processes create an unnecessary administrative burden and workflow inefficiencies; calls on the administration to modernise and streamline these procedures and to ensure full interoperability between HRM tools and other Parliament systems;

116. Highlights that support to Members has been expanded to include non-working hours and office closing days; notes that to meet the evolution of Members' needs and working practices, based on user surveys and on direct requests of the Governing Bodies, a new set of dedicated IT support services have been deployed for Members' private MacOS and iOS devices; highlights that technical assistance for social media is being promoted, together with a full range of services related to the technical aspects of audiovisual creation;

117. Welcomes the establishment of a new governance framework for AI, with an AI Governance Board overseeing Parliament’s AI strategy and roadmap and ensuring regulatory compliance and ethical oversight, an Inter-DG Steering Group on AI responsible for drafting AI strategies, develop key capabilities and ensure long-term safety and sustainability, and an AI Centre of Competence within DG ITEC, that guides, promotes and monitors AI initiatives across Parliament; notes that this governance framework will ensure transparency and compliance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which entered into force on 1 August 2024 with its provisions becoming applicable from 2025 onwards; notes that Parliament’s members of staff can make use of third-party publicly available generative AI tools if they respect the guidelines on the use of publicly available AI tools for Parliament’s members of staff, approved by the Secretary-General on 16 April 2024, under the strict understanding that they support professional duties only; calls on the administration to step up its efforts to train staff in the efficient and secure use of new technologies such as AI;

Horizontal issues with implications on Parliament’s budget for the 2024 financial year

Transparency and ethics

118. Notes that, in 2024, six reports of whistleblower cases were received under the Internal Rules Implementing Article 22c of the Staff Regulations, five through official channels and one from another Union institution; notes that one case was referred to the EPPO, two led to administrative inquiries, and one was sent to the Consultative Committee on the Code of Conduct of Members, with the external report also triggering an inquiry;

119. Welcomes that ethics training remained a priority and that with as little as 13 ‘Let’s Talk Ethics’ sessions, 178 staff received training, tailored courses reached 109 participants, and the mandatory induction for APAs achieved a 72 % completion rate; welcomes that the new course for managers on ethical leadership and harassment prevention provided training to 320 managers across 33 sessions;

120. Insists that the measures of transparency, accountability, and ethical governance be reinforced; considers that Parliament has to ensure a culture of integrity embedding ethical standards into daily operations for not damaging the trust of citizens and reinforcing its legitimacy in oversight; calls for the continuation and strengthening of cooperation and dialogue on integrity, transparency, and standards on conduct within the Union institutions;

121. Acknowledges the positive evaluation of the technical implementation of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament Regarding Integrity and Transparency, as reported to the Bureau; calls for additional efforts to enhance transparency across all sectors and services of Parliament, with particular emphasis on legislative production; in this regard invites Parliament administration not to limit introduction of transparency requirements to management level;

122. Welcomes the increased use of the Transparency Register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the Transparency Register, but notes that its Secretariat is still underfunded and understaffed; notes that the quality of entries in the Transparency Register has improved and recalls the necessity to keep strengthening data quality checks of new applicants; welcomes the establishment of robust standards at Parliament with regard to transparency and access to institutions for entities listed in the Transparency Register; calls for inter-linking the Transparency Register and the Financial Transparency System in order to allow cross-checks of entities listed in the Transparency Register and verify the adequacy of the data submitted; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of all entities before they are listed in the Transparency Register, and calls in this respect for the Transparency Register to be provided with adequate resources for its functioning and for the effective enforcement of its internal rules; further calls on Parliament’s administration to ensure interinstitutional media transparency and to disclose all media outlets receiving Union funds;

123. Calls on the Court to specifically examine media funding;

Digitalisation, cybersecurity, and AI

124. Calls on Parliament to continue to strengthen its efforts and address concrete critical challenges such as cybersecurity and AI;

125. Recalls that the AI Governance framework was established by the Bureau in March 2024; underlines the urgent need to adopt a comprehensive AI strategy and a roadmap, including a proposal for an action plan;

126. Notes that work is progressing on Parliament’s internal platform dedicated to generative AI; reiterates that this platform is a key element for the compliant and secure implementation of AI projects, particularly for the support of Members in their activities;

127. Calls on Parliament’s administration to ensure that AI projects are carried out in full conformity with governance requirements, while providing access in a way that both safeguards sensitive data and allows the use of publicly available information;

128. Calls on Parliament’s administration to strengthen transparency and accessibility of parliamentary work by making use of AI solutions to enable the systematic availability of digital, searchable and reusable transcripts of all committee debates, including exchanges with Commissioners, experts and stakeholders; stresses that such transcripts should be made available in a timely manner; underlines that improved access to committee debates would enhance democratic scrutiny, institutional memory and citizens’ understanding of Parliament’s legislative work;

129. Acknowledges the significant improvements made to the plenary website, including enhanced accessibility of roll-call vote verification tools, which have contributed to greater transparency and accuracy of parliamentary voting records; nevertheless calls for further improvements to the usability and presentation of voting-related information;

Voluntary Pension Scheme(VPS)

130. Notes the underfunding of the Voluntary Pension Scheme, through a deficit of EUR 105 million at the end of 2024 and limited assets of EUR 23,17 million projected to be exhausted by late 2026; notes that obligations stem from legal payment commitments to over 900 members until at least 2074;

131. Notes that, at its meeting on 12 June 2023, the Bureau decided on a combination of measures to change the conditions of the voluntary pension scheme to address the situation; highlights that these measures included the reduction of the nominal pension by 50 % not only to future beneficiaries holding pension rights in the process of being acquired but also to current beneficiaries already holding acquired pension rights, that the yearly indexation of the pension amounts be frozen, and that the retirement age is increased from 65 to 67 for the beneficiaries who have not yet reached pension age; highlights that the effects have been estimated by the actuaries to decrease the pension obligation of the voluntary pension as of 1 July 2023 with actuarial assumption on 1 July 2023;

132. Notes that the Bureau also introduced a ‘hardship clause’ allowing beneficiaries to submit a request to the Quaestors for an increase in the pension amount in cases where the reduction is substantial; notes that the Bureau further introduced the possibility of a voluntary and definitive withdrawal from the voluntary pension scheme in the form of a one-off final lump sum;

133. Notes that the Bureau decision of 12 June 2023 has been challenged by 405 voluntary pension scheme beneficiaries before the General Court; recalls the remarks made by the Secretary-General in the hearing of 8 December in anticipation of the ruling of the General Court and the potential courses of action; notes that the General Court decided on 17 December 2025 to dismiss the actions of the former Members; asks the administration and the Bureau to address the matter and take the necessary measures to comply with the judgement of the General Court;

Annual report on contracts awarded

134. Recalls that the Financial Regulation specifies the information to be provided to the budgetary authority and to the public concerning the award of contracts by Parliament; notes that the Financial Regulation requires publication of contracts awarded with a value greater than EUR 15 000, a value that corresponds to the threshold above which a competitive tendering procedure becomes compulsory; notes that, of a total of 192 contracts awarded in 2024, 95 were based on an open procedure, with a value of EUR 814,2 million, and one on a restricted procedure, with a value of EUR 208 000; notes that 81 contracts were awarded by negotiated procedures, with a value of EUR 173 million;

135. Welcomes Parliament’s publication of contracts above EUR 15 000; calls on Parliament to enhance the transparency of its procurement procedures, including by publishing structured machine-readable data wherever legally and technically feasible, and by integrating clear due diligence expectations and enforcement mechanisms into its supply chains through contract management;

136. Notes that the total number and value of contracts awarded decreased in 2024 (192) compared to 2023 (242); notes that, as a result, the number of open and negotiated procedures and their values are lower than in 2023;

Political groups (budget item 400)

137. Notes that 2024 was a challenging year for presenting the expenditure accounted under budget item 400 for two reasons, the first being that it was a European election year, with expenditure split between the first half of 2024 (the ninth legislative term) and the second half of 2024 (the tenth legislative term), and the fact that the final accounts that were audited for the first half of 2024 of one of the political groups (ID Group) contained serious irregularities; notes that the Vice-Presidents, in the hearing on 8 December, also indicated that there was additional information asked regarding the accounts for the second half of 2024, which was still awaited by the Bureau before taking a decision on providing the information to the discharge authority; notes the letter of 20 January 2026 of the Parliament’s Secretary-General to the Chair of the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control submitting the audit reports for the second half of 2024 for seven of the eight political groups; notes the unqualified opinion for each report; notes that the report of the PfE Group for the second half of 2024 is still missing because of ongoing exchanges between that political group and Parliament’s competent services; calls on both the PfE Group and Parliament’s competent services to swiftly resolve the open issues and inform the discharge authority of the outcome;

138. Notes media reports accusing the PfE Group of misusing at least EUR 171 644 in funds during the second half of 2024; notes that Parliament’s administration has requested clarification from the PfE Group; notes that the discharge authority has not yet been informed but expects to be informed without delay of any further developments and of the outcome of the administrative follow-up in this matter;

139. Notes reports by the German news magazine ‘Stern’, alleging that a Member of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) Group hosted a group congress involving staff and family members, with potential costs charged to Parliament’s budget under item 400, and that donations were allegedly collected during this event for a right-wing women’s network linked to close family and staff of ESN Group Members; recalls that expenditure under budget item 400 must be strictly limited to parliamentary activities of the political groups and fully comply with the applicable rules; urges DG FINS to investigate the case; and inform the discharge authority without delay should any non-compliance be detected;

140. Recalls the exclusive financial responsibility entrusted to political groups and their commitment to ensure sound financial management, effective controls and full accountability for public funds; calls for adequate oversight mechanisms within DG FINS by making more resources available;

European political parties and European political foundations

141. Highlights that the preservation of democratic integrity and the establishment of a fair environment for European political parties and European political foundations are crucial for the effective functioning and credibility of the Union; remarks that the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (‘the Authority’), an independent Union body, has been actively involved in this endeavour since its establishment on 1 September 2016 and as of 1 January 2017 when it achieved its full operational status; remarks that the Authority is tasked by the Union legislator with registering, monitoring compliance, and where necessary, imposing sanctions on European political parties and European political foundations;

142. Notes with satisfaction that the Authority has been proactively reaching out and raising awareness among a network of bodies and institutions relevant to the common defence of European democracy; highlights that, in particular, the Authority worked with Parliament, which is responsible for the secretariat of the Committee of Independent Eminent Persons, to maximise procedural efficiency; notes that cooperation on the operational aspects was also strengthened with several other Union stakeholders, including the European External Action Service and the European Data Protection Board; notes that the Authority has strengthened its cooperation with Europol by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic information exchange concerning cyber-enabled unlawful interference in Union democracy;

143. Notes that, in 2024, the Authority issued several preventive compliance recommendations to European political parties and foundations to address compliance risks before they materialise, especially to improve their internal processes in the area of donations, contributions and the activities they plan to organise; welcomes that the Authority also provided guidance upon request in 11 instances;

144. Notes that the Authority has, in eight cases, given the European political parties and European political foundations the opportunity for corrective measures related to financial compliance controls concerning prohibited donations, and cases of funding other entities in the context of joint activities; welcomes that the Authority continues to monitor if corrective measures with long-term effects are ensuring sustained compliance in the areas concerned; notes that the Authority adopted one sanction decision in the course of 2024;

145. Welcomes that the Authority also continued publishing extensive guidance on its website referring to the most commonly identified risk areas and potentially problematic structures in the governance of European political parties and European political foundations; welcomes that it also communicated its findings and guidance of general interest to all European political parties and European political foundations;

146. Welcomes the publication of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2025/2445 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which introduces new requirements for European political parties and European political foundations with the aim of strengthening democratic integrity and resilience; underlines in particular that European political parties now also have to ensure compliance of their member parties, and European political foundations of their member organisations, with the values on which the Union is founded as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU; further notes that safeguards against foreign interference have been reinforced, and that the revised sanctions system requires sanctions for quantifiable infringements – such as breaches of donation rules or the prohibition on providing funding to national parties – to be imposed without offering an opportunity for corrective measures; positively notes in this context the comprehensive preventive guidance offered by the Authority with its Regulatory Compliance Action Plan ('R-CAP') so as to facilitate smooth and effective implementation; encourages the decision to introduce eligibility checks also within member organisations, in order to ensure full coherence of also the member organisations with the values of Article 2 TEU and to uphold democratic integrity in Parliament’s funding of European Political parties;

147. Notes that the Authority can initiate a verification of compliance with the values upon which the Union is founded only upon a request lodged by Parliament, Council or the Commission;

148. Stresses, that in light of the widened scope of the values verification procedure, which now also applies to member parties and member organisation, and other novelties in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2025/2445, including the welcome updates for the protection of European democracy against foreign interference, it is essential to enhance appropriately the human resources of the Authority;

149. Notes that, in 2024, the appropriations entered under budget item 402 were used as follows:

150. Notes that, in 2024, the appropriations entered under budget item 403 were used as follows:

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

27.1.2026

OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY

for the Committee on Budgetary Control

on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section I - European Parliament

(2025/2146(DEC))

Rapporteur for opinion: Raquel García HermidaVan Der Walle

OPINION

The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

A. whereas gender equality and the elimination of inequalities are core values of the EU as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union; whereas the Union is committed to promoting gender equality in all its activities under Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting;

B. whereas under Rule 249, the Bureau shall adopt a gender action plan to integrate a gender perspective into all Parliament’s activities;

C. whereas gender equality and women’s equal and meaningful participation in all policymaking are a precondition of a functioning democracy; whereas women currently hold 39 % of seats in Parliament, compared to 27 % in national parliaments worldwide; whereas women remain under-represented in decision-making; whereas the 2024 elections reversed previous gains, with 278 women elected, slightly less than in 2019, and the first decrease since 1979; whereas the gender balance among national delegations to Parliament varies significantly, indicating persistent inequalities across Member States;

D. whereas female politicians face higher levels of hate, harassment and intimidation than their male counterparts, especially when they are young and advocate for women’s rights and gender equality; whereas this often includes gender-based abuse and targeted gender disinformation – which is disinformation that deliberately targets women, especially those who are visible in public life – and threats to their safety; whereas these attacks create significant barriers to women’s equal participation in political life; whereas this hinders women’s participation in politics and thereby weakens our democracies by making them less representative;

E. whereas women are still under-represented in some committees and over-represented in others; whereas in Parliament women currently chair seven of the 24 standing committees and subcommittees, including some that are traditionally male-dominated; whereas of the 48 Parliament delegations, only 11 are chaired by women; whereas since 1979 there have been 31 Presidents of Parliament, only three of whom have been women; whereas the under-representation of women in leadership positions at the highest institutional level of the EU remains a matter of concern; whereas, seven of Parliament’s 14 Vice-Presidents are women, representing 50 % of these senior leadership positions;

F. whereas Parliament has not yet established paternity and parental leave for Members, despite taking the promising step of allowing proxy voting rights for female Members before and after childbirth;

G. whereas gender equality standards within Parliament should also apply to its staff; whereas inequalities in career progression, salary scales and job security for staff, accredited parliamentary assistants and trainees exist; whereas Parliament, as an autonomous institution and employer, is responsible for ensuring that its internal administration, staff policy, anti-harassment framework and working conditions effectively prevent and address discrimination and gender-based violence and promote gender equality;

H. whereas Parliament should also lead by example when it comes to gender equality; whereas, by way of example, Parliament’s participation in the global ‘Orange the World’ campaign, including the symbolic illumination of the parliament building and the display of orange flags, serves as one example of its commitment to ending gender-based violence, and to recognising the importance of raising public awareness and using Parliament as a platform against gender-based violence;

1. Welcomes the progress made on gender mainstreaming and budgeting and the adoption of the 2025 Gender Action Plan; calls for this action plan to be made public and swiftly implemented via its gender action plan roadmap and thoroughly assessed with regular reports monitoring the progress made; regrets that most of the measures included are formulated as principles without clear targets and obligations; urges consistent gender budgeting in Parliament’s budget and to incorporate a gender mainstreaming guide; welcomes the work of the Gender Mainstreaming Network in Parliament; further calls for strengthened gender mainstreaming across parliamentary committees; emphasises the importance of gender mainstreaming in the process of negotiating the new multiannual financial framework;

2. Reiterates its call for Parliament to request an audit to undertake a mapping of the current situation in terms of gender equality and make recommendations for both the political and the administrative sides of Parliament’s activities; highlights that this audit should cover all the areas and indicators developed in the European Institute for Gender Equality’s ‘Gender-sensitive parliaments toolkit’ and identify the rules that facilitate or block gender equality in each aspect analysed with the aim of informing the upcoming gender equality roadmap;

3. Calls on the President to evaluate the drop in the number of female Members in 2024 and fund campaigns encouraging women to enter EU politics; urges national parties to adopt gender-balanced measures, such as the alternate ordering of men and women on the list (zipping) and/or gender quotas, until parity is reached; calls on the Commission to strengthen the rules for ensuring gender-balance in political leadership roles; regrets the lack of quantitative and qualitative data on gender mainstreaming within the EU institutions beyond data on the number of women in different positions; calls, therefore, for the compiling of comprehensive gender-disaggregated statistics; commits to creating qualitative indicators on gender equality to improve gender-disaggregated data collection and continue improving gender equality;

4. Calls for stricter rules to combat and prevent gender hate speech and gender disinformation; notes with regret the high rates of harassment against accredited parliamentary assistants, including sexual harassment; reiterates that a zero-tolerance policy against harassment is needed to protect the well-being of staff and is a duty of any employer; calls for targeted emotional and legal support for accredited parliamentary assistants, staff, trainees and Members confronted with harassment, intimidation and hate; calls for a strengthened framework for filing complaints and timely handling of harassment disputes; calls for an independent mechanism and external audit against harassment; demands that Parliament’s Bureau continues reforming Parliament’s rules on harassment by bringing in external and independent experts and an external audit to the Advisory Committee on Harassment and its Prevention in the Workplace and to enlarge the pool of psychologists and support mechanisms that victims can access;

5. Stresses that women Members who are racialised, young, feminist, LGBTIQ+ or from minority backgrounds face disproportionate levels of digital and political violence and require targeted protective measures;

6. Calls on the committees to strive for better gender balance, including in the composition of leadership positions; calls on the President and the Bureau to ensure horizontal representation and gender balance throughout all plenary proceedings, across committees and delegations; calls on groups to take gender into consideration, and enforce gender quotas, for the appointment of coordinators, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and the distribution of speaking time; requests that measures to tackle horizontal inequalities be put in place to ensure gender balance in different committees; encourages the inclusion of more men in the FEMM Committee, including those actively supporting gender equality as allies, to foster shared responsibility and take up the mantle of promoting equality in practice for women and girls and to put an end to the gendered concentration of portfolios;

7. Requests that steps be taken to ensure a ‘women-friendly’ working environment by changing androcentric working practices and combating harassment;

8. Welcomes the position on proxy voting for female Members before and after giving birth; calls for proxy voting to be extended to all new parents and for equal and non-transferable maternity, paternity and parental leave to be established for Members;

9. Welcomes Parliament’s commitment to equality and applauds its support for key policy issues such as proxy voting rights for female Members before and after giving birth; calls for efforts to ensure a better work-life balance for staff to be prioritised and further strengthened, and for measures to implement the right to disconnect to be put in place;

10. Notes with regret the high rates of harassment – including sexual harassment – against accredited parliamentary assistants; calls for a strengthened framework for filing complaints and timely handling of harassment disputes;

11. Calls on the Bureau and the Secretary-General to present gender-disaggregated data on staffing, senior and middle management posts, contract types, telework and flexible working arrangements, as well as anti-harassment measures and complaint outcomes within Parliament’s administration, with a view to identifying and correcting inequalities; calls for the establishment of clear, time-bound targets for achieving gender balance at all management levels within Parliament’s administration, including directors-general and heads of unit;

12. Acknowledges that Parliament serves as a platform for exhibitions and public events addressing gender equality such as mental health issues, fostering dialogue, awareness, and inclusive representation across the institution and with the wider public; notes in that regard the organisation of a coronation ceremony honouring women battling cancer; calls on the President to exercise caution over the funding of initiatives that run counter to the values of the European Union; welcomes the use of the Parliament as a platform for raising awareness of gender-based violence and domestic violence, stresses the importance of the EU’s and Parliament’s missions contributing to the promotion of gender equality, including those that provide support, protection, and essential services to women and girls who are victims of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations; welcomes the Parliament’s initiatives on Gender Equality Week and International Women’s Day;

13. Stresses the importance of the availability of women’s menstrual products to support Members and staff; calls for improved accessibility within Parliament for disabled Members, staff and visitors – with particular attention to women and girls – including to all public areas.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur for opinion declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not include in her opinion input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

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INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE