On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section I – European Parliament

OPINION

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

1. Welcomes the actions taken on the fight against disinformation and information manipulation by the structures of the Parliament responsible for communication with citizens and countering disinformation such as the European Parliament Liaison Offices; points out that one of the most powerful tools against disinformation is positive, factual communication about Parliament’s work; commends the high use of the appropriations committed by EPLOs in 2023; acknowledges that the Europa Experience visitor centres are another important tool to counter disinformation and introduce the role of the Parliament and the values of European democracy to visitors; welcomes the Bureau's decision to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the “Europa Experiences” with the aim of clearly identifying strengths and weaknesses in order to make their financing future-proof and as efficient as possible;

2. Acknowledges the initiatives launched by the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations in various areas of importance in the electoral context as part of the general common effort to help the European Union to get ready for the European elections 2024, like the European Campaign Action Plan;

3. Notes that the Authority reported that it is facing constrained human resources; highlights that this issue was expected to become even more pressing due to the necessary administrative implementation of any new tasks that could arise for the Authority from the ongoing negotiations on a recast of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014;

4. Welcomes Parliament’s comprehensive actions related to the initiation, creation and implementation of the transparency and integrity reform as well as the EP 2024 reform process; calls to evaluate these measures regarding their effectiveness and proportionality; recognises that a budget reinforcement was required in the course of 2023 to cover Parliament's contribution to the IT overhaul of the (interinstitutional) Transparency Register web platform;

5. Expresses concerns regarding several aspects of the Agreement establishing an interinstitutional body for ethical standards for members of institutions and advisory bodies referred to in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union, including that the Council is outside the scope of the substance of the Agreement, the placement of the secretariat of the body at the Commission and definition risks associated with using the term ethics; considers that no work of the body should commence and no funding should be provided by Parliament until all provisions of the Agreement have been incorporated into Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

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

The Chair in his capacity as rapporteur for the opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION