Sittings · Document
Draft report (2024/2020(DEC)) 2025-02-05
2023 discharge: General budget of the EU - European Parliament
Committee on Budgetary Control
Amendment 1
Monika Hohlmeier
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
| Proposal for a decision | Amendment |
| 1. Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2023; | 1. Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2023 |
Or. en
Amendment 2
Tamás Deutsch
Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1
| Proposal for a decision | Amendment |
| 1. Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2023 / Postpones its decision on granting its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2023; | 1. Postpones its decision on granting its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2023; |
Or. en
Amendment 3
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to Article 2 and Article 11 of the Treaty on the European Union, |
Or. en
Amendment 4
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – 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 (hereafter EU Financial Regulation), 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 966/20121a , | |
| _________________ | |
| 1a OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1., ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1046/oj. |
Or. en
Amendment 5
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| B. whereas, in accordance with the usual procedure, 61 questions were sent to Parliament’s administration and written replies were received and discussed publicly by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 4 December 2024, in the presence of the Secretary-General, the Parliament’s Vice-Presidents responsible for the Budget, the director of the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (the ‘Authority’) and the Internal Auditor; | B. whereas, in accordance with the usual procedure, 61 questions were sent to Parliament’s administration and written replies were received and discussed publicly by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 4 December 2024, in the presence of the Secretary-General, the Parliament’s Vice-Presidents responsible for the Budget, the director of the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (the ‘Authority’) and the Internal Auditor; regrets that that not all issues concerning use of EU funds have been chosen for submission to the authorities of the European Parliament; |
Or. fr
Amendment 6
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| C. whereas there is always scope for improvement in terms of quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the management of public finances; whereas scrutiny is necessary to ensure that political leadership and Parliament’s administration are held accountable to Union citizens; | C. whereas there is always scope for improvement in terms of quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the management of public finances; |
Or. en
Amendment 7
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| C a. whereas further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of Union institutions by improving transparency, accountability and integrity is of paramount importance; whereas scrutiny is necessary to ensure that the European Parliament and its Members are held accountable to Union citizens; |
Or. en
Amendment 8
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| C b. whereas democracy and pluralism are fundamental values on which the European Union is founded on; whereas article 11 of the Treaty on the European Union states that ‘EU institutions shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society’; |
Or. en
Amendment 9
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| C c. whereas EU Financial Regulation already imposes strict transparency requirements on all entities, receiving EU funding; whereas no definition of an NGO exists in EU law; |
Or. en
Amendment 10
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| C d. whereas trust in Parliament’s integrity and the rule of law is paramount for the functioning of European democracy; whereas citizens’ rights should be fully respected; |
Or. en
Amendment 11
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| D. whereas legal certainty is the guiding principle for implementing administrative decisions and binds the administration to provide assurance when dealing with members and their offices; whereas an ever-increasing number of rules and obligations leads to confusion and ambiguity for those concerned and creates an environment prone to gold-plating; whereas legal certainty must be enjoyed by members and their offices, obliging the administration to engage in clear, comprehensive and legally sound communication; | D. whereas legal certainty is another guiding principle for implementing administrative decisions and binds the administration to engage in clear, comprehensive and legally sound communication when dealing with Members and their offices; whereas an increasing number of rules and obligations sometimes leads to confusion and ambiguity for those concerned whereas clear, proportionate, targeted, standardised and simplified procedures, where possible, can create savings while reducing bureaucracy; whereas, on the other hand, oversimplification can negatively affect the ability to carry out proper assessment of the expenses incurred and therefore be detrimental to transparency and accountability; |
Or. en
Amendment 12
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| E. whereas it is paramount to stress that the core work of members is the participation in and contribution to negotiations on legislative files and budgetary procedures as well as political discussions in the EU decision-making process and that members must receive financial and logistical support to conduct their work and depend on the support of the administration to fully engage in their profession; whereas the relations between members, their offices, committee secretariats and the administration are built on mutual trust and as such 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; and that such actions create savings while reducing bureaucracy but ensure an adequate level of transparency and accountability to justify the expenses; | E. whereas it is paramount to stress that the core work of Members is the participation in and contribution to plenary debates, committee meetings, negotiations on legislative files, budgetary and parliamentary scrutiny procedures and that members avail themselves of the support of the administration to carry out their duties as elected representatives; whereas the relations between members, their offices, committee secretariats and the administration are built on mutual respect; whereas Bureau of the European Parliament has recently adopted measures to strengthen administrative capacity of the institution for legislative, scrutiny and budgetary activities; |
Or. en
Amendment 13
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| E. whereas it is paramount to stress that the core work of members is the participation in and contribution to negotiations on legislative files and budgetary procedures as well as political discussions in the EU decision-making process and that members must receive financial and logistical support to conduct their work and depend on the support of the administration to fully engage in their profession; whereas the relations between members, their offices, committee secretariats and the administration are built on mutual trust and as such 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; and that such actions create savings while reducing bureaucracy but ensure an adequate level of transparency and accountability to justify the expenses; | E. whereas it is paramount to stress that the core work of members is the participation in and contribution to negotiations on legislative files and budgetary procedures as well as political discussions in the EU decision-making process and that members must receive financial and logistical support to conduct their work and depend on the support of the administration to fully engage in their profession; whereas the relations between members, their offices, committee secretariats and the administration are built on mutual trust and as such 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 that should adequate to the highest possible level of transparency and accountability that would increase the trust by the EU citizens; |
Or. en
Amendment 14
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| E a. whereas Parliament's work-life balance policy plays a crucial role in supporting wellbeing of Members and staff; |
Or. en
Amendment 15
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1 a. Stresses that it has been proven that the European Union’s financial interests were not well protected in the European Parliament; as unveiled by the criminal case and the investigations starting at the end of 2022 and still ongoing, where several Members were involved in an organised crime-like network; |
Or. en
Amendment 16
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1 b. Highlights that the European Parliament’s rules to protect the financial interests of the EU and to ensure transparency and avoid misconduct have failed to function, as it has been revealed that for several years there was active involvement of European Parliamentarians in a mafia like network engaging in corruption, money laundering; |
Or. en
Amendment 17
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1 c. Stipulates the need to further strengthen and revise the anti-corruption and transparency rules of the institutions, welcomes the revision of the Parliament’s Rules of procedure and Code of conduct in September 2023, however finds the changes insufficient; |
Or. en
Amendment 18
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1 d. Believes that the scale of the scandal and the fact that the persons involved have been continuing these illegal activities within the institution for several years; should have consequences for the institution and its bodies responsible to protect and ensure the protection of the financial interests of the European Union; |
Or. en
Amendment 19
Rudi Kennes
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 6 a. Underlines that the salaries and benefits of the Members of the European Parliament are very generous; is concerned that these disproportionately high salaries completely alienate them from peoples’ everyday lives, needs and struggles; considers, therefore, that allocating them more reasonable salaries and benefits would have increased the chance of the 2023 budget being more in line with working peoples’ needs; |
Or. en
Amendment 20
Rudi Kennes
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 6 b. Proposes to cut the basic monthly salaries of the Members of the European Parliament by 50%; |
Or. en
Amendment 21
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 6 a. Calls on the Parliament to review its current budgetary procedures and consider adopting innovative budgeting tools, including performance-informed and zero-based budgeting; notes that these tools are commonly used by public sector institutions to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency of the budgeting process, ensuring public resources are spent where they are most needed and have the greatest impact; highlights that most OECD countries apply performance-informed budgeting in their public sector, as well as elements of zero-based principle, to align resource allocation with strategic goals and performance outcomes, cut costs, simplify procedures, and ensure that spending is justified on the basis of existing needs, rather than historical expenditures; |
Or. en
Amendment 22
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 7. Welcomes the Secretary-General's commitment to establishing a dedicated unit for simplification and good administration; 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; | 7. Welcomes the Secretary-General's commitment to establishing a dedicated unit for simplification and good administration; 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; recalls that the necessary process of digitalisation of internal procedures is an essential part of administrative simplification and calls on the administration to step up its efforts to train staff in the efficient and secure use of new technologies such AI, so that it does not lead to a reduction in the number of workers; |
Or. en
Amendment 23
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 7 a. Calls for an independent cost-benefit analysis of the Parliament’s expenditures, focusing on travel, external consultancy fees, and procurement contracts to identify potential savings; requests that the Parliament’s administration reduce reliance on external consultants where internal expertise is available; notes the high costs associated with external interpretation and translation services and calls for a review of outsourcing practices to ensure the most cost-effective approach while maintaining linguistic diversity; calls for the adoption of a sustainable and cost-efficient travel policy that prioritizes virtual participation where feasible; |
Or. en
Amendment 24
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 8. Notes that in 2023, the euro area’s economic environment was significantly affected by ongoing geopolitical tensions contributing to high inflation, which peaked at 10,6 % in October 2022 before gradually declining to 5,4 % for the year 2023; recalls that Parliament’s initial estimates for 2023, based on preliminary salary indexation forecasts, required adjustments through Amending Letter 1/2023; welcomes the fact that despite these challenging circumstances, Parliament’s administration managed additional statutory salary adjustment costs through careful internal reallocations, prioritisation of essential spending, and postponement of lower-priority projects; | 8. Notes that in 2023, EU's economic environment was significantly affected by ongoing geopolitical tensions contributing to high inflation, which peaked at 10,6 % in October 2022 before gradually declining to 5,4 % for the year 2023; recalls that Parliament’s initial estimates for 2023, based on preliminary salary indexation forecasts, required adjustments through Amending Letter 1/2023; welcomes the fact that despite these challenging circumstances, Parliament’s administration managed additional statutory salary adjustment costs through careful internal reallocations, prioritisation of essential spending, and postponement of lower-priority projects; |
Or. en
Amendment 25
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 8 a. Notes that the Strasbourg plenary seat incurs significant travel costs, estimated at €114 million annually, and a carbon footprint with approximately 19,000 tons of CO2 emitted annually; highlights the energy waste from heating, cooling, and lighting buildings in Strasbourg year-round, as well as operational duplication with high logistical and maintenance costs; in light of these concerns, calls for the Parliament to reconsider the necessity of holding regular plenary sessions in Strasbourg. |
Or. en
Amendment 26
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 13. Calls on Parliament’s administration for the sake of greater simplification to align itself on a common methodology of the control of the expenditure and the categorisation of errors, only if it is reasonable to adopt a standard approach and taking into account the specificities across the directorates-general and services; takes note that in order to increase the standardisation of ex-ante control procedures within Parliament, Parliament’s Directorate-General for Finance will create a forum for ex-ante verifiers, implement a yearly specific training programme and provide regular guidance; | 13. Calls on Parliament’s administration to simplify its budget process for greater transparency, efficiency and accountability, by aligning itself on a common methodology of the control of the expenditure and error categorisation, adopting modern best practices such as performance-based budgeting where feasible, only if it is reasonable to adopt a standard approach and while taking into account the specificities of different services; takes note that in order to increase the standardisation of ex-ante control procedures within Parliament, Parliament’s Directorate-General for Finance will create a forum for ex-ante verifiers, implement a yearly specific training programme and provide regular guidance; |
Or. en
Amendment 27
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14. Takes note of the observations of the Court with regard to Parliament’s internal rules; notes that Parliament’s administration is subject to the Financial Regulation and its procurement rules; however, notes that for Political groups the Bureau has adopted the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 400, which contain a number of specific provisions for certain procurement procedures; recalls that political groups manage the funds allocated to them according to the principles of indirect management of funds in analogical application of Article 62(1), point (c), of the Financial Regulation; considers that these rules themselves replace the “contribution agreements” (as referred to in Article 158(7) of the Financial Regulation); stresses that an external auditor for each group approves the respective annual activities to ensure compliance and this guarantees a neutral level of control; highlights that the European Court of Auditors also scrutinises the activities of the political groups in its annual report; | 14. Takes note of the observations of the Court with regard to Parliament’s internal rules; notes that Parliament’s administration is subject to the Financial Regulation and its procurement rules; however, notes that for Political groups the Bureau has adopted the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 400, which contain a number of specific provisions for certain procurement procedures; recalls that political groups manage the funds allocated to them according to the principles of indirect management of funds in analogical application of Article 62(1), point (c), of the Financial Regulation; considers that these rules themselves replace the “contribution agreements” (as referred to in Article 158(7) of the Financial Regulation); stresses that an external auditor for each group approves the respective annual activities to ensure compliance and this guarantees a neutral level of control; highlights that the European Court of Auditors also scrutinises the activities of the political groups in its annual report; regrets that in its most recent annual report, the European Court of Auditors pointed out that one of its recommendations that had been made each year since 2021 had not been followed, namely: 'The European Parliament’s administration should revise its guidelines on the application by the political groups of the rules on public procurement, and it should propose a revision of these rules to the Parliament’s Bureau to better align them with the Financial Regulation. It should better monitor the application of these rules;' |
Or. fr
Amendment 28
Tamás Deutsch, Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; welcomes that Parliament has taken initiatives to prevent and detect fraud, including the Bureau’s decisions on whistleblowing, also welcomes initiatives by the Secretary-General with regard to the treatment of financial irregularities, fraud awareness content on Parliament’s intranet site, training activities, and related actions on ethics; | 16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and the efforts to enforce new rules on integrity and transparency. However, it emphasises that Parliament remains unable to effectively combat corruption and financial misconduct within its own institution. The Kaili case highlighted the weaknesses of Parliament’s internal control mechanisms and the application of political double standards, which have protected certain political groups; |
Or. en
Amendment 29
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; welcomes that Parliament has taken initiatives to prevent and detect fraud, including the Bureau’s decisions on whistleblowing, also welcomes initiatives by the Secretary-General with regard to the treatment of financial irregularities, fraud awareness content on Parliament’s intranet site, training activities, and related actions on ethics; | 16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; acknowledges the positive evaluation of the technical implementation of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament regarding the 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; welcomes that Parliament has taken initiatives to prevent and detect fraud, including the Bureau’s decisions on whistleblowing, also welcomes initiatives by the Secretary-General with regard to the treatment of financial irregularities, fraud awareness content on Parliament’s intranet site, training activities, and related actions on ethics; |
Or. en
Amendment 30
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; welcomes that Parliament has taken initiatives to prevent and detect fraud, including the Bureau’s decisions on whistleblowing, also welcomes initiatives by the Secretary-General with regard to the treatment of financial irregularities, fraud awareness content on Parliament’s intranet site, training activities, and related actions on ethics; | 16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; welcomes that Parliament has taken initiatives to prevent and detect fraud, including the Bureau’s decisions on whistleblowing, also welcomes initiatives by the Secretary-General with regard to the treatment of financial irregularities, fraud awareness content on Parliament’s intranet site, training activities, and related actions on ethics; suggests to implement mandatory anti-corruption training for all EU staff, MEPs, and their assistants, focusing on recognizing undue influence, reporting mechanisms, and adherence to transparency regulations; |
Or. en
Amendment 31
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 17. Notes that Parliament accepts the Court's recommendation on enhancing actions to combat fraud at Parliament; notes that in line with the Financial Regulation, the prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities are core objectives of each Directorate-General's internal control framework; takes note that Parliament will task its competent services with evaluating its existing actions to fight against fraud and, if appropriate, to develop an overarching framework applicable to Parliament's administration; | 17. Notes that Parliament has so far applied different approaches to allegations of corruption and fraud against individual Members, depending on their political affiliation. Condemns the application of double standards, which allows certain political groups to evade consequences for rule violations. Calls for the establishment of a unified, automatic procedure that ensures identical consequences for all Members accused of financial misconduct or corruption, eliminating political influence over enforcement; |
Or. en
Amendment 32
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 17. Notes that Parliament accepts the Court's recommendation on enhancing actions to combat fraud at Parliament; notes that in line with the Financial Regulation, the prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities are core objectives of each Directorate-General's internal control framework; takes note that Parliament will task its competent services with evaluating its existing actions to fight against fraud and, if appropriate, to develop an overarching framework applicable to Parliament's administration; | 17. Notes that Parliament accepts the Court's recommendation on enhancing actions to combat fraud at Parliament; notes that in line with the Financial Regulation, the prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities are core objectives of each Directorate-General's internal control framework; takes note that Parliament will task its competent services with evaluating its existing actions to fight against fraud and develop an institution-wide anti-fraud strategy to apply throughout the Parliament’s organisation, if appropriate, to develop an overarching framework applicable to Parliament's administration; |
Or. en
Amendment 33
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 21. Notes that the 2023 follow-up process resulted in 27 of the 69 actions being considered as effectively implemented and therefore validated by the Internal Audit Service; notes that for three significant actions, the risk was lowered to take account of ongoing developments; notes that the residual risk pertaining to two actions related to cybersecurity were reinstated from “moderate” to “significant” due to the drawn-out progress; | 21. Acknowledges that the 2023 follow-up process resulted in 27 of the 69 actions being considered as effectively implemented and therefore validated by the Internal Audit Service; notes that improvements could have been made to facilitate the implementation of more actions; notes that for three significant actions, the risk was lowered to take account of ongoing developments; notes that the residual risk pertaining to two actions related to cybersecurity were reinstated from “moderate” to “significant” due to the drawn-out progress; |
Or. en
Amendment 34
Tamás Deutsch, Ondřej Knotek
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; | 22. Welcomes Parliament’s initiatives to prevent and detect fraud but points out that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and external lobbying groups, whose financial backgrounds are not transparent, continue to play a significant role in Parliament’s activities. Urges Parliament to tighten transparency rules on NGO financing and ensure that these organisations do not serve as cover groups for political actors or external interest groups; |
Or. en
Amendment 35
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; | 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented resulting in a de facto delay of publication for years; regrets that Members may only have access on a need-to-know basis under the Bureau's rules for access to confidential documents; calls on the Bureau to make sure that Members have immediate and full access to the internal audit report at least in view of the discharge procedure in a more expedited way; further calls on the Bureau to make each internal audit report available to the public one year after its finalisation, once the internal auditor has validated the actions taken to implement the previous year’s recommendation; welcomes at least the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; |
Or. en
Amendment 36
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; | 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; reminds that Members, on a need-to-know basis, may only have access under the Bureau's rules for access to confidential documents; recalls that all Members of the Budgetary Control Committee have the right to request confidential access to the internal audit report in view of the discharge procedure; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; |
Or. en
Amendment 37
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out; | 22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; welcomes the fact that once per year the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out and reiterates its call for the discharge authority to be informed twice per year on the status of the pending actions; |
Or. en
Amendment 38
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 24. Calls on the internal auditor to make proposals for a reduction in bureacracy to help Parliament to streamline processes, reduce the administrative burden, find intersections between ITapplications, and ensure that measures for Members are easily understandable and easy to implement; stresses the need for the internal auditor to assess the proportionality of administrative expenditure via a cost-benefit equation to see if audit and control activities are in line with the bureaucratic burden on Members; asks the internal auditor to assess to what degree Articifical Intelligence solutions could help the administration to improve the efficiency of audit and control activities; | 24. Calls for a comprehensive internal investigation to determine the extent to which Parliament has failed to detect and sanction cases of corruption and fraud within the institution. Proposes the establishment of an independent investigative committee to review financial and ethical misconduct over the past five years and to make recommendations for preventing such cases in the future; |
Or. en
Amendment 39
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 24. Calls on the internal auditor to make proposals for a reduction in bureacracy to help Parliament to streamline processes, reduce the administrative burden, find intersections between ITapplications, and ensure that measures for Members are easily understandable and easy to implement; stresses the need for the internal auditor to assess the proportionality of administrative expenditure via a cost-benefit equation to see if audit and control activities are in line with the bureaucratic burden on Members; asks the internal auditor to assess to what degree Articifical Intelligence solutions could help the administration to improve the efficiency of audit and control activities; | 24. Calls on the internal auditor to make proposals for a reduction in bureacracy to help Parliament to streamline processes, reduce the administrative burden, find intersections between ITapplications, and ensure that measures for Members are easily understandable and easy to implement; asks the internal auditor to assess to what degree Articifical Intelligence solutions could help the administration to improve the efficiency of audit and control activities; |
Or. en
Amendment 40
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 24. Calls on the internal auditor to make proposals for a reduction in bureacracy to help Parliament to streamline processes, reduce the administrative burden, find intersections between ITapplications, and ensure that measures for Members are easily understandable and easy to implement; stresses the need for the internal auditor to assess the proportionality of administrative expenditure via a cost-benefit equation to see if audit and control activities are in line with the bureaucratic burden on Members; asks the internal auditor to assess to what degree Articifical Intelligence solutions could help the administration to improve the efficiency of audit and control activities; | 24. Calls on the internal auditor to make proposals for a reduction in bureaucracy to help Parliament to streamline processes, reduce the administrative burden, find intersections between IT applications, and ensure that measures for Members treat them all equally, are easily understandable and easy to implement; stresses the need for the internal auditor to assess the proportionality of administrative expenditure via a cost-benefit equation to see if audit and control activities are in line with the bureaucratic burden on Members; asks the internal auditor to assess to what degree Artificial Intelligence solutions could help the administration to improve the efficiency of audit and control activities; |
Or. fr
Amendment 41
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 26. Recalls that pursuant to Rule 25 of and Annex V to the Rules of Procedure and Articles 6 and 268 of the Financial Regulation, once the Plenary calls for different rules or measures to be implemented by Parliament, the rules or measures proposed are discussed and voted on by the Bureau; recalls, in light of Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, that the Bureau is responsible for taking decisions on financial, organisational and administrative matters concerning Members; recalls that the Bureau is composed of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (non-voting members) democratically elected by Parliament; notes, that the members of the Bureau deliberate on Parliament’s draft estimates; | 26. Recalls that pursuant to Rule 25 of and Annex V to the Rules of Procedure and Articles 6 and 268 of the Financial Regulation, once the Plenary calls for different rules or measures to be implemented by Parliament, the rules are proposed by the Secretary-General or by a Political Group and they are discussed and voted on by the Bureau; recalls, in light of Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, that the Bureau is responsible for taking decisions on financial, organisational and administrative matters concerning Members; recalls that the Bureau is composed of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (non-voting members) democratically elected by Parliament; notes, that the members of the Bureau deliberate on Parliament’s draft estimates; recalls that the discharge is an exercise of democratic scrutiny and that the concrete demands adopted by Plenary in discharge resolutions shall be reflected in the discussions of the Bureau; |
Or. en
Amendment 42
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 26. Recalls that pursuant to Rule 25 of and Annex V to the Rules of Procedure and Articles 6 and 268 of the Financial Regulation, once the Plenary calls for different rules or measures to be implemented by Parliament, the rules or measures proposed are discussed and voted on by the Bureau; recalls, in light of Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, that the Bureau is responsible for taking decisions on financial, organisational and administrative matters concerning Members; recalls that the Bureau is composed of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (non-voting members) democratically elected by Parliament; notes, that the members of the Bureau deliberate on Parliament’s draft estimates; | 26. Recalls that pursuant to Rule 25 of and Annex V to the Rules of Procedure and Articles 6 and 268 of the Financial Regulation, once the Plenary calls for different rules or measures to be implemented by Parliament, the rules or measures proposed are discussed and voted on by the Bureau; recalls, in light of Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, that the Bureau is responsible for taking decisions on financial, organisational and administrative matters concerning Members; recalls that the Bureau is composed of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (non-voting members) democratically elected by Parliament; notes, that the members of the Bureau deliberate on Parliament’s draft estimates; recalls the importance of the discharge procedure as a democratic scrutiny exercise and calls that resolutions affecting the functioning of Parliament be thoroughly taken into consideration and followed up in a legitimate, transparent manner reflected in the discussions of the Bureau; |
Or. en
Amendment 43
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 26 a. Reiterates its concern that the decisions of the Bureau often fail to respect the will expressed by the Plenary in discharge resolutions and that a substantial number of concrete demands adopted by Plenary in discharge resolutions are not always well reflected in the discussions during meetings of the Bureau; call on the Secretary General to include in its follow up report a concrete set of proposals in relation to the discharge requests with a timeframe to be presented to the Bureau for decision; further recommends that the Committee on Budgetary Control should be systematically informed whenever a proposal arising from a discharge resolution is going to be discussed by the Bureau; |
Or. en
Amendment 44
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 27. Takes note of the deaf community’s longstanding demand for the possibility to submit petitions in national sign languages used within the Union; notes the discussions held during the Committee of Petitions meeting on 29 November 2023 and on 19 March 2024, specifically addressing Petition 1056/2016, and underlines Parliament’s commitment in that regard; recalls that Parliament's services are assessing the viable solutions in accordance with the Rules of Procedure; recalls that Parliament’s Rules of Procedure stipulate that any petition submitted to the Parliament must be in written form; encourages the Administration to invite relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the deaf community, to provide input and feedback on the proposed solution and during the implementation process to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of the proposed measures; | 27. Takes notes of the deaf community’s longstanding demand for the possibility to submit petitions in national sign languages used within the Union; notes the discussions held during the Committee of Petitions meeting on 29/11/2023 and 19/03/2024, specifically addressing Petition 1056/2016, and underlines Parliament’s commitment; recalls that the Parliament's services are assessing viable solutions that are compliant with the Rules of Procedure and provide sufficient guarantees to avoid legal and technical challenges that come with allowing the public to upload video files to a web portal managed by Parliament; recalls that the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure stipulate that any petition submitted to the European Parliament must be in written form; encourages the Administration to invite relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the deaf community, to provide input and feedback on the proposed solution and during the implementation process to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of the proposed measures; |
Or. en
Amendment 45
José Cepeda, Cristina Maestre, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 27. Takes note of the deaf community’s longstanding demand for the possibility to submit petitions in national sign languages used within the Union; notes the discussions held during the Committee of Petitions meeting on 29 November 2023 and on 19 March 2024, specifically addressing Petition 1056/2016, and underlines Parliament’s commitment in that regard; recalls that Parliament's services are assessing the viable solutions in accordance with the Rules of Procedure; recalls that Parliament’s Rules of Procedure stipulate that any petition submitted to the Parliament must be in written form; encourages the Administration to invite relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the deaf community, to provide input and feedback on the proposed solution and during the implementation process to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of the proposed measures; | 27. Takes note of the deaf community’s longstanding demand for the possibility to submit petitions in national sign languages used within the Union; notes the discussions held during the Committee of Petitions meeting on 29 November 2023 and on 19 March 2024, specifically addressing Petition 1056/2016, and underlines Parliament’s commitment in that regard; recalls that Parliament's services are assessing the viable solutions in accordance with the Rules of Procedure; recalls that Parliament’s Rules of Procedure stipulate that any petition submitted to the Parliament must be in written form; takes note of the written communication sent by DG ITEC to the Chair of the Petitions Committee in May 2020, affirming that the cost associated with making sign language petitions available to DG LINC interpreters would be feasible as well as minimal; encourages the Administration to invite relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the deaf community, to provide input and feedback on the proposed solution and during the implementation process to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of the proposed measures; |
Or. en
Amendment 46
Giuseppe Lupo, Csaba Molnár
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 27 a. Welcomes the revision of mandatory training for APAs upon taking up of duties; welcomes the revision of maternity rules for APAs in order to improve efficient use of resources by MEPs; commends the Bureau of the European Parliament for accommodating the requests of the plenary of the European Parliament and the input from APA Committee over the recent years; encourages the EP bureau to pursue this constructive work with the APA Committee on other pending issues; |
Or. en
Amendment 47
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 28. 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 Union classified information, and for the management of official and registered mail; notes that by 31 December 2023, there were 379 members of staff, of which 307 were officials, 23 were temporary agents, 46 were contract agents, 1 seconded national expert and 2 agency members of staff; | 28. Recalls that the Directorate-General for the Presidency (DG PRES) provides expertise and supports 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 Union classified information, and for the management of official and registered mail; notes that by 31 December 2023, there were 379 members of staff, of which 307 were officials, 23 were temporary agents, 46 were contract agents, 1 seconded national expert and 2 agency members of staff; |
Or. en
Amendment 48
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 30. Remarks that on 18 January 2023, the Conference of Presidents approved a mandate proposed by the President for a political Working Group; highlights that this group was tasked with focusing on Parliament’s legislative role and procedures, as well as examining improvements to its role and capacity as the arm of the budgetary authority and sole discharge authority; | 30. Notes that on 18 January 2023, the Conference of Presidents approved a mandate proposed by the President for a political Working Group; highlights that this group was tasked with focusing on Parliament’s legislative role and procedures, as well as examining improvements to its role and capacity as the arm of the budgetary authority and sole discharge authority; |
Or. en
Amendment 49
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 31. Notes with satisfaction that DG PRES continued to ensure, and to further improve, its support function with regard to Parliament's core missions, and in particular, its plenary planning and legislative coordination functions, the promotion of the Plenary as a forum for high-level debates, the preparation and follow up to the meetings of the Conference of Presidents, the improvement of and increase in the availability of state of the art tools and services for all its activities, making relevant parliamentary and legislative activities more accessible, actively contributing to the actions launched by Parliament in relation to the 2024 European Elections, and its contribution to solidarity initiatives and to administrative support to the Ukrainian Parliament; | 31. Notes with satisfaction that DG PRES continued to ensure, and to further improve, its support function with regard to Parliament's core missions, and in particular, its plenary planning and legislative coordination functions, the promotion of the Plenary as a forum for high-level debates, the preparation and follow up to the meetings of the Conference of Presidents, the improvement of and increase in the availability of state of the art tools and services for all its activities, making relevant parliamentary and legislative activities more accessible and efficient, actively contributing to the actions launched by Parliament in relation to the 2024 European Elections, and its contribution to solidarity initiatives and to administrative support to the Ukrainian Parliament; |
Or. en
Amendment 50
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 32 a. Requests that the Parliament publishes an annual report on disciplinary measures taken against Members or staff found guilty of ethical breaches, ensuring full accountability and transparency with the names of Members concerned in case this is not added in the annual report by the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members; recommends for its services to provide a search function to easier find mentionings of penalties applied in the minutes of the parliament and the profiles of Members on its website:; |
Or. en
Amendment 51
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; underlines that Parliament should not bear a disproportionate share of the financial or administrative burden compared to other institutions involved; calls for the fair and balanced allocation of costs and staff across all participating institutions, ensuring that each body contributes proportionately; emphasises the need to maintain cost-efficiency and transparency in its operations and avoid duplications with other bodies such as the advisory committee on the Code of Conduct; | 33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; calls for the full and urgent implementation 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; regrets exclusion of the European Council and special status of the Council, and would encourage their engagement; highly welcomes the statement of the European Council President António Costa in his invitation letter, where he confirms the European Council´s request to join the other institutions in the interinstitutional body on ethical standards; is committed to start the work of the Body as soon as possible and will provide the foreseen funding; believes that Parliament should do its utmost to incorporate all provisions of the Agreement into its Rules of Procedure as soon as possible; |
Or. en
Amendment 52
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; underlines that Parliament should not bear a disproportionate share of the financial or administrative burden compared to other institutions involved; calls for the fair and balanced allocation of costs and staff across all participating institutions, ensuring that each body contributes proportionately; emphasises the need to maintain cost-efficiency and transparency in its operations and avoid duplications with other bodies such as the advisory committee on the Code of Conduct; | 33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; underlines that considering its specific role and function, the Parliament should apply the highest possible standards to reinforce trust of citizens and calls again for all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules on transparency are effectively enforced; calls for the fair and balanced allocation of costs and staff across all participating institutions, ensuring that each body contributes proportionately to its size and role; emphasises the need to maintain and ensure the highest possible standars of transparency in its operations and avoid duplications with other bodies such as the advisory committee on the Code of Conduct; |
Or. en
Amendment 53
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; underlines that Parliament should not bear a disproportionate share of the financial or administrative burden compared to other institutions involved; calls for the fair and balanced allocation of costs and staff across all participating institutions, ensuring that each body contributes proportionately; emphasises the need to maintain cost-efficiency and transparency in its operations and avoid duplications with other bodies such as the advisory committee on the Code of Conduct; | 33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; underlines that Parliament finances a share proportionate to its administrative budget compared to other institutions involved with the exception of the European Court of Justice since it has only the status of observer;; supports this fair and balanced allocation of costs and staff across all participating institutions, ensuring that each body contributes proportionately; emphasises the potential for even more cost-efficiency and transparency byavoiding even more duplications with other bodies such as the advisory committee on the Code of Conduc by using only the independent ethics body and its experts instead; |
Or. en
Amendment 54
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 34. Welcomes that DG PRES has also continued its effective cooperation with the Council and Commission on all elements concerning the interinstitutional secretariat of the transparency register, having participated in 21 meetings in 2023, with a view to continue to keep enhancing the operation of the Register; notes that the full implementation of the mandatory transparency Register is a key tool for promoting transparency at Union level; establishing mandatory registration as a prerequisite for interest representatives to be able to engage in specific activities with the Union institutions, including Parliament; calls for the provision of all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules related to the transparency register are effectively enforced; stresses that obligation on Members to record meetings only concerns scheduled meetings, those that involve interest representatives falling under the scope of the transparency register and those that deal with parliamentary business; explains that this approach provides a fair balance between transparency requirements and the administrative burden; | 34. Welcomes that DG PRES has also continued its effective cooperation with the Council and Commission on all elements concerning the interinstitutional secretariat of the transparency register, having participated in 21 meetings in 2023, with a view to continue to keep enhancing the operation of the Register; notes that the full implementation of the mandatory transparency Register is a key tool for promoting transparency at Union level; establishing mandatory registration as a prerequisite for interest representatives to be able to engage in specific activities with the Union institutions, including Parliament; calls for the provision of all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules related to the transparency register are effectively enforced; stresses that obligation on all Members to record meetings (as extended in november 2023) only concerns scheduled meetings, those that involve interest representatives falling under the scope of the transparency register and those that deal with parliamentary business; and request a full implementation of this rule which should not be circumvented; explains that this approach provides a fair balance between transparency requirements and the administrative burden; remind the request to expand the scope of the Transparency Register to include representatives of non-EU countries; |
Or. en
Amendment 55
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 34. Welcomes that DG PRES has also continued its effective cooperation with the Council and Commission on all elements concerning the interinstitutional secretariat of the transparency register, having participated in 21 meetings in 2023, with a view to continue to keep enhancing the operation of the Register; notes that the full implementation of the mandatory transparency Register is a key tool for promoting transparency at Union level; establishing mandatory registration as a prerequisite for interest representatives to be able to engage in specific activities with the Union institutions, including Parliament; calls for the provision of all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules related to the transparency register are effectively enforced; stresses that obligation on Members to record meetings only concerns scheduled meetings, those that involve interest representatives falling under the scope of the transparency register and those that deal with parliamentary business; explains that this approach provides a fair balance between transparency requirements and the administrative burden; | 34. Welcomes that DG PRES has also continued its effective cooperation with the Council and Commission on all elements concerning the interinstitutional secretariat of the Transparency Register, having participated in 21 meetings in 2023, with a view to continue to keep enhancing the operation of the Register; notes that the full implementation of the mandatory Transparency Register is a key tool for promoting transparency at Union level; establishing mandatory registration as a prerequisite for interest representatives to be able to engage in specific activities with the Union institutions, including Parliament; calls for the provision of all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules related to the transparency register are effectively enforced; stresses that obligation on Members to record meetings only concerns scheduled meetings, those that involve interest representatives falling under the scope of the transparency register and those that deal with parliamentary business; explains that this approach provides a fair balance between transparency requirements and the administrative burden; reiterates that MEPs and their offices should not hold meetings with interest representatives not registered in the transparency register; |
Or. en
Amendment 56
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register; | 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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; |
Or. en
Amendment 57
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register; | 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, indistinctly for all interest representatives registered in the Transparency Register and without any exception; condemns any improper attempt to influence the legislative activities of the European Parliament; reiterates, in light of the foregoing, that in this context, a comprehensive and periodic financial review of all applicants must be conducted; |
Or. en
Amendment 58
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Olivier Chastel, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register; | 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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 registered entities; emphasises the importance of maintaining institutional integrity and preventing potential foreign interference; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of all entities before they are listed in the transparency register; |
Or. en
Amendment 59
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register; | 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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; recalls that NGOs were allegedly misused as vectors of foreign interference and by corrupt actors in European Parliament as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates the importance of having up to date and clear information for all entities listed in the transparency register; |
Or. en
Amendment 60
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register; | 35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; 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, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs, on which Parliament declined in early 2024 to impose anti-money laundering regulations, were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register; |
Or. fr
Amendment 61
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35 a. Notes that the quality of entries in the Transparency Register has improved over recent years and commends the role of the Joint Secretariat in that improvement, despite limited resources; regrets, however, that the overall quality of entries remains unsatisfactory with the Secretariat’s targeted checks of around 35% of entries over the course of 2023 finding that 40% of checked entries did not provide satisfactory data quality from the outset; stresses the need to allocate additional resources for the Secretariat to allow for scrutiny of the Transparency Register to ensure data quality; |
Or. en
Amendment 62
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35 a. Reiterates the importance of safeguarding the integrity of EU institutions. Calls for the extension of the mandatory cooling-off period for outgoing Members of the European Parliament and senior officials in EU institutions to two years, during which they are prohibited from engaging in lobbying or advocacy activities directly related to the EU’s legislative or regulatory processes. This includes representing private interests or acting on behalf of organizations seeking to influence EU policies, budgetary decisions, or procurement, to reduce the risk of undue influence and revolving-door practices; |
Or. en
Amendment 63
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35 a. States that the introduction of a 6-months cooling off period for former members after the end of their mandate has proven to be an appropriate instrument and calls on the administration to prevent violations of this rule; |
Or. en
Amendment 64
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 35 a. Recalls that Article 11 of the Treaty on the European Union foresees an obligation for the EU institutions to give citizens and representative associations the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action; further recalls the Treaty obligation on EU institutions to maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society; recalls that the nature of the Parliament, as the only directly elected institution, requires the highest degree of openness; |
Or. en
Amendment 65
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36 a. Welcomes the Parliament's recent introduction of the possibility for Members on maternity leave or in expectation of childbirth to indicate absence from votes; reiterate its request to enable Members to exercise their right to vote remotely while benefiting from maternity or paternity leave, during a long term illness or in cases of force majeure, thus allowing them to carry out their duty and at the same time capitalising on the great administrative effort and financial investment that Parliament has made in technical solutions to allow remote voting during the pandemic; |
Or. en
Amendment 66
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence and underlines that NGOs and networks with a clearly activist agenda trying to directly influence the decision-making process in Parliament by sending prewritten amendments and papers for committee decisions and trilogues are harming the work of the House; stresses that Parliament should make a clear distinction between NGOs and professional networks staffed with political activists and those entities whose work is carried out by volunteers and individuals with honorary posts; calls on Parliament to sanction NGOs that unduly try to manipulate decisions; | deleted |
Or. en
Amendment 67
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence and underlines that NGOs and networks with a clearly activist agenda trying to directly influence the decision-making process in Parliament by sending prewritten amendments and papers for committee decisions and trilogues are harming the work of the House; stresses that Parliament should make a clear distinction between NGOs and professional networks staffed with political activists and those entities whose work is carried out by volunteers and individuals with honorary posts; calls on Parliament to sanction NGOs that unduly try to manipulate decisions; | deleted |
Or. en
Amendment 68
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence and underlines that NGOs and networks with a clearly activist agenda trying to directly influence the decision-making process in Parliament by sending prewritten amendments and papers for committee decisions and trilogues are harming the work of the House; stresses that Parliament should make a clear distinction between NGOs and professional networks staffed with political activists and those entities whose work is carried out by volunteers and individuals with honorary posts; calls on Parliament to sanction NGOs that unduly try to manipulate decisions; | 36. Stresses that stakeholder engagement is crucial for evidence-based policy-making, while emphasising that the European Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence; underlines that entities and networks attempting to influence the policy-making process in the Parliament through non-transparent means or by circumventing established democratic procedures risk undermining the integrity of the Parliament’s work; |
Or. en
Amendment 69
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence and underlines that NGOs and networks with a clearly activist agenda trying to directly influence the decision-making process in Parliament by sending prewritten amendments and papers for committee decisions and trilogues are harming the work of the House; stresses that Parliament should make a clear distinction between NGOs and professional networks staffed with political activists and those entities whose work is carried out by volunteers and individuals with honorary posts; calls on Parliament to sanction NGOs that unduly try to manipulate decisions; | 36. Stresses that stakeholder engagement is essential for well-informed decision-making, while noting that Parliament's reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence; underlines that entities and networks attempting to influence the decision-making process in Parliament through non-transparent means or by circumventing established democratic procedures risk undermining the work of the House; |
Or. en
Amendment 70
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence and underlines that NGOs and networks with a clearly activist agenda trying to directly influence the decision-making process in Parliament by sending prewritten amendments and papers for committee decisions and trilogues are harming the work of the House; stresses that Parliament should make a clear distinction between NGOs and professional networks staffed with political activists and those entities whose work is carried out by volunteers and individuals with honorary posts; calls on Parliament to sanction NGOs that unduly try to manipulate decisions; | 36. Stresses that Parliament's reputation as the only directly elected institution and the integrity of its decision-making process must be protected from undue influence; strongly underlines that Parliament's decision making-process must never be subject to hidden lobbying by the Commission or any other institution or body to safeguard the division of powers between the institutions and protect the autonomy of the Parliament; stresses in a similar fashion and bearing in mind recent events that any attempt by external actors to influence Parliament's decision making process by proposing for example prewritten amendments should not damage the legislative procedure and the work of the House and its elected Members; |
Or. en
Amendment 71
Giuseppe Lupo, Carla Tavares, José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36 a. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation, as the only directly elected institution, must be protected from undue influence, especially foreign influence; emphasizes the need to protect the activities of the European Parliament from any undue influence or attempt to harm the autonomy of the Members of the European Parliament and the Parliament itself; stresses that the European Parliament should adopt a prudent approach towards all interest representatives in order to protect and represent, as transparently as possible and in line with EU values and the interests and rights of European citizens; calls on the European Parliament to take all necessary initiatives to prevent any undue attempt to manipulate parliamentary activities; |
Or. en
Amendment 72
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 36 a. Reiterates that the European Parliament should maintain, facilitate, and engage in “open, transparent and regular” dialogue with civil society organisations, including watchdog organizations, and grassroots movements, as enshrined in Article 11 TEU; |
Or. en
Amendment 73
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 37. Remarks that on 7 December 2023, the Conference of Presidents endorsed a package of reform measures based on the recommendations of the working group "Parliament 2024" to be implemented by the end of the parliamentary term; recalls that these measures encompass five key areas identified in the working group's mandate: legislation, scrutiny, budgetary functions and budgetary control, plenary and external relations; highlights that the reform proposals aim to enhance Parliament's functioning as a co-legislator, strengthen its capacity for democratic oversight, and ensure accountability, particularly regarding other institutions, in particular the Commission; | 37. Remarks that on 7 December 2023, the Conference of Presidents endorsed a package of reform measures based on the recommendations of the working group "Parliament 2024" to be implemented by the end of the parliamentary term; recalls that these measures encompass five key areas identified in the working group's mandate: legislation, scrutiny, budgetary functions and budgetary control, plenary and external relations; highlights that the reform proposals aim to enhance Parliament's functioning as a co-legislator, strengthen its capacity for democratic oversight, and ensure accountability, particularly regarding other institutions, in particular the Commission; in this regard welcomes measures to strengthen administrative capacity of the institution for legislative, scrutiny and budgetary activities, that have been recently adopted by the Bureau of the Parliament; |
Or. en
Amendment 74
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 38. Welcomes that in relation to transparency issues, in 2023, DG PRES pursued technical improvements, awareness-raising activities and the provision of technical expertise and services, including to Members; notes that, in particular, DG PRES carried out its secretariat function for the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, which has been given considerably strengthened powers; welcomes that this also included undertaking urgent IT development for all digital forms or, in terms of awareness raising, the preparation of trainings, briefings and communications to Members and political groups on ethics and transparency rules; | 38. Welcomes that in relation to transparency issues, in 2023, DG PRES pursued technical improvements, awareness-raising activities and the provision of technical expertise and services, including to Members; welcomes, in particular, the fact that DG PRES carried out its secretariat function for the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, which has been given considerably strengthened powers; welcomes the work of the advisory committee for dealing with cases concerning potential breaches of the code of conduct for members and conflict of interests, all in full confidentiality; calls on the committee to continue clarifying unclear interpretation of the rules and provide ideas for modifications in cases where the implementation puts legal certainty for members in jeopardy; welcomes that this also included undertaking urgent IT development for all digital forms or, in terms of awareness raising, the preparation of trainings, briefings and communications to Members and political groups on ethics and transparency rules; |
Or. en
Amendment 75
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 39. Notes that DG PRES also participated in the Parliament 2024 Reform process aiming to strengthen Parliament's internal working methods as well as its institutional role and capacity to act; remarks that it was directly involved in plenary matters, as well as other aspects related to this reform such as committees, external relations, scrutiny and budgetary matters; notes that it provided assistance to the working group set up by the Conference of Presidents on 18 January 2023; | 39. Notes that DG PRES also participated in the Parliament 2024 Reform process aiming to strengthen Parliament's internal working methods as well as its institutional role and capacity to act; remarks that it was directly involved in plenary matters, as well as other aspects related to this reform such as committees, external relations, scrutiny and budgetary matters and the revision of the Rules of Procedure; notes that it provided assistance to the working group set up by the Conference of Presidents on 18 January 2023; |
Or. en
Amendment 76
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40. Asks DG PRES to review the implementation of the rules in after 12 months of implementation to assess their benefits and address any shortcomings, in particular shortcomings related to the excessive administrative burden and legal uncertainty with regard to Members; | 40. Asks DG PRES to assess the implementation of the rules in after 12 months of implementation in terms of benefits and to address any shortcomings, particularly concerning the rules on legislative planning and procedure; |
Or. en
Amendment 77
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40. Asks DG PRES to review the implementation of the rules in after 12 months of implementation to assess their benefits and address any shortcomings, in particular shortcomings related to the excessive administrative burden and legal uncertainty with regard to Members; | 40. Asks DG PRES to review the implementation of the rules in after 12 months of implementation to assess their benefits and address any shortcomings, in particular shortcomings related to legal uncertainty with regard to Members; understands that the new rules have created additional administrative requirements on Members which may be well understood in line with the need to grant full transparency to citizens; |
Or. en
Amendment 78
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40 a. Considers roll call votes (RCV) to be a key instrument for transparency and accountability towards the Union’s citizens; calls for introducing automatic RCV to any final vote except for secret ballots, and for increasing the number of RCV that are possible for a political group to ask for per part-session in Rule 190(2), or exempting legislative files from that limitation; |
Or. en
Amendment 79
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40 a. Invites the European Parliament to consider the possibility, upon specific authorization by the President, following the occurrence of exceptional cases where participation in a vote is not possible, that remote voting may be authorized, ensuring the full integrity of the voting process, particularly in cases such as high-risk pregnancy or serious illness; |
Or. en
Amendment 80
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40 b. Recalls that according to the Treaty on European Union, 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; recalls the support by the vast majority of Parliament for its own right to establish its seat and for a single seat to ensure efficient spending of Union taxpayers’ money and to assume its institutional responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint; |
Or. en
Amendment 81
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40 a. Recalls that according to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Protocol No 6 annexed to the Treaties, Parliament shall have its seat in Strasbourg, where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session, shall be held; underlines that any change to the Treaties concerning a Parliament with a single seat requires the unanimity of the Member States; |
Or. en
Amendment 82
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 40 a. Calls on the institution to refrain from promoting, spreading and supporting gender and woke ideology and respect the Treaty and its provisions as well as to respect the Member States’ national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, history, religion and traditions; |
Or. en
Amendment 83
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 41. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) is a multi-site Directorate-General, with staff located in Brussels, Strasbourg and the Liaison Offices in each of the 27 Member States, as well as in the Jean Monnet House in Bazoches (France); | 41. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) is a multi-site Directorate-General, with staff located in Brussels, Strasbourg and the Liaison Offices in each of the 27 Member States, as well as in the Jean Monnet House in Bazoches (France); notes that the overall number of permanent and temporary posts in the establishment plan at 1 January 2023 was 590. At the end of 2023, DG COMM staff amounted to 771 of which 564 Officials and Temporary staff and 207 Contract Agents and seconded national experts. The overall number of DG COMM's staff remained quite stable compared with figures at the end of 2022 (771 staff members in 2023 vs 761 staff members in 2022); |
Or. en
Amendment 84
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 42. Notes that DG COMM’s mission is to ensure that citizens understand the importance of this institution 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; | 42. Notes that DG COMM’s mission is to ensure that citizens understand the importance of this institution 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; stresses that DG COMM needs to roll-out strategies to reach citizens that do not show a particular interest in the work of the EU and the European Parliament and represent a significantly overlooked share of the population; |
Or. en
Amendment 85
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 43. Notes that DG COMM’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 151 176 035 in 2023, representing 6,9 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 151 156 839 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; | 43. Notes that DG COMM’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 151 176 035 in 2023, representing 6,9 % of Parliament’s budget; regrets the substantial increase in DG COMM's budget – a rise of more than EUR 50 million euros compared to 2022, including EUR 26.4 million euros intended to improve communication concerning the European elections; regrets the purpose of this budget item: politically oriented communication in favour of more European integration, to the detriment of the sovereignty of Member States and democracy; notes that, of that amount, a total of EUR 151 156 839 was committed; notes the high use of appropriations; |
Or. fr
Amendment 86
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 44 a. Deplores the practice of the European Parliament funding media organisations; considers it inappropriate for politicians to make those that are supposed to scrutinize them – journalists – financially dependent; rejects and repudiates this approach and calls for all projects and media communications funded, directly or indirectly by the EU, to clearly indicate the biased nature of these campaign efforts; |
Or. en
Amendment 87
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 44 b. Rejects funding of activist organisations and considers such practices damaging to the reputation of EU institutions, which should be politically neutral; considers it necessary for all grants and subsidies to be accompanied with clear and publicly available descriptions of activities funded; abhors the practice of providing a general "association grant" without further public information as to what activities have been funded; considers it necessary to urgently end the practice of funding activist organisations; |
Or. en
Amendment 88
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 44 c. Calls on the EU to be upfront and transparent with citizens regarding which media or activist organisations the institutions have funded; urges all EU institutions to go further than the minimum requirements set out in the Financial Regulation and disclose all grants and subsidies awarded without delay; |
Or. en
Amendment 89
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 45. Notes that 2023 was a special year for DG COMM due to preparation for the 2024 European Elections (EE24); welcomes the focus placed on so-called "delivery" communication, including a strong focus on communicating the decisions taken by Parliament and their impact on people's lives; welcomes DG COMM’s efforts to enlist various multipliers to promote the message of the election; notes that collaboration extended across private companies, civil society organisations, inter-institutional partners, and international organisations; notes that media engagement was pivotal, involving the development of new tools and actions, including grant schemes, management-led tours to meet key media figures and efforts to counter misinformation; | 45. Notes that 2023 was a special year for DG COMM due to preparation for the 2024 European Elections (EE24); welcomes the focus placed on so-called "delivery" communication, including a strong focus on communicating the decisions taken by Parliament and their impact on people's lives; welcomes DG COMM’s efforts to enlist various multipliers to promote the message of the election; notes that collaboration extended across private companies, civil society organisations, inter-institutional partners, and international organisations; notes that media engagement was pivotal, involving the development of new tools and actions, including grant schemes, management-led tours to meet key media figures and efforts to counter misinformation; requests DG COMM to submit to the discharge authority an analysis of the activities, investment and measured impact of the EE24 campaign to allow conclusions to be drawn on the investment made in the “delivery” communication; |
Or. en
Amendment 90
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 45. Notes that 2023 was a special year for DG COMM due to preparation for the 2024 European Elections (EE24); welcomes the focus placed on so-called "delivery" communication, including a strong focus on communicating the decisions taken by Parliament and their impact on people's lives; welcomes DG COMM’s efforts to enlist various multipliers to promote the message of the election; notes that collaboration extended across private companies, civil society organisations, inter-institutional partners, and international organisations; notes that media engagement was pivotal, involving the development of new tools and actions, including grant schemes, management-led tours to meet key media figures and efforts to counter misinformation; | 45. Notes that 2023 was a special year for DG COMM due to preparation for the 2024 European Elections (EE24); underlines the need to increase the visibility of the work of the European Parliament and to increase citizens’ trust in institution of the Parliament; welcomes the focus placed on so-called "delivery" communication, including a strong focus on communicating the decisions taken by Parliament and their impact on people's lives; welcomes DG COMM’s efforts to enlist various multipliers to promote the message of the election; notes that collaboration extended across private companies, civil society organisations, inter-institutional partners, and international organisations; notes that media engagement was pivotal, involving the development of new tools and actions, including grant schemes, management-led tours to meet key media figures and efforts to counter misinformation; |
Or. en
Amendment 91
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 46 a. Notes that in 2023, according to the TED portal, the European Parliament has spent more than 14 million EUR on the organisation of communication and information activities in EPLOs based in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Denmark, Lithuania, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, France, Slovenia, Czechia, Austria, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Romania, Sweden and Latvia; |
Or. en
Amendment 92
Cristian Terheş
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 46 a. Emphasizes the critical role of the European Parliament Liaison Office (EPLO) in Washington for fostering transatlantic relations and enhancing the connection between the US Congress and the European Parliament; highlights that, in light of the new Trump administration and emerging global challenges, the role of the EPLO in Washington is even more crucial; calls for an increase in both budget and staffing to support the EPLO’s activities in Washington, particularly in strengthening strategic links with various US Congressional bodies, identifying key legislative issues of mutual interest, ensuring effective information exchange through new communication channels, reinforcing cooperation with the EU Delegation in Washington, D.C. and improveing mutual understanding and perception between the administrations, as well as facilitating enhanced communication and collaboration between the European Parliament and the US Congress; |
Or. en
Amendment 93
Cristian Terheş
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 46 b. Calls for the European Parliament and its EPLO in Washington to collaborate with the US Congress in developing exchange programs for the staffers of the two institutions, aimed at fostering better understanding and strengthening transatlantic relations; |
Or. en
Amendment 94
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Ondřej Knotek, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 47. Highlights that the eleven Europa Experience centres, already running in the Member States, provide Members with a unique and effective communication tool, which allows local visitors and their specific audiences to feel Parliament closer than ever in their capital cities; notes with satisfaction that with the 2024 European Elections and beyond in mind, the rollout of the Europa Experience interactive spaces continued with three new Europa Experiences opening their doors in Stockholm, Warsaw and Vienna; notes that the exhibitions were upgraded to relay the key messages of the EE24 campaign and the together.eu community, with the aim of providing Members and Liaison Offices with tailored elections venues in 2024; | 47. Deplores the excessive cost of more than EUR 12 million in 2023, for a total investment of more than EUR 33 million since their opening in 2016, of the eleven Europa Experience centres already operational in the Member States; notes the limited interest in these centres, aside from their use as a vehicle for propaganda for greater European integration at the expense of the sovereignty of Member States; is scandalised by the staggering and absurd average cost per visitor in 2023, as much as EUR 92 per person for the centre in Paris, which constitutes a clear case of mismanagement; regrets that in the run-up to the 2024 European Elections and beyond, the rollout of the Europa Experience interactive spaces continued with three new Europa Experiences opening their doors in Stockholm, Warsaw and Vienna; |
Or. fr
Amendment 95
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 48. Notes that the initial plan to establish 27 Europa Experience centres across all Member States by the end of 2024 has not materialised in full, with only 13 centres currently open and experiencing varying levels of visitor engagement; acknowledges that certain sites very successfully attract considerable public, while others struggle to reach a broad audience; welcomes the Secretary-General’s announcement to reassess the original rollout plan, taking into account the performance, cost-effectiveness, and visitor usage of the existing exhibitions; | 48. Notes that the initial plan to establish 27 Europa Experience centres across all Member States by the end of 2024 has not materialised in full, with only 13 centres currently open and experiencing varying levels of visitor engagement; acknowledges that certain sites very successfully attract considerable public, while others struggle to reach a broad audience; welcomes the Secretary-General’s announcement to reassess the original rollout plan, taking into account the performance, cost-effectiveness, and visitor usage of the existing exhibitions; calls on the administration to also consider the closing of those centres which proved unable to attract visitors; |
Or. en
Amendment 96
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 49 a. Reminds that the EPLOs, Europa Experiences, Houses of European History and other Antennas cost 15.399.498 EUR to the taxpayers in 2023; |
Or. en
Amendment 97
José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 50. Notes that an audit on the payment of visitor groups was launched in 2019, the final report of which was received in February 2021; highlights that the report contains a 14-point action plan with implementation due dates to reinforce the management and the control framework; remarks that out of these actions, only five fall entirely within the remit of what DG COMM can implement autonomously, whereas the remaining ones can only be accomplished through a revision of the rules governing the invitation of visitor groups; notes that these 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; | 50. Notes that an audit on the payment of visitor groups was launched in 2019, the final report of which was received in February 2021; highlights that the report contains a 14-point action plan with implementation due dates to reinforce the management and the control framework; remarks that out of these actions, only five fall entirely within the remit of what DG COMM can implement autonomously, whereas the remaining ones can only be accomplished through a revision of the rules governing the invitation of visitor groups; notes that these 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; insists to the Bureau that it should not be possible to appoint APAs as group leaders, because it is highly unusual in terms of budgetary control, audit and transparency for an employee to be obliged to receive a public financial contribution into their private bank account and then distribute it to the final beneficiaries without any legal cover; calls on the Bureau to allow the choice to separate the roles of group leader and financial responsible receiving the financial contribution and for the latter to be exclusively assigned to a group member or a professional; |
Or. en
Amendment 98
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 50 a. Invites the European Parliament to assess the possibility of strengthening information initiatives targeted particularly at young people, in light of the unsatisfactory electoral participation in the last 2024 European Elections, especially in the more peripheral regions of the European Union; |
Or. en
Amendment 99
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 51. Highlights that 2023 was the year of the 5th edition of the European Youth Event in the month of June; notes that there were over 8 500 participants in Strasbourg and a further 10 000 reached via online streaming; highlights that the event included 325 activities with 400 speakers, among them 35 Members, all co-created with young people; notes with satisfaction that the 2023 edition was a great way to raise awareness about the European elections, allowing young people to express their hopes and ideas for the future of the Union; | 51. Highlights that 2023 was the year of the 5th edition of the European Youth Event in the month of June; notes that there were over 8 500 participants in Strasbourg and a further 10 000 reached via online streaming; highlights that the event included 325 activities with 400 speakers, among them 35 Members, all co-created with young people; notes with satisfaction that the 2023 edition was a great way to raise awareness about the European elections, allowing young people to express their hopes and ideas for the future of the Union; underlines the importance of establishing such events also within the Member States, in areas where voter participation in the last 2024 European Elections was significantly lower than the average, in order to bring the European Parliament closer to the territories and citizens; |
Or. en
Amendment 100
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 51 a. Deplores the funding provided in 2023 by the European Parliament to pro-integration activist organisations such as the Young European Federalists and other pro-EU activists; notes with concern that this spending in many cases was intended to get a specific pro-European segment of the electorate (the youth) to go to the polls at the European Elections in 2024; |
Or. en
Amendment 101
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 51 b. Finds completely unreasonable the award of the contract for development of EP’s Physical and Online Role Play Games (RPG) for 11 135 780,00 EUR1a; requires a written explanation and the impact assessment of this initiative; | |
| _________________ | |
| 1a https://ted.europa.eu/en/notice/-/detail/791442-2023 |
Or. en
Amendment 102
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Olivier Chastel, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 52. 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 campaigns originating outside the Union; 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; | 52. 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 and undemocratic actors within the Union who challenge democratic principles to influence the work of Parliament and emphasises the need for vigilance in countering disinformation campaigns originating both from outside and within the Union; 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 and strengthening 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; |
Or. en
Amendment 103
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 52. 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 campaigns originating outside the Union; 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; | 52. 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 and fight information manipulation campaigns originating outside the Union; welcomes the actions taken by Parliament to prevent and react to disinformation and calls to reinforce these actions; 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; |
Or. en
Amendment 104
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 52. 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 campaigns originating outside the Union; 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; | 52. 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 campaigns originating outside the Union; 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 mis- and dis-information and foreign interference, and strengthening collaboration among fact-checking organisations within and beyond the Union; |
Or. en
Amendment 105
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 52 a. Considers roll call votes (RCV) to be a key instrument for transparency and accountability towards the Union’s citizens; calls for introducing automatic RCV to any final vote except for secret ballots, and for increasing the number of RCV that are possible for a political group to ask for per part-session in Rule 190-2, or exempting legislative files from that limitation; |
Or. en
Amendment 106
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 52 a. Recalls the Treaty on the European Union, that the EU and its institutions, shall promote solidarity and equality between women and men; |
Or. en
Amendment 107
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 56. Welcomes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; | 56. Welcomes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; calls on DG PERS to introduce affirmative recruitment policies to address underrepresentation from certain Member States, including targeted recruitment campaigns and training programs; encourages dissemination of an annual report to the Budgetary Control Committee on progress in achieving geographical balance; |
Or. en
Amendment 108
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 56. Welcomes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; | 56. Welcomes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; reminds that article 27 of the Staff regulation states that geographical balance should be achieved only through appropriate and justified measures, that competitions should always be based on merit and should always respect fundamental principles such as equality, non-discrimination and proportionality; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; |
Or. en
Amendment 109
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 56. Welcomes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; | 56. Welcomes the preparatory work undertaken by Parliament to launch its first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; |
Or. en
Amendment 110
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 56. Welcomes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; | 56. Notes Parliament’s first-ever nationality-specific competitions with the aim of improving the geographical balance of Parliament’s members of staff by offering a wider pool of candidates from underrepresented Member States; regrets the lack of geographical balance within Parliament’s senior and middle management; insists that improvements are needed and asks the Secretary General to report back on the progress achieved in correcting the geographical imbalance within Parliament’s staff to the discharge authority; |
Or. en
Amendment 111
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 57. Acknowledges that several Directorates-General have expressed their concerns about attracting talent and specialised profiles that are essential to carry out Parliament’s core business; notes that only services that are essential may be considered for a potential internalisation exercise; highlights that some services are carried out by external service providers due to their specific nature, which does not meet the conditions for internalisation; is therefore of the opinion that the services not meeting these conditions cannot be considered for internalisation by the governing bodies; | 57. Acknowledges that several Directorates-General have expressed their concerns about attracting talent and specialised profiles that are essential to carry out Parliament’s core business; notes that only services that are essential may be considered for a potential internalisation exercise; therefore asks the Parliament's governing bodies to consider the internalisation of essential services such as catering and cleaning, as Parliament has previously done with security and IT services, and to conduct a feasibility study on internalisation of those and other services in order to have a reasonable cost-benefit analysis and to report back to the Committee on Budgetary Control on the outcome; |
Or. en
Amendment 112
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 57 a. Invites the European Parliament to optimize 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, and specifically at reinforcing the support for legislative, budgetary and scrutiny activities, which constitute the core function of the European Parliament’s; |
Or. en
Amendment 113
Giuseppe Lupo, Csaba Molnár
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 59. Welcomes the work done by DG PERS with Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs); highlights that the Staff Front Office Unit provided a wide range of educational events, namely 62 info-sessions for staff including APAs, in addition to four webinars on retirement, two on contract termination, and seven conferences covering legal topics such as international taxation and inheritance law; welcomes the APAs Front Office Unit as a support and information source for APAs and Members; notes that in 2023 DG PERS played a critical role in preparing a proposal to the Bureau for a revision of the rules governing the employment conditions for APAs; highlights that those amendments introduced a degree of flexibility, in particular by allowing for the possibility of a mutually agreed termination of an APA contract; | 59. Welcomes the work done by DG PERS with Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs); highlights that the Staff Front Office Unit provided a wide range of educational events, namely 62 info-sessions for staff including APAs, in addition to four webinars on retirement, two on contract termination, and seven conferences covering legal topics such as international taxation and inheritance law; welcomes the APAs Front Office Unit as a support and information source for APAs and Members; notes that in 2023 DG PERS played a critical role in preparing a proposal to the Bureau for a revision of the rules governing the employment conditions for APAs; highlights that those amendments introduced a degree of flexibility, in particular by allowing for the possibility of a mutually agreed termination of an APA contract; calls on Parliament’s administration to explore the feasibility of introducing a notice period within APA's contracts in the event of the unexpected departure of an MEP, whether voluntary or involuntary; |
Or. en
Amendment 114
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 60. 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; | 60. 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; but continues to regret that current rules do not take into consideration the fact APAs are in a particularly vulnerable position in whistleblowing cases due to their particular employment situation; therefore calls again on the Secretary-General to provide whistle-blower APAs with a similar protection to that of victims of harassment, in particular with regard to provisional measures during the administrative investigation and protection measures concerning anonymity, pay until the end of the contract, transfer of post and protection from retaliation; calls on the Bureau and the administration of the Parliament to regularly and formally consult the APA Committee on revisions and reforms that directly impact the rights of APAs calls for due adherence to the rules in place; calls on Parliament’s administration to explore the feasibility of introducing a notice period within APA's contracts in the event of the unexpected departure of an MEP, whether voluntary or involuntary; notes, that since then, APAs participate in official missions to Parliament’s three places of work; but expresses concerns about the case of the CONT mission to Luxembourg on October 30-31 2023 where APAs were prohibited to participate; call on Bureau and the Conference of Presidents to change the current rules to allow APAs, under certain conditions and bearing in mind the logistical limits of missions, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions, as reiterated by several discharge resolutions; 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; |
Or. en
Amendment 115
Giuseppe Lupo, Csaba Molnár
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 60. 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; | 60. 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 the administration of the Parliament to regularly and formally consult the APA Committee on revisions and reforms that directly impact the rights of APAs; recalls that pursuant to Article 35 of the Implementing Measures for Title VII of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Union, the APA Committee shall act as contact point for the competent authorties of Parliament; calls for due adherence to the rules in place; |
Or. en
Amendment 116
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 60 a. Observes that the Bureau Decision on applicable rules on Committee missions outside of the three places of work as amended in November 2011, following the discussions of political groups in the Conference of Presidents in April 2011 and in the Bureau in November 2011, currently prohibits APAs to accompany Members on official Parliaments delegations and committee missions; notes that allowing APAs to participate to EP missions unofficially puts the Parliament in a serious reputational risk and imposes specific challenges with regards to their insurance coverage; reminds that MEPs are already accompanied by representatives of political groups on these missions; |
Or. en
Amendment 117
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 60 a. 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; |
Or. en
Amendment 118
Giuseppe Lupo, Csaba Molnár
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 60 a. Reiterates the need and urgency to implement the provision - reaffirmed in plenary during the discharge reports of previous years - allowing APAs to participate in the official delegations and missions of the European Parliament outside of the three places of work, subject to approval of the work program; |
Or. en
Amendment 119
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Olivier Chastel, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 61. Notes with great concern the reports of a data breach centered on Parliament’s recruitment application PEOPLE, affecting mainly non-permanent 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 up to 10 years; calls on the administration to thoroughly investigate the incident, build safeguards to better protect private information and prevent another leak of data stored in recruitment databases while assessing why certain sensitive documents were stored for such long periods in the first place; calls on the responsible DGs to jointly report back to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control about the investigation and the details of the attacks, the search for the attackers, cooperation with EUROPOL and OLAF to investigate the incident, and measures taken following the attack, in particular the minimisation of data storage of private information; | 61. Notes with great concern the reports of a data breach centered on Parliament's recruitment application PEOPLE, affecting mainly non-permanent 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 up to 10 years; regrets the significant administrative burden placed on affected APAs in the process of obtaining new identification documents and receiving compensation; calls on the administration to thoroughly investigate the incident, build safeguards to better protect private information and prevent another leak of data stored in recruitment databases while assessing why certain sensitive documents were stored for such long periods in the first place; calls on the responsible DGs to jointly report back to the Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control about the investigation and the details of the attacks, the search for the attackers, cooperation with EUROPOL and OLAF to investigate the incident, and measures taken following the attack, in particular the minimisation of data storage of private information; |
Or. en
Amendment 120
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 62 a. Stresses that quality childcare services provided to the Members and staff are among central measures to ensure effective implementation of the work-life balance policy; draws attention to the fact that quality of the services provided by Brussels Wayenberg childcare facility for pre-school age children has been suffering in quality due to frequent change of service provider since 2020; calls in this respect to consider internalisation of pre-school childcare services and the need to adopt high-quality standards; |
Or. en
Amendment 121
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Brigitte van den Berg
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 62 a. Notes that DG Personnel lacks specific support structures for recruiting trainees following vocational education; urges DG Personnel to work towards integrating vocational education trainees; |
Or. en
Amendment 122
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 62 a. Reiterates that the recruitment of contractual agents is an acceptable measure when justified, but insists that core tasks should be performed by permanent staff; |
Or. en
Amendment 123
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 62 b. Welcomes the fact, that DG PERS continued to offer well-being trainings to staff and APAs with a particular focus on mental health, especially in the post-COVID context; |
Or. en
Amendment 124
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 64. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS finalised the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its accompanying roadmap and advanced with the Diversity Roadmap, implementing supporting measures regarding disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and racism; highlights that measures included conducting surveys on racial and ethnic diversity, integrating a third non-binary option in administrative forms, introducing special leave to facilitate the arrival of a new-born child to a household in cases where none of the parents receiving a child meet the conditions to benefit from maternity or adoption leave and improvements in physical or digital accessibility; remarks that with these actions, DG PERS supported the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity in its quest to make Parliament a leading example for inclusion in the Union and the world through mainstreaming gender equality and diversity within all its operations; | 64. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS finalised the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its accompanying roadmap and advanced with the Diversity Roadmap, implementing supporting measures regarding disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and racism; highlights that measures included conducting surveys on racial and ethnic diversity, integrating a third non-binary option in administrative forms, introducing special leave to facilitate the arrival of a new-born child to a household in cases where none of the parents receiving a child meet the conditions to benefit from maternity or adoption leave and improvements in physical or digital accessibility; remarks that with these actions, DG PERS supported the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity in its quest to make Parliament a leading example for inclusion in the Union and the world through mainstreaming gender equality and diversity within all its operations; deplores Parliament's manifest inability to calculate the cost of these policies; |
Or. fr
Amendment 125
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Olivier Chastel, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 64. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS finalised the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its accompanying roadmap and advanced with the Diversity Roadmap, implementing supporting measures regarding disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and racism; highlights that measures included conducting surveys on racial and ethnic diversity, integrating a third non-binary option in administrative forms, introducing special leave to facilitate the arrival of a new-born child to a household in cases where none of the parents receiving a child meet the conditions to benefit from maternity or adoption leave and improvements in physical or digital accessibility; remarks that with these actions, DG PERS supported the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity in its quest to make Parliament a leading example for inclusion in the Union and the world through mainstreaming gender equality and diversity within all its operations; | 64. Welcomes that, in 2023, DG PERS finalised the implementation of the Gender Action Plan and its accompanying roadmap and advanced with the Diversity Roadmap, implementing supporting measures regarding disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and racism; highlights that measures included conducting surveys on racial and ethnic diversity, integrating a third non-binary option in administrative forms, introducing special leave to facilitate the arrival of a new-born child to a household in cases where none of the parents receiving a child meet the conditions to benefit from maternity or adoption leave and improvements in physical or digital accessibility; remarks that with these actions, DG PERS supported the High-Level Group on Gender Equality and Diversity in its quest to make Parliament a leading example for inclusion in the Union and the world through mainstreaming gender equality and diversity within all its operations; |
Or. en
Amendment 126
Bert-Jan Ruissen
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 64 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 64a. Is concerned that the current internal rules on gender equality appear to prioritise diversity over quality; calls for gender equality policy to be reconsidered as regards political offices, in particular by relying on more flexibility with regard to gender balance; calls for a multicriteria approach based on seniority, knowledge and commitment to be taken when MEPs are elected to political offices; |
Or. nl
Amendment 127
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 66
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 66. Welcomes the review of the teleworking rules carried out by the Secretary-General in close cooperation with DG PERS and all DGs; notes that the new rules offer increased flexibility, effectively balancing the operational efficiency of the institution with the well-being and satisfaction of Parliament’s staff, impacting the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer; | 66. Welcomes the review of the teleworking rules carried out by the Secretary-General in close cooperation with DG PERS and all DGs as adopted in december 2023; notes that the new rules offer increased flexibility, effectively balancing the operational efficiency of the institution with the well-being and satisfaction of Parliament’s staff, impacting the attractiveness of Parliament as an employer; regrets that despite the overwhelming support of the Staff Committee in favour of the maxi teleworking option, this mode was abolished; reminds the importance of a genuine social dialogue with the staff representatives on crucial matters related to the new way of working; |
Or. en
Amendment 128
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 66 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 66 a. Calls for the Parliament to develop a comprehensive staff well-being strategy to address workplace stress, mental health, and work-life balance, with provisions included on including free psychological support and counseling services, regular workplace stress assessments, and measures to prevent burnout; requests that Parliament implements establish a ‘right to disconnect’ policy, ensuring that employees are not expected to be available outside of working hours; calls for the Parliament to assess whether the harassment prevention policies achieve their goals, including the quality of reporting and complaint mechanisms, and other support services available to victims; requests that Parliament conduct anonymized staff satisfaction surveys and publish the results annually, including proposed corrective measures where necessary; |
Or. en
Amendment 129
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67. Welcomes the possibility for staff to telework from abroad for five days per year; calls for a proactive monitoring and evaluation of the new ways of working; | 67. Welcomes the possibility for staff to remote work telework from abroad for five days per year; calls for a proactive monitoring and evaluation of the new ways of working; encourages regular reviews of the teleworking policies, with an emphasis on greater flexibility and possibilities for remote work; |
Or. en
Amendment 130
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67. Welcomes the possibility for staff to telework from abroad for five days per year; calls for a proactive monitoring and evaluation of the new ways of working; | 67. Welcomes the possibility for staff to telework from abroad even if only for five days per year, while in average the other Union Institutions provide for 15 days for year ; calls for a proactive monitoring and evaluation of the new ways of working; |
Or. en
Amendment 131
Csaba Molnár
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67 a. Recalls, that APAs, regardless of their experience and qualifications are excluded from participating in the internal competitions of the European Parliament; invites the Bureau to explore the possibility to grant the same opportunities to APAs, on fair basis and according to set criteria by the relevant DGs, to allow for APAs, under yet to be determined conditions to participate in internal competitions on equal footing with the staff of the European Parliament; notes that APAs through years of experience attain a thorough understanding of the political and technical nuances associated with the exercise of MEPs’ mandate as well as the various legal procedures of the union; stresses that stronger involvement of APAs in the internal structures of the Parliament could lead to more inclusive, diverse and geographically balanced workforce; highlights the importance of knowledge retention and transfer within the European Parliament in relation to the internal working methods; |
Or. en
Amendment 132
Younous Omarjee, Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67 a. Recalls that APAs, regardless of their experience and qualifications, are excluded from participating in the internal competitions of the European Parliament; invites the Bureau to explore the possibility to allow APAs, under yet to be determined conditions, to participate in internal competitions in a similar way as the staff of the European Parliament; stresses that stronger involvement of APAs in the internal structures of the Parliament could lead to more inclusive, diverse and geographically balanced workforce; highlights the importance of knowledge retention and transfer within the European Parliament in relation to the internal working methods; |
Or. en
Amendment 133
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67 a. Recalls Parliament’s recommendation to the Commission in its resolution of 18 April 2018 “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, thereby also setting an example for the other European institutions”; is of the opinion that Parliament, regarding appointment procedures, should always meet the highest standards in terms of transparency, accountability and good administration; |
Or. en
Amendment 134
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67 a. Welcomes the fact that trainees were granted access to the LinkedIn training offer; |
Or. en
Amendment 135
Giuseppe Lupo, Csaba Molnár
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67 b. Notes that in the event of chartered Eurostar trains being full, APAs are offered more unreliable travel options than Parliament’s other members of staff; calls on Parliament to examine the need for an additional train and to explore the possibility to retain allocated seat within the office in case APA cancels his or her mission due to legitimate reasons such as illness, family reasons or work obligations; |
Or. en
Amendment 136
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 67 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 67 b. Call for a complete ban for trips taken by Members that are paid for by foreign countries and entities; believes that similar rules should be drawn up for trips taken by APAs or political group staff; asks to extend the ban from the Parliament premises of representative of Qatar, Morocco until investigations are closed; |
Or. en
Amendment 137
Bert-Jan Ruissen
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 68a. Deplores the fact that, in order to comply with the Treaty requirement to maintain a number of sites, there has to be frequent travel within Parliament between Brussels and Strasbourg; calls on the Administration to make the monthly costs associated with the monthly relocation to Strasbourg transparent; also reiterates its call for the European Council to opt for Brussels as the sole European Parliament meeting venue; |
Or. nl
Amendment 138
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 69. Notes that DG INLO’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 223 331 000 in 2023, representing 10,5 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 221 658 618 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; | 69. Notes that DG INLO’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 223 331 000 in 2023, representing 10,5 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 221 658 618 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; regrets Parliament's incoherent and costly buildings policy since 2019; |
Or. fr
Amendment 139
Ondřej Knotek, Julien Sanchez
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 69 a. Recalls the support by the vast majority of Parliament for a single seat in Strasbourg to ensure efficient spending of European Union´s budget and to avoid wasting taxpayers’ money; |
Or. en
Amendment 140
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 70. Welcomes that throughout 2023, the administration continued the implementation of Parliament’s ‘Building Strategy Beyond 2019’ as endorsed by the Bureau in April 2018; | 70. Welcomes that throughout 2023, the administration continued the implementation of Parliament’s ‘Building Strategy Beyond 2019’ as endorsed by the Bureau in April 2018; takes note of the indicative timetable provided for the interconnection of the Trèves I and Trèves II to the main central buildings in Brussels; and asks the administration to keep the discharge authority informed on the upcoming steps: requests to address some structural problems that are still pending in the Treves 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; reminds the need to upgrade the building to the latest energy and environmental norms; |
Or. en
Amendment 141
José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 71 a. Notes that the 99-year lease of the Osmose building in Strasbourg was signed on 25 September 2023; notes that the annual rental price amounts to EUR 0,7 million and that the initial fitting-out to allow occupation of the VEIL building has a total estimated cost of EUR 10,4 million, although the final cost will be known once all the work necessary to allow occupation by Parliament's staff has been completed and accepted; notes that the total amount for the acquisition of furniture is estimated at EUR 1,8 million; |
Or. en
Amendment 142
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 71 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 71 a. Notes that the 'Rent' and 'Construction of buildings and fitting-out of premises' cost 89.9 million EUR to the European Parliament in 2023; |
Or. en
Amendment 143
Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 72. Takes note that during its meeting on 12 June 2023, the Bureau discussed the next steps for the renewal of the SPAAK building; notes that the Bureau expressed a preference for a comprehensive environmental renovation and approved the project on 11 December 2023; stresses that the SPAAK building has been in use since 1993 and is approaching the end of its life cycle in its current state; underlines that a renovation has the aim of achieveing a high-quality environmental renewal of the building, while preserving its architectural design and its functionalities; highlights that this would result in a nearly zero-energy building, a zero emission building, a proactive rainwater management system, and the lowering of the carbon footprint by means of circularity and life-cycle assessment of materials; appreciates that the SPAAK renewal project will be used as a reference for sustainable building techniques; notes the ambitious renovation is expected to be completed in time for the 200th Jubilee of the Kingdom of Belgium in July 2030; | 72. Takes note that during its meeting on 12 June 2023, the Bureau discussed the next steps for the renewal of the SPAAK building; notes that the Bureau expressed a preference for a comprehensive environmental renovation and approved the project on 11 December 2023; stresses that the SPAAK building has been in use since 1993 and is approaching the end of its life cycle in its current state; underlines that a renovation has the aim of achieveing a high-quality environmental renewal of the building, while preserving its architectural design and its functionalities; highlights that this would result in a nearly zero-energy building, a zero emission building, a proactive rainwater management system, and the lowering of the carbon footprint by means of circularity and life-cycle assessment of materials; appreciates that the SPAAK renewal project will be used as a reference for sustainable building techniques; notes the ambitious renovation is expected to be completed in time for the 200th Jubilee of the Kingdom of Belgium in July 2030; reminds that the renovation costs of the SPAAK building were evaluated at 455 million EUR in April 2023; |
Or. en
Amendment 144
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 72 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 72a. Regrets the absurd rules imposed by the EU as part of the environmental renovation of its buildings and the latter's negligible or even virtually inexistent benefits, resulting, for example, in the installation of solar panels at 11 of Parliament's 18 buildings in Brussels at a cost of EUR 1.8 million, not including maintenance costs, which cover an estimated 1% to 7% of their energy consumption. |
Or. fr
Amendment 145
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 74. Welcomes the completion of the renovation works for the multifunctional restaurant facility in the SPINELLI building, which opened on 24 April 2023; | 74. Welcomes the completion of the renovation works for the multifunctional restaurant facility in the SPINELLI building, which opened on 24 April 2023; reiterates, however, the ongoing complaints by members of staff regarding unsatisfactory ratio between the quality of food and prices of the canteen service; |
Or. en
Amendment 146
José Cepeda
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 74 a. Recalls the decision of the Bureau of 23 October 2019 to approve the creation of an IDEA Lab with the aim of testing new, innovative solutions in the context of offices and facility management; reiterates its calls for the establishment of a separate budget line to allow transparency and monitoring of the investments made and the potential savings due to solutions to be tested; points out that Members do not receive any information on the innovations available for testing or on the cost of such innovations, whether adopted for scale-up or discarded; calls on the Bureau working group on buildings and Parliament’s administration to ensure greater transparency regarding the IDEA Lab and to regularly present to the Committee on Budgetary Control the list of innovative solutions, their cost and the feedback produced, as well as the potential saving if implemented; |
Or. en
Amendment 147
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 75. Takes note that a permit for the Citizens’ House renovation project was obtained from local authorities in February 2023, highlights that works were estimated to begin in mid-2024 and were expected to conclude by the end of 2025; welcomes that Parliament wanted to incorporate a green space amenity into the visitor circuit and create a meeting space for Members, European citizens and civil society representatives; notes that, due to the building’s protected heritage status, the current strengthened environmental and energy performance criteria outlined in the new European Fit for 55 legislation, as well as the severe economic impact of the war in Ukraine, the initial budget of EUR 1,9 million presented to Members in 2017 increased to EUR 5,36 million and calls on DG INLO and DG COMM to evaluate how to better incorporate external factors into their planning that might lead to significant cost increases; | 75. Takes note that a permit for the Citizens’ House renovation project was obtained from local authorities in February 2023, highlights that works were estimated to begin in mid-2024 and were expected to conclude by the end of 2025; regrets that Parliament wanted to incorporate a green space amenity into the visitor circuit and create a meeting space for Members, European citizens and civil society representatives; notes that, due to the building’s protected heritage status, the current strengthened environmental and energy performance criteria outlined in the new European Fit for 55 legislation, as well as the severe economic impact of the war in Ukraine, the initial budget of EUR 1,9 million presented to Members in 2017 increased to EUR 5,36 million, a colossal and scandalous mushrooming of the budget that cannot be rightly attributed to these justifications alone, constituting at the very least amateurism or a genuine lack of preparation (despite a preliminary study costing EUR 488 127) and a blithe disregard for European taxpayers' money; requires and will ensure regular monitoring of DG INLO and DG COMM to evaluate how to better incorporate external factors into their planning that might lead to significant cost increases; |
Or. fr
Amendment 148
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 76. Takes note that the strategic approach of 'going local' and 'closer to the citizen' in implementing Europa Experiences continued throughout 2023; notes that in the course of the year, three Europa Experience facilities were opened to the public in Stockholm, Vienna, and Warsaw; highlights that by the end of 2023, 50 % of the planned Europa Experience facilities had been opened; | 76. Takes note that the costly and pointless approach of 'going local' and 'closer to the citizen' in implementing Europa Experiences continued throughout 2023; notes that in the course of the year, three Europa Experience facilities were opened to the public in Stockholm, Vienna, and Warsaw; highlights that by the end of 2023, 50 % of the planned Europa Experience facilities had been opened; |
Or. fr
Amendment 149
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 78. Welcomes that in early 2023, the Parliament’s Guide for Socially Responsible Public Procurement was adopted by the Public Procurement Forum , which also manages the Green Public Procurement Helpdesk service, in coordination with 23 other participating Union Institutions and Agencies; notes that a Working Group on Sustainable Public Procurement was established with the mandate to continually monitor and exchange best practices on sustainable procurement methods; | 78. Welcomes that in early 2023, the Parliament’s Guide for Socially Responsible Public Procurement was adopted by the Public Procurement Forum , which also manages the Green Public Procurement Helpdesk service, in coordination with 23 other participating Union Institutions and Agencies; notes that a Working Group on Sustainable Public Procurement was established with the mandate to continually monitor and exchange best practices on sustainable procurement methods; requests that all Parliament’s procurement procedures prioritise quality and sustainability over price in line with the EU Green Public Procurement guidelines, and introduce a specific criteria to encourage start-up participation in subcontracting; |
Or. en
Amendment 150
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 78 a. Calls for the European Parliament to commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, including a commitment to phase out single-use plastics in Parliament buildings, mandatory sustainability criteria for procurement contracts, and a requirement for all suppliers to adhere to strict environmental standards; requests the implementation of a Green Procurement Strategy, ensuring that all purchases align with circular economy principles and zero-waste objectives; |
Or. en
Amendment 151
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 78 a. Points out that a large share of the seats available in the vehicle fleet commuting between Brussels and Strasbourg for plenary sessions seats remained unoccupied in 2022; reiterates its call on Parliament’s administration to widen the user group and allow Parliament’s staff to travel to and from Strasbourg with the service fleet without the presence of a Member, while making sure that Members’ seats are secured; |
Or. en
Amendment 152
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 78 b. Urges the adoption of eco-friendly transport policies, including mandatory use of low-carbon transport options for official travel and incentives for telecommuting to reduce Parliament’s carbon footprint; urges the Bureau to phase out non-essential flights for short-haul travel within the EU and replace them with rail travel wherever feasible; calls for the publication of an annual sustainability report detailing the Parliament’s carbon footprint and measures taken to reduce environmental impact; |
Or. en
Amendment 153
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 78 c. Requests a sustainability impact assessment for all infrastructure projects, ensuring that future building renovations align with near-zero energy building standards; emphasizes the need for energy efficiency renovations of the Parliament’s buildings to align with near-zero energy building standards, with a particular focus on reducing energy consumption in the SPAAK building renovation; |
Or. en
Amendment 154
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 78 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 78 d. Acknowledges with satisfaction the possibility for staff to use rent standard and electric bikes during the part-time sessions in Strasbourg; acknowledges the energy-saving infrastructure fitted into the Strasbourg seat buildings; acknowledges that the car fleet has been expanded by zero-emission or plug-in hybrids vehicles; recalls however that a significant number of seats in that car fleet remains unoccupied during the travel to and from Strasbourg; regrets that the charter trains are always fully booked and their available number does not satisfy the demand; |
Or. en
Amendment 155
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 79
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 79. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Translation (DG TRAD) is responsible for the provision of high-quality multilingual legislation and other linguistic services to Parliament, Parliament’s services and all citizens of the Union, based on the principle of full resource-efficient multilingualism; notes that by 31 December 2023, DG TRAD was comprised of 1 161 members of staff, of which 950 were officials, 109 were temporary agents, 88 were contract agents, and 14 were agency members of staff; | 79. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Translation (DG TRAD) is responsible for the provision of high-quality multilingual legislation and other linguistic services to Parliament, Parliament’s services and all citizens of the Union, based on the principle of full resource-efficient multilingualism; deplores in this connection the fact that, despite the commitments and values of the Union since its foundation, English has become its main, if not unofficially almost sole, working language, particularly to the detriment of French and German[1]; particularly since Brexit, which has marked the departure of many native English speakers from the European institutions notes that by 31 December 2023, DG TRAD was comprised of 1 161 members of staff, of which 950 were officials, 109 were temporary agents, 88 were contract agents, and 14 were agency members of staff; |
| [1] Regulation No 1 of 6 October 1958 determines the languages to be used by the European Union. |
Or. fr
Amendment 156
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 80
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 80. Notes that DG TRAD’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 20 242 272 in 2023, representing 0,8 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 20 021 717 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; | 80. Notes that DG TRAD’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 20 242 272 in 2023, representing 0,8 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 20 021 717 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations; regrets that funds (more than EUR 100 000) are being allocated for translation into Ukrainian, a non-EU Member State and not an official EU language, of ongoing parliamentary work with no direct link to Ukraine, in addition to the official languages of the Union; the same applies for translations into other non-European languages; |
Or. fr
Amendment 157
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 83. Notes that, in 2023, DG TRAD produced 343 audio programmes (for a total of 6 667 language versions) and notes with concern that these platforms reached an audience of 9 394 plays for the Europarl Radio website and app and 28 096 plays for commercial audio platforms; notes the cooperation with Union radio stations in 2023 involved 25 radio stations in Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden; notes that Parliament has not reported the number of listeners obtained from this cooperation; notes that the audio-related tasks represent around 25 % of the work of the DG TRAD’s Directorate for Citizen’s Language; notes that the core team for audio programmes comprises four sound engineers and five producers in Luxembourg (all temporary and contractual agents); calls on DG TRAD to use the resources employed for audio programmes in a more efficient way, and potentially reassign the resources to activities with higher outreach; | 83. Notes that, in 2023, DG TRAD produced 343 audio programmes (for a total of 6 667 language versions) and notes with concern that these platforms reached an audience of 9 394 plays for the Europarl Radio website and app and 28 096 plays for commercial audio platforms; asks the administration to considers the closing of those radio broadcasts which did not manage to attract public audience, taking into account the performance, cost-effectiveness, and visitor usage of the existing programmes notes the cooperation with Union radio stations in 2023 involved 25 radio stations in Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden; notes that Parliament has not reported the number of listeners obtained from this cooperation; notes that the audio-related tasks represent around 25 % of the work of the DG TRAD’s Directorate for Citizen’s Language; notes that the core team for audio programmes comprises four sound engineers and five producers in Luxembourg (all temporary and contractual agents); calls on DG TRAD to use the resources employed for audio programmes in a more efficient way, and potentially reassign the resources to activities with higher outreach; |
Or. en
Amendment 158
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 83
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 83. Notes that, in 2023, DG TRAD produced 343 audio programmes (for a total of 6 667 language versions) and notes with concern that these platforms reached an audience of 9 394 plays for the Europarl Radio website and app and 28 096 plays for commercial audio platforms; notes the cooperation with Union radio stations in 2023 involved 25 radio stations in Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden; notes that Parliament has not reported the number of listeners obtained from this cooperation; notes that the audio-related tasks represent around 25 % of the work of the DG TRAD’s Directorate for Citizen’s Language; notes that the core team for audio programmes comprises four sound engineers and five producers in Luxembourg (all temporary and contractual agents); calls on DG TRAD to use the resources employed for audio programmes in a more efficient way, and potentially reassign the resources to activities with higher outreach; | 83. Notes that, in 2023, DG TRAD produced 343 audio programmes (for a total of 6 667 language versions) and notes with concern that these platforms reached an audience of 9 394 plays for the Europarl Radio website and app and 28 096 plays for commercial audio platforms; notes the cooperation with Union radio stations in 2023 involved 25 radio stations in Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden; notes that Parliament has not reported the number of listeners obtained from this cooperation; notes that the audio-related tasks represent around 25 % of the work of the DG TRAD’s Directorate for Citizen’s Language; notes that the core team for audio programmes comprises four sound engineers and five producers in Luxembourg (all temporary and contractual agents); calls on DG TRAD to use the resources employed for audio programmes in a more efficient way, and potentially reassign the resources to activities with higher outreach; regrets the costs incurred by this venture that has failed with audiences and calls for it to be scrapped; |
Or. fr
Amendment 159
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 86. Welcomes that DG TRAD already harnesses the power of technology in its machine translation tools and has embarked on a journey towards artificial intelligence for its IT landscape, by exploring how this can be integrated in its workflows; welcomes that DG TRAD has explored potential options in view of a Single Digital Workflow Tool; highlights the work done on the DG TRAD Speech-to-text tool increased its coverage of languages to all 24 official languages of the Union; remarks that the tool can automatically transcribe and translate multilingual parliamentary debates in real time, highlights that the innovation partnership to develop and acquire the tool has come to an end, and the preparations to implement the tool in Parliament’s infrastructure have begun; asks DG TRAD to quantify how the implementation of such new technologies will help to achieve financial savings and contribute to synergies in Parliament’s workflow; | 86. Welcomes that DG TRAD already harnesses the power of technology in its machine translation tools and has embarked on a journey towards artificial intelligence for its IT landscape, by exploring how this can be integrated in its workflows; welcomes that DG TRAD has explored potential options in view of a Single Digital Workflow Tool; highlights the work done on the DG TRAD Speech-to-text tool increased its coverage of languages to all 24 official languages of the Union; asks DG TRAD to quantify how the implementation of such new technologies will help to achieve financial savings and contribute to synergies in Parliament’s workflow; |
Or. en
Amendment 160
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 88 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 88a. Deplores the fact that, despite the commitments and values of the Union since its foundation, English has become its main, if not unofficially almost sole, working language, particularly to the detriment of French and German; particularly since Brexit, which has marked the departure of many native English speakers from the European institutions; |
Or. fr
Amendment 161
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 91 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 91 a. Stresses that, under Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, Members have the right to speak in the official language of their choice, which reflects European cultural and linguistic diversity and also makes the Union institutions more accessible and transparent to all Union citizens; welcomes the work done by interpreters ensuring, as far as possible, that public debates are interpreted in all official EU languages; |
Or. en
Amendment 162
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 96. Recommends that DG FINS establishes a risk-based approach to controlling and auditing Members; acknowledges that is essential to have a baseline level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes the fact that in the event of doubtful expenditure by a Member, the administration has every right to control the funds concerned; underlines, however, that an approach of general suspicion towards Members, by continuously increasing the number of rules to a degree and complexity that Members and their offices struggle to fully comply, creates legal certainty only for the administration; stresses that Members and their offices must also be assured of legal certainty; | 96. Recommends that DG FINS establishes a risk-based approach to controlling and auditing Members; acknowledges that is essential to have a great level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes the fact that in the event of doubtful expenditure by a Member, the administration has every right to control the funds concerned; underlines, that the rules imposed on Members, despite having created additional administrative requirements on them are proportionate to the highest level of transparency that should be applied to them in view of their role, and in order to inctrease democratic legitimacy of the institution; stresses that Members and their offices must be assured of legal certainty in their actions, and ask the administration to provide all possible support to make rules clears and applicable; |
Or. en
Amendment 163
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 96. Recommends that DG FINS establishes a risk-based approach to controlling and auditing Members; acknowledges that is essential to have a baseline level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes the fact that in the event of doubtful expenditure by a Member, the administration has every right to control the funds concerned; underlines, however, that an approach of general suspicion towards Members, by continuously increasing the number of rules to a degree and complexity that Members and their offices struggle to fully comply, creates legal certainty only for the administration; stresses that Members and their offices must also be assured of legal certainty; | 96. Acknowledges that is essential to have a baseline level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes the fact that in the event of doubtful expenditure by a Member, the administration has every right to control the funds concerned; underlines that increasing the number of rules to a degree and complexity that Members and their offices struggle to fully comply would create legal certainty only for the administration; stresses that Members and their offices must also be assured of legal certainty; |
Or. en
Amendment 164
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 96. Recommends that DG FINS establishes a risk-based approach to controlling and auditing Members; acknowledges that is essential to have a baseline level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes the fact that in the event of doubtful expenditure by a Member, the administration has every right to control the funds concerned; underlines, however, that an approach of general suspicion towards Members, by continuously increasing the number of rules to a degree and complexity that Members and their offices struggle to fully comply, creates legal certainty only for the administration; stresses that Members and their offices must also be assured of legal certainty; | 96. Acknowledges that is essential to have a baseline level of control to ensure compliance with the rules; welcomes the fact that in the event of doubtful expenditure by a Member, the administration has every right to control the funds concerned; underlines that increasing the number of rules to a degree and complexity that Members and their offices struggle to fully comply would create legal certainty only for the administration; stresses that Members and their offices must also be assured of legal certainty; |
Or. en
Amendment 165
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 97. Acknowledges the problem of attracting staff in Luxembourg, where 37 % of DG FINS posts are based and notes that the recruitment difficulties stem mainly from the disparity in remuneration levels on the labour market and the difference in the cost of living, particularly in relation to housing; calls on DG FINS, DG PERS and DG PRES to address this issue and work out a dedicated plan to create incentives to fill vacancies or consider the relocation of some urgently needed staff to Brussels where the labour market offers better conditions; | 97. Acknowledges the problem of attracting staff in Luxembourg, where 37 % of DG FINS posts are based and notes that the recruitment difficulties stem mainly from the disparity in remuneration levels on the labour market and the difference in the cost of living, particularly in relation to housing; calls on DG FINS, DG PERS and DG PRES to address this issue and work out a dedicated plan to create incentives to fill vacancies or consider the relocation of some urgently needed staff to Brussels where the labour market offers better conditions; acknowledges that the low attractiveness of EP posts located in Luxembourg and thus difficulties with attracting qualified staff are a systemic problem; urges the Bureau to explore sustainable remedies to that problem, not excluding a possible decision of transferring certain amounts of posts from Luxembourg to Brussels; |
Or. en
Amendment 166
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 97
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 97. Acknowledges the problem of attracting staff in Luxembourg, where 37 % of DG FINS posts are based and notes that the recruitment difficulties stem mainly from the disparity in remuneration levels on the labour market and the difference in the cost of living, particularly in relation to housing; calls on DG FINS, DG PERS and DG PRES to address this issue and work out a dedicated plan to create incentives to fill vacancies or consider the relocation of some urgently needed staff to Brussels where the labour market offers better conditions; | 97. Acknowledges the problem of attracting staff in Luxembourg, where 37 % of DG FINS posts are based and notes that the recruitment difficulties stem mainly from the disparity in remuneration levels on the labour market and the difference in the cost of living, particularly in relation to housing; calls on DG FINS, DG PERS and DG PRES to address this issue by or considering the relocation of staff to Brussels where the labour market offers better conditions; |
Or. en
Amendment 167
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 101
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 101. Welcomes the fact that DG FINS continued to deploy SAP solutions within Parliament through two projects which support the rationalisation of tools for managing Members’ social entitlements and the development of Parliament’s financial reporting capacities; encourages increased investment in IT infrastructure, particularly in systems like SAP, to enhance data management capabilities, minimise redundant data submissions, and improve data accessibility; stresses the need to shift from a predominantly risk-based approach to a trust-based approach in the handling of Members' financial allowances; remarks that this approach aims to foster a culture of mutual respect and reduce the prevailing atmosphere of suspicion towards Members, in order to facilitate a more productive and cooperative environment; | 101. Welcomes the fact that DG FINS continued to deploy SAP solutions within Parliament through two projects which support the rationalisation of tools for managing Members’ social entitlements and the development of Parliament’s financial reporting capacities; encourages increased investment in IT infrastructure, particularly in systems like SAP, to enhance data management capabilities, minimise redundant data submissions, and improve data accessibility; |
Or. en
Amendment 168
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 101
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 101. Welcomes the fact that DG FINS continued to deploy SAP solutions within Parliament through two projects which support the rationalisation of tools for managing Members’ social entitlements and the development of Parliament’s financial reporting capacities; encourages increased investment in IT infrastructure, particularly in systems like SAP, to enhance data management capabilities, minimise redundant data submissions, and improve data accessibility; stresses the need to shift from a predominantly risk-based approach to a trust-based approach in the handling of Members' financial allowances; remarks that this approach aims to foster a culture of mutual respect and reduce the prevailing atmosphere of suspicion towards Members, in order to facilitate a more productive and cooperative environment; | 101. Welcomes the fact that DG FINS continued to deploy SAP solutions within Parliament through two projects which support the rationalisation of tools for managing Members’ social entitlements and the development of Parliament’s financial reporting capacities; encourages increased investment in IT infrastructure, particularly in systems like SAP, to enhance data management capabilities, minimise redundant data submissions, and improve data accessibility; |
Or. en
Amendment 169
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 101
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 101. Welcomes the fact that DG FINS continued to deploy SAP solutions within Parliament through two projects which support the rationalisation of tools for managing Members’ social entitlements and the development of Parliament’s financial reporting capacities; encourages increased investment in IT infrastructure, particularly in systems like SAP, to enhance data management capabilities, minimise redundant data submissions, and improve data accessibility; stresses the need to shift from a predominantly risk-based approach to a trust-based approach in the handling of Members' financial allowances; remarks that this approach aims to foster a culture of mutual respect and reduce the prevailing atmosphere of suspicion towards Members, in order to facilitate a more productive and cooperative environment; | 101. Welcomes the fact that DG FINS continued to deploy SAP solutions within Parliament through two projects which support the rationalisation of tools for managing Members’ social entitlements and the development of Parliament’s financial reporting capacities; encourages increased investment in IT infrastructure, particularly in systems like SAP, to enhance data management capabilities, minimise redundant data submissions, and improve data accessibility; |
Or. en
Amendment 170
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 104 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 104 a. Invites DG FINS to explore and support the integration of additional financial applications into SAP systems to enhance financial management, streamline processes, improve reporting, ensure compliance, integrate data, support scalability, and empower users with more efficient tools; |
Or. en
Amendment 171
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 107. Stresses that there should be no general suspicion about local assistants who are, in parallel, members of a political party or volunteer in politicaldecision making at local level, such as in a town council; is aware that cases involving former French Members have led to a great deal of distrust with regard to the work of local assistants; highlights that the misdeeds of some should not reflect on all assistants; stresses that random audits of local assistants and requesting proof of work are legitimate tools used by the administration to check the work of local assistants; calls, however, on DG FINS to inform local assistants at the start of their job what type of working documentation they require during audits and to provide guidelines with clear examples to local assistants in due time; | 107. Reminds that local assistants shall abstain from any actions that conflict with the interests of the Members they assist and those of Parliament, and that all outside activities , including activities with a political parties should be declared; Stresses that there should be no general suspicion about local assistants who are, in parallel, members of a political party or volunteer in politicaldecision making at local level, such as in a town council; is aware that cases involving former French Members have led to a great deal of distrust with regard to the work of local assistants; regrets that a Paying agent involved in thoses cases has continued to be hired by the parliament despite being involved in fraud cases: highlights that the misdeeds of some should not reflect on all assistants; stresses that random audits of local assistants and requesting proof of work are legitimate tools used by the administration to check the work of local assistants; calls, however, on DG FINS to inform local assistants at the start of their job what type of working documentation they require during audits and to provide guidelines with clear examples to local assistants in due time; |
Or. en
Amendment 172
Tamás Deutsch, Ondřej Knotek
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 107. Stresses that there should be no general suspicion about local assistants who are, in parallel, members of a political party or volunteer in politicaldecision making at local level, such as in a town council; is aware that cases involving former French Members have led to a great deal of distrust with regard to the work of local assistants; highlights that the misdeeds of some should not reflect on all assistants; stresses that random audits of local assistants and requesting proof of work are legitimate tools used by the administration to check the work of local assistants; calls, however, on DG FINS to inform local assistants at the start of their job what type of working documentation they require during audits and to provide guidelines with clear examples to local assistants in due time; | 107. Stresses that there should be no general suspicion about local assistants who are, in parallel, members of a political party or volunteer in politicaldecision making at local level, such as in a town council; is aware that cases involving former Parliamentary Members have led to a great deal of distrust with regard to the work of local assistants; highlights that the misdeeds of some should not reflect on all assistants; stresses that random audits of local assistants and requesting proof of work are legitimate tools used by the administration to check the work of local assistants; calls, however, on DG FINS to inform local assistants at the start of their job what type of working documentation they require during audits and to provide guidelines with clear examples to local assistants in due time; |
Or. en
Amendment 173
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Olivier Chastel, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 107
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 107. Stresses that there should be no general suspicion about local assistants who are, in parallel, members of a political party or volunteer in politicaldecision making at local level, such as in a town council; is aware that cases involving former French Members have led to a great deal of distrust with regard to the work of local assistants; highlights that the misdeeds of some should not reflect on all assistants; stresses that random audits of local assistants and requesting proof of work are legitimate tools used by the administration to check the work of local assistants; calls, however, on DG FINS to inform local assistants at the start of their job what type of working documentation they require during audits and to provide guidelines with clear examples to local assistants in due time; | 107. Stresses that there should be no general suspicion about local assistants who are, in parallel, members of a political party or volunteer in politicaldecision making at local level, such as in a town council; is aware that cases involving former Members have led to a great deal of distrust with regard to the work of local assistants; highlights that the misdeeds of some should not reflect on all assistants; stresses that random audits of local assistants and requesting proof of work are legitimate tools used by the administration to check the work of local assistants; calls, however, on DG FINS to inform local assistants at the start of their job what type of working documentation they require during audits and to provide guidelines with clear examples to local assistants in due time; |
Or. en
Amendment 174
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 108
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 108. Calls on Parliament to ensure that local assistants are treated equally to APAs when it comes to access to information and data; stresses the need to offer information courses for local assistants to outline their rights and obligations; underlines that such courses should be offered in languages other than English as well to accommodate the needs of local assistants; stresses that equal treatment increases team spirit in every Member’s office; | 108. Calls on Parliament to ensure that local assistants are treated equally to APAs when it comes to access to information, and data, and rights; stresses the need to offer information courses and support services for local assistants to outline their rights and obligations; underlines that such courses should be offered in languages other than English as well to accommodate the needs of local assistants; stresses that equal treatment increases team spirit in every Member’s office; |
Or. en
Amendment 175
Bert-Jan Ruissen
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 109 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 109a. Notes that, in an effort to optimise workplace safety, mandatory courses for both MEPs and APAs have been introduced by Parliament on sexual harassment, cybersecurity and other important issues; welcomes the courses' objectives and content; regards the mandatory nature of the courses as ineffective, however; calls for mandatory participation to be reconsidered for both MEPs and APAs; calls for the courses to be offered on a voluntary basis in order to increase the willingness of both MEPs and APAs to follow them; |
Or. nl
Amendment 176
José Cepeda, Sandra Gómez López, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 110 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 110 a. Recalls the changes in Parliament’s Rules of Procedure on 20 December 2020 allowing for remote voting and the fact that voting remotely in committee is currently not allowed unless the President establishes the existence of extraordinary circumstances; reiterates its request to the Bureau, adopted at Plenary level on several occasions, to enable Members to exercise their right to vote remotely while benefiting from maternity or paternity leave, during a long term illness or in cases of force majeure, thus capitalising on the great administrative effort and financial investment that Parliament has made in technical solutions to allow remote voting; |
Or. en
Amendment 177
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 111
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 111. Notes that following the Bureau’s decision at its 17 October 2022 meeting to amend the IMSM with regard to the general expenditure allowance, which is paid in a lump sum, DG FINS took the necessary steps to implement the decision in 2023; highlights that DG FINS updated 49 administration forms relating to Members’ financial and social entitlements and other documents and publications following changes to the numbering of IMSM articles; notes that DG FINS drafted guidelines for paying agents appointed by Members to help them with the voluntary publication of how their general expenditure allowances are used; notes that the work was discussed in Quaestors’ notice 29/2023 in October and highlights the need to take into account aspects of transparency, accountability and sound financial management made available to Members, bearing in mind the principle of freedom and independence of the parliamentary mandate and the objective of legal certainty for Members as well as avoiding an unnecessary administrative burden for Members, their offices and Parliament’s services; | 111. Notes that following the Bureau’s decision at its 17 October 2022 meeting to amend the IMSM with regard to the general expenditure allowance, which is paid in a lump sum, DG FINS took the necessary steps to implement the decision in 2023; highlights that DG FINS updated 49 administration forms relating to Members’ financial and social entitlements and other documents and publications following changes to the numbering of IMSM articles; notes that DG FINS drafted guidelines for paying agents appointed by Members to help them with the voluntary publication of how their general expenditure allowances are used; notes that the work was discussed in Quaestors’ notice 29/2023 in October and highlights the need to take into account aspects of transparency, accountability and sound financial management made available to Members, bearing in mind the principle of freedom and independence of the parliamentary mandate and the objective of legal certainty for Members; |
Or. en
Amendment 178
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 112. Highlights that Members are free to document their use of the funds under the General Expenditure Allowance, in detail or by type of cost, on their own or with the support of an external auditor, and to have this information published in whole or in part on their online page on Parliament’s website in accordance with Rule 11(2) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; welcomes that a simplified list of types of costs is integrated into the IMSM and that an amendment clarifying the possibility for Members to use the General Expenditure Allowance when an exhaustion of other allowances has also been adopted; notes that all Members have been informed about the specifics of this allowance; | 112. Highlights that Members are free to document their use of the funds under the General Expenditure Allowance, in detail or by type of cost, on their own or with the support of an external auditor, call on members 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 IMSM and that an amendment clarifying the possibility for Members to use the General Expenditure Allowance when an exhaustion of other allowances has also been adopted; notes that all Members have been informed about the specifics of this allowance; |
Or. en
Amendment 179
Jonas Sjöstedt, Damian Boeselager
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 112 a. Repeats its call for a reform of the GEA that would oblige Members to keep all receipts pertaining to the GEA, annually publish an overview of expenditure by category as well as an independent auditor’s opinion on the EP’s website, return the unspent share of the GEA at the end of the mandate and that would establish annual 5% sample checks of Members’ GEA expenditure by Parliament’s services, as expressively request in many previous discharge resolutions and in line with the original proposal of the Working Group established by the Bureau on the matter; calls for Members to be required to externally audit the GEA; requests for more clarity and guidance for Members on what the GEA can be used for; |
Or. en
Amendment 180
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 112 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 112 b. Request to produce a study of the financial impact of moving from the current system to the reform requested by the parliament for more transparency, identifying additional costs but also possible savings in particular with the return of GEA at the end of the mandate; |
Or. en
Amendment 181
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 113. Recalls that OLAF has the mandate to investigate suspicions of serious misconduct by Union staff and members of the Union institutions, including possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament; notes that a procedure to strengthen the mandate of OLAF in Parliament in cases of substantiated suspicions regarding individual Members when it is strictly needed and proportionate in terms of the investigation and fully respecting confidentiality in accordance with the principle of immunities as laid down in Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union could be implemented; reiterates its call on the Bureau to set up such a procedure without delay; | 113. Recalls that OLAF has the mandate to investigate suspicions of serious misconduct by Union staff and members of the Union institutions, including possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament; notes that a procedure to strengthen the mandate of OLAF in Parliament in cases of substantiated suspicions regarding individual Members when it is strictly needed and proportionate in terms of the investigation and fully respecting confidentiality in accordance with the principle of immunities as laid down in Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union could be implemented; calls on the AFCO committee to set up such a procedure without delay; |
Or. en
Amendment 182
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 113. Recalls that OLAF has the mandate to investigate suspicions of serious misconduct by Union staff and members of the Union institutions, including possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament; notes that a procedure to strengthen the mandate of OLAF in Parliament in cases of substantiated suspicions regarding individual Members when it is strictly needed and proportionate in terms of the investigation and fully respecting confidentiality in accordance with the principle of immunities as laid down in Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union could be implemented; reiterates its call on the Bureau to set up such a procedure without delay; | 113. Recalls that OLAF has the mandate to investigate suspicions of serious misconduct by Union staff and members of the Union institutions, including possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament; notes that a procedure to strengthen the mandate of OLAF in Parliament in cases of substantiated suspicions regarding individual Members when it is strictly needed and proportionate in terms of the investigation and fully respecting confidentiality in accordance with the principle of immunities as laid down in Protocol (No 7) on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union could be implemented; also via an update of the practical arrangement between the Parliament and the Office, which dates back to 2013 reiterates its call on the Bureau to set up such a procedure without delay; |
Or. en
Amendment 183
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 113 a. Recalls the vital role entrusted in the Ethics Body and therefore reiterates its call for the body to have investigative powers, to be capable of launching own-initiative inquiries into potential conflicts of interest, lobbying irregularities, and financial mismanagement by Members; |
Or. en
Amendment 184
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 113 b. Requests the introduction of mandatory financial disclosure rules for all Members, senior officials and advisors, ensuring regular updates on external income, assets, and financial interests; |
Or. en
Amendment 185
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 113 c. Recalls as a main duty of members that in exercising their duties, Members of the European Parliament shall not engage in paid lobbying activities directly linked to the Union decision-making process; deplores few of its Members’ side activities raise questions whether this duty might be breached; calls on its own responsible bodies to investigate the matter of these allegations and sanction, if necessary, breaches of these rules; encourages to use the inter-institutional EU ethics body to look into this matter to assure the public that Parliament has nothing to hide; |
Or. en
Amendment 186
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 113 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 113 d. Notes that, in 2023, at least one Member of the European Parliament requested travel reimbursements amounting to EUR 179,846.75; stresses that such exceptionally high amounts raise questions about compliance with applicable rules and the potential misuse of Parliament’s budget; calls on the Parliament’s administration to enhance its verification mechanisms and conduct more thorough and systematic checks to ensure that all reimbursement requests strictly adhere to the relevant rules and reflect actual, justified travel expenses; |
Or. en
Amendment 187
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 114
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 114. Highlights that 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; recalls that OLAF can only enter Members' offices after Parliament’s President grants access following a request issued by a responsible authority of a Member State, in most cases a judge; points out that OLAF has to fully respect rule of law standards applying to Members in such cases, in particular the right to have access to data, the right to legal representation and the overarching principle of the presumption of innocence; underlines that the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), pursuant to its mandate under Annex VI of the Rules of Procedure, plays a key role in the interpretation and application of Members' privileges and immunities; emphasises JURI's responsibility in ensuring the legal protection of Parliament’s rights and prerogatives, which are essential in protecting the independence of Members in fulfilling their duties; recalls that OLAF needs to respect these limits in the observance of its duties and stresses that alleged misconduct cannot be used as a pretext to request access to offices; | 114. Highlights that 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; is of the opinion thought that the immunity that Members enjoy is from criminal probes and does not exclude the possibility for OLAF to investigate them and hence to search theirs offices or to seize IT equipment, since their investigations are of administrative nature; reminds in this sense Parliament Decision of 18 November 1999 on the internal investigations conducted by OLAF, by which the Parliament engaged to fully cooperate with OLAF in its investigations and request the full implementation of this decision by the Parliament; underlines that OLAF still need to approve updated Guidelines on Investigation Procedures (GIP) in order to comply with the need for independent investigations in respect of transparency and accountability as required by Art 17 of the OLAF regulation as amended in 2020, which would be also necessary for any revision of the practical arrangements which expressively refer to Investigative Procedures (ISIP) - currently replaced by GIP -: recalls that OLAF can only enter Members' offices after Parliament’s President grants access following a request issued by a responsible authority of a Member State, in most cases a judge; points out that OLAF has to fully respect rule of law standards applying to Members in such cases, in particular the right to have access to data, the right to legal representation and the overarching principle of the presumption of innocence; but has never been granted access to Members’ offices in its 25 years of activities underlines that the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), pursuant to its mandate under Annex VI of the Rules of Procedure, plays a key role in the interpretation and application of Members' privileges and immunities; emphasises JURI's responsibility in ensuring the legal protection of Parliament’s rights and prerogatives, which are essential in protecting the independence of Members in fulfilling their duties; |
Or. en
Amendment 188
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 115 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 115 a. Calls the Parliament to adopt a comprehensive digital transformation strategy, with objectives and timeline, incorporating technical solutions for document management, voting, and communication, to ensure transparency, improve workflow efficiency, safeguard security and move towards a paperless administration; stresses that the digital transformation strategy should focus on measures that would enhance sustainability, save costs, and improve security; calls for the development of user-friendly digital platforms to enhance e-participation, allowing EU citizens to provide feedback on proposed legislation and access Parliament's activities in real time; ensure that the strategy provides digital literacy training; calls on the Parliament to consider creating a Digitisaiton Fund with the aim of supportive initiatives developed as part of the digital transformation strategy; |
Or. en
Amendment 189
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 117 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 117 a. Recalls that in 2023 Parliament has banned the use of social media application TikTok on corporate devices and recommended that MEPs and staff delete the application from their private mobile devices over cybersecurity concerns; given the recent developments in social media landscape, calls on the Parliament administration to closely monitor all developments and take appropriate measures to protect Members, staff and the institution; |
Or. en
Amendment 190
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu, Michal Wiezik, Olivier Chastel, Gilles Boyer
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 121 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 121 a. Highly concerned about the alleged cyber espionage operations reportedly directed by elements within the Hungarian government that targeted European Union officials, including officials within the European Parliament; underlines that such actions, if substantiated, constitute a severe breach of trust and fundamentally compromise the integrity of the Union's democratic institutions; |
Or. en
Amendment 191
José Cepeda, Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 125
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 125. Calls for continued investments in cybersecurity infrastructure, as well as ongoing education and resources for staff, to reinforce a culture of security consciousness that strengthens Parliament's resilience against potential digital threats. | 125. Recalls the importance of EU Regulation 2023/2841 recital 14 and Article 6(7); Calls for continued adequate investments in cybersecurity towards the longer term indicative target in the order of at least 10 % of total IT spending, as well as ongoing education and resources for staff, to reinforce a culture of security consciousness that strengthens Parliament's resilience against potential digital threats; |
Or. en
Amendment 192
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 a. Highlights the importance of the Crisis Cell unit in its role to assist the official delegations of the European Parliament, especially in the current geopolitical context; therefore calls on the Parliament administration to ensure that this unit is always equipped with the necessary resources; is very concerned that access to security training (HEAT), which is compulsory for staff in administration to be able to accompany official Parliament delegations, in practice remains very limited to staff of political groups; recalls in this context Parliament’s duty of care towards its Members and staff; |
Or. en
Amendment 193
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 a. Reminds that the purpose of the Budgetary Control Committee is to ensure the protection of the EU's financial interests through transparency, accountability and efficient management of EU funds, maintaining high standards of ethics and accountability in EU administration, striving towards a transparent and accountable EU financial system, committed to enhancing public trust; |
Or. en
Amendment 194
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 b. Believes that both the European Parliament and its Budgetary Control Committee have seriously failed in their duties and in fulfilling their mandate, therefore as a consequence of the investigations, an in depth institutional self-reflection and reconsideration of their working methods is necessary; |
Or. en
Amendment 195
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 c. Considers that the Parliament’s anti-fraud set up, including the Budgetary Control Committee would benefit from an external body’s or expert group’s analysis and advice on how to alter its ways of working and possibly reconsider the issues and matters it has been prioritising; |
Or. en
Amendment 196
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 d. Strongly believes that granting the discharge for the financial year 2023 to the European Parliament would send the wrong message to the other institutions, as well as to the citizens of the European Union as there is still an open case and an investigation in process; |
Or. en
Amendment 197
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 e (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 e. Reminds, that the Committee should follow the same procedure as it would do with any other EU institutions in a similar situation and emphasises that the discharge procedure offers an opportunity for the institutions to reflect on past developments and lessons learnt, to identify both good practices and weaknesses to be addressed, with the aim of further improving EU financial management and achieving better results with the EU budget in the future; |
Or. en
Amendment 198
Tamás Deutsch, Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 f (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 f. Recommends involving an external body or expert group to assess whether the measures adopted by the Parliament in 2023 have been sufficient to avoid large scale corruption cases and misconduct, conflict of interests to occur and to determine if the discharge for year 2023 to the European Parliament can be granted; |
Or. en
Amendment 199
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 g (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 g. Believes that better protecting the EU’s financial interest and more effectively combating fraud is only possible if consequences and lessons are learned from actual cases and it is a good opportunity for the European Parliament and its Budgetary Control Committee to find new ways of fulfilling its mandate to keep high standards of ethics and accountability in the EU administration and to regain public trust; |
Or. en
Amendment 200
Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 h (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 h. Calls on the institution to assess how other European institutions are dealing with similar cases of misconduct and fraud, believes that the other institutions could provide recommendations to the European Parliament and its Budgetary Control Committee on new ways to fight against misconduct and misuse of EU funds based on their own institutional experience and lessons learned from their cases in the past, believes that the Parliament could benefit from a fresh perspective in the matter and input from the institution; |
Or. en
Amendment 201
Tamás Deutsch, Ondřej Knotek
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 i (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 i. Recalls the Treaty on the European Union, that the EU’s and its institutions, aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples, to preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security; |
Or. en
Amendment 202
Tamás Deutsch, Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Ondřej Knotek
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 j (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 j. Calls on the institution to take full devotion and maximise its efforts with all its available measures and assets to promote peace and to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, and to preserve peace and strengthen European security; |
Or. en
Amendment 203
Tamás Deutsch, Ondřej Knotek
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 k (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 k. Recalls the Treaty on the European Union, that the EU and its institutions, shall respect the equality of Member States before the Treaties as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government; |
Or. en
Amendment 204
Tamás Deutsch, Ondřej Knotek
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 132 l (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 132 l. Calls on the institution to always respect the equality of Member States and to treat all Member States equally, respect their sovereignty and their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government; |
Or. en
Amendment 205
Monika Hohlmeier
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 133
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 133. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of major improvements to staff policy, in particular by preparing the proposals to the Bureau on the establishment of a mediation service in Parliament, for new internal rules on whistleblowing, and for changes to the rules for the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members; | 133. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of major improvements to staff policy, in particular by preparing the proposals to the Bureau on the establishment of a mediation service in Parliament, for new internal rules on whistleblowing, and for changes to the rules for the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members; regrets that some political Groups have applied double standards in the past when reporting complaints and calls on all political groups to report cases of harassment to the relevant internal EP committees and structures, while making sure that everyone involved in a complaint benefits from a process guided by rule of law standards; |
Or. en
Amendment 206
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 133
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 133. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of major improvements to staff policy, in particular by preparing the proposals to the Bureau on the establishment of a mediation service in Parliament, for new internal rules on whistleblowing, and for changes to the rules for the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members; | 133. Notes that, in 2023, DG PERS played a pivotal role in the has successfully implemented ation of major improvements to staff policy, in particular by preparing the proposals to the Bureau on the establishment of a mediation service in Parliament, for new internal rules on whistleblowing, and for changes to the rules for the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members; |
Or. en
Amendment 207
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 133 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 133 a. Notes that the European Court of Justice has ruled on 11 September 2024 that the European Parliament’s existing framework fails to provide balanced and effective protection for whistleblowers against relation; calls on the Parliament to urgently ensure the proper transposition of the Whistleblower Directive ad adopt rules necessary to safeguard whistleblowers within its own institution; |
Or. en
Amendment 208
Jonas Sjöstedt, Younous Omarjee
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 134 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 134 a. Welcomes that with the new term in 2024 anti-harassment trainings became compulsory for Members and APAs; request that the same mandatory nature is applied to Staff when it comes in particular senior managements positions; |
Or. en
Amendment 209
Rudi Kennes
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 136 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 136 a. Underlines that the official pensions paid by Parliament to former Members are overall generous, considers therefore that the financial difficulties of the Voluntary Pension Fund should not have been covered by public money; suggests that the fund should be dissolved while returning to participating (former) Members the contributions they paid themselves; |
Or. en
Amendment 210
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 139. Notes that the Bureau decision of 12 June 20234has been challenged by a number of voluntary pension scheme beneficiaries and that they have filed a complaint in the European Court of Justice; asks the administration and the Bureau to address the matter once again only after the legal assessment of the CJEU is delivered in order to consider the future of the voluntary pension fund; | 139. Notes that the Bureau decision of 12 June 20234 has been challenged by a number of voluntary pension scheme beneficiaries and that they have filed a motion for annulment in the EU's Court; asks the administration and the Bureau to address the matter once again only after the legal decision of the CJEU is delivered in order to consider the future of the voluntary pension fund; |
| _________________ | _________________ |
| 4 Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 12 June 2023 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 227, 29.6.2023, p. 5). | 4 Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 12 June 2023 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 227, 29.6.2023, p. 5). |
Or. fr
Amendment 211
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Daniel Freund
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 139. Notes that the Bureau decision of 12 June 20234 has been challenged by a number of voluntary pension scheme beneficiaries and that they have filed a complaint in the European Court of Justice; asks the administration and the Bureau to address the matter once again only after the legal assessment of the CJEU is delivered in order to consider the future of the voluntary pension fund; | 139. Notes that the Bureau decision of 12 June 20234 has been challenged by a number of voluntary pension scheme beneficiaries and that they have filed a complaint in the European Court of Justice; asks the administration and the Bureau to address the matter once again only after the legal assessment of the CJEU is delivered in order to consider the future of the voluntary pension fund; asks the administration and the Bureau to guarantee that no taxpayer money is used for any future bail-out; |
| _________________ | _________________ |
| 4 Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 12 June 2023 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 227, 29.6.2023, p. 5). | 4 Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 12 June 2023 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 227, 29.6.2023, p. 5). |
Or. en
Amendment 212
Jonas Sjöstedt
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 139 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 139 a. Welcomes all the efforts taken to reduce the deficit of the Fund in particular since 2023, but reminds that it will eventually come to exhaustion; asks the Parliament to make sure that no public money is used to cover the fund, and wonder if following a possible positive ruling of the Court, a new decision of the Bureau to revise its own decision dated 1 April 2009 about the financial liability of the Parliament over it, would be a possible route for avoiding that no taxpayer money is used for any future bail-out; |
Or. en
Amendment 213
Giuseppe Lupo
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 144
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 144. Emphasises the importance of simplifying rules and procedures under JSIS and the PMO to reduce the administrative burden on Members, former Members, and staff, ensuring that processes are user-friendly, clear, and efficient; calls for efforts to avoid the unnecessary "gold plating" of procedures that may add complexity without clear benefits; highlights the need to improve cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency while maintaining high standards of service and coverage for all beneficiaries; | 144. Emphasises the importance of simplifying rules and procedures under JSIS and the PMO ensuring that processes are user-friendly, clear, and efficient without affecting the efficiency of the service; calls for efforts to avoid the unnecessary "gold plating" of procedures that may add complexity without clear benefits; highlights the need to improve cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency while maintaining high standards of service and coverage for all beneficiaries; |
Or. en
Amendment 214
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 153
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 153. 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; | 153. 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; is therefore concerned that certain European political parties (mainly donations received by ALDE from Janssen Pharmaceutica, Microsoft, etc.) and European political foundations (donations received by the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies from Facebook, Janssen, Apple, Google, Uber, etc., by George Soros' Open Society for the Foundation for European Progressive Studies and for the Green European Foundation, by Google for the European Liberal Forum, etc.) are partly funded by large IT, pharmaceutical and other groups, particularly from the USA[1], which can be understood as analogous to lobbying and are thus likely to entail some kind of influence on the legislative process; thus warns against the potential conflicts of interest that could arise from this legal situation, although ethically questionable, particularly when Members of Parliament from these political groups are rapporteurs on files concerning these sectors; expresses its deep concern that this could arouse suspicions of foreign interference; 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; |
| [1]https://www.appf.europa.eu/cmsdata/291910/2023%20PARTIES%20Contributions%20and%20Donations.pdf and https://www.appf.europa.eu/cmsdata/291550/2023%20FOUNDATIONS%20Contributions%20and%20Donations.pdf |
Or. fr
Amendment 215
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 153
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 153. 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; | 153. Highlights that the preservation of democratic integrity and political pluralism 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; |
Or. en
Amendment 216
Damian Boeselager
on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 157
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 157. Notes that the Authority has, in five cases, given the European political parties and European political foundations the opportunity for corrective measures regarding matters subject to verification, as required by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/20146 ; notes that these were cases relating to reporting requirements, replies to requests for information by the Authority and provision of documents; takes note that the Authority reports that early scrutiny indicates that the relevant corrective measures were implemented by the European political parties and European political foundations concerned in all but one of these cases; welcomes that the Authority continues to monitor if corrective measures with long-term effect are ensuring sustained compliance in the areas concerned; notes that the Authority adopted one sanction decision in the course of 2023 that is currently subject to Court proceedings; | 157. Notes that the Authority has, in five cases, given the European political parties and European political foundations the opportunity for corrective measures regarding matters subject to verification, as required by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/20146 ; notes that these were cases relating to reporting requirements, replies to requests for information by the Authority and provision of documents; takes note that the Authority reports that early scrutiny indicates that the relevant corrective measures were implemented by the European political parties and European political foundations concerned in all but one of these cases; welcomes that the Authority continues to monitor if corrective measures with long-term effect are ensuring sustained compliance in the areas concerned; notes that the Authority adopted one sanction decision in the course of 2023 that is currently subject to Court proceedings; regrets that the Authority has limited enforcement power of such sanctions; |
| _________________ | _________________ |
| 6 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (OJ L317, 4.11.2014, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/1141/oj). | 6 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (OJ L317, 4.11.2014, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/1141/oj). |
Or. en
Amendment 217
Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Tamás Deutsch
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 160
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 160. Notes that pursuant to Article 10a of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, preventing threats of foreign interference in the European Union democracy is a key task of the Authority in the run-up to the 2024 European Elections, in close cooperation with national competent authorities as required by legislation; takes note of the activities carried out by the Authority in this regard, and detailed in its Annual Activity Report; | 160. Notes that pursuant to Article 10a of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, preventing threats of foreign interference in the European Union democracy is a key task of the Authority in the run-up to the 2024 European Elections, in close cooperation with national competent authorities as required by legislation; takes note of the activities carried out by the Authority in this regard, and detailed in its Annual Activity Report; regrets, however, that this is happening on a post hoc basis, while many European political parties and foundations are being funded by private non-European companies, creating a de facto risk of direct and overt interference; |
Or. fr