EVROPSKÝ PARLAMENT 2014-2019 Výbor pro rozpočtovou kontrolu CONT_PV(2014)0922_1 ZÁPIS ze schůze konané ve dnech 22. září 2014, 15:00-18:30, a 23. září 2014, 9:00-12:30 a 15:00-18:30 BRUSEL Schůze byla zahájena v pondělí 22. září 2014 v 15:07 a předsedala jí Ingeborg Gräßleová (předsedkyně). 1. Přijetí pořadu jednání CONT_OJ 537492v01-00 Pořad jednání byl přijat. Vystoupili: Ingeborg Gräßle 2. Prohlášení předsedkyně Předsedkyně poslance upozornila na oznámení v CONT News a sdělila, že body 12 a 13 byly odloženy z důvodu nepřítomnosti komisaře ŠEMETY a že body 15 a 16 budou projednány společně. Vystoupili: Ingeborg Gräßle 3. Schválení zápisů ze schůzí, které se konaly ve dnech: 7. července 2014 PV PE536.150v01-00 22. července 2014 PV PE537.207v01-00 Zápisy byly schváleny v předložené podobě. PV\1035145.doc PE537.547v01-00 Jednotná v rozmanitosti
4. Zvláštní zpráva č. 13/2013 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013): Rozvojová pomoc EU Střední Asii CONT/8/00496 Zpravodaj: Gilles Pargneaux (S&D) Výbor poděkoval Účetnímu dvoru za zvláštní zprávu a její zjištění a zdůraznil rozdíly mezi konkrétními zeměmi regionu, zejména pokud jde o podvody. Zdůraznil, že pomoc EU regionu je důležitá, a poděkoval Komisi za její práci. Vystoupili: Gilles Pargneaux, Joachim Zeller, Ingeborg Gräßle, Inés Ayala Sender, Tomáš Zdechovský, Jean-Claude Boidin (vedoucí oddělení, centralizované operace, Asie a Střední Asie, GŘ DEVCO, Evropská komise), Hans Gustaf Wessberg (člen Evropského účetního dvora). 5. Zvláštní zpráva č. 11/2013 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Zajištění správnosti údajů o hrubém národním důchodu (HND): strukturovanější a cílenější koncepce by zlepšila účinnost ověřování Komise CONT/8/00495 Zpravodaj: Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) Výbor vzal s uspokojením na vědomí zjištění ve zvláštní zprávě Účetního dvora, jež jsou velmi příhodná a kritická. Vystoupili: Bart Staes, Ingeborg Gräßle, Silke Stapel-Weber (ředitelka, národní účty, ceny a klíčové ukazatele, Eurostat, Evropská komise), Milan Martin Cvikl (člen Evropského účetního dvora). 6. Zvláštní zpráva č. 2/2014 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Jsou preferenční obchodní režimy vhodným způsobem řízeny? CONT/8/00511 Zpravodaj: Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) Výbor poděkoval Účetnímu dvoru za vypracování kvalitní zvláštní zprávy na často opomíjené téma. Vystoupili: Bart Staes, Ingeborg Gräßle, Bogusław Liberadzki, Inés Ayala Sender, Tamás Deutsch, Peter Sandler (ředitel, zdroje, informace a koordinace politik, GŘ pro obchod, Evropská komise), Michael Keane (kontrolor vlastních zdrojů, kontroly tradičních vlastních zdrojů, GŘ pro rozpočet, Evropská komise), Pierre-Jacques Larrieu (vedoucí oddělení, mezinárodní záležitosti II - kandidátské země a země sousedství, GŘ TAXUD, Evropská komise), Baudilio Tome Muguruza (člen Evropského účetního dvora). PE537.547v01-00 2/48 PV\1035145.doc
7. Zvláštní zpráva č. 15/2013 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Je složka Životní prostředí programu LIFE účinná? CONT/8/00517 Zpravodaj: Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE) Výbor vzal s uspokojením na vědomí zjištění ve zvláštní zprávě Účetního dvora. Zpravodaj vyjádřil souhlas se zjištěními Účetního dvora, že program LIFE nebyl doposud prováděn dobře. Vystoupili: Tomáš Zdechovský, Benedek Jávor, Markus Pieper, Hervé Martin (vedoucí oddělení, LIFE - životní prostředí, GŘ ENVI, Evropská komise), Jan Kinšt (člen Evropského účetního dvora). 8. Zvláštní zpráva č. 1/2014 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Účinnost projektů veřejné městské dopravy podporovaných EU CONT/8/00512 Zpravodaj: Georgi Pirinski (S&D) Výbor vzal s uspokojením na vědomí zjištění ve zvláštní zprávě Účetního dvora a zdůraznil potřebu kvalitního plánování a přípravy urbanistických koncepcí projektů financovaných z EU. Vystoupili: Georgi Pirinski, Inés Ayala Sender, Benedek Jávor, Lena Andersson Pench (ředitelka, územní spolupráce, makroregiony a severozápadní Evropa, GŘ REGIO, Evropská komise), Iliana Ivanova (členka Evropského účetního dvora). Předsedkyně schůzi ukončila v 18:41. * * * 23. září 2014, 9:00 11:30 Schůze byla zahájena v úterý 23. září 2014 v 9:11 a předsedala jí Ingeborg Gräßleová (předsedkyně). *** Elektronické hlasování *** 9. Absolutorium 2012: Úřad Sdružení evropských regulačních orgánů v oblasti elektronických komunikací (BEREC) CONT/8/00247 2013/2241(DEC) COM(2013)0570[39] C7-0329/2013 Zpravodaj: Petri Sarvamaa (PPE) PR PE535.988v01-00 AM PE537.350v02-00 přijetí návrhu zprávy PV\1035145.doc 3/48 PE537.547v01-00
Úřadu BEREC bylo uděleno absolutorium (16 hlasů pro, 6 hlasů proti a 2 se zdrželi). 10. Absolutorium 2012: souhrnný rozpočet EU Rada a Evropská rada CONT/8/00219 2013/2197(DEC) COM(2013)0570[03] C7-0275/2013 Zpravodaj: Tamás Deutsch (PPE) PR PE536.042v01-00 AM PE537.352v01-00 přijetí návrhu zprávy Absolutorium Radě bylo zamítnuto. Návrh rozhodnutí o zamítnutí udělení absolutoria a pět pozměňovacích návrhů k návrhu usnesení byly přijaty jednomyslně. *** Konec elektronického hlasování *** 11. Aktualizace studie Kodex chování komisařů zlepšení účinnosti a efektivity CONT/8/01123 představení studie a výměna názorů Výbor souhlasil se závěry studie, která doporučuje přezkoumat etický systém pro Komisaře a zřídit pracovní skupinu, jež bude zahrnovat Evropský parlament a příslušné aktéry občanské společnosti a jež bude zvát odborníky, pokud jde o další etické systémy. Vystoupili: Ingeborg Gräßle, Jens Geier, Dennis de Jong, Inés Ayala Sender, Jonathan Arnott, Monica Macovei, Bernd Kölmel, José Bové, Tomáš Zdechovský, Petri Sarvamaa, Donatienne Claeys-Bouuaert (vedoucí oddělení, etika, generální sekretariát, Evropská komise), Roland Blomeyer, Michelle Cini (autoři studie, Blomeyer & Sanz). 12. Dohody v odvětví tabáku CONT/8/01034 výměna názorů s Algirdasem Šemetou, členem Evropské komise odpovědným za daně, cla, statistiku, audit a boj proti podvodům Tento bod byl odložen. 13. Výměna názorů s komisařem Algirdasem Šemetou o vytvoření funkce inspektora PE537.547v01-00 4/48 PV\1035145.doc
procesních záruk a o budoucnosti dozorčího výboru Evropského úřadu pro boj proti podvodům (OLAF) CONT/8/01126 výměna názorů s Algirdasem Šemetou, členem Evropské komise odpovědným za daně, cla, statistiku, audit a boj proti podvodům Tento bod byl odložen. 23. září 2014,11:30-12:30 14. Zvláštní zpráva č. 11/2014 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Vytvoření Evropské služby pro vnější činnost CONT/8/00503 společná prezentace výborů CONT a AFET, pod společným vedením Ingeborg Gräßleové a Elmara Broka, za přítomnosti příslušného člena Evropského účetního dvora Szabolcse Fazakase Oba výbory poděkovaly Účetnímu dvoru za jeho velmi významnou zprávu a souhlasily se zjištěními zvláštní zprávy Účetního dvora, podle kterých byla ESVČ ustavena příliš spěšně a bez jasné vize cíle služby. Vystoupili: Elmar Brok (předseda výboru AFET), Ulrike Lunacek (AFET), Inés Ayala Sender, Ryszard Czarnecki, James Carver (AFET), Petri Sarvamaa, Michel Theurer, Ingeborg Gräßle, pan Patrick Child (výkonný ředitel, MDR administrativa a finance, ESVČ), Szabolcs Fazakas (člen Evropského účetního dvora). Schůze byla přerušena v 12:48. Schůze byla znovu zahájena v 15:08. * * * 23. září 2014, 15:00-17:30 15. Zpráva Komise o ochraně finančních zájmů Evropské unie Boj proti podvodu Výroční zpráva za rok 2013 CONT/8/01124 výměna názorů s Algirdasem Šemetou, členem Evropské komise odpovědným za daně, cla, statistiku, audit a boj proti podvodům Zpravodaj: Georgi Pirinski (S&D) viz bod 16 16. Zpráva úřadu OLAF za rok 2013 Čtrnáctá zpráva Evropského úřadu pro boj PV\1035145.doc 5/48 PE537.547v01-00
proti podvodům, období od 1. ledna do 31. prosince 2013 CONT/8/01125 předložení zprávy o činnosti Evropského úřadu pro boj proti podvodům (OLAF) za rok 2013 generálním ředitelem OLAF Giovannim Kesslerem Body 15 a 16 byly projednávány společně. Vzhledem k nepřítomnosti komisaře Šemety obě zprávy představil ředitel Kessler. Výbor poděkoval za zásadní zprávy a uspořádal předběžnou výměnu názorů v souvislosti s přípravou vlastní zprávy. Vystoupili: Ingeborg Gräßle, Georgi Pirinski, Zigmantas Balčytis, Petri Sarvamaa, Dennis de Jong, Inés Ayala Sender, Jonathan Arnott, Derek Vaughan, Giovanni Kessler (ředitel OLAF). 17. Boj proti podvodům poškozujícím finanční zájmy Unie prostřednictvím trestního práva 2012/0193(COD) CONT/8/01132 Zpravodajk Ingeborg Gräßleová (PPE) a: složení vyjednávacího týmu Výbor rozhodl konsensem o zahájení jednání s Radou s mandátem, který představuje znění přijaté na plenárním zasedání v dubnu 2014. Výbor potvrdil složení vyjednávacího týmu, který tvoří zpravodajka a stínoví zpravodajové všech politických skupin. 18. Cesta delegace výboru CONT do České republiky v souvislosti se systémovými chybami při kontrole a auditu fondů EU ve dnech 26. a 27. března 2014 CONT/8/00497 Zpravodaj: Jens Geier (S&D) předložení zprávy delegace Tento bod byl odložen. 19. Zvláštní zpráva č. 18/2013 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Spolehlivost výsledků kontrol, které provádějí členské státy u zemědělských výdajů CONT/8/00514 Zpravodajk Karin Kadenbachová (S&D) DT PE536.028v02-00 a: výměna názorů a projednání pracovního dokumentu za přítomnosti příslušné členky Evropského účetního dvora Rasy Budbergytė PE537.547v01-00 6/48 PV\1035145.doc
Výbor uvítal zvláštní zprávu Účetního dvora a vyjádřil obavy ohledně spolehlivosti kontrol zemědělských výdajů, jež provádí členské státy. Vystoupili: Karin Kadenbach, Petri Sarvamaa, Ingeborg Gräßle, Joachim Zeller, Bruno Chauvin (vedoucí oddělení, koordinace horizontálních otázek týkající se schvalování účetní závěrky, GŘ Agri, Evropská komise), Rasa Budbergyte (členka Evropského účetního dvora). 20. Zvláštní zpráva č. 3/2014 (udělení absolutoria za rozpočtový rok 2013) Poznatky z vývoje Schengenského informačního systému druhé generace (SIS II) Evropskou komisí? CONT/8/00510 Zpravodajk Monika Hohlmeierová (PPE) DT PE537.479v03-00 a: výměna názorů a projednání pracovního dokumentu za přítomnosti příslušného člena Evropského účetního dvora Pietra Russa Výbor poděkoval Účetnímu dvoru za zprávu vypracovanou na základě žádosti Parlamentu a souhlasil s jejími zjištěními, podle kterých byl projekt příkladem ne zcela optimálního řízení ze strany Komise. Vyzval výbor LIBE, aby pokračoval v prošetřování této záležitosti. Vystoupili: Monika Hohlmeier, Carlos Coelho (LIBE), Caterina Chinnici, Ingeborg Gräßle, Pascal Millot (vedoucí oddělení, rozsáhlé informační systémy a biometrie, GŘ pro vnitřní věci, Evropská komise), Pietro Russo (člen Evropského účetního dvora). Předsedkyně schůzi ukončila v 18:35. Neveřejná schůze 9. Schůze koordinátorů * * * Shrnutí doporučení koordinátorů ve znění, které bylo zasláno členům výboru CONT dne 25. září 2014, tvoří přílohu tohoto zápisu. Předpokládá se, že výbor doporučení koordinátorů přijme. 10. Různé 11. Datum a místo konání příští schůze 2. října 2014, 13:30-16:30 (Brusel) BUDG, CONT, JURI slyšení kandidátky na komisařku K. GEORGIEVY 7. října 2014, 9:00-12:30 (Brusel) 13. října 2014, 15:00-18:30 (Brusel) 16. října 2014, 9:00-12:30 (Brusel) PV\1035145.doc 7/48 PE537.547v01-00
ПРИСЪСТВЕН ЛИСТ/LISTA DE ASISTENCIA/PREZENČNÍ LISTINA/DELTAGERLISTE/ ANWESENHEITSLISTE/KOHALOLIJATE NIMEKIRI/ΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΠΑΡΟΝΤΩΝ/RECORD OF ATTENDANCE/ LISTE DE PRÉSENCE/POPIS NAZOČNIH/ELENCO DI PRESENZA/APMEKLĒJUMU REĢISTRS/DALYVIŲ SĄRAŠAS/ JELENLÉTI ÍV/REĠISTRU TA' ATTENDENZA/PRESENTIELIJST/LISTA OBECNOŚCI/LISTA DE PRESENÇAS/ LISTĂ DE PREZENŢĂ/PREZENČNÁ LISTINA/SEZNAM NAVZOČIH/LÄSNÄOLOLISTA/DELTAGARLISTA Бюро/Mesa/Předsednictvo/Formandskabet/Vorstand/Juhatus/Προεδρείο/Bureau/Predsjedništvo/Ufficio di presidenza/prezidijs/ Biuras/Elnökség/Prezydium/Birou/Predsedníctvo/Predsedstvo/Puheenjohtajisto/Presidiet (*) Ingeborg Gräßle (Chair), Derek Vaughan (1st Vice-Chair) (2), Igor Šoltes (2nd Vice-Chair), Martina Dlabajová (3rd Vice-Chair), Dan Nica (4th Vice-Chair), Членове/Diputados/Poslanci/Medlemmer/Mitglieder/Parlamendiliikmed/Μέλη/Members/Députés/Zastupnici/Deputati/Deputāti/Nariai/ Képviselõk/Membri/Leden/Posłowie/Deputados/Deputaţi/Jäsenet/Ledamöter Louis Aliot, Jonathan Arnott (2), Inés Ayala Sender, Zigmantas Balčytis (2), Ryszard Czarnecki (2), Tamás Deutsch (1), Dennis de Jong (2), Jens Geier, Rina Ronja Kari (2), Bernd Kölmel, Bogusław Liberadzki, Monica Luisa Macovei (2), Fulvio Martusciello (2), Gilles Pargneaux, Georgi Pirinski, Petri Sarvamaa (2), Claudia Schmidt, Bart Staes, Michael Theurer, Marco Valli (2), Anders Primdahl Vistisen, Tomáš Zdechovský, Joachim Zeller Заместници/Suplentes/Náhradníci/Stedfortrædere/Stellvertreter/Asendusliikmed/Αναπληρωτές/Substitutes/Suppléants/Zamjenici/ Supplenti/Aizstājēji/Pavaduojantysnariai/Póttagok/Sostituti/Plaatsvervangers/Zastępcy/Membros suplentes/supleanţi/náhradníci/ Namestniki/Varajäsenet/Suppleanter José Bové (2), Caterina Chinnici (2), Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (2), Monika Hohlmeier (2), Benedek Jávor (1), Karin Kadenbach (2), Marian-Jean Marinescu (2), Péter Niedermüller, Markus Pieper, Julia Pitera, Miroslav Poche, Czesław Adam Siekierski, Patricija Šulin (2) 187 (2) AFET Members (2): Elmar Brok, James Carver, Arnaud Danjean, Marek Jurek, Eduard Kukan, Ulrike Lunacek, Pier Antonio Panzeri, Ioan Mircea Paşcu, Andrej Plenković, Charles Tannock ECON Member: Georgios Kyrtsos (2) LIBE Member: Carlos Coelho (2) 193 (3) 46 (6) (Точка от дневния ред/punto del orden del día/bod pořadu jednání (OJ)/Punkt på dagsordenen/tagesordnungspunkt/päevakorra punkt/ημερήσια Διάταξη Σημείο/Agenda item/točka dnevnog reda/point OJ/Punto all'ordine del giorno/darba kārtības punkts/darbotvarkės punktas/ Napirendi pont/punt Aġenda/Agendapunt/Punkt porządku dziennego/ponto OD/Punct de pe ordinea de zi/bod programu schôdze/ Točka UL/Esityslistan kohta/föredragningslista punkt) Присъствал на/presente el/přítomný dne/til stede den/anwesend am/viibis(id) kohal/παρών στις/present on/présent le/presente il/piedalījās/ Dalyvauja/Jelen volt/preżenti fi/aanwezig op/obecny dnia/presente em/prezent/prítomný dňa/navzoči dne/läsnä/närvarande den: (1) 22.9.2014 (2) 23.9.2014 PE537.547v01-00 8/48 PV\1035145.doc
Наблюдатели/Observadores/Pozorovatelé/Observatører/Beobachter/Vaatlejad/Παρατηρητές/Observers/Observateurs/Promatrači/ Osservatori/Novērotāji/Stebėtojai/Megfigyelők/Osservaturi/Waarnemers/Obserwatorzy/Observadores/Observatori/Pozorovatelia/ Opazovalci/Tarkkailijat/Observatörer По покана на председателя/por invitación del presidente/na pozvání předsedy/efter indbydelse fra formanden/auf Einladung des Vorsitzenden/Esimehe kutsel/με πρόσκληση του Προέδρου/At the invitation of the Chair(wo)man/Sur l'invitation du président/ Na poziv predsjednika/su invito del presidente/pēc priekšsēdētāja uzaicinājuma/pirmininkui pakvietus/az elnök meghívására/ Fuq stedina taċ-'chairman'/op uitnodiging van de voorzitter/na zaproszenie Przewodniczącego/A convite do Presidente/La invitaţia preşedintelui/na pozvanie predsedu/na povabilo predsednika/puheenjohtajan kutsusta/på ordförandens inbjudan Roland Blomeyer, Michelle Cini (Blomeyer & Sanz) Съвет/Consejo/Rada/Rådet/Rat/Nõukogu/Συμβούλιο/Council/Conseil/Vijeće/Consiglio/Padome/Taryba/Tanács/Kunsill/Raad/ Conselho/Consiliu/Svet/Neuvosto/Rådet (*) Комисия/Comisión/Komise/Kommissionen/Kommission/Euroopa Komisjon/Επιτροπή/Commission/Komisija/Commissione/Bizottság/ Kummissjoni/Commissie/Komisja/Comissão/Comisie/Komisia/Komissio/Kommissionen (*) Manfred Kraff (Deputy Director-General, DG BUDG), Jean-Claude Boidin (Head of Unit, Centralised Operations, Asia and Central Asia, DG DEVCO), Silke Stapel-Weber (Director, National accounts, prices and key indicators, Eurostat), Peter Sandler (Director, Resources, Information and Policy Coordination, DG Trade), Michael Keane (TOR Inspections, DG BUDG), Pierre-Jacques Larriieu (Head of Unit, International Affairs II - Candidate and Neighbourhood Countries, DG TAXUD), Hervé Martin (Head of Unit, LIFE - Environment, DG ENVI), Lena Andersson Pench (Director, Territorial Co-operation, Macro-regions and North-West Europe, DG Regio), Donatienne Claeys-Bouuaert (Head of Unit, Ethics, SG), Bruno Chauvin (Head of Unit, Coordination of horizontal questions concerning the clearance of accounts, DG Agri), Pascal Millot (Head of Unit, Large-scale IT systems and Biometrics, DG Home) Други институции/otras instituciones/ostatní orgány a instituce/andre institutioner/andere Organe/Muud institutsioonid/ Άλλα θεσμικά όργανα/other institutions/autres institutions/druge institucije/altre istituzioni/citas iestādes/kitos institucijos/ Más intézmények/istituzzjonijiet oħra/andere instellingen/inne instytucje/outras Instituições/Alte instituţii/iné inštitúcie/muut toimielimet/andra institutioner/organ European Court of Auditors OLAF EEAS ECA Members: Rasa Budbergyte, Milan Martin Cvikl, Szabolcs Fazakas, Iliana Ivanova, Jan Kinšt, Baudilio Tome Muguruza, Pietro Russo, Hans Gustaf Wessberg, Giovanni Kessler (Director-General of the European Anti-fraud Office) Patrick Child (Managing Director, MDR Admin and Finances, EEAS) Други участници/otros participantes/ostatní účastníci/endvidere deltog/andere Teilnehmer/Muud osalejad/επίσης Παρόντες/Other participants/drugi sudionici/autres participants/altri partecipanti/citi klātesošie/kiti dalyviai/más résztvevők/parteċipanti ohra/andere aanwezigen/ Inni uczestnicy/outros participantes/alţi participanţi/iní účastníci/drugi udeleženci/muut osallistujat/övriga deltagare PV\1035145.doc 9/48 PE537.547v01-00
Секретариат на политическите групи/secretaría de los Grupos políticos/sekretariát politických skupin/gruppernes sekretariat/ Sekretariat der Fraktionen/Fraktsioonide sekretariaat/γραμματεία των Πολιτικών Ομάδων/Secretariats of political groups/tajništva klubova zastupnika/secrétariat des groupes politiques/segreteria gruppi politici/politisko grupu sekretariāts/frakcijų sekretoriai/képviselőcsoportok titkársága/segretarjat gruppi politiċi/fractiesecretariaten/sekretariat Grup Politycznych/Secr. dos grupos políticos/secretariate grupuri politice/sekretariát politických skupín/sekretariat političnih skupin/poliittisten ryhmien sihteeristöt/gruppernas sekretariat PPE S&D ALDE ECR Verts/ALE GUE/NGL EFD NI Balázs Széchy, Jonas Kraft, Laure De Montagnac Maggie Coulthard, Václav Mls, Maddalena Cremascoli Dominykas Mordas Peter O Broin Hendrik Prummel Andreas Wehr Maria Barbara Gatto Emiel Van Dijk Кабинет на председателя/gabinete del Presidente/Kancelář předsedy/formandens Kabinet/Kabinett des Präsidenten/Presidendi kantselei/γραφείο Προέδρου/President's Office/Cabinet du Président/Ured predsjednika/gabinetto del Presidente/Priekšsēdētāja kabinets/pirmininko kabinetas/elnöki hivatal/kabinett tal-president/kabinet van de Voorzitter/Gabinet Przewodniczącego/Gabinete do Presidente/Cabinet Preşedinte/Kancelária predsedu/urad predsednika/puhemiehen kabinetti/talmannens kansli Кабинет на генералния секретар/gabinete del Secretario General/Kancelář generálního tajemníka/generalsekretærens Kabinet/ Kabinett des Generalsekretärs/Peasekretäri büroo/γραφείο Γενικού Γραμματέα/Secretary-General's Office/Cabinet du Secrétaire général/ured glavnog tajnika/gabinetto del Segretario generale/ģenerālsekretāra kabinets/generalinio sekretoriaus kabinetas/ Főtitkári hivatal/kabinett tas-segretarju Ġenerali/Kabinet van de secretaris-generaal/gabinet Sekretarza Generalnego/Gabinete do Secretário-Geral/Cabinet Secretar General/Kancelária generálneho tajomníka/urad generalnega sekretarja/pääsihteerin kabinetti/ Generalsekreterarens kansli Генерална дирекция/dirección General/Generální ředitelství/generaldirektorat/generaldirektion/peadirektoraat/γενική Διεύθυνση/ Directorate-General/Direction générale/glavna uprava/direzione generale/ģenerāldirektorāts/generalinis direktoratas/főigazgatóság/ Direttorat Ġenerali/Directoraten-generaal/Dyrekcja Generalna/Direcção-Geral/Direcţii Generale/Generálne riaditeľstvo/generalni direktorat/pääosasto/generaldirektorat DG PRES DG IPOL DG EXPO DG EPRS DG COMM DG PERS DG INLO DG TRAD DG INTE DG FINS DG ITEC DG SAFE Anne Vitrey Правна служба/servicio Jurídico/Právní služba/juridisk Tjeneste/Juristischer Dienst/Õigusteenistus/Νομική Υπηρεσία/Legal Service/ Service juridique/pravna služba/servizio giuridico/juridiskais dienests/teisės tarnyba/jogi szolgálat/servizz legali/juridische Dienst/ Wydział prawny/serviço Jurídico/Serviciu Juridic/Právny servis/oikeudellinen yksikkö/rättstjänsten Angelina Gros-Tchorbadjiyska PE537.547v01-00 10/48 PV\1035145.doc
Секретариат на комисията/secretaría de la comisión/sekretariát výboru/udvalgssekretariatet/ausschusssekretariat/komisjoni sekretariaat/γραμματεία επιτροπής/committee secretariat/secrétariat de la commission/tajništvo odbora/segreteria della commissione/ Komitejas sekretariāts/komiteto sekretoriatas/a bizottság titkársága/segretarjat tal-kumitat/commissiesecretariaat/sekretariat komisji/ Secretariado da comissão/secretariat comisie/sekretariat odbora/valiokunnan sihteeristö/utskottssekretariatet Carmen Castillo del Carpio, Mauro De Oliveira, Christian Ehlers, Philippe Godts, Tereza Pinto de Rezende, Olivier Sautière, Hrvoje Svetic, Michal Czaplicki Сътрудник/Asistente/Asistent/Assistent/Assistenz/Βοηθός/Assistant/Assistente/Palīgs/Padėjėjas/Asszisztens/Asystent/Pomočnik/ Avustaja/Assistenter Cinti Torrens Bermo * (P) = Председател/Presidente/Předseda/Formand/Vorsitzender/Esimees/Πρόεδρος/Chair(wo)man/Président/Predsjednik/Priekšsēdētājs/ Pirmininkas/Elnök/'Chairman'/Voorzitter/Przewodniczący/Preşedinte/Predseda/Predsednik/Puheenjohtaja/Ordförande (VP) = Заместник-председател/Vicepresidente/Místopředseda/Næstformand/Stellvertretender Vorsitzender/Aseesimees/Αντιπρόεδρος/ Vice-Chair(wo)man/Potpredsjednik/Vice-Président/Potpredsjednik/Priekšsēdētāja vietnieks/pirmininko pavaduotojas/alelnök/ Viċi 'Chairman'/Ondervoorzitter/Wiceprzewodniczący/Vice-Presidente/Vicepreşedinte/Podpredseda/Podpredsednik/ Varapuheenjohtaja/Vice ordförande (M) = Член/Miembro/Člen/Medlem./Mitglied/Parlamendiliige/Μέλος/Member/Membre/Član/Membro/Deputāts/Narys/Képviselő/ Membru/Lid/Członek/Membro/Membru/Člen/Poslanec/Jäsen/Ledamot (F) = Длъжностно лице/funcionario/úředník/tjenestemand/beamter/ametnik/υπάλληλος/official/fonctionnaire/dužnosnik/ Funzionario/Ierēdnis/Pareigūnas/Tisztviselő/Uffiċjal/Ambtenaar/Urzędnik/Funcionário/Funcţionar/Úradník/Uradnik/Virkamies/ Tjänsteman PV\1035145.doc 11/48 PE537.547v01-00
MEETING MONDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2014 15.00 18.30 public meeting TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 9.00 12.30 and 15.00 17.30 public meeting 17.30-18.30 Coordinators meeting József Antall 4Q1 Follow CONT meeting on the web CONT committee website Direct access to meeting documents 1. AGENDA The draft agenda (in EN) was emailed to Members on 17 September 2014 and is in the file for this meeting. The Chairman would like to draw your attention to the following change in the draft agenda: Following a request by the Rapporteur, item 20 - Special Report No 3/2014 - will now take place after item 17. 2. CHAIR S ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman draws attention to the following points: Voting cards emeeting The electronic voting system will be used for the vote scheduled during this meeting and Members are reminded to bring their electronic voting card. Hearing of Commissioner-designate The Committee on Budgetary Control has been identified, together with BUDG, as co-responsible for the organisation of the hearing of Mrs Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President-designate for Budget and Human Resources, who will be responsible both for the management and adoption of the annual budget, the financial programming and implementation as well as for budgetary and financial control. The hearing of Mrs Georgieva could take place on Thursday 2 October, between 13.30 and 16.30 (to be confirmed). Public call for tender The Policy Department for Budgetary Affairs holds a Framework Contract with several providers of external expertise. This Framework Contract has to be renewed every five years through a public call for tender published in S PE537.547v01-00 12/48 PV\1035145.doc
the Official Journal in order to comply with the procurement rules in the EU Financial Regulation. For the period 2015-2020, potential service providers (consultancies, Think-tanks, University institutes, individual experts) have been invited to submit their offers and, if they comply with the criteria required they will be included in the next Framework Contract on expertise in the field of budgetary affairs. More details and how to apply: Official Journal S175 12 September 2014 Deadline: 12 November 2014 LANGUAGES AVAILABLE FR, DE, IT, NL, EN, DA, ES, FI,, HU, LT, PL, SK, SL, BG, RO WEBSTREAMING The CONT meeting is webstreamed on the Europarl website. Please be aware that each time a speaker activates the microphone to make an intervention, the camera will be automatically directed to the speaker. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF CONT MEETING: The following minutes are published on the CONT website: 7 July 2014 and 22 July 2014, which were emailed to CONT Members on 15 September 2014; If no objections are received before the end of the meeting, the minutes will be deemed to be approved. MONDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2014 15.00 18.30 public meeting PV\1035145.doc 13/48 PE537.547v01-00
Rapporteur: Gilles Pargneaux (S&D) Administrator: Olivier Sautière Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Hans Gustaf Wessberg DEVE committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter 4. SPECIAL REPORT NO 13/2013 (2013 DISCHARGE): "EU DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO CENTRAL ASIA" In 2007, the EU cooperation in Central Asia was defined by the Strategy for a new enhanced partnership with Central Asia adopted by the European Council and the Regional Strategy Paper for Assistance to Central Asia for the period 2007 2013 issued by the European Commission, covering the bilateral and regional financial assistance to the countries of the region. Between 1991 and 2013 the EU allocated more than 2.1 billion in development and humanitarian assistance to central Asian Republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), of which 750 million for the 2007-13 period. For 2007-2012, the Commission paid 435 million in development assistance to central Asia under the main financing instrument i.e. the Development Cooperation Instrument. The overall objective of the Court's audit was to assess how the European External Action Service and the Commission planned and managed development assistance to Central Asia in the 2007-2012 period. In particular, the Court assessed (i) whether, in allocating its budget, the Commission followed best practice and respected its declared priorities for development assistance in Central Asia, (ii) whether the Commission delivered development assistance in an appropriate way and (iii) whether the Commission successfully implemented its aid policy, developed it in the light of experience and reported appropriately. The Court's audit found that the Commission and the EEAS had made serious efforts to plan and put into effect the programme of EU development assistance to central Asia set out in the regional strategy paper of 2007. If planning activities and allocation of assistance were globally satisfactory, certain weaknesses were identified as regards implementation and reporting. The Rapporteur welcomes the observations of the special report showing that the Commission and the EEAS have undertaken significant efforts in rather challenging geographical and political context but points out however to better targeting the EU development strategies to enhance the visibility and impact of the EU political objectives at regional level. He points out the necessity to achieve a genuine regional dimension in the coming assistance programmes, to apply robust and objectively verifiable conditions for any continuing budget support programmes, in particular giving sufficient attention to S PE537.547v01-00 14/48 PV\1035145.doc
support for anti-corruption mechanisms and to report on results and impact. The Rapporteur's working document (EN) is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. Rapporteur: Bart Staes (Greens/EFA) Administrator: Philippe Godts Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Milan Martin Cvikl ECON committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter 5. SPECIAL REPORT NO 11/2013 (2013 DISCHARGE) - GETTING THE GROSS NATIONAL INCOME (GNI) DATA RIGHT: A MORE STRUCTURED AND BETTER- FOCUSSED APPROACH WOULD IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMISSION S VERIFICATION The Court concludes that: the Commission s verification of GNI data was not sufficiently structured, the verification of GNI data used for own resources for the years 2002 2007 was completed late by the Commission and the major revisions carried out by Member States between 2008 and 2011 were not sufficiently examined by the Commission. There was an excessive use of general reservations, Eurostat did not plan and prioritise its verification work in an appropriate way, as the risks relating to Member States compilation of national accounts were not appropriately assessed in the selection of areas to be verified, Eurostat did not apply a consistent approach when carrying out its verifications in Member States and did not carry out sufficient work at that level, Eurostat s verifications have not been adequately reported. The Court invites the Commission to consider a range of recommendations in the context of the forthcoming revision of the GNI regulation, in particular: The Commission should carry out a structured and PV\1035145.doc 15/48 PE537.547v01-00
formalised analysis that takes into consideration costs and benefits allowing it to plan and prioritise its verification on specific areas or compilation (sub-) processes., The Commission should shorten the duration of its verification cycle in order to limit the use of general reservations,, The Commission should pay particular attention in its verifications to the exhaustiveness of Member States GNI and the use of comparable estimation procedures to cover the underground economy in national accounts. Eurostat should check whether the Commission s guidelines are followed by all Member States, and take appropriate actions ensuring a comparable treatment of this issue between Member States, Eurostat should improve coordination between its department in charge of the verification of GNI for own resource purposes and its other departments, in particular those dealing with national accounts, Eurostat should improve its assessment reports to provide a complete, transparent and consistent evaluation of the Member States GNI data, The Annual Activity Reports of DG Budget and Eurostat should provide a true and fair view of the verification of Member States GNI data and of the management of GNI-based own resources. The Commission should establish requirements for Eurostat to report regularly on the results of its verification of GNI data, allowing DG Budget to draw the required assurance to be used in the context of its AARs. The Rapporteur's working document is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. Rapporteur: Bart Staes (Greens/EFA) Administrator: Olivier Sautière 6. SPECIAL REPORT NO 2/2014 (2013 DISCHARGE) "ARE PREFERENTIAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS MANAGED?" APPROPRIATELY S PE537.547v01-00 16/48 PV\1035145.doc
Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Baudilio Tomé Muguruza INTA committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter Preferential Trade Arrangements (PTAs) are an essential instrument of EU trade policy allowing trading partners to grant preferential conditions reciprocally or unilaterally in the context of their bilateral trade relations. Trade brings economic benefits to both the EU and its partner countries and promotes sustainable development and poverty eradication of developing countries. Besides the negotiation of the PTAs, the Commission has to evaluate their economic, social en environmental impacts and to supervise their implementation by Member States and partner countries. The overall objective of the Court's audit was to assess whether PTAs were appropriately managed by both the Commission and Member States by considering the assessment of economic effects of PTAs and the controls and supervision on PTAs. The Court's audit found that the Commission has not appropriately assessed all the economic effects of PTAs insofar as impact assessments and sustainable impact assessments were not systematically carried out. Furthermore the completeness of revenue collection is not ensured due to the weakness of customs controls applied by Member States and deficiencies in the Commission s supervision. The Rapporteur welcomes the special report evaluating the management of preferential trade arrangements in the context of the EU exclusive competence as an important contribution to the overall political debate about the European Union's external trade and development policies. In that context, he expresses serious concerns to the fact that all the economic effects of PTAs are not appropriately assessed and also the fact that the completeness of revenue collection is not ensured with any estimation of the revenue foregone. He also considers essential to adequately inform policymakers, various stakeholders and European taxpayers of the main added value and disadvantages of the different trade policy options and calls on the Commission and Member states to increase the effectiveness of their risk management systems and control strategy to reduce losses to the EU budget. The Rapporteur's working document (EN) is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. Rapporteur: 7. SPECIAL REPORT NO 15/2013 (2013 PV\1035145.doc 17/48 PE537.547v01-00
Tomáš Zdechovský (EPP) Administrator: Hrvoje Svetic Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Jan Kinšt ENVI committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter DISCHARGE) "HAS THE ENVIRONMENT COMPONENT OF THE LIFE PROGRAMME BEEN EFFECTIVE?" The environment is an increasingly important policy area for the European Union. Due to the cross cutting nature of environmental issues, the main EU expenditure programmes include aspects related to environmental policy. The LIFE programme being evaluated in Court s special report covers the period from 2007 to 2013 and is directly managed by the Commission. It has three components, namely Nature and biodiversity, Environmental policy and governance (hereafter LIFE Environment ) and Information and communication. The LIFE Environment component has an average annual budget of approximately 119,5 million euro. From 1996 until 2012, this component provided 1,3 billion euro to 1 730 projects. As a result of the relatively limited budget, the effectiveness of the LIFE Environment component, both compared with its extensive objectives and overall EU environmental spending, is strongly determined by whether funded projects serve as catalysts for environmental change. The main objectives of the Court's audit were to assess whether the LIFE Environment programme is well designed in order to facilitate effective results, and whether it is well implemented in order to obtain effective results. The Court concluded that the LIFE Environment component was not operating effectively. The audit identified design and implementation weaknesses which significantly reduced the programme s fundamental catalytic role to boost meaningful developments in EU environmental policy. Without this, the overall effectiveness of the programme could not be achieved. The Rapporteur, Mr Tomáš Zdechovský, stresses in his recommendations the need for setting clear, specific, measurable and achievable objectives for projects to be funded in order for the programme to act as a catalyst for changes in policy development and implementation. The rapporteur underlines that the distribution of funds should be based on the merits of the projects and not in a manner detriment to the quality of the projects; however encourages the Member States to keep geographical balance by proposing more integrated projects. He notes that particular attention should be paid to potential of projects to be disseminated, sustained and replicated and calls on the Commission to improve its programme PE537.547v01-00 18/48 PV\1035145.doc S
management tools in order to avoid non-transparent selection procedures. The Rapporteur's working document (EN) is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. Rapporteur: Georgi Pirinski (S&D) Administrator: Tereza Pinto de Rezende Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Iliana Ivanova TRAN committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter 8. SPECIAL REPORT NO 1/2014 (2013 DISCHARGE) "EFFECTIVENESS OF EU- SUPPORTED PUBLIC URBAN TRANSPORT PROJECTS" The EU allocated 10,7 billion euro between 2000 and 2013 to cofinance projects helping cities to implement urban transport by creating, extending or modernising railways, metros, trams and buses. The objective of this performance audit is to assess the implementation and effectiveness of public urban transport projects cofinanced by EU structural funds in 11 cities in 5 Member states Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Portugal. The Court audited the performance of 26 public urban transport projects and concluded that, in general, infrastructure and vehicles for most projects were implemented in accordance with project specifications, although some of them with significant delays and cost overruns. Almost all the projects audited the users' needs even though two thirds of the projects were underutilised, which implied underperformance in terms of economic and social benefits and financial imbalances for the public authorities. The underutilisation of public transport is mainly due to weaknesses in project design and mobility policy which could have been addressed at the project planning stage. The Court recommended to the Commission to improve the management tools, especially the indicators and requirements to be fulfilled when applying for those projects. The recommendations should be addressed by the Member states authorities when managing EU-funded urban transport projects. The Rapporteur underlined the social and environmental dimensions of these projects and made concrete proposals to the Commission and the Member states to PV\1035145.doc 19/48 PE537.547v01-00
improve their performance in this matter. Streamlining the existing and well-functioning tools, exchange and share best practices and clear setting of objectives, targets and indicators are part of the solution for better performance. In addition, a responsible, effective and efficient use of the available EU funds pursuing concrete results. The third axe focuses on the implementation of elements set out in COM (2013)913, such as a comprehensive status analysis and baseline through an "urban mobility performance audit" to measure performance, identification of "hotspots" where performance is particularly poor, suitable performance indicators which can be monitored, setting performance objectives and measurable targets, based on a realistic assessment of the baseline and available resources. The Rapporteur's working document is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 9.00 12.30 public meeting *** VOTING TIME *** Rapporteur: Petri Sarvamaa (EPP) Administrator: Hrvoje Svetic Adoption of draft report Plenary vote: October II 2014 9. DISCHARGE 2012: THE BODY OF EUROPEAN REGULATORS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS (BEREC) The Rapporteur, Mr Petri Sarvamaa, presented his draft second report on BEREC Office discharge for 2012 to the Committee at the meeting of 22 July 2014. By the deadline of 4 September 2014 Members had tabled 4 amendments to the BEREC Office report. These amendments focus mainly on the increased visibility of BEREC office as an EU institution. The rapporteur is in favour of granting the discharge to BEREC Office. S PE537.547v01-00 20/48 PV\1035145.doc
The language versions of the amendments and the draft report are published on the CONT website. The final voting lists with rapporteur's indications was sent to CONT Members on 18 September 2014. Rapporteur: Tamás Deutsch (EPP) 10. DISCHARGE 2012: EU GENERAL BUDGET - COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN COUNCIL Administrator: Tereza Pinto de Rezende Adoption of draft report Plenary vote: October II 2014 Following the Parliament's decision to postpone the Council and European Council's discharge adopted on the 3 April 2014, the Rapporteur Tamás Deutsch proposes in his second draft report to refuse granting the discharge to the Council and the European Council. All the requests for clarification in relation to the Council buildings remained unanswered as well as the questionnaire put forward by the MEP. The Rapporteur regrets the continue lack of cooperation by the Council which prevents the Parliament to make an informed decision on granting the discharge. Nevertheless, the Rapporteur proposes to set up a "modus vivendi" procedure with the Council where a list of documents are to be exchanged in order to fulfil their respective roles in the discharge process. Five amendments were tabled to the draft report complementary to the Rapporteur's views as set in the draft. The final voting lists with rapporteur's indications was sent to CONT Members on 17 September 2014. *** END OF VOTING TIME *** Experts: -Roland Blomeyer (principal author), -Mike Beke, -Michelle Cini, 11. UPDATE OF THE STUDY ON "THE CODE OF CONDUCT OF COMMISSIONERS - IMPROVING EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY" Administrator: Jean-Jacques Gay The aim of a previous external study presented in September 30, 2009 was to provide the Committee on Budgetary Control, and also the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, with an independent evaluation of the 2004 s Code of Conduct applicable to the Members of PV\1035145.doc 21/48 PE537.547v01-00
Presentation of the Study the European Commission and its. On 9 November 2010, Commissioner Šefčovič, addressed the Committee on Budgetary Control to indicate the main concerns of the Commission involved in the future Code of Conduct and Ethics Committee. In November 2011 a new Code of Conduct for Commissioners was adopted. As demonstrated by the 2009 study, the 2004 Code of Conduct was particularly inadequate. The purpose of updating this study will be to provide the Committee on Budgetary Control and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs with an independent evaluation of the new Code of Conduct adopted in 2011 applicable to the European Commissioners, compared to the former one, and observe to what extent the new Code of Conduct reflects the 28 recommendations of the 2009 study. Compared to the 2009 study, the update will also observe how the new Code has moved more in line with best practices of other international organisations and national ministries. This update will also be to show how the changes to the former Code of Conduct make the current Code more efficient and useful and could facilitate holding Members of the European Commission accountable for their actions. Electronic version of the study have been sent to Members on 16 September 2014. Administrator: Philippe Godts Exchange of views with the Member of the European Commission responsible for Taxation, Customs, Statistics, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Algirdas Šemeta 12. TOBACCO AGREEMENTS Four Cooperation Agreements are currently in force between the Member States, the EU and Philip Morris International (PMI), Japan Tobacco International (JTI), Imperial Tobacco Limited (ITL) and British American Tobacco (BAT). The agreement with PMI is due to expire in July 2016. The agreement requires the parties to meet 2 years before the expiration date with a view to explore whether the Cooperation Agreement should be prolonged. Such a meeting took place already on 9 July 2014. By letter of 28 May 2014 Commissioner Šemeta expressed his availability for an exchange of views with the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) concerning the cooperation agreements with cigarette manufacturers. CONT Committee has taken a particular interest in the cooperation agreements and has requested to be kept informed on and involved in any developments on this S PE537.547v01-00 22/48 PV\1035145.doc
matter. Administrator: Christian Ehlers Exchange of views with the Member of the European Commission responsible for Taxation, Customs, Statistics, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Algirdas Šemeta 13. EXCHANGE OF VIEWS WITH COMMISSIONER SEMETA ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONTROLLER FOR PROCEDURAL GUARANTEES AND THE FUTURE OF THE OLAF SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE Appointment of the new Supervisory Committee (SC) of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) The procedure for the appointment of the new OLAF-SC was on the agenda of the CONT coordinators on 22 July. At that moment coordinators decided to postpone the indepth discussion and that Commissioner Šemeta should first be heard. It should be recalled that the CONT chairman asked the Commissioner to open the procedure for appointing new members of the OLAF-SC, including the establishment of a reserve list by letter of 14 November 2013. Commissioner Šemeta replied to that letter on 6 February 2014 with a proposal for launching an appointment procedure for the next five regular OLAF-SC members and also for a reserve list. In his letter of 6 February the Commissioner suggested that a reserve list of seven persons be established and that the same professional and personal criteria for the appointment of the members of the OLAF-SC could be used as in 2012. The Council, by letter of 18 June, agreed - generally speaking - with Commissioner Šemeta s proposal. In March 2014 CONT has requested the Conference of Presidents to receive a mandate for entering into discussions with the other institutions. The Conference of Presidents is expected to decide on the mandate in mid- October. The establishment of a Controller for procedural guarantees In June 2013 the Commission adopted proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation no 883/2013 as regards the establishment of a Controller of procedural guarantees. The proposal aims at strengthening further the procedural guarantees in place for all persons under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF); the proposal also intends to take into account the special way in which members of EU institutions were elected or appointed and PV\1035145.doc 23/48 PE537.547v01-00
the functioning of the respective institution. The controller, a person with senior legal expertise in the field of fundamental and criminal law, would have two main tasks: Reviewing complaints lodged by persons under investigation about violation of their procedural guarantees, and Authorising OLAF to conduct certain investigative measures in respect of members of EU institutions The creation of such a function, or a very similar one, was already under discussion when the previous OLAF Regulation was revised. At that time no agreement could be found between the co-legislators. According to the results of the impact assessment the policy objectives could be reached most effectively by appointing an external Controller of procedural guarantees who would act on complaints and authorise certain investigative measures related to members of the institutions. Administratively the function would be attached to the Commission (special advisor). The costs are estimated at EUR 2.7 million under the current multi-annual financial framework. On 8 September CONT held an exchange of views with Sean Van Raepenbusch, President of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal, Louis Galea, Member of the European Court of Auditors, Johan Denolf, Chairman of the OLAF Supervisory Committee and Lambros Papadias, Head of Complaints & Inquiries Unit 3 of the Office of the European Ombudsman about the Commission proposal. Commissioner Šemeta could only give at this occasion a brief introduction due to conflicting engagements. TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 11.30-12.30 Joint Presentation CONT/AFET S PE537.547v01-00 24/48 PV\1035145.doc
Rapporteur: CONT - Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR) Administrators: CONT - Tereza Pinto de Rezende AFET Oliver Krentz Joint presentation CONT/AFET co-chaired by Ingeborg Gräßle and Elmar Brok, in the presence of the Member responsible of the European Court of Auditors, Szabolcs Fazakas 14. SPECIAL REPORT NO 11/2014 (2013 DISCHARGE) "THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE" The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force in late 2009 and established the European External Action Service, laying down the rules on its creation. Following the High Representative detailed proposal and the European Parliament's approval, the EEAS was officially launched on 1 January 2011 comprising a headquarters located in Brussels and global network of 140 delegations to help strengthen the European Union on the global stage, give it more profile, and enable it to protect its interests and values more efficiently. Three years after the creation of the EEAS, the Court of Auditors (the Court) examined whether the establishment of the Service was adequately prepared, the resources were prioritised, organised and allocated efficiently and whether the Service has effectively coordinated with the Commission and the Member States. This report is the result of an independent assessment of the establishment of the EEAS and has taken place at the same time as the preparation of the EEAS mid-term review, sharing generally its findings and recommendations. The establishment of the EEAS has provided the EU with an operational foreign policy service, equipped with policy desks and crisis management structures, a wide network of diplomatic posts and with a balanced presence of different sources of staff. However, the Court found that the establishment of the EEAS was rushed and inadequately prepared, beset by too many constraints and vaguely defined tasks. It identified weaknesses in the prioritisation, organisation and allocation of resources which reduced the Service's efficiency and the EU special representatives are not sufficiently integrated. Finally the Court found that the coordination with the Commission and the Member States had improved but was still insufficient for the EEAS to fulfill its potential. The Court sets out a number of recommendations to enhance EEAS added value and efficiency such as clarifying its tasks and objectives, streamlining its organisational design, simplifying its administrative framework, strengthening its strategic role and developing its planning. It also recommends reviewing the appointment process and functioning of EU special representatives and EEAS recruitment procedures. The EEAS should work with the Commission to mitigate the impact of the rigidity of its financial and staff regulations on the efficiency of EU delegations. Finally, the EEAS should continue its efforts to promote information sharing and co-location with Member States and should assess PV\1035145.doc 25/48 PE537.547v01-00
the opportunity to offer certain consular services. The working document will be presented by the Rapporteur Ryszard Czarnecki in CONT meeting on the 16 October 2014. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 15.00-17.30 Public Meeting Administrator: Michal Czaplicki Exchange of views with the Member of the European Commission responsible for Taxation, Customs, Statistics, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Algirdas Šemeta 15. REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION ON PROTECTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION S FINANCIAL INTERESTS FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD 2013 ANNUAL REPORT As in previous years, the Committee on Budgetary Control decided to draw up a report on the Protection of the Union's financial interests. In the framework of the preparation of the draft report, two presentations are planned during the meeting of 23 September: - Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta will present the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Protection of the European Union's financial interests - Fight against fraud - Annual Report 2013 (COM(2014)474). The Commission presents, in cooperation with the Member States, the Annual Report under Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The purpose of the report is both to assess to what extent the EU funds or revenue of the EU budget are at risk of misuse due to fraudulent or nonfraudulent irregularities and to describe the actions taken to address the issue. As this is the last report under the current Commission it therefore not only focuses on the year 2013, but also discusses the achievements made over the last five years. S PE537.547v01-00 26/48 PV\1035145.doc
Administrator: Michal Czaplicki Presentation of the 2013 Annual Report of OLAF by the Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office, Giovanni Kessler 16. THE OLAF REPORT 2013 FOURTEENTH REPORT OF THE EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE, 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2013 The Director-General of OLAF, Giovanni Kessler, will present the Fourteenth report of the European Anti-Fraud Office - 1 January to 31 December 2013. It is the first full reporting year following the major reorganization of OLAF in 2012, which according to Mr Kessler, yielded excellent results. OLAF received more information from the citizens than ever before, opened more investigations, issued the highest amount of recommendations and at the same time managed to shorten the time of its investigations. In addition, in 2013 OLAF focused on tobacco smuggling as one of its priorities, which mirrors the priorities of CONT as well. Rapporteur: Ingeborg Gräßle (EPP) Administrator: Tereza Pinto de Rezende Composition of the negotiation team 17. FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD TO THE UNION'S FINANCIAL INTERESTS BY MEANS OF CRIMINAL LAW - 2012/0193(COD) The committee will decide by consensus to open negotiations with the Council having as a mandate the text adopted by the plenary in April 2014. If the majority does not reach a consensus, the decision will be taken by vote. The committee then decides the composition of the negotiation team (NT), composed by the Rapporteur and the shadows representing all political groups and presided by the Chair. Head of Delegation: Jens Geier (S&D) Administrator: Christian Ehlers 18. CONT DELEGATION TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC IN THE CONTEXT OF "SYSTEMATIC ERRORS IN EU FUNDS CONTROLS AUDITING" AND Exchange of views on delegation In 2013 the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) PV\1035145.doc 27/48 PE537.547v01-00
conclusions Delegation date: 26-28 March 2014 intended to pay a fact-finding mission to the Czech Republic with the view to following-up up the findings of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in 2011 pinpointing weaknesses in the Czech management and control systems for structural funds. CONT also wanted to enquire whether the improvements to the management and control systems (M), as outlined by Miroslav MATEJ, at the time Deputy Minister of Finance, in CONT in November 2012, had proven sustainable. However, due to the governmental crisis in the Czech Republic at the moment of the intended visit the latter had to be postponed. The fact-finding mission finally took place on 26/27 March 2014 The draft report was sent to the members of the delegation on 5 September 2014. In the draft report the CONT Delegation arrives at the following recommendations: The Commission should develop a certification system for M which allows and effective functioning from the beginning. The Czech authorities should ensure the use of similar/identical methodologies and terminologies for bodies implementing structural funds (National Coordination Authority, Certifying Authority, Audit Authority). The Czech authorities should develop a comprehensive human resource strategy for the public sector, also with a view to safeguard the proper implementation of outsourced public tasks. The Commission and the Czech authorities should establish a fully electronic data exchange among national bodies as well as with the Commission. Between 2009 and May 2012 waivers of financial corrections may have been in line with the national budget law, but they were non-transparent and remain politically unacceptable; calls therefore on the Czech authorities to provide a complete list of waivers of financial corrections during that period including a list of those who benefitted from them. The Commission should consider introducing more varied (beyond 5%, 10% and 25%) flat-rate corrections. The Czech authorities should: - continue to develop a comprehensive anti-fraud strategy. -introduce a comprehensive system for the treatment of irregularities, and -adopt a Code of Conduct for politicians and officials with the view to avoiding conflict of interests. In addition, the Czech authorities may wish to consider the introduction of national management declaration at the appropriate political level. The Czech Supreme Audit Office could also audit local S PE537.547v01-00 28/48 PV\1035145.doc
authorities. The Czech Chamber of Deputies could pay greater attention to the audit reports and the EU Report of the Supreme Audit Office. The Czech Chamber of Deputies may wish to look into the malfunctioning of the M between 2009 and 2012. The draft report of the fact-finding mission was sent to CONT Members on 18 September 2014. Rapporteur: Karin Kadenbach (S&D) Administrator: Philippe Godts Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Rasa Budbertyté AGRI committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter 19. SPECIAL REPORT NO 18/2013 (2013 DISCHARGE) "THE RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS OF THE MEMBER STATES' CHECKS OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPENDITURE " The Court finds that the systems in place for administrative and on-the-spot checks were only partially effective: they cannot ensure that agricultural aid was paid only to beneficiaries that meet the regulatory definition of a farmer ; there are weaknesses regarding the reliability of the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), as ineligible areas were recorded as eligible for payment; in certain cases ineligible parcels declared by farmers have been replaced by other parcels after the legal deadline, the aid has been incorrectly calculated by the paying agencies (mainly relating to erroneous payment entitlements that were also established by the paying agencies); and inaccurate assessment of the eligible land in the declared parcels inaccurately assessed. The Court also points out inadequate compilation and verification of the statistical reports by paying agencies, the insufficient quality of the controls performed by the certifying bodies. It regretted the inappropriate use and limited review of Member States statistics by the Commission. The Court stresses that the Commission's estimate of the residual error rate is not statistically valid. The rapporteur notes that the systems examined in the Special Report 18/2013 have been changed by the new CAP Regulations, with increased responsibilities of the certification bodies in the Member States in the field of verification of legality and regularity of expenditure, and verification of control results communicated to the Commission. Nevertheless, she reminds that the Parliament has PV\1035145.doc 29/48 PE537.547v01-00
endorsed on 3 April 2014 the reservations put by the Director General of DG AGRI in its Annual Activity Report for 2012 as regards the deficiencies found by the Commission and the ECA in the eligibility of land and for the total EAFRD expenditure for 2012 and that it has asked in particular that permanent pasture should be properly recorded in LPIS and that it should be informed by the Commission on a six months basis on progress made. She also asks the Commission and the Member States to take immediate remedial action when administrative and control systems, and/or IA databases, are found to be deficient or out of date and urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that payments are based on inspection results and that on-the-spot inspections are of the quality necessary to determine eligible area in a reliable manner. The rapporteur welcomes the change in the approach used by DG AGRI to calculate the residual error rate for decoupled area aid in 2012, as it takes into account the fact that the inspection statistics, the declarations of the directors of paying agencies and the work carried by the certification bodies can be affected by deficiencies impacting their reliability and calls for this new approach to extend to all CAP expenditure in DG AGRI's Annual Activity Reports in the new funding period. The Rapporteur's working document is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. Rapporteur: Monika Hohlmeier (EPP) Administrator: Michal Czaplicki 20. SPECIAL REPORT NO 3/2014 (2013 DISCHARGE) "LESSONS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S DEVELOPMENT OF THE SECOND GENERATION SCHENGEN INFORMATION SYSTEM (SIS II)" Exchange of views and consideration of a working document in the presence of the Member of the European Court of Auditors responsible, Pietro Russo LIBE committee was invited to take part in this meeting as specialised committee responsible on this matter The Schengen Information System (SIS) is used by border guards, police, customs, visa and judicial authorities throughout the Schengen Area. In 2001 the EU Council, in view of the planned enlargement of the Union, charged the Commission with the development of a new version of the SIS, the so called SIS II. The Commission delivered it with a six year delay and at eight times the initial budget estimate. PE537.547v01-00 30/48 PV\1035145.doc S
The European Court of Auditors drafted a special report analysing the causes of the problem. It indicated that the delays and overspending occurred due to weaknesses in the Commission's management in a challenging governance context. The rapporteur agrees fully with the criticism of the ECA versus the Commission. She criticises that the Commission has tried several times to cover up the delays and exceeding costs and that it has not ended the contract with the main contractor agent despite the poor results delivered in the first project phase. However Ms Hohlmeier believes that this misguided project should serve as a lesson for the Commission when conducting similar large-scale IT projects, with which the Commission concurs. The Rapporteur's working document (EN) is available on the CONT website. The Rapporteur's conclusions will form part of the Commission's discharge report for the financial year 2013. Amendments may be tabled in this context and the deadline will be the same as the Commission's discharge: 3 March 2015. TUESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 17.30-18.30 Coordinators' meeting in camera 21. COORDINATORS MEETING Meeting held in camera NEXT MEETINGS (BRUSSELS) Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ep_budgcontrol 13 October 2014, 15.00 18.30 16 October 2014, 9.00 12.30 PV\1035145.doc 31/48 PE537.547v01-00