Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Change 9

Removed8. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

Added8. European Parliament decision of 29 April 2026 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2024 (2025/2145(DEC))

Removedon discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2024

Change 10

Removed9. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

Added9. European Parliament decision of 29 April 2026 on the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission (2025/2145(DEC))

Removedon the closure of the accounts of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission

Change 11

Removed10. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION

Added10. European Parliament decision of 29 April 2026 on the closure of the accounts of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2024 (2025/2145(DEC))

Removedon the closure of the accounts of the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds for the financial year 2024

Change 12

Removed11. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

Added11. European Parliament resolution of 29 April 2026 with observations forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission and executive agencies and the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds (2025/2145(DEC))

Removedwith observations forming an integral part of the decisions on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission and executive agencies and the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds

Change 13

Added3. Reiterates the paramount importance of protecting the rights of the child in all actions of the Union; expresses grave concern over the findings of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine regarding the deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, as documented in its reports; underlines the need for the European Union, within its competences, to act as a constructive and reliable actor within the international legal and institutional framework, contributing to multilateral efforts aimed at identifying affected children, clarifying their whereabouts, supporting family tracing and reunification, and facilitating their safe return, in accordance with international law and the best interests of the child; stresses that Union policies and funding instruments should consistently support international cooperation for the protection of children’s rights, access to remedies, rehabilitation and reintegration, as well as accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law;

Change 14

Changed7.8. Stresses that transparency is not an abstract governance principle but a core element of an effective control environment; underlines that incomplete documentation, inconsistent registration practices or reliance on informal communication channels directly weaken audit trails and hinder the discharge authority’s capacity to assess legality, regularity and sound financial management; in that regard regrets that there have been numerous examples over the last years where the Commission failed to live up to reasonable standards of transparency and takes note of the judgment of the General Court in case T-36/23, Stevi and The New York Times v Commission; recalls that under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 text messages sent or received by Union officials will only be qualified as documents if they concern Union policy or decisions; emphasises that the Commission should ensure transparency practices meet high governance standards to guarantee that the discharge authority can fully assess legality, regularity, and sound financial management of the Union budget; notes the importance of timely responses to access-to-documents requests; encourages the Commission to strengthen its procedures to ensure that oversight bodies can fully assess legality, regularity and sound financial management; considers that failures to ensure proper documentation and transparency at senior leadership level risk undermining public trust, institutional accountability and the credibility of the Commission as guardian of the Treaties; calls on the Commission leadership to ensure full compliance with transparency obligations, proper registration of all work-related communications, including at the level of the President and Members of the College, and to strengthen internal procedures and accountability mechanisms in order to prevent similar shortcomings in the future;

Change 15 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed75.76. Recalls that the EIB Group has been allocated 75 % (EUR 19,6 billion) of the Union budgetary guarantee under the InvestEU Regulation; recalls also the discharge authority’s recommendations in its previous reports on the control of the financial activities of the EIB; notes the accountability and audit gaps in relation to the EIB’s operations, as identified in the Contact Committee statement CC 1/2025; stresses the need to align and adapt the audit framework to the EIB’s expanded mandate; urges the Commission to actively support the granting of full audit access for the European Court of Auditors to the EIB’s activities; underlines the need for comprehensive information on the EIB’s portfolio quality and risk management practices to enable meaningful democratic oversight of its operations; calls on the Commission to engage with the EIB in order to provide reporting on its portfolio quality to the discharge authority, ensure that risk assessment profiles for large-scale investments are subject to independent review and that the EIB discloses the lessons learned from cases where significant lending has resulted in default; stresses that public confidence in the sound management of Union-backed lending depends on the highest standards of institutional integrity; urges, therefore, the Commission to require the EIB to strengthen conflict-of-interest prevention mechanisms;

Change 16 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed80.81. Notes the Commission’s written reply that since 2021, EUR 12,63 million was spent on renewable hydrogen production and related infrastructure from the CEF renewable energy funding and EUR 187,21 million of CEF transport funding was spent on refuelling stations; notes further that between 2021 and 2024 the Commission allocated EUR 791,13 million in grants under the Innovation Fund to e-fuel projects; underlines the importance of allocating Union funds to support solutions with potential for long-term decarbonisation and scalability and of taking an evidence-based approach to emerging solutions in order to ensure the efficient use of public resources, maximise climate impactresources and ensure that public resources aremaximise usedclimate efficiently;impact; stresses that all technologies need to be assessed on their effectiveness and scalability; calls for caution in the allocation of Union funds to technologies with an uncertain or limited long-term role in the decarbonisation pathway; stresses that achieving climate neutrality by 2050 is of decisive importance; emphasises the need to ensure a reliable, affordable and resilient Union energy supply; notes, in this context, that the Commission should promote a technology-neutral approach to research and innovation; calls in particular for the support of cross-border projects to foster genuinely European solutions in the field of energy supply, ensure the cost-efficient use of Union funds, strengthen the internal market, and create EU added value; calls on the Commission to ensure that funding criteria are based on measurable emissions reduction outcomes rather than prescriptive technology preferences;

Change 17 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Added(viii) introduce all possible measures aimed at reducing the adverse impacts of the EU-Mercosur agreement on European agriculture and the market position of European producers, and to reliably monitor the scale as well as the actual effects of these impacts;

Change 18 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed(xvii)(xviii) propose a dedicated, detailed plan to ensure that the biodiversity spending target set for the years 2026 and 2027 is met, foster financial tools to close the financing gap and fully implement environmental legislation and mainstreaming biodiversity action into key sectors in order to reach policy targets, including with the view of providing financing for the implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation;

Change 19 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed(xviii)(xix) continue to verify that funding agreements with all types of beneficiaries comply with the Commission guidance of May 2024 on funding for activities related to the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of Union legislation and policy;

Change 20 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Added174. Honours the memory of Mateusz Sitek, a Polish border guard who was killed on 6 June 2024 while defending the Union's external border against a hybrid attack orchestrated by the Belarusian regime; stresses that the protection of the external borders of the Union is not an abstract policy objective but a matter of life and death for the men and women serving on the frontline; calls on the Commission to ensure that adequate financial and operational support is provided to frontline Member States facing hybrid threats at the Union's external borders;

Change 21 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed176.178. Invites the European Court of Auditors to provide an estimate of the error rate for MFF heading 4;

Change 22 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed184.186. Stresses that the rapid increase in Union defence and security expenditure in 2024 requires proportional audit arrangements, allowing effective access for the European Court of Auditors,Court, OLAF and the EPPO to all relevant documentation, including projects with dual-use technologies; recalls that the Commission itself acknowledged that access to classified deliverables can be delayed where Member States are ‘originators’ of classification and underlines that, where audit access is limited for duly justified reasons such as the classified nature of projects, appropriate measures and constructive solutions should be pursued to ensure full compliance with financial oversight requirements and the sound management of Union funds;

Change 23 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed233.235. Underlines that transparency in the administration and access to information and documents are key elements of sound, accountable, and democratic governance; in that regard regrets that there have been numerous examples over the last years where the Commission has not lived up to reasonable transparency standards; takes note of Europeanthe Courtjudgment of Justicethe General Court in case T-36/23, Stevi and The New York Times v Commission; considers that informal exchanges must not replace official communication and that any information related to decision-making or workflow must be transmitted through official channels in full respect of transparency requirements; stresses that it is important for the credibility of the Commission that it ensures a strict implementation of the guidelines concerning the use of text messages in relation to workflows; recalls that under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 text messages sent or received by Union officials will only be qualified as documents if they concern Union policy or decisions;

Change 24 under “CHAPTER I - Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)”

Changed(viii) revise the 2024 changes to the Commission’s Detailed Rules of application of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and amend its Rules of Procedure to ensure full compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001;