Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 2 – point d: (d) prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest, double funding and other irregularities, including through a single, integrated and interoperable information and monitoring system allowing for the access to and the electronic automatic retrieval, recording, aggregation, storage and transfer in real time of data on the recipients of Union funds including their beneficial owners, defined in Article 3, point (6), of Directive (EU) 2015/849, as well as for data-mining and risk-scoring to analyse those data ;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new): (ba) procedures for detecting and preventing conflicts of interests;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – introductory part: 6. For the purposes of point (d) of paragraph 2, the following data shall be recorded and stored electronically in an open, interoperable and machine-readable format and made available in real time in the system referred to in paragraph 2 provided by the Commission:

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – point a: (a) the recipient’s full legal name in the case of legal persons, the first and last name in the case of natural persons, their VAT identification number or tax identification number where available or another unique identifier at country level, and the unique identifier of the Union funding operation. If a natural person, also the date of birth and the gender, where provided;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – point a a (new): (aa) the amount of funding committed and, in the case of a commitment with multiple recipients, the breakdown of that amount per recipient where available;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – point a b (new): (ab) the locality of the recipient, namely: / (i) the address of the recipient where the recipient is a legal person; / (ii) the region on NUTS 2 level where the recipient is a natural person and is domiciled in the European Union or the country where the recipient is a natural person and is not domiciled in the European Union;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – point a c (new): (ac) the nature and purpose of the measure;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – point b: (b) the first name(s), last name(s), date of birth, gender, where provided, and VAT identification number(s) or tax identification number(s) where available or another unique identifier at country level of beneficial owner(s) of the recipients, where the recipients are not natural persons and whether the beneficial owner is a Member State;

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 6 – point b a (new): (ba) information on whether the recipient is a public or private law body or an entity with or without legal personality, or a natural person.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1: The system referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall: / (a) be designed and put in place to provide a clear overview of the distribution and potential concentration of Union funds disbursed, including through a functionality allowing for the aggregation of these funds and other relevant information in connection with the same recipients and their beneficial owners across different Union funding programmes, reduce the bureaucratic burden on the financial actors and other persons refered to in Article 61, on controllers and auditors, as well as on the recipients of Union funds, and facilitate risk assessment for the purposes of selection, award, financial management, monitoring, investigation, control and audit and contribute to effective prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest, double funding and other irregularities; / (b) be based on interoperability, whereby information updated in real time on recipients of Union funds and on company ownership may be retrieved from and transferred into this system, in an automatic way in real time, from transparency registers on beneficial owners, relevant national and European databases, internal systems of relevant national bodies and authorities, management and paying authorities and national public procurement and tender databases; / (c) only use risk indicators that are objective, proportionate, necessary for risk assessment, as well as based on reliable sources of data and inf…

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2: The use of and access to the data processed by the system referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall comply with applicable data protection rules, respect the principles of necessity and proportionality and shall be limited to the Commission or an executive agency as referred to in Article 69, the Member States implementing the budget pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (b), the Member States that receive and implement Union funds pursuant to budget implementation under Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (a), the persons or entities implementing the budget pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (c), the European Parliament, the Council, as well as the Court of Auditors, OLAF, EPPO and other Union investigative and control bodies, who shall have full and direct access to any relevant data within the exercise of their respective competences.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 3: The Commission shall be the controller within the meaning of Article 3(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and shall be responsible for the development, management and supervision of the system referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, for ensuring the security, integrity, correctness, completeness, validity and confidentiality of data, the authentication of the users and for protecting the IT system against mismanagement and misuse.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7a. For the purposes of point (d) of paragraph 2 of this Article, Article 145(2) and Article 148, and in addition to any applicable sector-specific rule, Member States implementing the budget under point (b), first subparagraph, Article 62(1), shall transmit to the Commission information through the Irregularity Management System on facts and findings established in the context of final judgments or final administrative decisions, as well as facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by the EPPO, the Court of Auditors, OLAF or any check, audit, control performed under the responsibility of the Commission, as to the presence of the exclusion situations referred to in Article 139(1). For the same purposes, Member States shall transmit all other complementary information requested by the Commission.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 a (new): For the purposes of point (d) of paragraph 2 of this Article, Article 145(2) and Article 148 and in addition to any applicable sector-specific rule, Member States that receive and implement Union funds, pursuant to budget implementation under point (a), first subparagraph, Article 62(1), shall transmit information through the Irregularity Management System on facts and findings established in the context of final judgments or final administrative decisions, as well as facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by the EPPO, the Court of Auditors, OLAF or any check, audit, control performed under the responsibility of the Commission, as to the presence of the exclusion situations referred to in Article 139(1). For the same purposes, Member States shall transmit all other complementary information requested by the Commission.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 b (new): For the purposes of the application of the requirements of paragraphs 2, 3 and 6 of this Article, references to recipients shall be understood as final recipients, contractors, subcontractors and sub-beneficiaries as referred to in sector-specific rules.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 9: 9. For the purposes of the application of the requirements of paragraphs 2, 3 and 6 of this Article by Member States implementing the budget under Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (b), references to recipients shall be understood as references to beneficiaries, sub-beneficiaries, contractors and sub-contractors as referred to in sector-specific rules.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 10 a (new): 10a. The Commission shall report annually, no later than 30 September, to the European Parliament and to the Council on the aggregated information and figures on the recipients of funds, contractors, sub-contractors and the beneficial owners, across different Union-funded projects and programmes implemented in the preceding financial year. That information shall, having due regard to the protection of personal data, be made available to any persons or organisations that can demonstrate a legitimate interest.

RemovedArticle 36 – paragraph 10 b (new): 10b. Data shall be stored for the period necessary and proportionate to fulfil the purpose determined in point (d) of paragraph 2. The maximum possible storage period shall not exceed 10 years from the last payment claim for the period submitted to the Commission.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: 1. The Commission shall make available on a single website information on recipients of funds financed from the budget no later than 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the funds were legally committed , where the budget is implemented by it in accordance with Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (a) , by Union institutions in accordance with Article 59(1), and by the Union bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 .

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: Where the budget is implemented in accordance with Article 62(1), first subparagraph, points (b) and (c), and with Member States in accordance to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (a), the Commission shall make available on the single website referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph information on recipients no later than 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the contract or agreement setting out the conditions of support was established. Where the budget is implemented in accordance with Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (b), references in this Article to recipients shall be understood as references to final recipients, contractors, subcontractors and sub-beneficiaries as referred to in sector-specific rules.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Save in the cases referred to in paragraph 3, the following information shall be published in an open, interoperable and machine-readable format, which allows data to be sorted, searched, extracted, compared and available for reuse via suitable and secure technical solutions, downloaded in individual datasets and, where available, as a bulk download, having due regard for the requirements of confidentiality and security, in particular the protection of personal data:

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 2 – point a: (a) whether the final recipient is a natural or a legal person;

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) the final recipient’s full legal name in the case of a legal person and their VAT identification number or tax identification number where available or another unique identifier established at country level, the first and last name of the recipient in the case of a natural person, as well as their gender, where provided;

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new): (ca) the full name, address and gender, where provided, of the recipient’s final beneficial owner as defined in Article 3, point (6), of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council, where the recipient is a legal person;

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new): (ea) whether the recipient receives state aid.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b: (b) very low value contracts awarded to experts selected pursuant to Article 242(2) as well as very low value contracts below the amount referred to in point 14.4 of Annex I except when the aggregated amount of all the funds paid to a single recipient exceeds the amount referred to in point 14.4 of Annex I;

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point d: (d) where disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of the persons or entities concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or seriously harming the commercial interests of the recipients;

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 3: Member States that receive and implement Union funds, pursuant to budget implementation under Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (a), shall ensure ex post publication of information on their recipients, in the single website referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: The websites of Union institutions shall contain a reference to the single website referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article where the information referred to in paragraph 1 can be found.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2: The Commission shall make available, in an appropriate and timely manner, information about the single website referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, including a reference to its address, where the information as provided by the Member States, persons, entities or bodies referred to in paragraph 4 can be found.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 1: For the purposes of the first and second subparagraphs of paragraph 1 of this Article and without prejudice to paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article and to sector-specific rules, the Commission shall use the data stored in the system referred to in Article 36(2) to feed the single website referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article with the information referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 6 – subparagraph 2: In addition, the data shall also include the VAT identification number or tax identification number of natural persons where available or another unique identifier established at country level with a view to improve the quality of the data transmitted without it being used for publication.

RemovedArticle 38 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1: 7. Where personal data are published, the information shall be removed five years after the end of the financial year in which the funds were legally committed.

RemovedArticle 38 a (new): Article 38a / Visibility of the budget / Without prejudice to specific provisions laid down in sector-specific rules, or in specific contracts, grant agreements, contribution agreements and financing agreements, all new communication efforts shall make the citizens' connection to the budget more visible by generally using the statements ‘Funded by the people of the European Union’ or ‘Co-funded by the people of the European Union’ next to the emblem of the Union.

RemovedArticle 41 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point d: (d) a working document on the planned implementation of appropriations for the financial year , information on the implementation of internal and external assigned revenue in the preceding year, including information on the amounts carried over to the financial year and on commitments outstanding;

RemovedArticle 41 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point e: (e) as regards appropriations for administration, a working document presenting administrative expenditure to be implemented by the Commission under its section of the budget and a working document on Union institutions', bodies' and agencies' building policy as referred to in Article 271(1) ;

RemovedAs stated in paragraph 3 of the initiative report adopted ahead of the publication of this proposal, this revision must seek to reinforce transparency, accountability and democratic scrutiny of the EU budget. On this ground there is no reason to limit this publication to European Commission.

RemovedArticle 52 – paragraph 1 – point d – point iii – indent 3: – a comprehensive overview of borrowing and lending operations; that overview shall provide inter alia detailed information on maturities, schedule of payments, interest due, the investor base, where applicable the dimension and costs of the common liquidity pool underpinning the diversified funding strategy, and on the role of own resources in the repayment of the debt, as well as the borrowing plan including revenue sources;

RemovedArticle 59 – paragraph 3 a (new): 3a. Any revision of the service-level agreements referred to in paragraph 2, and the subsequent changes in the financial obligations of the Union institutions involved towards each other, shall be made before the Union institutions concerned submit their estimates of revenue and expenditure to the Commission, if the changes relate to appropriations of the year of those estimates.

RemovedArticle 59 – paragraph 3 b (new): 3b. To the extent necessary for carrying out its investigative and prosecutorial tasks, the EPPO may conclude financing agreements with the competent national authorities of the Member States participating in the enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the EPPO, with a view to covering the costs of operational expenditure within the meaning of Article 91 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939.

RemovedArticle 59 – paragraph 3 c (new): 3c. To the extent necessary for carrying out its investigative and prosecutorial tasks, the EPPO may conclude service level agreements as referred to in paragraph 2, and, in duly justified cases, agreements and contracts with recipients without the application of the rules on procurement laid down in this Regulation, where such application is not possible. / For the purpose of the first subparagraph, the competent authorising officer, prior to any procedure entailing the commitment or payment of Union funds, shall sign a declaration justifying why the application of the rules on procurement laid down in this Regulation is not possible.

RemovedArticle 61 – paragraph 2: 2. Where there is a risk of a conflict of interests involving a member of staff of a national authority, the person in question shall refer the matter to his or her hierarchical superior or, where relevant, to the competent authority at national level. Where such a risk exists for a high office holder at national or Union level, the person in question shall refer the matter to the competent Union authority. Where such a risk exists for staff covered by the Staff Regulations, the person in question shall refer the matter to the relevant authorising officer by delegation. The relevant hierarchical superior or the authorising officer by delegation or the competent Union authority shall confirm in writing whether a conflict of interests is found to exist. Where a conflict of interests is found to exist, the appointing authority or the relevant national authority or the competent Union authority shall ensure that the person in question ceases all activity in the matter and shall ensure that any further appropriate action is taken in accordance with the applicable law, including, where applicable, with the national law relating to conflict of interests.

RemovedArticle 63 – paragraph 1: 1. Where the Commission implements the budget under shared management, tasks relating to budget implementation shall be delegated to Member States. The Commission and Member States shall respect the principles of sound financial management, transparency and non-discrimination and shall ensure the visibility of the Union action when they manage Union funds. To that end, the Commission and Member States shall fulfil their respective control and audit obligations, including the obligation for Member States to record the relevant data in the system referred to in Article 36(2), and assume the resulting responsibilities laid down in this Regulation. Complementary provisions shall be laid down in sector-specific rules.

RemovedArticle 63 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new): (aa) record the data in the system referred to in Article 36(2) before awarding Union funds;

RemovedArticle 63 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 – point c: (c) interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments where provided for in sector-specific rules, including limiting the interruption or suspension to the part of the expenditure for which relevant data in the system referred to in Article 36(2) are missing;

RemovedArticle 63 – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new): (ca) interrupt payment deadlines or suspend payments where non-compliance with Article 6(2a) puts at risk the legality of expenditure.

RemovedArticle 109 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 2 a (new): Repayments under the first subparagraph, point (a), of this paragraph shall be made within 60 days of the cancellation or reduction of the fine, other penalty or sanction. Upon the expiry of that time limit, the creditor shall be entitled to interest in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 117(5).

RemovedAmendment adopted as part of Parliament's mandate for inter-institutional negotiations on the stand-alone proposal to revise the Financial Regulation as regards competition fines.

RemovedArticle 117 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new): In contracts awarded exclusively in the interest of the Union delegations in third countries, a time limit for payment different from those laid down in the first subparagraph may be used in exceptional and duly justified circumstances, such as monopoly situations for services, supplies or utility services.

RemovedArticle 117 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 4 a (new): Electronic invoices may be used to request payments stemming from a public contract.

RemovedArticle 126 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a – point i: (i) the fulfilment of conditions set out in sector-specific rules or Commission or Council decisions; or

RemovedArticle 126 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 – point a – point ii: (ii) the achievement of tangible results measured by reference to previously set milestones and targets, including measurable and auditable implementation steps for their achievement, or through performance indicators;

RemovedArticle 126 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2: Union contributions under point (a) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall, in direct and indirect management, be established in accordance with Article 185, sector-specific rules or a Commission or Council decision and, in shared management, in accordance with sector-specific rules. Union contributions under points (c), (d) and (e) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall, in direct and indirect management, be established in accordance with Article 185 or sector-specific rules and, in shared management, in accordance with sector-specific rules.

RemovedArticle 126 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new): Union contributions referred to in the first subparagraph shall not, except in duly justified cases, such as a crisis, and in accordance with sector-specific rules, substitute recurring national expenditure and shall respect, where applicable, the principle of additionality of Union funding.

RemovedArticle 128 a (new): Article 128a / Administrative burden / Except in duly justified cases, Union institutions or other bodies mentioned in Article 62(2), points (b) and (c), shall refrain from imposing additional administrative burden on beneficiaries that goes beyond what is required by the applicable Union legislation. / The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and to the Council on efforts to reduce administrative burden in the implementation of the budget, taking due account of relevant audit reports drawing attention to unnecessary additional administrative burden.

Removed'Gold plating' by Member States, whereby additional administrative obligations are imposed over and above EU rules, should be avoided. This amendment is linked to the Recitals surrounding the new proposed Recital 141a, which are part of the recast.

RemovedArticle 131 – title: Applicability of the exclusion system to shared management

RemovedArticle 133 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. Where, after the award, the award procedure proves to have been subject to irregularities or fraud, the authorising officer responsible shall take one of the following actions:

RemovedArticle 133 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c a (new): (ca) non-compliance with Article 6(2a) puts the legality of expenditure at risk;

RemovedArticle 138 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1: In order to protect the financial interests of the Union, the Commission shall set up and operate an early-detection and exclusion system, applying to all management systems.