Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 9

Changed9.10. Recalls the Bureau decision of 25 November 2019 to establish Europa Experience centres in all Members States by the end of 2024; regrets the delays in establishing Europa Experiences in all Member States before the 2024 Parliament elections and notes that currently only 12 are in operation; recognises that a number of external factors, including the volatility of real estate markets, have contributed to these delays;

Change 10

Removed11. Takes note that the Committee on Budgets approved the Bureau’s decision to carry out a profound environmental renovation of the SPAAK building, in line with the its resolution of 19 October 2022 on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for financial year 2023; takes note that EUR 9,5 million are included in the 2025 estimates for studies; reminds the Bureau that proper information and consultation with the Committee on Budgets before adopting any major decision on building related issues and its financing is needed due to their important budgetary implications;

Change 11

Changed13.14. TakesWelcomes noteParliament’s policy aiming to ensure the fully independent use of Parliament buildings by persons with disabilities and supports further measures and adaptions that will be necessary in this regard; recognizes the need to improve access for persons with disabilities to the Plenary Chamber in Strasbourg;

Change 12

Changed14.15. Recalls that Parliament's administration is currently working on a comprehensive approach to define Parliament's long-term building policy considering in particular environmental obligations, costs and budgetary constraints, energy efficiency, and waste management in line with the "Fit for 55" package and expects the results to be made public; calls for taking stock of flexible ways of working that have arisen as a consequence of the pandemic, while acknowledging that physical presence for political negotiations, debates or exchange of views remains more efficient for public policy making;

Change 13

Removed15. Welcomes the continuous efforts and measures put in place by the Parliament in order to reduce its environmental footprint;

Added16. Takes note of the practice of the year-end ‘mopping-up transfer’ to contribute to building projects; takes note that such ‘mopping-up transfer’ takes place systematically on the same chapters, titles and often on exactly the same budgetary lines; notes that the ‘mopping-up’ yearly exercise can also serve other purposes than to finance building related projects;

Added17. Welcomes the continuous efforts and measures put in place by the Parliament in order to reduce its environmental footprint; reiterates its full support for Parliament’s environmental management system (EMAS) targets for 2024; expects Parliament to achieve all the EMAS key performance indicator targets by the end of 2024 and proceed to adoption of new ambitious targets for the coming years; notes in particular a number of achievements in this regard, including a 44 % reduction in carbon emissions since 2006, a 66 % reduction in paper use compared to 2014, the high rates of staff walking or cycling to work, significant decreases in the use of plastic, and the successful roll-out of renewable energy infrastructure, which saw 458 MWh of solar energy generated by the Parliament in 2023;

Added18. Takes note of the increases of the carbon credit prices; recalls that energy efficiency investments are a good method of achieving value for money; welcomes and encourages the investments in renewable energy and for the phasing-out of fossil fuels in particular given the energy crisis and geopolitical context and for it to be reflected in the next multi-annual building strategy; notes that Parliament has installed and is continuing to install photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to further increase the share of renewable energy produced on-site to reach the target of 25 %; recalls that nearly two-thirds of Parliament's carbon footprint originates from the transportation of people; welcomes Parliament's efforts to reduce CO2 emissions through chartered trains and calls for upscaling the availabilities to shift travel between the three places of work to train;

AddedOther issues

Added19. Recalls the ongoing struggle in which the European Union is involved to safeguard European values and uphold the integrity of our democratic processes; welcomes the actions undertaken by the Parliament in the pursuit of these objectives, fighting against disinformation and information manipulation; calls on DG COMM and EPLOs to keep developing and implementing effective strategies to counter disinformation and information manipulation; highlights that one of the most powerful weapons against disinformation is positive, fact-based communication regarding the Parliament’s activities;

Change 14

Removed17. Reiterates its call on the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to revise the implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside the Union; underlines that such a revision should consider the possibility for APAs, subject to certain conditions, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions;

Added22. Supports the announcement made by the Secretary-General in the Committee on Budgets to reduce administrative burden and bureaucracy for Members and their offices while accelerating the digitalisation of processes within the administration; stresses that investments in digitalisation are generating a return on investment in the midterm and should not be delayed for short-term cost savings;

Added24. Highlights that ensuring a fair geographical balance is an important part of creating a truly European public service; remarks that over the years, Parliament has taken a number of measures in that respect; notes that there is still room for improvement; notes that the Bureau has created the legal framework for the organisation of nationality specific competitions and decided to organise the first of such competitions; highlights that competitions should always be based on merit;

Added26. Reiterates its request, adopted at Plenary level at several occasions, to the Bureau to start the work on revision of the Rules of Procedure enabling Members to exercise their right to vote remotely, during benefiting from maternity or paternity leave, during a long-term illness or in cases of force majeure, taking advantage of the lessons learnt during the pandemic on the technical aspects of this voting method;

Added27. Reiterates its call to the Bureau to guarantee that all restaurants within Parliament uphold their standards of quality, efficiency and affordability, and to re-introduce access control at the entrances to the self-service restaurant during peak time; welcomes the implementation of access controls at the entrance of the WEISS self-service in Strasbourg during part-sessions;

Added28. Reiterates its call on the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to revise the implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside the Union; underlines that such a revision should consider the possibility for APAs, subject to certain conditions, to accompany Members on official Parliament delegations and missions; highlights that this change would not result in any change to the envelope and would be budget neutral;