Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

2. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

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with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section X – European External Action Service

(2023/2134(DEC))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section X – European External Action Service,

– having regard to Rule 100 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A90000/2024),(A9-0102/2024),

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A. whereas in the context of the discharge procedure, the discharge authority wishes to stress the particular importance of further strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions by improving transparency and accountability, and implementing the concept of performance-based budgeting and good governance of human resources;

B. whereas the European External Action Service (EEAS) is responsible for the management of the administrative expenditure of its Headquarters (HQ) in Brussels and for the network of the 144 Union delegations and offices;

C. whereas the EEAS’ responsibility has been extended to cover the administrative management of the Commission staff in the delegations through a series of Service Level Arrangements (SLAs);

D. whereas the role of the delegations is to represent the Union and its citizens around the world by building networks and partnerships, and to promote the values of the Union;

E. whereas the peculiarity of the EEAS remains in its nature and origin, as it was when it was formed by the merging of staff belonging to the former external relation departments of the Council and of the Commission, into which diplomats from the Member States have been integrated;

F. whereas under the EEAS Internal Rules, the Secretary-General of the EEAS acts as authorising officer by delegation for the institution and the director-general for resource management has the role of principal sub-delegated authorising officer;

G. whereas the implementation of the budget is governed by the Financial Regulation and by the Internal Rules of implementation of the Budget of the EEAS;

1. Notes that the budget of the EEAS falls under MFF heading 7, ‘European public administration’, which amounted to EUR 11,6 billion in 2022 (representing 5,9 % of the total Union budget); notes that the EEAS’s budget of approximately EUR 1,1 billion represents around 9,4 % of the total administrative expenditure;

2. Notes that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’), in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 examined a sample of 60 transactions under Administration, the same number as were examined in 2021; further notes that the Court writes that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk;

3. Notes that 14 (23 %) of the 60 transactions contained errors but that the Court, based on the five errors which were quantified, estimate the level of error to be below the materiality threshold;

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Changed4. Regrets that the Court in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022 observes that they found two quantifiable errors in the payments made by the EEAS, one concerned the absence of a valid underlying contract for security services acquired by ana EUUnion Delegation, the other related to child allowances received by a staff member from other sources but not deducted from their pay;

Budgetary and financial management

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Changed5. Notes that the budget for 2022 for the EEAS was EUR 786 947 220220, representing an increase of 2,5 % from 2021, which is less than the of 5,0 % increasefromincrease from 2020 to 2021; observes that, in addition to its own budget, the EEAS also used EUR 241.4241,4 million (including assigned revenues and carried over amounts) from the Commission to cover the administrative costs of Commission staff working in Union Delegations; notes that this amounted to an increase of 14,3 % from 2021; notes that the EEAS also received additional contributions to cover common costs of European Development Fund staff in Delegations and other amounts bringing the total available budget for the EEAS (in commitment appropriations) to EUR 1 143,6 million, which represents an increase of 4,8 % from 2020; regrets that the EEAS administrative budget for 2022 was underbudgeted despite the important role of the institution for the early 2022 broader international context and the increased costs that implied;

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6. Notes that, in 2022, 99,99 % of the final EEAS budget in commitments was executed, which was even higher that in 2021 where 99,37 % was executed and significantly higher than in 2020 where 95,01 % was executed; notes furthermore that 90,56 % of the budget for payments was executed in 2022, which is a significant increase compared to an execution rate of 84,47 % in 2021 and 82,34 % in 2020;

7. Notes that the final budget for the EEAS HQ after transfers amounted to EUR 308,1 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 4,4 % from 2021; notes that 100 % of the budget in commitments was executed; notes that in payments EUR 269,2 million, equal to 87,4 % of the budget, was executed, which represents an increase of EUR 30,9 million from 2021 where 80,8 % of payments were executed;

8. Notes that the final budget for the EEAS delegations after transfers amounted to EUR 478,9 million in 2022, which represents an increase of 1,3 % from 2021; notes that 100 % of the budget in commitments was executed; notes that in payments EUR 443,4 million, equal to 92,6 % of the budget, was executed, which represents an absolute increase of EUR 33,3 million from 2021 where 86,8 % of payments were executed;

9. Notes that the EEAS executed 20 budgetary transfers in accordance with Article 29 of the Financial Regulation out of which three involved information on the budgetary authority; notes that the total amount subject to transfers was EUR 38,2 million, increasing the budget of EEAS Delegations by EUR 0,9 million and decreasing the EEAS HQ staff budget by EUR 0,5 million and EEAS HQ Buildings and equipment budget by EUR 0,4 million;

10. Notes with concern that the EEAS reports that the 2022 budget was especially challenging due to new tasks and increasing running costs and that mitigating measures included reducing or cancelling all non-essential expenditure in Delegations, that publication of posts in HQ and Delegations were carefully considered and several were frozen for a period, non-compulsory salary updates and post upgrades were paused or postponed to the extent possible and recovery of claims towards third parties were accelerated where possible;

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Changed11. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine created budgetary pressures for the EEAS, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and other contractor’s costcosts for a number of goods and services; Stresses the importance of establishing a robust and secure financial foundation for the EEAS, emphasising its pivotal role in effectively executing the Union's common security and foreign policy;

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Changed12. Regrets that the budgetary pressure continued in 2023 and led the EEAS to take the decision notdecide toagainst sendsending any staff on any of the planned follow-up missions to the Electoral Observation Missions due to a shortage in the travel budget for a large part of 2023; considers that the EEAS should be given the necessary resources in order to ensure a proper follow-up to these important missions;

13. Notes with satisfaction that the total number of co-locations with Member States and other EU partners in Union Delegations increased from 122 in 2021 to 135 in 2022; welcomes that the EEAS Secretary-General adopted a Decision on co-location policy, which provides a comprehensive and transparent structural framework harmonising the EEAS co-location practice by setting common principles and objectives;

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Changed14. Notes that the total paid mission costs for the EEAS was EUR 24,06524 065 million in 2022, which represents a significant increase from EUR 6,128 million in 2021 but which is more comparable with the pre-COVID 19 level in 2019 when the paid amount was EUR 20,972 million; notes furthermore that the EEAS does not have a separate budget line for missions and travel for the High Representative/Vice President and that the missions and travel costs for the HR/VP are shared between the EEAS and the Commission depending on the purpose of the mission; notes finally, that for 2022, the EEAS had costs of EUR 3 502,73 on 6 mission for the High Representative/Vice President and air-taxi costs of EUR 178 320,76; asks the EEAS to inform Parliament about how many times the High Representative/Vice President travelled with commercial planes and how many times charter planes were used;

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Added15. Is concerned by the extensive use of private leased jets for official trips by the HR/VP; Believes that transparency of work-related activities and sound financial management when using the Union’s public funds should be at the core of the Union institutions; further believes that leaders of the Union’s institution should act as an example for the public with regard to following climate policies in line with the flagship European ‘Green Deal’;

Added16. Recalls the answer received following CONT Member’s written question regarding the details of HR/VP’s travels by air-taxis; regrets that aside from mentioning routes travelled, the EEAS failed to specify the amounts spent on those travels and indicate which trips and what amounts were covered by the EEAS and the Commission’s budgets respectively; stresses the importance of this information being made available to the discharge authority also given the fact that the air-taxi costs increased from 0 EUR in 2021 to 178.320,76EUR in 2022;

Internal management, performance and internal control

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Changed15.17. Notes that during 2022 the exceptional measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic were phased out and the institutions started to resume functioning normally, while the the EEAS was affected by the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine as well as security crises in Afghanistan, Haiti and Sahel; also notes that three Union Delegations were marked as Level 3 on the evacuation level, meaning only essential staff were allowed to stay in the country of posting, Ukraine (since February 2022), Haiti (since June 2022) and Burkina Faso (since December 2022);

18. Welcomes that as a response to the different crises during the last couple of years, the EEAS created the Crisis Response Centre in July 2022, which liaises with external partners like the Union institutions and Member States and brings diplomatic, security and intelligence capabilities together internally;

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Changed17.19. Notes that the Directorate-General for Resource Management, which will continue to handle the administrative aspects of all crisie,crisis, was restructured into two directorates and the number of Divisions was reduced from 16 to 13 by grouping similar and related functions together and the coordination team attached to the Director-General was strengthened;

20. Notes that, in 2021, the EEAS created an Internal Control Committee, which has since met twice per year, in order to allow senior managers to discuss mitigating measures devised to address weaknesses identified in internal controls;

21. Notes with satisfaction that no Union Delegations submitted reservations in 2022;

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Changed20.22. Notes that different elements of the EEAS budget are being audited by its Internal Auditor, the Commission’s Internal Auditing Service and by the Court of Auditors; notes with surprise that the EEAS did not launch any internal audits in 2022, but that two audits were finalised in 2022 and that three audits were still ongoing; stresses the importance of conducting internal audits diligently and regularly especially after the EEAS had introduced a new methodology to its internal auditing system in 2021;

23. Notes that four critical recommendations from the Internal Audit Service remained open in 2022; welcomes that the recommendation concerning the security at the Union Delegation in Mali is being closely monitored; regrets that the recommendations concerning the management of the Union Delegation in Washington remains open and that the creation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) has created complex legal issues; asks that Parliament is kept updated about the development of the situation concerning that LLC;

24. Notes that the EEAS Inspection Services issued 5 critical recommendations during 2022 and appreciates that three have been fully implemented or resolved while the last two are being followed closely; asks the EEAS to provide further information in the follow-up to the discharge report;

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Changed23.25. Underlines that last year’s focus on procurement and recruitment procedures organised by Union Delegations due to the findings by the Court continues to be a cause for concern; notes that the EEAS has argued for several changes to the Financial Regulation to take account of the special situation of Union Delegations in third countries; stresses that while certain flexibility might be justifiable, the differences between deadlines and rules for each of the host country might lead to further errors and inconsistencies in procurement procedures; nevertheless, and taking the final outcome of the negotiations on the Financial Regulation into account, continues tocalls encourageon the EEAS to adopt appropriatenecessary measures like training and improved guidelines to ensure that the number of errors by Union delegations is reduced and report to Parliament about measures adopted;

26. Notes that the Union delegation to the UK opened on 1 February 2020 in the office space previously occupied by the Representation of the Commission and the European Parliament Liaison Office (EPLO); notes with appreciation that, after the signing of a Service Level Agreement between the EEAS and the Parliament, the same rights and obligations will apply to Parliament staff posted in London as the rights and obligations arising from the Establishment Agreement for Delegation Staff, and that the Union Delegation in London notifies Parliament staff to the UK authorities in accordance with the Service Level Agreement;

Human resources, equality and staff well-being

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Changed25.27. Notes that, by the end of 2022, there were 51885 188 people employed by the EEAS, out of which 24192 419 (46,6 %) were posted at the EEAS HQ and 27692 769 (53,4 %) worked in Union Delegations and Offices, which represents an increase of 2,3 % from 5072 people working in the EEAS at the end of 2021 with 23032 303 at the HQ and 27692 769 in Delegations and Offices; notes that the increase of 116 members of staff were all employed at the EEAS HQ; finally notes that, for 2022, the EEAS received an additional 32 full-time equivalents from the Budgetary Authority and that four posts (three AD and one AST) were transferred to the Commission as part of the administrative budget;

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Changed26.28. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the staff was made up of 12471 247 officials, 468 temporary agents, 596 contract agents, 491 seconded national experts, 15731 573 local agents, 144 trainees, 39 junior professionals in Delegations and 630 external, interim and other staff; notes finally that, in addition, there were 33163 316 members of Commission staff employed in Union Delegations;

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Changed27.29. Notes that, at the end of 2022, that out of 17151 715 officials and temporary agents, 881 (51,4 %) were men and 834 (48,6 %) were women, which represents a slight increase from 2021 when 48,1 % of staff were women; notes that among contract agents 55,9 % were women, slightly updown from 57,7 % in 2021 while among seconded national experts 25,1 % were women, which also represents an increase from 22,2 % in 2021; however, notes that women are notably underrepresented in senior positions such as AD 9-12 and AD 13-16, while they are overrepresented mainly in AST positions;

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Changed28.30. Notes with concern that for senior management in HQ and Delegations, there were 18 women (29,0 %) and 44 men (71,0 %) at the end of 2022, representing a slight increase in the relative share of women from 26,8 % in 2021; welcomes that for HQ, the share of women in senior management positions increased from 25,0 % in 2021 to 30,6 % in 2022;

31. Notes that for middle management in HQ and Delegations, there were 86 (38,4 %) women and 138 (61,6 %) men in middle management positions at the end of 2022; notes that this represents an increase in the share of women in those from 34,2 %, but that the share of women is still unsatisfactorily low; further welcomes that for HQ, the share of women in middle management positions increased from 40,7 % in 2021 to 44,4 % in 2022;

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Removed30. Welcomes that the EEAS, in response to the calls from Parliament, has adopted a Gender Action Plan for 2021-2025 as a cross-cutting measure for all aspects of foreign policy as a first step towards a genuine feminist diplomacy; welcomes that the EU Ambassador for Gender and Diversity continues to promote the Union policy framework on Women, Peace and Security to ensure the participation of women in all diplomatic and political dialogues and welcomes the launch of the EU Women Diplomats Network between Member States and the EEAS to promote Union values on diversity and equality and to support gender equality in the rest of the world;

Added32. Calls on the EEAS to persist in taking action to achieve more discernible gender balance within its organisation at all levels;

Removed31. Welcomes that all Member States are represented in the EEAS staff; notes however that some imbalances persist with 25 Member States represented in all staff categories, while there was only one national from Luxembourg, and Malta did not have any nationals in the Contract Agent category; notes that Belgium is the most overrepresented Member State making up 12,7 % of staff employed by the EEAS, including 15,4 % of the officials; notes that out of 141 Union Ambassadors, three Member States does not have any (Hungary, Luxembourg and Malta), whereas the Member States with most Ambassadors are France with 20, Spain with 18, Italy with 17, Germany with 14 and Belgium with 11, implying that these five countries have 80 out of the 141 posts, which is equal to 57 %; notes with satisfaction that this is a reduction compared to last year, when the same five countries had 61 % of the Ambassadors; reiterates its call to the EEAS to continue to ensure a sound geographical balance throughout its organisation and on all levels;

Added33. Welcomes that the Commission and the HR/VP, in response to the calls from Parliament, has adopted a Gender Action Plan for 2021-2025 as a cross-cutting measure for all aspects of foreign policy as a first step towards a genuine feminist diplomacy; welcomes that the EU Ambassador for Gender and Diversity continues to promote the Union policy framework on Women, Peace and Security and to ensure the participation of women in all diplomatic and political dialogues and welcomes the launch of the EU Women Diplomats Network between Member States and the EEAS to promote Union values on diversity and equality and to support gender equality in the rest of the world;

Removed32. Notes that the teleworking rules at the EEAS in 2022 meant that staff in HQ were authorised to telework up to three days per week, while staff in Delegations were authorised to telework one day per week; notes furthermore that new rules on teleworking entered into force in October 2023 and that transitional measures included the authorisation of 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment for both staff in HQ and in Delegations, which on a case-by-case basis can be extended for staff with complex family situations; asks the EEAS to keep Parliament informed about the new teleworking rules and how they are assessed by both staff and management;

Added34. Stresses that the GAP III dictates that by 2025 85 % of new EU actions must contribute to gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment, while the EEAS must accelerate the progress towards the goals of GAP III by focusing meaningfully on its every day work on the GAP III’s key areas of engagement, including ending gender-based violence, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, economic and social rights and empowerment, equal participation and leadership;

Removed33. Notes with regret that the number of staff on long-term sick leave for more than 50 days increased from 91 staff members in 2021 to 111 staff members in 2022, equivalent to an increase of 22 %; notes at the same time that the EEAS has several initiatives in place to ensure support and to educate staff about strategies to avoid burnout, including tasking managers with the responsibility of ensuring that the task allocation is reasonable and that, in the event of burnout, guidance and special working time arrangements are put in place to facilitate the return to work; calls on the EEAS to further consider how long-term sickness, including burnout, can be prevented as much as possible;

Added35. Expresses concern about the global status of LGBTIQ+ rights and the growing resistance to women's rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights in developing countries; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to address setbacks in recognising and protecting these rights; emphasises the need to prioritise targeted support for civil society organisations (CSOs) and communities advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's rights, gender equality, the LGBTIQ+ community and other marginalised groups, including enhanced measures to decriminalise homosexuality; recalls that a minimum of 85 % of new actions under the NDICI-GE instrument should prioritise gender equality, with at least 5 % specifically dedicated to women's and girls' rights and empowerment;

Removed34. Welcomes that, during 2022, the EEAS launched a number of initiatives to raise awareness about harassment, including an “Anti-Harassment Awareness Week” in October 2022 and the adoption of new “Principles of professional behaviour in the EEAS”; notes that, during 2022, two requests for assistance in relation to harassment were submitted, with one being closed in 2022 and the other being closed in 2023, both without sanctions; notes that a further three requests from 2021 and one from 2020 were closed during 2022 and 2023; notes furthermore, that the demand for EEAS mediation services increased during 2022, reaching 218 mediation cases and 19 cases of confidential counselling; asks that Parliament is kept informed about the development in the number of harassment cases and if sanctions are imposed in any of them;

Added36. Welcomes that all Member States are represented in the members of staff of the EEAS; notes however that significant imbalances still persist with 25 Member States represented in all staff categories, while there were only two nationals from Luxembourg (1 CA and 1 SNE), and Malta did not have any nationals in the Contract Agent category; notes that Belgium is the most overrepresented Member State making up 12,7 % of staff employed by the EEAS, including 15,4 % of the officials; notes that out of 141 Union Ambassadors, three Member States do not have any (Hungary, Luxembourg and Malta) and Cyprus and Slovenia have just one national each, notably one less than in 2021, whereas the Member States with most Ambassadors are France with 20, Spain with 18, Italy with 17, Germany with 14 and Belgium with 11, implying that these five countries have 80 out of the 141 posts, which is equal to 57 %; notes with satisfaction that this is a reduction compared to last year, when the same five countries had 61 % of the Ambassador posts; regrets, however, that the amount of Ambassador posts held by Member States that joined in 2004 or later (EU13) decreased to 17 % in 2022, compared to 18 % in 2021; calls on the EEAS to publish, annually, a gender and nationality breakdown of middle and senior management positions; reiterates its concern about the geographical imbalance concerning the position of Heads of delegation and calls for the EEAS to continue improving the geographical balance in order to have a proper representation of nationals from all Member States reflecting their diversity, while at the same time respecting the competences and merits of the candidates;

Removed35. Notes that the EEAS does not know the exact number of staff members with disabilities but that the replies in an anonymous survey from 2021 indicated that 24 of 1075 respondents declared a disability and 23 declared a short term or temporary disability; welcomes that the Union Delegations have produced ‘accessibility factsheets’ providing information on the suitability and accessibility of the Delegation premises in order to ensure that staff with disabilities have relevant information before applying for a posting;