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 VII – Committee of the Regions

(2023/2136(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 VII – Committee of the Regions,

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

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A90000/2024),(A9-0073/2024),

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;

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ChangedB. whereas the Committee of the Regions (the ‘Committee’) is a political assembly of 329 members elected in the regions, cities, villages and municipalities of the 27 Member States of the Union, operating as a consultative body for the Union institutions,institutions with the mission of contributing to the Union policy shaping and decision making process from the point of view of the local and regional authorities and at the same time contributing to make the Union more effective and closer to the citizens;

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ChangedC. whereas the consultation of the Committee by the Commission or the Council is mandatory in certain cases, while the Committee may also adopt opinions on its own initiative and enjoys a wide area for referral, as set out in the Treaties, allowing it to be consulted by Parliament;

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ChangedD. whereas the Committee’s activities are defined on the basis of its overall political strategy as set out in its resolution of 2 July 2020 on its priorities for 2020-2025, and whereas the Committee adopted three political priorities for the 2020-2025 mandate, accompanied by three communication campaigns: Bringing Europe closer to people, Building resilient regional and local communities, and Promoting cohesion as a fundamental value of the EU;Union;

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ChangedE. whereas the local and regional administrations account for one third of public spending, half of public investment and one fourth of tax revenues and, in many Member States, hold competencies in key areas such as education, economic development and cohesion, environment, social protection, health and services of general interest, hence the coordination of local, regional, national and European levels increases the legitimacy of legislation, improves ownership and pursues more effectively pursues the benefit of citizens;

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ChangedF. whereas the Committee pursues its political goal toof strengthenstrengthening its involvement in the entire Union political and legislative cycle while makings more tangible the connection with Union citizens that use the Committee’s members as powerful multipliers in their communities and in their national associations of local and regional authorities;

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ChangedG. whereas the over 400 national and regional programmes in place for the delivery of the Union cohesion policy in the 2021-2027 programming period will make available approximately EUR 380 billion, under different funds, to tackle the economic, social and environmental challenges that regionsregions, cities, villages and citiesmunicipalities in the Union are facing;

H. whereas, as an Union institution within the meaning of the Financial Regulation, the Committee is required to adopt its own annual accounts, prepared in accordance with the accounting rules adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer (European Union Accounting Rules) and based on the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, which are ultimately consolidated into those of the Union;

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Changed1. Notes that the budget of the Committee falls under MFF heading 7 ‘European public administration’, which amounted to a total of EUR 11,6 billion in 2022, i.e. 5,9 % of Union budget spending; notes that, in 2022, the budget of the Committee represented 0,95 % of MFF heading 7 appropriations;7;

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Changed2. 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 expenditure on pensions, which in 2022 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and expenditure on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technologytechnology, and that its work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk;

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3. Notes that, as part of its audit for 2022, the Court, examined the supervisory and control systems of the Committee, in particular the implementation of internal control standards, risk management and the functioning of key controls defined in the Financial Regulation, including ex ante and ex post controls on payments;

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

5. Notes with satisfaction that the Court, in its Annual Report for the financial year 2022, states that it did not identify any specific issues concerning the Committee;

Budgetary and financial management

6. Notes that, in 2022, the final adopted budget for the Committee amounted to EUR 109 976 858, including Amending Budget 5/2022, representing an overall increase of 3,03 % compared to 2021; notes that the appropriations on budget line 1004 for ‘travel and subsistence allowances, attendance at meetings and associated expenditure’ increased from EUR 4 244 488 to EUR 8 158 838, i.e. by 92 %, between 2021 and 2022, owing to the resumption of travel after the COVID-19 pandemic; notes that, otherwise, the distribution of appropriations across budget lines in the 2022 budget remained comparable to previous years’ distribution;

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Changed7. Notes that the missions’ budget for 2022 amounted to EUR 419,657,419 657, compared to EUR 169 856 in 2021, i.e. an increase of 147 %, which can be explained by the number of online meetings in 2021 and at the beginning of 2022 due to the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic,pandemic as well as the increase in travel prices in 2022; notes that the allowance for the PresidentCommittee’s Presidency (President and 1st Vice-President) for travel and meeting expenses, which are financed from the general missions’budget budget,for Members expenses, increased from EUR 49 852 to EUR 71 810, i.e. an increase of 44 %, between 2021 and 2022; welcomes the guidance towards a more cost effective, purposeful and sustainable mission policy that was circulated in June 2022 with a view to reducing the Committee’s staff missions to a minimum;

8. Notes that the budget implementation rate was 99,2 % in 2022, which is slightly higher than in 2021, when the budget implementation rate was 98,9 %;

9. Notes that the average time for payment in 2022 was 17,87 days, which is higher than in 2021 when it was 16,11 days; notes that, at the same time, the percentage of electronic invoicing increased from 32 % to 68 %; remarks that there is no correlation between the two figures and calls on the Committee to complete the digitalisation of the payment workflow aiming to improve its efficiency and timeliness;

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Changed10. Notes that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine created budgetary pressure for the Committee, including through rising inflation and salary adjustments, strongly increasing energy costs and the cost of construction and raw materialsmaterials; notes further that the Committee mobilised its political support to Ukrainian local and regional authorities and organised activities in relation to the war inagainst Ukraine, which had an impact on the budget for missions, studies and trainings;

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Changed11. Notes that the Committee’s own services organised 14 procurement calls for tenders in 2022, including 11 negotiated procurement procedures for remote interpretation services in the Member States; notes that procurement procedures in the field of logistics were launched by the joint services that the Committee shares with the European Economic and Social Committee (the ‘EESC’);

Internal management, performance and internal control

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Changed12. Notes that the Committee contributes to the Union policy and decision making process from the perspective of the regional and local authorities within the Union and provides a framework to enhance cooperation between the local, regional, national and European levels and to bring Europe closer to its citizens; welcomes the relevance of the contribution of the Committee to important Union topics such as the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility as reflected in Parliament’s resolution of 23 June 2022 on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility; further encourages the Committee to assist its members in participating in local dialogues with citizens on European matters;

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Changed13. Notes that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and resolutions, which highlight the Committee’s position on specific topics; notes that, in 2022, the Committee adopted 55 opinions and 8 resolutions,resolutions which is slightly lower than in 2021,2021 when the Committee adopted 60 opinions and 9 resolutions; encourages the Committee to continue boosting its ability to provide evidence from the ground to the principal Union institutions, using data, empirical analyses and compilations of best practice;

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Changed14. Notes positivelyWelcomes that the Committee took concrete steps to strengthen its involvement in the entire Union political and legislative cycle in line with its prerogatives under the Treaties; welcomes, in particular, the cooperation agreement between Parliament and the Committee and the close cooperation between the Committee and several parliamentary committees, intergroups and Directorates-General;directorates-general; notes that, in 2022, the Committee organised 56 preparatory and follow-up meetings with Parliament for the rapporteurs of its opinions; notes further that 20 Committee rapporteurs intervened in Parliament’s committee meetings in 2022; congratulates the Committee for strengthening its involvement in legislative trilogues, notably by being granted access to trilogue documents; considers that members of the Committee and of the EESC should be invited to relevant parliamentary exchanges, including committee meetings, on issues they are dealing with;

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Changed15. Welcomes the measures taken by the Committee throughout 2022 to optimise its resources and to improve cost-effectiveness while increasing the impact of its political work in the context of the ‘Going for IMPact’ programme and in particular the 43 simplification and digitalisation projects contributingthat contribute to the modernisation of the Committee’s administration and to the digitalisation of workflows as part of the ‘Strategy on the simplification of Committee rules and procedures for the period 2020-2025’;

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Changed16. Welcomes the active involvement of the Committee in the works of the Conference on the Future of Europe (‘COFE’)(‘CoFE’) with a delegation of 30 members, 12 of whom represented the European associations of local and regional authorities; notes that, following the work performed in 2021, in 2022 the Committee organised 14 meetings with COFECoFE delegates and 9 preparatory meetings; highlights that the Committee created a dedicated task force, ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’, to coordinate the work of all directorates and units involved; notes that proposals contained in the final report of the COFE,CoFE, issued on 9 May 2022, were taken up in the Committee’s project ‘Tapping into the regional and local authorities’ potential to strengthen the EU’, which was implemented throughout 2022;

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Removed17. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee reviewed and strengthened its internal control framework at the levels of planning and reporting, systems, financial verification and sensitive functions; congratulates the Committee for developing the dedicated ‘Convergence’ tool and platform for planning, reporting, risk assessment and business continuity; notes that the new sensitive posts policy entered into force on 1 January 2022 and was communicated to staff on 27 January 2022;

Added17. Underlines that in its final report, the plenary assembly of the CoFE in its 40th recommendation, under measure 3, calls for a reform the Committee, encompassing adequate channels of dialogue for regions as well as cities, villages and municipalities, giving it an enhanced role in the institutional architecture, if matters with a territorial impact are concerned;

Removed18. Notes that, until April 2022, all meetings were held online, whereas as of April 2022, statutory meetings were organised in physical presence, while other meetings could be organised remotely or in hybrid format; notes that, until the revision of the Committee’s Rules of Procedure in 2023, a flat-rate meeting allowance of EUR 200 for remote and hybrid meetings continued to be paid according to the rules in place since 2021; notes that as of July 2023, the remote meeting allowance was set at 50 % of the standard meeting allowance (i.e. currently 50 % of EUR 359, equalling EUR 179,50); considers that remote attendance is an important instrument for modern institutions, given that, inter alia, it reduces the costs of meetings and allows broader participation, especially during crisis situations, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; nevertheless considers that an allowance for remote participation, despite being reduced, is difficult for the public to understand, even more so when taking into consideration the difference paid to the members of the Committee and the members of the EESC for attending meetings remotely; notes with satisfaction that the recommendations of the internal audit on the adequacy of the planning and management of allowances and reimbursements to members for attendances at meetings were satisfactorily implemented;

Added18. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee reviewed and strengthened its internal control framework at the levels of planning and reporting, systems, financial verification and sensitive functions; congratulates the Committee for developing the dedicated convergence tool and platform for planning, reporting, risk assessment and business continuity; notes that the new sensitive posts policy entered into force on 1 January 2022 and was communicated to staff on 27 January 2022;

Added19. Notes that, until April 2022, all meetings were held online, whereas as of April 2022 statutory meetings are organised in physical presence while other meetings may be organised remotely or in hybrid format; notes that, until the revision of the Committee’s rules of procedure in 2023, a flat-rate meeting allowance of EUR 200 for remote and hybrid meetings continued to be paid according to the rules in place since 2021; notes that as of July 2023 the remote meeting allowance is set at 50 % of the standard meeting allowance (i.e. currently 50 % of EUR 359, equalling EUR 179,50); considers that remote attendance is an important instrument for modern institutions given that, inter alia, it reduces the costs of meetings and allows broader participation, especially during crisis situations as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic; notes with satisfaction that the recommendations of the internal audit on the adequacy of the planning and management of allowances and reimbursements to members for attendances at meetings were satisfactorily implemented;

Human resources, equality and staff well-being

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Changed19.20. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Committee had a total of 533 members of staff, compared to 547 in 2021 and 537 in 2020; notes that 56 contract agents and 89 temporary agents were employed by the Committee at the end of 2022, out of which 21 contract agents had an indefinite contract and 3three temporary agents were employed onin a temporary position, includingin thetwo President,cases with an indefinite contract in two cases andand, forin athe durationcase of 5the yearsSecretary-General, infor thea casefixed duration of thefive President;years; notes, in addition, that the Committee employed 8 interim agents and 14 external members of staff working on-site, excluding external service providers in the fields of logistics and IT; notes, in 2022, that the occupation rate of the posts in the establishment plan was 96 %;

21. Notes that a new pilot project on a hybrid working regime, aiming to align the HR framework to new ways of working, entered into force in April 2022, providing the possibility for Committee staff to organise their weekly and daily work with a high degree of flexibility and to telework up to 60 % of their working time; welcomes that the new regime allows for the possibility of a number of part-time formulas based on the statutory rights provided in the Staff Regulation; notes with satisfaction that 90,25 % of those that responded to the staff survey of December 2022 indicated their satisfaction with those flexible arrangements;

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Changed21.22. Notes with concern that 16 cases of burnout were reported in the Committee in 2022; notes further that the Committee managed to reintegrate 15 staff members of staff in 2022 after a long-term absence as a result of burnout, thanks to a personalised follow-up of long-term sickness leave; welcomes the preventive actions taken by the Committee to reduce psychosocial risks and burnout; appreciates in this regard the proactive approach of the medical service and the awareness-raising conferences, trainings and courses organized by the Committee;

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Changed22.23. Notes that the Committee continued to raise awareness about the measures put in place to combat harassment in the workplace,workplace in accordance with its Decision of 26 April 2021 on protecting dignity at work, managing conflict and combatting harassment, notably through dedicated guidance, internal communication and the organisation of several information sessions for staff and managers; notes that, in 2022, the Committee had to deal with a new allegation of psychological harassment by a member of staff of the EESC against a member of staff of the Committee,Committee which allegation is still under examination by both committees; calls on the Committee to report on the follow-up to thosethat allegations,allegation, notably taking into account the inter-institutional perspective;

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Changed23.24. Notes that, at the end of 2022, the Committee was employingemployed 56,8 % women and 43,2 % men, compared to 56,6 % women in 2021 and and 55,5 % women in 2020; notes with concerns that the distribution of women across grades and status follows the same trend as in previous years and regrets that, despite the appointment of a new female director in 2023 and some efforts to attract more women to management positions, the situation remains particularly unbalanced both at senior and middle management levels; recommends that vacancy notices are made more inclusive and that more women are encouraged to apply for senior and middle management positions, including by ensuring a balanced representation on selection boards, by offering training opportunities for female staff that wishes to prepare for a managerial career and by proposing more flexible work arrangements;

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Changed2425. NotesWelcomes that, inon 7 July 2022, the Committee launchedadopted a new five-year diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan;plan for 2022-2026; encourages the Committee to pursue its efforts to reach the targets set out in that strategy and action plan, notably the gender equality target of 40 % of women in senior management positions by 2024;2024 with the introduction of parity as the ultimate goal; welcomes the awareness-raising and the targeted measures put in place to promote and enhance a more diverse and inclusive workplace at the level of staff representation and contact points across all Committee departments under the coordination of a dedicated diversity and inclusion coordinator;

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Changed25.26. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee was employingemployed members of staff representing all Union nationalities and one member of staff of Ukrainian nationality; welcomesnotes that, while welcoming the Committee’s efforts to balance the geographical distribution among its staff, forgeographical instancebalance byhas reachingstill outnot been reached as some nationalities continue to abe wideroverrepresented poolcompared ofto potentialothers; candidatesencourages forthe permanentCommittee positionsto andcontinue byto promotingtake expertaction andto non-permanentreach positionsa throughproper geographical distribution within its networksstaff atwith national,a regionalparticular andfocus localon levels;the management level; welcomes the participation of the Committee in the interinstitutional taskforce on geographical balance aimingwhich toaims shareat sharing best practices and creating synergies among Union institutions;

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Changed26.27. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee ran, for the first time, apilota pilot interinstitutional job shadowing scheme involving 3three Union institutions and 25 participants, aiming toat increaseincreasing the understanding of the working methods and processes of other institutions, reinforcing interinstitutional collaboration, promoting mobility and providing for a more flexible workforce; congratulates the Committee for launching this innovative interinstitutional initiative which was then scaled up and taken over by the European School of Administration as of 2023;

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Changed27.28. Notes that the Committee had 60 trainees in 2022 of whom 48 were remunerated trainees and 12 were study visitorsvisitors, receivingin atwo socialcases allowancereceiving ina twosocial cases;allowance; welcomes the new rules approved in 2022 in relation to the remuneration of trainees, whereby study visits can only be approved if either the trainee receives funding from another source or the traineeship is mandatory in the context of the trainee’s studies and whereby all types of trainees can request a social allowance in duly justified cases; welcomes that trainees’ working conditions are aligned to those of the staff under the new flexible working arrangements underarrangements, whichmeaning allthat trainees may telework from abroad one day per month of the traineeship;

Ethical framework and transparency

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Changed28.29. Welcomes the efforts of theCommittee’s Committeeefforts to enhance ethical awareness among its staff and the Committee’s enforcement of ethics rules in different procedures, such as recruitment, and of ethical obligations and rights in different administrative positions,situations, such as outside activities, training and leaving the service, as a follow-up to the internal audit on staff awareness of ethics; notes that the basic documents and rules underlying the ethical framework wereare published on the Committee’s intranet in order to raise staff awareness about ethics rules; notes further that 14 collective training courses were organised by the Committee specifically on ethics-related topics in 2022, reaching 107 staffmembers members,of staff, and that 75 % of staff attended the general ethics training course throughout 2022;

30. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee continued the implementation of its 2020 code of conduct for members and, in that respect, intensified its efforts to collect missing financial declarations of members; notes that six alternate members appointed in January 2020 had still failed to submit their financial declarations by June 2023 and that, although none of those six members had attended any meeting of the Committee since their appointment, the Committee launched the enforcement procedure laid down in the members’ code of conduct;

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Changed30.31. Notes that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigated three cases in 2022,2022 amongout of which one case was new caseand concerned outside gainful activities and two cases were ongoing cases,and closed thethat same year,year and concerned respectively undue payment of travel allowances and allegations of financial wrongdoings, harassment and mismanagement in a joint service of the Committee and the EESC; notes that the case concerning the payment of undue travel allowances was closed at the beginning of 2022 with the request ofby the Committee to the member in question to reimburse the allowance received for ethical reasons in the absence of a legal basis to recover such amounts; notes that, at the beginning of 2024, the member in question communicated his intention to reimburse the amount initially requested by OLAF for ethical reasons, and that the Committee's financial services were ready to take all necessary steps in this regard; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority of anythe Committee’s follow-up to this case in accordance with the statutory obligations of staff under the Staff Regulations, in particular because the case involved a member of the Committee who was, at the same time, an accredited parliamentary assistant,assistant with Brussels beingas the contractual place of workwork, meaning that there was no need for travel expenses for meetings of the Committee taking place in Brussels; regrets that the member did not reimburse the disputed amounts and expects that OLAF’s request to impose disciplinary measures against the member, currently processed by the competent bodies of the Committee, will be followed up in due time; notes that the case concerning allegations of financial wrongdoings, harassment and mismanagement in a joint service gave rise to a conflict-management exercise involving the persons concerned, their hierarchy and the respective HR departments with a five-point action plan which was implemented throughout 2021 and 2022;

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Changed31.32. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee continued to implement transparency measures,measures such as the publication of members’ declarations of financial interest on its website,website but did not formally join the EU Transparency Register set up by the interinstitutional agreement of 20 May 2021 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on a mandatory transparency register;register(IIA)3; is aware that new transparency measures focusing on office-holding members and rapporteursrapporteurs, in line with the principles of the EU Transparency Register, were adopted by the Committee in 2023a decision taken by theits Committeebureau in lineJuly with2023 and notified to the principlesManagement Board of the EU Transparency Register,Register; butnotes considersthat, thaton transparency20 wouldNovember be2023, morethe effectivelyManagement enforcedBoard throughof actuallythe joiningEU thatTransparency Register;Register reiteratesconsidered itsthe calltransparency onmeasures consistent with the Committeeobjectives inpursued by the 2021IIA dischargeand resolutionwelcomed tothe reconsiderCommittee's itsregulation participationas an important step in further strengthening the joint framework and fostering a common transparency culture at Union level; welcomes that the Committee formally joined the EU Transparency Register;Register as from 1 January 2024;

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Changed32.33. Notes that, in 2022, the Committee did not detect any conflicts of interest, which would have required a follow-up by the administration; notes that the Committee didcontinued notto adoptrely anyon newthe measuresrules in place to prevent conflicts of interest and avoid revolving doors between the public and the private sector in 2022 and continued to rely on the rules in place and to promote them through ethics trainings;trainings and awareness raising;

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Changed33.34. Notes that no cases of whistleblowing were reported to the Committee in 2022; notes that the Committee did not adopt any new measures concerning whistleblowing in 2022 and continued to rely on the measures in place since 2015 concerning whistleblowing and to promote them through ethics trainings;trainings and awareness raising;

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Changed34.35. NotesRegrets that the Committee didhas not adoptadopted anyan internal anti-fraud strategy in 2022;strategy; reiterates its call on the Committee in the 2021 discharge resolution for 2021 to launch an internal fraud risk analysis and to coordinate with the competent services of the Commission with a view to adopting an adequate internal anti-fraud strategy;

Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection

36. Notes that the combined IT budget of the Committee and the EESC amounted to EUR 11 712 000 in 2022, including a reinforcement of EUR 750 000 by an internal budget transfer during the year, compared to EUR 12 860 000 in 2021, i.e. a decrease of 9 %;

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Changed36.37. Notes that the Committee has a digital strategy aiming to provide IT services according to the best practices of IT management while optimising the use of human and financial resources; notes that the Committee worked on the adaptation and development of several strategic IT tools throughout 20222022, aiming to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the political work of the Committee and of its administrative processes and workflows; notes that the main IT infrastructure project in 2022 concerned an adaptation of the network typology required for the new computer room in the Jacques Delors Building (JDE) in line with the hybrid cloud roadmap;

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Changed37.38. Notes that the Committee increased the amount of hybrid meetings in 2022 in order to adapt to hybrid work and to align its practices to the new guidance towards a more cost effective, purposeful and sustainable missions policy,policy circulated in June 2022 by the Secretary-General of the Committee which requires the Committee to optimise its way of working and replace as many staff missions as possible by video-conferencing; understands that this new way of working required a technical upgrade in terms of equipment for hybrid meeting rooms;