Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 1

Changed1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2022;

Change 2 under “2. PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION”

Changed1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) for the financial year 2022;

Change 3 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed1. Notes that budget monitoring efforts resulted in a budget implementation in 2022 of 96,62 % in commitment appropriations, representing a decrease of 2,10 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 79,73 %, indicating a decrease of 3,78 % compared to 2021; commends the Agency’s efforts to further reduce its payments delays from 32,8 % in 20222020 and 7,8 % in 2021, to 7,2 % in 2022; however, notes with concern that the observation from the Court stressing that the Agency faces challenges regarding late payments is still ongoing; shares the opinion of the Court that this recurrent weakness exposes the Agency to reputational risks;

Change 4 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed2. Notes a low implementation rate (85 %) of the funds (C8) carried-overcarried over from 2021 to 2022, leading to an unused amount of EUR 3,8 million of appropriations; notes with concern that appropriations related to the current budget carried forward from 2022 to 2023 are at a relatively high level of 17 % or EUR 32,5 million; observes further an increasing trend in the last years (2020 to 2022) with regard to the Agency’s surplus (budget result) at the end of the financial year, whereas for 2022, such surplus was EUR 10,3 million, more than the double of the same figure in 2021 (EUR 5,1 million); notes fromthat, according to the the Agency’s 2022 Consolidated Annual Activity Report (CAAR) and the Agency’s report with follow-up to Parliament’s discharge decision on the implementation of the Agency’s budget for 2021 (hereinafter the “Agency’s follow-up report) that2021, the Agency assessed the root-causesroot causes of the high levels of surplus at the end of the financial year and the carry forwardcarry-forward budgetary implementation performance; notes in this sense that the Agency also prepared an action plan; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed on the progress made in this regard;

Change 5 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed6. Commends the Agency’s prompt responsiveness and its support to Member States in combatting crime in the wake of the illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, by, for example, deploying experts and guest officers to support local law enforcement authorities in countries bordering Ukraine or supporting financial investigations targeting criminal assets owned by individuals and legal entities sanctioned in the context of that war; notes moreover that in 2022 the Agency issued several threat assessments on potential implications of the war, as well as early warning and intelligence notifications on e.g. weapons trafficking and trafficking in human beings; further encourages the Agency to do its utmost to support Union’s and Member States’ actions in this field; notes that the illegal military invasion has caused a humanitarian crisis and prompted large numbers of refugees to flee from Ukraine to the Union, meaning that opportunistic criminal networks may use this situation to further their criminal activities; further expresses that the extension of the Agency’s competences as regards support to Member States and cooperation with private parties, third countries and international organisations would require the establishment of additional internal and external oversight mechanisms to guarantee respect of Union law and ensure protection of fundamental rights;

Change 6 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Added7. Notes that the Agency continued to work closely with eu-LISA on establishing automated checks of travel application data from the European Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS) against Europol data; notes that entry into operation of the ETIAS was postponed to November 2023 by the decision of the Council; appreciates that the Agency expanded its cooperation with the European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) in 2022 whereas by the end of the year it supported 21 major EPPO operations in the area of tax fraud;

Change 7 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Changed10.11. Commends the Agency for having received in 2022 the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) registration; further commends the Agency for the use of green public procurement criteria in, as well as for the integration of the Agency’s environmental policy and objectives into its procurement procedures; notes that the Agency initiated a feasibility study project for the development of the Agency’s environmental vision for 2030 to define reduction targets of the Agency’s greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement measures needed to meet those targets; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the results of that study; invites the Agency to consider implementing also intermediate sustainable and energy-efficient solutions both to its infrastructure and internal processes, such as increased use of digital tools and document management;

Change 8 under “3. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Removed12. Notes the Agency’s gender distribution reported for 2022 for senior and middle management, with 82 % being men (28 men and 6 women), for the management board (MB), with 75 % being men (38 men and 13 women) and for the overall staff, with 65 % being men (556 men and 295 women); acknowledges that the proportion of women (35 %) employed by the Agency in 2022 is above the average (based on Eurostat’s 2021 statistics) proportion of women (21,6 %) employed in law enforcement in the Union (police officers, professional judges and prison personnel);

Added13. Highlights that in light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Agency has deployed operational teams composed of cost free seconded national experts (SNE) in several Member States such as Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria, as well as in partner countries such as Moldova, thus increasing its use of cost free SNEs; pinpoints that the income of cost free SNEs remain dependent on national decisions and that a number of Member States have decided not to continue to pay salaries when such situations occur, thus leaving them dependent on the amounts paid to them as daily subsistence allowances (DSA); recalls that while the DSA should be adjusted with the Correction Coefficient and should compensate higher cost of living, with the inflation figures, every 3 years, these rates have remained unchanged over the past 6 years; calls for the Agency to engage in a substantive dialogue with the Commission and competent national authorities in order to ensure a fair compensation for all experts employed by the Agency;

Removed13. Observes that three new burnout cases were reported by the Agency’s medical service in 2022; further observes that the Agency has implemented measures to improve their staff’s well-being such as occupational health and lifestyle advice, medical part-time work schedule, referrals to medical specialists and advice to management supporting staff members, among other; notes that the Management Board agreed with the application, by analogy to Europol, of Commission Decision C (2022) on working time and hybrid working , replacing the previous implementing provisions on working time and on telework, aiming at providing a framework where working at the office and telework are considered equivalent ways of working;

Added14. Notes with concern the Agency’s gender distribution reported for 2022 for senior and middle management, with 82 % being men (28 men and 6 women), for the management board (MB), with 75 % being men (38 men and 13 women), and for the overall staff, with 65 % being men (556 men and 295 women); acknowledges that the proportion of women (35 %) employed by the Agency in 2022 is above the average (based on Eurostat’s 2021 statistics) proportion of women (21,6 %) employed in law enforcement in the Union (police officers, professional judges and prison personnel); recalls the importance to ensure gender balance and calls on the Agency to take this aspect into consideration with regard to future recruitments of staff and appointments within its senior and middle management; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Agency’s MB;

Removed14. Notes from the Agency’s replies to Parliament’s written questions, that although the Agency has not implemented the ‘Charter on Diversity and Inclusion’, it has put in place its own Diversity and Inclusion Strategy; further notes that in 2022 the Agency has revised and adopted the Manual of procedures for the implementation of the decision of the MB on the policy on protecting the dignity of the person and preventing psychological and sexual harassment; notes that during the period 2017-2022, the Agency sought external legal advice on two cases of alleged harassment; notes that no harassment cases relating to the Agency’s staff were brought before a court in 2022;

Added15. Observes that three new burnout cases were reported by the Agency’s medical service in 2022; further observes that the Agency has implemented measures to improve the well-being of its staff such as occupational health and lifestyle advice, medical part-time work schedule, referrals to medical specialists and advice to management supporting staff members, among other; notes that the Management Board agreed with the application, by analogy to the Agency, of Commission Decision C (2022) on working time and hybrid working, replacing the previous implementing provisions on working time and on telework, aiming at providing a framework where working at the office and telework are considered equivalent ways of working; calls on the Agency to continue exploring solutions for reducing burnout cases and report back to the discharge authority about the progress achieved;