Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Change 9

Changed16. NotesNotes, from the Court’s reportreport, the observation wherebythat, in 20222022, several agencies (e.g. ECDC and Europol) included in their payments to the grant beneficiaries a reimbursement of the value-added tax (VAT) associated with the claimed costs, thereby contravening Article 186(4) of the Financial Regulation, because, in the Court’s view, the beneficiaries were public authorities in activities of a public authority and therefore they were not entitled to VAT reimbursement; notes the arguments of the agencies concerned as to why they differ from the Court’s position on this issue; echoes the Court’s recommendation to the agencies to manage grants by ensuring compliance with the applicable rules, in particular regarding reimbursement of VAT to beneficiaries whichthat are public authorities; calls on the European Union Agencies Network (EUAN) to establish a common understanding on VAT reimbursement according to the financial regulation;

Change 10

Changed18. Notes that all agencies use various systems of key performance indicators (KPIs), planned outputs or strategic targets set as part of their performance measurement; stresses that EUAN could help agencies to use a common system of KPIs; notes that for 15 agencies, the implementation rate of their Annual Working Programme (AWP) exceeded 95 %, while for 14 agencies that rate was below 95 % in 2022; reiterates its call on all the agencies to report to the discharge authority on the implementation rate of their AWP as a consolidated figure expressed in percentage; appreciates the KPI’s fulfilled by the Agencies and the fact that the Agencies have drawn attention to measures that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work; however calls on the Agencies to take note of the indicators that have not yet been achieved or are lagging behind; encourages the agencies to use the EUAN facilities to improve the achievement of these indicators;

Change 11

Changed19. Notes the achievements and successes of all agencies in 2022, the first year of the unprovoked and unjustified Russian militarywar attackof aggression against Ukraine; commendscommends, in this contextcontext, the swift actions taken by the agencies, in various areas such justice and home affairs (e.g. EUAA, Frontex, Europol, FRA), supervision of financial systems (e.g. ESMA), security and defence (e.g. EASA), and employment, social affairs and inclusion (e.g. Eurofound), despite the challenges posed not only by the illegal war in Ukraine, but also record-high inflation rates across the Union and the energy crisis;

Change 12

Added22. Appreciates the high quality work performed by the agencies working in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion (CEDEFOP, Eurofound, EU-OSHA, ETF and ELA); recalls the particular mandates of these agencies and the specific composition of their management bodies based on the tripartite principle and thus including representatives of the national authorities and social partners; recognises that, through their members, the management bodies ensure the necessary alignment between the agencies’ work and stakeholder needs and priorities; notes with satisfaction the introduction of hybrid meetings and the use of written procedures which contribute to reducing the cost of in-person meetings;

Change 13

Removed23. Notes with concern, from the Court’s report, the disclosures of two agencies (EUAA and EUSPA) reporting on the impact that the unprovoked and unfair aggression against Ukraine had on their activities; notes in this context the increased demand for assistance from Member States accepting refugees from Ukraine and the interruption in the use of Russian Soyuz launchers for Galileo satellites;

Added24. Welcomes the cooperation and coordination of the work between agencies dealing in the same field, such as the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), the JHA agencies, the agencies in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion, as well as others, but also cross-cutting cooperation between agencies from different policy areas;

Added25. Notes with concern, from the Court’s report, the disclosures of two agencies (the EUAA and EUSPA) reporting on the impact that the unprovoked and unfair aggression against Ukraine had on their activities; notes, in this context, the increased demand for assistance from Member States accepting refugees from Ukraine and the interruption in the use of Russian Soyuz launchers for Galileo satellites;

Change 14

Changed24.26. Calls on the agencies to continue developing synergies (in areas such as human resources, procurement, digitalisation, building management, IT services and cyber-security), as well as cooperation and exchange of good practices with other Union agencies with a view to improving efficiency, in particular given the impact of the war in Ukraine and inflationary strains; calls on all the agencies to put a system and criteria in place to monitor in objective and granular ways and report to the discharge authority on the evolution, from one year to the next, of the gains and/or savings registered by the agencies in terms of time, staff, energy used, etc.; invites all agencies to coordinate, including with the European Union Agencies Network (EUAN),EUAN, in order to identify and use a common tool allowing for the reporting of such gains/savings in a comparable way;

Change 15

Changed25.27. AcknowledgesInsists on the important role of the EUAN in the development of synergies, including by helping the agencies to optimise the use of their budgets through coordinationcoordination, inter alia, of joint procurement procedures, partnerships, reassessment of priorities, cost reductions, among other;reductions; acknowledgesacknowledges, in this contextcontext, the work done by the ten thematic EUAN’EUAN sub-networks; further remindsrecalls that joint initiatives bring together diverse perspectives, reduce duplication of effort, enhance learning and strengthen relationships between the participants; encourages the EUAN to strengthen its role of coordination and to propose more common tools that can help the agencies;

Change 16

Changed26.28. Welcomes the Court’s horizontal audit providing an analysis of the agencies’ responseresponses to the climate and energy crises and how they reported on their climate and energy performance; notes from the Court’s report and from the agencies replies to Parliament’s written questions that, at the end of 2022, 10 agencies (6 in 2021) were EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)-certified and 22 agencies were not EMAS-certified (of which for 15 agencies the process for EMAS certification was ongoing); calls on all the agencies concerned to speed up the process for receiving the EMAS registration;certification;

Change 17

Changed27.29. Notes with appreciation that all agencies have put measures in place to varying degrees in order reduce their environmental impact and make a positive contribution to sustainable development; commends the agencies (e.g. ACER) which have formally adopted (and implemented) a greening action plan; reiterates its recommendation for all agencies to adopt multiannual action plans that include commitments regarding CO2 reductions which can be achievedachieved, inter alia, by using sustainable buildings and working spaces, optimising energy consumption, promoting low carbon travel modes, using hybrid working methods, prioritising the purchase of sustainable products and services, among other;services; calls on all the agencies to consider environmental aspects when looking for new office space; reiterates the potential role of EUAN in this context to assist the agencies by establishing an had hoc multiannual action plan;

Change 18

Changed28.30. NotesWelcomes moreoverthat 19 out of 33 decentralised Agencies have implemented corporate plans to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality; regrets however from the Court’s report that, 1814 agenciesout of 33 decentralised Agencies have not yet implemented any corporate plans to improve energy efficiency and climate neutrality and 12 agencies issue anof environmentaltheir statement;operations; notes thatthat, in 20222022, no agency published a sustainability report, with Cedefop, EIT and Eurofound having plans to do so by 2024; echoesechoes, in this contextcontext, the Court’s recommendation forand urges all agencies to improve their climate neutrality and energy efficiency through up-to-date corporate plans that foresee clearly defined, quantified baselines and targets for reducing carbon footprint and energy consumption, as well as to report on their climate, energy and environmental performance through the publication of sustainability reports or environmental statements;

Change 19

Changed29.31. Recalls the importance of increasing the level of digitalisation of the agencies in terms of internal operation and management, as well procedures, in order transition to paperless processes; notes that this positive development has an impact on cost-effectiveness; is pleased that, in 2022, further progress has been made with regard to digitalisation and optimisation of their workflows and procedures, in particular in the fields of HR and procurement procedures; encourages all agencies to adopt and implement the Advanced Qualified Signature and Qualified Electronic Signature software to obtain approvals and signatures from both internal and external counterparties in procurement and contractual documents; asks the EUAN to support all initiatives to speed up this process of digitalisation and to keep reporting to the discharge authority on the progress made in digitalisation matters;

Change 20

Added32. Calls on the Commission to ensure better use of the Agencies’ expertise in relevant policy areas regarding, for example, elaboration of reports and studies, conducting research and surveys, which can allow for more efficient utilisation of Union budget resources compared to alternative solutions; stresses, in this regard, the unused potential of the agencies working in the area of employment, social affairs and inclusion in providing for specific, relevant information and the same quality products as external consultants, when their mandates allow it;

Change 21

Changed32.35. Notes with concern that, in 2022, the staff turnover rate was more than 5 % in 15 out of 33 agencies, whereas four of them exceeded the 10 % rate; commends the agencies (e.g. EBA) for the targeted measures they took to prevent high staff turnover rates; highlights the importance for all agencies to implement measures with a view to improveimproving talent management and retention; counts on the EUAN to be a forum for its member agencies with regard to exchanging good practices and, where possible, joining forces in this matter;

Change 22

Changed33.36. Notes that the geographical balance of staff of Union decentralised agencies follows the population of the Member States as a percentage of the EU27 more closely than the geographical balance of staff of the Commission; regrets an under-representation for seven Member States, an over-representation for seventeen Member States and an approximate balance for three Member States; remindsrecalls that the Agencies need to take concrete measures for geographical balance to be improved; takes notenotes from the study on ‘The use of contract agents in decentralised agencies’ published on 15 May 2023 (hereinafter the ‘Study’) fthatthat the financial attractiveness of the CA posts in various regions can impact the geographical diversity of applicants;

Change 23

Changed35.38. Acknowledges that attracting talent and ensuring a geographically diverse work forceworkforce are linked to agencies’ individual specificities (e.g. location, infrastructure, schooling, policy area), as well as to external limiting factors (e.g. competition with the private sector, job uncertainty due to short term contracts, low correction coefficients); notenotes with appreciation from the EUAN’s follow-up report to the discharge for 2021, the actions taken by the EUAN to remedy the lack of attractiveness and improve the representativeness of the agencies’ staff in terms of age, gender and geographical origin;

Change 24

Changed36.39. Notes with concern the observations from the Court’s report on the weaknessweaknesses related to allowances to SNEs, traineeship grants and recruitment procedures, whereasand notes that the Court made 8 observations of which 3 linked to irregular payments; calls on the agencies concerned to improve their ex-ante checks so that payments are made based on documentary evidence and the rules in force;

Change 25

Changed43.46. Recalls that decentralised agencies have the theoretical possibility to recruit contract agents (CA)for up to 65 % of their total staff number,number to be made up of contract agents (CAs), in accordance with the Union’s Staff Regulations, a provision which aims at flexibility; notesnotes, in this contextcontext, from the exchange of views expressed during the public hearing (called ‘Personnel and other resources at EUUnion agencies, Bodies and Joint Undertakings’, hereinafter the ‘Public Hearing’) held in the Parliament on 27/06/2023, as well as from the Study, that the Commission’s uniform procedures for defining the number of CAs leaves no flexibility to hire CAs based on workload assessment in line with the mandate of the agencies and limitlimits their ability to adapt to emerging needs in an agile way; notes also from the Public Hearing that the costs associated with interim staff services, used to address short-term business needs and absences, exceed significantly exceed the costs withassociated thewith CAs which becomesis a challenge in light of the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 11 November 2021 (Case C-948/19)C-948/19), given that it obliges the agencies to follow the principle of equal pay for equal tasks, regardless of their contractual situation; reiterates its call on the agencies to rely as much as possible on permanent staff in order to guarantee quality working conditions, and to prevent knowledge and experience from being lost and on the Commission to ensure appropriate humanallocations resourcesof allocations;human resources;

Change 26

Changed44.47. NotesNotes, from the StudyStudy, that in terms of workforce composition, the number of CAs has been increasing over the last decade across decentralised agencies, both in absolute terms and as a relative share of the total workforce: from 17 % in 2012 to 21 % in 2021, whereas the number of CA staff in category IV has seen the largest increase over time (with a share of up to 46 % across all function groups in 2019), potentially indicating that agencies may be employing CAs to perform core tasks within the agencies’ mandate; understands that employing CAs as an integral part of the workforce helps agencies address the exhaustion of options for efficiency gains while accommodating the increased scope of responsibilities with fewer posts; pointspoints, howeverhowever, to the fact that discrepancies in contract types for similar tasks have important implications for the overall work experience of CACAs and their motivation and the higher rotation of CAs working within more specialised roles could pose challenges for the retention of organisational knowledge; notes in addition from the Study the differences between the CA’CA and local salaries across Member States, whereas for some agencies (EEA, Eurofound, Europol) the CA salaries of all function groups were lower than the average salaries on the Member States (DK, IE, NL), while the salaries of CACAs employed in other agencies (e.g. ENISA, EIGE) were higher than the local salaries (EL, LT); observes that the recruitment process for CACAs varies from three to nine months or more and the differences between the salaries for the variety of roles can impact the recruitment procedures and their success rates;

Change 27

Changed46.49. Notes from the EUAN’s follow-up report to the discharge for 2021 that in some cases, agencies consider their degree of exposure to risk of conflictconflicts of interest and lobbyist pressure to be low, due to their missions, tasks they perform and the environment and context in which they operate, which has an impact on their consideration to what extent they need an anticorruption strategy, while other agencies, due to their higher exposure to such risk, have introduced fully fledged anticorruption strategies, in some cases developed with OLAF; reiteratesreiterates, in this contextcontext, the need to regularly update the rules on transparency, incompatibilities, conflicts of interest and ‘revolving door’ situations, and illegal lobbying, as well as anti-fraud strategies; notes from the agencies’ follow-up report to the discharge for 2021, that most agencies do not plan to develop an internal anticorruption strategy, while in the case of some agencies (e.g. EBA, EIOPA), their anti-fraud strategies include an anti-corruption strategy;

Change 28

Changed49.52. Highlights that most agencies reported not tothat havethey investigateddid ornot concludedhave cases of conflicts of interest in 2022, while 9 agencies have reported such cases; notes that the cases investigated concerned former employment (ACER), failure to declare financial interests regarding e.g. honorarium received or a close family member interest (EMA), recruitment procedures (EMSA), involvement of management board members in staff related procedures (Eurojust) and employment after leaving the service (Europol); commends the agencies’ overall closure rate (19 cases concluded out of 21 reported and investigated) of such cases, with response measures taken with a view to avoid adverse impact on those agencies’ interests in 2022; reiterates the importance of having robust internal rules and frameworks in place aiming to prevent any phenomena of harassment, conflict of interest or revolving doors, thus ensuring utmost ethical standards and increasing public trust in the Union institutions;

Change 29

Changed50.53. Notes that all agencies have a whistle-blower policy in place; observes that 52 whistleblowing cases were reported and investigated, of which 47 cases concluded (including 37 external whistleblowing received by EMA) and 2 cases (Frontex) under investigation by OLAF in 2022; calls on all the agencies to ensure they have specific, safe and effective reporting channels in place in line with the relevant requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of 23the OctoberEuropean 2019Parliament and of the Council on whistleblowing;

Change 30

Changed53.56. Recalls the importance for all procurement procedures, to ensure fair competition between tenderers and to procure goods and services at the best price, respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination; invites all agencies to implement all the e-procurement IT tools developed by the Commission; calls on all agencies to further improve their public procurement procedures as well as to lead by example and make use of the social clause in the existing EU Public Procurement Directive to ensure that economic operators involved in public contracts comply with all applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law established by Union law, national law or collective agreement, or by applicable international environmental, social or labour law provisions;

Change 31

Changed57.60. Welcomes the agencies’ further steps taken by the agencies in 2022 to strengthen their cybersecurity and protection of the digital records in their possession; commends the agencies (ECDC, ECHA, EIGE, ENISA) having adopted or updated their cybersecurity and information security policies, in light of the Union regulations on cybersecurity and information security in Union institutions and bodies; notes that some agencies (e.g. CEPOL) have not yet adopted such policies due to absence in their establishment plan of allocated posts that would be needed to implement those regulations; calls on the agencies concerned to find temporary solutions (such as sharing the relevant resources with other agencies) as soon as possible and identify a way to a permanent solution; asks the EUAN to facilitate a better exchange between agencies in this context; calls on the agencies concerned to keep the discharge authority on the progress made in this matter;

Change 32

Changed58.61. Notes from the exchange of views expressed during the Public Hearing that:that -(1) cyber threats are ever increasing and ENISA’s budget should increase accordingly, even if it is not entrusted with new tasks, but simply undergo an increase in the scope thereof; -(2) with the Commission’s cyber solidarity and cyber resilience acts, ENISA would receive new tasks without additional resources; -(3) it is very important to carry out and formalise together with agencies, through a clear and transparent method, an assessment of the resources needed when the agencies’ mandates are reinforced or their scope increases; calls on the Commission to take into account these aspects and recalls that, when it comes to cybersecurity, investments need to be made by each agency in order to comply with the legal requirements;

Change 33

Added63. Welcomes the Commission communication entitled ‘Long-term competitiveness of the EU: looking beyond 2030’ aiming to rationalise and simplify reporting requirements by 25 % for each of the green, digital and economic thematic areas, and calls on the Union agencies to streamline their internal procedures to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens;