Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Removed2. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

Removedwith 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 2023, Section I – European Parliament

Removed(2024/2020(DEC))

RemovedThe European Parliament,

Removed– having regard to its decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section I – European Parliament,

Removed– having regard to Rule 102 and Rule 106(3) of, and Annex V to, its Rules of Procedure,

Removed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A100000/2025),

RemovedA. whereas, in his certification of the final accounts, the European Parliament’s (the ‘Parliament’) accounting officer stated his reasonable assurance that the accounts, in all material aspects, present fairly the financial position, the results of the operations and the cash-flow of Parliament;

RemovedB. whereas, in accordance with the usual procedure, 61 questions were sent to Parliament’s administration and written replies were received and discussed publicly by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 4 December 2024, in the presence of the Secretary-General, the Parliament’s Vice-Presidents responsible for the Budget, the director of the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (the ‘Authority’) and the Internal Auditor;

RemovedC. whereas there is always scope for improvement in terms of quality, efficiency and effectiveness in the management of public finances; whereas scrutiny is necessary to ensure that political leadership and Parliament’s administration are held accountable to Union citizens;

RemovedD. whereas legal certainty is the guiding principle for implementing administrative decisions and binds the administration to provide assurance when dealing with members and their offices; whereas an ever-increasing number of rules and obligations leads to confusion and ambiguity for those concerned and creates an environment prone to gold-plating; whereas legal certainty must be enjoyed by members and their offices, obliging the administration to engage in clear, comprehensive and legally sound communication;

RemovedE. whereas it is paramount to stress that the core work of members is the participation in and contribution to negotiations on legislative files and budgetary procedures as well as political discussions in the EU decision-making process and that members must receive financial and logistical support to conduct their work and depend on the support of the administration to fully engage in their profession; whereas the relations between members, their offices, committee secretariats and the administration are built on mutual trust and as such should be a guiding principle when equipping members with financial support; whereas this should be reflected in the level of checks and reviews ex-ante and ex-post applied by the administration; whereas it is evident that clear, proportionate, targeted, standardised, and simplified procedures are the best and most effective way to conduct reviews and controls of financial entitlements; and that such actions create savings while reducing bureaucracy but ensure an adequate level of transparency and accountability to justify the expenses;

RemovedParliament’s budgetary and financial management

Removed1. Notes that Parliament’s final appropriations for 2023 totalled EUR 2 247 million, or 19,7 % of Heading 7 of the Multiannual Financial Framework set aside for the 2023 administrative expenditure of the Union institutions as a whole, representing a 3,95 % increase compared to the 2022 budget (EUR 2 161 million);

Removed2. Notes that total revenue entered in the accounts as of 31 December 2023 was EUR 255 205 473 (compared to EUR 250 473 773 in 2022); notes that assigned revenue made available in 2022 amounted to EUR 50 186 995 (compared to EUR 61 267 620 in 2022);

Removed3. Notes that six chapters accounted for 84,5 % of total commitments: Chapter 10 ‘Members of the institution’; Chapter 12 ‘Officials and temporary staff’; Chapter 14 ‘Other staff and external services’; Chapter 20 ‘Buildings and associated costs’; Chapter 21 ‘Data processing, equipment and movable property’ and Chapter 42 ‘Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance’;

Removed4. Notes the figures on the basis of which Parliament’s accounts for the financial year 2023 were closed and which are reported in the annual accounts of the European Parliament for the Financial Year 2023, the Report on Budgetary and Financial Management for Section I: European Parliament, and the Report on Contracts and Concessions Awarded by the European Parliament;

Removed5. Notes that 19 transfers were approved by Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (‘C transfers’), in accordance with Articles 31 and 49 of the Financial Regulation, in the financial year 2023, amounting to EUR 77 986 378 or 3,47 % of final appropriations; notes that the President authorised 8 transfers (‘P transfers’) amounting to EUR 9 835 982 or 0,4 % of the 2023 budget;

Removed6. Notes that despite a moderate increase in the initial appropriations for the 2023 budget, there was no increase in non-statutory expenditures; highlights that the rise in statutory expenditure was primarily driven by factors beyond the administration's control, such as adjustments to salaries for staff and Members, which are mandated by statutory obligations; welcomes that, for the first time, the European Parliament has requested neither an increase in its overall budget nor an expansion of its staffing levels, reflecting a commendable effort to prioritise efficiency and fiscal responsibility;

Removed7. Welcomes the Secretary-General's commitment to establishing a dedicated unit for simplification and good administration; notes with satisfaction that simplification is embraced not merely as a goal to be achieved but as a guiding principle to be systematically applied across all areas of Parliament's work, ensuring more effective and accessible administrative processes;

Removed8. Notes that in 2023, the euro area’s economic environment was significantly affected by ongoing geopolitical tensions contributing to high inflation, which peaked at 10,6 % in October 2022 before gradually declining to 5,4 % for the year 2023; recalls that Parliament’s initial estimates for 2023, based on preliminary salary indexation forecasts, required adjustments through Amending Letter 1/2023; welcomes the fact that despite these challenging circumstances, Parliament’s administration managed additional statutory salary adjustment costs through careful internal reallocations, prioritisation of essential spending, and postponement of lower-priority projects;

RemovedEuropean Court of Auditors’ opinions on the reliability of the 2023 accounts and on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying those accounts

Removed9. Recalls that the European Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) performs a specific assessment of administrative and other expenditure as a single policy group for all Union institutions; highlights that administrative expenditure comprises expenditure on human resources including pensions, which in 2023 accounted for about 70 % of the total administrative expenditure, and on buildings, equipment, energy, communications and information technology; highlights that the Court’s work over many years indicates that, overall, this spending is low risk;

Removed10. Notes that the Multiannual Financial Framework Heading 7 ‘European public administration’ accounted for EUR 12,3 billion or 6,4 % of the Union budget in 2023, of which Parliament accounts for EUR 2,3 billion or 18,7 %; stresses the fact that the Court found that the level of error in spending on ‘European public administration’ was not material;

Removed11. Notes that the Court’s annual report on the implementation of the budget concerning the financial year 2023 specifically examined the supervisory and control systems of Parliament, 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, as well as a statistically representative sample of 70 transactions covering the full range of spending under this MFF heading and the regularity information given in the annual activity reports of all Union institutions and bodies;

Removed12. Notes that the Court has examined supervisory and control systems at Parliament, concentrating on the four biggest spending directorates-general; takes note that the Court found that the directorates-general adopted different approaches to the performance of ex ante and ex post controls of expenditure; notes that the Court found that there was not a common methodology in the approach taken with regard to the ex-ante controls or to harmonise the categorisation of errors detected;

Removed13. Calls on Parliament’s administration for the sake of greater simplification to align itself on a common methodology of the control of the expenditure and the categorisation of errors, only if it is reasonable to adopt a standard approach and taking into account the specificities across the directorates-general and services; takes note that in order to increase the standardisation of ex-ante control procedures within Parliament, Parliament’s Directorate-General for Finance will create a forum for ex-ante verifiers, implement a yearly specific training programme and provide regular guidance;

Removed14. Takes note of the observations of the Court with regard to Parliament’s internal rules; notes that Parliament’s administration is subject to the Financial Regulation and its procurement rules; however, notes that for Political groups the Bureau has adopted the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 400, which contain a number of specific provisions for certain procurement procedures; recalls that political groups manage the funds allocated to them according to the principles of indirect management of funds in analogical application of Article 62(1), point (c), of the Financial Regulation; considers that these rules themselves replace the “contribution agreements” (as referred to in Article 158(7) of the Financial Regulation); stresses that an external auditor for each group approves the respective annual activities to ensure compliance and this guarantees a neutral level of control; highlights that the European Court of Auditors also scrutinises the activities of the political groups in its annual report;

Removed15. Notes that according to Article 1.4 of the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget item 400, political groups shall be responsible to the institution for the use of appropriations, within the limits of the powers conferred upon them by the Bureau; remarks that they shall ensure that the appropriations are used in accordance with these Rules; welcomes Parliament’s administration efforts to assist political groups with the aim of guiding their respective financial management knowledge and capacity;

Removed16. Welcomes the implementation of the 14-point action plan and its efforts in implementing the new rules on integrity and transparency; welcomes that Parliament has taken initiatives to prevent and detect fraud, including the Bureau’s decisions on whistleblowing, also welcomes initiatives by the Secretary-General with regard to the treatment of financial irregularities, fraud awareness content on Parliament’s intranet site, training activities, and related actions on ethics;

Removed17. Notes that Parliament accepts the Court's recommendation on enhancing actions to combat fraud at Parliament; notes that in line with the Financial Regulation, the prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities are core objectives of each Directorate-General's internal control framework; takes note that Parliament will task its competent services with evaluating its existing actions to fight against fraud and, if appropriate, to develop an overarching framework applicable to Parliament's administration;

RemovedInternal Auditor’s annual report

Removed18. Notes that, at the meeting between the committee responsible and the internal auditor held on 4 December 2024, the internal auditor presented his annual report and described the assurance audits he carried out and consulting services he provided, and reported on the outcome of the current state of play, which in 2023 covered a transversal Follow-up of Open Actions from Internal Audit Reports, an audit of the purchase and use of security equipment and services in the Directorate-General for Security and Safety, an audit of financing European political parties and European political foundations, a periodic review of the ADENAUER 2 building project, an audit of the backup and restore arrangements, a review of inventory management, audits in the Institution of the European Ombudsman, and the Internal Audit Service's Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme;

Removed19. Welcomes and supports the actions that the internal auditor has agreed with the directorates-general responsible, as a result of the assurance assignments;

Removed20. Takes note of the assurance assignments for which preliminary conclusions are currently being prepared or for which fieldwork is still ongoing, and which are currently following the process envisaged by the Charter of the Internal Auditor;

Removed21. Notes that the 2023 follow-up process resulted in 27 of the 69 actions being considered as effectively implemented and therefore validated by the Internal Audit Service; notes that for three significant actions, the risk was lowered to take account of ongoing developments; notes that the residual risk pertaining to two actions related to cybersecurity were reinstated from “moderate” to “significant” due to the drawn-out progress;

Removed22. Acknowledges that, in accordance with Article 118(9) of the Financial Regulation, the reports and findings of the internal auditor, as well as the report of the Union institution concerned, shall be accessible to the public as soon as the internal auditor has validated the action: notes that, in practice, the reports are published once all recommendations have been implemented; welcomes the fact that the internal auditor reports to the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on the annual audit activities carried out;

Removed23. Welcomes the fact that the Internal Audit Service has, through its 2023 quality assurance and improvement programme, continued to seek the enhancement of its activities in relation to providing objective assurance to the decision-making and oversight authorities, authorising officers and management; welcomes that in 2023, the quality assurance programme focused on implementing the actions for further enhancement, which the Internal Audit Service had drawn up following the 2021 external assessment; welcomes the fact that these mainly included strengthening IT capacity, including the recruitment of an IT auditor with a strong operational profile in IT security and further development of internal expertise; takes note that the internal auditor stated that he did not receive instructions or guidance from any source, which would be such as to compromise his independence;

Removed24. Calls on the internal auditor to make proposals for a reduction in bureacracy to help Parliament to streamline processes, reduce the administrative burden, find intersections between ITapplications, and ensure that measures for Members are easily understandable and easy to implement; stresses the need for the internal auditor to assess the proportionality of administrative expenditure via a cost-benefit equation to see if audit and control activities are in line with the bureaucratic burden on Members; asks the internal auditor to assess to what degree Articifical Intelligence solutions could help the administration to improve the efficiency of audit and control activities;

RemovedFollow-up to the 2022 discharge resolution

Removed25. Takes note of the written answers to the 2022 discharge resolution provided to Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 24 September 2024, the presentation by the Secretary-General addressing the issues in Parliament's 2022 discharge resolution and the exchange of views with Members that followed on 30 September 2024;

Removed26. Recalls that pursuant to Rule 25 of and Annex V to the Rules of Procedure and Articles 6 and 268 of the Financial Regulation, once the Plenary calls for different rules or measures to be implemented by Parliament, the rules or measures proposed are discussed and voted on by the Bureau; recalls, in light of Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure, that the Bureau is responsible for taking decisions on financial, organisational and administrative matters concerning Members; recalls that the Bureau is composed of the President of the European Parliament, the 14 Vice-Presidents and the five Quaestors (non-voting members) democratically elected by Parliament; notes, that the members of the Bureau deliberate on Parliament’s draft estimates;

Removed27. Takes note of the deaf community’s longstanding demand for the possibility to submit petitions in national sign languages used within the Union; notes the discussions held during the Committee of Petitions meeting on 29 November 2023 and on 19 March 2024, specifically addressing Petition 1056/2016, and underlines Parliament’s commitment in that regard; recalls that Parliament's services are assessing the viable solutions in accordance with the Rules of Procedure; recalls that Parliament’s Rules of Procedure stipulate that any petition submitted to the Parliament must be in written form; encourages the Administration to invite relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the deaf community, to provide input and feedback on the proposed solution and during the implementation process to ensure the effectiveness and inclusivity of the proposed measures;

RemovedDirectorate-General for the Presidency

Removed28. Recalls that the Directorate-General for the Presidency (DG PRES) provides expertise and facilitates the legislative and parliamentary work of the President, the Plenary and Parliament's governing bodies and Members at each stage of the parliamentary and legislative process; recalls that it is also responsible for inter-institutional relations, for protocol support to official visits and events sponsored by the President, for the management of Union classified information, and for the management of official and registered mail; notes that by 31 December 2023, there were 379 members of staff, of which 307 were officials, 23 were temporary agents, 46 were contract agents, 1 seconded national expert and 2 agency members of staff;

Removed29. Notes that DG PRES’s final appropriations amounted to EUR 1 447 385,50 in 2023, representing 0,1 % of Parliament’s budget; highlights that, of that amount, a total of EUR 1 384 558,19 was committed; welcomes the high use of appropriations;

Removed30. Remarks that on 18 January 2023, the Conference of Presidents approved a mandate proposed by the President for a political Working Group; highlights that this group was tasked with focusing on Parliament’s legislative role and procedures, as well as examining improvements to its role and capacity as the arm of the budgetary authority and sole discharge authority;

Removed31. Notes with satisfaction that DG PRES continued to ensure, and to further improve, its support function with regard to Parliament's core missions, and in particular, its plenary planning and legislative coordination functions, the promotion of the Plenary as a forum for high-level debates, the preparation and follow up to the meetings of the Conference of Presidents, the improvement of and increase in the availability of state of the art tools and services for all its activities, making relevant parliamentary and legislative activities more accessible, actively contributing to the actions launched by Parliament in relation to the 2024 European Elections, and its contribution to solidarity initiatives and to administrative support to the Ukrainian Parliament;

Removed32. Welcomes the contribution of DG PRES in ensuring quality support and follow-up to the transparency and integrity reform process based on the 14-point plan proposed by the President and endorsed by the Conference of Presidents on 8 February 2023 to adjust the institution’s transparency and accountability frameworks; welcomes the efforts in implementing the new rules on transparency, integrity, accountability, and anti-corruption;

Removed33. Highlights that on 13 July 2023, the Plenary endorsed recommendations for the reform of Parliament’s rules aiming to combat foreign political interference, espionage, and corruption attempts; notes the agreement reached between the Union Institutions to jointly establish a new Body for Ethical Standards; highlights that this body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, publish reports reflecting those standards in internal rules, and provide independent expertise for consultation on issues such as declarations of interest; underlines that Parliament should not bear a disproportionate share of the financial or administrative burden compared to other institutions involved; calls for the fair and balanced allocation of costs and staff across all participating institutions, ensuring that each body contributes proportionately; emphasises the need to maintain cost-efficiency and transparency in its operations and avoid duplications with other bodies such as the advisory committee on the Code of Conduct;

Removed34. Welcomes that DG PRES has also continued its effective cooperation with the Council and Commission on all elements concerning the interinstitutional secretariat of the transparency register, having participated in 21 meetings in 2023, with a view to continue to keep enhancing the operation of the Register; notes that the full implementation of the mandatory transparency Register is a key tool for promoting transparency at Union level; establishing mandatory registration as a prerequisite for interest representatives to be able to engage in specific activities with the Union institutions, including Parliament; calls for the provision of all necessary resources to ensure that the internal rules related to the transparency register are effectively enforced; stresses that obligation on Members to record meetings only concerns scheduled meetings, those that involve interest representatives falling under the scope of the transparency register and those that deal with parliamentary business; explains that this approach provides a fair balance between transparency requirements and the administrative burden;

Removed35. Welcomes the increased use of the transparency register as an information and reference tool for interest representation activities at Union level, shown by the rise in applications for registration and an increase in the number of visits to the website year-on-year; welcomes the development of IT solutions to improve the transparency register; notes that the quality of entries in the transparency register has improved and recalls the necessity to keep strengthening data quality checks of new applicants; welcomes the establishment of robust standards at Parliament with regard to transparency and access to institutions for entities listed in the transparency register, including NGOs; recalls that NGOs were allegedly used as vectors of foreign interference as a consequence of the events of alleged corruption in the House; reiterates, in this context, the need for comprehensive financial pre-screening of entities before they are listed in the transparency register;

Removed36. Stresses that Parliament’s reputation as the only directly elected institution must be protected from undue influence and underlines that NGOs and networks with a clearly activist agenda trying to directly influence the decision-making process in Parliament by sending prewritten amendments and papers for committee decisions and trilogues are harming the work of the House; stresses that Parliament should make a clear distinction between NGOs and professional networks staffed with political activists and those entities whose work is carried out by volunteers and individuals with honorary posts; calls on Parliament to sanction NGOs that unduly try to manipulate decisions;

Removed37. Remarks that on 7 December 2023, the Conference of Presidents endorsed a package of reform measures based on the recommendations of the working group "Parliament 2024" to be implemented by the end of the parliamentary term; recalls that these measures encompass five key areas identified in the working group's mandate: legislation, scrutiny, budgetary functions and budgetary control, plenary and external relations; highlights that the reform proposals aim to enhance Parliament's functioning as a co-legislator, strengthen its capacity for democratic oversight, and ensure accountability, particularly regarding other institutions, in particular the Commission;

Removed38. Welcomes that in relation to transparency issues, in 2023, DG PRES pursued technical improvements, awareness-raising activities and the provision of technical expertise and services, including to Members; notes that, in particular, DG PRES carried out its secretariat function for the Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, which has been given considerably strengthened powers; welcomes that this also included undertaking urgent IT development for all digital forms or, in terms of awareness raising, the preparation of trainings, briefings and communications to Members and political groups on ethics and transparency rules;

Removed39. Notes that DG PRES also participated in the Parliament 2024 Reform process aiming to strengthen Parliament's internal working methods as well as its institutional role and capacity to act; remarks that it was directly involved in plenary matters, as well as other aspects related to this reform such as committees, external relations, scrutiny and budgetary matters; notes that it provided assistance to the working group set up by the Conference of Presidents on 18 January 2023;

Removed40. Asks DG PRES to review the implementation of the rules in after 12 months of implementation to assess their benefits and address any shortcomings, in particular shortcomings related to the excessive administrative burden and legal uncertainty with regard to Members;

RemovedDirectorate-General for Communication

Removed41. Recalls that the Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) is a multi-site Directorate-General, with staff located in Brussels, Strasbourg and the Liaison Offices in each of the 27 Member States, as well as in the Jean Monnet House in Bazoches (France);

Removed42. Notes that DG COMM’s mission is to ensure that citizens understand the importance of this institution so that they can improve engagement in the European democratic process; highlights that its key tasks are to collaborate with the media, to inform, explain and enhance the visibility of Parliament’s work, to increase awareness of Parliament among citizens in all Member States, stakeholders and opinion leaders through the European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) located in the Member States, to foster interaction with citizens through enhanced visitor projects, events and information campaigns and its presence on social media, and to provide expertise to Members and political groups on topics such as media intelligence and public opinion monitoring;