Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added78. Notes that the Secretariat achieved energy savings in 2024 by improving the energy performance of its technical infrastructures such as the lighting systems in the buildings it occupies; notes a reduction in the Secretariat’s energy consumption by 24,40 % between 2018 and 2024 and a decrease of water consumption by 17 % between 2023 and 2024; welcomes the Secretariat’s initiatives to further reduce paper consumption;

Added79. Welcomes the Secretariat’s sustainable practices embedded in some of its operations; notes, inter alia, that several procurement procedures and framework contracts include criteria on reducing waste and recycling of equipment, the Green Office is consulted on high-value procurement projects at the Secretariat and its restaurants earned the Good Food certification in 2024; welcomes the fact that the Secretariat revised the guide to members of staff’s missions in 2024, which entered into force in 2025 and covers new incentives to reduce the carbon footprint from travel by members of staff; notes with satisfaction an increase with regard to members of staff who came to work using sustainable means like public transport or bike, from 67 % in 2023 to 78 % of in 2024;

Added80. Welcomes the fact that the Secretariat developed an environmental strategy that defines a path from 2025 to 2030 for improving the Secretariat’s environmental performance and implemented communication actions to increase awareness of members of staff, delegates and visitors on environment related actions that can be taken;

Added81. Notes that that the Secretariat purchased more sustainable transport vehicles, i.e. one electric berline and three hybrid minivans; notes further that infrastructure and facilities for bikes in front of Justus Lipsius buildings have been improved;

AddedInterinstitutional cooperation

Added82. Stresses the need for Article 319 TFEU to be revised in order to explicitly stipulate that Parliament, besides granting discharge to the Commission, also grants discharge to other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies in respect of the implementation of their sections of the budget or of their budgets, aiming to ensure legal clarity, consistency and equal treatment among Union institutions; invites the Council to take concrete steps in due time to overcome the inter-institutional conflict and resume talks with Parliament in order to reach a common agreement for a smooth and Treaty-compliant resumption of the discharge procedure;

Added83. Calls on the Council to resume negotiations at the highest level to resolve the long-standing discharge impasse; requests the Commission and the Council Legal Service to provide a legal opinion on potential Treaty-based solutions to enforce Council accountability in the discharge procedure;

AddedCommunication

Added84. Notes that, in 2024, the overall budget for communication, taking into account transfers implemented in the course of the year, was EUR 12 518 610, i.e. 5,45 % higher than the 2023 budget;

Added85. Notes that, in 2024, the Secretariat provided communication services to the President of the European Council, the President of the Eurogroup, the rotating presidencies (Belgium and Hungary), the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Member States and the Secretariat; notes that, in 2024, the Secretariat ensured continuous media relations, social media and web presence support throughout the transition of officeholders, organised audiovisual coverage and streaming of key international engagements, and maintained high-quality operational support including live event broadcasting, press services and branding for institutional summits and meetings;

Added86. Notes that, according to an online survey conducted in the last quarter of 2024, 68,30 % of users (up from 67 % in 2023) were satisfied with their overall experience with the Council’s website, which had over 26 million visits in 2024 (+7 % compared to 2023), and 71 400 subscribers, compared to 57 900 in 2023;

Added87. Notes that Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) delivered extensive press and media engagement activities throughout 2024, including 76 press briefings, 771 press releases, 84 press conferences and comprehensive support for media accreditation and coverage; notes further that the Council’s press centre and website were used widely, with the press section of the Council website attracting over 6,4 million visits and nearly 2 million visits to meetings pages, demonstrating sustained public and media interest in Council decision-making;

Added88. Notes that, in 2024, the Secretariat’s digital teams, in close cooperation with the presidencies, monitored and enhanced the Belgian and Hungarian presidency websites, registering around 407 000 visits and 1,2 million page views combined, and delivered continued improvements to the main Council website with 19 sets of user-driven enhancements; further notes the implementation of machine translation features and accessibility upgrades, alongside extensive user research to improve clarity and navigability of online content across all official Union languages, thereby reinforcing the Council’s digital reach and engagement with stakeholders and citizens.