ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
16.

Notes that on 1 May 2017 the management board adopted rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of its members, including in relation to their declarations of interests; notes with regret that Europol's approach has been to declare that there are no conflicts of interest; notes with concern that the management board members have continued to publish declarations of absence of conflicts of interest; calls on the management board members to publish their declarations of interests, instead of declarations of absence of conflicts of interest, in which they list their membership of any other organisations; stresses that it is not for the management board members to declare that they have no conflicts of interest; notes that management board members and alternate members have been invited to complete, sign and submit their declarations of interests together with their CVs by 15 December 2017 for subsequent publication on Europol’s website; welcomes the publication of the management board members’ CVs on Europol’s website; calls on Europol to report back to the discharge authority if management board members have actually published their declarations of interests by the set deadline;
20.

Notes from the Court’s report that the Commission’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) conducted an audit report in May 2016 which highlighted a strong need to clarify roles and responsibilities and to analyse workload in the procurement cell in order to achieve more efficient processes and procedures and to significantly improve the procurement planning and monitoring; notes that the Agency and the IAS agreed on a plan to take corrective action; acknowledges from the Agency that, out of the six recommendations, two ‘very important’ and three ‘important’ have already been closed and that the Agency planned to close the last recommendation by October 2017; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority about the measures taken;
ANNEX

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund following an application from France — EGF/2017/009 FR/Air France

(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision (EU) 2018/1093.)
7.

Welcomes the fact that the Agency is looking for synergies of actions with other Union agencies in order to gain in effectiveness and efficiency and to reduce costs; welcomes and encourages in this framework the Agency's collaboration with other Union Agencies in support of the EU Migration Agenda, such as the provision, by the Agency, of an increasing number of services to Frontex; encourages the Agency to cooperate with other Union Agencies in addressing the refugee crisis, including in the performance of critically important activities outside its original mandate, such as by contributing know-how, operational support and staff to help to tackle the refugee crisis;
19.

Expresses its concern that the Agency did not carry out a comprehensive analysis in 2017 of the likely impact of the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the European Union on its organisation, operations and accounts; notes, however, from the Agency's reply that it carried out such an analysis in 2018; calls on the Agency to report to the discharge authority on the impact of the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the European Union and actions required;
1.

Notes that the Court of Auditors (the ‘Court’) stated that the 2017 annual accounts of the Joint Undertaking for the year ended 31 December 2017 present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Joint Undertaking at 31 December 2017, the results of its operations, its cash flows, and having regard to the Council's recommendation of 12 February 2019 on discharge to be given to the Joint Undertaking in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2017 (05827/2019 — C8-102/2019), the changes in net assets for the year then ended, in accordance with its Financial Regulation and with the accounting rules adopted by the Commission's accounting officer;
8.

Stresses that on 14 June 2017, the Commission issued a communication entitled ‘EU contribution to a reformed ITER project’, in which it suggested that a contingency of up to 24 months in terms of schedule and 10 to 20 % in terms of budget would be appropriate; notes in addition that the measures taken to respect the EUR 6 600 000 000 capped budget included postponing the procurement and installation of all components not essential to First Plasma; is very concerned that while positive steps have been taken to improve the management and control of the ITER project construction phase, there remains an ongoing risk of further cost increases and delays in project implementation compared to the new proposed baseline; calls on the Joint Undertaking and indeed all parties of the project to take appropriate action to identify and analyse all potential risks and set up an Action Plan that will also include a further analysis on the impact of Brexit;
A.

whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure (1), the final budget of the European Fisheries Control Agency (‘the Agency’) for the financial year 2017 was EUR 17 113 000, representing an increase of 71,70 % compared to 2016; whereas the increase related mainly to Title III (operational budget), with an increase of 295 % aimed at further chartering of means by the Agency (new European Coast Guard function); whereas the entire budget of the Agency derives from the Union budget;
A.

whereas, at the insistence of Parliament, the European Parliament and the Council decided, within the context of the budgetary procedure 2019, to budget EUR 100 million in an amending budget in 2019 to reinforce Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+; Parliament and the Council invited the Commission to present this amending budget, which will not contain any other elements, as soon as the technical adjustment of the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2020 including the calculation of the Global margin for commitments is completed in the spring of 2019;
10.

Notes that out of the EUR 1 638 000 000 of in-kind and cash contributions to be made by the industry members and associated partners to the activities of the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking, EUR 82 500 000 had been validated by the Executive Director and a further amount of EUR 50 300 000 had been reported by the end of 2017; notes in addition that the Executive Director had validated cash contributions by the industry members of EUR 7 600 000; notes moreover that consequently, at the end of 2017, the total contributions of the industry members to the Horizon 2020 activities of the IMI 2 Joint Undertaking amounted to EUR 140 400 000, compared to the Union's cash contribution of EUR 157 300 000; highlights the fact that, at this stage of programme implementation, commitments of EUR 391 000 000 of Union funds and EUR 381 000 000 of industry in-kind contributions have been allocated to 40 Horizon 2020 projects (of which 37 were still running at the end of 2017);
7.

Calls on the Commission to conduct a feasibility study in order to assess the possibility of, if not fully merging, then at the very least setting up shared synergies with Eurofound; calls on the Commission to evaluate both scenarios, namely the transfer of the Centre to the Eurofound Headquarters in Loughlinstown, Ireland, and the transfer of the Eurofound Headquarters to the Centre’s Thessaloniki Headquarters; notes that this would result in the sharing of corporate and support services and the common management of premises, as well as the sharing of ICT, telecommunications and internet-based infrastructures, saving a significant amount of costs, which could be used on further funding for both agencies; acknowledges that the effective, efficient and error-free work of the agencies is closely linked to an adequate level of funding to cover their operational and administrative activities; therefore, calls on Member States to accommodate the activities the agencies have to perform to the funding they are assigned;
16.

Notes with concern that the Agency awarded a framework contract for travel arrangements for its own staff and for participants in training, without requesting an explanation from the winning tenderer for its potentially abnormally low tender; notes that according to the Agency’s reply, the evaluation committee did not proceed in seeking clarifications because, in the course of their daily work, they were already aware of the prices charged by the company holding the previous contract; acknowledges that the Agency accepts the Court’s observation that this assessment was not formalised in the evaluation report; calls on the Agency to request and analyse the reasons behind potentially abnormally low tenders, and to ensure that all assessments are adequately formalised in future evaluation reports;
18.

Notes from the Court’s report that in 2014 the Commission signed, on behalf of the Institute and other Union institutions and bodies, a framework contract for the acquisition of software, licences and the provision of related IT maintenance and consultancy, and that the Institute in the ex ante control did not systematically check the framework contractor’s prices and uplifts charged with the suppliers’ quotes; stresses that total payments to the framework contractor amounted to EUR 64 000;. notes the Institute’s reply that it followed the mechanism prescribed in the framework contract and that the framework contract in question has expired and has been replaced by a new one requiring that each quotation shall provide a split between the original pricing and the uplift; highlights the fact that the framework contract itself may restrict competition, as there is no evidence that the framework contractor chooses suppliers on a competitive basis; calls on the Commission to report on the competitiveness of the framework contracts; calls on the Institute to adapt ex ante controls on payments under such contracts and to ensure there is a competitive procedure for all procurements;
—

having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (1), and in particular Article 44 thereof,
3.

Notes that, according to the Commission, the competition fines in 2019 accounted for EUR 2 510,5 million; considers again that it should be possible for the Union budget to reuse any revenue resulting from fines or linked to late payments without a corresponding decrease in GNI contributions; recalls its position in favour of increasing the proposed Union reserve (Global Margin for Commitments) in the next Multiannual Financial Framework by an amount equivalent to the revenue resulting from fines and penalties;
17.

Notes the BEREC Office’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency and prevention and management of conflicts of interest; notes with satisfaction that the management board of BEREC Office has adopted rules on preventing and managing conflicts of interest concerning the members of the management board (Decision No MB/2019/16), based on those new rules the board members have to submit their CVs together with the declarations of interest, which are published on the BEREC Office’s website; acknowledges that CVs of most of the board members are published on its website; however, points out with concern that the BEREC Office still does not publish the CVs and the declarations of interest of all board members on its website and that not all board members follow the new rules; calls on the BEREC Office to take appropriate measures to ensure that internal rules are followed at all levels in the BEREC Office; calls on the BEREC Office to publish the CVs and declarations of interest of all the members of the management board and to report to the European Parliament on the measures taken in that regard;
3.

Notes the observation in the Court’s report on timely payments and the fact that in 2019, in 18 % of the cases, the Agency paid interest on late payments; notes with concern that the Court observed similar or higher levels of delays in 2018, 2017 and 2016; notes that most late payments concerned the reimbursement of travel costs for participants to workshops, despite efforts to reduce the backlog of these reimbursements; notes the reply of the Agency to the Court’s finding; reiterates the need to address the late payment situation and to mitigate the financial and reputational risk described by the Court; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority by June 2021 about the results of the measures taken as regards late payments; highlights, however, the Agency’s efforts to provide continuous technical assistance to national maritime organisations and other stakeholders through such workshops; invites the Agency to develop new remote and online learning modules to adapt to the sanitary situation and to reduce costs;
21.

Welcomes the fact that the Centre put in place a procurement plan in line with the Centre’s management plan, which was successfully executed; notes that the Centre uses the negotiated procedure in particular for small value contracts; highlights the inherent risks associated with the use of the negotiated procedure; notes with concern that in 85 out of 92 procedures, representing 60 % of the total value of contracts, the Centre attributed direct contracts in procedures with single tenders; acknowledges that most of these situations occurred in relation to cases of small value contracts; recommends the Centre to use procedures involving multiple candidates, even in small value contracts, in order to increase the variety of options; calls on the Centre to continue to closely monitor the contracts concluded; welcomes the fact that the Court did not have remarks about the Centre’s application of the public procurement rules; welcomes the progress made by the Centre in implementing e-procurement;
3.

Notes that the Agency uses certain measures as key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the added value provided by its activities and other measures to improve its budget management, such as work programme delivery, cancellation of payments appropriations and outreach capacity of intermediaries through networking; welcomes the fact that the Agency uses a KPI to measure the implementation of commitment appropriations, as this has been a critical point in previous years with consistent remarks of the Court in this regard; notes that the Agency has achieved almost all its targets with a part of the work programme was not achieved as the pandemic had an impact on traveling and events;
2.

Notes with concern that, according to the Court’s report, the Agency paid a cancellation fee for a hotel booking for a training event in Budapest due to the COVID-19 restrictions; highlights the Court’s finding that if the Agency had invoked the "force majeure" clause in the framework contract instead, it could have cancelled the reservation without cost; notes in addition that the event had been planned on 29 June 2020, when the situation in Hungary was already uncertain; regrets that the Agency did not take the necessary steps to protect the financial interests of the Union and that the related payment is therefore deemed irregular by the Court;
9.

Notes with concern the gender balance within the Agency’s senior management, with three out of three (100 %) men and within the Agency’s administrative board, with 24 out of 28 (85,7 %) men; further, notes with concern the lack of gender balance among the Agency’s overall staff, with 135 out of 202 (66,8 %) men; appreciates the efforts of the Agency to improve gender balance from 7 % in 2017 to 33 % in 2020 of female representatives in senior management positions; reiterates its call to the Agency to take additional measures as soon as possible with a view to ensure better gender balance within its senior 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 administrative board; reminds the Agency that in the selection of candidates, skills, knowledge and experience are important, as well as the geographical and gender balance among staff;
2.

Notes that, according to the Court’s report and the Agency’s reply in the follow-up to the 2019 discharge, carry-overs of committed appropriations were high for Title III, which mainly reflect the nature of the Agency’s core activities, which include the financing of studies and other awareness-raising activities, spanning several months, often extending beyond the end of a year; notes that the carry-overs of committed appropriations for Title III represent an increase of 23 % compared to the same appropriations in 2019; notes that a significant part of Title III carry-overs amounting to 25 % in 2021 were committed in December 2020; further notes that the Agency’s Title III carry-overs in 2020 added up to 28 % of the committed carry-overs from 2019; notes that those findings are indicative of a structural issue at the Agency and calls on the Agency to resolve the problem by improving its budget planning and its implementation cycles;
86.

Notes from the study on ‘Locations of EU Decentralised Agencies’ (10) that the present choice of location for Union decentralised Agencies is primarily driven by political needs and predefined criteria; notes the observation from the report that the decision to select the seat of an agency should be part of the ordinary legislative procedure and include the eventual financial impact on the Union budget; further notes that the findings on this report indicate that location has one of the strongest repercussions on recruiting specialised staff; notes that it is suggested in the study to include in the proposal for the founding regulation of an agency, a method to estimate a correction coefficient closer to the real cost of living in the agency’s location; notes from the report that better cooperation among agencies might reduce the negative impacts of decentralisation and that it is suggested that the role of the Union Agencies Network should be formalised and expanded further to offer better representation in Brussels and to offer horizontal services such as the organisation of meetings, trainings or procurements of common interests; welcomes the fact that all agencies have ensured their business continuity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by shifting to a hybrid environment; notes that the study suggests that the agencies’ budgets for the coming years should continue to support the development of IT communication in order to facilitate on-line meetings and teleworking;
RESOLUTION on drug-taking by children

The European Parliament,

A. deeply concerned about the recent rapid spread of drug-taking, in particular of heroin, among children in the Community,

1. Requests the Commission and Council to strengthen forcefully diplomatic contacts with the countries where opium is produced to prevail on them to stop the production and export of this drug, using if need be the full political and economic authority of the Community;

2. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.
RESOLUTION on measures to combat the spread of drug abuse

The European Parliament,

A. whereas the growth in the use of hard drugs is assuming increasingly worrying proportions, with a high mortality rate among young people in particular,

B. whereas the spread of drug abuse is a serious threat to young people, families and European society,

C. whereas drug trafficking encourages the most dangerous forms of organized international crime,

D. convinced that the European Community can and should assume specific responsibilities in the anti-drug campaign and protect European citizens from this scourge.

1. Confirms the urgent need to harmonize legislation on narcotics, at Community level and for coordinated Community action to combat drugs in the following sectors in particular:

(a) prevention of and treatment of drug addiction, promoting at Community level the most advanced methods of prevention and assistance for drug addicts and their families,

(b) coordination of police measures for the prompt identification of drug traffickers and stricter controls at the Community's external frontiers,

(c) strengthening international cooperation - particularly with the United States and the countries of the Third World that produce drugs - with the possible establishment of an 'International Anti-Drug Police Bureau' with international data bases to facilitate the rapid exchange of information on drug trafficking and related financial transactions,

(d) much higher penalties for drug traffickers involving the confiscation of all property connected with illegal trafficking,

(e) information campaign in schools and for young people with a view to combating the use of drugs amongst minors,

(f) step vis-à-vis interested third countries to discourage the cultivation of plants used for the production of drugs;

2. Calls for an increase in the endowment of the UN Fund against drug abuse and closer involvement in the work of the 'Pompidou Group' on the part of the Community and its Member States;

3. Urges that all the Member States of the Community sign, ratify and apply the 1972 Protocol to the UN Convention of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on psychotropic drugs;

4. Considers it essential that the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry on drug abuse begin its work as soon as possible;

5. Calls on the Council to convene an extraordinary meeting of the relevant ministers of the Member States to discuss an action programme based on the above points;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the appropriate ministers in the Member States.
RESOLUTION on action against synthetic drugs

The European Parliament,

A. nothing with concern the increasing consumption of synthetic drugs produced in Europe,

B. having regard to the rise in illegal exports of these drugs to the developing countries,

1. Deplores the fact that the production of and trade in such substances for illegal purposes has increased in Europe, with the result that they are used there and elsewhere with devastating effects;

2. Urges the Commission, therefore, to press for compliance with the international conventions governing the manufacture of and illegal trafficking in such drugs;

3. Considers it a matter of urgency that information and education campaigns be launched by the Community and the individual Member States in order to curb drugs abuse, which is partly due to excessive use of medicaments;

4. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.