European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on reforming the Commission (aspects concerning the Committee on Budgetary Control) (COM(2000) 200 — C5-0445/2000 - 2000/2215(COS))
Date: 2000-11-30
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Commission, action programme, budgetary control, financial management, institutional reform, management

13.8.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 228/201

38. Welcomes the efforts made to improve the Union’s external representation by means of the restruc-
turing of the delegations; takes the view, however, that those efforts are inadequate and must be continued
along the lines put forward by Parliament, with particular regard to regionalisation and horizontal rede-
ployment in relation to the scale of the funds allocated to the programmes;

Thursday 30 November 2000

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-

39.
ments of the Member States.

15. Commission reform: budgetary control aspects

A5-0329/2000

European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on reforming the Commission
(aspects concerning the Committee on Budgetary Control) (COM(2000) 200 ( C5-0445/2000 (
2000/2215(COS))

The European Parliament,

* having regard to the White Paper on reforming the Commission (COM(2000) 200 * C5-0445/2000),

* having regard to the EC Treaty and, in particular, Article 274 thereof,

* having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2000 containing its observations on action to be taken
on the second report of the Committee of Independent Experts on the reform of the Commission (1),

* having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

* having regard to its other resolution of 30 November 2000 on the White Paper (2),

* having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A5-0329/2000),

A. whereas it is vital that the current Commission comply with the undertakings it gave Parliament dur-
ing and after its investiture concerning the fundamental principles of transparency, efficiency and
accountability, as well as the administrative reform process,

B. whereas the proposals contained in the White Paper are to a large extent drawn from the second
report of the Committee on Independent Experts, which Parliament has already welcomed in para-
graph 1 of its abovementioned resolution of 19 January 2000,

C. whereas, by virtue of the principle that the Union institutions should enjoy autonomy in determining
their internal organisation,
it is the Commission’s responsibility to equip itself with the optimum
organisational structure and operating methods so as to fulfil to the best of its ability the tasks
assigned to it by the Treaties, and whereas Parliament makes a positive contribution to this,

D. whereas, however, by virtue of the powers and responsibilities conferred on it by the Treaties, Parlia-
ment has to exercise control over the Commission on the basis of the results of all the latter’s activ-
ities, including the implementation of the EU budget,

E. whereas the events which dominated the discharge procedure for 1996 were caused in part by the
failure of previous Commissions to modernise management and control systems and by their failure to
apply fully the existing set of rules,

(1) OJ C 304, 24.10.2000, p. 135.
(2)

‘Texts adopted’, Items 14, 16 and 17.

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F. whereas, therefore, the effectiveness of the reform proposed in the White Paper will be judged to a
large extent by its results in terms of the use made of the financial and human resources concerned
and also by the application of the relevant financial provisions being monitored and implemented
with appropriate supervisory and sanction mechanisms,

G. whereas, pending the entry into force of the new Financial Regulation, Parliament adopted on 5 Octo-
ber 2000 its position on the proposal for a Council regulation amending the Financial Regulation and
separating the internal audit function from the ex ante control function (Article 24(5) of the Financial
Regulation) (1), with the aim of avoiding legal grey areas and uncertainties,

H. whereas the specific features to be found in the organisational and budgetary structure of the various
institutions and advisory bodies of the Union mean that a degree of flexibility is justified in determin-
ing the new provisions governing control and audit procedures and this should be reflected in their
respective internal rules, while ensuring that the core principles of sound financial management and
control are applied throughout all the institutions,

General remarks

1.
Reiterates its view that a strong, independent, transparent and efficient Commission is one of the
cornerstones of European integration; in this connection, considers that the reform process must be pur-
sued unflaggingly and that Parliament, which initiated the process through its decision on the 1996 dis-
charge, must play its full part in a positive and constructive manner;

2. Welcomes the fact that the proposals in the White Paper to a large extent follow the recommenda-
tions put forward in the second report of the Committee of Independent Experts, as Parliament had speci-
fically requested in paragraph 7 of its abovementioned resolution of 19 January 2000;

3.
Believes that it is the Commission’s responsibility, acting within the legal framework laid down by
Parliament and the Council, to decide on its internal structures and working methods and to ensure that
they achieve optimum use of financial resources; points out that, under the Treaties, Parliament is required
to exercise its powers of control over the Commission, on the basis of all the activities carried out by the
latter and particularly as regards implementation of the Community budget; stresses that, far from restrict-
ing Parliament’s powers of control, this separation of roles enables it to exercise them effectively;

4.
Notes the emphasis placed by the Commission on the need to ensure that the human resources
available to it are sufficient to enable it to perform the tasks assigned to it; recalls that it was Parliament
itself which, in paragraphs 2, 15, 18 and 25 of its resolution of 4 May 1999 on the accounts of the
European Communites in respect of the 1996 financial year (2), asked the Commission to review its
human resources management in the light of policy priorities after noting that a number of the problems
pinpointed in the 1996 discharge were due to a shortage of human resources which had prompted the
Commission to commit the mistake of delegating public administration prerogatives to external technical
assistance offices;

5.
Calls on the Commission to forward to Parliament the projected staffing plan showing all staff move-
ment (retirement, early retirement, internal movement, recruitment etc.) for the period during which the
administrative reform is to be implemented;

Standards of behaviour in public life

Notes the establishment of a set of codes of conduct for the Commission (code of conduct for Com-
6.
missioners, code of conduct governing relations between Commissioners and departments and code of
good administrative behaviour for Commission staff in their relations with the public); reiterates its view
that these texts should have a legal basis; calls, therefore, on the Commission to incorporate the first two
codes referred to into its Rules of Procedure pursuant to Article 218(2) of the EC Treaty, as it has just done
in its decision of 17 October 2000 amending its Rules of Procedure (3) for the third code of conduct, and
to make provision for sanctions in the event of non-compliance;

(1)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 5.
(2) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 114.
(3) OJ L 267, 20.10.2000, p. 63.

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7. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to establish, by means of an interinstitutional agreement, a
committee on standards in public life; considers that such a committee should have a purely advisory
role, and that its membership should be subject to approval by the European Parliament; considers that
this committee should play a different role towards different groups within the institutions, and that, in
particular, the independence of Members of the European Parliament and Parliament as an institution must
be guaranteed; also takes note of the introduction of sectoral codes, such as the code of ethics for staff in
the Internal Audit Service (IAS) (see Action 68); stresses that this proliferation of codes should not result in
confusion and lack of clarity as regards the rules in force and stresses the importance of ensuring that
these codes are consistent with staff regulations (see Actions 55 and 56);

8.
Notes the drawing up of a regulation on public access to European Parliament, Council and Commis-
sion documents to be adopted under the codecision procedure, which will replace the existing codes of
conduct of the three institutions in this area; rejects the restrictive nature of the Commission proposal and
insists that the provisions in the regulation respect the right to access enshrined in Article 255 of the EC
Treaty; rejects the recent decision by the Council to exclude an entire category of documents from the
existing rules governing access to documents;

Framework agreement between Parliament and the Commission

Points out that it will judge the recent framework agreement between the two institutions (1) on its
9.
merits in practice; in this connection, stresses its determination to safeguard its right pursuant to the third
paragraph of Article 197 of the EC Treaty and also its right of access to Commission documents, so as to
perform fully the role assigned to it, in particular by Article 276(2) of the EC Treaty;

Speeding up payments

10.
Accords the utmost importance to speeding up the payment of sums due by the Commission,
currently subject to frequently unacceptable delays; calls on the Commission to take steps to ensure that
the target it has set (payment in 60 days for 95 % of invoices by 2002 * see Action 10) can be achieved
as quickly as possible; requests also that the creditors concerned should be entitled to interest on late
payments and that the audit reports should pay special attention to late payments; welcomes the creation
of a register of received invoices in the Commission but regrets that this had not been in existence until
now;

Calls on the Commission to inform the European Parliament on a regular basis about the progress

11.
made regarding payment deadlines;

Activity-based management

12.
Strongly endorses the introduction of a system of activity-based management, an integral part of
which is the inclusion in the planning and programming process for subsequent years of an evaluation of
the management systems of the Commission’s directorates-general by the new Internal Audit Service;

13.
Notes with interest that an annual activity report for each directorate-general (see Action 13) will be
published for the first time in January 2001 and expects that this will provide a useful supplement to the
information traditionally provided in the revenue and expenditure account and financial statement pro-
vided for in Article 275 of the EC Treaty; reiterates its demand that this report should include a detailed
financial statement, including a precise payment error rate as well as annual targets for reducing this rate;

Externalisation strategy

14.
Notes the Commission’s argument that it should focus on the responsibilities conferred on it under
the provisions of the Treaties; notes the criteria adopted by the Commission to guide decisions on exter-
nalising activities; stresses in particular, in view of the cases brought to light during the 1996 discharge,
that a preponderant role should be given to criteria such as cost-effectiveness, as well as the Commission’s
capacity to fulfil its responsibilities for budget implementation and its powers of control over external
activities;

(1)

‘Texts Adopted’ of 5.7.2000, Item 9.

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15.
Takes note of the Commission communication of 26 July 2000 entitled ‘Matching the Commisi-
son’s activities with its human resources * the means to achieve our objectives’ (SEC(2000) 2000) the list
of activities and tasks for which the Commission is considering whether externalisation would be feasible
and appropriate; opposes the externalisation of activities related to checks and monitoring; wishes to
reserve its final position on externalisation pending the forthcoming Commission communication which,
inter alia, will focus on the regulatory framework for the implementing agencies;

Management performance

16. Welcomes the measures designed to improve management standards and develop a culture of
accountability, the lack of which was severely criticised by the Committee of Independent Experts:

* merit-based appointments to senior management posts (A1 and A2) * a requirement laid down in the

Staff Regulations that applies to all posts (see Action 21);

* introduction of a probationary period for officials in the abovementioned grades and individual per-

formance appraisal (see Action 22);

Calls on the Commission to draw up the job descriptions of all A1- and A2-grade staff as soon as

17.
possible and to forward them to Parliament forthwith;

Calls on the Commission to ensure that the positive measures relating to senior management staff
18.
are carried out in practice; regrets that not all appointments have been made under conditions of full
transparency;

Notes with satisfaction that the White Paper responds to Parliament’s request in its abovementioned
19.
resolution of 19 January 2000 that the Commission carry out a comprehensive reform of its human
resources policy, particularly as regards recruitment policy (Section XII), staff appraisal and promotion
(Section XIII), career guidance, mobility and under-performance (Section XIV), training (Section XV), etc.;
notes that in most cases the planned measures will require amendments to the Staff Regulations and will
express its final position in the context of that process;

20.
Is prepared to consider, in connection with the 2001 budgetary procedure and the measures pro-
vided for in Letter of Amendment No 1/2001 (12071/2000 * C5-0518/2000), the procedures for a pro-
posal concerning early retirement and is confident that such a measure could be implemented, given the
provisions of the Staff Regulations of Officials; reiterates that early retirement measures should on no
account be allowed to obscure the main priorities of the reform;

Acknowledges the need for the Commission to adjust its activities and priorities in line with the
21.
human resources available; calls on the Commission to explain the proposed reduction in staff dealing
with checks on own resources; notes that the list of activities to be abandoned or reduced, in Annex 3
to the abovementioned communication, is indicative and must obtain political consent; reminds the Com-
mission of its duty to fulfil all the obligations stemming directly from the Treaties, including the Euratom
Treaty;

Audit, financial management and control

22.
Fully supports the aim of instilling a genuine sense of responsibility among officials who take deci-
sions with financial implications and the abolition of any measures which discourage authorising officers
from taking responsibility for the transactions they manage;

Stresses that separating the tasks of authorising and effecting expenditure should be pursued and
23.
intensified in connection with a necessary decentralisation of expenditure-related decision-making and
monitoring procedures;

Confirms paragraph 37 of its abovementioned resolution of 19 January 2000 on the second report
24.
of the Committee of Independent Experts and also the call made in that paragraph concerning an external
budgetary discipline body which would be responsible for ensuring the effective application of the provi-
sions in the Financial Regulation and the Staff Regulations concerning the financial liability of officials and
other staff for the damage their actions cause; calls on the Commission to explain the reasons why it has
taken no action to date on this recommendation;

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25.
Stresses that placing greater emphasis on the responsibility of directors-general for the internal con-
trol of their directorates-general in no way releases the respective Commissioners from their own political
responsibility for the functioning of their departments, as stressed in the first report of the Committee of
Independent Experts;

26.
Reminds the Commission that, pending the entry into force of the new Financial Regulation, Parlia-
ment has adopted a resolution on 5 October on amending Article 24(5) of the current Financial Regula-
tion, with the aim of avoiding legal grey areas and uncertainties;

27.
Notes with satisfaction the Commission’s decision to decentralise financial control within each
directorate-general, a measure which must comply with the conditions set out in the second report of
the Committee of Independent Experts, in Opinion No 4/97 of the Court of Auditors (1) and in the letter
of 17 February 2000 from the President of the Court on the audit activities of the Commission and other
bodies working on behalf of the Commission;

Notes the Commission’s undertaking to maintain the centralised ex ante visa if some spending
28.
departments do not reach the ‘high standards’ pursued by the reform by the time the new Financial Reg-
ulation enters into force, and to do so for as long as is necessary; in this connection, considers the infor-
mation provided by the Commission to be lacking, in that no indication is given as to how it will deter-
mine whether the departments in question have reached the required level; calls therefore on the
Commission to remedy this shortcoming immediately; also expects the new Financial Regulation to result
in a qualitative rather than quantitative improvement in the financial control systems;

Calls for across-the-board ex ante checks to be replaced by targeted ex ante checks carried out on

29.
the basis of risk analyses or at the request of the authorising officer concerned;

30.
Considers that the new provisions governing control and internal audit should take account of the
specific characteristics of the organisational and budgetary structure of the various institutions and advi-
sory bodies, which should be reflected in their respective internal rules; also considers, however, that the
core principles of sound financial management and control must be applied throughout all the institutions;

Calls for the Internal Audit Service to become fully operational as soon as possible and also for the

31.
audit reports to be as regular as possible;

Calls on the Commission to provide details of the specific and tangible results it expects, so as to

32.
prove to Parliament that the reform is on the right track;

33. Welcomes the announcement in the White Paper (Action 96) of the reorganisation of the procedure
for the recovery of unduly paid funds;

Rejects the proposal also made in the White Paper (Action 66) concerning the setting-up of an
34.
advisory financial
irregularities panel of a help-desk nature to which, according to the Commission’s
ideas, cases of financial error or suspected irregularity not involving fraud would be submitted; fears that
this proposal will circumvent and undermine the responsibilities of OLAF; draws the Commission’s atten-
tion to the fact that this would be contrary to the legal provisions laying down the tasks and powers of
OLAF;

35.
Expects the Council, in cooperation with Parliament, acting within their own spheres of compe-
tence, to ensure that the procedures for recasting the Financial Regulation and the revision of the Staff
Regulations are completed as soon as possible;

36.
Urges the Commission to extend and apply Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 on the
protection of the European Communities’ financial interests (2) to all Community programmes and actions;

(1) OJ C 57, 23.2.1998.
(2) OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1.

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37.
Hopes, in that spirit, that the power to clear EAGGF accounts conferred on the Commission will be
extended to all Community appropriations not managed by its services, in order that Parliament be pro-
vided with additional and more extensive financial control data in its capacity as budgetary authority;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-

38.
ments of the Member States.

*

*

*

16. Commission reform: legal aspects

A5-0326/2000

European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on reforming the Commission
(aspects concerning the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market) (COM(2000) 200 (
C5-0446/2000 ( 2000/2216(COS))

The European Parliament,

* having regard to the Commission White Paper on reforming the Commission (COM(2000) 200 *

C5-0446/2000),

* having regard to the EC Treaty, in particular Article 283 thereof,

* having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market for the Com-
mittee on Petitions on the Special Report from the European Ombudsman to the European Parliament
following the own-initiative inquiry into the secrecy which forms part of the Commission’s recruit-
ment procedures,

* having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

* having regard to its other resolutions of 30 November 2000 on reform of the Commission (1),

* having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0326/

2000),

A. whereas the present rigid and hierarchical system is ill equipped to meet the Commission’s future

objectives and its staff’s needs and aspirations, and needs significant modifications,

B. whereas the Commission needs to develop human resource (‘HR’) strategies and policies that will
enable it to achieve optimum performance in its core tasks of policy conception, initiating legislation
and enforcing Community law,

C. whereas devolving functions by externalisation, subject to proper scrutiny, transparency and control, is

a crucial part of these strategies and will assist the matching of tasks to resources,

D. whereas the Commission’s tasks must be carried out at the highest possible levels of performance,
efficiency and control in delivering a service to the people of Europe, with particular regard to inde-
pendence and accountability,

E. whereas the stated aim of the reform is to sustain an independent, permanent and high-quality Eur-
opean civil service that equips the Commission to fulfil its tasks as a world-class organisation and
enables it to be a model employer,

F. whereas officials must remain responsible and accountable for their actions and keep the opportunity

to be rewarded for their success in meeting or exceeding their set goals,

(1)

‘Texts Adopted’, Items 14, 15 and 17.