L 258/118
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
5.10.2022
Digitalisation, cybersecurity, data protection 56.
Acknowledges that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the already ongoing trend in the simplification and digitalisation of communication tools and administrative processes, like the adoption of ‘paperless’ financial circuits; believes that the tested improvements introduced in March 2020 should become structural and stay beyond the pandemic;
57.
Notes that the budget for IT in 2020 was EUR 7 500 000 compared to EUR 4 900 000 in 2019, representing an increase of 53 %, largely due to unused appropriations transferred from other budget lines in order to further address the backlog in IT; recalls that budget transfers cannot replace the necessary structural funding of any IT service;
58.
Notes that by the end of 2020, the Committee had provided a laptop to each member of staff while high quality headsets were provided on demand at a total cost of EUR 322 462; is aware that in January 2021 the Committee adopted a decision on the payment of a lump sum, at the request of eligible members of staff, to cover extraordinary costs related to the obligatory telework (563 requests were made amounting to a total of EUR 107 271);
59.
Welcomes the specific deliverables related to cybersecurity set out in the Committee’s digital strategy; appreciates the close cooperation with the Computer Emergency Response Team for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies (CERT-EU) as a cornerstone of the Committee’s IT security;
60.
Congratulates the Committee on the significant improvement of the members’ portal, Phoenix and the Adonis document workflow tool and on the progress that was made regarding the hybrid cloud environment as the last component of the digital workplace; notes that the members’ section of the Committee intranet was fully revamped to become a one-stop shop; welcomes the use of qualified electronic signature for signing electronically as well as other remote and digital tools;
61.
Notes that in recent years, the focus of the internal audit at the Committee has been almost entirely on analysing and assessing the soundness of procedures and processes and to a lesser extent on auditing transactions; calls for a specific plan to promote remote or digital internal auditing at the Committee; notes that, at the request of the European Data Protection Supervisor, the Committee mapped the transfers of personal data to third countries and concluded that no activities were affected; notes the fact that the Committee signed the enrolment linking it to an interinstitutional framework contract with Microsoft and that it has no separate individual license agreements in place with Microsoft anymore; however, encourages the Committee to prioritise open source technology in order to retain control over its own technical systems, avoid dependency and vendor lock-in, provide stronger safeguards for user’s privacy and data protection, and increase security and transparency for the public;
Buildings and security 62.
Is aware that the Committee and the CoR are implementing their long-term building strategy focusing on geographical concentration and reorganisation of office allocations; notes that the responsible working group considered it essential to have an additional building with a capacity of around 200 people in order to be able to create good working conditions; notes that that analysis led the Committee and the CoR to negotiate taking over the rental contract for the B100 building from the European External Action Service and that the draft administrative agreement was approved by the bureaus of the Committee and the CoR in the last quarter of 2020; is aware that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay in the process;
63.
Welcomes the improvements in key areas within the buildings strategy, namely refurbishment of existing buildings to create healthier workspaces aligned to ergonomic standards, increase the level of security, reduce electricity consumption and align with environmental obligations;
64.
Notes that, following the takeover of the B100 building in September 2021, tests and asbestos abatement are ongoing; calls on the Committee and the CoR to periodically monitor the conditions of that building and to inform the staff at all times accordingly; recalls its resolution of 20 October 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on protecting workers from asbestos (5);
(5) Text adopted P9_TA(2021)0427.