natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
Points out that the accumulation of financial corrections made when programme balances are settled is artificial at times and that they are not significant, given that they appear years after they are made; calls on the Commission to analyse whether the shift in methodology from confirmed corrections to implemented corrections, which took place in 2012 is best suited for reflecting the reality of control and management systems in a given financial year;
GÖR SKILLNAD.” generellt vara en framgång?
Notes that the resulting decrease by 34 % of financial corrections implemented in 2013 (from EUR 3,7 billion to EUR 2,5 billion) was partially compensated by an increase of 27 % of recoveries implemented in 2013 (from EUR 0,7 billion to EUR 0,9 billion);
Vilka resultatindikatorer kan mäta denna framgång?
Regrets that due to the legal framework for protecting Union financial interests, the complexity of the related procedures and the number of control layers involved in many areas, errors can only be corrected several years after they have occurred;
Hur används konceptet efter valet och har någon bedömnings-/utvärderingsrapport utarbetats efter parlamentets lagstiftnings- och värdekampanjer?
Points out that the average amount of financial corrections and recoveries implemented for 2009-2013 was EUR 2,7 billion which represents 2,1 % of the average amount of payments from the Union budget in that period; notes that according to the Commission, the abovementioned trend can be explained by the closure of the programming period 2000-2006 [3]; notes in particular that as regards cohesion policy, four-fifths of corrections made during the years 2007 to 2013 relate to operational programmes for earlier periods [4]; recalls that Member States have the right to substitute detected ineligible expenditure with legal and regular expenditure under the legal framework in force for structural funds;
Budgetkontrollutskottet vill gärna ha en kopia av denna utvärdering.
Reminds the Commission and the Member States that they have a duty to take corrective measures to protect the Union budget in cases of ineffective control systems or irregular expenditures; points out that the Commission and the Member States use such corrective measures and notes that if such corrective measures had not been applied to the 2013 payments audited by the Court of Auditors, the overall estimated error rate would have been 6,3 %, rather than 4,7 %; stresses that the Court of Auditors found that in a number of transactions affected by error, especially in the shared management areas, authorities had sufficient information available to detect and correct the errors; demands that the Court of Auditors therefore estimate in its future annual reports the level of error in the event that all corrective measures had been taken;
ECPF
Regrets furthermore the fact that those measures have still a limited financial impact on the Union budget since more than 40 % of the financial corrections implemented in 2013 are not considered as assigned revenue [5] but may be used by the same Member States having caused these corrections in cohesion policy, thus undermining the preventive effect of financial corrections;
med de iakttagelser som utgör en del av beslutet om ansvarsfrihet för genomförandet av Europeiska unionens allmänna budget för budgetåret 2013, avsnitt II – Europeiska rådet och rådet
Notes that approximately 28 % of the financial corrections implemented in 2013 involved a net reduction of Union funding to the programme and the Member State concerned in cohesion policy;
med beaktande av sitt beslut om ansvarsfrihet för genomförandet av Europeiska unionens allmänna budget för budgetåret 2013, avsnitt II – Europeiska rådet och rådet,
Notes with concern that the abovementioned Commission communication of 29 September 2014 does not necessarily provide reliable information on withdrawals, recoveries and pending recoveries of structural funds made by the Member States since the Commission states that it had to adopt a prudent approach due to certain weaknesses in the Member States' figures so as to ensure that the above amounts are not overstated [6];
med beaktande av artikel 94 och bilaga V i arbetsordningen,
Asks the Commission and the Member States to put in place sound procedures to confirm the timing, the origin and the amount of corrective measures and to provide information reconciling, as far as possible, the year in which payment is made, the year in which the related error is detected and the year in which recoveries or financial corrections are disclosed in the notes to the accounts, taking into account the pluriannuality of the whole procedure; considers it essential, furthermore, for comprehensive information to be provided on recoveries and financial corrections and for there to be full transparency with regard to data on the decommitment of appropriations and infringement proceedings for the year in question;
med beaktande av betänkandet från budgetkontrollutskottet (A8-0116/2015), och av följande skäl:
The Synthesis report and the annual activity reports
A. Samtliga EU-institutioner bör vara transparenta och fullt ansvariga inför unionens medborgare för de medel de anförtros i sin egenskap av EU-institutioner.
Takes note that the Commission Directors-General made a total of 17 quantified reservations relating to the expenditure; points out that the lower number of quantified reservations in 2013 (21 in 2012) did not have the effect of reducing the scope of the amount at risk and that the maximum total amount at risk announced by the Commission in its synthesis report [7] is below EUR 4179 million which corresponds to 2,8 % of all expenditure disbursed;
B. Eftersom parlamentets frågor inte besvarats och det saknas tillräcklig information kan parlamentet inte fatta ett välgrundat beslut om beviljande av ansvarsfrihet.
Asks the Commission to further clarify the calculation of the amount at risk [8] in explaining the estimated impact of corrective mechanisms on this figure and to issue in its synthesis report a proper ‘Statement of assurance’ based on the Directors-General annual activity reports;
Europaparlamentet konstaterar att revisionsrätten på grundval av sitt revisionsarbete drar slutsatsen att betalningarna som helhet under det budgetår som slutade den 31 december 2013 avseende administrativa och andra utgifter för institutionerna och organen inte innehöll några väsentliga fel.
Recalls that the cumulative figures used by the Commission concern corrective mechanisms applied by the Commission and the Member States (financial corrections and recoveries) several years after the disbursement of the funds (in particular during the periods1994-1999 and 2000-2006) and notes that in this time neither the Court of Auditors nor the Commission issued precise error rates;
Europaparlamentet noterar att revisionsrätten i sin årsrapport för 2013 fastslår att man inte funnit några allvarliga brister med avseende på de granskade områden som rörde Europeiska rådet och rådet.
Pressure on the budget
Europaparlamentet konstaterar att Europeiska rådet och rådet 2013 hade en total budget på 535511300 euro (533920000 euro för 2012), med en utnyttjandegrad på 86,7 %.
Is concerned by the fact that due to the unacceptable position of the Council during the negotiations of the annual Union budget and despite the high level of payments, the accounts show that outstanding financial commitments (in Heading 1b, mainly regional policy, the level of outstanding commitments at the end of 2013 is estimated at EUR 23,4 billion after EUR 5 billion at the end of 2010, EUR 11 billion at the end of 2011 and EUR 16 billion at the end of 2012) and other liabilities continued to grow in 2013; notes that at the year end, they stood at EUR 322 billion [9] and the figure is likely to rise in 2014;
Parlamentet beklagar att utnyttjandegraden sjönk 2013 jämfört med år 2012, då den var 91,8 %.
Points out that at the end of 2013, outstanding commitments were estimated at EUR 322 billion and that this amount was forecast to increase in 2014; considers this to be at odds with the principle of sound financial management, as established in Article 310 of the TFEU, thus placing a question mark over the legality of the budget;
Europaparlamentet bekymrar sig över att andelen underutnyttjade anslag fortsätter att vara hög och gäller nästan alla kategorier.
Stresses that these ‘overhanging’ financial obligations are a matter of particular concern because for the first time, payment ceilings are set to remain broadly stable in real terms for a number of years [10];
Parlamentet efterlyser återigen centrala resultatindikatorer för att förbättra budgetgenomförandet under de kommande åren.
Points out that in times of economic crisis, financial resources are scarce; notes, however, that for large parts of the budget, the maximum level of expenditure under the MFF headings is broken into yearly allocations per Member State; observes that the way funds are absorbed by Member States often becomes the main policy objective (‘use it or lose it’) [11]; calls on the Commission and Member States to therefore promote a shift from spending to a performance culture focussing on the results achieved based on the principles of efficiency, effectiveness and economy;
Europaparlamentet noterar att 71376244 euro i åtagandebemyndiganden annullerades 2013 till följd av underutnyttjande och en minskning av användningen av lokaler.
Points out that gross pre-financing amounted to EUR 79,4 billion at the end of 2013 and insists that extended periods of pre-financing can lead to an increased risk of error or loss; stresses that this risk is particularly present for Heading 4 of the budget (EU as a global player) where for a typical operation, four years elapse between a commitment being made and the Commission recording the final related expenditure;
Europaparlamentet är förvånat över att 5 miljoner euro för förvärvet av Europabyggnaden fördes över till 2014 för den faktiska utbetalningen.
Urges the Commission to once again prepare and publish a ‘long-range cash flow forecast’ projecting future payment requirements to ensure that necessary payments can be met from approved annual budgets; demands that the Commission present, if necessary, modifications to existing regulations in the event that the annual budgets cannot provide sufficient appropriations to match the necessary payments level;
Parlamentet anser att detta, tillsammans med andra anslag som förts över, strider mot principerna om ettårighet och sund ekonomisk förvaltning i budgetförordningen.
Reiterates the need to work on finding long term solutions that can allow the Commission to regain control of its budget; notes that there is a particular need for an increased emphasis on accountability and a focus on performance and spending outcomes; highlights, to this end, the need for Parliament to play a greater role in scrutinising expenditure and performance;
Europaparlamentet upprepar att Europeiska rådets och rådets budget bör skiljas åt, vilket skulle bidra till att göra de båda institutionernas ekonomiska förvaltning transparentare och till att förbättra fullgörandet av deras redovisningsskyldighet.
Financial instruments
Europaparlamentet uppmanar på nytt Europeiska rådet och rådet att översända sin årliga verksamhetsrapport till parlamentet tillsammans med en uttömmande översikt över all den personal som institutionerna förfogar över, uppdelad per kategori, lönegrad, kön, nationalitet och yrkesutbildning.
Observes that by the end of 2013, 941 financial engineering instruments (FEI) had been set up under 176 European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and European Social Funds (ESF) Operational Programmes (OP) in 25 Member States; is particularly concerned that only 47 % of the EUR 14,3 billion (EUR 6,7 billion) that had been paid to the FEIs had actually been paid out to final beneficiaries, although this figure represents an increase compared with the EUR 4,7 billion paid out by the end of 2012; observes that the average disbursement rate of 47 % at the end of 2013 masks a certain variation between funds and Member States; notes that the average disbursement covers all 900 funds: those established in 2008 as well those newly established in 2013 for which implementation was only starting; considers that while some funds are underperforming, there are others which have already achieved 100 % absorption and are now re-investing revolving funds;
Parlamentet konstaterar att denna tabell automtiskt bör ingå i institutionernas årliga verksamhetsrapport.
Observes that 14 FEIs have been set up in the Members States under the rural development fund; observes that EUR 443,77 million has been paid out to banks in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Lithuania from the Union budget until the end of 2013; expresses concern that of this amount, not a single euro reached the final beneficiaries; observes that for six financial FEIs set up under the European Fisheries Fund, EUR 72,37 million was paid out to banks in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and the Netherlands; notes that only in Latvia were the available amounts fully disbursed to the final beneficiaries while in Romania only 28 % of the funds were disbursed to the final beneficiary, 77 % in Bulgaria, 91 % in Estonia and none in the Netherlands and Greece [12];
Europaparlamentet välkomnar inrättandet av en revisionskommitté vid rådets generalsekretariat och antagandet av en ny internrevisionsstadga.
Regrets furthermore that these instruments are complex and difficult to account for correctly, which also makes public scrutiny more challenging; calls on the Commission to be more transparent and to regularly report on leverage, losses and risks such as investment bubbles; urges the Commission to give a full overview of the number of projects financed under each of the financial engineering instruments and the results achieved, to indicate clearly how much Union budget allocations were used to co-finance these FEI projects and to present a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the instrument of FEIs compared with more direct forms of project funding;
Parlamentet uppmanar rådet att hålla parlamentet informerat om fördelarna med och resultaten av dessa förändringar.
Welcomes the fact that during the Annual Review meetings, the implementation of the financial instruments is systematically included in the agenda and that shortcomings are then analysed and remedial actions proposed; acknowledges with satisfaction that for the next period 2014-2020, shortcomings in the area have been corrected, i.e. payments will only be transferred to the funds managing financial instruments when the actual disbursement to the final recipients has reached a certain percentage;
Europaparlamentet beklagar att genomförandet av de anmärkningar som gjorts av internrevisionstjänsten i samband med uppföljningen minskade 2013.
Recommends, in light of the pressure on the budget for payments and the fact that Article 140(7) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (the Financial Regulation) requires that excessive balances should be avoided on financial instruments, that the Commission ensures that contributions from the Union budget to such instruments reflect a real cash-flow need;
Parlamentet håller med rådet om betydelsen av att granskningsrekommendationer genomförs i tid [1].
Is particularly concerned by some of the Court of Auditors' findings as regards the effectiveness of blending regional investment facility grants with financial institution loans to support Union external policies [13];
Parlamentet förväntar sig att detta förfarande genomförs utan dröjsmål.
Points out that while the facilities were well set-up, the potential benefits of blending were not fully realised due to the Commission's management shortcomings; asks the Commission to disburse funding only when the funds are actually needed by the beneficiary and to improve its monitoring of the Union grant implementation;
Europaparlamentet är bekymrat över översättningstjänstens försenade genomförande av granskningsrekommendationerna.
Responsibility of the Commission and Member States in shared management
Europaparlamentet noterar med oro de enorma skillnaderna i översättningskostnader mellan de olika EU-institutionerna.
Emphasises the fact that in accordance with Article 317 TFEU, the Commission is ultimately responsible for the implementation of the Union budget; points out that where the Commission implements the budget under shared management, implementation tasks are delegated to Member States pursuant to Article 59 of the Financial Regulation, thereby engaging their political and financial responsibility; reiterates therefore the fact that the Member States should act strictly in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and should not undermine their own responsibility in managing Union funds;
Parlamentet uppmanar därför den interinstitutionella arbetsgruppen för översättning att kartlägga orsakerna bakom dessa skillnader och lägga fram lösningar för att komma till rätta med obalansen och harmonisera översättningskostnaderna, samtidigt som man säkerställer full respekt för kvalitet och språklig mångfald.
Takes note of the Commission communication of 28 October 2014 entitled ‘On the adoption of the inter-institutional working group recommendations for the establishment and use of national declarations’ (COM(2014) 688); points out that the submission of declarations is voluntary, and therefore welcomes the fact that four Member States — Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom — have decided to submit them; regrets, however, that those declarations differ in form, scope, comprehensiveness and the reporting period and notes that as a result of this, they are therefore of little use;
Parlamentet noterar, med detta i åtanke, att arbetsgruppen borde återupprätta ett samarbete mellan institutionerna för utbyte av bästa praxis och resultat, och kartlägga de områden där samarbete och överenskommelser mellan institutionerna kan stärkas.
Points out that according to numerous statements by the Court of Auditors, national management declarations as provided by the four abovementioned Member States have very limited value in the Court of Auditors' auditing process and cannot be considered as reliable source of information for issuing the statement of assurance;
Parlamentet anser att arbetsgruppen dessutom bör sträva efter att införa en enhetlig metod för redovisning av översättningskostnaderna för samtliga institutioner i syfte att göra det enklare att analysera och jämföra kostnaderna.
Regrets, furthermore, in relation to the abovementioned Commission communication of 28 October 2014, the lack of substantial progress to improve the financial management which could lead to a continuous loss of Union money due to wrong decisions at political and managerial levels; calls for a sanction system if Member States transmit incorrect programme information and declarations;
Parlamentet noterar att arbetsgruppen bör lägga fram resultatet av detta arbete före utgången av 2015.
Calls therefore on the Commission and the Council to take concrete and meaningful steps to enable the necessary progress in sound financial management, including the increased use of the instrument of national declarations which in practice do not require much extra effort (reportedly less than 1 full-time equivalent on a yearly basis per Member State), while also noting that it is of great importance that Member States take political responsibility for the use of Union funds by means of a public document; calls on the Commission and the Member States to publish not only the national declarations but also the annual summaries and management declarations in order to give more insight in and achieve a real improvement of the financial management; urges the Commission to submit a recommendation to Parliament and the Council to promote the use of national declarations in line with the recommendations by the interinstitutional working group for the establishment and use of national declarations;
Parlamentet uppmanar alla institutioner att delta aktivt i den interinstitutionella arbetsgruppens arbete, och påminner i detta sammanhang om att respekten för flerspråkighet i EU-institutionerna är av grundläggande betydelse för att man ska kunna garantera lika behandling och lika möjligheter för alla EU-medborgare.
Considers it essential to promote full transparency in the use of structural funds through the publication of the accounting documentation of assigned projects;
Parlamentet anser, i dessa tider präglade av kris och allmänna budgetnedskärningar, att kostnaderna för ”bortadagar” för personalen vid unionens institutioner måste minskas, och att dessa dagar i mån av möjlighet bör hållas i institutionernas lokaler, eftersom mervärdet av ”bortadagar” inte motiverar så höga kostnader.
Reliability of the data communicated by the Member States
Europaparlamentet är bekymrat över bristen på kvinnor på höga befattningar i EU-institutionerna.
Notes the lack of reliability of the first level checks performed by the Member States in shared management undermines the credibility of the annual activity reports drafted by the Commission services and the Synthesis report adopted by the Commission as they are partially based on the results of the checks performed by the national authorities; reiterates its previous demand that the Commission evaluate and, if necessary, correct the Member States' data in order to establish reliable and objective annual activity reports;
Parlamentet uppmanar rådet att inleda arbetet med en jämställdhetsplan med särskild inriktning på ledande befattningar så att denna obalans kan åtgärdas så snart som möjligt.
Requests that the Directors-General report in detail in their annual activity reports on the error rates notified by the Member States and on the corrections made by the Commission, where appropriate, at the level of operational programmes;
Europaparlamentet beklagar att utarbetandet av en handbok för förvaltningen av fastighetsprojekt har försenats.
Worst performing Member States
Europaparlamentet noterar att vissa av granskningsrekommendationerna avseende projektet med Europabyggnaden fortfarande inte genomförts.
Welcomes the overview of the Court of Auditors' audit results of funds managed under shared management in agriculture and cohesion 2009-2013, published together with the Court of Auditors' 2013 annual report which partially address Parliament's request expressed in the 2012 discharge resolution for country-specific information in shared management;
Parlamentet upprepar sin uppmaning till rådet att tillhandahålla en detaljerad skriftlig redovisning av de anslag som totalt använts för förvärvet av byggnaden.
Points out that according to the figures provided by the Court of Auditors as regards the amounts and percentage of funds at risk as to the European Regional Development Funds, the European Social Funds and the Cohesion Funds (source data included in the 2013 annual activity reports of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and DG Regional and Urban policy), Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Spain have the highest error rates;
Europaparlamentet kräver att institutionens fastighetspolitik ska inbegripas i den årliga verksamhetsrapporten, särskilt med tanke på hur viktigt det är att kostnaderna för en sådan politik motiveras ordentligt och att de inte är orimligt höga.
Points out that according to the figures provided by the Court of Auditors as regards the amounts and percentage of funds at risk as to the European Agricultural Guarantee Funds and the European Agricultural Funds for Regional Development (source data included in the 2013 annual activity report of DG Agricultural and Rural Development), Romania, Bulgaria an Portugal have the highest error rates;
Europaparlamentet noterar nolltillväxten (0,3 %) (1,6 miljoner euro) i rådets budgetanslag för 2013.