Debate: EU pledge for Afghanistan at  Geneva Conference
Date: THURSDAY, 11 MARCH 2021
Speaker: Janusz Lewandowski
Country: Denmark
Language: EN

Let me remind you that the framework agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission provides, in point 30 that: ‘before making, at donors’ conferences, financial pledges which involve new financial undertakings and require the agreement of a budgetary authority, the Commission shall inform the budgetary authority and examine its remarks.’ The Afghanistan pledge was one more example of the Commission failing to respect the spirit and letter of a framework agreement.  To take just this current legislative term, you are probably aware of a letter the Chair of the Committee on Budgets, Mr Van Overtveldt, sent on 20 February 2020, following the pledge made for Albania three days before, and with such short notice that it made it virtually impossible for us to judge and assess the pledge. In his letter a year ago, the Budgets Committee Chair asked for timely information on any international pledges so that they could be discussed by members of the Committee on Budgets and the Commissioner as early as possible. This request, also made informally, was left without due follow-up.  On 18 February this year, the Commission took a similar approach when it informed the Committee on Budgets on a Thursday night about the intention to make a pledge of EUR 500 million within the COVAX initiative on the next day. This is simply not acceptable. This is of course not about substance. This is about the mood of cooperation between the Commission and the European Parliament. And that is what we need to change.  I hear from some at the Commission that Parliament should not be consulted because international pledges do not fall under point 30 of the framework agreement. Let me say on this point that it is not up to the Commission alone to judge what falls under the framework agreement and what does not. We are able to judge it and we do.  You are probably aware that timely and full information about future pledges is also necessary for proper proceedings of the annual budget. A small illustration: the Syria Conference is approaching at the end of this month and the Commission is expected to make a similar pledge to those it has made in the past. The pledge should be included in the draft budget for 2022, which is to be presented in June. Without such a pledge the budgetary authority could choose to reorient the limited resources to the other areas.  Could I therefore at the end, on behalf of the Committee of Budgets, ask you to indicate firstly why the Commission did not seek to inform the budgetary authority before making the pledge for Afghanistan in November 2020? Why have you not followed up the letter of the Chair of the Committee on Budgets of 20 February 2020? And looking to the future, how do you intend to make sure that the Commission fully respects the relevant provision of our interinstitutional agreement? Let me underline what is obvious: we need timely information in order to properly assess the pledges. We expect you to inform us via the appropriate channels about the Commission’s intention for the upcoming Syria Conference.  And finally, apart from Syria and the other cases, could you indicate whether the Commission plans currently any other financial pledges falling under the provisions of the framework agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission?