Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-04-21-Speech-3-017"
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"en.20100421.3.3-017"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I have been asking myself what discharge really is. Discharge is a parliamentary procedure, a public procedure; it is a critical scrutiny, in public, of financial management. I was responsible for carrying out this exercise in respect of the European Parliament for the 2008 financial year. This scrutiny facilitates MEPs’ and also citizens’ understanding of Parliament’s particular set-up, governance structure and working methods. After all, ladies and gentlemen, citizens have the right to know what is happening to their taxes. A great deal of money is involved. We are talking about a parliamentary budget of EUR 1.4 billion for 2008; the budget for 2011 is likely to be EUR 1.7 billion. This is an extremely large amount of money.
The procedure is important, as is the work of the Committee on Budgetary Control. After all, a critical approach by this committee ensures progress, as has indeed been demonstrated in the past. For example, a critical stance by the Committee on Budgetary Control ensured the introduction of a Statute for Members of the European Parliament and of a Statute for Assistants, it ensured that we carried out a critical examination of the purchase of buildings here in Strasbourg, and it ensured the accomplishment of an EMAS procedure that has reduced the environmental impact of our work.
This is all good news, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks to our critical stance, we have managed to reduce electricity consumption by 25% over three years. We have managed to use 100% green electricity. We have succeeded in cutting CO
emissions by 17%. We have managed to reduce, compost or reuse 50% of our waste streams.
My report also introduces a new concept: that of ‘reputational damage’ to Parliament. This means that even the smallest impact of financial resources can cause enormous damage to the reputation of this House. We should be alert to this. The appointment of a risk manager within the administration on 24 February is to be warmly welcomed. I would invite that person to approach the competent committees and join us in discussing ways of reducing the risks of misappropriation in this House. A critical approach is essential, as I have said. That is why I am calling for transparency and openness, for the establishment of a system of checks and balances, and for responsibility and accountability.
Mr President, I propose granting you discharge, as I have not discovered any serious cases of fraud or misappropriation or any major scandals: let that be quite clear. Nevertheless, my report is critical. I wanted to show that we can do even better. The report aims to ensure that, as we approach the next elections in 2014, we are free from all scandals, big or small, and that we are not plagued by that kind of unsavoury report in the press.
In my report, I have endeavoured to hand the Secretary-General and Parliament’s senior administration a number of means of protection against certain criticisms. I have discussed a number of concerns. One is the fact that the Secretary-General draws up his annual report on the basis of declarations by the Directors-General, when I should much prefer there to be a second opinion. I propose we take an even closer look at the whole difficult system of public procurement, as this constitutes a major risk factor. I propose ensuring that no public taxes are used for the voluntary pension fund, with its actuarial deficit of EUR 121 million.
Ladies and gentlemen, I should like to conclude with a few words about the production of my report. I strove for positive cooperation with my shadow rapporteurs, and some very constructive amendments have been tabled. However, I regret that, at some point, the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) tabled a mere 50 or so amendments seeking to delete important parts of my report. I can only think that there has been some interference between certain of Parliament’s structures and the MEPs who wanted to do that. I find this regrettable in that, as a pro-European yet critical MEP, I sought primarily to present a very constructive, very positive approach in this discharge report."@en1
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