Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2023

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 7Rejected

   Recital F a (new)

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Mathilde Androuët, Julien Sanchez +1 · PfE

   Added: Fa. whereas the Commission should not spend millions of euros financing ‘fake green’ NGOs to lobby the EU institutions (LIFE programme scandal);

2. Amendment 8Rejected

   Recital L a (new)

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Julien Sanchez, Nikola Bartůšek · PfE

   Added: La. whereas the EU should not finance foreign countries or organisations in those countries that do not respect the EU’s key interests (refusal to take back their criminals expelled from Europe; financing of terrorism, etc.);

3. Amendment 9Rejected

   Paragraph 1 a (new)

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Mathilde Androuët, Julien Sanchez +1 · PfE

   Added: 1a. Regrets how drastic and recurrent scandals have surfaced without any inquiry being conducted into potential conflicts of interest, disinformation or mistakes in the negotiation of contracts; highlights, for example: the EUR 71 billion spent on wasted COVID-19 vaccines and on remdesivir; the failure of the European Public Prosecutor’s office to act in the Pfizer-von der Leyen case; lobbyists/fake NGOs being financed by the Commission (LIFE scandal); the decision to contract Blackrock for a study on banking rules; the entrusting of EU officials’ recruitment contracts to an American firm; the authorised revolving door case of Thierry Breton joining an American bank; the Commissioner for Justice being found to have EUR 1 million-worth of Belgian lottery tickets; those accused of rape and harassment barely receiving any punishment; and the lack of consequences for receiving free flights and bags of money from Qatar;

4. Amendment 14Rejected

   Paragraph 36 a (new)

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Julien Sanchez, Nikola Bartůšek · PfE

   Added: 36a. Calls for all NGOs to be audited to check whether they have a profit motive; notes that some reported remuneration of directors of NGOs seems excessive and requires further justification; notes that director(s) remuneration should be public; recalls that all NGOs that receive EU funds, directly or indirectly should fulfil the NGO definition of the 2024 financial regulation;

5. Amendment 15Rejected

   Paragraph 68 a (new)

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Julien Sanchez, Nikola Bartůšek · PfE

   Added: 68a. Expresses deep concern over the case of former Director-General of DG MOVE, Henrik Hololei, who, according to media reports, was found by OLAF to have accepted flights and gifts from Qatar while leading negotiations on the EU-Qatar air transport agreement and disclosed confidential information in return; regrets that, despite OLAF forwarding its findings to the President of the Commission in July 2024, neither the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) nor the competent Belgian authorities seem to have taken up this matter; calls for an investigation into why this report had apparently not been shared with the relevant prosecutorial authorities by the Commission;