2023 discharge: General budget of the EU - Agencies

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 12 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 8 a (new)

   Tabled by Tamás Deutsch, Anders Vistisen, Nikola Bartůšek +1 · PfE

   Added: 8 a. In accordance with the principles of proportionality, efficiency, and fiscal responsibility, all Union Agencies established with a defined mandate shall be subject to automatic dissolution upon the completion of their original mission, unless a formal extension is explicitly justified and approved by both the European Parliament and the Council. The continuation of any agency beyond its founding objectives shall be considered an unjustified burden on Union resources, a contributor to institutional redundancy, and a deviation from sound governance practices. Agencies that no longer serve a unique and essential function within the Union framework shall be disbanded without delay. The Commission shall, on an annual basis, submit a detailed review of each agency's relevance, with a binding recommendation for sunset proceedings where appropriate. The persistence of agencies beyond their necessity fosters bureaucratic inertia, undermines public trust, and diverts critical funding away from emerging priorities. Therefore, the Union shall embed time-limited mandates, strict performance reviews, and automatic closure mechanisms in all agency founding regulations.

2. Amendment 14 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 18

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Fabrice Leggeri, Nikola Bartůšek +2 · PfE

   18. Removed: Stresses that a balanced approach, combining effective border control with robust fundamental rights safeguards, is key to maintaining a secure Schengen area and a credible migration management framework for the Union; reiterates, therefore, the importance of structural and continuous fundamental rights training for Added: Regrets and denounces the intrusion of the ideology of politically left-wing NGOs, supported by the Commission, which have imposed themselves in recent years, increasing the number of staff mandated to monitor fundamental rights and providing training in this area to Standing Corps officers (Frontex), Removed: ensuring their awareness of and compliance with relevant fundamental rights obligations and standards and with international human rights and humanitarian law8 ; stresses, moreover, the importance of reporting fundamental rights violations, when witnessing such violations, via the issuance of Serious Incident Reports (SIRs); 8 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0075 - part 3. Added: thus diverting the Frontex agency from – and sometimes even hindering – its core mission; regrets that expenditure on remuneration in 2023 for the Fundamental Rights Office (headquarters and monitors) amounted to as much as EUR 4 367 527 (+78 % in one year) and that expenditure related to fundamental rights activities amounted to EUR 105 083 in 2023 (up 21 % in one year);

3. Amendment 15 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 18 a (new)

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Fabrice Leggeri, Anders Vistisen +2 · PfE

   Added: 18 a. reiterates that Frontex must focus on border surveillance of the Schengen area, fighting cross-border crime and assisting return operations, thus contributing to the protection of the people of Europe; calls for the redeployment of resources and the continued recruitment of the necessary frontline staff at the Union’s external borders and in hot spots, and for the number of administrative posts to be streamlined; deplores the fact that the overall return rate in the Union remains below 30 %, indicating that current initiatives remain insufficient in light of the scale of illegal migration flows; stresses the need for Frontex to further prioritise its return operations and to work closely with Member States to enhance the effectiveness of the return programmes; stresses the urgent need for the EUAA to help Member States take measures to prevent illegal immigration and to process returns efficiently; calls for the possibility of reviewing asylum applications in countries of origin and transit to be considered in order to avoid fuelling migration into the Union;

4. Amendment 17 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 18 c (new)

   Tabled by Julien Sanchez, Virginie Joron, Fabrice Leggeri · PfE

   Added: 18 c. Deplores the fact that the EUAA has only recently taken steps to terminate its rental contracts for premises in Lesbos and Rome, which had been identified as irregular by the European Court of Auditors since 2014, and which still cost EUR 123 800 for the financial year 2023 alone; in view of the steady increase in irregular migration across Europe, regrets that the EUAA is considering creating more posts for fundamental rights monitors rather than combating illegal immigration;

5. Amendment 18 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 21

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Anders Vistisen, Julien Sanchez · PfE

   … expenses and a higher budget allocation derived from fees for specific projects; Added: deplores this increase for ACER, given that it was ineffective; criticises the fact that the response has not been up to task and has been affected by rising energy costs, the setting system for which does not protect consumers’ interests; 12 Working document III draft budget 2023, p. 24. 13 Working document …

6. Amendment 27 · Motion for a resolutionAdopted

   Paragraph 102

   Tabled by Virginie Joron, Anders Vistisen, Julien Sanchez · PfE

   … between tenderers and to procure the most economically advantageous goods and services, Added: giving preference to European companies over non-European companies and respecting the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination;

7. Amendment 30 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 17

   Tabled by Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren +8 · ECR

   … ways to simplify these processes to reduce unnecessary burdens on national authorities; Removed: notes the importance of implementing recommendations from the Fundamental Rights Officer’s (FRO) annual report; while recognising the progress that has been made, calls on Frontex to continue to enhance transparency, fully cooperate with investigations and implement measures ensuring fundamental rights protections in all of its activities; 7 Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council …

8. Amendment 31 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 18

   Tabled by Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren +8 · ECR

   18. Stresses Removed: that a balanced approach, combining effective border control with robust fundamental rights safeguards, is Added: the need for the agency to return to its core tasks which are key to maintaining a secure Schengen area and a credible migration management framework for the Union; Removed: reiterates, therefore, the importance of structural and continuous fundamental rights training for Standing Corps officers (Frontex), ensuring their awareness of and compliance with relevant fundamental rights obligations and standards and with international human rights and humanitarian law8 ; stresses, moreover, the importance of reporting fundamental rights violations, when witnessing such violations, via the issuance of Serious Incident Reports (SIRs); 8 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0075 - part 3.

9. Amendment 32 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

   Paragraph 81

   Tabled by Maciej Wąsik, Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers +5 · ECR

   81. Removed: Welcomes Added: Notes FRA's contribution to the evaluation of the European Border and Coast Guard …

10. Amendment 33 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

    Paragraph 85

    Tabled by Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers, Beatrice Timgren +8 · ECR

    85. Highlights as regards EIGE, Removed: the importance of resuming actions related to the gender mainstreaming that did not achieve a 100 % success rate, particularly due to procedural reasons; Added: this Institution, rather than focusing on universally shared goals such as equal opportunity and protection under the law, continues to prioritise concepts like “gender identity,” “intersectionality,” and “structural patriarchy,” which represent ideological constructs rather than objective policy concerns; stresses that the EIGE operates as a vehicle for social engineering rather than a neutral agency promoting equality under Union law;

11. Amendment 34 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

    Paragraph 108

    Tabled by Maciej Wąsik, Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers +6 · ECR

    108. Removed: Supports Added: Notes Frontex’s continued efforts to strengthen its FRO, Removed: noting the employment of 46 Fundamental Rights Monitors (FRM) in 2023; stresses the importance of ensuring that all FRMs are recruited in AD grade, to further enhance their capacity and independence; recognises that Frontex has taken significant steps in responding to the opinions of the FRO, particularly on issues such as gender mainstreaming and human trafficking; Added: whose activities should not determine the implementation of Frontex's mandate, which is to help Members States in border protection, return of illigal migrants and secure of the Schengen area;

12. Amendment 35 · Motion for a resolutionRejected

    Paragraph 142

    Tabled by Maciej Wąsik, Dick Erixon, Charlie Weimers +5 · ECR

    142. Highlights the positive progress in implementing Fundamental Rights targets, Removed: including the ongoing execution of the Fundamental Rights Action Plan and the independent evaluation of the Agency’s compliance with the Fundamental Rights Framework, in line with the EBCG Regulation; welcomes the proactive follow-up by Frontex on complaints related to fundamental rights, with the majority being dismissed for non-admissibility; welcomes Frontex’s reinforced commitment to transparency and accountability; Added: which, however, are not the main task expected by Member States in their requests for Frontex assistance at the borders; notes that the activities of FRO in Lithuania in 2021 determined the presence of Frontex and made the assistance ineffective in the face of hybrid threats from Belarus and Russia; stresses that, as a result, Lithuania, the victim of hybrid attack, has been accused of violating the fundamental rights of aggressive illegal migrants pushing their way across its borders;

13. Amendment 36 · Motion for a resolutionAdopted

    Paragraph 96

    Tabled by Erik Marquardt · Greens/EFA

    96. Removed: Reiterates its call from last year that the EUAA should keep Parliament regularly updated on all OLAF investigations; Added: Urges the Agency to fully clarify all open issues, to implement OLAF recommendations in a credible and transparent manner, and to establish robust internal control, ethical oversight, and accountability mechanisms; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority about any remedial steps taken without undue delays;