After the vote at the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT), Ivailo KALFIN (S&D, BG), Rapporteur, makes a statement on the European External Action Service, in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Brussels

statement

vote

Committee on Budgetary Control

Budgetary control (T2)

European External Action Service

KALFIN, Ivailo (S&D, BG)

European External Action Service: statement by Ivailo KALFIN (S&D, BG), Rapporteur

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/14015466/ebs71432Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English), Ivailo KALFIN (S&amp;D, BG), rapporteur, I think that the decision that was taken today gives good assurance to the EP that the creation of the new service, the External Action Service, is not going to deteriorate the powers of the Parliament to properly discharge the expenditure of the budgets. What we have archived it was to have a very clear line of responsibility. The EEAS is going to have a full discharge procedure for the administrative budget for the administrative charges and European Commission is going to have the discharge procedure for the operational budget. We shall have information in the Parliament for the overall budget. 

SOUNDBITE (English), Ivailo KALFIN (S&amp;D, BG), rapporteur, This will be for the 1st time related to the external action service and it will allow to the MEP's to much better control what is spend and what is the efficiency of the founds used in external action. We create very good grounds for OLAF and for the internal audit service of the EC to be very active and to check every single unit which is spend buy the EEAS. I think that practically this clears all those questions that are rising about the transfer of responsibilities between the Commission and the Council now we have a much better idea about that.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ivailo KALFIN (S&amp;D, BG), rapporteur, The position of executive secretary general should be the one whom is responsible for running the administration. He or she is not going to have political functions. There was a decision to have budget neutrality. But at the same time we've seen that here is an agreement to have representatives of the member states as part of the external relations service, and it is very important to know that they are going to first be as temporary agents but they are going to be paid by the European budget so if there is an increase of the staff which might happen with the introduction of new positions form the member states, there should be an increase of responsibilities and efficiency and also may be transferring some of the functioning from the member states so they can decrease their domestic costs related to their foreign service . We shall watch very carefully weather this happened or not when the service will start working.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ivailo KALFIN (S&amp;D, BG), rapporteur, The EEAC is a "sui generis" service. I mean we have to be innovating for creating positions. For a lot of the problems we couldn't find conventional solutions. This is one of those that we belie that is going to rather make more efficient the work of the EEAC, clearly dividing the political responsibilities from the administrative responsibilities of the service.