What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Removed:2. MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

Added:2. European Parliament resolution of 7 May 2025 with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section VII – Committee of the Regions (2024/2026(DEC))

Removed:with observations forming an integral part of the decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section VII – Committee of the Regions

Changed:H. whereas Regulation (EU) 2021/1060,2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council , governing Union cohesion policy and funding between 2021 and 2027, that entered into force in July 2021, encompasses references to the partnership and multilevel governance principle, supported by the Committee and Parliament and entailing the involvement of regions and their local and regional authorities; strongly supports the strengthening of Union investments linked to regional and local resilience in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF);

Changed:J. whereas, on 19 February 2021, Regulation (EU) 2021/241,2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council , establishing the Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, entered into force, providing the legal basis for distributing funds and loans of up to EUR 672,5 billion (in 2018 prices) to the Member States between 2021 and 2026 and also aiming to support economic, social and territorial cohesion and to address disparities between the regions of the Union;

Changed:10. Notes that until 23 July 2023, the flat-rate remote meeting allowance paid by the Committee to its members, their alternates, as well as to rapporteurs’ experts and speakers invited to attend remote or hybrid meetings was EUR 200; notes further that on that date, new rules on the matter entered into force setting the flat-rate remote meeting allowance at 50 % of the regular meeting allowance, with the latter being EUR 359 and the former EUR 179,50; notes in this context a significant decrease in the total amount paid for remote meeting allowances from EUR 1 742 000 in 2021 and EUR 489 600 in 2022 to EUR 32 632 in 2023, while the overall expenditure linked to budget line 10041 0 0 4 (‘Travel and subsistence allowances, attendance at meetings and associated expenditure’) has increased considerably from approximately EUR 6,6 million in 2022 to approximately EUR 8 million in 2023, mainly due to a strong return to in-person meetings in 2023 and the increase in the travel related prices in the aftermath of the Covid-19COVID-19 pandemic;

Changed:16. Commends the Committee for its political achievements in its key priority areas in 2023; notes that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and through resolutions, which highlight the Committee’s positions on specific topics; notes that, in 2023, the Committee adopted 53 opinions and 6 resolutions, a decrease from 55 opinions and 8 resolutions adopted in 2022 despite the increase in appropriations and staff; encourages the Committee to continue to work on the performance improvement as well as effectiveness improvement; welcomes the Committee'sCommittee’s efforts to introduce reformative and innovative solutions, streamline the administration and avoid overlapping roles with other bodies;

Changed:18. Notes with satisfaction from the Committee’s replies to the questionnaire submitted by the Parliament'sParliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control for the 2023 budgetary discharge (the ‘Questionnaire’) that, thanks to the ‘Going for IMPact’ programme, the Committee has managed in 2023 to align its objectives to the available resources which were under pressure as a result of the inflationary effects of the war in Ukraine; commends in particular the progress made by the Committee in implementing ‘Project Convergence’ (a SharePoint-based tool for planning, reporting, risk assessment, and business continuity) and the new business continuity policy;

Changed:24. Observes an increased reliance of the Committee on contract agents and temporary agents (representing up to 26 % of the Committee’s staff); notes from the Questionnaire that said reliance is due in particular to the absence of EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) reserve lists for generalist administrator profiles since 2018; is worried that the Committee’s long-term stability and business continuity are threatened by the absence of attractiveness of the time-limited contracts offered; underlines the importance of permanent staff in maintaining skills, continuity and productive working environment; notes that the Committee organised an internal competition for generalists across five grades (AST/SC1,(AST/SC AST1,1, AST3,AST AD5,1, AST 3, AD 5, and AD7)AD 7) in 2024; supports the Committee in its endeavours to respond to those challenges; asks the Committee to report to the discharge authority on such competitions organised in 2024;

Changed:34. Welcomes the work done by the Committees in 2023 to consolidate ethical rules and practices into a single ethical legal framework (Decision n⁰No 157/2023) covering disciplinary procedure, dignity at work, conflict management, combatting harassment, outside activities and whistleblowing among others; notes that that work culminated with a decision (n⁰(No 157/2023) which was the outcome of comprehensive consultations with different stakeholders, as well as a follow-up to an internal survey on staff ethics awareness and the implementation of an internal audit recommendation on that topic; commends the Committee for continuing to offer training courses on ethics, integrity and respect and dignity at work to different groups of staff ranging from newcomers, managers and staff overall in 2023;

Changed:36. Recalls that the Committee adopted Regulation n⁰No 6/2023 of 4 July 2023 laying down transparency measures that focus on office-holding members and rapporteurs; commends in this context the Committee for having formally joined the EU Transparency Register on 1 January 2024;

Changed:38. Welcomes the Committee’s renewed efforts in the area of detection and prevention of conflicts of interest in 2023; notes that thanks to its Decision n⁰157/2023,No 157/2023, the Committee defined the concept of conflicts of interest and has put in place a mechanism to detect and prevent it whereby staff are required to declare whether they might have a conflict of interest (potential or possible), by filling in a form at various key moments of their career or professional activities; notes with satisfaction from the Questionnaire that the annual information regarding the occupation activities of former senior officials is published in a transparent way on the Committee’s website; notes that the Committee did not detect any situations of conflicts of interest which would have required follow-up by the administration in 2023;

Changed:57. Notes with satisfaction the Committee’s achievements in promoting Union policies and programs at local and regional level, improving the outreach of its consultative works and enhancing its visibility and impact; notes that the Committee'sCommittee’s communication strategy seeks to strengthen its institutional and political profile as the voice of the Union'sUnion’s regions, cities, villages, and municipalities, while showcasing the essential contributions of its members in connecting Union policies with citizens and fostering engagement at the local and regional level; notes in this context the Committee’s communication actions in 2023 in areas such as: -– cohesion (e.g., the ‘Promoting cohesion as a fundamental value of the Union’s campaign in the framework of the EURegionsWeek with more than 8 000 participants); -– climate change (e.g., the ‘Building resilient and innovative local communities’ campaign); -– democracy (e.g., the ‘A new chapter for EU democracy’ campaign with 1 400 registrations for participation at the 14th EuropCom conference); -– rural development (the ‘2023 LEADER European Congress’ conference) in 2023; commends the Committee for the increase in the number of persons registered in the Network of Regional and Local EU Councillors (from 2 307 in 2022 to 3 000 in 2023) and the number of participants in the Young Elected Politicians programme (from 775 in 2022 to 836 in 2023);

Changed:59. Notes the Committee’s success with regard to media outreach as shown by the overall metrics for 2023, such as: 13 210 media mentions, 129 % increase on web visitors and 11 % increase on followers; notes that in terms of digital engagement, the Committee fell short of achieving its target for 2023; notes that, at the end of 2023, the Committee had 200 000 followers on its social media channels, i.e., 15 % more than in 2022 of which 57 603 followers (+5(+ 5 %) on X (ex-Twitter), 61 170 (+5(+ 5 %) on Facebook, 68 613 (+31(+ 31 %) on LinkedIn and 15 392 (+47(+ 47 %) on Instagram;

Changed:D. whereas the Committee’s activities are defined on the basis of its overall political strategy as set out in its resolution of 2 July 2020 on its priorities for 2020-2025,2020-2025 , and whereas the Committee adopted three political priorities for the 2020-2025 mandate, accompanied by three communication campaigns: Bringing Europe closer to people, Building resilient regional and local communities, and Promoting cohesion as a fundamental value of the EU;

Changed:5. Notes from the Committee’s annual activity report for 2023 that the final adopted budget of the Committee was EUR 116 675 392 in 2023, including the Amending Budget 4/2023 (salary and energy related), representing an increase of EUR 6 698 534 (i.e., +6,10+ 6,10 %) compared to 2022; notes with satisfaction that the rate of the Committee’s budget implementation of current year commitment appropriations increased from 99,20 % in 2022 to 99,9 % in 2023, and the current year payment appropriations execution rate increased from 88 % in 2022 to 91,20 % in 2023; welcomes further an increase in the execution rate of C8 appropriations from 81,60 % in 2022 to 85 % in 2023; considers that these high execution rates are on the one hand a sign of good budgetary and financial management by the Committee, on the account of strengthened budget execution monitoring, timely budget forecasting and reallocation of resources to address unforeseen events, but on the other hand could also be a sign that the Committee needs additional resources; calls on the Commission and the budgetary authority to take this into account in the framework of the budgetary procedure;