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 VI – European Economic and Social Committee (2024/2025(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 VI – European Economic and Social Committee

Changed:1. Notes that the budget of the Committee falls under MFF heading 7 ’European‘European public administration’, which amounted to a total of EUR 12,3 billion, i.e. 6,4 % of Union budget spending, in 2023; notes that, in 2023, the budget of the Committee represented 1,29 % of MFF headingHeading 7 appropriations;

Changed:2. Notes that the Court o,Court, in its Annual Report for the financial year 2023 (the ‘Court’s report’), examined a sample of 70 transactions under Heading 7, of which 21 (30 %) contained errors; further notes that for five of those errors, which were quantified by the Court, the Court estimated a level of error below the materiality threshold;

Changed:10. Notes that the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continued to put pressure on the Committee’s budget in 2023, through rising inflation and salary adjustments, challenges in building projects due to delays and higher raw material prices, the indexation of rental contracts (+10,3(+ 10,3 % in 2023 compared to 2022), as well as indexation of maintenance and security service contracts (+13,50(+ 13,50 % in 2023 compared to 2021); notes in particular that the energy costs increased from EUR 726 000 to EUR 3 125 000 between 2021 and 2022, before decreasing to EUR 1 923 391 in 2023; acknowledges the 2 % cap for non-salary-related expenses; commends in this context the Committee for its initiative in addressing challenges at budgetary level by e.g. implementing energy-saving strategies through short-term, as well as medium- and long-term measures, thus not needing an amending budget in 2023;

Changed:11. Notes a decrease in the current year appropriations for budget line 10041 0 0 4 (expenditure for Member’s travel, including subsistence and meetings allowances) from EUR 19,790 million in 2022 (of which EU 15,895EU-15,895 million were paid) to EUR 19,761 million in 2023 (of which EU 18,344 million were paid); notes with satisfaction an improvement in the implementation rate of those appropriations from 80,31 % in 2022 to 92,83 % in 2023; notes that the Committee President participated in 35 missions totalling EUR 71 926 in 2023 against 26 missions totalling EUR 38 042 in 2022;

Changed:2121. Notes that, in the area of financial transactions, the Committee’s internal audit service (IAS) adopted a new decision on the assessment of risks for the implementation of a simplified procedure in the beginning of 2023; notes further that the Committee’s Bureau adopted a new internal audit charter and an audit committee charter including procedural rules in 2023;

Changed:25. Notes that the Committee became a net importer of talent (from other institutions) for the second consecutive year as a result of implementing a targeted attractiveness and retention plan; acknowledges nevertheless persistent challenges due to reliance on temporary agents amid a shortfall of EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) reserve lists, posing risks to expertise retention; underlines the importance of permanent staff in maintaining skills, continuity and productive working environment; recommends the Committee to implement initiatives to respond to those challenges by, for example, organising internal competitions;

Changed:27. Notes that in 2023 the positive trends initiated in 2022 in relation to recruitment of staff continued; commends the Committee for the actions taken in this area such as the alignment of publication of vacancy posts with the publication of new EPSO reserve lists or the publication of job opportunities on the Committee’s website and Linkedin,LinkedIn, among other; asks the Committee to keep Parliament informed of the outcome of its pilot project on employer branding activities; underlines that the on-boarding of newcomers constitutes an important factor of strategic alignment by ensuring that staff are informed of the rules and strategies in place in an institution; commends the Committee for having strengthened the on-boarding of new staff members in 2023 through an updated welcome booklet and on-boarding letter, a welcome pack with eco-friendly goodies, a feedback loop on the on-boarding experience, improved welcome session timing, a revamped Newcomers’ Corner, and on-boarding tips for managers;

Changed:30. Regrets that the Committee was unable to provide data on cases of burnout in 2023 and rejects the Committee’s position expressed in its follow-up report whereby burnout as such is not a recognised medical diagnosis and the reasons for burnout may be manifold; recalls the importance of statistical data on burnout with the aim ofhelpingof helping to take decisions on staff well-being, which should be also based on lessons learned from past very unfortunate experiences, and on external evaluations of the current framework; acknowledges data protection constraints but stresses the value of anonymised statistical data to support informed managerial decisions; notes with concern the findings highlighting heavy workloads in several services due to limited human resources; welcomes the adoption of new working arrangements as a positive step, but encourages the Committee to take further steps to ensure the publication of anonymised data on burnout cases;

Changed:38. Appreciates the Committee'sCommittee’s readiness to cooperate with the Union'sUnion’s investigative bodies, namely the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor'sProsecutor’s Office (EPPO) and the Ombudsman; notes that two OLAF cases were opened in 2023, both of which were dismissed in the same year: one for lack of sufficient evidence and the other referred to the Committee for follow-up; asks the Committee to keep the discharge authority informed of the progress made in the second case; notes further that the Ombudsman opened an enquiry in 2023 in relation to the management of a case involving allegations of harassment; asks the Committee to inform the discharge authority of the outcome of that enquiry;

Changed:39. Notes with satisfaction the Committee’s work towards more transparency in its activities in 2023; notes in that context the adoption of a decision broadening the range of documents available online via the Transparency Register, such as the Committee’s meeting minutes and attendance lists, as well as a decision requesting the Committee’s members to meet only registered stakeholders, publish their list of meetings and attach their “legislative‘legislative footprint”footprint’ to their opinions; appreciates that the Committee publishes online information on its annual budget, performance indicators, expenditure or public procurement; calls for the publication of all meetings held by EESC members with third parties;

Changed:40. NoesNotes with satisfaction that the Committee has put solid rules and procedures in place to prevent conflicts of interests and avoid revolving doors with regard to staff who engage in outside activities or members who take on jobs after no longer being a Committee member; notes in this context that the Committee has introduced a new “Declaration‘Declaration of financial interests form”form’ in 2023; notes that the form is to be declared by members, delegates, alternates and advisors for both their remunerated and non-remunerated posts or activities outside the Committee; commends further the Committee for its involvement in 2023 in the political negotiations to create the Inter-institutional Ethics Body tasked with setting ethical standards to strengthen transparency and integrity;

Changed:46. Notes from the Annual report the Committee’s actions in the area of protection of personal data and its processing; notes that in 2023 the Committee created a new online version of its register of records and a new joint register of records with the CoR, whereas the former had 121 records and the latter had 25 records at the end of 2023; notes further that the Committee adopted a new procedure for handling data breaches, published a data protection guide and implemented several awareness-raising initiatives for its staff and members in 2023; notes lastly that the EDPSEuropean Data Protection Supervisor launched one enquiry in 2023 related to the management of an external audit, and continued an older enquiry on the use of cloud services under the Cloud II contracts by Union institutions, whereas for both enquiries the conclusions are still pending; asks the Committee to keep the discharge authority informed on the follow-up on these matters;

Changed:48. Commends the Committee for its concrete actions to ensure its staff acquire the necessary digital skills in an increasingly digitalised workplace in 2023; notes in this context the activities, such as “mini-hackatons”,‘mini-hackatons’, organised in the framework of a peer-to-peer network established with the CoR to foster better use and understanding of collaborative digital tools, as well as peer-to-peer coaching and experience exchanges; notes that the outcome of those activities was integrated into the Committee’s training offer;

Changed:49. Notes that in October 2023 guidelines for staff members on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) were adopted, that an information session was provided for all staff members, highlighting opportunities and challenges, and that further communication to staff members was provided through knowledge-based articles on the Committee'sCommittee’s intranet to raise awareness;

Changed:50. Notes that the work continued adopting and applying the NIST Cybersecurity Framework within both the Committee and the CoR in 2023, whereas the actions taken that year focused on some of that framework’s principles, i.e. protect and detect principles; notes that mitigation strategies are implemented using the “Essential‘Essential Eight”Eight’ Cybersecurity Framework; notes further that the Committee did not encounter any cyber-attacks in 2023, but it did encounter brief Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against the Committee’s externally hosted corporate websites at the end of 2022 and the start of 2024;

Changed:51. Urges the EESC to increase its cybersecurity budget to at least 10%10 % of its total IT expenditures in line with EU cybersecurity directives, ensuring enhanced protection against cyber threats, especially for sensitive data related to policy and budgetary matters;

Changed:52. Acknowledges receipt of the Committee’s report of 3 June 2024 informing the discharge authority about the Committee’s building policy, in compliance with Article 266(1) of the Union’s Financial Regulation; notes with satisfaction from that report that the Committee, with the CoR, achieved one of the major priorities of their 2017 Building Strategy, i.e. “geographical‘geographical concentration of the buildings”;buildings’; notes further that this achievement already brought savings due to the lower cost of renting the entire VMA compared to the three buildings previously rented; understands that those savings are approx. EUR 1,8 million, which,- according to that report, is equivalent to the rent paid for the B100 building; notes that the Committee is currently working on the update of its 2017 long-term building strategy, and that this work should be finished by the end of 2025; calls on the Committee to keep the discharge authority informed on the outcome of this exercise;

Changed:54. Notes that the task force on “new‘new ways of working”,working’, established in 2022, issued a first prospective report in 2023, focusing on the available office spaces and possible optimisation options; notes the Committee’s plan to continue that exercise with a participatory process with staff members to co-design the future workspaces; invites the Committee to keep the discharge authority informed on the progress made on this matter;

Changed:55. Welcomes the commitment of the Committee and the CoR to systematically apply the “design‘design for all”all’ principle to their infrastructure, ensuring accessibility of their building by design; notes that the two committees took a range of different measures to ensure accessibility of their buildings to people with various kinds of disabilities in 2023, including upon modernisation of its elevators in the JDE building;

Changed:56. Welcomes the Committee’s green practices and commends the further reduction of gas, electricity and water consumption and carbon emissions and an increase in the recycling rate in connection with the Committee’s activities in 2023 compared to 2019; notes a slight deterioration, compared to 2019 levels, of the rate of waste volume, from -6666 % in 2022 to -56– 56 % in 2023 due to higher office presence;

Changed:61. Commends the close cooperation established by the Committee with the CoR at administrative level, through the new cooperation agreement signed in 2022, whereby the two committees share premises and joint services in the areas of translation, infrastructure, logistics, security, procurement, financial management and IT, while maintaining full institutional autonomy; welcomes the positive development in 2023 when the two committee further agreed on the development and funding of a shared communication area with joint-audio visual facilities in the JDE building; asks the Committee to identify and inform the Parliament on the budgetary savings made during the first year of implementing that agreement in the audio-visualaudiovisual area; reiterates its call on the Committee to pursue and expand that cooperation in other areas with a view to avoiding duplication and further rationalising the operating costs of services available in the premises shared by the Committee and the CoR; invites the Committee and the CoR to explore the possibility of setting up a single administration for their joint services, keeping separate directorates or units for the services dealing with matters related to their specific and independent mandates; encourages the Committee and the CoR to continue their efforts to develop further cooperation and synergies;

Changed:64. Reiterates its appreciation for the outsourcing (Service level agreements) of specific services to the Commission in the handling of HR and the use of financial and HR management IT tools, as well as for the Committee’s participation in inter-institutional procurement procedures led by other institutions, whereby the Committee continued to benefit from synergies in the area of IT, corporate travel, insurance, transportation, translation and audio-visualaudiovisual equipment in 2023;

Changed:65. Notes the Committee’s role in reinforcing the links with and between the national economic and social councils (NESCs) of the Member States; notes from the Questionnaire the measures that the Committee has taken to reinforce the network of and the online community with the NESCs, such as the establishment of joint working groups and exchange programmes, working on collaborative IT platform, and participation in common events, among others; calls for continued cooperation on topics of common interest and the exchange of good practices, emphasisiziingemphasising the vital role of civil society in addressing the Union’s current challenges;

Changed:66. Notes that the Committee’s overall budget for communication in 2023 was EUR 2,15 million, an increase compared to EUR 1,5 million in 2022; notes that this budget was primarily allocated to the four flagship events organised in 2023 (European Citizens’ initiative, Your Europe, Your Say! The organic food awards and the 14th Civil Society Prize), the improvement and/or revamping of the Committee’s social media, external website and audio-visualaudiovisual production, as well as for media and press publications; commends the Committee for its communication activities delivering on this communication priorities for 2023, such as the Blue Deal initiative, COP28, the resolution on democracy, and the Committee’s 65th anniversary, among others;

Changed:69. Notes that the number of the social media followers on the Committee’s corporate platforms increased substantially by 25,00025 000 in 2023; notes that by the end of 2023, the Committee reached 61 416 followers on X, which is an increase of 5 % compared to 2022, 61 761 followers on LinkedIn, which is an increase of 30 % compared to 2022, 46 868 followers on Facebook, which is an increase of 5.35,3 % compared to 2022 and 17 428 followers on Instagram, which is an increase of 45 % compared to 2022;

Changed:24. Welcomes the ongoing efforts of the Committee to improve its HR framework with a view to becoming an attractive employer and a workplace, where every individual is valued and can fully develop their potential; notes that as part of implementing its HR strategy for 2023-2025, the Committee delivered on several key milestones in 2023, with new decisions being adopted on working conditions (hybrid working, overtime, special leave), diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan for 2023-2027, staff mobility and the methodology on sensitive posts, as well as on staff appraisal and promotions system, among other; notes with satisfaction the positive results of the staff satisfaction survey published in May 2023, whereby both staff and managers expressed high levels of satisfaction with various HR related, matters in particular on working arrangements, a topic on which it appears the Committee has found the perfect balance;