What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

42. Welcomes that the EEAS continues to employ a relatively large number of trainees, offering 63 Blue Book traineeships, four short-term traineeships at HQ and 365 traineeships in 102 Delegations; notes that one short-term traineeship at HQ and 22 traineeships in Delegations were not funded and were carried out by students that were required to complete a traineeship as part of their studies in exchange for academic credits; welcomes that similar to staff, the trainees benefitted from hybrid working arrangements in line with guidelines issued by Director-General for Resource Management; reiterates its call on all institutions to make sure that all trainees receive a reasonable remuneration from the institution;

43. Calls for the establishment of a permanent structure and the necessary resources for the European Diplomatic Academy, which can contribute to fully developing an autonomous EU diplomacy with a common diplomatic based on an EU perspective; considers that in the future this Academy should include a system of selection, recruitment and training of Europeans who have completed higher education and are not diplomats of Member States; stresses the need to explore and decide on ways of access to the EEAS for those graduating from this Academy;

Ethical framework and transparency

44. Welcomes that the EEAS continues to provide ethics training in the framework of the Newcomer Welcome Sessions and the pre-posting seminars for Union Ambassadors and Heads of Administration; asks the EEAS to provide mandatory training sessions to ensure that all members of staff are reminded of important principles such as ethics, transparency, conflicts of interest and anti-fraud;

45. Regrets that a limited number of fraud-related cases involving misappropriation of Union funds by members of staff at Union Delegation were investigated by OLAF during 2022 and that some are still ongoing; underlines that OLAF needs to conclude its investigations before conclusions can be drawn, but at the same time encourages the EEAS to take all necessary steps to swiftly follow-up on possible criticism from OLAF;

46. Notes that, in 2022, the EEAS handled 16 requests from the Ombudsman, out of which 11 cases concerned administrative procedures and five concerned access to documents; notes that 13 out of the 16 inquiries were concluded in 2022 and that no maladministration was found in 11 cases while one partial maladministration and one maladministration was found in the other 2 cases; welcomes that the EEAS strives to reach a 100 % implementation rate of suggestions or recommendations put forward by the Ombudsman;

47. Welcomes that, in October 2022, the EEAS adopted the ‘Principles of professional behaviour in the EEAS’ summarising the professional behaviour expected from members of staff and that they must declare any conflicts of interest that may arise in the exercise of their duties, by sending a form to the EEAS ethics team; Notes that the EEAS continues to reflect on possible updates of the EEAS ethics framework; asks that Parliament is kept fully updated on any developments in this regard;

48. Stresses that while the EEAS is not an Institution within the meaning of Article 13 of the TEU and does not have a direct role in Union legislation, it does, however, have an important role related to Union legislation with regard to decisions concerning sanctions and the negotiation of international trade agreements, which have a considerable regulatory impact; notes that it would be of great relevance for the EEAS to join the Union Transparency Register on the basis of a service-level agreement; invites the EEAS to publish all meetings with all types of lobby organisations, including those of Heads of Union Delegations, in order to improve transparency;

49. Notes that, in 2022, the EEAS received four declarations of conflicts of interests and that they were handled professionally and on an individual basis; notes that the EEAS rejected granting permission for an outside activity and through relieving an employee from duties in relation to issues, funding or management of projects of his previous employer;

50. Notes that, in 2022, the EEAS received three notifications of intentions to join a private company out of 15 notifications of post-service activities; notes with satisfaction that a two-year cooling-off period was imposed on an established official for an activity of advisor for a law firm;

51. Calls on the EEAS to monitor the positions of former senior staff and heads of delegations, given their sensitive political role; invites the EEAS to systematically review potentially problematic transitions to the private sector or to third country organisations and to continue monitoring the occupation of former senior officials until the end of the mandatory cooling-off period, as conflicts of interest that are left unaddressed may compromise the enforcement of high ethical standards throughout the Union administration;

52. Notes with satisfaction that the EEAS has adopted a new anti-fraud strategy in 2023, which is now being implemented; asks to be updated about the implementation and will return to the issue during the discharge 2023; at the same time notes that the EEAS, together with the Commission, is already providing training courses on fraud and that such training is a mandatory part of pre-posting training;

53. Takes note that a reflection process on adoption of self-standing implementation provisions on outside activities and assignments is undergoing in the EEAS; requests that the Parliament is kept informed of any outcome and recalls the importance of such framework in order to protect the image and reputation of the Union in particular in case of Heads of Delegations;

54. Notes that the EEAS did not receive any cases concerning whistleblowing and that the EEAS applies the Commission guidelines on Whistleblowing; encourages nevertheless, the EEAS to adopt its own policy adapted to the specific characteristics of the EEAS concerning this important issue and to establish a safe channel for potential whistle-blowers;

Digitalisation, cybersecurity and data protection

55. Notes that the EEAS operates its own Security Operation Centre, which deals with incident handling, and is located in Headquarters: warns that 129 cyberattacks on the EEAS were confirmed in 2022 and notes that the EEAS is a very likely target for actors with huge resources who want to create difficulties for Union Institutions, especially those actors that are sponsored by foreign states; regrets that one major security incident that occurred in 2022 was not identified, due to its complexity, until 2023; welcomes that no confidential information was compromised; calls on the EEAS to continue to have a strong focus on cybersecurity and hybrid threats and work together with other Union Institutions and Member States in order to identify such threats and protect Union infrastructure as much as possible; underlines that cyber awareness and a systematic training programme for all staff, including management, are key elements in an effective cybersecurity framework;

56. Notes with satisfaction that the EDPS did not launch or complete any enquiries or investigations specifically targeting the EEAS in 2022; welcomes the EEAS’ decision not to use Microsoft 365 due to security concerns but to continue using internal cloud applications hosted in Europe;

57. Continues to note with satisfaction that the EEAS has adopted a hosting policy and maintains a central repository of all information systems and technical services related to business applications and services; further notes that in the case of information systems hosted on premises, both the system and its data are on servers that are directly owned and controlled by the EEAS and that the Data Protection Officer ensures the sound data protection controls in place; welcomes that information systems hosted on a cloud contain data protection clauses based on joint recommendations from the EDPS and the Commission;

58. Notes that the EEAS’ open source policy for digital solutions implies that open source is a viable solution if after an assessment, all tools and applications are deemed equal; notes that the EEAS is using a series of open source products to retain full ownership and control of its data;

59. Stresses that, ahead of increasing geopolitical challenges and crisis worldwide, the EU needs to be able to rely on necessary first-hand information on global issues occurring outside its borders; calls, in this regard, for strengthening the EU INTCEN, the EEAS Crisis Response Centre and the SatCen by enhancing its staff and financial resources, as well as its capabilities;

Buildings and security

60. Notes that the EEAS occupies and manages a very complex building portfolio comprising the EEAS HQ in Brussels and a large number of offices and Residences for Ambassadors around the world; notes that, at the beginning of 2022, the EEAS in Brussels took over 8 334 m2 of building space from the Commission, which was previously occupied by EPSO;

61. Welcomes that, in 2022, the EEAS owned around 58 000 m2 of office space and approximately 20 % of the 153 residences for ambassadors; notes that the EEAS estimates that the total savings coming from owning these building is around EUR 20 million per year; highly welcomes that the EEAS has developed a policy framework for a purchasing strategy, which was presented to the Budgetary Authority in 2023;

62. Notes that, since 2020, the EEAS has been developing its office management policy towards collaborative and flexible office concepts both at HQ and in Delegations; asks that this development is done in close cooperation with staff to ensure that legitimate concerns and points of view are taken into consideration;

63. Welcomes that the EEAS is focused on ensuring that its building are accessible to people with disabilities and reduced mobility; notes that the building in Brussels already fulfils such requirements and welcomes that for Union Delegations the EEAS selection procedures envisages barrier-free construction as a key selection criteria for new office buildings;

64. Notes that the main additional expenses for security in Union Delegations arose from the return of the EEAS to Kabul as the only European mission in Kabul after the takeover of the Taliban, the deteriorating security situation in countries and areas like Ukraine and Sahel and the need for more security equipment in Delegations; notes that the expenses were covered by delaying and postponing other expenses;

Environment and sustainability

65. Welcomes that, in April 2022, the EEAS signed a framework contract to assist in the preparation of an Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) for the EEAS HQ and the Delegations, while accepting that a lighter Environmental Management System (EMS) will have to be applied in many Delegations due to local limitations; asks for Parliament to be updated on the results of the implementation of these schemes both at HQ and in Delegations;

66. Welcomes that both the EEAS HQ and 20 Delegation buildings were equipped with photovoltaic panels by the end of 2022 and that three Delegations were equipped with such panels during the year; encourages the EEAS to continue to develop the installations of photovoltaic panels on all its buildings, as it improves the environmental footprint of a Delegation, save emissions, energy and money, reduce the dependency on generators and fuel and also demonstrates that the EEAS leads by example in support of the ‘Green Deal’;

67. Welcomes that, in 2022, the EEAS developed its first Commuting Plan with the objective of increasing the share of members of staff commuting to work via sustainable means, that the number of bike park places at the EEAS main building were doubled and that the EEAS continues to reimburse half of the costs of Brussels public transport for members of staff who do not apply for a car-parking badge;

68. Regrets that co-location agreements currently do not include clauses related to sustainability; notes that it would send a strong signal about the commitment of the EEAS to ensuring environmental sustainability if such agreements in the future would also ensure an explicit element about living up to certain environmental standards and targets; invites the EEAS to explore feasible options and encourage energy efficiency updates also in Delegations which are operating as co-locations;

69. Recalls that the direct and indirect impacts of climate change undermine global peace and security while deepening existing vulnerabilities and inequalities and pose risks to human rights; urges the Commission and the EEAS to design and conduct robust EU climate diplomacy with the aim to foster international cooperation towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, strengthen the external dimension of the Green New Deal and provide tangible support for ambitious CO2 reduction targets in third countries;

Interinstitutional cooperation

70. Welcomes that the EEAS agreed two Service Level Agreements during 2022 with the Parliament, the first concerning the secondment of Parliament officials to an initial number of three Delegations (the United Nations in New York, the African Union in Ethiopia and ASEAN in Jakarta), where the staff seconded will integrate in the parliamentary affairs subsection of the political sections of the Delegations, and the second concerning Parliament staff at the liaison offices in London and Washington;

71. Notes that the process of replacing the 2002 interinstitutional agreement between the Parliament and the Council on the Parliament’s access to classified information in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is continuing at a very slow pace and apparently only one technical meeting took place during 2022 and one in 2023;

72. Welcomes that the EEAS declares that it cooperates excellently with OLAF, the EPPO and the Court and that there are regular meetings and exchanges of information between those institutions; further welcomes that the EEAS is negotiating dedicated working arrangements between the EEAS and the EPPO and asks that Parliament is being kept informed about any progress made in these negotiations;

73. Invites the EEAS to place emphasis on the procurement rules when negotiating dedicated working arrangements with the EPPO, as certain procedures might involve highly sensitive and even security-related information;

74. Welcomes that the EEAS actively cooperates with the EDPS through its Data Protection Officer, including by participating in roundtables, meetings to define the future objectives of the DPO network, and by contributing to the Working Group on International Transfers;

75. Welcomes that the EEAS cooperates closely with the Ombudsman and that the Ombudsman is now systematically invited to the EEAS pre-posting seminars to present their work in order to raise awareness about principles of good administrative behaviour;

Communication

80. Notes that the East StratCom Task Force stepped up its efforts to expose Kremlin disinformation campaigns following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and that the Task Force worked closely with independent media and civil society partners in the Eastern Europe Partnership countries to counter FIMI and that selected content on the EUvsDisinfo website was translated into multiple languages including some of the official Union languages as well as Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian and Chinese;

81. Calls on the Union delegations in our neighbourhood and in the Western Balkan countries to increase their engagement in order to support a more active and effective communication policy on the European perspective and to be prepared to provide the best possible assistance to the countries engaged in pro-democratic and pro-European reforms; calls on the Union delegations to apply a more credible and merit-based approach based on the Copenhagen criteria, notably on the rule of law, democracy and the protection of human rights, especially given the limited progress made by some countries in the Western Balkans;

82. Calls on Union delegations to enhance support to genuine democratic actors and civil society in the Western Balkans as well as strongly and publicly denounce actions by illiberal and undemocratic actors that go against the Union’s interest and ensure the implementation of IPA III funding is in line with the Union's objectives;

83. Continues to encourage Union delegations to promote and engage with local actors, civil society organisations and social partners in third countries to stimulate social dialogue and dialogue about the rule of law, fundamental rights and fight against corruption as well as to debunk disinformation campaigns threatening democratic values orchestrated by foreign state actors; asks the Union delegations to provide logistical and technological support to human rights and indigenous peoples defenders, in particular women; calls on Union delegations to continue their coordinated efforts to increase the visibility of Union-funded projects, especially in candidate countries; calls on Union delegations to respect high standards for accountability and transparency when engaging With regional partners; asks Union delegations to assure that Union funds awarded in third countries are used effectively, efficiently and in line with the Union’s values, policies and financial rules enshrined in, among other places, the Financial Regulation, which lays down transparency as one of its guiding budgetary principles; asks to pay particular attention to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and support beneficiaries to prevent errors impacting the error rate; calls on the EEAS to strengthen the Union delegations in the Eastern Partnership countries; underlines the need to assist the Eastern Partnership countries that are suffering from Russia’s military aggression on Ukraine and to communicate Union policies more effectively to their citizens;

84. Urges the EEAS and the Union delegations to closely monitor the state of democracy in the different countries and to provide logistical and technological support to human rights defenders and indigenous persons, in particular women;

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in Gaza

85. Notes that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has had a very strong impact on the budget of the EEAS through rising inflation, not least in many parts of the world where the EEAS carries out most of its operations, such inflation has also had an impact on increasing expenses for security and IT equipment;

86. Notes that the delegation in Ukraine has 108 staff members of which around 60 % were local and 40 % expatriate staff before the invasion and that non-essential staff were asked to leave a week before the outbreak of the invasion; notes furthermore, that the Union Delegation to Russia in January had 25 expatriate staff and 36 local staff and two staff from the EIB and that Russia, in April 2022, expelled 18 members of the Delegation after 19 members of the Russian Permanent mission to the EI in Brussels were declared personae no-grata;

87. Emphasises that the Union needs to continue developing a robust and resilient external service with clear political leadership in order to order to tackle the current challenges and ensure the coherence of the Union’s foreign policy; in that respect notes the key role of the EEAS and especially of its Delegations in the context of the geopolitical impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the resulting need to support partner countries around the world and strengthen global alliances; highlights the importance of continued strong political engagement and leverage at bilateral level, as well as in public and cultural diplomacy to promote the Union's values, principles and interests, and in strategic communications to combat disinformation; calls for more efficient use of available resources to be introduced to avoid putting the Union’s effectiveness at risk on the international scene; calls on the EEAS to continue its efforts to modernise its approaches and invest in new skills and capabilities while increasing cost-efficiency;

88. Is extremely concerned about the continued engagement of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban with the Russian President despite Union sanctions and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes against the latter in light of the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; stresses that, under Article 24 (3) TEU, Member States have the obligation to support the Union’s external and security policy actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity, and shall refrain from actions contrary to the Union’s interest; Reminds the HR/VP of his obligation to ensure Member States’ compliance with the principles under this article, and invites him, against this backdrop, to report to Parliament on his consideration of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s policy vis à vis Russia and compliance with this Treaty article, as well as any potential action he has undertaken;

89. Strongly condemns the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war in Ukraine, classifying it as a war crime; highlights the growing reports of human trafficking, sexual violence, exploitation, rape, and abuse faced by women and children fleeing Ukraine to Europe; calls on Member States to address the specific needs of women and girls in reception centres, ensuring immediate availability of gender-based violence services; urges the Union and host and transit countries to guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services; calls on the Union and its Member States to support organisations providing services and shelter to gender-based violence survivors among refugee women and girls;