What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Added:C. whereas Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that in all its activities the Union shall aim to eliminate inequalities, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming, and to promote gender equality between men and women; whereas gender equality must be incorporated into all Union policies, including via gender budgeting at all levels of the budgetary process;

Added:D. whereas the 2023 Gender Equality Index demonstrates that Member States have made a modest increase of only 1,6 points to reach 70,2, with some domains showing signs of regression, in particular in economic and income metrics; whereas the Institute was established in order to contribute to, and strengthen the promotion of, gender equality in the Union, including gender mainstreaming in all Union policies and the resulting national policies, to fight against discrimination based on gender, and to raise Union citizens’ awareness of gender equality;

Changed:1. Notes that the budget monitoring efforts during the financial year 2022 resulted in a budget implementation rate of current year commitment appropriations of 97,91 %, representing a decrease of 1,01 % compared to 2021; notes that the current year payment appropriations execution rate was 81,10 %, representing an increase of 9,72 % compared to 2021; commends the Institute for the close monitoring of the budget implementation and the satisfactory budget implementation rates in 2022, despite the challenges of that year linked to the war of aggression against Ukraine and the economic volatility in the Union; acknowledges the decrease in the Institute’s carry-over operating expenditure to 42,28 % in 2023, compared to 54,79 % in 2022;

Changed:2. Notes that the amount of the Institute’s final budget is the result of amending budgets of ina total of EUR 175 000 adopted by the Institute’s Managementmanagement Boardboard due to the sharp rise in the inflation rate of inflation in the Union and particularly in Lithuania in 2022, an indexation of salaries of 6,9 % and a rise in the correction coefficient applicable to Lithuania of 7,3 %;

Changed:3. Notes with concern fromthat, according to the Court’s reportreport, thatthe Institute had not disclosed, for a framework contract for event organisation services, the Institute had not disclosed the related earmarked budget appropriations of EUR 3,7 million in the Institute’s single programming documents (SPD), thus undermining the budgetary transparency towards the Institute’s board and other stakeholders; calls on the Institute to include all operational framework contracts in its single programming documents;

Changed:4. Observes that the Institute uses certain key performance indicators in relation to operational objectives to assess the added value provided by its activities; notes with appreciation that the Institute achieved 96,1 % of its work programme in 2022,2022 and reached the targets set in the amended SPD2022-2024 2022-2024;single programming document;

Changed:5. NotesWelcomes the fact that in 2022 the Institute supported the Union policymaking by monitoring gaps and trends in gender equality through the launchby oflaunching the Gender Equality Index, and organizedorganised its first Gender Equality ForumForum, wherewhich featured various panel discussions, workshops and experience sessions were featured by high-level political decision-makers and members of civil society; notes further that the Institute produced a policy brief regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young women and menmen, providing recommendations to engage and empower the youth; notes in addition that the Institute published thea report entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence, platform work and gender equality’ report showing that artificial intelligence and platform work have the potential to improve gender equality in the economy;

Added:6. Recalls that the Institute was established in order to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality in the Union by providing quality research and comparable data, to help the Union institutions and the Member States to mainstream gender equality in all their policies and to combat gender-based discrimination; stresses, therefore, the fact that the Institute has a crucial role in collecting, analysing, processing and disseminating data and necessary information for policy makers and the policies of the Union and the Member States;

Added:7. Stresses the importance of combating inequalities among and injustices against women; calls on the Commission and Member States to take urgent action to address poverty and increasing inequalities among women, especially among groups in vulnerable situations, including single mothers, women with disabilities, racialised women, LGBTIQ+ women, migrant women and refugees, elderly women and women in rural or scarcely populated areas; notes that that could be achieved by meeting the need for increased funding for gender equality actions in terms of employment and growth, as well as to combat gender-based violence and the pay gap between men and women, the pension pay gap between men and women, the impact of crises on women, gender mainstreaming and budgeting, the increasing poverty rate among women, as well as in terms of rights and democracy and the rule of law;

Changed:6.8. Notes the Institute’s synergies withwith, inter alia, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions,Conditions (Eurofound), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights,Rights (FRA) and the European Agency for Safety and Health Work,Work; amongobserves others;that, observesaccording fromto the Institute’s replies thatreplies, the Institute is an active member of the justice and home affairs (JHA) agencies’ network, keeps regular contact with all the other JHA agencies and actively participates in activities of the EU Agencies Network of Scientific Advice (EU-ANSA);Advice; further notes the Institute’s cooperation with data providers such as Eurostat, FRA, Eurofound or Eurojust;

Changed:7.9. Commends the Institute for the progress made to improve its internal efficiency in 2022 through further digitalising its work processes as well as maximising the use of online communications and virtual participation in meetings and events; notesnotes, in particularparticular, that in 2022 the Institute has developed and/oror deployed several tools, such as the electronic signature,signature tool, Sysper2 (the Commission’s HRhuman resources management tool), the e-recruitment tool and the project management tooltool, contributing to the automatisation and digitalisation of key processes (HR,(human resources and project and financial management); observes that the Institute has shared its human and financial resources in order to use the inter-agency contract for the provision of services for the evaluation of projects; observes further that the Institute defined several measures to reduce CO2 emissions and adopt environmentally friendly work practices (environmental sustainability clauses in the Agency’sInstitute’s contracts, the recycling of paper and plastic, electronic workflows,workflows and the collection of data on CO2 emissions caused by the Institute’s business travels);

Changed:8.10. Notes that, on 31 December 2022, the establishment plan was 100 % filled, with 27 Officialsofficials and Temporarytemporary Agentsagents (TAs) appointed out of 27 TAs and Officialsofficials authorised under the Union budget (same(the same number of posts as in 2021); notes that in addition in 2022 the Agency’s staff turnover rate was 11 %, identical to the same rates in 2021 and 2020;

Removed:9. Notes the balanced gender distribution in senior and middle management (2 men (50 %) and 2 women (50 %)), and the recurrent unbalanced gender distribution on the management board (8 men (21,62 %) and 29 women (78,38 %)) and among staff overall (14 men (29,17 %) and 34 women (70,83 %)); reiterates its call on the Institute to ensure gender balance in the future; acknowledges, nevertheless, from the Institute’s written replies that, in order to improve gender balance among its staff, it has taken concrete pro-active steps and measures such as, among others, increasing the reach of vacancy notices to attract more diverse talent pool or the use of gender sensitive wording in vacancy announcements to attract the attention of both women and men; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Institute’s management board;

Added:11. Notes that the Institute completed the annual performance appraisal exercise for all 62 members of staff and ensured that members of staff were offered appropriate training opportunities aimed at improving their skills and competencies; welcomes that, in order to promote and facilitate professional development in the Institute, 19 different group training programmes were organised in 2022 with 414 participants, while 20 statutory members of staff took part in 42 individual training courses; notes that the Institute continued to promote language training for its TAs, contract agents, seconded national experts and trainees, reimbursing up to EUR 500 per staff member; encourages the Institute to keep focusing on career development by developing a long-term human resources policy on offering specific training possibilities for career development;

Removed:10. Notes from the Institute’s replies that there were no cases of harassment reported, investigated, concluded internally or taken before the court in 2022; points out, however, that this does not automatically imply the absence of such cases, particulary because harassment might take various forms and remain unreported; calls on the Agency to continue its work in order to maintain the existing trend while putting in place all relevant safeguards to ensure that no case remains unreported; commends the Institute for having organised in 2022 training on the prevention of harassment, for both management and staff; notes further that the Institute made use of its appointed external law firm to manage in a legal way previous harassment cases; observes that the Institute does not have its own legal services unit, nor a post of legal advisor;

Added:12. Welcomes the fact that balanced gender distribution, which was achieved in 2021 in senior and middle management (2 men (50 %) and 2 women (50 %)), was maintained in 2022 and notes the recurrent unbalanced gender distribution on the management board (8 men (21,62 %) and 29 women (78,38 %)) and among staff overall (14 men (29,17 %) and 34 women (70,83 %)); reiterates its call on the Institute to ensure gender balance in the future; acknowledges, nevertheless, that, according to the Institute’s written replies, in order to achieve gender balance among its staff, it has taken concrete pro-active steps and measures such as increasing the reach of vacancy notices to attract a more diverse talent pool or the use of gender-sensitive wording in vacancy announcements to attract the attention of both women and men; asks the Commission and the Member States to take into account the importance of ensuring gender balance when nominating their members to the Institute’s management board;

Changed:13.16. Notes with concern from the Court’sobservation reportfrom the observation withCourt’s regardreport toregarding a framework contract, wherebyfor which the payment by the Institute in 2022 of an amount of EUR 25 571,18 (out of a total of EUR 511 296 paid under that contract) made by the Institute in 2022 for the cost category “unforeseen‘unforeseen expenditure”expenditure’ was found irregular due to the fact that that cost category was not included in the framework contract; welcomes the fact that the Institute has introduced a formal amendment to the framework contract defining the percentage of the budget for and the purpose of usage of unforeseen expenditure;

Changed:14.17. Notes another observation from the Court’s report with regardregarding the irregularity of the procedure and the resulting contract in connection with an audited negotiated procedure with at least three candidates, with a value below EUR 60 000; acknowledgesacknowledges, neverthelessnevertheless, with regard to the latter observation that in 2022 no payments were made yet under that contract; calls on the Institute to address the shortcomings of its internal control deficiencies in the area of procurement;

Changed:15.18. Notes the Institute’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, the prevention and management of conflicts of interest (COI) and whistle-blower protection; notes in particular that the Institute is carrying out preventionprevents and managementmanages conflicts of COIinterest throughby awareness-raisingraising awareness and by monitoring the validity of the declarations of interest signed by theits Managementmanagement Board,board, senior management and staff involved in recruitment and procurement procedures; further notes that the Institute updated its COIconflicts of interest policy in 2023 takingto take into account the recommendations on ‘revolving doors’ issued by the Court in its 2021 audit report on decentralised agencies of the Union and other relevant reports or studies issued by the discharge authority and the European Ombudsman; calls on the Court to include the Institute’s new COIconflicts of interest policy in the Court’s future audit plans;

Changed:16.19. Notes that the Institute published on its website the CVs and the declarations of interests of its Director and management board members; recalls the importance of CVs and declarations of interests being published; calls on the Institute to publish its meetings with interest representatives without delay and provide the discharge authority with information on the webpage where such meetings are published;

Changed:17.20. Welcomes the Institute’s measures taken in 2022 to strengthen its internal control system; notes in thisthat context that the Institute is on track with regard to the progress made in its internal control and audit related activities, such as the implementation of the recommendations or observations issued by the Court and the Internal Audit Service (IAS) in their audit reports from 2021 and the actions and measures definedset out in the Institute’s 2021-2023 anti-fraud strategystrategy; forwelcomes 2021-2023;the welcomesfact that those actions and measures include the provision of fraud prevention trainings,training, awareness-rainingawareness-raising though a dedicated anti-fraud intranet page and dedicated controls and fraud risk assessments;

Changed:18.21. Notes that the IAS performed a specific assessment of the Institute’s internal control system in 2022; notes further the results of that assessment, whereasin which four moderate deficiencies related to components I (the control environment), III (control activities) and IV (information and communication) and one major deficiency in componentrelated III,to ascomponent wellIII asand the need for the improvement or significant improvement of various principles (4, 10, 11 and 13) were identified; calls on the Institute to report to the discharge authority on the progress made in addressing the IAS’s findings;

Changed:19.22. Observes that a second independent external evaluation of the Institute was published in 2022; notes in thisthat context that the Institute’s Managementmanagement Boardboard has addressed to the Commission a letter with recommendations regarding the Experts’Institute’s Forum,experts’ forum, the functioning of the Managementmanagement Boardboard and staffing issues; understands from that letter that addressing those recommendations maymight require a formalan amendment of theRegulation Institute’s(EC) FoundingNo Regulation;1922/2006 that established the Institute; calls on the Commission to support the Institute in the follow-up analysis and discussions regarding the outcome of that external evaluation;

Changed:20.23. Commends the Institute for having taken the necessary actions with regard to the Court’s observations from 20212021, thatwhich arehave all been deemed closed by the Court as closed;Court;

Changed:21.24. Notes that the Institute signed in 2022 a new lease contract for its premises in Vilnius for a period of 10 years; further notes that the Brussels liaison office started its activities in 2022 and it helped to strengthen the visibility of the Institute as a stakeholder;

Changed:22.25. Welcomes the Institute’s commitment to digitalise its procurement procedures through the onboarding of the Public Procurement Management Tool, expected to be completed in Q4 of 2023; notes fromthat, according to the Institute’s replies thatto itthe hasquestions from Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control, it updated its cybersecurity policy in 2022 to enhance security measures; recalls the importance of regularly updating arrangements for cybersecurity audits, tests and IT risk assessments;

Changed:23.26. Notes that the Institute has further increased its public visibility and online presence by launching and/oror hosting several campaigns or events such as: -as the #3StepsForward campaign in order to invite policy makers and general audiences to reflect on concrete steps to advance gender equality in the Union; - the #SafeSpacesSafeSpaces campaign to show, amonginter others,alia, how cyber violence undermines the safety of women and girls and;girls; -and the Institute’s first Gender Equality Forum with forum sessions open to public via livestreaming and recordings;

Added:27. Insists on the importance of its report on feminicide published in 2022 entitled ‘Feminicide indicators: pilot study of data availability and feasibility assessment’ and encourages the Institute to continue its campaign to raise the visibility of feminicide in national policies and highlight the potential benefits of recognising it as a separate criminal offence;