Discharge 2023: Agencies

‘Notes with satisfaction that FRA provided fundamental rights analysis and expertise to support the activities and work of other EU justice and home affairs (JHA) agencies, including the EUAA, Frontex, Europol, the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) and European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL); welcomes FRA’s contributions in 2023 to advancing the respect for fundamental rights, including through guidance on Union funds and addressing challenges posed by new technologies;’

‘calls on FRA to determine the extent to which the rule of law and fundamental rights are intrinsically linked, and how its work could be incorporated or developed in synergy with that of the European Commission in the framework of the annual Rule of Law Report;’

‘Welcomes the agencies’ efforts (EUROFOUND, CEDEFOP. ETF, EU EUOSHA, ELA) to implement policies on diversity and inclusiveness, particularly when it comes to persons with disabilities; encourages the agencies to enhance comparable data collection on the employment of persons with disabilities;’

‘recognises the progress made within the Agencies towards gender balance within their staff: calls for further efforts to ensure gender balance also at the senior management level and to mainstream gender in all their activities;’

‘reiterates the important role of the European Union Asylum Agency in supporting Member States with the implementation of the Common European Asylum System and monitoring its correct implementation;’

‘recalls that in its 2022 European Union Agency for Asylum discharge report, the discharge authority highlighted concerns about the internal management and procedures of the Agency, noting that OLAF had initiated an investigation, which has now been concluded, allegedly involving nepotism and other issues affecting its financial management; regrets that the Agency's executive director avoided to provide answers during the discharge preparatory hearing in CONT Committee; is alarmed that the Board of the Agency refuses to disclose the contents and recommendation of the said OLAF report to the discharge authority; calls on the Agency to make findings of the report available immediately;’

‘Recalls that the agencies located in countries with relatively low correction coefficient are facing continuous challenges in attracting skilled and geographically diverse staff; calls on the Commission to analyse together with the respective Member State this matter’

‘Highlights that some Agencies make extensive use of external consultants, mainly in the ICT area but also in the areas of their core business, which make up significant parts of their operational budget (e.g. ACER, ETF, ELA, etc.);’

‘calls on all the agencies to prioritise permanent staff over external consultants and contractual staff in order to guarantee high quality working conditions and to prevent the loss of knowledge and experience; calls, moreover, on the agencies to prevent job uncertainty due to short term contracts and prioritise long-term employment; appeals, in this regard, for flexibility for agencies to convert seconded national expert (SNE) posts into temporary agent posts, ensuring expertise retention, operational functionality and business continuity;’

‘calls for intensified efforts to ensure gender balance at the senior management level and to integrate gender equality systematically into all agency policies, procedures and activities;’

‘Notes that gender distribution has improved in 2023 compared to 2022 at the level of senior and middle management and amongst the management board members; notes that the gender balance reported for staff overall did not change;’

‘encourages ACER, BEREC Office, Cedefop, ECDC, ECHA, EFSA, EIOPA, EMCDDA, EMSA, ENISA, ERA, eu-LISA, ELA, Europol, EUAA, EUSPA and Frontex to support women in applying for management positions; reiterates its calls on the Commission and Member States to observe gender balance when nominating and appointing members of the management or administrative boards; recalls the ambition of the agencies to align with the Commission to reach a gender balance of 50 % at all levels of its management by the end of 2025; calls on the agencies to keep taking these aspects into consideration with regard to all future recruitment of staff and to work towards the further improvement of gender balance at senior management level;’

‘Urges decentralised agencies to strengthen gender equality policies at all levels, ensuring equal opportunities in recruitment, career progression and working conditions for all staff; encourages all agencies to adopt and implement robust diversity and inclusion strategies that promote fairness and balance, ensuring equal opportunities’

‘and representation of women and minorities in leadership positions; calls on agencies to develop comprehensive strategies to assess progress and identify areas for improvement; recalls that the Parliament will assess compliance with these principles in the annual discharge process;’

‘Notes that all agencies have put in place measures to improve staff’s well-being at work and work-life balance; notes that the number and impact of such measures varies significantly from one agency to another and that no common framework of reference across agencies appears to exist; calls on the EUAN to coordinate efforts for the development of a common framework of reference in this this regard; notes with satisfaction that a large majority of agencies have put measures for integration of persons with disabilities in place; encourages the agencies to maintain good practices of staff well-being, inclusion and integration of persons with disabilities and to continue to address work-life balance, as well as lifelong learning and career development;’

‘underlines the useful role that exchanges of best practice can play in the field of staff management; invites the agencies to provide relevant and regular training to their staff;’