European GNSS Agency: tasks, bodies and powers

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report by Amalia SARTORI (PPE, IT) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 912/2010 setting up the European GNSS Agency.

The committee emphasised that any decision of the legislative authority in favour of multiannual funding for the European GNSS Agency ("the Agency") shall be without prejudice to the decisions of the budgetary authority in the context of the annual budgetary procedure. It requests that the Commission:

·        present a financial statement which fully takes into account the result of the legislative agreement between the European Parliament and the Council to meet the budgetary and staff requirements of the Agency and possibly of the Commission services;

·        find a feasible solution to the problems the Agency might be facing with regard to the funding for Type II European Schools, as this has a direct effect on the Agency's ability to attract qualified personnel;

·        not consider the Czech average when determining the correction coefficient for staff remuneration for the Agency but adjust to the cost of living in the metropolitan area of Prague.

The committee recommended that the Parliament’s position adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows:

Administrative Board: Members of the Administrative Board shall be appointed in the light of their knowledge of the Agency's tasks, taking into account relevant managerial, administrative and budgetary skills. The European Parliament, the Commission and the Member States shall: (i) aim to achieve a balanced representation between men and women on the Administrative Board; (ii) endeavour to limit turnover of their representatives on the Administrative Board.

The Chairperson may be invited to make a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer Members'questions.

Furthermore, the Administrative Board shall have the power to dismiss the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson.

Tasks of the Administrative Board: the latter must, amongst other things:

·        approve, on a proposal from the Executive Director, the working arrangements between the Agency and the European Space Agency;

·        adopt, on the basis of a proposal from the Executive Director, an anti-fraud strategy; 

·        on the basis of proposals from the Executive Director, take decisions on the Agency's organisational structures.

Parliament should be consulted on the multiannual work programme.

The Administrative Board shall adopt rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest. Those rules shall apply to the whole Agency and shall be made public.

Executive Director: the Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body. He shall be in charge of its day-to-day administration and will have the following tasks, inter alia:

·        implementing the decisions of the Administrative Board;

·        preparing the multiannual and annual work programmes of the Agency and submitting them to the Administrative Board, with the exception of the parts prepared and adopted by the Security Accreditation Board;

·        preparing the annual report on the activities and prospects of the Agency,

·        circulating all relevant information among the Agency's constituent bodies, including on security issues regarding the day-to-day administration of the Agency;

·        drawing up an anti-fraud strategy and a strategy for preventing and managing conflicts of interests for the Agency.

The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Administrative Board, after confirmation by the European Parliament. Before appointment, the candidates shall be invited to make a statement before the relevant committee of the European Parliament and to answer Members' questions.

The European Parliament or the Council may call upon the Executive Director to submit a report on the performance of his tasks, and to make a statement before those institutions.

Work programmes: the multiannual work programme of the Agency shall set out the overall strategic programming. The annual work programme shall be based on the multiannual work programme and shall comprise detailed objectives and expected results, including performance indicators that allow the results achieved to be evaluated effectively.

The Executive Director shall, following their adoption by the Administrative Board, forward the multiannual and annual work programmes to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Member States and shall make them public. 

The Security Accreditation Board: members shall be appointed in the light of their knowledge of security accreditation activities, taking into account relevant managerial, administrative and budgetary skills. The Chairperson may be invited to make a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer Members’ questions.

The report provided for a conflict resolution procedure to deal with problems that might arise between both areas of competence (accreditation of security and deployment and commercialisation activities). Members proposed an amendment setting a two layer way of redress: firstly, an in-house procedure to identify and try to address problems and secondly, an obligation to inform the legislator if the Security Board understands that no remedy has been taken to put an end to circumstances that put into question its autonomy.

They adopted several amendments aiming to deal with conflicts of interests. The report lays down a requirement for members of the Administrative Board and the Security Accreditation Board, the Executive Director, Agency staff, seconded national experts and observers to make a declaration of commitments and a declaration of any interest which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.