A revised control strategy, shifting focus from minimisation of error rates towards risk-based control and fraud detection, should reduce the control burden for participants.

168. Reiterates the importance of the supervisory role the Commission exercises in order to be able to bear the ultimate responsibility for the implementation of the budget including the areas of shared management; recalls the action plan to strengthen the Commission's supervisory role under shared management of structural actions (COM(2008)0097) and the improved legal framework for the 2007-2013 programming period which aimed at reducing the level of error in structural actions and thus to protect the Union budget; notes, however, that the action plan of 2008 came only into force at the end of the programming period 2000-2006 and coul ...[+++]d therefore cover the closure process of that period only; calls on the Commission therefore to fully enforce measures as stated in the action plan for the 2007-2013 programming period and beyond; expects in this context from the Commission a considerable and steady decrease in error rates, in particular of programmes that are expected to have the highest error rates; proposes that the Court of Auditors carry out a regular assessment of the technical and ethical quality of national audit authorities, with particular regard to their independence, and that it report its findings and conclusions to Parliament and the Council;

17. Notes that in the Commission's view the non-quantifiable errors had no financial impact; takes note of the substantial increase in EuropeAid's online training provision, as well as pre-posting seminars for newly appointed Heads of Delegation, etc., as a strategy to reduce the non-quantifiable errors; expects the Commission to demonstrate whether this results in a reduction of the number of non-quantifiable errors; calls on the Commission to enhance ex-ante controls to prevent non-quantifiable errors and possible losses as a res ...[+++]ult of non-compliance with the bank guarantee rules;

17. Notes that in the Commission's view the non-quantifiable errors had no financial impact; takes note of the substantial increase in EuropeAid's online training provision, as well as pre-posting seminars for newly appointed Heads of Delegation, etc., as a strategy to reduce the non-quantifiable errors; expects the Commission to demonstrate whether this results in a reduction of the number of non-quantifiable errors; calls on the Commission to enhance ex-ante controls to prevent non-quantifiable errors and possible losses as a res ...[+++]ult of non-compliance with the bank guarantee rules;

It could in particular help reduce costs and improve productivity in such areas as billing and record-keeping, reducing medical error, cutting down on unnecessary care, and also in improving the quality of healthcare.

This amendment includes two kinds of modification: firstly, it corrects the slight error made in the figures for Portugal, caused by the duplicate figures supplied by the Portuguese Government on the quota buy-back programme, a mistake which was recognised by the Commission and it was hoped would be corrected automatically during the process of adopting the act; secondly the reductions which, over and above the 0.5% resulting from the disappearance of the national reserve, are applied by the Commission to varieties I and II are not a ...[+++]pplied.