68 Amendments of Michal ŠIMEČKA related to 2019/2199(INI)
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas persistent racist, xenophobic and homophobic attitudes are starting to be seen as normal in the Member States and are embraced by opinion leaders and politicians across the EU, fostering a social climate that provides fertile ground for racism, discrimination and hate crimes;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the values referred to in Article 2 of the TEU are in serious risk, whereas the development of education and training to foster critical thinking, to give tools to identify all forms of discrimination and intolerance and promote digital literacy, is crucial;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. wWhereas pushbacks constitute a violthe EU has an obligation ofunder EU and international law and prevent migrants from benefiting from the legal guarantees firmly laid down in such law; whereas the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights expressed grave concern about consistent reports of violent pushbacks by Croatian law enforcement officials25 to help those who come to the EU seeking asylum; whereas the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed concerns regarding the practice of ‘summary returns’ in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in relation to the ECtHR cases N.D. v Spain and N.T. v Spain26 ; __________________ 25 Letter from the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe to the Prime Minister of Croatia of 20 September 2018; Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina must immediately close the Vučjak camp and take concrete measures to improve the treatment of migrants in the country, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 2019 26Third party intervention by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights of 22 March 2018, N.D. v Spain and N.T. v Spain, CommDH(2018)11.grave concern about consistent reports of violent pushbacks;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas access to justice is a fundamental right and impunity represents an important obstacle for recovery and protection of victims;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises that the EU plays an important role in preventing poverty and social exclusion in the Member States, and calls on the Commission and the Council to make macroeconomic decisions based onscrupulously respect the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter when presenting proposals and making decisions;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that citizens shall have equal opportunities to access jobs and that employment is, as general principle, the best way to lift people out of poverty;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights Article 37 of the Charter, which affirms that measures to protect the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union, and believes that this must be the guiding principle for all macroeconomic policies, above any other economic consideration to deal with the most significant threat facing humanity and to ensure that all people have the right to a futurethe environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union; emphasises the need of including relevant environmental concerns into the decision-making process of upcoming actions and policies and within the European semester (environmental mainstreaming);
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Points out that not all Member States address the phenomenon of discrimination and segregation affecting the schooling of Roma children and children belonging to minorities, emphasizes that European and all national laws prohibit both discrimination and segregation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take action against such practices urgently and effectively both through legal responses and by promoting mutual understanding and social cohesion; strongly encourages Member States to include respect for diversity, intercultural understanding and human rights into school curricula and to promote inclusive education from an early age in schools;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Right to education
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Member States to ensure the right to education for all children in the EU and the respect of the best interests of the child and protect them from any discrimination; points out that education systems with language immersion schemes may compromise learning, especially for those children with any disability involving language development problems, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD);
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls on the Member States to ensure that migrant and refugee children are granted access to formal and informal education swiftly after their arrival in the European Union territory;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls on the Member States to include in school curricula education about the value of tolerance, in order to provide children with the tools they need to identify all forms of discrimination and the features of hate speech and incitement to violence;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Highlights that children face new risks in the digital world and that they have to be educated about their fundamental rights to make this environment safer for them; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote digital literacy, including media and information literacy, as a part of the basic education curriculum and from the earliest years of schooling;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Stresses that political profiling, disinformation and manipulation of information represent a threat to the EU’s democratic values; calls on the Commission and the Member States to contribute to the development of education and training in critical thinking that citizens can form their own opinion to face these risks;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Condemns any discrimination based on any grounds, such as prejudice against someone’s sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation, as stated in Article 21 of the Charter, or any other form of intolerance or xenophobia and recalls Article 2 of the TEU;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Stresses that sexism and gender stereotypes, which have led discrimination against women, have a severe impact on women’s fundamental rights in all spheres of life;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Condemns the present visible and organised backlash at global and European level against gender equality and women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, including a concerning trend of retrogressive policy and legislative proposals in several Member States to restrict sexual and reproductive health and rights;
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Council to urgently conclude the EU ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, on the basis of a broad accession, without any limitation;
Amendment 373 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Emphasises that women face all types of gender-based discrimination in sport jobs; calls on the Commission and Member States to reinforce their commitment to end up with these practises;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Regrets the rise of number of cases of LGBTI people experiencing bullying and harassment and suffering from discrimination in different aspects of their lives;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Strongly condemns all discriminations against LGBTI people and their fundamental rights, including by public authorities and also the growing number of attacks and hate speech against the LGBTI community, motivated by homophobia and transphobia, that are currently on the rise across in the EU, including coming from the State, State officials, Governments at the national, regional and local levels, and politicians;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Calls on the Member States to implement the appropriate policies to ensure that the elderly can fully enjoy their social, political and economic rights to avoid their exclusion from society and ensure that life in old age is defined just as much by choice, control and autonomy as in other stages of life;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7f. Recalls that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is a legally binding international treaty, signed and ratified by the EU, the aim being to ensure equal opportunities regarding accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health, and EU external action; calls the Member States to implement the appropriate policies to ensure that people with disabilities can fully enjoy their social, political and economic rights;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. CondemnRecalls thate crime and hate speech violence motivated by racism, xenophobia or religious intolerance, or by bias on the grounds of disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual characteristics or minority status constitutes instances of hate crimes; condemns any form of racism, xenophobia and discrimination and any occurrence of hate crime and hate speech in Europe; warns against their increasing presence and normalisation in many Member States, boosted by the rise of far- right movements and rhetoric, including the spreading of racist, xenophobic, anti- LGBT and other forms of discriminatory discourse by government representatives in certain Member States;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission to uphold its proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive and urges the Council to resolve the deadlock that has been obstructing the adoption of this directive in the last decade; calls on Member States to fully implement the Race Equality Directive[1] and the Employment Equality Directive[2]; calls on the Commission to actively fight segregation and discrimination including by initiating infringement procedures with relation to these Directives and to foster the effective application of the Framework Decision on combating certain forms of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law; recalls that these measures should be accompanied by proper national integration strategies; [1] COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin [2] COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation
Amendment 406 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 a (new)
Subheading 2 a (new)
Racism, xenophobia and related intolerance
Amendment 407 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Condemns the persistence in many Member states of hate speech, hate crime, segregation, exclusion and discrimination of Roma people, including segregation of Roma children in schools, discrimination in the housing sector, access to healthcare and employment; is strongly concerned by the fact that certain governments and political parties seek political gain by encouraging hatred and discrimination against Rome people; calls on the Commission to accelerate infringement procedures in this domain, and especially with regard to the segregation of Roma children in schools; expresses its concern that 2018-2019 saw no major improvement in terms of achieving the goals of the National Roma Integration Strategies; points out that ESIF resources often increase the differences between Roma and non-Roma and calls on the Commission to link ESIF resources to the execution of National Roma Integration Strategies in order to strengthen cohesion and to effectively reduce inequalities;
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Condemns hate crime and hate speech motivated by racism, xenophobia or religious intolerance or prejudice against someone´s political or any other opinion, or by bias on the grounds of disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual characteristics or minority status;
Amendment 425 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Condemns the normalisation of hate speech sponsored or supported by authorities, political parties or political leaders and reported by social media that is putting in risk the European values;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Calls on the Commission in this context to propose a recast of the Council Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism, homophobia and xenophobia by means of criminal law in order to cover other forms of bias crime;
Amendment 436 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8e. Emphasises the need to encourage victims to report hate crimes or discrimination, and to give them appropriate protection and support;
Amendment 452 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Freedoms of expression, information, association and media freedom
Amendment 454 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Recalls that Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights grants everyone the right to freedom of expression, including the right to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers; recalls that Article 12 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights enshrines everyone’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association at all levels, in particular in political, trade union and civic matters; points out that these rights constitute a bedrock of democracy, as they contribute to quality public debate, pluralism and civic participation in democratic processes;
Amendment 456 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Condemns attempts by governments to silence media outlets that criticise them and to eliminatealls on Member States to protect and develop a vibrant, independent, pluralist and free media sector; condemns in this respect any measures aimed at silencing critical media and undermining media freedom and pluralism, including in sophisticated ways that do not typically lead to an alert being submitted to the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, such as the buying up of; condemns practices consisting in concentrating commercial media outlets byin government members and their cronies and the hijacking of public service media outlets to serve partisan interests-friendly hands and creating government-controlled bodies federating large parts of a country’s media landscape; calls on the European Commission to examine the compliance of such practices with competition law and to take action where necessary; condemns the hijacking of public service media outlets to serve partisan interests; urges Member States to guarantee the highest level of independence of their media authorities and calls on the European Commission to ensure that national media authorities comply de jure and de facto with EU requirements in terms of independence;
Amendment 458 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Recalls the fundamental role of investigative journalism in acting as a watchdog in a democratic society, strengthening public oversight of political actors, including in the domain of corruption; condemns the persistence and increase in many Member States of violence, threats and intimidation against journalists, which often lead to self- censorship and undermine citizens’ right to information; calls on law enforcement authorities to step up their efforts to prevent such violence, threats and intimidation; urges the EU and Member States to urgently take the necessary legal and policy steps to establish a safe environment for journalists to operate and to create a permanent programme and funding to support investigative journalism in the EU; expresses its gravest concerns about the fact that investigations linked to the murder of journalists in the EU progress at a very slow pace; urges law enforcement authorities of the Member States concerned to urgently step up their efforts so as to yield significant results in these cases;
Amendment 467 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on public institutions to prevent and penalise attacks on journalists in the exercise of their work because of their language, media or editorial line;
Amendment 469 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Recalls the fundamental role played by whistle-blowers in making public interest information available and in fostering transparency of both public and private entities; calls on Member States to fully transpose into national law the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law as a matter of urgency so as to maximise its effects as soon as it enters into force; calls on Member States to complement such measures to also protect whistle-blowers in cases when they report breaches outside the scope of EU law;
Amendment 470 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Expresses its concern about the threat that fake news pose to freedom of speech and expression and to the independence of the media, while underlining the negative effects that the spread of false news might have on the quality of political debate and on the well- informed participation of citizens in democratic society; calls on the Commission to pursue its actions aimed at preventing these practises and guaranteeing data protection, transparency and cybersecurity;
Amendment 472 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Points out the persistence of the threat posed by disinformation in terms of quality of public debate, interference in electoral processes and mass manipulation; calls on the commission to strengthen its action to oppose the spread of disinformation by promoting and investing in the strengthening of media literacy, actively supporting quality journalism, supporting the development of new methods to detect disinformation, fostering cybersecurity and data protection and creating a more transparent online ecosystem while safeguarding media freedom and pluralism.
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Strongly condemns the increasing restrictions on freedom of assembly caused by intolerants during elections periods; reaffirms the crucial role of these fundamental freedoms in the functioning of democratic societies, and calls on the Commission to take an active role in promoting these rights in line with international human rights standards;
Amendment 476 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Emphasises the key role of whistle- blowers in safeguarding the public interest and in promoting a culture of public accountability and integrity in both public and private institutions; underlines the fact that whistle-blowing is an essential element for investigative journalism and media freedom;
Amendment 481 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Condemns the use of violent and disproportionate interventions by law enforcement authorities during peaceful demonstrations; recalls that force must be used as a last resort, and respect the principles of necessity and proportionality, as required under international law and Member State constitutions; encourages the relevant national authorities to ensure a transparent, impartial, independent and effective investigation when the use of disproportionate force is suspected or has been alleged; recalls that law enforcement agencies are fully accountable for the fulfilment of their duties and their compliance with the relevant legal and operational frameworks;
Amendment 485 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is deeply concerned about the increasingly shrinking space for independent civil society in some Member States; recalls the importance of ensuring adequate funding to support civil society activitiesRecalls the essential role at local, national, EU and international levels that civil society plays to represent the interest of citizens, to strengthen the voices of those minorities which are not properly represented and to defend and promote the principles enshrined in Article 2 TEU, including respect for human dignity, equality, human rights, democracy and the rule of law; is deeply concerned about the increasingly shrinking space for independent civil society in the EU as a whole;
Amendment 486 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is deeply concerned about the increasingly shrinking space for independent civil society in some Member States; recalls the importance of ensuring adequate funding to support civil society activities; Calls upon the European Commission and the Council to increase EU support for civil society organisations defending the values of Article 2 TUE in the European Union through the Rights and Values Programme, the funding of which should be significant, as asked by the European Parliament;
Amendment 497 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on Member States to refrain from taking measures which, deliberately or not, adversely affect the functioning and operations of civil society, including unreasonable administrative burdens, limiting access to funding, fiscal policy or security and anti-terrorism laws; condemns the harassment, bullying, smearing and threatening of civil society in certain Member States, especially human rights defenders and promoters of democracy; expresses its deepest concerns regarding the self-censorship and chilling effects that result from such practices;
Amendment 503 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Insists that regular and comprehensive monitoring and analysis are crucial to understand the challenges faced by civil society across Europe; calls on the European Commission to include relevant indicators related to civic space, freedom of expression and freedom of association in its annual Rule of Law report, to propose a plan of action to protect and promote civil society, including the adoption of Guidelines for the application of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly as well as the protection of human rights defenders at risk and to establish an emergency fund for their protection;
Amendment 506 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Calls on both the European Commission and Member States to systematically assess the impact of new legislation on civil society; calls for a revision of the mandate of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency which would enable it to receive and investigate complaints and carry out country specific assessments when negative trends are identified; calls for the creation of an EU- level status for non-profit organisations in order to facilitate cross-borders donations and to provide an alternative in countries where civil society is being threatened;
Amendment 510 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Recalls the importance of ensuring adequate funding to support civil society activities; in this respect calls on the Council to significantly increase the budget allocated to the Rights and Values programme, including by making available easily accessible direct funding for the operations of civil society organisations defending democracy and human rights.
Amendment 511 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Calls on the European Commission to adopt a comprehensive set of measures, including legislation and legal funds for victims, to deter Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), protecting the fundamental freedoms not only of media actors but also of academia, trade unionists, activists, civil society organisations and individual citizens, including human rights defenders, affected by SLAPPs.
Amendment 528 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission to propose an urgent solution to resolve the flagrant cases of human rights violations in reception centres for refugees and migrants on European soil;
Amendment 531 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Urges the Commission and the Council to start the procedure to close the registration centres for asylum seekers based in European territory, where thousands of vulnerable people, including hundreds of children, have no access to basic services (health, education, etc.) and are subjected to intolerable subhuman conditions inside the EU;
Amendment 533 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Points out that almost a third of asylum seekers are children and are particularly vulnerable; calls on the EU and its Member States to step up their efforts to prevent unaccompanied minors from going missing and end up being victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation;
Amendment 539 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Expresses grave concern about consistent reports of violent pushbacks by law enforcement officials in several Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to investigate the matter and take effective measures to ensure that such policies and practices are scrapped, including by putting on hold funds for border surveillance and ensuring the independent monitoring of border control activities by national ombudsmen and NGOs; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide a broad framework to enable orderly migration and avoid pushing migrants to use irregular migration channels;
Amendment 552 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4 a (new)
Subheading 4 a (new)
Artificial intelligence and data protection
Amendment 554 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to address the “digital gap” derived from the change of social paradigm introduced by the artificial intelligence and ensure the access to public administration and public services of all citizens, in particular those with disabilities, digital deficits or greater vulnerability; stresses that elderly people are one of the most affected groups by the “digital gap”;
Amendment 564 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Highlights that further safeguards to ensure privacy and data protection are needed in light of the development of new technologies; notes that, aside from ethical implications from emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data, fundamental rights need to be considered;
Amendment 572 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Underlines that the rule of law is a cornerstone of democracy, maintains the separation of powers, ensures accountability, contributes to trust in public institutions and guarantees the principles of legality, legal certainty, prohibition of arbitrariness of the executive powers, judicial independence, impartiality, and equality before the law; stresses that the rule of law and judicial independence in particular are critical for citizens’ ability to enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms; points out that under Article 47 of the Charter, the fundamental right to an effective remedy requires access to an ‘independent’ tribunal;
Amendment 575 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Regrets the lack of ambitious actions, from the Commission and the Council, regarding the respect of rule of law in the European Union ; calls on the Commission and the Council to make full use of the tools available to address a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law and to move forward with the Article 7 on-going procedures and to present the EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, without delay;
Amendment 576 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5 a (new)
Subheading 5 a (new)
Judicial cooperation and victims’ rights
Amendment 579 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Reiterates that Article 2 of the TEU prescribes that both the rule of law and fundamental rights are among the values the EU is founded on; highlights that violations of these values undermine mutual trust among the Member States and make cross-border judicial and police cooperation untenable; points out that the ineffectiveness of the EU’s action to protect these values endangers the entirety of EU law and citizens’ rights based thereon, weakens the EU’s credibility and encourages the contagion of violations; calls on the Commission to systemically investigate and fight in a timely manner any breaches of the rule of law and fundamental rights with all tools at its disposal, including by starting infringement proceedings and triggering Article 7 of the TEU;
Amendment 580 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13e. Call on the Commission to provide Union citizens and residents with information about citizens’ rights to judicial redress and litigation routes in cases relating to violations of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights by national, regional, governments or EU institutions;
Amendment 582 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Strongly condemns the ongoing attacks by the ruling governments against judicial independence in Poland and Hungary; calls on the Council to discuss without delay the most recent rule of law developments in Poland in the context of the ongoing Article 7(1) of the TEU procedure; calls on the Commission to urgently initiate infringement proceedings in response to the so-called 'muzzle law' which entered into force on 14 February 2020 and which threatens sanctions on Polish judges applying CJEU judgment of 19 November 2019 concerning guarantees of judicial independence1a; calls on the Commission to equally open infringement proceedings in response to the adoption of the so-called 'omnibus act' (Act CXXVII of 2019), which de facto subjects the regular court system in Hungary to the already politicized Constitutional Court by granting government authorities a right to appeal in politically sensitive cases as an extraordinary remedy; __________________ 1aJoined Cases C-585/18, C-624/18 and C-625/18 A.K. v Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa, and CP and DO v Sąd Najwyższy, Judgment of 19 November 2019.
Amendment 583 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 f (new)
Paragraph 13 f (new)
13f. Stresses the importance of ensuring effective prevention of infringements of fundamental rights as a tool to truly protect the rule of law in the EU; underlines the importance of Parliament sending ad hoc delegations to Member States when there is clear evidence of serious breaches of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights;
Amendment 584 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Takes the view that the latest developments in several Member States continue to underline the imminent need for an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, as proposed by Parliament, in the form of an interinstitutional agreement consisting of an annual independent, systematic, evidence-based, non-discriminatory review which assesses, on an equal footing, the compliance of all EU Member States with the values stipulated in Article 2 of the TEU and includes country- specific recommendations, to be followed by an interparliamentary debate and a permanent policy cycle among the EU institutions; in this respect, calls on the Commission and the Council to enter without delay into negotiations with Parliament regarding the modalities of the interinstitutional agreement in accordance with Article 295 of the TFEU; reiterates that the mechanism must complement and reinforce, rather than substitute, the ongoing and future proceedings under Article 7 of the TEU;
Amendment 600 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Points out that the access to justice and the right of defence are both, fundamental rights; the disrespect of any of them leads to impunity and injustice, respectively; stresses that fight against impunity has to be a priority for European and national institutions; calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to improve the effectiveness of the European instruments of judicial cooperation, in particular the European Arrest Warrant to ensure the equal protection of victims and suspects or accused persons;
Amendment 606 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Strongly condemns the upsurge in the trafficking of human beings and urges the Member States to increase cooperation and step up their fight against organised crime, including smuggling and trafficking in human beings, but also exploitation, forced labour, sexual abuse, and torture, all while protecting victims;