Activities of Andrej PLENKOVIĆ related to 2014/2216(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2013 and the EU policy on the matter (debate) HR
Amendments (24)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to Article 2, Article 3(5) and Article 21 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU),
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8
Citation 8
– having regard to the European Union Human Rights Guidelines, in particular to the Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, the Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, both adopted by the Council on 24 June 2013, and the Guidelines on freedom of expression online and offline, adopted on 12 May 2014,
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recalls that human rights have become an essential component of the EUʼs external action and a real element of its identity in its bilateral, multilateral and institutional relations;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the EEAS and the Commission to prepare a proper implementation report on the first EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2012-2014), and calls on the VP/HR and the EEAS to engage the Member States, the Commission, Parliament and civil society in the review and consultations leading to the adoption of a new Action Plan, to take effect in early 2015; welcomes the discussions aimed at achieving better prioritisation of objectives in the new Action Plan, but warns against lowering the level of ambition in terms of mainstreaming human rights across EUproviding input into consideration of possible ways to improve the clarity, effectiveness and coherence of this EU external policy areas;tool.
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Encourages all parties involved in EU external action to take ownership of the EUʼs external policy on human rights and the various tools affiliated thereto, and to ensure human rights are taken into account across the board, notably by arranging for the officials concerned to receive regular training on human rights;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises the importance of the mandate given to the first ever EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights and of the work done so far; encourages the EUSR to continue to enhance the EU’s visibility and engagement with multilateral and regional human rights mechanisms (the UN, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, ASEAN, the African Union, the OIC), to promote key EU thematic priorities, including those reflected in the recently adopted reflected in the EU human rights guidelines, to work for the empowerment of civil society throughout the world, and to contribute to the mainstreaming, coherence, consistency and effectiveness of EU human rights policy;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Acknowledges the need for greater visibility for the role of the Special Representative for Human Rights who, while supported by the different services with the EU institutions in the interests of good coordination, has to have own- initiative powers and the right to speak publically;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Stresses that the EU action regarding third countries has to be consistent for it to be credible and hence effective, and that discrepancies and inconsistencies make its action less effective and sometimes cause its views on human rights not to be heard; recalls that, in spite of the many problems encountered, consistency is still a priority for external policy and that it has to be at the heart of the mandate of all those involved in this policy;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. It is moreover essential that the requirements regarding human rights set out by the EU in its relations with third countries shall apply equally to the Member States; recalls therefore that Parliament adopts an annual report on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union drawn up by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Commends the EEAS for the successful completion of the first cycle of human rights country strategies developed with a strong emphasis on ownership at the EU Delegation level; regrets, however, the continued lack of transparency regarding the contents of the country strategies as well as a failure to properly inform the European Parliament; encourages the EEAS to adopt indicators to evaluate their efficacy, and to treat the country sections of the Annual Report more explicitly as constituting implementation reports on the country strategies and that assessment of these tools would make it possible to identify where scope for improvements might be found;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Encourages greater cooperation between the Member Statesʼ diplomatic networks and EU delegations worldwide in order to contribute to discussions by working parties on human rights in third countries;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its support for dedicated human rights dialogues as a tool of EU human rights policystepping up the dialogues entered into with a great many countries as a tool of EU human rights policy and encourages greater participation by local civil society representatives; recognises the value of engagement in human rights-specific dialogue also with countries with serious human rights problems; underlines, however, the need for the EU to draw clear political conclusions when the human rights dialogue does not lead to positive outcomes, and in such cases to place more emphasis on public diplomacy with a view to ensuring that the public credibility of the EU’s human rights policy is not endangered; warns, furthermore, against diverting human rights discussions away from high-level political dialogues;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Regrets that owing to the variety of structures, formats, frequency and methods employed, and the confidential nature of these exchanges, there is no real mechanism for monitoring and reviewing these dialogues, nor are there any progress indicators; recommends making the goals of each dialogue clear and reviewing the results in consultation with the European Parliament;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Reiterates that the adoption of Guidelines shall not lead to selectivity being introduced into the human rights system as the principles of universality and indivisibility shall remain central; calls on the Commission to define, in conjunction with the European Parliament and civil society representatives, the criteria for selecting the topics covered by the Guidelines in order to bring clarity to the selection process;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Calls on the Commission to complete the Guidelines, which ought to set out objectives, criteria, means, timetables and indicators and include a regular review, by standardising their content and format and thereby making them clearer; recalls in this respect that the European Parliament recently recommended the ʽeffective and results- orientedʼ implementation of guidelines on torture;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Calls for greater participation of civil society actors in the development, evaluation and review of the guidelines;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. SCalls on the Commission and the EEAS to support ongoing democratic processes and democratic, legal and political reforms in third countries, and to ensure their attachment to the values and principles of freedom, equality, democracy, pluralism, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights; stresses the importance of following up on the reports and recommendations of Election Observation Missions by using these as part of a ‘road map for democracy’ in the country concerned and by mandating the Chief Observer to exercise a special role in the follow-up monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations, as a coherent part of Parliament’s comprehensive democracy support approach and with the support of Parliament’s standing bodies (including the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group);
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Recalls the commitment of Parliament and its Subcommittee on Human Rights to supporting a strong multilateral human rights system under the aegis of the United Nations, including the Third Committee of the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the work of related UN specialised agencies such as the ILO and UNESCO; stresses the need for the EU’s actions in these major organisations, which have a direct impact on human rights, to be more visible;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Recalls the importance of the European Union acting within the Organisation for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE) at a time when the organisation is preparing to mark its 40th year; encourages the strengthening of ties between the EU, the OSCE and the Council of Europe;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. RCommends the Union for sending out a clear and coherent message opposing capital punishment, for having made this one of the main priorities of its external policy, and for adopting legal instruments giving it the means to realise its political ambition; reiterates its univocal opposition to capital punishment, and encourages the European Union and the EU Member States to maintain a high-profile policy aimed at the global abolition of the death penalty; urges the EEAS to remain vigilant with regard to developments in all countries in the world, and to use all means of influence at its disposal;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Condemns all violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief; expresses its serious concern over the continued reports of violence and discrimination against religious minorities around the world, in particular the persecutions of religious minorities in the East; stresses that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, is a fundamental human right, interrelated with other human rights and fundamental freedoms, encompassing the right to believe or not to believe, the freedom to practise theistic, non-theistic or atheistic belief alike, and the right to adopt, change and abandon or return to a belief of one’s choice;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 68
Paragraph 68
68. WelcomNotes the legalisation of same-sex marriage or same-sex civil unions in an increasing number of countries, seventeen at the moment, around the world; encourages the EU institutions and the Member States to further contribute to the recognition of same-sex marriage or same- sex civil union as a political, social and human and civil rights issue;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 69
Paragraph 69
Amendment 431 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 74
Paragraph 74
74. Stresses the urgent need to develop stronger policieinitiatives for the joint, smart management of migratory flows at Union level to address the pressing issues related to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in a manner consistent with international human rights law and fundamental human dignity, and calls on the EU to guarantee effective common standards for reception procedures throughout the Union in order to protect the most vulnerable; invites the VP/HR, the Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs and the EEAS to promote a true spirit of cooperation and equitable burden-sharing among Member States in order to tackle the multiple challenges that persist in this regard; recalls the commitment of the Commission to developing adequate legal migration channels, and, to this end, calls for a revision of the Dublin Regulation, which places disproporti calls on the Union, in rethinking its migration policy, to place the emphasis on a proactive approach which ultimately goes to make that policy a fully-fledged component of overall Union external policy, by placing it in the conate responsibility on Member States for the Union’s external borders and hinders migrants’ ability to seek and obtain asylumxt of the social, economic and political development of the Union's neighbourhood; calls on the Union to draw up joint rules and joint criteria tailored to the varying circumstances in the countries involved;