32 Amendments of Charlie WEIMERS related to 2020/2111(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to the EEAS Special Report Update: Short assessment of narratives and disinformation around the Covid-19 pandemic of 1 April 2020 and 20 May 2020;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the virus has killed around a million people globally and originated in Wuhan, China;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the Chinese government downplayed the initial Covid-19 outbreak and misled the world by saying that the virus could not be transmitted from human-to-human;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas it took Chinese officials three months to notify the World Health Organisation (WHO) about a 'strange contagious disease', which by that point had already killed 100 people in China; whereas it took Chinese authorities more than a week to release the virus' genome, stalling the developments of vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in China, the WHO uncritically repeated the information from the Chinese authorities and ignored the warnings from Taiwanese doctors about the spreading of a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan and that the disease could be transmitted between people;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas China has been positioning itself to become a public health superpower and views the WHO as a vehicle to realize these ambitions; whereas China contributed around EUR 75 million to the WHO in 2019;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas the US administration has stated that the WHO has become a tool of 'Chinese propaganda' and therefore has lost all its credibility; whereas Japan's deputy prime minister and finance minister, Taro Aso, has referred to the WHO as the 'Chinese Health Organisation';
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
Ag. whereas China has deleted posts on social media that reported about a pneumonia of unknown cause spreading in Wuhan; whereas Chinese authorities have led a crackdown against journalists, doctors and human rights activists;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A h (new)
Recital A h (new)
Ah. whereas Chinese doctor Li Wenliang had sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars in December 2019; whereas, as a result, he was told by police to 'stop making false comments' and was investigated for 'spreading rumours'; whereas he tragically died on 7 February 2020 after contracting the virus himself while treating patients in Wuhan; whereas his death sparked widespread public anger and grief in China;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A i (new)
Recital A i (new)
Ai. whereas Taiwan is not a member of the WHO nor the World Health Assembly due to objections from China; whereas European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has publicly recognised Taiwan's contribution to the fight against Covid-19;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Holds the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) responsible for the global pandemic;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets the lack of global leadership and coordinated international response in the initial phases of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as tendencies to opt for isolationist solutions,Condemns the withholding of critical information, by the rise of authoritarian nationalismCCP and WHO, state- sponsored disinformation campaigns and the promotion of false narratives, which seek to undermine Western democracies, create distrust and undermine international cooperation;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes the geopolitical competition and tensions following the COVID-19 outbreak, and recognises that the European Union still has to position itself in the new world order in which, alongside the EU, the US, China and Russia play a leading roleChina and Russia continue to exploit the crisis;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Expresses continued support for the transatlantic alliance and closer strategic transatlantic cooperation; recognises that the EU-US partnership is based on strong political, cultural, economic and historic links and shared values such as freedom, democracy, promoting peace and stability, human rights and the rule of law; stresses that close EU-US relations are crucial to building a more democratic, secure and prosperous world;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is worried aboutNotes the decision of the US to withdraw funding from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the general tendency of its President to withdraw the US from the multilateral organisations that were created to establish a rules-based world order;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Acknowledges the need to find a new method of cooperation between the EU and US,at the EU-US cooperation is based on mutual respect and a joint agenda to defend multilateralism, the rule of law and human rights;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recognises the emergency contributions provided by China to fight the virusNotes that after the breakout of Covid-19 in China, Europe provided China with protective equipment, including masks; notes that China afterwards provided emergency contributions to fight the virus and regrets that some were faulty or of inferior quality; also recognises, however, a clear geopolitical and geo-economic dimension, bolstered by ‘virus and wolf warrior diplomacy’ and the politicisation of humanitarian assistance;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is concerned aboutDeplores the lack of Chinese transparency related to the Chinese reaction to the global outbreak, involving theglobal outbreak, its covert attempts to manipulate information regarding Covid-19 and its use of Russian-style disinformation tactics; strongly condemns China's withholding of information, censorship, the suppression of whistle-blowers and human rights activists, and the projection of powerits aggressive acts in the region;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the Chinese regime to fully cooperate with an independent international investigation into the origins of COVID- 19, and calls on the Member States to present a united front towards a rising China, which is leading a crackdown against human rights activists, on the pro- democracy movement in Hong Kong and has threatened to annex Taiwan; calls onstrongly urges the Member States to advocate for Taiwan’s membership of the WHO;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the VP/HR to recognise these concerns and simultaneously create an atmosphere of dialogue, engagement and genuine cooperation, based on, to review EU-China relations and devise a new, more assertive strategy in which the EU pushes back when necessaryagainst China to defend European values; is of the view that, as part of this new strategy, the EU should seek closer collaboration with countries in the region and other democracies;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Expresses concern overDeplores the structural attempts of the Russian Federation to undermine EU unityand its crisis response by the intensification of disinformation campaigns;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recognises the global security, socio-economic and political risks that could be caused by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is worried about the fact that the EU’s main international counterparts were prepared to use the crisis to unravel the rules-based world order underpinned by multilateral organisationRussia and China have sought to further their attempts to undermine the EU and interfere in Member States' domestic affairs;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that only a more united EU, backed up by sufficient and credible military capacities, will be able to conduct a strong foreign policy, and believes that the VP/HR should receive a stronger mandate in speaking on behalf of the EU;
Amendment 406 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. BelievStresses that the end of the unanimity rule on foreign policy would help the EU to conduct a foreign policy that is more effective and more proEU action shall always be in harmony with Member States' activeons;
Amendment 429 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the important role of the armed forces during the COVID-19 pandemic and believes that a more in-depth joint operation and coordination of member states’ armed forces within existing frameworks - such as the European Medical Command - or within new frameworks - such as military hospital trains - could lead to greater efficiency and contribute to the EU’s preparedness to fight pandemics; recognises the need to review the EU’s security and defence strategies to develop strategic autonomy,for Member States to become better prepared and more resilient to the new and hybrid threats and technologies that have made the nature of warfare less conventional and challenge the traditional role of the military, as well as for a future in which Russia and China are becoming more assertive; stresses that the future Strategic Compass on security and defence should reflect these developments and take account of the broader geopolitical implications of COVID-19; believes that, given the new political balance and a potential worsening of the international security environment following COVID- 19, the EU defence budgets must not be cut;
Amendment 449 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls for the expansion and modernisation of EU communication strategies so that EU action is sufficiently visible both within and beyond the EU; urges the European External Action Service (EEAS) to further strengthen its capacities to counter disinformation, including the creation of a dedicated far- East StratCom Task Force focused on the disinformation emanating from China,Urges the European External Action Service (EEAS) to further strengthen its capacities to counter disinformation and imposinge costs on countries that deliberately spread disinformation to divide, undermine and harm the EU and its Member States;
Amendment 478 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need to reduce dependency on third countries in certain strategic and existential sectors and might promptstrongly supports the diversification of its most critical supply chains, moving away from its dependence on China;
Amendment 511 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Underlines the strategic importance of EU engagement and support in its neighbourhood, both in the East and in the South; stresses that the EU must give Western Balkan countries that are not yet part of the EU a fair chance to join the EU, and that the EU must continue its efforts to invest in the region;
Amendment 544 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses that the COVID-19 crisis could destabilise countries in Africa which often have a fragile health infrastructure and high debts; calls for the EU presence in Africa to be strengthened, for financial assistance and recovery plans to be fostered and for anurges the EU to be active in expanding private investment alternative to Chinese investments to be provided options to African countries;
Amendment 567 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
Amendment 578 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Is of the opinion that the COVID- 19 crisis has highlighted certain weaknesses of our Union and has shown the urgent need for an effective and efficient Union; believes that the Conference on the Future of Europe will provide a good platform to move forward in constructing more efficient decision making in EU external policies; is therefore determined to start the Conference as soon as possible;