20 Amendments of Charlie WEIMERS related to 2022/0212(BUD)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the growing instability and the rise of unprecedented challenges in the international environment increases the demands on the Union to act and with a budget fit for purposeMember States to act in an effective and cohesive manner;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas we must both continue to strengthen our support to Ukraine and respond to other urgent global needs as they evolve, especially in the field of heavy weapons, artillery, fighter aircraft and tanks; whereas it is regrettable that most Western countries have demilitarized and have little conventional combat power at their disposal, which enables authoritarian regimes to dictate terms;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the purpose of European cooperation in defence matters is to make Europe and itsMember States and their citizens safer and reduce costs by creating synergies; highlights that the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) has been deeply impacted by Russia’s war; notwelcomes that the European Peace Facility (EPF) has enabled an unprecedented support from EU Member States, including weapons, amounting to EUR 2 billion by the end of May 2022, but regrets that thisthough the support has been miniscule compared to U.S. contributions; calls on the Commission to present proposals without delay to fully utilise the capacity of the European Peace Facility isn off-budget which does not allow for parliamentary scrutinyrder to provide military material for the Ukrainian military, including platforms designed to deliver lethal force;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the majority of external action spending is concentrated under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe (NDICI/Global Europe) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), funding which Turkey's authoritarian Islamist regime also benefits from, which has ring-fenced budget allocations per geographical region, providing flexibility but due to the unprecedented pressure sees the urgent need for new initiatives and proposals to be put forward;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Continues to see the Western Balkans integration as a geopolitical priorityrisk, especially in the context of Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, which resonated strongly across the region, but insists on the conditionality requirements regarding rule of law for every euro committed inas organised crime would be given a open highway to wealthier Member States in the North, notes that multiple countries wishing to join the EU are already NATO members and unlikely to side with Russia, insists on thorough scrutiny and follow-up for every euro spent within and outside of the EU from the 2023 EU-budget;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. CRecalls forthat food security is a Member State responsibility and rejects the added value of additional EU-funding to address both the fragility of supply chains and agri-food systems and the eroded macro- economic stability of manythird countries; notes that Russia’s unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has further stressed the global system already impacted by the COVID-19 crisis; emphasises that the EU-budget can never be a panacea for all the ills of the world; therefore urges restraint and welcomes all cuts and re-prioritisations within the EU- budget;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. CRegrets the obsession of some to make EU external policies more visible; calls to urgently launch a discussion on Heading 6, with a view to propose further measurcut costs and return a surplus to net-paying Member States; notes that the funding for external action has been lagging behind the geopolitical necessitiesextravagant, ineffective and wasteful;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. InDecreases therefore the level of commitment appropriations for Heading 6 by EUR xxxxxxx above90% or approximately EUR 15 billion less for 2023 compared with the DB (exincluding pilot projects and preparatory actions), to be financed by using the available margin and mobilising the special instrumen - that also should face drastic reductions and mandatory ex- ante cost-benefit analysis); calls for all surplus funds to be transferred back to net-paying Member States or be used solely to repay NextGenerationEU debts.;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes with deep regret the financial support for non-violent Islamism from the EU budget which is undermining our European way of life; therefore calls for an in-depth examination followed by complete stop of all funding from the EU-budget to islamist organisations or organisations with ties to islamists;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission to finance physical barriers at the Union's external borders as requested by 16 Member States in a joint statement of January 21 2022;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Urges the Commission to launch, without delay, effective and wide-reaching communication campaigns targeting diaspora communities in the European Union representing the highest proportions of illegal arrivals and strategic communication campaigns targeting potential illegal migrants in source and transit countries with messages deterring potential migrants from considering illegal means of arrival to the Member States of the European Union;
Amendment 76 #
7e. Calls on the Commission to provide a strong and clear policy steer to ensure EU development aid and investments are not greenlighted unless the beneficiary state has agreed to migration management agreements that allow for the return of all citizens with a valid deportation order in a Member State or the establishment of third country partner state asylum processing and reception centres;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7f. Considers it of utmost importance that no funding from the EU budget undermine the lawful use and ownership of firearms; notes that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has reminded Europe of the added value provided by an armed citizenry as both a deterrent to foreign and domestic aggressors alike; respects and welcomes the fact that not all European countries demilitarized or disarmed their population following the end of the Cold War; rejects any and all attempts to justify going after legal firearms under the pretext of protecting the EU from arms sourced in the Russo- Ukrainian war;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 g (new)
Paragraph 7 g (new)
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 h (new)
Paragraph 7 h (new)
7h. Regrets the one-sided nature of the recently adopted "Institutional communication strategy for the 2024 European elections", a self- described "modern get-out-the-vote communication strategy" which "overall narrative will aim at highlighting what Europe does for European citizens and how it matters, in particular for young people"; notes with concern the institutional communication strategy only promotes positive aspects of EU measures, focuses on "delivery" as well as "what Europe does for me"; further notes with grave concern that the communication strategy primarily targets pro-EU audiences and mobilises and funds pro- integration activists, celebrities and influences, in effect a get out the vote campaign supporting pro-integrationist political forces; rejects outright the notion that media grants "proved an enormously successful tool" in 2019 and rejects the decision for them to be "substantially expanded in 2024";
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 i (new)
Paragraph 7 i (new)
7i. Deplores that the European Parliament funds pro-integration activist organisations such as the European Movement, Jean Monnet Association and Young European Federalists; considers it highly problematic that the European Parliament is funding media organisations1a; considers it inappropriate for politicians to make those that are supposed to scrutinize them – journalists – financially dependent; rejects and repudiates the decision of the European Parliament Bureau to "substantially expand" funding for media organisations in 2024; _________________ 1a https://www.brusselsreport.eu/2021/07/07/ how-the-european-parliament- financially-supports-mass-media/
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 j (new)
Paragraph 7 j (new)
7j. Rejects funding of activist organisations and considers such practices damaging to the reputation of EU institutions which should be politically neutral; considers it necessary for all grants and subsidies to be accompanied with clear and publicly available descriptions of activities funded; abhors the practice of providing a general "association grant" without further public information as to what activities have been funded; considers it necessary to urgently end the practice of funding activist organisations;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 k (new)
Paragraph 7 k (new)
7k. Calls on the EU to be upfront and transparent with citizens regarding which media or activist organisations the institutions have funded; urges all EU institutions to go further than the minimum requirements set out in the Financial Regulation and disclose all grants and subsidies awarded without delay;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 l (new)
Paragraph 7 l (new)
7l. Calls for all EU funding of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to be reviewed and conditioned to ensure it does not promote hatred, incitement and terrorism; supports redirecting these funds to support women and children fleeing Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine;