Activities of Doru-Claudian FRUNZULICĂ related to 2015/2258(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A8-0203/2016 - Helga Stevens)
Amendments (27)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that around 15 % of the world’s population, or an estimated 1 billion people, live with disabilities and 80% of these people live in low-income countries; underlines that 50 % of disabilities are preventable and directly linked to poverty and also that an estimated 98 % of children with disabilities in the developing world do not attend school;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Underlines the fact that poverty is both a cause and a consequence of disability and that poverty is a barrier to accessing basic social services, such as nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and this can lead to disability;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the increasingly volatilechallenging security environment calls for a strengthening of the CSDP to make it a more effective policy instrument, a real guarantee for the safety of EU citizens and for the promotion of European interests and values;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Underlines the fact that persons with disabilities may face additional disability- related costs, higher rates of unemployment and lower incomes, which can put them and their families at higher risk of financial hardship;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Underlines the fact that exclusion from education may lead to lower employment and earning potential among people with disabilities, making these individuals and their families more vulnerable to poverty and limiting national economic growth;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Underlines the fact that inability to access and receive appropriate timely health care may result in continuously poor or worsening levels of functioning among people with disabilities, including the development of additional disabling conditions that lead to higher personal and societal medical and productivity costs in the long term;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1 f. Underlines the fact that on-going conflicts and natural disasters are also contributing factors to the growing numbers of persons with disabilities;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European Council of December 2013 decided to examine the financial aspects of EU missions and operations, including the review of the Athena mechanism, in order to ensure that procedures and rules enable the Union to be faster, more flexible and efficient in the deployment of EU civilian missions and military operations;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that significant progress has been achieved by the EU regarding the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) but that, as stated by the CRPD Committee, there is still a lot to do in terms of inequality, unemployment and education; also expresses concern regarding sexual violence and other forms of abuse of womens against people with disabilities, in particular women and childrens;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Stresses the fact that any actions of information, awareness and training represent a fundamental element in order to implement the CRPD Convention;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls the EU to take the lead on the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its partner countries, regional organisations and at the global level;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes with concern that despite a combined yearly defence budget of some EUR 190 billion, the Member States are still unable to meet the 1999 Helsinki Headline Goals; recalls the ambitious civilian headline goals set by the EU; calls for the EU to be strengthened as an real actor in defence, and regrets the lack of a clear military doctrine which operationalises the tasks listed in Article 43 TEU (the expanded ‘Petersberg tasks’); strongly advocates closer security and defence coordination and cooperation between Member States and at EU level, in particular pooling and sharing of resources, capabilities and assets;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Recommends the fact that the EU take the lead on disability-inclusive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and establish a work plan and a mid-term review of the work plan in order to guarantee a monitoring and evaluation mechanism and ensure EU accountability;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Stresses the fact that EU should ensure that all EU funded programmes and projects promote, protect and uphold the rights of persons with disabilities and are compliant with the articles of the UN CRPD;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Underlines the necessity to establish mechanisms to collect and monitor disaggregated data by disability, sex, age and other characteristics and that the EU should implement such mechanisms in all EU funded projects and setup a clear timetable for producing disaggregated data across all its programmes;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5 f. Stresses the importance that persons with disabilities and their representative organisations should be regularly consulted and participate in decision- making with EU institutions;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5 g. Underlines the importance to give a special support to the persons with disabilities in post emergency situations;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the concrete measures and pragmatic solutions introduced recently by the Commission within the existing framework of financial rules in order to shorten financial procedures; deplores, however, the still significant delays in procuring essential equipment and services to the missions under the CSDP, partially due to the often slow process of adopting decisions by the Council, to a very bureaucratic system of procurement, but also to a certain lack of flexibility of the financial rules, and the resulting negative effect on the missions’ functioning; recalls that the Court of Auditors already criticised this in its 2012 Special Report on the EU assistance to Kosovo related to the rule of law;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Commission to mitigate these shortfalls, and to propose the necessary adaptations to financial rules for civilian CSDP missions, in order to facilitate the rapid and, flexible and more efficient conduct of missions, while guaranteeing sound financial management of the EU resources and an adequate protection of the Union’s financial interests; takes the view that the budget implementation powers should be delegated to the Civilian Operation Commander, in the same way that has been done for Heads of EU Delegations;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes that the chronic constraints of the EEAS/Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability’s administrative budget should be fast alleviated, as the yearly budget allocation remains too small to cater for all planning, conduct and support tasks, notably when more missions are launched almost simultaneously;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes the view that the permanent CSDP Warehouse, which currently only serves new CSDP civilian missions, should quickly be upgraded by enlarging its scope to include existing missions and by improving the availability of stored equipment, and enlarge, as well, the diversity of the necessary equipment, and that it should be managed by the future SSC;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for better military-civilian synergies where appropriate, notably in the areas of planning and coordination, logistics, transport and the security of missions, while respecting the different chains of command and the different nature of civilian and military missions;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the review of Crisis Management Procedures (CMP) agreed in 2013, as it led to improvements in the planning and launching of CSDP missions; stresses, however, that much more needs to be done to overcome the persistent ‘silos’ separating different parts of the EU foreign policy machinery;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Acknowledges that military operations are financed by the Member States outside the EU budget and that their common costs are covered by the Athena mechanism; underlines that Athena is crucial to the fast deployment of those operations and is an instrument of solidarity between Member States, as well as a major incentive, notably for those lacking financial resources, to contribute to CSDP operations; regrets, however, that the proportion of the common costs remains very low (estimated at around 10-15 % of all costs) and that the ‘costs lie where they fall’ outdated principle further deters Member States from taking an active part and leads to delays or even complete blockages in decision-making; finds that the long-term, better financing of military missions should be ensured;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls that the Lisbon Treaty provides the EU with new CSDP provisions which are yet untapped; encourages the Council to make use of Article 44 TEU, enabling a group of willing Member States to go ahead with the implementation of a CSDP task; considers the urgent need for a faster decision making process; takes the view that the ad hoc funding mechanisms for a military operation should cover more than the traditional common costs reimbursed by Athena;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Council to initiate as soon as possible the setting-up of the start-up fund (foreseen by Article 41(3) TEU) for the urgent and rapid financing of the initial phases of military operations, which could also serve as a strong tool for capacity development; notes that, while civilian missions benefit from a dedicated budget for preparatory measures, the deployment and efficiency of military missions will remain structurally hindered as long as this possibility is not used; strongly encourages Member States to engage in the permanent structured cooperation provided for by Article 46 TEU, which would also considerably strengthen the EU rapid reaction capability;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Takes the view that the next European Council on defence should not waste an opportunity to have a deep discussion and produce concrete proposals on reforming the financial arrangements for CSDP missions and operations; in order to make them more efficient, more successful urges the Member States to deliver on the commitments undertaken at the European Council of December 2013;