Activities of Elly SCHLEIN related to 2015/2110(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on Fight against corruption and follow-up of the CRIM resolution
Amendments (28)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that organised crime has a transnational dimension and encompasses a various range of criminal activities including drug trafficking, smuggling of migrants, money-laundering, trafficking in counterfeit goods, firearms, wildlife and cultural property; highlights the need for a joint action based on accessible information and increased cooperation between the police and the judicial authorities of various Member States and developing countries, which should be assisted by ad hoc joint coordination bodies;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that the costs of corruption cannot only be calculated in economic terms, and that these costs are very high, especially in developing countries, which undermines public trust in public authorities and democratic institutions, increases inequalities that disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable, and reduces the effectiveness of development aid;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Recalls that illicit financial flows, estimated at $1 trillion a year, are major obstacles to the mobilisation of domestic revenue for development, and drain resources that should be invested in developing countries;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Recalls that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises the need to fight corruption in all its forms, calling on States to reduce illicit financial flows, bribery and corruption and to build effective, accountable and transparent institutions;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive strategy for corruption risk management in developing countries and to implement fully the anti-fraud strategy issued in 2013, especially when implementing EU aid in all its modalities, including the EDF and trust funds, and when delegating development projects to third parties;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Calls on the EU to support the establishment of strong national systems and institutions to address corruption in developing countries, including central and local government systems, tax authorities, law enforcement agencies, but also NGOs, media and parliaments; stresses that budget support to developing countries should be accompanied by a clear strategy to minimise corruption risks;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that whistleblowing is an essential anti-corruption tool, and that a proper system to protect whistleblowers should be established both inside and outside the EU; stresses in particular a direct reporting mechanisms is needed for citizens in EU aid recipient countries who bring attention to irregularities in EU- funded aid programmes;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recommends that the EU become a member of GRECO and request participation in the Open Government Partnership;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Regrets that the European Commission has not yet published its 2nd Anti-Corruption Report, which is due to be issued in 2016;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that, in order to fight corruption effectively and ensure lasting outcomes, the EU and Member States need to adopt a political strategy and a list of priorities, which may comprise not only legislative action but also a set of concrete benchmarks that Member States commit to attain in order to tackle corruption in the public and private sector and organised crime; takes the view that these targets and benchmarks should be holistic, comprising at least measures to improve transparency of public acts, access to information, public officials' asset disclosure, judicial capacity and technical assistance, whistleblower protection and mechanisms for citizen engagement in decision-making;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the establishment of a specialist Europol unit to combat organised criminal groups which operate in several sectors at the same time; takes the view that the Member States should set up a body with responsibility forsecure and effective mechanisms in the current institutional framework to ensuringe that investigations into organised crime are properly coordinated and that mutual trust among law enforcement authorities in Member States is fostered;
Amendment 78 #
(c) a legislation to protectve proposal instituting common rules for the protection, in both the private and public sectors, of whistle- blowers, witnesses and persons who cooperate with the judicial processho report instances of national and transnational corruption affecting the financial interests of the EU;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 10 – point c a (new)
(ca) common rules to protect witnesses and persons who cooperate with the judicial process and who report criminal and Mafia-type organisations, ensuring that they receive adequate support in the difficult circumstances of their lives;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Deplores the fact that cross-border police and judicial cooperation involves excessively lengthy, bureaucratic procedures that hamper its efficiency and jeopardise the effectiveness of the fight against organised crime, corruption and money laundering at EU level; calls on the Member States to increase the resources they devote to cross-border police and judicial cooperation, to ensure proper training and technical support, to guarantee the mutual admissibility of evidence between Member States, and to ensure that greater use is made of joint investigation teams and to employ a common system for communication and for exchanging information relevant to the fight against organised crime and corruption;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses the urgency of creating a more efficient system for communication and exchanging information among judicial authorities within the EU, replacing the traditional instruments of mutual legal assistance for criminal matters, if necessary; asks the Commission to assess the need for legislative action in this field, to create a proper EU system of exchange of information among EU judicial authorities;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls on the Commission to submit as soon as possible, as provided for in the declaration annexed to Directive 2014/41/EU, a legislative proposal to ensure mutual recognition of seizure and confiscation orders linked to the asset- protection measures adopted in many Member States;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7
Subheading 7
Preventing organised crime and corruption from infiltrating the legal economy
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Requests the European Commission to monitor and report to the Parliament on the percentage of use of direct awarding of public contracts in Member States, as well as the legal circumstances where national administrations most make use of them;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Takes the view that the Commission should impose the highest levels of integrity in the procurement processes for implementation of EU- funded projects; recalls that monitoring results of projects in cooperation with civil society organisations and holding local authorities accountable is essential to determine whether EU funds are used appropriately and that corruption is tackled;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Urges the Commission and Member States to demand contractors to reveal their full corporate structure and beneficial owners before awarding any contracts to them so as to avoid supporting companies which engage in aggressive tax planning, tax fraud and evasion and corruption;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Emphasises the need for the EU and the Member States to take appropriate measures, including under criminal law, to monitor and eventually sanction companies based on their territory which are involved in corruption; calls on the Commission and Member States to aggregate data to formulate a public list of companies which have been convicted of corrupt practices or whose company officials are being indicted for corrupt practices in Member States; is of the opinion that such listing should prohibit those companies from participating in public procurement processes or benefit from EU funds in EU Member States in the case of conviction, and until a final court decision of exoneration; highlights the fact that 'blacklisting' can be effective in dissuading companies from engaging in corrupt activities and provides a good incentive for them to improve and reinforce their internal integrity procedures;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Condemns criminal interests that revolve around gambling, including lawful gambling, and urges the Commission to introduce legislation to combat and prevent this phenomenonRecalls that criminal organisations often use the legal and illegal gambling circuits and match-fixing to launder money; condemns criminal interests that revolve around these phenomena, and urges the Commission to introduce legislation to combat and prevent them; calls on the Member States to cooperate transparently and effectively with sports organisations and to step up communication and cooperation with Eurojust and Europol to combat these phenomena;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Notes that the purchase of property in EU Member States is a way to launder the proceeds of criminal activity, whereby criminals shield their ultimate beneficial ownership through foreign shell companies; urges Member States to ensure that any foreign company intending to hold a property title in its territory be held to the same standards of transparency required of companies incorporated in its jurisdiction;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Points out that tax havens are ideal places in which to collect and launder the proceeds of criminal activities, and as such should be abolishedinsists on the need to come up as soon as possible with a common Union list of uncooperative jurisdictions (i.e. a 'blacklist of tax havens'), based on sound and objective criteria, including significantly lower effective level of taxation, the existence of active harmful tax practices, advantages granted to non- resident individuals or legal entities, prevention of automatic exchange of information for tax purposes with other governments and non-disclosure of the corporate structure of legal entities (including trusts, charities, foundations etc.) or the ownership of assets or rights; welcomes the Commission's intention to reach an agreement on such a list within the next six months; calls on the Member States to endorse that agreement by the end of 2016;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Asks, furthermore, for the Union's list of uncooperative jurisdictions to be accompanied by regulatory framework for sanctions against the blacklisted jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, the possibility of reviewing and, in the last resort, suspending free trade agreements and prohibiting access to Union funds; calls for the sanctions to apply also to companies, banks, accountancy, law firms and tax advisers proven to be involved with those jurisdictions or to have facilitated tax and corporate arrangements to other companies involving legal vehicles in those jurisdictions;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Points out that the complex activities of criminal organisations often prepare the ground for identity-based terrorism; recalls that, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), drugs trafficking, the movement of illegal firearms, transnational organised crime and money laundering have become an integral part of terrorism; believes that if the fight against terrorism is to be effective, EU legislation on combating organised crime needs to be strengthened;
Amendment 192 #
25a. Notes with concern that, by means of the fraudulent use of the Internet, criminal organisations have succeeded in increasing the volume of their illicit trafficking; recalls that cyber-crime has a direct adverse impact on citizens themselves, who are often unwitting victims of fraud or theft of personal data; calls on Member States to step up police cooperation relating to IT crime;