Activities of Barbara SPINELLI related to 2017/2233(ACI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission (debate) IT
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to the exchange of letters between its President and the President of the Commission, in particular the letter dated 2 October 2017 from the latter, which agrees to the drafting proposals submitted by its President on 7 September 2017,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
— having regard to Articles 10(1) and (4) and 17Article 17(3) and (7) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- having regard to Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 1 December 2016 on Commissioners’ declarations of interests – guidelines,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2017 on transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9
Citation 9
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to the update of the study by Parliament’s Directorate- General for Internal Policies entitled “The Code of Conduct for Commissioners – improving effectiveness and efficiency”,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas Article 10(3) and Article 11 TEU confer to the European citizens the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas Article 17(3) TEU states that in carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission shall be completely independent, that the members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence and European commitment from persons whose independence is beyond doubt and that they shall neither seek nor take instruction from any Government or other institution, body, office or entity;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the study commissioned by the EP in 2009 entitled “The Code of Conduct for Commissioners – improving effectiveness and efficiency”, and then later updated in 2014, has questioned the compatibility of Commissioners engaging in electoral campaigns with the Treaty requirement to act with independence;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas, according to Article 10(4) TEU, political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness; and to expressing the will of the citizens of the Unwhereas Articles 10(3) and 11(1) TEU extend this to citizens and representative association;s,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the draft amendments oblige the President of the Commission to inform Parliament of the measures taken to ensure the respect of the principles of independence, integrity and discretion enshrined in Article 245 TFEU and the Code of Conduct for the Members of the European Commission when Commissioners stand as candidates in electoral campaigns for elections to the Parliament; whereas, however, this information should always be accompanied by the decision granting the unpaid electoral leave to the Commissioner standing as a candidate in the European Parliament elections;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the draft amendments should clearly stipulate that Members of the Commission are not to use the human or material resources of the Commission for activities linked to an electoral campaign;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the Commission President will be elected by the European Parliament on a proposal by the European Council, taking into account the elections to the European Parliament and after appropriate consultations have been held, and that therefore, as was the case in 2014, European political parties shallcould come up with lead candidates (‘Spitzenkandidaten’) in order to give the European citizens the choice whom to elect as Commission President in the European Parliament elections;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that the Spitzenkandidaten process fosters the political awareness of European citizens in the run-up to the elections of the European Parliament and could reinforces the political legitimacy of both Parliament and the Commission by connecting their respective elections more directly to the choice of the voters; stresses, however, that a fully functional democracy cannot be simply equated to the holding of elections; is convinced, therefore, that full transparency, integrity and accountability of the EU Institutions is an essential condition for building trust and confidence vis-à-vis EU citizens and for giving effect to the principles enshrined in Article 10 TEU;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the draft amendments are in line withraise crucial concerns regarding their compatibility with the principle of independence set out in Articles 10(1) and 17(7)7(3) TEU and Article 245 TFEU, and welcomes them as an improvement consolidating the democratic election process of the President of the European Commissiomight entail an evident problem of conflict of interests, in so far as they allow Commissioners to run for the European elections without providing for a suspension (unpaid electoral leave) of their activities as Members of the Commission during the electoral campaign;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Considers that the requirement for unpaid electoral leave in the event of a Commissioner’s participation, as candidate, in the European Parliament elections is a proportionate measure to guarantee equity and balance between candidates and to assure the independence of and public trust in the Commission as a whole;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Looks forward to the completion of the revision of the Code of Conduct for the Members of the European Commission, which aims to clarify the obligations applicable to Commissioners in and out of office; in this regard, asks the Commission to align its draft decision of 12 September 2017 on a Code of Conduct for the Members of the European Commission to the views already expressed by the European Parliament and its relevant committees in terms of, inter alia, post-office cooling off period, transparency, appointment of the Independent Ethical Committee, participation in European electoral campaigns;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. ApprovesConsiders that the approval of the amendments to the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission, annexed to this decision, must be made conditional upon the reintroduction of the necessary guarantees to preserve the principle of independence of the Commissioners through the compulsory requirement of an unpaid electoral leave in the event of a Commissioner’s participation in the European Parliament elections;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8