15 Amendments of Fabio Massimo CASTALDO related to 2018/2160(INI)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Arab uprisings that affected the MENA region in 2011 constituted a moment of mass upheavals against authoritarian regimes; whereas a large segment of the protesters was composed of young women and men aspiring to a better and more inclusive future, better economic prospects, increased social freedoms and higher participation in the political process; whereas the overthrow of most of the regimes and the introduction of liberal reforms gave rise to great hope and expectations;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, eight years after the Arab Spring and political developments which have led countries in the Maghreb and Mashreq regions to follow many diverse evolutionary paths in terms of politics and stability, it is essential to assess how to respond to the legitimate democratic aspirations in the region; whereas it is important to take stock of the efforts and policy stance adopted by the EU in response to the Arab Spring and to assess its capacity for policy delivery; whereas it is essential to reassess and adapt the policy framework of the EU towards Southern Neighbourhood countries and, its future objectives and the means to achieve them;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the capacity of Member States to exert a positive influence in the Maghreb and Mashreq regions is very unequal and has often been marred by fragmentation and uncoordinated initiatives that have sometimes been more harmful than useful; whereas individual Member States’ action in the region needs to be coordinated and in synergy with the EU’s objectives; whereas the EU needs to increase its political leverage and be more diplomatically active; whereas long-term political and economic stability in the Maghreb and Mashreq regions is of fundamental strategic importance to the EU, and as such requires a longer-term and forward-looking approach as regards the policy framework and its objectives, in line with the needs of citizens in partner countries and the EU strategic interests;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU should play a central role in promoting conflict presolution and bothvention, mediation and resolution as well as effective democratic and economic governance in the Maghreb and Mashreq regions;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes with concern that, eight years after the upheavals, most of thepeople's expectations have still nofor progressive political, social and economic reforms have in most cases not yet been met; condemns the persistent and continuing violations of human rights, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in several cases; is worried about the dire socio-economic situation in the region, which continues to be dire and, in particular, about the high levels of youth unemployment and social exclusion, which cause disillusionment and disenfranchisement on a large scale, especially among young people, pushing them towards radicalisation and creating tense societies;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Expresses concern about the phenomena of terrorism and radicalisation leading to violent extremism, which continues to pose a significant threat to states and societies in the Middle East and North Africa and in the EU; calls the EU to assist its partners in addressing the root causes of radicalisation such as poverty, unemployment and social exclusion, through an enhanced cooperation with the MENA region which puts people, especially youngsters, at its heart; calls on the EU to support youth’s access to entrepreneurship, for example encouraging and supporting investments in start-ups;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the EU’s efforts to promote democracy, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms in post-Arab Spring countries, and acknowledges the complexity of such a task; takes the view, however, that, despite a fifteen-year policy focus on Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, renewed policy efforts and increased budgetary resources in the wake of the Arab Spring, the EU’s goals and policies have not yet been achieved and sometime the situation has even worsened;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Expresses concern about the fact that, in spite of its considerable political and budgetary investments and continuous political and economic outreach, the EU has not been able to gain real political and economic leverage, and is no longer perceived as a game changer by the countries in the region; admits its own errors in this sense and the difficulty to have coordinated policies between the EU and the Members States as well as a certain lack of political consistency vis-à- vis different partners; points to the dissatisfaction felt by civil society and, local NGOs and young people in general at how the EU fails to translates its vision into action on the ground; is concerned about the increasingly complex political situation in the Maghreb and Mashreq regions, and the emergence of new political and economic regional players such as Russia and China, in addition to the competing narratives and financing from the Gulf countries and Iran;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Takes the view that for far too long the policy stance towards the Maghreb and Mashreq countries was marred by an approach which was based to too great an extent on the EU’s expectations and objectives, with too little consideration for the aspirations of the local populations and little incentive for and ownership by beneficiary countries; regrets that the initial efforts after the Arab Spring to introduce stricter conditionality and delivery incentives in relation to beneficiary countries through the ‘more for more’ principle did not lead to greater leverage on the part of the EU in its ability to promote real change in the areas of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms in most countries; calls for a more consistent application of the ‘more for more’ principle by defining, at policy, programme and project levels in bilateral relations, concrete goals and benchmarks for increased support;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is concerned, however, that the complexity of managing the migration and refugee flows from and through the Maghreb and Mashreq regions, the nexus between security, development and migration, the challenge of terrorism and the legitimate concerns about the fragility of certain countries in the region, as well as the lack of a cohesive approach by the Member States, is encouraging the EU’s action towards the region to rely excessively on an ideology of stability, disregarding other important aspects; takes the view that when stability and security become the predominant objectives, they lead to a shorter-term and shortsighted policy vision and deprive EU action directed at reaffirming human rights and fundamental freedoms of the required intensity; is convinced that stability and security can only be achieved through longer-term objectivesplanning and objectives and policy consistency, with the promotion of human rights and rule of law at the core of the action;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Calls the EU to address the root causes of migration such as conflicts, environmental causes, extreme poverty and social exclusion and re-orient political cooperation towards a more balanced and equal partnership with the MENA region, putting youth policies and investments towards local Small and Medium Enterprises at its heart;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Takes the view that, as the EU is strugglesing to come up with a renewed vision for the management ofan appropriate approach on managing migration and assistance toing refugees, there is an increasing risk that some countries in the region might use mi; believes that such approach should be based on greation containment and their role therein to seek greater leverage in their political and policy dialogue with the EU; stresses, instead,er solidarity and equitable burden sharing between EU Member States; stresses the importance of a policy framework promoting democratic, political and socio- economic inclusion as mutually reinforcing factors; is convinced that, where the prerequisites for the negotiation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements, conditional on democratic progress, are not yet in place, the EU shcould provide increased access to trade and investment, and assistance for reconstruction and infrastructure modernisation in strict correlation with progressive political and economic reforms;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out the risk that the EU’s action for the region and the approach pursued by Member States through bilateral relations may not be in harmony, and that the EU’s capacity to make a political impact might be lost as a result; welcomes, in this context, the proposal made by the President of the Commission to move beyond unanimity in Council decision-making in foreign affairs, as it could help the EU to speak with one voice in its foreign relations and have greater leveragecalls on EU Member States to strengthen the coordination of their actions in the region, between them and with the EU;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for closer involvement of local civil society in the identification of needs in the partner countries; welcomes the efforts by the EEAS and the Commission to broaden civil society outreach and include the private sector, and encourages them to do more in this regard; emphasises the need to ensure the participation of genuinely independent civil society, including unregistered human rights groups and human rights defenders and regrets that this is particularly hindered where dialogue and support passes through government- controlled agencies; takes the view that the EU should make access to available funds for smaller civil society organisations (CSOs) easier, streamline the application processes and focus on local CSOs; points out the perception among local civil society interlocutors of a primary focus by the EU on large, international CSOs; calls on the EU to invest more resources in promoting the capacity building of local CSOs and facilitating enhanced partnerships between them and large, international CSOs, with a view to increasing local ownership;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is convinced that young people should be a primary focus of the EU’s action towards the region, with an intersectional approach; calls for youth policies to be mainstreamed in all the Union’s policies in the MENA region; proposes that each EU Delegation set up youth advisory councils comprising young political, economic, media, cultural and CSO leaders with a view to providing input on policy priorities, the capacity of EU policies to make an impact in the country and introduce an additional element of accountability in relation to policy choices; calls on European political familieactors to engage in enhanced exchanges with active local young people from the MENA countries, with a view to promoting their empowerment, training and capacity- building to enable them to stand in local elections and become new actors of change in their respective countries;