Activities of Pál CSÁKY related to 2017/2069(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens' Rights in a Union of Democratic Change (debate) HU
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change PDF (870 KB) DOC (121 KB)
Amendments (27)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Citation 4 (new)
Citation 4 (new)
– having regard to the Copenhagen criteria, and the body of Union rules that a candidate country must fulfil if it wishes to join the Union (the acquis),
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Citation 11 (new)
Citation 11 (new)
– having regard to the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Citation 12 (new)
Citation 12 (new)
– having regard to the study commissioned by the Policy Department C of the European Parliament at the request of the LIBE committees in 2016 entitled “Towards a Comprehensive EU Protection System for Minorities”,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
– having regard to Articles 9-12 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), to Articles 18-25 of the TFEU and to Articles 21, and 39-46 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to its report on the activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (2016/2146(INI)),
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas access to EU citizenship is gained through nationality of a Member State, which is regulated by national laws; whereas at the same time, rights and duties emerge from this institution which are laid down by EU law and do not depend on the Member States; whereas for the above reason it is equally true that these rights and obligations cannot be limited in an unjustified manner by the Member States; whereas according to the Treaties every EU citizen receives equal attention from the EU institutions;
Amendment 47 #
Ea. whereas experience shows that, pre-accession countries are more willing to respect the Copenhagen criteria on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights and to advance the situation of minorities; whereas at present there is no adequate framework to guarantee the fulfilment of these criteria after accession and thus to protect EU citizens from the effects breaches of the Copenhagen criteria would entail;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas, when laying down the citizenship of the Union, article 9 of the TEU expressly mentions that the Union shall observe the principle of the equality of its citizens, who shall receive equal attention from its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies; whereas, despite the fact that equality and non-discrimination are key principles of the European legal framework, European citizens belonging to minority groups can be treated differently, depending on which EU Member State they live in and contingent on their country’s history, on national and international political contexts etc.;
Amendment 51 #
Ec. whereas at present, except for infringement procedures, the EU has only tools of limited efficacy to respond to systematic and institutional manifestations of discrimination, racism and xenophobia against minorities across the EU Member States; whereas infringement proceedings do not cover threats falling outside the scope of EU secondary law;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas the Roma citizens of the EU make up the largest and most vulnerable minority group in the EU; whereas the Roma face multi-layered discrimination and social exclusion in Europe; Whereas EU soft law tools, such as the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS), have played only a limited role in ensuring that Member States respect their obligations to comply with fundamental human rights standards on minority protection and addressing institutional manifestations of discrimination;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the principle of non- discrimination on the basis of nationality, sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, language or membership of a national minority is the primary expression of EU citizenship; whereas it forms at the same time a crucial component of the successful exercise of the freedom of movement, as evidenced in petitions;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities is one of the EU’s founding values enshrined in the Treaties; whereas approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language; whereas the effective protection of minorities needs to be strengthened;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the guarantee of fundamental rights of EU citizens could be accomplished with a new approach regarding the interpretation of Article 51 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the Commission’s 2017 EU Citizenship Report, which contains an enumeration of priorities by field of activity; expresses its doubt as to whether thesemphasizes that priorities willshould effectively answer citizens’ concerns; regrets the lack of and besides these priorities much more has to be done; for instance with well-defined, concrete commitments for the next three years;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the fact that the effective exercise of the right to petition has been facilitated thanks to the improved petitions processing in the European Parliament and the launch in late 2014 of the Committee on Petitions portal , which allows petitions to be submitted in an uncomplicated fashion and managed more efficiently, as illustrated elsewhere by the respective Annual Reports of the Committee on Petitions;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses regret that for almost a decade now little progress has been made in the adoption of the EU-wide Anti- Discrimination Directive; calls upon all EU institutions to concludethe Commission and the Council to re-launch the relevant negotiations as soon as possible;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. RIs of the view that the effectiveness of EU policies in the field of anti- discrimination should be increased and remaining obstacles removed; recommends that the Commission update the first two anti-discrimination directives, namely Council Directive 2000/43/EC and Council Directive 2000/78/EC, to bring them into line with the current version of the Treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Is of the opinion that, in order to fill with substance the reference made to minorities in article 2 of the TEU, and to the equality of all EU citizens in article 9 TEU, the aim of the EU should be to lay down high standards of minority protection, starting from those codified in international law instruments, such as those of the Council of Europe. Such standards should be strongly embedded in a legal framework guaranteeing democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights across the EU;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Believes that observation by the EU of the TEU requirement to respect, safeguard and enhance Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity in the EU both among and within Member States would greatly reinforce the links between citizens and the European project;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Invites the Commission to take more active steps against LGBTI discrimination and to combat homophobia by defining concrete action to be taken at national level, while respecting the competences of Member States; calls at the same time for the EU institutions to monitor LGBTI rights closely and to promotevide clear and accessible information on the recognition of cross-border rights for LGBTI persons and their families in the EU; calls uponrecommends legislators to expeditcontinue their activities with regard to the adoption of a comprehensive directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States as regards the accessibility requirements for products and services;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Believes that the systematic discrimination of Roma citizens in their home countries, as well as their evictions and expulsions when they exercise their right to free movement to and residence in another member state are in contradiction with the fundamental right of non- discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin and the right move to and reside in another member state and put the foundations of EU citizenship rights to the test;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that the protection of minority rights is mainly a nationalautochthonous, national or linguistic minorities, is mainly Member State competence; recalls, however, that both the Treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights make reference to the protection of national minorities and discrimination practised on the grounds of language and membership of a national minority; recalls that such minorities have been living together with or alongside majority cultures for centuries in Europe; underlines the need for the CommissEU institutions to play an more active role in the protection of minorities, by promoting awareness- raising meetings, seminars and resolutions in order to encourage national governments to find durable solutions and to promote the culture of linguistic diversity in the Member States; suggests to better explore the possibilities of a comprehensive minority protection within the European legislative framework;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Notes the Commission’s latest communication (COM(2017) 482 final) regarding the European citizens’ initiative proposing the revision of the Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the citizens’ initiative of 16 February 2011;calls on the Commission to take note about the ongoing consideration of ECI revision within the Parliament; stresses the important role of the Parliament in the legislative procedure to make the ECI instrument more user-friendly while ensuring a real and democratic citizens’ participation in the European debate and agenda setting;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to put forward specific actions for removing obstacles of free movement following the European Parliament resolution of 15 March 2017 on obstacles to EU citizens’ freedom to move and work in the internal market (2016/3042(RSP)) and the European Parliament resolution of 28 April 2016 on safeguarding the best interests of the child across the EU on the basis of petitions addressed to the European Parliament (2016/2575(RSP));
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the reform of the Electoral Act on the basis of Parliament’s legislative initiative is an unmissableis an opportunity for the Union to become more democratic; highlights the fact that thousands of Europeans share this view, as evidenced by the ‘Let me Vote’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which aims to allow citizens to vote in their place of residence; commends the Commission for exploring the possibilities for non-national EU citizens who have exercised their right to free movement to vote in national elections in the country in which they reside; urgeasks the Commission to devise a concreten action plan for the introduction of electronic voting with a view to the 2019in the European Parliament elections;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses its conviction that free media and access to a plurality of voices in society and in the media are an indispensable part of a healthy democracy; underlines the need for a defined EU policy to tackle anti-European propaganda and false information; proposes that EU institutions proceed with the creation of a European television channel broadcasting in all Member Statacknowledges that more visibility could be given to the activities of the EU institutions through European television channels available in all official languages;