Activities of Ernest URTASUN related to 2021/0227(BUD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022
Amendments (18)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses the urgent need to increase NDICI funds available for the thematic programme on Peace, Stability and Conflict Prevention and Rapid Response by 50% compared to the spending on such measures within the context of the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) during 2020;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Stresses that the humanitarian aid budget for Afghanistan and neighbouring countries should be strongly increased to support and protect vulnerable Afghans and their families, including Internally Displaced People and refugees, and to enhance resettlement; demands that, unless the respect for human rights and especially the rights of women and girls can be guaranteed, development assistance to the Afghan regime remains suspended and is redirected towards independent development and humanitarian organisations in line with EU external action objectives;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. On Palestine, emphasizes the need to increase funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in light of the crucial role it plays in protecting and ensuring the essential needs of Palestine refugees as well as contributing to their human development; takes good note of the recent findings of the EU-funded external study of Palestinian textbooks, which largely disproves allegations of widespread incitement to hatred and violence; takes good note of the Commission’s vigilance on this matter; calls on the Commission to ensure that its funding to the Palestinian Authority counters the negative trends and growing inter-Palestinian division, contributes to promoting pluralism and accountability and supports Palestinian civil society;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. On Israel, insists on the need to ensure that EU bilateral assistance to Israel complies with international and EU law; calls on the Commission to strengthen its assistance to Israeli civil society, notably to those advocating for equal rights and documenting human rights violations and to enhance EU assistance to Palestinian rights and livelihoods in Israel, in the annexed territories and in the isolated enclaves; deplores the continued destruction and confiscation of EU-funded humanitarian assistance in the West Bank; notes that according to EU sources, Israeli authorities demolished or seized 97 122 structures in 2020 at a loss of EUR 300,000, that had been built with EU or Member States’ funds; is concerned by the lack of resolve of the EEAS and the Commission, as highlighted by the European Court of Auditors, to secure compensation from the Israeli authorities, as requested by the European Parliament in its resolution of September 2018; requests the Commission to deduct in the next draft budget under which EU-Israel programmes are funded the amount corresponding to the cost of demolished EU-funded projects;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Considers that the human rights situation in Egypt requires a revision of the Commission’s budget support operations and requires the prioritisation of EU aid to primarily supporting democratic actors and civil society; calls for more transparency on all forms of financial support or training provided by the EU, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank to Egypt;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes stronger conditionality related to democracy, human rights and rule of law under the modernised IPA III; calls on dedicated budget lines for Turkey under IPA III, which should support Turkish civil societyfor sufficient funding for Turkish civil society under IPA III; reminds that all the funding under IPA III, including the Western Balkan Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) needs to be in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement and EU decarbonisation goals;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Recalls the important role played by Turkey in welcoming refugees from Syria; takes the view that the EU should continue to give the necessary support to Syrian and other refugees and host communities in Turkey by means of a mix of longer-term, predictable, fully transparent, and rapidly deployable funding under instruments established for the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) and potential contributions from the Member States as external assigned revenue, taking into account all financial instruments provided under the Financial Regulation; stresses that, any flexible funding mechanism established in the framework of the NDICI-Global Europe should comply with the thematic spending targets defined in the Regulation; insists on the need to ensure that the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework is accompanied by a robust human rights framework for the identification, implementation and monitoring of future migration cooperation programmes; calls for a fully-fledged human rights impact assessment of the EU-Turkey Statement and underlines the importance of both parties’ compliance with fundamental rights as part of its implementation;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Calls for greater transparency regarding human rights-related provisions in financing agreements and a clarification of the mechanism and criteria for the suspension of such agreements in the event of a breach of human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law and in serious cases of corruption; calls on the Commission to strictly refrain from using budget support to third countries’ governments as an operational modality in countries witnessing widespread violations of human rights and repression of HRDs;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Calls for the EU to take particular care to assess and prevent any violation linked to the Union’s own projects and funding in third countries, including by creating a complaints mechanism for individuals or groups whose rights may have been violated by EU activities in these countries;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the importance of building a strong cEuropean Common sSecurity and dDefence pPolicy (CSDP) and enhancing cooperation in defence and security matters through various instruments such as PESCO, CARD, and the European Defence Fund, a keywhich shall contributore to the Union’s strategic autonomy and its ability to decide and act autonomously if needed; stresses the importance of civilian CSDP missions and calls on the Member States to commit sufficient personnel within short time frames;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Underlines the importance to regularly evaluate all EU security assistance measures (civilian CSDP and IcSP/NDICI) and to readjust certain missions, operations, and measures with a view on incorporating a meaningful human security approach, which takes into account the real security needs of the local population;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Stresses the need for sufficient funding to facilitate the planning and implementation of the EU’s global connectivity agenda; emphasises the importance of including concrete connectivity projects and investments in the programming process for the 2021- 2027 MFF;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Highlights the importance of an increase in funding for including and streamlining the fight against malicious interference and disinformation within the EU policy approach, EU external action and EU countermeasures; emphasises the relevance of coordination among EU institutions and sufficient funding for a structure that serves as a focal point for civil society organisations, research organisations and other relevant actors; stresses the need for the EEAS StratCom Task Forces to have a stable funding source and for an increase of funding to address emerging challenges of foreign interference, especially from China; welcomes in this regard the recent ECA Special Report on Disinformation affecting the EU;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Urges the EEAS to adopt and implement without further delay its self- standing implementation provisions on outside activities and assignments, which create a sui generis legal basis for Heads of Delegations to better protect the image and reputation of the EU as a whole, as announced in the written answers provided to the Committee on Budgetary Control in the context of the 2019 discharge;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Stresses the need for proper and measurable indicators and a specific methodology, as well as regular monitoring, to analyse the impact of the EU budget on gender equality and effectively implement gender budgeting in EU external action; emphasises the need for a specific increase in the budget to ensure the presence of dedicated gender advisers in each EEAS Directorate, EU delegations and CSDP missions and operations, and to implement mandatory trainings on gender equality across the EEAS, EU Delegations and CSDP missions and operations, including on harassment;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Calls on the EEAS to create a special adviser position on gender equality and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, as well as a special advisor position on diversity and inclusion, each with their own sufficient resources and amount of staff;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9 d. Notes that NDICI-Global Europe foresees mid-term and final evaluations and the detailed annual reporting by Commission to Parliament and Council on the ongoing activities, results delivered, effectiveness, as well as progress towards the thematic targets and objectives of the Regulation; calls on the Commission to develop and implement a precise methodology for tracking the thematic targets, in particular on climate, biodiversity, gender equality, as well as migration and forced displacement, to ensure transparency, proper accountability and enable the Parliament to effectively fulfil its scrutiny role as one of the budgetary authorities;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 e (new)
Paragraph 9 e (new)
9 e. Reiterates the importance it attaches to the translation of key foreign policy resolutions and urgency resolutions into the non-EU official languages of the United Nations (namely Arabic, Chinese and Russian) and into the official language of the country concerned, with a view to enhancing the impact and outreach of the European Parliament's foreign affairs activities, and calls on the budgetary authority to ensure that sufficient appropriations are made available for that purpose.