Activities of Marina ALBIOL GUZMÁN related to 2017/2069(INI)
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 (29)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Amendment 23 #
A. whereas the Union has set itself the objective of offering its citizensshould be an area of freedom, security and justice;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the exercise of citizenship calls for a prior guarantee and enjoyment of all human rights, and especially economic, social and cultural rights;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas free movement has been repeatedly put at stake by different Member States due to expulsions and expulsion threats targeting European citizens;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas a high level of personal freedom and rights, including, but not limited to, freedom of thought, of assembly and the right to privacy, are necessary in order to achieve a safe society;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas freedom of movement and the exercising thereof has been violated by various Member States, which have expelled EU citizens from their territory or threatened to do so, as reported in a number of petitions;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas since 2012, a growing number of people have reported experiencing some form of discrimination, despite EU efforts;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas citizens are directly represented in the European Parliament and have a democratic right to stand and vote in European elections, even when residing in another Member State; whereas the right of EU citizens who have exercised their right to freedom of movement to vote in European and local elections is not facilitated and promoted equally in all Member States; whereas some citizens are being hindered in the exercise of this democratic right, such as people with disabilities in Member States which have ratified the CRPD but not complied with their obligation to reform their electoral laws to enable them to exercise their right to vote;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that EU legislation on security should be up-to-date, effective and efficient in preventing, detecting and reacting to evolving security threats; calls for the urgent implementation of the European Agenda on Security, the finalisation of pending legislation, better enforcement of existing EU legal instruments in this field, and more efficient information exchange among Member States and with EU agenciesmore efficient information exchange among Member States and with EU agencies fully respecting rights and freedoms such as, but not limited to, freedom of speech or the right to privacy;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas citizens have the right to organise or support, together with other EU citizens from all Member States, a European Citizens’ Initiative, which should enables them to set the legislative agenda of the EU; whereas the exercise of this right has not been satisfactory thus far;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that thousands of people throughout the European Union are denied their status as citizens due to their administrative status; calls on the immediate recognition as citizens of all people residing in the EU;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Points out that for there to be full exercise of citizenship, the authorities must provide effective, prior guarantees that all the rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights will be upheld, including, among others, access to housing, healthcare, employment and education;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Recalls that, in order to fully access citizenship status, all the rights covered by the European Charter of Fundamental Rights including, but not limited to, housing, healthcare, employment, or education, must be guaranteed by the public institutions;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Expresses concern at the discrimination suffered by a great many people without access to EU citizenship despite residing in a Member State, such as irregular migrants or stateless persons; calls on the European Commission to review the concept of EU citizenship to recognise all persons residing in the EU as citizens;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers de-radicalisation and the prevention of radicalisation an absolute priority for the EU and strongly advocates the strengthening of specific programmes targeting ‘home-grown terrorists’ and de-radicalisation programmes; calls on Member States to address radicalisation holistically and to take advantage of the expertise of the Radicalisation Awareness Network set up at the initiative of the Commissionthe fight against hate speech and against xenophobia, gender discrimination, LGBTi phobia, and religious intolerance an absolute priority for the EU and strongly advocates the strengthening of specific programmes targeting hate speech and crimes;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses regret that for almost a decade now little progress significant progress whatsoever has been made in the adoption of the EU- wide Anti- Discrimination Directive; calls upon all EU institutions to conclude the relevant negotiations as soon as possible;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to break the deadlock and pass the so-called Anti-discrimination Directive;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on Member States, as signatories of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to meet their obligation to guarantee the right to vote to people with disabilities;
Amendment 101 #
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; calls at the same time for the EU institutions to monitor LGBTI rights closely and to promote the recognition of cross-border rights for LGBTI persons and their families in the EU; calls on the Commission to take meaningful measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the EU, overcoming the pay gap and ensuring that their sexual and reproductive rights – particularly the right to abortion – are upheld throughout the Union; calls upon legislators to expedite 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 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. NoteConsiders with appreciation necessary to step up the Commission’s efforts to make multiple information and assistance outlets about the EU and Citizenship rights, such as the Europe Direct network, the Your Europe portal and the e-justice portal, available and more accessible; urges the Commission to systematise the information and possibly plan for a single, EU-wide information window; at the same time, invites the Member States to promote the SOLVIT network and its services among EU citizens, as well as other redress and citizen participation mechanisms, both at EU level, such as the Committee on Petitions and, the European Ombudsman and European Citizens’ Initiatives, and at national level, such as the local ombudsman, petitions committees and popular legislative initiatives;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that citizens should have access to all the necessary information, which should be presented in a clear and comprehensible way, in order to be able to make informed decisions on the exercise of their Treaty rights, and especially their right to free movement and residence within the EU and political participation; regrets, in this connection, the opacity and lack of transparency in negotiations on agreements that, like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), affect basic aspects relating to the exercise of citizenship; recommends the promotion of transparency and proactive publishing as the most appropriate tools to that end;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Expresses its concern at the increase in political disaffection among the public resulting from austerity policies and cuts to rights and freedoms; takes the view that it must be a priority to combat xenophobia, racism, discrimination and hate speech, the growth in which is a consequence, among other things, of these austerity policies and cuts to rights and freedoms;
Amendment 151 #
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 unmissable 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; urges the Commission to devise a concrete action plan for the introduction of electronic voting with a view to the 2019 European Parliament elections;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Member States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to meet their obligation to guarantee the right to vote to people with disabilities so as to enable them to exercise European citizenship without discrimination;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses its conviction that free mediathe existence of media free from particular economic or business interests and access to a plurality of voices in society and in the media are an indispensable part of a healthy democracy; considers regulation on media ownership to be necessary at European level in order to prevent media concentration and takeovers by a small number of private companies; 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 States;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Maintains that transparency is a key tool for bringing citizens closer to the EU and involving them in its activities; recommends the promotion of the right to access documents and the translation of as many documents as possible into all EU languages, including co-official languages in the EU’s various regions; supports the intensification of dialogue with citizens and the encouragement of public debates in order to improve EU citizens’ understanding of the impact of the EU on their daily lives and to allow them to take part in an exchange of views, through slots in television programmes for targeted audiences;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Supports the promotion of a culture of public service among EU and national institutions and considers that the EU should lead by example through the highest administrative and transparency standards, as envisaged elsewhere in Article 41 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; proposes that local EU offices in the Member States be transformed into one- stop shops, offering comprehensive services for EU citizens, so as to reduce bureaucracy and the obstacles it poses to the exercise of EU citizenship rights; highlights the importance of the ‘once only’ project, which eliminates unnecessary burdens for European businesses that are asked to present the same data and documents repeatedly in their operations across borders;