8 Amendments of Hilde VAUTMANS related to 2021/2071(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Regrets the Commission’s intention to develop guidelines for the application of the Regulation; Reiterates that the application of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation cannot be subject to the adoption of guidelines, and urges the Commission to avoid any further delay in its application;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that after the Commission has begun to draft guidelines on the application of the Regulation; requests that, if the Commission deems such guidelines necessary, Parliament be consulted prior to their adopdecided to preprare the Guidelines the Parliament in its resolution of 25 March 2021 on the application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092, the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism requested the Commission to submit the guidelines by 1 June 2021 the latest; regrets that the Commission has handed over the draft guidelines on the application of the Regulation with 2 weeks delay; is of the opinion that the draft guidelines in its current form do not contain any additional information, which could contribute to the proper application of the regulation; concludes therefore that the Commission’s guidelines are partof its delaying tactic of the application of the regulation;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Deplores the time wasted by the Commission since the entry into force of the Regulation; urges the Commission to act without any further delay in the application of the Regulation and to investigate swiftly and thoroughly any potential breaches of the principles of the rule of law in the Member States that affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way; reiterates that the situation in some Member States already warrants immediate investigation under the Regulation;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Is strongly of the opinion that the Parliament has to continue its necessary preparations for potential court proceedings under Article 265 of the TFEU against the Commission; is of the opinion that non-action or slow action by the Commission is a strong political signal not only to the European institutions and the Member States but also to the European citizens;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Considers that the Commission’s annual Rule of Law report constitutes an objective, impartial, fair, and qualitative assessment of breaches of the principles of rule of law; believes that where the conclusions of the annual reports highlight individual or systemic breaches of the rule of law which affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way, they should be directly linked to the triggering of the Conditionality Mechanism; calls on the Commission to clarify a methodology to create a clear and direct link, when relevant, between the annual reports and the Conditionality Mechanism;
Amendment 27 #
3 b. Highlights that civil society, including independent NGOs and citizens, is at the forefront to identify potential breaches of the rule of law at local and national level, and should therefore be involved in their reporting; calls on the Commission to establish, in the guidelines, an efficient, user-friendly, and easily accessible online one-stop shop for citizens and civil society to report both fraud and corruption cases related to EU Funds, as well as individual or systemic breaches in their Member State, guaranteeing anonymity and leading, where deemed relevant by its services, to further investigations by the OLAF, the EPPO or the Commission;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Recalls that the Regulation provides a clear definition of the rule of law, which must be understood in relation to the other values of the Union, including fundamental rights and non- discrimination; is of the opinion that state-sponsored discrimination against minorities has a direct impact on the projects on which Member States decide or not to spend EU money, and therefore directly affects the protection of the financial interests of the Union;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Believes that transparency is essential to foster the confidence of Member States and citizens in the Conditionality Mechanism:points out that each step of the procedure of the Regulation should therefore be taken in a fully transparent way; Calls therefore on the Commission to set-up the transparency rules and principles that it will apply when triggering the Conditionality Mechanism;