23 Amendments of Hilde VAUTMANS related to 2023/2113(INI)
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A Whereas the Union is founded on the common values enshrined in Article 2 TEU of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities – values that are common to the EU Member States and to which candidate countries must adhere in order to join the Union as part of the Copenhagen criteria, which cannot be disregarded or reinterpreted after accession; whereas democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing values which, when undermined, may pose a systemic threat to the Union and the rights and freedoms of its citizens; whereas respect for the rule of law is binding on the Union as a whole and its Member States at all levels of governance, including subnational entities;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B (new)
Recital B (new)
B Whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and to develop a single comprehensive EU mechanism to protect democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights effectively and to ensure that Article 2 TEU values are upheld throughout the Union as well as promoted among candidate countries, so that Member States are prevented from developing domestic law that runs counter to the protection of Article 2 TEU;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C (new)
Recital C (new)
C Whereas since May 2022, Parliament has also been addressing the rule of law situation in Hungary, Malta and Poland in its resolutions; whereas Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group has also addressed certain issues in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D Whereas several Member States' governments have deplorably not made themselves available for an exchange of views in DRFMG, refused to answer its written questions or meet with its Members during delegations in Member States; Reiterates that the DRFMG is a platform for exchange and in-depth monitoring, to which Member States should not be reticent but which should rather be welcomed as a part of taking joint responsibility for safeguarding EU values;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E whereas the Commission has suggested setting up an inter-institutional “Contact Group” on Rule of Law; whereas Parliament has taken up this suggestion and proposed to the Commission and Council the setting up of an “inter-institutional pilot project on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights”; whereas the Council Presidency has responded by stating it might consider this in its future evaluation of its Rule of Law dialogue and the Commission response is not yet available;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F Whereas the Conference on the Future of Europe clearly expressed a desire for the EU to systematically uphold the rule of law across all Member States, to protect citizens’ fundamental rights and to retain the EU’s credibility when promoting its values within the EU and abroad;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G (new)
Recital G (new)
G Whereas the principle of sincere cooperation in Article 4(3) TEU places an obligation on the Union and the Member States to assist each other in carrying out obligations which arise from the Treaties in full mutual respect, and on Member States to take any appropriate measure, general or in particular, to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations arising from the Treaties or resulting from the acts of the institutions of the Union;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that the judiciary should be allocated sufficient means to be truly accessible and able to provide an effective remedy to citizens; notes that the Commission finds that increased resources for the judiciary and other measures taken by Member States Malta, Cyprus and Greece have not yet resulted in a reduction as regards the length of proceedings, and backlogs of cases remain a serious challenge; in Croatia, Italy, and Portugal some steps in the right direction have been taken, but effectiveness of the reforms remains to be seen;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Believes that for citizens to have effective access to justice, the Member States should do more to provide free of charge or affordable legal aid and should further facilitate access to a lawyer; Notes that the Commission finds that efforts to address concerns related to access to justice and legal aid are being made in Spain, France, Finland, Bulgaria, Malta, and Lithuania, and concerns persist in Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Hungary; Notes as well that the Commission finds that steps towards ensuring the right of access to a lawyer are ongoing in several Member States including Spain, France, Finland, Bulgaria and Malta; and in other Members States, such as Lithuania, Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg and Hungary, improvements are still pending;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Regrets that, despite all Member States having anti-corruption strategies in place, perceptions of corruption vary greatly across the EU, with Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands ranking among the least corrupt, while the perceived levels of corruption in Bulgaria, Malta, Hungary, Greece and Slovenia are worrying;29 notes as well with concern that the Commission finds that some Member States, such as Bulgaria, Malta, Hungary, Greece and Slovenia, have yet to establish a solid track record in the investigation and prosecution of high-level corruption cases that lead to final convictions that have a deterrent effect; notes GRECO recently publishing a report on Cyprus, highlighting the lack of actual effectiveness of the anti-corruption legislation and pointing out specific risks within law enforcement;30 __________________ 29 Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index, 31 January 2023. 30a GRECO, Fifth evaluation round, preventing corruption and promoting integrity in the central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies - Evaluation report Cyprus, 2 October 2023.
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that citizens and businesses should feel safe to report cases of corruption; Notes that the Commission finds that there are still major obstacles across the EU in reporting corruption cases, although some Member States such as Slovakia, Cyprus, Denmark and Malta have taken steps to try and improve this situation;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. CAcknowledges the important role of the European Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in safeguarding the rule of law and in combating corruption in the Union, and encourages the Commission to closely monitor Member States' level of cooperation with the EPPO in subsequent reports; calls on the Member States which have not yet done so to join the EPPO; considers that membership of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) should be a precondition for receiving EU funds; reiterates its call for an expansion of the mandate of EPPO;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importance of the editorial independence of public service media and the duty of all Member States to respect this; notes that the Commission finds that Luxembourg, Slovenia, Germany, Estonia, Slovakia and Czechia have taken initiatives to strengthen the legal safeguards or budgetary means to improve the independence of national public service broadcasters, with Cyprus, Ireland and Sweden also discussing reforms, and an absence of measures to that effect in Romania, Malta, Poland and Hungary; calls for a quick agreement on the European Media Freedom Act in this regard with strong and unambiguous safeguards for the independent functioning of public service media providers;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Regrets the continuous difficulties that many citizens, journalists and parliamentarians in many Member States face in obtaining information and access to documents; underlines that too often public authorities are deliberately frustrating access to information and documents, such as by disproportionately delaying decisions or giving only artificial access by only making information partially available; notes that the Commission finds that several Member States have taken initiatives to better regulate access to information, such as in Czechia, Lithuania and Slovakia, and some others working towards improvements in this area, such as Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg, Croatia, and Germany, with some Member States however still not fully addressing concerns, such as in Malta, Austria and Finland.
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)
Subheading 6 a (new)
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Commission to further invest, through dedicated funding, in building capacity for CSOs to monitor and report on the rule of law situation in the Member States, and to ensure adequate protection to CSOs engaging in this process; is concerned that the biased distribution of funding in some countries impacts CSOs working on promoting the rights of vulnerable groups or working, more generally, for causes that governments do not support; encourages a thorough assessment of these issues in all countries covered by the report and stresses the need for country recommendations to address these issues; urges the Commission to consider direct management of EU funds, also in order to ensure that end beneficiaries, including CSOs working with vulnerable groups, receive the EU funding intended for them;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Notes that democratic and rule of law backsliding and the undermining of minority rights often go hand in hand, once more underlining the need for a comprehensive approach to monitoring democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights (DRF) in the future reports; regrets the lack of progress on protecting minorities across the EU; condemns hate speech, including by government or political officials, against minority groups; Expresses deep concern about the excessive use of force by police services against minority groups, such as recently the lethal force by Greek police against a Romani minor and the lack of a thorough investigation thereof, and calls on the Member States' authorities to fully and independently investigate all such instances;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Underlines that this state of affairs is not merely an abstract conclusion but impacts the daily lives of EU citizens and businesses, as they experience e.g. an inefficient or non-independent judiciary, rampant corruption, and cannot access independent and quality journalism; highlights that this undermines trust in our democratic system based on the Rule of Law; Believes that restoring the respect for EU values across the Member States is thus not a luxury but rather an urgent and vital task to avoid the disintegration of our societies and Union; calls on the Commission, the Council and the European Council to fully acknowledge that democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are not national matters, but are a matter of direct concern for the European Union and its institutions;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 11 a (new)
Subheading 11 a (new)
Welcomes the Rule of Law report as a crucial cornerstone of the EU Rule of Law toolbox and commends the Commission for delivering a diligently researched and well-written report; Recalls that the Annual Rule of Law Report was introduced in response to the legislative initiative report of the European Parliament in 2016;37a __________________ 37a Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0409.
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Recognises that the rule of law report has become a benchmark for the EU institutions’ work on rule of law issues in the EU and in specific Member States; acknowledges the Commission’s continuous commitment throughout the years to enhance the relevance of the report, such as by its inclusion of country -specific recommendations in the previous edition, and the assessment of their fulfilment in the current report; reiterates, however, that essential elements from the 2016 Parliament legislative initiative report have not been implemented yet;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Acknowledges the Commission’s effort to collect a wide range of consultations and inputs in each Member State, including from national authorities and civil society organisations; Calls on the Commission to expand this further and to, as much as possible, conduct on- site visits in Member States rather than virtual visits, as these could paint a fuller and more contextual picture of the local situation;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 b (new)
Paragraph 39 b (new)
39b. Welcomes the Commission decision to expand the geographical scope of the future Rule of Law reports to include candidate countries, in line with previous Parliament calls to do so; 38a __________________ 38a Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0094, pt. 11.
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 c (new)
Paragraph 39 c (new)
39c. Highlights the risk that the relevance of the annual Rule of Law report could weaken and its publishing and uptake could become more of a repetitive, technocratic exercise; Believes that the best way to avoid this is to continuously and ambitiously expand the scope, candour, and enforcement consequences of the report;