14 Amendments of Ramona STRUGARIU related to 2020/1998(BUD)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Regrets that the proposed commitment appropriations for the “Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme” at EUR 90 600 000 are much lower than initially requested by the Parliament, and represents a decrease of - 9,9% on commitment appropriations and - 17,8% on payment appropriations compared to 2020; requests, in line with the first reading position of the Parliament adopted on 17 April 2019, that commitment appropriations are increased to EUR 265 000 000 and that a new budget line to “promote and protect Union values“ (EUR 120 000 000 in commitment appropriations) is created; calls, in line with the partial agreement reached with Council, to increase the commitment appropriations under the “Daphne” budget line to EUR 37 100 000 and to earmark EUR 27 300 000 of this amount for the fight against gender-based violence by creating a subline “Combating all forms of gender-based violence”; calls further for an increase of the commitment appropriations of the budget line “Promote citizens engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union” to EUR 70 600 000, to rename the budget line “Promote equality and rights” to “Promote equality, rights and gender equality” and to earmark EUR 10 300 000 to “Promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming” by creating a new subline;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that independent and qualitative investigative journalism is an essential component of a well-functioning democracy, by bringing quality fact-based information, combating disinformation, raising awareness to citizens, and revealing wrongdoings or crimes; stresses that journalism across Europe faces strong challenges, in particular the lack of financial resources, hence threatening their independence or survival; calls for ambitious funding programmes in the European budget in this field;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the small increase (+0.5%) of commitment and payment appropriations of the Justice programme; requests, in line with position of the Parliament on the financial envelope for the Justice programme included in the European Parliament resolution of 14 November 2018 on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, to further increase the funding of that programme in 2021 by a total of EUR 6 800 000 to EUR 50 500 000; stresses that Justice is a key component of a Security Union as defended by the President of the European Commission, and that judicial cooperation should be strengthened with the help of European JHA agencies, in particular to fight organised crime and terrorism;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that the small funding increase (+1.8%) proposed for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction will not be sufficient to comply with its legal obligations deriving from the Staff Regulations as well as its rental contracts; emphasises, moreover, that additional funding should be provided for the Centre to fully deploy its operational capacity and to effectively respond to the most recent developments of the drug phenomenon, including effects of Covid-19 outbreak; highlights that the drug retail value in Europe is estimated at 30 billion euros per year, and that 100 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the EU in 2019; requests, therefore, to increase the Centre’s budget to EUR 18 100 000;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes note of the proposal to increase the appropriations of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) by 11.5% while leaving the number of statutory staff unchanged; reminds that the AgencyEuropol is requested to provide increased analysis and operational support to Member States and, upon request, has recently launched new initiatives such as the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre and the Innovation Lab which require additional funding, tools and innovation to Member States’ law enforcement authorities, in areas such as countering terrorism and its financing, radicalisation and extremism, migrant smuggling, drugs trafficking or cybercrime, and, upon request, has recently launched new initiatives such as the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre and the Innovation Lab which require additional funding; also stresses the increase of criminal activities during the pandemic, such as cyberattacks and cybercrimes, online child abuse and exploitation, goods counterfeiting, and the surge of new activities in the recent years like environmental crimes, showing the adaptability and flexibility of criminals and the need for Europol to adapt likewise; expects Agency’s tasks to be further extended in 2021 with the upcoming revision of the Agency mandate; considers, therefore, that EUR 184 900 000 should be provided to the Agency in line with its request; requests to add further 63 posts to the Agency establishment plan;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the importance of integrated border management to ensure the functioning of the Schengen area; highlights the important role of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in this regard andnotes that the Covid-19 outbreak showed to which extent borders management has implications in various areas, not only in security and migration, but also in mobility; highlights the important role of the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) in this regard; regrets that Commission’s proposal is below the anticipated budget in the financial statement of the Agency’s regulation, hence putting at risk the ability of Frontex to deliver the European standing corps of border by 2024, as requested by the President of the European Commission; underlines that the recruitment, training and deployment of 10,000 border and coats guards requires exceptional resources that cannot be reduced; calls for a significant budget increase for 2021 to EUR 838 000 000 to allow the Agency to build and train its standing corps as well as to purchase own equipment, thereby allowing a successful and timely deployment and operational support to the Member States at the external borders;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Takes note of the decrease in commitment appropriations (-5%) and the increase in payment appropriations (12%) for eu-LISA; highlights the important role of the Agency in the proper implementation and operational management of EU large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (EES, ETIAS, ECRIS-TCN, EURODAC, VIS, SIS) and to provide interoperability between these systems for faster and more reliable data to border management and law enforcement authorities; regrets that Commission’s proposal does not meet eu-LISA’s request in terms of staff; requests 14 additional staff to support the securing information networks and databases, the project for the extension of the operational sites of the Agency and the activities of the management board;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Stresses that the Recovery plan is a new opportunity for criminals to make profits and misappropriate funds intended to saving jobs and supporting the legal economy in Europe; considers that the fight against fraud to EU’s budget, corruption, money laundering, criminal financing should be strengthened in 2021; in this context, stresses the importance of adequate funding for European JHA agencies, in particular Europol, EPPO, CEPOL, OLAF and Eurojust;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Welcomes the new Security Union Strategy published by the Commission on 24 July, focusing on critical infrastructure protection, the fight against cybercrime, responding to hybrid threats and organised crime; also notes the three action plans presented on online sexual abuse against children, on firearms and on drugs; considers therefore that adequate funding is necessary in the Union’s budget and for the European JHA agencies to pursue these objectives;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets the reduction of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ budget by 0.4%; requests instead to increase Agency’s commitment and payment appropriations to EUR 24 600 000; calls for adding two AD6 and two contractual agent function group IV posts to the Agency establishment plan; highlights that without adequate financial and staff resources, the Agency may not be able to implement projects that respond to identified needs, in particular in countering discriminations and racism, defending individuals data protection and fundamental rights, including at the external borders, protecting migrants and refugees, supporting justice and victims’ rights;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers the proposed increase of appropriations for the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) insufficient in light of the challenges faced by the Agency with regard to digitalisation and the continuously growing caseload; requests to provide the Agency with 217 additional posts and to increase its budget accordingly to EUR 43 800 000;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the proposed increase of the European Asylum Support Office’s commitment and payment appropriations by 16.5% but regrets that the number of posts in its establishment plan have not been increased accordingly; requests therefore to reinforce the establishment plan of the Office by an additional 50 posts; recalls that Office plans to keep the same level of staff as requested for 2021 throughout the new programming period but stresses that additional staff will be needed if the new Regulation on the European Union Agency for Asylum is adopted; recalls that EASO’s operational activities have increased considerably in the recent years to address the challenge of the migration crisis and to assist Member States for the reception of asylum seekers and the processing of asylum procedures, in particular in EU hotspots; stresses that EASO has also been tasked with a number of new missions, in the fields of disembarkation or relocation; highlights that the additional staff will reinforce field operations, development and delivery of trainings, information and analysis, practical tools, governance activities and administrative functions, while the pressure on EU migration and asylum systems remains high.