24 Amendments of Ramona STRUGARIU related to 2020/2072(INL)
Amendment 10 #
— having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the conventions, recommendations, resolutions and reports of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers, the Human Rights Commissioner, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance, the recently-formed Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the United Nations Convention against Corruption;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
Citation 10 b (new)
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Union is founded on the values 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, as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU); whereas those values are values which are common to the Member States and to which all Member States have freely subscribed; whereas those values are based on objective criteria;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the rule of law has been proclaimed as a basic principle at universal level by the United Nations;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas vulnerable groups such as women, Roma and LGBTI persons continue not seeing their rights fully respected in some Member States, and are not fully protected from hate and discrimination, in disregard of Union values provided for in Article 2 TEU and the right to non-discrimination, provided for in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas, contrary to the jurisprudence of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, the right of transgender and intersex persons to access legal gender recognition procedures in Hungary was terminated through legislative amendments to the national registry; whereas such amendments changed the previously mutable category of “sex” to the immutable category of “sex at birth”, in intentional contravention of national and European rule of law;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas it is documented and confirmed by the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights that over 100 Polish municipalities and local authorities have declared themselves LGBTI-free zones or adopted so-called ‘Regional Charters of Family Rights’, which are discriminatory against LGBTI people; whereas the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights condemned such actions and filed nine complaints to administrative courts, arguing that LGBTI-free zones violate Union law; whereas the Commission sent a letter in May 2020 to five mayors of Polish cities who are recipients of Union cohesion funding underlining the responsibilities of regional managing authorities, that spending under cohesion funds must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and that municipalities acting as employers must respect Council Directive 2000/78/EC1a, which prohibits discrimination and harassment on the ground of sexual orientation in employment; whereas lawsuits have been brought by local governments against three Polish LGBTI activists who created the so-called “Atlas of Hate”; _________________ 1aCouncil Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16).
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas breaches of the values referred to in Article 2 TEU without proper response and consequences on European level weaken the cohesion of the European project, the rights of all Union citizens and mutual trust among the Member States;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas independent journalism and access to pluralistic information are key pillars of democracy; whereas the worrying state of media freedom and pluralism in the Union should be addressed more vigorously; whereas the announcement of the inclusion of a dedicated chapter for media freedom and pluralism in the Annual Rule of Law Report was strongly welcomed;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas any monitoring mechanism must closely involve stakeholders active in the protection and promotion of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, including civil society, Council of Europe and United Nations bodies, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, national human rights institutions, national parliaments and local authorities; whereas therefore an adequate European funding is necessary to the civil society particularly through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. emphasises the urgent need for the Union to develop a robust, comprehensive and positive agenda for protecting and reinforcing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights for all itsEuropean citizens effectively; insists that the Union must remain a champion of freedom and justice in Europe and the world;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. warns that the Union is facing an unprecedented and escalating crisis of its founding values, which threatens its long- term survival as a democratic peace project; is gravely concerned by the rise and entrenchment of autocratic and illiberal tendencies, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and, the economic recession, and malicious interference, disinformation and diminishing media pluralism as well as corruption and state capture, in several Member States; underlines the dangers of this trend for the cohesion of the Union’s political and legal order, the functioning of its single market, the effectiveness of its common policies and its international credibility;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. warns that the Union is facing an unprecedented and escalating crisis of its founding values, which threatens its long- term survival as a democratic peace project; is gravely concerned by the rise and entrenchment of autocratic and illiberal tendencies, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession, as well as corruption and state capture, in several Member States; underlines the dangers of this trend for the cohesion of the Union’s legal order, the functioning of its single market, the effectiveness of its common policies, the protection of its citizen’s fundamental rights and its international credibility;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. recognisealls that so far the Union remainsand its institutions have been structurally ill- equipped to tackle democratic and rule of law backsliding in the Member States; regrets that the Commission did not consider it necessary to open Article 7 TEU procedures in the case of Hungary despite the emerging signs since 2010; regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures regarding Poland and Hungary; notes with concern the disjointed nature of the Union’s toolkit in that field;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. recognises that the Union remains structurally ill-equipped to tackle democratic, fundamental rights and rule of law backsliding in the Member States; regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes with concern the disjointed nature of the Union’s toolkit in that field;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. welcomes the Commission’s work on the Annual Rule of Law Report; notes, however, that it fails to encompass the areas of democracy and fundamental rights; underlines with concern that vulnerable groups, including women, Roma and LGBTI persons, continue not seeing their rights fully respected in some Member States and are not fully protected from hate and discrimination, in disregard of Union values as provided for in Article 2 TEU; reiterates the need for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism enshrined in a legal act binding Parliament, the Council and the Commission to a transparent and regularised process, with clearly defined responsibilities, so that the protection and promotion of Union values becomes a permanent and visible part of the Union agenda;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. welcomes the Commission’s work on the Annual Rule of Law Report; welcomes that besides the rule of law, corruption and media freedom is part of the annual assessment; notes, however, that it fails to encompass the most of the areas of democracy and fundamental rights; particularly regrets that the freedom of association and the shrinking space of civil society is not incorporated in the procedure; reiterates the need for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism enshrined in a legal act binding Parliament, the Council and the Commission to a transparent and regularised process, with clearly defined responsibilities, so that the protection and promotion of Union values becomes a permanent and visible part of the Union agenda;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. underlines that the Annual Monitoring Cycle must be comprehensive, objective, impartial, evidence-based and applied equally and fairly to all Member States, contain country- specific recommendations, with clear timelines and targets for implementation, to be followed up in subsequent annual or urgent reports; stresses that failures to implement the recommendations must be targeted and concrete, and linked to concrete Union enforcement measures;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Takes the view that an ambitious Mechanism should also aim at effectively upholding press freedom and media pluralism thus leading to concrete improvements for journalists and the media sector;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. recalls the indispensable role played by civil society, national human rights institutions and other relevant actors in all stages of the Annual Monitoring Cycle, from providing input to facilitating implementation; points out that the accreditation status of national human rights institutions and the space for civil society may themselves serve as indicators for assessment purposes; considers that national parliaments must hold public debates and adopt positions on the outcome of the monitoring cycle; reiterates its call on the Commission to provide an adequate European funding to the civil society, particularly though the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. recalls the indispensable role played by civil society, equality bodies and national human rights institutions and other relevant actors in all stages of the Annual Monitoring Cycle, from providing input to facilitating implementation; points out that the accreditation status of equality bodies, national human rights institutions and the space for civil society, as well as the protection provided to human rights defenders, may themselves serve as indicators for assessment purposes; considers that national parliaments must hold public debates and adopt positions on the outcome of the monitoring cycle;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. is of the view that, in the long-term, strengthening the Union’s ability to promote and defend its constitutional core will require deepening the European integration and a Treaty change; looks forward to the reflection and conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe in that regard;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part 2 – point 6
Annex I – part 2 – point 6
6. The Commission shall draw on all information at its disposal when preparing the Annual Report. Of particular relevance in that regard are reports and data from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Council of Europe, including the Venice Commission, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance, the recently-formed Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion and the Group of States against Corruption, and other international organisations that produce relevant studies.