Activities of Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN related to 2014/2254(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Situation of fundamental rights in the EU (2013-2014) (debate) DE
Amendments (24)
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of ensuring, in all Member States, effective and coherent protection of the rule of law and prevention of infringements of fundamental rights; recalls that Article 7 of the EU Treaty contains a mechanism for responding to any serious, persistent breach of the fundamental rights by a Member State; points, however, at the same time to the high obstacles in its implementation, in particular that the formal establishment of the existence of a serious and persistent breach of the fundamental values of the Union in a Member State in accordance with Article 7 (2) TEU requires unanimity in the Council;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes, therefore, the framework provisions adopted by the Commission on 11 March 2014 to protect the rule of law in the EU and the decision of the General Affairs Council of 16 December 2014 on the establishment of a continuous dialogue on the state of the rule of law in the EU between Member States in the Council, since both mechanisms should be applied prior to the initiation of proceedings under Article 7 TEU, and calls on the Commission and the Council to notify Parliament regularly;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)
Citation 27 a (new)
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 b (new)
Citation 27 b (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 21 May 2013 on the EU Charter: standard settings for media freedom across the EU,
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas, the rule of law is the backbone of European liberal democracy, and is one of the founding principles of the European Union stemming from the common constitutional traditions of all Member States;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas respecting the rule of law is a prerequisite for the protection of fundamental rights and is of particular importance within the EU since it is also a prerequisite for upholding all rights and obligations deriving from the Treaties and from international law.
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the way the rule of law is implemented at national level plays a key role in ensuring mutual trust among Member States and their legal systems, hence it is of vital importance to establishing an area of freedom, security and justice as described in Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires the EU and each Member State to uphold fundamental rights in full;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas freedom of the press and freedom of opinion are fundamental freedoms and whereas diverse and independent media have a crucial function in shaping opinion and popular will in democratic societies, as they enable everyone to exercise their right to information,
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point a
Paragraph 4 – point a
(a) make provision for an annual policy cycle that monitors its application, taking account of the results of annual and specific reports from the various parties involved, instituinstitutions of the European Union, like the Commission and FRA, the Council of Europe, the United Nationals and otherwisecivil society organisations, and contribute towards improving coordination between those involved and the drafting of policies on the basis of greater transparency and dialogue;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
Paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
(aa) ensure that the annual policy cycle is based on the compliance with the rule of law as it is a pre-requisite for the protection of fundamental rights
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point c
Paragraph 4 – point c
(c) develop, in cooperation with the FRA, a database that collates and publishes data onbe based on a system of annual country assessment, developed by the Commission and the Council, on the compliance with the rule of law and the situation regardingof fundamental rights in the EU and in individual Member States; reiterates, iall Member States of the European Union, based on data of FRA, Council of Europe and its Venice Commission and NGOs. In that connection, the need for the Commission to propose a revision of the FRA Regulation is essential in order to grant the FRA wider powers; in particular in relation to the situation assessment in each Member States and the possibility of the FRA auto-referral as part of an alert mechanism;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point d
Paragraph 4 – point d
(d) bproadenvide clear indicators in order to assess the enforcement and respect of fundamental rights, and to trigger alert mechanisms in the case of violations. Such indicators could take the form of a fundamental rights scoreboard, possibly as an extension of the scope of the EU Justice Scoreboard t, which should also cover the assessment of criminal justice systems and of efforts to uphold fundamental rights and the rule of law; indicators should include clear data collection mechanisms, including equality data collection disaggregated according to the different discrimination grounds;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes the Commission's Communication on a new EU Framework to strengthen the rule of law is a good tool under the current legal framework provided by the Treaties; considers, however, that the proposed mechanism willmay not act as a sufficient deterrent when it comes to preventing and resolving fundamental rights violations in Member States;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a
Paragraph 6 – point a
(a) making it part of the internal strategy on fundamental rights, as rule of law is a pre-requisite for the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union and its Member States;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point a a (new)
Paragraph 6 – point a a (new)
(aa) finding a way to make better use of the expertise of the Council of Europe and setting up a formal channel of cooperation in matters relating to the rule of law and fundamental rights;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point b
Paragraph 6 – point b
(b) clearly definifying the criteria for its application and ensuring that it is implemented swiftly without waiting for fundamental rights violations to materialise and considering setting up these criteria in a manner that any breach could automatically trigger the mechanism;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point c
Paragraph 6 – point c
(c) ensuring the full involvementand guaranteeing the use of all available data, at the launch and dialogue stages, not only of the Commission and the Member State in question, but also of the European Parliament, the Council, national parliaments, the FRA and civil society, and guaranteeing the use of all available data, the Council of Europe, and its Venice Commission and civil society;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the fact that the Council will hold debates on the rule of law; considers, however, that such debates are not the most effective ways to resolve any non-compliance with the fundamental values of the European Union; regrets the fact that it is neither informed nor involved into the organisation of these debates; calls on the Council to base its debates on the results of annual and specific reports of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the civil society, the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission and other parties involved, institutional and otherwise;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Council to push for a more ambitious plan on the rule of law framework that enables the various European institutions to monitor and safeguard Member States' compliance with the rule of law; either in form of a Treaty change, allowing the fundamental values enshrined in Article 2 to be monitored and safeguarded beyond the areas covered by EU law, or in form of a peer review, with the involvement of the European institutions and possibly the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission; considers that such ambitious plan should also foresee a more important role for the European Court of Justice that is not limited to procedural guarantees;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the Council to find a common ground on the precise content of the principles and standards stemming from the rule of law that vary at national level and to consider the already existing definition of the rule of law of the European Court of Justice, as a starting point for debate, that include legality, which implies a transparent, accountable, democratic and pluralistic process for enacting laws; legal certainty; prohibition of arbitrariness of the executive powers; independent and impartial courts; effective judicial review including respect for fundamental rights; and equality before the law;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that free, independent, diverse and pluralist media, both online and offline, are a fundamental building block of democracy which contributes significantly to democratic opinion formation and decision making, and stresses the importance of a plurality of information sources for genuine freedom and diversity of the media; stresses that it is in the common interest to maintain, protect and promote free and independent media across Europe;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 i (new)
Paragraph 7 i (new)
7i. Is disturbed at the numerous instances of mistreatment of journalists, and other offences against their physical integrity, by participants in demonstrations; also deplores the numerous instances of the use of force against journalists by police and security forces during reporting on demonstrations, particularly the disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons such as truncheons, rubber bullets, tasers, etc.; calls on the Member States to ensure that the uniforms of law enforcement personnel bear a means of identifying the wearer and that such personnel are always held to account for their actions;
Amendment 466 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Urges the EU and the Member States to ban all discrimination on grounds of gender identity and to combat and prosecute all forms of violence andEmphasises that regarding article 21 and 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU everyone is equal before the law and that any discrimination, including based on sex, shall be prohibited; urges the Member States to implement that ban on discrimination against womenresolutely;
Amendment 474 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Urges, due to the fact that 33 % of women in the EU since the age of 15 have experienced physical and/or sexual violence and 35 % of women before the age of 15 have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, the members states to combat and prosecute all forms of violence against women and girls;