22 Amendments of Wajid KHAN related to 2018/2146(INI)
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the thorough implementation of reforms and policies remains a key indicator of a successful integration process; calls on Serbia to improve the planning, coordination and monitoring of the implementation of new legislation and policies; warns against the consequences of inadequate transposition of important EU laws on the alignment with the acquis;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the progress made by Serbia in developing a functioning market economy, ensuring economic growth and preserving macroeconomic and monetary stability; stresses that Serbia has made good progress in addressing some of the policy weaknesses that have been an issue in the past, in particular through budget consolidation; underlines thatis concerned about the impact of the restructuring and privatisation of state- owned enterprises has partially advancedon workers and the weak labour market as a whole; stresses the paramount importance to Serbia’s economy of small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) and calls for a more transparent and less burdensome business environment that will further encourage private investments;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Acknowledges the slight decrease of the risk-of-poverty rate but raises concern about persistent unemployment, especially among the young, one of the most vulnerable sections of Serbian society; stresses the importance of investments in education and training, including by addressing the gap between skills and labour demand, in preventing brain drain and the proliferation of precarious jobs. Similarly, there is little progress as regards women's position, who enjoy lower employment and productivity rates, as well as lower salaries compared to men;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Takes note of the presidential elections on 2 April 2017; welcomes the general conduct of the elections; calls on the authorities to fully address the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission; and calls on the authorities to ensure that procedures and laws for free and fair elections are in line with international standards; calls on the authorities to fully address the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission and to engage in a dialogue with domestic independent election observation missions; calls on the authorities to properly investigate claims of irregularities, violence and intimidation that arose during the electoral process;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Recognises Serbia’s commitment to military neutrality; in that context welcomes Serbia’s efforts to foster dialogue and cooperation with NATO; welcomes Serbia’s involvement in the EU’s EUNAVFOR CSDP mission;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges Serbia to step up its reform efforts in the area of rule of law, and in particular to ensure the independence and overall efficiency of the judicial system; stresses that special focus should be put on implementing effective reform in this area; notes that while some progress has been made in reducing the backlog of old enforcement cases, and in putting in place measures to harmonise court practice, judicial independence in Serbia is not fully assured; calls on Serbia to strengthen the accountability, impartiality, professionalism and overall efficiency of the judiciary, to reduce delays in court decisions and to establish a free legal aid system ensuring the broad range of free legal aid providers, including civil society organisations;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates the importance of intensifying the fight against corruption and urges Serbia to show a clear commitment to tackle this issuecreate a culture of accountability on all levels of society; welcomes the adoption of the amendments made in the economic crimes section of the country’s criminal code and encourages Serbia to amend criminal offences provisions set in other laws; reiterates its call to swiftly adopt a new law on the Anti- Corruption Agency to improve the planning, coordination and monitoring of the implementation of new and existing legislation and policies; stresses that it is critical that the Agency receives and maintains the human and financial resources it needs to carry out its mandate in an independent; urges Serbia to adopt or change other necessary anti- corruption legislation, as identified in the Action Plan for chapter 23 of negotiations and recommendations of GRECO and ODIHR; stresses that it is critical that the Agency receives and maintains the human and financial resources it needs to carry out its mandate in an independent manner; underlines the importance that the members of the Anti-Corruption Agency are elected according to the principles of transparency and the absence of conflict of interest or the existing political affiliation and invites Serbian Parliament to finalize election process of the Agency Board members in a transparent and democratic manner; calls on the authorities to fill all open positions in the Agency; calls on Serbia to further improve its track record on investigations, indictments and final convictions in high-level corruption cases; , to publish related statistics and elaborated information about results of investigations in all publicly known cases of alleged corruption of public officials on regular basis;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Welcomes Serbia's progress on the fight against corruption and organised crime; encourages Serbia to improve its system of non-conviction based forfeiture of assets on the basis of civil law in line with the EU acquis;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the Serbian parliament still does not exercise effective oversight of the executive, and that the transparency, inclusiveness and quality of the legislative process need to be enhanced; welcomes the declining use of urgent procedures to adopt legislation; stresses, however, that the still- frequent use of urgent procedures undermines parliamentary and public scrutiny; calls for additional measures to ensure cross-party dialogue, and effective involvement of civil society in the work of the parliament and the government; stresses that actions that limit the ability of the Serbian parliament to conduct an effective debate on, and scrutiny of, legislation should be avoided; welcomes the Serbian parliament’s continued efforts to improve transparency through debates on Serbia’s negotiating positions on EU accession chapters, and through exchanges with the core negotiating team and with the National Convention on the European Union; urges the Serbian Parliament to address recommendations of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), in particular with regard to corruption prevention and conflicts of interest, and to adopt the Code of Conduct; stresses that the role of independent regulatory bodies, including the country’s Ombudsman, needs to be fully acknowledged and supported;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Is concerned that important laws continue to be adopted by emergency procedure, and calls on the government to have a proper and regular consultation with interested parties, acritical element of a functional democratic society;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes Serbia’s progress in reforming its public administration, notably through the adoption of several new laws on public service salaries and employment relations, on local government and autonomous province salaries, and on the national training academy; stresses that political influence on senior managerial appointments remains an issue of concern; welcomes the creation of a Ministry for European Integration, incorporating the structures of the former Serbian European Integration Office, which has continued to provide political guidance for European integration; urges Serbia to do more to demonstrate the local benefits that Serbian citizens enjoy from the EU's IPA II funding;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Underlines that the legislative and institutional framework for upholding human rights is in place; stresses that consistent and efficient implementation across the whole country is needed; calls on Serbia to adopt the new Law on Personal Data Protection fully in line with the EU standards; notes that further sustained efforts are necessary to improve the situation of persons belonging to vulnerable groups, including children, persons with disabilities, persons with HIV/AIDS, and LGBTI persons; calls on Serbia to actively pursue investigations, prosecutions and convictions of hate- motivated crimes; underlines that the legislative and institutional framework for upholding human rights of children and adults with disabilities has shortcomings.;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Welcomes Serbia's ratification of the Istanbul Convention and recent law on domestic violence; however, serious gaps remain in the law which need addressing and urges Serbia to quickly implement all recommendations which will follow from its first state report on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its concern that no progress has been made to improve the situation regarding freedom of expression and of the media; stresses that threats, violence and intimidation against journalists remain an issue of concern; notes, in this regard, that while several cases have been solved and some criminal charges have been filed, convictions are still rare; calls upon the highest state officials to be consistent in public condemnation of any form of intimidation of journalists, national judiciary to react in accordance with the law and of state officials at all levels to refrain from such behaviour; welcomes the effort of the Standing working group that was established through the Agreement on Cooperation and Measures for Increasing the Safety of Journalists and calls upon the authorities to demonstrate full commitment to investigate and prosecute any cases of attacks against journalists and media outlets calls on the authorities to investigate and prosecute any cases of attacks against journalists and media outlets; calls for the full implementation of media laws and the strengthening of the independence of the country’s Regulatory Body for Electronic Media; welcomes the renewed efforts to adopt a media strategy to createstrengthen a pluralistic media environment, and calls on Serbian authorities to take action against disinformation; stresses, in this regard, the importance of a transparent and inclusive consultation with stakeholders; underlines the need for complete transparency in media ownership and funding;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the adoption of the new Roma social inclusion strategy for the period 2016-2025 along with an action plan covering education, health, housing and employment; calls for full implementation of the new strategy for Roma inclusion and the action plan; highlights the importance of formulating policies that will combat discrimination against Roma;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the adoption of the new Roma social inclusion strategy for the period 2016-2025 along with an action plan covering education, health, housing and employment; welcomes the strategy's recognition that Roma women face particular discrimination as a result of both gender and Roma discrimination; calls for full implementation of the new strategy for Roma inclusion and the action plan;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the adoption of a national strategy for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes; welcomes the appointment in May 2017 of a new war crimes prosecutor; reiterates its call for the implementation of this strategy, in particular by means of bringing forward indictments, and for the adoption of an operational prosecutorial strategy; calls for effective investigation of high-profile war crimes cases; calls on Serbia to cooperate fully with its regional partners in war crime cases; calls on Serbia to again cooperate fully with the current Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals; urges the Serbian authorities to continue working on the issue of the fate of missing persons, including opening state archives related to the war period; urges Serbia to prepare a reparations scheme for victims and their families as an important precondition for reconciliation; points out that a new law on civilian victims should be adopted without any undue delay; highlights the importance of the work carried out by the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) and its local branches in promoting reconciliation among the youth;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes Serbia's efforts to prioritise infrastructure investments and underlines the importance of increased connectivity within the Western Balkans, as well as between the Western Balkans and the European Union, a key factor for growth and jobs which will bring clear benefits for the region’s economies and citizens. Recalls also that the adoption of technical standards and the implementation of soft measures such as aligning and simplifying border crossing procedures, railway reforms, information systems, road safety and maintenance schemes, third party access and strengthening the capacity of social partners are equally important to the economy but also for improving public services;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)
Subheading 6 a (new)
Social dialogue, trade union rights and labour relations
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 b (new)
Subheading 6 b (new)
Recalls that one of the pillars of the European social model is social dialogue, a fundamental tool for advocating the rights of all citizens, and that trade union rights including the right to strike should be respected in line with international standards. Regular consultation between the government and social partners is instrumental in the prevention of social tension and conflict, particularly during economic crisis and transformation processes, as well as for advancing the technology and workers qualification necessary for the socio-economic development of any European community;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 c (new)
Subheading 6 c (new)
Underlines that it is essential for social dialogue to go beyond the exchange of information, and interested parties should be consulted on important laws before they enter parliamentary procedure. Therefore, calls on the Serbian authorities to strengthen the capacity of social partners and make full use of the problem-solving potential of social dialogue, facilitate joint meetings and foster a culture of mutual understanding; recalls that labour market policies will have to tackle persistent unemployment, the rise of atypical and precarious jobs and the integration of employees of former state-owned companies; regrettably, the trade union movement in Serbia is fragmented, often confined to the public sector only, and its members face a number of difficulties in negotiating and concluding collective agreements with employers;