Activities of Klemen GROŠELJ related to 2019/2175(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the 2019-2020 Commission reports on Serbia
Amendments (49)
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that EU membership continues to be Serbia’s strategic goal and that it is among the priorities of the newly elected government; notes however that the stated intentions of Serbian officials are often not followed by actions; expects a clear and unambiguous commitment by Serbia, in both words and deeds, to fulfilling all of its obligations towards EU accession in a visible and verifiable way;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the momentum created by the new mandate following the 21 June 2020 elections in Serbia is an opportunity to make important progress towards Serbia’s European perspective; takes note of the OSCE/ODIHR report on the elections and the substantial deficiencies of the election process outlined therein; notes that the new composition of the Serbian Parliament does not guarantee an effective scrutiny over the government's actions, which is usually provided by the opposition; advocates for the opening of additional negotiating chapters as Serbia makes the necessary commitments to reform; notes that the clearly set conditionality linked to the opening of chapters is a tool for achieving sustainable pro-European change in Serbia;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Serbian Government to officially adopt the new enlargement methodology of the European Commission and to appoint a new Head of the Negotiating Team for Serbia's accession to the European Union as soon as possible; calls on the Government to raise the administrative capacities of the Ministry of European Integration, in order to adequately conduct membership negotiations;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Welcomes the cooperation between the Serbian Government and the National Assembly on the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU); calls on Serbian institutions to do their utmost to make the European integration process as inclusive and open as possible;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that Serbia has continued aligning its legislation with the acquis; regrets that the pace of the alignment has been significantly slower than what the Government originally planned, including in the period before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic; underlines thatlimited progress on the rule of law and fundamental rights chapters, as well as on; stresses that the normalisation of relations with Kosovo, and the factual respect of fundamental rights continues to be essential and will determine the pace of accession negotiations;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of strategic communication on EU accession by Serbian stakeholders; underlines that public discussion about EU accession must be based on facts and must promote the full respect of fundamental rights and democratic values upon which the EU is based; ; encourages the Serbian authorities to communicate more actively their commitment to European values in public debate;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on Serbia and the EU Member States to pursue a more active and effective communication policy on the European perspective, aimed at both Serbian and EU citizens; expresses concern over the promotion of anti-EU messages and rhetoric by publicly financed media outlets;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls for the creation of new opportunities for high level political and policy dialogue with the Western Balkans countries, through regular EU-Western Balkans summits and intensified ministerial contacts, in order to strengthen the political nature of the enlargement process and to ensure stronger steering and high-level engagement, as also called for by the revised enlargement methodology;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that the Conference on the Future of Europe should seek ways of involving Serbian representatives;government and civil society representatives in an open and inclusive democratic dialogue, without any form of intimidation or exclusion of parts of Serbian society.
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for an active engagement and the appropriate inclusion of the Western Balkans countries in the Conference on the Future of Europe;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes note of the conclusions of the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR special election assessment mission that the 21 June 2020 parliamentary elections were administered efficiently but that the dominance of the ruling party, including in the media, was of concern; regrets the persistence throughout this election cycle of long-term trends of pressures on voters, media bias and blurring of the lines between activities of state officials and partisan campaigning, including in the case of the President of the Republic; expresses concern over allegations of irregular voter registration in the June 2020 elections and urges the authorities to investigate this matter; calls on the authorities to address fully all ODIHR recommendations well ahead of the nextin order to guarantee free and fair future elections;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes with concern that just weeks before the scheduled elections the ruling party changed important elements of the electoral system, notably the electoral threshold, in a process that lacked public discussion, transparency and inclusiveness;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets the decision by parts of the opposition to boycott the elections and stresses that in light of the findings of the OSCE/ODIHR special election assessment mission, the authorities should also be held responsible for provoking such decision; stresses that the only way to guarantee political representation for their constituents is by engaging in political and electoral processes;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the establishment of the Inter-Party Dialogue (IPD) facilitated by the European Parliament and the initial measures taken by the Serbian authorities and the parliamentary majority to improve electoral conditions; regrets that the majority of given commitments were only partially or not at all fulfilled by the Serbian authorities, including appointments to the Regulatory Council on Electronic Media (REM) which were decided without any input from the participating opposition and the failure of the public service broadcaster (RTS) to properly implement all of the agreed changes; calls for further implementation of all commitments undertaken in the framework of the IPD;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Condemns the series of verbal attacks on Members of the European Parliament, including on one of the facilitators in the IPD, by ruling party MPs and by media close to the ruling party;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for the continuation of the IPD with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and pro-European political forces in the country; urges that new rounds of a more inclusive IPD take place as soon as possible and that all parties be treated as equal participants in the preparation and implementation of the dialogue;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the new government to focus on effective and verifiable fundamental reforms and address existing and potentially additional deep structural shortcomings in the areas of rule of law, fundamental rights, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges Serbia to deliver convincing results, including a sustainable track record with effective investigations in areas of concern such as the judiciary, media freedom, freedom of expression and the fight against corruption and organised crime, in particular regarding corruption allegations with a high level of public interest, such as the cases of Krušik, Jovanjica and Telekom Srbija; reiterates its call for justice from 2018 with regard to the unlawful demolition of private property in the Belgrade neighbourhood of Savamala;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Serbian parliament to adopt constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening the independence and professionalism of the judiciary;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Regrets that the Serbian Parliament failed to adopt constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening the independence of the judiciary, which were originally scheduled in 2017; notes that the lack of representativeness of the current parliament does not bode well for their adoption in the current mandate;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Expresses concern about the effective functioning of the new parliament, where there is no parliamentary opposition, whose legitimacy is challenged by opposition parties and whose term has already been announced to be shortened by the Serbian President, and that adopts far-reaching constitutional changes without an open, inclusive and democratic public debate, especially in the area of judiciary;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes improvements to the practices and procedures of the national assembly; underlines that the quality of the legislative process still needs to be improved by increasing transparency and social and political dialogue and fully ensuring that independent regulatory bodies are legally empowered and staffed in a way that allows them to exercise their oversight roles effectively; calls for additional measures to ensure cross-party dialogue and effective involvement of civil society;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Notes with concern that the Serbian Parliament met only 44 days after the declaration of the state of emergency in March 2020, which undermined its position as the key institution of parliamentary democracy as enshrined in the Constitution of Serbia; notes with further concern that the parliament did not begin its work in full for 109 days after the declaration of the final election results on 5 July 2020, despite there being a clear parliamentary majority.
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. 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 further improved; welcomes the declining use of urgent procedures to adopt legislation and calls on the Serbian Parliament to review the practice of filibustering and whether it stifles democratic debate;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Emphasises that all actions which limit the ability of the Serbian Parliament to conduct an effective debate on, and scrutiny of, legislation should be avoided; underlines the importance of the work of the opposition in a democracy and underlines that its politicians should not be subject to slander and libel; regrets that some politicians misuse the public discourse to fuel the rise of radicalism;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Underlines that the role of independent regulatory bodies, including the country’s Ombudsperson, the Anti- Corruption Agency, the National Audit Authority and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, needs to be fully acknowledged and supported; calls on the Serbian Parliament to engage in the implementation of independent regulatory bodies’ findings and recommendations, notably those of the Ombudsperson; recalls that social dialogue is one of the pillars of the European social model and that regular consultation between the government and social partners is instrumental in the prevention of social tension and conflict; underlines that it is essential for social dialogue to go beyond the exchange of information and that interested parties should be consulted on important laws before they are subject to parliamentary procedure;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Believes that the acquisition of two television channels with national coverage in December 2018 by an individual connected with the ruling party represented a step towards monopolisation of the media landscape in the country by the ruling party; invites the editorial teams of all television channels with national coverage in Serbia to respect the highest professional standards and allow for differing opinions to be heard regularly;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Is concerned about allegations made by investigative journalists of government manipulation of COVID-19 statistics for political and electoral purposes; stresses that trust and transparency are of particular importance in the government’s efforts against COVID-19 and that the authorities should ensure that no doubt is cast on the validity of publicly available data;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Regrets the lack of progress on media freedom, abusive language, intimidation and even hate speech, including from members of the ruling parties, whose responsibility to act with respect towards all the representatives of the media is of utmost importance; urges Serbian authorities to take immediate measures to guarantee freedom of expression and media independence;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Regrets that the work of civil society organisations takes place in an environment that is not open and even hostile to criticism, with some CSOs facing particular pressure, threats and intimidation from the government and the media close to the ruling party; urges the authorities to enable an atmosphere that allows all civil society organisations to carry out their work in a safe and unobstructed manner;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Urges the authorities to fully clarify the situation concerning investigations on CSOs and journalists for money laundering and stresses that any unjustified investigation is considered an act of intimidation;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Condemns the lack of media freedom and dominance of abusive language, intimidation and hate speech towards members of the parliamentary opposition, independent intellectuals, NGOs, journalists and prominent individuals who criticize government policies;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. While firmly condemning all acts of violence, notes that incidents of disproportional use of police force during the July 2020 protests deserve particular attention of the authorities, as well as the treatment of Mr. Aleksandar Obradović, who provided proof of alleged corruption in the state-owned arms manufacturer Krušik; stresses that all cases in which it is determined that police has overstepped its authority should be properly investigated and sanctioned;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that the legal and institutional framework for upholding human rights is formally broadly in place and, but lacks mechanisms to ensure that these fundamental rights are effectively respected; calls for its more effective implementation, with particular regard to the most vulnerable groups in society, including national minorities, in the areas of education, use of minority languages, adequate representation in public administration and the judiciary;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the need for protection of LGBTI rights; calls for more adequate and effective responses from the authorities to hate speech and hate- motivated crimes;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Welcomes Serbia’s engagement in regional cooperation initiatives; encourages Serbia to sustain its efforts at all levels aimed at reconciliation and strengthening good neighbourly relations; invites Serbia to engage in the resolution of all remaining border disputes with its neighbours in a constructive and timely manner.
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses that the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is a priority and a precondition for EU accession; calls for active and constructive engagement in the EU-facilitated dialogue led by the EU Special Representative seeking a comprehensive and legally binding agreement, in accordance with international law; reiterates its call to move forward with the full implementation, in good faith and in a timely manner, of all the agreements already reached; reiterates its call to the authorities to refrain from using inflammatory language towards the citizens of Kosovo of Albanian ethnicity;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Regrets the reiterated denial of the Srebrenica genocide by some Serbian authorities; reminds them that fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and its successor the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, also implies fully accepting and implementing its rulings and decisions; stresses that the recognition of the Srebrenica genocide is a fundamental step in Serbia’s path towards joining the European Union;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. WelcomNotes the progress Serbia has made in the development of a functional market economy; invites Serbia to continue its efforts to boost competitiveness and long- term and inclusive growth through structural reforms; calls on the Serbian government to directly tackle the issue of corruption, which stifles the development of a functional market economy, and to address the 2020 Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) concerns;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on Serbia to increase the sustainability of its energy sector by diversifying its energy sources and moving towards renewables while at the same time adopting the necessary measures to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive areas; and less polluting fuels to ensure compliance with its indicative trajectory; urges the authorities to remove all non-compliant coal subsidies and convert the existing coal- based or petroleum products-based district heating into a high efficiency cogeneration- and renewables-based system; encourages Serbia to adopt the necessary measures to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive areas and to step up the monitoring of the implementation and the enforcement of the National Emissions Reduction Plan;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Urges the authorities to ensure alignment with EU standards and policy objectives on climate protection and environment, in particular in light of the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans – including but not limited to the introduction of carbon emissions pricing, the update of energy efficiency legislation and the development and adoption of an integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, in order to facilitate the transition to a circular economy; encourages Serbia to finalise the reforms of the national electricity and gas sectors by ensuring in particular the unbundling of the system operators, and to work on regional connectivity and the completion of the regional energy market in electricity and natural gas;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Is concerned by the alarming levels of air pollution and urges the authorities to swiftly take measures to improve air quality, especially in large cities and industrial areas such as Smederevo, Bor and Kolubara region; stresses the importance of finding sustainable solutions and limiting the use of lignite and other low-calorie coal in energy production, as well as for heating;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Reiterates the importance of alignment with the EU common foreign and security policy (CFSP), which must progressively become an integral part of Serbia’s foreign policy; regrets the general lack of effective alignment with the CFSP in the past 5 years;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Stresses that moving the Serbian Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would contradict the position of the European Union on the long-term two state solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30b. Underlines the need for the EU and the United States to strengthen their partnership and coordination in the Western Balkans in order to advance key reforms, improve governance and reconciliation;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Welcomes the fact that Serbia aligned with the EU’s position on the presidential elections in Belarus; remains however concerned that Serbia has failed to align with the sanctioning of Belarusian officials and with the EU’s position on the new security law in China; calls on Serbia to increase its level of alignment with the declarations of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on behalf of the EU, and with Council decisions;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Notes that disinformation coming from Serbia spreads across border due to the central role the country has in the Western Balkans; Calls on Serbia to support measures aiming at reinforcing media pluralism and quality journalism; Calls for the strengthening of European cooperation with Serbia on addressing disinformation and hybrid threats that seek to undermine the European perspective of the region;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Takes note of Serbia’s decision to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union in October 2019; expects Serbia, however, to align with EU trade policy; regrets that Serbia is still not a member of the World Trade Organisation;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Expresses concern over Serbia’s increasing dependence on defence equipment and technologies from the People’s Republic of China and the insufficient transparency of the security sector’s public procurement practices; continues to be concerned about Serbia’s close political and military cooperation with Russia, including the continued presence of Russian air facilities in Nis;