Activities of Nicolaus FEST related to 2022/2898(RSP)
Institutional motions (1)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the 2022 Rule of Law report – the rule of law situation in the European Union
Amendments (15)
Amendment 23 #
Recital A
A. whereas the Union is founded on the common values enshrined in Article 25(3) TEU 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 – values that are common to the EU Member States and to which candidate countries must adhere in order to join the Union as part of the Copenhagen criteria, which cannot be disregarded or reinterpreted after accession; whereas democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing values which, when undermined, may states that ‘under the principle of subsidiarity, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Union shall act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed a systemic threat to the Unction cand the rights and freedoms of its citizens; whereas respect for the rule of law is binding on the Union as a whole and its Member States at all levels of governance, including subnational entitiesnot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States’;
Amendment 31 #
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas there is no commonly accepted legal definition of the concept of the ‘rule of law’ at EU level and the Commission seeks to attribute a subjective set of values and principles to it;
Amendment 32 #
Recital C
C. whereas the principle of sincere cooperation in Article 4(3) TEU places an obligation on the Union and the Member States to assist each other in carrying out obligations which arise from the Treaties in full mutual respect, and on Member States to take any appropriate measure, general or in particular, to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations arising from the Treaties or resulting from the acts of the institutions of the Unioneach Member State has its own national identity and the abuse of the concept of the rule of law for political aims destroys mutual trust and sincere cooperation between Member States;
Amendment 42 #
Recital F
F. whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and to develop a single comprehensive EU mechanism to protect democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights effectively and to ensure that Article 2 TEU values are upheld throughout the Union as well as by candidate countries, albeit with different monitoring regimes, so that Member States are prevented from developing domestic law that runs counter to the protection of Article 2 TEU; whereas the Commission and the Council have continued to dismiss the need for an interinstitutional agreement on an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rightsthere is no general competence in the EU Treaties that allows the institutions of the EU to enforce its interpretation of the rule of law throughout the Union;
Amendment 49 #
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s third annual rule of law report arecalls that the Member States part of the Commission’s rule ofe and remain, under public international law, toolbox; considers that while the report represents a step towards a coherent mechanism to preserve Union values, the toolbox remains too flexible and too broad an approach to the rule of lawhe masters of the Treaties; calls for a reform of the EU towards a Europe that upholds the sovereignty and identity of our European nations and peoples;
Amendment 66 #
Paragraph 3
Amendment 70 #
Paragraph 5
Amendment 76 #
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the addition of country- specific recommendaCalls on the EU institutions, as a follow up to the reiterated calls from Parliament to this end; recalls that the annual reports serve as a basis for informed discusnd the Member States to abandon their economically and politically disastrous centralising visions on the rule of law situation in Member States; acknowledges that these country- specific recommendations help to target specific issues with a view to achieving real improvements in Member States; deplores, however, the fact that the recommendations are not binding; calls on the Commission to develop the annual rule of law cycle further by assessing the implementation of the country-specific recommendations in the next annual report, with specific benchmarks and a clear timeline for implementationf an ‘ever closer union’, and instead calls for a form of European cooperation that respects the limitations of the EU as laid down by the existing Treaties and is in accordance with the principles of national sovereignty, democracy, transparency, strict subsidiarity and accountability;
Amendment 85 #
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the Commission to initiate the relevant procedures without hesitation or delay, especially when governments show no willingness to comply with the country-specific Stresses that each Member State has its own national identity and constitutional traditions, which are in line with European values and must always be treated with respect, objectivity and with regard to the principle of equality; underlines that the rule of law is a fundamental value for all Member States; expresses concern that the abuse of the concept of the rule of law for political aims destroys mutual trust and sincere commendationoperation between Member States;
Amendment 88 #
Paragraph 9
9. Commends the efforts by the Commission to engage better with national stakeholders; recognises civil society as an essential actor for the rule of law, with an important role to play in the follow-up to the annual report and its implementation; calls on the Commission to pursue the consistent involvement of civil society alls for an investigation into violations of fundamental rights by non- governmental organisations, including those facilitating the follow-up to the report at national level, in cooperation withsmuggling of illegal migrants into the FRAEU;
Amendment 102 #
Paragraph 12
Amendment 112 #
Paragraph 13
13. Strongly regrets the inabilityCalls ofn the Council to make meaningful progress in the ongoing Article 7(1) TEU procedures; urges the Council to address all new developments affecting the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights; reiterates its call on the Council to address recommendations in the framework of this procedure, underlining that any further delaying of such action would amount to a breach of the rule of law principle by the Councimmission to stop using the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation to put political pressure on some Member States to change policies approved in democratic elections that fall witself; insists that Parliament’s role and competences be respectedhin their competence;
Amendment 117 #
Paragraph 14
14. Strongly condemns Member States’ authorities that refuse to engage in the Commission’s annual Rule of Law Dialoguethe pressure put on Member States that wish to defend their constitutional identities;
Amendment 125 #
Paragraph 16
16. Recalls its position regarding the involvement of a panel of independent experts to advise the three inSupports the ongoing investitugations, in close cooperation with the FRA; repeats its call on the Commission to invite the FRA to provide methodological advice and conduct comparative research to add detail in key areas ofto allegations of wrongdoing by the mannual report, given the intrinsic links between fundamental rights and the rule of lawagement of the EU Agency for Asylum;
Amendment 130 #
Paragraph 17
17. Reiteratecalls that the annual rule of law cycle should serve as input for the activation of other instruments to respond to threats or breaches of the rule of law at national level, such as Article 7 TEUUnion acted outside its powers in adopting the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, going beyond the competences conferred upon it in the Treaties by the Member States; stresses, furthermore, that the Regulation infringes the principle of legal certainty; rejects, therefore, the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation; infringement procedures or instruments under EU financial legislation; reiterates its call on the Commission to create a direct link between the annual rule of law reports, among other sources, and the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism its entirety; considers, too, that it is essentially a political tool for bypassing the principle of unanimity laid down in Article 7 of the EU Treaty and it thus infringes EU law;