60 Amendments of Leila CHAIBI related to 2020/2088(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in particular Article 21 thereof,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
- having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in particular Article 25 thereof,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 c (new)
Citation 2 c (new)
- having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and in particular Article 29 thereof,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 d (new)
Citation 2 d (new)
- having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights, and in particular its principle 1,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 e (new)
Citation 2 e (new)
- having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Article 21 thereof,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to Petition 0563/2019 by R.S. (German) on the denial of the right to be included in the electoral roll,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
- having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee's March 2019 information report on the reality of the right to vote in European elections for persons with disabilities1 a, _________________ 1a https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our- work/opinions-information- reports/information-reports/the-real- rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-to-vote- in-EP-elections-information-report
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 c (new)
Citation 16 c (new)
- having regard to the work of the Interparliamentary Union (IPU) on gender equality, in particular its Plan of Action for Gender-sensitive Parliaments1 a, _________________ 1a https://www.ipu.org/en/resources/publicat ions/reference/2016-07/plan-ofaction-for- gendersensitive-parliaments
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17
Citation 17
— having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, and in particular Rule 54 thereof,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the 2019 European elections registered the highest turnout of the any elections to the European Parliament in the last 20 years, with 50.2 %, ( an increase of eight percentage points compared to 2014), sending a positive signal that European citizens believe that many of their concerns can be addressed at EU level; whereas an election in which half the citizens voted is not satisfactory; whereas, moreover, that figure masks wide disparities between the Member States; whereas only 18% of those surveyed thought their vote could 'change things'1 a; whereas, therefore, a higher turnout should not be the only criterion taken into account; whereas the election also reflects the disillusionment of part of the population with the European integration process and current EU policies; _________________ 1ahttps://www.europarl.europa.eu/at- your-service/files/be- heard/eurobarometer/2019/post-election- survey-2019-complete-results/report/en- post-election-survey-2019-report.pdf
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the higher turnout was in part due to the increased participation of young people;, although people in the over-40 age group are still much more likely to vote; whereas more than 50% of young people vote out of a sense of civic duty and in response to the climate emergency1 a; _________________ 1ahttps://www.europarl.europa.eu/at- your-service/files/be- heard/eurobarometer/2019/post-election- survey-2019-complete-results/report/en- post-election-survey-2019-report.pdf
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the higher turnout was ultimately linked to gains by Eurosceptics, which should be considered as a warning for European integration, especially in several founding Member States where the far- right extremists and anti-European forces won the elections;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the higher turnout is also a sign that EU citizens want the EU to act swiftly, democratically and effectively on important matters such as social dumping, climate change, migration, protection of fundamental rights and democratisation;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas gender equality among Members of the European Parliament has improved (41 % women in 2019, up from 37 % in 2014); whereas this figure masks significant differences between Member States and the many challenges still to be overcome if gender parity is to be achieved, including in Parliament's committees; whereas only a few Member States make it a requirement for political parties to have gender-balanced lists in which men and women alternate;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the Interparliamentary Union (IPU), of which the European Parliament is an associate member, is calling for women to be proportionally and fairly represented on all committees, not just on committees dealing with issues relating to women, childhood, gender equality, the family, health or education; whereas it is not a matter of incorporating a 'feminine sensibility' into these committees, but of encouraging women to occupy a place commensurate with their role in society and to share their expertise;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas of the 20 European Parliament committees, only two have more women than men, the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (89 % women) and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs; whereas only the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety has the same number of men and women; whereas only 19.5 % of the members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, only 24 % of the members of the Committee on Budgets and only 26 % of the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs are women; whereas, lastly, these figures fail to take account of the split between full and substitute members, with women substitute members too often serving to make up the gender parity numbers;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas only 5 % of the MEPs elected in the 2019 European elections were members of ethnic minorities, although these minorities make up 10 % of the European population; whereas, moreover, following the departure of the UK MEPs only 24 out of 705 MEPs are black, seven fewer than before1 a; _________________ 1aENAR’s Election Analysis - other minorities in the new European Parliament 2019-2025 : https://www.enar- eu.org/ENAR-s-Election-Analysis-Ethnic- minorities-in-the-new-European- Parliament-2019.
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas the Administration does not require elected representatives to provide details of their profession; whereas although elected representatives must provide details of the occupation they exercise in their declaration of financial interests, Parliament's Administration does not compile and publish this data; whereas the national parliaments make this information available; whereas it is therefore difficult to determine whether Parliament is representative of society; whereas it is a matter of public interest to compile and publish this information in an effort to ensure that all socio-professional categories are properly represented in Parliament;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
Ee. whereas the use of English, without interpretation, in negotiation meetings involving Parliament's rapporteur and shadow rapporteurs and the late delivery or non-availability of translations of the documents issued by the EU institutions are additional obstacles to the more diverse and accurate representation of European societies in the European Parliament;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas 15 Member States still restrict voting rights for people with disabilities, thus preventing the meaningful participation and representation of these citizens in democratic processes; whereas it is important to guarantee the right to vote in law and in practice; whereas, according to the EESC, by virtue of the laws in force in their countries some 800 000 EU citizens in 16 Member States are denied the right to vote on the grounds of disability or mental health problems; whereas many people with disabilities want to vote at a polling station even if other voting arrangements more suited to their circumstances are available; whereas in 12 Member States national rules do not make it possible to switch from the polling station assigned on the basis of place of residence to another which is more suitable in the light of a voter's disability; whereas, lastly, Article 29 of the UNCRPD explicitly stipulates that the States Parties undertake to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas demographic change and the ageing of our societies are factors which will increase the number of people resident in long-term care establishments and hospitals; whereas the wider use of the specific, formal arrangements made for such people in many Member States should be encouraged;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas the deadline for registering on the electoral roll varies greatly from one Member State to another, ranging from 90 days to 3 days prior to elections; whereas the EESC information report on the reality of the right to vote in European elections for persons with disabilities recommends that electoral rolls should be closed at the earliest two weeks before elections are held;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas, according to the joint report drawn up by the European Federation of National Associations Working with the Homeless (Feantsa) and the Fondation Abbé-Pierre, there are 700 000 homeless people in the European Union and almost 11 million households live in severely inadequate housing; whereas in 10 years this figure has increased by 70 %; whereas it is very difficult for homeless people to vote;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas EU citizens resident in a Member State other than their own continue to encounter problems in voting, such as a lack of voting booths and staff in consulates, principally as a result of the austerity policies implemented by some Member States;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the outcome of the 2019 European elections fragmented political representation in Parliament, leading to increased complexity in the decision- making process; democracy, parliamentary dialogue and more meaningful negotiations, putting an end to the duopoly enjoyed by the two largest groups;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the outcome of the 2019 European elections fragmented political representation in Parliament, leading to increased complexity in the decision- making process;
Amendment 74 #
K. whereas the Spitzenkandidaten process has yet to be fully developreformed; whereas it lacks, among other things, the possibility for Spitzenkandidaten to stand as official candidates in all Member States on transnational lists, allowing all European voters to choose and vote for their preferred Spitzenkandidat; whereas the Spitzenkandidaten system and transnational lists should be open to coalitions of European political parties or movements, representing at least a quarter of Member States, or even to mixed coalitions of political parties and movements as long as they share a common political programme and a common Spitzenkandidat; whereas Parliament raised this issue in its decision of 7 February 2018 on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission15 ; _________________ 15 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0030.
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the Spitzenkandidaten process has yet to be fully developed; whereas it lacks, among other things, the possibility for Spitzenkandidaten to stand as official candidates in all Member States on transnational lists, even if they do not belong to a European political party, but are supported by a grouping of parties or movements representing at least one- quarter of the Member States, allowing all European voters to choose and vote for their preferred Spitzenkandidat; whereas Parliament raised this issue in its decision of 7 February 2018 on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission15; _________________ 15 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0030.
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the Spitzenkandidaten system needs to be improvoverhauled and formalised in the EU’s primary law Treaties after an in- depth institutional reflection as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe; whereas this reflection should also include the de facto political role of the Commission and its President and the need for them to be accountable to voters and the European Parliament and any related changes to the decision-making process of the Union;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas institutional improvements such as transnational lists, as acknowledged by Parliament in its resolution of 7 February 2018 on the composition of the European Parliament, or the transformation of the Council into a second legislative chamber of the Union, as proposed in its resolution of 16 February 2017 on possible evolutions of and adjustments to the current institutional set- up of the European Union, wcould radically transform the European elections into one true European election, as opposed to the collection of 27 separate national elections that it is todaya key event, preceded by real debates and the presentation of contrasting visions for the future of the European integration process;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas the intensified political exchanges in Parliament have also highlighted the shortcomings of several standing procedures such as the hearings of Commissioners-designate, with particular regard to the conditions for the legal assessment of their applications (e.g. declarations of financial interests); whereas the College of Commissioners should be appointed by means of an exemplary process, in keeping with the undertaking given in Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union; whereas the current procedure for scrutinising the financial interests of Commissioners- designate, which is carried out by the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), makes it impossible to honour that undertaking; whereas in her mission letter Commissioner Jourova undertook to work with the European Parliament and the Council to set up an independent ethics watchdog for all the EU institutions; whereas the ethics watchdog must be set up in such a way as to provide sufficient guarantees of independence, starting with provision of the time and resources needed to exercise scrutiny, in keeping with the best practices employed in the Member States;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the Commission’s requests to social media platforms ahead of the elections created confusion and had unintended consequences such as the ban on Europe-wide political advertisements, which is the onlyone of the ways for European political parties to advertise during European election campaigns; whereas especially on that matter, the institutions should develop an interinstitutional approach in order to have a positive impact on the security and stability of the electoral process;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas European political parties and foundations are the primary facilitators of a successful European political debate, both during and beyond European elections;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the higher turnout in the 2019 European elections; notes that there are significant disparities between Member States; considers that this shows that an increasing proportion of citizens consider the EU to be the appropriate level at which to addressat the EU must address the challenges of our time and amend its Treaties in order to tackle those challenges of our time, such as climate change and environmental concerns, social and gender inequalities, sustainable growth, and geopolitical concerns such as migration and foreign policy; urges all the European institutions, therefore, to take responsibility and to act upon the mandate they have been given, directly or indirectly, by the citizens; regrets both the lack of decisiveness and transparency by the Council and the lack of clear intent to achieve solutions based on a common approach;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the substantial increase of youth participation in the elections; reiterates its call on the Council and the Commission to take into account their concerns, which are critical for the lives of the next generations, by means of public consultation procedures and the Conference on the Future of Europe; calls for lots to be drawn in the Young Persons' Agora to be held as part of the Conference and for proper account to be taken of the results;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Deplores the fact that the outcome of the elections did not lead to genuine gender balance in Parliament; calls on the Commission, in cooperation with Parliament and other bodies such as the Venice Commission, to formulate recommendations to Member States with a view to increasing the representation of women in the European Parliament; calls on the Member States to consider incorporating into their national electoral law a general requirement for political parties to have fully gender-balanced lists of candidates in which men and women alternate; calls, further, on those Member States which have a preferential vote system to propose a preferential vote for an even number of candidates in order to guarantee parity;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls for greater efforts to achieve parity in the European Parliament; considers that a few specific changes to its Rules of Procedure could do much to bring about greater parity, starting with the introduction of a parity rule in governing bodies; proposes, further, that the rule of the oldest be replaced by the rule of the youngest, so that in the event of a tie the youngest candidates are proclaimed elected, and not the oldest, as currently specified in the following rules: Rule 16 - Election of the President, Rule 17 - Election of the Vice-Presidents, Rule 29(2) - Conference of Committee Chairs, Rule 30(2) - Conference of Delegation Chairs, Rule 213 - Committee bureaux, Rule 231 - Election of the Ombudsman;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Proposes, in accordance with the Interparliamentary Union's (IPU) Plan of Action for Gender-sensitive Parliaments, that senior posts in parliamentary institutions, and in particular the post of President of the European Parliament, should be held jointly by a woman and a man;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Proposes that a requirement to designate joint male and female chairs should be incorporated into Rule 33(5) of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure as a condition for the establishment of a political group; emphasises that this change would simply entail the inclusion in the declaration of the establishment of the group of the names of the two co-chairs, in addition to the name of the group and the political declaration setting out the aims of the group, the names of its members and the names of the members of its bureau;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Calls on the Conference of Presidents, under the procedure set out in Rule 209(2) of the Rules of Procedure, to take the gender-parity criterion into account if the political groups fail to reach agreement on their proportional representation in one or more parliamentary committees;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3e. Suggests, as a transitional step towards a better gender balance, that consideration be given to introducing a quota in each European Parliament committee with a view to achieving a satisfactory gender mix;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the European Economic and Social Committee's March 2019 information report on the reality of the right to vote in European elections for persons with disabilities;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Points out that for voters with disabilities the practical voting arrangements are just as important as access to information or to the polling station; emphasises that for people who are blind, visually impaired or have problems using a pen with precision, the practice of asking voters to draw a circle, for example around a candidate's list number, or writing on the ballot paper a candidate's number or name or the name of a party, constitutes a significant obstacle;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls on the Member States to step up exchanges of best practice in order to improve access to polling stations for persons with disabilities; urges the Member States to rent specially adapted private premises when suitable public facilities are not available;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Urges the Member States, ahead of the 2024 elections, to make more resources available in consulates so that checks can be stepped up and members of the public made aware that multiple voting is illegal;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Calls on the Member States to improve their laws in order to make it easier for homeless people to vote; emphasises that insisting that people provide proof of address in order to vote, as laid down in Directive 93/109/EC, can serve to exclude homeless people in those countries where they cannot obtain an administrative address; urges that the requirement to provide proof of address be done away with, in order to make it easier for homeless people, who are full EU citizens, to vote;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Takes the view that the best way to ensure that all citizens can take part in elections is to guarantee inclusion and thus to put an end to homelessness; calls on the Commission to adopt as a matter of urgency an EU action plan to put an end to homelessness by 2030, to be implemented at national level by the Member States as part of their efforts to combat homelessness; notes, further, that the Commission's guidelines on combating the phenomenon of homelessness1 a date from 2013 and have still not been translated into the 23 Union languages; _________________ 1ahttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/en/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0 245
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Urges the Union and the Member States to step up awareness-raising campaigns for homeless people on the issue of voting with a view to giving them the means to take part in elections and discussing the importance of voting; urges that increased support be provided, in the form of dedicated funds, for training for the staff of centres for the homeless and local government officials;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is of the opinion that the reason why the Spitzenkandidaten process failed to produce a President of the European Commission after the 2019 elections is because no improvements were made to it following the experience of 2014 stemming from the rejection by the European Council; intends to strengthen the democratic process for choosing the Commission President before the next European elections of 2024;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the election of the Commission President depends on a majority of Parliament’s members, which de facto requires the formation of a coalition; recommends that Article 17(1) of the Treaty on European Union be modified to reverse the election procedure be reversed so that Parliament proposes and elects the President of the Commission, after obtaining the consent of the European Council;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Points out that Article 17(7) of the Treaty on European Union confers the power to elect the President of the Commission on the European Council; stresses that the latter body is required only to take account of the elections to the European Parliament and that there was therefore no hope, either in 2014 or 2019, of the informal Spitzenkandidaten process being upheld; calls, therefore, for the EU Treaties to be amended so that proper account is taken of the European elections when the Commission President is chosen;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Proposes, with a view to increasing the influence exercised by EU citizens, that the Spitzenkandidaten process not be reserved for European political parties; calls for the Treaties and the electoral Act to be revised to enable a grouping of parties or movements representing at least one-quarter of the Member States to propose a candidate for the post of Commission President;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Suggests that a rule be introduced stipulating that the candidates proposed by each European political party or each coalition of national parties or movements for the post of Commission President should be a male-female duo;
Amendment 184 #
8. Considers that the outcome of the European elections has reinforced the political dimension of the election of the European Commission, and therefore the need for more accurate and objective scrutiny of the declarations of interests of the Commissioners-designate; calls for the creation of an independent body, endowed with the appropriate meansinvestigative resources and sufficient time, to have this mandatory scrutiny included in its responsibilities, drawing on the best practices employed in the Member States;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets that the attribution of portfolios in the Commission follows solely a logic where national interestdeals between the largest political parties take priority over the European common interest;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that granting European voters a second vote for transnational lists in a joint European constituency, drawn up by European political parties and movements, would elevate the European elections above purely national campaigns based on national interestsnhance democratic debate and the significance of the election, particularly if such lists were headed by the respective Spitzenkandidaten;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Points out that the proposed changes to the EU’s primary law Treaties within this report, which reflect the increased political role of the Commission within the EU framework, should also include the individual and collective responsibility of the Commission towards Parliament and the Council, as well as the transformation of the Council into a second legislative chamber of the Union;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Takes note of the efforts by the Commission and other institutions to tackle foreign interference during the electoral campaign; points out, nevertheless, that the financial and human resources needed to counter these attacks on European democracy, including at national level, are many times superior to the combined designated European resources; urges the Commission and the Member States to raise significantly the financing they make available to their national authorities for the fight against foreign interference; stresses that priority must be given to improving the education children receive from a young age in media use and civics, in society as a whole and in schools, in order to develop people's ability to think critically and identify unsubstantiated information and links to verifiable information;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the outcome of the European elections is a clear signal for an in-depth institutional reflection that will allow citizens, civil society and their representatives, through national democratic consultation processes, to shape the future of the Union; calls, therefore, on all institutional partners to assume their responsibility and deliver an ambitious Conference on the Future of Europe and leave open all options for addressing the crucial challenges facing the EU, such as social dumping, inequality and climate change;