Activities of Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas over 75 % of people live in non-democratic countries, which limits their basic human rights; whereas ~~shrinking space for civil society~~a host of features of authoritarian regimes negatively influences the right to participate in genuine elections such as a shrinking space for civil society, voter intimidation, arbitrary disqualification of candidates and other forms of malicious interference by state authorities;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the right to participate in genuine elections is not respected in autocratic and illiberal regimes, which conduct sham elections with the goal of entrenching their power; whereas such elections ~~are~~do not ~~free and fair~~represent the true will of the people, lack real political contestation and place undue restrictions on the right to both vote and be elected;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the right to participate in genuine elections is not respected in autocratic and illiberal regimes, which conduct ~~sham~~fake elections with the goal of entrenching their power; whereas such elections are not free and fair, lack real political contestation and place undue restrictions on the right to both vote and be elected;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the EU should pay careful attention when choosing destinations to observe elections in order to avoid being seen as a legitimising force supporting the outcome of undemocratic elections;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the weakening of judicial independence and the rule of law and the overall democratic backsliding in autocratic and illiberal regimes enable these regimes’ legitimisation strategies by removing effective checks on enforcement of repressive laws, control of media and malign interference over digital channels of communications;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes have developed new ways and mock-compliance strategies to overcome the costs of fully complying with international election observation standards without overtly denouncing them; whereas they are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake elections; whereas these regimes contribute to the erosion of global trust in democratic institutions by copying, developing and multiplying fraudulent practices unchallenged;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes have developed new ways and mock-compliance strategies, such as promotion of ‘counter-norms’ within global governance institutions, to overcome the costs of fully complying with international election observation standards without overtly denouncing them; whereas they are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake elections;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes undertake domestic and international observation activities that do not comply with the international standards set for domestic and international observers; whereas these fake international observation activities are then used to legitimise elections in other autocratic and illiberal countries;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

Ib. whereas citizens of autocratic and illiberal regimes have limited opportunities to observe elections, or, if they do, the regimes do everything in their power to discredit observers or sideline their efforts;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas authoritarian and illiberal regimes infiltrate and use international institutions for their own benefit, including the legitimisation of fraudulent elections;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

La. whereas the suspension of democratisation processes and illiberal political tendencies in consolidated democracies have led to democratic backsliding and autocratisation;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)

Lb. whereas Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has given impetus to the erosion of the foundational principles of the liberal international order, such as multilateralism, rule-based cooperation, peaceful conflict solution, and democratic governance, with authoritarian countries, such as Russia and China, using this momentum to contest the very meaning of democracy and human rights;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a

(a) design and implement more decisive EU actions to promote and protect the right to participate, which is a universal and fundamental human right, as part of a much broader strategy on human rights and democracy support;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d

(d) acknowledge the severity of the difficulties that people living under autocratic and illiberal regimes have in accessing ~~unbiased~~factual election-related information and discerning it from among regime-sponsored propaganda, including reliable information on candidates, voting preferences and the conduct of the election process, which inhibits their ~~ability to understand~~resources to assess whether elections are truly competitive and whether citizens’ preferences are reflected in the results;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e

(e) counter the narrative promoted by autocratic and illiberal regimes that they have mandates from their citizens as a result of genuine elections; formulate, in this regard, a comprehensive EU global strategy to counter the tools that these regimes use to legitimise elections, such as fake observers ~~and shadow election observation groups in the place of standardised international mission~~, including those from the EU Members States and EU institutions, such as the European Parliament, and shadow election observation groups in the place of standardised international missions; work with democratic countries to strengthen international institutions to prevent autocratic and illiberal regimes from infiltrating them and using them for their own selfish ends;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f

(f) strengthen the link between election observation work and the EU’s wider support for human rights and democracy using both political and cooperation tools; consider authoritarian electoral legitimisation strategies as early symptoms of underlying non-democratic trends and react accordingly; counter authoritarian narratives that put security and democracy in contrast, thus limiting fundamental liberties under the pretext of state security,

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)

(fa) counter the attempts of autocratic and illiberal regimes to exploit policy areas such as climate, sport and international development initiatives to falsely reinforce their legitimacy;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h

(h) recognise the crucial role of civil society in delegitimising fake elections in the eyes of local populations; support civil society organisations, human rights defenders and the media, including through capacity building and communications strategies, and by gathering data on violations of the right to participate in genuine elections; support, in particular, local elections observers, whose activities increase people’s belief that their right to participate in genuine elections will be respected and condemn in the strongest terms attacks against them;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h

(h) recognise the crucial role of civil society in delegitimising fake elections in the eyes of local populations; support civil society organisations, democratic opposition forces, human rights defenders and the media, including through capacity building and communications strategies, and by gathering data on violations of the right to participate in genuine elections; support, in particular, local elections observers, whose activities increase people’s belief that their right to participate in genuine elections will be respected;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Eva-Maria Alexandrova POPTCHEVA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)

(ha) counter efforts by autocratic and illiberal regimes to legitimise each other's elections by fostering a safe space where local election observers can exchange knowledge and best practices at regional and global level;

2023/07/28
Committee: AFET

2022/2154(INI)

3 a. Emphasises that the compensation of the social and economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine requires the deployment of adequate budgetary measures at the Union level offsetting the indirect costs of the conflict on businesses and citizens, and putting forward the necessary solidarity mechanisms between Member States and their regions; calls therefore on the Commission to issue a new legislative proposal establishing a European fund for the mutualisation of war-related costs ("Ukrainian crisis Adjustment Reserve"), with a view to support the most affected Member States with fresh common resources gathered at the EU level;

2022/07/27
Committee: REGI

2022/2046(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Stéphane BIJOUX, Alin MITUȚA, Irène TOLLERET, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Sandro GOZI, Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ, Ondřej KNOTEK

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Nicola BEER, Nathalie LOISEAU, Hilde VAUTMANS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Katalin CSEH, Salima YENBOU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l a (new)

(l a) better monitor the implementation of clear differentiation policies within the EU;

2023/02/07
Committee: AFET

1 b. Strongly regrets the fact that the Commission’s failure to act since January 2021 has let the rule of law situation to deteriorate in several Member States, as shown in the Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Sophia IN 'T VELD, Michal WIEZIK, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Alin MITUȚA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls its resolution of 8 July 2021 on the creation of guidelines for the application of the Conditionality Regulation; insists that the Commission include in its annual rule of law reports a section dedicated to cases where rule of law breaches in a Member State could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the Union’s financial interests in a sufficiently direct way; calls on the Commission to conclude each country chapter with a ‘traffic light’ assessment of the fulfilment of the conditions of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls its resolution of 8 July 2021 on the creation of guidelines for the application of the Conditionality Regulation; insists that ~~the Commission include in its~~a more direct link between the Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report and the triggering of the Conditionality Regulation should be established, for example by including in the annual rule of law reports a section dedicated to cases where rule of law breaches in a Member State could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the Union’s financial interests in a sufficiently direct way ;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Sophia IN 'T VELD

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Regrets that the Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report is mostly descriptive and lacking clear conclusions, with precise follow-up actions and proposals of remedial measures ; regrets also the lack of prioritisation of the breaches of the rule of law listed in the report, with the same attention and tone given to systemic major breaches and to isolated minor ones; calls therefore on the Commission to address these shortcomings and improve the annual report to transform it into a comprehensive tool to be used by Member States to fix the identified rule of law breaches;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Pierre KARLESKIND, Ramona STRUGARIU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. 3. Stresses that the four areas assessed in the 27 country chapters of the Commission’s 2021 rule of law report (the justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism, and other institutional checks and balances) are key interdependent pillars for upholding the rule of law, fighting fraud and corruption and protecting the Union’s financial interests; is of the opinion that other important elements of the Venice Commission’s 2016 Rule of Law Checklist should be included into the evaluation, particularly a chapter on shrinking civic space; welcomes the evaluation of the effects of COVID-19 on the four issues assessed; highlights the importance of continuing this evaluation in future annual rule of law reports; points out that COVID- 19 pandemic has shortened legislative processes and reduced parliamentary debate and shortened or stopped consultation of civil society and other stakeholders;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Considers that the European Union should lead by example in its respect for the rule of law principles; reiterates therefore its call to the European Commission include in its annual Rule of Law Report an assessment of the EU institutions’ performance in the areas addressed by the report, where applicable;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Pierre KARLESKIND, Ramona STRUGARIU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines that corruption prevention policies cover many fields, typically including ethical rules, awareness-raising measures, rules on asset disclosures, incompatibilities and conflicts of interest, internal control mechanisms, rules on lobbying, and revolving doors; ~~reiterates the role of national measures in preventing fraud and corruption;~~ calls on further corruption prevention measures on European level including transparency of ownership structures, prohibition of involvement of offshore or shell companies into the spending of European funds; reiterates the role of national measures in preventing fraud and corruption but considers that the EU institutions need to be fully equipped to prevent and investigate fraud and corruption;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Michal WIEZIK, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes with great concern the deteriorating situation of freedom of expression, protection of the right to information, and protection of journalists in 2021 compared to 2020 according to the Media Pluralism Monitor; recalls that media pluralism and media freedom is essential for the protection of the EU’s financial interests as investigative journalism is often at the source of the identification of issues such as corruption, fraud, or conflicts of interest in the use of EU funds;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Michal WIEZIK, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Is concerned about the Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report’s findings that, in some countries, the state- sponsored harassment and intimidation of the LGBTI organisations is affecting their ability to access funding; calls on the Commission to take a closer look at the issue and to make sure that the non- discrimination principle governing the access to EU funds is fully complied with, everywhere in the EU; considers that these findings reinforce the long-standing position of Parliament that the scope of the Rule of Law report should be broadened to include all Article 2 TEU values;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Michal WIEZIK, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Welcomes the variety of sources used by the European Commission to feed its assessment in the 2021 Rule of Law Report, including from civil-society organisations and NGOs; highlights, in this regard, the key role played by those grassroots organisations in identifying and reporting breaches of the Rule of Law at national and local level;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2180(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Regrets the fact that the report fails to clearly recognise the deliberate process of the rule of law backsliding in Poland and Hungary which can result in further backsliding not only in the above mentioned Member States but it seriously risk affecting other Member States in the Union as well;

2022/02/16
Committee: CONT

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Whereas recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic must strive to address long-standing vulnerabilities of our regions and go beyond addressing the health impacts of COVID-19 to tackle the persistent inequalities; Stresses therefore, that the development of the social economy must harness the full potential of social economy enterprises and organisations to ensure a strong economic recovery, support entrepreneurship and to create high-quality jobs in all EU regions;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Takes note of~~Welcomes the Commission’s action plan for the social economy and supports the proposals to improve social economy framework conditions, in particular regarding taxation, public procurement, State aid and access to EU programmes, as well as any kind of public funding, notably to the European Structural and Investment Funds;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Notes in particular the key role of European Structural and Investments Funds, including the ESF+ and the ERDF-CF, in financing social economy projects; recalls the specific objectives of the ESF+ in improving access to employment for all jobseekers, in particular young people, as well as through the promotion of self- employment and the social economy; further notes the specific objective PO 4 of the ERDF-CF of supporting a more social and inclusive Europe by enhancing the effectiveness and inclusiveness of labour markets and access to quality employment through developing social infrastructure and promoting social economy;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Highlights the importance of the social economy for rural development, and for regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as islands, outermost, cross-border and mountain regions, as a catalyst for the development of local resources and in countering depopulation, taking into account the importance of these actors in developing the social economy in rural areas and their links with urban areas, helping to maintain the population and to create greater social cohesion;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Reminds that the social economy is a way to solve urban challenges, including the risk of discrimination, poverty, inequality and social exclusion with a bottom-up approach, calls for funding needs to be directed at a local level, including those of urban areas;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Calls on the Commission to ensure that full gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the action plan for the social economy and that specific attention is given to fostering and supporting female- led social economy organisations, especially when it comes to access to funding;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Recalls that the gender pay gap in the EU stands at 14.1%, and around 24% of it is related to the overrepresentation of women in relatively low-paying sectors, such as care, health and education; points out the impact of unpaid care work on the gender pay gap, notes that while women often undertake both work and care responsibilities, 80 % of all care provided across the EU is provided by (unpaid) informal carers, 75 % of whom are women; believes that with access to EU funding, social economy organisations can have a leading role in tackling gender equality; asks the Commission to identify a clear role for social economy in the upcoming European care strategy;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3 e. Notes the importance of promoting education and training in entrepreneurship through different forms of social economy at all educational levels, from primary to higher education (including both university education and vocational training) as a key driver of economic and social development in Europe;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the action plan should be accompanied by impact assessment tools ~~and m~~, therefore calls on the Commissioni to~~ring mechanisms and that the~~ strengthen its mechanisms for monitoring and supporting social economy policies, including the collection of sex-disaggregated statistical data; notes that Member States sh~~ould~~all set targets and objectives and organise a consultation process with relevant social economy actors and local and regional authorities, in accordance with the partnership principle;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to set up a new single EU Social Economy Gateway, urges the Commission to launch a call for proposals for the creation of European social economy contact points at the same time, facilitating access to EU funding for social enterprises, promoting the importance of capacity building and interregional cooperation, as well as enhancing the visibility of projects supported under the Cohesions fund;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the Member States to encourage the development of regional strategies for the social economy, and allocate financial resources according to locally defined priorities; Urges the Commission to publish detailed guidelines reflecting the diversity of legal forms of the social economy in Europe, that local and regional authorities can follow during the preparation of their strategies;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Notes that many local and regional authorities already have ambitious strategies and action plans to promote the social economy; calls on the Commission to support the sharing of best practices and existing initiatives among local and regional authorities, in order to promote the development of local and regional social economy ecosystems;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission to make a quick and real improvement to the General Block Exemption Regulation in order to increase the de minimis threshold and ease the rules in relation to aid for social enter -prises, access to finance, training and capacity building; defends a real revision of public procurement with the inclusion of social and environmental conditionality.; and calls on the Commission to further promote socially responsible public procurement among European public authorities as a key tool to increase transparency in public procurement, to fight corruption, to foster competition and participation in public procurement by business actors of different sizes, and to promote socially responsible business practices; further highlights that socially responsible public procurement will play an important role in the implementation of National recovery and resilience plans, urges the Member States to enhance the use of social clauses in their tendering procedures;

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2179(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Recommends the expansion of the scope of the European Social Economy Regions network to reinforce new regional and local partnerships in particular to boost digital and green transitions in territories.

2022/02/25
Committee: REGI

2021/2162(INI)

Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Valérie HAYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas the Commission acknowledged1a the need to reflect on amendments to the Financial Regulation that prevent selecting bidders that can be in a situation of conflict of interests and to improve implementation guidelines (Vademecum on public procurement) on the application of the notion of conflicting professional interests; _________________ 1a Case 853/2020/KR

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND, Pascal DURAND, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas respect for the rule of law is an essential precondition for compliance with the principles of sound financial management;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Olivier CHASTEL, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Moritz KÖRNER, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Gilles BOYER, Fabienne KELLER, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Reiterates that ensuring the respect of all the values enshrined in article 2 of the TEU is a form of ensuring the protection of the EU budget and of the EU’s financial interests; highlights that Regulation 2021/1060 (CPR) equipped the Commission with strong ex-ante control mechanisms to ensure that managing authorities are in full compliance with the respect of EU values, in particular the non-discrimination principle; believes, however, that there is still a strong risk that final beneficiaries of EU funds use them in a way that is not compliant with EU values throughout their execution; calls therefore on the Commission to include in the Financial Regulation provisions setting out ex-post control mechanisms and procedures ensuring that every euro of the EU budget is used for projects or organisations that respect EU values, in addition to existing mechanisms; believes that a mandatory single, inter-operable and transparent database of direct and ultimate beneficiaries of EU funds would facilitate the detection of such breaches of EU values;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND, Pascal DURAND, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Highlights that the role of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is to investigate and prosecute fraud against the budget of the European Union and other crimes against the EU's financial interests; underlines the importance of cooperation between the EU institutions, the Member States, and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) with the EPPO; calls on the remaining Member States to ensure that their European and Delegated Prosecutors are appointed in a timely and impartial manner; recalls the need to provide the EPPO with adequate resources in order to ensure its proper functioning;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND, Pascal DURAND, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure greater interoperability of IT systems, of existing European and national databases and data-mining tools for the purposes of risk analysis and detection of fraud;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Valérie HAYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes that the ~~Commission’s Vademecum on public procurement was last updated in January 2020; notes that the~~ current definition of ‘professional conflict of interest’ is limited to a conflicting interest that affects the capacity of an economic operator to perform a contract; calls on the Commission to provide for a more explicit definition and to ensure that its implementation rules on public procurement do not permit the awarding of policy-related service contracts to undertakings that are under the economic control of a parent company or a group that owns shares related to activities that are not in line with the EU’s environmental, social and Green Deal objectives; believes that such a revised definition should take into account the risk of conflict of interests of a performer that is developing sectoral guidelines it will have to comply with, with particular scrutiny when it comes to policy-related projects and studies;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Valérie HAYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes that the Commission’s Vademecum on public procurement was last updated in January 2020~~; notes that the current definition of ‘professional conflict of interest’ is limited to a conflicting inter~~ but has not been made public nor shared with the European Parliament for opinion; requests that ~~affects the capacity of an economic operator~~the Parliament should be able to ~~per~~form a contract; calls on the Commission to provide for a more explicit definition and to ensure that its implementation rules on public procurement do not permit the awarding of policy-related service contracts to undertakings that are under the economic control of a parent company or a group that owns shares related to activities that are not in line with the EU’s environmental, social and Green Deal objectiveulate an opinion on future revision of the Commission’s Vademecum on public procurement; calls on the Commission to share regular updates with the Parliament’s relevant committees on the revision of its Vademecum before it is finalised either through the discharge procedure of the European Commission or during dedicated hearings;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Valérie HAYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Asks the Commission to amend Article 167 – c) of the Financial Regulation to include professional conflict of interests, that is based on a revised definition, to the list of criteria for awarding policy-related service contracts;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Valérie HAYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Katalin CSEH, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17 b. Stresses that the General Conditions of the Commission’s public procurement contracts for services contain standard provisions on professional conflicting interests with requirements from contractors to proactively notify situations that could constitute a conflict of interests; asks the Commission to perform additional checks and thorough verifications before the signature of the contract, in order to avoid relying on voluntary notifications only from the applicants and to better assess possible professional conflict of interests; calls on the Commission to develop adequate sanctions, such as a temporary ban from public tender procedures, for economic operators that would be found in a situation of professional conflict of interests;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2162(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Considers that all EU institutions conducting public procurement should publish clear rules on their websites regarding acquisition, expenditure and monitoring, as well as all contracts awarded with the fullest possible transparency; Notes the guidance provided by the Commission on using the public procurement framework in the emergency situation related to the COVID-19 crisis; encourages the Commission to gather and evaluate the experience of contracting authorities with the public procurement framework in this regard and to reflect the lessons learned in the Financial Regulation, by identifying criteria for defining exceptional/unusual circumstances in which temporary/framed/necessary flexibility in the implementation of public procurement rules can be applied;

2021/10/06
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Grants the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020 /~~ Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Agency for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2020 /~~ Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Notes the Court’s remark that, for the financial planning of its return operations, the Agency relies on estimates provided by the cooperating countries and that complete and timely availability of this information is crucial; notes the Court’s observation that in 2020 in one case a national authority included two previously unannounced return operations, totalling EUR 355 000, in a grant agreement at the financial closure of the action, resulting in a sudden budgetary deficit for the Agency, that forced the Agency to make an ex-post budgetary commitment, contravening the Agency’s Financial Regulation; acknowledges the dependence of the Agency on cooperating countries and calls on the Agency to be more strict in setting and enforcing standards related to completeness and timeliness for the receipt of information related to financial planning of operations, including the return operations; recalls that rules and principles of the Agency's Financial Regulation must be observed and respected in all situations;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls the discharge authority’s observations on the application of the unit- cost approach for the deployment of heavy technical equipment and calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority on the results of the suggested contacts with the Court and the Commission toand to urgently solve the issue of lacking supporting evidence;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Recalls that all of the Agency's operations and activities must be conducted in full compliance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1896, as well as the EU Staff and Financial Regulations;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 a (new)

Fundamental rights and follow up to the 2019 discharge cycle

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11 b. Notes with regret that in October 2020, journalistic investigations presented several allegations against the Agency, regarding its possible complicity in illegal migrant pushbacks in the Mediterranean Sea; notes that these allegations were supported by video footage of Frontex assets allegedly participating in such actions;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11 c. Recalls that these revelations have prompted the creation of a Parliament Frontex Scrutiny Working Group (FSWG) in order to investigate the exposed allegations; highlights that the FSWG "did not find conclusive evidence on the direct performance of pushbacks and/or collective expulsions by Frontex in the serious incident cases that could be examined by the FSWG", but concluded "that the Agency found evidence in support of allegations of fundamental rights violations in Member States with which it had a joint operation, but failed to address and follow-up on these violations promptly, vigilantly and effectively"; further notes that the FSWG “found deficiencies in Frontex’s mechanisms to monitor, report and assess fundamental rights situations and developments, and makes concrete recommendations for improvement", but "also identified gaps in the framework of cooperation with Member States, which may hamper the fulfilment of Frontex’s fundamental rights obligations"; notes that the FSWG expressed concern "about the lack of cooperation of the Executive Director to ensure compliance with some of the provisions of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, notably on fundamental rights"; notes that the "FSWG takes the position that the Management Board should have played a much more proactive role in acknowledging the serious risk of fundamental rights violations and in taking action to ensure that Frontex fulfils its negative and positive fundamental rights obligations as enshrined in the Regulation";

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)

11 d. Reminds that following these findings, Parliament, through its Resolution P9_TA(2021)0442 on the 2019 Discharge for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, decided to place a part of the Agency's 2022 budget in a reserve, to be released upon completion of six conditions; regrets that following negotiations for the 2022 budget this reserve was not implemented; reiterates however its previous position that failure to fulfill these conditions increased the risk for refusal of discharge for the 2020 financial year;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)

11 e. Notes that, with respect to the six conditions established by the European Parliament in its previous resolution, the Agency has made so far the following progress: a) the 20 Fundamental Rights Monitors (FRM) posts available at AD level remain vacant and are to be filled in 2022;notes that this process is under the control of the Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO), conducted independently from the office of the Executive Director;welcomes the cooperation between Frontex and the EU Fundamental Rights Agency in this recruitment; b) all three deputy executive directors have been recruited and have joined the Agency; c) the Executive Director signed the Standard Operating Procedure on the mechanism to withdraw the financing of, or suspend or terminate, or not launch Frontex activities, in accordance with Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896;notes however that the Agency continues to operate in Hungary;acknowledges that additional safeguards have been put in place and all requests from Hungary for support are assessed on a case-by-case basis; d) the Executive Director signed, in April 2021, the Standard Operating Procedure on the Serious Incident Report mechanism;notes that a report on the practical implementation of this procedure has been presented by the Executive Director and the FRO, concluding that there is a need to further revise the procedure; e) the Agency has adopted special rules to guarantee the independence of the FRO, it has recruited and adopted a new FRO as well as a deputy FRO;notes that the Agency has drawn up a Fundamental Rights Strategy and Action Plan, it has adopted a specialised fundamental rights training curriculum for FRMs and has also revised its complaints mechanism;underlines however that the recruitment of the 40 FRMs, due for December 2020, is still ongoing; f) the Agency has completed the implementation of a competency management project and has adopted a value-adding knowledge management and need-to-know policy, while the implementation of the Situational Awareness and Monitoring Division’s Transformation Programme and a Human Resources capacity assessment are still in progress;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2 b (new)

OLAF investigation

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)

11 f. Recalls the fact that the European Anti-Fraud Office has initiated an investigation on the Agency over allegations of harassment, misconduct and migrant pushbacks; highlights that the investigation was finalised on 15 February 2022 and its outcome was partially presented to the Members of the Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee and Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on 28 February 2022, but has not yet been provided to the Members; further highlights that Members were only informed of the outcome through an oral presentation, without providing any supporting written materials; underlines that the findings exposed in this partial presentation raise serious concerns and do not provide sufficient information to support a decision on granting discharge to the Agency for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Recalls that the European Anti- Fraud Office opened an investigation in 2019 involving the Agency; reiterates its call on the Agency to fully cooperate with OLAF and to keep the discharge authority informed on any developments that are relevant for the discharge procedure;deleted

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes from the Agency’s replies to the Parliament’s written questions that in total 17 cases of harassment were reported to the Agency’s competent entities in 2020; calls on the Agency to carefully assess each case, taking a zero-tolerance approach to psychological or sexual harassment; welcomes the training received by the confidential counsellors and the actions undertaken to raise awareness among staff and inform staff on the confidential counsellors; welcomes the online awareness-raising sessions for executive, senior, and middle managers and team leaders, and that dedicated awareness sessions were organised to staff members that signed up for such sessions; calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority about the outcome of these cases;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Notes the establishment and operationalisation of the Agency's transparency register; calls on the Agency to comply with the highest standards of transparency and to have the transparency register regularly updated;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Notes the Court’s finding that on 1 September 2020 the Agency asked the Commission for permission to upgrade 100 AST posts into advanced-level posts (grade AD 7 or higher), for the standing corps and new tasks under the new mandate; notes that the Agency, in anticipation of the Commission’s reply, on 9 September 2020, sent out 47 offers to advanced-level candidates with the Commission informing the Agency that it had no legal authority to upgrade the posts, resulting in the Agency immediately withdrawing the 47 job offers; ~~acknowledges the actions undertaken by the Agency to achieve the required clarity on its establishment plan from the Commission and the pressing nature of the required recruitments~~recalls that this has exposed the Agency at an unnecessary risk of reputational damage and litigation; calls on the Agency and the Commission to improve their communication, closer aligning the Agency’s actions with the Commission’s decision-making processes to avoid such situations from re-occurring;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2146(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recalls the discharge authority’s conditions in the second discharge report of the Agency for 2019 for release of a budgetary reserve; notes that the reserve has not been created in the Agency’s 2022 budget; calls nevertheless on the Agency to inform the discharge authority on the progress made towards the six conditions formulated by the discharge authority;deleted

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. Grants the Administrative Director of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020 / Postpones its decision on granting the Administrative Director of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) ~~for the financial year 2020 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust)~~ for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that in 2020 prosecutors from across the Union and beyond turned to the Agency for assistance in 8 799 cross- border criminal investigations, an increase of 13 % compared to 2019, and that 4 200 were new cases opened during 2020 and that 164 of these were related to the COVID-19 pandemic; welcomes that the Agency provided legal, financial and operational support to 268 joint investigation teams in 2020 and facilitated the execution of 1 284 European Arrest Warrants;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Takes note of~~Notes with appreciation the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to prevent harassment; welcomes that in 2020, the Agency offered refresher training on psychological and sexual harassment to all staff and additional training on conflict management and resolution was provided to the confidential counsellors and managers;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Notes that, according to the Court’s report, a number of weaknesses in the Agency’s audited public procurement procedures were detected; notes that in one case, where the Agency signed a framework contract with a single economic operator, the Court concluded that the use of this sort of framework contract was not appropriate for the nature of the services required (the leasing of vehicles), as the related market is subject to frequent fluctuations in price; acknowledges the Court’s observation that the Agency should have used a framework contract with a reopening of competition in order to ensure that the required services were acquired as economically as possible; notes the Agency’s reply to this observation and its commitment to prepare more robust ex- ante documentation aimed at clarifying why a certain procurement procedure has been followed; calls on the Agency to step up efforts to address such weaknesses in the future;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Regrets the fact that the CVs of senior management, external experts and in-house experts of the Agency are not published on its website; calls on the Agency to publish these CVs immediately; notes that the Agency has adopted an updated standard operating procedure on the management of conflicts of interest by Decision AD 2020- 44 of the administrative director and that no conflicts of interest were reported in 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2143(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Notes that the Agency responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by activating its business continuity plan, that a business continuity team was formed, and that, based on the team’s recommendations, the administrative director adopted measures to counter the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Agency’s staff and operational processes; expresses its satisfaction that the Agency maintained full operational continuity during the COVID-19 crisis; highlights the coordinating role that Agency has played in compiling and disseminating information on the main practical and legal issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in the field of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, as well as providing information about the impact of national measures taken in this context; notes that the staff were expected to telework unless their job required physical presence in the Agency’s premises and that the Agency encouraged a flexible approach to the organisation of work, taking diverging staff needs into account; notes that data protection issues were considered in the assessment of IT tools and that software for secure teleworking and video- conferencing was introduced;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 1
Paragraph 1

1. Grants the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020 / Postpones its decision on granting the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Proposal for a decision 2
Paragraph 1

1. Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large- Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2020 / Postpones the closure of the accounts of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) for the financial year 2020;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Regret~~Notes that budget-monitoring efforts during the financial year 2020 resulted in a budget implementation rate of 75,61 % which, although it represents an increase of 31,10 % compared to 2019, it is still well below the target; notes, furthermore, that the payment appropriations execution rate was 96,24 %, representing an increase of 3,96 % compared to 2019;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Not~~Welcomes the signature of the TEF, the largest tender ever signed by the Agency; notes that the Agency presents the TEF as a significant innovation to the operational sourcing model of the Agency that is expected to generate important gains in the vendor and contract management process, including better value for money, economies of scale and faster procurement processes, while also reducing the Agency’s dependence on a relatively small number of vendors; welcomes the innovative approach, encourages the Agency to continue with that approach and calls on the Agency to inform the discharge authority of whether the gains are materialising and on how the risks, inherent to the innovative approach, are being managed by the Agency;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that the Court found that the Agency signed a specific contract for software that was different from the software offered by the contractor in its tender for the associated framework contract; notes that the Agency did not modify the framework contract; notes that, according to the Court’s observation, acquiring a different product that is not included in the price offer, at a different price than the product originally offered, is a deviation from the framework contract; notes the Court’s conclusion that the specific contract is non-compliant with the framework contract as is the associated payment of EUR 10 399 834; notes that the Agency acknowledges the Court’s observations and ~~states that it has taken measures to strengthen the align~~underlines that following the issuance of the Court's observation, the Agency responded promptly, signing an amendment tof the ~~evolution of the Agency’s IT architecture wi~~framework contract in order to rectify the i~~ts contractual framework~~nitial omission; notes that the Agency states that the non- compliance did not result in any prejudice to the financial interests of the Agency or the Union as it considers that the expenditure was justified; regrets that the Agency did not follow the appropriate procedures, especially given the substantial amount concerned; notes the extensive considerations that the Agency’s executive director presented in a hearing with Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 29 November 2021, stating that the decision to acquire the software in question was a conscious decision of the Agency’s management ~~that presented cost- saving opportunitie~~with the purpose of reducing the duplication of training and support efforts, ultimately reducing the overall operational costs for the Agency; emphasises that, even though cost-saving opportunities can be assumed, the applicable procurement rules must be followed at all times to ensure that the Union taxpayer gets full value for money through transparent and competitive procurement procedures; calls on the Agency to make sure that procurement rules are respected at all times;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Points out that shortage of dedicated administrative positions may have a negative impact on the functioning of the procurement procedures within the Agency; invites the Commission and the Agency to engage in an active dialogue about improving the Agency’s establishment plan, especially about the level at which posts are allocated;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Notes the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that challenged the Agency’s business continuity and the availability of the existing large-scale IT systems and the implementation of the new systems entrusted to it; ~~notes that the Agency managed to reduce the negative impact by taking mitigating measures~~welcomes that despite these challenges, the Agency ensured the uninterrupted availability of the existing large-scale IT systems (SIS, VIS and Eurodac) and made further progress with respect to the implementation of EES, ETIAS and the interoperability package; notes with appreciation that the mitigating measures taken by the Agency allowed it to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2140(DEC)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Pierre KARLESKIND, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes with appreciation that the Agency drafted, negotiated and signed bilateral cooperation plans with the European Asylum Support Office (now the European Union Agency for Asylum), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA); notes that the Agency also continued its cooperation with other partner agencies, for example with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) on training activities, with the European Border and Coastguard Agency on SIS, the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and interoperability, with CEPOL on the Visa Information System (VIS), the Supplementary Information Request at the National Entries (SIRENE), SIS, EES, ETIAS and interoperability; and with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) on the European Asylum Dactyloscopy database (Eurodac) and SIS;

2022/03/04
Committee: CONT

2021/2125(DEC)

Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Pierre KARLESKIND, Michal WIEZIK, Alin MITUȚA, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to its statement of revenue and expenditure1 , the final budget of the European Chemicals Agency (the ‘Agency’) for the financial year 2020 was EUR 109 362 158 representing a decrease of 3,08 % compared to 2019; whereas approximately 29,41% of the Agency’s budget derives from fees and charges and 67,48% from the Union and third countries (in 2019 39,51 % from fees and charges and 57,61 % from the Union and third countries); whereas the inflation rate was 0,7% in the Union in 2020; _________________ 1 OJ C 114, 31.03.2021, p. 126.

2022/03/03
Committee: CONT

2021/2125(DEC)

Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Pierre KARLESKIND, Michal WIEZIK, Alin MITUȚA, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the Court made one observation on the clarity of the tender specifications in a procurement procedure and another observation on the completeness of the audit trail in recruitment procedures in 2019; notes that, as regards the years 2017 and 2018, the implementation of three of the Court’s recommendations is still ongoing, namely recommendations related to launching a discussion with the Commission and the budgetary authority about a viable new financing model, collecting outstanding administrative charges and publishing vacancy notices on the European Personnel Selection Office website; calls on the Agency to complete the follow-up of those recommendations;

2022/03/03
Committee: CONT

2021/2125(DEC)

Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Pierre KARLESKIND, Michal WIEZIK, Alin MITUȚA, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Note~~Regrets that the Agency, with regard to senior and middle management positions, reports that 23 (76,6 %) positions are occupied by men and 7 (23,33 %) by women; notes that the Agency reports, for the management board, a gender balance distribution of 14 men (37,8 %) and 23 women (62,2 %) and, for staff overall, 266 men (46,7 %) and 306 women (53,3 %); reiterates its call on the Agency to take pro-active measures to achieve gender balance among management positions;

2022/03/03
Committee: CONT

2021/2125(DEC)

Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Pierre KARLESKIND, Michal WIEZIK, Alin MITUȚA, Gilles BOYER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Welcomes the efforts made in staff policy to promote teleworking and healthy life and continues to encourage the Agency to pursue the development of a long term Human Resources policy framework that addresses work-life balance, lifelong guidance and career development, gender balance, teleworking, geographical balance and the recruitment and integration of people with disabilities;

2022/03/03
Committee: CONT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Highlights that retrofitting buildings to lower energy use, and redesigning cities to increase green spaces and promote walking and biking, will generate savings, create jobs, help fight energy poverty, and yield climate benefits long after the pandemic fades;

2021/10/11
Committee: REGI

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Ask~~Requests the Commission to report to Parliament on a quarterly or semi-annual basis regarding new and ongoing cases under investigation, starting as soon as possible with the first cases;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

6 a. Calls on the Commission to clarify in the guidelines that breaches of the rule of law in a Member state which result from decisions or events that took place prior to 1 January 2021 still fall within the scope of the regulation as long as their effect is still ongoing;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Draws particular attention to the list of indicative breaches of the principles of the rule of law laid down in Article 3 of the Regulation; ~~calls on~~urges the Commission to investigate potential occurrences of the breaches included in that list in the Member States, while pointing out that other practices or omissions by public authorities may also be relevant;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Considers that the Commission’s annual Rule of Law report constitutes an objective, impartial, fair, and qualitative assessment of breaches of the principles of rule of law; believes that where the conclusions of the annual reports highlight individual or systemic breaches of the rule of law which affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way, they should be directly linked to the triggering of the conditionality mechanism; calls on the Commission to clarify, in the guidelines, a methodology to create a clear and direct link, when relevant, between the annual reports and the conditionality mechanism;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Highlights that civil society, including independent NGOs and citizens, is at the forefront to identify potential breaches of the rule of law at local and national level, and should therefore be involved in their reporting; calls on the Commission to establish, in the guidelines, an efficient, user-friendly, and easily accessible online one-stop shop for citizens and civil society to report both fraud and corruption cases related to EU Funds, as well as individual or systemic breaches in their Member State, guaranteeing anonymity and leading, where deemed relevant by its services, to further investigations by the OLAF, the EPPO or the Commission;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Recalls that the Regulation provides a clear definition of the rule of law, which must be understood in relation to the other values of the Union, including fundamental rights and non- discrimination; is of the opinion that state-sponsored discrimination against minorities has a direct impact on the projects on which Member States decide or not to spend EU money, and therefore directly affects the protection of the financial interests of the Union; calls on the Commission to take this into account when drafting the guidelines;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Recalls that measures under the Regulation are necessary in particular in cases where other procedures set out in Article 7 TEU, in the Common Provision Regulation (CPR), in the Financial regulation or in other sector-specific ~~or financial~~ legislation would not allow the Union budget to be protected more effectively; stresses that this does not mean that the Regulation is to be considered as a ‘last resort’, but rather that the Commission can use a wide range of procedures to protect the Union’s financial interests, to be chosen on a case- by-case basis depending on their efficiency and effectiveness;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Underlines that ‘systemic’ breaches, for instance those affecting the functioning of the justice system, the independence of judges or the neutrality of public authorities, have in general a clear inand direct impact on the proper management, spending and control of Union funds;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)

Transparency

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Believes that transparency is essential to foster the confidence of Member States and citizens in the conditionality mechanism: points out that each step of the procedure of the Regulation should therefore be taken in a fully transparent way;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15 b. Calls on the Commission to set up, in the guidelines, the transparency rules and principles that it will apply when triggering the Conditionality Mechanism;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2071(INI)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Moritz KÖRNER, Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Nils TORVALDS, Valérie HAYER, Pascal DURAND, Fabienne KELLER, Ramona STRUGARIU, Daniel FREUND, Vlad GHEORGHE, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)

15 c. Believes that transparency implies, in particular: - disclosing the sources used by the Commission to trigger the Mechanism, - disclosing the content of the written notifications sent to the Members States, - disclosing the answers received from the Member States and the remedies proposed, - disclosing the Commission’s assessment leading to the potential lifting of adopted measures under the Mechanism, - keeping the European Parliament informed and involved at every step of the process to ensure the democratic scrutiny of the Mechanism and of EU funds;

2021/06/17
Committee: BUDG CONT

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)

— having regard to directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and the European Commission’s package of legislative proposals to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules of 20 July2021,

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)

— having regard to Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force,

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas corruption is a human rights violation, directly undermining the enjoyment of human rights and disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable groups in society, barring them from equal access to political participation, basic services, justice, natural resources, jobs, education, health and housing, while exacerbating poverty and inequality, whereas corruption is a catalyst of conflict;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Bernard GUETTA, Charles GOERENS

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas corruption typically involves the misuse of power, a lack of accountability, the obstruction of justice, the use of improper influence, the institutionalisation of discrimination, clientelism and the distortion of market mechanisms among other things, and is facilitated by inadequate transparency and access to information; whereas rising authoritarianism provides fertile ground for corruption, the combating of which calls for international cooperation with like- minded democracies; whereas corruption makes countries vulnerable to foreign malign influence and further damages democratic institutions;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas corruption acts as a barrier to education, makes education financially inaccessible, distorts values of young people and causes lack of motivation to study, resulting in the waste of talents and negative effects on the economy;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Bernard GUETTA, Charles GOERENS

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas corruption reporting is among main causes of journalist killings; whereas according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, five journalists investigating corruption have so far been killed in 2021;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c a (new)

(c a) establish a dedicated Council Working Party for preparatory works on anti-corruption matters (similar or modelled on Working Party on Human rights or COHOM) in order to inform the discussions in the Council;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e

(e) insist on the full implementation and enforcement of existing national and international anti-corruption instruments such as the UNCAC, the OECD Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, Council of Europe anti-corruption standards and recommendations, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on Corruption; ~~launc~~promptly proceed with an inclusive and comprehensive process to review the EU’s implementation of the UNCAC;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f

(f) advance efforts in all EU Member States to freeze and confiscate stolen assets in their jurisdictions, in line with the UNCAC, and to return them in a transparent and accountable manner to the country of origin; promptly follow up on UNGASS commitments relating to asset recovery, including those relating to non- conviction-based confiscation, confiscation and return of proceeds of corruption in connection with non-trial resolutions, and collection and publication of data on asset recovery; design a proper sequencing of actions (sanctions, civil and criminal asset forfeiture, criminal prosecution, asset return mechanisms), that ultimately lead to a repurposing of stolen assets to benefit victims of corruption;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Bernard GUETTA, Charles GOERENS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g

(g) strengthen the credibility of EU external anti-corruption action by more effectively combating corruption and money laundering within the EU; recognise that systemic corruption and a failure to effectively prosecute foreign bribery in some EU Member States undermines anti- corruption efforts in third countries; recognise that a lack of determined action, delays and a gap in implementing the anti- corruption regulations within the EU emboldens corrupt actors outside of the EU;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point i

(i) design programmes under the IPA, the NDICI, and the EU trust funds to support anti-corruption capacity building; increase the efficiency of EU spending by including clear programme targets and timelines; enable EU Delegations and Member States’ embassies to assess and report on corruption in their regular briefings;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p

(p) design programmes to provide more financial support to CSOs, independent media, whistleblowers, journalists and HRDs working on preventing and exposing corruption, advancing transparency and accountability, including support against strategic lawsuits (strategic lawsuits against public participation, SLAPP suits); improve smaller CSOs’ access to EU funding;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Bernard GUETTA, Charles GOERENS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q

(q) strengthen protection of whistleblowers, journalists and anti- corruption HRDs, including through temporary visa schemes;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q a (new)

(q a) call for a thorough investigation into and justice for the violence and killings of investigative journalists, HRDs and other anti-corruption activists;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r

(r) promote strong access to information laws and the provision of meaningful, comprehensive, timely, searchable, digitised and free to-access government data, including improved transparency of public procurement and lobbying, with independent oversight bodies;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Bernard GUETTA, Charles GOERENS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point s

(s) support independent, impartial and effective judiciaries, prosecution and law enforcement bodies; support the creation and professionalisation of specialised state anti-corruption bodies in third countries;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point t a (new)

(t a) establish European funding rules for political parties, NGOs and the media, especially when funding comes from non- democratic countries, to prevent malign influence and interference into democratic processes and public affairs of the EU and partner countries, including manipulation of people’s opinions resulting into erosion of trust in governments, electoral processes and politics in general;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Bernard GUETTA, Charles GOERENS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point u

(u) assume a leadership role in forging a coalition of democracies to counter the global rise of kleptocracy; insist on including anti-corruption on the agenda of upcoming international summits such as the G7 orand support the anti-corruption portion in the agenda of the Summit for Democracy proposed by United States President Biden; continue to proactively contribute to the work of international and regional forums to fight corruption and promote human rights;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point w

(w) encourage a deepening of international commitments to put anti- corruption at the heart of the SDGs as an avenue for fighting global poverty, and for the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights, with special attention to the right to education; make fighting corruption in education and health-care sectors a priority;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point y

(y) initiate the procedure for the EU to become full member of GRECO, in which the EU has held observer status since 2019; insist on EU Member States to publicise and meet GRECO recommendations;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2066(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point aa

(aa) promote European standards, including on anti-money laundering, beneficial ownership transparency and protection of whistleblowers in other multinational forums, and support the adoption of these standards by third countries; ensure that beneficial ownership registries in EU Member States are up-to-date and open to the public;

2021/09/28
Committee: AFET

2021/2025(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Reiterates its warning that the Union is facing an unprecedented and escalating crisis of its founding values, which threatens its long-term survival as a democratic peace project; is gravely concerned by the rise and entrenchment of autocratic and illiberal tendencies, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession, as well as corruption, disinformation and state capture, in several Member States; underlines the dangers of this trend for the cohesion of the Union’s legal order, the protection of the fundamental rights of all its citizens, the functioning of its single market, the effectiveness of its common policies and its international credibility;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Recalls that the Union remains structurally ill-equipped to tackle democratic, fundamental rights and rule of law violations and backsliding in the Member States; regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes that the Council’s failure to apply Article 7 TEU effectively is in fact enabling continued divergence from the values provided for in Article 2 TEU; notes with concern the disjointed nature of the Union’s toolkit in that field and calls for it to be streamlined and properly enforced;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Highlights that the rule of law is an essential precondition for compliance with the principle of sound financial management and for the protection of the Union’s financial interests, which can only be ensured if public authorities act in accordance with the law, if cases of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest or other breaches of the law are pursued effectively by investigative and prosecution services, if national courts are independent, and if the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union are respected; Stresses however, that the above institutions in the Member States have to be functional not only legally but also in practice;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the importance of the Commission’s first Rule of Law Report as a basis on which to build the new cycle of the rule of law mechanism; welcomes the inclusion among its pillars of the justice system, the anti-corruption framework and other institutional checks and balances, as these are particularly relevant for monitoring the protection of the EU budget; Is of the opinion that the annual report is lacking conclusions on the state of the Rule of Law in the Member States and in the EU in general; considers that these are essential preconditions to identify follow-up actions; encourages the Commission to propose remedial measures and tools and allocate adequate timelines to them;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the importance of the Commission’s first Rule of Law Report as a basis on which to build the new cycle of the rule of law mechanism; welcomes the inclusion among its pillars of the justice system, the anti-corruption framework and other institutional checks and balances, as these are particularly relevant for monitoring the protection of the EU budget; calls on the Commission to assess any possible overlaps between the Rule of Law Mechanism and the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Bulgaria and Romania and ensure a streamlined evaluation process;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that the analysis and the conclusions of the annual reports should be directly contributing to the Conditionality Mechanism; calls on the Commission to clarify in the methodology the clear link between the two mechanisms;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Is of the opinion that the Commission should be making publicly available all its correspondence regarding the annual Rule of Law report with all stakeholders, including the Member States and NGOs in order to prove its impartiality;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States to proactively participate in the procedure and engage themselves into meaningful dialogue and cooperation with the Commission in order to improve the state of the Rule of Law in each Member State and overall in the EU;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to assess the effectiveness of the national anti- corruption strategies and to use that knowledge to update and enhance the Union’s anti-corruption framework; calls on the Commission to use the information and assessments of GRECO in this process;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that transparency, access to public information, the protection of whistleblowers and an overall culture of integrity in public life are key factors that enable corruption to be identified and prevented; underlines the importance of harmonising definitions and methodologies to obtain comparative data across the EU; underlines that there are ongoing challenges to collect information on the persons benefiting directly or indirectly most from the CAP and cohesion funds;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that transparency, access to public information, ~~the protection of whistleblowers~~media freedom and pluralism, investigative journalism the protection of whistleblowers, the protection of journalists against SLAPP and an overall culture of integrity in public life are key factors that enable corruption to be identified and prevented; underlines the importance of harmonising definitions and methodologies to obtain comparative data across the EU;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Highlights the importance of supporting and strengthening cooperation between the EU institutions, the Member States ~~and, in particular, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in the fight against corruption~~in the fight against corruption; is of the opinion that fighting corruption requires not only a strong mandate but a further increased budget to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO); Is of the opinion that OLAF should be focusing more on those Member States in its activity, which did not join to EPPO; recalls that Member States receiving grants from the EU budget should be required to join the EPPO, or, for those Member States availing of the JHA opt-out in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty, to have a relevant, independent national equivalent, working in close cooperation with the EPPO;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Highlights the importance of supporting and strengthening cooperation between the EU institutions, the Member States and, in particular, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in the fight against corruption; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide the EPPO with all necessary support in order to ensure its successful launch of activities;

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2025(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA, Olivier CHASTEL, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Reiterates that Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 has been in force since 1 January 2021 and is not subject to the adoption of any guidelines or judicial interpretation; reiterates its call on the Commission to fulfil its obligations under this Regulation and provide Parliament with information as mentioned above by 1 June 2021, otherwise Parliament will have to consider that the Commission failed to act and subsequently shall take action under Article 265 of the TFEU.

2021/04/29
Committee: CONT

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the EU Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) and its ambitious and comprehensive objectives, and insists on its full implementation, policy coherence and institutional capacity across all areas of EU external action and the institutional structures of the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS); including EU Delegations and Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to strengthen the synergies with the EU Strategic Approach to Women, Peace and Security and its Action Plan (2019- 2024), the EU Gender Equality Strategy (2020-2025), the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy (2020-2025), the EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025, the EU Roma Strategic Framework for equality, inclusion and participation and the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Calls on the Commission and EEAS to strengthened synergies with the United Nations, partner countries and other international stakeholders, to jointly advance and successfully reach international targets related to gender equality in the 2030 Agenda, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and their review conferences, the UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and its follow-up resolutions, as well as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses the important role of member states in achieving the objectives of GAP III; encourages EU Member States to align their policies and programmes in coherence with the objectives of the European Union and to increase their actions in the fight against gender-based violence through, inter alia, the establishment of focal points for gender-based violence within their consular services;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Welcomes the inclusion of sexual and gender-based violence within the criteria for the imposition of sanctions in the framework of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act); reiterates its call to the Council and the European Council to move towards qualified majority voting, by activating the passerelle clause regarding sanctions and human rights;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Highlights the need to tackle the shrinking space for civil society and to closely consult in all the stages of the joint programming and implementation, with organisations fighting, in particular, for the rights of women, girls and marginalised groups; stresses the need to support women human rights defenders and peace builders in the EU external action;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Points out the need to increase the monitoring and accountability of EU action, especially with regards to the human rights, democracy and gender nexus; requests the EEAS and the Commission to include a specific update on the actions carried out to mainstreaming gender equality in the country reports of its Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Calls on the EU to recognize women's leadership in the fight against climate change, and to promote their participation both at European level and in international fora, while increasing synergies with the external dimension of the EU Green Deal; encourages the EEAS and the Commission to ensure that a gender perspective is included in political dialogues and partnerships with third countries on disaster risk reduction, natural resources management and climate adaptation and mitigation;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the integration of the Women, Peace and Security framework in GAP III; insists on the inclusion of women and marginalised groups in conflict resolution and peace negotiations, across all tracks; encourages the EU and its Member States to make substantial political and financial support for peace processes conditional on the meaningful participation of women as negotiators, mediators as well as on the inclusion of women and girl's rights;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the introduction of country-level implementation plans; calls on the Commission and the EEAS to take full ownership of gender-sensitive country reporting and gender mainstreaming, by, among others, enhancing the role of gender focal persons (GFP) within EU Delegations to implement GAP III through adequate time and resources assigned to this position;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Reiterates that gender balance at all levels - including in senior management positions - is a sine qua non condition to mainstream gender perspective in all EU policies; regrets that no progress has been made in the appointment of a new Principal Advisor on Gender and calls on the EEAS to strengthen its role, mandate, resources and competencies; Points out that the fact that no woman applied for the position of Secretary General of the EEAS shows the extent to which the EU needs to improve its actions to promote gender equality through concrete actions, including talent-spotting and mentoring, networking, facilitation of work-life balance and trainings and coaching for women in management and pre- management positions; highlights the need to further cooperate with EU Member States and national diplomatic schools in promoting the role of women in diplomacy, while encouraging their integration into the European External Action Service as Seconded national experts (SNE);

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Expects specific and measurable baselines and targets to be added to the joint staff working document on the objectives and indicators to frame the implementation of the GAP III (SWD(2020)0284), as well as road maps and timelines for all objectives, and sanctions in case of non-fulfilment; notes that indicators based on the percentage of trainings on GEWE and GAP III, WPS, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and Sexual Harassment (SH) are not sufficient to determine the achievement of targets in this area; calls for the number of complaints on sexual abuse and harassment to be taken into account in the evaluation of compliance and reiterates the need to strengthen complaint mechanisms and to further protect victims and whistle-blowers.

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Underlines that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a weapon of war, and that women are disproportionately affected by conflict related sexual violence and other human rights violations with impunity, including higher risk of trafficking; Recalls that the Rome Statute provides a permanent legal framework to extensively address SGBV as a crime against humanity and therefore, calls on the EU to actively support the independent and essential activity of the International Criminal Court both politically and financially;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Stresses the need for the European Union to support women leaders in political institutions, including parliament, political parties and Election Management Bodies, therefore promoting working opportunities for women at all governmental levels; calls on the EU to encourage and retain women leaders, and highlight the constructive contribution women leaders make to decision-making as well as increasing role models;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8 c. Stresses the enormous gender dimension of the crime of trafficking; considers international cooperation to be a fundamental condition for the success of any response to human trafficking; calls for further integration of the fight against trafficking in women and girls into the objectives of GAP III and for increased synergies with the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (2021-2025); Calls on the Commission to deepening partnerships with third countries, regional and international organisations in order to step up cooperation and enhance criminal intelligence, information sharing and facilitate international judicial cooperation; Calls on the EEAS to play a key role on the fight against trafficking of women and children through political dialogue and by making full use of its external tools; underlines the potential for international cooperation in training for law enforcement, immigration and other relevant officials in the prevention of trafficking in persons with a human rights, child- and gender-sensitive approach, which should encourage cooperation with non-governmental organizations and civil society;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8 d. Stresses the important role of parliamentary diplomacy in advancing gender equality, promoting women's political participation and empowerment and breaking gender stereotypes; calls on the EU and its Member States to further involve the European Parliament and national parliaments in their gender strategies in external action;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/2003(INI)

María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)

8 e. Notes the need for greater coordination between the European institutions, the External Action Service and the Member States in reporting on the implementation of GAP III; stresses that, for a proper monitoring of implementation, reporting must adopt a strong and solid impact-oriented approach;

2021/06/22
Committee: AFET

2021/0227(BUD)

Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL, Malik AZMANI, Nathalie LOISEAU, Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Ramona STRUGARIU, Anna Júlia DONÁTH, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls the estimate made by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) that it will process 3 000 investigations in 2022; emphasises that EPPO is a prosecutorial body with mandatory competences and obligations to investigate irrespective of budgetary provision; is concerned that the funding proposed for 2022 does not include a meaningful increase as compared with 2021; considers that last year budget was already falling short compared to the workload anticipated and a potential extension of the EPPO mandate covering environmental offences will require sufficient budgetary means, especially for the establishment of a EPPO Green Prosecutor with a special environmental crime unit; stresses that a substantial funding increase to EUR 55,7 million, ands well as 59 additional members of staff at AD grade and 76 additional members of staff at AST grade are required;

2021/08/02
Committee: LIBE

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas de jure the Member States and the Commission have shared responsibility, and must work closely together, to protect the Union’s financial interests and fight fraud and corruption; whereas de facto Member State authorities managed approximately 74 % of EU expenditure and collected the Union’s traditional own resources with regard to the Union’s budget for 2019;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the Commission should fulfil its respective responsibilities under shared management for supervision, control and audit, however the Commission is capable of monitoring approximately 10% of all expenditures;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the diversity of legal and administrative systems in the Member States ~~needs to be adequately addressed in order to overcome~~is not an advantage and whereas it needs to be adequately addressed to be able to create more unified administrative and reporting systems in the EU to effectively prevent and fight irregularities and combat fraud and corruption;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas systematic and institutionalised and high level cases of corruption and deliberate weakening of the checks and balances and of the independence of the institutions responsible for monitoring and controlling finances in certain Member States seriously harm the Union’s financial interests while also representing a threat to the rule of law;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

G a. whereas corruption affects all Member States burdens not only the EU economy, but undermines democracy and rule of law all across Europe;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the 31st Annual report on the protection of the EU’s financial interests and the fight against fraud, which underlines the achievements of 2019 with regards to the consolidation of the institutional framework on the fight against fraud and irregularities at Union level achieved by the transposition into national law by 12 Member States of the measures provided for in the Directive on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (‘the PIF Directive’) with ~~the~~22 Member States doing so by June 2020; calls on all remaining 22 Member States ~~doing so by June 2020~~to take all necessary measures and ensure the full and correct transposition of the Directive within the shortest time possible; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the transposition process in all Member States, as well as to make use of its prerogatives for launching infringement procedures, where Member States fail to comply with the transposition process;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that the number of detected irregularities reported as fraudulent is an indication of the level of detection and of the capacity to intercept potential fraud by Member States and Union bodies, and recalls that it is not a direct indicator of the level of fraud affecting the Union budget or a specific Member State; recalls that in 2019, two special reports of the European Court of Auditors highlighted the shortcomings of the Commission with regards to its insight into the scale, nature and causes of fraud, identifying weaknesses in the Commission’s strategic approach towards managing risks of fraud, calling on the Commission to take more proactive measures in order to address these issues; notes that the detection and reporting of an irregularity implies that corrective measures have been taken in order to protect the Union’s financial interests and that, whenever relevant, criminal proceedings have been launched;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Highlights that, in particular for fraudulent irregularities, detections were concentrated in a few Member States, suggesting different approaches to the use of criminal law in protecting the EU budget; calls on the Commission to address these differences and consider new harmonizing measures;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Underlines the increased risks associated to the implementation of the Union budget, incurred by the COVID -19 crisis; highlights that in 2019, fifteen Member States reported irregularities in actions related to health infrastructures, with seven reporting fraudulent irregularities; notes with concern that more than half of the fraudulent irregularities were reported by two Member States; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to these cases, monitoring and taking action for ensuring the full protection of the EU budget, especially under exceptional crisis circumstances;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the adoption of the New Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy on 29 April 2019; welcomes the zero tolerance policy towards fraud; welcomes the reintroduction of the Commission’s corporate oversight of fraud issues by giving OLAF a stronger advisory and supervisory role reminds that the CAFS foresees actions only to the Commission, while the majority of responsibilities lie with the Member States; calls for a unified approach for the European Fraud Strategy, which includes the Member States as well;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Stresses the importance of prioritising the development and establishment of National Anti-Fraud Strategies (NAFSs) by all Member States, also in the light of the new challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and the Recovery and Resilience Plans; deplores that only ten Member States have adopted a national anti-fraud strategy (NAFS); calls on all Member States who have not yet adopted a NAFS to do so without delay; calls on the Commission to push the remaining Member States to advance their adoption of NAFS;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Stresses the importance of prioritising the development and establishment of National Anti-Fraud Strategies (NAFSs) by all Member States, also in the light of the new challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and the Recovery and Resilience Plans; calls on Member States who have not yet adopted a NAFS to do so without delay; calls on the Commission to assess the already existing NAFSs and assess the reasons why Member States have not done that so far;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Stresses the importance of prioritising the development and establishment of National Anti-Fraud Strategies (NAFSs) by all Member States, also in the light of the new challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and the Recovery and Resilience Plans; reminds that still 16 Member States have not prepared their own NAFSs; calls on Member States who have not yet adopted a NAFS to do so without delay;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25 a. Stresses that after the creation of the EPPO, OLAF will remain the sole office responsible for protecting EU financial interests in the Member States that decided not to join the EPPO; highlights that according to opinion 8/2018 of the European Court of Auditors, the Commission proposal amending the OLAF regulation does not resolve the issue of low effectiveness of OLAF’s administrative investigations; underlines the importance of ensuring that OLAF remains a strong and fully functioning partner to the EPPO;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25 a. Is strongly of the opinion that OLAF needs to be strengthened with budgetary means and positions in order to be fully capable to exercise its duties regarding prevention and investigation; especially regarding those Member States, which are not participating in the EPPO;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)

25 b. Welcomes the agreement between OLAF and the co-legislators, in close cooperation with the Commission services, towards including standard provisions on the protection of the financial interests of the Union in all post-2020 spending programmes legislation harmonised by area;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Welcomes the appointment of Ms. Laura Codruța Kövesi as European Chief Prosecutor ~~and the progress achieved by the setting up~~in 2019 and launch of operations of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘the EPPO’) on June 1st 2021;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Notes that the procedure for the appointment of the European prosecutors was launched in 2019, and ~~the discussion on national preparations to integrate European delegated prosecutors into national system~~has been completed in 2020, but regrets the lack of nominations of European delegated prosecutors by Finland and Slovenia, as well as the considerable delays in many other Member States; notes that by the end of 2019, 18 Member States had notified the Commission that they had incorporated Directive (EU) 2017/1371 into national law;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Stresses that the future cooperation between OLAF and the EPPO should be based on close cooperation, efficient exchange of information and complementarity, while avoiding duplications or conflicted competences;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Calls on the Commission to do its utmost to incentivise all Member States to join the EPPO;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Welcomes to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (‘the Whistleblowing Directive’) noting the deadline for transposition on 17 December 2021; ~~highlights the importance of independent media and investigative journalists and reiterates the need to protect them including through anti-slapp legislation~~calls on the Commission to closely monitor and assist the Member States, ensuring the complete, correct and timely transposition of the Directive;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Welcomes to the adoption of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (‘the Whistleblowing Directive’) noting the deadline for transposition on 17 December 2021; highlights the importance of independent media and investigative journalists and reiterates the need to protect them including through anti-slapp legislation; calls on the Commission to start assessing the implementation by the Member States as soon as the deadline has passed;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28 a. Highlights the importance of independent media and investigative journalists and reiterates the need to protect them; calls therefore on the Commission to develop comprehensive measures for the protection and financing of independent investigative journalism, including a rapid response mechanism for journalists in distress and effective anti- SLAPP legislation;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Stresses the importance of the progress made on the Commission’s legislative and policy initiatives to prevent and fight corruption, as well as the regular monitoring and evaluation of the Member States’ legal framework under the newly established Rule of Law Report; recalls however the highly descriptive nature of the newly established Rule of Law report;calls on the Commission to strengthen this instrument by issuing recommendations in situations where deficiencies are identified;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Calls on the Commission to ensure the full transparency and quality of data reported by Member States in the Irregularity Management System (IMS); urges Member States to report complete data in a timely manner; calls on the Commission and the Member States to link IMS with EDES and ARACHNE and provide access to all Member States and the Commission;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. ~~Stresses the importance of~~Emphasizes that the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES)~~; invites the Commission to analyse the impact of a possible extension of EDES to~~, as the EU’s Blacklist, has a huge potential flagging people and companies that misuse EU funds; invites the Commission to initiate the change of the Financial Regulation in order to allow EDES to be operational not only in direct management but also in indirect and shared management;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33 a. Deplores the fact that there are more than 290 monitoring and reporting systems for the CAP and the Cohesion Fund which makes it impossible to verify the final beneficiaries of those funds, to prevent and effectively investigate fraud and corruption; calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish a harmonised or unified reporting system with timely and accurate data in order to remedy the situation;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. REmphasises the particular importance of EU and national anti-fraud institutions and bodies in the context of increased EU resources through the Recovery and Resilience fund; recalls the importance of supporting and strengthening cooperation among the EU institutions, the EPPO, OLAF, the EU agencies, in particular Europol and Eurojust, and national authorities, in order to detect and tackle fraud and corruption more effectively; reiterates its call to ensure adequate resources for the EPPO, OLAF and relevant EU agencies in ~~this regard~~next years’ budgets, and that the EPPO be able to use the financial resources in the 2021 budget for additional staff recruitment, as requested by Parliament;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls the importance of supporting and strengthening cooperation among the EU institutions, the EPPO, OLAF, the EU agencies, in particular Europol and Eurojust, and national authorities, in order to detect and tackle fraud and corruption more effectively; reiterates its call to ensure ~~adequate~~further strengthened resources for the EPPO, OLAF and relevant EU agencies in this regard;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)

35 a. Calls on the Commission to consider updating its anti-fraud strategy in order to fully reflect the operationalisation of the EPPO and its role in fighting fraud;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)

35 b. Urges the Commission to strictly monitor the Member States that have not yet nominated the European Delegated Prosecutors or have not adapted their national legislation for the operationalisation of the EPPO, where necessary, by suspending their funding on the basis of article 63.2 and 8 of the Financial Regulations and the sector specific rules, and/or by launching infringement proceedings;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

37. Notes that only 13 Member States made use of ARACHNE during their risk analysis; reiterates the importance of this tool, as well as of interoperability of IT systems and databases for fraud risk analysis and fraud detection purposes; reiterates its call on the Commission to ~~consider making th~~make use of ARACHNE mandatory for Member States; calls on Member States to provide the system with timely and reliable data; is of the opinion that the Commission and OLAF need to have access to these data;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37 a. Notes that 16 Member States have strengthened risk analysis to detect fraud and irregularities via the use of IT tools; calls on the Commission to facilitate exchanges of good practices between these countries and Member States without experience;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2246(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Katalin CSEH, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)

39 a. Welcomes the specific events organised by OLAF in 2019 in support of non-EU countries; strongly encourages the Commission, OLAF and all the other institutions and bodies of the Union entrusted with the protection of the financial interests of the Union to actively engage and collaborate with partner authorities in candidate, potential candidate and EaP countries, promoting measures to effectively address possible fraud cases; calls on the Commission to develop specific and regular mechanisms to effectively prevent and combat fraud with EU funds in these states;

2021/05/28
Committee: CONT

2020/2242(INI)

Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Bart GROOTHUIS, Katalin CSEH, Klemen GROŠELJ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Emphasises the timely need for hydrogen production ~~and~~, transport and distribution infrastructure and the parallel development of demand and supply; welcomes, in this respect, the Commission’s intention to review Regulation No 347/2013 of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans- European energy infrastructure (the TEN-E Regulation)15; notes that, despite the concentration on industrial clusters in the first phase, the progressive reconversion of distribution grids and the planning of infrastructure for transmission over longer distances and its regulation should already be undertaken; ~~_________________ 15~~OJ L 115, 25.4.2013, p. 39.

2020/12/11
Committee: ITRE

2020/2242(INI)

Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Bart GROOTHUIS, Katalin CSEH, Klemen GROŠELJ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to assess the possibility of repurposing existing gas pipelines for the transport and distribution of pure hydrogen in order to maximise cost efficiency and minimise investment costs and levelised costs of transmission and distribution;

2020/12/11
Committee: ITRE

2020/2215(INI)

10. Acknowledges the Agency’s existing measures and ongoing efforts to secure transparency, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, and whistle-blower protection; ~~note~~regrets that some of the Agency’s administrative board members’ CVs and declarations of interest are not published on the Agency’s website;

2021/03/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2169(DEC)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU

10 a. Underlines the commitment made by the Agency to publish on its website the relevant meetings of the Executive Director and staff with interest representatives; regrets that this information appears in a section existing only on the English version of its website; invites the Agency to fulfil its commitment and to regularly update the page dedicated to this information in all language versions of its website;

2021/03/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2169(DEC)

Pierre KARLESKIND, Olivier CHASTEL, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Welcomes the Agency's efforts to increase the visibility of its action both in the traditional press and on social networks; believes that the communication strategy implemented by the Agency contributes to a better understanding by the general public of the role, institutional organisation and action of the European Union in the field of fisheries control; invites the Agency to continue its efforts in this direction and to strengthen its links with civil society, in particular the scientific and academic community;

2021/03/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2168(DEC)

Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Pierre KARLESKIND, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Authority to continue to develop its synergies, increase cooperation and exchange of good practices with other Union agencies with a view to improve efficiency in areas such as human resources, building management, IT services and security;

2021/03/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2168(DEC)

Katalin CSEH, Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Pierre KARLESKIND, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Notes that according to the ECA Special Report on the Future of the Agencies the Agency has very limited autonomy in practice regarding its main task is to exploit the Galileo global satellite navigation system under a delegation agreement with the Commission; calls on the Commission to review the autonomy of the Agency particularly regarding its competencies on implementing the delegation agreement through a number of complex contracts with industrial partners and public sector entities; calls on the Agency to report back on the developments in this regard to the discharge authority;

2021/03/05
Committee: CONT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Notes~~Welcomes the fact that the Agency uses key performance indicators to measure its training activities and their impact, in particular the satisfaction level of the participants, in order to assess the added value provided by those activities, and uses performance indicators to improve its budget management;

2021/03/04
Committee: CONT

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Gilles BOYER, Alin MITUȚA, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Encourages the creation of an Independent Ethics Body (IEB) common to all EU institutions; welcomes the fact that the Commission has made it a priority, and is committed to supporting the IEB’s effort to establish a common ethical framework at EU level; calls on all EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to support and contribute to the establishment of the future common ethical framework of the EU; encourages the extension of the competences of the IEB as to cover all EU agencies, offices, bodies and other EU structures;

2021/02/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2133(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Gilles BOYER, Katalin CSEH

5. Sees high potential for the EU institutions to transfer administrative decision-making competences to the IEB based on a new harmonised ethics framework that it will establish, which should include common rules on the content and publication of declarations of interests, avoidance of conflicts of interest and revolving doors, acceptance of gifts and entertainment, protection of whistle- blowers and victims of harassment, transparency of lobby meetings, public procurement and meeting calendars of senior staff, and use of transparent bank accounts for public funds;

2021/02/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2133(INI)

Ramona STRUGARIU, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines that the IEB should be in charge of prevention, monitoring, investigation and enforcement of the common ethical framework for the protection of the EU’s financial interests; highlights that the IEB should be able to take disciplinary measures and impose financial sanctions, and not only issue recommendations, in order to avoid abuse of the EU budget linked to unethical behaviour;

2021/02/05
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)

– having regard to the Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-156/21 and C157/21 Hungary v Parliament and Council; Poland v Parliament and Council,

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the budgetary authorities adopted the MFF 2021-2027 package, which together with the NextGenerationEU recovery instrument amounts to an unprecedented EUR 1.8 trillion in total of funding over the coming years to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the EU’s long- term priorities across different policy areas;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the implementation of all of those funds is de jure subject to full and unlimited ~~scrutiny by Parliament~~European scrutiny, including scrutiny by the European Parliament; however the de facto capacity of the EU institutions to control the EU funds is unfortunately rather limited without the effective and meaningful cooperation of the national authorities;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the protection of the EU’s financial interests is a key element of the EU policy agenda to strengthen and increase the confidence of the public and ensure that taxpayer money is used properly; whereas the implementation of the MFF 2021-2027 budgetary package must be in line with the general principles enshrined in the Treaties, in particular the European Values set out in Article 2 of the TEU and the principle of sound financial management set out in Article 310 of the TFEU and in the Financial Regulation;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that, in today’s society, ‘oligarchy’ refers to any small, cohesive class or group that is in a position to make decisions or command others in either political or non-political contexts or rule a political community in its own interest, without regard for democracy; notes that in an oligarchy, political elites misdirect public funds from the EU or national budgets to serve their private interest and often rely on businessmen who act on their behalf in a structure where real beneficiaries and beneficial owners are usually concealed; notes that the extreme concentration of political and financial elites leads to state capture;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes, with particular concern, that the occurrence of such oligarchic groups, which sometimes do not refrain from using government tools or criminal practices, has reached an unprecedented magnitude in the past several years; notes, with extreme concern, that politically connected oligarch networks can capture the national media market and interfere with the workings of democratic public spheres;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that ensuring the effective functioning of the rule of law, promoting competition, enhancing transparency and assuring functional implementation of public procurement rules and free access to markets is fundamental to prevent oligarchs from seizing control of the economy and financial market, which would result in them self-reinforcing; insists that the EU promotes transparency in the spending of EU and national funds, strengthen the rules of transparency, especially on final beneficiaries and beneficial owners and closely monitor and enforce the proper implementation of such rules;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Asks the Commission nevertheless to amend Article 167(1)(c) of the Financial Regulation to include a more explicit definition of ‘professional conflict of interest’, so as to ensure that EU institutions are able to take mitigating measures in the case of bidders with a financial interest in a policy-related service contract; calls on the Commission to do its utmost for ensuring uniform interpretation of the definition of conflict of interest in all Member States of the EU;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Points out that conflicts of interest do not only occur in relation to corruption, fraud and criminal conduct; stresses nevertheless that the consequent detection and disclosure of conflicts of interest is paramount to identifying possible risks of misuse, bias, fraud and corruption in fund management, as well as preventing reputational harm;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Reiterates, however, that even the best legal framework cannot compensate for an insufficient implementation mechanism; calls therefore for an improvement of the capacities of the EU bodies for better enabling them to monitor and investigate conflict of interest cases;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Emphasises that as far as cohesion policy is concerned, the most frequently detected types of fraudulent irregularities for projects financed under the programming period 2014-2020 for European structural and investment funds concern overpricing, incorrect, missing and false or falsified supporting documents, infringement of contract provisions, single biding public procurements, eligibility and infringement of public procurement rules, and breaches in relation to ethics and integrity including conflict of interest and corruption;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Notes that in agricultural spending~~, there is also~~ there are established common practices at the misuse of CAP funds, such as a risk of falsification of documents and of the creation of artificial conditions , such as by splitting agricultural holdings to avoid EU agricultural payment cap and requesting aid through several linked companies, or through incomplete implementation of the action; highlights that with regard to market measures, high financial amounts were recorded in several cases of conflict of interest combined with other breaches linked to promotion and are being investigated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF);

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Points out that in several countries conflict of interest and revolving doors constitute serious problems; highlights that with regard to market measures, high financial amounts were recorded in several cases of conflict of interest combined with other breaches linked to promotion and are being investigated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF);

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Points out that the study on the implementation of the CAP funds revealed that the disbursement of EU agriculture funds is a highly problematic issue in at least five Member States and that there is a clear inequality between fund allocations for big and small farmers, with systemic advantages for the big farms, whose ~~managers sometimes~~beneficiaries often have close ties to the ruling political parties in their countries; calls for more equal allocation of CAP funds;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Points out that although there is a certain level of transparency required by the EU, its implementation is often impeded, so public access to data regarding the allocation of subsidies is highly problematic issue in the EU;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Deplores the fact that there are 292 reporting systems disclosing beneficiary information of CAP and Cohesion Policy which makes it de facto impossible to identify the ultimate final beneficiaries of EU funds, and to compare the data collected in the Member States; it also makes it more difficult to properly investigate misuses of EU funds; urges the Commission to establish a more unified reporting system which is capable of the comparison of the data provided by the Member States;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Appreciates OLAFʼs long-term intensive investigative activity covering many politically controversial and complex cases; regrets that the indictment rate following recommendations by OLAF to Member States decreased from 53 % in the 2007-2014 period to 37 % in the 2016- 2020 period; further notes that the extent to which financial amounts recommended for recovery are actually recovered has not been assessed in recent years, and that the most recent assessment covering the years 2009 to 2016 indicates a recovery rate of 21 %; calls on OLAF and the Commission to investigate the underlying reasons ~~and calls on the Member States~~; reiterates its calls on OLAF to regularly follow up on its recommendations and the measures the Member States take and add it to its yearly reports and calls on the Member States’ authorities to do their utmost to improve the indictment rate and to cooperate closely with EU bodies to ensure that funds misused by organised crime and oligarchs are recovered;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Commends the invaluable work carried out by OLAF, the EPPO and Europol in combating financial crimes such as corruption, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, and stresses that these institutions are chronically understaffed and lacking financial resources due to the unwillingness of the Council as one of the budgetary authorities to authorise sufficient human and financial resources during the annual budgetary procedure; ~~call~~reminds that every euro spent on monitoring and investigation returns to the EU budget; urges therefore on the Council to review its position and allow for increased financing of human resources for these agencies and offices, enabling them to carry out their important mission in an appropriate and effective way and calls on the Commission to continuously present supporting draft budgets to the budget authorities;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls for the use of the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) to be made compulsory under shared management and create a transparent EU wide blacklist; further notes that the EDES does not distinguish between subsidiaries of larger corporations; calls for the mandatory use of the A~~rachne~~RACHNE data mining and data enrichment tool by Member States in order to achieve more transparency on the beneficiaries of CAP funds; is of the opinion that the European investigative bodies shall have full and direct access to the ARACHNE;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Deplores that since 1 January 2021, the Commission has been unable to take any appropriate action to apply the Conditionality Regulation, which entered into force on that day; strongly regrets that after months of debating, Parliament has been forced to take legal action against the Commission under Article 265 TFEU for failure to apply the Conditionality Regulation; is of the opinion that the informal letters sent out to Hungary and Poland are insufficient in terms of applying the regulation; insist again that the Commission should start the application of regulation immediately and initiate procedures against all affected Member States without any discrimination immediately;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Underlines the important role of investigative journalists in the fight against corruption, fraud and illegal activities that negatively impact the EU budget; reiterates in this regard the need to protect investigative journalism from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), as well as personal harassment, intimidation and threats to life;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2126(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Olivier CHASTEL, Alin MITUȚA, Ramona STRUGARIU, Pierre KARLESKIND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Calls on the Commission to insist on a strict and rigorous implementation of the applicable rules, to use all available sources and to employ efficient management and control systems to address risks of corruption, fraud and conflict of interest, and to better monitor the situation of agriculture paying agencies and their formal and informal independence; is of the view that substantive auditing and controls both on the national and European level are key conditions for the protection of the EU funds; finds it worrying that the new CAP proposal does not strengthen the role of controlling systems at European level;

2021/12/08
Committee: CONT

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas COVID-19 has caused a global pandemic, which is affecting millions of human lives, giving rise to an unprecedented global health, economic, social and humanitarian crisis and will affect key aspects of EU foreign policy;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Urmas PAET, Malik AZMANI, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Javier NART, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the pandemic has highlighted existing challenges such as the fight against disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, and other malign third-party interference;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas COVID 19 crisis reveals once more the need to strengthen multilateralism and the rules-based order to better address global challenges

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the challenges the EU was facing prior to the pandemic persist or/and have worsened by it

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas the pandemic has aggravated the critical humanitarian situation of vulnerable people notably in conflict zones, refugee camps and fragile states; whereas in this perspective, the EU supported the United Nations' appeal to ease sanctions amid pandemic to not impede the delivery of essential equipment and supplies necessary to fight the coronavirus;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas the EU echoed the United Nations' appeal for an immediate global ceasefire

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)

Be. whereas the EU was the target of disinformation campaigns from governmental and non-governmental actors with the direct intention to destabilize the EU institutions and the Member states and to weaken European values;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Hilde VAUTMANS, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to review the 2016 Global Strategy in light of the global impact of the crisis, reflecting these geopolitical shifts and ensuring more strategic EU action and that the EU plays its part in defending the rules-based multilateral world order that was created after the Second World War;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Deplores the early denial of the reality of the pandemic by a number of governments and political leaders across the globe, slowing down decisive actions against the spread of the virus in a dangerous way for the population;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Is concerned about the lack of leadership the United States has shown in fighting COVID-19; believes that the false information in President Trump’s tweets and during his press conferences have been very unhelpful in the joint fight against the virus;deleted

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Is concerned about the ~~lack of leadership the United States has shown in fighting~~United States' response to the COVID-19; believes that the false information in President Trump’s tweets and during his press conferences have been very unhelpful in the joint fight against the virus;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Javier NART, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Dragoş TUDORACHE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Regrets the lack of communication between the EU and United States and unilateral measures taken during the COVID-19 crises, for example when imposing of travel restrictions; stresses the need to work together in fighting COVID-19, including timely exchange of information;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Javier NART, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Is worried about the decision of the US~~urges the US to review its decision to withdraw funding from the World Health Organization (WHO) ~~and~~; regrets the general tendency of its US President to withdraw the US from the multilateral organisations that were created to establish a rules-based world order or undermine them (ICC);

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Acknowledg~~Stresses the need to ~~find a new method of~~advance cooperation between the EU and US, based on mutual respect and a joint agenda to defend multilateralism, the rule of law and human rights;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Recognises the emergency contributions provided by China to fight the virus; also recognises, however, a clear geopolitical and geo-economic dimension, bolstered by ‘virus and wolf warrior diplomacy’ and the politicisation of humanitarian assistance; condemns the massive infodemic by China and Russia during COVID-19 crises;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Malik AZMANI, Bart GROOTHUIS, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Urmas PAET, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Katalin CSEH, José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Is concerned about the lack of transparency related to the Chinese reaction to the global outbreak, involving the withholding of information, censorship, the suppression of whistle-blowers and human rights activists, and the projection of power in the region; is concerned about the increased efforts by the Chinese state to influence the European public domain by swaying public opinion and pressuring governments;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Frédérique RIES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Condemns the disinformation campaigns and aggressive propaganda of China against the Union and its Members states during the crisis;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Urmas PAET, Malik AZMANI, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Javier NART, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Urges the Chinese regime to fully cooperate with an independent investigation into the origins of COVID- 19, and calls on the Member States to present a united front towards a rising China, which is leading a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and has threatened to annex Taiwan, while brutally repressing and persecuting members of the Uyghur ethnic minority; calls on the Member States to advocate Taiwan’s membership of the WHO;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Malik AZMANI, Bart GROOTHUIS, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Javier NART, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Katalin CSEH, José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Urges~~Demands that the Chinese regime to fully cooperates with an independent investigation into the origins of COVID- 19, and calls on the Member States to present a united front towards a rising China, which is leading a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and has threatened to annex Taiwan; calls on the Member States to advocate Taiwan’s membership of the WHO;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the VP/HR to recognise these concerns and ~~simultaneously~~work to prevent this new geopolitical environment from having negative repercussions in more fragile regions in the world; calls on the VP/HR to create an atmosphere of dialogue, engagement and genuine cooperation, based on a new, more assertive strategy in which the EU pushes back when necessary to defend European values; is of the view that, as part of this new strategy, the EU should seek closer collaboration with countries in the region and other democracies;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Malik AZMANI, Frédérique RIES, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the EU to be vigilant of, and when necessary counter, Chinese attempts to shape international institutions around values and interests the EU does not share;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Malik AZMANI, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Expresses concern over the structural attempts of the Russian Federation to undermine EU unity and to create mistrust between the EU and Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries by the intensification of disinformation campaigns;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Malik AZMANI, Bart GROOTHUIS, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Javier NART, Urmas PAET, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Katalin CSEH, José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Expresses concern over the structural attempts of the Russian Federation to undermine EU unity by the intensification of disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Notes that the voting on amendments to the Russian Constitution was flawed by multiple irregularities, including violation of voting secrecy, and regards the prevalence of Russian Constitution over international treaties and decisions of international bodies as incompatible with Russia‘s international obligations;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Notes that COVID-19 crises does not stop Russia from advancing with his geopolitical ambitions, calls for the EU not to dismiss this and to keep in the agenda the conflicts where Russia has an interest like Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia etc.;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Urmas PAET, Malik AZMANI, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Expresses indignation over reported Russian cyberattacks attempting to steal coronavirus-related research material from European pharmaceutical companies;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Condemns an attempt on Alexey Navalny’s life and calls for an independent and transparent investigation on Mr Navalny’s poisoning without any delay;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Malik AZMANI, Frédérique RIES, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Stresses that the multilateral rules- based world order is vital for global peace, the rule of law and democracy; and believes that a geopolitical EU, together with like- minded partners, must play a firmer role in defending it ~~and~~; underlines that international institutions should not be used for competition but for cooperation; believes that the EU must seek ways to de- escalate tensions between powers, notably when those tensions hinder multilateral action; notes that the COVID-19 crisis has shown both the need to strengthen multilateral cooperation, notably in global health governance, and the need to reform international institutions; calls on the EU Member States and HR/VP to promote and initiate structural reforms of multilateral organizations;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Calls for the EU's budget for external action in the MFF 2021-2027 to be strengthened and for the budgets of the NDICI, the European Defence Fund and the European Peace Facility to be sufficient so that the EU has the necessary resources to address the challenges in its neighbourhood, the geopolitical consequences of COVID-19 and can live up to its ambition to become a responsible geopolitical actor;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Urmas PAET, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Stresses that only a more united EU, backed up by sufficient and credible military capacities, will be able to conduct a strong foreign policy, and believes that the VP/HR should receive a stronger mandate in speaking on behalf of the EU, for example by establishing an European seat in multilateral organs such as the UN Security Council;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Believes that the end of the unanimity rule on foreign policy would help the EU to conduct a foreign policy that is more effective and more proactive; calls on the Council or European Council to follow the European Commission and European Parliaments' call to move to qualified majority voting, at least on human rights or sanctions implementation, by activating the passerelle clause;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Malik AZMANI, Frédérique RIES, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Underlines the important role of the armed forces during the COVID-19 pandemic and believes that a more in-depth joint operation and coordination of member states’ armed forces within existing frameworks - such as the European Medical Command - or within new frameworks - such as military hospital trains - could lead to greater efficiency and contribute to the EU’s preparedness to fight pandemics; recognises the need to review the EU’s security and defence strategies to develop strategic autonomy, to become better prepared and more resilient to the new and hybrid threats and technologies that have made the nature of warfare less conventional and challenge the traditional role of the military, as well as for a future in which Russia and China are becoming more assertive; stresses that the future Strategic Compass on security and defence should reflect these developments and take account of the broader geopolitical implications of COVID-19; believes that, given the new political balance and a potential worsening of the international security environment following COVID-19, the EU defence budgets must not be cutfor military personnel to be sufficiently trained, prepared and equipped to deal with this kind of essential tasks in support of their fellow citizens;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Malik AZMANI, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Recognises the need to review the EU’s security and defence strategies to develop strategic autonomy, to become better prepared and more resilient to the new and hybrid threats and technologies that have made the nature of warfare less conventional and challenge the traditional role of the military, as well as for a future in which Russia and China are becoming more assertive; stresses that the future Strategic Compass on security and defence should reflect these developments and take account of the broader geopolitical implications of COVID-19; believes that, given the new political balance and a potential worsening of the international security environment following COVID-19, the EU defence budgets must not be cut;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Christophe GRUDLER, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Welcomes the work of EUvsDisinfo on the fight against disinformation and calls the European External Action Service (EEAS) to further strengthen its capacities and to impose costs on countries that deliberately spread disinformation to divide and harm the EU and its Member States;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Notes that the online crime is on the rise, with the possibilities of major cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures increasing; stresses therefore the need to invest into fight against cyber-crimes and to raise the awareness of this increasing threat;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Malik AZMANI, Bart GROOTHUIS, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Javier NART, Urmas PAET, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Katalin CSEH, José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses that its ~~biggest global~~large consumer market of almost 500 million people gives the EU leverage on the world stage, and believes that a geopolitical Commission should use this leverage when other countries are not prepared to comply with the rule of law or international treaties;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Katalin CSEH, Urmas PAET, Malik AZMANI, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Javier NART, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Stresses that the EU has a global responsibility in preventing the erosion of democratic values and principles and the declining respect for fundamental human rights in the wake of the pandemic;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Malik AZMANI, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need to reduce dependency on third countries in certain strategic and existential sectors and might prompt diversification of its most critical supply chains; points out that COVID-19 has led to growing protectionism, therefore underlines the importance of finding the right balance between improving the resilience of our value chains to achieve strategic autonomy and maintaining trade relations as open as possible;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Welcomes the Team Europe package and the mobilisation of 36 billion euros to help partner countries in Africa, the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood, the Western Balkans, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean to tackle the impact of the coronavirus.

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Malik AZMANI, Bart GROOTHUIS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Urmas PAET, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Katalin CSEH, José Ramón BAUZÁ DÍAZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Underlines the strategic importance of EU engagement and support in the Arctic region, and in its neighbourhood, both in the East and in the South; stresses that the EU must give Western Balkan countries that are not yet part of the EU a fair chance to join the EU, and that the EU must continue its efforts to invest in the region;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Underlines the strategic importance of EU engagement and support in its neighbourhood, both in the East and in the South; ~~stresses that the EU must giv~~welcomes the inclusion of the Western Balkans countries ~~that are not yet part of the EU a fair chance to join the EU, and~~in the EU joint procurement of medical equipment and stresses that the EU must continue its efforts to invest in the ~~region~~Western Balkans;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Urmas PAET, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nathalie LOISEAU, Malik AZMANI, Katalin CSEH, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Notes the impact that COVID-19 has on more vulnerable regions, including conflict regions and least developed countries thereby increasing poverty and insecurity, prolonging conflicts and threaten gender equality and women’s rights; calls for the EU to increase its multilateral cooperation on humanitarian responses;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Calls on the EU to defend humanitarian accesses to remote conflict zones

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Dragoş TUDORACHE, Frédérique RIES, Nathalie LOISEAU, Urmas PAET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Welcomes the EU's rejecting of vaccine nationalism and calls on the European Commission to take the lead in ensuring that any future vaccine is accessible to all;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2111(INI)

Nathalie LOISEAU, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ, Klemen GROŠELJ, Frédérique RIES, Christophe GRUDLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Javier NART

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Calls on the EU Commission to work with its international partners to ensure that no one will be left behind once a vaccine will be made available;

2020/10/01
Committee: AFET

2020/2080(INI)

Bart GROOTHUIS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Hilde VAUTMANS, Urmas PAET, Katalin CSEH, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Javier NART, Malik AZMANI

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas Article 1(b) of Protocol 10 states that the Member States are to ‘have the capacity to supply by 2010 at the latest either at national level or as a component of multinational force groups, targeted combat units for the missions planned, structured at a tactical level as a battle group, with support elements including transport and logistics, capable of carrying out the tasks referred to in Article 43 of the Treaty on European Union, within a period of five to 30 days, in particular in response to requests from the United Nations Organisation, and which can be sustained for an initial period of 30 days and be extended up to at least 120 days’; whereas Article 1(b) needs to be revised in order to adequately respond to the challenging geopolitical environment; whereas the Member States are still far from achieving this goal;

2020/07/08
Committee: AFET

2020/2080(INI)

Bart GROOTHUIS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Javier NART, Malik AZMANI

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas work on the first three waves of PESCO projects has led to the pMS proposing 47 projects; whereas the current list of projects lacks coherence, strategic ambition and does not adequately address priority shortfalls as identified by the pMS; whereas one of these projects has been stopped in order to avoid unnecessary duplication; whereas other projects did not make sufficient progress or are at risk of being stopped, and around 30 projects are still in the ideation and preparatory phase; whereas the vast majority of PESCO projects coincide with EDF and NATO shortfalls;

2020/07/08
Committee: AFET

2020/2080(INI)

Bart GROOTHUIS, Nathalie LOISEAU, Klemen GROŠELJ, Hilde VAUTMANS, Urmas PAET, Katalin CSEH, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Javier NART, Malik AZMANI

Motion for a resolution
Recital U

U. whereas currently, PESCO projects are dependent on the 25 participating Member States’ financial contributions; whereas it is expected that, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, national defence budgets will suffer reductions; whereas paradoxically, several of the currently 47 PESCO projects, if funded accordingly, could strengthen Member States’ preparedness, should another massive public health crisis occur: military mobility – a flagship PESCO project –, the European Medical Command and many other projects in areas related to logistics and transportation, health care, disaster relief ~~and~~, the fight against malicious cyber activities and hostile disinformation campaigns; whereas cutting funding for the strategic capabilities that the EU and its Member States currently lack would also weaken their ability to jointly act against future pandemics;

2020/07/08
Committee: AFET

2020/2080(INI)

Bart GROOTHUIS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Urmas PAET, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Javier NART, Malik AZMANI

Motion for a resolution
Recital V

V. whereas the prospect of co- financing certain PESCO projects via the future European Defence Fund (EDF) has led pMS to multiply their proposals, and despite the fact that this has encouraged exchanges and cooperation, not all proposals necessarily have the EU’s best common strategic interest in mind;

2020/07/08
Committee: AFET

2020/2080(INI)

Bart GROOTHUIS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Hilde VAUTMANS, Urmas PAET, Katalin CSEH, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Javier NART, Malik AZMANI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point w a (new)

(wa) encourage ‘future threats’ to be at the basis of future PESCO project proposals, thus focussing on future developments which might present new security challenges to the Union;

2020/07/08
Committee: AFET

2020/2080(INI)

Bart GROOTHUIS, Klemen GROŠELJ, Hilde VAUTMANS, Katalin CSEH, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Javier NART, Malik AZMANI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point w b (new)

(wb) ensure that in all relevant aspects of PESCO projects, involvement and inclusion of SME’s is ensured;

2020/07/08
Committee: AFET

2020/2077(INI)

Martin HOJSÍK, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the importance of ~~boosting~~further research ~~efforts~~ in the field of chemical recycling ~~which, paired with organic and mechanical recycling, will complete a technology-neutral framework~~, including its environmental performance, as complementary to mechanical and organic recycling;

2020/10/27
Committee: ITRE

2020/2077(INI)

Martin HOJSÍK, Katalin CSEH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Urges the Commission to propose measures to ensure transparency and traceability to intra-EU trade in plastic waste, including by digital means and a certification framework to ensure treatment in accordance with circular- economy principles;

2020/10/27
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Fabienne KELLER, Bernard GUETTA, Stéphane BIJOUX, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Sylvie BRUNET, Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Bart GROOTHUIS, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)

- having regard to the European Council conclusions of 22 March 2019 (EUCO 1/19),

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Fabienne KELLER, Bernard GUETTA, Stéphane BIJOUX, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Sylvie BRUNET, Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Fredrick FEDERLEY, Bart GROOTHUIS, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the Union requires a new industrial strategy that makes its industries more globally competitive, ~~resilient~~innovative, inclusive, resilient, digitalised and environmentally sustainable; whereas such a strategy should cover the transition of European industries to digitalisation and climate-neutrality, strengthen European leadership and competitiveness and decrease dependency from other parts of the world in strategic value chains, while preserving an open market, prioritising the ‘energy efficiency first’ principles, energy savings and decarbonised and renewable energy technologies;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Fabienne KELLER, Bernard GUETTA, Stéphane BIJOUX, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Sylvie BRUNET, Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH, Pierre KARLESKIND, Fredrick FEDERLEY, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the Union’s industrial strategy should ensure the ~~correct~~full functioning of the single market, create a level playing field inside and outside EU in particular by making reciprocal access to markets a principle and ensure easier access to finance, raw materials and markets, in addition to ensuring appropriate levels of investment, research and innovation, education and skills to boost competitiveness and sustainability;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Fabienne KELLER, Bernard GUETTA, Stéphane BIJOUX, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Sylvie BRUNET, Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the Union’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy require an autonomous and competitive industrial base and a massive effort in research and innovation; whereas the industrial strategy should contain an action plan to strengthen shorten and diversify the supply chains of European industry in order reduce over-reliance on few markets and increase their resilience as well as a strategy on smart reshoring to increase the production and investments in strategic sectors, redeploy industries in Europe and relocate industrial production in some strategic sectors for the EU;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Bart GROOTHUIS, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic, that has led to a shortage of medical devices and medicinal products, has once again revealed that Europe is over- dependent on foreign imports of raw materials and particularly for strategic sectors;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the economic downturn demonstrated the crucial role played by social shields in the event of economic shocks and the importance of ensuring access to social protection for all, especially for young, atypical or vulnerable workers;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Is of the opinion that digital and environmental transitions and strategic leadership and autonomy should be at the very core of all Unions strategies until 2050; in this context, calls on the Commission to define a comprehensive industrial strategy which manages these transitions, fosters transformation ~~and guarante~~, creates long-term growth and global competitiveness based on innovation and strategic value chains, strengthens the entrepreneurial spirit, encourages the creation and upscaling of start-ups and companies and improves the Union’s strategic resilience and autonomy;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ICalls for an inclusive industrial strategy that include all industrial ecosystems, SMEs, regions, communities and workers in its development and its implementation; is aware that market dynamics alone do not bridge the fractures created during the transformation process if there is no proper management of the transitions and no strong industrial policies; is, furthermore, aware that while markets, competition and innovation push fast towards transformation, it is society and the environment that face the impact of these transformations; considers that balancing out the number of jobs lost in traditional industries with new jobs created in the digital and environmental sectors is not enough in itself as these new jobs are neither created in the same regions nor taken up by the same workers; calls on the Commission, therefore, to ensure that these transitions are fair and socially just, and that every action aimed at accelerating a transformation process (digital, environmental, etc.) is accompanied by a corresponding initiative to up-skill and reskill workers, with the aim of managing the effects produced by that accelerated process on both regions and peoplEuropean production of essential products such as emission-intensive materials is transformed into a cleaner alternative rather than replaced by imports of the same products and that these transitions are fair and socially just, go hand-in-hand with the full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, improved social and living standards and good working conditions, and that every action aimed at accelerating a transformation process (digital, environmental, etc.) is accompanied by a corresponding initiative to up-skill and reskill workers, with the aim of managing the effects produced by that accelerated process on both regions and the most vulnerable people; calls on the Commission and the Member States to anticipate and map the industry needs for skilled labour in order to deliver skills strategies that overcome labour demand and supply mismatch, to develop knowledge-based economy that empowers citizens to adapt and accelerate the digital and environmental transition; call on the Commission to make full use of and increase the amounts allocated to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to financially support workers made redundant, as a result of restructuring due to Covid19 or due to the digital and environmental transformations, in their retraining, re-skilling and reintegration into the labour market in sectors of the future;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Fredrick FEDERLEY, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Considers, in the current context, that the Union requires a new, tailor-made industrial strategy that focuses on two distinct phases; the first aimed at recovery and the second aimed at reconstruction and transformation; considers nevertheless that the investments which, from the recovery phase onwards, support and accelerate the digital and environmental transformation and strengthen the autonomy of the Union should be encouraged; calls on the Commission, therefore, to adapt the strategy published in March 2020 to the current situation and address both phases, while keeping the digital and environmental objectives, the Union’s sovereignty and its strategic autonomy as priorities throughout;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Fredrick FEDERLEY, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Nils TORVALDS, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Katalin CSEH, Bart GROOTHUIS, Morten PETERSEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Considers, in the current context, that the Union requires a new, tailor-made industrial strategy that focuses on two distinct phases; the first aimed at recovery and the second aimed at reconstruction and transformation; calls on the Commission, therefore, to adapt the strategy published in March 2020 to the current situation and address both phases, while keeping the digital and environmental objectives as priorities throughout; Calls on the Commission and Member States to take into account when granting funds that the recovery phase represents an opportunity to accelerate the transformation of our industries towards a greener, digitalized, innovative and inclusive Europe;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to include in the recovery plan a strategy to redeploy industries in Europe and to relocate industrial production in strategic sectors; calls, moreover, on the Commission to adopt a stronger stance on unfair global competition and predatory acquisitions by SOEs and sovereign funds; i~~s of the opinion that, in this context, the Union should implement a prov~~n this context, calls for a substantial strengthening and swift adoption of Regulation 654/2014 (Enforcement Regulation), stresses that this is an important tool to protect the Union’s interests when third countries adopt illegal measures that negatively hit our businesses; Welcomes the White paper on levelling the playing field as regards subsidies and calls on the Commission~~al TDI scheme~~ to come forward with appropriate proposals for legal instruments to address the distortive effects caused within the Single Market, including in public procurement procedures;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Highlights that, during this critical phase, the Union should protect its market in strategic sectors and block takeovers and FDI that could further increase its dependency on foreign powers; welcomes the guidelines on the EU framework for the screening of FDI and calls on the Commission to strengthen it without delay;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 – point e

e. gives preference to companies and SMEs that focus their business plans on digital and environmental transformation or that are necessary for the autonomy strategic of the Union in critical sectors;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Pierre KARLESKIND, Bernard GUETTA, Fabienne KELLER, Sylvie BRUNET, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Nicola DANTI, Stéphane BIJOUX, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the need to support a sustainable and fair recovery beyond the COVID-19 crisis in order to enhance growth and autonomy in the EU by increasing investment in the digital and green transitions; asks the Commission to support an ambitious Recovery Fund that is within the framework of a stronger MFF and ~~is integrated in the own resource decision, and~~ to pursue fiscal policy coordination to strengthen the European fiscal framework; in this regard, highlights the position of the European Parliament on the reform of the EU own resources system, including the introduction of new resources that are better aligned with and incentivise progress in major EU policy priorities such as a digital services taxation, a financial transaction tax, proceeds generated by the establishment of a common consolidated corporate tax base, income from the emissions trading scheme, a plastics contribution and a carbon border adjustment mechanism; is of the opinion that, after the peak of the pandemic, the Fund should become a permanent Reconstruction Fund to foster the digital and green industrial transitions;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Christophe GRUDLER, Dominique RIQUET, Ivars IJABS, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Valérie HAYER, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Nicola DANTI, Sylvie BRUNET, Bernard GUETTA, Katalin CSEH, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Fredrick FEDERLEY, Fabienne KELLER, Andrus ANSIP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on the Commission to strengthen its impact assessment practice and to carry out a detailed impact assessment of the potential costs and burdens for European companies and SMEs before presenting new proposals for legislation or adopting new measures especially when a traditional industry has to adapt because of regulatory decisions; calls on the Commission to propose commensurate support to the affected sectors ~~whenever a negative impact cannot be avoided~~in order to keep a strong European industrial basis;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Fredrick FEDERLEY, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Nils TORVALDS, Katalin CSEH, Bart GROOTHUIS, Morten PETERSEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that ~~once the emergency phase is over~~in parallel with the current crisis, the Union should embark on a second phase of its industrial strategy~~: ensuring the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of its~~ by unleashing the potential of the circular bioeconomy where sustainable and renewable resources are used in order to promote competitive and resilient industries in the long term;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2076(INI)

Nicola DANTI, Katalin CSEH, Nicola BEER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Considers that the effective enforcement of Intellectual Property rights is essential to protect companies’ intangible assets, promote innovation and creativity and improve competitiveness as well as to fight against counterfeiting and piracy; welcomes the announcement of an Intellectual Property Action Plan; Calls on the Commission to resume the debate on the extension of geographical indication protection at EU level to non- agricultural products to preserve know- how, support sustainable production and jobs and to improve the attractiveness and reputation of EU high quality productions worldwide;

2020/06/30
Committee: ITRE

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

– having regard to Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as interpreted by the Court of Justice in its Mayotte judgment of 15 December 2015 (Joined Cases C- 132/14 to C-136/14), which allows specific derogations to be adopted for the outermost regions of the European Union,

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Laurence FARRENG, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

– having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 May 2020 establishing the InvestEU programme (COM(2020)0403),

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

– having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 May 2020 on the public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (COM(2020)0453),

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas climate change is a challenge that transcends boundaries and requires immediate and ambitious action at ~~Unio~~global, European, national, regional and local levels to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and prevent biodiversity loss on a massive scale;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the economic, social and territorial disparities which Cohesion Policy has the primary goal of addressing may also be exacerbated by climate change and its long-term consequences; EU climate policy measures should support the objectives of EU cohesion policy;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the transition to a climate- neutral, sustainable and circular economy must involve ~~citizens and all sectors of society~~all stakeholders in society, particularly the private sector, social partners and citizens, together with elected officials, including local and regional authorities, and must be backed by ~~robust and~~ inclusive social measures to ensure a fair transition that supports job retention and creation, particularly green and blue jobs;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas energy sources derived from fossil fuels undermine efforts to achieve climate neutrality; whereas, in this regard, Cohesion Policy should guarantee the principle of ‘energy efficiency first’, which aims to improve the efficiency of energy supply and demand, and which should be applied and observed in all energy-related investments made under Cohesion Policy;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas regional environment strategies should ~~serve the pursuit of full employment and social progress~~balance ecology and economy while supporting the pursuit of full employment and progress in order to better tackle the effects of climate change and fight the loss of biodiversity;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines the importance of tackling climate change in line with the Union’s commitments undertaken under the European Green Deal to implementing the Paris Agreement and the SDGs, taking into consideration social ~~and~~, economic and territorial aspects to ensure a ~~fair~~just transition for all territories and their citizens;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises the need for local and regional authorities to make a clear political commitment to achieving the climate targets; and translating them into local actions that respect the constraints and emphasise the assets of each territory;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Highlights the crucial role for Cohesion Policy, as with other policies, particularly environmental, agricultural, fisheries or cultural policies, in fighting climate change and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest and the intermediate target by 2030, as well as the role of local and regional authorities in mitigating and adapting to climate change, in particular through a far-reaching reform of investment policies;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that climate policies should serve the pursuit of full employment, including green and blue jobs, and training that can contribute to fair social progress;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Underlin~~Welcomes the European Council’s position that EU expenditure should be consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the ‘do no harm’ principle of the European Green Deal; supports, too, the fact that the Regulation laying down common provisions enshrines the ‘do no harm’ principle in all Structural Funds;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that sustainability and the transition to an economy that is safe, climate neutral, climate resilient, more resource efficient ~~and circular~~, circular and socially balanced are crucial to ensuring the long- term competitiveness of the Union economy;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Believes that Cohesion Policy should ~~focus on~~contribute to the implementation of the ~~Paris~~Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement ~~and~~, the ~~fight against~~Convention on Biological Diversity and the European Green Deal in order to tackle climate change, particularly through an effective methodology for monitoring climate spending and its performance, including its negative effects for EU regions; calls for this methodology to be used in all programmes under the multiannual financial framework and the European Recovery Plan, particularly for basic infrastructure in key economic sectors such as energy production and distribution, transport, water and waste management, and public buildings;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Underlines the key role of local and regional authorities in achieving a fair transition to a climate-neutral economy for all, with social ~~and~~, economic and territorial cohesion at its core;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on the Commission to monitor the progress of national governments and local and regional authorities in addressing climate change at all levels; stresses the need to enhance the effectiveness and complementarity of ESI Funds as well as other EU programmes and instruments, such as the EAFRD, the EMFF, LIFE, Horizon Europe or Creative Europe, in tackling climate change;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the ~~proposal to top up~~agreement reached in trilogue on the Just Transition Fund; regrets the fact, however, that the top-up amount proposed by the Commission has been cut under the Council agreement on Next Generation EU; ~~underlines that these cuts would jeopardise the fund’s core objective~~calls on the Member States to programme the funds as quickly as possible and calls on the Member States concerned to give special consideration to the outermost regions in the distribution of funds;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Points out that, under Article 349 of the TFEU, the outermost regions benefit from special rules allowing the adoption of tailor-made measures that take account of their specificities; calls for the necessary financial resources to be allocated to those regions so that they can achieve a green transition that balances economy and ecology, and can adapt to the effects of climate change from which they particularly suffer due to their vulnerability;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Calls, too, for the creation of an observatory focusing on sustainable development and ecological transition in the outermost regions in order to identify best practices and develop sustainable solutions to tackle climate change, which could be adopted and adapted in other EU regions;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Highlights the need to capitalise on the outcome of initiatives such as New Energy Solutions Optimised for Islands (NESOI) and Clean Energy for EU Islands (CE4EUI), which also includes islands that have the status of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) forming part of the European family, to ensure a functional transition between the 2014- 2020 and 2021-2027 programming periods; welcomes the Memorandum of Split, which recognises the leading role for island communities in the energy transition;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for the updated Circular Economy Action Plan to continue to support the transition towards a circular economy~~, to tackle issues linked to~~ geared towards re-use and repair in order to promote resource efficiency and to drive sustainable consumption by providing consumers with information on the durability and reparability of products through mandatory labelling;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Mauri PEKKARINEN, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls for local circular economy plans to be developed and for public contracts awarded by local and regional authorities to be green and ambitious in terms of durability of goods and services, which will increase the industrial resilience and strategic autonomy of the European Union;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2074(INI)

Stéphane BIJOUX, Sandro GOZI, Susana SOLÍS PÉREZ, Laurence FARRENG, Irène TOLLERET, Ondřej KNOTEK, Katalin CSEH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls for a greater role for Cohesion Policy in supporting risk prevention efforts to adapt to the present and future impacts of climate change at regional and local levels, with a particular focus on the outermost regions given that they are significantly affected by climate change and are exposed to natural disasters such as cyclones, volcanic eruptions and drought, as well as flooding and rising water levels;

2021/01/13
Committee: REGI

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. Whereas Article 81 of Directive 2001/83/EC1a calls for measures to prevent shortages or distributional issues of medicinal products in Member States; _________________ 1aDirective 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 6 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (OJ L 311, 28.11.2001. p. 67)

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. Whereas the European Parliament in its resolution of 8 March 2011 and the Council in its Conclusions of 13 September 2010 stressed the need to introduce a common procedure for the joint procurement of medical countermeasures, and in particular of pandemic vaccines;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

A c. Whereas Decision No 1082/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council1b encourages Member States to take advantage of joint procurement procedures provided that such procedures are preceded by a Joint Procurement Agreement of participating Member States; _________________ 1bDecision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 on serious cross- border threats to health (OJ L 293, 5.11.2013, p. 1–15)

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

A d. Whereas medicine shortages pose a serious threat to patients and undermine the resilience and efficiency of public healthcare systems across the Union;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)

A e. Whereas early detection, monitoring, and reporting of medicine shortages should be improved and underpinned by more transparent and available medicine shortages data;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)

A f. Whereas an effective coordination at EU level at times of crisis is essential to avoid unilateral border closures and export bans which exacerbate medicine shortages and jeopardise the resilience of supply chains and distribution channels;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Insists that the Commission urgently launches a multi-stakeholder consultation to identify key supply chain issues that directly cause or increase the risk of medicine shortages, and initiatives to mitigate risks to supply chains; calls on the Commission to propose ambitious and concrete actions to address these issues in its planned pharmaceutical strategy;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Insists that the Commission urgently launches a multi-stakeholder consultation as well as market research in order to identify key supply chain issues that directly cause or increase the risk of medicine shortages; calls on the Commission to propose ambitious and concrete actions to address these issues in its planned pharmaceutical strategy;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Recognises the importance of drawing lessons from the COVID-19 crisis in order to be better prepared for and deal with future pandemics more effectively; therefore calls on the Commission, in close collaboration with Member States, to prepare and adopt a European pandemic preparedness plan, in order to ensure a coordinated and effective European pandemic response; emphasises that this should include measures ensuring open borders in order to protect the free movement of goods, and in particular medicines;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to consider proposing requirements for the pharmaceutical industry to ensure that its supply chain is diversified and put in place a medicine shortage risk mitigation plan to manage any vulnerabilities in and risks to the supply chain; highlights that such plan should include transparent reporting mechanisms with permanent communication channels through which patients and healthcare professionals can report and anticipate shortages.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the urgent need for the EU to reduce its over-reliance on a small number of third countries for medicine manufacturing and as sources of active pharmaceutical ingredients; calls on the Commission to foresee the creation of European common strategic reserves, building on rescEU stockpile's initiative, and to introduce new financial incentives to support the relocation of production sites from third countries to Europe, underpinned by more investment in research and development capabilities and infrastructure, including universities.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Highlights the fact that Horizon 2020 has already financed a significant number of health-related research and innovation activities; calls for more funding to be provided through Horizon Europe to create and support medicine- focused research and innovation ecosystems.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Underlines the need to establish permanent joint procurement mechanisms for vaccines, antiviral drugs, and high- cost and essential medicines as increased cooperation in procurement shall facilitate sustainable access, more balanced pricing, and better information exchange regarding medicinal products.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Calls for the establishment of an interconnected early warning mechanism across the Union which require manufacturers to notify in advance the Commission as well as the European Medicines Agency about imminent medicine shortages and temporary or permanent disruptions in the supply and distribution of medicinal products.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Notes with concern that increased product demand during medicine shortages could increase the risk of unfair pricing practices occurring in regions affected by the shortage as well as in cases where alternative pharmaceutical products could replace those affected by the shortage.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Calls for measures to discourage unfair practices and business strategies in the pharmaceutical sector such as pay for delay and parallel trading while introducing public service obligations with a view to ensure supply resilience across Member States’ markets.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)

5 e. Calls for the establishment of preventive obligations for manufacturers and distributors to mitigate future medicine shortages more efficiently such as supply shortage risk assessments which includes information sharing on product development.

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)

5 f. Recalls that an increasing number of Member States are seeking to establish national stockpiles of medical supplies; acknowledges that the subsequent increase in demand as a result of this would exceed current demand forecasts based on epidemiological need; also acknowledges that sudden large spikes in demand can place considerable strain on suppliers and lead to further challenges in meeting demand; therefore calls on Member States, in close collaboration with the Commission and other affected stakeholders, to simultaneously explore alternative approaches to ensuring adequate stocks, such as the effective enforcement of existing regulatory requirements on all actors in the supply chain at national level, as well as measures to increase transparency within the supply chain;

2020/05/19
Committee: ITRE

2020/2071(INI)