Activities of Clare DALY related to 2022/0806(NLE)
Plenary speeches (1)
Full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Croatia (A9-0264/2022 - Paulo Rangel)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the draft Council decision on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in the Republic of Croatia
Amendments (23)
Amendment 1 #
Proposal for a decision
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The European Parliament rejects the draft Council decision.
Amendment 3 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
Amendment 5 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 7 b (new)
Citation 7 b (new)
– having regard to the report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its ad hoc visit to Croatia from 10 to 14 August 20201a, _________________ 1a https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/- /council-of-europe-anti-torture- committee-publishes-report-on-its-2020- ad-hoc-visit-to-croatia
Amendment 7 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 7 c (new)
Citation 7 c (new)
– having regard to the statement of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights of 21 October 2020, calling on the Croatian authorities to stop pushbacks and border violence and eradicate impunity for serious human rights violations committed against migrants by law enforcement officers1a, _________________ 1a https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/ -/croatian-authorities-must-stop- pushbacks-and-border-violence-and-end- impunity
Amendment 9 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 7 d (new)
Citation 7 d (new)
– having regard to the European Court of Human Rights judgment of 18 November 2021 in the case M.H. and Others v. Croatia - 15670/18 and 43115/181a, _________________ 1a https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#%7B%22dis play%22:[2],%22tabview%22:[%22docum ent%22],%22itemid%22:[%22002- 13480%22]%7D
Amendment 17 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas reports of violence against migrants, including those seeking international protection, as well pushbacks at Croatia’s external borders have been widely reported and documented by media and human rights organisations, and include video evidence of Croatian police carrying out violent pushbacks as well as whistleblower testimony from within the Croatian police claiming that orders for the pushbacks come from the very top of the Croatian government; whereas NGOs have thoroughly documented beatings, sexual assault, and humiliating acts carried out against migrants by Croatian border guards; whereas Croatia has been found in violation of the prohibition of collective expulsion in the case M.H. and others v. Croatia; whereas the Parliament has expressed on multiple occasions its deep concerns about the persistent and serious reports of violence and pushbacks at the external borders, including from one Member State to another and then to a non-EU country;
Amendment 18 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the CPT is one of the most venerable and trusted of EU bodies, with a stellar track record of monitoring and reporting on how persons deprived of their liberty are treated; whereas the CPT’s report on their monitoring visit to Croatia was suppressed by the Croatian authorities in a move unprecedented in the history of the CPT, and released publicly only after the CPT triggered Rule 39 §3 (1) of its Rules of Procedure and published the report itself following written statements made by a senior Croatian official pertaining to the content of the report which were placed into the public domain; whereas the Croatian state secretary for European and international affairs accused the CPT of having threatened police officers, attempted to steal documents, and forcibly entered official premises during their visit in 2020; whereas the CPT forcibly rebutted these claims and said they were ‘a misrepresentation of the report’s contents [and] the professional integrity and modus operandi of the members of the CPT’s delegation’; whereas the CPT reported that its work was obstructed by the Croatian authorities during its visit; whereas the CPT reported numerous credible and concordant allegations of serious physical ill-treatment of migrants by Croatian police officers; whereas the CPT team included two forensic medical doctors who assessed the injuries of those they interviewed as being compatible with their allegations of ill-treatment by Croatian law enforcement officials; whereas as well as violence, the CPT reported allegations of degrading and humiliating treatment of migrants by Croatian law enforcement officers;
Amendment 19 #
Cc. whereas the CPT called on the Croatian authorities to take vigorous steps to stamp out ill-treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty by the police and to give police officers the clear and firm message that detained foreign nationals must be treated with respect, processed in accordance with law and be unequivocally reminded that any form of ill-treatment of detained persons – including psychological ill-treatment, threats of ill-treatment, demeaning and humiliating actions – as well as any tolerance of such ill-treatment by senior officers, is unlawful and will be punished accordingly; whereas the CPT concluded that there are no accountability mechanisms in place which would allow for the prompt identification and review of the behaviour of those police officers involved in diversion and interception operations of migrants, and recommended that the Croatian authorities take the necessary steps to introduce robust accountability and oversight mechanisms for all police operations related to the interception and diversion of migrants; whereas such accountability and oversight mechanisms have not been put in place by the Croatian authorities;
Amendment 20 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Amendment 21 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas the Commission’s the communication of 22 October 2019 on the verification of the full application of the Schengen acquis by Croatia has been criticised by human rights groups and NGOs, who called for Croatia to demonstrate concrete progress by putting in place an independent and effective monitoring mechanism as well as evidence of thorough investigations of summary returns of migrants and asylum seekers at its borders as well as allegations of Croatian guards using violence against them before Schengen accession would be granted;
Amendment 22 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas no independent and effective human rights monitoring mechanism at the Croatian external border has been established;
Amendment 23 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Cg. whereas no thorough and effective investigations of pushbacks or violence by Croatian border guards have taken place;
Amendment 24 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Amendment 25 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C i (new)
Recital C i (new)
Ci. whereas in the case of M.H. vs. Croatia, the ECHR found violations by Croatia of article 4, protocol 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as article 2, articles 3 and 5, and article 34; whereas the judgment enumerates the variety and authoritativeness of the reports, drawing a comparison to its findings in paragraph §174 M.K. v. Poland in which the Court had expressly concluded that the existing reports ‘indicate[d] the existence of a systemic practice’; whereas the judgement emphasises the important role played by NGOs such as the Center for Peace Studies and Are You Syrious, and Croatia’s obstruction of their work; whereas the Croatian authorities have not taken any concrete steps to execute the judgement or to investigate the incident that precipitated the case;
Amendment 26 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C j (new)
Recital C j (new)
Cj. whereas part of the EUR 6.8 million in emergency funding granted by the Commission to Croatia in December 2018 to reinforce border management was dedicated to a new monitoring mechanism, which, according to the Commission, would help to ensure that border control activities by Croatian border guard officers remain fully compliant with EU law, international obligations and with the respect of fundamental rights and the rights resulting from the EU asylum acquis, including the principle of non- refoulement; whereas in its 2019 communication the Commission stated that the mechanism ‘allows for independent monitoring of activities carried out by the Croatian border police; whereas the independent monitoring mechanism referred to in 2019 by the Commission as then extant was not established until 2021;
Amendment 27 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C k (new)
Recital C k (new)
Amendment 28 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C l (new)
Recital C l (new)
Cl. whereas the mandate of this monitoring mechanism formally ended on 8 June 2022; whereas it is not clear if, when and for how long a new border monitoring mechanism will be set up; whereas this independent monitoring mechanism was a key element in the proposed accession of Croatia to the Schengen area;
Amendment 29 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C m (new)
Recital C m (new)
Cm. whereas all candidates for Schengen accession are obliged to take steps to apply the Schengen acquis in full; whereas full application of the Schengen acquis is a pre-condition for accession to the Schengen area; whereas Article 4 of the Schengen Borders Code explicitly obliges Member States to apply the Regulation in full compliance with relevant Union law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), relevant international law and fundamental rights; whereas the Commission failed to take into account Croatia’s compliance with article 4 in its Communication; whereas a European Ombudsman inquiry has identified significant shortcomings related to how the Commission monitors respect for fundamental rights by the Croatian authorities in border management operations supported by EU funds1a; _________________ 1a https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/ne ws-document/en/152823
Amendment 30 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C n (new)
Recital C n (new)
Cn. whereas according to NGOs, at least 9,114 people were pushed back from Croatia last year, and more than 16,400 pushbacks took place in 2020;
Amendment 31 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C o (new)
Recital C o (new)
Co. whereas in September 2022 estimated 236 persons reporting pushback cases and the preliminary numbers show 52 people experiencing violent pushbacks which is 22% of the total number of cases as reported by the Danish Refugee Council;
Amendment 32 #
Draft legislative resolution
Recital C p (new)
Recital C p (new)
Cp. whereas an increasing number of people are being given expulsion papers; whereas this means that they are given seven days to leave the EEA, on the ground of not being an asylum seeker while they have not been given a chance to ask for asylum;
Amendment 46 #
Draft legislative resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Reiterates that Member States have an obligation to prevent unauthorised border crossings and recalls that this obligation is without prejudice to the rights of persons seeking international protection; calls on the Commission and Croatia to promote and carry out effective, independent and prompt investigations into any allegations of pushbacks and ill-treatment at the borders and to ensure that deficiencies are immediately remedied;
Amendment 47 #
Draft legislative resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Signals its willingness to approve Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area when the following conditions are met: (a) the establishment of a genuinely independent and effective human rights monitoring mechanism at Croatia’s external border, which fulfils the minimum standards set out in the UNHCR and OCHR’s recent joint guidance on the establishment of an independent and effective national border monitoring mechanism in Greece (b) thorough, meaningful, and effective investigation of all allegations of wrongdoing by Croatian border guards at Croatia’s external border, and full accountability for same; (c) the cessation of pushbacks and violence at Croatia’s external border;