Activities of Vladimír BILČÍK related to 2021/2180(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report (debate)
Amendments (36)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the annual Rule of Law Report is a key element of the EU’s Rule of Law Toolbox; welcomes the entry into force of the new rule of law conditionality mechanism; notes the importance of strengthening and streamlining existing mechanisms to ensure that the principles and values enshrined in the Treaties are upheld throughout the Union;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Welcomes Commission’s Annual Rule of Law Report as a positive addition to the EU’s toolbox to promote improvements as well as to prevent and address rule of law issues in Member States, and recalls that the Commission’s report was a commitment made by President Von Der Leyen in her political guidelines for the 2019-2024 Commission, ahead of her election;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Calls on the Commission to continue to use all tools at its disposal to enforce EU values and prevent their violations; underlines the importance of the binding conditionality during the disbursement of the “Next Generation EU” payments and all other EU funds and payments;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that public debate about the report is central to the annual rule of law cycle and therefore that the time of its publication is keyrelevant; regrets therefore the publication of the 2021 report just before parliamentary recess in mid-July; calls on the Commission to instate an annual EU Values Week each September, in which the report is presented to the European Parliament and national parliaments at the same time as the Justice Scoreboard, the Fundamental Rights Report, and the Media Pluralism Monitor;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that important elements of Parliament’s resolutions of 25 October 2016 and of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are still missing, in particular the panel of independent experts,; calls therefore to widening the scope to include all values set out under Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and the interinstitutional agreement for an annual monitoring cycle; calls on the Council and Commission to engage in discussions on such interinstitutional agreement, in order to set up a single and coherent monitoring system for democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights in the EU;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that important elements of Parliament’s resolutions of 25 October 2016 and of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are still missing, in particular the panel of independent experts, widening the scope to include all values set out under Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and the interinstitutional agreement for an annual monitoring cycle; calls on the Commission to address these shortcomings;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Welcomes Commission’s involvement of civil society actors, both through the online public consultation and the country visits and interviews, however believes that more transparency from the Commission on the methodology and selection process of stakeholders invited to consultation meetings, as well as closer consultation and collaboration with civil society to design a more straight forward and more easily accessible process, is needed;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to conclude each country chapter with a ‘traffic light’n assessment of the fulfilment of the conditions of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation (Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092);
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes Commission proposals´s commitment to include country-specific recommendations as of 2022, as per Parliament’s resolution of 25 October 2016, which should be framed in the context of Member States’ obligations under EU law and international human rights law and standards, which would allow for tracking and evaluating progress and regression against an agreed, binding framework; calls on the Commission to monitor and report on their implementation;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 a (new)
Citation 34 a (new)
— having regard to European Court of Auditors Special Report 01/2022: EU support for the rule of law in the Western Balkans: despite efforts, fundamental problems persist,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 b (new)
Citation 34 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2021 entitled ‘Europe’s Media in the Digital Decade: an Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation,
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 c (new)
Citation 34 c (new)
— having regard to European Court of Auditors Special Report 09/2021: Disinformation affecting the EU: tackled but not tamed,
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Underlines that while the 2020 Rule of Law Report has encouraged positive reforms related to the rule of law in a number of Member States, some serious concerns remain, however, with regard to a number of Member States, especially pertaining to the independence of the judiciary and the freedom and pluralism of media;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Is concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the fight against corruption, as it slowed down legal reforms or the adjudication of corruption cases in some Member States and increased the risk of corruption; stresses that while efforts to repress corruption have significantly increased in several Member States, yet others are cause for concern as regards the effectiveness of investigation and prosecution;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights that constitutional checks and balances at EU level should be included in the report; commits toassessed, by requesting a Venice Commission opinion on key principles of democracy in EU governance, in particular the separation of powers, accountability and checks and balances;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Notes that several Member States’ positions in international press freedom rankings have declined; highlights the irreplaceable role of public service media and stresses that it is essential to ensure and maintain their independence from political interference; strongly condemns threats to media freedom, including harassment and attacks aimed at journalists and whistle-blowers, the disregard of their legal protection as well as media capture or politically motivated actions in the media sector;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. CUnderlines the importance of interinstitutional dialogue and cooperation on rule of law matters; calls on the Council to discuss the report in all transparency and engage in dialogue with the European Parliament; calls on the European Council, too, to discuss the findings of the report, as the values of Article 2 TEU are a matter to be addressed at the highest political level.
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Underlines the importance of the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe deliberations, notably in the “Values and rights, rule of law, security” panel, and takes note of the recommendations by the European Citizens’ Panel 2;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and to develop an effective EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights to ensure that Article 2 TEU values are upheld not only throughout the Union but also by candidate countries;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the EU needs to continue supporting journalism in the fast- changing digital environment; whereas editorially independent public service media are essential and irreplaceable in providing high-quality and impartial information services to the general public and must be protected from malign capture and strengthened as a fundamental pillar of the rule of law and the fight against disinformation;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas quality, sustainably and transparently financed, and independent news media and professional journalism are essential for media freedom and pluralism and the rule of law, and are therefore a pillar of democracy and the best antidote to disinformation;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas journalists and media outlets continue to be targeted through intimidation, threats on social media and physical attacks; whereas the spread of disinformation polarises society and weakens our democracy;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas the media, both traditional and digital, are cornerstone of democratic societies and a guarantee against abuse of power; whereas the loss of media freedom weakens our democracies;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s second annual rule of law report and hopes that making it a core element of the EU's rule of law toolbox will lead to the removal of other duplicative mechanisms for some countries; regrets the fact that the Commission did not address in full the recommendations made by Parliament in its resolution of 24 June 2021 on the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report; considers that these recommendations remain valid and reiterates them;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the fact that the functioning of justice systems, the anti- corruption framework, media pluralism and certain institutional issues related to checks and balances, including civic space to a certain extent, are all part of the Commission’s annual report; expresses, however, its deep disappointment that the anti-corruption report has not yet been included in the framework of the common rule of law mechanism; regrets, however, that not all rule of law issues were covered in sufficient detail in the 2021 report; calls for the inclusion in the annual report of other important elements of the Venice Commission’s 2016 Rule of Law Checklist; believes that civic space deserves a separate subheading in the report;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that the annual report should identify cross-cutting trends at EU level; asks the Commission to identify instances where certain measures or practices that undermine the rule of law in one Member State become blueprints for others, or when the gravity and scope of such deficiencies have the potential to affect the Union as a whole; calls on the European Court of Auditors to further work on their assessments of effectiveness of EU measures to support the rule of law; recalls that strengthening the rule of law is also linked to the fight against manipulative disinformation that is weakening our democratic institutions;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that the 2021 report could have provided clearer assessments, stating whether there were deficiencies, a risk of a serious breach or an actual breach of Article 2 TEU values in each of the pillars analysed in the country chapters; calls for a more integrated analysis on the interlinkages between the four pillars and of how combined deficiencies may amount to breaches or risks of a breach; calls specifically for an assessment of the improper use of surveillance tools and its impact on democratic processes within the EU as well as potential breaches of Article 2 TEU values in this context;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Recommends that the Commission includes in the framework of the annual report a new pillar assessing potential threats to democratic processes in the EU, such as the abuse of surveillance technologies by government officials for political gain;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to include country-specific recommendations in the 2022 report; calls on the Commission to accompany such recommendations with deadlines for implementation, targets and concrete actions to be taken; calls on the Commission to include in subsequent reports indications on the implementation of its recommendations; acknowledges that online platforms have a vast disruptive impact on the media sector, stresses, in this respect, that current legislation does not entirely provide for a fair environment in the public ecosystem, such as in the fight against disinformation and algorithmic accountability; considers that the adoption of relevant legislation, notably the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done in the European Media Act and through other relevant measures aimed at guarding the quality of our public information space;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to invite the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to provide methodological advice and conduct comparative research to add detail in key areas of the annual report, bearing in mind that the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression and other fundamental rights have intrinsic links with the rule of law; calls on the European Court of Auditors to further work on their assessments of the effectiveness of EU measures to support the rule of law; recalls that strengthening the rule of law is also linked to the fight against corruption and a key condition for economic growth;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Stresses the importance of pluralistic, high-quality media, independent journalists, fact-checkers and researchers, and a strong public service media for lively and free democratic debate;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Acknowledges that the online platforms have a vast disruptive impact on the media sector, stresses, in this respect, that current legislation does not entirely provide for a fair environment in the online ecosystem, such as in the fight against disinformation and algorithmic accountability; Considers that the adoption of relevant legislation, notably the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done in the European Media Act;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17d. highlights the importance of the public media in Europe; calls on Member States to ensure stable, open, transparent, sustainable and adequate funding for public service media on a multi-annual basis in order to guarantee their quality and independence from governmental, political and other pressures;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the Commission to address in their upcoming Media Freedom Act a disbalance between traditional media and often unregulated media platforms; calls on the Commission to create fair conditions in the light of digital transformation of the media sector and the spread of online platforms;