Activities of Franco ROBERTI related to 2023/2113(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Commission’s 2023 Rule of Law report
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (6)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the Union’s legal structure is based on the fundamental premise that each Member State shares with all the other Member States a set of common values on which the EU is founded, as stated in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union1 ; recalls further that the rule of law, as enshrined in EU primary law and further defined in the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), is akin to democracy and fundamental rights; stresses that any backsliding on the rule of lawreminds that the rule of law and rules-based international order are key to fight the spread of authoritarian regimes, the violation of international law, help consolidate democratic structures, and protect human rights; stresses that any backsliding on the rule of law, which is based on the separation and balancing of powers, in any given Member State significantly affects the common area of freedom, security and justice, as well as mutual trust and mutual recognition as leading principles of EU law in this area2 ; _________________ 1 See opinion 2/2013 of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Full Court) of 18 December 2014, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2454, paragraph 168. 2 Ibid., paragraph 191.
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. UAcknowledges that almost two- thirds of the recommendations issued in 2022 related to important reforms have been followed up at some extent, yet, it shows concern on the number of issues identified in previous Rule of Law reports that remain unaddressed; urges the Commission to persist in its diligent monitoring of Member States’ legal frameworks in order to assess their alignment with the above-mentioned recommendations, and further calls on the Commission to become more insistent on the implementation of these critical reforms in cases where Member States’ systems do not meet the prescribed standards;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Recalls that the fight against corruption is essential to maintain the rule of law and preserve and foster citizens’ trust in public institutions and, to be effective, it requires a robust legal and administrative anti-corruption framework based on integrity, transparency and accountability, namely in public life, stressing the disclosure of interests declarations and the protection of whistleblowers when applicable;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. States that corruption is a menace that can destroy democracies and has to be combated in all its forms, undermining citizens' trust in institutions, and has to be combated in all its forms; points out that corruption is the most common avenue by which organised crime infiltrates and controls the economy; is worried that the latest Report shows either no or only very slow progress in relation to anti- corruption prevention measures in several Member States; is extremely worried about the reluctance to establish registers of lobbyists, transparency registers and proper systems of asset declarations by public office holders and senior officials, as well as about the lack of political will to introduce strict rules within revolving doors policies; highlights, in this context, the importance of a transparent legislative procedure with far-reaching access to documents, and rules to ensure the highest degree of transparency and accountability in public administrations and public decision-making with a view to preventing corruption11; _________________ 11 See, in this context, Article 3 of the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 May 2023 on combating corruption, replacing Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA and the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of the Member States of the European Union and amending Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2023)0234).
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls, in this context, also for all EU institutions to adhere to the highest possible standards with a view to the prevention of corruption, such as, inter alia, the creation of an effective EU Ethics Body, the full application of Regulation 1049/200112 on access to documents, and the full application of the conditionality principle as regards the EU Transparency Register; calls on the Member States to try to reach an agreement as soon as possible on the proposed directive on combating corruption; with a view to establishing a common homogeneous framework of codes of conduct, standards preventing conflicts of interest and rules ensuring the transparency of procedures; _________________ 12 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Recalls that no sector is corruption-risk safe, including those that manage significant public funds or access to critical infrastructures and services, such as healthcare or construction; stresses that organised crime groups play an increasingly important role in these activities, which include counterfeiting, piracy and intellectual property rights infringements, which have skyrocketed in the digital environment; recalls that the criminal groups involved in these illegal activities often use the profits to finance other illegal activities;