51 Amendments of Irene MONTERO
Amendment 30 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) are crucial partners in the EU’s efforts to safeguard and advance human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as well as to prevent conflicts globally; whereas governments and non-state actors around the world are increasingly censoring, silencing and harassing HRDs and CSOs in their work; whereas this behaviour includes measures encompassing strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), restrictive government policies, defamation campaigns, discrimination, intimidation and violence, including extrajudicial killings, abductions, and arbitrary arrests and detention; whereas attacks on HRDs are increasingly extending to their families and communities; whereas women human rights defenders and civil society organisations working on gender equality, women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights continue to experience shrinking space for their critical work as well as threats of violence, harassment and intimidation;
Amendment 80 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the important role of human rights dialogues within the EU’s human rights toolbox and as a key vehicle for the implementation of the EU action plan on human rights and democracy; highlights that these dialogues should address the overall situation of human rights and democracy with the relevant countries and calls on the EU to systematically raise gender equality issues, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, with third countries; notes that human rights dialogues should be seen as a key element of sustained EU engagement and not as a free-standing instrument; recalls that these dialogues need to be used in conjunction and synergy with other instruments; reiterates the need to raise individual cases, in particular those highlighted by Parliament in its resolutions, and ensure adequate follow-up; calls to increase the visibility of these dialogues and their outcomes, including through the publication of a joint press statementensuring that are results-oriented and based on clear set of benchmarks that enable effective monitoring, including through effective ex-ante and ex-post consultation with civil society and the publication of a joint press statement; statement and to conduct suitable follow-up action to them;
Amendment 90 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Deplores that women human rights defender continue to face relentless and ever-more sophisticated violations against them, including targeted killings, physical attacks, disappearances, smear campaigns, arrests, judicial harassment and intimidation; notes with concern that these attacks seem designed to systematically silence women human rights defenders and erase their voices from the public sphere; condemns the impunity with which perpetrators commit violations against women human rights defenders, both in the public and private spheres; deplores that political leaders often fail to protect women human rights defenders against powerful and dangerous anti-gender popular movements, and sometimes even embolden them; calls on the EU and its Member States to continue and enhance their support for women human rights defenders in every possible fora;
Amendment 99 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Given the gendered impacts of armed conflicts, deplores the insufficient priority and focus given to sexual and gender-based violence and to sexual and reproductive health and rights across the EU’s humanitarian and refugee response; reiterates that humanitarian crises intensify SRHR- and gender-related challenges and recalls that in crisis zones, particularly among vulnerable groups such as refugees and migrants, women and girls are particularly exposed to sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual exploitation, rape as a weapon of war and unwanted pregnancies; calls on the Commission and Member States to give high priority to gender equality and SRHR in their humanitarian aid response, as well as accountability and access to justice and redress for sexual and reproductive rights violations and gender-based violence including in terms of training for humanitarian actors and existing and future funding;
Amendment 103 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Condemns any action or attempt to legalise, instigate, authorise, consent or acquiesce to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment methods under any circumstances; condemns the increasing reports of the use of torture by state actors in many different contexts including in custodial and extra custodial settings, particularly in the context of protests, and in conflict situations around the world, and reiterates the non-derogable nature of the right to be free from torture or other forms of inhuman or degrading treatment; echoes human rights bodies’ recognition that banning abortion may subject women to suffering amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and calls for reform of restrictive abortion laws; Reiterates its calls for universal ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its Optional Protocol and the necessity for States to bring their national provisions into line with their international commitments;
Amendment 121 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Highlights the role of education in the development of children and young people around the world; stresses that access to mandatory comprehensive sexuality education is a human right and a key tool to preventing gender-based discrimination, violence and exploitation and equip young people with knowledge to protect their health and empower them;
Amendment 124 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 20
Subheading 20
Rights of women including sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality
Amendment 126 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Stresses that women’s rights and gender equality are indispensable and indivisible human rights, as well as a basis for the rule of law and inclusive resilient democracies; deplores the fact that millions of women and girls continue to experience discrimination and violence, especially in the context of conflicts post-conflicts and displacement, and are denied their dignity, autonomy and even life; condemns the ongoing backlash on gender equality and women’s rights, including all attempts to roll back existing entitlements and protections as well as legislation, policies and practices that continue to deny or restrict these rights in many countries; calls for the EU, its Member States and like- minded partners to step up their efforts to ensure the full enjoyment and protection of women’s and girls’ human rights; calls for an EU charter of women’s rights including a right to abortion; condemns in the strongest terms the increasing attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world, as well as gender-based violence; welcomes the accession of the EU to the Istanbul Convention; and calls on the EU Member States who have not yet done so to ratify and implement the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible; calls for the EU and its international partners to strengthen their efforts to ensure that women fully enjoy human rights and are treated equally to men; stresses the need to pursue efforts to fully eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation;
Amendment 144 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Recognises that the promotion and protection of SRHR is essential to achieving gender equality and affirms the right to access comprehensive SRHR services, including modern contraception, safe and legal abortion, maternal, prenatal and postnatal healthcare, assisted reproduction and access to education and information on SRHR, including comprehensive sexuality education, without any form of discrimination, coercion or violence; calls for the EU, the EEAS and the Member States to take robust action to prioritise and promote SRHR, including access to safe and legal abortion, in multilateral and bilateral relations in accordance with international human rights law and standards and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines;
Amendment 145 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Condemns the devastating policy of gender apartheid lead by talibans in Afghanistan and urges the de facto authorities to immediately restore the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in public life, particularly access to education, healthcare and work; Calls on the EU and its member states to recognise gender apartheid as a crime under international law in order to hold Afghanistan and those responsible for this crime accountable;
Amendment 149 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
27c. Strongly condemns, based on the statements of the UN, those who suffer the most in any armed conflict are women and children. In the case of the genocide against Palestine, preventing the entry of food and medicine and bombing hospitals and refuge areas further aggravates the violations of women's rights. Denounces and rejects the use of sexual violence against women and girls as a a weapon of war by the Israeli army.
Amendment 163 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Regarding the increase in restrictive legislation on LGTBIQ+ rights, inside and outside the EU, demand for guaranteed safe paths to offer asylum to LGTBIQ+ people who are persecuted, discriminated against or threatened in their countries of origin.
Amendment 168 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to develop new avenues to strengthen the rights of elderly people, taking into account the multiple challenges they face, such as age-based discrimination, poverty, violence and a lack of social protection, healthcare and other essential services, as well as barriers to employment; reminds that the gender pay gap and its causes have exponentially damaging consequences for women throughout the lifecycle; calls to implement specific measures to combat the risk of poverty for older women, by the increase of pensions but also by social support; underlines the work of the UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing on a legally binding instrument to strengthen the protection of the human rights of older people and calls for the EU and its Member States to consider actively supporting that work;
Amendment 173 #
2024/2081(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Strongly condemns the discrimination and human rights violations against women with intersectional identities including those belonging to ethnic minorities such as Romani women; Underlines that discrimination on any ground leads to rights violations in all spheres of life including access to education, healthcare and in particular sexual and reproductive healthcare, work, access to justice, and reiterates its calls on Member States to adopt and implement strategies, policies and programmes to advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of marginalised groups of women and to eradicate the systemic, financial, legal, practical and social barriers they face;
Amendment 8 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in 2023 EIGE’s work focused on two thematic priorities: the European Green Deal and gender-based violencegender equality is far from a reality in the Union, with the 2023 Gender Equality Index having made a modest increase of only 1.6 points to reach 70.2, and with some domains showing signs of regression, in particular in economic and income metrics; whereas crises exacerbate women’s vulnerability and exposure to violence, intensifying existing structural inequalities and aggravating all types of gender-based violence, including physical, sexual and psychological; whereas the effectiveness of EIGE’s actions on the European Green Deal, which needs to be revised and updated to set achievable targets inwomen face systemic social and economic inequalities across the Union, exacerbated by intersecting factors such as race, disability, sexual orientation, genderal to achieve equal identity, and support women, especially in the Union, is questionablemigration status, which hinder their access to opportunities, fair wages, and social protections;
Amendment 13 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas gender equality in the Union has been particularly impacted by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, which women are disproportionately affected by, and the backlashes against gender equality and women’s rights, especially around sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in several Member States; whereas this further deepens inequalities and hampers gender equality;
Amendment 15 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) was established in order to contribute to and strengthen the promotion of gender equality in the Union, including gender mainstreaming in all Union policies and the resulting national policies, the fight against discrimination based on gender, and raising Union citizens’ awareness of gender equality; whereas crises exacerbate women’s social and economic vulnerabilities, intensifying exposure to violence and deepening existing structural inequalities; whereas the disproportionate economic impacts of crises, including the green transition, often fall on women, particularly those in low-income, caregiving, or informal sector roles;
Amendment 19 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Has serious concerns that EIGE’s mission wStresses that in the last diverted from improving equality by its focus on the European Green Deal; points out that EIGE achieved 92,76 % of its work programme objectivesecade economic, social, labour and gender inequalities within and between Member States have become more acute; recalls the important role played by EIGE in understanding and addressing the extent and causes of gender inequality in the EU;
Amendment 25 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Emphasizes that addressing gender-based violence cannot be decoupled from tackling economic and social inequalities; calls on EIGE to prioritize research and recommendations that focus on reducing the gender pay gap, increasing women’s access to quality jobs, and ensuring their economic independence as a fundamental part of its mission to combat violence against women and girls;
Amendment 27 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. NoteRecalls that the 8,5 % increase in EIGE’s staff costs can be attributed to the continued highsk is to collect, analyse, and disseminate inflormation rate as well as a 2,7% indexation of salaries, and that the average number of staff ras regards gender equality and to develop, analyse, evaluate and dissemained at 45; notes that two contract agents were engaged and funded by the IPA contribution agreement with the Commission’s Directorate-Gate methodological tools in order to support the integration of genderal for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations; acknowledges the persisting understaffing of EIGE and suggests that EIGE focus its work programme on violence against women and girls while deprioritizing actions related to the European Green Deal where necessary in light of current staff capacit equality into all Union policies and the resulting national policies; encourages collaboration between the EIGE and other Union agencies;
Amendment 32 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls that EIGE has experienced persistent issues with understaffing, which were further aggravated through the sharp increase in requests for technical assistance as a result of the prioritisation of gender mainstreaming in all Union policies and initiatives in the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025; stresses its calls for EIGE to be granted the budget and staff allocations, including an increase in contract agents, required to handle the significant increase in workload;
Amendment 40 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Acknowledges that specific measures were taken in the area of financial managementRecalls that the European Institute for Gender Equality was set up to help the European institutions and the Member States to emainsutre a proper implementation of interinstitutional framework contracts.am gender equality in all their policies and combat gender-based discrimination by supplying up-to-date studies, and thus makes an important contribution to efforts to achieve genuine gender equality;
Amendment 45 #
2024/2030(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation between EIGE and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), in particular the Institute’s contribution to the ongoing efforts of the Committee concerning gender-based violence, work-life balance, the gender pay and pension gap, impact of crises on women, gender mainstreaming and budgeting; strongly supports the work of the Institute, which enables the Committee to properly do its work; notes the importance of availability of reliable gender-disaggregated data in order to allow for evidence-based policy making; notes the valuable contribution EIGE can make to all the European Parliament's Committees and other EU agencies in order to better integrate gender mainstreaming in all EU policies; calls on EIGE to adopt an intersectional framework in its research and policymaking to address the compounded social and economic disadvantages faced by women from marginalized groups, including women of color, migrants, persons with disabilities, and LGBTIQA+ individuals; stresses the importance of collecting disaggregated data to develop targeted solutions for these groups;
Amendment 11 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union not only enshrines gender equality but also protects human dignity and prohibits all forms of discrimination, including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity;
Amendment 15 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the protection and promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are essential to achieving full gender equality and guaranteeing women's autonomy over their own bodies;
Amendment 17 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. ERecalls that one in three women in the Union has been affected by gender- based violence; expresses serious concern over the lack of focus on protecting women and girls from gender-based violence in the Union budget; calls for additional ongoing funding, which it should be at least 5% or total EU budget, of the Equality and Rights Strand of the CERV programme and the Daphne programme to combat all forms of gender-based violence in the Union, including in the framework of the effective implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence and sexual abuse against women, girls and other forms of domestic violence and the Directive combatting violence against women and domestic violence; regrets the absence of disaggregated data on gender-based violence and urges mandatory gender impact assessments specifically aimed at protection against violence to enable monitoring of the effectiveness of the measures in relevant legislative acts; urges the Commission to treat this as a priority and make use of the opportunities to improve data collection requirements and indicators in new legislation and reviews;
Amendment 19 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Stresses that sexual and reproductive health and rights are fundamental rights and a precondition of gender equality and must be placed at the heart of health policy, considering the backlash against women’s rights and access to safe and legal abortion; stresses the need to reinforce budgetary allocations that support universal respect for and access to SRHR, including access to free, safe and legal abortion in health public service, and demands the allocation of resources for sexual and reproductive health under the EU4Health Programme in particular to ensure universal access to SRHR, as well as free access to contraceptive methods, and ensuring essential care and medicines for voluntary family planning, specifically covering, inter alia, the issues of reproduction, preparation for childbirth maternal and neonatal health and fertility treatments; highlights the continued importance to fund organisations working in the field, such as those that facilitate cross-border cooperation between organisations providing safe and legal abortions;
Amendment 21 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Highlights that due to the persecution that LGTBIQA+ people are suffering it is necessary to allocate sufficient budget to measures to combat LGTBIQA+phobia, such as telephone lines for counselling and attention;
Amendment 22 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. stresses that women’s rights and a gender equality perspective should be integrated and ensured into all policy areas, particularly in light of the multiple gendered impacts of various ongoing climate, energy and social crises, including the backlashes against gender equality and women’s rights, especially sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in several Member States and worldwide; reiterates therefore its call for the implementation of gender budgeting at all stages of the budgetary process;
Amendment 23 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Rejects the increase in the budget allocations for militarisation, specifically for arms, infrastructure, civil-military or security research, capacity and military mobility and for border surveillance and externalisation; demands that the budget earmarked for this expenditure be reallocated to the fight against gender- based violence, to promote economic and social cohesion and tackle the root causes of migration, such as poverty and violent conflicts;
Amendment 26 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges the Union’s commitment to gender mainstreaming and the need to further focus on combating violence against women and girls in policymaking; stresses the need to urgently establish a common approach to rapereiterates that rape remains one of the most widespread human rights violation and stresses the need to urgently establish a common definition of rape on the basis of lack of consent with common minimum sanctions in national laws;
Amendment 32 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned about the growing financial risks due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its impact on gender equality policies; highlights the need to prioritisDenounces that gender equality is particularly impacted by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis, which women are disproportionately affected by, and the backlashes against gender equality and women’s rights, especially around sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in several Member States; calls on the EU and its Member States to increase public investment in policies that, directly or indirectly, aim to counteract the negative effects of the cost of living crisis on women in all their diversity, to guarantee access to high-quality, free poublicies that protect children, women and families services for care, education, health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and housing, and to protect victims of gender-based violence;
Amendment 41 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports the United Nations’ Spotlight Initiative’s goal of ending violence against women and girls and addressing the needs of vulnerable groups, such as victims of harmful practices like female genital mutilation or child marriage; urges the Commission to stop funding movements in and outside the Union that contribute to the oppression of women in all formsand emphasizes the need for these measures to include the protection of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women; repeats its calls for the Commission to ensure that EU funds are not made available to any entity that is implicated in breaches of human rights, including women’s fundamental rights and SRHR;
Amendment 59 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Requests the creation of a specific program within the Daphne funding framework to address violence against LGBTIQA+ women, including the provision of safe shelters, access to support services tailored to their needs, and the protection of their sexual and reproductive health rights;
Amendment 61 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Urges the Commission and Member States to strengthen awareness- raising campaigns against gender-based violence and discrimination, explicitly including educational efforts to combat LGBTIQA+phobia and to promote sexual and reproductive rights; calls for comprehensive sexual education programs that promote gender equality, consent, and respect for diversity in all Member States;
Amendment 62 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Calls on the Union to take a firm stance in defending sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as a non-negotiable element of gender equality, urging Member States to eliminate legal, financial, or practical barriers to accessing contraception, safe abortion, and other essential reproductive health services, ensuring no woman is left behind.
Amendment 63 #
2024/2019(DEC)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Stresses the importance of strengthening the specifically dedicated Daphne initiative by increasing its resources, in particular measures that aim to combat all levels and all forms of gender-based violence and to properly support victims;
Amendment 4 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Since 2011, Jordan has embarked on a number of political reforms to strengthen parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. A Constitutional Court and an Independent Electoral Commission have been set up and a number of major laws, including the Electoral Act and the Political Parties Act as well as laws on decentralisation and municipalities, have been passed by the Jordanian Parliament. Legislative improvements as regards the independence of the judiciary and women’s rights have been adopted. However, not all reforms have benefited the broader population; in 2018, mass demonstrations against an IMF-backed tax reform, which introduced income tax increases and austerity measures criticised for disproportionately burdening the poor and middle class, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulqi.
Amendment 10 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3 a) Jordan hosts around 1.3 million refugees, making it one of the countries with the highest number of refugee populations per capita. Some 2.3 million Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA, of whom some 370,000 reside in UNRWA-administered camps. Jordan has shown extraordinary hospitality in integrating many refugees into the national health and education systems, despite pressure on resources and limited international funding. Continued support from the European Union is crucial to avoid deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Amendment 13 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The war in Israel-genocide in Gaza that started in October 2023 implies very substantial downside risk to the economic outlook, in particular due to the increased level of uncertainty in the region and the possible impact on the important tourism sector and consumer sentiment. The ongoing Houthi attacks on cargo and energy vessels in the Red Sea hinder vessel traffic to Asia, impacting Jordan’s exports, in particular the mineral and chemicals exports, and imports.In January 2024, the Jordanian authorities and the IMF agreed on a new economic adjustment programme supported by a four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in the amount of USD 1.2 billion, which followed a USD 1.7 billion four-year EFF, including a loan under the Rapid Financing Instrument, from 2020- 2023.
Amendment 14 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4 a) The IMF's priorities in general are fiscal stability and labour market flexibility, often at the expense of the country's social development. In this instance, the IMF's programme for Jordan is aimed in particular at building resilience in the financial sector, developing the private sector and reducing the ratio of public debt to GDP (mirroring the objectives from its earlier programme).
Amendment 16 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Recital 4 b (new)
Recital 4 b (new)
(4 b) The United States recently adopted a 845 million USD grant to Jordan. Grants are usually favored over loans for countries with urgent humanitarian needs, as they do not increase the recipient's debt burden. And finally, loans are generally not suitable for low-income or fragile states with limited repayment capacity. Considering the dire situation on the ground and the geopolitical context, the Union could have envisaged a balanced approach, combining loans and grants, to provide more effective support.
Amendment 26 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should support Jordan’s commitment to values shared with the Union, including democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights, sustainable development and poverty reduction, as well as its commitment to the principles of rule-based and fair trade. However, recent developmen, rule- based and fair tradets raise concerns about Jordan's adherence to these values. Several recent laws have been used to increase restriction on freedom of speech, such as the new Cybercrime Law (2023). Hundreds of individual shave faced charges under this law for expressing pro- Palestinian sentiment, criticising Jordan's peace agreement with Israel or calling for peaceful demonstrations.
Amendment 42 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. The Union shall make macro- financial assistance of a maximum amount of EUR 500 million available to Jordan (“the Union’s macro-financial assistance”), with a view to supporting Jordan’s economic stabilisation and a substantive reform agenda to improve living and employment conditions . The assistance shall contribute to covering Jordan’s balance of payments needs as identified in the IMF programme.
Amendment 43 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 1 – paragraph 4
Article 1 – paragraph 4
4. The release of the Union’s macro- financial assistance shall be managed by the Commission in a manner consistent with the agreements or understandings reached between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Jordan, and with the key principles and objectives of economic reforms set out in the EU-Jordan Association Agreement.
Amendment 48 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission and the European External Action Service shall monitor the fulfilment of this pre-condition throughout the life cycle of the Union’s macro- financial assistance. The European Parliament shall be consulted for guidance concerning human rights implementation.
Amendment 50 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission, in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 7(2), shall agree with the Jordanian authorities on clearly defined economic policy and financial conditions, focusing on structurocial reforms and sound public finances and services, to which the Union’s macro-financial assistance is to be subject, to be laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding (“the Memorandum of Understanding”) which shall include a timeframe for the fulfilment of those conditions, conditionnal to the disbursement of the three instalments, referred in article 4 . The economic policy and financial conditions set out in the Memorandum of Understanding shall be consistent with the agreements or understandings referred to in Article 1(3), including the macroeconomic adjustment and structural reform programmes implemented by Jordan with the support of the IMF. The European and Jordan Parliaments shall be consulted on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), considering its important political, financial and social implications, especially in areas like migration. In case of EU Treaty revision, Parliamentary oversight should be extended to include MoUs. Alternatively, the Commission shall envisage to foster formal and binding agreements that requires approuval by the European Parliament (Articles 207, 218 TFEU).
Amendment 54 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. The conditions referred to in paragraph 1 shall aim, in particular, at enhancing the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the public finance management systems in Jordan, including for the use of the Union’s macro-financial assistance. Progress in mutual market openingiority shall be given to ensuring a fair taxation to finance affordable public services, education and healthcare services, the development of rules-based and fair trade, and other priorities in the context of the Union’s external policy shall also be duly taken into account when designing the policy measures. Progress in attaining those objectives shall be regularly monitored by the Commission, together with the Parliament .
Amendment 56 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. The Commission shall ensure the macro-financial assistance (MFA) does not contribute to the further erosion of people’s economic and social rights and respect EU regulation on MFA, in particular that recipients of macro- financial assistance adhere to the respect of human rights and effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law.
Amendment 57 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) a continuous satisfactory track record of implementing a policy programme that contains strong adjustment and structural reform measures supported by a non-precautionary IMF credit arrangement; and
Amendment 59 #
2024/0086(COD)
Proposal for a decision
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) the satisfactory implementation of the economic policy and financial conditions agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding as described above.