Activities of Pál SZEKERES
Plenary speeches (3)
Ensuring sustainable, decent and affordable housing in Europe - encouraging investment, private property and public housing programmes (debate)
Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States (debate)
Managing migration in an effective and holistic way through fostering returns (debate)
Written explanations (2)
Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States
Egyetértek a Bizottság javaslatával, amely szerint a tagállamoknak támogatniuk kell a mikro-, kis- és középvállalkozások létrehozását és növekedését, többek között a finanszírozáshoz való könnyebb hozzáférés biztosítása révén. Ugyancsak egyetértek azzal, hogy jobban ki kell aknázni a fogyatékossággal élő személyek gazdasági növekedéshez és társadalmi fejlődéshez való hozzájárulásában rejlő lehetőségeket. Támogatom, hogy a tagállamok tegyenek a megfizethető és tisztességes lakhatás érdekében és ennek során a fogyatékossággal élő személyek sajátos szükségleteit – beleértve az akadálymentességet – is figyelembe vegyék. Támogatom a nők munkaerőpiaci részvételének elmozdítását egyenlő esélyek és szakmai előmenetel biztosításával, valamint a vezetői pozíciókhoz való hozzáférés útjában álló akadályok megszüntetésével.Sajnos mégsem tudtam szavazatommal támogatni a jelentést, mert a baloldal olyan módosításokat erőltetett a szövegbe, amelyek tagállami hatáskörbe avatkoznak és a migrációt szorgalmazzák. Elfogadhatatlan a progresszív adóztatás követelése, a felsőoktatási tantervekbe avatkozás pedig sérti az egyetemek autonómiáját. Az irányított bevándorlás, a migrációs lehetőségek megnyitása nem erőltethető a tagállamokra.
Situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia
Örményország és Azerbajdzsán a közelmúltban megerősítette, hogy kétoldalú tárgyalásaikon számos előrelépés történt a kulcsfontosságú kérdések tisztázásában, így a két ország közel áll a régóta várt békeszerződés megkötéséhez, több évtizedes konfliktus után végre tartós béke lehet a Dél-Kaukázusban.Éppen ezért kontraproduktívnak és célszerűtlennek tartjuk, hogy a béke megszületésének küszöbén olyan határozat szülessen, amely egyoldalú nyelvezetével további feszültséget generálhat a két ország között. Az Európai Parlamentnek a kompromisszumkeresést kellene elősegítenie, nem pedig újabb akadályt gördíteni a békefolyamat elé.Magyarország több alkalommal is elítélte a keresztény örmény lakosságot ért jogsértéseket és a keresztény kulturális örökség pusztítását, ezen álláspontunkat továbbra is fenntartjuk. Ezért a Hungary Helps program keretében nagy összegű adományt juttattunk az örmény Vöröskeresztnek, karabahi gyermekek számára biztosítottunk nyári táboroztatást, valamint számos örmény származású egyetemi hallgató részesült kormányzati ösztöndíjban.A határozat azonban súlyos kijelentéseket tesz az Azerbajdzsánból érkező földgázzal kapcsolatosan, holott az energiabeszerzés diverzifikációja szempontjából kulcsfontosságú a dél-kaukázusi régióban kitermelt földgáz és különösen a megújuló energia importja az EU számára. Új energiaforrások és energiaszállítási útvonalak biztosítása nélkül Európa - és ezzel Magyarország - energiaellátásának biztonsága kerül veszélybe.Tekintettel arra, hogy a határozat összességében kontraproduktív szellemiséget tükröz a békefolyamat szempontjából, valamint szűklátókörű, az energiabiztonságunkat veszélyeztető megközelítést alkalmaz, a Fidesz-KDNP képviselők a szöveget nem támogatták.
Individual motions (1)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on enabling Member States to opt-out of EU migration policy
Amendments (34)
Amendment 19 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard the European Competitiveness Agreement of 8 November 2024.
Amendment 27 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas collective bargaining and strong trade union involvement are essentialpart of Member States’ employment and social law for ensuring that workers’ voices are heard during restructuring negotiations as well; whereas workers’ involvement through information, consultation and participation in company decision-making processes is more important than ever to consolidate the fair and just transition of companies and to protect jobs and collective interests; whereas just transition is about supporting social justice and ensuring fair burden- sharing while fighting climate change;
Amendment 41 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas a core objective of restructuring processes should be job retention, upskilling and reskilling;
Amendment 56 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas companies oftenshould prioritise short-term profits over economic sustainability and competitiveness along with long-term employment stability, uanderscoring the need for the ensurement of corporate social responsibility in restructuring plans;
Amendment 71 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas a New Competitiveness Agreement has been agreed on the 8th of November 2024;
Amendment 82 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles is imperative, but it must be achieved in a way that avoids job losses in traditional automotive manufacturing by upskilling and reskilling workers;
Amendment 100 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that employment security, fair wages and decent working conditions are fundamental rights that must be upheld in all restructuring processes to protect workers from corporate profit-seeking strategiesof utmost importance; stresses the urgent need for an ambitious European industrial policy with significant investment that will support common goodpetitiveness and innovation and deliver quality jobs, economic prosperity and social progress; underlines that this policy should be based on strong public services, social protection, housing, transport and childcare; supports a robust European industrial policy based on resilient and well-resourced public services and public administration, covering not just manufacturing, but all sectors and all transitions;
Amendment 112 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 133 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the delivery of a European industrial policy for quality jobs requires the full involvement of social partners and needs to be implemented through social dialogue and collective bargaininga European Competitiveness Agreement ; calls on the Commission to include the overall objective of raising work quality at the EU level;
Amendment 140 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for the EU to adoptpursue a trade policies thaty that ensures level playing field, access to new markets while protects European jobs while promoting fair and ethical trade; call; emphasizes that dialogue is always fmore effective than countervailing tariffs to be applied to imports fromhat often harm directly or indirectly the European industry, when addressing countries where unfair labour practices, low environmental standards, or heavy state subsidies distort competition; stresses that future trade agreements must include strong labour clauses to ensure that global trade benefits workers, rather than undermining their rights;
Amendment 150 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission to revise the European Public Procurement Directive6 in order to establish preferential treatment for companies complying with collective bargaining agreements; calls on the Commission to strengthen the social clause and exclude from tenders companies that have engaged in criminal activities or union busting or that have refused to participate in collective bargaining; highlights the importance of ensuring that public money is used to invest in those engaged in just transitions with the aim of promoting collective agreements and increasing trade union densitieCalls on the Commission to strengthen the social clause and exclude from tenders companies that have engaged in criminal activities; highlights the importance of promoting competitiveness; considers, furthermore, that all EU financial support to undertakings should be made conditional on their compliance with the applicable working and employment conditions and/or employer obligations resulting from the relevant collective agreements; believes that this support should also be conditional on their commitment to investing in European industries and maintaining jobs in the EU;easily accessible - especially for SMEs - in order to support innovation in the EU; __________________ 6 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC, OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/24/oj.
Amendment 166 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Reiterates its call for EU funding, including State aid, to be conditional on public policy objectives, especially in strategic sectors, and on social requirements, in order to offer high- quality jobs, promote collective bargaining, respect EU labour rights and standards, and ensure improved working conditionavoid the fragmentation of the Single Market and ensure level playing field for European companies while enhancing innovation, competitiveness, and also contributing to the creation of high quality jobs;
Amendment 185 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Supports investments in sectors such as electric vehicle battery production, charging infrastructure, renewable energy and digital technologies; insists that these investments must prioritiserespects workers’ rights and community development;
Amendment 197 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that restructuring processes are essential in achieving the green transition objectives and are an imperative for a net-zero economy that sustains its social and environmental standards; warns that restructuring processes must never come at the cost of workers’ rightsshould not be carried out to the detriment of workers' rights and should ensure full respect for the right to collective bargaining; calls on the Commission to take action to reinforce and promote collective bargaining, ensuring an increase in collective bargaining coverage to at least 80 % in all Member States, and guaranteeing full respect of the right to collective bargaining;
Amendment 214 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that during the restructuring processes should starit ais early as possiblessential to prevent insolvency and mitigate job losses; calls on the Commission and the Member States to supportencourage companies working closely with trade unions and workers’ representatives to identify warning signs early and develop comprehensive plans to address employment needs;
Amendment 227 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Warns that restructuring must not be used as a pretext to violate workers’ and trade union rights7 ; deplores the violation of the fundamental rights of collective bargaining and information and consultation before a decision is made; calls on the Commission to put in place safeguards to prevent the misuse of restructuring as a means to exploit workers or avoid obligations, particularly in cases of tactical insolvency; __________________ 7 Study – ‘Study on monitoring the application of the EU Quality Framework for anticipation of change and restructuring’, European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Publications Office of the European Union, 2018, https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/- /publication/1c22896d-4e10-11ea-aece- 01aa75ed71a1/language-en.
Amendment 233 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to presentexamine the need for a proposal for a directive on just transition in the world of work, through anticipation and management of change, based on the principles of trade union involvement and collective bargaining; urges the Commission to ensure the right for all to training without cost to the worker and during working hours; believes that this proposal should include a right tofocus on job-to- job transition and a right to quality upskilling or reskilling training, employee training and career development support; points out that when job changes are necessary, the priority should always be upskilling workers to keep them in the same company; notes that, when job-to-job transition is necessary, keeping workers in the same sector and region while allowing them sufficient time for reconversion without personal financial losses is essential; stresses that the principle of a fair and social just transition will apply to restructuring, especially in transforming industries in strategic sectors such as automotive and energy, and will put the workers first;
Amendment 246 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that in order to prevent the loss of jobs, and in the absence of an industrial plan agreed with the social partners, a moratorium on closures and forced redundancies should be possible; calls on the Commission and the Member States to urgently agree on a moratorium on forced redundancies with a temporary support programmes are necessary to protect employment during transitions, creating space for the clean industrial deal and avoiding the loss of strategic industrial capacity; demands strongerwelcomes the existing legal protections against unfair dismissals and calls for workers affected by restructuring to be guaranteed adequate compensationencourages Member States to provide adequate compensation for workers affected by restructuring, retraining opportunities and support in securing new employment; reaffirms that the dignity of workers must always take precedence overjust as much be guaranteed that corporate profits;
Amendment 257 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to build on the declaration accepted on 8th November 2024 on a new European competitiveness agreement and develop a comprehensive plan, similaprovide an adequate answer to the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, focused on boosting investment in green and low-carbon technologies, renewable energy and sustainable industries, with the objective ofbased on the EU Taxonomy Regulation with the objective of enhancing competitiveness, while accelerating the EU’s transition to a climate-neutral economy whileand strengthening the European social model and social justice;
Amendment 265 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for the establishment of a comprehensive directiveguidelines to address the challenges and complexities associated with subcontracting in Europe to ensure fair working conditions, adequate rights and protections for subcontracted workers; calls for the directive to include provisionguidelines for collective bargaining rights to enablesure that subcontracted workers to negotiate their terms of employment effectivelying does not serve as a means to circumvent workers' rights;
Amendment 275 #
2024/2829(RSP)
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for green collective bargaining in the form of negotiable clauses between the social partners of collective agreements that have a direct and indirect effect on the environment; hHighlights that green collective agreements can cover the impact of companies’ activities on the environment, the protection of workers from the effects of climate change and the impact of the green transformation on employment and work organisation; notes that two main forms of green collective agreements can be identified; insists on the integration of green clauses and agreecalls for the integration of green clauses in collective agreements that have a direct and indirect effect on the environments to manage green restructuring;
Amendment 19 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the recommendations following the Ombudsman’s own-initiative inquiry into the time the Commission takes to deal with requests for public access to documents, which call on the Commission to deal with its systemic delays as a matter of urgency and to respect the deadlines set out in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents; is worried by the inquiry’s finding that the Commission’s systemic and significant delays in dealing with document access requests amount to maladministration; deplores the fact that the most important contracts with the pharmaceutical industries concluded by the President of the Commission without any transparency and in violation of all European public procurement rules have still not been made public;
Amendment 27 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Council to engage in constructive negotiations with Parliament and the Commission on the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, in order to turn these three key EU institutions, including their presidency, into role models of transparency and public accountability for the whole of the EU;
Amendment 33 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Endorses the conclusions of the Ombudsman’s special report4 to the European Parliament concerning the time the European Commission takes to deal with requests for public access to documents and is worried about the Ombudsman’s assessment that these systemic and significant delays in the Commission’s processing of requests for public access to documents amount to maladministration; underlines how important it is that the Commission dedicate more resources to dealing with confirmatory requests under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and calls on the Commission to correct this situation as a matter of priority and to improve its practice of handling confirmatory requests; acknowledges the importance of the timely treatment of access to documents requests by all institutions; reminds the Commission of Parliament’s right to bring action against it before the Court of Justice of the European Union on the grounds of infringement of the Treaties and expects a clear and unequivocal commitment by the new College of Commissioners and the Commission President to remedy this situation; _________________ 4 Special Report of the European Ombudsman in her strategic inquiry concerning the time the European Commission takes to deal with requests for public access to documents (OI/2/2022/OAM).
Amendment 41 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is particularly worried that the Ombudsman found maladministration in the Commission’s refusal to provide access, as with all the contracts concluded since 2020 with the pharmaceutical industries, to documents concerning the greenhouse gas emissions of the ceramics industry reported under the EU Emissions Trading System; calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to the overriding public interest and to be more mindful of it when assessing the possibility of disclosing documents concerning emissions into the environment;
Amendment 64 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Appreciates the Ombudsman’s commitment to upholding fundamental rights in the EU institutions’ border management activities by launching inquiries into the actions of Frontex and the Commission in this area; notes thatcalls on the Ombudsman to asked for further clarification from the Commission as to how it intends to guarantee respect for humanthe rights in the context of the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding, in an effort to ensure that the EU complies wiof European states to better control their borders in an effort to combat uncontrolled migration flows, the scale of which is undermining the its human rights obligatiodentity, security and prosperity of the EU’s Member States and their citizens;
Amendment 66 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. In this context, calls on the Ombudsman also to take into account the human rights and interests of local European citizens. Local residents of the Greek, Spanish, Italian, etc. islands with reception centres are suffering serious safety, health and economic damage due to mass migration. It is also part of the Ombudsman’s mission to protect the interests and human rights of European citizens;
Amendment 73 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. WelcomNotes the Commission’s decision to work with local authorities to draw up a fundamental rights impact assessment of EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece, following an own- initiative inquiry by the Ombudsman into how the Commission ensures respect for fundamental rights in these facilities; stresses that local residents also have rights;
Amendment 81 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Strongly supports the Ombudsman’s conclusions that the EU’s ethical and anticorruption rules need to be respected and strengthened by the EU institutions and that Parliament’s implementation of reforms in this area must be properly monitored and enforced at all levels, beginning with that of their presidency; urges the Ombudsman to pay close attention to direct and indirect lobbying practices in Parliament that might increase the risk of potential conflicts of interest; invites the Ombudsman, in this context, to suggest improvements to the current Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament regarding integrity and transparency;
Amendment 93 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the Commission’s changes to its internal guidance on public procurement, positively assessed by the Ombudsman’s inquiry, which strengthen its handling of potential professional conflicts of interest in calls for tender; regrets, however, that no serious clarification has yet been provided as regards the conditions for the award of more than EUR 70 billion worth of public contracts concluded with the pharmaceutical industries since 2020, which will have a long-term financial impact on the finances of the Union and its Member States;
Amendment 94 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Encourages the Commission to step up its efforts to increase transparency with regard to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and supports the Ombudsman’s call on the Commission to improve its handling of requests for public access to RRF-related documents and to continue publishing preliminary assessments of Member States’ payment requests; strongly recommends that the Ombudsman investigate the activities of the Commission in the area of border protection; instead of criticising the Member States and border protection agencies, the Commission should support Member States that are defending their borders and not threaten them or punish them with withdrawal of funding and with fines. The activities of the European Ombudsman should take into account the interests of European citizens;
Amendment 101 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Is worried that the Ombudsman identified several transparency concerns in the Commission’s interactions with the tobacco industry, as is still the case with the pharmaceutical industries; notes, however, that the Commission committed to further assessing the exposure of its departments to lobbying by the tobacco industry; reminds the Commission that the EU and all its Member States are signatories to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and that they are therefore obliged, in setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, to take action to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry;
Amendment 107 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Stresses that, although progress has been made within the EU institutions in the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the achievement of many accessibility targets is still delayed and insufficiently effective; recommends that the next Ombudsman intervene to examine and accelerate accessibility measures in the European institutions and to examine whether people with disabilities are proportionally represented in the institutions;
Amendment 108 #
2024/2056(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Ombudsman to open an inquiry into the case of the European Schools and to examine how children with disabilities could be integrated into that institution, so that their parents can participate in the work of the institutions under equal opportunities;