Activities of Frieda BREPOELS

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the European Union is founded on commitment to democracy, the rule of law ~~and~~, human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human rdig~~hts~~nity and international law, not only in its internal policies, but also externally; whereas the EU commitment to human rights reinforced by the entry into force of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the accession process to the ECHR must be reflected into all areas of policy in order to make the EU human rights policy effective and credible;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas instruments governing the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its two Optional Protocols, and the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT), and the Optional Protocol to the CAT, which not only mandates an absolute ban on torture but also ~~requires investigation of allegations of torture~~entails a positive obligation to investigate allegations of torture and to provide remedies and reparation; whereas the EU guidelines on torture provide the framework for the EU's efforts ‘'to prevent and eradicate torture and ill- treatment in all parts of the world’;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas secret detention, which constitutes enforced disappearances, may amount, if widely or systematically practiced, to a crime against humanity; whereas states of emergency and the fight against terrorism constitute an enabling environment for secret detention;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas the US government passed, in December 2011, detention provisions in the National Defence Authorisation Act that introduce indefinite detention of persons suspected of engaging in terrorist actions within the US and undermine the right to due process and a fair trial;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Reiterates its condemnation of the practices of extraordinary rendition, secret prisons and torture, which are prohibited under domestic and international human rights law and which breach inter alia the rights to liberty, security, humane treatment, freedom from torture, presumption of innocence, fair trial, legal counsel and equal protection under the law; reaffirms in this respect that the use of unreliable and unenforceable diplomatic assurances to send foreigners alleged to be threats to national security to countries where they are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment contradicts states' obligations in this regard, and calls on the Council and EU Member States to ban this practice;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Reiterates that full application of the human rights clause of agreements is fundamental in the relations between the European Union and its Member States and third countries and considers that there is a real momentum to revisit how European governments have cooperated with the apparatus of repression of dictatorships in the name of countering terrorism; considers in this respect that the newly revised European Neighbourhood Policy must bring strong support to security sector reform which must notably ensure a clear separation of intelligence and law enforcement functions; calls on the EEAS, the Council and the Commission to reinforce its cooperation with the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and other relevant Council of Europe mechanisms in the planning and implementation of counter- terrorism assistance projects with third countries and in all forms of counter- terrorism dialogues with third countries;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Reiterates its call, required by international law and notably Article 12 of the CAT, for all states faced with credible allegations to end impunity and conduct thorough investigations and inquiries into all alleged acts of extraordinary rendition, secret prisons, torture and other serious human rights violations, so to determine responsibility and ensure accountability, including bringing individuals to justice where there is evidence of criminal liability; calls in this respect on the HR/VP and EU Member States to take all necessary measures to ensure a due follow-up to the UN Joint Study on global practices in relation to secret detention in the context of countering terrorism , in particular regarding the follow-up letter sent by the Special Mandates holders on 21 October 2011 to 59 states asking their respective governments to provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations contained in this study;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Pays tribute to US civil society initiatives to set up in 2010 an independent bipartisan taskforce to examine the US Government's policy and actions related to the capture, detention and prosecution of "suspected terrorists" and US custody during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the relevant authorities to end the habit of routinely invoking state secrecy in relation to international intelligence cooperation to block accountability and redress, and insists that only genuine national security reasons can justify secrecy, which is in any case overridden by non-derogable fundamental rights obligations such as the absolute prohibition on torture; calls in this respect to equally avoid the use of diplomatic assurances as their application has shown to undermine the relevant states' duties to actively seek to prevent any actions that could in any way facilitate torture or ill- treatment;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Recalls that the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture requires the setting up of monitoring systems covering all situations of deprivation of liberty, and insists on the fact that adhering to this international instrument adds a layer of protection; strongly encourages EU partner countries to ratify the Optional Protocol and to create independent national preventive mechanisms that are in compliance with the Paris Principles, and to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Deplores the Macedonian Government's failure to take any investigative steps regarding the illegal detention and abduction of Khaled El- Masri and the lack of action by the Office of the Skopje Prosecutor to carry out a criminal investigation into Mr El-Masri's complaint; notes that the European Court of Human Rights has taken up the case of Mr El-Masri and that the Grand Chamber had its first hearing on 16 May 2012; considers that allegations against the Macedonian Government's conduct in the case of Mr El-Masri are inconsistent with the EU's founding principles of fundamental rights and the rule of law and must be duly raised by the Commission in the framework of the Macedonia accession process to the EU;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. Is particularly concerned by the procedure conducted by a US military commission regarding Mr Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri who could be sentenced to death if convicted; reiterates its long- standing opposition to the death penalty in all cases and under all circumstances and notes that Mr al-Nashiri's case has been before the European Court of Human Rights since 6 May 2011; calls on Poland and Romania to conduct effective investigations into their role in secret detentions and renditions and to use all available means to ensure that Mr al- Nashiri is not subjected to the death penalty; urges the HR/VP to raise the case of Mr al-Nashiri as a matter of priority with the US and to implement with its strategic partner the EU Guidelines on the death penalty;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Urges the relevant authorities to ensure that a strict distinction is made between the activities of intelligence and security services on the one hand and law enforcement agencies on the other hand, so as to ensure that the general principle of "nemo iudex in sua causa" is upheld;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2033(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Ana MIRANDA PAZ, Frieda BREPOELS, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Calls on the Conference of Delegations Chairs to ensure that parliamentary dialogues be initiated on the protection of fundamental rights while countering terrorism on the basis of and in follow-up to the findings of the UN Joint Study on global practices in relation to secret detention in the context of countering terrorism and of the UN compilation of good practices on legal and institutional frameworks and measures that ensure respect for human rights by intelligence agencies while countering terrorism, including their oversight;

2012/05/30
Committee: AFET

2012/2025(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas the re-evaluation of the accession criteria should take into account the possibility of internal enlargement inside the EU;

2012/06/08
Committee: AFET

2012/2025(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Ana MIRANDA PAZ, Frieda BREPOELS, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Calls on the Commission to prepare an accession roadmap for possible new Member States emerging from inside the EU;

2012/06/08
Committee: AFET

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas fiscal federalism inside Member States has been a great economic success when applied, with a relevant increase in tax self-responsibility both for the regions involved and the central government, and so the possibility to extend this policy to other regions in Europe should therefore be thoroughly studied;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that taxation is still a matter for national and in some cases regional sovereignty, and that the different structures of theses regions and Member States' (MS) tax systems should therefore be respected; notes that Treaty changes would be necessary in order for decision- making on tax policies to be transferred from the national to the EU level;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that MS with high deficits will have to increase tax revenues through higher taxes, pursue expenditure reductions, fight against tax fraud and increase public savings;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Believes that fiscal federalism is the best tool in order to achieve self- responsibility in the tax management at regional level and so entails a higher economic efficiency;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Believes that excessive deficits at the regional level are sometimes related to a lack of relation between tax revenue and tax expenditure, that at the same time impede the creation of the necessary environment to build a self-sustaining growth model;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission to put forward proposals on corporate taxation, green and consumption taxation, avoidance of tax fraud, good governance and double taxation;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Acknowledges the fact that fiscal federalism gives incentives to regions to be responsible for their own resources and so can be a useful tool in order to fight against tax fraud;

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2271(INI)

Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Frieda BREPOELS, Alyn SMITH, Oriol JUNQUERAS I VIES, Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 – introductory part

28. Calls on MS and regional authorities to

2011/11/23
Committee: ECON

2011/2193(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Is nonetheless concerned about the possible actual erosion of the principle of voluntary or unpaid donation, for example through the unproportional granting of fixed reimbursement of expenses without burden of proof, of recuperation time and of advantages in kind; is of the opinion that the principle of voluntary and unpaid donation in the 2004/03 guideline must be clarified and reinforced in order to discourage this erosion;

2012/05/14
Committee: ENVI

2011/2185(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Warmly welcomes the HR/VP's statement to Parliament on 13 December 2011 following up on Parliament's long- standing call for the creation of an EU Special Representative on Human Rights; endorses her view that this would ‘act as a catalyst and raise our profile internationally’, and urges the creation of this function forthwith; ~~calls for the post- holder to be expert in, and represent the HR/VP in relation to, international humanitarian law and international justice;~~ further recommends that an EU Special Representative on International Humanitarian Law and International Justice be appointed to advance EU policy and actions on the ICC effectively, and to give it the prominence and visibility it deserves, as well as to assist in ensuring the effective mainstreaming of justice and the fight against impunity in EU foreign policies, so that these issues are consistently weighed in an appropriate way in policy discussions;

2012/02/22
Committee: AFET

2011/2185(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Stresses that the mainstreaming of international justice must include systematically taking account of the fight against impunity and the principle of complementarity in the broader context of trade, development and rule-of-law assistance; stresses that victims must be the central concern; recommends that the Rome Statute of the ICC be added to the package of international treaties on good governance and the rule of law to be ratified by third countries admitted to the System of Generalised Preferences Plus (GSP+); recommends the consistent inclusion of ICC clauses in EU agreements with third countries;

2012/02/22
Committee: AFET

2011/2185(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Welcomes the updating of the EU's policy on the ICC through the Council Decision of 21 March 2011 and the revision of the EU Action Plan on the ICC; encourages the EU and its Member States to adopt a set of internal guidelines outlining a code of conduct for contacts with persons wanted by the ICC; calls on all Member States (notably the Republic of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal) to ~~sign framework agreements with the ICC in order to facilitate cooperation and to fully integrate the Rome Statute into national legislation~~fully integrate the Rome Statute into national legislation, in particular by enacting relevant national legislation on cooperation with the Court and by concluding framework agreements with the ICC in order to facilitate cooperation, in particular to ensure the execution of arrest warrants and other Court requests;

2012/02/22
Committee: AFET

2011/2185(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Recognises the efforts of the European Commission to establish an 'EU Complementarity Toolkit' aimed at supporting the development of national capacities and generating political will for the investigation and prosecution of alleged international crimes, and stresses the importance of systematic consultations with EU Member States, the European Parliament and civil society organisations in order to finalise the toolkit;

2012/02/22
Committee: AFET

2011/2185(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Recommends that the EU systematically promote respect for, cooperation with and assistance to the ICC within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and of dialogues between the EU and regional organisations such as the African Union and the Organisation of American States, and third countries;

2012/02/22
Committee: AFET

2011/2096(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 bis (new)

4 bis. Challenges the Commission’s assumption that freight transport over distances of less than 300 km will, by definition, be by road; stresses that other factors also play a decisive role when choosing other forms of transport: type of products, volume, whether transhipment facilities are available, whether there are transport experts in ports, etc.; calls on the Commission to develop a policy that supports sustainable and efficient co- modal transport and covers all transport segments (short, medium and long distances) for optimum modal distribution, irrespective of the distance;

2011/09/21
Committee: ITRE

2011/2096(INI)

Marietje SCHAAKE, Frieda BREPOELS, Barbara LOCHBIHLER, Ana GOMES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 bis (new)

5 bis. Welcomes the Commission’s plea for clarity regarding future policy frameworks and for a coherent policy at EU level; is convinced that a clear long- term vision with regard to investments in European transport infrastructure, in conformity with EU environmental legislation, is the best way to ensure efficient implementation of EU infrastructure and transport policy; the transport and infrastructure policy of the Member States should graft onto this European strategy and even strengthen it where possible; in this context, repeatedly questioning planned and agreed investments or funding schemes has a detrimental effect;

2011/09/21
Committee: ITRE

2011/2030(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point -l a (new)

International Criminal Justice (-la) to consider it an EU priority to further strengthen the international criminal justice system, to promote accountability and to put an end to impunity, to further promote the important work of the ICC as the only permanent and independent judicial institution with jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of international concern, covering genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes; to encourage a strong and close relationship between the ICC and the UN in line with Article 2 of the Rome Statute, and to encourage the global ratification of the Rome Statute,

2011/04/04
Committee: AFET

Frieda BREPOELS, Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES

Proposal for a directive – amending act
Recital 10

(10) Where equivalent measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in particular taxation, are in place for small installations whose emissions do not exceed a threshold of 1025 000 tonnes of CO2 per year, there should be a procedure for enabling Member States to exclude such small installations from the emissions trading system for so long as those measures are applied. These small installations should however be allowed to remain within the Community scheme. This threshold relatively offers the maximum gain in terms of reduction of administrative costs for each tonne excluded from the system, for reasons of administrative simplicity. As a consequence of the move from five-year allocation periods, and in order to increase certainty and predictability, provisions should be set on the frequency of revision of greenhouse gas emission permits.

2008/07/08
Committee: ENVI

2008/0013(COD)

Proposal for a directive – amending act
Article 1 – point 2 – point (c)

Directive 2003/87/EC
Article 3 – point [t)]

[(t)] 'Combustion installation' means any stationary technical unit in which fuels are oxidised producing heat or mechanical energy or both, and other directly associated activities including waste gas scrubbing are carried out; recycling operations as defined by Annex IIB R3 of Directive 91/156/EEC are exempted from the definition of 'combustion installation'.

2008/07/10
Committee: ENVI

2008/0013(COD)

Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES, Françoise GROSSETÊTE, Frieda BREPOELS, Richard SEEBER, Lambert van NISTELROOIJ, Marie-Noëlle LIENEMANN

Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 – point 2 a (new)

Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004
Article 1 – paragraph 2 b (new)

(2a) In Article 1, paragraph 2b shall be inserted: "2b. The maximum period of validity of the passport and travel documents for minors shall be 5 years."

2008/06/18
Committee: LIBE

2005/0281(COD)

Article 6 – paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. The Commission shall ensure that the list of wastes and any review of this list adhere to principles of clarity, comprehensibility and accessibility for users, particularly SMEs. Or. fr (ii)

2008/03/07
Committee: ENVI

2005/0281(COD)