20 Amendments of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2015/2035(INL)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 223 thereof,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
– having regard to the 2011 and 2014 judgments of the German Federal Constitutional Court, declaring thresholds established by the German European Elections Act to be incompatible with Article 3, paragraph (1) and Article 21, paragraph (1) of the German Basic Law and therefore invalid,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas a genuine harmonisation of the procedure for elections to the European Parliament in all the Member States could better promote the right of all European citizens to participate, on an equal basis, in the democratic life of the Union, while strengthening the political dimension of European integration;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas it is politically and legally recognised that the establishment of electoral thresholds constitutes a serious interference with the principles of equal suffrage and equal opportunities for political parties; whereas, since those principles are fundamental prerequisites for guaranteeing political competition and the openness of the political process, and form part of the democratic legal interest of the EU, any modification of them must be subject to strict standards;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas Parliament has neither analysed and politically discussed, nor taken preventive measures on its own responsibility with regard to, the assumed restriction of its operability resulting from an increase in the number of its political groups and an alleged decreasing ability to integrate within the groups so-called Members ‘unwilling to cooperate’;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas despite these reforms, European elections are still governed for the most part by national laws, electoral campaigning remains national, and European political parties cannot sufficiently fulfil their coinstitutional mandate and ‘contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of citizens of the Union’ as required by Article 10(4) TEU;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the existing European electoral rules allow for a non-obligatory threshold of up to 5 % of votes cast to be set for European elections, and 15 Member States have availed themselves of this opportunity and have introduced a threshold of between 3 % and 5 %; whereas in smaller Member States, and in Member States that have subdivided their electoral area into constituencies, the de facto threshold nevertheless lies above 3 %, even though no legal thresholds exist; whereas there is currently no EU Member State without a formal or de facto electoral threshold;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas the Lisbon Treaty established a new constitutional order by granting the European Parliament the right to elect the President of the European Commission14 instead of merely giving its consent; whereas the 2014 elections set an important precedent in this respect; whereas the procedure for the nomination and selection of lead candidates for this position should furthermore be an integral part of the election campaigns; and, at a later stage, of the consultations taking place between the representatives of the European Parliament and of the European Council in accordance with the Declaration No 11 annexed to the Final act of the Intergovernmental Conference which adopted the Treaty of Lisbon, concerning Article 17(6) and (7) of the Treaty on European Union; whereas the deadline for the nomination of candidates by European political parties should be codified in the Electoral Act; __________________ 14and whereas the lead candidates for the position of President of the Commission should subject themselves to the electoral test, and should be candidates in the elections to the European Parliament; __________________ 14 Article 17(7) TEU. Article 17(7) TEU.
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament should be granted, to the same extent, to those European citizens who exercise their right to freedom of movement in a Member State different from that of their own citizenship, without those citizens being obliged to take up residence in that State;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas at least 13 Member States do not have in place adequate internal rules precluding citizens of the Union who have dual nationality of EU Member States from voting twice , in breach of Article 9 of the Electoral Act;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)
Recital R a (new)
Ra. whereas only very few Member States have incorporated the principle of equality between women and men, as one of the founding values of the EU, in their national electoral laws; whereas gender quotas and zipped lists in political decision-making have proved to be highly effective tools in addressing discrimination and gender power imbalances and improving democratic representation on political decision- making bodies;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Decides to reform its electoral procedure in good time before the 2019 elections, with the aim of enhancing the democratic dimension of the European elections, reinforcing the concept of citizenship of the Union, improving the functioning of the European Parliament and the governance of the Union, making the work of the European Parliament more legitimate and efficient, enhancing the effectiveness of the system for conducting European elections, and providing for greater electoral equality for citizens of the Union as well as within the Member States;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Proposes that the visibility of European political parties be enhanced by placing their names and logos on the ballot papers, and recommends that the same should also appear on posters and other material used in European election campaigns, since those measures would render European elections more transparent and improve the democratic manner in which they are conducted, as citizens will be able to clearly link their vote with the impact it has on the sizpolitical influence of a European political parties and their ability to form political groups in the European Parliament;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Suggests the introduction of an obligatoryConsiders it important that the composition of the European Parliament should reflect the diversity of political views in the EU; consequently, encourages Member States to make efforts to ensure that, as far as possible, their electoral systems reflect those diversities, including the representation of smaller political forces; confirms that there is in fact no political or legal need to go beyond the binding rules laid down in the Electoral Act, which allows, but does not oblige, the Member States to introduce, by means of national electoral laws, thresholds, ranging between 3% and 5%, for the allocation of seats in single- constituency Member States and constituencies in which the list system is used and which comprise more than 26 seats; considers this measure important for; confirms the readiness of the European Parliament to reconsider its position where there arises an urgent need to take action at the European level in the interest of safeguarding the functioning of the European Parliament, since it will avoid further fragmentation;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on Member States to encourage civic participation in their own societies by extending the right to vote to every person regularly residing in the country concerned;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on Member States to implement, in the manner of Article 14 of the Electoral Act a common set of measures ensuring that no citizen of the Union having dual nationality of EU Member States can effectively vote more than once during the elections;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. EncouragesHighlights the importance of an increased presence of women in political decision-making; consequently, calls on Member States to take measures to progrant motre gender balanceparity in every aspect of European elections;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Encourages Member States to promote a further development of European electoral law by opening ways to decouple the right to vote from citizenship of the Union;
Amendment 231 #
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3a Member States shall take measures to ensure the application of the principles of equal opportunities and balanced representation of women and men in every aspect of elections to the European Parliament.
Amendment 239 #
Article 3 c (new)
Article 3c Candidates for the position of Commission President shall be nominated by European political parties at the latest 12 weeks before the start date of the electoral period referred to in Article 10(1). Candidates nominated for the position of Commission President shall be also stand as candidates for election to the European Parliament.