77 Amendments of Sven GIEGOLD related to 2015/2041(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regard the OECD Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
– having regard to its decision of 11 March 2014 on Public access to documents 2011-2013,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. having regard to its decision of 11 March 2014 on Public access to documents 2011-2013,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas national Transparency Registers have been established in Austria, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, United Kingdom und in some similar form in France and the Netherlands; (based on input by Transparency International)
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that the Commission, Parliament and the Council should record and disclose all input received from lobbyists/interest representatives on draft policies, laws and amendments as a ‘legislative footprint’s a ‘legislative footprint’ all activities carried out by persons falling under the remit of the Transparency Register (lobbyists) and designed to influence draft policies, laws and amendments at the Commission, Parliament and/or Council; Members should at regular intervals publish details of all their lobby meetings on their Members page on the Parliament’s website; suggests that this legislative footprint should consist of a form annexed to reports, detailing all the lobbyists with whom those in charge of a particular file have met during the process of drawfting up each reportprocess and a second document listing all written input received;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on its Bureau and General Secretary to amend the Rules of Procedure and the resulting ‘Guide to using the models and rules on presentation’ to allow for transparency of lobby sources of draft reports and amendments and parts thereof within the same document, including Article 169 (1) of the Rules of Procedure to allow for annotations or justifications also for amendments to own-initiative reports, as long as this is done with the aim of making the source of the lobbying more transparent;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to expand and improve its existing initiative as laid out in its decision of 25 November 2014 on the publication of information on meetings held between Members of the Commission and organisations or self-employed individuals; considers that the recording of meeting data should be expanded to include everyone involved in the EU’s policy-making process; on issues relating to policy- making and implementation in the Union with the exception of meetings with representatives of other Union institutions or bodies, public authorities of the Member States or third countries and of international organisations, social partners, churches and philosophical and non-confessional organisations, political parties and in certain specific cases where public information may undermine the protection of the life, the integrity or privacy of an individual, the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Union, the market stability or sensitive commercial information , the proper conduct of court proceedings or inspections, investigations audits or other administrative procedures, or the protection of any other important public interest recognised at Union level ; understands ‘meeting’ as a bilateral encounter organised at the initiative of an organisation or self-employed individual or a Director-General to discuss an issue related to policymaking and implementation in the Union; encounters taking place in the context of an administrative procedure established by the Treaties or Union acts, which falls under the direct responsibility of the Director-General, as well as encounters of a purely private or social character or spontaneous encounters are excluded from this notion; understands ‘organisation or self-employed individual’ as any organisation or individual, irrespective of their legal status, engaged in activities carried out with the objective of directly or indirectly influencing the formulation or implementation of policy and the decision-making processes of the institutions of the Union, irrespective of where these activities are undertaken and of the channel or medium of communication used; calls on the Commission to expand its decision not to meet unregistered lobbyists to all its staff;; considers that the recording of meeting data should be expanded to include all staff from Heads of Unit upwards;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to extend its aforementioned decision by explicitly excluding unregistered lobbyists from receiving patronage for any public event on policy-issues, participation in Commission advisory bodies and expert groups, hosting events on Commission’s premises;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on its Bureau and the Council to adopt similar decisions as the Commission for staff not to meet unregistered lobbyists; calls on the Commission to propose an amendment of Staff Regulations in the same sense;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to make all information on lobby influence easily accessible to the public through one centralised online database; including the Transparency Register, the register on expert groups, lobby meetings and declarations of interest of Members and Commissioners; this database should become a one-stop shop for all lobbying activity equipped with a solid search function and in a consistent format; all data should be freely downloadable in machine-readable format for further use;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Suggests that all documents which have been made available to individual stakeholders have to be made public for all stakeholders and citizens;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Suggests that the Code of Conduct should be amended so as to make it mandatory for rapporteurs and committee chairs to adopt the same practice of exclusively meeting registered lobbyists, and for them to be obliged to publish information on such meetings online and for rapporteurs to publish a legislative footprint;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that an amendment should introduce mandatory monthly updates on lobby expendituresto the Code of Conduct for registered entities in the Transparency Register should introduce mandatory monthly updates on lobby expenditures exceeding the present category within one month of the change taking place; believes a further amendment should oblige all registered entities to publish a detailed breakdown of the sources of funding for their various lobbying activities; stresses that the proportionality principle should be respected while not endangering the basic features of the transparency register;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reiterates its call to the Council to join the lobby register as soon as possible; calls on all Member States to introduce lobby transparency legislation including a mandatory lobby register, legislative footprints and sanctions for violations; calls on Member States to oblige lobbyists to make transparent where their contacts with national politicians and public administration is aimed at influencing European legislation;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Considers that, when interpreting ‘inappropriate behaviour’ within the meaning of point (b) of the Code of Conduct for registered entities in the Transparency Register, this expression should be taken to include turning down formal invitations to hearings or committees without sufficient reason; calls on Commission to add all those instances of inappropriate behaviour to point b in the Code of Conduct for registered entities in the Transparency Register when revising the interinstitutional agreement;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. The Interinstitutional Agreement should be amended to provide for an independent body to rule on alleged violations of the Code of Conduct for registered entities, such as a judge or a retired judge of the General Court or the Court of Justice; (based on input by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE))
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Insists that registered entities, including law firms, should declare in the lobby register all clients on whose behalf they perform covered activities; welcomes the recent decisions taken by the Brussels and Paris Bars recognising the differences between court-related activities of lawyers and other activities falling within the scope of the Transparency Register; moreover, invites the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe to encourage its members to adopt similar measures; (based on input by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE))
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Asks the Bureau and its General Secretary to ease the reactivation process necessary for lobby badges by setting up a designated reactivation facility in order to avoid excessive waiting times to gain entry to premises; asks to remove the restriction of not more than four pass holders being able to access premises at the same time ;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on its General Secretary to amend the rules governing passes and authorisations granting access to Parliament’s premises as of 13 December 2013 to oblige anyone applying for an Entourage pass to sign a document guaranteeing not to engage in activities falling within the scope of the Transparency Register;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Believes it to be necessary, as a matter of urgency, to introduce a proper monitoring system for submitted informatssions in order to ensure that the information that registrants provide is meaningful, accurate, up-to-date and comprehensive;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that representations of national, regional and local governments should not fall under the EU lobby register if they have their own mandatory lobby register and do not offer workspace for private or corporate actors within their representationRecognises that national, regional and local governments, as well as their internal bodies and formal and informal associations thereof, are part of the multi- level governance of the European Union; their participation in the European legislative process and their contacts with EU institutions have another quality than private actors and result in their responsibility not only towards their voters but to all EU citizens when it comes to transparency, accountability and integrity; believes that representations of national, regional and local governments towards the EU institutions, as well as their internal bodies and formal and informal associations composed exclusively thereof, should not fall under the EU lobby register if they have their own mandatory lobby register and do not engage in representing private or economic interests; calls on its General Secretary to amend the rules governing passes and authorisations granting access to parliaments premises as of 13 December 2013 to oblige representatives of national, regional and local governments who apply for passes granting access to Parliament’s premises to sign a document guaranteeing they will not engage in representing private or economic interests;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Believes that the Code of Conduct should be amended to empower the Advisory Committee and Committee chairs to be able to initiate inquiries themselves;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Believes that the Rules of Procedure should be amended to empower the Advisory Committee and its secretariat to be able to request the tax declaration of the Member in question for the purpose of carrying out its investigations; (based on input by Transparency International)
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Asks the Commission to explore in a public process the establishment of a High Authority for Integrity in the EU institutions to be responsible for all tasks in this regard in this report; calls on Commission to draw on best practise in France, Croatia, the United Kingdom and other Member States;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Believes that Article 3 of the Code of Conduct for Members should be rephrased to include a clear ban on Members holding side jobs or other paid work that could lead to a conflict of interest; including work for companies or organisations that are involved in lobbying EU institutions such as the Council, the Commission and the Parliament; (based on input by ALTER-EU)
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Believes that the Code of Conduct attached to the Agreement of 23 June 2011 and the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament, with respect to financial interests and conflicts of interest, should be amended in order to ensure that Members do not enter into any kind of agreement or contractual relationship with an external body to either fund or directly employ individuals within a Member’s staff; Members should also not be allowed to receiving support in terms of staff or other resources from outside interests with the exception of political parties;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Asks to rework the Code of conduct in order to clarify that ‘not solicit, accept or receive any direct or indirect financial benefit or other reward in exchange for influencing or voting on legislation, motions for a resolution’ explicitly rules out advising or providing other lobby services to companies influencing the European Parliament (Article 2(b) of the Code of Conduct; (based on input by ALTER-EU)
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Asks to amend Article 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members to ensure Members shall not receive any kind of remuneration or any promise for future payment for any activity that can reasonably be seen to be intended to influence or enable others to influence EU policy or decision-making; any paid- for activities for organisations that are registered on the EU Transparency Register shall be published on a separate list on the Parliament’s website; Members shall also not be remunerated for serving on a board of an association, corporation or any other entity; Members shall also not receive any payment or anything of value for an appearance, speech, or article, excluding any actual and necessary travel expenses; (based on input by Transparency International)
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that Members should have the remuneration paid to them by Parliament reduced by half of what they earir Parliamentary remuneration reduced by the equivalent of half of what they earn from any outside activity undertaken, whether as employees or self-employed persons, from any outside activity in parallel to their officework as Members of the European Parliament;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Believes Members should be obliged to report in their declaration of financial interests their incomes with precise amounts without any upper ceiling; welcomes this practise inter alia in Italy, France, Sweden and Croatia;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Believes Members should be obliged to report in their declaration of financial interests with sufficiently comprehensive information to allow citizens to understand the effective meaning of side jobs and to what extent they may, or may not, constitute a conflict of interest;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Declarations of financial interest should be translated at least into English, French and German and be made available in an open and machine readable format;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Believes violations of this Code of Conduct should be sanctioned with penalties up to 35.000 Euro by withdrawing the daily allowance for as long as necessary;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)
Paragraph 20 e (new)
20e. Calls on the Commission to propose an amendment to the Staff Regulations to include a clear ban on recruiting staff to jobs where their previous work or private interests represent a conflict of interest;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 f (new)
Paragraph 20 f (new)
20f. Calls on the Commission to propose an amendment to the Staff Regulations for Officials of the European Communities to include a clear ban on sabbatical jobs which include activities falling under the remit of the Transparency Register; decisions on potential conflicts of interest in side jobs should be undertaken by a fully independent and adequately resourced body;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 g (new)
Paragraph 20 g (new)
20g. Notes that Rule 19 in the Rules of Procedure on the termination of a rapporteur’s office because of a breach of the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Members with respect to financial interests and conflicts of interest has rarely been applied; believes the rule should imply more intense checks on potential conflicts of interest and that such checks should be carried out before a member is appointed rapporteur; suggests that the Code of Conduct should be amended so as to make it mandatory for rapporteurs and committee chairs to sign a declarations of independence when commencing their special function to better implement this rule;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 h (new)
Paragraph 20 h (new)
20h. Recognises the right of Members to form Intergroups or other unofficial groupings of Members, to hold informal exchanges of views on specific issues across different political groups; calls on all those groupings to declare any support, whether in cash or in kind; calls on its Questors to fully implement rule 34 of its rules of procedure in this regard;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Believes thatere should be a cooling off for Members after their office in Parliament; believes that article 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members should be amended tso providethat for a three- year ‘cools after leaving- off period’ during which Members may not engage in lobbying work in the area of their parliamentary responsibilitiesice, former Members may not seek official action from current Members or employees of the European Parliament or try to influence its law- or decision- making;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Believes that for Members of the Commission the ‘cooling-off period’ should be extended to three years and that a two-year cooling-off period should also apply to all Commission staff involved in the drafting or implementation of EU legislation or treaties, including contract staffbe binding at least for to all activities that fall under the remit of the Transparency Register; calls on Commission to amend the Code of Conduct for Commissioners in this regard; Believes that a two-year cooling-off period should also apply to all Commission staff involved in the drafting or implementation of EU legislation or treaties, including contract staff and therefore calls to amend Staff Regulations in this regard with special attention to all activities falling under the remit of the Transparency Register; decisions on senior officials’ and commissioners’ new roles should be undertaken by a fully independent and adequately resourced body;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the European Investment Bank (EIB) to amend their code of conduct for members of the Board of Directors to extend their cooling-off period from six to 24 months in which they shall not lobby with members of the EIB governing bodies and Bank staff for their business, client or employer;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Calls on Commission to put into effect all recommendations of the Ombudsman in her ‘revolving doors’ cases 2077/2012/TN and 1853/2013/TN;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Notes that setting up committees of inquiry should constitute a minority right; demands to strengthen minority rights in the establishment of inquiry committees through changes in its rules of procedure;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 d (new)
Paragraph 22 d (new)
22d. Calls for a rapid decision of Council and Commission on Parliament’s proposal 23 May 2012 for a regulation of the European Parliament on the detailed provisions governing the exercise of the European Parliament’s right of inquiry (2009/2212(INI));
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to follow up on the Ombudsman’s recommendations against conflicts of interest in expert groups; and explicitly supports the publication of a sufficiently detailed CV of each expert appointed in her/his personal capacity on the expert groups register and to publish a declaration of interests of each expert appointed in his/her personal capacity on the expert groups register;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Supports the Ombudsman’s call for entry in the lobby register to be made a requirement for appointment to expert groups provided that the Members concerned are not government officials and do not receive all or the vast majority of their other income from state institutions such as universities;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Believes existing regulations concerning expert groups should be broadened to include all other forms of expert consultation in the preparation and implementation of legislation, to make them part of the Commission’s public register on expert groups;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Believes a provision containing general criteria for the delimitation of economic and non-economic interests as recommended by the Ombudsman and based on the experts’ declarations of interest would help the Commission to pick experts representing interests with better balance;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)
Paragraph 24 c (new)
24c. Believes there should be a ban for two years on those acting in a ‘personal capacity’ and who have been shown to have not correctly declared their interests;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 d (new)
Paragraph 24 d (new)
24d. Urges the Commission to make sure consultations contain open questions instead of merely seeking to confirm a chosen policy direction; (based on input by Finance Watch)
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers control by Parliament of the financing of European political parties to be an unnecessary conflict of interestalls on Council to support proposed minimal standards for European elections in Parliament’s decision of 2 October 2015 on the reform of the electoral law of the European Union;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for control of thon the Member States to regulate financing of European political parties to be assigned to a neutral bodyand election campaigns with highest standards of transparency, accountability and integrity given this right was exclusively reserved to Member States while their rules also govern European elections;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Calls on its Bureau and General Secretary to amend rules on archiving emails, and all digital data of Members and their staff on Servers provided by Parliament, to only delete if explicitly asked to do so and otherwise to save all data for the archives of Parliament and public release after a sufficiently long period of time to protect privacy;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31b. Deplores that the Ombudsman was denied access to a document in the case 1148/2013/TN on a complaint submitted to her against the European Police Office (Europol);
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 c (new)
Paragraph 31 c (new)
31c. Believes that the Ombudsman’s mandate as an independent oversight body on the access of documents implies her duties must allow her to review classified documents and inspect the premises of public bodies and encourages Council to agree with an amendment to EU Regulation 1049/2001 to make these inspection powers explicit;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 d (new)
Paragraph 31 d (new)
31d. Believes the EU should commit in general to open data and make available all documents and data in a machine- readable open format;
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Recommends allowing the participation of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) as observers in trialogues as a means to enhance the transparency of the legislative process in the area of financial services, as well as a way to improve ESAs’ understanding of the policy considerations at Level 1 to assist them in drafting Level 2 measures; (based on input by Finance Watch)
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35b. Calls on its Bureau to create a public documentation of all calls and demands by Parliament on Commission, Council and Member States including a regularly updated documentation of their consequences;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Believes access to the reading rooms should be granted to staff of the political groups and concerned accredited assistants;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Deems it unacceptable that Parliament has less, or less open, access to documents in trade negotiaand other international negotiations of EU institutions than some members of national parliaments;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Calls on the Commission to put into practice all the Ombudsman’s recommendations in favour of more transparency in trade negotiations, inter alia supports the publication of a comprehensive list of public and non- public TTIP documents and for greater proactivity concerning the publication of documents, including agendas and minutes of meetings with lobbyists, to extend the transparency obligations as regards meetings with stakeholders to the levels of Commission directors, heads of units, and negotiators and to make sure EU officials involved in the TTIP negotiations only meet with interest representatives who are registered in the Transparency Register;
Amendment 398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Believes that, when the Commission engages in trade negotiations, it should (a) publish detailed agendas of negotiation rounds prior to the negotiations and detailed reports on the rounds after, to keep the public updated on the progress of the negotiations, (b) publish the negotiation mandates, all negotiating positions, all requests and offers and all consolidated draft negotiation texts prior to each negotiation round, so that the European Parliament and national parliaments, as well as civil society organisations and the wider public, can make recommendations thereon before the negotiations are closed for comments and the agreement goes to ratification; , (c) publish a list of all meetings held with the European Parliament and Member States as well as third parties (including individual companies and industry lobby groups) in relation to the negotiations. The list should include full transparency about the date of the meetings, the participants, and the topics discussed, (d) publish all submissions received by third parties in relation to the negotiations, including via public consultations, and be fully transparent about how they have been processed (via a detailed analysis report), in order for the public to assess which have been taken into account, and to what extent, (e) ensure full transparency of membership and activities of all advisory bodies in the context of the EU’s trade negotiations, including the EU’s sector-specific market access working groups (f) request that negotiation partners take similar steps to make negotiations more transparent; (based on input by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO))
Amendment 409 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
41 a. Calls on the Commission to draft a European code of conduct on transparency, integrity and accountability, designed to guide the actions of EU representatives in international organisations/bodies; calls for better policy coherence and coordination among the global institutions through the introduction of comprehensive standards of democratic legitimacy, transparency, accountability and integrity; takes the view that the EU should streamline and codify its representation in multilateral organisations/bodies with a view to increasing the transparency, integrity and accountability of the Union's involvement in these bodies, its influence and the promotion of the legislation it has adopted through a democratic process; calls for the adoption of an interinstitutional agreement with the aim of formalising dialogues' between EU representatives and Parliament, to be organised with the European Parliament for the purpose of establishing guidelines regarding the adoption and the coherence of European positions in the run-up to major international negotiations; (based on the report on the EU role in the framework of international financial, monetary and regulatory institutions and bodies (2015/2060(INI)) as adopted by ECON on 18.02.2016)
Amendment 419 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42 a. Calls on the Commission to submit a revision of the so-called Six-pack and Two-pack in order to provide the European Parliament with greater control powers over the adoption of key documents of the European Semester, and particularly effective means to guarantee the respect of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality; (based on input by the Union of European Federalists)
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 b (new)
Paragraph 42 b (new)
42 b. Believes that the President of the Eurogroup cannot be held accountable for his European action if he simultaneously occupies a national mandate; (based on input by the Union of European Federalists)
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 c (new)
Paragraph 42 c (new)
42 c. Calls on the Eurogroup to include the European Parliament in the monitoring of the implementation of the contractual conditions agreed with a beneficiary of financial assistance granted by the European Stability Mechanism; (based on input by the Union of European Federalists)
Amendment 423 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Regrets the Ombudsman’s finding that most EU institutions have not yet properly implemented rules to protect whistleblowers; points out that to date only the Commission, the Ombudsman and the Court of Auditors have adopted such rules; calls on its Bureau to amend its Staff Rules to better protect whistleblowers among Accredited Parliamentary Assistants by codifying best practise to not allow dismissal without sufficient written explanation backed by evidence; (based on input by Transparency International and the respective shadow meeting)
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. Believes whistleblowers too often found more prosecution than support even in EU institutions; calls on Commission to propose an amendment on the regulation governing the Ombudsman’s office and add to her remit being a focal point for whistleblowers who find themselves to be maltreated; calls on Commission to propose an appropriate increase in the budget of the Ombudsman to allow to put into effect this new demanding task;
Amendment 443 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Believes that persons or companies led or owned by such persons who are found guilty of corruption in the EU should, for at least three years, not be allowed tobe banned effectively from entering into procurement contracts with the European Union or be allowed to profit from EU fundsand from profiting from EU funds; calls on the Commission to revise its ineffective debarment system; companies excluded from tendering for EU funds by the Commission should be publicly listed by default to better protect EU financial interest and allow scrutiny by the wider public;
Amendment 451 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46 a. Considers a European Prosecutor a key element to protect the financial interest of the European Union; calls on the Council to support an agreement for the introduction of a European Prosecutor;
Amendment 452 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 b (new)
Paragraph 46 b (new)
46 b. Welcomes the establishment of a European Criminal Records Information System to allow for the exchange of information on crimes, including economic ones, to be exchanged between Member States and the European Union institutions ; calls for the Council to agree to the explicit right of European institutions to check those applying for procurement contracts if they or their companies have been convicted for corruption; welcomes directive 2012/17/EU for a better network of national registers of Member states’ trade and companies register and the Commission’s readiness to implement the directive before mid 2017 to allow for a better exchange of judgements against those leading a company;
Amendment 453 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 c (new)
Paragraph 46 c (new)
46 c. Calls upon the European Commission to include a chapter on the EU Institutions in its second EU Anti- Corruption report to be published later in 2016;
Amendment 454 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 d (new)
Paragraph 46 d (new)
46 d. Notes that since becoming an approved member of the United Nations Convention against Corruption on 12 November 2008, the European Union has not participated in the review mechanism foreseen under the Convention, nor has it taken the first step of completing a self- assessment of how it is implementing its obligations under the Convention; calls on the European Union to fulfil its obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) by completing a self-assessment of how it is implementing its obligations under the Convention and participating in the peer review mechanism; (based on input of Transparency International)
Amendment 455 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 e (new)
Paragraph 46 e (new)
46 e. Recalls its decision of 25 March 2014 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the fight against fraud to the Union's financial interests by means of criminal law 2012/0193(COD) and calls for rapid decision in this regard;
Amendment 457 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Calls on the Commission to draw up a framework regulation relating to all EU agencies, under which Parliament will be granted codecision powers in the electionappointment or dismissal of directors of such agencies and a direct right to question and hear them;
Amendment 458 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Notes that at present experts from a number of agencies, including the European Food Safety Authority, are not paid; demands all experts in regulatory agencies must be paid for their work so as to enable their independence from the sector they regulate; (based on input by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO))
Amendment 459 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47 b. Calls on EFSA, EMA and ECHA to urgently revise their independence policies so as to explicitly guarantee their strict independence from the economic sectors they are regulating and avoid conflicts of interest among their staff and experts; (based on input of ALTER-EU)
Amendment 465 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)