14 Amendments of Herbert DORFMANN related to 2020/2220(INL)
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)
Recital M b (new)
Mb. whereas all Member States that have joined the European Union after the adoption of the Copenhagen criteria were encouraged and expected to sign and ratify the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, Article 15 of which foresees that “The Parties shall create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs, in particular those affecting them.”
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M c (new)
Recital M c (new)
Mc. whereas the Venice Commission has dealt extensively with the basic principles and good practices related to the representation of national minorities, issuing recommendations and acknowledging especially the role of guaranteed reserved seats for members of national minorities, lower electoral thresholds in proportional electoral systems for parties representing national minorities or the designation of electoral districts with the purpose to enhance the minorities' participation in the decision- making processes1a; whereas it pointed out that while a proportional electoral system is believed to offer more guarantees for minorities, this positive effect is neutralised if it is accompanied by thresholds, which considerably reduce the chances of minorities to be represented; __________________ 1a Compilation of Venice Commission Opinions and Reports Concerning Electoral Systems and National Minorities CDL-PI(2019)004 *, in particular its Report on Electoral Law and National Minorities CDL-INF (2000)
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M d (new)
Recital M d (new)
Md. whereas the importance of the electoral process for facilitating the participation of minorities in the political sphere is also emphasised by "The (OSCE) Lund Recommendations on the effective participation of national minorities in public life";
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M e (new)
Recital M e (new)
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M f (new)
Recital M f (new)
Mf. whereas across the EU there are various good practices fostering the participation of national minorities in national elections such as in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovenia; whereas in European elections in Belgium the German speaking region constitutes a separate constituency and in Italy the lists of the French, German and Slovene linguistic minorities may be linked to a national list, in which case the votes of the linguistic list will be added to those of the national list, obtaining one of its seats if a linguistic candidate receives at least 50,000 votes;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Regrets that most national and linguistic minorities are not usually represented in the European Parliament because they are too small to obtain a seat of their own; points out in this regard the effective barrier that electoral thresholds represent for parties representing minority communities running in single national constituencies or in large, densely populated constituencies;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Regrets that there are only two Member States which have special provisions for the Election of the European Parliament for minorities; Commends in this regard the good practices from Belgium in relation to the German minority and from Italy in relation to the French linguistic minority of Valle d’Aosta, the German one in Bolzano and the Slovenian in Friuli- Venezia Giulia;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Stresses that the legitimacy of the democratic institutions is based on participation and representation of all groups in society, including persons belonging to national and linguistic minorities;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8e. Considers therefore that the European electoral law should provide a derogation from nationally provided thresholds for parties representing recognized national and linguistic minorities or groupings of such parties in order to increase the chances of national and linguistic minorities to participate in the political life of the Union and to be represented in the European Parliament;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 f (new)
Paragraph 8 f (new)
8f. Strongly regrets that there are still Member States in the European Union whose election laws de jure prohibit the creation of parties based on ethnic, racial or religious lines or which expressly prohibit the use of mother tongue for minorities in election campaigns; considers that such practices are discriminatory, create unjustified electoral barriers and limit access to voters and political participation in elections and beyond and should therefore be banned;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex to the motion for a resolution – Recital 4 a (new)
Annex to the motion for a resolution – Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) Electoral thresholds should not affect the chances of national and linguistic minorities to participate in the political life of the Union and to be represented in the European Parliament. A derogation from a nationally provided threshold for parties representing recognized national and linguistic minorities or groupings of such parties should be possible for said minorities to be able to express a cohesive vote. The recognition of national and linguistic minorities should be understood in the sense of the Framework Convention for the protection of National Minorities, Member States being encouraged to interpret its provisions in the most inclusive manner.
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex to the motion for a resolution – Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Annex to the motion for a resolution – Article 13 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Parties or groupings of parties representing recognized national and linguistic minorities shall be exempted from the minimum thresholds, provided they receive at least 50% of the votes necessary to obtain a seat.