37 Amendments of Tanja FAJON related to 2019/2175(INI)
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the fact that EU membership continues to be Serbia’s strategic goal and that it is among the priorities of the newly electformed government;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the momentum created by the new mandate following the 21 June 2020 elections in Serbia is an opportunity to make important progress towards Serbia’s European perspective; advocates for the opening of additional negotiating chapters asthat no further negotiating chapters should be opened until Serbia makes the necessary commitments to reform; notes that the opening of chapters is a tool for achieving sustainable pro- European change in Serbia;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on Serbian Government to officially adopt the new enlargement methodology of the European Commission; calls on the institutions of Serbia to do their utmost to make the European integration process as inclusive and open as possible;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that Serbia has continued aligning its legislation with the acquis; regrets, however, that the pace of the alignment has been significantly slower than what the government originally set out, including for the period before the COVID-19 pandemic; underlines that progress on the rule of law and fundamental rights chapters, as well as on the normalisation of relations with Kosovo, continues to be essential and will determine the pace of accession negotiations;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Expresses concern that the position of the Head of the Negotiating Team for the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union has been vacant since September 2019;underlines that a professional and fully staffed Negotiating Team is crucial for a successful accession process of Serbia; calls on Serbia also to raise the administrative capacities of the Ministry of European Integration, in order to better conduct membership negotiations;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of strategic communication on EU accession by Serbian stakeholders; underlines that public discussion about EU accession must be based on facts; encouragescalls on the Serbian authorities to communicate more actively their commitment to European values in public debate; notes that the pro- government newspapers and television channels, often quoting government officials, remain a significant disseminator of the anti-EU rhetoric in Serbia;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes with concern that the latest survey shows that less than 50 % of the citizens are in favour of the EU accession of the country; Calls on Serbia and the EU Member States to pursue a more active and effective communication policy on the European perspective, aimed at both Serbian and EU citizens;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that the Conference on the Future of Europe should seek ways of involving Serbian representatives, both on the level of government and on the level of the civil society;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes note of the conclusions of the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR special election assessment mission that the 21 June 2020 parliamentary elections were administered efficiently but that the dominance of the ruling party, including in the media, was of concern; calls on the authorities to address fullytakes note that the long-term trends of pressures on voters, media bias and blurring of the lines between the activities of the state officials and partisan campaigning, including in the case of the President of the Republic, continued during this election cycle; expresses concern about allegations of irregular registration for the June 2020 elections and calls on the authorities to investigate this matter; calls on the authorities to fully and promptly address all ODIHR recommendations well ahead of the next elections; stresses that the domestic civil society organisations with an expertise in electoral conditions should remain involved in the process of addressing the ODIHR recommendations;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the establishment of the Inter-Party Dialogue (IPD) facilitated by the European Parliament and the initial measures taken by the Serbian authorities and the parliamentary majority to improve electoral conditions; calls for further implementation of all commitments undertaken in the framework of the IPD; notes with concern that, in the months leading up to the elections, the ruling party changed elements of electoral system, notably the electoral threshold, in a process that lacked public discussion, transparency, inclusiveness and which was not part of the IPD framework;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Welcomes the cooperation between Government of Serbia and National Assembly with National Convention on the European Union (NCEU);
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges Serbia to deliver convincing results, including a sustainable track record with effective investigations in areas of concern such as the judiciary, freedom of expression and the fight against corruption and organised crime, especially in cases with the high level of public interest, including the cases of Krušik, Jovanjica and Telekom Srbija; reiterates its call for justice from 2018 with regard to the unlawful demolition of private property in Belgrade neighbourhood Savamala;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Notes with concern the lack of progress in dealing with organised crime and in particular with the issue of assassinations on the streets; calls on the authorities to ensure that cases discovered by investigative journalists or whistle- blowers are duly investigated and that any public officials involved are held responsible;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges theRegrets that the previous Serbian parliament failed to adopt constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening the independence of the judiciary; recommends to adopt the constitutional reforms in the next parliamentary term due to the lack of representativeness of the current parliament;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes improvements to the practices and procedures of the national assembly; changes made in the functioning of the national assembly towards reinstating the practices and procedures and complying with the rules of procedure; regrets that the overall parliamentary oversight of the executive has remained rather formalistic; underlines that further substantive reforms in the procedure and practices are necessary to improve the quality of the legislative process, ensure effective parliamentary oversight and put a stop on systemic degradation of the national assembly; stresses that abusive language, intimidation and slandering campaigns against political opponents used by MPs in the plenary of the national assembly represent the breach of democratic practice and fundamental democratic values that should be strongly condemned and sanctioned in line with the rules of procedure; calls for effective cooperation with independent and regulatory bodies and increased engagement of the national assembly in oversight and control of the government and administration; calls for substantive engagement of national assembly in the process of Serbia's EU accession negotiations process in line with the Resolution on the role of the National Assembly and principles in negotiations on Serbia's accession to the EU adopted in 2013;underlines that the quality of the legislative process still needs to be improved by increasing transparency and social dialogue and ensuring that independent regulatory bodies are empowered to exercise their oversight roles effectively; notes with concern the lack of transparency around the Commissioner for Equality’s reappointment process;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Notes with concern that the parliament met only 44 days after the declaration of the state of emergency in March 2020, which undermined its position as the key institution of parliamentary democracy as enshrined in the Constitution of Serbia; notes with concern that the parliament did not began its work in full for 109 days after the declaration of the final election results on 5 July 2020, despite a clear parliamentary majority;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Notes the concerns that the acquisition of two television channels with national coverage in December 2018by an individual connected with the ruling party represented a step towards monopolisation of the media landscape in the country by the government; invites the editorial teams of all television channels with national coverage in Serbia to respect the highest professional standards and allow for differing opinions to be heard regularly;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Regrets the lack of progress on media freedom, abusive language, intimidation and even hate speech, including from the members of the ruling parties, whose responsibility to act with respect towards all the representatives of the media is the highest in this regard; urges Serbian authorities to take immediate measures to guarantee freedom of expression and media independence;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Condemns all verbal attacks, hate speech and intimidation campaigns, including targeted pressure against European politicians by Serbian officials and the pro-government media;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Notes with concern that the work of the civil society organisations takes place in an environment that is not open to criticism, with some CSO-s coming under particular pressure and intimidation from the government and the media close to the ruling party; urges the authorities to enable an atmosphere conductive to the work of all civil society organisations as soon as possible;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Urges the authorities to fully clarify the situation with the investigation of CSOs and journalists for money laundering;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Condemns the incidents of disproportional use of police force during the July 2020 protests, which deserve particular attention of the authorities; invites the Serbian authorities to properly investigate all cases in which the police has overstepped its authority;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that the legal and institutional framework for upholding human rights is broadly in place and calls for its more effective implementation, with particular regard to the most vulnerable groups in society, includingsuch as national minorities, in the areas of educationcluding Roma community, in the areas of education, health, employment, housing, use of minority languages, adequate representation in public administration and the judiciary;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. TNotes with concern the high rate of women and children victims of violence and domestic violence; takes notes of Serbia’s efforts to fight violence against women and children and domestic violence; stressurges, however, that implementation and improvements are needed;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the need for protection of LGBTI rights; calls for more adequate responses from the authorities to hate speech and hate-motivated crimes; stresses the importance for all institutions to support the preparation of EuroPride 2022 and ensure the safety of all participants;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the government to legally regulate same-sex unions according to relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Commends the strong female representation in the new government, in the hope that it will lead to the meaningful and substantive promotion of the human rights and political liberties not only of women but also of other vulnerable groups; welcomes the representation of national minorities in the parliament;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. WelcomesTakes note of Serbia’s engagement in regional cooperation initiatives, despite lack on tangible positive developments; encourages Serbia to sustain and advance its efforts at all levels aimed at reconciliation and strengthening good neighbourly relations; invites Serbia to fully implement bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries and to improve the resolution of outstanding issues with its neighbours, in particular border demarcation, succession, the return of cultural property and the opening archives of Yugoslavia;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses that the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is a priority and a precondition for EU accession; calls for active and constructive engagement in the EU-facilitated dialogue led by the EU Special Representative seeking a comprehensive and legally binding agreement, in accordance with international law; reiterates its call to move forward with the full implementation, in good faith and in a timely manner, of all the agreements already reached; reiterates its call to the authorities to refrain from using inflammatory language towards the citizens of Kosovo of Albanian ethnicity;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses the importance of regional cooperation on war crimes and missing persons, including of recognising and respecting court verdicts on war crimes, rejecting hate speech and the glorification of war criminals, and supporting domestic prosecutors in bringing perpetrators to justice; calls on Serbian authorities to adopt and implement the measures that would address and help resolve these recurring issues;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on Serbia to increase the sustainability of its energy sector by diversifying its energy sources and moving towards renewables while at the same time adopting the necessary measures to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive areasand less polluting fuels to ensure compliance with its indicative trajectory while at the same time removing all non-compliant coal subsidies and converting the existing coal-based or petroleum products based district heating into a high efficiency cogeneration-and renewables-based system ; encourages Serbia to step up the monitoring of the implementation and the enforcement of the National Emission Reduction Plan;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Urges the authorities to ensure alignment with EU standards and policy objectives on climate protection and environment, in order to facilitate the transition to a circular economy; encourages Serbia – in particular in light of the Sofia Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans – including, but not limited to the introduction of carbon emissions pricing, update of energy efficiency legislation, the development and adoption of an integrated National Energy and Climate Plan, in order to facilitate the transition to a circular economy and adopting the necessary measures to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive areas; encourages Serbia to finalise the reforms of the national electricity and gas sectors by ensuring in particular unbundling of the system operators and to work on regional connectivity and the completion of the regional energy market in electricity and natural gas;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Reiterates the importance of alignment with the EU common foreign and security policy (CFSP), which must progressively become an integral part of Serbia’s foreign policy; notes that the alignment rate has been falling in recent years, rather than increasing; notes that the highest government officials continue to make occasional statements that call into question Serbia’s foreign policy orientation;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Reminds that moving the Embassy of Serbia of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would go against the position of the European Union on the Two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Takes note of Serbia’s decision to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union in October 2019; expects Serbia, however, to align with EU trade policy; regrets that Serbia is still not a member of the World Trade Organisation;
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Expresses concern over Serbia’s increasing dependence on defence equipment and technologies from the People’s Republic of China, including a mass surveillance system of cameras in Belgrade, and the insufficient transparency of the security sector’s public procurement practices; continues to be concerned about Serbia’s close political and military cooperation with Russia;
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Calls onfor the Council to fine-tunefuture Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) to contain both, incentives and conditionality in the future Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III); considers it essential that IPA III supports further strengthening of the fundamental values and good governance and is discontinued in cases of systemic threats to the Union’s interests and values; believes that the principle of the reversibility of the accession process under the renewed methodology should also be clearly reflected in the pre- accession financing; reiterates that the scale of financial assistance should match the goal of SerbiaKosovo’s European perspective;