25 Amendments of Andrey KOVATCHEV related to 2021/2248(INI)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18
Citation 18
— having regard to the EU-Western Balkans summit, held in Sofia, Zagreb and Brdo pri Kranju oin 6 October2018, 2020 and 2021, and its declarations,
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls the need to uphold the pace and credibility of European integration by promptly opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia as soon as possible, given that both countries have fulfilled the necessary conditions and delivered sustained results across fundamental areas; expects that negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia will start only after the country delivers convincing guarantees on the implementation of the Good Neighbourly Relations Treaty;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Commends North Macedonia on its steady progress on the path towards EU membership, its commitment to multiculturalism and inter-ethnic harmony, and its continued positive bilateral engagement;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges North Macedonia to sustain and intensify efforts to strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence, counter corruption, the protection of human rights, reform its public administration and consolidate media freedom;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. WelcomNotes with interest the implementation of the 2021 population census, while expecting the publication of its results soon;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Welcomes the establishment of the Commission for Prevention of and Protection against Discrimination and its work; urges the government to ensure sufficient funding to enable it to achieve its full potential;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls the need to strengthen independent investigative journalism, non- biased fact-checking and media literacy as means to tackle hate speech, disinformation and foreign interference campaigns;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Denounces the ongoing smear campaign against the one Bulgarian TV channel broadcasted in the country; Urges both countries to allow more TV channels, other media outlets and cultural institutions in their respective markets to foster cultural awareness and exchange, to improve people-to-people understanding;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Commends the government’s efforts to improve engagement with civil society and calls for a framework to ensure the financial sustainability of civil society organisations, including those representing the defending the rights of the various ethinc communities in the country;;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Encourages ongoing steps to build trust in inter-community relations and the functioning of a multi-ethnic society by fully guaranteeing the rights of all ethnic communities in the country, including through appropriate constitutional and legislative amendments, while recalling the importance of upholding the rights of non-majority communities and effectively tackling all instances of discrimination;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Calls the Republic of North Macedonia to fully guarantee equal rights for all ethnic communities in the country, including through appropriate constitutional and legislative amendments, and ensure that no disadvantage shall result for citizens from the exercise of their right to identify themselves as belonging to any ethnic group;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23 b. Regrets the continuous lack of progress in implementing the previous European Parliament recommendations regarding discrimination against citizens openly expressing their Bulgarian identity and/ or ethnic background;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)
Paragraph 23 c (new)
23 c. Strongly encourages the authorities and civil society to take appropriate measures for historical reconciliation in order to overcome the divide between and within different ethnic and national groups, including by listing citizens of Bulgarian identity among the others in the Constitution;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 d (new)
Paragraph 23 d (new)
23 d. Calls on the Republic of North Macedonia to amend its Constitution to include the ethnic communities with Montenegrin, Croatian and Bulgarian identity;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 e (new)
Paragraph 23 e (new)
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the relevant bodies to proactively prevent and systematically prosecute all instances of hate speech, hate crimes and intimidation, to thoroughly investigate related attacks and to ensure the safety and security of their targets, such as journalists, people belonging to minorities and other vulnerable groups, strongly urges the media outlets and the authorities of the Republic of North Macedonia to deter from utilizing and publicizing hate speech against EU Member States and its closest neighbours;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the relevant bodies to proactively prevent and systematically prosecute all instances of hate speech, hate crimes and intimidation, to thoroughly investigate related attacks and to ensure the safety and security of their targets, such as journalists, people belonging to minorities and other vulnerable groups; calls for the government and the judiciary to improve institutional capacity in this area and ensure increasing hate speech is addressed in accordance with international standards;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Welcomes North Macedonia’s membership of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; recalls the need to open up Yugoslav secret service archives, kept both in Skopje and in Belgrade, in order to vigorously address communist- era crimes across the region; takes the view that transparent handling of the totalitarian past, including the opening-up of the archives of the secret services, is a step towards further democratization, accountability and institutional strength in both the country and the Western Balkan region as a whole;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. EncouragesCalls for the finalisation of the security and intelligence sector reform; calls for the whistle-blower protection mechanism to be updated and the lobbying law to be implemented effectively;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Strongly welcomes the political impetus for a renewed dialogue between Bulgaria and North Macedonia and encourages the partners to accelerate engagement in good faith in order to reach an acceptable compromise, thereby bringing societies closer together by enabling a common future in the EUsustainable results in the implementation in good faith of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation, thereby bringing societies closer together by enabling a common future in the EU; Encourages Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia to reach a compromise over a roadmap of concrete measures, which will be included in the negotiations framework, its implementation will be regularly assessed by the Commission during the negotiations process;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Strongly urges the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational Issues of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, established as a result of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation, to resume its work;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47 b. Strongly urges all texts, already agreed by the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission, to be published in the respective languages of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, and in English;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 c (new)
Paragraph 47 c (new)
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 d (new)
Paragraph 47 d (new)
47 d. Condemns the fact that apart from few sporadic instances the two countries have failed to jointly commemorate and/or celebrate shared historical figures/dates in the past years in a consistent manner; strongly condemns the vandalistic attack against the tricolour ribbons and the wreaths laid by a Bulgarian delegation in Skopje on Gotse Delchev’s grave in the recent celebration of the 150thanniversary of the birth of the prominent revolutionary; the relations between RNM and Bulgaria should be based on deep, mutual respect and appreciation for each other, consideration and preservation of the common historical heritage;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 e (new)
Paragraph 47 e (new)
47 e. Condemns any attempt to replace historical monuments and/or artefacts, including the destruction of authentic cultural heritage or any attempts to rewrite history; such incidents raise serious concerns, including in the context of the lack of implementation of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation;