Activities of Jan-Christoph OETJEN related to 2020/2045(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the implementation report on the EU Trust Funds and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey
Amendments (7)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion; whereas the FRT has contributed to supporting the lives of more than 1,8 million refugees and host communities in Turkey and thus constitutes a key pillar of humanitarian aid and support; whereas the FRT has been threatened by political pressure exerted by the Turkish government on the European Union in disputes over the EU-Turkey Statement, which ultimately harms the refugees and host communities dependent on this support; whereas cases of human rights violations have taken place under this agreement which are incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) was established in 2015; whereas the EUTF makes predominant use (90 %) of Official Development Assistance; whereas it became the main financial instrument for the EU’s political engagement with African partners in the field of migration; whereas the EUTF has funded over 500 projects in more than 25 countries in Africa for a total of over EUR 4.8 billion; whereas the EUTF has raised concerns aboutproven to be a flexible instrument allowing swift implementation of projects, despite raising concerns about the quality of projects approved, and more worryingly, about alleged contributingons to inhumane and degrading treatment and/or financing actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Eritrea and Sudan;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Deplores the fact that both the EUTF and the FRT are ad hoc instruments thatNotes that EU trust funds, but also coordination mechanisms such as the FRT, are ad hoc instruments set up mostly in emergency contexts and that allow for the pooling of different resources, faster decision-making and flexible responses to emergencies; recognises their added value in responding swiftly to emergencies as well as increasing the visibility of EU external action; regrets the fact, however, that EU trust funds were set up outside the EU budget, raising concerns over their lack of transparency and democratic accountability but also their threat to the EU budget's unity; points out that their governance structures deviate from ordinary decision-making and bypass parliament scrutiny; for these reasons, calls for the use of EU trust funds and other ad hoc instrument for migration management, development assistance and humanitarian aid to remain punctual, temporary and an exception to the rule; calls on the Commission to formalise the observer status of the European Parliament in board meetings of the Trust Funds;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned about the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees, the opacity of the process for approving projects, the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs, and the lack of ex ante and ongoing impact assessments on fundamental rights; in light of the EUTF set to expire at the end of 2021, calls for the EUTF to be streamlined into the new MFF in order to ensure continuity of committed funds, increase parliamentary scrutiny and democratic accountability;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Highlights the important contribution of the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis, the 'Madad Trust Fund', in supporting access to basic services such as health and education for Syrian refugees, internally displaced persons and host communities in neighbouring countries; in light of the continuing humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing conflict in Syria, welcomes the recent adoption of €130 million assistance package to support Syrian refugees and local communities in Jordan and Lebanon; calls on transition of the Madad Trust Fund into a new MFF to be smooth, allowing for an efficient contracting and use of the funds already committed;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach.acknowledges that coordinating migration management and development assistance policies can be of added value to ensure the coherence of EU external actions; stresses however, that reducing mobility to deter migration mostly runs counter to development objectives by increasing poverty and threatening to put fundamental rights at risk;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the EU to review the EU- Turkey Statement to put in place a fully- fledged institutionalised cooperation agreement between the EU and Turkey in order to improve its governance, parliamentary scrutiny and democratic accountability, to guarantee compliance with human rights standards, as well as to ensure that the humanitarian aid and support provided by the FRT is not threatened by political volatility;