BETA

16 Amendments of Lucas HARTONG related to 2012/0245(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1

(1) Solidarity is a fundamental value of the Union and there is potential for further developing means of expressing solidarity of Union citizens with people in third countries vulnerable to or affected by man-made crises or natural disasters.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3

(3) ~~The Union's vision of~~In accordance with the subsidiarity principle, humanitarian aid, including a common objective, principles and good practice and a common framework to deliver the Union's humanitarian aid, is set out in the "European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid". The European Consensus underlines the Union's firms primarily a responsibility of the Member States, not the Union. Naturally it is unquestionably important that the Member States should be commit~~ment~~ted to upholding and promoting the fundamental humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. ~~The actions of the~~However, there is absolutely no legal basis or necessity for the establishment and operation of a European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (hereinafter referred to as the 'EU Aid Volunteers') ~~should be guided by the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid~~, nor would it possess any European added value.

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4

(4) The Union's humanitarian aid is delivered in situations where other instruments related to development cooperation, crisis management and civil protection operate. The EU Aid Volunteers should work in a coherent and complementarity manner with relevant policies and instruments in order to make the most effective use of these instruments while systematically promoting humanitarian principles and long-term development goals. Synergies of the actions of the EU Aid Volunteers should be sought with the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the Emergency Response Centre established by Decision XX/XXXX and with the EEAS and the EU Delegations in order to coordinate the Union's response to humanitarian crises in third countries.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5

(5) The number, scope and complexity of humanitarian crises worldwide have increased significantly over the years, particularly in regions where Islam is – or aspires to be – dominant, leading to a rising demand on humanitarian actors to provide an effective, efficient and coherent response and to support third country local communities in order to make them less vulnerable ~~and to strengthen their resilience to disasters~~.

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7

(7) VNational volunteering schemes exist in Europe and worldwide focusing on third country deployment. ~~These are often national schemes which focus mainly or exclusively on development projects. Th~~Duplication should be avoided and, because EU Aid Volunteers shwould~~, therefore, avoid duplication and should add value by providing opportunitie~~ not possess any European added value, there is tno volunteers to jointly contribute to humanitarian aid operations thus reinforcing active European Union citizenship and by fostering transnational cooperation of implementing organisations participating in the actions of the Corpsneed to establish them, particularly in these times of economic crisis in Europe, in which Member States in particular are finding it very difficult to put their national budgets in order or to keep them that way.

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8

(8) There are gaps in the current landscape of humanitarian volunteering that the EU Aid Volunteers can fill with the volunteers with the right profiles deployed at the right time to the right place. This could be achieved notably through providing European standards on identification and selection of humanitarian volunteers, commonly agreed benchmarks for training and preparation of humanitarian volunteers for deployment, improved registers of potential volunteers who are identified based on the needs in the field, and opportunities for volunteers to contribute to humanitarian operations not only by deployment but also through back-office support and online-volunteering activities.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10

(10) The Union carries out its current humanitarian aid operations in partnership with implementing organisations~~. These organisations should play a significant role in implementing the EU Aid Volunteers' initiative to ensure ownership~~, which is by no means an unalloyed success, in the light of the ~~act~~reports ion the field and to maximise the potential uptake of the Voluntary Corps' actions. The Union should entrust implementing organisations notably with the identification, selection, preparation and deployment of EU Aid Volunteers in accordance with standards established by the Commission. The Commission should, in addition, be able to draw upon successfully trained and prepared volunteers for deployment, where appropriatesubject by the Court of Auditors of the EU and the information which is being compiled by OLAF concerning cases of fraud or suspected fraud, precisely in connection with EuropAid and cooperation with implementing partners.

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) Private companies can play an important role and contribute to the ~~Union's~~ humanitarian operations of the national Member States notably through employee volunteering.

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) Volunteering in humanitarian aid could help maintain young people active, contribute to their personal development and intercultural awareness, and improve their competences and employability in global economy. It would, thus, contribute to the 'Youth Opportunities Initiative' and to a range of other key objectives of the Union such as social inclusion, employment, active citizenship, education, and skills development.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13

(13) The Union's principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination suggest that Union citizens and long-term residents in the Union of all walks of life and age should be able to engage as active citizens. Given the specific challenges of the humanitarian context, participants of the EU Aid Volunteers should be aged over 18.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15

(15) The EU Aid Volunteers should support local humanitarian aid organisations in third countries. Its activities should increase the hosting organisations' capacity to deal with humanitarian crises and to professionally manage the EU Aid Volunteers, to effectively use their skills and competences and to ensure that the volunteers' contributions have a sustainable impact on local communities thereby assisting the people in need affected by humanitarian crises, who are the final beneficiaries of the Union's humanitarian aid.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16

(16) The financial provisions of this Regulation should apply as of 1 January 2014 as they are related to the Multi- annual Financial Framework 2014-2020. The allocation of financial assistance should be implemented in accordance with Regulation No xxx/2012 applicable to the general budget of the European Union (the Financial Regulation). Due to the specific nature of action of the EU Aid Volunteers, it is appropriate to provide that financial assistance may be awarded to natural, public and private law legal persons. It is also important to ensure that the rules of that Regulation are respected, in particular regarding the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness laid down therein.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17

(17) The financial interests of the Union should be protected through proportionate measures throughout the expenditure cycle, including the prevention, detection and investigation of irregularities, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, penalties. Appropriate measures should be taken to prevent irregularities and fraud and the necessary steps taken to recover funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used in accordance with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the Communities financial interests, Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities and Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18

(18) Participation of third countries, in particular acceding, candidate, EFTA and partner countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy, should not be possible ~~on the basis of cooperation convent~~, because they cannot, either lawfully or formally, represent the Unions.

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19

(19) In order to allow for continuous feedback and improvement, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of provisions relating to the standards for management of EU Aid Volunteers and the amendment of the performance indicators. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The Commission, when preparing and drawing-up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and Council.deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20 – footnote 24

~~24. OJ L 55, 2011, p.13.~~deleted

2013/02/08
Committee: BUDG