Activities of Tonino PICULA related to 2019/2173(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
2019-2020 Reports on Montenegro (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Montenegro
Amendments (22)
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the 30 August 2020 elections resulted in the first transition of power since the country’s independenceintroduction of the multi- party system, in full respect of democratic standards and Montenegro’s constitution;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the fact that on its first working day, the newly formed Montenegrin Government held an exchange of views with Members of the European Parliament and EU officials; encourages the new Government to use its mandate to accelerate EU-related reforms and accession negotiations; notes that an open and constructive dialogue between all political and social stakeholders, as well as an agreement on key issues concerning the overall progress of the country are needed for Montenegro to make progress on the EU path;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes recent public opinion surveys, which show that an increasing number of Montenegrin citizens (76,6%) support the country’s membership in the EU as a clear message to the new government that the people want to improve and change the Montenegrin society based on European values; welcomes that the new government has confirmed that they will work on meeting standards necessary for the country’s progress on the EU path;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Recalls that it is the interest of the government to ensure adequate representation abroad; refers, in this regard, to the pending appointment of Head of Montenegro’s Mission to the EU;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Encourages holding local elections simultaneously across the country in order to bring more stability, avoid constant campaigning and to ease the tense political climate in Montenegro; recalls that a two thirds majority is needed to amend the Law on the Election of Councillors and MPs, which requires a broad consensus of parliamentary parties;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Regrets limited progress in the judiciary, and calls on the Montenegrin authorities to urgently address the remaining challenges with regard to the independence, professionalism, efficiency and accountability of the judiciary through implementation of existing legislation and in line with the recommendations made by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Venice Commission; stresses that Montenegro needs to make further progress on rule of law reforms, including to advance and not reverse the implementation of the judicial reform in line with good democratic norms and practice; reiterates that as the result of reforms already carried out, Montenegro already has the bodies and mechanisms in place to ensure judicial and prosecutorial independence and accountability; encourages the authorities to make consistent use of these mechanisms and to build on the work done to further develop results and its track-record in the fight against corruption and organised crime; emphasises that the independent functioning and integrity of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is key for Montenegro’s progress in the area of rule of law;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Notes some positive developments in the operations of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption; stresses however that challenges related to its independence and priority-setting still remain and calls on the agency to act independently and to implement consistently the Anti-Corruption Law;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. UIs concerned about the high polarisation of the media scene, in particular about the growing volume of disinformation; underlines that media literacy and, media freedom and independence are key to combating disinformation; calls for the strengthening of European cooperation with Montenegro on addressing disinformation, and cyber and hybrid threats;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Is concerned about limited results of the existing policies and projects aimed at encouraging women's participation in the labour market, policy-making, and politics; regrets in this respect lack of gender-balanced political representation in elections and in the new parliament and government;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)
Paragraph 23 c (new)
23c. Emphasises the need to protect all of the national minorities rights, in particular as some of them no longer have minority party representatives to Skupština;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Stresses that access to healthcare services needs to be improved for people with disabilities, internally displaced persons and Roma;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Montenegrin authorities to find a mutually acceptable solution to the law on freedom of religion through genuine dialogue with relevant stakeholders and in line with the Venice Commission’s opinion of 24 June 2019; calls on neighbouring countries to refrain from interfering in this issue and other internal affairs of Montenegro;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Notes that bilateral relations with Serbia were marked by tensions and insists that all bilateral disputes be resolved through inclusive and non- confrontational dialogue, while avoiding any form of foreign interference in domestic issues;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Welcomes the signing of a protocol for cooperation in search of missing persons between governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Montenegro as a good example of cooperation in investigating cases of missing persons;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Ccommends Montenegro’s full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy and its active participation in civilianEU missions under the common security and defence policy (CSDP);
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Notes the entry into force of the agreement on border management cooperation between Montenegro and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) as well as the implementation of the first Joint Operation under the Agreement;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes Montenegro’s progress in reinforcing the stability of its financial sector, as well as in implementing concrete improvements to labour market condition; notes however, that the unemployment rate remained high, particularly among women, youth, Roma and low-skilled people;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Reiterates that the European Union has swiftly mobilised substantialimmediate support for the Western Balkans to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic health emergency and the socio-economic recovery of the regionhealth emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the socio- economic recovery of the region; recalls EUR 53 million granted to Montenegro for the procurement of urgent medical equipment and for assisting sectors most seriously affected by the COVID-19crisis and the decision to provide macro- financial assistance (MFA) of up to EUR 60 million to help Montenegro limit the negative socio-economic consequences of the pandemic;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Calls on the Commission and the Council to include Montenegro in joint EU procurement for vaccinations, and to allocate; welcomes the actions by the Commission and the Council to help Montenegro procure vaccines against COVID-19 via COVAX and by other means such as coordinating donations by EU Member States and calls for further assistance to ensure that a sufficient amount of COVID-19 vaccines are available to the citizens of all Western Balkan countries;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Welcomes the implementation by Montenegro of the necessary reforms to comply with EU tax good governance principles and its removal by the Council (18/02/2020) from the list of non- cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Calls on Montenegro to improve waste management and address the issue of illegal waste disposal;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 b (new)
Paragraph 36 b (new)
36b. Notes that the development of additional hydropower and tourism capacities, particularly those in protected areas, should take into account EU environmental protection standards;