Activities of Tonino PICULA related to 2022/2064(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
New EU strategy for enlargement (debate)
New EU strategy for enlargement (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning the new EU strategy for enlargement
Amendments (27)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
— having regard to the Council conclusions on Ukraine, the membership applications of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, Western Balkans and external relations on 23 June 2022,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
— having regard to the European Court of Auditors Special Report of 10 January 2022 entitled ‘EU support for the rule of law in the Western Balkans: despite efforts, fundamental problems persist’,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)
Citation 12 b (new)
— having regard to the European Court of Auditors Special Reports of 3 June 2021 entitled ‘Disinformation affecting the EU: tackled but not tamed’,
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the EU should undertake a comprehensive reflection on the credibility and effectiveness of enlargement policy, while reforming and strengthening the EU;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the Parliament remains a reliable partner of accession countries and an advocate of the enlargement process enabling institutional and socio- economic reforms for the benefit of citizens;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the EU accession countries are facing challenges stemming from malign foreign interference and disinformation campaigns;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas each enlargement country should be judged on its own merits and advancement on the EU path should depend on sustained and irreversible progress made through necessary reforms, in particular in the area of rule of law;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas accession to the EU must take place in accordance with Article 49 TEU, based on respect of the relevant procedures and conditional upon the fulfilment of the established criteria, in particular the so-called Copenhagen criteria for EU membership, and remains a merit-based process that requires adoption and implementation of relevant reforms, notably in the areas of democracy, rule of law, human rights, market economy and implementation of EU acquis;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) recognise that the EU’s prosperity and security rests on its ability to defend democracy, rule of law, human rights and the rules- based multilateral order;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(b a) abolish the requirement for unanimity when deciding on the start of the negotiation process in general, as well as the opening and closing of individual negotiating clusters and chapters;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(g a) strategically and proactively counter hybrid threats that seek to undermine European integration and to increase resilience against disinformation and disruptive campaigns, seeking to undermine democratic processes and create divisions;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
(h a) make use the transformative power of enlargement and a major trust towards the EU by citizens of aspirant countries;
Amendment 269 #
(o) assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in addressing 14 key priorities, as a preconditiothe substantial priorities in forder to obtaining the candidate status as soon as possible, as defined in the Council conclusions of 23 June;
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q
Paragraph 1 – point q
(q) recognise the threat created bywelcome the European Council’s exceptionally swift decision on the EU membership applications of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia due to the context of the Russia’sn war of aggression by immediately granting EU candidate status to Ukraine and continuing to provide political and technical support to Moldova and Georgia with a view to enablagainst Ukraine; invites the authorities of the three countries to unambiguously demonstrate their political determination to implement the European ambitions of their people by significantly enhancing progress with substantial reforms and in particular with the priorities indicated ing them to reach this important milestone as soon as possible, as a clear political signal of support to the people of these countries, and a means to accelerate internal Commission’s Opinions of17 June 2022 in order to effectively fulfil the criteria for EU membership as soon as possible; calls on the Commission to launch a reflection on how to enhance the effectiveness of accession-related financial and technical assistance in line with the mentioned reform processiorities;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point q a (new)
(q a) facilitate a the transitioning of these countries from the Eastern Partnership to the enlargement framework, including the switchover from the NDICI- Global Europe instrument to the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA);
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r
Paragraph 1 – point r
(r) step up the EU’s constructive engagement with the authorities of both Serbia and Kosovo to achieve a comprehensive legally binding normalisation agreement based on mutual recognition between the two in the framework of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, which is crucial for both countries to advance on their respective European paths and will contribute to regional stability and prosperity;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point s a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point s a (new)
(s a) continue regular EU-Western Balkan summits in order to strengthen political ownership and steering of the enlargement process;
Amendment 336 #
(t a) make full use of the Berlin Process to foster deeper regional economic integration in the Western Balkans and integrate them in the EU Single Market as a step towards EU membership;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point v
Paragraph 1 – point v
(v) bring democratic transformation and the rule of law back to the very centre of the EU accession process, prioritising judicial independence, the fight against corruption and organised crime, good governance, human rights, fundamental freedoms and media freedom, as strict preconditions for progress on the EU path;
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point x
Paragraph 1 – point x
(x) strengthen rule of law reporting for all accession countries by establishing a monitoring, dialogue and warning mechanism for rectifying major rule of law deficiencies, triggering negative conditionality in the form of the suspension of accession negotiations and adjustment of pre-accession funding, in particular by making the relevant provisions of the IPA III Regulation swiftly and fully operational and enabling the reopening of negotiation chapters under reversibility clauses;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point y a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point y a (new)
(y a) conduct enhanced regular rule of law expert and election observation missions to accession countries;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point z
Paragraph 1 – point z
(z) formally assess accession countries under the EU’s rule of law mechanism and reporting, and the EU Justice Scoreboard, with the aim of giving an objective and clear picture of the state of play in order to preventing a persistent lack of progress, serious deficiencies and regression;
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point aa
Paragraph 1 – point aa
(aa) strengthen the culture of political pluralism and constructive political dialogue and to strengthen parliamentary legislative, scrutiny and oversight functions ;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ab a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point ab a (new)
(ab a) take action against hate speech, smear campaigns, threats and intimidation against journalists and media outlets and to insist on the investigation and prosecution of such offences, enabling a safe environment for journalists, while tackling the issues of media concentration, political and economic pressure and lack of transparency of media ownership;
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ac
Paragraph 1 – point ac
(ac) uphold democratic accountability and enhance the parliamentary dimension of the accession process; to facilitate the accession-related scrutiny and democracy support activities of the European Parliament and democracy support tools, such as the Jean Monnet Dialogue and the Inter-Party Dialogue;
Amendment 409 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ad a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point ad a (new)
(ad a) facilitate full implementation of domestic and international court rulings and compliance with international obligations on war crimes and missing persons, addressing glorification of war criminals and historic revisionism;
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ae a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point ae a (new)
(ae a) enhance economic competitiveness and social cohesion in the Western Balkans through structural reforms and inclusive regional economic cooperation initiatives acceptable to all six countries, strengthening further alignment with EU standards and acquis;