19 Amendments of Nils TORVALDS related to 2021/2071(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
— having regards to its resolution of 10 June 2021 on the rule of law situation in the European Union and the application of the Conditionality Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/20921a _________________ 1a Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0287.
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Commission decided to abide by the non-binding European Council conclusions of December 2020 and declared that it would develop guidelines for the application of the Regulation;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas, in its resolution of 25 March 2021 on the application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092, the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism, Parliament requested the Commission to adopt the guidelines no later than 1 June 2021 and after having consulted Parliament;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note ofRegrets the Commission’s intention to develop guidelines for the application of the Regulation; reiterates once again its view that the text of the Regulation is clear and does not require any additional interpretation in order to be applied;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that guidelines are not legally binding; notdeplores that the Commission is deviating from its usual practice of drafting guidelines for the application of a legal act only in cases where the actual implementation of the act over a certain period of time shows the need for guidance;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Strongly regrets the Commission’s failure to respond to Parliament’s request and to adopt its guidelines by 1 June 2021; reiterates its call on the Commission to draft the guidelines as soon as possible in close cooperation with Parliament ; reminds the Commission that Parliament already started the necessary preparations for potential court proceedings under Article 265 of the TFEU against the Commission;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. UDeplores the time wasted by the Commission since the entry into force of the Regulation; urges the Commission to avoidct without any further delay in the application of the Regulation and to investigate swiftly and thoroughly any potential breaches of the principles of the rule of law in the Member States that affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way; reiterates that the situation in some Member States already warrants immediate investigation under the Regulation;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. AskRequests the Commission to report to Parliament on a quarterly or semi-annual basis regarding new and ongoing cases under investigation, starting as soon as possible with the first cases;
Amendment 46 #
6 a. Calls on the Commission to clarify in the guidelines that breaches of the rule of law in a Member state which result from decisions or events that took place prior to 1 January 2021 still fall within the scope of the regulation as long as their effect is still ongoing;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Draws particular attention to the list of indicative breaches of the principles of the rule of law laid down in Article 3 of the Regulation; calls onurges the Commission to investigate potential occurrences of the breaches included in that list in the Member States, while pointing out that other practices or omissions by public authorities may also be relevant;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Considers that the Commission’s annual Rule of Law report constitutes an objective, impartial, fair, and qualitative assessment of breaches of the principles of rule of law; believes that where the conclusions of the annual reports highlight individual or systemic breaches of the rule of law which affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way, they should be directly linked to the triggering of the conditionality mechanism; calls on the Commission to clarify, in the guidelines, a methodology to create a clear and direct link, when relevant, between the annual reports and the conditionality mechanism;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Highlights that civil society, including independent NGOs and citizens, is at the forefront to identify potential breaches of the rule of law at local and national level, and should therefore be involved in their reporting; calls on the Commission to establish, in the guidelines, an efficient, user-friendly, and easily accessible online one-stop shop for citizens and civil society to report both fraud and corruption cases related to EU Funds, as well as individual or systemic breaches in their Member State, guaranteeing anonymity and leading, where deemed relevant by its services, to further investigations by the OLAF, the EPPO or the Commission;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Recalls that the Regulation provides a clear definition of the rule of law, which must be understood in relation to the other values of the Union, including fundamental rights and non- discrimination; is of the opinion that state-sponsored discrimination against minorities has a direct impact on the projects on which Member States decide or not to spend EU money, and therefore directly affects the protection of the financial interests of the Union; calls on the Commission to take this into account when drafting the guidelines;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls that measures under the Regulation are necessary in particular in cases where other procedures set out in Article 7 TEU, in the Common Provision Regulation (CPR), in the Financial regulation or in other sector-specific or financial legislation would not allow the Union budget to be protected more effectively; stresses that this does not mean that the Regulation is to be considered as a ‘last resort’, but rather that the Commission can use a wide range of procedures to protect the Union’s financial interests, to be chosen on a case- by-case basis depending on their efficiency and effectiveness;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Underlines that ‘systemic’ breaches, for instance those affecting the functioning of the justice system, the independence of judges or the neutrality of public authorities, have in general a clear inand direct impact on the proper management, spending and control of Union funds;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3 a (new)
Subheading 3 a (new)
Transparency
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Believes that transparency is essential to foster the confidence of Member States and citizens in the conditionality mechanism: points out that each step of the procedure of the Regulation should therefore be taken in a fully transparent way;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Calls on the Commission to set up, in the guidelines, the transparency rules and principles that it will apply when triggering the Conditionality Mechanism;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Believes that transparency implies, in particular: - disclosing the sources used by the Commission to trigger the Mechanism, - disclosing the content of the written notifications sent to the Members States, - disclosing the answers received from the Member States and the remedies proposed, - disclosing the Commission’s assessment leading to the potential lifting of adopted measures under the Mechanism, - keeping the European Parliament informed and involved at every step of the process to ensure the democratic scrutiny of the Mechanism and of EU funds;