19 Amendments of Demetris PAPADAKIS related to 2018/2148(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR International Election Mission, published on 8 October 2018,
Amendment 11 #
A. whereas the EU remains committed to BiH’s European perspective and to its territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity; whereas the country's EU membership application represents a strategic choice and a commitment to advance towards the EU;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Commission is preparing its opinion on BiH’s application for EU membership; whereas BiH, making use of the coordination mechanism on EU matters, elaborated and submitted its replies to the Commission’s questionnaire on 28 February 2018 and; whereas BiH received more than 600 follow-up questions on 20 June 2018;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the EU accession process requires political will and join efforts by all state holders in the country, as well as institutions that are able to deliver at all levels; whereas the opinion of the Commission will analyse functionality- related issues and screen the legal framework for compatibility with the EU acquis, suggesting eventual constitutional and other necessary reforms; whereas the more BiH will come closer to the EU, the more the need for constitutional reform, aimed at enhancing functionality and ensuring human rights protections, will become pressing; whereas, so far, the political leadership of the country has been unable or unwilling to remedy the related shortcomings in the BiH constitution;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the submission of BiH’s answers to the Commission’s questionnaire; calls on BiH to respond to the follow-up questions, which are more of a technical nature, in a timely manner in order to contribute to the Commission’s opinion on the application for EU membership;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned about the marked slowdown in the pace of reforms due to disagreements between parties and the pre- electoral campaign that started very early and was marked by divisive and ethno- nationalist rhetoric of prominent political figures on all sides; stresses that the declared commitment of the BiH authorities to the European path must be matched by consistent implementation of reforms stemming from the Reform Agenda and translated into concrete results, to the benefit of citizens; regrets that, apart from the adoption of the countrywide strategies in the field of the energy, environment and rural development, and of some importandifficult reform measures, such as the amendments to the Law on Excise Duties necessary for ensuring IMF and EBRD funding, no substantial progress has been achieved;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Regrets that nationalistic and ethnic rhetoric once again dominated the electoral campaign and continues to characterise the political discourse in the country; calls for proper communication of EU integration process also as a project for reconciliation and development of a political culture based on compromise and mutual understanding;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that no compromise has been reached with regard to changes to the electoral legislation required to implement the Constitutional Court decision in the Ljubić case on the election of the members of the Federation House of Peoples; urges all political leaders to show responsibility and amend swiftly the electoral frameworkredefine a mechanism for the indirect election of the Federation House of Peoples, given that the previous provisions were ruled unconstitutional in the Ljubic case and then cancelled by Constitutional Court decision in July 2017; urges all political leaders to show responsibility, to avoid statements challenging the unity of the state, and to put aside their conflicting views in order to ensure smooth implementation of the results of the elections and proper functioning of all state institutions; stresses that holding credible elections and implementing the results is an essential feature of a well- functioning democracy, as well as a requirement for any country aspiring to join the EU;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the adoption of further countrywide strategies in areas such as energy, employment and public financial management, which will enable consistent implementation of reforms throughout the country, as well as access to further IPA funding; notes with satisfaction that the adoption of relevant countrywide strategies has allowed for additional IPA II funding in key areas, such as agriculture and rural development, environment and energy, under the recently revised Indicative Strategy Paper for the period 2014-2020; urges the adoption of a national programme for approximation of the country’s laws with the EU acquis, a legal requirement under the SAA and an indispensable means of preparing for EU accession;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores the fact that BiH remains in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by not implementing the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Sejdić-Finci, Zornić, Pilav and Šlaku cases, which allows overt discrimination between citizens in BiH in flagrant contradiction with EU values; recalls that the Commission should pay attention to this issue when preparing its opinion; stresses that, as in the case of any aspiring member of the EU, BiH is expected to progressively align its legal system with the requirements of the EU acquis regarding non-discrimination, and expects progress to be made on these essential issues in due course after the elections; insists that implementing these rulings must not affect further implementation of the Reform Agendalead to the elimination of any restriction on the right to stand based on ethnicity and residence or elimination of any restriction on the right to stand based on ethnicity and residence or due to a citizen′s choice not to affiliate with a constituent people; believes, therefore, that constitutional and electoral reform should go hand-in-hand;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls for the adoption of a renewed Reform Agenda, immediately after the formation of the new government in BiH, in order to resume the reform process and advance the European integration of the country; insists that effective conditionality should accompany EU financial support and that action plans and monitoring frameworks are developed by the EU Commission along the lines of the 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in order to realize the "new reinforced dimension for the Western Balkans", as stipulated in the 2018 Strategy for the Western Balkans;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for more effective measures to combat all forms of discrimination, in particular by adopting country-wide human rights and anti-discrimination strategies; regrets that there was no progress in addressing the ‘two schools under one roof’ issue; urges that decisive action be taken at all levels in order to find systemic solutions that will ensure inclusive and non-discriminatory education for all children; notes with concern the large pay gap between male and female employees, the fact that Bosnian women still experience barriers to participating fully in the labour market, and that one in four women in the country experience domestic violence; calls for more effective implementation of the legal provisions regarding equality between men and women and educational programmes fighting stereotypes in the society; urges that progress be made towards ensuring that the rights of persons with disabilities are respected, in particular by swiftly addressing the relevant UN recommendations; acknowledges the steps taken towards the legal protection of LGBTI persons but stresses that more needs to be done in order to prosecute violence and hate crimes against them, as well as to promote their social inclusion; is concerned that lack of coordination between different levels of authority and lack of funding continue to hamper effective protection of minorities and vulnerable groups, in particular Roma people;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets the lack of progress on freedom of expression and the independence of the media; clearly rejects continued attempts to put political and financial pressure on the media; condemns the recurrent cases of intimidation, threats, and verbal and physical attacks against journalists; calls on the authorities to collect data on these cases, ensure swift investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators and promote an environment conducive to freedom of expression; reiterates its call for the independence and sustainable financing of the public broadcasters to be ensured and for more attention to the working conditions of journalists throughout the sector; deplores the fact that due to political obstruction a functional public broadcasting service, could not be established; renews its call for the transparency of media ownership to be ensured, notably through a dedicated law;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Acknowledges that some progress has been made in establishing institutional mechanisms of cooperation between authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) and in ensuring public financing for CSOs; reiterates its call for the adoption of a strategic framework of cooperation with civil society at all levels of governance; highlights, furthermore, the need to increase the involvement of the civil society in planning, monitoring, and implementing of the EU support programmes;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Urges that action be taken to significantly improve track records in the area of prevention and repression of corruption, including measures to impose effective and deterrent sanctions; welcomes the long-awaited adoption of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code that aim at improving this track record and calls on the Commission to follow closely their implementation; stresses that particular attention should be given to conducting effective checks on the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns and to improving public access to and oversight over the asset declarations of public officials, including those standing for election; calls for the GRECO recommendations to be addresses, notably those on political party financing and conflicts of interest; deems it essential for BiH to adopt a law on conflicts of interest in accordance with European and international standards;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Regrets the fact that authorities at all levels continue to disregard or reject binding decisions of the judiciary, including at the highest instance, recalling that such acts represent a serious challenge to the rule of law;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the further reduction in the backlog of war crime cases, the continued positive trend in the prosecution of war crime cases involving sexual violence and improvements in in-court victim and witness support; calls for prompt amendment of the national war crimes strategy, in order to ensure a more efficient distribution of cases between different levels of governance, along with new criteria and timelines for processing the most complex cases; notes with regret the decision by the Republica Srpska National Assembly to revoke its endorsement of the 2004 Srebrenica Commission Report and condemns statements from all sides that are glorifying war criminals;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes with concern the increasing number of migrants arriving in BiH lately and the lack of coordination between different government levels in responding to this situation; considers that the issue of migration should not be politicised; welcomes the EU humanitarian aid to address the increasing needs of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the country and the adoption on 10 August 2018 of a special measure (worth €6 million) to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in managing the migration flows; believes that cooperation with neighbouring countries and the EU is essential in addressing this common challenge;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Acknowledges that some progress has been made by BiH regarding economic development and competitiveness, but notes that the country is still at an early stage of establishing a functioning market economy and very little progress can be claimed in the social field; strongly believes that advancing socio-economic reforms should be a high priority up to the elections and beyondwith a view of improving the living conditions in the country and ensuring a more fair and sustainable welfare system, considering the fact that the country actually spends on average 4 to 5% of its GDP on non- contributory social transfers; notes that an increasingly number of young people is leaving the country in search for a better future abroad due to unemployment and lack of prospects created not only by the difficult economic realities but also the confrontational style of policy making;