Activities of Demetris PAPADAKIS related to 2021/2249(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
2021 Report on Serbia (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the 2021 Commission Report on Serbia
Amendments (62)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to the statement of preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR international election observation mission of the early parliamentary and presidential elections of Serbia of 3 April 2022,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas Serbia has not complied with the repeated calls to harmonize its foreign and security policy with that of EU and has not imposed sanctions against Russia following the Russianunprovoked Russian military aggression inof Ukraine;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the increased voter turnout at the elections on 3 April 2022 and the return to a more pluralistic parliament; regrets the highly polarised political environment of the campaign, which was characterised by limited media pluralismpro-government media bias and pressure on voters; condemns the violent attack on Pavle Grbović, one of the opposition leaders; regrets that the blurring of lines between the activities of the state officials and the ruling parties remained a persistent problem throughout the campaign; notes the need for lowering the tensions between political opponents;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Regrets that the problems with the accuracy of the Single Electoral Roll had not been resolved in advance to this election cycle, which left room for its abuse;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Takes note of the preliminary conclusions of the statement of the OSCE/ODIHR international election observation mission that the 3 April 2022 parliamentary elections presented diverse political options, but a number of shortcomings resulted in an uneven playing field, favouring the incumbents; points out, in this regard, the role of state- sponsored disinformation campaigns aiming to shift opinions vis-à-vis elections;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on the Serbian authorities to address fully all ODIHR recommendations well ahead of the next elections; stresses that civil society organisations with expertise in election conditions should remain involved in this process;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Regrets the habit by the Serbian authorities to regularly call for early elections and the holding of three different elections on the same day;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the new majority to respect previously adopted political decisions on the EU accession process and accelerate Serbia’s alignment with European policies and values; underlines its readiness to work further with the National Assembly and its parliamentary groups in the context of the Inter-Party Dialogue, while stressing that clear decisions are needed on Serbia’s strategic direction;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls the distribution of parliamentary offices to reflect the political pluralism in the National Assembly;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. RStrongly regrets the fact that Serbia has not aligned with EU sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine;, which damages its EU accession process, and reiterates its expectation that EU accession candidates align not only with the EU acquis, but also with the EU’s common foreign and security policy; expresses concern about Serbia’s alignment rate, which is the lowest in the region; underlines, nevertheless, that the momentum created by the new mandate following the 3April 2022 elections in Serbia is an opportunity to make important progress towards the country’s EU perspective and thereby calls on the newly elected authorities to show real, sincere and unequivocal commitment to EU values and to align with the EU’s decisions and positions in foreign and security policy, including sanctions against Russia without further delay;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Welcomes the support of Serbia in the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Advocates that further negotiating chapters should only be opened when Serbia makes the necessary commitments in this regard; expects Serbia to align with the EU sanctions against Russia as soon as possible in order to continue the accession negotiations; acknowledges that, in case Serbia adopts sanctions against Russia, the accession negotiations should continue in a bona fide manner and should not be derailed or overturned based on other motives;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Regrets that some government officials and some politicians, including from ruling parties continue to make occasional statements that call into question Serbia’s foreign policy orientation;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Expresses concern over allegations of the wiretapping of Russian opposition figures in Belgrade by the authorities and the alleged subsequent transfer of the material to Russian security services; expresses further concern over the establishment of the Working group for the fight against "coloured revolutions" between Serbian and Russian government, whose purpose and goals remain unclear; stresses that any cooperation that would contribute to authoritarian and anti-democratic practices in both Russia and Serbia would be detrimental to the future EU-Serbia relations;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the adoption of the measures improving the electoral conditions and media space ahead of the April 2022 elections as a result of the Inter- Party Dialogue facilitated by the European Parliament; notes progress in their implementationregrets the limited progress in their implementation; regrets that many measures have been implemented with a delay and that some relevant actors chose not to participant in the process; calls to pay special attention to the effective implementation of the measures, instead of focusing on the legislative framework; calls on the stakeholders to continue the work on improvement of the electoral conditions and rules in accordance with the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. NotWelcomes the decision of the non- parliamentary opposition to participate in the April 2022 elections; reiterates that the only way to guarantee political representation is to engage in political and electoral processes;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Expresses concern over a very limited visibility of European Integration processes in Serbia; Reiterates its call on Serbia, the Commission, the EEAS and EU Member States to pursue more active and effective communication about the benefits of EU enlargement; expresses concern that publicly financed media outlets disseminate anti-EU misinformation to the public in Serbia; calls on the Government to stop supporting anti-EU disinformation campaign;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Expresses concern that the public support for EU membership in Serbia has consistently been significantly lower than the rest of the region in recent years and in a recent poll first time since the trends related to European integration are monitored, a bigger number of Serbian citizens would not vote for accession to the European Union in a potential referendum, compared to those who support integration;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8e. Encourages the Serbian authorities to more actively and unambiguously communicate their commitment to EU values in the public debate and expects a clear and unambiguous commitment by Serbia, in both words and deeds, to fulfil its obligations under the EU accession process in a visible and verifiable way;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Reiterates is expectation that the opening of negotiations on cluster 4 on the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, (chapters 14, 15, 21 and 27) will be accomplished by a renewed drive to fully implement EU standards; Notes that the adoption of the new accession methodology has not led to a substantial acceleration of the EU accession process of Serbia and calls for full implementation of all its aspects;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 g (new)
Paragraph 8 g (new)
8g. Urges the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, to be more proactive when it comes to the EU accession process of Serbia, in particular regarding the fundamental freedoms, democracy and rule of law; expresses deep concern regarding revelations based on institutional sources and internal documents, concluding that the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement downplays human rights and rule of law related concerns in accession countries, most notably in Serbia;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 f (new)
Paragraph 8 f (new)
8f. Regrets that the European Integration process in Serbia is insufficiently transparent, as some important documents, such as the reports on the implementation of the National Programme for the Adoption of Acquis, have not been published for years;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Welcomes the fact that EU membership continues to be Serbia’s strategic goal and that it was among the priorities of the outgoing government; regrets, however, that there has been a lack of progress in many areas of Serbia’s reform agenda and the fact that there has even been backsliding on issues that are fundamental for EU accession;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Underlines that the EU is Serbia’s biggest trading partner;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Urges the newly elected majority to respect the Constitution and the division of power and to focus on addressing structural shortcomings in the rule of law, fundamental rights, freedom of expression, the fight against corruption and the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration; is concerned that the lack of oversight over the executive, and the lack of deliberation and meaningful public consultation, led to hampering the quality of the laws, distortions in division of power on several occasions, threatening to endanger the overall stability and trust in the legislative and institutional framework;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the recent changes to the Constitution following the referendum in January 2022, which aim to enhance the independence of the justice system; reiterates the need to adopt remaining set of judicial legislative acts, which are of crucial importance for proper implementation of Constitutional changes and for enabling effective independence of the judiciary; expects that the process of drafting and adopting the related set of laws to be transparent and inclusive, and to fully guarantee the independence of the judiciary; Invites to take into consideration the Venice Commission’s opinion related to these laws; regrets the continuous pressure on the judiciary and public denials of international verdicts for war crimes and calls on the newly elected majority to strengthen the safeguards for the independence and efficiency of the judiciary as a matter of priority;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. WelcomRecognises some improvements in the work of the National Assembly; is deeply concerned, however, that inflammatory language is still used during parliamentary discussions and calls on the new parliament not to tolerate this practice; about the persistent presence of the inflammatory and discriminatory language against political opponents, civil society, media and judiciary is still used during parliamentary discussions by the ruling majority and regrets that the Rules of Procedures have not been used to sanction such a language used by MPs during debates, while the Code of Conduct remained ineffective and neglected mechanism; calls on the new parliament not to tolerate this practice and to implement the Code of Conduct for MPs in a timely, impartial, consistent and adequate manner; expresses hope that the negative practices that characterised the previous parliaments, including the overuse of urgent legislative procedure, filibustering and irregular presence of the government representatives in the sessions, will not be repeated; Expresses deep concern about the persistent practice that the legislative agenda is exclusively dictated by the executive power, while the lack of Parliament’s annual working plan remains one of the burdening problems; calls on the new parliamentary leadership and parliamentary groups to contribute to focus on constructive debates in the National Assembly for the benefit of the citizens;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Regrets that there was no substantial progress in adoption of the new Strategy for a supportive environment for development of civil society; reiterates importance of active and unhindered civil society for well- functioning of democracy in Serbia; invites Commission and EEAS to continue close cooperation with civil society and media in Serbia and to support their activities;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls on the Serbian Parliament to ensure that independent regulatory bodies are empowered to exercise their oversight roles effectively by supporting and monitoring the implementation of independent regulatory bodies' findings and recommendations;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Reiterates its concern about limited progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime and calls on Serbia to intensify its efforts to effectively address these issues; urges Serbia to deliver convincing results, including a sustainable track record with effective investigations in the area of fight against corruption, especially in cases with a high level of public interest, and to improve its track record in investigations, the pressing of charges and convictions in high-level corruption cases, including the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets; notes with concern that none of the cases mentioned in the previous report(s) – Krušik, Jovanjica, Telekom Srbija – have neither been fully processed by the judiciary nor fully investigated; notes with concern the emergence of new cases of high-level corruption in investigative media; calls on Serbian authorities to launch thorough investigations into any wrongdoing exposed by the Pandora Papers; urges the implementation of the laws on the prevention of corruption in line with the EU acquis and the recommendations of GRECO;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Reiterates its call for justice in regards to the unlawful demolition of private property in the Savamala neighbourhood in Belgrade; notes the allegations of the sentenced policeman Goran Stamenković, that he was forced to take the sole responsibility for the entire case; reiterates its concern about the possibility of this process becoming obsolete in the next few years;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Urges the authorities to investigate all alleged ties between the captured Belivuk criminal group and some government officials and politicians from ruling parties, and to prosecute all responsible for any wrongdoing;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Expresses concern about the new charges that Darko Saric was running an international criminal organisation while being in prison in Serbia; calls for urgent investigation of this case and of his links with state officials;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Regrets the limitations on the freedom and independence of the media and the misuse of the media to gain an unfair political advantage for the ruling majority, attack political opponents and spread disinformation; Deeply regrets the practices which point that the authorities are intentionally delaying the implementation of the Media Strategy, by using induced conflicts, diluted with unnecessary institutional arrangements, which further strengthen public distrust in state officials, while at the same time leaving the impression of investing significant effort to improve the conditions in the media sector as a whole;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Notes that several recent elections of the members of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), as well as the election of the members of the governing board of the Radio Television of Serbia in June 2021 were regarded as controversial; notes with concern the persisting assessments that REM's decision making is politically biased; welcomes the open call for the allocation of national television frequencies, and urges REM members to carry out this process in a fair and professional manner;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Deplores the continuing physical attacks, intimidation, hate speech and political slurs against journalists and civil society; calls on the authorities to investigate all cases of such attacks and to improve the safety of journalists and human rights defenders; expresses concern about continuous labelling and targeting of human rights defenders, investigative journalists, media outlets and civil society organizations which are critical of Government’s policies; notes that the alleged abuse of public money to acquire ownership in media outlets is considered to be one of the main mechanisms of media capture in Serbia;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on Serbia to strengthen human rights institutions, guarantee their independence, allocate them the necessary financial and human resources and ensure timely follow-up on their recommendations;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for general respect for the basic right to peaceful gatherings; condemns violence by groups of extremists and hooligans during peaceful protests, such as November 2021 protests against the mural of a convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade and December 2021 environmental protests in Šabac and Belgrade; remains concerned about the reports of withdrawal of the police from environmental protests; regrets that a number of citizens faced misdemeanour proceedings and calls for refraining from these disproportionate limitations of the right to peaceful assembly; deplores the statements by the highest government officials containing hate speech addressed at protesters, that incited further escalation of violence;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the adoption of the Law on Gender Equality and the amendments to the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination; regrets that the outgoing parliament failed to adopt the Law on Same-Sex Partnerships, which was drafted by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue; calls the Parliament to adopt the law as soon as possible;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Serbian authorities to step up efforts to ensure the non- discriminatory treatment of national minorities and to actively pursue investigations and convictions for hate- motivated crimother vulnerable groups, including women and children, victims of crimes, LGBTI community, refuges and migrants, and to actively pursue investigations and convictions for hate- motivated crimes, domestic violence and violence against women; condemns the ethnic hatred spread by some government officials and politicians, including from ruling parties;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Reiterates its concern over the alleged use of forced labour and violation of human rights at the Chinese Linglong factory construction site; calls for tighter control of working conditions in factories, strengthen inspections and institutions to monitor the labour rights of workers, including foreign ones; calls on Serbia to improve alignment with EU labour law, adopt a new law on the right to strike, tackle undeclared work and amend the law on inspection oversight to comply with the relevant International Labour Organization conventions, which it has ratified;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Deplores the deportation of a Bahraini national despite the European Court of Human Rights interim ruling that his extradition should be postponedIs concerned by Serbia’s poor level of implementation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgements and non-compliance with court interim measures; Deplores the deportation of a Bahraini national despite the European Court of Human Rights interim ruling that his extradition should be postponed; requests the effective investigation by the authorities in the case of attacks by unknown perpetrators as was indicated by the ECHR interim measure in the case of Bojović and others v. Serbia;
Amendment 285 #
21. Is deeply concerned about the spread of disinformation about Russian aggression against Ukraine; calls on the Serbian authorities and the Commission to bolster infrastructure to fight disinformation and other hybrid threatsunprovoked Russian military aggression against Ukraine; is particularly concerned about the disinformation narratives emanating from the Kremlin and distributed through Sputnik Serbia and other domestic actors; calls on the Serbian authorities to revisit the arrangements allowing these operations in order to reduce disinformation both inside and outside the country and to step up its efforts in the fight against disinformation campaigns, which have grown since the beginning of unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine; calls on the Serbian authorities and the Commission to bolster infrastructure to fight disinformation and other hybrid threats; is appalled that the main sources of disinformation and of the anti-EU and pro-Russian narratives in Serbia are the government-funded tabloid newspapers and media outlets close to the ruling parties, including television channels with national coverage; deplores that the public broadcaster has been using Russian propaganda language, such as “limited military operation”, since the start of the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Reconfirms its support for the EU- facilitated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and reiterates the importance of constructive engagement on the part of the authorities of both Serbia and Kosovo in order to achieve a comprehensive legally binding normalisation agreement, which is crucial for both countries to advance on their respective European paths; calls for all past agreements to be respected and fully implemented, including the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities; calls on the EEAS to set up a mechanism to monitor and verify the implementation of all the agreements so far reached and to report periodically to the European Parliament about the state of play; reiterates, in this regard, its full support for the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls for the stepping up of efforts and the delivery of solutions on the issues of missing persons and the electricity arrangements in the north of Kosovo; calls on the EEAS to set up a mechanism to monitor and verify the implementation of all the agreements so far reached and to report periodically to the European Parliament about the state of play;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Regrets the decision of the Government of Kosovo to reject a proposal by international mediators enabling the collection of the ballots of eligible voters to allow them to vote in the territory of Kosovo in the 3 April 2022 Serbian elections, as had been the case previously;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Urges the Serbian authorities to act against the glorification of convicted war criminals and to cease all divisive rhetoric and actions that undermine the integrity of countries in the neighbourhood and threaten regional stability and reconciliationStresses the importance of regional cooperation on war crimes and investigating cases of missing persons, including stepping up efforts in recognition and implementation of court verdicts on war crimes, investigating grave sites, rejecting hate speech and supporting domestic prosecutors in bringing perpetrators to justice; Urges the Serbian authorities to act against the glorification of convicted war criminals and to cease all divisive rhetoric and actions that undermine the integrity of countries in the neighbourhood and threaten regional stability and reconciliation; calls on the Serbian authorities to continue their efforts at combatting these issues and to condemn all forms of hate speech, intimidation campaigns and public approval and denial of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes; regrets that some Serbian authorities and some Serbian politicians continue to deny the Srebrenica genocide;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls on Government to ensure the removal the murals glorifying the convicted war criminals, such as Ratko Mladić; condemns also, in this context, the role of hooligan groups in the protection of these mural, and corresponding incidents which have exposed close links between hooligans and the police; expresses concern over the authorities’ apparent unwillingness to ensure the permanent removal of the murals in opposition to both the wishes of tenants and formal municipal decisions; regrets that persons sentenced for war crimes, such as Veselin Šljivančanin, Dragoljub Ojdanić and Nikola Šainović, are connected with the ruling parties in Serbia;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Welcomes the adoption of the new National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes and calls for its proper implementation, transparency and inclusiveness in reporting on implementation;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls for the EU and its allies to further strengthen the work on reconciliation; welcomes the renewed engagement of the EU allies; Reiterates its support for the initiative to establish the Regional Commission for the establishment of facts about war crimes and other gross human rights violations on the territory of the former Yugoslavia (RECOM);
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30b. Notes with concern that none of the allegations mentioned in the previous report made by investigative journalists of government manipulation of COVID-19 statistics for political purposes have been investigated; reiterates that trust and transparency are of particular importance in the government’s efforts against COVID-19 and therefore urges the Serbian Government to provide citizens with all relevant statistics;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Notes that despite improvements, the labour market still suffers from structural problems; calls on Serbia to further tailor education and training to labour market needs and improve women's position in the labour market;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Is deeply concerned by the socio- economic situation in several districts of southern Serbia, especially in the city of Vranje; calls on the Serbian government to investigate all allegations about the use of social assistance instruments to put pressure on voters, especially among vulnerable groups and members of the Roma minority; calls on the Serbian government to respond to the challenges of poverty and unemployment in these and other parts of the country;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Calls on Serbia to improve its capacities to provide statistics and to carry out the population census, adhering to the UN and the European Union’s statistical legislation and with the inclusion of independent observers and which should lead to an improved evidence-based decision-making;
Amendment 382 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Is deeply concerned by the depopulation and brain drain of Serbia’s human capital; welcomes the Serbian Government’s initiatives to counter these trends by working with international organisations; calls on the new government to pay more attention to youth policies;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Reiterates its concern about Serbia’s growing dependence on Chinese investments and credits; urges the Serbian authorities to improve the transparency and environmental impact assessment of Chinese investments and also of investments stemming from other bilateral agreements on strategic cooperation; calls on to improve the respect for the Aarhus Convention in all projects related to environmental protection;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Welcomes the improvements in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing; encourages Serbia to minimise the risk of illicit financial flows in the construction industry; Expresses concerns about lack of progress regarding the “List” case, which represents an abuse of legal framework by state authorities to target particular civil society organizations, individuals and media critical of the Government policies;
Amendment 403 #
36b. Recalls the call for Serbian Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering of Serbia’s Ministry of Finance to fully clarify the situation concerning investigations into CSOs and journalists over allegations of money laundering and urges the authorities to conduct effective investigation concerning the filed criminal complaints against tabloids and banks holding financial data of several listed CSOs;
Amendment 411 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Calls for broader public debate on energy transition and on the ongoing construction of dozens of small hydropower plants;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Welcomes the progress made on the gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria; notes with concern the consistent lack of compliance with and the consequent breach of Serbia of the Energy Community Treaty and calls on Serbia to bring its activities in the energy sphere, in particular regarding gas transportation infrastructure, in line the Third Energy Package and in solidarity with the EU energy policy;
Amendment 423 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Reiterates its concern at the high levels of air pollution and urges the authorities to speed up the implementation of air quality plans; is concerned that several cities in Serbia are often among the most polluted cities in the world in terms of air quality; urges the authorities to swiftly take measures to improve air quality, especially in large cities and industrial areas such as Belgrade, Smederevo, Bor and, Kolubara and Tamnava valleys; stresses the importance of finding sustainable solutions and limiting the use of lignite and other low- calorie coal in energy production, as well as for heating;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Notes the withdrawal of the exploration licences for the lithium extraction and processing project in Western Serbia; calls on the Serbian authorities to be fully transparent in this process;