15 Amendments of Andrea BOCSKOR related to 2018/2146(INI)
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas since the opening of negotiations with Serbia twelvefourteen chapters have been opened, two of which have been provisionally closed;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas Serbia has contributed to strengthening regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations, as well as peace and stability, reconciliation and a climate conducive to addressing open bilateral issues from the past;
Amendment 37 #
1. Welcomes the continued engagement of Serbia on the path of integration into the European Union; calls on Serbia as well as the European Commission to actively promote this strategic decision among the Serbian publicand EU public and continue their coordinated efforts on increasing the visibility of the EU funded projects;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Welcomes the Commission’s assessment stated in its February communication “A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans” that with strong political will, with delivery of real and sustained reforms and definitive solutions to disputes with neighbours, Serbia could potentially be ready for the membership by 2025;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Council and the European Commission to support opening of all technically prepared chapters without further delay and accelerate the overall accession negotiation process;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the European Commission in designing the new Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) to take into account the differences of accession progress in EU candidate countries, complexity of the reforms in Serbia in terms of human and financial resources, and in case of Serbia to allow programming and implementation of IPA III in line with the principles and procedures similar and applicable to the post accession ESI Funds;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure an adequate provision in the next Multi-annual Financial Framework to cater for this possible accession of Serbia to the European Union as outlined in the Western Balkans Strategy of February 2018;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the progress made by Serbia in developing a functioning market economy, ensuring economic growth and preserving macroeconomic and monetary stability; stresses that Serbia has made good progress in addressing some of the policy weaknesses that have been an issue in the past, in particular through budget consolidation; underlines that the restructuring and privatisation of state- owned enterprises has partially advanced; stresses the paramount importance to Serbia’s economy of small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs); underlines the importance of developing entrepreneurial skills among youth;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges Serbia to step up its reform efforts in the area of rule of law, and in particular to ensure the independence and overall efficiency of the judicial system; stresses that special focus should be put on implementing effective reform in this area; notes that while some progress has been made in reducing the backlog of old enforcement cases, and in putting in place measures to harmonise court practice, judicial independence in Serbia is not fully assured; calls on Serbia to strengthen the accountability, impartiality, professionalism and overall efficiency of the judiciary, and to establish a free legal aid system; underlines that a creation of unified IT system and training of judges and staff could furthermore improve the performance of the Serbian judiciary, calls on therefore the European Commission to increase its financial and technical assistance in this regard;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that the Serbian parliament still does not exercise effective oversight of the executive, and that the transparency, inclusiveness and quality of the legislative process need to be enhanced; welcomes the declining use of urgent procedures to adopt legislation; stresses, however, that the still- frequent use of urgent procedures undermines parliamentary and public scrutiny; stresses that actions that limit the ability of the Serbian parliament to conduct an effective debate on, and scrutiny of, legislation should be avoided; welcomes the Serbian parliament’s continued efforts to improve transparency through debates on Serbia’s negotiating positiondocuments on EU accession chapters, and through exchanges with the core negotiating team and with the National Convention on the European Union; stresses that the role of independent regulatory bodies, including the country’s Ombudsman, needs to be fully acknowledged and supported;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the presentation of the draft constitutional reform of the country’s judiciary submitted to the Venice Commission for opinion; stresses the importance of fully implementing the recommendations of the Venice Commission; calls for keeping up the practice of a comprehensive public consultation before the final draft is submitted to the Serbian parliament;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes Serbia’s progress in reforming its public administration, notably through the adoption of several new laws on public service salaries and employment relations, on local government and autonomous province salaries, and on the national training academy; notes that strengthening the administrative capacities at all levels is important for the successful implementation of the key reforms, calls on therefore the European Commission to increase its efforts in this regard; stresses that political influence on senior managerial appointments remains an issue of concern; welcomes the creation of a Ministry for European Integration, incorporating the structures of the former Serbian European Integration Office, which has continued to provide political guidance for European integration;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the adoption of an action plan for the realisation of the rights of national minorities, and the adoption of a decree establishing a fund for national minorities; calls for the full implementation of the action plan and for improved coordination and inclusion of stakeholders; notes that the fund for nnotes that the fund for national minorities is functioning and that its funding has been increased; welcomes the adoption of crucial laws on the framework of minority rights, such as Law on National Councils of National mMinorities is functioning and that its funding has been increased; reiterates its call on Serbia to ensure consistent implementation, Law on National Minorities’ Rights and Freedoms, Law on the Official Use of Languages; reiterates its call for improved coordination and inclusion of stakeholders, for the full, consistent and timely implementation of the action plan and of legislation on the protection of national minorities, includingespecially in relation to education, the and culture, the official use of languages, adequate representation inat all levels of public administration and judiciary, and access to media and religious services in minority languages;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that Serbia remains committed to constructive bilateral relations with other enlargement countries and neighbouring Member States; takes positive note of the fact that Serbia has maintained its engagement in a number of regional cooperation initiatives such as the South-East European Cooperation Process, the Regional Cooperation Council, the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the European Union Macro-Regional Strategies for the Danube Region (EUSDR), the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), the Brdo-Brijuni process, the Western Balkan Six initiative and its connectivity agenda, and the Berlin process; welcomes that Serbia took important commitments to implement the Multiannual Action Plan for the development of a Regional Economic Area (REA) in the Western Balkans; reiterates its call on Serbia to implement the connectivity reform measures associated with the connectivity agenda with the cooperation of the donors participating in the process; stresses that outstanding bilateral disputes should not have a detrimental effect on the accession process;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes Serbia’s continued engagement in the normalisation process with Kosovo, and its commitment to the implementation of the agreements reached in the EU- -facilitated dialogue; welcomes that President Vučić has launched an internal dialogue on Kosovo; reiterates its call to move forward with the full implementation, in good faith and in a timely manner, of all the agreements already reached including the ones on energy and, encourages both sides to determinedly continue the normalisation process; highlights the importance of creating an association / cthe Community of Serb majorityian municipalities; stresses that the work on a new phase of the dialogue with a view to a comprehensive normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, to be defined in a legally binding agreement, needs to be accelerated; reiterates its call on the EEAS to carry out an evaluation of the performance of the sides in fulfilling their obligations;