Activities of Maria GRAPINI related to 2021/2180(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report (debate)
Amendments (11)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (the Conditionality Regulation) integrated the conditionality mechanism into a wider framework, requiring the Commission to use its own annual rule of law reports as a source for its objective assessments under the Regulation; calls on the Commission to implement the Conditionality Regulation without any further delay and without affecting EU citizens directly or indirectly; recalls that for budget-related measures in the event of violations of the rule of law in a Member State, the competences of parliamentary committees should be determined on the basis of Annex VI of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure if the infringements under the Conditionality Regulation procedure are dealt with in Parliament;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls its resolution of 8 July 2021 on the creation of guidelines for the application of the Conditionality Regulation; insists that the Commission include in its annual rule of law reports a section dedicated to cases where rule of law breaches in a Member State could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the Union’s financial interests in a sufficiently direct way; points out, at the same time, that EU citizens must not be unjustly punished for the wrongdoings of heads of state and government;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that the Conditionality Regulation imposes financial sanctions on a Member State, such as blocking access to European funds, in order to protect the EU budget; with this in mind, calls on the Commission to draw up a strategy which enables local authorities, as well as private entities, to access European funds directly from Brussels;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that transparency, access to public information, the protection of whistleblowers and an overall culture of integrity in public life are key to preventing and detecting corruption; expresses its concern about deteriorating developments in these areas in several Member States; calls on the Commission to act against the specific breaches it has identified in its previous annual rule of law reports, so as not to affect citizens and businesses not guilty of acts of corruption;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to use the Commission’s annual rule of law reports to resolutely fight against systemic corruption and devise effective instruments for preventing, combating and sanctioning corruption and fighting fraud, as well as for regularly monitoring the use of public funds, including recovery and resilience facility funds with a view to increasing the competitiveness of businesses and to enhancing citizens' quality of life.
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Emphasises that during the state of emergency direct public procurement was possible, especially for health material and equipment, without a great deal of transparency and without regard for legal limits in the field of public procurement; calls on the Commission and the competent European and national institutions to investigate potential mistakes in procurement made during the state of emergency;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and to develop an effective single EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights to ensure that Article 2 TEU values are upheld throughout the Union, given that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is no longer relevant;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the fact that the functioning of justice systems, the anti- corruption framework, media pluralism and certain institutional issues related to checks and balances, including civic space free of internal or external political interference to a certain extent, are all part of the Commission’s annual report; regrets, however, that not all rule of law issues were covered in sufficient detail in the 2021 report; calls for the inclusion in the annual report of other important elements of the Venice Commission’s 2016 Rule of Law Checklist; believes that civic space free of internal or external political interference deserves a separate subheading in the report;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the factStresses that all Member States are scrutinised according to the same indicators and methodology, with no discrimination against any Member State; emphasises that presenting deficiencies or breaches of a different nature or intensity risks trivialising the most serious breaches of the rule of law; urges the Commission to differentiate its reporting by distinguishing between systemic and deliberate breaches of the rule of law and isolated breaches;
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that the time limits for consultation with independent civil society isorganisations that are free of internal or external political influence are often too short and should be suitably adapted and flexible in order to allow for complete and comprehensive input; points out that this has made it more difficult for stakeholders to prepare and plan their contributions and awareness-raising activities, in particular if the consultation coincides with winter holidays; calls on the Commission to allow multilingual submissions; notes that consultation can be improved by ensuring follow-up with civil society actors on the input they provide;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Considers that the Conditionality Regulation should not directly or indirectly affect European citizens, given that those responsible for breaches of the rule of law are government representatives or heads of state; calls on the Commission to ensure that those funds remaining in the consolidated EU budget can be accessed directly from Brussels by local public institutions or private entities;