Activities of Beatrix von STORCH related to 2016/2009(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2015 (A8-0345/2016 - József Nagy) DE
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2015
Amendments (54)
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that Article 67 TEU states that the Union shall constitute an area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Recalls that public policies aiming at social engineering (such as gender mainstreaming) promoted by the EU institutions must respect the cultural diversity and national traditions of the Member States according to Art. 4(2) TEU;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Takes the position that home caregivers (both men and women) remain discriminated against in terms of the failure to count their years of work towards pensions and entitlements;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Recalls that inequalities affects men: - on average women live longer than men, - women have greater levels of disposable income (often because they outlive their husbands), - women have ‘women only hospitals’ - men don’t have such facilities, - women receive a more lenient sentence than men for the same crime, - men cannot take their babies into prison with them - women can, - men have no say in whether their child is aborted or not, - in divorce situations, men will most likely be worse off financially than the woman, -in divorce, men will rarely be the resident parent, having the children live with him, - the educational system in most developed countries is designed for a woman’s learning style - disadvantaging men, - in a spirit of positive discrimination, with equally qualified candidates applying for a job the woman has to be preferred, - men are portrayed as weaker characters in films, literature, marketing campaigns etc., - men are prejudged to be a sexual threat to women and children, - men have more hazardous occupations than women, - common misconception assumes that all domestic violence is committed by men against women, when about 40% is women abusing men, - men are more likely to have heart attacks, strokes, etc., - more boys than girls die in childhood;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Reiterates the condemnation of the practice of surrogacy expressed in § 115 of its resolution of 17 December 2015 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2014 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (2015/2229(INI)): ‘The EU Parliament condemns the practice of surrogacy, which undermines the human dignity of the woman since her body and its reproductive functions are used as a commodity; considers that the practice of gestational surrogacy which involves reproductive exploitation and use of the human body for financial or other gain, in particular in the case of vulnerable women in developing countries, shall be prohibited and treated as a matter of urgency in human rights instruments’;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Reiterates its position that - in line with the EU Leitmotif ‘United in Diversity’ and article 67 TFEU which states that the Union shall respect the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States - cross border civil status issues are uniquely related to Member States’ family laws, which reflect Member States’ values; recognises that public policy exemptions safeguard the right of Member States to protect their fundamental values as expressed in their substantive family laws and they shield against the import of foreign legal concepts that do not exist or may even be illegal into the domestic Member State’s legal order, which would result in the parallel co-existence of EU and national legal orders (spill over effect and reverse discrimination);
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Takes note that 14 Member States haven’t ratified the Istanbul Convention (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovakia and the United Kingdom) and that the Istanbul Convention is not entered in force in 50% of the EU Member States; urges the Commission to refrain from adhering to the Istanbul Convention as long as not all EU Member States have ratified this instrument in internal law;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that the Istanbul Convention sets a blatantly misandric double standard by stating that the violence against men is not gender-based violence;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Stresses that the Istanbul Convention characterises gender as a ‘social construct’ even if the words ‘social construct’ are not further defined, and article 3 (c) states moreover: “‘Gender’ shall mean the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men.”;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention as it provides in article 4.2 as grounds of non- discrimination: ‘sex, gender,... sexual orientation, gender identity....’; recalls that such a list does not exist in any legally binding treaty within the United Nations System or the EU acquis communautaire; recalls that - together with the social construct definition of ‘gender’, ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ - such weak definitions would solidify a greater ideological platform to declare subjective attractions as universal human rights, which has not been accepted by UN Member States and the EU acquis communautaire; recalls that the terms ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ have not been defined in a legally binding UN document or within the EU acquis communautaire;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2e. Takes note that the Istanbul Convention remains silent on sex- selective abortion of the female foetus or violence against the unborn child, especially girls, and do not condemn surrogacy;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2f. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention because it has an extremely broad approach that goes well beyond stopping violence, because the comprehensive nature of the treaty is undoubtedly intended to be used as a tool or mechanism for social engineering of values and norms on all matters pertaining to ‘gender ideology’, and because the EU as a whole (including the Member States) is then exposed to a more aggressive attempt to bring changes to culture, traditions and religions as well as to civil and criminal laws, through the Convention text and the monitoring committee;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2g. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention as the EU would then be obliged to ‘promote changes in the social and cultural patterns of behaviour of women and men with a view to eradicating prejudices, customs and traditions.’ (Art 12.5); challenges the legitimacy of the social engineering of values and norms by supranational political institutions and its conformity with the respect of cultural diversity and national traditions of the Member States according to Art 4.2 TEU;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 h (new)
Paragraph 2 h (new)
2h. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention because, according to article 14, State Parties shall insert non-stereotyped gender roles into the formal and informal education settings at all levels of education whilst no mention is made of the prior rights of parents to educate their child according to their moral and religious conventions as stated in all International Human Rights Instruments; stresses that the EU has no competency to fulfil this request on ‘formal and informal education settings at all levels of education’;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Takes the position that sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation of women, the use of women for surrogacy, and sex selected abortion must be considered as unjustifiable under any political, social, religious or cultural grounds;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Condemns all forms of discrimination and violence against LGBTI people; calls for further action to push for the harmonisation of criminal law across the EU in order to combat homophobia, biphobia and transphobiamen and women;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas migration is an unavoidable part of the EU’s future and one of the biggest challenges of our times, as it appeals to the EU’s international humanitarian responsibilities and forms a key element for demographic reasons;
Amendment 135 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Reiterates the fundamental right of all women to access to public health care systems, in particular to primary, gynaecological and obstetric health care as defined by the World Health Organisation;
Amendment 149 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 163 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 174 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas violence against women is still ‘silently’ tolerated in many places and a zero tolerance approach is necessary; whereas violence against men must be highlighted as well;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas children are the future of our society and we arethe father and the mother are the first responsible for their present; whereas education is one of the best ways to impart values such as peace, tolerance, equality, justice and respect for human dignity via formal, non-formal and informal education methods, and that the main responsibility for a child's education lies in the first place with his parents;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the EU institutions have already started politically and ideologically motivated procedures to overcome the so- called ‘Copenhagen dilemma’, not only for those countries applying for EU membership but also in Member States where the enforcement of fundamental rights values should be monitored and observed in all circumstances; whereas Article 67 TEU states that the Union shall respect the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States and only the ECJ is the recognised institution to pass judgment of treaty violations by Member States;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Reiterates the condemnation of the practice of surrogacy expressed in § 115 of its resolution of 17 December 2015 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2014 and the European Union's policy on the matter (2015/2229(INI)): "The EU Parliament condemns the practice of surrogacy, which undermines the human dignity of the woman since her body and its reproductive functions are used as a commodity; considers that the practice of gestational surrogacy which involves reproductive exploitation and use of the human body for financial or other gain, in particular in the case of vulnerable women in developing countries, shall be prohibited and treated as a matter of urgency in human rights instruments.";
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Recalls the ruling C-34/10 of the European Court of Justice that any human ovum after fertilisation constitute a ‘human embryo’; congratulates the European Citizen Initiative "One of Us" (ECI(2012)000005) for the collection of 1.721.626 signatures in support of the juridical protection of the dignity, the right to life and of the integrity of every human being from conception in the areas of EU competence in which such protection is of particular importance; regrets that the Commission refused to implement this successful European Citizen Initiative as well as the ECI "Right to water";
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Recalls that in implementing the specific Cairo International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) prohibition on coercion or compulsion in sexual and reproductive health matters and with regard to the international legally binding human rights instruments, the EU community acquis as well as the policy competencies in this matter, Union funding should not be provided to any legal entity which promotes, supports or participates in the management of any action which involves such human rights abuses as coercive abortion, forced sterilisation of women and men, determining foetal sex resulting in pre natal sex selection or infanticide, especially where such actions apply their priorities though psychological, social, economic or legal pressure. The Commission should present a report on the implementation of the Union’s external assistance covering family planning programmes;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Calls on the Commission to strongly condemn the practice of surrogacy in all its forms, as a violation of art. 1 (human dignity) and art. 3 (integrity of the person) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, proposing a concrete roadmap in order to prohibit surrogacy and treat it as a matter of urgency in human rights instruments, as requested by European Parliament resolution of 17 December 2015 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2014 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (P8 TA-PROV(2015)0470);
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates that intercultural and inter-religious tolerance needs to be promoted via constant efforts and extensive dialogue and that the crisis arising from the waves of migration cannot be tackled without the involvement of all relevant state and non-state actors, including churches and religious organisations recognised by the Member States;
Amendment 403 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Strongly condemns Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn for calling Hungary to be suspended or even expelled from the EU because of Hungary's correct implementation of the EU Schengen Codex which allows Member States to take control of the national border management to ensure the security of their citizens;
Amendment 598 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the EU andInvites the Member States to strengthen the role of human rights education in national curricula as a tool for preventing racism and related intolerance, and calls for greater rights awareness;
Amendment 628 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Highlights that improvements are still needed to combat violence against women, and calls on the Member States and the EU to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention following the launch of the procedure by the Commission in March 2016; ; takes note that 14 Member States haven't ratified the Istanbul Convention (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovakia and the UK) and that the Istanbul Convention is not entered in force in 50% of the EU Member States; urges the Commission to refrain from adhering to the Istanbul Convention as long as not all EU Member States have ratified this instrument in internal law;
Amendment 639 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Stresses that the Istanbul Convention characterises gender as a "social construct" even if the words "social construct" are not further defined, and article 3 (c) states moreover: "'Gender' shall mean the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men.";
Amendment 641 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention as it provides in article 4.2 as grounds of non- discrimination: "sex, gender,... sexual orientation, gender identity...."; recalls that such a list does not exist in any legally binding treaty within the United Nations System or the EU acquis communautaire; recalls that - together with the social construct definition of "gender", "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" - such weak definitions would solidify a greater ideological platform to declare subjective attractions as universal human rights, which has not been accepted by UN Members States and the EU acquis communautaire;
Amendment 644 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Takes note that the Istanbul Convention remains silent on sex- selective abortion of the female foetus or violence against the unborn child, especially girls, and do not condemn surrogacy;
Amendment 645 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)
Paragraph 16 d (new)
16d. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention because it has an extremely broad approach that goes well beyond stopping violence, because the comprehensive nature of the treaty is undoubtedly intended to be used as a tool or mechanism for social engineering of values and norms on all matters pertaining to "gender ideology", and because the EU as a whole (including the Member States) is then exposed to a more aggressive attempt to bring changes to culture, traditions and religions as well as to civil and criminal laws, through the Convention text and the monitoring committee;
Amendment 646 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 e (new)
Paragraph 16 e (new)
16e. Stresses that the EU should not sign the Istanbul Convention because, according to article 14, State Parties shall insert non-stereotyped gender roles into the formal and informal education settings whilst no mention is made of the prior rights of parents to educate their child according to their moral and religious conventions as stated in all International Human Rights Instruments; stresses that the EU has no competency to fulfil this request on "formal and informal education settings";
Amendment 647 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 f (new)
Paragraph 16 f (new)
16f. Reiterates the fundamental right of all women to access to public health care systems, in particular to primary, gynaecological and obstetric health care as defined by the World Health Organisation;
Amendment 670 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Amendment 682 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. takes the position that sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation of women, the use of women for surrogacy, and sex selected abortion must be considered as unjustifiable under any political, social, religious or cultural grounds;
Amendment 715 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. recalls that the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth;1a __________________ 1aGeneral Assembly Resolution 1386/XIV of 20 November 1959
Amendment 769 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28 a. recalls that the best interests of the child should be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance, and that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents;
Amendment 773 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28 b. Recalls that the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe in cooperation with the German Federal Office for Health Education (BZgA), in its "Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe", calls for early childhood masturbation for children age 0-4 which is inappropriate;
Amendment 926 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42 a. Asks the Commission when dealing with policies in the field of equal opportunities between men and women to focus on the implementation of the existing legislation by the Member States, and emphasises the importance of exchanges of best practice in particular where Member States have exclusive competence, before considering the necessity of submitting new legislative proposals and policy tools in the field of equal opportunities;
Amendment 932 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43 a. recalls that the EU should stop funding the global operational costs which can be up to 80% of an NGO's global budget because this controversial funding distorts the principle of equal opportunities between NGOs ; recalls that so-called "operating grants" are not linked to any specific project or activity of the receiving NGO but can be freely used to pay salaries, office rent and telephone costs, travel expenses etc.;
Amendment 936 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Notes that civil society organisations, including volunteering and youth work, play a key role in social participation and calls on the EU and the Member States to support and to promote their work; recalls that the principle "He who pays the piper calls the tune" applies also for the EU funding policy for NGOs because the EU funding policy obliges NGOs to advertise and legitimise the Commission's activities as well as to promote and legitimise themselves; recalls that by this procedure the EU Commission creates a "Muppet civil society";
Amendment 946 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. invites the competent national authorities to verify if an NGO can keep its legal status as "non-governmental" or "registered association" when its annual budget is mainly established through public funds (i.e. local regional or national authorities, a foreign government, or the EU) ;
Amendment 956 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46 a. reiterates its position that - in line with the EU Leitmotif "United in Diversity" and article 67 TFEU which states that the Union shall respect the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States - cross border civil status issues are uniquely related to Member States' family laws, which reflect Member States' values; recognises that public policy exemptions safeguard the right of Member States to protect their fundamental values as expressed in their substantive family laws and they shield against the import of foreign legal concepts that do not exist or may even be illegal into the domestic Member State's legal order, which would result in the parallel co-existence of EU and national legal orders (spill over effect and reverse discrimination);
Amendment 968 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 b (new)
Paragraph 46 b (new)
46 b. Emphasises that the comprehensive policy on fundamental rights must respect the competences of the European Union, of its agencies, and of Member States;
Amendment 970 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 c (new)
Paragraph 46 c (new)
46 c. Recalls that the freedom to express and display one's beliefs and opinions in keeping with the principle of pluralism of ideas, and provided that it does not incite to violence, should be respected;