Activities of Raymond FINCH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the progress made in the Council in 2016 on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which led to the agreement between 20 Member States on the basis of the enhanced cooperation procedure provided for in Article 86 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; hopes that all Member States will eventually participate in this initiative; recalls that the role of the EPPO will be to investigate, prosecute and bring to court the perpetrators of criminal offences affecting the EU’s financial interests, as defined in the PIF Directive;deleted

2018/02/02
Committee: LIBE

2017/2216(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the participating Member States and the Commission to begin the preparatory work to launch the EPPO as soon as possible and to keep Parliament closely associated with the procedures, in particular the appointment of the Chief Prosecutor; reiterates that the EPPO must be independent;deleted

2018/02/02
Committee: LIBE

2017/2216(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for effective cooperation among ~~EPPO,~~ OLAF and Eurojust; recalls the pending negotiations on the Eurojust Regulation; stresses that the respective competences of Eurojust ~~and EPPO~~ need to be clearly defined;

2018/02/02
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the basis for European integration is the upholding and promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the values and principles enshrined in the European treaties and international human rights instruments; whereas as some candidate countries, most notably Turkey, do not uphold these values;

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the ongoing wave of terrorist attacks across the EU has fuelled widespread mistrust of ~~Muslim migrants, and whereas certain political parties are employing the rhetoric of cultural isolationism and hatred of those who are differ~~the EU and its ability to adequately protect its citizents;

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

~~G. whereas the systematic use of states of emergency and border controls does very little to deter terrorists, who have all, thus far, been long-term residents of EU Member States;~~deleted

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

J. whereas there is a risk that the increased levels of hatred, xenophobia and Afrophobia, whether expressed in the form of hate crimes, anonymous messages spread on social networks, protests or political propaganda, will come to be seen as normal in the Member States;deleted

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Asserts that neither national sovereignty nor subsidiarity can justify or legitimise the systematic refusal on the part of a Member State to comply with the principles of governance which inspired the introductory articles of the European Treaties;deleted

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

~~3. Stresses that the EU needs a common approach to governance, which does not yet exist, and which must be developed by pooling experiences of European governance;~~deleted

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2125(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that the integration is best achieved through schooling for young people and education in European citizenship for older people, that the EU should therefore promote a policy reception and integration in all the Member Statof migrants into Member States societies is a process that involves not only a willingness from Member States to promote their cultural values, but also a willingness from the migrant to respect these values, and t~~hat it is unacceptable that certain Member States should claim that the migration phenomenon is not their concer~~o make sincere attempts to learn the language of the Member State to which they will be living in;

2017/11/20
Committee: LIBE

2017/2114(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that, in accordance with Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Union shall aim at promoting the harmonious development of the Union as a whole and at reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions;deleted

2017/07/19
Committee: REGI

2017/2114(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is aware of the fact that cohesion policy funding~~, which represents~~ costs the European taxpayer EUR 454 billion at current prices for the 2014-2020 period (32.5 % of the EU budget)~~, is aimed mainly at promoting investment, employment and growth, and is one of the most important and comprehensive policies for strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion~~;

2017/07/19
Committee: REGI

2017/2114(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Believes that EU cohesion policy is not the best tool for contributing to ~~both~~ competitiveness ~~and solidarity throughout the EU regions, and it is therefore essential to continue it beyond 2020, in order to combat the disparities that have increased following the crisi~~throughout the Member States;

2017/07/19
Committee: REGI

2017/2114(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Recognises that the EU needs to address new, serious challenges, and that cohesion policy could be a very important source of financial support for various issues, such as the integration of migrants, education, employment, housing and combating discrimination;deleted

2017/07/19
Committee: REGI

2017/2052(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that the structure of the new multiannual financial framework (MFF) must correspond to the top five political priorities of the EU; calls for more coherence between the funding of the EU budget and its objectives~~, if needed by breaking the 1 % glass ceiling of Member State GDP contributions and/or~~ by adapting and reducing the EU’s objectives;

2017/11/23
Committee: LIBE

2017/2052(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – point e

~~e. calls for the allocation of proper resources in order to ensure the smooth implementation and running of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office;~~deleted

2017/11/23
Committee: LIBE

2017/2052(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Stresses that the future MFF proposal must not include the UK's contribution or entail any legal obligations on the UK regarding its liabilities;

2017/11/23
Committee: LIBE

2017/2052(INI)

7 b. Stresses, furthermore, that if the Treaties cease to apply, as stated in Article 50(3) of the TEU, it follows that laws made under those Treaties, including the MFF Regulation, must also cease to apply; underlines, therefore, that once the UK leaves the Union, there can be no legal obligation upon the UK to continue contributions to the present or future MFF;

2017/11/23
Committee: LIBE

2017/2052(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. Considers that if the UK wishes to remain part of any EU programmes, that is a decision for the government of the day and any financial contributions should be decided on a case-by-case basis and applied in the same way as negotiations with third countries; notes for example that Israel has access to EU programmes as a third country without being a contributor to the MFF;

2017/11/23
Committee: LIBE

2017/2044(BUD)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Takes note of the Draft Budget 2018 (DB 2018); ~~regret~~welcomes the reduction in both commitment appropriations (CA) and payment appropriations (PA) in Heading III compared to 2017; ~~welcome~~regrets the top-up of Heading III by an additional EUR 817.1 million above its ceiling using the flexibility instrument;

2017/07/27
Committee: LIBE

2017/2044(BUD)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. BWel~~ieves that~~comes the large budget reduction (49,7 % in PA) for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) undermines the importance and urgency of the AMIF policy objectives; challenges the Commission’s assertions in DB 2018 that justify its proposed reduction in AMIF funding; stresses that security for those who seek protection in the Union should not be adversely affected by budgetary cut; stresses that security for those who seek protection should be solely handled by the Member States;

2017/07/27
Committee: LIBE

2017/2044(BUD)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Regret~~Notes the significant budget reduction for the Internal Security Fund (ISF) (35,6 % in PA); stresses ~~that in light of the continued security threat in the Union, ISF funding should be sufficient to aid Member States in dealing with threats to internal security; highlights~~ the need to sufficiently ~~fund efforts to~~ improve information sharing and to fight cybercrime on a bilateral basis;

2017/07/27
Committee: LIBE

2017/2044(BUD)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Note~~Regrets the proposed increases in the DB 2018 for expenditure and establishment plans for all agencies in the area of Justice and Home Affairs classified as holding “new tasks”; ~~regret~~notes however that the increases proposed are lower than those requested by most agencies; ~~stresses the importance of staff increases for eu-LISA and Europol; welcome~~regrets the budget increase for the European Data Protection Supervisor in view of the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation1 . _________________ 1 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC ( General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).

2017/07/27
Committee: LIBE

2017/2027(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Stresses that economic growth and trade ~~alone are not sufficien~~do start to reduce poverty and i~~nequality; c~~t allows for ~~policies that~~third countr~~ibute to achieving diversified, sustainable and inclusive growth, with a strong emphasis on social issue~~y governments to depend less and less on foreign aid hand- outs;

2017/03/29
Committee: DEVE

2017/2027(INI)

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. Points out that LAC iscountries are highly vulnerable to natural disasters~~, a majority of which are attributable to climate change; calls on the Commission and the LAC countries to tackle the underlying causes and to take climate-resilience measures~~ due to their longitude and latitude; should advise LAC countries to set up well trained natural disaster short-term response teams while waiting for disaster relief aid from other nation states around the world;

2017/03/29
Committee: DEVE

2016/2326(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Endorses the EU’s commitments under the Paris climate change agreement and underlines that the ESI Funds should be used as effectively as possible for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as for green economies and renewable energies;deleted

2017/04/04
Committee: REGI

2016/2304(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Points to the celebrated increase in Euroscepticism and in anti-European propaganda that distorts information on Union policies; stresses therefore the urgent need to develop communication strategies that are capable of conveying an accurate message to citizens on the added value of the European project for their quality of life and prosperity, which is capable of conveying an accurate message to citizens on the undemocratic process of the EU and its wasteful and failing projects;

2017/03/29
Committee: REGI

2016/2304(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Not~~Stresses the important role ofthat the media in informing citizens on EU affairs; regrets nevertheless the rather limited coverage of EU cohesion policy investments; stresses the need to develop communication strategies that are adapted to the current informational challenges and takshould be performing, which is to be acting as a scrutinising body and informing citizens correctly in a non biased capacity on EU affairs; considers that there has been a huge accmount of ~~digital advancements and the mix of different types of media channels~~fake news linked with pro-EU media outlets circulated;

2017/03/29
Committee: REGI

2016/2303(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Stress~~Notes that the available EU cofinancing for technical assistance at the disposal of the Member States under the five ESI Funds in the 2014-2020 programming period amounts to around EUR 13.4 billion;

2017/03/24
Committee: REGI

2016/2114(REG)

Ashley FOX, Kateřina KONEČNÁ, Andrew LEWER, Ian DUNCAN, Ruža TOMAŠIĆ, Vicky FORD, Anders VISTISEN, Branislav ŠKRIPEK, Beatrix von STORCH, Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Helga STEVENS, Christofer FJELLNER, Anneleen VAN BOSSUYT, Raymond FINCH, Roger HELMER, Gunnar HÖKMARK, Roberts ZĪLE, Kosma ZŁOTOWSKI, Geoffrey VAN ORDEN, Amjad BASHIR, Pirkko RUOHONEN-LERNER, Ramona Nicole MĂNESCU, Molly SCOTT CATO, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Bas BELDER, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Alberto CIRIO, Patricija ŠULIN, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Eleftherios SYNADINOS, Maurice PONGA, Emma McCLARKIN, Lara COMI, Anthea McINTYRE, Carolina PUNSET, Timothy Charles Ayrton TANNOCK, Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE, Constance LE GRIP, Fulvio MARTUSCIELLO, Bernd LUCKE, Georgios EPITIDEIOS, Amjad BASHIR, David CAMPBELL BANNERMAN, Daniel DALTON, Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Bernd KÖLMEL, Bernd LUCKE, Alojz PETERLE, Markus PIEPER, Mirosław PIOTROWSKI, Joachim STARBATTY, Peter van DALEN, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Jana ŽITŇANSKÁ

Parliament's Rules of Procedure
Rule 15 – paragraph 1

The President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors shall be elected by secret ballot, in accordance with Rule 182. Nominations shall be with consent. They may only be made by a political group or by at least 40 Members. However, if the number of nominations does not exceed the number of seats to be filled, the candidates may be elected by acclamation. Members shall be permitted to serve a maximum of two terms in the office of President pursuant to Rule 19(1), regardless of whether they are served consecutively or not.

2016/09/27
Committee: AFCO

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Calls for political dialogue between the EU and pa~~Notes that furtnher countries/regions to be a central strand of any EU development cooperation, and for such dialogues to focus on common values and how to promote them; calls for further parliamentary and civil society involvement in political dialoguesnational parliamentary and civil society involvement in political dialogues could be beneficial to enable greater development cooperation between nation states at a bilateral level;

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

~~28. Calls for further EU and Member State support to partner countries in their own promotion and implementation of PCD;~~deleted

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Underlines the importance of fair and properly regulated trade in promoting regional integration, contributing to sustainable growth and combating poverty; ~~stresses that EU trade policy must be part of the sustainable development agenda and reflect EU development policy objectives;~~

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Stresses the need for further EU support to developing countries for trade capacity- building, infrastructure and domestic private sector development, in order to allow them to add value to and diversify production and to increase their trade;

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Supports EU efforts to increase transparency and accountability in natural resource management and in the extraction of and trade in natural resources, and to prevent illegal trade in sectors such as minerals, timber and wildlife; strongly believes that further global efforts are needed in order to develop regulatory frameworks for supply chains, so as to ensure sustainable management of and trade in such resources and to allow resource-rich countries and their populations to further benefit from such trade;

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40

40. Strongly believes that the global presence of the EU and its Member States makes them well placed to continue to play a leading international role in addressing global public goods and challenges (GPGC); calls for a GPGC chapter to be included in the revised Consensus, clearly outlining the priority areas to be tackled, among them insecurity and state fragility, migration, health and education, demographic challenges and urbanisation, the environment, energy and climate change, food security, and new technological challenges, barriers and opportunities;deleted

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/2094(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42

42. Instructs its President to not forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS.

2016/12/09
Committee: DEVE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
–

The European Parliament rejects the Commission proposal.

2017/04/04
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) In order to ensure equal treatment for all applicants and beneficiaries of international protection, and consistency with the current Union asylum acquis, in particular with Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council18 , the scope of this Regulation encompasses applicants for subsidiary protection and persons eligible for subsidiary protection. _________________ 18 Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (OJ L 337, 20.12.2011, p. 9).deleted

2017/04/04
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35

(35) A Member State of allocation may decide not to accept the allocated applicants during a twelve months-period, in which case it should enter this information in the automated system and notify the other Member States, the Commission and the European Union Agency for Asylum. Thereafter the applicants that would have been allocated to that Member State should be allocated to the other Member States instead. The Member State which temporarily does not take part in the corrective allocation should make a solidarity contribution of EUR 250,000 per applicant not accepted to the Member State that was determined as responsible for examining those applications. The Commission should lay down the practical modalities for the implementation of the solidarity contribution mechanism in an implementing act. The European Union Agency for Asylum will monitor and report to the Commission on a yearly basis on the application of the financial solidarity mechanism.

2017/04/04
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) ‘application for international protection’ means an application for international protection as defined in ~~Article 2(h) of Directive 2011/95/EU~~the 1951 Geneva Convention;

2017/04/25
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d

(d) ‘examination of an application for international protection’ means any examination of, or decision or ruling concerning, an application for international protection by the competent authorities in accordance with ~~Directive 2013/32/EU and Directive 2011/95/EU, except for procedures for determining the Member State responsible in accordance with this Regula~~the 1951 Geneva Convention;

2017/04/25
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f

(f) ‘beneficiary of international protection’ means a third-country national or a stateless person who has been granted international protection as defined in ~~Article 2(a) of Directive 2011/95/EU~~the 1951 Geneva Convention;

2017/04/25
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point q – point i

(i) ‘refugee status’ ~~within the meaning of point (e) of~~as defined by Article 21 of ~~Directive 2011/95/EU~~the 1951 Geneva Convention;

2017/04/25
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point q – point ii

~~(ii) ‘subsidiary protection status’ within the meaning of point (g) of Article 2 of Directive 2011/95/EU; or~~deleted

2017/04/25
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point q – point iii

~~(iii) any other status which offers similar rights and benefits under national and Union law as those referred to in points (i) and (ii);~~deleted

2017/04/25
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – title

~~Financial solidarity~~Opt-out

2017/05/05
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 1

1. A Member State may~~, at the end of the three-month period after the entry into force of this Regulation and at the end of each twelve-month period thereafter,~~ enter in the automated system that it will ~~temporarily~~ not take part in the corrective allocation mechanism set out in Chapter VII of this Regulation as a Member State of allocation and notify this to the Member States, the Commission and the European Union Agency for Asylum.

2017/05/05
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 2

2. The automated system referred to in Article 44(1) shall in that case apply the reference key during this twelve- month period to those Member States with a number of applications for which they are the Member States responsible below their share pursuant to Article 35(1), with the exception of the Member State which entered the information, as well as the benefitting Member State. The automated system referred to in Article 44(1) shall count each application which would have otherwise been allocated to the Member State which entered the information pursuant to Article 36(4) for the share of that Member State.deleted

2017/05/05
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 3

3. At the end of the twelve-month period referred to in paragraph 2, the automated system shall communicate to the Member State not taking part in the corrective allocation mechanism the number of applicants for whom it would have otherwise been the Member State of allocation. That Member State shall thereafter make a solidarity contribution of EUR 250,000 per each applicant who would have otherwise been allocated to that Member State during the respective twelve-month period. The solidarity contribution shall be paid to the Member State determined as responsible for examining the respective applications.deleted

2017/05/05
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 4

4. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt a decision in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 56, lay down the modalities for the implementation of paragraph 3.deleted

2017/05/05
Committee: LIBE

2016/0133(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 5

~~5. The European Union Agency for Asylum shall monitor and report to the Commission on a yearly basis on the application of the financial solidarity mechanism.~~deleted

2017/05/05
Committee: LIBE

2015/2062(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that increasing prisons’ capacity is ~~not the sol~~certainly one solution to overcrowding~~, as the prison population tends to rise at the same rate as prison capacity; c~~; considers, furthermore, that the deportation of foreign criminalls ~~nonetheless on Member States to allocate appropriate resources to refurbishment and modernisation of prisons in order to protect the rights~~would also reduce overcrowding in prisons; notes with concern that sentencing ofr p~~risoners; recalls that the Commission recently mentioned the possibility of drawing on the Structural Funds of the European Union~~arole hearings may be influenced by a lack of prison space;

2017/05/10
Committee: LIBE

2015/2062(INI)