Activities of Ángela VALLINA related to 2017/2069(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens' Rights in a Union of Democratic Change (debate) ES
Amendments (40)
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the Proposal for a Council Regulation on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) (COM(2016)0411),
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas EU citizenship and its related rights, which are complementary to rights in the Member States, were initially introducdeclared in 1992 by the Treaty of Maastricht and wereshould have been further enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in December 2009, as well as by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas respect for those rights has been legally binding since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force, but petitions received show that in practice they are frequently violated;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas strengthening citizens’ rights and democratic institutions includes combating discrimination and gender inequality in line with the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Treaty of Lisbon consolidatedtains a declaration of the inalienable rights and guarantees of EU citizenship, including, inter alia, the freedom to travel, work and study in other EU countries, to participate in European political life, to promote equality and respect for diversity and to be protected from discrimination, especially that practised on the basis of nationality;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas on the heels of events in the United Kingdom, the refugee humanitarian crisis, the devastating social and economic impact of austerity policies, the high levels of unemployment and poverty, and the rise in xenophobia and racism in the EU have undermined confidence in the EU system and the European project as a whole;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the right to free movement and its exercise is ca fundamentral to EU citizenship and complements the other freedoms of the EU internal marketelement of EU citizenship; whereas young Europeans in particular consider free movement, which ranks first among EU citizens in terms of recognition and popularity, as the EU’s most positive achievement;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas as petitions have shown, EU citizens face notable difficulties in exercising this right, owing to administrative burdens and bureaucracy in Member States, and to misinformation and/or a lack of cooperation by Member State authorities; whereas, unfortunately, as several petitions have pointed out, the right to freedom of movement has been and is being infringed by several Member States, such as Belgium, which has expelled hundreds of European citizens, specifically from Bulgaria, Romania and Spain; whereas citizens of other Member States sometimes avoid using healthcare services for fear of being expelled;
Amendment 53 #
H. whereas the principle of non- discrimination on the basis of nationality, sexgender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation is the primary expression of EU citizenship; whereas it forms at the same time a crucial component of the successful exercise of the freedom of movement, as evidenced in petitions;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas women’s participation and leadership in political decision- making is still affected by various obstacles, such as the persistence of gender-based stereotypes and the consequences of the recent economic crisis together with its negative repercussions on gender equality issues;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
Hd. whereas significant gaps remain in protecting victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence across the EU in cases of cross-border family disputes;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the right to petition the European Parliament is one of the pillars of EU citizenship, ranks as the second best known of EU citizenship rights, and must creates an interface between citizens and the European institutions through an process that must be open, democratic and transparent process;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas discrimination faced by women across the EU is an obstacle to equality; whereas women remain underrepresented as voters as well as in leading positions, whether in elected offices, the civil service, academia, the media or the private sector; whereas the widespread multiple discrimination faced by women and the disproportionate number of women facing poverty and social exclusion are obstacles to the full exercise of their citizenship rights;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas citizens have the right to organise or support, together with other EU citizens from all Member States, a European Citizens’ Initiative, which enables them to set the legislative agenda of the EU; whereas the exercise of this right has not been satisfactory thus far, chiefly as a result of the numerous constraints imposed by the European Commission which reserves the right to decide on the legitimacy of such constraints;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the Commission’s 2017 EU Citizenship Report, which contains an enumeration of priorities by field of activity; expresses its doubt as to whether these priorities will effectively answer citizens’ concerns; regrets the lack of well-defined, concrete commitments for the next three years; considers that due attention has not been paid to the inclusion of gender equality as a priority, since it only appears as a secondary item within the final theme ‘Strengthening security and promoting equality’;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the Commission’s 2017 EU Citizenship Report, which contains an enumeration of priorities by field of activity; expresses its doubt as to whether these priorities will effectively answer citizens’ concerns; regrets the lack of well-defined, concrete commitments for the next three years and the insufficient attention paid to gender equality;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses regret that for almost a decade now little progress has been made in the adoption of the EU-wide Anti- Discrimination Directive; calls upon all EU institutions to conclude the relevant negotiations as soon as possible, paying due attention to the inclusion of the gender dimension;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to sign and conclude the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention and reaffirms its support for EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on a broad basis and without reservations; calls for improvement in the collection of disaggregated data on all forms of violence covered by the Convention, in cooperation with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE),in order to devise a common methodology to compare databases and analysis; calls on all Member States which have not yet done so to swiftly ratify the Istanbul Convention; calls on the Commission to propose a directive on violence against women;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Council to step up its efforts to unblock the Directive on Women on Boards;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take specific measures to address the needs of vulnerable citizens facing intersectional multiple discrimination that prevents them from exercising their rights or participating fully in society, such as women with disabilities, ethnic minorities, immigrant and refugee women, or those facing poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Reiterates that ensuring the ability of those facing intersectional multiple discrimination, such as women and girls with disabilities, to exercise their citizenship rights requires a holistic approach involving targeted policies, from inter sectional data collection to educational programmes and social inclusion measures; invites the Commission and the Member States to formulate and publish strategies for tackling intersectional discrimination;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Emphasises the need to tackle gender-based violence faced by women and girls and LGBTI people in politics and in the wider public sphere, including online harassment and intimidation;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
6f. Reaffirms its call for the Commission to adopt its Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016- 2019 as a communication; recalls that the EU is based on the principle of equality between women and men, and that such a principle can only be achieved through strategic mainstreaming in all EU policies;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 g (new)
Paragraph 6 g (new)
6g. Welcomes the submission by the Commission of the work-life balance package and calls on all institutions to deliver on these measures as soon as possible;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 h (new)
Paragraph 6 h (new)
6h. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote further cooperation in situations where workers receive benefits and pay contributions in different EU Member States, by reinforcing the cross-border exchange of information between the different social security authorities, so that all of the contributions can be duly taken into account in calculating pension rights; draws attention to the persistent gender pay and pension gaps in the EU, which, combined with austerity measures and public sector cuts, undermine the possibility of genuine economic autonomy for millions of women;
Amendment 113 #
6i. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to actively make use of EU funds as tools for enhancing gender equality; calls, in particular, for the application of gender mainstreaming within the CAP and rural cohesion policies;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 j (new)
Paragraph 6 j (new)
6j. Urges the Commission to continue mainstreaming gender in all EU policies by paying particular attention to impact assessments and ex-post assessments of legislation and policies;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes with appreciation the Commission’s effortsstated intention to make multiple information and assistance outlets about the EU and Citizenship rights, such as the Europe Direct network, the Your Europe portal and the e-justice portal, available and more accessible; urges the Commission to systematise the information and possibly plan for a single, EU-wide information window; at the same time, invites the Member States to promote the SOLVIT network and its services among EU citizens, as well as other redress mechanisms, both at EU level, such as the Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman and at national level, such as the local ombudsman;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to constantly promote women’s representation in leadership positions, particularly in political decision-making and at business board level, and to facilitate women’s entry into leadership by eliminating gender stereotypes and encouraging women’s participation in on-the-job training, together with other policy tools such as work-life balance, to enable them to fully exercise their rights of EU citizenship;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Emphasises that quality citizenship education for all ages, be it formal, informal or non-formal, is crucial for the confident exercise of democratic citizens’ rights and the functioning of a democratic society, and in order to overcome discrimination and prejudice, as well as gender inequality; reiterates the need for investment in citizenship and civic education and education for gender equality across Europe;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 g (new)
Paragraph 9 g (new)
9g. Highlights the importance of the political participation of children and young people, particularly of women and girls; calls for more action on the part of the Commission and the Member States in guaranteeing children’s rights and stimulating their participation;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote further measures to ensure women’s fair and equal access to all political, cultural and social spheres as a necessary condition for the effective exercise of citizenship rights in the EU;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the reform of the Electoral Act on the basis of Parliament’s legislative initiative is an unmissable opportunity for the Union to become more democratic; highlights the fact that thousands of Europeans share this view, as evidenced by the ‘Let me Vote’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which aims to allow citizens to vote in their place of residence; commends the Commission for exploring the possibilities for non-national EU citizens who have exercised their right to free movement to vote in national elections in the country in which they reside; calls on the Council to include gender- balanced lists that alternate female and male candidates in the next revision of the European Electoral Law; urges the Commission to devise a concrete action plan for the introduction of electronic voting with a view to the 2019 European Parliament elections;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses its conviction that free media and access to a plurality of voices in society and in the media are an indispensable part of a healthy democracy and that media literacy is crucial and should be developed at an early age; underlines the need for a defined EU policy to tackle anti-European propaganda and false information; proposes that EU institutions proceed with the creation of a European television channel broadcasting in all Member States;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote measures to combat discriminatory statements against women as well as gender stereotypes;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Maintains that transparency is a key tool for bringing citizens closer to the EU and involving them in its activities; recommends the promotion of the right to access documents and the translation of as many documents as possible into all EUthe languages of the EU and its Member States; supports the intensification of dialogue with citizens and the encouragement of public debates in order to improve EU citizens’ understanding of the impact of the EU on their daily lives and to allow them to take part in an exchange of views, through slots in television programmes for targeted audiences;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop proper gender mainstreaming tools, to closely cooperate with local authorities and communities to prevent and investigate violations and to provide the necessary care and assistance to women who have been sexually exploited, discriminated again stand marginalised in the labour market;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 e (new)
Paragraph 15 e (new)
15e. Calls for reinforced cooperation between the Member States in order to ensure the protection of victims of gender- based violence and that the best interests of the child are taken into account in cases of cross-border family disputes;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 i (new)
Paragraph 15 i (new)
15i. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt effective measures to increase the opportunities for women and girls to participate in EU programmes involving cross-border mobility as students, teachers and researchers;