[ParlTrack]

2018/2145(INI)

Stelios KOULOGLOU, Kostadinka KUNEVA, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Helmut SCHOLZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the Prespes Agreement of 17th of June 2018 between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and commends both sides for their significant efforts to reach a commonly satisfying solution to the name issue. Welcomes the ratification by the Parliament of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia of the strategic partnership agreement with Greece on 20 June 2018; urges the parties to duly inform their citizens of the contents and implications of the agreement and to diligently complete all internal procedures for the ratification and implementation of this strategically important agreement, ~~bringing an end to a protracted geopolitical limbo~~reinforcing the peace and stability in the region;

2018/09/07
Committee: AFET

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Recalls that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been contributing to the progressive development of the notion of citizenship to the point where certain aspects have been gaining a relative autonomy through the lens of the European constitutional setting; recalls that article 20 TFEU precludes national measures that have the effect of depriving citizens of the Union of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of the rights conferred by virtue of their status as citizens of the Union1b; _________________ 1b Judgement of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 9 March 2011, Gerardo Ruiz Zambrano v. Office national de l'emploi (ONEm), European Court Reports 2011 I- 01177.

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Strongly supports the view citizenship has been developed as a fundamental status for nationals of the Member States without any discrimination whatsoever, that is enjoyed even in the absence of a cross-border element and can be therefore permissibly invoked against measures that have a restrictive or deprivatory nature 1c; conversely believes that individuals that fulfil the criteria for naturalisation under national laws should not be prevented from enjoying the rights emanating from the European citizenship due to administrative delays in the process of evaluation; recommends therefore for States to make publicly available the conditions and requirements in an accessible and understandable manners; _________________ 1c Judgement of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 2 March 2010, Janko Rottman v. Reistaat Bayern, Case C- 135/08.

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Strongly believes that the principle of non-discrimination is a cornerstone of the European citizenship and a general principle and a fundamental value of the EU Law according to Article 2 of the TEU; Stresses in particular that Article 10 of the TFEU prohibits discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation when defining and implementing policies and activities; Reminds that the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) which introduced prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity in the context of employment, the Gender Goods and Services Directive (2004/113/EC) and Gender Equality Directive (2006/54/EC) guarantees equal treatment only in relating to social security; regrets the fact that the Directives still are lacking in implementation more than ten years after the deadline for their transposition;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Regrets the fact that the Anti- discrimination Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment outside the labour market, extending protection against discrimination with a horizontal approach still remains blocked by the Council, a decade after the Commission proposal; believes that the upcoming presidencies should strive to deliver a position on the Directive by the end of the mandate;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Reminds that the EU Charter of Fundamental reserves the following rights for the European citizens in Chapter 5 : the right to vote and to stand as a candidate at elections to the European Parliament, right to vote and to stand as a candidate at municipal elections, right to good administration, right to access to documents, the European Ombudsman, right to petition, freedom of movement and of residence, diplomatic and consular protection in third states;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Strongly believes that the citizenship, should not merely reflect a series of economic freedoms and this perception can be tackled only by raising the social dimension of citizenship by materializing the European Pillar of Social Rights by legislative proposals;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Calls for gender mainstreaming and a gender perspective in all evaluation and assessment processes of current legislative texts and proposals in the future relating to citizenship;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Recalls the contribution of political parties at European level to "forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of the citizens of the Union" (Art.10.4 TEU); calls therefore for the possibility of individual citizens of the EU to directly apply for membership in political parties at European level;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers the exercise, pursuant to Article 22(1) TFEU, by Union citizens of electoral rights at municipal level to be a crucial corollary to the right to free movement and Union citizenship, and holds that participatory democracy at EU level would be rendered more effective were citizens first convinced of the effectiveness of political involvement inat a local ~~communities~~level with a European perspective; urges the Commission, in that regard, to further best practices in promoting higher voter turnout in municipal and local elections across the Union for citizens of the Union residing in an EU Country pursuant to the Directive 94/80/EC; Further considers that the Directive should be updated providing for a further harmonization and diminishing of administrative burdens for European citizens;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Strongly believes transparency is an essential ingredient of the rule of law, while ensuring that it is observed throughout the legislative process affects the effective materialization of the right to vote and the right to stand in elections and a handful of rights, i.e. right of expressions and its particular aspect the freedom of speech and the right to receive information; Considers also that forging an active European citizenship necessitates margin for public scrutiny, review and evaluation of the process and the prospect to challenge the outcome; Underlines that this would contribute to the gradual familiarization with basic concepts of the legislative process and foster the participatory elements of the democratic life of the Union;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Reminds that the principles of publicity, openness and transparency are inherent to the EU Legislative process, in order to allow citizens to find out the considerations underpinning legislative actions and therefore ensures effective exercise of their democratic rights 1a; _________________ 1a Joined Cases C-39/05 and C-52/05 P, Kingdom of Sweden and Maurizio Turco v. Council of the European Union, European Court Reports 2008 I-04723

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Recalls that the exercise of the right of petition has been granted to any European Union resident and to any legal person having its registered office in a Member State, regardless of citizenship or nationality;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3d. Reminds that the petition is a way for citizens of the European union the application of EU Law a posteriori as well as a valuable source of information for detecting breaches of EU law, particularly in the areas of the environment, the internal market, in areas relating to the recognition of professional qualifications, the financial services sector and especially regarding the infringement of fundamental rights and might lead to the initiation of infringement proceedings by the European Commission;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3e. Strongly believes that the latest revision of the European Electoral Law, is a missed opportunity to truly harmonize the Member States electoral law and reinvigorate the European acquis by innovative changes to increase democratic legitimacy and integrity of the decision making process.

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)

3f. Highlights the importance of the right to lodge a complaint with the Ombudsperson on issues relating to the access to information, administrative delays, unfairness, discrimination or lack of transparency; Appreciates the contribution of the incumbent Ombudswoman in shedding light on issues of maladministration and insufficient transparency in the European institutions; strongly believes that the role of the European Ombudsperson should be upgraded in order to facilitate greater preparedness and effective response, as well as active contribution to the solution;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Reiterates that the right to petition should be further promoted as a channel for communication between the citizens and the European institutions; stresses out that the right to petition is an instrument for direct participation in the political functions exercises by the representatives of the peoples of the European Union; furthermore highlights that the right is a key tool for participation and democratic control by citizens and enhances the responsiveness of the European Parliament towards the citizens and residents of the European Union, while at the same time provides individuals with an open, democratic and transparent mechanism for obtaining a non-judicial remedy for their complaints which as such ought to offer solutions to issues admissibly presented before the institutions;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers that the revision of the legal framework governing the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) presentsed an opportunity to enhance citizen participation in EU policy making by rendering the instrument less bureaucratic and more accessible; calls on the Commission to develop more robust practices as regards the political and legal follow-up given to ECIs; Regrets that the role of the European Parliament, as the voice of the European peoples was not enhanced in the revision process vis-à-vis the follow-up of an initiative.

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Believes that the SOLVIT service should be further mainstreamed and supplemented to become more efficient with issues related to free movement rights, including the right to entry and residence and discrimination before seeking any judicial or administrative remedy, saving time and recourses of the citizens and timely responding to their problems'

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2111(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Considers that despite the efforts of the European institutions, awareness raising about rights is still lacking in many member states, proving to be the most prominent barrier to the full enjoyment of the rights emanating from the status of the European citizen;

2018/10/16
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA, Ángela VALLINA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Congratulates the Ombudswoman on her strategic inquiry concerning the transparency in the Council legislative process (OI/2/2017/TE) and regrets the fact that the Council did not reply within the deadline in the findings. It is regrettably a recurring topic that is constantly showcased also from complaints submitted to the Ombudswoman. This matter should be considered of high importance in the democratic life of the Union and the effective participation of citizens across the continent hindering the fulfilment of the constitutional treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Most recently a decision in case 1272/2017/LP (the refusal to give public access to the opinion of its Legal Service concerning an inter- institutional agreement on Transparency Register) indicated that the issue is threatening principle institutional balance and the negates the essential practice of the mutual sincere cooperation. It is impossible to perform an ex post check on an ad hoc basis after the refusal of a request.

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA, Ángela VALLINA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Applauds the constant interest of the Ombudswoman with issues pertinent to the Staff of the institutions and highlights the importance of diminishing any discrimination that might arise from differentiated status. Reiterates the significance of the findings on unpaid traineeships in EU delegations of the European External Actions Service (EEAS) (case 454/2014/PMC) and the recommendation that it should pay its trainees an appropriate allowance respecting the principle of non- discrimination. Deplores the fact that other EU institutions follow the same malpractice of unpaid traineeships that does not allow fair opportunities to young people that offer work equal to that of an employee. Young professionals are thus excluded in the lack of sufficient funds to sustain themselves without an adequate remuneration for their services. Shortcomings in the status of trainees are witnessed in other areas, i.e. lacking mechanisms for reporting sexual harassment in agencies of the Union. Calls therefore the Ombudswoman to open a general strategic inquiry on the status of trainees.

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2105(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA, Ángela VALLINA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Ombudsman to launch a strategic inquiry in order to assess whether EU Institutions, offices and agencies, such as the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the EMA, ensure that the collection ~~and~~, examination and publication of scientific evidence is fully independent, transparent, impartial, accurate and free from conflict of interests, and whether the proper policies and procedural safeguards are in place, notably when dealing with GMOs, glyphosate, pesticides, phytosanitary and biocidal products and medicines;

2018/09/07
Committee: PETI

2018/2096(INI)

Kostadinka KUNEVA, Martina ANDERSON, Dennis de JONG, Sofia SAKORAFA, Barbara SPINELLI, Ángela VALLINA

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the Ombudswoman has contributed greatly to highlight issues of transparency in the life of the Union through inquiries and cases brought before her;