Activities of Gérard DEPREZ related to 2014/2254(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Situation of fundamental rights in the EU (2013-2014) (A8-0230/2015 - Laura Ferrara) FR
Amendments (58)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in New York on 13 December 2006,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in New York on 20 November 1989,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to the following General Comment of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: No 7 (2005) on implementing child rights in early childhood, No 9 (2006) on the rights of children with disabilities, to No 10 (2007) on children's rights in juvenile justice, No 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard, No 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, No 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15
Citation 15
– having regard to Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data2 , __________________ 2, to Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, and to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA, __________________ 2 OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
– having regard to the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016, in particular the provisions on financing the development of guidelines on child protection systems and on the exchange of best practices,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 b (new)
Citation 15 b (new)
– having regard to Commission recommendation 2013/112/EU of 20 February 2013 entitled 'Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage'
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 c (new)
Citation 15 c (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2013 on the situation of unaccompanied minors in the EU(4) ,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 d (new)
Citation 15 d (new)
– having regard to the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to the Beijing Platform for Action, to its resolutions of 25 February 2014 with recommendations to the Commission on combating violence against women and of 6 February 2014 on the Commission communication entitled 'Towards the elimination of female genital mutilation', and to the Council conclusions of 5 June 2014 on preventing and combating all forms of violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation,
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 25 a (new)
Citation 25 a (new)
– having regard to its Resolution on 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 27 November 2014
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to ensure coordination within its different services with a view to effectively mainstreaming children's rights in all EU legislative proposals, policies and financial decisions;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Reiterates its call on the Commission to propose a new child rights strategy and action plan for the next five years, building on and upgrading the EU Agenda on the Rights of a Child;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Calls on Member States to ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is respected in all legislation and decisions taken at all levels and encourages Member States to share best practices with a view to improving the correct application of the principle of the best interests of the child across the EU;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – introductory part
Paragraph 4 – introductory part
4. Urges the Commission to ensure that any such internal strategy is accompanied by an action plan, series of legislative proposals, in the context of the Treaties currently in forder to supplement and strengthen thece, with a view to adopting a European Democratic Governance Pact in an effort to: (a) establish a scoreboard for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights so that each Member Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy already applied in EU external relations; notes that the strategy should: is assessed periodically. – With that aim in view, the Commission should set up a group of experts with a remit to establish the indicators by which democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights will be measured. These indicators should reflect the Copenhagen political criteria governing accession and the values and rights laid down in Article 2 of the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. – The indicators should be drawn up on the basis of existing standards, such as those developed by the UN and the Council of Europe, and the contributions of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, existing international bodies and civil society organisations operating in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms should be taken into account.
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. b) expand the remit and structure of the Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The founding regulation of the FRA should be amended to expand the Agency’s remit and power so that it can monitor the common indicators concerning the rule of law and fundamental rights and the additional human and financial resources it needs to carry out its new tasks, and do all this without detracting from its independence and impartiality, which are two of the Agency’s fundamental principles. – A rule of law and fundamental rights evaluation committee should be set up within the Agency (FRA Evaluation Committee) to analyse and evaluate the results of the regular monitoring of the indicators. – The FRA Evaluation Committee should publish an annual monitoring report containing a detailed evaluation of each Member State’s performance on the basis of the various indicators. – The Evaluation Committee could then recommend, on the basis of this annual report, that the Commission issue a formal warning if one or more indicators show that a Member State, or even several Member States, are violating the rule of law or fundamental rights.
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls on EU Institutions to consider EU Treaty change in order to allow for the Democratic Governance Pact (DGP) to be fully functioning, in particular by; (a) Expanding the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union by creating a new specific procedure to enforce the rule of law principle of Article 2 TEU in a Member State by means of an infringement procedure brought by the Commission or another Member State before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU); (b) Revising Article 7 of the EU Treaty, adding an 'application of Article 2 of the EU Treaty' stage, separating the 'risk' stage from the 'violation' stage, with different thresholds for the majorities provided for, a strengthening of technical and objective (not only political) analysis, enhanced dialogue with the Member States' institutions and a wider range of detailed and predictable penalties which are applicable throughout the procedure (Michel, 2013); (c) Including a reference to the FRA in the Treaties, including a legal base making it possible to amend the Agency's founding regulation not by unanimity, as is currently the case, but via the ordinary legislative procedure; (d) Creating a possibility for national Parliament to refer a draft national law to the CJEU for an opinion on its compliance with the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Calls for the setting-up – if possible by means of an interinstitutional agreement – of a ‘Copenhagen Committee’ made up of independent experts in the field of fundamental rights, some of whom should be appointed by Parliament, whose task would be to ensure that all the Member States uphold the common values laid down in Article 2 TEU and observe the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ at all times, and to issue recommendations and draw up reports on issues relating to fundamental rights until such time as the FRA regulation is modified, when the Agency should have greater powers to monitor each Member State’s performance in the area of fundamental rights, as Parliament has repeatedly urged.
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Calls on the Commission to interpret the Charter of Fundamental Rights broadly so that it can, also on the basis of Article 2 TEU, initiate procedures to impose penalties if a Member State violates fundamental rights.
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Asks each EU institution to check carefully and systematically that legislative texts being drawn up are consistent with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including during the negotiation and trilogue phases.
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores recent instances of discrimination and anti-Semitic and anti- Islamic discriminationviolence and the general climate of fear and vintolerance generated within society; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or thought, conscience, religion, belief or non-belief and to promote tolerance;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Strongly condemns attacks against places of worship and urges Member States not to allow such offences to go unpunished;
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Condemns any form of violence against children, such as physical and sexual abuse, forced marriages, child labour, sexual exploitation, trafficking, honour killing, female genital mutilation, child soldiers and human shields; considers that tradition, culture and religion should never be used to justify violence against children; calls on the Member States to uphold their obligations and combat any form of violence against children, including by formally prohibiting and sanctioning corporal punishment against children; calls on the Member States to increase their cooperation and dialogue with third countries, to raise awareness and to advocate for children's rights to be respected everywhere in the world;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Recalls the importance of a neutral secular state in preventing discrimination against any religious, atheist or agnostic communities and guaranteeing equal treatment of all religions and beliefs; calls on the Member States to combat intolerance, fanaticism and religious extremism, particularly by promoting intercultural dialogue;
Amendment 361 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Considers that children's personal data online must be duly protected and that children need to be informed in a child-friendly manner about the risks and consequences of using their personal data online; stresses that online profiling of children should be prohibited;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Calls on the Member States to ensure effective access to justice for all children, whether as suspects, perpetrators, victims or parties to proceedings;
Amendment 374 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Recalls that any antiterrorist initiatives by the Member States must comply with the principles of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, especially the right to legal defence presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, the right to respect for privacy and protection of personal data; expresses its concern about secret hearings and judgments and the special media censorship powers granted to governments;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7f. Urges the Member States not to tolerate torture or any other inhuman and degrading forms of treatment on their territory; calls on the Commission and the Member States to undertake proactive surveillance to ensure that no such practices occur within the Union;
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 g (new)
Paragraph 7 g (new)
7g. Calls on the Commission to examine Member State antiterrorist legislation in the light of Article 2 TEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 h (new)
Paragraph 7 h (new)
7h. Welcomes the declaration of support for this priority measure by Commissioner Avramopoulos during his hearing before the European Parliament on 14 September 2014;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 i (new)
Paragraph 7 i (new)
7i. Calls on the Member States to evaluate publicly any national drafts or proposals for antiterrorist regulatory and legislative instruments in terms of their compliance with Article 2 TEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 j (new)
Paragraph 7 j (new)
7j. Welcomes the report by the US Senate on the CIA detention and interrogation programmes;
Amendment 387 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 k (new)
Paragraph 7 k (new)
7k. Strongly condemns the mass surveillance activities discovered to have been taking place since 2013 and deplores their continued existence; calls for clarification of these activities and in particular the current involvement of a number of Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take full account of the requirements and recommendations of Parliament as set out in its resolution of 12 March 2014 on the protection of European citizens with regard to the processing of personal data, in particular concerning 'safe harbour' principles and the future framework agreement with the US;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 l (new)
Paragraph 7 l (new)
7l. Calls once more on the Member States to ensure that the activities of their intelligence services are consistent with fundamental rights and subject to parliamentary and judicial scrutiny;
Amendment 389 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 m (new)
Paragraph 7 m (new)
7m. Considers it essential for the EU to develop state-of-the-art expertise in the field of cybersecurity so as to ensure closer compliance in cyberspace with Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 p (new)
Paragraph 7 p (new)
7p. Considers it essential to familiarise the public, in particular children, with the importance of personal data protection in cyberspace and the dangers to which they are exposed; calls on the Member States to launch awareness-raising campaigns in schools;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Strongly deplores the stalling of negotiations with the Council on thefact that the Council has still not adopted the 2008 proposal for an anti-discrimination directive and restates its appeal toagain urges the Council to adopt the proposal as soon as possibleby the end of this year;
Amendment 475 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to allow for the risk of twofold discrimination posed to women and girls belonging to groups already considered to be vulnerable, such as people with a disability, the homeless, LGBTI people, migrants, and the elderly;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Roundly condemns all forms of psychological and physical violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls; calls on the EU and Member States to ensure that victims are helped and protected;
Amendment 501 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 l (new)
Paragraph 10 l (new)
10l. Recalls that the child’s best interests as referred to in Article 24 of the Charter must always be a prime consideration in any policy and measure adopted in relation to children;
Amendment 541 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Deplores the discrimination and exclusion that persons with a disability still face today; calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement the European Disability Strategy and to monitor and apply the relevant European legislation; calls on the European Commission to maximize synergies between the EU disability strategy and the provisions of the CEDAW and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
Amendment 544 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Deplores the discrimination and exclusion that persons with a disability still face today; recalls that the Union and its Member States are parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to implement this Convention, to implement the European Disability Strategy and to monitor and apply the relevant European legislation;
Amendment 546 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. reiterates the importance of protecting and promoting equal access to all rights for Roma children;
Amendment 550 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission to assess the compatibility of European legislation with the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to evaluate any future proposal in the light of that Convention by means of its impact assessments;
Amendment 584 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Condemns any forms of discrimination against children and calls on the Commission and Member States to make a united action to eradicate discrimination against children; in particular, calls on the Member States and the Commission to explicitly consider children as a priority when programming and implementing regional and cohesion policies, such as the European disability strategy, the EU framework for national Roma integration strategies and the EU’s equality and non-discrimination policy; reiterates the importance of protecting and promoting equal access to health care, dignified accommodation and education for Roma children;
Amendment 611 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13e. Is disturbed at the growing presence of hate speech on the internet; encourages the Member States to detect and punish such speech, and calls on Member States to put in place a simple procedure enabling members of the public to report the presence of hate content on the internet;
Amendment 627 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 f (new)
Paragraph 13 f (new)
13f. Urges the EU to extend the mandate of Frontex so as to authorise it to carry out sea rescue operations;
Amendment 630 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 h (new)
Paragraph 13 h (new)
13h. Stresses that building walls or barriers at borders cannot be an answer to migratory pressure, and is concerned that people in need of protection may be unable to find refuge as a result of these walls and barriers;
Amendment 684 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Considers that migrant children are particularly vulnerable, especially when they are unaccompanied; calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement Parliament’s resolution of 12 September 2013 on the situation of unaccompanied minors in the EU; calls on the Member States to fully implement the Common European Asylum System package in order to improve the condition of unaccompanied minors in the EU; welcomes the Court of Justice judgment in Case C-648/11 , which stated that the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application made in more than one Member State by an unaccompanied minor is the State in which the minor is present after having lodged an application there; recalls that an unaccompanied minor is above all a child and that child protection, rather than immigration policies, must be the leading principle for Member States and the EU when dealing with them;
Amendment 686 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Member States to take into account the specific needs of certain categories of particularly vulnerable migrants, such as women, children, LGBTI people, disabled people and elderly people;
Amendment 756 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Deplores the way in which the financial and economic crisis and the measures taken to deal with it have had an impact – in some cases a drastic one – on economic, social and cultural rights, resulting in poverty, exclusion and isolation; underlines the fact that – according to UNICEF’s report on the impact of the economic crisis on child well-being in rich countries - the rights to education, health and social protection of children and young people in the countries most affected by the crisis have been disproportionately harmed;
Amendment 874 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Commission to assess the impact of detention policies and criminal justice systems on children; points out that across the EU children’s rights are directly affected in the case of children living in detention facilities with their parents; underlines the fact that an estimated 800.000 children in the EU are separated from an imprisoned parent each year, which impacts on the rights of children in multiple ways;
Amendment 884 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)
Subheading 7 a (new)
Children’s rights
Amendment 890 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Calls on the Commission to develop a renewed EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child with a comprehensive, integrated and ambitious set of goals aiming at filling remaining gaps in existing national legislation, addressing child rights violations, ensuring better protection for all children, guaranteeing legal certainty and contributing to greater coherence of EU action, in line with Better Regulation principles;
Amendment 892 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Calls on the Commission to ensure increased coordination within its different services and effective mainstreaming of children’s rights across all the EU’s legislative proposals, policies and financial decisions; calls on the Commission to report annually on the progress made on the respect of the rights of children and the full implementation of the EU acquis on children’s rights; calls on the Commission to ensure that the mandate and resources of the children’s rights coordinator adequately reflect the EU’s commitment to systematically and effectively mainstreaming children’s rights;
Amendment 894 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 d (new)
Paragraph 22 d (new)
22d. Welcomes the forthcoming guidelines on integrated child protection system and stressed the need for an integrated and coordinated approach to ensure all children are protected against all forms of violence and neglect; underlines the importance of a common EU approach to finding missing children in the EU; calls on the Member States to increase police and judicial cooperation in cross-border cases involving missing children and to develop hotlines to search for missing children and support victims of child abuse;
Amendment 896 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 e (new)
Paragraph 22 e (new)
22e. Calls on the Member States to ratify without delay the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure; reiterates its call on the European Commission and the VP/HR to explore ways and means for the EU to accede to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
Amendment 899 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 g (new)
Paragraph 22 g (new)
22g. Points out that the right of access which every person has to an impartial independent court is recognised by the Charter and central to the rule of law; expresses disquiet at the continuing corruption within the EU, which could jeopardise the enjoyment of that right; calls on the Member States to fight corruption and guarantee the independence of their judiciary;
Amendment 902 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 j (new)
Paragraph 22 j (new)
22j. Considers that the protection of victims has to be a priority and calls for victims’ rights to be harmonised at European level; welcomes the fact that a regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters was adopted in 2013; notes that the directive on victims’ rights has to be transposed by 16 November 2015; calls on the Member States to take every step required without delay in order to meet that deadline;