45 Amendments of Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN related to 2014/2248(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
– having regard to the decision of the European Convention 2002-2003 to include Union symbols into the Treaties to make the common European identity visible,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas progress towards a Union that can really deliver on and achieve its goals are impaired by a failure of governance owing to a continuous and systematic search for unanimity in the Council (which is still based on the so- called Luxembourg Compromise) and the lack of a credible single executive authority enjoying full democratic legitimacy and competence to take effective action across a wide spectrum of policies; whereas recent examples such as the uncontrolled migrationinadequate management of refugee flows, the slow clean-up of our banks after the outbreak of the financial crisis and the lack of an immediate common response to the internal and external threat of terrorism have aptly demonstrated that the Union’s incapacity, paralysed by Member States, has not been able to respond effectively and quickly;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the European Union cannot fulfil the expectations of the European citizens, because its primary law does not provide all the necessary instruments, competences and decision- making procedures to effectively tackle common challenges like migration, internal and external security, the economic and fiscal policies as well as social investment;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, instead of fostering the Union, the system whereby Member States make progress at different speeds in accordance with their different capacities and circumstances, further reinforced in the Lisbon Treaty, which introduced new formal methods of enhanced cooperation, has increased the complexity of the Union and accentuated its ‘variable geometry’; whereas more and more Member States are declining to agree on the goals and prefer ‘à la carte’ solutions, some of them even unilaterally the Treaties offer forms of flexible and differentiated integration on secondary law level through the instruments of enhanced and structured cooperation, whereby Member States make progress at different speeds in accordance with their different capacities and circumstances; whereas twenty years after its introduction the impact of enhanced cooperation remains limited; whereas enhanced cooperation has been granted in three instances, namely with regards to common rules for the applicable law for divorces of international couples, the European patent with unitary effect, and the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT);
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas, as regards Schengen, the free movement of people and the resulting abolition of internal border controls, all formally integrated into the Treaties, ‘opt- outs’ were given to the UK and Ireland; whereas four other Member States are also not taking part, but have the obligation to do so, while ‘opt-ins’ were accorded to three countries outside the European Union; whereas this fragmentation not only prevents the total abolition of some remaining internal borders, but also hinders the establishment of a true internal market and of a fully integrated area of freedom, security and justice;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)
Recital K b (new)
Kb. whereas the unanimity requirement for the harmonisation of taxes prevents tackling harmful tax competition between Member States and the existence of tax havens within the European Union; whereas corporate tax rates significantly below EU-average and tax benefits for multinational corporations distort the functioning of the internal market, endanger the Member States’ tax income, and ultimately shift the tax burden towards citizens and SMEs;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the European Union is a constitutional system based on the rule of law; whereas the Treaties must be changed to give the European Court of Justice (ECJ) jurisdiction over all aspects of EU law, in particular common foreign and security policy (founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities; whereas the European Union’s existing instruments to assess and sanction breaches of these principles by Member States have proven insufficient; whereas infringement procedures launched against specific legal acts or actions by a Member State violating EU law are inadequate to address systemic breaches of the EU’s fundamental values; whereas under Article 7 (1) TEU the Council acts by a majority of four fifth of its members when determining a clear risk of a serious breach of the fundamental values, and pursuant to Article 24(17 (2) TEU) and monetary and economic policy (Article 126(10 the European Council acts by unanimity when determining the existence of a serious and persistent breach; whereas as a consequence neither the preventive measure under Article 7 (1) TEU nor the sanctioning mechanisms of Article 7 (2) and (3) TFEU); have been invoked;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the Treaties must be changed to give the European Court of Justice (ECJ) jurisdiction over the common foreign and security policy (Article 24(1) TEU);
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas this review is also needed to rebalance the functioning of the Union, with the aim of less bureaucratic regulation and more effective policymaking; whereas this exercise also concerns the competences conferred on the Union that impair the abilitymore effective policymaking closer to the needs of the citizens; whereas the European Union requires the necessary competences to make progress towards some of its stated objectives such as the energy union, common migration managementand asylum management, social rights, combating unemployment, taxation and security policy;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas building systematic dialogue with civil society organisations and strengthening social dialogue, at all levels and in accordance with the principles laid down in Articles 11 TEU and 152 TFEU, are key to overcoming Euroscepticism and to reasserting the importance of Europe’s solidarity based dimension, social cohesion and the construction of a participatory and inclusive democracy, as a supplement to representative democracy;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M b (new)
Recital M b (new)
Mb. whereas the role of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR) must be safeguarded as institutional representatives of civil society organisations, and regional and local actors;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas clarifications are still needed as regards the European elections and on the matter of who leads the Union; whereas, despite the outcome of the 2014 European parliamentary elections having, the 2014 European parliamentary elections through the nomination of lead candidates by the European political parties have led for the first time led directly to the nomination of the candidate for President of the Commission, a clear direct democratic link is still lacking, although the European Counci; whereas the supranational chas agreed to review the ‘Spitzenkandidat’ process in time for 201918 ; whereas, moreover, there is stillracter of the European elections should be further reinforced; __________________ 18 EUCO confclusion – not least among third parties – about the interrelationship of the Presidents of the Commission and the European Council; __________________ 18s of 27 June 2014. EUCO conclusions of 27 June 2014.
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas, finally, the urgency for reform of the Union has been dramatically increased by the United Kingdom’s decision, through a referendum, to leave the European Union; whereas it is crystal clear that the negotiations to set out the arrangements for the UK’s withdrawal also need to take account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union; whereas this agreement must be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) TFEU and be concluded on behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S
Recital S
S. whereas the UK’s decision creates an opportunity to reduce and drastically simplify the ‘variable geometry’ and complexity of the Union; whereas it offers at least the opportunity to clarify what membership of the Union really means and what could be a clear structure in the future for the EU’s relationship with non- members in our periphery (the United Kingdom, Norway, Turkey, Ukraine, etc.); whereas the founding fathers of the Union had already envisaged a type of ‘associate status’neighbourhood;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that recent Eurobarometer polling demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, EU citizens are still fully aware of the importance of, and in support of, genuine European solutions19 , inter alia in the fields of security and migration; __________________ 19 Standard Eurobarometer 84 - Autumn 2015 & Special Eurobarometer EP - June 2016.
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Observes with great concern the prolifermultiplication of subsets of Member States undermining the unity of the Union by causing a lack of transparency, as well as diminishing the trust, and that some Member States openly break Union law, by refusing to implement two Council Decisions of September 2015 ofn the peoplereallocation of refugees;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that a comprehensive democratic reflection on the reform of the Treaties can and must only be achieved through a Convention, which guarantees inclusiveness through its composition ofincludes representatives of national parliaments, governments of all the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament, and, also providess observers, the Committee of Regions and the pEuroper plan Economic and Social Committee; to this end a participatform for such reflection and engagement with European citizensy mechanism, as for example national Conventions in all Member States, for the input of European citizens and civil society both before and during the convention should also be created and the public should have access to the deliberations and all relevant information in order to ensure transparency;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the fracturing process of ‘variable geometry’ has found its way into the European decision-making process every time the European Council decides to apply intergovernmental methods and to bypass the ‘Union method’ (‘Community method’) as defined in the Treaties; this not only leads to less effective policy- making but also contributes to a growing lack of transparency, democratic accountability and control;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Proposes that the next revision of the Treaties should rationalise the current disorderly ‘variable geometry’, i.e. ‘l’Europe à la carte’, by ending the disruptive practice of opt-outs, opt-ins and exceptionsput an end to opt-outs by individual Member States on the level of EU primary law;
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 437 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Underlines the fact that, until the Treaties cease to apply to the United Kingdom, it will continue to participate in all decision-making of the Union throughout itsin the EU institutions, with the exception of the negotiations and the agreement concerning its own withdrawal; considers that for the time of the withdrawal negotiations, intermediate arrangements will need to be madeshould be considered concerning the UK’s participation in European decision-making, as it will be politically difficult to allow a Member State in the process of leaving to influence decisions affecting the Union of which it will soon cease to be a member;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Expects, therefore, that when it triggers Article 50 TEU, the United Kingdom will clarify how it intends to act in the Council during deliberations and decision-making on ongoing legislative procedures, so as not to hinder the progress of the EU 27;
Amendment 451 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
New Economic Governance and establishment of a Social Europe
Amendment 538 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Proposes therefore merging the deficit and debt procedures, the macroeconomic imbalance procedure and the country-specific recommendations into a singleReiterates its call for the adoption of a ‘convergence code’ of, as a legally binding nature, setting minimum and maximum standards, where only compliance with this code would allow access to EU funds for investment projects or participation in new instruments that combine economic reform with fiscal incentiv act by ordinary legislative procedure, to streamline the existing coordination of economic policies into a more effective convergence of economic policies; such as a fiscal capacity for the euro area or a common debt instrument; the coordination of economic policies as provided for in Article 5 TFEU would therefore become a ‘shared competence’ between the Union and the Member Statggests that the code should be focusing for the first period on convergence criteria regarding taxation, labour market, including among others minimum wages, investment, social cohesion and public administrative and good governance capacities;
Amendment 546 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Suggests that the coordination of economic policies as provided for in Article 5 TFEU should become a ‘shared competence’ between the Union and the Member States;
Amendment 710 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Considers it necessary to lift the unanimity requirement for the harmonisation of certain taxes to allow the EU to set minimum tax rates and tax corridors with the aim of safeguarding the fair and smooth functioning of the internal market and to avoid harmful tax competition between Member States;
Amendment 713 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Considers a strong social dimension indispensable for a comprehensive EMU and that Article 9 TFEU in its current form is not sufficient to guarantee a proper equilibrium between social rights and economic freedoms; calls therefore for these rights to be equally ranked and conflict between them solved by the principal that no right should be limited more than necessary in order to protect countervailing rights;
Amendment 730 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Underlines that climate change is one of the key global challenges facing the EU; stresses the need for the full ratification and implementation of the Paris Agreement and the adaptation of binding EU climate targets and actions accordingly; notes that the exclusive competence of the Member States to determine the conditions for exploiting its energy sources, its choice between different energy sources and the general structure of its energy supply (Article 194(2) TFEU) may undermine the successful implementation of common energy policies;
Amendment 731 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Stresses that the development of new and renewable energy resources should be incorporated into the Treaties as the prime objective for all Member States;
Amendment 744 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Notes that the Treaties provide ample means to set up a humane, well- functioning migration management and asylum system including a European Border and Coast Guard and welcomes the progress in this regards; believes, however, that the Treaties, particularly Article 79(5) TFEU, are too restrictive regarding other aspects of migration, especially on the establishment of a genuine European legal migration system; insists that democratic scrutiny by Parliament is needed on the implementation of border control, asylum and migration policies, and that the safeguarding of national securityinterests cannot be used as a pretext to circumvent European action;
Amendment 802 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Stresses that for the Union to strengthen the defence of the EU territory, as a pillar within NATO, which remains the cornerstone of the European security architecture, and toe need to create a proper European Defence Union, which in strategic partnership with NATO could enable the Union to act autonomously in operations abroad, mainly with a view to stabilising its neighbourhood, the Treaties should provide for the possibility of establishing a; stresses that the European Parliament should be fully involved in all steps of the creation of the European dDefence uUnion and have the right of consent in case of operations abroad;
Amendment 826 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5 a (new)
Subheading 5 a (new)
Safeguarding the EU’s fundamental values
Amendment 829 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Underlines that respect for and the safeguarding of the EU’s fundamental values are the cornerstone of the European Union as a community based on values and bind European Member States together;
Amendment 831 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)
Paragraph 34 b (new)
34b. Calls for a revision of the procedures laid down in Article 7 TEU to make the preventive mechanism and the sanctioning mechanism with regards to violations of the EU’s fundamental values relevant and applicable; proposes that the Council should act by qualified majority instead of a majority of four fifth of its members when determining a clear risk of a serious breach of the fundamental values under Article 7 (1) TEU, and that the European Council should act by qualified majority instead of unanimity when determining the existence of a serious and persistent breach under Article 7 (2) TEU;
Amendment 833 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 c (new)
Paragraph 34 c (new)
34c. Proposes to amend Article 258 TFEU in order to explicitly allow the Commission to take ‘systemic infringement action’ against Member States violating fundamental values; understands ‘systemic infringement action’ as the bundling of a group of related individual infringement actions suggesting a serious and persistent violation of Article 2 TEU by a Member State;
Amendment 903 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 39 – subparagraph 1 (new)
(1) Stresses also the need to discuss the issue of introducing an article into the Treaties containing the symbols of the Union to strengthen the common European identity of Citizens;
Amendment 905 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Stresses the need to better inform citizens about the EU, their role in European decision-making and their rights, which can be achieved amongst other means through civic education across the EU; reiterates its call from 28 October 2015 to reform the European Citizens Initiative to ensure that citizens engage directly with the EU institutions and become more actively involved in the framing of European policies and legislation;
Amendment 909 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 b (new)
Paragraph 39 b (new)
39b. Calls for an increase in the capacity of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR) to directly impact the policy-shaping and legislative processes of the European Union by including them at the earliest stage possible in the Union’s legislative programming and by formally acknowledging their role in the assessment of EU policies and legislations;
Amendment 971 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Recognises the significant role played by national parliaments in the constitutional order of the European Union, and in particular their role in transposing EU legislation into national law and the role they would play in both ex-ante and ex-post control of legislative decisions and policy choices made by their members of the new Council of States, including its specialised configuratthe European Unions; suggests therefore complementing and enhancing the powers of national parliaments by introducing a ‘green card’ procedure whereby national parliaments could submit legislative proposals to the Council for its considerationconsiders that the political dialogue between national parliaments and the European Parliament should be intensified and made more meaningful and substantial, without overstepping the limits of their respective constitutional competences;
Amendment 986 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Calls for the full replacement of the consultation procedure by co-decision between Parliament and Council;
Amendment 1019 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Believes, finally, that the current Treaty ratification procedure is too rigid to befit such a supranational polity as the European Union; proposescould be amended allowing amendmentchanges to the Treaties to come into force if not by an EU-wide referendum then after being ratified by a qualified majority of four-fifths of the Member States, having obtained the consent of Parliament; correspondingly, once this threshold has been met, Member States which still decline to ratify the amended Treaty should decide, in accordance with their own constitutional requirements, whether to start the process of secession or to opt for an associate statuswith a double majority, i.e. a majority of the European electorate and a positive public vote within a majority of the Member States or after being ratified by a qualified majority of four-fifths of the Member States, having obtained the consent of Parliament;
Amendment 1035 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Is of the opinion that the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome would be an appropriate moment to modernisestart an in- depth reflection on the future of the European Union and to startleading to a Convention with the purpose of making the European Union ready for the decades ahead;