Activities of Željana ZOVKO related to 2021/2038(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The future of EU-US relations (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the future of EU-US relations
Amendments (35)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to the joint statement by the Secretary of State of the United States of America and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice President of the European Commission of 24 March 2021;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
— having regard the statement by the US State Department of 26 April 2021 titled "U.S. Commitment to the Western Balkans";
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the US remains the EU’s closest strategic partner; whereas this partnership is based on strong political, cultural, economic and historic links and shared values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Reconfirms its support for the strong EU-US transatlantic cooperation, partnership and friendship, which over the past 70 years contributed to Europe’s success and is the basis for its stability and security since the end of the Second World War; is convinced that through transatlantic cooperation we can best contribute to a peaceful, sustainable and constructive solution to existing global and regional challenges;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Welcomes the clear commitment of the US to strengthen the transatlantic relations by the decision of the US President to travel to Europe during his first overseas trip and to participate in the EU-US Summit in June;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for a new transatlantic agenda that pursues common interests and leverages collective strength and privileges multilateral cooperation for a healthier world, the fight against climate change, promotion of peaceful resolution of conflicts and reform of economic governance, by putting the fight against inequalities at its centre;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the need to establish stronger structures for legislative cooperation and an inclusive transatlantic dialogue based on both legislative branches, such as a transatlantic legislators assembly; encouragesnotes that raising the awareness of structures such as the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue, as well as more regular meetings and visits of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee with their US counterparts, for example in fixed annual visits of the respective committees, would restore confidence and the durability and efficiency of transatlantic cooperation; encourages the US Congress to enhance the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue by authorising it as a United States-European Union Interparliamentary Group;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for strengthened interparliamentary cooperation between Members of the European Parliament and Members of Congress, as well as the members of the various state legislatures of the respective 50 US federal states, in different thematic areas that could enable the exchange of best practices on global, but also on shared, domestic challenges, such as addressing economic and social inequality, protection of human rights and democratic standards, security and defence challenges, universal health coverage, legislative convergence on AI and other technology linked policies, responsibility of online platforms and a just transition towards climate neutrality;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that EU-US citizen-to- citizen contact contributes to the development of common values, trust and a mutual understanding between transatlantic partners; calls for the promotion and facilitation of mobility and exchange programmes, such as Erasmus+, and exchanges of internships between the Congress and the European Parliament;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises the importance of visa reciprocity between the EU and the US and encourages both sides to find a mutually acceptable solution through active diplomatic engagement that would enable a visa-free regime for all EU citizens; welcomes the inclusion of Poland in the US Visa Waiver Program and the confirmation that also Croatia meets all the requirements to be included in the program; calls on the US to speed up the process of the accession of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania to the Visa Waiver Program;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Emphasises that the announced return of the US to multilateralism provides an opportunity to re-engage with the US in repairing and rebuilding the transatlantic relationship, including in areas such as multilateralism and human rights, and strengthening together the global rules-based order in the spirit of our shared democratic values; underlines the importance of close cooperation with the US and other like-minded states for the modernisation of multilateral organisations in order to make them fit for purpose and improve the promotion of global peace and security, fundamental rights, universal values and international law;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. UWelcomes the return of the US to the Paris Agreement; urges the stepping up of joint EU- US efforts on climate change, green technology, carbon adjustment, sustainable finance and biodiversity;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for transatlantic leadership on health diplomacy to coordinate the approach to stop COVID-19 at global scale, as well as possible future health crisis, and to strengthen global health security, notably the reform of the World Health Organization and equitable global distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, in particular in lower- income countries, while safeguarding the vaccines as a global public good; insists on fostering cooperation to establish better procedures for preparing for future pandemics, including through complementary supply chains;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines the need for enhanced public vaccine diplomacy in which the EU and the US can play a leading role, as global vaccination is the only way to end the pandemic; welcomes the financial contributions of the EU and the US to COVAX Facility and promotion of international cooperation to improve the accessibility of vaccines worldwide, by having a coordinated approach when addressing the proposal to ease intellectual property protection rules for vaccines; urges the United States to stop limiting the export of vaccines, ingredients and material necessary to produce vaccines, to allow the rapid production and delivery of vaccines wherever needed;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Stresses the importance of global cooperation on the transnational challenges of fostering education, science, youth and cultural diversity and dialogue; calls on the US to return to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO);
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the Biden administration’s announced commitment to re-engage with the UN Human Rights Council, signalling the US’s renewed intention to promote human rights globally; strongly agrees with Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Council is “flawed and needs reform,” pledges to work with the U.S. and other democratic allies to end the disproportionate focus on Israel and, in this context, abolish Agenda Item 7;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. EncouReiteragtes its appeal to the US to move towards the abolition of the death penalty, the reform of the criminal justice system, including through addressing systemic racism, and the end of all discrimination against LGBTQI persons; urges dialogue and exchange of best practices between the EU and US on promoting racial and gender equality; urges dialogue and exchange of best practices between the EU and US on promoting racial and gender equality in order to modernise our justice systems to ensure justice and freedom to all as enshrined in our constitutions; underlines that the EU and the US should have the ambition to lead by example and demonstrate values-based leadership in all matters related to achieving historical justice and overcoming every type of discrimination;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. SEmphasizes the crucial role of the transatlantic partnership for the functioning of NATO as a key pillar of European security; stresses that an enhanced European common security and defence policy benefits the transatlantic security cooperation; expresses its full commitment to the European defence initiatives, notably such as among others the EDF, PESCO, and the EPF; underlines that the transatlantic partnership can only be successful if all Member States fulfil their commitments, including defence investment pledges and engage in mutual support; supports a rebalancing of the responsibilities in the transatlantic security relationship by fostering greater self- reliance for EU Member States in matters of defence as a way to lessen the burden on the US; better share the burden and responsibilities of our alliance; points to the ongoing drafting process of the EU Strategic Compass, which will be a milestone for a stronger European defence and security cooperation, and underlines that the Strategic Compass should be closely linked with the likely upcoming revision of NATO’s Strategic Concept, and expresses its conviction that these parallel processes offer a unique opportunity to significantly advance and update the transatlantic political and security partnership and make it fit to address the current global challenges that both the EU and the US are faced with; stresses that the ambition of European strategic sovereignty by no means undermines NATO but is complementary to it; calls on the governments of the US and EU member states to use the upcoming NATO summit on 14 June as an opportunity to take further steps to advance EU-NATO cooperation; calls for the conclusion of an administrative arrangement between the European Defence Agency and the United States;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Welcomes the US decision to reverse the withdrawal of US forces from the EU and to step up its military presence in European Member States as a sign of commitment to the transatlantic security cooperation; expresses its gratitude to the many US servicemen who helped protect the security and safety of Europe and its citizens in past decades;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers it necessary to foster cooperation not only on traditional security threats, but also on new ones such as hostile foreign technological dominance, hybrid threats, disinformation and cybersecurity, cybersecurity and increasing geopolitication of cyber space; emphasises that both the EU and US should further strengthen their cooperation to prevent, deter and respond to hybrid and cyber attacks; calls for stronger coordination between EU agencies, such as the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), with their American counterparts;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses the common need for our societies to engage in an introspective process on our common democratic values, as well as the on the respect for the other and for the diversity of opinions in order to defend global democracy against rising authoritarianism, also within the transatlantic community, by, inter alia, fostering inclusive social and economic policies that address the root causes of inequalities, overcome populism and fighting extreme nationalist views that provide a fertile ground for far-right movements to thrive;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Supports the proposal of President Biden to hold a Summit for Democracy with like-minded democraciesUnderlines the fundamental importance of democratic principles, which are the basis of our social and economic progress and our free societies; Supports the proposal of President Biden to hold a Summit for Democracy to promote universal values inclusive of cultural, religious or ethnic background; calls on the US to draw experience from the EU's Conference of the Future of Europe;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Points to the need to enhance EU- US cooperation in the critical domain of Outer Space and highlights the need to enhance cooperation based on existing EU programmes such as Galileo and Copernicus; believes that EU-US cooperation on space could help promote space safety standards and best practices across the international community;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Supports efforts to avoid energy dependence by promoting energy diversification and more broadly connectivity through all possible mechanisms, including the Three Seas Initiative;
Amendment 337 #
22. Believes that the EU should engage more with the US inand renew the strategic partnership in relation to the Western Balkans and eastern Europe in order to build resilient, prosperous, democratic multi- ethnic societies there, capable of resisting the disruptive influence of both local and external authoritarian forces; recalls that the stability of the Western Balkans are a matter of peace and security for the region as well as for the EU; welcomes the highly increased coordination of the US with the EU to supporting the countries of the Western Balkans on their path to European integration and membership, as expressed in the letters of Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken to the President of Serbia, Prime Minister of Kosovo and Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Welcomes the United States' renewed engagement in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly with the Eastern Mediterranean Act of 2019, which authorises new security assistance for Cyprus and Greece, and strengthens energy cooperation among regional actors; calls for the establishment of a comprehensive EU-US dialogue for close cooperation to jointly address the increasing threats posed by Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean; expresses strong concern that Turkey, a NATO member, is moving away from the respect for fundamental values and the rule of law, and that it is increasingly confrontational towards the EU Member States of Greece and Cyprus;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Expresses its utmost concern regarding the continuous revisionist policies pursued by Russia under President Putin; underscores the need for both US and the EU to remain vigilant and to adequately respond to acts of aggression and provocation by Russia, such as, in particular, its illegitimate and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014; regrets President Putin’s evident rejection of dialogue, and considers Russia’s continued aggressive actions as a threat to Euro-Atlantic security and stability;
Amendment 349 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Recognises that the growing influence and military rise of China need to be met with a coordinated transatlantic strategy; expresses its concern regarding the policies pursued by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when it comes to, among other things, the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong, the treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang or aggressive policies and actions in the South China Sea; further points to the relevance of the fact that China, as a non-democratic regime, has entered into systemic competition with the transatlantic partnership by undermining the rules- based international order, and in turn is attempting to reshape it according to the CCP’s own values and interests; recalls China’s increased presence on the international stage as well as in Europe through its Belt and Road Initiative, , its activities in cyber space, in the Arctic regions, and in Africa; is convinced a joint transatlantic approach to engage with China is the best way to ensure a peaceful, sustainable and mutual beneficial long-term relationship with China;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Underlines the relevance of the EU’s connectivity strategy and calls for an enhanced EU-US cooperation in the core field of connectivity;
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Underlines the importance of EU- US cooperation to ensure the long-term sustainable development of the African continent and calls for an even closer political, economic and security cooperation to address persisting challenges in regions such as the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin or the Horn of Africa;
Amendment 414 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Welcomes the recent engagement of the US in the negotiations on a revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a cornerstone of a global non- proliferation regime and a foundation for de-escalation in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region; calls for renewed transatlantic efforts to meaningfully revive the Middle East Peace Process, leading to a viable two-state solutionechoes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for a “longer and stronger” nuclear agreement with Iran and urges transatlantic collaboration to counter Tehran’s other malign behaviour, including regional aggression, ballistic missiles, and terrorism calls for renewed transatlantic efforts to meaningfully revive the Middle East Peace Process, leading to a viable two-state solution; hails the historic U.S.- brokered Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain and encourages transatlantic cooperation on deepening those ties;
Amendment 422 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Points to the importance of the Middle East and Northern Africa for European and hence also transatlantic security and stability; therefore calls for enhanced dialogue and coordination regarding the positioning of transatlantic partners vis-à-vis the challenges faced by countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Libya;
Amendment 425 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Praises the successes achieved by American and European soldiers in Afghanistan; acknowledges that after the withdrawal of American and European forces the situation in Afghanistan continues to be defined by enormous challenges; reiterates its position that the transatlantic community must continue their efforts to work for peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan;