Activities of Rupert MATTHEWS

1. Regrets that the procedure for the appointment of the new Secretary-General of the European Commission on 21 February 2018 was conducted in a manner which aroused widespread irritation and disapproval in public opinion, among Members of the European Parliament and within the European civil service; notes that the result of this procedure ~~constitutes a reputational risk~~has damaged the reputation and integrity of not only ~~for~~ the European Commission but ~~for~~ all the European Union institutions;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2624(RSP)

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 6

6. Takes note that the new Secretary- General was transferred in the interest of the service under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations and that the position was not published because the post was not considered vacant; hence no official could apply since the procedure was organised through a reassignment with post rather than as a transfer in the strict sense with proper publication of the vacant post; stresses that such a procedure for the post of Secretary-General is unacceptable, and against the spirit of implementing the rules for the appointment of EU officials, who are servants of the citizens of the European Union;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2624(RSP)

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Stresses that there have been clear and continued failings by the European Commission in the communication of the processes and procedures for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the Commission to both the public and the press; in this regard notes that the European Commission published its response to the Budgetary Control Committee’s questions at 03h00 on Sunday the 25th March 2018; stresses that in the interest of transparency and informing the broadest possible audience on a matter of public interest, such a working practice is unacceptable;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2624(RSP)

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Notes that throughout the European Parliament’s investigation into the appointment of the Secretary-General of the European Commission, neither the Commission President or the Secretary- General of the Commission have appeared before the Members of the European Parliament, notes that this is against the spirit of inter-institutional cooperation and the spirit of transparency and openness; stresses that the debates within the European Parliament are intended to give the public and the press the opportunity to scrutinise the work of the EU institutions and hold them to account;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2624(RSP)

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Expresses serious concerns over the impartiality and objectivity of the President of the European Commission, given that the President of the Commission has publically threatened to resign if the appointment of the newly appointed Secretary-General is not honoured;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2624(RSP)

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Notes that when Mr. Selmayr was appointed, the rules were applied in such a way that only he could succeed; concludes therefore, that this seems very likely to be a case of favouritism; considers that the procedure must be re- opened, with the term of opening being extended by an additional month to give candidates from the individual Member States an opportunity to apply for the role;

2018/04/05
Committee: CONT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)

Na. whereas the share of men working in the digital sector is 3.1 times greater than the share of women;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the value of school autonomy to achieving innovation in education;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes the growing gap between men and women’s participation in the digital sector in education, career and entrepreneurship; and emphasises that women have the highest margin for improvement in take-up of digital skills; welcomes in this context the Commission’s forthcoming action plan to reduce the gender divide in tech;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that traineeships in the digital sector can help students and young adults acquire practical digital skills on- the-job; welcomes in this context the new pilot project for Digital Opportunity traineeships under Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020; calls for a renewed impetus in this direction under the new MFF programmes;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes that the skills shortage poses real problems for recruiting teachers and teacher trainers with high proficiency in ICT;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Stresses that differentiated and performance-based pay can help schools acquire teachers with high proficiency in ICT;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Welcomes the participation of business in founding and funding schools;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2090(INI)

Remo SERNAGIOTTO, Angel DZHAMBAZKI, Rupert MATTHEWS, Emma McCLARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Emphasises the need for the Union to develop capabilities in areas such as artificial intelligence, big data, software engineering, quantum computing, and web design; in this context welcomes the digital skills component of the Digital Europe Programme;

2018/09/28
Committee: CULT

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the European Commission aims at halving the number of annual road fatalities in the EU by 2020 compared to 2010; whereas the progress of reducing the total number of victims and injured seems to have stagnated recently when in 2016 more than 25 000 people lost their lives on EU roads and a further 135 000 were seriously injured;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas advanced driver- assistance systems such as lane departure warning and automatic emergency break have already proven to contribute to road safety and to reduce the number of severe accidents;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas human error is estimated to play a decisive role in the majority of road accidents, and hence driverless vehicles are expected to significantly improve road safety; whereas driverless vehicles could bring mobility to those who are unable to drive, encourage car-sharing schemes and optimise the use of infrastructure by relieving traffic congestion, and thereby contribute to meeting climate targets;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas EU producers will be exposed to competition from other world regions such as the USA, China or Japan;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph –1 (new)

-1. Considers that regulatory changes will have to follow in order to build a future-proof framework enabling cross- border automation; calls on the Commission to take the current infrastructure and age of the vehicle fleet in the Member States into consideration and to address the necessary coexistence of connected and automated vehicles with non-connected vehicles and drivers;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Considers the current procedure of EU exemptions granted on the basis of a national ad-hoc safety assessment insufficient, because it constitutes excessive investment risk and jeopardises the introduction of vehicle automation technologies; calls on the Commission to initiate work on EU type approval legislation for automated and autonomous vehicles in line with UNECE outcomes;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Declares that cybersecurity must be guaranteed and that all data transfers between the in-vehicle system, the manufacturer’s central server, other vehicles and road infrastructure must be protected from unauthorised disclosure and manipulation; calls on the Commission to present a common security policy based on backend server systems already placed in the market and outcomes of UNECE negotiations;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Welcomes the initiative of the Commission to regulate data recorders for automated vehicles and calls on the Commission to present a broader liability framework for damages caused by accidents in which autonomous and automated motor vehicles are involved;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. CAscertains that road infrastructure will play a key role in supporting automated vehicles; calls on the Member States to invest in unambiguous road signs, road markings and street furniture as well as to revise national traffic rules system and reporting to support converging approaches across the EU;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to finalise digital high-speed network coverage, as missing digital coverage, especially in border regions, makes the cross-border operation of automated and connected vehicles impossible.;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the financial support from the EU's framework programme for research and innovation "Horizon 2020" allocated to automated vehicles and highlights the necessary research on artificial intelligence with the aim to make future autonomous systems smoother and more efficient;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2089(INI)

Hans-Olaf HENKEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Evžen TOŠENOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the Commission to take the current infrastructure and age of the vehicle fleet in the Member States into consideration and to address the coexistence of connected and automated vehicles and non-connected vehicles and drivers;

2018/09/26
Committee: ITRE

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Highlights the importance of cross- border cooperation programmes in funding educational, cultural, sporting and other activities whose European added value of cross-border synergies brings citizens closer and fosters mutual trust in border regions; stresses, in this regard, the large number of INTERREG projects devoted to culture, which proves that there is a strong desire among border regions to invest in joint ~~cultural~~traditional cultural assets as well as in development modern creative projects; reiterates, therefore, its view that EU financial support for these initiatives should be further strengthened in the next MFF; calls on the Commission to identify and foster synergies between local priorities, existing EU strategies and objectives as well as to make impact assessments with view to promote better convergence.

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that language barriers are still an important obstacle to cross-border cooperation, especially in border areas without a longstanding tradition of cooperation; notes that the language is an important factor enhancing trust and helping to mitigate sociocultural difficulties; believes that a more targeted use of ESI funds can support the systematic promotion of multilingualism in education and training in border regions, from early childhood education onwards;

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to facilitate cross-border partnerships between education and training institutions in border regions in order to promote the mobility of students, teachers, trainers and administrative staff, as well as doctoral candidates and researchers; underlines that the use of multilingualism within such cross-border partnerships can prepare graduates to enter the employment market on both sides of the border; urges the Member States to facilitate and encourage the mutual recognition and better understanding of diplomas, certificates and professional qualifications between neighbouring regions;

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Calls on the Commission to facilitate cross-border initiatives and different types of exchanges, intercultural and educational activities aimed at better awareness of citizens about legislative and administrative requirements in border regions as well as at improvement of cooperation between local administrations, cultural and educational institutions;

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Is of the opinion that a strong cross- border cooperation in the area of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) can help to create socio-economic value, growth and jobs (also via clustering of enterprises), while also building bridges, increasing mutual understanding and forging a European consciousness through joint initiatives on cultural heritage-related projects; by means of joint child-care facilities, accessible multilingual education, partnerships with educational institutions, and other relevant stakeholders.

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Believes that the development of cross- border cultural cooperation makes an essential contribution to the sustainable development of cross-border territories impacting economy, social cohesion and environment; calls on the Commission together with Member States to work out common strategic approach for development and support of Cultural and Creative Industries, bridging CCI with society and economy in order to promote smart, sustainable growth in EU border regions.

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT

2018/2054(INI)

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT, Rupert MATTHEWS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Strongly believes that border regions, thanks to the existence of long- established contacts between cultural institutions across borders, can create favourable conditions for artistic and cultural mobility and can therefore be vital for thematic tourism ~~and help promote Europe as a destination.~~, calls on the Commission to integrate a cultural dimension into the cross-border development initiatives, respecting the balance between historic heritage assets and contemporary creativity;

2018/05/24
Committee: CULT