Activities of Romeo FRANZ related to 2022/2005(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Racial justice, non-discrimination and anti-racism in the EU (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on racial justice, non-discrimination and anti-racism in the EU
Amendments (61)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/692 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 16 April 2019 entitled ‘More efficient decision-making in social policy: Identification of areas for an enhanced move to qualified majority voting’ (COM(2019)186),
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 b (new)
Citation 15 b (new)
— having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights, including the third principle on equal opportunities and the corresponding action plan,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 c (new)
Citation 15 c (new)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)
Citation 22 a (new)
— having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights and Protocol No 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms prohibiting discrimination,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 b (new)
Citation 22 b (new)
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 c (new)
Citation 22 c (new)
— having regard to the report from the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) “COVID-19: an analysis of the anti- discrimination, diversity and inclusion dimensions in Council of Europe member States” 1a _________________ 1a https://rm.coe.int/prems-126920-gbr- 2530-cdadi-covid-19-web-a5-final-2774- 9087-5906-1/1680a124aa
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 d (new)
Citation 22 d (new)
— having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 e (new)
Citation 22 e (new)
— having regard to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) General Recommendations,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 f (new)
Citation 22 f (new)
— having regard to the European Citizens Initiatives on "Minority Safe Pack Initiative" and on "Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures",
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 g (new)
Citation 22 g (new)
— having regard to the relevant reports and recommendations of research institutions and civil society organizations, including grassroots NGOs, working on anti-racism and anti- discrimination,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 h (new)
Citation 22 h (new)
— having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which has been ratified by the EU and all its Member States,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 is the first EU policy instrument to recognise the structural dimension of racism, which has historical roots dating back to colonialism and slavery; whereas the EU Action Plan refers to structural racism as the discriminatory behaviours which can be embedded in social, financial and political institutions, thereby impacting on the levers of power and policymaking;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas structural and institutionalised racism is also mirrored in socioeconomic inequality and poverty, and whereas these factors interact and reinforce each other; whereas racial and ethnic minorities in the EU face structural discrimination and in some cases segregation in certain areas of daily life, including housing, healthcare, employment, education and judicial systems; whereas racial and ethnic minorities in the EU have insufficient access to basic needs, such as drinkable water, sanitation and electricity;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas racialized people, people belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, Romani people, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and people at risk of social exclusion among others, are targets to racism and discrimination;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D e (new)
Recital D e (new)
De. whereas the concept of “race” is a social construction; whereas the term “racialized people” refers to all those who have been subjected to different processes of racialisation, including, but do not limit to, Romani people, people of African, Arabic, Asian, and Latin- American descent, those who self-define with terms such as ‘Black’ and ‘people of colour’, and those that are racialized as a result of their perceived membership to Muslim, Jewish and other religious communities;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D f (new)
Recital D f (new)
Df. whereas according to ECRI’s opinion on the concept of “racialisation”, the process of racialisation has contributed to spread prejudices, deepen inequalities and legitimise exclusion and hostility against specific groups in the most egregious forms; whereas ECRI understands “racialisation” as the process of ascribing characteristics and attributes that are presented as innate to a group of concern to it and of constructing false social hierarchies in racial terms and associated exclusion and hostility; whereas according to ECRI, the use of the concept of “racialisation” has the potential to aid understanding of the processes underpinning racism and racial discrimination 1h; _________________ 1h https://rm.coe.int/ecri-opinion-on-the- concept-of-racialisation/1680a4dcc2
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D g (new)
Recital D g (new)
Dg. whereas people at the intersection of inequalities encounter even more hurdles to be treated equally; whereas EU policies have not taken an intersectional approach and have focused mostly on the individual dimension of discrimination, which does not address its institutional, structural and historical dimensions; whereas an intersectional analysis allows to understand structural barriers, provides evidence on the benchmarks that should be used to measure progress, and steer a path towards strategic and effective policies against systemic discrimination, exclusion and inequalities; whereas an intersectional approach to EU policies and measures is instrumental to address racial discrimination;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D h (new)
Recital D h (new)
Dh. whereas Romani women and people with disabilities have also faced structural violence and violation of their integrity and bodily autonomy, being victims of forced sterilisation, contraception and abortion which are harmful practices and a form of gender based violence;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas there are barriers toas a result of embedded structural racism and discrimination, justice systems are not safe for racialized people, whose access to justice for victims of racial discriminis thus impeded; whereas criminal justice systems fail to protect racialized people and directly participate in their victimization; whereas the deficiencies with the rule of law in the criminal justice systems exacerbate this situation; whereas equality bodies in the Member States lack the human and financial resources and/or political will and independence to bridge this gap;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas Romani people and other racialized communities face harassment, arbitrary detention, violence and abusive treatment by law enforcement, and are subject to receive discriminatory treatment by prosecutors, judges and lawyers in criminal justice systems 1i; _________________ 1i http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/fil e/5357_file1_justice-denied-roma-in-the- criminal-justice-system.pdf
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas institutional racism is embedded in law enforcement; whereas police violence has been documented in several Member States; whereas police violence and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement should never be tolerated; whereas accountability and independent oversight is essential to address institutional racism in law enforcement; whereas law enforcement does not operate in a vacuum but is intimately connected to legal tools and justice systems;
Amendment 96 #
Ec. whereas the potential danger of racial profiling and discrimination that may arise as a result of the increasing use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence is a matter of concern; whereas social biases and structural inequalities can be integrated into new technologies, including artificial intelligence;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas AI systems are already being used to create predictions, profiles and risk assessments that affect people’s lives; whereas among many concerning outcomes, these AI-generated predictions can lead to people being placed under surveillance, stopped and searched, arrested and even prosecuted without objective evidence of any crime, with racial and ethnic groups being often the targets;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
Ee. whereas according to EU MIDIS II, 61 % of EU citizens believe that discrimination against the Romani people is widespread in their country; whereas deeply rooted, persistent and structural and often institutional and governmental antigypsyism continues to exist at all levels of European society and manifests itself on a daily basis acknowledged as major barrier in achieving the full potential of Romani people as EU citizens enjoying fully fundamental rights, social inclusion and equality, in all spheres of life, including housing, education, healthcare and employment;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E f (new)
Recital E f (new)
Ef. whereas racism against Romani people has led to violence and killing; whereas hate-motivated harassment and hate crimes remain significantly high against Romani people and the majority of hate-motivated incidents are not reported;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EU Action Plan lacks follow-up mechanisms and measurable targetanti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 and other EU initiatives to combat discrimination, such as the EU Roma Strategic Framework 2020-2030, the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020- 2025 and the EU Strategy for the persons with disabilities 2021-2030 lack follow-up mechanisms, ambitious benchmarks and measurable targets, and these are indispensable to document progress;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the Racial Equality Directive has been insufficiently implemented by the Member States; whereas the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia has not been fully or correctly transposed by some Member States; whereas the Commission should monitor and ensure that Member States comply with EU anti- discrimination legislation;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas a legislative proposal for the Equality, Inclusion, Participation of Romani people and Combating Antigypsyism, is needed and should be developed on the basis of more realistic quantitative and qualitative disaggregated data collected with the support of Romani Civil Society Organisations;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the EU institutions need to take concrete steps to ensure sustainable changes towards a fully inclusive and respectful workplace; whereas discrimination is often multidimensional and only an intersectional approach can pave the way to sustainable changes; whereas individuals from racialized groups and groups in vulnerable situations who are subject to intersectional forms of discrimination are underrepresented indecision-making positions;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises the urgent need for the Union to develop a robust and comprehensive agenda for effectively combating racism and discrimination on all grounds and in all areas in the EU, taking into account a structural and intersectional approach and involving the groups concerned; insists that the Union and its institutions must lead by example in the fight against structural and institutional racism and anti- discrimination; urges the EU Institutions and the Member States to take strong and decisive steps in this direction;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that racism and discrimination exist in all areas of our daily life and can take many forms; calls for a zero-tolerance approach to this issue; is concerned that different groups, communities and individuals are subjected to racism, xenophobia and discrimination across the EU;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to assess the implementation of the current EU legal framework for combating discrimination, racism, xenophobia and other types of intolerance in order to ensure its enforcement and to determine how to improve it where needed, and; further calls on the Commission to take part in a regular dialogue and exchange of best practices with Member States and stakeholders, particularly those representing the concerns of people affected by racism and racial discrimination; urges the Commission to launch infringement proceedings if Member States do not transpose or fully implement the current EU legal framework;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal for the Equality, Inclusion, Participation of Romani people and Combating Antigypsysim, on the basis of a thorough impact assessment and in systemic consultations with Romani people, (pro-) Romani experts and NGOs from national, regional and especially from grassroots level as well as other interested stakeholders such as the Council of Europe and FRA; considers that this proposal could be based on Article 19(2) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union as appropriate action to combat discrimination based on ethnic origin of Romani people; is of the opinion that the previously used Council recommendation is not a sufficient form of act, as it was not legally binding and has failed to make a significant positive impact on the Romani people; calls on the Commission to take into account the internal heterogeneity of the community in the priority domains of the post 2022 proposal, ensuring that nobody is left behind, and strongly encourages to use the designation ‘ Romani people’ when referring to Romani groups in post 2022 EU policies and discussions; notes that equal participation in all domains of public life, political participation, and the language, arts, culture and history of Romani people should be explicitly mentioned in the post-2022 EU proposal for Romani people, as additional measures to the four main priority areas of education, employment, housing and healthcare;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Council to set up a Council Gender Equality and Equality group in orderRegrets that the ministers and secretaries of state in charge of equality and gender equality have no dedicated institutional forum to ensure that Member State representatives regularly meet, discuss, legislate, take political decisions and exchange best practices; calls on the European Council to act by qualified majority and amend the list of configurations in which the Council meets, in accordance with Article 236 TFEU and Article 2(1)of the Council’s Rules of Procedure to set up a Council Gender Equality and Equality group in order to facilitate gender and non- discrimination mainstreaming across all EU policies and legislation, and to allow high-level discussions on these issues in a regular and permanent forum;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Regrets that 14 years after the adoption of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, several Member States have not yet fully and correctly transposed its provisions into national law; calls on the Member States to put measures in place that encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and report hate crime, ano ensure that victims who seek redress are appropriately supported as well as to create safe environments that encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and report hate crime; stresses that several Member States have guidelines or policies that support law enforcement in recording or investigating hate crimes, but evidence suggests that law enforcement officials are not taking reports of racially motivated crimes seriously; urges Member States to ensure that law enforcement officials pursue mandatory anti-racism trainings, which would strengthen the ability of national law enforcement systems to correctly identify and record it;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is deeply concerned about the cases of police violence against racialized people in several Member States; calls on the Member States to ensure that independent police complaints mechanisms are established to lead investigations into cases of police violence, misconduct and abuse; highlights that these mechanisms should be given with sufficient powers and resources to fulfil their tasks and should be accessible to all complainants, irrespective of their financial means; underlines that law enforcement should be accountable for their actions before the law, the public authorities and the entire public they as supposed to protect; calls on the Member States not to leave cases of police brutality and abuses unpunished; considers necessary to rethink the role of law enforcement in society since it does not operate in a vacuum but is intimately connected to legal tools and justice systems, which may severely impact individuals’ lives;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Acknowledges that the institutional racism in law enforcement is a matter of concern; considers that there is an urgent need for legislation in the domain of law enforcement and racial discrimination which includes the establishment of meaningful mechanisms to ensure accountability for victims and their families as well as independent oversight; urges, in this regard, the EU institutions and the Member States to put in place concrete measures;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to safeguard the rights of people to document police violence and misconduct;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Expresses deep concern about the racism and discrimination in criminal justice systems; recalls that at each step of the process there is the potential for biases to taint decisions and outcomes; underlines the worrisome increasing tendency to implement policies that punish and criminalise rather than offer support and services for those in need; stresses that these policies have a disproportionate impact on racialized people;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Demands that the Member States end racial or ethnic profiling in all forms, particularly when encompassing artificial intelligence (AI) tools and including in criminal law enforcement, counter- terrorism measures and immigration controls, and to officially recognise and combat practices of unlawful discrimination and violence through anti- racism and anti-bias training for the authorities; highlights the power asymmetry between those who employ AI technologies and those who are subject to them; is concerned that new technologies, including AI, can exacerbate existing inequalities, social exclusion and discrimination; underlines the need to address the potential risks of new technologies, including AI, not as a technological, but as a societal problem; calls on the Commission and the Member states to promote mandatory anti-racism and anti-bias training for the authorities and practitioners particularly for law enforcement officials and judges, and to ensure that AI systems are guided by the principles of transparency, explainability, fairness, and accountability as well as that independent audits are put in place to prevent that these systems exacerbate discrimination, racism, exclusion and poverty;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Member States to monitorCommission and the Member States to closely engage with racialized groups in order to combat racial bias, including in AI datasets, in key areas of life such as criminal justice, education systems and social services, and to take proactive steps to ensure equal justice in order to improve relations between authorities and minority communitiethat these systems do not uphold or exacerbate discrimination, racism, social exclusion and poverty, but are used to achieve equal justice; further calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up efforts to improve dialogue and relations between authorities and minority and racialized communities, as well as other groups in vulnerable situations; calls, furthermore, for the creation of independent complaint mechanisms for all administrative, judiciary and executive branches of the state, in particular law enforcement;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Strongly condemns the practice of racial and ethnic segregation in schools, which is still present in several Member States and have a disproportionate effect on children from racial and ethnic communities; warns that such practices lead to marginalisation, perpetuate structural discrimination and hamper equal access to quality of life; calls on the Commission and the Member States to introduce or strengthen inclusive policies to prevent social exclusion; further calls on the Commission and the Member States to take concrete steps to support children from racial and ethnic minorities and from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and their families;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the EU institutions to address intersectional forms of discrimination in EU anti-discrimination legislation and policies and to promote an EU framework on intersectional discrimination with cross- cutting objectives and measures; calls on the Commission and the Member States to mainstream an intersectionality approach in order to take into account the diversity and heterogeneity of racialized groups and groups in vulnerable situations when designing and implementing policies and measures; further calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote trainings, particularly for practitioners including law enforcement officials and judges, and awareness campaigns on intersectional discrimination;
Amendment 251 #
9. Emphasises the need to ensure meaningful participation of all groups affected by intersectional discrimination in policymaking at EU, national and local levels, especially racialised groups; urges the Commission and the Member States to put in place specific measures in this direction;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the importance of collecting comparable and robust disaggregated equality data to document racism and discrimination, analyse social problems and to tackle inequality holistically, based on voluntary participation, self-identification and informed consent, while protecting anonymity and confidentiality, respecting the key principles of EU data protection legislation and fundamental rights and complying with national legislation; calls onurges the Commission to continue developing a common methodology on this with Member Statesthe groups concerned in order to ensure the comparability, accuracy and reliability of the data collected; supports the FRA’s work on analysing this data and welcomes further developments in this field, in line with its new mandate;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls onUrges all Member States to adopt national action plans against racism and discrimination by the end of 2022, as provided for in the EU Anti-racism Action Plan; further urges the Commission and the Member States to provide adequate funding and resources in order to achieve the commitments in the Action Plan; highlights the need to continue this EU Action Plan beyond 2025 and encouragescalls on the Commission to beginensure the continuity of this work before the end of its current mandate;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Condemns the racist rhetoric of certain media outlets that stigmatise racialized communities, for example by targeting Romani people or migrants as being the source of various economic and social problems; calls on the Member States to take effective measures to prevent media from spreading stigmatising rhetoric, hate speech, false narratives and negative portrayals of particular ethnic or racial groups, which only serve to dehumanise the individuals concerned;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Underlines the crucial effects that media literacy campaigns and initiatives may have in mitigating racial discrimination narratives propagated through disinformation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to put greater emphasis on the development of critical thinking, media literacy and digital skills to combat racism and discrimination;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. CRecalls onthe commitment by the Commission to present and adopt concrete legislative measures to strengthen the role and independence of equality bodies in Member States as included in the CWP 2022; urges the Commission to present an ambitious proposal in this regard;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls foron the EU institutions to address structural and institutionalised racism, discrimination and the under representation of minorities within the structures of the European institutions to be addressed and for the adoption ofracialized groups and other groups subject to discrimination within the structures of the European institutions, particularly in decision- making positions, and to adopt a workforce diversity and inclusion strategy by the end of 2022;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the Commission’s appointment of the first anti-racism coordinator in 2021 and the continuous re- appointment since 2015 of the coordinator on combating anti-semitism and fostering Jewish life; but deplores that the position of anti-muslim hatred coordinator has been left vacant since July 2021; recalls the urgent need to fill the position of the coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred; calls on the Commission to ensure that these EU coordinators are given adequate resources to fulfil their tasks and to mainstream racial equality throughout EU policies;
Amendment 330 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines the need for a monitoring and accountability mechanism to ensure the effective application and enforcement of EU anti-racism and anti- discrimination legislation and policy;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls for serious funding commitment to fight racism and discrimination across the EU; asks, in this regard, the Commission to systematically follow and analyse the contribution of EU funds and programmes to the fight against racism and discrimination and to ensure that projects geared toward tackling racism and discrimination are given adequate funding and in a transparent manner; further asks the Commission to ensure adequate funding to support activities of civil society organizations, including grassroots organizations, working on anti-racism and discriminations;
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission for the systematic integration of issues related to anti-racism, discrimination and intersectionality into its annual reports on fundamental rights and the rule of law; callsfurther calls on the Commission for this dimension to be fully integrated and reflected in the final report of the panel of independent experts to be set up through the public procurement procedure requested by Parliament’s Bureau as part of the rule of law report;