Activities of Romeo FRANZ related to 2023/2004(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme 2021-2027 – citizens’ engagement and participation
Amendments (21)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas active citizen participation in political and cultural life is a fundamental right that should be equally accessible to all; whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides for the right to participate in government and free elections, the right to participate in the cultural life of the community and the right to peaceful assembly and association, enabling full participation in society;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas present and emerging systemic challenges, such as the climate crisis, global pandemics, the digital shift and migration, nationalism and authoritarianism, require the adaptation of structures and approaches granting active participation to citizens in society; whereas the active digital engagement of citizens should take into account and address the digital gap between generations;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas citizen engagement must be understood as multi-level, encompassing local, regional, national, European and global processes, through which people develop and express their opinions on political affairs and try to take part in and influence the decisions that affect their lives; whereas the ongoing processes of globalisation and European integration will require the new generation of Europeans to be increasingly politically engaged at multiple levels in order to be able to live and work internationally and navigate difference in their daily lives; whereas societies are becoming more diverse, making respect for the diversity of cultures and origins and the rejection of any kind of discrimination towards women, LGTBIQ people or minorities ever more important within Europe;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas socio-political changes observed in Member States, ranging from social polarisation and low institutional trust to democratic backsliding, the erosion of the rule of law, shrinking space for civil society, exclusionary nationalism and the instrumentalisation of Euroscepticism for political purposes, along with the rise of extremist movements and authoritarianism, mayare poseing a serious threat to European democracies and destabiliseing the Union as a whole; whereas strengthening citizens’ active participation and engagement through, but not limited to, formal, non- formal, informal and lifelong learning and education can play an important role in countering this trend;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the emergence of a European citizenship has been hindered by a knowledge gap and an emotional gap, and should therefore be accompanied and reinforced by a set of mechanisms enabling citizen participation and intercultural dialogue; whereas a better understanding of our shared European history and stronger citizen engagement in social and political life can have a beneficial impact on an emerging European identityies that complements citizens’ multiple local, national, geographical, cultural or other identities;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the shrinking of civic space in the European Union and other countries participating in the programme is affecting democratic participation and the ability of civil society organisations to act as checks and balances with regard to the rule of law; whereas actions to support and enable the participation of civil society, including minorities’ and grassroots-level organisations that have long track records and considerable experience, are paramount for defending democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Member States.
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas minorities’ civil society organisations are key for self- representation and civic engagement of minoritised people, especially for those groups that lack other formal pathways for political representation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas third country nationals residing in the EU were over 22 million people in 2020; whereas these groups lack the access to formal political activities, resulting in the lives of millions of people being impacted by decisions that are made without their involvement or input; whereas this represents a fundamental democratic deficit across the union at all levels and a challenge to producing sustainable, equitable and effective policies and programmes, whereas the realisation of human rights related to political and public participation of non- citizens play a crucial role in the promotion of democratic governance, the rule of law, social inclusion, economic development, and elimination of marginalisation and discrimination in the EU;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Firmly believes that the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme makes a unique contribution to enhancing civic engagement and participation from a fundamental rights perspective by effectively combining values, civil dialogue and citizenship, while also promoting gender equality and the fight against discrimination and violence; is of the opinion that the CERV programme is essential for addressing shrinking civic space and challenges to the rule of law across Europe. Encourages the programme to support actions aimed at building the resilience of civil society organisations, including those focused on the rule of law and union values.
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to prioritise data collection for disadvantaged groups into the CERV programme, including marginalised communities, minorities, and vulnerable populations, in order to address their unique challenges, promote research into their experiences, and establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure their meaningful participation in civic engagement initiatives. This approach will help inform policy development, elevate their voices, and create a more inclusive and equitable programme.
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines that in order to ease administrative requirements, it is necessary to simplify procedures and reduce red tape associated with EU funding. This also includes streamlining the application and reporting processes and introducing a more efficient application process for organisations that have signed multi-year framework partnership agreements. As well as the provision of greater flexibility for anticipating policy developments.
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Calls for significant review of the programme application process, as it’s considered a limitation for a small-scale organisation to participate in the programme. Calls on this regard to make the application portal more user friendly.
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to strengthen civil dialogue in such a way as to support a two-way process between institutions at all levels and all, relevant stakeholders, specially civil society organisations, and as part of the implementation of Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/692, using civil dialogue as a tool to determine priorities for the two-year work programme and promoting further the collective dimension of civic engagement as a critical dimension of democracy and of the rule of law; recalls, in this regard, that innovative actions to support dialogue with civil society should be promoted, including with a view to fostering a culture of trust- based partnership with grantees; calls, in particular, for capacity-building actions to support the wide participation of civil society, particularly through links with other funding schemes provided through shared management, such as the technical support instrument; Also Integrate civil dialogue throughout the program, with a focus on civil society participation in the governance of the programme.
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States that have not yet designated NCPs to do so as quickly as possible and calls on the Commission to continue working with the NCP network through meetings, training measures and dedicated exchanges, as these have been organised very successfully so far; in addition calls for the immediate establishment of the Civil Dialogue Group to ensure regular, open, and transparent dialogue between beneficiaries of the program and relevant stakeholders and form a task force to develop the functioning of the Civil Dialogue Group and establish a work programme with topics for discussion.
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Encourages the Commission, member states and NCPs to establish a European network of NCPs to facilitate the sharing of best practices and the exchange of knowledge among them;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Emphasise the importance of including non-citizens who live in the EU, and their self-led organisations, in the target group of the CERV programme, which will foster democratic governance, the rule of law, social inclusion;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes note of the results of introducing different types of re-granting mechanisms under the CERV programme, which have been very encouraging so far; calls for a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the different re-granting calls with a view to possibly extending their use to the other strands of the CERV programme, where relevant, and in particular to Strand 3, in order to ensure that EU funding reaches grassroots-level civil society organisations that have long track records and considerable experience; urges the Commission to further simplify the administrative procedures and requirements for re-granting to give organisations applying for re-granting more flexibility vis-à-vis sub-grantees, ensuring appropriate working, healthcare and social protection standards; believes that the co-funding requirements could be revised with a view to adapting the rules to the beneficiary’s situation in order to support a larger variety of beneficiaries and thematic fields; underlines that funding provided from the CERV programme in the field of rights, equality, values and civic engagement, for which other sources of funding are very scarce or absent, should cover a greater percentage of grant amounts; calls for an increase in the program's budget to meet the growing demand for civic engagement and participation initiatives. Address the impact of inflation on program costs and consider revising co-funding requirements to make the program more accessible, especially for smaller organisations.
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls for the introduction of additional funding within CERV for the establishment of an ad-hoc mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders, similar to mechanisms in place for human rights defenders outside the EU or the protection of journalists.
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Encourages the Commission to facilitate the participation of non-EU citizens through the engagement of non- EU civil society organisations and representatives in CERV activities, particularly for candidate or associated countries,
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Encourages the Commission to establish a network of CERV beneficiaries to share their experiences, and to exchange best practices and a deeper understanding of local and national realities across the EU and beyond;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. In order to assess the effectiveness of Regranting Mechanisms, a specific assessment must be conducted to determine their effectiveness in reaching grassroots groups and promoting EU values and citizenship. Evaluate the flexibility of the mechanism and its ability to support organisations in countries with shrinking civic space.