18 Amendments of Joachim KUHS related to 2023/0397(COD)
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) It is in the common interest of the Union and its Western Balkans partners1 to advance the efforts to reform political, legal and economic systems of the latter with a view to their future Union membership. The prospect of Union membership has a powerful transformative effect, embedding positive democratic, political, economic and societal change.. _________________ 1 Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence
Amendment 301 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) accelerate alignment with Union values, laws, rules, standards, policies and practices with a view to Union membership
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point e
Amendment 362 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. Activities under the Facility shall mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and environmental protection, human rights, democracy, gender equality and, where relevant, disaster risk reduction, and shall support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting integrated actions that can create co- benefits and meet multiple objectives in a coherent way. They shall avoid stranded assets, and shall be guided by the principles of ‘do no harm’ and of ‘leaving no one behind’, as well as by the sustainability mainstreaming approach underpinning the European Green Deal.
Amendment 370 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Amendment 402 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) 98.5% in the form of non- repayable financial support to the Beneficiaries for the implementation of the Reform Agendas;
Amendment 404 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5
Article 6 – paragraph 5
5. Pursuant to Article 19, the amount of funds made available under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2021/152918 shall be at least 50% of the overall amount in paragraph 1. That contribution shall include the entire amount of non-repayable financial support as referred to in paragraph 2 point (a) of this Article after deducting the amount of provisioning. _________________ 18 Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2021 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA III), OJ L330, 20.09.2021.
Amendment 408 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. Union funding may be provided in any of the forms laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046, in particular financial assistance, grants, procurement and blending operations.
Amendment 423 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Amendment 426 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Funding shall only be granted to the Beneficiaries after the respective Facility Agreements and the applicable loan agreements have entered into force.
Amendment 428 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
4. The Facility Agreement and the loan agreements concluded with each of the Beneficiaries, and agreements concluded with person or entities receiving Union funds, shall ensure that the obligations set out in Article 129 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 are fulfilled.
Amendment 441 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5 – point h
Article 9 – paragraph 5 – point h
Amendment 442 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 5 – point i
Article 9 – paragraph 5 – point i
(i) the right of the Commission to reduce proportionately the support provided under the Facility and recover any amount spent to achieve the objectives of the Facility or to ask for early repayment of the loan, in cases of irregularities, fraud, corruption and conflicts of interests affecting the financial interests of the Union that have not been corrected by the Beneficiary, or of a serious breach of an obligation resulting from the Facility Agreement;
Amendment 445 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Article 11 – paragraph 1
1. In order to receive any support under the Facility, each Beneficiary shall submit to the Commission a Reform Agenda for the duration of the Facility, building on the structural reforms part of the latest Economic Reform Programme and the related Joint Policy Guidance agreed at the Economic and Financial Dialogue in May 2023, its national growth strategy where applicable, the revised enlargement methodology, the most recent Enlargement Package and the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.
Amendment 448 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2
Article 11 – paragraph 2
2. The Reform Agendas shall set out the reforms to be undertaken by the Beneficiary, as well as investment areas, towards the achievement of the general and specific objectives set out in Article 3. The Reform Agendas shall comprise measures for the implementation of reforms through a comprehensive and coherent package. In the areas of fundamentals, including the rule of law, the fight against corruption, fundamental rights and the freedom of expression, the Reform Agendas shall reflect the assessments in the most recent Enlargement Package.
Amendment 452 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 4
Article 11 – paragraph 4
4. The Reform Agendas shall be consistent with and support the reform priorities identified in the context of the Beneficiary’s accession path, and other relevant documents, such as the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, and the National Energy and Climate Plan, the Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement and the ambition to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
Amendment 462 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
The Facility shall incentivise the implementation of the Reform Agenda of each Beneficiary by putting payment conditions on the release of funds. These payment conditions shall apply to funds under Article 6(2) point (a) and Article 6(3) and shall take the form of qualitative or quantitative steps. Such steps shall reflect progress on specific socio-economic reforms, including on fundamentals of the enlargement process and rule of law, linked to the achievement of the different objectives of the Facility, set out in Article 3, consistent with the latest Enlargement Package.
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1