Activities of Manon AUBRY related to 2021/2103(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Shrinking space for civil society in Europe (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on the shrinking space of civil society in Europe
Amendments (72)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. General remarks Notes with deep concern the overall shrinking of space for civil society in the EU, which represents a serious threat to democracy and fundamental rights and has worsened during the COVID-19 crisis;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that civic space is the environment that enables civil society to play a role in the political, economic and social life of our societies, including by accessing information, engaging in dialogue, expressing dissent or disagreement and joining together to express views1a; _________________ 1a United Nations, "Guidance note on the Protection and Promotion of Civic Space", September 2020
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Underlines that unduly restricting the space of civil society is a threat to democracy and condemns deliberate attempts by far-right and other governments to control, limit and silence critical voices;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Responsibility of Member States and obligations under European and international law Underlines that the main responsibility for this regression lies with Member States;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the main responsibility for this regression lies with Member States and that it is driven by political agendas that disregard or purposefully hamper democracy;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that various instruments of international law impose on Member States obligations to ensure an enabling environment for civil society to thrive, and to protect civil society organisations, human rights defenders and their civic space;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Underlines in particular the obligation of Member States to protect and promote the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression as underlined in the recent United Nations guidance note on the protection and promotion of civic space;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2d. Draws the attention of Member States to the Council of Europe’s Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)11 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the need to strengthen the protection and promotion of civil society space in Europe reaffirms that protecting and promoting civil society space requires Member States to ensure “a conducive political and public environment” for civil society organisations and human rights defenders;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2e. Recalls that these obligations entail not only a duty for Member States to respect the space of civil society, but also a duty to ensure a conducive political and public environment for civil society;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2f. Recalls that those obligations are also mirrored in the European Union legal order, in particular through the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 30 #
2g. Recalls that as regards European institutions, Article 11 of the Treaty on the European Union states that “the institutions shall, by appropriate means, give citizens and representative associations the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action”, that “the institutions shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society” and that “the European Commission shall carry out broad consultations with parties concerned in order to ensure that the Union's actions are coherent and transparent”;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 h (new)
Paragraph 2 h (new)
2h. Notes that the European Union has adopted guidelines on human rights defenders that provide practical suggestions for enhancing European Union action in supporting human rights defenders;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 i (new)
Paragraph 2 i (new)
2i. Notes that with the "CSO Meter" designed under the European Neighbourhood Instrument and the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations’ Guidelines for EU support to civil society in enlargement countries, the European Union has paradoxically developed more specific standards regarding the respect of civil society abroad than within the European Union;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 j (new)
Paragraph 2 j (new)
2j. Calls on the Commission to develop guidance on freedom of association and assembly, and how EU law can be used to protect civic space;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Condemns all attempts by Member States to control civil society actors and discriminate between them on a political basis, including by over-regulating the sector; and introducing disproportionate rules on the establishment and functioning of civil society organisations under pretexts such as the protection of national security, republican or democratic values;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Member States’ legislation and public policies aiming at controlling and censoring civil society Condemns all attempts by Member States to control civil society actors and discriminate between them on a political basis, including by over-regulating the sector;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Condemns the instrumentalisation of the COVID-19 crisis and the use of fast-track procedures by some governments to bypass consultation with civil society and introduce discriminatory laws, laws restricting freedom of assembly and emergency measures affecting the civic space without any health related justification;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Condemns in particular the adoption by Member States including France and Greece of legislative measures to give governments unjustified discretion to deregister or dissolve civil society organisations without adequate judicial control;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Notes for example that the French government has dissolved several associations for their failure to moderate hateful comments made by third parties on their social media publications;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Expresses concern regarding the adoption of disproportionate provision criminalising live and online speech, including those framed as measures to counter terrorism;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Strongly condemns, in particular, the adoption by Hungarian and Polish authorities of acts that restrict the access of non-governmental organisations to funding and that target LGBTIQ+ persons and activiststhe rights of migrants, refugees, Roma, women, LGBTIQ+ people and those who defend them;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Condemns the adoption by some Member States of rules restricting access to funding for civil society actors engaging in “political” campaigning;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Difficulties faced by civil society actors in relation to funding Deplores the insufficient efforts of Member States to facilitate and guarantee access to stable long-term funding for civil society actors;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the severe consequences of structural public budget constraints and austerity policies implemented in several Member States over civil society space, which translate into an impoverishment of the public debate and the discontinuation of solidarity programs;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Condemns the adoption by some Member States of rules restricting access to funding for civil society actors engaging in “political” campaigning;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Notes that challenges faced by civil society organisations in relation to funding include lack of sufficient sources of funding, burdensome administrative procedures to access funding, lack of transparency and fairness in funding allocation and restrictive eligibility criteria;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Deplores the outsourcing by public authorities of public services missions to civil society organizations in domains such as housing, health, education and asylum, which captures civil society’s resources for the fulfilment of States’ responsibilities and diverts those resources from public participation of civil society organisations through advocacy, strategic litigation and public education;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Condemns the adoption by some Member States of laws restricting access to specific sources of funding, including foreign funding, in a deliberate attempts to silence critical civil society organisations and media;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Underlines the structural lack of funding for research and development in the European Union, in particular the lack of public funding for academic research; regrets the growing pressure of private interests over academic research through public-private partnerships and the privatisation of universities;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5g. Calls on Member States and on the European Union to improve the legal environment of civil society organizations and ease the conditions for them to access diverse sources of funding, including private and foreign funding;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5h. Calls on Member States and on the European Union to go beyond project funding and provide infrastructure core funding and multiannual funding cycles to ensure the sustainability of civil society;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Condemns the severe restrictions imposed by Member States on the right to protest, whether through the prohibition of demonstrations, including by misusing state of emergency measures, through the disproportionate use of violence by public authorities, and the arbitrary arrests of protesters for activities that should not constitute criminal offences;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Non-legislative threats restricting the civic space Condemns the severe restrictions imposed by Member States on the right to protest, the disproportionate use of violence by public authorities, and the arbitrary arrests of protesters;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines that civil society actors are increasingly subjected to targetehate speech, harassment and violence, whether by police forces or private parties;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes with concern the increasing harassment of human rights defenders online as well as offline, in particular threats and attacks against LGBQTI+ rights and women’s rights defenders and their organisations’ physical locations;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Condemns the hostile rhetoric and smear campaigns by political figures and allied media outlets designed to undermine public trust in and support for CSOs and human rights defenders, and often designed to target minority groups such as migrants, refugees and LGBTI people;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Emphasises that States have an obligation to investigate and protect when smear campaigns, threats and attacks happen at hands of individual representatives of the state or non-state actors;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Notes with deep concerns the growing hostility of some governments and political forces against academics that undertake scientific research and develop analysis that run against their ideology or political agenda; stresses that this is a serious threat to academic freedom and the right of citizens to access information and knowledge;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Expresses deep concern regarding the growing use of new surveillance technologies in the public space and underlines the threat it represents for the civic space;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 f (new)
Paragraph 7 f (new)
7f. Condemns the increased trends of closing digital civic space and the continued deterioration of digital rights;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Condemns the increasing criminalisation and judicial harassment of civil society actors, in particular those working with minority groups, refugees and other migrants, those working against racism, and those working for women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health rights, and LGBTI rights; is concerned about the growing use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) by powerful public and private actors, and strongly recommends the adoption of an anti- SLAPPs directive protecting all partieactors legitimately engaging in public participation;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Condemns in particular the continued criminalisation and legal harassment of civil society actors engaged in search and rescue at sea and humanitarian assistance for those in need while on the move;
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls on the Member States to stop criminalising or hampering the operation of civil society organisations, in particular in the context of search and rescue at sea and humanitarian assistance;
Amendment 109 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on Member States to ensure that crimes committed against CSOs and human rights defenders are properly recorded, investigated and prosecuted;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Supports the Commission in closely monitoring the situation across Member states and in launching infringement procedures against Member States that unduarbitrarily restrict the freedoms of assembly and associations civil society space, obstructs their work or otherwise unduly restrict freedoms of assembly and association; encourages the Commission to request interim measures to the CJEU when there is a risk of irreparable harm;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. General measures to monitoring and protect the civic space Supports the Commission in launching infringement procedures against Member States that unduly restrict the freedoms of assembly and association;
Amendment 117 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the European Commission to propose a comprehensive European strategy for a strong civil society and a vibrant civic space, that sets out a concrete definition of civic and democratic space, brings together existing instruments and develops clear policy, protection and accountability tools to protect the civic space;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Recognises that a vibrant and plural civic space requires a culture of active participation. Calls on the European Commission to expand the European Democracy Action Plan with a new strand dedicated to strengthening the efforts for education on democratic citizenship and human rights across Europe;
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9c. Recognises that a vibrant and plural civic space requires a culture of active participation. Calls on the European Commission to expand the European Democracy Action Plan with a new strand dedicated to strengthening the efforts for education on democratic citizenship and human rights across Europe;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 d (new)
Paragraph 9 d (new)
9d. Calls for the development of a monitoring mechanism with civil society actors and human rights defenders to regularly assess threats against the civic space and propose adequate responses to European Union institutions;
Amendment 122 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 e (new)
Paragraph 9 e (new)
9e. Acknowledges that attacks on civic space cannot be seen as separate from the wider trend of autocratisation occurring at a global and national level; Recognises that it is also the product of social tensions linked with growing inequalities and a long process of degradation of social cohesion that has produced deep socio-economic, cultural and geographical divides inside our societies;
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 f (new)
Paragraph 9 f (new)
9f. Urges the Commission to make a strategic use of the annual report on the application of the EU Charter of fundamental rights and the annual rule of law review cycle to monitor and report about attacks and challenges facing civil society across the EU; Urges the Commission to use that as a basis to address targeted country recommendations and timely launch infringement procedures against Member States that unduly restrict the freedoms of opinion and expression, assembly and association in violation of EU law;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 g (new)
Paragraph 9 g (new)
9g. Calls on the Member States to provide sufficient resources to their national human rights institutions to allow them to engage with civil society actors, monitor and react to restrictions of their civic space;
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 h (new)
Paragraph 9 h (new)
9h. Urges the European Commission, if it comes to withhold funding – including under the Recovery and Resilience Fund – to Member States which do not respect the rule of law or misuse EU funds, to ensure that civil society organisations are not affected but that funding is channelled directly to them to sustain their work;
Amendment 130 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Supports the creation of an EU alert mechanism for attacks on civil society to report attacks, register alerts, map trends and provide timely and targeted support to victims;
Amendment 135 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Limitations to an open and transparent dialogue between public institution and civil society Denounces the extreme inequality in access to information and decision- makers between industry representatives on the one hand, and civil society actors on the other, including within the EU institutions;
Amendment 141 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls for the adoption of an EU framework allowing for an open, balanced, transparent and regular dialogue between the European institutions and civil society in order for citizens and associations to be able to exchange their views in all areas of Union action;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls for the adoption of an interinstitutional agreement based on Article 11 TEU for a fair and balanced representation of civil society organisations in legislative and decision- making processes of the European Union;
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Calls on the Member States, the European institutions in general and the European Commission in particular to ensure close consultation with civil society during the preparation or review of legislation potentially affecting civic space and freedoms;
Amendment 144 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Calls in particular for the European Commission in its consultation processes to restore the balance between representatives of corporate interests and representatives of other interests, such as workers’ rights, social rights and environmental protection;
Amendment 145 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Calls on the European Union to ensure that the modalities for Conference on the Future of Europe guarantee the inclusion of civil society;
Amendment 146 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11f. Calls on the European Union to adopt stronger safeguards against lobbying practices that go against a fair and transparent dialogue with civil society;
Amendment 147 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 g (new)
Paragraph 11 g (new)
11g. Calls on the Member States and the European institutions to draw inspiration from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in order to provide safeguards against the damaging influence of fossil fuel industries over law making and public decision making processes;
Amendment 148 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 h (new)
Paragraph 11 h (new)
11h. Expresses concern about the unbalanced consultations of the French permanent representation in the preparation of its presidency of the European Union;
Amendment 149 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 i (new)
Paragraph 11 i (new)
Amendment 150 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 j (new)
Paragraph 11 j (new)
11j. Calls on France and all Member States that will hold the rotating presidency of the European Union afterwards to refuse corporate sponsorship of their presidency as it provides preferential access to decision makers for corporate sponsors to the detriment of other civil society organisation;
Amendment 151 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 k (new)
Paragraph 11 k (new)
11k. Calls for the setting up of an independent ethics body that can issue sanctions against unfair lobbying practices and other threats to the independence of the EU institutions;
Amendment 153 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Media concentration and threats to the fair representation of civil society Deplores the growing concentration of media ownership at the expense of plurality, independence and fair public representation of the ideas and actions of civil society organisations.
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Expresses deep concerns over the fact that some media outlets engage in smear campaign against civil society actors, including when those smear campaigns are initiated by government;
Amendment 159 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Encourages Member States to adopt laws to guarantee the independence and plurality of media, including by putting in place democratic safeguards in the governance of media outlets to protect journalists from hostile shareholders, guaranteeing more transparency and regulation of media ownership, and, if necessary, reforming the public funding of media outlets to foster democracy and citizen participation in media funding processes;