29 Amendments of Nathalie COLIN-OESTERLÉ related to 2021/2180(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
— having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and in particular Article 2, Article 3(1), Article 3(3), second subparagraph, Article 4(3) and Articles 5, 6, 7, 11 and 419 thereof,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and in particular the articles thereof relating to respect for and the protection and promotion of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the Union, including Articles 70, 258, 259, 260, 263, 265 and 2657,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for the inclusion of an overview per Member State of all enforcement actions undertaken by the Commission, including pending infringement proceedings, pending actions for failure to fulfil obligations, as well as the state of compliance with Court of Justice of the European Union and European Court of Human Rights provisional measures and rulings, feeding into a comprehensive Application of EU Law Scoreboard;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes Commission proposals to include country-specific recommendations as of 2022, as per Parliament’s resolution of 25 October 2016; calls on the Commission to monitor and reporinclude an assessment onf their implementation in the following year's annual report;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to link the Rule of Law Report and its recommendations to the instruments ensuring the application of EU law, such as infringement proceedings, preliminary ruling proceedings, Article 7 TEU procedures, and the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the EU institutions to read the annual reports on the rule of law in the light of the reports on fundamental rights published by the European Agency of Fundamental Rights, given the close connection between democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Union is founded on the common values enshrined in Article 2 TEU of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities (Article 2 TEU values) – values that are common to the EU Member States and to which candidate countries must adhere in order to join the Union; whereas democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing values which, when undermined, may pose a systemic threat to the Union; whereas the Union as a whole, its Member States and their subnational entities are bound by the rule of law;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Council to discuss the report in all transparency and engage in dialogue with the European Parliament; calls on the European Council, too, to discuss the findings of the report, as the values ofupholding the rule of law as set out in Article 2 TEU areis a matter to be addressed at the highest political level.
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the annual rule of law review cycle is a welcome addition to the tools available to preserve the Article 2 TEU values by addressing the situation in all EU Member States in a report based on four pillars with a direct bearing on respect for the rule of law;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and to develop an effective EU mechanism onto protect democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights effectively and to ensure that Article 2 TEU values are upheld throughout the Union;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the Member States introduced emergency measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the fact that the functioning of justice systems, the anti- corruption framework, media pluralism and certain institutional issues related to checks and balances, including civic space to a certain extent, are all part of the Commission’s annual report; regrets, however, that not all rule of law issues were covered in sufficient detail in the 2021 report; calls for the inclusion in the annual report of other important elements of the Venice Commission’s 2016 Rule of Law Checklist; believes that civic space deserves a separate subheading in the report; welcomes the Commission’s analysis of political pressure and influence on the media; calls on the Commission to provide clearer illustrations of systematic disinformation and foreign interference campaigns aimed at reducing public trust in state institutions and independent media;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Regrets the fact that several Member States, in particular Hungary and Poland, had to be mentioned several times by the Commission as points of concern in the synthesis report and that no tangible improvements have been made since; recalls that since June 2021 Parliament has also addressed the rule of law situation in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia in its plenary resolutions; further recalls that Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group has also addressed similar issues in Bulgaria, Greece, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that the annual report should identify cross-cutting trends at EU level; asks the Commission to identify instances where certain measures or practices that undermine the rule of law in one Member State become blueprints for others, or when the gravity and scope of such deficiencies have the potential to affect and to watch out in particular for the risk that others follow suit; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to highlight the negative effect that breaches of the rule of law can have on the Union as a whole;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the EU institutions to read the annual reports on the rule of law in the light of the reports on fundamental rights published by the European Agency of Fundamental Rights, given the close connection between democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Welcomes the fact that the report includes a section on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rule of law; urges the Commission to assess in due course whether the measures taken by Member States were indeed time-limited, necessary and proportionate, while observing checks and balances;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Underlines its concern at the fact that women and people in vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, children, religious minorities, particularly at a time of rising antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred in Europe, Romani people and other persons belonging to ethnic and linguistic minorities, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, LGBTI+ persons and elderly people, continue to see their rights not being fully respected across the Union; emphasises the obvious link between deteriorating rule of law standards and violations of fundamental rights and minority rights;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to explore the full potential of developing the FRA in accordance with principles relating to the status and functioning of national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights (the Paris Principles) in order for it to become a fully independent body providing impartial and publicly available positions on country- specific situations in the field of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights; underlines that such development should go hand in hand with an increase in available resources;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Reiterates that the annual report should serve as a basis formust be fit to serve as a reference for the institutions when they are deciding whether to activate one or several relevant tools such as Article 7 TEU, the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, the Rule of Law Framework or infringement procedures, including expedited procedures, applications for interim measures before the CJEU and actions regarding non-implementation of CJEU judgments; calls on the institutions to activate such tools without delay;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recalls that infringement procedures are the core instrument to protect and defend EU law and the common values enshrined in Article 2 TEU; notes with concern that the number of infringement procedures launched by the Commission has plummeted since 2004; is surprised by the fact that infringement procedures are not triggered systematically as soon as the relevant infringement is documented in the annual report; deplores the Commission’s reluctance to exhaust the possibilities of infringement procedures against Member States as the instrument most tailored to resolve the issues efficiently and without delay; notes that this reluctance resulted in calls on Member States to initiate inter-State cases in accordance with Article 259 TFEU; is concerned that without systematic and timely application the preventive capacity of infringement procedures declinesdeplores the fact that the decision to launch an infringement procedure is not based on purely legal analysis; calls on the Commission to take action in all circumstances, not only when prosecution suits its political agenda;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Recalls the importance of the preliminary rulings on the rule of law; takes the view that the relevant case-law of the CJEU helped define the rule of law; calls on the Commission to base its analysis on these definitions;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission to closely monitor the rulings of national courts regarding the primacy of EU law over national legislation and in particular the incompatibility of certain articles of the Treaties with national constitutions; urges the Commission to ensure immediate and adequate responses to refusals to implement and respect CJEU rulings;