Activities of Radosław SIKORSKI related to 2019/2209(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Eastern Partnership, in the run-up to the June 2020 Summit
Amendments (34)
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas certain EaP countries chose to pursue a closer political, human and economic integration with the EU by concluding ambitious Association Agreements (AAs) with DCFTAs, as well as visa-free regimes and Common Aviation Area Agreements;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas other EaP partner countries pursue a more nuanced level of ambition towards the EU; Armenia is part of the Russian led economic (Eurasian Economic Union) and military (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) regional integration structures and enjoys the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU; Azerbaijan as of 2017 is negotiating a new comprehensive agreement with the EU which will replace the archaic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1999; Belarus does not have any treaty based contractual relationship with the EU, however recently the visa facilitation and readmission agreements have been signed;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas since the establishment of the Eastern Partnership, partner countries have displayed a varied pace of political and economic reforms, due to both internal and external factors, and have not yet reached a point where these reforms are irreversible;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas even more advanced forms of cooperation and integration are possible, provided that comprehensive reforms are implemented in a timely and sustainable mannera progress in the respect for the rule of law and in strengthening democracy is achieved;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas in recent years the EaP countries have become subject to the interest and ambition of third countries, such as China, Turkey or the Gulf states, which do not necessary share the values and interests of the EU;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the EU through the Eastern Partnership format has achieved progress in the approximation of the partner countries to the EU regulatory framework, its norms, standards and practices, helped kick-start structural reforms, including of institutions and governance structures, as well as laid down foundations for deep socio- economic and political transformation across the region;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas a direct consequence of the Eastern Partnership was the empowerment, increased expectation and demand for accountability and transparency from the civil society towards the governments of the partner countries, which proved to be a major internal driver for reform in the partner countries;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Fc. whereas since the establishment of EaP the EU has expanded and sustained its political, economic and security presence in the partner countries, thus gaining increased leverage and opportunity to promote its values and principles and increasing the interdependence between the EU and EaP partners;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas the June 2016 European Union’s Global Strategy states that the EU’s priority is fostering resilient, well governed, prosperous and aligned states in the neighbourhood;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) acknowledge and strive for a continuous transformational impact of EaP policy in order to bring about political, social, economic and legal change in the three associated partner countries; partner countries, taking into consideration their level of ambition towards the EU;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point a a (new)
(aa) prioritise the imperative of “more for more democracy and rule of law” in the light of recent developments in both the EU and EaP countries;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) acknowledge that those countries that are undertaking comprehensive reforms and taking action to meet the criteria of Article 49 of the TEU may be eligible for EU membership, through a process of gradual integrationcontinue underlying that, pursuant to Article 49 TEU, any European state may apply to become a member of the EU provided that it adheres to the principles of democracy, respects fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights, and ensures the rule of law;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
(c) embrace and promptly enact an enhanced and future- oriented vision for the next decade of the EaP policy beyond 2020 with the aim of ensuring lasting and irreversible achievements and deepening EU-EaP cooperation, incorporating the EP recommendations;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) promote a tailor-made differentiation approach within the EaP, not hampering the coherence and consistency of the multilateral framework, which remains an important point of reference for all partner countries; avoid splitting the Eastern Partnership along the lines of their ambition towards the EU;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point g
Paragraph 1 – point g
(g) condition and provide greater financial assistance, including in the context of the external financial instruments that are currently under legislative negotiation; such assistance should be tailored to the specific needs of the individual partners and used to implement activities under the EaP programme;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
(ha) establish the position of EU Special Representative for the Eastern Partnership; who would enhance the horizontal approach towards the EaP, which can be lost in the mix of different priorities of the EaP partners at the expense of the overall EaP framework;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
(ja) include multi-stakeholder monitoring into the assessment process of reforms in the EaP countries mandatory for the EaP governments, following the practice already established in Ukraine; create conditions to be in the position to divert assistance in a given EaP partner country from the central authorities, if they do not adhere to commitments, to local authorities or partners;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point j b (new)
(jb) ensure the continuation of the prioritisation of the fight against corruption in EaP countries, by among other reducing the space for corruption through increased transparency, accountability and promotion of “clean” behaviour among the populations at large, strengthening the rule of law, promoting judicial reform, by increasing merit based recruitment and enhancing its independence and promoting good governance; acknowledge that without achieving the abovementioned goals it will be virtually impossible to reach sustainable growth, increase economic activity and development, decrease areas of poverty, increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), increase societal trust and political stability;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n a (new)
(na) prioritise the creation of a roaming free regime between the EU and EaP countries and an intra-EaP one as soon as possible, as excessive roaming charges hamper economic activity and create a considerable burden to societies;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n b (new)
(nb) support and promote development of e-services, both commercial and public, of the e-economy, as well as of a wide range of telework capabilities, in order to strengthen the resilience and resistance in case of crisis, as experienced presently with the coronavirus;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point n c (new)
(nc) support greater diversification and competitiveness of the economies of EaP partners, through increased lending to SMEs in local currencies, know-how or further market access, demonopolisation, deoligarchisation and privatisation;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point o a (new)
(oa) promote and support intra- regional trade among EaP countries, since increased trade with multiple partners contributes to increasing resilience of countries and their economies;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) adopt a comprehensive infrastructure-building plan with the aim of improving transport, energy and digital connectivity between the EU and its Eastern European Partners, and among the EaP countries themselves;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point r
Paragraph 1 – point r
(r) address the EU’s qualified labour shortages bynalyse and support an increasinged labour mobility from thebetween both the EU and EaP countries, and providing social guarantes well as among the partner countries, with a strong focus on legality and sustainability of the process, allowing for skills and experience exchange and avoiding brain drain and local labour shortages;
Amendment 419 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point v a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point v a (new)
(va) acknowledge the increased security interdependence between the EU and EaP; underlines the vast area in which the EU can take advantage of the experience of EaP countries, such as in combating hybrid or cyber-security threats, including election cyber- meddling; establish a formal cyber dialogue with the interested EaP partners;
Amendment 427 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point v b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point v b (new)
(vb) initiate a creation of a forum of democratic allies and international actors (inviting e.g. the US, Canada, Japan, the IMF, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) to analyse and counteract the negative influence of third powers in the region;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point v c (new)
Paragraph 1 – point v c (new)
(vc) strengthen the cooperation in the area of money laundering;
Amendment 446 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point w a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point w a (new)
(wa) propose new forms of voluntary cooperation in the field of security and defence, considering it an area of ambition in the coming future as the EU will gradually aim at creating the European Defence Union;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point x a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point x a (new)
(xa) increase the EU’s support for non- governmental actors and grass root initiatives in regions and rural areas in order to develop their organizational and monitoring capacities, developing local democratic practices;
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point y a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point y a (new)
(ya) identify and reach out to new groups within the society, which could be supportive of the EU in the EaP partner countries in the short and long term, such as business and community leaders, diasporas and national minorities;
Amendment 497 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – subheading 6
Paragraph 1 – subheading 6
Better EU communication
Amendment 503 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point z
Paragraph 1 – point z
(z) increase the visibility of the support provided by the EU in the recipient EaP countries, including by reaching out to people in small communities and rural areas; and boost EU citizens’ awareness about the EaP and the benefits it provides them with;
Amendment 513 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point z a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point z a (new)
(za) acknowledge that a lack of a proper communication and information campaign in front of a disinformation wave to which the EaP countries are being exposed, may result in a loss of this Partnership's decade-long effort, investment and achievements;
Amendment 523 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point z b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point z b (new)
(zb) boost strategic communication efforts in fighting disinformation in EaP countries, increasing media literacy and a rule of law culture and fostering a conducive environment for free, independent and pluralistic media;