Activities of Isabel GARCÍA MUÑOZ related to 2021/2180(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law Report
Amendments (12)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Underlines that the Union’s budget and financial interests shall be implemented and protected in accordance with the general principles embedded in the Union Treaties, in particular the values in the Article 2 TEU, and with the principle of sound financial management enshrined in the Article 317 of the TFEU and in the Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council; highlights that the Rule of law is both a guiding value and an essential precondition for compliance with those principles;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls its resolution of 8 July 2021 on the creation of guidelines for the application of the Conditionality Regulation; insists that the Commission include in its annual rRule of law reports a section dedicated to cases where rRule of law breaches in a Member State have affected, could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the Union’s financial interests in a sufficiently direct way; calls on the Commission to present in its future reports a summary of the actions undertaken at national or EU level to address such cases, as well as to what extent they have protected the Union’s budget;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Regrets that the Commission has not implemented the recommendations included in Parliament’s resolution of 24 June 2021 and, as a result, that the 2021 report remains mainly descriptive and does not provide sufficient analysis or foresees remedies, which undermines its preventive role; recalls its request to the Commission to include country-specific recommendations on how to address the concerns identified or remedy Rule of law breaches, including concrete actions and deadlines for implementation, as well as to follow-up on the implementation of its recommendations and the remedial actions; reiterates that the annual reports shall assess the intensity of the Rule of Law breaches, as well as the systemic or isolated nature; believes that the Commission’s recommendations shall be linked to concrete Union tools, such as the Article 7 TEU procedures or the Conditionality Regulation, for cases where Member States fail the implementation;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that the four areas assessed in the 27 country chapters of the Commission’s 2021 rRule of law report (the justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism, and other institutional checks and balances) are key interdependent pillars for upholding the rRule of law, fighting fraud and protecting the Union’s financial interests; welcomes the evaluation of the effects of COVID-19 on the four issues assessed; highlights the importance of continuing this evaluation in future annual rRule of law reports to contribute to streamlining anti-corruption measures in pandemic-related areas, such as recovery funds, emergency legislation and medical care; points out that COVID- 19 pandemic has shortened legislative processes and reduced parliamentary debate and consultation of civil society and other stakeholders;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Points out that measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic often involve exceptional and necessary flexibility in administrative rules and controls in the interests of rapid reaction, and welcomes that the subsequent risks for the Rule of law and for the fight against corruption were mitigated in some cases by safeguards built into the national emergency regimes; recalls in this regard Parliament’s resolution of 15 December 2021 on preventive measures for avoiding corruption, irregular spending and misuse of EU and national funds in case of emergency funds and crisis-related spending areas; stresses that in emergency situations like the COVID-19 outbreak, the health sector is particularly exposed to corruption with regard to public procurement, medical-related services, and COVID-19 fraud;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Highlights that Rule of law breaches in Member States can undermine economic and social recovery, particularly when affecting EU instruments for structural reforms such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Structural Funds; asks the Commission to inform in the annual Rule of law reports on the relevant reform priorities included in the national Recovery and Resilience Plans that contribute to protect the EU budget and the Union’s financial interest in the four areas assessed;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Reiterates that the fight against corruption requires that breaches of the law be effectively pursued by investigative and prosecution services, that national courts be independent and that the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union be respected; points out that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the national justice systems’ vulnerability to disruption in emergency situations and thus, stresses the importance of investing in human and financial resources and digitalisation, as well as addressing structural obstacles, to improve significantly their efficiency and resilience;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that corruption prevention policies cover many fields, typically including ethical rules, awareness-raising measures, rules on asset disclosures, incompatibilities and conflicts of interest, public procurement, internal control mechanisms, rules on lobbying, and revolving doors; reiterates the role of national measures in preventing fraud and corruption, as well as in recovering the profit from those cases; welcomes in this regard the information included in the 2021 report about cases of corruption involving high-level officials in Member States and calls on provision of more clarification in future reports with regard to whether EU funds have been affected;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Reiterates its call for the Commission to assess not only the existence but the effectiveness of the national anti-corruption legislation, policies and strategies, including key elements such as clear and measurable objectives, adequate budgetary resources, regular evaluations and well-defined responsibilities for specialised institutions; appreciates that the report comments on the overall good performance of Member States in the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index and, in this regard, welcomes that ten Member States are in the top twenty of the countries perceived as least corrupt in the world and other fourteen Member States remain above the average or have improved their scores, while deeply regrets that some others have registered a significant deterioration in perceived corruption levels;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that transparency, access to public information, media freedom and pluralism, the protection of whistleblowers and an overall culture of integrity in public life are key to preventing and detecting corruption as facilitate the public scrutiny and keep public trust; expresses its concern about deteriorating developments in these areas in several Member States; calls on the Commission, in coordination with the relevant EU and national institutions and bodies, to act against the breaches it has identified in its previous annual rRule of law reports;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Welcomes the fact that the 2021 report pays particular attention to the financing of political parties due to its importance in shaping a European electoral space and influence on civil society; is concerned that political party financing can be used as a conduit for corruption, and supports the importance of transparency and the rigour of regulation; calls on the Commission to maintain its focus on this issue in future reports including, where necessary, on reforms that may affect compliance with the requirements for political parties members of European political parties;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Is concerned that in many Member States, the lack of adequate resources allocated for investigating corruption and prosecution authorities have created particular difficulties in hiring or retaining highly specialised personnel; points out that public officials need appropriate support, particularly in emergency situations, in order to secure the quality of the public administration, and how authorities apply the law and implement court decisions; reiterates that uniform, up to date and consolidated statistics across all Member States are instrumental to track the comparative success of the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences; calls, therefore, on the Commission to use its annual reports to support the Union-wide harmonisation of definitions of such offences, as well as a better use of data sets in order to obtain comparative data across the EU on the treatment of corruption cases;