Activities of Tineke STRIK related to 2021/2025(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The Commission’s 2020 rule of law report (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report
Amendments (64)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7
Citation 7
— having regard to Article 49 TEU, the Copenhagen criteria and the body of Union rules that a candidate country must fulfil if it wishes to join the Union (the acquis),
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16
Citation 16
— having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union of 23 May 2007 and Council Conclusions on EU priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2020-2022,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Union is founded on the values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), values which are common to the EU Member States and which EU candidates countries must adhere to in order to join the EU; 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 respect of the rule of law binds the Union as a whole, and its Member States at all levels of governance;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas while the 2020 report raises concerns and awareness, it does not provide a sufficient assessment of the effectiveness of the reformchanges carried out by each country, nor any concrete country- specific recommendations or an examination of a country’s adherence to the rule of law over time, which could jeopardise its intended preventive effects;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas without effective follow- up under an annual monitoring cycle, the 2020 report may fail to detect or address systemic challenges and backsliding on the rule of law as witnessed in several EU Member States in recent years;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights in some countries is seriously affecting mutual trust in the functioning of the area of freedom, security and justice and threatening the Union objectives as enshrined in Article 3 of the TEU, as illustrated by several cases where the European Arrest Warrant was put under a strain due to profound doubts about the independence of the judiciary;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas emergency measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have put more pressure on fundamental rights and democratic checks and balances;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the fact that justice systems, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and certain institutional issues related to checks and balances, including civic space, are all part of the Commission’s annual overview of the rule of law situation in the Member States; calls moreover for the inclusion in the annual reports of certain important elements of the Venice Commission’s 2016 Rule of Law Checklist, such as legal safeguards to prevent arbitrariness and abuse of power by public authorities, independence and impartiality of the Bar and equality before the law and non-discrimination; encourages the Commission to also highlight positive trends in Member States that could serve as good examples for others to follow;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes with satisfaction that the report contains country specific chapters; commends the Commission’s efforts to engage with national Governments and national Parliaments as well as civil society and other national actors; encourages the Commission to devote more efforts to deepen the country analyses with a view to better assess the severity of rule of law challenges; believes that more time should be devoted to the Commission’s country visits, including on site, in order to achieve broader engagement and dialogue with national authorities and civil society; considers that the Commission should raise greater awareness of such country visits to foster the emergence of a rule of law culture at national level;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the potential preventive benefits of the annual Rule of Law Report; considers that a more thorough evaluation is needed to assess whether the report has had a preventive effect; considers that in any event this is clearly not the case as regards the Member States under the Article 7(1) TEU procedure; believes that the 2020 report should have provided more in-depth assessments, stating whether there is a risk of or actual breach of the Union values in each of the pillars under analysis in the country chapters; considers these assessments necessary to identify follow-up actions and remedial measures and tools; calls for a synthetic approach in the horizontal report in order to clearly identify where the most important risks and problems lie across Member States;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. CIs concerned by the spill-over effects of the erosion of media freedom into the other areas of analysis and the chilling effect of smear campaigns against academics, journalists, judges, legal professionals and civil society organisations and in particular strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) actions; calls for a more integrated analysis on the interlinkages between the four pillars included in the report and of how combined deficiencies may amount to systemic breaches of the rule of law;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the annual reports should identify cross-cutting trends at Union level; believes that a Union-wide perspective is absent from the 2020 report; asks the Commission to identify instances where certain practices undermining the rule of law, media freedom, check and balances or the fight against corruption in one Member State are becoming blueprints for others or when the gravity and scope of such practices have the potential to affect the Union as a whole; calls for the prioritisation of these Union-wide trends, including the increasing challenges by national Constitutional Courts to the EU legal architecture, in the analysis, to be able to direct remedial action at Union level;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the annual reports should identify cross-cutting trends at Union level; believes that a Union-wide perspective is absent from the 2020 report; asks the Commission to identify instances where certain measures or practices undermining the rule of law are becoming blueprints for others or when the gravity and scope of such practices have the potential to affect the Union as a whole;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Regrets that its findings on the rule of law situation in several Member States, such as Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Malta and Slovenia are not fully reflected in the Commission’s country reports;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the monitoring of the independence, quality and efficiency of the Member States’ justice systems and hence their capacity to provide for effective judicial protection to ensure compliance with Union law; considers that the enabling environment to ensure access to justice for all should also be monitored, including access to justice at Union level; considers that the reports should go beyond a static annual snapshot and include information on relevant antecedents in the country chapters to enable an accurate, dynamic and integral assessment of the de jure and de facto independence of judicial systems, including the independence of lawyers and Bars, as well as over a longer period of time than the previous twelve months;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is alarmed by the stark deterioration of the independence of some Member States’ justice systems and the increasing open lack of compliance with EU law, including judgments of the Court of Justice, as reflected in some country chapters; calls on the Commission to clearly assess and designate such shortcomings and findings identified as a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law; is deeply concerned by the Commission’s failure to promptly and legally react with respect of the serious risks regarding the rule of law identified in country reports, particularly after these serious risks have become actual breaches of the rule of law;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. 1. Highlights that, in accordance with Article 17(1) TEU, the Commission is to ensure the application of the Treaties and of secondary legislation, including in cases where risks of serious breaches of the values laid down in Article 2 TEU, identified in country reports, have effectively materialised following the publication of the 2020 report;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Decries the fact that the initiation of preliminary ruling proceat the functioning of the preliminary ruling mechanism has been deliberately undermined ings before the Court of Justice of the EU has been declared unlawful in Member States subject to Article 7 of the TEU; is appalled by the growing resistance of some Member States to Poland and Hungary to prevent national judges from asking questions to the Court of Justice in relation to EU requirements relating to judicial independence; is appalled by the growing and deliberate lack of complyiance with CJEU rulings on the grounds of sovereignty or unconstitutionality; believes that these unlawful developments pose a systemic threat to the Union and the functioning of its legal order; considers, therefore, that forthcoming annual reports should consider challenges to the Union’s legal architectnon-respect with the rulings of the CJEU as serious violations in the assessment; urges the Commission to ensure an immediate and legal response to any instance where national authorities refuse to comply with a specific judgment of the CJEU or more generally, the case law of the CJEU, such as couret and principles as serious violations ctions under Article 260 TFEU; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the Polish Constitutional Tribunal's case regarding the assessmentprimacy of national constitutional norms over EU law launched at the request of the Prime Minister;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Is alarmed by the legislative measures adopted in some Members States under the pretext of COVID-19 measures; reaffirms its position that such measures need to respect EU fundamental rights and the rule of law and considers that equal treatment of persons is crucial1a; _________________ 1a Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0307.
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Expresses concern at the use of legal measures by governments and powerful individuals to silence critics, such as the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), or the use of laws curtailing the right to freedom of expression in a manner incompatible with international human rights law, for example against LGBTI and women’s activists;calls on the Commission to accelerate the setting up of the expert group on SLAPPs as foreseen in the European Democracy Action Plan, to begin its work as soon as feasible and to ensure any upcoming legislative proposal addresses these issues;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the dedication of a specific chapter to anti-corruption efforts in each country report; points out that while the existence of national anticorruption strategies can be considered progress, their effectiveness on the ground must also be assessed; notes that an assessment of the resilience of the anti-corruption framework to tackle corruption-related risks in the area of public procurement remains largely absent from the 2020 report; invites the Commission to place greater emphasis on the misuse of EU funds, particularly in view of the new conditionality mechanism, and to review the proper functioning of investigation and public prosecution services in each Member State in relation to the investigation and prosecution of fraud, including tax fraud, corruption or other breaches of Union law relating to the implementation of the Union budget or to the protection of the financial interests of the Union;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the dedication of a specific chapter to anti-corruption efforts in each country report since systemic corruption undermines both the functioning of the rule of law and the trust of citizens in the decisions taken by authorities, civil servants and the judiciary; points out that while the existence of national anticorruption strategies can be considered progress, their effectiveness on the ground must also be assessed; notes that an assessment of the resilience of the anti-corruption framework to tackle corruption-related risks in the area of public procurement remains largely absent from the 2020 report; invites the Commission to place greater emphasis on the misuse of EU funds, particularly in view of the new conditionality mechanism;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Is deeply concerned by the growing threat caused by corruption- related crimes and calls on the Commission to update and enhance where necessary the Union’s anti-corruption legislation, making use of the findings of the report to better respond to the identified deficiencies;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Deplores the lack of assessment as regards the public media sector at national level and its degree of independence from governmentde jure and de facto independence from national authorities, political parties or any other interference and an assessment of media concentration and transparency of media ownership; deplores the lack of assessment of the jure and de facto degree of independence of national media regulatory bodies; believes that proper implementation of Article 30 of the 2018 Audiovisual and Media Services Directive19 should be closely monitored; _________________ 19 OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 69.
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Deplores the lack of assessment as regards the public media sector at national level and its degree of independence from government or any other interference and an assessment of transparency of media ownership; believes that proper implementation of Article 30 of the 2018 Audiovisual Media Services Directive19 should be closely monitored; _________________ 19 OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 69.
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is alarmed by the growing deterioration of media freedom and media pluralism in some Member States since the publication of the 2020 report; observes with concern that challenges to media freedom are interlinked with the undermining of artistic freedom and academic freedom; calls, therefore, for this pillar to be expanded to all aspects of freedom of expression and for the title of the pillar to be adapted accordinglyis deeply concerned at the abuses, crimes and deadly attacks being committed against journalists and media workers in the Union in view of their activities;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Observes with concern that challenges to media freedom are interlinked with the undermining of artistic freedom and academic freedom; calls, therefore, for this pillar to be expanded to all aspects of freedom of expression and for the title of the pillar to be adapted accordingly;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the report’s pillar on checks and balances, covering, inter alia, the process for preparing and enacting laws, the regime for the constitutional review of laws, the role of independent authorities and of civil society organisations in safeguarding the rule of law, and its examination of exceptional measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Reiterates its concern about the increasingly shrinking space for independent civil society in some Member States, in particular for women's rights organisations, LGBTI organisations and human rights defenders, including criminalisation of activities, unreasonable administrative burdens, restrictions in access to funding, decreasing financial support for conducting advocacy, as well as restrictions on freedom of assembly and organisation;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Stresses in particular the deterioration of the independence of some Member States’ equality bodies since the publication of the reports, which constitutes an immediate threat to the fundamental rights of citizens;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Invites the Commission to define clear benchmarks on an enabling civic spaceStresses the importance of a healthy civic space to counterbalance the erosion of the rule of law and foster a rule of law culture; invites the Commission to deepen the assessment of civic space in the forthcoming 2021 report; considers beneficial to explore the definition of clear benchmarks on an enabling civic space to further strengthen this area of analysis in the long run, including, among others, the enabling legal environment for the exercise of civic freedoms, the framework for civic organisations’ financial viability and sustainability, access to and participation in decision-making, the right to access to information, safe space, including as regards incidence and responses to verbal and physical attacks, smear campaigns and legal harassment including through Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Recalls the importance of independent national human rights institutions and ombudsman bodies, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, as well as equality bodies, in preserving citizens’ rights and being able to defend the rule of law at national level; is deeply concerned by recent attempts in a Member State subject to Article 7(1) TEU to undermine the independence of the national Ombudsman from the executive;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Regrets that the non- implementation, which in itself constitutes a serious violation of the rule of law, by a Member State subject to Article 7 of the TEUHungary of a CJEU ruling in relation to the unlawful restrictions imposed on the financing of civil organisations by persons established outside that Member State, continues to prevent civil society organisations from operating in an environment compliant with the rule of law; urges the Commission to refer Hungary to the CJEU and request dissuasive financial sanctions under Article 260 TFEU as a matter of urgency; notes with concern that an increasing number of Member States are adopting legislation thatwhich severely impinges onconstraints the freedom of association and expression for civil society organisations thus contributing to a shrinking space for civil society in breach of the EU Treaties;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Regrets that the non- implementation, which in itself constitutes a serious violation of the rule of law, by a Member State subject to Article 7 of the TEU of a CJEU ruling in relation to restrictions imposed on the financing of civil organisations by persons established outside that Member State, perpetuates the process of shrinking space for civil society in that Member State; notes with concern that an increasing number of Member States are adopting legislation that severely impinges on the freedom of association and expression for civil society organisations;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Regrets that the report fails to recognise in clear terms the deliberate process of democratic and rule of law backsliding organised by national authorities in some EU Member States and the ensuing progressive establishment of (semi-)autocratic regimes, based on the gradual annihilation of all checks and balances; calls on the Commission to acknowledge and take account of the multiple and authoritative annual reports and indexes which measures EU Member States’ adherence to democracy, rule of law and human rights over time;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Encourages the Commission to consider including within the scope of futurthe reports the application of all rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights;, stresses that any action undertaken by a Member State when acting within the scope of EU law must respect the rights and principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; insists therefore, on the link between upholding the rule of law and the right to an effective remedy before an independent and impartial tribunal established by law, the right to a fair trial and the right to be advised, defended and represented, as well as the obligation to provide independent legal aid;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Underlines with concern that people in vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, children, religious minorities, especially in times of rising anti-semitism and islamophobia in Europe, Roma and other persons belonging to ethnic minorities, migrants, refugees, LGBTI+ persons and elderly persons, as well as women continue not seeing their rights fully respected across the Union; emphasizes the obvious link between deteriorating rule of law standards and human rights and minority rights violations in those Member States;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Member States to present annual reports on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, equality and rights of persons belonging to minorities as part of the Union’s annual reporting mechanism;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement of its strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; believes that such an annual review should provide input for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism and that its methodology, cycle and scope should therefore be aligned with the annual reports; commits in the future to combine its annual work on the rule of law and fundamental rights reports into one document, reflecting also on democracy, and to start working on it immediately after the rule of law report by the Commission is published;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement of its strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; considers that focusing annually on a single pre-defined topic would not allow to highlight other serious violations of the Charter taking place on a given year; believes that such an annual review should provide input for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism and that its methodology, cycle and scope should therefore be aligned with the annual reports;
Amendment 235 #
21. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the regular, inclusive and structured dialogue with governments and national parliaments, NGOs, professional associations and other stakeholders, and to continue with the practice of allowing for both public and confidential reporting, in order to protect and support human rights defenders and rule of law specialists at risk of SLAPPs, prosecution or harassment by national authorities or their proxies; notes that three Member States refused to make public their submissions for the 2020 report; calls for transparency in the process and for all submissions to be made public;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the regular, inclusive and structured dialogue with governments and national parliaments, NGOs, national human rights institutions, Ombudsman and equality bodies, professional associations and other stakeholders; noteregrets that three Member States refused to make public their submissions for the 2020 report; calls for transparency in the process and for all submissions to be made public;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses that civil society are key partners to identify rule of law violations and promote democracy and fundamental rights in countries where Union values have been eroded; considers that shadow reporting would bolster the efficiency and transparency of the processtimeframes for consultation for civil society are too short and should be more predictable; notes that organising consultations before the annual release of public statistics impoverishes contributions; calls on the Commission to allow multilingual submissions; suggests making the framework for stakeholders’ contributions less rigid;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses that civil society are key partners to identify rule of law violations and promote democracy and fundamental rights in countries where Union values have been eroded; considers that shadow reporting, with national authorities’ submissions made publicly available and then followed by contributions from civil society, including during country visits, would bolster the efficiency and transparency of the process;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers that cooperation in the annual monitoring cycle with the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly, including through a more structured partnership, is of particular relevance for advancing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the EU; recalls that accession of the Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is a legal obligation provided for under Article 6(2) TEU; reiterates the need for a swift conclusion of the accession process in order to ensure a consistent framework for human rights protection throughout Europe and to further strengthen the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms within the Union;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers that cooperation in the annual monitoring cycle with the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly, including through a more structured partnership, is of particular relevance for advancing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the EU; calls on the Commission to include into the country reports data on non-compliance with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights as assessed by the Committee of Ministers;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission and the Council to respond positively to Parliament’s call in its resolution of 7 October 2020 for an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights; reiterates that such mechanism is necessary to reinforce the promotion and respect for Union values; recalls that this annual Cycle should be comprehensive, objective, impartial, evidence-based and applied equally and fairly to all Member States; recalls that findings of relevant international bodies, such as the ones under the auspices of the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe, are of crucial importance for the assessment of the situation in Member States; believes that the European Union Fundamental Rights Information System EFRIS is a source of information in this regard;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to provide for a true assessment of the situation of each of the Article 2 TEU values in the Member States and to adopt clear country-specific recommendations, with timelines and targets and concrete actions to be taken, in order to assist Member States in addressing the weaknesses identified in the report, and to be followed up in subsequent annual or urgent reports;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Recommends that the Commission aligns each recommendation with potentially applicable tools to remedy the identified shortcomings; calls on the Commission to better follow-up on the implementation of the country-specific chapters by the Member States concerned by activating other rule of law tools to achieve results in case of non- implementation of the recommendations; considers that the Commission should increase referrals of infringement actions to the Court of Justice; underlines the importance of identifying clear positive and negative trends in each Member State and the need to give special attention to comparisons with the reports of the respective previous year;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)
Paragraph 24 c (new)
24 c. Calls on the Commission and the Council to enter without delay into negotiations with Parliament on an interinstitutional agreement in accordance with Article 295 TFEU in order to establish an objective and evidence-based monitoring mechanism enshrined in a legal act binding the three institutions to a transparent and regularised process, with clearly defined responsibilities, involving a panel of independent experts that shall advise the three institutions, in strong cooperation with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, so that the protection and promotion of all Union values becomes a permanent and visible part of the Union agenda;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24 b. Calls on the Commission and the Council to enter without delay into negotiations with Parliament on an interinstitutional agreement in accordance with Article 295 TFEU in order to establish an objective and evidence-based monitoring mechanism enshrined in a legal act binding the three institutions to a transparent and regularised process, with clearly defined responsibilities, involving a panel of independent experts that shall advise the three institutions, in strong cooperation with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, so that the protection and promotion of all Union values becomes a permanent and visible part of the Union agenda; commits in the meantime to launch a pilot project assessing the compliance with Union values with the involvement of independent experts;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. SReiterates that the DRF mechanism must complement and reinforce, and by no means substitute, the ongoing and future proceedings under Article 7 TEU; strongly regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes that the Council’s hesitance to apply Article 7 of the TEU effectively is in fact enabling continued divergence fromsregard of the values provided for in Article 2 of the TEU; calls for a reflection at the ConferenceTEU with increasing open non- compliance with judgments of the CJEU and the harassment onf the Future of Europe on a revision of theose seeking to uphold the rule of law in some EU Member States; calls on the Council to ensure that hearings under Article 7(1) TEU procedure in order to realign the majority requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 with a view to having super-majorare regularly organised and also address new developments; reiterates its recommendation to the Council to address concrete recommendations to the Member States in question, as provided for in Article 7(1) of the TEU, as a follow-up to the hearings, and that it indicate deadlines for the implementation of those recommendations; invities of four or five for both proceduresto reflect upon a revision of the Article 7 TEU procedure by the Conference on the Future of Europe in order to realign the majority requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Strongly regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes that the Council’s hesitance to apply Article 7 of the TEU effectively is enabling continued divergence from the values provided for in Article 2 of the TEU; regrets the Council’s failure to organise hearings under the pretext of the COVID-19 whereas there is no legal obligation whatsoever to require hearings in personas opposed to hearings via videoconferencing; requests the public release of any eventual legal opinion of the Council Legal Service arguing otherwise; calls for a reflection at the Conference on the Future of Europe on a revision of the Article 7 TEU procedure in order to realign the majority requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 with a view to having super-majorities of four or five for both procedures;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reiterates that the annual report should serve as a basis for deciding whether to activate the procedure provided for in Article 7 of the TEU, whether to activate the Rule of Law Framework or whether to launch infringement procedures, including expedited procedures, applications for interim measures before the Court of Justice and actions regarding non-implementation of CJEU judgments concerning the protection of Union values; considers that the Conference on the Future of Europe should further assert the precedence of the EU legal order; invites the Conference on the Future of Europe to consider strengthening the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in protecting the Union’s founding values;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reiterates that the annual report should serve as a basis for deciding whether to activate the procedure provided for in Article 7 of the TEU, whether to activate the Rule of Law Framework or whether to launch infringement procedures, including expedited procedures, applications for interim measures before the Court of Justice and actions regarding non-implementation of CJEU judgments concerning the protection of Union values; recalls that infringement actions can be simultaneously launched in respect of issues identified in Article 7(1) TEU reasoned proposals as already established by the CJEU;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. CStresses that the applicability, purpose and scope of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation is clearly defined in the legal text of the said Regulation; considers that the European Council conclusions on the Regulation on a general regime of conditionality contravene Article 17 and Article 15 TEU and Article 288 TFEU, and introduce unnecessary legal uncertainty considering some recent developments by Member States subject to Article 7 TEU; calls for action in this regard; recalls that said Regulation applies from 1 January 2021; calls for the Commission to use the findings of the annual report in its assessment that forms the basis of the mechanism to protect the budget against breaches of the principle of the rule of law, as well as in any other relevant assessment for the purposes of existing and future budgetary tools; reiterates its call on the Commission to dedicate a specific section of the annual report to an analysis of cases where breaches of the principles of the rule of law in a particular Member State could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget in a sufficiently direct way; calls on the Commission to more vigorously apply the Common Provisions Regulation and the Financial Regulation to tackle discriminatory use of European funds, as it did when withholding funds for municipal or local governments proclaiming themselves to be ‘‘free from LGBTI ideology’’;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Calls on the Commission to develop a culture of European values, including through strengthened efforts to promote European citizens’ education, which should include rule of law education;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Urges the Commission to invest more into awareness-raising about the Union values and applicable tools, including the annual report, at the national level, especially in those countries where there are serious concerns;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27 b. Calls on the Council and the Commission to provide adequate funding for European-wide, national, regional and local civil society organisations and independent journalism to foster grassroots support for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in all Member States, in particular where violations and shortcomings have been identified; believes that adequate funding under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme is extremely important, including for strategic litigation;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Commission to assess in successive reports how the issues identified in the areas analysed in previous reports have evolved, been solved, risk deteriorating or have further deteriorated, to identify trends and transversal issues and to put forward clear recommendations to remedy any risks or backsliding identified;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Commission to make clear in its annual Rrule of Llaw Rreports that not all rule of law shortcomings and violations are of the same nature and/or intensity and that when the values listed in Article 2 of the TEU are being violated deliberately, gravely, permanently and systematically over a period of time, Member States cease being democracies and become instead elected autocracies; calls, therefore, on the Commission to separately assess countries under ongoing Article 7 TEU proceedings in-depth, in order to illustrate how the rule of law has been structurally undermined to facilitate the consolidation authoritarian-style governance structures;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29 a. Underlines that this report should serve as a basis for the prioritisation of follow-up actions by the EU regarding those Member States where shortcoming or deficiencies are witnessed, firmly placing the contribution of the report within the overarching democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights mechanism;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29 b. Commits to start working on the 2021 report as early as possible after its publication;