Activities of Tineke STRIK related to 2021/2248(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
2021 Report on North Macedonia (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the 2021 Commission Report on North Macedonia
Amendments (64)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
— having regard to the Sofia Summit of 10 November 2020, including the Declaration on the Common Regional Market and the Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)
Citation 20 a (new)
— having regard to the Special Report 01/2022 of the European Court of Auditors: EU support for the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans: despite efforts, fundamental problems persist, of 10 January 2022,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas North Macedonia is a trustworthy partner, having continued to make consistent efforts on its path towards membership of the EU and towards meeting and sustain, currently already meeting the conditions required for the opening of accession negotiations and making continued process in this regards;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas North Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005; whereas the Commission has continuously recommended to open negotiations with the country since 2009;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the Prespa Agreement and the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations are landmark agreements that represent a model for stability and reconciliation in the whole region of the Western Balkans and have improved the spirit of good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas North Macedonia shouldis continuously pressing forward with reforms, demonstrating the best democratic transition record across the Western Balkan region;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas the current hold-up of holding the first Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in the Council of the EU is jeopardizing the Union’s credibility in the Western Balkans and reducing the EU's transformative power and impact in the region considerably;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the misuse of the accession process for the settlement of unilateral cultural-historical disputes by EU Member States is setting a dangerous precedent for the future accession processes for the rest of the Western Balkan countries, especially considering the historical context of the region;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls the needUrges the Council to uphold the pace and credibility of European integration by promptly opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, given that both countries have fulfilled the necessary conditions and delivered sustained results across fundamental areas;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Reminds Member States that the enlargement policy must be driven by objective criteria and not be impeded by unilateral interests; reiterates that the EU’s enlargement policy has been the most effective foreign policy instrument of the Union and that its further dismantlement might lead to an unstable situation in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Regrets recent media statements by the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement suggesting to decouple the decisions on the opening of accession negotiations of North Macedonia and Albania which had to be rectified by the HR/VP; urges the Commission and Member States to immediately start the accession negotiations with both countries in a joint decision;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Commends North Macedonia on its steady progress on the path towards EU membership, its commitment to multiculturalism and inter-ethnic harmony, and its continued positive coherent bilateral engagement;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. UrgeComplements North Macedonia to sustain and intensifyon its continuous efforts to strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence, counter corruption, reform its public administration and consolidate media freedom; encourages the country to sustain and intensify these efforts;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Expresses deep concern regarding revelations based on institutional sources and internal documents, concluding that the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement downplays human rights and rule of law related concerns in accession countries; regrets the lack of a serious response by the European Commission in this regards, which had been called for by the European Parliament and urges the Commission to take the allegations serious and launch an internal investigation, reporting the results of which to the Parliament and the Council;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the increasing transparency and accountability of the Sobranie and urges it to improve legislative quality and, including by conducting proper consultations and impact assessments for key legislation, and to strictly minimise the use of fast-track procedures;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses the need to promptly finalise the electoral reform in a timely fashionransparent and inclusive manner;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Welcomes the smooth organisation of the local elections on 17 and 31 October in a free and fair manner; notes that limited progress was made in addressing the outstanding recommendations from OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission and reiterates that a comprehensive review of electoral legislation and the adoption of the relevant laws still need to be finalised in a timely and inclusive manner;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the implementation of the 2021 population census, in compliance with the relevant standards of the UN and the European Union’s statistical legislation;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Welcomes the establishment of the Commission for Prevention of and Protection against Discrimination and its work; urges the government to ensure sufficient funding to enable it to achieve its full potential;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Welcomes the establishment of the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination and its ongoing work to address discrimination; urges the government to allocate the necessary resources enabling the Commission to become fully functional;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls the need to reform the legal framework in an inclusive and transparent manner for online and offline media in order to strengthen their independence, transparency of ownership, financial sustainability and self-regulation;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Reiterates its calls for the rules governing state financing and political party advertisements in the media to be revamped in cooperation with professional associations, civil society and experts in order to ensure the competitive and equitable distribution of public funding and safeguard fair competition and editorial independence;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Encourages swift measures to step up editorial and financial independence, impartiality and the professionalism of public service broadcasters and media regulators, and welcomes the ongoing modernisation of these two bodies; calls upon the government to allocate sufficient resources to ensure professionalization and independence of the public broadcaster;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the proposed amendments to the penal code and calls for the implementation of measures that increase the safety of media professionals and tackle attempts to intimidate them and urges lawmakers to speed up the process of the adoption of those amendments;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls the need to strengthen investigative journalism, fact-checking and media literacy as means to tackle hate speech, disinformation and foreign interference campaigns; calls on the Commission to step up its efforts of supporting media plurality in North Macedonia, notably by identifying ways to financially support free and independent media;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Is highly alerted that the EU accession countries in the Western Balkans are being hit particularly hard by attacks in the form of foreign interference and disinformation campaigns stemming from Russia and China, such as Russia’s interference campaigns during the ratification process of the Prespa Agreement in North Macedonia; is alarmed that Hungary and Serbia are helping China and Russia with their geopolitical objectives; condemns in this context the attempts of media outlets and persons close to the Hungarian government to interfere and meddle with the media and media landscape in North Macedonia with the goal of discrediting the government of North Macedonia; urges the European Commission to open dialogue with the Hungarian authorities with regards to this interference and to consider taking necessary steps; recommends convening dialogues with Western Balkan civil society and the private sector to coordinate anti- disinformation efforts in the region, with an emphasis on research and analysis and the inclusion of regional expertise; calls on the Commission to build up the infrastructure required to produce evidence-based responses to both short- term and long-term disinformation threats in the Western Balkans; calls on the EEAS to pivot to a more proactive stance, focusing on building the EU’s credibility in the region, rather than defending it, in expanding StratCom monitoring to focus on cross-border disinformation threats emanating from Western Balkan countries and their neighbours;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Commends the government’s efforts to improve engagement with civil society and calls for a framework to ensure the financial sustainability of civil society organisations, in order to enable the necessary checks and balances in a democratic society; reminds that further efforts are needed to ensure a more a timely, meaningful and transparent consultation process with civil society; in this context, praises the case of the LGBTI Interparty Parliamentary Working Group as a good example of cooperation between institutions and civil society that should be further utilized;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Commends the government’s efforts to improve engagement with civil society and calls for a framework to ensure the financial sustainability of civil society organisations; strongly welcomes in this optic the creation of the Inter-Party Parliamentary Group for Improvement of the Rights of LGBTI People, which constitutes a positive synergy between civil society and institutions;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes the improvements in ensuring women’s rights and gender- responsive policies; welcomes the adoption of the law aimed at preventing violence against women and domestic violence and encourages the alignment of the penal code with the Istanbul Convention; invites North Macedonia to continue all efforts aimed at gender equality and women’s rights, including by prioritising gender mainstreaming and increased cooperation with civil society, in particular women’s organisations;
Amendment 153 #
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Calls on lawmakers in North Macedonia to take steps to ensure an adequate representation of women in all decision-making positions, and to further address the lack of implementation of women workers’ rights, gender stereotyping, gender imbalance, and gender pay gap in the labour force; points to significant gender differences in participation and quality of work, insufficient action on sexual harassment in the workplace, discrimination in legal provisions related to maternity leave, and the lack of childcare and pre-school capacity;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. Calls on the Parliament and government to develop a new strategy to tackle the issues faced by the Roma community, which were also exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, replacing the previous strategy which expired in 2020; expresses concern for the decision to reduce the budget for Roma inclusion and encourages the relevant authorities to reconsider it;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22 b. Welcomes the success of the second Pride in 2021; calls upon the Parliament to urgently adopt a national action plan on LGBTI issues and to ensure the allocation of sufficient ressources for its implementation; urges all political actors to amend the Law on Civil registry and ensure swift and unimpeded legal gender recognition based on self-determination;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the relevant bodies to proactively prevent and systematically prosecute all instances of hate speech, hate crimes and intimidation, to thoroughly investigate related attacks and to ensure the safety and security of their targets, such as journalists, people belonging to minorities and other vulnerable groups; reiterates its call on the government and the judiciary to improve institutional capacities in this area and to ensure that the fight against the increase in hate speech is conducted in accordance with international standards;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the relevant bodies to proactively prevent and systematically prosecute all instances of hate speech, hate crimes and intimidation, to thoroughly investigate related attacks and to ensure the safety and security of their targets, such as journalists, people belonging to minorities and other vulnerable groups; calls for the government and the judiciary to improve institutional capacity in this area and ensure increasing hate speech is addressed in accordance with international standards;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Is concerned by the stark increase of misinformation and discriminatory speech against LGBTI people and human rights defenders in the media and political sphere; condemns the hate speech and death threats levelled at LGBTI human rights defenders and urges full investigation and sanctioning of these incidents; stresses the importance of updating and adopting education laws which remove discriminatory and stigmatising contents and are harmonized with the Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Is concerned by cases of police brutality against marginalized communities such as Roma, LGBTI+ persons, people who use drugs, or sex workers; calls for more effective measures, such as genuinely independent investigators, to address police impunity and establish an effective prosecution;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24 b. Urges all political actors to stop and condemn hate speech, smear campaigns and harassment of independent civil society organisations and calls upon the competent authorities to enforce a zero-tolerance approach regarding intimidation, threats and acts of violence against journalists and human rights defenders and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Welcomes North Macedonia’s membership of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; recalls the need to open up Yugoslav secret service archives in order to vigorously address communist- era crimes across the region;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Recalls the need to open up Yugoslav secret service archives in order to thoroughly address communist-era crimes across the region;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for the EU to boost its support for humanitarian assistance and border protectionmanagement in the region; reiterates its calls for North Macedonia to improve access to asylum, migration management and reception conditionswhile fully respecting fundamental rights, and to establish dignified reception conditions, including special safeguards for unaccompanied minors, offering safe and orderly pathways, with the view to significantly strengthening capacity for processing asylum claims and improving cooperation with the EU on among others resettlement;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Urges the Commission to seriously consider the special report 01/2022 of the European Court of Auditors and implement its recommendations, thus adapting its Rule of Law related investments in the Western Balkans and North Macedonia;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Welcomes the considerable progress made and supports the measures enforced in countering corruption and organised crime; calls on the Member States to enhance cross-border judicial cooperation with the Western Balkan countries in criminal matters while fully respecting the EU data protection acquis;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Underlines the importance of continuing to delivering justice in major lawsuits related to the abuse of office, corruption and terror, including the April 2017 attacks against the Sobranie, illegal wiretapping and extortion; calls in this context on Hungary to work with the Macedonian authorities to follow-up on the extradition request for their criminal former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled a jail sentence in North Macedonia and was granted asylum in Hungary;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Calls for decisive action against money laundering and financial crime; urges the strengthening of the capacity of law enforcement bodies to fight organised crime; calls on the Macedonian authorities to adopt and implement the necessary legislation regulating the activity of the Asset Recovery Office and enhancing the effectiveness of the national asset recovery system to the benefit of all citizens;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Encourages the authorities to improve access to social, education and healthcare services, in particular for people from the Roma and LGBTIQ communities and other minorities and vulnerable groups;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38 a. Encourages North Macedonia to continue making progress in the implementation of reforms related to youth and education while taking into account the effects of contemporary developments such as the Covid-19 pandemic; calls for a revision of the Law for Secondary Education through an inclusive process involving experts, practitioners and civil society, paying particular attention to the rights of students with disabilities;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Encourages North Macedonia to continue harnessing the potential offered by digitalisation, while continuously aligning with the EU acquis in this regard; underlines the need to step up EU support for the rule of law, sustainable green growth, biodiversity, innovation, competitiveness, property rights and the reversal of the brain drain; underlines the need to boost investment in youth empowerment;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Recalls that EU funding is based on strict conditionality, while highlighting that any investment must be in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and EU decarbonisation targets;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40 a. Stresses that the EU’s Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) foresees that funding must be modulated or even suspended in the case of significant regression or persistent lack of progress in the area of the so-called “fundamentals”, notably in the field of the rule of law and fundamental rights, including fight against corruption and organised crime, as well as media freedom; stresses that it is in the EU’s own security interests and its responsibility to guarantee that EU funds do not become counterproductive by strengthening clientelistic networks of corrupt politicians and privileged businesses; calls in this context upon the EU and the Western Balkan countries to establish a framework for a fruitful cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office(EPPO) and the Western Balkan countries, in order to ensure that the EPPO can effectively exert its competences in the area of EU funds, in particular in the area of IPA III funds in the Western Balkan countries;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 b (new)
Paragraph 40 b (new)
40 b. Urges the government to considerably step up its ambitions regarding the green transition, notably in the context of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans; regrets that most of last year’s recommendations were not implemented and is concerned by an apparent weak political will from the side of the Macedonian authorities in this regard;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Welcomes North Macedonia’s updated climate pledges; recalls, while calling for the implementation the Paris Agreement, including by adopting a comprehensive climate Strategy and a Law, consistent with the EU 2030 framework; recalls in this context that additional efforts are needed to meet the targets for energy efficiency, renewable energy, security of supply and emission reductions; urges the authorities to adopt and implement energy efficiency legislation, to align environment and climate change legislation with the EU acquis and to ensure its enforcement;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Stresses the urgent need to improve air quality, in particular in urban areas; strongly urges the authorities to step up measures on biodiversity, water, air and climate protection, and regional waste management, including through comprehensive impact assessments, proper public consultations, improved improve inter-sectoral coordination, increased financial resources and rigorous prosecution of environmental crime;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42 a. Urges Macedonian authorities to significantly improve the quality of their strategic environmental assessments (SEA), and to implement and enforce the SEA directive with a view to effectively preventing a negative impact on nature and environment, as well as rooting out corruption in this sector;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 b (new)
Paragraph 42 b (new)
42 b. Calls on Macedonian authorities to ensure that during the process of amending the Law on Urbanization the concerns of the environmental organisations and independent experts regarding potentially devastating consequences on nature protection of the proposed amendments are fully taken into account;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43 a. Considers that stability and unity on the European continent and Western Balkans is of crucial importance in this moment in history, with respect to the recent Russian invasion and atrocious developments in Ukraine; urges Member States to immediately start accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania considering the geopolitical importance of this decision, demonstrating crucial European unity, besides the fact that the countries fulfil all official criteria;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Welcomes the North Macedonia’s commitment to solidarity, multilateralism and good neighbourly relations; expresses support for continued steps to promote both people-to-people contacts across South-East Europe and regional integration by developing the Common Regional Marketencourages Macedonian authorities to re-focus their efforts on an inclusive regional integration bringing the whole region closer to the EU by developing the Common Regional Market launched at the Sofia Summit in November 2020;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. Emphasizes that all regional economic cooperation schemes in the Western Balkans should be inclusive and acceptable to all six countries, establishing cooperation on an equal footing among all six countries, while strengthening further alignment with EU standards and acquis; expresses, in this context, its scepticism towards the Open Balkan Initiative, while pointing to the danger that a regional economic cooperation initiative not encompassing all six countries and not being based on EU rules could have a negative impact on the EU integration processes;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 b (new)
Paragraph 44 b (new)
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Welcomes North Macedonia’s continued commitment to Euro-Atlantic security; commends the country’s increasing alignment with the EU’s foreign, security and defence policy and invites it to align itself with the restrictive measures related to Russiawarmly welcomes the recent alignment with EU sanctions against Russia following the recent Russian invasion in Ukraine; welcomes its continued contributions to EU crisis management missions and operations;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Welcomes the ongoing process of historical reconciliation with neighbouring countries; calls on Bulgaria and North Macedonia to find a compromise on issues related to history and language while reiterating that this dispute should be settled separately from the accession process of North Macedonia and calling on EU Member States to decouple these processes from the Council decision on officially starting negotiations;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Strongly welcomes the political impetus for a renewed dialogue between Bulgaria and North Macedonia and encourages the partners to accelerate engagement in good faith in order to reach an acceptable compromise, thereby bringing societies closer together by enabling a common future in the EU;