Activities of Massimiliano SMERIGLIO related to 2021/2180(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Commission’s 2021 Rule of Law report
Amendments (18)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises the important role of the Committee on Petitions in identifying and flagging possible breaches of the rule of law, taking into account the numerous petitions received from citizens concerned about breaches of the rule of law in several Member States; strongly believes that full protection of all EU citizens and their fundamental rights can only be ensured throughout the Union if all Member States fully comply with all principles of the rule of law;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Stresses that the rule of law is among the common values of the Union and thus essential to achieve its objectives; points out that its promotion and upholding is a shared responsibility between the EU and the Member States;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that the rule of law includes principles such as legality, legal certainty, the separation of powers, the prohibition of the arbitrary exercise of executive power, effective judicial protection by independent and impartial courts in full respect of fundamental rights, the enforcement of judgments including the permanent subjection of all public authorities to established laws and procedures, and equality before the law; underlines that such principles are common to all Member States regardless of their distinct legal systems;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises that judicial accountability and prosecutorial and judicial independence are crucial components of the rule of law; calls on the Commission to enforce these core EU values when they are infringed by Member States in order to increase citizens’ trust in the judiciary; calls on Member States to protect judges and prosecutors from political attacks and pressures, which attempt to undermine their work, so as to fully preserve their independence;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points to the high amount of petitions1 in relation to the impact and challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic; calls for an investigation into whether COVID-19-related measures were limited in time and whether their necessity andin this regard, reminds that the Venice Commission is currently monitoring the measures taken in the Member States as a results of the pandemic and their impacts on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights and its monitoring should be an opportunity to investigate whether such measures were always proportionality waste and justified; requests an assessment of the checks and balances during the pandemic,in this regard, stresses that Member States should capitalise from the COVID-19 esxpecially given that courts in several Member States have already ruled that certain measures were not consistent with the national constitution; underlines the need to have a clear legal regime in place before a crisisrience to make sure that future crises will be handled with the necessary accountability and transparency; commends the efforts made by the Ombudspersons and human rights institutions to ensure the continuity of their work in spite of the great challenges they were facing; _________________ 1 Petitions No 1438/2020, 1469/2020, 1493/2020, 1501/2020, 0038/2021, 0046/2021, 0053/2021, 0106/2021, 0152/2021, 0186/2021 and 0533/2021.
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to improve the effectiveness of the judicial system also by developing the digitalisation processtructural reforms and high- level of digitalisation, which has proven effective in backlogs ' prevention, especially during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic; stresses that adequate financial and human resources are key to develop effective justice systems;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is deeply concerned about the status of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, the close connection between prosecutors and the government (in particular the Public Prosecutor General/Minister of Justice) and the complete disregard for not only EU law requirements, but also European Convention on Human Rights and Polish Constitutional requirements2 ; is further concerned about the impartiality of the judiciary in Hungary3 and the independence of the judiciary in Spain4 ; _________________ 2 Petitions No 0559/2020, 1154/2020, 1246/2020, 1360/2020 and 0869/2021. 3 Petition No 1512/2020. 4 Petitions No 1180/2020, 1182/2020, 1326/2020, 1367/2020, 1561/2020 and 0353/2021.
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Invites the Commission to take measures to strengthen corruption prevention6 in order to create more transparency in public administration and improve access to information about lobbying and oversight of political party financing; stresses that anti-corruption measures are key to defend the Union’s economic interests and its sustainable growth; emphasises that such measures, especially in pandemic-related processes, are imperative to prevent violations and malpractice threatening Member States and the Union’s recovery from the crisis; _________________ 6 Petitions No 0822/2020 and 0194/2020.
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 9 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Warns Member States of the risks of jeopardising the fight against corruption and increasing breaches of the rule of law incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in its initial phase; underlines that those risks have increased due to the general acceleration of the decision- making process and the simplification of public administration procedures such as public procurement resulting in non- competitive or direct awards;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Calls on Member States to regulate the “revolving doors” phenomenon by disciplining the movement of high-level employees from public-sector jobs to private-sector jobs and vice versa with the aim of preventing conflict of interests; in this regard, encourages to follow best practice already enforced in some Member States, with special regard to the prevention and management of conflicts of interest;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Expresses its concern about the security of whistleblowers who report acts of corruption7 or other illegal activities8 and thereupon experience violations of their fundamental rights; ; highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the importance of whistleblowing for public security and safety on a grand and smaller scale; emphasises how the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as any other crisis, could discourage potential whistleblowers fearing for their physical and financial integrity; _________________ 7 Petition No 0242/2021. 8 Petition No 1056/2021.
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Regrets the fact that that the safety of journalists is not universally guaranteed; underlines the importance of media pluralism and the need to protect journalists against threats and attacks in order to assure freedom of expression and the right to information and safeguard the journalistic profession; stresses the difficulties faced by journalists and media in providing citizens with fact-check information about the COVID-19 pandemic;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 11 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Expresses its concern about journalists’ deteriorating economic and working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing crisis, underlining a substantial increase in the unemployment rates in the sector; welcomes the use of compensatory measures to support the sector; reminds that such measures should always comply with the principles of transparency, fairness, equal and non-discriminatory access;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Urges Member States to pay close attention to abuse of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and particularly on how they affect smaller news outlets and freelancers; notes that SLAPPs abuse and lawsuit increasing, including intimidating actions, may easily lead to media self- censorship;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Is concerned about the increase in hate crimes against minorities, in particular those related to religious beliefs, political ideas and sexual orientation12 ; is awdeplores the large of the difficult balance betweennumber of petitions received in 2021 reporting hate speeches and freedom of expression and acknowledges that the boundaries are hard to definehate crimes against LGBTQI+ people13a as well as restriction of the freedom of expression14a ; notes that most of them refer to a substantial lack of legal protection for LGBTQI+ citizens in some Member States; _________________ 12 Petitions No 0354/2020, 0657/2020, 1038/2020, 0471/2021, 0480/2021, 0667/2021, 0704/2021, 0725/2021, 0820/2021, 0855/2021 and 0894/2021. 13a Petition No 0436/2021, 0471/2021 and 0480/2021 14a Petition No 0436/2021 and 0471/2021.
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that the findings of the Rule of Law report should be operationalised in concrete policy actions and that the report should only serve conjointly with other instruments, such as infringement procedures, the procedures enshrined in the Conditionality Regulation13 , the rule of law framework and Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union; urges the Commission to use its tools more effectively and in a timely manner; asks the Commission to introduce deadlines for the recommendations based on the Rule of Law report as well as for the implementation of the policy actions; _________________ 13 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget, OJ L 433I , 22.12.2020, p. 1.
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines that the role of civil society organisations and NGOs is of particular importance recalls that civil society organizations must be able to operate without unjustified interference by state authorities; calls on the Commission to foster debates with civil society organisations and NGOs in order to take note of all their concerns and involve them more effectively in follow-up meetings; highlights the need to offer longer consultation periods to guarantee proper participation of all civil society organisations. and NGOs, including smaller ones; calls on Member States to apply the principles of transparency and disclosure with regard to the selection of the civil society organisations and NGOs involved;