31 Amendments of Hermann TERTSCH related to 2021/2066(INI)
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. wWhereas the fighting against corruption is an integral part of the international commitments to fulfil human rights, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030, in the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 16 to promote just, peaceful and inclusive societierespect human rights;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated corruption-related human rights abuses, as regions with higher levels of corruption face higher numbers of COVID-related deaths and the most vulnerable communities are disproportionately hit; whereas corruption cripples states’ capacity to provide and fairly distribute public health services or vaccines; whereas many governments have misused COVID-19 related emergency powers to step up crackdowns on, leading on occasions to the suspension and restriction of citizens’ fundamental rights and drastically affecting freedom of movement, assembly and demonstration, expression and worship, and erasing for six months any genuinely effective parliamentary scrutiny of the governments that adopted such measures in order to muzzle their political opponents, step up crackdowns and impose censorship on dissident journalists, and whistleblowers and, civil society organisations (CSOs) working on exposing corruptionand members of the general public working on exposing corruption, forcing on them a ‘cancel culture’ and limiting their scope for action; whereas, as in the case of Spain, the Constitutional Court’s declaration of the first and second states of emergency as being unconstitutional means that 47 million Spaniards were for months deprived of their fundamental rights and freedoms;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the European Union must make sure that corruption is combated successfully, starting on the inside and ensuring there is no recurrence of cases such as that of the Andalusia ERE dismissal agreements, when the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party was responsible for the worst case of corruption in the history of the European Union in which the Socialist Government defrauded, between 2000 and 2010, at least EUR 680 million from CSOs, Spanish and European taxpayers, resulting in a large proportion of the population being deprived of their fundamental rights at the height of the 2008 crisis;
Amendment 76 #
I. whereas corporate due diligence regulations are indispensable means to prevent and tackle human rights and environmental violations; whereas the provisions of the UNCAC should form part of the due diligence obligations envisaged in the forthcoming Commission proposal on the mattershould never adversely affect European SMEs;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the adoption of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act) is an essential addition to the EU’s toolbox; whereas Parliament has requested the extension of its scope to include acts of corruption; whereas the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have adopted similar anti- corruption sanctions regimes;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas climate change must be addressed using scientific evidence, and whereas the over-achievement of climate neutrality and its harnessing for political and ideological purposes by countries with established democracies may damage growth and the rights of people in developing countries or in countries with undemocratic regimes; whereas the causal link between environmental degradation, climate change and unsustainable development, as well as the restrictions on the enjoyment of multiple human rights and corruption, must be scientifically verified;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
J b. whereas EU measures in the field of corruption must respect the sovereignty of democratic states and focus on regions where the population is subjected to undemocratic regimes;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
J c. whereas recent UN reports have shown that in countries with dictatorships, such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Peru, etc., human rights are being systematically breached and eroded, with in some cases this qualifying as crimes against humanity; whereas, once again, as stated in its report of 16 September 2021, the UN Human Rights Council has indicated that the systematic corruption in these regimes is a common practice directly affecting and contributing to the perpetration of crimes and human rights violations;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point c
Paragraph 1 – point c
(c) formulate a comprehensive EU globallogical and effective anti-corruption strategy by taking stock of existing anti-corruption instruments and good practices in the EU’'s toolbox, identifying gaps, increasing funding, and expanding support to anti- corruption CSOs, as already requested by the European Parliament in its resolution of 13 September 2017 on corruption and human rights in third countries;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) ensure that the highest ethical and, transparency and control standards are applied into EU funding, thato CSOs and NGOs, to independent actors are included and that grievance mechanisms are available and accessiblend to all other actors who receive funding/grants from EU budgets; ensure that all EU bodies and agencies improve access to information and refrain from charging fees for access to information;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l
Paragraph 1 – point l
(l) in all EU-third country trade agreements, include a strong and mandatory human rights conditionality framework with anti-corruption clauses; as a last resort, impose sanctions or suspend agreements in the event of serious acts of corruption and human rights violations, as a ‘sine qua non’;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) monitor the corruption risks involved in authoritarian third countries’ large-scale construction and investment projects, undertaken globally but also in Member States, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors; note that these projects often raise concerns of non-pay special attention to transparentcy in financing and tor fiscal risks; proceed with the swift implementation of the EU’s ‘Globally Connected Europe’ programme, approved by the Council on 12 July 2021, with the potential to counter these efforts;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(om) recognise the crucialassess the role of CSOs, human rights defenders (HRDs), NGOs and investigative journalists in the fight against corruption, through changing societal norms, fighting impunity, gathering data, and achieving better implementation and enforcement of anti-who say they are involved in the fight against corruption measures;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) design programmes to provide more financial supportcontrol to CSOs, independentNGOs and media, whistleblowers and HRDs working on preventing and exposing corruption, advancing transparency and accountability, including support against strategic lawsuits (strategic lawsuits against public participation, SLAPP suits); improve smaller CSOs’ access to EU fundingch receive EU financial support from the EU, advancing transparency and accountability;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q
Paragraph 1 – point q
(q) strengthen protection of whistleblowers and anti-corruption HRDs, including through temporary visa schemes;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point u
Paragraph 1 – point u
(u) assume a leadership role in forging a coalition of democracies to counter the global rise of kleptocracy; insist on including anti-corruption on the agenda of upcoming international summits such as the G7 or the Summit for Democracy proposed by United States President Biden; continue to proactively contribute to the work of international and regional forums to fight corruption and promote human rights;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point w
Paragraph 1 – point w
(w) encourage a deepeningfulfilment of international commitments to put anti- corruption at the heart of the SDGs as an avenue for fighting global poverty, and for the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights, with special attention to the right to education;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point x
Paragraph 1 – point x
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point y
Paragraph 1 – point y
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point z
Paragraph 1 – point z
(z) advance discussions about an international infrastructure to address the impunity of powerful individuals involved in large-scale corruption cases, including international investigative mechanisms, prosecutors and courts; when cases of corruption arise in the upper echelons of international organisations, take appropriate measures and thoroughly investigate these high-ranking officials and their associates as regards their assets and potential bribes;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point z a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point z a (new)
(za) have the relevant EU bodies launch an investigation into the IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva, who, when occupying the post of Chief Executive of the World Bank, put pressure on her subordinates to manipulate the statistics in the annual 'Doing Georgieva report in order to favour China and Saudi Arabia; points to the need to exercise tax control over all international organisations and recalls the corruption scandal involving the UN in the ‘Oil-for-Food’ programme, under Kofi Annan, who was accused along with his brother of having siphoned off large quantities of money in what was the biggest ever corruption scandal in the UN’s history;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ab
Paragraph 1 – point ab
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ac
Paragraph 1 – point ac
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ad
Paragraph 1 – point ad
(ad) develop an action plan to strengthen HRDDavoid possible corruption in sectors such as finance, accounting or real estate that often provide the enabling structure for global corruption by providing avenues for the proceeds of corruption to find their way into the legitimate economy;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ae
Paragraph 1 – point ae
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ai a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point ai a (new)
(ai a) regrets the lack of transparency and credibility in the management of the pandemic by the WHO, which remained continually opaque in each and every one of its actions and which, moreover, held back vital information when Taiwan sounded the coronavirus alert on 31 December 2020, exacerbating the spread of the virus by this murky and suspicious retention of information;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ai b (new)
Paragraph 1 – point ai b (new)
(ai b) urges the EU to back an independent investigation not only into the origin of the coronavirus, but also into the action and role played by the WHO in its close relations with China where, according to the US State Department, there is sufficient evidence to believe that the organisation, along with its senior leaders, were bought or subject to extortion by the Chinese Communist party;
Amendment 279 #
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point ak
Paragraph 1 – point ak
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point al
Paragraph 1 – point al
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point am
Paragraph 1 – point am