32 Amendments of Antoni COMÍN I OLIVERES related to 2020/2072(INL)
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 a (new)
Citation 24 a (new)
- having regard to the Annual Reports of the European Commission on monitoring the application of EU law;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 24 b (new)
Citation 24 b (new)
- having regard to the EU Justice Scoreboard 2020 published by the European Commission;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
- having regard to the workings of the OHCHR of United Nations as well as the UN's WGAD (Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions) resolutions on Member States,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 b (new)
Citation 29 b (new)
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 c (new)
Citation 29 c (new)
- having regard to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights regarding human rights cases inside the Union and its Member States;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 d (new)
Citation 29 d (new)
- having regard to the results of the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 e (new)
Citation 29 e (new)
- having regard to the reports published by the UN Special Rapporteur (for national minorities, freedom of speech, defenders of judges and lawyers…) on the situation of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Member States;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the concept of rule of law must be understood as a democratic rule of law, i.e. a rule of law which is primarily based on the respect for democratic procedures and fundamental rights;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the preceding decade has seen brazen attacks against Union values in several Member States; whereas international comparisons and Parliament resolutions have evidenced considerable democratic backsliding in particular in Hungary and Poland in particular, but also in other Member States; whereas Parliament has been calling since 2016 for a comprehensive, preventive and evidence- based monitoring in this field via an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the results of the Annual report on the monitoring the application of EU law should be taken in account regarding the number of infringements, gravity and their impact on the rule of law for European citizens and companies;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas any monitoring mechanism must closely involve stakeholders active in the protection and promotion of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, including civil society, Council of Europe and United Nations bodies, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, national and regional human rights institutions, national and regional parliaments and local authorities; however, the resolutions on the state of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights of international institutions must have a differentiated treatment during the process
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the new EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights must be based on clear and objective indicators in order to ensure an equal treatment to all Member States;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas formal independence of the justice system can be undermined through political means if governments try to influence decisions and actions, both privately or through the media;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the accession by the Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an obligation under Article 6(2) TEU;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. emphasises the urgent need for the Union to develop a robust and positive agenda for protecting and reinforcing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights for all its citizens; insists that the Union must remain a champion of freedom and justice in Europe and the world but stresses that in order to be so, the Union needs to have a much higher standard on the defence of democracy and human rights inside the Union and regrets that some Member States refuse to comply with human rights resolutions issued by international bodies;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. warns that the Union is facing an unprecedented and escalating crisis of its founding values, which threatens its long- term survival as a democratic peace project; is gravely concerned by the rise and entrenchment of autocratic and illiberal tendencies, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession, as well as corruption and state capture, in several Member States; underlines the dangers of this trend for the cohesion of the Union’s legal order, the functioning of its single market, the effectiveness of its common policies and its international credibility; notes with concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has been used to limit citizens’ rights and fundamental freedoms as embedded in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, including by means of unjustified censorship, fuelling discrimination, disinformation and hate speech; recalls in particular the importance of promoting and defending the rule of law as a precondition for any sound democratic systems as well as for ensuring the protection of fundamental rights and Union values and a prerequisite for upholding all rights and obligations deriving from the Treaties;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. recognises that the Union remains structurally ill-equipped to tackle democratic and rule of law backsliding in the Member States; regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningat the procedure provided for in Article 7 TEU cannot be used to its full progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes with concern the disjointed natureotential as the unanimity requirement in the European Council - de facto - hampers its application; regrets in this regard, the lack of progress made in the European Council ofn the Union’s toolkit in that fielcurrent Article 7 procedures against Hungary and Poland;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. recognises that the Union remains structurally ill-equipped to tackle democratic and rule of law backsliding in the Member States; regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing Union values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes with concern the disjointed nature of the Union’s toolkit in that field and believes that a new instrument must be put in place which does not depend on the unanimity of Member States;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls that the Union still has no effective mechanisms to monitor, prevent and put an end to systemic threats to the rule of law and democracy in the Member States; welcomes as a meaningful first step the Commission communication on further strengthening the Rule of Law within the Union and the actions set out therein; calls on the Commission to implement the proposed rule of law framework without undue delay; considers it necessary to put in place sanctions that could be effective, dissuasive and proportionate to effectively prevent breaches of rule of law within the Union;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recalls that the accession of the Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is a legal obligation under Article 6(2) TEU; recalls that the accession to that convention would constitute a further step in the process of European integration and would enhance the coherence between the Union and the Council of Europe’s further strengthening the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms within the Union; regrets the lack of progress made so far to fulfil this Treaty obligation; calls on the Commission to step up efforts to respect the Treaties and conclude the negotiations without undue delay;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. proposes the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (the ‘Mechanism’), building on Parliament’s 2016 proposal and the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report, to be governed by an interinstitutional agreement between Parliament, the Council and the Commission, consisting of an Annual Monitoring Cycle on Union values, covering all aspects of Article 2 TEU, and applying equally, objectively and fairly to all Member States to ensure there are no double standards due to political interests;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. underlines that the Annual Monitoring Cycle must contain country- specific recommendations, with timelines and targets for implementation, to be followed up in subsequent annual or urgent reports; stresses that failures to implement the recommendations must be linked to concrete Union enforcement measures that the Commission would need to apply automatically as the violations occur; highlights, the importance of the annual monitoring cycle in order to prevent possible violations of the rule of law and democracy within the Union before they actually occur;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. underlines that the Annual Monitoring Cycle must contain country- specific recommendations, with timelines and targets for implementation, to be followed up in subsequent annual or urgent reports; stresses that failures to implement the recommendations must be linked to concrete Union enforcement measures; notes that in such cases in particular, the lack of implementation of the recommendations from international institutions other than the Union, such as the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights or the Council of Europe, must be fully taken into account;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. points out that the Mechanism should consolidate and supersede existing instruments, avoiding unnecessary duplication of existing structures and instruments; calls for the integration and incorporation of existing tools, in particular the Annual Rule of Law Report, the Commission’s Rule of Law Framework, the Council’s Rule of Law Dialogue and the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), while increasing complementarity and coherence with other available tools, including infringement procedures under Article 7 TEU, budgetary conditionality once in force, and the European Semester; is of the opinion that the Annual Monitoring Cycle can fulfil the objectives of the CVM for Bulgaria and Romania, thus contributing to equal treatment of all Member States; considers that the three institutions should use the findings from the Annual Monitoring Cycle in their assessment for the purposes of triggering Article 7 TEU and Regulation (EU) 2020/xxxx of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States11 ; _________________ 11[instead of xxxx insert final number of 2018/136(COD) in the text and correct OJ reference in footnote] OJ C ..., ....., p. ....
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. recalls the indispensable role played by civil society, national and regional human rights institutions and other relevant actors in all stages of the Annual Monitoring Cycle, from providing input to facilitating implementation; points out that the accreditation status of national human rights institutions and the space for civil society may themselves serve as indicators for assessment purposes; considers that national and regional parliaments must hold public debates and adopt positions on the outcome of the monitoring cycle; points out that to ensure that the respect for the rights of persons belonging to national minorities is fairly assessed, institutions and civil society organisations in this communities must also play an important role;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. is of the view that, in the long-term, strengthening the Union’s ability to promote and defend its constitutional core will require Treaty change; looks forward to the reflection and conclusions ofnotes in particular, that an urgent revision of the Article 7 TEU is needed in order to overcome the unanimity requirement in the European Council; calls for the Conference on the Future of Europe to come up with a meaningful proposal in that regard;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – paragraph 4 – point 4
Annex I – paragraph 4 – point 4
(4) The three institutions recognise the need for streamlining and strengthening the effectiveness of existing tools designed to foster compliance with Union values. A comprehensive interinstitutional mechanism should therefore be established in order to improve coordination between the three institutions and consolidate initiatives taken previously. In accordance with the Conclusions of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 6 and 7 June 2013, such a mechanism should operate in 'a transparent manner, on the basis of well defined and measurable criteria and evidence objectively compiled, compared and analysed and on the basis of equality of treatment as between all Member States'.
Amendment 238 #
(6) The Annual Monitoring Cycle should consist of a preparatory stage, the publication of an annual monitoring report on Union values including country-specific reporting and recommendations, and a follow-up stage. The Annual Monitoring Cycle should be conducted in a spirit of transparency and openness.
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part 2 – point 9
Annex I – part 2 – point 9
9. The CommissionA group of experts selected both by the Commission and the European Parliament shall draft the Annual Report based on information gathered during the preparatory stage. The Annual Report should cover both positive and negative developments relating to Union values in the Member States. The Annual Report shall be impartial, based on objectively compiled evidence and respect equality of treatment between all Member States. The depth of reporting should reflect the gravity of the situation in question.
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part 3 – point 16
Annex I – part 3 – point 16
16. The three institutions acknowledge the complementary nature of the Annual Monitoring Cycle and other mechanisms for the protection and promotion of Union values, in particular the procedure laid down in Article 7 TEU and Regulation (EU) 2020/xxxx. The three institutions commit to avoid unnecessary duplication of existing instruments and integrate and incorporate existing instruments into the Annual Monitoring Cycle as the preferred option. The three institutions commit to take account of the objectives of this Interinstitutional Agreement in Union policies.
Amendment 314 #
16. The three institutions acknowledge the complementary nature of the Annual Monitoring Cycle and other mechanisms for the protection and promotion of Union values, in particular the procedure laid down in Article 7 TEU and Regulation (EU) 2020/xxxx. The three institutions commit to avoid unnecessary duplication of existing instruments and integrate and incorporate existing instruments into the Annual Monitoring Cycle as the preferred option. The three institutions commit to take account of the objectives of this Interinstitutional Agreement in Union policies.