Activities of Michael GAHLER related to 2021/0227(BUD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022
Amendments (10)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the majority of external action spending is concentrated under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe) and Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) and insists on supporting agreed priorities under those external financing instruments, including those decided during the NDICI-Global Europe high level geopolitical dialogue; reiterates its previous demand for a differentiated budget nomenclature for the new external financing instruments, notably by including at least one budget line for each third country receiving significant amounts of EU assistance; stresses that in the context of a more streamlined set of instruments, the budget structure needs to be sufficiently detailed to allow Parliament to carry out its budgetary functions effectively and fulfil its oversight role;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Emphasises that at a time when external challenges and matters of international politics are gaining importance and are dominating international politics, we must ensure that the external dimension of the EU Budget is appropriately funded and prepared to respond without delay to current, emerging as well as future challenges;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Points to the numerous challenges in the EU’s neighbouring regions to the East and South and emphasises the need to ensure adequate funding for crucial areas such as democracy support, civil society and the rule of law; calls in particular for continued support to Belarusian human rights and democracy activists;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Reiterates its firm believe that in countries of specific strategic interest for the EU, particularly the accession countries and the associated countries of the Eastern Partnership, a closer link between the European Parliament and the respective national parliament should be established, and therefore calls for adequate funding to ensure the required level of parliamentary cooperation;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights the EU’s global support efforts for refugees and calls for continued financial support in this field, including a continuation of financing for Syrian refugees via a successor programme of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT);
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. At a time where democracy is more and more under threat around the world, reiterates its support for funding dedicated to elections observation missions, including local observers, and calls for an appropriate level of funding; underlines that the need for democracy and election support, including EOMs, was further amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. While condemning any attack against religious minorities, in particular Christians, around the world, emphasises that adequate funding for actions to protect persecuted minorities must be available, and in this regard further underlines its support for the office of the EU Special Representative on the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the importance of building a strong common security and defence policy) and enhancing cooperation in defence and security matters through the European Defence Fund, a key contributor to the Union’s strategic autonomy; expects that the upcoming EU Strategic Compass, and its resulting conclusions, will also result in further increases of spending on defence related initiatives in order to respond to the multiple ongoing challenges and lead to a more geostrategic EU that is able to defend its interests and take over more responsibilities, in partnership with the US and NATO, in particular in the European neighbourhood;
Amendment 52 #
7 a. Underlines the need to draw the necessary lessons from the international engagement to fight terrorism and advance freedom, human rights and civil liberties in Afghanistan; reiterates the need to ensure appropriate funding to address the possible additional migration movements originating from Afghanistan, in particular in the region itself in order to ensure humane and adequate support both for the people seeking shelter, as well as the host countries;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Repeats its previous statements about the threats related to cyber security as well as the spreading of fake news, in this context highlights the need for the EU Budget to better address and respond to these key challenges on a horizontal level, including in particular at the headquarters of the EU as well as its delegations around the world;