[ParlTrack]

2018/2155(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

– having regard to ~~Article 21 of~~ the Treaty on European Union, in particular Articles 2 and 21 thereof,

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– having regard to the European Parliament recommendation of 13 June 2013 on the draft EU guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief,

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas everyone has the right to respect for all human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, without discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or absence of religious beliefs;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the European Parliament has defined secularism as strict separation between religious and political authority, which implies rejection of any religious interference in the functioning of public institutions and of any public interference in religious affairs, except to uphold the rules governing the preservation of public safety and order (including respect for the freedom of others) and guarantee to all, whether believers, agnostics or atheists, the same freedom of conscience;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas, under Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union, the Union's actions on the international scene shall be guided by the principles that have led to its creation; whereas, under Article 2 of the Treaty, the Union is founded on societies in which pluralism and tolerance prevail;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas FoRB implies the right of the individual to choose what to believe or not to believe, the right to change or renounce one’s religion and convictions without any constraints, and the right to practise and manifest the religion of one’s choice or refuse to do so, whether individually or in community and whether in private or in public; whereas the manifestation of religion or belief can be expressed in worship, teaching, practice and observance as well as by apostasy and criticism of dogma; whereas FoRB entails the right of believers’ or lay communities to preserve their ethos and to act in accordance with it, and the entitlement for their religious or secular organisations to have recognised legal personality; whereas protecting individuals adhering to any religion or none and effectively addressing violations of FoRB, such as discrimination or legal restrictions based on religion or belief, are primordial conditions to ensure that individuals may enjoy FoRB on an equal basis; whether or not they are believers;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that religion or belief is an important undeniable pillar of human identity, greatly impacting individuals and societies, and is therefore a reality that must not be neglected or denied in policies but requires proper recognition and addressing, in line with the humanitarian values of the European Union such as those enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses the importance of linking up efforts to promote ~~FoRB~~freedom of thought, conscience and religion and interphilosophical and inter- and intra- religious dialogues with the prevention of violent extremism on a complementary and mutually reinforcing basis, in particular within neighbouring and other countries with which the EU has special relations;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Welcomes the fact that the Special Envoy has developed effective working networks within the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament, as well as with other stakeholders; ~~deplores, however, the fact that the Special Envoy’s mandate was not established and consolidated with sufficient human and financial resources;~~

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on the Council and the Commission to strengthen the Special Envoy’s institutional mandate and capacity, by earmarking funding and human resources adequate to the Envoy’s duties, developing a systemic institutionalisation of working networks established by the Special Envoy within all relevant EU institutions or establishing the position of the EU Special Representative for FoRB;deleted

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Council and the Commission to reflect on creating the EU Special Representative for FoRB; considers that the competences and mandate of this Special Representative should include: (a) effectiveness, coherence and accountability of the EU’s FoRB policy outside the EU; (b) Parliament, the Council, the Vice- President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission with an annual progress report and a comprehensive implementation report on the mandate at the end thereof; (c) the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM); (d) his or her counterparts in third countries and at international organisations, also able to engage with the UN (UNGA, UNHRC, etc.) as well as relevant regional organisations; (e) FoRB and interreligious and intercultural issues and leading consultations with third countries on FoRB issues;deleted enhancing the visibility, providing the European working in close cooperation with being a high-level interlocutor for chairing high-level dialogues on

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – introductory part

12. Calls on the Council and the Commission to reflect on creating the EU Special Representative for FoRB; considers that the competences and mandate of this Special Representative should ~~include:~~take broader account of the various interests at stake, including the non-religious and atheist communities.

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point c

(c) working in close cooperation with the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM) and the European External Action Service;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point e

(e) c~~hairing~~ontributing to high-level dialogues on ~~FoRB~~freedom of thought, conscience and religion and interreligious and intercultural issues and ~~leading~~to consultations with third countries on FoRB issues;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

~~13. Calls for the term of office of the Special Envoy to be extended to a multi- year term, corresponding to the term of the Commission;~~deleted

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Recommends that the title and mandate of the Special Envoy visibly include the promotion of interreligious dialogue and interfaith and interphilosophical cooperation;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Recommends the setting up of a regular advisory working group of Member States’ FoRB institutions and European Parliament representatives together with experts, scholars, and representatives of civil society, including churches and other faith-based and non-confessional organisations, providing advice on FoRB issues to assist the Special Envoy;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Recommends that the Special Envoy further develop cooperation with counterparts outside the EU, in particular by working in close cooperation with the UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB, as well as exploring the possibility of EU-UN joint annual reporting on discrimination against religious ~~minorities~~and non-confessional minorities, and also against non-believers and persons who change religion or criticise or leave a religion, also formulating common proposals on how to put an end to such acts;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Urgently calls for the implementation of the EU Guidelines on FoRB to be increased in intensity and effectiveness; notes that further dedicated efforts need to be made by the EU and its Member States to implement more effectively the EU Guidelines and make the EU more influential in advancing FoRB worldwide; calls for special attention to be paid to the persecution of atheists, apostates and non-religious people, as these are poorly or inaccurately documented; stresses that understanding how societies may be shaped and influenced by religions and other beliefs is instrumental to better comprehending the promotion of FoRB in EU foreign policy and international cooperation;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Commends, in this respect, the efforts made to date by the EEAS and the Commission to provide training on religious and non-confessional literacy to EU officials and national diplomats; stresses, however, the need for broader and more systematic training programmes which would raise awareness of and increase the use of the EU Guidelines among the EU’s and Member States’ officials and diplomats and strengthen cooperation with the Special Envoy; asks for churches and religious communities and associations to be involved in this training process; calls on the Commission and the Council to earmark resources for establishing such training programmes while respecting the principles of pluralism and neutrality;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. ~~Calls on the Commission and the EEAS to produce EU Annual Reports on FoRB in the world, to be communicated to the European Parliament and the Council;~~ notes that the EU Guidelines provide for an evaluation of their implementation by COHOM after a period of three years, and that no such evaluation has been communicated or made public; calls for the evaluation to be made public without delay; considers that the evaluation should highlight best practices, identify areas for improvement, and provide concrete recommendations on implementation in accordance with a specified timeline and milestones subject to regular annual evaluation; calls for the evaluation to be included in the EU Annual Reports on FoRB in the world;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls for a ban on any funding for the religious activities of religious organisations by virtue of the necessary separation of religious and political authorities, the rejection of any religious interference in the functioning of public institutions and any public interference in religious affairs, except to uphold the rules regarding the safety of believers, atheists, or agnostics and preserve public order;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

2b. Calls for an effort to ensure transparency in the allocation of funding and to monitor the use thereof by religions and their activities;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)

24c. Calls on the Commission to respect the principles of pluralism, neutrality and fairness in allocating funds;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 d (new)

24d. Call for the EIDHR also to be given the means to finance the protection or extraction of free thinkers and human rights activists who are threatened or persecuted in their country of origin;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

2018/2155(INI)

Vincent PEILLON, Virginie ROZIÈRE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Stresses that the EU’s policies in the fields of peace, security and conflict prevention and development and cooperation face challenges, for which solutions can be devised with the participation of churches, religious leaders, academics, religious communities and associations or faith-based and non- confessional organisations that are a critical part of civil society; acknowledges the importance of being mindful of the diversity of churches, religious communities and associations and faith- based and non-confessional organisations which perform actual development and humanitarian work for and with communities; calls on the Council and the Commission to incorporate, where relevant, objectives and activities relating to the promotion and protection of FoRB into the programming of funding instruments linked to those policies, namely the EDF, the DCI, the ENI, the IcSP and the IPA;

2018/09/13
Committee: AFET

Activities of Vincent PEILLON

Plenary speeches (41)

Reports (5)

Shadow reports (1)

Opinions (3)

Shadow opinions (1)

Institutional motions (113)