Activities of Francisco José MILLÁN MON related to 2023/2114(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement (debate)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
— having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Article 49 thereof,
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8
Citation 8
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the essential basis of the accession process is Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has given new geostrategic meaning to the enlargement of the European Union; whereas enlargement iscan be a strategic geopolitical investment in the future, which can be mutually beneficial for both existing and future Member States ifprovided that the proper conditions are met;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas accession to the EU must always be a merit-based procedure whereby each applicant is assessed on their own merit in fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, in particular those of ensuring full respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law; whereas positive outcomes should b, the economic criteria and the administrative and institutional capacity of the candidate scought as quickly as possible, while avoiding fast-tracking or counterproductiventries, as well as the integration capacity of the European Union; whereas positive outcomes should be sought, while avoiding fixed deadlines;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the parallel processes of widening and deepening the Union mustshould go hand in hand; whereas the institutional reforms can only enter into force simultaneously with the accession of new countries;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas under the current institutional framework, the EU already faces considerable challenges in crisis management and strategic decision- making; whereas it is clear that the EU institutions and decision-making mechanisms were not designed for a Union that could be composed of up to 37 Member States; whereas beforesimultaneously with the next enlargement takes place, significant pre- enlargement reforms are needed to guarantee that the EU is able to absorb new members and to promote their successful integration; whereas this can impliesy significant changes in the EU’s institutional framework, including to decision-making procedures, and the possible introduction of differentiated integration solutions where permitted under the Treaties; whereas in order to achieve this, the EU should take full advantage of the flexibility afforded by the Treaty of Lisbon and consider the possibility of treaty change, including via adaptations introduced by the accession treatiescarefully whether treaty change would be appropriate;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the Union’s credibility and ability to act in a timely and effective manner depends on efficient decision- making, and even more so in an enlarged EU of 30 or more Member States; whereas efficient decision-making leading to timely and coordinated internal and external action is vital for safeguarding the EU’s interests and its global geopolitical leadership; whereas reform of the EU’s governance structures, with simplified decision-making procedures, must be discussed must be examined in detail and discussed among all the Member States, and be adopted in parallel with the ongoing accession negotiations, where appropriate, when the accession processes are concluded;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas enlargement is also a major challenge for the EU’s financial sustainability, in particular regarding cohesion and agriculture policies; whereas the current and the next multiannual financial frameworks should be strengthened considerably to enable EU enlargement; whereas this financial groundwork must be in place before enlargement takes place;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
On the strategic dimension of enlargement
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the interest and the political will to join the EU shown by so many countries, and acknowledges the serious efforts made by some candidate countries to meet the requirements for membership;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that enlargement is of the utmost strategic importancet for the EU, and all the more so in the face in the face, among other things, of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; stresses that an enhanced enlargement policy has become the strongest geois a political tool at the EU’s disposal; points out that enlargement iscould be a strategic investment in peace, security and prosperity, as well as a driver for democracy and European values on the continent; recalls, however, the need to bear in mind that Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union states: ‘If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power’;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Acknowledges the historic challenge facing the EU of meeting its commitments to the countries in the Western Balkans and to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines that accession to the EU must always be a merit-based procedure and that each applicant must be assessed on their own merit in fulfilling Article 49 of the EU Treaty and the Copenhagen criteria and in ensuring full respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law; stresses that while positive outcomes should be sought as quickly as possible, the economic criteria and the administrative and institutional capacity of the candidate countries, as well as the integration capacity of the European Union; stresses that while efforts should be made to seek positive results, there should be no fast-track or fixed deadlines for membership; underscores that there can be no short-cuts on fundamental values; points out that alignment with the common foreign and security policy is also a way of showing full adherence to the EU’s fundamental principles and an important indicator for sustainable future membership; reiterates that candidate countries should join the restrictive measures (sanctions) adopted by the European Union;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that the challenge of a bigger Union requires an enhanced enlargement policy putting in place a clear incremental pathway towards EU membership, including gradual integration into common policies; notes that this pathway should be accompanied by increased technical and conditional financial assistance with a special focus on the implementation and enforcement of laws under negotiating chapters 23, 24, 30 and 31; invites the Commission to present detailed proposals on the incremental accession methodology; underlines that the phasing-in of candidate countries into selected policy areas is by no means an alternative to fully-fledged membership;
Amendment 363 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that the entry into force of possible institutional reforms should be simultaneous with the conclusion of the accession process of a significant number of countries;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that European institutional reforms must include simplifiedeffective decision-making procedures, moving away from unanimity in certain areas where appropriate and replacing it with qualified majority voting provisions in areas such as the protection of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, sanctions and relevant foreign policy decisions;
Amendment 381 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Points out that all Member States must be involved and heard in discussions and reflection on enlargement and the future of the European Union;
Amendment 399 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that differentiated integration isthe possibility offered by differentiated integration, where permitted by the Treaties, can be part of the solution for an efficient and deepened enlarged EU and must be carefully considered before being implemented; underlines, however, that respect for the Union’s values as set out in Article 2 TEU should not be subject to any derogations or opt-outs; stresses that participation in agriculture and cohesion policies requires membership of the European Union; considers also that a broad area of European common ground must always be ensured, covering areas such as the Customs Union, the single market and its four freedoms, the core social acquis, and agricultural, competition and trade policies; notes that beyond this common ground, Member States willing to move European integration forward should be allowed to do so; underlines that under such a system of differentiated integration, while all Member States would take part in decisions about issues in the area of common ground, only Member States willing to participate in areas of deepened integration would take part in the decisions concerned; notes that differentiated integration also implies differentiated financial arrangementcitizenship and agricultural, cohesion, competition and trade policies;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the full use of the flexibility provided for in the Treaty of Lisbon ahead of a more in-depth reform in the context of a possible revision of the treaties; recalls that a number of flexibility solutions, such as passerelle clauses, enhanced cooperation, Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and opt- out mechanisms are already possible under the current EU legal framework, as the experience of the Schengen area and the euro area clearly shows; recalls that phasing-in solutions, temporary derogations and transition periods can be negotiated in the context of accession procedures; points out that the use of these flexibility mechanisms should not prevent constructive discussions on the possibility of treaty revision, as proposed by Parliament;
Amendment 424 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that institutional pre-forms simultaneous with enlargement reforms must also address the implications of enlargement on the composition of Parliament; recalls that the European Parliament is already one of the largest parliaments in the world and underlines that in any case it must remain at a workable scale; points out, however, that a reasonable increase in the size of Parliament cannot be ruled out in order to ensure sufficient democratic representativeness; insists on a new system for seat allocation based on a permanent mathematical formula;
Amendment 431 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Points out that the functioning of the Council should also be reviewed in view of enlargement, in particular the system of rotating presidencies of the Council of the European Union; notes that the calculation of qualified majority voting thresholds should also be reconsidered; points out in this context that the threshold needed to constitute a blocking minority should be lowered to 30% of the population, thereby facilitating the possibility for small and medium-sized countries to defend their interests;
Amendment 452 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that enlargement is a major financial challenge for the EU, in particular regarding cohesion and agriculture policies; point out that this challenge cannot be met without a larger EU budget and sufficient own resources; notes that this adds to growing demands on EU funding in the fields of financial stability, health, energy, decarbonisation, digital, research and defence and security; underlines that such financial reforms must be discussed in parallel with the ongoing accession negotiations and adopted before enlargement takes place; defends its position that the current and future multiannual financial frameworks should be strengthened considerably to enable EU enlargement, and that this financial groundwork must be in place before enlargement takes place;