23 Amendments of Tatjana ŽDANOKA related to 2017/2069(INI)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
– having regard to Articles 9-12 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), to Articles 18-25 of the TFEU and to Articles 39-46 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, particularly Articles 39-46,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard to the PETI hearing of 22 February 2016 entitled ‘Broadening the scope of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 51)?’, the hearing of 21 June 2016 on ‘Transparency and freedom of information within the EU institutions’ and the one of 22 June 2017 on ‘Restoring citizens’ confidence and trust in the European Project’, together with the previous ones in this legislative term on the ‘Right to Petition’ (23 June 2015) and on ‘The European Citizens’ Initiative’ (26 February 2015), and also the PETI-LIBE hearing on ‘Statelessness’ of 29th June 2017,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard of the PETI report of the activities of its ‘Working Group on Child welfare issues’, and particularly its conclusions,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas access to EU citizenship is gained through nationality of a Member State, which is regulated by national laws; whereas at the same time, rights and duties emerge from this institution which are laid down by EU law and do not depend on the Member States; whereas for the above reason it is equally true that these rights and obligations cannot be limited in an unjustified manner by the Member States; whereas as expected in several petitions received, once individuals currently enjoy EU citizenship they should not have it removed;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Treaty of Lisbon consolidated the inalienable rights and guarantees of EU citizenship, including, inter alia, the freedom to travel, work and study in other EU countries, to participate in European political life, to promote equality and respect for diversity and to be protected from discrimination, especially that practised on the basis of nationality; whereas the ever-increasing exercise of the right to freely move within the EU in the course of the past decades has had as a consequence the emergence of mixed families with different nationalities, often including children; whereas this being a good trend for the consolidation of EU citizenship as an institution in itself, it entails specific needs and poses challenges in different aspects, including legal ones;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas as petitions have shown, EU citizens and their families face notable difficulties in exercising this right in practice, owing to administrative burdens and bureaucracy in Member States, and to misinformation and/or a lack of cooperation by Member State authorities;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas citizens are directly represented in the European Parliament and have a democratic right to stand and vote in European elections, even when residing in another Member State; whereas the right of EU citizens who have exercised their right to freedom of movement to vote in European and local elections is not facilitated and promoted equally in all Member States; whereas different petitions point out to the existence of bureaucratic hurdles and shortcomings of administrative nature or else, in the exercise of the right to vote in national or regional elections of their home Member State for those who reside in another Member State;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers the right to petition to the European Parliament as a concrete tangible aspect linked to EU citizenship, which should be further promoted; Highlights the fact that the effective exercise of the right to petition has been facilitated thanks to the launch in late 2014 of the Committee on Petitions portal , which allows petitions to be submitted in an uncomplicated fashion and managed more efficiently, as illustrated elsewhere by the respective Annual Reports of the Committee on Petitions;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the fact that the effective exercise of the right to petition has been facilitated thanks to the launch in late 2014 of the Committee on Petitions portal , which allows petitions to be submitted in an uncomplicated fashion and managed more efficiently, as illustrated elsewhere by the respective Annual Reports of the Committee on Petitions; urges for the implementation of the foreseen next steps of the project, allowing a much more interactive follow-up of the petitions course by petitioners and supporters, to be concluded without delay;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Considers that EU citizenship, with its associated rights and duties has become a tangible institution in itself, beyond the national citizenships; believes that third country nationals with a legal bond with the European Union Member States, such as permanent residence or possession of a travel document issued by those States, should be acknowledged as EU citizens;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Suggests maintaining the rights citizens currently enjoy so that there is no material change in their position, in case of a democratic change of the status of the territory within the EU;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls upon legislators to expedite their activities with regard to the adoption of a comprehensive directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States as regards the accessibility requirements for products and services for persons with functional limitations, including persons with disabilities;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Invites the Commission to take more active steps against LGBTI discrimination and to combat homophobia by defining concrete action to be taken at national level; calls at the same time for the EU institutions to monitor LGBTI rights closely and to promote the recognition of cross-border rights for LGBTI persons and their families in the EU; calls upon legislators to expedite their activities with regard to the adoption of a comprehensive directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States as regards the accessibility requirements for products and services;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that the protection of minority rights is mainly a national competence; recalls, however,recalls that both the Treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights make reference to the protection of national minorities and discrimination practised on the grounds of language; underlines in this regard the need for the Commission to play an active role in the protection of minorities, by promoting awareness-raising meetings, seminars and resolutions, as well as concrete administrative steps within the EU institutions, in order to encourage national governments to find durable solutions and to promote the culture of linguistic diversity in the Member States and the EU as a whole, beyond the official EU languages;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes with appreciation the Commission’s efforts to make multiple information and assistance outlets about the EU and Citizenship rights, such as the Europe Direct network, the Your Europe portal and the e-justice portal, available and more accessible; urges the Commission to systematise the information and possibly plan for a single, EU-wide information window; at the same time, invites the Member States to promote the SOLVIT network and its services among EU citizens, as well as other redress mechanisms, both at EU level, such as the Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman and at national level, such as the regional or local ombudsman;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that citizens should have access to all the necessary information, which should be presented in a clear and comprehensible way, in order to be able to make informed decisions on the exercise of their Treaty rights, and especially their right to free movement and residence within the EU; recommends the promotion of transparency and proactive publishingconsular support as the most appropriate tools to that end, together with adequate publishing of the necessary information to facilitate a new settling;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Acknowledges that enhancing voter turnout in European elections is a shared responsibility between the EU and Member States; encourages the latter to promote participation in democratic life by better informing citizens of their right to stand and vote in local and European elections through various channels and in a comprehensible language, and by removing any barriers to their participation, such as linguistic discrimination, unfair practices or corruption; urges the Member States to remove accessibility obstacles for citizens with disabilities and to facilitate voting for their citizens residing abroad in any election, for instance by embracing electronic identification and voting solutions;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the reform of the Electoral Act on the basis of Parliament’s legislative initiative is an unmissable opportunity for the Union to become more democratic; highlights the fact that thousands of Europeans share this view, as evidenced by the ‘Let me Vote’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which aims to allow citizens to vote in their place of residence; believes that third country nationals with a legal bond with a Member States, such as permanent residence or possession of a travel document issued by that State, should be able to actively and passively take part in all the electoral processes therein; commends the Commission for exploring the possibilities for non-national EU citizens who have exercised their right to free movement to vote in national elections in the country in which they reside; urges the Commission to devise a concrete action plan for the introduction of electronic voting with a view to the 2019 European Parliament elections;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the reform of the Electoral Act on the basis of Parliament’s legislative initiative is an unmissable opportunity for the Union to become more democratic; highlights the fact that thousands of Europeans share this view, as evidenced by the ‘Let me Vote’ European Citizens’ Initiative, which aims to allow citizens to vote in their place of residence; commends the Commission for exploring the possibilities for non-national EU citizens who have exercised their right to free movement to vote in national elections in the country in which they reside; suggests that the introduction of transnational lists to elect a part of the seats to the European Parliament would be a positive contribution to fostering the notion of EU citizenship; urges the Commission to devise a concrete action plan for the introduction of electronic voting with a view to the 2019 European Parliament elections;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses its conviction that free media and access to a plurality of voices in society and in the media are an indispensable part of a healthy democracy; underlines the need for a defined EU policy to tackle anti-European propaganda and false information; propose, as well as to foster the independence of public media from governments; proposes that a minimum time dedicated to content related to the EU field of activity be set in public media in all Member States, as well as that EU institutions proceed with the creation of a European television channel broadcasting in all Member States; suggests that the members of the public media councils are elected directly by citizens;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Maintains that transparency is a key tool for bringing citizens closer to the EU and involving them in its activities; recommendurges the promotion of the right to access documents and the translation of as many documents as possible into all EU languages; supports the intensification of dialogue with citizens and the encouragement of public debates in order to improve EU citizens’ understanding of the impact of the EU on their daily lives and to allow them to take part in an exchange of views, through slots in television programmes for targeted audiences;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges the Member States to guarantee that their national legislation is sufficiently clear and detailed to ensure that the right to free movement of citizens and their families is respected; to proceed with the proper training of competent national authorities in this respect on the basis of an electronic learning tool and to disseminate accurate information to interested parties in a precise manner; to foster, furthermore, good cooperation and a swift exchange of information with other national administrations, especially where cross-border insurance and old age pensions are concerned; calls for better cooperation between host Member States and concerned consulates that ensures a proper network of assistance and a fair treatment in cross-border cases, particularly when it entails children custody;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Considers that the revision of the European Citizens’ Initiative should include provisions to oblige the European Commission to come up with a legislative proposal after 12 months of the presentation of a successful initiative, whose compliance with the values of the EU should already be independently assessed before the beginning of the signature collection process: