33 Amendments of Johan VAN HECKE
Amendment 5 #
2008/2171(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned that the economic boom in China may be short-lived unless long-term security is provided and is concerned about the unstable nature of financial institutions in China which has led to many small investors losing their savings during the financial crisis of Autumn 2008; therefore encourages China to strengthen its financial regulatory framework in line with evolving international practice;
Amendment 17 #
2008/2171(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Deplores the lack of ecological and environmental planning in China which has led to huge problems in air, water and soil pollution which are a major threat to the sustainability of industrial and agricultural activity as well as a threat to the health of the population; calls on the Chinese authorities to meet stricter targets for CO2 emissions and to impose tight restrictake concrete steps towards the effective implementations on industrial and urban polluterf environmental laws; recalls the Joint Declaration on Climate Change of 2005 between China and the EU, which established a Partnership on Climate Change, and the need to speed up its implementationcombat the issue of climate change together within a global framework;
Amendment 22 #
2008/2171(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes Chinese investment in Africa and Latin America but calls on the Commission to monitor developments closely to ensure that such activities are not to the financial, environmental or social detriment of the local populations in the least developed countries, whereas imports of Chinese consumer goods have proved to undercut local production and cost African jobs; thereforeunderlines the importance of the transparent management of natural resources as they are key to development, and therefore calls on the EU to actively engage China and Chinese companies to support the EITI (Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative); calls on the Commission to initiate a dialogue in this regard through the EU-China-Africa trialogue swiftly;
Amendment 25 #
2008/2171(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Underlines the responsibilities of a global economic power and permanent member of the UN Security Council; therefore welcomes the role which China has played in several international peace- keeping efforts on the African continent, but remains concerned about Chinese arms supplies to developing countries destined for illicit or destabilising use;
Amendment 42 #
2008/2170(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission to give ACP negotiators sufficient time to evaluate the agreement and to make suggestions before adopting the relevant agreement, taking into consideration the WTO time schedules;
Amendment 51 #
2008/2170(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Council, the Commission and governments of the EU Member States and ACP countries to do their utmost to re- establishing an atmosphere of confidence and trust in so far as it has been damaged in the course of negotiations;
Amendment 8 #
2008/2153(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Underlines the need to reduce agricultural subsidies in developed countries in order to allow an expansion of the agricultural sector in developing countries, which will increase productivity to the benefit of their overall economies and food security; therefore calls on the Commission to make major progress in the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP).
Amendment 3 #
2008/2128(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Amendment 21 #
2008/2128(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas the Commission envisages that, to be eligible, countries should have achieved satisfactory macro-economic results and budgetary management results when implementing budget support, thereby differing from other aid donors, such as the IMF or the World Bank, which attach many conditions to their aid in order to impose economic policies which have hitherto done more harm than good tocontradiction with the peorinciple of the countries concernedbeneficiary country ownership,
Amendment 44 #
2008/2128(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations, local public bodithe parliaments of the recipient countries to be involved in the budget process and the capacity of the parliaments ofand the recipient countriescivil society to be involved in formulating national policies and in the budget process, by providing them with more financial support, by stressing the need for such involvement in the course of political dialogue with the countries concerned and by concentrating on the public finance management indicators designed to enhance governments' accountability to their citizens;
Amendment 2 #
2008/2097(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that peace and stability are beneficial for development progress; notsecurity is a precondition of development; acknowledges that the absence of hostilities that marks post- conflict situations does not automatically lead to entrenched and lasting stability;
Amendment 12 #
2008/2097(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers it vitally important that causes of instability only be tackled by development measures that are in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals and other social and economic measures aimed at eliminating poverty and fostering economic and social development that can createthat they be simultaneously reinforced by concerted efforts in the fields of democratisation, reconciliation, the rule of law and effective implementation of human rights that can lead to the creation of the environment required to prevent the resurgence of conflict;
Amendment 19 #
2008/2097(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that many Africandeveloping countries have the basic natural resources required for 1 S113/08, 14 March 2008. their development; highlights the need for the proper management and redistribution of these resources; deplores the implication of various (local, regional, international and transnational) actors in the misappropriation and exploitation of these resources (e.g. diamonds in Angola and Sierra Leone and coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo); draws attention to the need for transparency intheir development; underlines, however, the need for greater transparency and efficiency in the extractive industries in order to develop; welcomes initiatives such as the Kimberley process and the eExtractive iIndustries and welcomes initiatives such as the Kimberley processTransparency Initiative in avoiding major conflict potential;
Amendment 27 #
2008/2097(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. DeplorWelcomes the fact that light arms account for 9 out of 10 deaths in armed conflicts in Africa; considefforts made within the framework of the EU strategy to combat the illicit accumulation of, and trafficking in, small arms and light weapons and their ammunition; stresses howevers that the EU policy on controlling the export of weapons should be clear, effective and harmonised on the basis of the legally binding Code of Conductmust be strengthened by making the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports legally binding;
Amendment 38 #
2008/2097(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 47 #
2008/2097(INI)
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that there should be noa military component to development aid should not be excluded and that the aid should always be in accordance with international law and in line with the United Nations; notes with interwelcomest the experiencework of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission; expresses it and calls concern at the cEurrent approach adopted by donors who do not take local views into account but work on the basis of Western models; considers that African solutions should be applied to African problemsopean Commission to further support its work.
Amendment 1 #
2008/2048(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
- having regard to Article 180 of the Treaty of Lisbon (77 of the newEC Treaty),
Amendment 12 #
2008/2048(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas Article 180 of the EC Treaty, reinforced by Article 188 D of the Treaty of Lisbon requires that the Union's development cooperation policy and that of the Member States complement and reinforce each other', requiring the Member States and the Union to strive towards enhanced donor coordination and a better division of labour, which will contribute to greater aid effectiveness,
Amendment 16 #
2008/2048(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas this situation could be an obstacle to effective aid provision and contrary to Article 178 of the EC Treaty,
Amendment 39 #
2008/2048(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recognises the importance that better reporting of the results to the European Parliament and the Member States can help build confidence in Community programmes and permit more strategic forms of oversight; in this respect, calls on the Commission to propose a new indicator (the 'Paris Declaration 13th indicator') to monitor Parliamentary scrutiny;
Amendment 72 #
2008/2048(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recognises the need to intensify the Commission's consultations with civil society partners in headquarters and in the field through better structured meetings on policy, strategic programming and aid effectiveness issues; urges the Commission to plead, at the High Level Forum in Accra, for an additional indicator relating to the extent of the involvement of civil society;
Amendment 31 #
2008/2031(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes also that sanctions can have symbolic value as an expression of the EU's moral condemnation of the actions of the regime to which sanctions are applied, thus giving added visibility and credibility to EU foreign policy;
Amendment 85 #
2008/2031(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Supports the use of targeted financial sanctions against key leaders of targeted regimes and their immediate family members, which act directly on the income of the sanctioned individuals rather than on the source of income; stresses that targeted commodity sanctions targeting a specific or major source of income of a regime present the risk of more wide-ranging, indiscriminate effects on the population and may favour the development of a 'black economy';
Amendment 92 #
2008/2031(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Calls on the Council and the Commission to investigate the possibilities and ways to use frozen income of targeted authorities in a constructive manner, for example by allocating them to victims of human rights violations or for development purposes within the framework of Chapter VII of the UN Charterfor development purposes;
Amendment 1 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Confirms its own determination to contribute to the evolutionreinforcement of democratic processes by enhancing its involvement in election observation, follow-up to EU EOMs and parliamentary capacity- building;
Amendment 29 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that coordination between EU institutions and within the Commission has generally been positive; regrets, however, that it has also suffered in some cases from a severe lack of cohesion leaving further room for improvement;
Amendment 30 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses, in particular, the importance of coordinating all public statements related to the findings of EU EOMs and avoiding the issue of any statement in advance of the presentation by the EU EOM of its preliminary statement, and underlines the key role played in terms of visibility and credibility by the press conference, where the preliminary statement is presented for the first time;
Amendment 36 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Requests all EU institutions and Member States to incorporate the findings and recommendations of EU EOMs into their political dialogues with the countries concerned, as well as in their demarches, declarations, resolutions and, statements and further actions;
Amendment 44 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Takes the view that, as regards technical follow-up, election assistance constitutes the necessary long-term strategic commitment throughout the electoral cycle that best interacts with EU EOMs, and considers that special attention should be given to reinforcing the independence and legitimacy of electoral management bodies, as well as to supporting the establishment of a permanent rather than an ad hoc election commission;
Amendment 55 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas international election observation is aimed at strengthening the legitimacy of the electoral process, increasing public confidence in elections, deterring and exposing electoral fraud and analysing, reporting and making recommendations for the improvement of all aspects of the electoral process and the protection of human rights and democracy in general,
Amendment 63 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Commission Communication on EU Election Assistance and Observation of 2000 represented a turning point in the EU's approach to election observation, establishing a comprehensive methodology, covering the complete election process, from the pre- election to the post-election phase, which has proven to be a great success and has resulted in the EU becoming a leading organisation in the field of international election observation,
Amendment 69 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the added value offered by parliamentarians in election observation is incontestable and complementary to that offered by EU EOMs, but cannot, on its own, provide a rigorous judgement of an electoral process,
Amendment 72 #
2007/2217(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the issue of follow-up to EU EOMs still needs to be addressed inhave a more coherent and comprehensive manner, distinguishing betweenfollow-up, on both the technical and the political follow-uplevel,