29 Amendments of Jo LEINEN related to 2017/2089(INI)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, according to the CJEU, the fundamental rights recognised by the Charter are at the heart of the EU legal structure, and their respect for those rights is a condition of the lawfulness ofis a necessary precondition for legality of any EU acts;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas, by virtue of Article 51, the provisions of the Charter apply to the Member States only when they implement Union law; whereas, however, the uncertain boundaries of such a requirement make it hard to determine whether and how the Charter applies concretely, leading to a de facto shortfall in its implementation at national level;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises the several important steps made by the EU institutions to integrate the Charter into the EU legislative and decision-making processes; regrets, however, their passive attitude toward the Charter focused principally on avoiding the violation ofnotes that the principal role of the Charter its provisions rather than on actively promoting and ensuring the fulfilment of to ensure that the EU’s legislation is in full compliance withe rights and principles provided for thereinenshrined in it;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the procedures established by the EU institutions to assess the compatibility of legislative proposals with the Charter are mainly of an internal nature; stresses the need to provide for enhanced forms of consultation, impact assessments and legal scrutiny with the full involvement of independent fundamental rights experts; calls on the Commission to promote structured and regulated cooperation with independent external bodies, such as the FRA and civil society organisations working in the field, whenever a legislative file potentially promotes or negatively affects fundamental rights;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Calls on the Commission to promote structured and regulated cooperation with independent external bodies, such as the FRA and civil society organisations working in the field, whenever a legislative file potentially promotes or negatively affects fundamental rights;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the Commission, the Council and Parliament to reviseflect on a possibility of revising Council Regulation 168/2007 in order to allow the FRA to deliver non-binding opinions on draft EU legislation on its own initiative, and to promote systematic consultations with the Agency through a revision of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to set up a mechanism to identify the need to take action at Union level in order to uphold and fulfil the provisions of the Charter, and, at the same time, to systematically ensure that Union law is adapted to take account of the legal and jurisprudential developments of international human rights law; reiterates its call on the Commission to submit a proposal giving effect to Parliament’s resolution of 25 October 2016 on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights15 ; _________________ 15OJ C 215, 19.6.2018, p. 162.
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Reiterates its call on the Commission to submit a proposal giving effect to Parliament’s resolution of 25 October 2016 on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that EU policy-making must relyrelies upon the principles and objectives set out in Articles 2, 3 and 6 TEU, while fully endorsing and implementing the requirements enshrined in the provisions having general application of Title II, Part I, of the TFEU;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Regrets the almost complete abseStresses the importance of references to fundamental rights within the legal framework regulating EU economic and monetary policy; recalls, in this regard, that recourse to intergovernmental arrangements does not relieve the EU institutions – a process in which they are nevertheless involved – of their obligations to assess the compatibility of such instruments with EU law, including the Charter;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Council to make macroeconomic decisions conditional on robust humanfundamental rights assessments, based on the full range of civil, political and social rights guaranteed by the European and international human rights law instruments; calls, once again, on the Commission to take the steps required for EU accession to the European Social Charter;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls, once again, on the Commission to take the steps required for EU accession to the European Social Charter;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Expresses its deep concern for the de facto crucial, but ill-defined,Notes the crucial role of the Eurogroup in the economic governance of the euro area, and for the impact that its decisions might have in influencing policy- making, without being counterbalanced by appropriate mechanisms of democratic accountability and judicial control; reminds theits members of the Council of their horizontal obligations deriving from Articles 2 and 6 TEU and from the Charter;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls that the Union’s action on the international scene must be guided by the principles enshrined in Article 21(1) TEU; is convinced that full respect for and promotion of the Charter’s provisions inside the EUnion’s internal sphere represents a benchmark for assessing the legitimacy and credibility of the Union’s behaviour in its international relations, including within the framework of the enlargement process pursuant to Article 49 TEU;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points out that comprehensive trade agreements with third countries might have far-reaching consequences for a wide range of human rights; asks the Commission to go beyond the usual ‘integrated approach’ followed in its impact assessments, and to carry out specific human rights impact assessments prior to the conclusion of any trade negotiations, by taking full advantage ofinto consideration the UN Guiding Principles on human rights impact assessments of trade and investment agreements;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Calls for a speedy accession of the EU to the European Convention of Human Rights; reaffirms that EU accession to the ECHR will constitute the minimum level of protection for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe and provide an additional mechanism for enforcing human rights, namely the possibility of lodging a complaint with the ECtHR in relation to a violation of human rights derived from an act by an EU institution or a Member State implementing EU law, falling within the remit of the ECHR; and that ECtHR case law will thus provide extra input for current and future EU action on the respect for, and promotion of, fundamental freedoms in the areas of civil liberties, justice and home affairs, in addition to the case law of the Court of Justice in this field;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Highlights the potential of certain EU agencies to offer support to Member States in fulfilling their obligations deriving from the Charter, by frequently acting as an operational link between the EU and national spheres; points out that this task can only be effectively performed by developing a fully-fledged humanfundamental rights praxisctice within the agencies themselves, taking into account both the internal and external dimensionoperating in the sphere of justice and home affairs ofr the protection and promotion of fundamental rightsose specifically tasked with promoting and protecting rights and principles derived from the Charter;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Takes note of the differentiated range of policies and instruments developed by the various agencies to give effect to their humanfundamental rights’ obligations, resulting in varying degrees of implementation; stresses the need to promote EU intra- agency cooperation as well as structured dialogues with relevant national stakeholders and independent human rights experts, and to build on existing best practices, in order to advance a common and strengthened humanfundamental rights framework;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the EU agencies to adopt internal humanoperating in the sphere of justice and home affairs or those specifically tasked with promoting and protecting rights and principles derived from the Charter to adopt internal fundamental rights strategies and to promote regular fundamental rights/ and Charter training sessions for their staff at all levels;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Regrets the absence, in many EU agencies’ founding regulations, of an explicit reference to the Charter; calls on the co-legislators to urgently fill this gap, where necessary, fill this gap in possible future revisions, and to provide, taking account of the mandate and the specificities of each individual agency, for additional operational mechanisms such as, for instance, the establishment of internal fundamental rights officers;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Highlights the persistent awareness- gap concerning the Charter, its scope and degree of application among both rights- holdersthose who benefit from its protection and legal and human rights experts, and deplores the scarcity of national action devoted to remedying such a deficiency;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission to strengthen its awareness-raising activities concerning the Charter, with the full involvement of civil society organisations, and to promote and fund Charter-targeted training modules for national judges, legal practitionaiming to improve the knowledge of Union policies and Union law including inters as well as civil servants at all levels of the national public administrations; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to equip the Member States with practical guidelines supporting them in the implementation of the Charter at national level; asks the Commission, in this context, to give full visibility to the FRA’s recently published Handbook on Applying the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in law and policymakinglia substantive and procedural law, the use of EU judicial cooperation instruments, the relevant case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, legal language and of comparative law among national judges, legal practitioners as well as civil servants; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to equip the Member States with practical guidelines supporting them in the implementation of the Charter at national level;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Encourages the Member States to regularly exchange information and experience on the use, application and oversight of the Charter, and to mainstream the examples of best practice already developed at national level, such as, for instance, those presented in the report of the Dutch Presidency on the outcome of the seminar on the ‘National Policy application of the EU Charter of fundamental rights’;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Calls on the Commission, to give full visibility to the FRA’s recently published Handbook on Applying the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in law and policymaking at national level;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Stresses that the incorporation of the Charter into primary EU law, while not extending the Union’s competences and respecting the principle of subsidiarity as defined in its Article 51, creates new responsibilities for the decision-making and implementing institutions, as well as for Member States when implementing EU legislation at national level, and that the Charter’s provisions have thus become directly enforceable by European and national courts;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Encourages the Member States to review their procedural rules on legal scrutiny and impact assessments of bills from the perspective of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; such procedures should explicitly refer to the Charter, just like they do to national human rights instruments, to minimise the risk that the Charter is overlooked;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25 b. Regrets that up to date, the Republic of Poland and the United Kingdom have not decided to withdraw from Protocol 7 of the Treaties, ensuring their opt-out from the Charter.