Activities of Lara WOLTERS related to 2021/2103(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the shrinking space of civil society in Europe
Amendments (12)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes with deep concern thethat while in many Member States, civil society organisations are considered to be valuable interlocutors for policy-makers as well as respected service providers, there is a deeply concerning overall shrinking of space for civil society in the EU, which represents a serious threat to democracy and fundamental rights and has worsened during the COVID-19 crisis; ;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that whilst the COVID-19 pandemic underlined the value of and need for civil society organisations, they often had to overcome significant challenges to continue their work, with the overall space for civil society more constrained during the crisis;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the main responsibility for this regression lies with Member StatesMember States bear the primary responsibility to ensure the freedom of civil society, and in many cases fail to do so or deliberately restrict this space;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Condemns all attempts by Member States to control civil society actors and discriminate between them on a political basis, including by over-regulating the sector, creating hurdles for their establishment or operation, restricting funding, imposing spurious and unnecessary audit requirements, and attempting to delegitimise the sector or actors within it;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Condemns the centralisation of civil society supervision in several Member States, aimed at increasing government control over civil society organisations.
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Strongly condemns, in particular, the adoption by Hungarian and Polish authorities of acts that restrict the access of non-governmental organisations to funding and that target LGBTIQ+ persons and activists, as well as the discussion of recent legislative proposals designed to prevent such organisations from campaigning publicly;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Supports Civil Society Organisations campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights, particularly in Poland in campaigning for the right to a safe and legal abortion, and strongly condemns government attempts to shrink the space for women’s rights activists;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Deplores the insufficient efforts of Member States to facilitate and guarantee access to stable long-term funding for civil society actors, and attempts to selectively delegitimise civil society organisations when they are in receipt of non-state funding, or funding from abroad;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Condemns the severe restrictions imposed by certain Member States on the right to organise, plan and carry out protests, the disproportionate use of violence by public authorities, and the arbitrary arrests of protesters;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Condemns the increasing criminalisation and judicial harassment of civil society actors; is concerned about the growing use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) by powerful public and private actors, and strongly recommends the adoption ofurgently requests from the European Commission a proposal for an anti- SLAPPs directive protecting all parties legitimately engaging in public participation, including access to justice in the victim’s Member State;
Amendment 113 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Supports the Commission in launching infringement procedures against Member States that unduly restrict the freedoms of assembly and association, and urges the Commission to make full use of Regulation 2020/2092 as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 133 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Believes a statute for European transnational associations and not-for- profit organisations could provide an extra layer of protection to civil society organisations, faced with undue hurdles to their establishment and operations.