34 Amendments of Brice HORTEFEUX related to 2020/2088(INI)
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the 2019 European elections registered the highest turnout of the any elections to the European Parliament in the last 20 years, with 50.26 %, ( an increase of eight percentage points compared to 2014), sending a positive signal, given that it shows that European citizens believe that many of their concerns can be addressed at EU levelare taking an increasing interest in developments at EU level and the impact that EU rules have on their daily lives;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the higher turnout was ultimately linked toshould not divert our attention from the gains by Eof eurosceptics, which should be considered as a warning for European integration, especially in several founding Member States where far-right extremists and anti-European forces won the electionspopulist and nationalist movements; whereas many of these radical forces from left to right are against the EU integration project;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the abstention rate in the 2019 European elections was still high, at 49.4%, and whereas the turnout varied significantly from Member State to Member State;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the higher turnout is also a sign that EU citizens want the EU to actrespond swiftly and effectively on important matters such as climate change, migration, protection of fundamental rights and democratisto their main concerns, namely employment, the cost of living, health, climate change and migration;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. Whereas we need to be more efficient and proactive in taking advantage of all means of communication, including digital technology, to foster a strong link between European political decisions and constituents’ sense of connection to EU institutions;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the amendedParliament should pursue its proposals for amendments to the Electoral Act, still pending ratification by some Member States, already requires further improvements (i.e. regarding parental leave for MEPs)with renewed vigour and to push for unified European electoral rules;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the 2019 elections failed to culminate in the choice of a Commission President from among the various Spitzenkandidaten, resulting in a backward step from the process which was established in 2014;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the Spitzenkandidaten process has yet to be fully developed; whereas it lacks, among other things, the possibility for Spitzenkandidaten to stand as official candidates in all Member States on transnational lists, allowing all European voters to choose and vote for their preferred Spitzenkandidatimproved, allowing all European voters to know who are the candidates to the presidency of the European Commission and how they were chosen by European political parties; whereas Parliament raised this issue in its decision of 7 February 2018 on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission15 ; ; _________________ 15 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0030.
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the Spitzenkandidaten system needs to be improved and formalised in the EU’s primary law after an in-depth institutional reflectionaddressed and reflected upon in the Conference for the Future of Europe; whereas this reflection should also include the de facto political role of the Commission and its President and any related changes to the decision-making process of the Union;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas institutional improvements such as transnational lists, as acknowledged by Parliament in its resolution of 7 February 2018 on the composition of the European Parliament, or the transformation of the Council into a second legislative chamber of the Union, as proposed in its resolution of 16 February 2017 on possible evolutions of and adjustments to the current institutional set-up of the European Union, would radically transform the European elections into one true European election,are needed in order to achieve a true European political sphere as opposed to the collection of 27 separate national electiondebates that it is today;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
M a. Whereas proposal such as the "transnational lists" or the transformation of the Council into a second legislative chamber are still under discussion; whereas none of them count currently with a majority support; Whereas the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe provides a true opportunity to discuss these issues and other institutional reforms; Whereas the success of the Conference will crucially depend on the agenda, the involvement of the citizens and the European Council's willingness to implement results;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas democratic processes at both Member State and EU levels have been targeted by foreign powers in order to influence the outcome of elections and weaken the Union; whereas the mechanisms put in place by the European institutions, such as the Code of Practice against Disinformation and the Rapid Alert System for elections contributed to the mitigation of foreign interference during the election campaign, but whereas, in the light of rapid developments in technologies and disinformation methods, constant vigilance and coordination among the Member States are essential;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the Commission’s requests to social media platforms ahead of the elections created confusion and had unintended consequences such as the ban on Europe-wide political advertisements, which is the only way for European political parties to advertisebe identified and recognised by voters during European election campaigns; whereas especially on that matter, the institutions should develop an interinstitutional approach in order to have a positive impact on the security and stability of the electoral process;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas European political parties and foundations are the primary facilitators of a successful European political debate, both during and beyond European elections and should be rendered more visible;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the higher turnout in the 2019 European elections, but expresses disappointment at the continuing high abstention rate; considers that thise higher turnout shows that an increasing proportion of citizens consider the EU to be the appropriate level at which toare taking an interest in the EU and the role it can play in addressing the challenges of our time, such as unemployment and the cost of living, improving the quality and resilience of health systems, climate change and environmental concerns, the digital transition, social and gender inequalities, the economy and sustainable growth, and geopolitical concerns such as migration and foreign policymigration and demographics, security and the EU's role in the world; urges all the European institutions, therefore, to take responsibility and to act upon the mandate they have been given, directly or indirectly, by the citizens; regrets both the lack of decisiveness by the Council and the lack of clear intent to achieve solutions based on a common approach;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the substantial increase of youth participation in the elections; reiterates its, but expresses disappointment at the continuing high abstention rate; calls on the Council and the Commission to take into account their concerns, which are critical for the livesaccount of young people's concerns and the impact of EU rules on future generations, while taking heed of the next generationsmessage sent by those citizens who do not vote;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to study electoral procedures, in particular the choice of national or territorial lists depending on the population of the Member States, and their impact on the representativeness of the MEPs elected;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. DeplorWelcomes the fact that the outcome of the elections did not lead togender balance in Parliament has improved over the last elections; Stresses however that there is still room for further improvements in order to achieve a genuine gender -balance ind Parliament; calls on the Commission, in cooperation with Parliament and other bodies such as the Venice Commission, to formulate recommendations to Member States with a view to increasing the representation of women in the European Parliament;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is of the opinion that the reason whyAcknowledges that the Spitzenkandidaten process failed to produce a President of the European Commission after the 2019 elections is because no improvements were made to it following the experience of 2014; intends to strengthen the democratic process for choosing the Commission President before the next European elections of 2024;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the up-comingCalls for the swift adoption of the joint declaration of the three European institutions on the Conference on the Future of Europe, recalls the commitment by the Commission President to address the issue of transnational lists and the Spitzenkandidaten process as the priority institutional issues during the Conference;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the election of the Commission President depends on a majority of Parliament’s members, which de facto requires the formation of a coalition; recommends that the election procedure be reversed so that Parliament proposes and elects the President of the Commission, after obtaining the consent of the European CouncilRecalls the commitment by the Commission President to address the issue of the Spitzenkandidaten process and transnational lists in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe; Stresses that the election of the Commission President depends on a majority of Parliament’s members, which de facto requires the formation of a coalition, as shown in the election of July 2019 of the von der Leyen Commission;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that the outcome of the European elections has reinforced the political dimension of the election of the European Commission, and therefore the need for more accurate and objective scrutiny of the declarations of interests of the Commissioners-designate; calls for the creation of an independent body, endowed with the appropriate means, to have this scrutiny included in its responsibilitiesstrengthening of this scrutiny before, during and after the mandate of the Commissioners-designate by reinforcing the role of the already existing Independent Ethical Committee;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Insists that all European voters should be allowed to vote for their preferredbe allowed to know who the candidate fors to the Ppresidentcy of the European Commission are, giving them the choice to vote for his or her political party; reiterates, therefore, that the Spitzenkandidaten should be able to stand as official candidates atin the next elections in a joint European constituency across all Member StateEuropean Elections;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Acknowledges that despite the fact that the agreed reform of the Electoral Law has not yet been ratified by some Member States, further improvements are required, such as provisions for remote voting operations in defined or exceptional circumstances, as well as on the elections in the joint European constituencyshould be addressed at the Conference on the Future of Europe;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges the Commission and the Council to consider, in accordancfully engage with the work of Parliament’s new Special Committee on Foreign interference and Disinformation, the urge and take into creation of a European organisation dedicated to the fight against foreign interferenceonsideration the outcome of its work; encourages the Commission and the Council to work much more closely with Parliament on these matters, as the protection of our democratic institutions is a core competence of the European Parliament;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recognises the important role of European political parties and foundations in fostering a European political debate; points out, however, that owing to restrictive measures at European and national levels, European political parties cannot fully participate in European election campaigns; stresses, moreover, that they are not allowed to campaign in referendums that concern European matters, including international trade agreements or the UK’s 2016 referendum on EU membership;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Considers European political parties' manifestos should be known before the elections, which requires clear and transparent rules on campaigning; underlines the European election rules shall promote European party democracy, including by making obligatory for parties running in European elections and the European party logo appear (next to the national one) on the ballot sheet;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Is of the opinion that the introduction of an annual European Week taking place simultaneously in all national parliaments, with debates between MPs, European Commissioners, MEPs and representatives of civil society on the Commission Work Programme would support the emergence of connected inter-parliamentary public spheres as well as improving the communication of European actions at national level;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the outcome of the European elections is a clear signal for an in-depth institutional reflection that will allow citizens, civil society and their representatives to shapepresents an opportunity for an in-depth reflection about the future of the Union; calls, therefore, on all institutional partners to assume their responsibility and deliver an ambitious, interactive and inclusive Conference on the Future of Europe; open to citizens, civil society and their representatives, and which can strengthen representative democracy as well as EU's resilience by delivering tangible results for its citizens, including on health protection and security
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers that the outcome of the European elections is a clear signal for an in-depth institutional reflection that will allow citizens, civil society and their representatives to shape the future of the Union; calls, therefore, on all institutional partners to assume their responsibility and deliver in due course an ambitious Conference on the Future of Europe;