Activities of Charles GOERENS related to 2022/2137(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the institutional relations between the EU and the Council of Europe
Amendments (24)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the report by Jean-Claude Juncker of 11 April 2006 entitled 'A Shared Ambition for the European Continent',
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
- having regard to the report by the Council of Europe High Level Reflection Group of October 2022,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the EU and the Council of Europe are committed to achieving greater unity among European countries through the promotion of democratic stability and security;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the persisting internal and external challenges to the rules-based multilateral order, democracy and the rule of law, as well as the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the impact these have on the human rights situation in Europe provide strong arguments for further strengthening the institutional cooperation between the EU and the CoE; recalling in this respect the expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe, 26 years after its accession;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the exclusion of Russia, a highly influential member country, means a major change for this organisation, not to say a paradigm shift for the future of the European continent;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EU already relies to a great degree on the CoE for the monitoring and promotion of the rule of law in its present and future Member States; whereas information sources used by the Commission when establishing benchmarks to measure the situation of the rule of law and the functioning of judicial systems in the Member States include the Venice Commission’s Rule of Law Checklist, reports commissioned from the CoE agencies by the EU, such as the annual study on the functioning of judicial systems commissioned by the EU from the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice as part of the EU Justice Scoreboard and regular reports on topics linked to the rule of law drawn up by the CoE agencies, particularly on the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 1 – point 1 (new)
(1) Supports the holding of the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe and calls on the Secretariat to invite representatives of the European Union to attend with observer status; calls on the European Council also to consult the Council of Europe in the preparation of European Political Community summits and to invite it to attend them with observer status;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)
(1) Believes that the appointment of high-level political figures to the posts of Secretary-General and Commissioner for Human Rights would not only enhance the visibility of the Council of Europe but also contribute to ensuring a balanced institutional relationship between the two organisations,
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point 2 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 2 (new)
(2) Points out that institutional exchanges at all levels would be beneficial to both organisations;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reaffirms its strong commitment to the EU’s accession to the ECHR; calls on the negotiating parties to invest every effort into resolving the outstanding issues and addressing all of the CJEU’s concerns expressed in its opinion 2/2013 of 18 December 2014 with a view to concluding negotiations successfully; believes that these outstanding issues are complex but not insurmountable; undertakes to review the EU Treaties to assess how the powers of the CJEU can be strengthened and made more compatible with those of the European Court of Human Rights; calls on all Member States accordingly to ensure compliance with the ECHR and all case law established by the European Court of Human Rights; calls on the European Commission to monitor more closely compliance by EU Member States with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the EU’s accession to the ECHR would have numerous benefits, including strengthened coherence between EU law and the CoE conventions system, harmonisation in human rights legislation and case law between the EU and the CoE and the protection of EU citizens against the actions of the Union’s institutions and bodies; stresses that EU accession to the ECHR would also establish an indispensable external mechanism to ensure full compliance with the rule of law on the part of the EU and its institutions;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. ACalls on the Commission to look into what steps are needed for the European Union to accede to the European Social Charter and to propose a time-frame for achieving that objective; advocates the EU’s broadest possible alignment with the CoE convention system through the finalisation of its accession to other CoE treaties, such as the Istanbul Convention and the Convention against Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; calls on the Commission to look into what steps are needed for the European Union to accede to the European Social Charter and to propose a timeframe for achieving that objective;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 5 – point 1 (new)
(1) Welcomes the fact that the overwhelming majority of conventions negotiated within the Council of Europe enable the EU to accede to them and stresses that many such conventions are negotiated by the Union itself;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4 b (new)
Subheading 4 b (new)
EU involvement in Council of Europe bodies and the associated agencies takes the view that the EU’s taking a more active role in CoE bodies, agencies and joint programmes could further improve partnerships and synergies between the respective organisations while avoiding overlaps in their fields of action; calls on the European Commission to assess the possibility of full EU membership of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) the Group of Experts on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) as a way of defending the EU's interests and propose arrangements for EU involvement in these bodies;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that the existing framework for cooperation between the EU and the CoE should be reviewed in order to take stock of the changes brought by the Lisbon Treaty and the evolving relations between the two organisations; suggests, in this regard, revisiting the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding, notably by taking stock of what has worked and what has not, with a view to upgrading it into the main legal instrument coordinating EU-CoE cooperation in a comprehensive way; proposes, furthermore, complementing the Memorandum with agreements for action on specific issues;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Acknowledges the important role which the FCNMCouncil of Europe and its bodies hasve played in the European integration process; recalls that during the process of evaluating candidate countries’ progress towards accession on the basis of the Copenhagen criteria, the Commission’s systematic monitoring of minority protection in candidate countries has relied to a great extent on the standards developed by the CoE; recalls that the EU considers candidate countries’ implementation of the FCNM an important element in the accession criteria for minority protection;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 12 – point 1 (new)
(1) Calls for the EU's enlargement policy to afford a prominent role to the Council of Europe in assessing candidate countries' compliance with rule of law and human rights criteria;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 13 – point 1 (new)
(1) Recalls the remarkable work undertaken by the Council of Europe's institutions, which should serve as the foundations for the EU's projects;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 14 – point 1 (new)
(1) Calls for a common frame of reference for civic education to be set up, focusing on democracy, the rule of law and human rights;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Welcomes the success of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which has become an essential tool for assessing language proficiency;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 16 – point 1 (new)
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Acknowledges the grassroots work undertaken the Assembly, which deserves to be brought to the public's attention and has earned the respect of the European Union.
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Concludes that, in view of the rising importance of the parliamentary democracy provided for by the Lisbon Treaty, the parliamentary cooperation between the EU and the CoE could be deepened, building ony conducting an assessment of the existing ‘Agreement for strengthened cooperation between Parliament and the PACE’ before implementing it;