11 Amendments of Charles GOERENS related to 2023/2028(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls forWelcomes the progress made on the negotiations towards the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights to be finalised(ECHR), as required by the Treaty of Lisbon, and the recent provisional agreement of the draft revised accession instruments reached; calls for the accession to be finalised as soon as possible in order to complete and strengthen the protection of fundamental rights of EU citizens and for the EU to accede to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. RecCalls for strengthening the key role of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), including by expanding its tasks and powers to promote and protect fundamental rights across the EU further; stresses the role of Member States at all levels, notably at national parliaments’, national and local administrations’ and law enforcement authorities’ levels, in ensuring the full application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights when implementing EU law;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Takes note of the Council of Europe’s report of 6 October 2022 entitled ‘Freedom of political speech: an imperative for democracy’ ; stresses that freedom of expression in the EU must not be importance of media pluralism and freedom of expression; stresses the need to ensure the limited by the interests, constitutional framework or political choices of a Member State; reiterates the need for a mechanism for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, which should be established through an interinstitutional agreementpartiality and effective independence of national regulatory authorities from governments; strongly condemns unjustified and disproportionate interference by these authorities into journalistic expression and editorial decisions in some Member States; welcomes in this regard the proposal for an European Media Freedom Act and calls for its swift approval;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the Northern Ireland Protocol is a prerequisite for a smooth relationship between the EU and the UK; calls for continued vigilance in order to preserve the Good Friday Agreement; welcomes the Windsor Framework and believes that this political agreement can provide new impetus for the EU-UK partnership based on mutual trust and cooperation; stresses that the implementation of this framework should at all times preserve the integrity of the single market;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine places the EU in a new situation, namely that of a prospective enlargement to includeReiterates that the future enlargement of the Union, such as the accession of Ukraine, Moldova and, Georgia, with the Copenhagen criteria as a fundamental basis; calls for all refugees to be treated with humanity, solidarity and generosityand the Western Balkans will have the Copenhagen criteria as a key requirement, notably the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls for the full implementation of art 2 TEU, particularly as regards solidarity and respect for human rights, so that all refugees to be treated with humanity, fraternity and generosity; welcome the ongoing negotiations on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum that will implement these priorities for the migrants and asylum seekers;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to take a very firm stance against persistent attacks on the rule of law in certain Member States; Welcome the adoption of the European Rule of Law Mechanism by the European Commission and consequently the annual publication of the Rule of Lay report since 2020; calls on the Commission to take a very firm stance against persistent attacks on the rule of law in certain Member States, by using all tools available; welcomes the 2023 Rule of law report carried out by the European Commission and especially the set of specific recommendations to Member States on national justice systems, anti- corruption frameworks, media freedom and pluralism and institutional issues related to check and balances; reiterates its support for the full implementation of the Rule of Law Conditionality regulation and its call for a new mechanism for democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, through an interinstitutional agreement; stresses that art 7 (3) TEU needs to be reformed and strengthened through Treaty change to ensure its applicability and effectiveness;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the creation of annual conferences on the rule of law following the Commission’ Rule of law report, with delegations from all Member States, involving randomly selected and diverse citizens, parliamentarians, local authorities, social partners and civil society on the basis of the proposal coming from the Conference on the future of Europe;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Deplores the recent scandals that have tarnished the EU’s image, such as Qatargate corruption scandal and State espionage using Pegasus, with MEPs among the targets; calls for all the consequences of these scandals to be drawn and the full restauration of the European Parliament reputation and credibility in order to preserve citizens’ trust in public institutions;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Welcomes, in this light, the work done to amend the internal Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament with the aim of strengthening its integrity, independence and accountability;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Welcomes the work of the committee of inquiry set up in the European Parliament (PEGA) to investigate into existing national laws regulating surveillance, and establish whether spyware was used for political purposes against, for example, journalists, politicians and lawyers; stresses that the illegitimate use of spyware by national governments undermines the European democracy and decision making process ; call for a greater transparency within the Member States regarding the laws regulating surveillance in order to prevent any new mass surveillance scandal to emerge.