47 Amendments of Barbara MATERA related to 2015/2110(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
- having regard to the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the Council on combatting terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA on combating terrorism
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Welcomes the 18-month programme of the EU Council for the Dutch, Slovak and Maltese Presidencies, which puts the comprehensive and integrated approach to organised crime high on its agenda; Points out that the fight against fraud, corruption and money laundering must be a political priority for the EU institutions, and police and judicial cooperation between Member States is therefore crucial
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Points out that the financial crisis has added to the pressure on European governments; in view of the current economic challenges, calls for a greater guarantee of integrity and transparency in public spending;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission to draw up a genuine strategy to prevent and fight corruption in the EU as a matter of priority;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2c. Notes that financial crime (fraud, money laundering, corruption) is one area in which legal texts could be adopted with a view to laying down common definitions and harmonising penalties, using Article 83 TFEU as the legal basis;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Notes that the phenomena of organised crime, corruption and money laundering usually have a cross-border dimension that requires close cooperation in between the competent national authorities and between national authorities and the relevant EU agencies;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Considers that police and judicial cooperation through an exchange of information among national authorities is essential in order to take effective measures to fight corruption and organised crime;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the Member States properly to transpose the European Parliament and Council directive on the European Investigation Order in criminal matters, an instrument with a key role to play in strengthening police and judicial cooperation in the EU;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Stresses that illicit trade in firearms, oil, drugs, cigarettes and counterfeit goods and artworks and other cultural objects by networks of organised crime have become very lucrative ways for terrorist groups to obtain funding. Calls on the Member States to take necessary measures, while avoiding undue administrative burden for economic actors, to ensure that terrorist groups and criminal networks may not benefit from any trading in goods; Considers that appropriate due diligence, monitoring and reporting requirements for goods whose trading is considered to be vulnerable to terrorist financing could have a preventative effect by materially impairing the trading activities of organised criminal groups and terrorist groups and by helping to track and prosecute organised crime and other commercial activities of terrorist organisations and criminal crime networks more effectively.
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Points out that the European growth strategy, Europe 2020, depends on institutional factors such as controlling corruption;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Points out that money laundering through complex company structures and their integration to legal economic activity can be a threat for the public order of the state; calls on Member States to establish measures, without unduly burdening small and medium sized enterprises, to increase the transparency of monetary actions and to improve the traceability of transactions back to natural persons in order to trace down criminal and terrorist funding ("follow the money" principle). Calls on Member States to take measures which make it more difficult to create complex and dense structures of interlocked companies which by the fact that they tend to be non-transparent can be abused for the financing of criminal or terrorist activities and other serious crimes;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Reiterates the call expressed in its resolution of 23 October 2013 on organised crime, corruption and money laundering: recommendations on action and initiatives to be taken, for the adoption of European Action Plan to eradicate organised crime, corruption and money laundering. Stresses that, in order to ensure its effectiveness, the plan should have adequate financial resources and qualified staff;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the establishment of a specialist Europol unit to combat organised criminal groups which operate in several sectors at the same time; t and via the Internet on a large scale; Stresses the necessity of Member States to exchange information about organized crime networks with each other and via Europol and Eurojust; Takes the view that the Member States should set up a body with responsibility for ensuring that investigations into organised crime are properly coordinated;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Commission and on Member States to provide Europol and Eurojust with more staff and resources in order for them to be able to fulfil their increasing mandate and to better coordinate efforts made by national authorities in the fight against organised crime and terrorism;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4
Subheading 4
A stronger legislative framework in the area of organized crime and protection of the financial interest of the European Union
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – point b
Paragraph 10 – point b
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – point c
Paragraph 10 – point c
(c) legislation to protect whistle- blowers, witnesses and persons who cooperate with the judicial process including a definition of "whistle blowers";
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its call for the establishment of an independent European Public Prosecutor’s Office as an essential piece of the action plan with clearly defined responsibilities and powers; calls on the Member States to provide the necessary human and financial resources for the creation of the EPPO;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its call for the establishment of an independent and efficient European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) with clearly defined responsibilities and powers; in this regard, recall that the European Parliament expressed its position in its resolutions of 12 March 2014 and of 29 April 2015 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP));
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Considers that the EPPO should have competence to prosecute all PIF crimes including VAT frauds; Urges the Council to fully take in consideration the judgement given by the European Court of Justice in the Taricco case1a ; and, therefore, to agree to include VAT fraud into the scope of the PIF Directive; _________________ 1a Case C-105/14.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Regret that the concept of "national link" is still in the text as this could bring to an inefficient distribution of workload between European Prosecutors; therefore ask the Council for the establishment of a mechanism to make the distribution of workload more efficient and effective;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Urges the Council of the European Union to find a right balance between the absolute necessity of ensuring the procedural safeguards for suspects or accused and the necessity for the EPPO to collect evidence in the Member States and to share information with other EU bodies;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Regrets that the text is going towards a system where the Permanent Chambers have limited decision-making powers in cases below the threshold of 100.000€; this possibility could limit the added value of the collegial decision- making process at central level;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
11e. Recalls the necessity for the EPPO to be fully informed of all PIF investigations opened at National level in order for the Office to have a clear picture of the phenomenon in Europe; this point will be also crucial to have clear data which could help in improving the EU policy in the field;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11f. Since the Council opted for an EPPO with collegial structure with European Delegated Prosecutors it will be crucial to make sure that the EPPO's role won't be reduced to a monitoring and mere supervisory role;
Amendment 116 #
12. Deplores the fact that cross-border police and judicial cooperation involvesCalls on the Member States to increase the resources for Europol and Eurojust to strengthen police and judicial cooperation between the Member States and to decrease excessively lengthy, bureaucratic procedures that hamper its efficiency and jeopardise the effectiveness ofin the fight against organised crime at EU level; calls on the Member States to increase the resources they devote to cross- border police and judicial cooperation, to guarantee the mutual admissibility of evidence between Member States, to ensure that greater use is made of joint investigation teams and to employ a common system for communication and for exchanging information relevant to the fight against organised crime and corruption;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. In this regard it is of a paramount importance to better define relations between Eurojust, OLAF and EPPO in order to differentiate their respective roles in the protection of EU financial interest;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Believes that the EU and its Member States should implement properlyIs of the opinion that employing a common method for seizing criminal groups' assets in the EU would be a dissuasive measure for criminals; calls on the Member States to swiftly transpose the Directive 2014/42/EU on the confiscation of assets from crime and to strengthen EU measures concerning the tracing, freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime, and the management of frozen and confiscated property and its re- use for social purposes; ;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Points out that corruption, in particular in the context of the award of public contracts or public-private partnerships, makes it easier for organised crime to infiltrate the legal economy;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Points out that 21 Member States have not yet transposed the package of public procurement directives; considers that rules on public procurement are essential in order to bring transparency and accountability to one of the areas most vulnerable to corruption;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Points out that transparent accounting rules amenable to review must be ensured not just within central government, but also at regional and local level in all Member States;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Regards it as essential to strengthen legislative provisions designed to guarantee greater transparency and traceability of financial flows, in particular as far as EU funds are concerned, including by means of a final audit to check that the funds have been properly usedin the management of EU funds, including by means of prior investigations;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Considers it necessary to fight corruption in sport by making the rigging of sports events a criminal offence, thereby strengthening measures to stamp out illegal sports betting;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Calls on the Commission to regulate lobbying and its relationship to official bodies so as it ensure that it is carried out more transparently;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Considers that the European institutions should set an example by promoting the highest standards of transparency and clear rules on conflicts of interest;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Condemns the fact that environment-related organised crime, such as illegal waste treatment and destruction of the natural heritage, is acquiring an international dimension, implying a need for concerted efforts at European level to both prevent and fight it;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)
Paragraph 20 e (new)
20e. Believes that there are new tools for organised crime which have to be dealt with; points out that what is involved is not traditional cybercrime linked to computer fraud and the dissemination of child pornography, but the use of the Internet to promote drug-trafficking, illegal immigration, and human- trafficking networks;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 f (new)
Paragraph 20 f (new)
20f. Deplores the fact that highly sophisticated new forms of crime are emerging, including economic crime, involving cross-border conspiracies and using new technological resources, and considers that Member States therefore need to coordinate their action in order to bring to bear the technical, logistic, and financial means necessary to detect and fight such crime;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Points out that tax havens are ideal places in which to collect and launder the proceeds of criminal activities, and as such should be abolishedhe increasingly complex tax systems in certain Member States opens the possibility for intransparency and disguise of fiscal fraud; Therefore calls on the Member States to establish clear and transparent rules and procedures;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Points out that tax havens are ideal places in which to collect and launder the proceeds of criminal activities, and as such should be abolishedCalls on the Commission to bring concerted efforts to bear to combat all ways in which offshore locations are being used to conceal winnings, profits, or gains;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Considers it necessary to have Europe-wide rules whereby all sources of financing for political parties would be checked and monitored so as to ensure that they were legal;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Points out that the recent influx of refugees and the migration pressure at EU extremal borders are creating opportunities for criminal organisations and individuals to exploit various means of gaining entry, including schemes relying on corruption, and that the EU needs to be particularly alert to this danger;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
25c. Points to the need to set up systems for detecting sources of foreign investment in the EU, in particular when the object is to acquire assets or stakes in companies;