27 Amendments of Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA related to 2014/2248(INI)
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas many Member States have contributed to euroscepticism through their irresponsibility in not apprising citizens of how the EU institutions contribute to their welfare, and in sidestepping the responsibility they bear for the promotion of unsustainable models of economic development, the mismanagement of public monies or the covering up of scourges such as corruption which have led to financial stability problems and the general discrediting of the political system;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas this lack of financial autonomy is one of the factors hindering the Commission’s role in promoting effective reforms enabling the unification of the energy, financial and digital markets, and driving forward in each Member State investment in infrastructure linked to the TEN-T programme, which is a genuine master plan for the construction of trans- European transport networks;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the mechanisms and powers granted to the Commission by the Framework to address systemic threats to the rule of law in the Union also need to be strengthened to ensure that there is no occurrence of behaviour or consolidation of positions in Member States that infringe the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or which are contrary to the EU’s founding values;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)
Recital O a (new)
Oa. whereas the austerity policies used to correct budgetary imbalances in some Member States ought not to have lost from sight the need to uphold throughout the EU’s territory the values behind the European social model, whose principles are not compatible with prioritising the rescue of financial bodies over people suffering unemployment, exclusion or poverty, victims of a crisis for which they bear no responsibility;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)
Recital Q a (new)
Qa. whereas the division of powers, the economic, institutional, linguistic and cultural personality and national diversity found in some Member States with single state constituencies whose sole aim is to prevent this diversity being represented in the European Parliament is totally inconsistent;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q b (new)
Recital Q b (new)
Qb. whereas ‘United in Diversity’ is one of the European Union’s mottos and whereas this motto, which is linked to the founding concept of a Europe of the Peoples, alludes to the diversity of the Union in all respects including that of stateless nations which exist and are even constitutionally recognised in some Member States;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S a (new)
Recital S a (new)
Sa. whereas the desire of the people to remain within the European Union as expressed by citizens of some of the kingdoms of Britain, proves that territorial tensions of this kind are not solely and exclusively an internal problem of a Member State and call forcibly for a predictable, orderly and democratic response in order to provide a channel for this legitimate aspiration;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that a comprehensive democratic reflection on the reform of the Treaties can and must only be achieved through a Convention, which guarantees inclusiveness through its composition of representatives of national parliaments, governments of all the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament, and alsother bodies representing EU institutions at local and regional level; said Convention ought to provides the proper platform for such reflection and engagement with European citizens; recommends for proper regional representation an in-depth reform of the Committee of the Regions, which currently draws together local and regional levels and which ought to become a genuine chamber of the regions ensuring that the latter are involved in the upstream and downstream stages of the EU’s decision-making process;
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that in conducting this reflection, the EU’s founding values need to be restored and the magnitude of the global challenges facing the EU considered and that, for this reflection to produce results, there has to be an open discussion on how to modernise traditional concepts of national identity and sovereignty;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Considers for these purposes that the European Commission should apply the provisions which scrap the format of one commissioner per Member State and adopt an organigram which favours effectiveness and efficiency and streamlines the working areas of the community portfolio holders. The provisions laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union may be used as a basis in that regard;
Amendment 373 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that all the meaning of the founding expression “Peoples of Europe” should be revived and that a discussion should be held on the influence that territorial tensions in the Member States exert with regard to the shift in mood towards disintegration. It is not easy that those who have not managed to integrate their own minorities into society in their own country may bring stability to the European project;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. For those purposes, and in line with the contents of the ‘Strasbourg Manifesto’, signed by many MEPs who represent the traditional national minorities to which more than 70 million Europeans, calls on the EU institutions to play a more active role in the resolution of such political tension when the disputes take the Member States to a point of no return. An arbitration system to resolve such political conflicts without taking them to court should be included in the reforms to the Union. The basis for the arbitration should be built on frameworks applied at international level in situations of this type and should encourage the principle that the parties to the dispute may neither hinder the debate or the free expression of that debate nor unilaterally impose a position or solution, in accordance with the principles of Canada’s ‘Clarity Act’;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recommends that, instead of these multiple derogations, a type of ‘associate status’ could be proposed to those states in the periphery that only want to participate on the sideline, i.e. in some specific Union policies; this status should be accompanied by obligations corresponding to the associated rights; which should incorporate obligations in areas such as financing the EU institutions, fiscal discipline and coordination commitments, adherence to the rules on the functioning of the single market and competence, along with accelerated mechanisms for the full integration of interested states from the status of Associate State;
Amendment 424 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Stresses the need to follow closely political and institutional developments in countries such as Scotland which have clearly expressed their wish to remain in the Union. Considers that on the basis that it had already expressed that wish in a legal and democratic referendum, an accelerated integration mechanism for that country should be established, and the mechanism should start with the automatic acquisition of Associate State, to which the veto principle normally used for ordinary candidates seeking to join the Union should not apply;
Amendment 465 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Deplores the fact that the structural weakness of the EU institutions and the state-oriented logic too often applied to its operational programmes renders less effective its policies which support innovation, the production economy and reindustrialisation. Stresses that the cross-border, cooperative, synergistic and flexible logic that drives cohesion policies such as intelligent specialisation should be bolstered and that this format should be replicated in employment policies;
Amendment 542 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Considers that among the criteria included in the convergence code should be an assessment on the extent to which the master plans for infrastructures with added European value proposed for the TEN-T will incorporate an effective tool to stimulate and speed up the construction of the trans-European transport networks. To ensure that the above is the case, deviations from investment plans access to Union funds should be restricted;
Amendment 614 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Considers that taxes such as the tax which should be applied to financial transactions should be used to finance the European Commission itself. Stresses that financing the EU institutions should not increase European citizens’ tax burden;
Amendment 662 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Considers that a mechanism to harmonise tax among Member States and European treasuries must be defined, including treasuries which, in accordance with the principles expressed by the European Court of Justice, are independent. The foundations for that harmonisation should place an identical effective overall tax burden on all Member States, harmonise corporate income tax, guarantee that companies pay tax on profits in the territory in which they earn them and stop all competition among European treasuries, excluding measures designed to drive the production economy and employment;
Amendment 746 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Points out the need to include in the drawing up of asylum policies the local and regional authorities managing services which should offer the first response to the humanitarian crises caused by immigration;
Amendment 748 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Takes the view that there is a need to establish a minimum framework of benefits and entitlements to give content to the European social mode, and it should cover social benefits, social security systems, education, health, unemployment benefits, income guarantees and equality policies; stresses that the dedicated programmes must avoid social breakdown and inequality and should be considered an investment and not an expense; points out that establishing these minimums is the best tool for combatting social dumping in the EU;
Amendment 752 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Considers it necessaryPoints out that the concept of ‘national security’ should be revised, in view of the fact that the intensity of the terrorist threat, to upgrade the EU’s capacities in the fight against terrorism and international organised crime; stresses that, beyond strengthening has demonstrated that it is ineffective when it comes to addressing this problem which can only be addressed by means of a proper European intelligence service; calls for the EU’s capacities in the fight against terrorism and international organised crime to be upgraded by following that course; stresses that to develop that coordinated action, the first step needs to be taken in the Member States themselves, which should carry out this work in all the bodies and agencies with the capacity to prevent, investigate and eradicate terrorist crimes and carry out citizen security work; That is the only way to achieve proper and effective coordination between the competent authorities and agencies in the Member States, and to enable Europol and Eurojust musto receive genuine investigation and prosecution competences and capabilities that will provide the foundations for a proper European intelligence system;
Amendment 800 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Stresses that for the Union to strengthen the defence of the EU territory, as a pillar within NATO, which remains the cornerstone of the European security architecture, and to enable the Union to act autonomously in operations abroad, mainly with a view to stabilising its neighbourhood, the Treaties should provide fsupport the possibility of establishing a European defence unioncreation of a European defence union that enables an authentic European army to be arranged;
Amendment 805 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. The intergovernmental formula should be replaced immediately by the Union method to dealing with foreign and security policy in order to give rise to a determinant EU role in the prevention of and negotiation and intervention in international conflicts; for those purposes it is important to make progress towards forming a qualified and respected European army that brings together the Member States’ human resources, intelligence and military technology to deal, in line with the values of the EU, with the external challenges facing us;
Amendment 884 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Stresses that electoral constituencies in the Member States must adapt to their own institutional, national, cultural and linguistic diversity in order to guarantee that all European minorities are appropriately represented and integrated in the European Parliament;
Amendment 930 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Ecofin should take into account, in accordance with the case-law of the European Court of Justice, the existence of autonomous European treasuries with economic, institutional and regulatory independence in some Member States;
Amendment 974 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46a. Points out the need to include regions with legislative powers in this process with a view to improving the time frames and procedures established in Annex 2 to the current subsidiarity protocol of the TFEU; national reports should compulsorily include the observations on subsidiarity issued by the regional authorities, which should have longer than the eight-week time frame currently provided for in the protocol;
Amendment 992 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)
48a. Points out that corruption is one of the problems that undermines the credibility of state and European institution and calls for a European framework of minimums to be established to prevent and eradicate such behaviour;