Activities of Antigoni PAPADOPOULOU related to 2012/0245(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps
Amendments (25)
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Volunteering is a concrete and visible expression of solidarity allowing individuals to dedicate their knowledge, skills, experience and time to the service of fellow human beings, without a primary concern for financial gain but as a wish to cope with additional humanitarian needs emerging in humanitarian crises, both man-made and natural disasters.
Amendment 27 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2 a) While volunteering is on the rise for many activities there is still further need for awareness raising and also a significant potential for further developing solidarity among Union's citizens with victims of crises and disasters in third countries.
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The Union's vision of humanitarian aid, including a common objective, principles and good practice and a common framework to deliver the Union's humanitarian aid, is set out in the ‘European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid’14 . There is a need to raise both awareness levels and its visibility among Union's citizens because European humanitarian aid is often overshadowed by that of other international organisations. The European Consensus underlines the Union's firm commitment to upholding and promoting the fundamental humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. The actions of the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (hereinafter referred to as the ‘'EU Aid Volunteers’') should be guided by the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid.
Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The number, scope and complexity of humanitarian crises worldwide both natural and man-made have increased significantly over the years and this trend is unfortunately likely to continue leading to a rising demand on humanitarian actors to provide an immediate, effective, efficient and coherent response and to support third country local communities in order to make them less vulnerable and to strengthen their resilience to disasters.
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) Volunteering schemes exist in Europe and worldwide focusing on third country deployment. These are often national schemes which focus mainly or exclusively on development projects. The EU Aid Volunteers should, therefore, avoid duplication and should add value by providing opportunities to volunteers to jointly contribute to humanitarian aid operations thus reinforcing active European Union citizenship and by, fostering transnational cooperation of implementing organisations participating in the actions of the Corps, therefore projecting a positive image of the Union in the world and fostering interest for pan European humanitarian projects.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) SAppropriate training, security and safety of the volunteers should remain of paramount importance, therefore inexperienced volunteers should not be sent to projects where security is a concern.
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Volunteering in humanitarian aid could help maintain young people active, contribute to their personal development and intercultural awareness, and improve their competences and employability in global economy. It would, thus, contribute to the ‘Youth Opportunities Initiative’18 and to a range of other key objectives of the Union such as social inclusion, employment, active citizenship, education, and skills development19 as well as in upholding volunteering as a concrete expression of European solidarity with people affected by crises, thus promoting the Union's values and principles.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
The objective of the EU Aid Volunteers shall be to express the Union's humanitarian values and solidarity with people in need, through the promotion of an effective and visible EU Aid Volunteers' initiative, which contributes to strengthening the Union's capacity to respond to humanitarian crises both man- made or caused by natural disasters and to building the capacity and resilience of vulnerable or disaster-affected communities in third countries.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. The EU Aid Volunteers shall promote common activities, close cooperation and participation of volunteers from different countries and foster joint projects and transnational partnerships between implementing organisations as referred to in Article 10; ensuring coordination, complementarity, coherence and cost effectiveness between the variety of existing EU voluntary schemes for crisis situations in third countries, without duplicating them.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. The EU Aid Volunteers' initiative shall promote common activities and participation of volunteers from different countries and foster joint projects and transnational partnerships between implementing organisations as referred to in Article 10.
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) an ‘EU Aid Volunteer’ means a candidate volunteer that has been adequately selected, trained, assessed as eligible and registered as available for deployment in humanitarian aid operations in third countries.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. In implementing the Regulation, coordination, complementarity and coherence shall be ensured with other areas of Union's external action and with other relevant Union policies. Particular attention shall be given to ensure smooth transition between relief, rehabilitation and development.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b – indent 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b – indent 1
– the number of volunteers trained and the quality of the training on the basis of the reviews and level of satisfaction and performance;
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point e – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point e – introductory part
(e) Enhancement of coherence and, consistency and reliability of volunteering across Member States in order to improve opportunities for Union citizens to participate in humanitarian aid activities and operations. Progress towards the achievement of this operational objective shall be assessed on the basis of indicators, such as:
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – title
Article 8 – title
Actions of the EU Aid Volunteers' initiative
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
The EU Aid Volunteers' initiative shall pursue the objectives referred to in Articles 3 and 7 through the following types of actions:
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. These standards shall ensure duty of care and cover notably the responsibilities of the sending and hosting organisations, the supervision, ongoing training and management of the volunteers, minimum requirements on the coverage of subsistence, accommodation and other relevant expenses, insurance coverage, security procedures and other relevant elements.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall establish a training programme in order to prepare the candidate volunteers for undertaking humanitarian activities and for deployment in humanitarian aid operations, notably by providing necessary background information on the Union's role and values regarding humanitarian issues.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 5
Article 12 – paragraph 5
5. The training programme shall include an assessment of the candidate volunteers' readiness to be deployed in humanitarian aid operations and to ensure security and safety when deployed.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 12 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. If the training programme is longer than 3 months, the candidate volunteer should receive a monthly grant to cover the costs of accommodation at the place of training, including during the time of the apprenticeship if no gratification is foreseen.
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission shall establish, maintain and update the Register, notably by keeping track of the number of volunteers deployed in countries hit by disasters and shall regulate the access and the use of it.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Prior to their deployment, the EU aid volunteers shall receive additional training specifically tailored to the needs and special situation of the country to which they are sent.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. On the basis of a certificate issued by the Commission, the actual time of the EU aid volunteering period shall be counted in the length of professional experience when the contract between the sending and hosting organisations is longer than six months. For contracts shorter than six months, the experience gained as an EU Aid Volunteer can be recognised as a traineeship, on the basis of a certificate issued by the Commission.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) training in volunteer management, coaching, disaster preparedness and response and other relevant areas for staff and volunteers from hosting organisations, which ensures readiness and availability of qualified human force for humanitarian organizations and disaster- struck communities;
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 3
Article 26 – paragraph 3
3. Sending organisations deploying volunteers in operations outside the Union shall be responsible for the monitoring of their activities and shall submit to the Commission monitoring reports on a regular basis safeguarding all rights of individual volunteers regarding personal data protection.