Activities of Loránt VINCZE related to 2022/2137(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Institutional relations between the EU and the Council of Europe (short presentation)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the institutional relations between the EU and the Council of Europe
Amendments (56)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
— having regard to the Council of Europe Warsaw Summit Action Plan CM(2005)80 final 17 May 2005 and its Appendix 1 - Guidelines on the Relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
— having regard to the Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe of 18 June 2008,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
— having regard to the Statement of Intent for the Cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the EU Enlargement Region and the Eastern Partnership and Southern Mediterranean Countries (EU Neighbourhood Region) of 1 April 2014,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to the Decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe CM/Del/Dec(2022)132/4 on Co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Union adopted at its 132nd Session,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 10 May 2010 on the institutional aspects of accession by the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
— having regard to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 25 June 1992 and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of 10 November 1994,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas although the EU and the CoE form distinct and very different legal systems, already the 2005 “Guidelines on the Relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union” 1ahave underlined that the “common objective of a Europe without new dividing lines can best be served by making appropriate use of the norms and standards, as well as the experience and expertise developed in the Council of Europe over half a century” and established that “legal cooperation“ between the organisations “should continue and be further developed” with guideline number 5 stating that the EU “shall strive to transpose those aspects of Council of Europe Conventions within its competence into European Union Law”; _________________ 1a Guidelines on the Relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union, appended to the Council of Europe Warsaw Summit Action Plan CM(2005)80 final 17 May 2005
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations states that “the European Union regards the Council of Europe as the Europe-wide reference source for human rights” and that “the Council of Europe will remain the benchmark for human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Europe”;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas in its Resolution 2430 (2022) Beyond the Lisbon Treaty: strengthening the strategic partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Union the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called for a renewed impetus towards strengthening the strategic partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Union;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas in its Decision CM/Del/Dec(2022)132/4 on Co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Union, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe also called for co-operation with the European Union to be stepped up still further in view of the many challenges currently facing Europe;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas in June 2022 the Secretary General of the Council of Europe set up a High-level Reflection Group in order to issue recommendations relating to the Council of Europe’s role in responding to new challenges facing Europe and the world; whereas the Reflection Group has issued its recommendations on October 2022, recommending among others the strengthening of political dialogue between the Council of Europe and the European Union and that consideration is given to updating and reinforcing the 2007 MoU;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
E d. whereas the Committee of Ministers agreed to hold a 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe Member States in Reykjavik, Iceland on 16 and 17 May 2023 associating representatives of the EU, where the issue of co-operation with the European Union is also expected to feature as part of the agenda;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
E e. whereas the EU remains the biggest donor of the Council of Europe technical co-operation activities, covering the EU Enlargement Region, countries of the Eastern Partnership, EU Member States, the Southern Mediterranean and Central Asia, as well thematic areas; whereas in 2021, the global volume of the Council of Europe-EU Joint Programme co-operation reached €207.4 million; whereas joint co-operation programmes in the rule of law sector accounted for 54.7% of the cumulative budgetary envelope in 2021;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E f (new)
Recital E f (new)
E f. whereas the financial volume of the joint programmes implemented in the Council of Europe Member States which are Member States of the EU continued to steadily increase in recent years due to the structured joint cooperation and technical support frameworks put in place under the Structural Reform Support Programme and the Technical Support Instrument of the EU since 2019;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E g (new)
Recital E g (new)
E g. whereas the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is the oldest European multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate; whereas of the CEB’s 41 members, 26 are EU members and 8 are official or potential candidates for accession to the EU; whereas, beyond other international financial institutions and several United nations specialized agencies, the CEB regularly cooperates with the EU on common initiatives such as the Western Balkans Investment Framework, the Neighbourhood Investment Facility, Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the lack of accession of the EU to important CoE conventions in the area of human rights, including the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women prevents the EU to be represented in their supervisory bodies;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas the Council of Europe has acquired extensive experience and expertise in intergovernmental cooperation and assistance activities in the field of human rights, having established several human rights monitoring and control mechanisms, various respected human rights monitoring committees such as the European Committee of Social Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as well as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
H b. whereas the action of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) is based on the three main principles of the European constitutional heritage: democracy, human rights and the rule of law; whereas the Venice Commission was established in 1990 in order to respond to the pressing need to assist central and Eastern European countries in adopting new constitutions after the fall of the Berlin wall; whereas the Venice Commission has played an outsize role in the democratisation of post-communist states wishing to join the EU; whereas the opinions of the Commission enjoy great authority and are followed in the majority of cases; whereas the EU strongly encouraged states which wanted to join the EU as well as current members to comply with its opinions;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
H c. whereas the Agreement between the European Community and the Council of Europe on cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe of 2008 established a general cooperation framework with the aim to develop joint projects in areas of mutual concern, engaging in dialogue with stakeholders to improve respect for fundamental rights in Europe, coordinating communication activities to increase awareness on fundamental rights, informing each other about the results of each organisation’s activities and exchanging data and consulting each other at operational level;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)
Recital H e (new)
H e. whereas the annual reports on the cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe show the breadth and depth of the cooperation ranging from consultations on specific projects and activities, regular data and information exchanges, participation in CoE Parliamentary Assembly hearings, participation in project inception meetings, joint projects and activities, the Agency’s observer status in several CoE monitoring and intergovernmental committees, participation in respective civil society structures to mutual references to each other’s work;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
J b. whereas the establishment of a joint European Union Fundamental Rights Information System (EFRIS) brings together in one online space the human rights information from the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the EU, including, since 2022, the data, analysis and findings generated under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM);
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas the impact of the Council of Europe reaches beyond the European continent, as many of its conventions are open for global signature and several of its mechanisms extend around the world;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
J c. whereas the Statement of Intent for the Cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the EU Enlargement Region and the Eastern Partnership and Southern Mediterranean Countries of 2014 established a strategic framework to help promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Regions based on the Council of Europe's binding international conventions, monitoring bodies and assistance programmes;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Observes that the cooperation between the two international organisations has been increasing over the years while leaving still open potential for more “inter-organisational cooperation” where the EU, in line with the 2005 Guidelines on the Relations between the Council of Europe and the European Union, strives to transpose those aspects of Council of Europe Conventions and other instruments into European Union Law where the Union holds respective competences;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Highlights that as the EU has gradually transformed into a political union, the areas where the activities of the two organisations overlap and complement each-other has increased; considers therefore that given the frequent overlapping of competences it is important to avoid duplications of work or diverging standards; considers it important in this regard to set up appropriate consultation channels between the European Union and the Council of Europe which would allow the coordination of normative work in an incipient phase, especially in the areas of the current or a future MoU;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
The EU’s accession to the ECHR and other forms of cooperation on fundamental rights
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reaffirms its strong commitment to the EU’s accession to the ECHR as expressed in the resolution of 19 May 2010 on the institutional aspects of the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; 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;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. SUnderlines that the accession constitutes not only a priority objective for both organisations, but also a treaty obligation for the EU; 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;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recalls the pertinence of the promising cooperation between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and CoE - as exemplified in the 2022 cooperation report between the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Council of Europe - in the pursuit of common objectives and strategic priorities related to promoting and protecting human rights, including the need to avoid duplication and ensure complementarity between the work of FRA and the CoE;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Is of the opinion that it is useful both for the Council of Europe and the FRA to further expand their relationship such as by expanding the Council of Europe conventions covered by EFRIS and by inviting FRA to contribute to the work of the Venice Commission;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Calls on the Commission to work closely with the Council of Europe in the area of artificial intelligence and new digital technologies, including their appropriate use by law enforcement and their impact on human rights, the rule of law and democracy;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4 d. Highlights the particular importance of close cooperation with the Council of Europe in the fight against child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse; stresses the importance of the the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention) as the first international treaty that addresses child sexual abuse that occurs within the home or family and which is is open to accession by any state in the world, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the fight against this crime at international level; calls on te EU to finalise accession to the Convention as swiftly as possible;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4 e. Calls on the Commission to enhance cooperation and complementarity on all human-rights related areas where the Council of Europe developes substantial activity, such as anti-discrimination, fight against traficking in human beings, migration, justice and equality;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. 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; is convinced that the EU’s accession to these conventions will increase its legitimacy in the area of fundamental rights and promote synergies and facilitate cooperation between the two organisations;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Welcomes the reflection process on the side of the Committee of Ministers and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the further strengthening of concertation, co- ordination, political dialogue and technical co-operation with the European Union, putting an emphasis on issues relating to democratic security and the rule of law;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Expects that based on this process, as well as on the work of the High-level Reflection Group of the Council of Europe, the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe member States in Reykjavik, Iceland on 16 and 17 May 2023 will also present clear conclusions on the future cooperation and relationship between the CoE and the EU;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6 d. Acknowledges the reliance of the EU on the know-how of the Venice Commission to help improve constitutional standards, electoral law, and judicial, governance and other reform processes both in the EU as well as in the EU external action and calls for regular exchanges between the European Commission and the Venice Commission;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Acknowledges the important role which the FCNM has played in the European integration process; recalls that the recognition of the need to protect minorities through this dedicated instrument arose from the the tragedy of internal armed conflicts and wars ravaging Europe in the 1990s; points out that the same preoccupation led to the adoption in 1993 of the Copenhagen criteria on respect for the rights of minorities in the context of the EU’s enlargement policy; 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 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Underlines that a reinforced cooperation in the area of minority rights would be equally beneficial for the CoE, as the political weight of the Union behind the instrument would likely result in increased compliance with standards and recommendations and deeper embeddedness of minority rights in EU Member States and CoE State Parties; points out that stronger cooperation in this area would also allow for better targeted EU funding, including in the context of enlargement or post-conflict reconstruction, supporting the implementation of minority related recommendations, amongst others though the implementation of joint projects (such as such as Promoting Human Rights and Minority Protection in SEE, Promotion of Diversity and Equality in the Western Balkans and Equality education for all);
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Calls for a strategic and well- coordinated collaboration between the EU and CoE to tackle the widespread and severe exclusion, discrimination and poverty issues Roma face in Europe and for increased synergies between activities carried out under the Council of Europe Strategic Action Plan for Roma and Traveller Inclusion (2020-2025) and the 2020-2030 EU Roma Strategic Framework;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12 c. Stressing the importance of education in the cementing of a culture of respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law in our societies welcomes the important work of the Council of Europe through its Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture; calls on the EU to increase its engagement with the CoE in this area;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6
Subheading 6
Cooperation in the area of education and, culture and linguistic diversity
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Recalls that, along with respect for cultural and religious diversity, respect for linguistic diversity is a fundamental value of the EU as laid down in Article 22 of the Charter and article 3 TEU, that the EU is tasked to support Member States in the teaching and dissemination of their languages (art. 165(2) TFEU), and that it has an obligation to respect, safeguard and enhance cultural and linguistic diversity (article 167(1) TFEU); stresses that the bodies of the Council of Europe could be extremely instrumental in this pursuit;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Reiterates1a its call on the the Commission and the EEAS to strengthen cooperation with the Council of Europe, including with regard to the Cultural Routes, with a view to promoting the fundamental values of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and the sustainable territorial development of lesser-known destinations, while preserving, protecting and rehabilitating the cultural and natural heritage of these sites; _________________ 1a European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2022 on the implementation of the New European Agenda for Culture and the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations (2022/2047(INI))
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)
Subheading 6 a (new)
External Action
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Stresses the importance of strengthening coherence and complementarity in EU external human rights action, through increased coordination among the EU, the CoE and the Organisation for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE);
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Calls for a more structured and formalized use of CoE benchmarks and monitoring activities in the context of its enlargement and neighbourhood policies and to continue cooperation with CoE in the provision of support for countries in carrying out essential democratic reforms on a more strategic level;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15 d. Calls on the EU and the EIB to enhance formalized cooperation with the Council of important areas of cooperation the offering of immediate and long-term assistance to the displaced persons of and refugees fleeing Ukraine and support for the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 b (new)
Subheading 6 b (new)
EU enlargement
Amendment 132 #
15 e. Highlights the continued role the Council of Europe plays in the EU integration process by helping EU candidate countries meet the EU accession criteria on stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 f (new)
Paragraph 15 f (new)
15 f. Points out the importance the Venice Commission in the provision of assistance in the reform of judicial, governance and electoral processes in the candidate and potential candidate countries; stresses that the EU should ensure without fail that accession candidate countries comply with all its recommendations on their path towards membership;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Welcomes the call1a of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly for: a). the organisation of regular meetings between the respective Presidents, Secretaries General, Chairpersons of committees and between the Presidential Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament; b). the organisation of joint meetings and joint events at the level of committees and/or European Parliament delegations for relations with non-EU member States; c). the mutual invitation of rapporteurs to provide input in each other’s work; d) the strengthening of dialogue and co- ordination with the Assembly in areas which have emerged as prominent challenges for European societies; _________________ 1a the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 2430 (2022) entitled Beyond the Lisbon Treaty: strengthening the strategic partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Union
Amendment 138 #
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 on the existing ‘Agreement for strengthened cooperation between Parliament and the PACE’ and, based on rules 224 and 225 of its Rules of procedure proposes the establishment of an interparliamentary delegation for an enhanced cooperation, to improve law making in the common fields of activity, to raise awareness and to provide an exchange on each other’s activities and functioning, to contribute to a more systematic dissemination of information and a more structured and regular dialogue;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls on the European Commission to initiate a revision of the 2007 Memorandum of Undersatnding in order to take account the new competencies the EU gained with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as to formalise the strategic partnership of cooperation that has consolidated between the two institutions, in particular in the area of rule of law, democracy, fundamental rights, including the rights of minorities; expresses its position that this strategic document should also be operationalised and complemented by the adoption of additional agreements for joint action on specific issues between various EU and CoE bodies;