PURPOSE: to establish a financing instrument for democracy and human rights worldwide (IDHRW) for the period 2014-2020 following the Development cooperation: European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights for the period 2007-2013.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 235/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a financing instrument for democracy and human rights worldwide.

BACKGROUND: this Regulation is placed within the framework of the new multiannual financial framework ( MFF ) 2014-2020 applicable to the Union’s external policy and cooperation with third countries. The measures provided are the following:

· Financing instrument for development cooperation (IDC) ;

· Partnership instrument for cooperation with third countries (PI) ;

· Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) ;

· European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) ;

· Instrument for Nuclear Safety Co-operation ;

· Instrument contributing to stability (IS) ;

· this instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide (EIDHR).

All of the procedures for the implementation of these instruments would be governed by specific Regulation adopted at the same time .

CONTENT: the Regulation establishes a financing instrument for democracy and human rights worldwide (EIDHR) for the period 2014-2020 in respect of which the Union provides assistance to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in:

enhancing participatory and representative democracy, strengthening the overall democratic cycle, in particular by reinforcing an active role for civil society within this cycle, and the rule of law, and improving the reliability of electoral processes; enhancing respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional human rights instruments, and strengthening their protection, promotion, implementation and monitoring, mainly through support to relevant civil society organisations, human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse.

Specific objectives : the specific objectives define the general objectives of the programme including:

the enhancement of parliamentary democracy, the processes of democratisation and local democracy; promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular the promotion of a moratoria on the death penalty and the prevention of torture; support for, protection of, and assistance to human rights defenders, within the framework of a mechanism, including longer-term assistance and access to shelter ; defence of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) persons; the fight against all forms of discrimination, including religion, ethnic or language; the cooperation of civil society with intergovernmental, international and regional organisations, by strengthening the capacity of these non-governmental organisations and in providing adequate training; the sending of Union electoral observation missions.

Progress in all these areas would be evaluated by performance indicators defined in the Regulation.

Recipient countries : the measures would be implemented on the territory of third countries, or would be directly related to situations arising in third countries or actions carried out at the global or regional level.

Note that the Regulation would be implemented independently of the consent of the governments of the third countries and other public authorities.

The measures referred to in this Regulation should take into account the specific features of crisis or urgency situations and countries or situations where there is a serious lack of fundamental freedoms , where human security is most at risk or where human rights organisations and defenders operate under the most difficult conditions.

Overall framework of assistance : the assistance provided should be granted in line with the overall framework of the Union's external action, and relevant European parliament texts in this field. To this end, a series of specific objectives and priorities have been defined in the Regulation Annex .

Implementation : Union assistance should be implemented on the basis of:

strategy papers, and revisions thereof; annual action programmes, individual measures and relevant support measures; special measures.

All of these measures and implementing rules for this Regulation are contained in the Instruments for financing external action to implement EU external policy .

There are specific measures to define the scope of the strategy papers based on the Union's priorities, the international situation and the activities of the main partners, which would be adopted in line with the examination procedure.

Financial envelope : in line with the overall agreement on the financial framework, the financial envelope for the implementation of the EIDHR shall be EUR 1 332 752 000 .

Coordination, coherence and complementarity of Union assistance : Union assistance under this Regulation should be consistent with the overall framework of the Union's external action, and complementary to that provided by other instruments or agreements for external assistance.

In order to enhance the effectiveness, coherence and consistency of the Union's external action, the Union and the Member States should seek regular exchanges of information and consult each other at an early stage of the programming process in order to promote complementarity and coherence among their respective activities both at decision-making level and on the ground. Such consultations may lead to joint programming and joint activities between the Union and Member States. The Union should also consult other donors and actors as well as civil society.

Access to documents : the European Parliament and the Council should be given access to all relevant documents in the framework of implementing the Regulation, in line with their respective role.

Annexes : the Regulation contains an Annex which defines precisely the objectives and thematic priorities of assistance by major objectives . The Commission would amend these priorities by delegated acts on the basis of recommendations contained in an implementation report.

It is noted that the joint declaration of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on election observation missions agrees that up to 25% of the budget over the period 2014-2020 should be devoted to the funding of these missions.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 16.03.2014. The Regulation shall apply from 01.01.2014 to 31.12.2020.

DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission may adopt delegated acts to amend the thematic priorities laid down in the Annex following the publication of the mid-term review report (by 31 March 2018). The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission for the duration of the Programme . The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification (this period can be extended for two months). If the European Parliament or the Council make objections, the delegated act will not enter into force.

The European Parliament adopted by 588 votes to 34, with 67 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide (EIDHR II).

Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary are the result of a compromise negotiated between the European Parliament and the Council:

General objective: the objective of the EIDHR II should be to provide assistance to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms through:

enhancing the respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional human rights instruments, and strengthening their protection, promotion, implementation and monitoring, mainly through support to relevant civil society organisations, human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse; supporting, developing and consolidating democracy in third countries, by enhancing participatory and representative democracy, strengthening the overall democratic cycle, in particular by reinforcing an active role for civil society within this cycle , the rule of law and improving the reliability of electoral processes, in particular by means of election observation missions.

Specific objectives and scope: a series of new specific objectives have been added:

reinforcing local democracy; promoting the equal participation of people with disabilities in decision-making; the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of moratoria with a view to abolition where the death penalty still exists; appropriate support for human rights defenders, by means of a mechanism providing for longer-term assistance and access to shelter; protecting the rights of LGBTI persons; the rights of indigneous peoples ; the fight against all forms of discrimination, including religious, ethnic or linguistic; promoting the observance of standards in prisons; promoting the peaceful outcome of electoral processes.

It should be noted that this proposed Regulation would be implemented independently of the consent of third country governments and other public authorities.

Performance indicators: progress in these areas would be assessed through performance indicators defined in the draft Regulation

General framework of assistance: the support should be granted in accordance with the general framework defined by the external policy of the EU and the relevant texts of the European Parliament in this area. To this end, a series of t hematic objectives were defined in the Annex to the future regulation .

Involvement of civil society: the objectives of this Regulation should be pursued with an appropriate involvement of civil society organisations on a regular basis.

Implementation: provisions have been included to clarify the technical implementation of the EIDHR II in terms of its strategic planning and programming, as well as its special measures.

Financial allocation: in accordance with the agreement on the Financial Framework, the financial allocation for the implementation of the EIDHR II is set at EUR 1 332 752 000 .

Coordination, consistency and complementarity of the assistance: in order to enhance the effectiveness, coherence and consistency of the Union's external action, the Union and the Member States shall seek regular exchanges of information and consult each other at an early stage of the programming process. The Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS), as appropriate, should also hold regular exchanges of views and information with the European Parliament. The Union shall also consult other donors and actors concerned. The position of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR) should be taken into account, as well as those of the EEAS and the European Parliament.

Transparency: the European Parliament and the Council should have access to all relevant documents in the context of the implementation of the proposed Regulation, in accordance with their respective roles.

Delegated acts: the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of making amendments to the thematic priorities laid down in the Annex to the future Regulation . Following the publication of the Mid-term report and based upon the recommendations contained in the mid-term review report of the EIDHR II, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act amending the Annex to this Regulation by 31 March 2018 .

Annexes: the future regulation contains an annex which defines the objectives and thematic priorities for assistance .

It should be noted that the draft Regulation as amended is accompanied by a series of declarations including:

a joint interinstitutional statement on election observation missions stressing that up to 25% of the EIDHR budget should be devoted to the funding of election missions; a unilateral statement of the Commission on the strategic dialogue with the European Parliament prior to its programming.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the report by Alexander GRAF LAMBSDORFF (ADLE, DE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide (EIDHR II) .

The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal.

The main amendments were as follows:

General objective : the objective of the EIDHR II should be to provide assistance to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms through:

enhancing the respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional human rights instruments, and strengthening their protection, promotion, implementation and monitoring, mainly through support to relevant civil society organisations, human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse; supporting, developing and consolidating democracy in third countries, by enhancing participatory and representative democracy, strengthening the overall democratic cycle, in particular by reinforcing an active role for civil society within this cycle, the rule of law and improving the reliability of electoral processes, in particular by means of election observation missions.

Specific objectives and scope : a series of new specific objectives have been added:

reinforcing local democracy; promoting the equal participation of people with disabilities in decision-making; the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of moratoria with a view to abolition where the death penalty still exists; supporting human rights defenders; protecting the rights of LGBTI persons; the fight against all forms of discrimination; promoting the observance of standards in prisons; promoting the peaceful outcome of electoral processes.

Performance indicators : progress in these areas would be assessed through performance indicators defined in the draft Regulation

General framework of assistance : the support should be granted in accordance with the general framework defined by the external policy of the EU and the r elevant texts of the European Parliament in this area. To this end, a series of thematic objectives were defined in the Annex to future regulation.

Impact of civil society : the objectives of this Regulation should be pursued with an appropriate involvement of civil society organisations.

Implementation : provisions have been included to clarify the technical implementation of the EIDHR II in terms of its strategic planning and programming.

Financial envelope : in accordance with the agreement on the Financial Framework, the financial envelope for the implementation of the EIDHR II is set at EUR 1 332 752 000 .

Coordination, consistency and complementarity of the assistance : in order to enhance the effectiveness, coherence and consistency of the Union's external action, the Union and the Member States shall seek regular exchanges of information and consult each other at an early stage of the programming process. The Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS), as appropriate, should also hold regular exchanges of views and information with the European Parliament. The Union shall also consult other donors and actors.

Transparency : the European Parliament and the Council should have access to all relevant documents in the context of the implementation of the proposed Regulation, in accordance with their respective roles.

Delegated acts : the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of making amendments to the thematic priorities laid down in the Annex to this Regulation. Following the publication of the Mid-term report and based upon the recommendations contained in the mid-term review report of the EIDHR II, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act amending the Annex to this Regulation by 31 March 2018 .

Annexes : the future regulation contains an annex which defines the objectives and thematic priorities for assistance.

It should be noted that the draft Regulation as amended is accompanied by a series of declarations including:

a joint interinstitutional statement on election observation missions stressing that up to 25 % of the EIDHR budget should be devoted to the funding of election missions; a unilateral statement of the Commission on the strategic dialogue with the European Parliament prior to its programming.

PURPOSE: to establish a new financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide 2014-2020 in the framework of the reform of the EU external action financial instruments and following on from previous EIDHR .

PHILOSOPHY AND ACTION PLAN FOR EXTERNAL AID 2014-2020: what happens outside the borders of the EU can and does directly affect the prosperity and security of EU citizens. It is therefore in the interest of the EU to be actively engaged in influencing the world around us, including through the use of financial instruments. The Lisbon Treaty marks, in this regard, a new departure in the EU’s relations with the rest of the world.

The EU's engagement needs to be tailored to individual circumstances . Its partners range from development economies to the least developed countries in need of specific assistance from the EU.

In general, the overall objective for external action for the period 2014-2020 may be summarised as follows:

long-term commitment to establishing an area of stability, prosperity and democracy in its own neighbourhood; facilitating the EU's engagement with third countries on issues that are of global concern, such as climate change, environmental protection, irregular migration and regional instabilities, and allowing the EU to respond rapidly and effectively to natural and manmade disasters around the world.

A major rationalisation of the instruments took place in 2003 and has begun to deliver more effective results. The Commission does not consider that another major alteration of the legislative architecture is necessary for the next MFF period , although some improvements are being proposed and the overall investment is being stepped up.

The Commission proposes to allocate EUR 70 billion for the 2014-2020 period for external instruments broken down as follows:

Financing instrument for development cooperation Partnership instrument for cooperation with third countries Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) European Neighbourhood Instrument Instrument for nuclear safety cooperation Instrument for Stability The present Financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide

In parallel and for the first time, the Commission proposes a single horizontal regulation establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union’s instruments for external action.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights (Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union). Furthermore, as also provided in the Treaty, the Union's action on the international scene “shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.” (Article 21).

Therefore, the promotion of democracy and human rights is an essential aspect of the EU’s external action. In promoting human rights and democracy worldwide, the EU is using a wide range of measures, from political dialogue and diplomatic initiatives to financial and technical cooperation and assistance.

The Regulation on establishing a European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)1 constitutes a corner stone of this political strategy and is a unique and visible expression of the EU’s strong commitment to democracy and human rights. The instrument has generated genuine results and numerous success stories, providing support to civil society and human rights institutions worldwide as well as election observation. Due to its independence from Government consent and its flexibility, the EIDHR represents a key added value to the EU’ policy toolbox.

The general objectives and the scope of the EIDHR which are to contribute to the development and consolidation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law worldwide, must be preserved in the new Regulation.

Recent developments in the European Neighbourhood, in particular the Arab Spring, have shown that there is a strong home-grown demand for increased freedoms and rights together with democracy that the EU needs to support.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the Commission considered three options (with some sub-options):

Option 1 : No separate EIDHR Regulation and mainstream human rights and democracy under other instruments; Option 2 : no change to the current regulation with only an increase in the budget allocation that will provide for additional activities under the current framework; Option 3 : building a better enabling regulation, while preserving the key features of the existing Regulation.

The third option was retained as it would allow preserving the political and operational benefits of the instruments, while allowing for a better adaptation of the regulation. Under this option, the new draft should be built as a better enabling regulation.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 202 and 209 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: this draft Regulation proposes to establish a new European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights under which the Union shall provide assistance to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Such assistance shall aim in particular at:

enhancing the respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional human rights instruments, and strengthening their protection, promotion and monitoring, mainly through support to relevant civil society organisations, human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse; supporting and consolidating democratic reforms in third countries, by enhancing participatory and representative democracy, strengthening the overall democratic cycle, and improving the reliability of electoral processes, in particular by means of election observation missions.

Scope and fields of action : Union assistance shall relate to the following fields:

support to and enhancement of participatory and representative democracy, including parliamentary democracy, and the processes of democratisation, mainly through civil society organisations; promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional instruments concerning civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, mainly through civil society organisations; strengthening of the international framework for the protection of human rights, justice, the rule of law and democracy, and for the promotion of international humanitarian law; building confidence in and enhancing the reliability and transparency of democratic electoral processes, while contributing to the efficiency and consistency of the whole electoral cycle.

The promotion and protection of gender equality, the rights of the child, rights of indigenous peoples, rights of persons with disabilities, and principles such as empowerment, participation, non-discrimination of vulnerable groups and accountability shall be taken into account whenever relevant for all assistance measures referred to in this Regulation.

The assistance measures shall take into account the specific features of crisis or urgency situations and countries or situations where there is a serious lack of fundamental freedoms, where human security is most at risk or where human rights organisations and defenders operate under the most difficult conditions.

Geographical scope : the assistance measures shall be implemented in the territory of third countries or shall be directly related to situations arising in third countries, or shall be directly related to global or regional actions.

General Framework for programming and implementation : Union assistance under this Regulation shall be implemented through the following measures and in accordance with the Common Implementing Regulation:

Strategy Papers and revisions thereof as appropriate; Annual Action Programmes, individual measures and support measures; Special Measures.

Strategy papers shall set out the priority areas selected for financing by the Union during the period of validity of this Regulation, the specific objectives, the expected results and the performance indicators. They shall also give the indicative financial allocation, both overall and per priority area; this may be given in the form of a range, where appropriate.

The proposed regulation also strengthens the coordination capacity and facilitates joint programming with the Member States, ensuring efficient labour division and effective aid delivery. The Union assistance shall focus where it has more impact, worldwide promotion of democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule law, its long-term and predictable engagement in development assistance and its role in coordinating with its Member States.

In accordance with the Council decision establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service (EEAS)5 , the High Representative/Vice-President shall ensure overall political coordination of the Union’s external action, including through the EIDHR. In particular, the EEAS shall contribute to the programming and management cycle of the EIDHR.

Implementation : the implementation has been greatly simplified as an Article stipulates that the decision shall be implemented in accordance with the future Regulation establishing common implementation rules for external relations financing instruments.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: the instrument proposed is part of the measures to be implemented under the Heading IV "Global Europe" of the European Union's Multiannual Financial Framework . The financial envelope for the implementation of this Regulation for the period 2014-2020 shall be EUR 1 578 000 000 (current prices). It corresponds to an approximate average annual envelope of EUR 225 000 000.