2014/2254(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Recital -A a (new)

-Aa. having regard to Part Two of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union for Non-discrimination and Citizenship of the Union and to the Charter of Fundamental Rights,

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

Amendment 100 #

Marlene MIZZI, Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Jude KIRTON-DARLING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Expresses its concerns, on the basis of hundreds of petitions received yearly, of the shortcomings in the actual implementation in Member States of the provisions, both in letter and spirit, of the EU environmental legislation, such as the Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment directives; asks the Commission to have greater oversight of the substance of such procedures, particularly when specific cases are subject to petitions;

Amendment 101 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Reiterates the importance of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), as a new citizens' right introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, which aims at increasing participatory democracy in the EU; Notes the importance of the ECI as a powerful tool to provide European citizens with a direct democratic right to contribute to the decision making process of the EU, which adds to the European citizens' right to submit petitions to the European Parliament (EP) and their right of appeal to the European Ombudsman;

Amendment 102 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on all the EU institutions and Member States to ensure the respect for the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms and respect for human dignity in Member States of EU as well as on the international scene;

Amendment 103 #

Marlene MIZZI, Soledad CABEZÓN RUIZ, Jude KIRTON-DARLING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Supports the programme of EU Judicial training for national judges which are key actors in enforcing citizens' rights; warns about the risk of undermining the right to effective legal remedy not being respected in cases when national court procedures are unacceptably delayed; expresses the view that in order to respect the principle of equality before the court and effective access to justice, socioeconomic barriers in its access such as excessive judicial fees and taxes should be tackled in each and every Member State;

Amendment 104 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Calls on the European Commission to strengthen the role of the European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs) by adopting a citizens-friendly approach to tackle all deficiencies of this instrument in the upcoming revision of Regulation 211/20118 whilst at the same time improving information campaigns to citizens on the use of the ECI and its powers to influence the EU-policy making process;

Amendment 105 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. calls on the European Commission to take into account the Göncz report from 17 February 2014 on evaluation of justice in relation to criminal justice and the rule of law which regrets the lack of available data on national justice systems, and therefore calls the Member States to cooperate fully with the EU and Council of Europe institutions and to collect and provide, on a regular basis, impartial, reliable, objective, and comparable data on their justice systems; call for an effective mechanism for a regular assessment of Member States' compliance with the fundamental values of the EU, as set out in Article 2 TEU, providing a basis for an early warning tool and emphasises that the Commission is empowered to bring a Member State failing to fulfil an obligation under the Treaties before the Court of Justice of the European Union;

Amendment 106 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Welcomes the European e-Justice portal which is operated by the European Commission and provides professionals and the public with information on justice systems and is a practical tool to improve access to justice, with a separate section on fundamental rights which aims at informing citizens where to turn in cases of violations of their fundamental rights;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas rights inherent to Union citizenship are incorporated in the Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas the Treaty of Lisbon has strengthened the enforceability of fundamental rights with respect to the implementation of EU law by Member States at national level; whereas Article 51 of the Charter states that the Member States and the Commission must respect these rights; whereas citizens’ rights include the right to petition as a means of citizens upholding their own fundamental rights, as laid down in Article 41 of the Charter and Article 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Amendment 12 #

Jérôme LAVRILLEUX

Draft opinion
Recital A

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Lisbon Treaty has strengthened the fundamental rights enforceability when EU law is being implemented at national level by the Member States;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the right to petition established a tight bond between the EU citizens and the Parliament; whereas the European Citizens' Initiative introduced a new direct link between the EU citizens and the EU institutions and can enhance the development of fundamental and citizens' rights;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Court of Justice of the European Union plays a major role, in particular through general principles of law, in the protection of fundamental rights within the EU; whereas the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and that of the European Court of Human Rights are generally in line with one another; whereas the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights should be rethought once the CJEU has handed down its opinion on 18 December 2014 (Opinion 2/13);

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas it is recognised that National authorities (judicial, law enforcement and administrations) are key actors in giving concrete effect to rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the European Commission should continue to be vigilant regarding Member Statesʼ failure to transpose EU legislation or their poor transposition thereof; whereas EU citizens are insufficiently informed about their fundamental rights;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas the effectiveness of specialised institutions such as National Human Rights Institutions or equality bodies is important to help citizens to better enforce their fundamental rights to the extent that Member States apply EU law;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas almost one third of petitions received by Parliament relate to alleged breaches of fundamental rights referred to in the Charter, touching on issues such as citizenship, the four freedoms, employment, economic circumstances, justice systems, voting rights, disability and children’s rights; whereas some of those petitions raise questions related to health issues and worsened access to health care and health care services as a direct consequence of the economic crisis; whereas this situation has undermined the provisions of Article 35 of the Charter; whereas petitions serve as an instrument for guaranteeing citizens their fundamental rights;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A b (new)

-Ab. having regard to the right of petition enshrined in Article 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and having regard to Rules 215 to 218 of its Rules of procedure,

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas a~~lmost one third~~ significant number of petitions received by Parliament relate to alleged breaches of fundamental rights referred to in the Charter, touching on issues such as citizenship, the four freedoms, employment, economic circumstances, environmental and consumer protection, justice systems, voting rights, disability and children’s's rights, access to education and linguistic rights; whereas some of those petitions raise questions related to health issues and worsened access to health care and health care services as a direct consequence of the economic crisis; whereas petitions are usually the earliest indicators of the situation of the fundamental rights in the Member States and they serve as an instrument for guaranteeing citizens their ~~fundamental~~ rights;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas almost one third of petitions received by Parliament relate to alleged breaches of fundamental rights referred to in the Charter, touching on issues such as citizenship, the four freedoms, employment, economic circumstances, justice systems, voting rights, disability and children’s rights; whereas some of those petitions raise questions related to health issues and worsened access to health care and health care services, but also to the right to work, as a direct consequence of the economic crisis; whereas petitions serve as an instrument for guaranteeing citizens their fundamental rights;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas almost one third of petitions received by Parliament relate to ~~alleged~~ breaches of fundamental rights referred to in the Charter, touching on issues such as citizenship, the four freedoms, employment, economic circumstances, justice systems, voting rights, disability and children’s rights; whereas some of those petitions raise questions related to health issues and worsened access to health care and health care services as a direct consequence of the economic crisis linked to the European policies; whereas petitions serve as an instrument for guaranteeing citizens their fundamental rights;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas almost one third of petitions received by Parliament relate to alleged breaches of fundamental rights referred to in the Charter, touching on issues such as citizenship, the four freedoms, employment, economic circumstances, justice systems, voting rights and democratic participation, transparency in decision-making, disability and children’s rights; whereas some of those petitions raise questions related to health issues and ~~worsened~~to serious shortcomings in universal access to health care and public health care services as a direct consequence of ~~the economic crisi~~cuts in public spending and the austerity measures; whereas petitions should serve as an instrument ~~for~~helping to guarantee~~ing~~ citizens their fundamental rights;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas almost one third of petitions received by Parliament relate to alleged breaches of fundamental rights referred to in the Charter, touching on issues ~~such as~~relating to citizenship, the four freedoms, employment, economic circumstances, justice systems, voting rights, disability and children’s rights; whereas some of those petitions raise questions related to health issues and worsened access to health care and health care services as a direct consequence of the economic crisis; whereas numerous petitions ~~serve as an instrument for guaranteeing citizens~~highlight a link between poor environmental protection and the ensuing violation of their fundamental rights to health;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas this situation has undermined the provisions of Article 35 of the Charter; whereas the increased energy poverty experienced by relevant parts of the population in some Member States has had also a huge impact on the overall health condition of the population, and in particular children;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas since 2008 the economic crisis and the ~~general~~austerity measures ~~taken as a result thereof have also had an~~imposed by the Troika have increased by 10 million the number of citizens at risk of poverty and social exclusion, which now stands at 122.6 million, and whereas they have had a major impact on universal access to ~~quality~~ education, ~~the right to fair and decent work and the right to property~~on employment and on access to social services;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the economic crisis and the general measures taken as a result thereof have also had an clearly negative impact on universal access to quality education, the right to fair and decent work and the right to property;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the ~~economic crisis and the general measures taken as a result thereof~~measures based on cuts in public services, abolition of labour rights, privatisation and restrictions on public spending, which have supposedly been taken to cope with the economic crisis, have also had an impact on universal access to quality state education, the right to fair ~~and~~work in decent working conditions and the right to ~~property~~have access to housing;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the economic crisis and the general measures taken as a result thereof have also had an negative impact on universal access to quality education, ~~the right to fair and decent work and the right to property~~in relation to Article 14 of the Charter, on the right to fair and decent work as recognised in Article 17, the right of health as recognised in Article 35 and the right to property as recognised in Article 31;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A c (new)

-Ac. having regard to Rule 53 of its Rules of Procedure,

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the economic crisis and the general measures taken as a result thereof have also had an impact on universal access to quality education, the right to fair and decent work ~~and the right to property~~, the right to property and the right to social security and welfare services;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the economic crisis and the general measures taken as a result thereof have also had an impact on universal access to quality education, the right to fair and decent work, the right to health care and social security and the right to property;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the right to vote and stand as a candidate in the municipal and European Parliament elections is recognised in Articles 39 and 40 of the Charter in the states of residence; whereas exercising the right of mobility should not hamper this right;

Amendment 33 #

Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas Article 21 of the Charter recognises the right to non-discrimination based on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas Article 21 of the Charter recognises the right to non-discrimination based on any grounds; whereas, under Article 19(1) TFEU, the EU can adopt legislation to combat specific types of discrimination;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas Article 21 of the Charter recognises the right to non-discrimination ~~based on any grounds~~, regardless of the ground on which such discrimination is based;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the right to vote and stand as a candidate in the municipal and European Parliament elections in the State of residence is recognised in Articles 39 and 40 of the Charter; whereas the exercise of the mobility right does legally or effectively prevent many citizens to take part of other elections either in their country of origin or residence;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. Whereas only 37% of the Members of the European Parliament, 7 of the 28 judges at the Court of Justice and 9 out of 28 Commissioners are women;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas promoting the principles of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms and respect for human dignity on international scene can only be sincere if these principles are fully and thoroughly respected and implemented in Member States of EU themselves;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas the Charter enshrines the right to good administration within the Union; whereas it also states the rights to access the documents of the main three EU institutions; whereas the EU Ombudsman is the guarantee that these rights are respected;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A d (new)

-Ad. having regard to its previous resolutions on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions,

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas for people with disabilities the rate of poverty is 70% higher than the average, partly owing to limited access to employment;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas the trust in the judiciary in some EU member states is extremely low, for example according to Eurobarometer 2013 the trust in judiciary in Slovenia was at 24%, the lowest in the EU, whereas a research conducted by a former constitutional judge points to a systematic problem: in at least 442 Slovenian court cases, at least 1 200 judges violated fundamental rights (2004-2013);

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas Articles 37 and 38 of the Charter recognises the right to a high environmental protection intrinsically linked to the deployment of the policies of the Union;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas judicial systems are being used for political reasons in the EU, for example in the case of Janez Janša, the former Prime Minister of Slovenia and the chair of the European Council in 2008, who was indicted of committing an offence at an ‘unknown time, at an ‘unknown place’, through an ‘unknown method of communication’, which is far too unspecific to allow the defendant the slightest opportunity to defend himself;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Deplores instances of discrimination against ethnic, religious and national minorities, on the grounds that human dignity is inviolable; calls ~~for~~on the ~~Anti-Discrimination Directive, which seeks to implement the principle~~Member States to implement properly the existing directives ofn equal treatment ~~between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, to be unblocked in the Council~~; underlines the fact that specific needs of the most vulnerable citizens such as minorities should be addressed in an appropriate way;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Deplores instances of discrimination ~~against minorities~~, on the grounds that human dignity is inviolable; calls for the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which seeks to implement the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, to be unblocked in the Council;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Deplores instances of discrimination against ~~minorities~~the citizens of the Union, on the grounds that human dignity is inviolable; calls for the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which seeks to implement the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, to be unblocked in the Council; calls for this Anti- Discrimination Directive to refer to the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of the human person, as defined and protected by the constitutional traditions common to the Members States;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Deplores instances of discrimination against minorities, on the grounds that human dignity is inviolable; calls for the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which seeks to implement the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, to be unblocked in the Council; calls on the Council and the Commission to act effectively and responsibly to uphold the values of the Union in relation to Member States who fail to fully respect their Treaty obligations on such issues;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A e (new)

-Ae. having regard to the Commission Report of 8 May 2013 entitled 'EU Citizenship Report 2013 – EU citizens: your rights, your future' (COM(2013)0269,

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point 1 (new)

(1) Regrets that laws are being sponsored in a number of Member States which make proper compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights difficult or impossible, on account of how they restrict freedom of assembly, association and speech and the right to collective bargaining and action;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Member States and the EU institutions to be fully engaged in the protection of children's rights in cross- border family disputes; emphasises the need to promote children's rights across EU policies in order to ensure that the best interest of the child is always taken into consideration;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls for the maternity leave directive to be unblocked in Council, as this piece of legislation will make real and tangible gender equality possible as well as harmonisation at EU level;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Regrets and condemns the legislation of a LGTBI-phobic nature passed in some Member States which restricts the right to non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and free speech for lesbians, gays, transexual and bisexual people, in addition to attacking the right of all citizens to enter into a marriage and found a family;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines the need for possible changes to the Treaties with a view to further strengthening the protection of fundamental rights in the EU Treaties;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to ensure as a matter of urgency that the Member States transpose and correctly apply Directive 2004/38/EC on the free movement of citizens, given the frequent recurrence of petitions on the subject of problems encountered, also by their spouses and children; notes the increase in petitions from several Member States on child custody disputes in a cross- border context in the framework of the Brussels IIa regulation, and also particularly against some Member States' authorities on the withdrawal of custody from parents having exercised the freedom of movement within the EU;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls for the ratification by all Member States of the Istanbul Convention so that 2016 can be the year on combating violence against women;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the role of Commission as the guardian of the Treaties is not limited to ensuring that legislation is transposed by the Member States, but also extends to the full and correct application of laws, in particular with a view to protecting citizens’' fundamental rights; reminds that the expectations of citizens go beyond the strict interpretation of the Charter and the objective should be to render these rights as effective as possible;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the role of Commission ais t~~he guardian of the Treaties is not limited to ensuring that legislatio~~o uphold the principle of subsidiarity and ensure greater democracy within its ~~transposed by the Member States, but also extends to the full and correct application of laws, in particular with a view~~bodies and in its decisions in order to protect~~ing~~ citizens’ fundamental rights;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the role of Commission as the guardian of the Treaties is not limited to ensuring that legislation is transposed by the Member States, but also extends to the full and correct application of laws, in particular with a view to protecting citizens’ fundamental rights; notably defined by the Charter and the constitutional traditions common to the Members States;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A f (new)

-Af. having regard to the Opinion by the Court of Justice on the draft agreement on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and problems it identifies with regard to its compatibility with EU law, delivered on 18 December 2014,

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the role of the Commission as the guardian of the Treaties is not limited to ensuring that legislation is transposed by the Member States, but also extends to the full and correct application of laws, in particular with a view to protecting citizens’ fundamental rights; regrets the effective limitation in the scope of application of the Charter due to an excessively restrictive interpretation of its Articles 51, whereas this clause prevents the dealing with EU law enforcement; is of the opinion that such an approach ought to be revised to meet EU citizens' expectations in relation to their Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the role of Commission as the guardian of the Treaties is not limited to ensuring that legislation is transposed by the Member States, but also extends to ~~the full and correct~~its capacity to monitor the correct and full application of laws, in particular with a view to protecting citizens’ fundamental rights;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the role of Commission as the guardian of the Treaties is not limited to ensuring that legislation is transposed by the Member States, but also extends to the full and correct application of laws, in particular with a view to protecting citizens’ fundamental rights; in this framework calls for the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring, systematic evaluation and issuing of recommendations, to foster overall compliance with fundamental values in the Member States;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)

(1) Recalls that the guarantee of respect for fundamental rights also extends to citizens of non-EU countries when on EU territory, and that summary returns, indefinite detention in immigrant detention centres or denial of basic healthcare all breach precepts laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Points to the legal vacuum as regards citizens' access to legal redress when Member States have not, or have only belatedly, transposed EU legislation that concerns them directly;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Regrets the narrow interpretation of the EU competence regarding fundamental rights by the Commission based on restrictive reading of Article 51 of the Charter; reminds that according to Article 2 TEU the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities; believes that systemic problems in the field of fundamental rights in the Member States should be addressed by the Commission, in particular, through a new framework for addressing systemic threats to the rule of law;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses the need for coordination of actions at all levels to protect and promote fundamental rights encompassing EU institutions, Member States, regional and local authorities, NGOs and civil society;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Reminds the Commission of its institutional duty to analyse citizens' complaints in relation to possible violations of fundamental rights not only by the EU and by Member States in the application of EU law, but also in relation to situations of systematic failure in the protection of fundamental rights within the Member States;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the fundamental rights of universal access to health care and education are restored to every EU citizen; stresses the opinion that affordable access to energy for every household is fundamental in order to ensure a healthy population, and that targeted measures must be implemented to correct the increasing trend of energy poverty in a number of Member States;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital -A g(new)

-Ag. having regard to the many petitions in the field of fundamental rights received from EU citizens and residents,

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the fundamental rights of ~~universal~~ access to health care and ~~education~~social services are restored to ~~every EU citize~~all EU citizens, and above all to the 122 million Europeans at risk of poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States with respect to the subsidiarity principle to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the fundamental rights of universal access to quality health care and high quality education are restored to every EU citizen;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States, with a full respect for the principle of subsidiarity, to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the fundamental rights of universal access to health care and education are restored to every EU citizen;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to ensure that the fundamental rights of universal access to health care and education are restored to every EU citizen; calls on the Member States also to recognise environmental protection as being a key factor in guaranteeing the fundamental right to health;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to adopt all necessary measures to ensure th~~at the fundamental rights of universal access to health care and education~~e effective implementation of the right to access to justice, as well as, the independent, equitable, effective, impartial and just administration of justice, within reasonable time limits; reminds that the Member States should restore all fundamental rights are restored to every EU citizen;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to remove existing obstacles within the Internal Market for enabling the full exercise of the right of free movement;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the portability of ~~social security~~unemployment benefits, pensions and health care rights and the recognition of professional qualifications is important in ensuring the full accomplishment of fundamental rights and civil liberties, including on the basis of the achievement of worker mobility;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the portability of social security benefits, pensions ~~and health care~~, health care and recognition of professional qualifications and academic credits is important in ensuring the full accomplishment of fundamental rights and civil liberties, including on the basis of the achievement of worker mobility which has increased in recent years due to the economic crisis; but notes that many citizens still encounter problems in asserting these rights; expresses its concerns about the growing trend of quick expulsions of EU citizens from their residing countries as a result of the loss of their job and considers that this is contrary to the spirit of the freedom of mobility;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the portability of social security benefits, pensions and health care is important in ensuring the full accomplishment of fundamental rights and civil liberties~~, including on the basis of the achievement of worker mobility~~;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas rights inherent to Union citizenship are incorporated in the Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas the Treaty of Lisbon has strengthened the enforceability of fundamental rights with respect to the implementation of EU law by Member States at national level; whereas ~~Article 51 of the Charter states that the Member States and the Commission must respect these rights;~~ its entry into force with the Lisbon Treaty generated great expectations among EU citizens that a new age of enhanced rights had begun in Europe; whereas Article 51 of the Charter states that the Member States and the Commission must respect these rights observe the principles and promote the application thereof in accordance with their respective powers; whereas article 51 is regarded by the Commission as a limitation on its exercise as Guardian of the Treaties;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the mobility of workers can also be achieved via the full portability of social security benefits, pensions and health care ~~is important in ensuring the full accomplishment of fundamental rights and civil liberties, including on the basis of the achievement of worker mobility~~, hence guaranteeing fundamental rights and civil liberties;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that the portability of social security benefits, pensions and health care, in particular for the disabled, is important in ensuring the full accomplishment of fundamental rights and civil liberties, including on the basis of the achievement of worker mobility;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to ensure as a matter of urgency that the Member States transpose and correctly apply Directive 2004/38/EC on the free movement of citizens, given the frequent recurrence of petitions on the subject of problems encountered, also by their spouses and children; notes the increase in petitions from several Member States on child custody disputes in cross-border context in the framework of the Brussels IIa regulation, and also particularly against some Member States' authorities on the withdrawal of custody from parents having exercised the freedom of movement within the EU;

Amendment 83 #

Rolandas PAKSAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls for more emphasis to be laid on protection of the rights of the child, and especially in regard to help for children who are removed from their home while living abroad; considers that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child should be the basis for settling all child custody disputes involving families residing outside their own country, as this pays special attention to preserving the childʼs identity;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Reiterates that recognition by Member States of each othersʼ university degrees is essential in order for EU citizens to have proper mobility;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Invites Member States to adopt the necessary legal and administrative provisions to ensure that all EU citizens in voting age can exercise their voting rights in national and regional elections of their concern;

Amendment 86 #

Rolandas PAKSAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses that the interests and rights of children of EU citizens should be properly protected, not just within the European Union but also beyond its borders, and calls consequently for enhanced cooperation with the institutions responsible for childrenʼs well-being in non-EU Nordic countries; considers that all the EUʼs partners (including members of the EEA) ought to ratify the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children;

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States and the Commission, when proposing legislation, to strike a balance between counter- terrorism measures and the protection of fundamental rights, so that the latter is not compromised;

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States and the Commission, when proposing legislation, to strike an appropriate balance between counter- terrorism measures and the protection of fundamental rights;

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States and the Commission, when proposing counter-terrorism legislation, to stgive prikde ~~a ba~~of plance ~~between counter- terrorism measures and the protection of fundamental rights~~in its choices to the safety and security of the citizens of Europe, who should be protected by every possible means using every possible instrument;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas rights inherent to Union citizenship are incorporated in the Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas the Treaty of Lisbon has strengthened the enforceability of fundamental rights with respect to the implementation of EU law by Member States at national level; whereas Article 51 of the Charter states that the Member States and the ~~Commission must respect these~~institutions, bodies and agencies of the EU must respect these rights; whereas the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights will strengthen its commitment to the protection of fundamental rights;

Amendment 90 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States and the Commission, when proposing legislation, to ~~strike a balance between~~bear in mind that counter- terrorism measures ~~and the protection~~may never result in any breach of fundamental rights;

Amendment 91 #

Svetoslav Hristov MALINOV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States and the Commission, when proposing ~~legislation, to strike a balance between~~ counter- terrorism measures ~~and the protection~~, to respect the Charter of fFundamental rRights of the European Union;

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5а. Points out that in many cases it is hard for the public to know precisely which institution they should turn to when their fundamental rights are violated, and stresses the need for clear and accessible information aimed at avoiding any confusion over the scope and applicability of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or the procedure for obtaining legal redress;

Amendment 93 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Expresses particular concern about the recent adoption in certain Member States of legislation that restricts the recognised Fundamental Right of freedom of expression and assembly; considers that such legislation undermining civil rights leads to a trend of democratic regress;

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes the legal uncertainty generated by any retrospective provision in new legislation of Member States, as well as in cases of continuous changes in the same regulatory field, which de facto delay the effective implementation of the final provisions; warns about the risk of undermining the right to effective legal remedy not being respected in cases when national court procedures are unacceptably delayed; expresses the view that in order to respect the principle of equality before justice, socioeconomic barriers in its access such as excessive judicial fees should be tackled in each and every Member State;

Amendment 95 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to relaunch the legislative initiative on an Accessibility Act, in the form of a cross-cutting instrument that can increase the protection afforded to persons with disabilities and ensure cohesion between all EU policies in this respect;

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Requests the Commission to make a step forward in consolidating the right to good administration by turning the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour of the EU into a legally binding regulation;

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure through their policies that fundamental rights are properly respected, guaranteed, ~~appli~~protected and developed further. within the European Union;

Amendment 98 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that fundamental rights are ~~proper~~really respected, guaranteed, applied and developed ~~further~~.

Amendment 99 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that fundamental rights are properly respected, guaranteed, applied and developed further.; calls on the Member States to renew their efforts to recognise the right of petition and recourse to the Ombudsman as a means for citizens to uphold their rights;

source: 551.898

2015/04/09 FEMM 97 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Barbara MATERA, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Mariya GABRIEL, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Constance LE GRIP

Draft opinion
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states the EU’s founding values are ‘human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities; and whereas gender equality, enshrined in Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, is still an unachieved goal;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits all forms of inhuman or degrading treatment;

Amendment 11 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Mariya GABRIEL

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour; 1 According to figures given by the Commission in a study entitled ‘European Commission actions to combat violence against women’ (January 2015).deleted Or. en

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes ~~physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in~~sexual abuse, rape, stalking, domestic violence and, in extreme cases, femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour and constitutes a violation of women’s fundamental right to dignity, equal treatment and access to justice;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas ~~the~~ violence ~~suffered by women includes~~against women and girls is a systematic fundamental rights abuse, defined by the UN as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual ~~and~~or psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour; 1 Article 3 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women of 20 December 1993 (A/RES/48/104) harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life1; and whereas women and girls are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field1;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, a~~lso because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour~~nd restrictions on the right to self-determination over their own bodies; whereas hate, threats and harassment are also conveyed using new technologies and the internet, and whereas this is characterised by misogynistic language, threats and online slurs, and in some cases results in physical, psychological and sexual violence and even to women being murdered;

Amendment 15 #

Mary HONEYBALL

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and ~~1 Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women of 20 December 1993 (A/RES/48/104)~~ psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of the new technologies and the internet~~, and~~; whereas one in ten women in Europe have experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 15; whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking regardless of the sexual orientation of the offender/perpetrator, also because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour;

Amendment 17 #

Julie GIRLING

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, abuse related to religious or other beliefs, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour;

Amendment 18 #

Vicky MAEIJER

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual, ideological 1 and psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, perpetrated on defenceless girls, sexual harassment and stalking, also because of 1 Surah 4:34 of the Koran advocates the beating of women for a number of reasons. Given that Islam incites violence towards women, it is important that ideologically motivated abuse be included as a form of violence in this recital, especially since it also contains a reference to crimes of honour, a typically Islamic problem. the new technologies and the internet, and whereas in some cases this violence results in femicides and/or so-called crimes of honour;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas, in spite of ~~the progress made in recent years, a considerable number of women in Europe continue to be victims of violence and discrimination, which~~a certain degree of progress made in some areas in recent years, one in two women have at some point in their lives experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment, and one in three women in the EU have, after the age of 15, experienced physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives, and whereas this is turning into a constant infringement of human rights;

Amendment 20 #

Inês Cristina ZUBER

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children are a clear violation of human rights, human dignity and the fundamental principles of law and democracy; whereas today women are more vulnerable to these threats due to increased economic uncertainty and the higher risk of unemployment and poverty;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the economic crisis and austerity policies implemented in many EU Member States, imposed shrinking of available budgets and public services of assistance to victims of violence against women and gender-based violence have been minimised or abandoned altogether;

Amendment 22 #

Angelika MLINAR, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Catherine BEARDER

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas one in three women in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since she was 15 years old1;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas in a labour market, which is traditionally gender-segregated, the difficulty of balancing work and family life, the undervaluation of women's skills and work are some of the complex causes of the persistent gender pay and pension gap;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the violence suffered by women includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, child abuse, sexual harassment and stalking, which in some cases leads to femicide; Whereas new technologies and the internet have in some ways aggravated, or introduced new forms of harassment, abuse, and sexual violence;

Amendment 25 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Constance LE GRIP, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas equality between men and women is a fundamental right and a common principle of the EU and whereas, despite the progress made over the years, gender equality remains an unachievable goal;

Amendment 26 #

Constance LE GRIP

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas violence against women is a brutal manifestation of gender inequality and is one of the most widespread types of violation of human rights in Europe;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas mass access to the internet has opened up still further opportunities for physical and psychological abuse of women, including online grooming;

Amendment 28 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Constance LE GRIP, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

~~1 ICPD Programme of Action § 7.2 and 7.3~~Bb. whereas sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are grounded in basic human rights and are essential elements of human dignity1; whereas the denial of lifesaving abortion amounts to a serious breach of human rights; Or. en

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas gender discrimination ~~continues to this day, having serious repercussions on work and private life and whereas this frequently happ~~has an adverse effect on the quality of the private and working lives of victims, and prevents in them f~~ield of education, training and service~~rom fully enjoying their rights; whereas there are often cases of multiple discrimination against women;

Amendment 3 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas, in spite of the progress made in recent years, a considerable number of women in Europe continue to be victims of violence and discrimination, ~~which is turning into a const~~and since violence against women is a major obstacle to gender equality and constitutes ant infringement of fundamental rights, and remains one of the most widespread forms of violation of human rights in the EU;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas gender discrimination continues to this day, having serious repercussions on work and private life, and whereas this ~~frequently happens in the field of education, training and services~~happens in all sectors, either directly, or as a result, for example, of a lower value being placed on occupations dominated by women and the fact that only five per cent of company board chairs in the EU are women; whereas there are often cases of ~~multiple~~ discrimination against women on grounds other than gender, such as ethnic origin, belief, class, sexual orientation and disability;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas ~~gender~~ discrimination based on sex continues to this day, having serious repercussions on work, family and private life and whereas this frequently happens in the field of education, training and services; whereas there are often cases of multiple discrimination against women;

Amendment 32 #

Mary HONEYBALL

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas gender discrimination continues to this day, having serious repercussions on work and private life and whereas this frequently happens in the fields of employment, education, training and services; whereas there are often cases of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against women;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas gender discrimination continues to this day, having serious repercussions on work and private life and whereas this frequently happens in the field of education, training and services; whereas there are often cases of multiple discrimination against women, with sexual discrimination being compounded by other forms of discrimination (on grounds such as disability or immigrant status or on religious, cultural or social grounds);

Amendment 34 #

Angelika MLINAR, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Catherine BEARDER

Draft opinion
Recital C

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas gender discrimination affects the labour market participation of women and particularly of older women, single parents, women with a disability, migrant women and women from ethnic and cultural minorities;

Amendment 36 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Mariya GABRIEL, Constance LE GRIP

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the financial crisis and austerity policies have had a disproportionate negative effect on women, undermining fundamental rights and placing women at increased risk of poverty, exclusion, discrimination, and violence;

Amendment 37 #

Constance LE GRIP

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas Articles 21 and 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union set out a prohibition on any discrimination on grounds of sex, and provide that equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas, according to the findings of an investigation conducted in 2014 by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, most women who have been subjected to violence do not report what has happened to the police;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas while punishments proportionate to the crimes committed do act as a deterrent against fundamental rights violations, the primary goal must remain to prevent crime (by means of education and cultural measures) rather than to take action after the event;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas, in spite of the progress made in recent years, a considerable number of women and girls in Europe continue to be victims of violence and discrimination, which is t~~urning into~~hreatening a constant infringement of human rights;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas access to justice is a human right, and equal access to justice between men and women is fundamental to achieving gender equality; whereas women often face both socio-economic barriers to justice, such as economic dependence, lack of financial resources or legal aid, and cultural stereotypes leading to fear and shame, as well as procedural barriers to justice, such as lengthy criminal proceedings, discriminatory practices, and low conviction rates; whereas disabled, rural, minority, migrant, refugee, or LGBTI women and girls may face greater institutional bias in access to justice than other women;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas the steady increase in migration is exposing women to multiple discrimination (on cultural or religious grounds or because of their lifestyles and family traditions) as well as to abuse and exploitation of all kinds, owing to the position of weakness and need in which they have been placed;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Urges the Commission to include SRHR, as basic human rights, in its next EU Health Strategy to ensure coherence between EU's internal and external fundamental rights policy as called upon by the Parliament on 10 March 20151;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to recognize the right to access safe and modern contraceptives and sexuality education in schools;

Amendment 44 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Mariya GABRIEL, Constance LE GRIP

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to promote a strategy and action plan to combat all forms of violence against women and homophobia, improving prevention and providing protection and assistance to victims, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people, such as children, the elderly and victims of multiple discrimination; 1and the Member States to bear in mind the risk of dual discrimination to which women and children belonging to groups already considered to be vulnerable are exposed, such as the disabled, the homeless, LGBT people, migrants and the elderly; Or. fr 2014/2217(INI)

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to promote a strategy ~~and~~for taking more incisive action ~~plan~~ to combat ~~all forms of violence against women~~gender violence and homophobia, improv~~ing~~e prevention and provid~~ing~~e proper protection and assistance to ~~victims, paying special attention to~~ the most vulnerable people, such as children, and the elderly and victims of multiple discrimination; calls on the Commission also to declare 2016 European Year against Violence against Women;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to pro~~mot~~pose a ~~strategy and action plan to combat all forms of violence against women and homophobia, improving prevention~~comprehensive strategy to prevent and combat all forms of gender-based violence and to provid~~ing~~e protection and ~~assistance~~support to victims, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people, such as children, the elderly and victims of multiple discrimination;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and member states to promote a strategy and action plan to combat all forms of ~~violence against women and homophobia~~gender-based violence, improving prevention and providing protection and assistance to victims, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people, such as children, the elderly, disabled people, refugees, asylum seekers, and victims of multiple discrimination;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to promote a strategy and action plan to combat all forms of violence against women and ~~homophobia~~men, regardless of the sexual orientation of the offender/perpetrator and the victim, improving prevention and providing protection and assistance to victims, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people, such as children, the elderly and victims of multiple discrimination;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas, in spite of the progress made in recent years, a considerable number of women in Europe continue to be victims of violence and discrimination, which is turning into a constant ~~infringement~~violation of human rights;

Amendment 50 #

Angelika MLINAR, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Catherine BEARDER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to promote a strategy and action plan to combat all forms of violence a~~gainst women and homophobia~~nd injustice against women, improving prevention and providing protection and assistance to victims, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people, such as children, the elderly and victims of multiple discrimination; emphasises the importance of an action plan with specific proposals for action to promote equality within the EU and combat all forms of violence against women and discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnic origin, belief, class, sexual orientation and disability;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission to promote a strategy and action plan, including a relevant budget, to combat all forms of violence against women and homophobia, improving prevention and providing protection and assistance to victims, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people, such as children, the elderly and victims of multiple discrimination;

Amendment 52 #

Inês Cristina ZUBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Member States to set up networks of centres providing support and shelter for women who are victims of trafficking and prostitution, ensuring that they receive psychological, medical, social and legal support and encouragement in finding stable employment and accompanying entitlements;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to present a concrete and ambitious strategy for gender equality post 2015;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on EU institutions and Member States to look into the impact on fundamental rights of austerity measures, proposed or implemented, in a gender- sensitive manner, taking into account the disproportionate impact of austerity measures on women; calls on EU Institutions to take remedial action immediately where austerity measures have impacted on women's economic, social and cultural rights;

Amendment 55 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Member States to fully implement Directive 2012/29/EU on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime and Directive 2011/99/EU on the European Protection Order;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission to suggest specific steps that Member States may take to combat multiple discrimination;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Roundly condemns all psychological and physical violence, including sexual violence, perpetrated against women; calls on the EU and Member States to ensure that the victims receive assistance and protection;

Amendment 58 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Considers that violence against women, such as honour killing, child marriage, trafficking, female genital mutilation, domestic violence are serious violations of human rights that should never be justified by religion, culture and tradition;

Amendment 59 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Stresses that in order to effectively combat violence against women and impunity, a change of attitude towards women and girls in society is necessary, where women are too often represented in subordinate roles and violence against them is too often tolerated or undermined;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas, in spite of the progress made in recent years, ~~a considerable number of~~ women in Europe continue to be victims of violence and discrimination, which is turning into a constant infringement of human rights;

Amendment 60 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Mariya GABRIEL, Constance LE GRIP

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

~~2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companies and the political spheres;~~deleted

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companie~~Calls on the European institutions to pay greater attention to the finding that a mere 17.8% of board members of the largest publicly listed companies in the EU are women and the fact that women continue to be under-represented in politics and in the ~~political~~economic spheres;

Amendment 62 #

Mary HONEYBALL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companiey boards of directors and the political spheres;

Amendment 63 #

Angelika MLINAR, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Catherine BEARDER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companies and ~~the political spheres~~company board, in politics and science;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companies and the political spheres; calls on the EU institutions and on the Member States to work actively with gender mainstreaming, wage mapping and the fair division of parental leave; notes that social vulnerability and weak social inclusion stem from the fact that fewer women than men are in employment, and more women than men work part-time;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companies and the political spheres; at both national and international levels (large companies, national and European elections) and, in particular, at local level, where, in many cases, men remain in a dominant position in small and medium- sized businesses and during local elections;

Amendment 66 #

Viorica DĂNCILĂ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companies and the political spheres, and calls for women to be supported in their professional development and efforts to accede to executive posts;

Amendment 67 #

Sophia IN 'T VELD, Angelika MLINAR, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is alarmed at the under-representation of women in decision-making processes, companies, the media, and the political spheres;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention which is a powerful instrument to tackle comprehensively violence against women and girls, including marital rape, domestic violence and female genital mutilation (FGM);

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Welcomes the fact that the report on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights contains a paragraph on the directive seeking to improve the gender balance among non- executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges, as a way of promoting fundamental rights in order to achieve genuine equality between women and men on boards of directors;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas explicitly including violence against women as a form of gender discrimination is absent in European law, and present in only three national legal systems (Spain, Sweden, Germany) and as a result violence against women is not seen as a substantive equality issue; whereas Member States adopt an ad hoc approach to defining violence against women and gender based violence, with definitions varying widely in national legislation, thus rendering data incomparable;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Acknowledges the importance of the three-pronged approach of prevention, protection and punishment to combating discrimination and violence against women; takes the view, however, that priority should be given to prevention, primarily through emotional education promoting a balanced approach to life as a couple, as violence and femicide often stem from the lack of such an approach;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Calls on the Commission to raise awareness of the need to foster a culture of respect and tolerance with a view to putting an end to all forms of discrimination against women;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Points out that over half of all postgraduates are women; considers that until there is equal representation of men and women in decision-making posts, positive discrimination measures should be taken in this respect; invites the Member States to take all necessary measures to promote the appointment of women to high-level posts;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Points out that the pay difference between men and women constitutes unacceptable discrimination and runs counter to the EU Treaties (Article 157 TFUE); deplores the fact that, in the EU, women still receive 16% less than men, on average, for the same work; urges the Member States to ensure that the principle of equal pay for equal work is applied in all segments of the labour market;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Calls on Member States to make it possible for women to feel free to be themselves when making lifestyle choices between their own family customs and the Western way of life and, whichever they choose, to help them to integrate;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Calls on the Commission to monitor the fundamental rights situation in the EU on the basis of gender-disaggregated data;

Amendment 76 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Mariya GABRIEL, Constance LE GRIP, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

~~3. Calls on the Member States to give the National Institutes for Gender Equality independence and financial autonomy so that they can acquire the necessary staff and play an authoritative role;~~deleted

Amendment 77 #

Anna ZÁBORSKÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to ~~give~~ensure that the Nnational Iinstitutes responsible for Gen~~der Equality independence and financial autonomy so that they can acquire the necessary staff and play an authoritative role~~suring the equal treatment of men and women are independent and enjoy adequate working conditions;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to give the National Institutes for Gender Equality ~~independence an~~the resources they need fin~~ancial autonomy so that they can~~ order to acquire the necessary staff and play an authoritative role;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Member States to give the National Institutes for Gender Equality independence and financial autonomy so that they can acquire the necessary staff and play an authoritative role; emphasises the importance of the Member States cooperating with the European Parliament in gender equality work to implement action plans and targeted recommendations as regards boosting equality, combating violence against women and achieving a higher level of inclusion of women in society, regardless of the Member State the women are in;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas violence against women is the most widespread violation of fundamental rights in the European Union and throughout the world, and whereas it affects all levels of society, regardless of age, education, income, social position and country of origin or residence, and represents a major barrier to equality between women and men;

Amendment 80 #

Inês Cristina ZUBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to step up funding for projects and partnerships between the Member States and NGOs with recognised experience in assisting women who are victims of trafficking and prostitution;

Amendment 81 #

Sophia IN 'T VELD

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take account of demographic developments and changes in the size and composition of households when designing their fiscal policies, social security and public services; notes that the number of single person households is on the rise in most EU Member States, but most policies directly or indirectly discriminate against them and put them at an undue disadvantage; believes that people should not be rewarded or punished for the particular size and composition of the household they are part of, calls therefore for policies to be neutral with regard to household size or composition;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Points out that too many women continue to fall prey to sexual harassment at the workplace, in every segment of the labour market; calls on the Member States to implement awareness-raising campaigns in this regard targeting both the private sector and the civil service; calls on the Member States also to combat impunity in this field;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Expresses serious concern at continuing genital mutilation practices, which are a serious form of violence against women and girls and constitute an unacceptable violation of their right to physical integrity; urges the EU and the Member States to exercise extreme vigilance with regard to such practices within their borders and to put a stop to them as swiftly as possible; calls in particular on the Member States to adopt a firm and dissuasive approach by systematically and effectively prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators of genital mutilation, for which there must be zero tolerance;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Welcomes the fact that EU legislation in the field of asylum views victims of genital mutilation as vulnerable persons and includes genital mutilation among the criteria for the granting of asylum; calls on Member States to train people working with migrants to screen for women and girls liable to be subjected to genital mutilation in their country of origin;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 86 #

Anna ZÁBORSKÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States and the European institutions to cooperate with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and the Agency for Fundamental Rights in order to work together to combat violence and ~~gender~~ discrimination while observing the fundamental rights to freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of religion enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Amendment 87 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Constance LE GRIP, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States and the European institutions to cooperate with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and the Agency for Fundamental Rights, in ~~order~~keeping with the shared determination to work together to combat violence and gender discrimination.

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission and Council to include gender equality indicators in the country specific recommendations of the European Semester, based on the data available through the Gender Index of EIGE.

Amendment 9 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Mariya GABRIEL, Constance LE GRIP, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas one in three women in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since she was 15 years old and 500 000 women in the EU have been subjected to female genital mutilation1;

Amendment 90 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Invites the Member States to fully implement the existing national law aimed at combating violence and discrimination based on sex, and to proceed on an evaluation of the existing applicable national law with relevant stakeholders.

Amendment 91 #

Julie GIRLING

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls upon Member States to step up their response to social media trolls, who have targeted women disproportionately with online harassment.

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to recognise and promote the role of formal and informal education in helping to bring about gender equality through empowerment of women and people identifying as LGBTI, thus protecting their fundamental rights.

Amendment 93 #

Barbara MATERA, Teresa JIMÉNEZ-BECERRIL BARRIO, Mariya GABRIEL, Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Member States to review their national legislation and repeal provisions that discriminate against women, as was recently the case as regards the rules governing one Member State’s national retirement scheme, which determined the ‘normal retirement age’ differently depending on the gender of the person concerned, and, where women applicants were concerned, depending on the number of children they had raised1; __________________ 1Judgmentof the Court of Justice of the European Union of 11 April 2013, Blanka Soukupová v Ministerstvo zemědělství.

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Member States to make it easier for women who have been subjected to violence to gain access to justice, and to promote the exchange of best practice.

Amendment 95 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses the need to address gendered barriers to justice in Member States, both in socio-economic and in procedural terms, and urges the Commission and Member States to take steps to remove them; calls on the Commission and Member States to improve collection of gender-disaggregated data on barriers to justice.

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4a. Calls on the Member States to ensure the implementation of national strategies concerning respect for and the safeguarding of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights; insists on the role of the Union in awareness-raising and promoting best practices on this issue, given that health is a fundamental human right essential for the exercise of other human rights;

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the EU and the Member States to recognize the inalienable rights of women and girls to bodily integrity and autonomous decision-making.

source: 554.699

2015/04/20 AFCO 57 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that it is necessary to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights in compliance with the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and, more specifically, to ensure that the values of the European Union set out in Article 2 and other relevant articles of the EU Treaty are respected and promoted by the EU, its institutions and the Member States; stresses that the European institutions should be at the forefront of this endeavour; observes that, in order to preserve the credibility of the European Union, it is essential to resolve the so-called Copenhagen dilemma, which lies in the fact that, once they have acceded to the EU, Member States cannot be called to account effectively for compliance with requirements which were preconditions for accession;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Draws attention to the fact that all legislative proposals ~~and policies~~, policies and international agreements (such as the Fiscal Compact) should be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Member States to ensure that all EU legislation, including the economic and financial adjustment programmes, is implemented in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter (Article 151 TFEU); calls on the European Union, in order to increase this compliance (and provide the best protection for second-generation economic and social rights, such as the right to equal pay, the right to protection of health and the right to social security, which are essential components of fundamental rights), to become a party to the European Social Charter;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Draws attention to the fact that all legislative proposals and policies should be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Member States and the European Commission to ensure that all EU legislation~~, including the economic and financial adjustment programmes,~~ is implemented in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter; calls on the EU legislator to promote the EU's values as requested by Article 3 EU Treaty and specifically inclusion and equality as required by Article 8, 9 and 10 TFEU;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Draws attention to the fact that all legislative proposals and policies should be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including Article 52 (1); emphasises a role for the Parliament as the only directly elected institution in scrutinising legislative proposals and policy to ensure it complies with the Charter; calls on the Member States to ensure that all EU legislation, including the economic and financial adjustment programmes, keeping in mind the austerity policies effect on the most vulnerable groups in society, is implemented in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Draws attention to the fact that all legislative proposals and policies should be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Member States to ensure that all EU legislation, including the economic and financial adjustment programmes, is implemented in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter, whose centrality is even more pressing today because of the difficult conditions faced by European citizens on account of the economic crisis;

Amendment 14 #

Charles GOERENS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Draws attention to the fact that all legislative proposals and policies should be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Member States to ensure that all EU legislation, in~~cluding~~ particular the economic and financial adjustment programmes, is continuously implemented in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter;

Amendment 15 #

Kostas CHRYSOGONOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Draws attention to the fact that all measures imposed to Member States in the framework of financial adjustment programmes should respect fundamental rights, especially financial and social rights; Calls on the European institutions which take part in the dictation of the relevant measures to ensure they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, as well as with the relevant jurisprudence of the competent bodies.

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers it highly desirable for the European Union to adopt an internal strategy coordinated by the Commission to safeguard fundamental rights;

Amendment 17 #

Martina ANDERSON, Matt CARTHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Points out that the purpose of security and justice policies must be to protect freedom and fundamental rights; stresses that legislation and policy making in the field of security and justice must be in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that the external dimension of the Union's policies should comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as the ECHR, including association agreements, international trade agreements such as TTIP, the neighbourhood policy, the CSDP and CFSP;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Recalls the need, in this context more than ever, to ensure coherence between the EU’s internal and external actions, in compliance moreover with the Council’s Conclusions of 5 June 2014 on the Commission’s 2013 report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and consistency between the internal and external aspects of the protection and promotion of human rights in the European Union, and calls therefore for an approach based on respect for fundamental rights to be an absolute precondition for any action by the EU (including agreements under negotiation); observes that, to this end, it is necessary that the legislative reform package on data protection, which is an objective of the European Union under Article 16 TFEU, should be adopted as soon as possible, so that the legislation itself becomes an inviolable limit for the negotiation of international agreements such as that on PNR;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that it is necessary to strengthen the protection and full development of fundamental rights in compliance with the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and, more specifically, to ensure that the values of the European Union set out in Article 2 and other relevant articles of the EU Treaty are respected and promoted by the EU, its institutions and the Member States; stresses that the European institutions should be at the forefront of this endeavour;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Stresses that the European Union should be a model in terms of not only respect for fundamental rights but also active measures for their full development; takes the view that the new interinstitutional agreement on better law- making should be based on those principles;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Recalls that the objective of security referred to in Article 67 TFEU cannot in any way be taken as grounds for a breach of fundamental rights, as emerges from the provision itself, and calls therefore on the Institutions to take this into account in planning any measure to safeguard the security of citizens (which also constitutes a fundamental right vested in them), including internal and external security strategies and measures against terrorism;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the importance of ensuring, in all Member States, effective and coherent protection of the rule of law and prevention of infringements of fundamental rights; recalls that Article 7 of the EU Treaty contains a mechanism for responding to any serious, persistent breach of the fundamental rights by a Member State; on the basis of experience to date, recommends a thorough review of Article 7 TEU in order to increase effectiveness and prevent breaches of rights;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the importance of ensuring, in all Member States, effective and coherent protection of the rule of law and prevention of infringements of fundamental rights; ~~recall~~notes that ~~Article 7 of the EU Treaty contains a mechanism for responding to any serious, persistent breach of the fundamental rights by a Member State;~~the mechanisms provided for under Article 7 of the EU Treaty have not been used effectively to prevent or penalise persistent infringements; urges the EU institutions and the Member States to introduce an additional mechanism for the effective monitoring of respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law in Member States; without prejudice to existing mechanisms already applicable in the event of serious and persistent infringements, the proposed alternative should:

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Stresses the importance of ensuring, in all Member States, effective and coherent protection of the rule of law and~~Acknowledges that rule of law plays a key role in preventi~~on of~~ng infringements of fundamental rights; recalls that fundamental rights are part and parcel of the EU's values and that Article 7 of the EU Treaty contains a mechanism for responding to any serious, persistent breach of the fundamental rights by a Member State;

Amendment 26 #

Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the importance of ensuring, in all Member States, effective and coherent protection of the rule of law and prevention of infringements of fundamental rights; recalls that Article 7 of the EU Treaty contains a mechanism for responding to any serious, persistent breach of the fundamental rights by a Member State; points, however, at the same time to the high obstacles in its implementation, in particular that the formal establishment of the existence of a serious and persistent breach of the fundamental values of the Union in a Member State in accordance with Article 7 (2) TEU requires unanimity in the Council;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the importance of ensuring, in all Member States, effective and coherent protection of the rule of law and prevention of infringements of fundamental rights; recalls that Article 7 of the EU Treaty contains a mechanism for responding to any serious, persistent breach of the fundamental rights by a Member State; reiterates that, in accordance with Article 7, it intends to make full use of the powers which have been assigned to it and to assess the desirability of initiating the procedures provided for in the event of a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2 TEU;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point a (new)

(a) widen the mandate of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency to include the monitoring of fundamental rights and the rule of law in all Member States, both within and beyond the application of European Union law;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that it is necessary to continue promoting and strengthening the protection of fundamental rights in compliance with the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and, more specifically, to ensure that the values of the European Union set out in Article 2 and other relevant articles of the EU Treaty are respected and promoted by the EU, its institutions and the Member States; stresses that the European institutions should be at the forefront of this endeavour;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point b (new)

(b) enable the Commission, on the basis of the findings of the reports generated by the Fundamental Rights Agency, to initiate infringement procedures under Article 2 TEU;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls for the Regulation establishing the FRA to be amended so that the studies which it conducts concerning the fundamental rights situation in the Member States have a practical impact, in order to effectively ensure a high level of protection of fundamental rights in the Member States;

Amendment 32 #

Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes, therefore, the framework provisions adopted by the Commission on 11 March 2014 to protect the rule of law in the EU and the decision of the General Affairs Council of 16 December 2014 on the establishment of a continuous dialogue on the state of the rule of law in the EU between Member States in the Council, since both mechanisms should be applied prior to the initiation of proceedings under Article 7 TEU, and calls on the Commission and the Council to notify Parliament regularly;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other organisations; recall Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minority communities and marginalised people, including cross- border communities, rural communities, migrants, immigrants, asylum seekers, cultural and linguistic minorities, minority languages, religious communities, unemployed and underemployed people, homeless people, economically disadvantaged areas, LGBTI, people with disabilities, older people;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other organisations; stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minority communities; recalls that the fundamental rights of minorities – particularly Roma, asylum-seekers and migrants – are still being breached in the Union and in some Member States;

Amendment 35 #

Claudia ȚAPARDEL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other civil society organisations; stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minority communities;, particularly the Roma community who is facing discrimination in many Member States1 a . __________________ 1a The situation of the Roma community in EU Member States is known to be difficult; therefore this community should be emphasized when referring to the protection of minority rights.

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other organisations; stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minority communities; notes the Council’s decision to monitor the human rights situation in the European Union;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other organisations; stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minority communities, including national and linguistic minorities;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other organisations; stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minority communities, particularly people with disabilities;

Amendment 39 #

Charles GOERENS, Sylvie GOULARD

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the importance of cooperation between EU institutions and national parliaments, as well as between such bodies and the Council of Europe and other organisations; stresses that the protection of minority rights is a basic principle of democracy and deplores all forms of discrimination against minorit~~y communities~~ies as mentioned in Article 2 EU Treaty;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Recalls that correct transposition and implementation of the European Union’s law and the possibility of knowing about them are essential for the purpose of complying with the principle of legal certainty, which is referred to as one of the values of the EU in Article 2 TEU and which not only constitutes a fundamental right of citizens but is also a means of enabling European citizens to know their rights and obligations;

Amendment 41 #

Charles GOERENS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stress the need to adapt the statute of the European Agency of Fundamental Rights so as to allow it to address fundamental rights on public spaces

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need to strengthen institutional transparency and openness in the EU and urges the EU and the ~~Member State~~competent EU institutions to:

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need to strengthen institutional transparency, democratic accountability and openness in the EU and urges the EU and the Member States to:

Amendment 44 #

Siôn SIMON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need to strengthen institutional transparency and openness in the EU and urges the EU and ~~the~~all Member States to:

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – indent 1

– step up their efforts with a view to revising Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents; calls on the Commission, in this context, to relaunch the legislative initiative on an Accessibility Act, in the form of a cross-cutting instrument that can increase the protection afforded to persons with disabilities, and ensure cohesion between all EU policies in this respect;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 1

– step up their efforts with a view to revising without delay Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents in order to ensure maximum transparency;

Amendment 47 #

Claudia ȚAPARDEL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 1

– step up their efforts with a view to revising Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents; similarly, calls on Member States to facilitate simplified procedures for public access to information and documents.

Amendment 48 #

Lynn BOYLAN, Martina ANDERSON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 2

– ~~bring forward a~~undertakes to negotiate a far-reaching revision of the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 211/2011) ~~in order to improve its functioning and stop~~which takes account of the negative experience of these years of application, incorporating amendments which will permit full exercise of this right by European citizens; undertakes therefore to introduce measures against any form of discrimination, including that against certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, ~~from being~~who are prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’ initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality among citizens;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 2

– bring forward a revision of the European Citizens’' Initiative Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 211/2011) in order to improve its functioning and stop certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, from being prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’' initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality among citizens; further believes that non- EU residents residing in a Member State should be allowed to support citizens' initiatives and that the obligation of the Commission to provide a reasoned response to a citizens' initiative, which is rejected, should be reinforced; believes that the failure of the current citizens' initiative to be an effective tool for participatory and direct democracy is widening the gap between the EU institutions and the citizens which the European Citizens' Initiative was created to address;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. SWelcomes the Commission’s communication of 11 March 2014 on a new EU Framework to strengthen the Rule of Law and the Council’s conclusions of 16 December 2014 on the dialogue to be pursued with the Member States concerning the rule of law; stresses that the EU’s accession to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) helps significantly to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of EU citizens and Member States; takes note of Opinion 2/13 of the Court of Justice of the European Union in which the Court concluded that the draft agreement on the accession of the EU to the ECHR was not compatible with EU law; calls on the Commission and the Council to address the concerns raised by the Court as quickly as possible in order to meet fully the obligation enshrined in Article 6(2) of the EU Treaty;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 2

– bring forward a revision of the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 211/2011) in order to improve its functioning ~~and~~, remove administrative, organisational and financial obstacles which in practice make it excessively complicated and burdensome to gather the signatures required in order to submit initiatives, for example to stop certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, from being prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’ initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality among citizens;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 2

– bring forward a revision of the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 211/2011) in order to improve its functioning and prevent the exercise of this citizens' prerogative under the Treaties being hampered; urges the Commission also to include in its proposal provisions necessary to stop certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, from being prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’ initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality among citizens;

Amendment 52 #

Siôn SIMON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 2

– bring forward a revision of the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 211/2011) in order to improve its functioning and stop certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, from being prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’ initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality ~~among citizen~~, dialogue and engagement among citizens in order to facilitate the constitution of such initiatives;

Amendment 53 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 2

– bring forward a revision of the European Citizens’ Initiative Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 211/2011) within this parliamentary term in order to improve its functioning and stop certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, from being prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’ initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality among citizens;

Amendment 54 #

Richard CORBETT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – indent 2 (new)

- Draws attention to the increasing segment of the population that is completely disenfranchised as regards national elections because they can vote neither in their home country nor in their country of residence

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 3

– bring forward a revision of Directive 93/109/EC laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, in order to help EU citizens who are resident in a State other than their own to participate in the European elections in their country of residence; calls on Member States to enable all their citizens to vote in the European elections, including those living outside the EU, particularly by means of an information campaign carried out in good time.

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 3 a (new)

- initiate the Union's accession to the Charter of Social Rights;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – Indent 3 a (new)

– draws attention to the fact that the most correct expression of representative democracy at EU level requires voting methods based on a uniform electoral procedure; reiterates its own view that the elections should be held on the same day;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the EU’s accession to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) helps significantly to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of EU citizens and Member States; takes note of Opinion 2/13 of the Court of Justice of the European Union in which the Court concluded that the draft agreement on the accession of the EU to the ECHR was not compatible with EU law; calls on the Commission and the Council to address the concerns raised by the Court as quickly as possible in order to meet fully the obligation to accede to the ECHR as enshrined in Article 6(2) of the EU Treaty in a way that adds value to the protection of rights within the EU;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the EU’s accession to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) helps significantly to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of EU citizens and Member States; takes note of Opinion 2/13 of the Court of Justice of the European Union in which the Court concluded that the draft agreement on the accession of the EU to the ECHR was not compatible with EU law; calls on the Commission and the Council to address the concerns raised by the Court as quickly as possible in order to meet fully the obligation enshrined in Article 6(2) of the EU Treaty without weakening the ECHR;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the EU’s accession to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) helps significantly to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of EU citizens and Member States; takes note of Opinion 2/13 of the Court of Justice of the European Union in which the Court concluded that the draft agreement on the accession of the EU to the ECHR was not compatible with EU law; calls on the Commission and the Council to address the concerns raised by the Court as quickly as possible in order to meet fully the obligation enshrined in Article 6(2) of the EU Treaty and to resume negotiations as soon as possible;

Amendment 9 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Carlos COELHO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers that breaches of rights, abuses or inequalities in the Member States undermine democracy and the rule of law, as well as citizens’ trust in the European Union Institutions; Draws attention to the fact that all legislative proposals and policies should be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Member States to ensure that all EU legislation, including the economic and financial adjustment programmes, is implemented in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter;

source: 554.888

2015/05/12 LIBE 280 amendments...

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

~~Freedom and security~~deleted

Amendment 289 #

Birgit SIPPEL

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Freedom and ~~security~~non-discrimination

Amendment 290 #

Ulrike LUNACEK

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

~~Freedom and security~~Equality, fight against discrimination, hate speech and hate crime

Amendment 291 #

Emilian PAVEL, Péter NIEDERMÜLLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that in light of the rapid technology developments and increasing cyber attacks, special attention needs to be given to the protection of personal data, with a large focus on the security of the processing and storing; although the right to be forgotten is not absolute and will need to be balanced against other fundamental rights, individuals need to be given the right to have their online personal data rectified.

Amendment 292 #

Laura FERRARA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Points out that freedom of expression – also through information technologies – and of the press are a fundamental right that is vital for the proper functioning of democracies;

Amendment 293 #

Laura FERRARA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Takes the view that the goals of respect for fundamental rights and guaranteed collective safety are compatible and should always be balanced, even when responding to emergency situations; in the specific context of measures drawn up in response to the terrorist threat, procedural safeguards cannot be limited with regard to suspected terrorists and fundamental freedoms cannot be restricted when concluding agreements which provide for an exchange of information and personal data; condemns, moreover, all forms of mass surveillance carried out by governments for intelligence or espionage purposes;

Amendment 294 #

Marine LE PEN, Edouard FERRAND, Gilles LEBRETON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of jihadist terrorism, discrimination and anti- Semitic and anti-Islamic ~~discrimination and~~ violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 295 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect, with all available tools, freedom of religion or belief and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 296 #

Eleftherios SYNADINOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion oand political, social, ideological, religious and other beliefs and to promote tolerance and equality;

Amendment 297 #

Christine REVAULT D'ALLONNES BONNEFOY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores ~~recent instances~~any form of anti- Semitic and anti-~~Islamic~~Muslim discrimination and violence; c~~alls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief and to promote tolerance;~~ ondemns the recent rise of incidents and hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim people, including online; calls on Member States to protect their citizens from future attacks and to prevent incitement to hatred and any act of intolerance based on origin, belief or religion;

Amendment 298 #

Marek JUREK, Kazimierz Michał UJAZDOWSKI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti- Semitic ~~and~~, anti-Islamic and anti-Christian discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief ~~and to promote tolerance~~, in particular in the form of freedom to express moral convictions;

Amendment 299 #

Ulrike LUNACEK, Daniele VIOTTI, Sophia IN 'T VELD, Tanja FAJON, Ian DUNCAN, Isabella ADINOLFI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores ~~recent instances of anti- Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence~~incidents of discrimination, hate speech and hate crime motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, or by bias against a person's disability, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, which occur in the EU on a daily basis; calls on Member States to protect f~~reedom of religion or belief~~undamental rights and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 300 #

Mariya GABRIEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief and to promote tolerance and intercultural dialogue;

Amendment 301 #

Birgit SIPPEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent in~~stance~~cidents of anti- Semitic and ~~anti-~~Islamophobic discrimination and violence~~; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief~~ as well as other incidents of hate speech or hate crime motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, or by bias against a person's disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, occurring in the EU on a daily basis; calls on Member States to protect freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, to protect fundamental and human rights and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 302 #

Jadwiga WIŚNIEWSKA, Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, Zbigniew KUŹMIUK, Stanisław OŻÓG

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 303 #

Kati PIRI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief ~~and~~, to promote tolerance and to enhance anti- discrimination policies where needed;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect the principle of tolerance, which implies the full guaranty of freedom of religion or belief ~~and to promote tolerance~~;

Amendment 305 #

Roberta METSOLA, Barbara MATERA, Pál CSÁKY, József NAGY, Alessandra MUSSOLINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 306 #

Soraya POST, Anna HEDH

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and ~~anti-Islam~~islamophobic discrimination and violence as well as the increasing tendencies of antigypsyism in Europe that gives raise to violence against Roma that is often not reported or recorded; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 307 #

Ana GOMES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of ~~religion or belief and to promote tolerance~~expression, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of assembly and to promote tolerance through effective policy making;

Amendment 308 #

Laura FERRARA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. DRefers to Article 10 of the Charter, which protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion; deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom of unbelivers, and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 309 #

Luigi MORGANO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of ~~anti- Semitic and anti-Islam~~discrimination and violence against religious minorities (including anti- Semitic and anti-Islamic cases), in addition to cases of racist, ethnic and xenophobic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States fully to protect freedom of religion or belief ~~and to promote tolerance~~in all its aspects (individual and collective, private, public or institutional) and to promote social harmony; calls on the Member States to ensure there is freedom to change religion or belief without any coercion by non-government stakeholders, in accordance with the principles of equality and non- discrimination;

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of anti-Semitic ~~and~~ anti-Islamic and anti- Christian discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of religion or belief and to promote ~~tolerance~~religious tolerance and non- discrimination;

Amendment 311 #

Ulrike LUNACEK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores ~~recent instances of anti- Semitic and anti-Islamic discrimin~~incidents of hate speech and hate crime motivated by racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, or by bias against a person's disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, which occur in the EU on a daily basis; ; calls on Member States to protect fundamental rights and to promote tolerance; expresses its concerns regarding lack of investigations and ~~violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of relig~~convictions in connection with hate crimes in the Member States; calls on the EU to make the fight against hate crimes a priority when drawing up European policies against discrimination and in the field of justice; calls for a review of the Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions o~~r belief and to promote tolerance~~f racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law in order for it to fully cover all forms of hate crimes and crimes committed with a bias or discriminatory motive related to the victims' personal characteristics, and to clearly define consistent investigation and prosecution standards;

Amendment 312 #

Péter NIEDERMÜLLER, Elly SCHLEIN, Hugues BAYET, Monika BEŇOVÁ, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Daniele VIOTTI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent in~~stance~~cidents of anti- Semitic and ~~anti-~~Islamophobic discrimination and violence; calls on Member States to protect freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief and to promote tolerance, as well as to ban any form of discrimination and exception from the law on grounds of individuals' personal choice of thought, conscience, religion or belief;

Amendment 313 #

Louis MICHEL, Gérard DEPREZ, Sophia IN 'T VELD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Deplores recent instances of discrimination and anti-Semitic and anti- Islamic ~~discrimination~~violence and the general climate of fear and vintolerance generated within society; calls on Member States to protect freedom of ~~religion or~~ thought, conscience, religion, belief or non-belief and to promote tolerance;

Amendment 314 #