2020/2045(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. Whereas the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (Madad Trust Fund) has mobilised €2.3 billion, including voluntary contributions from 21 EU Member States, Turkey and the United Kingdom; whereas its programmes focus on education, livelihoods, health, protection, and the water sector – benefitting refugees, IDPs and local communities, supporting more than 7 million beneficiaries;

Amendment 11 #

Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Hilde VAUTMANS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Recital B

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) was established in 2015; whereas the EUTF makes predominant use (90 %) of Official Development Assistance; whereas it became the main financial instrument for the EU’s political engagement with African partners in the field of migration; whereas the EUTF has funded over 500 projects in more than 25 countries in Africa for a total of over EUR 4.8 billion; whereas the EUTF has ~~raised concerns about~~proven to be a flexible instrument allowing swift implementation of projects, despite raising concerns about the quality of projects approved, and more worryingly, about alleged contributingons to inhumane and degrading treatment and/or financing actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Eritrea and Sudan;

Amendment 13 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) was established in 2015; whereas the EUTF makes predominant use (90 %) of Official Development Assistance; whereas it became the main financial instrument for the EU’s political engagement with African partners in the field of migration; whereas the EUTF has funded over 500 projects in more than 256 partner countries ~~in Africa~~across three regions of Africa: the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and North Africa, for a total of over EUR 4.8 billion; whereas the ~~EUTF has rai~~sed co~~ncerns about contributing to inhumane and~~untries face growing challenges ranging from demogra~~ding treatment and/or financing actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Eritrea and Sudan~~phic pressure, extreme poverty, weak social and economic infrastructure, internal tensions and institutional weaknesses to insufficient resilience to food crises and environmental stress;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) was established in 2015~~; whereas the EUTF makes predominant use (90 %) of Official Development Assistance~~, presented as a key instrument to implement the Valleta action plan; whereas it became the main financial instrument for the EU’s political engagement with African partners in the field of migration; whereas the EUTF has funded over 500 projects in more than 25 countries in Africa for a total of over EUR ~~4.8~~5 billion~~; whereas the EUTF has raised concerns about contributing to inhumane and degrading treatment and/or financing actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Eritrea and Sudan~~ committed since 2016, out of which 4.4 come from the EU budget;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) ~~was established in 2015~~in particular by strengthening the rule of law, creating economic and education opportunities, and building better governance, and the effective sustainable return, readmission and reintegration of irregular migrants not qualifying for protection; whereas the EUTF makes predominant use (90 %) of Official Development Assistance; whereas it became the main financial instrument for the EU’s political engagement with African partners in the field of migration; whereas the EUTF has funded over 500 projects in more than 25 countries in Africa for a total of over EUR 4.8 billion; ~~whereas the EUTF has raised concerns about contributing to inhumane and degrading treatment and/or financing actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Eritrea and Sudan;~~

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF) was established in 2015; whereas the EUTF makes predominant use (90 %) of Official Development Assistance; whereas it became the main financial instrument for the EU’s political engagement with African partners in the field of migration; whereas the EUTF has funded over 500 projects in more than 25 countries in Africa for a total of over EUR 4.8 billion; whereas the EUTF has ~~raised concerns about contributing to inhumane and degrading treatment and/or financing actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Eritrea and Suda~~become a major and flexible tool for achieving stability in third countries and for combating forced displacement and the root causes of irregular migration;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. Whereas the EUTF for Africa makes predominant use of Official Development Assistance (ODA), mostly from the European Development Fund (EDF), and as such, its implementation should be guided by the key principles of development effectiveness; whereas there have been concerns by development CSOs that the EUTF for Africa is being used as a political tool focusing on quick-fix projects with the aim to stem migratory flows to Europe, which is not the purpose of ODA; whereas there have also been concerns that the EUTF has contributed to inhumane and degrading treatment and/or financed actors that have committed human rights violations, as in Libya, Eritrea and Sudan;

Amendment 18 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks operate in the north of Africa due to their strategic locations between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe; whereas national anti- trafficking framework and capabilities differ greatly across the continent and funding is often insufficient; whereas human smuggling to Europe has been considered by Europol to be one of the fastest growing criminal markets, with connections to other types of criminal activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering or financial fraud;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas over the last four years, the EUTF for Africa further demonstrated its added value as a swift and effective implementation tool which facilitates political dialogue with a great number of partner countries, applies innovative approaches and produces concrete results on the ground by pooling funding and expertise from a variety of stakeholders including EU Member States.

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion; whereas human rights violations have taken place under this agreement which are incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas Turkey has repeatedly used immigrants to blackmail the European Union, provoking a number of humanitarian crises at the Greek and Bulgarian borders; whereas most of these funds are dedicated to directly or indirectly improving Turkish service infrastructure and whereas this helps to strengthen the Erdoğan government;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. Whereas Article 208 TFEU clearly states that the primary objective of Union development cooperation policy shall be the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty;

Amendment 21 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

B b. Whereas since 2017, the EU is providing support to increase the operational capacity of the Libyan Coast Guard (LCGPS) and Navy and the General Administration for Coastal Security (GACS) to intercept people at sea with 57.2 million euros through the North of Africa window of the EUTF Africa "Support to Integrated Border and Migration Management Project"; whereas, according to IOM data, more than 20,000 people have been intercepted in 2019 and 2020 by the "Libyan Coast Guards" supported by the EU; whereas numerous reports have confirmed that Libya is still not a place of safety for disembarkation, owing to the serious human rights violations committed against refugees and migrants, and the ongoing conflict in the country; whereas on 8 May 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a moratorium on all interceptions and returns to Libya; whereas in her March 2021 report, the Council of Europe Commissioner reiterated her call, already expressed in 2019, to suspend support to the Libyan Coast Guard impacting on interceptions and returns;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

B b. Whereas, as the crisis became protracted, the EUTF Madad's response evolved further along the humanitarian development nexus, by increasing its focus on systems strengthening to support the host countries’ efforts and capacities to respond to the protracted refugee crisis, particularly as regards public service delivery (education, health, water and sanitation, livelihoods, etc.) in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

B b. Whereas recent reports by both the European Court of Auditors1a and civil society1b point out various shortcomings, including legal challenges, in the EU Trust Funds and the FRT, such as the failure to apply EU public procurement law, risks of conflicts of interests and opaque management; _________________ 1a European Court of Auditors, "European Union Trust Fund for Africa: flexible but lacking focus", 2018, pp. 17- 25. 1bDAVIS Laura (Dr), EU external expenditure on asylum, forced displacement and migration 2014-2019, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, 2021.

Amendment 24 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

B c. whereas some civil society organisations (CSOs) have launched legal proceedings against the EU and its Member States for human rights violations linked directly or indirectly to some EUTF for Africa projects; whereas a complaint has been filed with the European Court of Auditors regarding EU funding in Libya, requesting the suspension of the programme supporting the Libyan coast guards in light of its violation of EU financing law regulations and international regulations on human rights1a ; whereas a complaint has also been submitted to the International Criminal Court against some EU and Member State officials for causing the deaths of thousands of human beings per year, the refoulement (forcible return) of tens of thousands of migrants attempting to flee Libya, and the subsequent commission of murder, deportation, imprisonment, enslavement, torture, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts against them1b; whereas a Dutch Foundation of Eritrean refugees, Foundation Human Rights for Eritreans has filed a lawsuit in the Amsterdam court against EU for its role in financing a road building EUTF project in Eritrea that uses forced labour; _________________ 1aGlobal Legal Action Network (GLAN),‘EU financial complicity in Libyan migrant abuses' 1bStudents of the Capstone on Counter- Terrorism and International Crimes, communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court entitled ‘EU Migration Policies in the Central Mediterranean and Libya (2014-2019)’

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

B c. Whereas the EUTF Madad has proven to be comparatively faster to launch projects than normal ENI or IPA procedures; whereas it has also managed to reach economy of scale, with large scale projects of an average volume of EUR 20 million and with an average implementation period of around 30 months;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)

B d. Whereas it has been reported that the EUTF for Africa ROCK and BMM programmes were suspended by the EU in 2019 in Sudan; whereas an official EU document dated December 2015 noted the risk that the provision of equipment and training to Sudanese security services and border guards could be "diverted for repressive aims" or subject to "criticism by NGOs and civil society for engaging with repressive governments on migration (particularly in Eritrea and Sudan)."

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)

B e. Whereas intra-regional mobility has played an important role in Africa throughout its history; whereas local populations, in response to droughts, have traditionally been able to make changes to their livelihood strategies and have shown a capacity for adaptation, often through migration as a way of diversifying livelihoods; whereas since the early 2000s, and particularly since 2016, this system has come under pressure as increasing collaboration with EU Member States whose agendas are aimed at curbing irregular migration from Africa to Europe, has limited intra-regional freedom of movement and reduced the options available for income generation;

Amendment 28 #

Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Olivier CHASTEL, Hilde VAUTMANS, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Recital B f (new)

B f. whereas the EUTF for Africa and other EU Trust Funds will terminate at the end of 2021; whereas the next multi- year funding instrument, known as the NDICI, is currently expected to dedicate 10% to migration-related activities, outside the process of identifying mutually-agreed National Indicative priorities and in a flexible incitative approach;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Deplores the fact that both the EUTF and the FRT are ad hoc instruments that~~Notes that EU trust funds, but also coordination mechanisms such as the FRT, are ad hoc instruments set up mostly in emergency contexts and that allow for the pooling of different resources, faster decision-making and flexible responses to emergencies; recognises their added value in responding swiftly to emergencies as well as increasing the visibility of EU external action; regrets the fact, however, that EU trust funds were set up outside the EU budget, raising concerns over their lack of transparency and democratic accountability but also their threat to the EU budget's unity; points out that their governance structures deviate from ordinary decision-making and bypass parliament scrutiny; for these reasons, calls for the use of EU trust funds and other ad hoc instrument for migration management, development assistance and humanitarian aid to remain punctual, temporary and an exception to the rule; calls on the Commission to formalise the observer status of the European Parliament in board meetings of the Trust Funds;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion; whereas human rights violations have taken place under this agreement which are incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; notes that since the 2016 framework has been put in place, Turkey has made a number of provocations towards the EU’s external border and most recently has decided to withdraw from the Istanbul convention;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Deplor~~Welcomes the fact ~~that both~~ion and results achieved by the EUTF and the FRT are ad hoc instruments that were set up outside the EU budget, raising concerns over their lack of transparency and democratic accountability; points out that their governance structures deviate from ordinary decision-making and bypass parliament scrutiny; stresses that these instruments must be implemented in accordance with fundamental rights;

Amendment 31 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Deplores the fact that both the EUTF and the FRT are ad hoc instruments that ~~were set up outside the EU budget, raising concerns over their~~deviate from the ordinary decision- making procedure and bypass parliamentary scrutiny and democratic oversight, therefore lack ofing transparency and democratic accountability; ~~points out that their governance structures deviate from ordinary decision-making and bypass parliament scrutiny~~stresses that detailed data on funding allocations are not available or hardly accessible;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Deplor~~Underlines the fact that ~~both~~ the EUTF ~~and the FRT~~s are ad hoc instruments that were set up outside the EU budget, raising concerns over their lack of transparency and democratic accountability; points out that the~~ir governance structures deviate from ordinary decision-~~ Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) differs from the other EU trust funds, makin~~g and bypass parliament scrutiny~~ly because it remains embedded within the budget of the EU;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Deplores the fact that ~~both the EUTF and the FRT~~EU Trust Funds are ad hoc instruments that were set up outside the EU budget, raising concerns over their lack of transparency and democratic accountability; points out that their governance structures deviate from ordinary decision-making and bypass parliament scrutiny;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Acknowledges the support provided by the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey in supporting refugees and host communities in Turkey, in relation to health, humanitarian assistance, education, and socio-economic support; notes that this support only reaches registered refugees, leaving many without assistance; highlights in this regard that, since 2016, access to registration was made difficult in some provinces and cities in Turkey, as reported by some NGOs such as Amnesty International; expresses concerns that this vital support was conditioned by the implementation by both parties of the EU-Turkey statement; expresses concerns regarding the two projects supporting migration management that amount to 80 million euros in light of the absence of access and monitoring by national and international observers, including to sites of detention 1a; _________________ 1a https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/wp -content/uploads/2019/10/ONLINE- 191024-Immigration-Detention-in- Turkey.pdf

Amendment 35 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Is concerned that EU funds have been used as leverage to pressure partner governments to comply with the EU’s internal migration objectives including on return and readmission, in contradiction of Articles 208, 209 and 212 TFEU; deplores the use of development assistance for the implementation of informal agreements lacking parliamentary scrutiny and democratic oversight, including the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016, the EU- African Union Memorandum of Understanding on Peace, Security and Governance of 23 May2018 and the EU- Nigeria Memorandum of Understanding of 29 August 2019;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Calls on the Commission to enhance transparency on EUTFs and FRT through better scrutiny and to improve regular and detailed information sharing with the European Parliament;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Notes with concern that there are shortcomings in the application of EU public procurement law with regard to the EU’s external migration policy2a; considers that provisions in Article 3 of the Decision C(2015) 7293 establishing the EUTF and humanitarian aid projects funded via the Madad Fund and the FRT are incompatible with or exempted from EU public procurement law; stresses the lack of transparency regarding the application and scope of public procurement law procedures in the selection of implementing partners2b; deplores that procedures and criteria for selecting projects are not sufficiently clear or documented2c; _________________ 2aThomas Spijkerboer and Elies Steyger ‘European External Migration Funds and Public Procurement Law’ European Papers, Vol. 4, 2019, No 2, pp. 493-521. p.520 2b ibid 2cEuropean Court of Auditors (2017) Special report no 11/2017: The Bêkou EU trust fund for the Central African Republic: a hopeful beginning despite some shortcomings, 2017, pp.36-39

Amendment 38 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Isabel WISELER-LIMA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Acknowledges that some EUTF for Africa projects have provided vital support to vulnerable and marginalised population groups; notes however the disproportionate focus on the EU side to address irregular migration via the EUTF for Africa and the little impact of this fund on increased economic opportunities and employment, as pointed out in its mid-term review, despite this being one of the four main objectives of the fund;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Underlines the need to make sure strict monitoring exercises and audits are carried out to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulation; invites the Commission to scale up reporting on the FRT and asks it to ensure that these funds specifically target refugee projects and are not used for any other purposes;

Amendment 4 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Isabel WISELER-LIMA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion; ~~whereas human rights violations have taken place under this agreement which are incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;~~

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the objectives of the FRT are consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights;

Amendment 41 #

Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Hilde VAUTMANS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER, Abir AL-SAHLANI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Is concerned about the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees~~Notes that the mid-term review pointed that the EUTF governance and management structure was "flexible and efficient" and "delivered fast decisions based on a strategic overview of the issues and knowledgeable and committed staff"; notes that this has been at the expense of transparency, accountability and scrutiny; remains concerned about the governance of the EUTF for Africa, the pulling together of EU resources that have all different objectives, the composition of its board and regional operational committees that enabled some Member States to make direct decisions about the spending of EU money based on a 3 million contribution to this fund, the opacity of the process for approving projects, the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs~~, and~~; points out the lack of ex ante and ongoing impact assessments on fundamental rights; and the absence of any fundamental rights conditionality on the use of funding ;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees, the opacity of the process for approving projects, the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs, and the lack of ex ante and ongoing impact assessments on fundamental rights; in light of the EUTF set to expire at the end of 2021, calls for the EUTF to be streamlined into the new MFF in order to ensure continuity of committed funds, increase parliamentary scrutiny and democratic accountability;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Is concerned about~~Considers the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees, the opacity of the process for approving projects, the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs, and the lack of ex ante and ongoing impact assessments on fundamental rights and its adaptability and flexibility to be assets; notes, however, that the EUTF would benefit from improved parliamentary scrutiny;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees, and the opacity of the process for approving projects~~, the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs, and the lack of ex ante and ongoing impact assessments on fundamental rights;~~.

Amendment 45 #

Emmanouil FRAGKOS, Laura HUHTASAARI, Tom VANDENDRIESSCHE, Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA, Jean-François JALKH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned in particular about the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees, the opacity of the process for defining and approving projects, the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs, and the lack of ex ante and ongoing impact assessments onregarding targeted populations and countries, notably concerning fundamental rights;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 47 #

Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL, Hilde VAUTMANS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Is concerned about the governance of the EUTF: the composition of its board and regional operational committees, the opacity of the process for approving projects, ~~the lack of dialogue with local and human rights CSOs, and the lack of ex ant~~is of the view that there should be transparency as to the man~~d ongoing impact assessments on fundamental rights~~ner in which EU taxpayers money is spent;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Highlights the important contribution of the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis, the 'Madad Trust Fund', in supporting access to basic services such as health and education for Syrian refugees, internally displaced persons and host communities in neighbouring countries; in light of the continuing humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing conflict in Syria, welcomes the recent adoption of €130 million assistance package to support Syrian refugees and local communities in Jordan and Lebanon; calls on transition of the Madad Trust Fund into a new MFF to be smooth, allowing for an efficient contracting and use of the funds already committed;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Expresses concerns regarding ongoing Council discussions aiming at building Team Europe funding initiatives on migration to propose migration management related actions in Africa, which would once again bypass the scrutiny of the European Parliament and decide on the allocation of ODA based on Member States political priorities and informal agreements; recalls that the 10% earmarked for migration and forced displacement in the NDICI fund aimed at replacing ad-hoc funding instruments;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion~~; whereas human rights violations have taken place under this agreement which are incompatible with the EU Charter~~ in order to better manage migration flows, save lives of migrants and refugees at sea and tackle irregular migration and trafficking; whereas the FRT was created as a result of Fun~~damental Rights~~precedented influx of over 1 million people arriving in the EU illegally in 2015;

Amendment 50 #

Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Abir AL-SAHLANI, Fabienne KELLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the ~~EUTF is~~disproportionate focus of the EUTF for Africa on the fight to counter irregular migration and the objectives 3 and 4 of the EUTF for Africa are part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management a~~imed at reducing irregular migration to the EU~~nd move away from a holistic approach to migration; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach.; points to the risk of indirectly supporting armed groups that often control borders in unstable countries as it has been the case in Sudan and Libya; highlights that that increased interceptions by northern African coast guards as a result of EUTF support have led to the development of more dangerous migration routes such as the one to the Canary islands; recalls that a more effective migration policy relies on support to improve partner countries reception and asylum capacities and ensuring channels for human mobility, including legal and circular channels for migration; notes that less than 1.5% of the EUTF for Africa was allocated to regular migration channels;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU; ~~stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach.~~acknowledges that coordinating migration management and development assistance policies can be of added value to ensure the coherence of EU external actions; stresses however, that reducing mobility to deter migration mostly runs counter to development objectives by increasing poverty and threatening to put fundamental rights at risk;

Amendment 52 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the EUTF ~~is part of a trend of the securitis~~s support partner countries in developing national and ~~externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU; stresses the risks to development obj~~regional strategies on migration management in line with international standards, improve capacities to prevent irregular migration and fight against trafficking inhuman beings and migrant smuggling, facilitate sustainable and dignified return and reintegration, seek durable solutions for people in need of international protecti~~ves~~on and ~~fundamental rights associated with this approach.~~enhance synergies between migration and development;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach.; deplores the fact that 37% of the EUTF is allocated to measures intended to restrict and reduce migration while less than 9% is allocated to addressing the drivers of migration and forced displacement;

Amendment 54 #

Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA, Rob ROOKEN, Emmanouil FRAGKOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU; stresses the ~~risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach~~importance of building cooperation with partner countries in order to tackle the problem of illegal migration and to support the returns and readmissions; is of the view that the goal of reducing irregular migration must be achieved by strengthening border guard and law enforcement.

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that ~~the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundam~~one of the main objectives of the EUTF is to contribute to better migration management, including tackling illegal migration to the EU; stresses that the existing strategy is not working effectively as the current strength of human-trafficking mafias, the exponential ~~rights associated with this approach.~~increase of arrivals of irregular migrants, and the low return rates can prove;

Amendment 56 #

Emmanouil FRAGKOS, Laura HUHTASAARI, Tom VANDENDRIESSCHE, Jean-François JALKH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU~~; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach~~.

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that the EUTF is ~~part of a trend of~~supposed to contribute to the securit~~isation~~y and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migration to the EU~~; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach~~.

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Highlights that the EUTF is part of a trend of the securitisation and externalisation of EU border management aimed at reducing irregular migr~~Notes with satisfaction that the EUTF contributes, in conjunction with the beneficiary States and on the basis of a genuine partnership, to EU border securitisation and management; welcomes the fact thati on toe of the ~~EU; stresses the risks to development objectives and fundamental rights associated with this approach.~~main aims of the EUTF is to reduce irregular migration to the EU;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Recalls its call on the Commission, and EU agencies to withhold or review their cooperation with third countries, including suspending specific funding and projects, which endanger the human rights of those affected, including where third countries do not fully respect the fundamental rights stemming both from the UN Convention of 1951 Relating to the Status of Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights, have not ratified these conventions, or fail to comply with the SOLAS and SAR Conventions; stresses that the EU’s external migration policy should not support interceptions at sea that would return people to an unsafe port; asks the Commission to ensure transparent risk assessment, performed by independent EU-bodies and experts on the impact of EU-funded projects on the human rights of migrants and refugees, as well as on the wider population in the country affected by it; calls for the creation of control mechanisms and clear protocols to act in the event of fundamental rights violations;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion; whereas this facility is a joint coordination mechanism and not a funding instrument in itself; whereas human rights violations have taken place under th~~is agre~~e EU-Turkey statement which are incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 60 #

Isabel SANTOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recommends allowing the European Parliament to greater scrutinise both the EUTF and the FRT; it is crucial that the European Parliament exercise a more comprehensive control over the planning and management of these instruments and that each year it is kept informed about the implementation of EUTF and FRT projects; the Commission is required to report annually on financial implementation and human rights, the human rights report being produced by an independent monitoring body set up especially for this purpose;

Amendment 61 #

Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that of the EUR 6 billion budget of the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, EUR 4 billion has already been disbursed; calls on the European Commission to allocate, in view of the repeated actions by Turkey against Member States' interests, the remaining EUR 2 billion to the financing of actions aimed at returning refugees to their places of origin, once these are safe, and at rebuilding their homes, communities and infrastructure;

Amendment 62 #

Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA, Rob ROOKEN, Emmanouil FRAGKOS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Urges the Commission to take immediate steps to improve transparency and ensure parliamentary oversight of the definition, implementation and follow-up of the EUTF and the FRT, including any future measures to be adopted under Article 8(10) of the Neighbourhood, Development, International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI); insists on scaling up the accountability of the authorities directly entrusted with the managing of the funds;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses that development aid and support for refugees from the EU and the Member States to partner countries must be conditional to a loyal cooperation and to their compliance with migration management and border control, returns and readmissions; regrets, in this regard, the lack of action from the European Commission against the threats and hostility coming from beneficiary countries such as Turkey and Morocco;

Amendment 64 #

Jan-Christoph OETJEN, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER, Abir AL-SAHLANI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the EU to review the EU- Turkey Statement to put in place a fully- fledged institutionalised cooperation agreement between the EU and Turkey in order to improve its governance, parliamentary scrutiny and democratic accountability, to guarantee compliance with human rights standards, as well as to ensure that the humanitarian aid and support provided by the FRT is not threatened by political volatility;

Amendment 65 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Isabel WISELER-LIMA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses that any future proposals to increase EU funding towards Turkey must undergo a thorough, transparent and democratic scrutiny process; emphasizes that until Turkey has shown that it is able to fulfil its existing obligations and adhere to human rights standards, that no further funding should be allocated nor should the relationship with Turkey be deepened;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses that EUTFs support countries hosting refugees by investing in health and education, economic development, job creation and integration into labour markets, for both local communities and refugees, especially vulnerable groups such as women and youth;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Calls on the Commission and Member states to establish a complete and clear overview of the funds used to finance cooperation with third countries in the field of migration management across all financial instruments and their implementation, including information on the amount, objectives, purpose, eligible actions and source of funding, as well as detailed information on any other potential support measures provided by EU agencies such as the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in order to ensure that the European Parliament can efficiently perform its institutional role of scrutiny of the implementation of the EU budget;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Regrets that EUTF funding for anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling activities represents only 5% of the EUTF's migration, mobility and forced displacement related budget. Stresses the need for current and future funding instruments to focus and prioritise on improved migration management, including containing and preventing illegal migration, fighting human trafficking and migrant smuggling, contributing to effective return and readmission and capacity building law enforcement;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Recalls its call on the Commission and Member States, in view of the serious human rights violations against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Libya, including those intercepted at sea, to urgently review all cooperation activities with the Libyan coast guard and to suspend them until clear guarantees of human rights compliance are in place;

Amendment 7 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Recital A

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Points out that issues currently covered by EUTFs could be funded under any of the Neighbourhood, Development and international Cooperation Instrument’s components: geographic, thematic or rapid response; underlines that Migration would be one of the priorities under the new instrument with a proposed spending target of 10%;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Calls on the Commission to conduct an an ex-post evaluation at least one year after all activities of the EUTF for Africa have been completed and to inform the European Parliament ; calls on the commission to involve CSOs in this evaluation and to pay particular attention to the impact of the fund on development and fundamental rights, with a particular attention to the projects under objectives 3 and 4;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Stresses the need to clearly define the framework of the EUTF and the FRT, as well as their potential successors, including project definition, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, in order to ensure that actions funded under the EUTF and FRT contribute to the achievement of the specific objectives of such funds and are not used for any other purposes;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Highlights with concern the increasing recourse since 2016 to enhanced conditionality between development cooperation and migration management; stresses that the use of development cooperation as an incentive for migration management undermines meaningful action to address the needs of people in developing countries, the rights of refugees and migrants as well as their potential impact on regional migration patterns and contribution to local economies, and thus also undermines a wide range of rights stemming from the Sustainable Development Goals;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Calls on the Commission to use the NDICI and its international partnerships to promote the protection of refugees and migrants, in line with European and international law, and to ensure that ODA is used to support and maintain sustainable human development, democracy, and human rights, in protection of all people;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3 e. Notes with concern that through the ‘rapid response’ component of the NDICI, cooperation with third countries on migration management can be funded without the need for the Commission to publish any programming documents or consult civil society actors, and without the involvement of Parliament; insists in this regard on the need to ensure that the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework is accompanied by a robust human rights framework for the identification, implementation and monitoring of future migration cooperation programmes;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3 e. Recalls its call on the Commission to regularly and publicly report on the funding of migration-related cooperation programmes in third countries and their human rights impact; calls on the Commission to guarantee the scrutiny and budgetary control role of the European Parliament in relation to all EU funding;

Amendment 77 #

Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Lena DÜPONT, Loucas FOURLAS, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Vasile BLAGA, Jeroen LENAERS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)

3 f. Stresses the importance of ensuring that a significant part of EU funding is earmarked for the implementation of human rights and international protection; calls in this regard for the allocation of a substantial share of future EU funding in the field of migration to civil society groups in third countries with the aim of providing assistance to migrants and for the protection and monitoring of their rights.

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) was created in 2016 in the framework of the EU-Turkey statement and manages EUR 6 billion~~; whereas human rights violations have taken place under this agreement which are incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundame~~ mobilised in two tranches' the first tranche serves to fund projects that run until mid-2021 latest and the second tranche serves to fund projects, which run untail ~~Rights;~~mid-2025 latest.

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. Whereas to date the European Commission has set up four trust funds with differing objectives, including the Trust Fund for Colombia, the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa, the Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis (Madad Trust Fund) and the Trust Fund for the Central African Republic (Bêkou Trust Fund);

source: 689.810

2021/03/30 CONT 55 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas setting up trust funds and going beyond the EU’s budgetary rules undermines the principle of a single budget and creates a number of issues in terms of transparency and accountability; whereas the four existing trust funds1a are used as a financing mechanism to implement international cooperation and development measures. _________________ 1aEU trust fund for Africa, Bekou trust fund, EU trust fund for Colombia and EU regional trust fund in response to the Syrian crisis

Amendment 10 #

Joachim KUHS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

~~2. Stresses that the need to create such trust funds is partly a consequence of the EU budget being structurally underfinanced and lacking possibilities to finance unexpected needs;~~deleted

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the need to create such trust funds is partly a consequence of the EU budget ~~being structurally underfinanced and~~ lacking possibilities to finance unexpected needs;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the need to create such trust funds is partly a consequence of the EU budget being structurally underfinanced and lacking possibilities to finance unexpected needs; is concerned that the trust funds aimed at emergency situations are prolonged non-stop instead of envisaging to have long-term policy operations considered in programming; takes notes with concern that the extension for a year of the EU trust funds will not change identified flaws in their governance structures: the situation of conflicts of interest - pointed out by the European Court of Auditors (ECA)1a in 2017 - in the Operational Committee of Bekou trust fund (where Member States are represented by their own national development agencies, which in turn are selected as project implementers and lead on the largest projects, while NGOs are awarded smaller ones) remains unchanged until the end of 2021; _________________ 1a https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocI tem.aspx?did=41726

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the need to create such trust funds is partly a consequence of the EU budget being structurally underfinanced, not flexible enough and lacking possibilities to finance unexpected needs;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the need to create such trust funds is partly a consequence of the EU budget being structurally underfinanced in several areas and lacking possibilities to finance unexpected needs;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recalls the Special Report of the European Court of Auditors 27/2018 on ‘the Facility for Refugees in Turkey: helpful support, but improvements needed to deliver more value for money’; notes that according to the Court, the audited projects provided helpful support to refugees and that most of them achieved their outputs, but half of them had not yet achieved their expected outcomes; notes the Court’s finding that monitoring of the cash-assistance projects under the Facility was limited because the Commission and its UN implementing partners did not have access to primary beneficiary data; welcomes that some of the recommendations of this report have been considered in designing the programming of the second tranche of the FRT; invites the Commission to report further on the implementation of the Court’s recommendations in the context of the discharge procedure;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists on the need to ~~ensure that the objectives of the FRT are consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights~~dismantle the FRT;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists on the need to ensure that the ~~objectives of the FRT are~~implementation of the FRT and Union trust funds is consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists on the need to ensure that the objectives of the FRT are fully consistent with the EU’s general principles, and legal commitments laid down in the EU Treaties as well as with EU policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law, and human rights;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists on the need to ensure that the objectives of the FRT are consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights; underlines the need to ensure that these objectives are met;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas setting up trust funds and going beyond the EU’s budgetary rules undermines the principle of a single budget and creates a number of issues in terms of sound financial management, transparency and accountability; whereas it increases the complexity of existing financial structures, which may lead to operational inefficiencies;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists on the need to ensure as a priority that the objectives of the FRT are consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Insists strongly on the need to ensure that the objectives of the FRT are consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls the Commission to monitor continuously whether the Facility is being implemented according to the principles of good financial management, transparency, proportionality, non- discriminatory and equal treatment in full accordance with the right of the European Parliament, to exercise scrutiny and control over the EU funding.

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Takes notes of the Special report 27/2018 on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, where the Court concluded that the Facility could have been more effective, and that it could achieve more value for money;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Notes the Court evaluation that the Facility did not fully achieve its objective of coordinating the response effectively; considers that there is still room for improvement in terms of efficiency of humanitarian projects, and this after almost three years after the Special report was published;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Is extremely worried that while monitoring humanitarian projects, the Commission was limited by Turkish authorities’ refusal to grant access to beneficiary data for the two cash- assistance projects; regrets that as a result there was no possibility to track the projects’ beneficiaries;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to better address refugees’ needs for municipal infrastructure and socio-economic support, in order to improve the streamlining and complementarity of the assistance provided to them; regrets that disagreement with Turkey on how to address these needs meant that the support in the above- mentioned areas was insufficiently covered[1]; [1] ECA Special report 27/2018 on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey

Amendment 28 #

Monika HOHLMEIER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to better address refugees’ needs for municipal infrastructure and socio-economic support, in order to improve the streamlining and complementarity of the assistance provided to them; recalls the need for equal access to education and training opportunities for girls and young women;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to better address refugees’ needs for municipal infrastructure and socio-economic support, as well as to ensure access to education, health, protection and other basic needs in order to improve the streamlining and complementarity of the assistance provided to them;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT) differs from the ~~other~~ EU trust funds, mainly because it remains embedded within the budget of the EU;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the success of the first tranche of the FRT, highlighting specifically the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), the biggest humanitarian project managed by the Commission; welcomes the progress of the second tranche, allowing for a gradual shift from humanitarian to development assistance;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. underlines the positive impact of this fund on the vulnerable target groups such as access to health care, education, integration programme and access to humanitarian help for 1,8 million persons.

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

~~5. Calls on the Commission to address the need to improve the operating environment for civil society organisations and the Turkish authorities;~~deleted

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Calls on the Commission to address the need to improve the operating environment for civil society organisations and the Turkish authoritie~~Stresses the challenging working environment that non-governmental organisations face in the course of the implementation of the FRT; Invites the Commission to address the need to improve the operating environment for civil society organisations, including through continuing the dialogue with the Turkish authorities on issues involving registration and permits;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the monitoring reports provided through the Facility Results Framework; Underlines the need to make sure strict monitoring exercises and audits are carried out based on clear procedures to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulation; invites the Commission to scale up reporting on the FRT and provide all information necessary for the European Parliament to exercise its right of scrutiny and control; asks it to ensure that these funds specifically target ~~refugee~~intended projects and are not used for any other purposes; in this context recalls the importance of accessibility of primary data on beneficiaries and traceability of EU funding and invites the Commission to present the planned strategic mid-term evaluation of the FRT;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the need to make sure strict monitoring exercises and audits are carried out to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulation; invites the Commission to scale up reporting on the FRT and asks it to ensure that these funds specifically target refugee projects and are not used for any other purposes; in this sense insists that the Turkish authorities grant implementing partners full access to the data on eligible beneficiaries, in order to improve the accountability and efficiency of the monitoring framework of these flagship projects[2]; [2] ECA Special report 27/2018 on the Facility for Refugees in Turkey

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the need to make sure strict monitoring exercises and audits are carried out to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulation and control and access for the ECA, OLAF, EPPO and the European Parliament as audit authority; invites the Commission to scale up reporting on the FRT and asks it to ensure that these funds specifically target refugee projects and are not used for any other purposes;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the need to make sure strict monitoring exercises and audits ex ante and ex post, including in Turkey are carried out to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulation; invites the Commission to scale up reporting on the FRT and asks it to ensure that these funds ~~specifical~~only target refugee projects and needs and are not used for any other purposes;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas, according to the Commission, FRT aims to coordinate existing EU financing instruments so they are mobilised in a coherent and joint up manner to address refugees' needs;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Notes with concern that the Covid- 19 crisis led to a significant slowdown in progress on individual Actions and the FRT as a whole, leading to an estimated implementation delay of 3 to 12 months as of June 2020; underlines that, according to the Monitoring Report from November 2021, the most vulnerable refugees working in the informal sector were most impacted; regrets that the suspension of in-person activities such as those in the area of social cohesion, language teaching and psycho-social support disproportionately affected women refugees;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. recalls that the EUTF is a flexible instrument allowing swift, effective and efficient implementation of projects in the frame of humanitarian aid and emergency situations, while ensuring sound financial management.

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the actions under each strand of the FRT will achieve more value for money if they are part of a~~n integrat~~ minimized approach;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the actions under each strand of the FRT will be higher, more sustainable and will achieve more value for money if they are part of an integrated approach;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission to ~~implement a strategy for the transition from humanitarian to development~~assess the current orientation of the humanitarian assistance provided and to improve the efficiency of cash assistance projects;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission to implement a strategy for the transition from humanitarian to development assistance and to ~~improve the efficiency of~~cancel cash assistance projects;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission to implement a strategy for the transition from humanitarian to development assistance, whose goal is to reduce and ultimately to eradicate poverty, and to improve the efficiency of cash assistance projects;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission to implement a strategy for the transition from humanitarian to development assistance and to improve the efficiency and the monitoring of cash assistance projects;

Amendment 48 #

Monika HOHLMEIER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. stresses the need for good monitoring and takes note of the difficulties to control two cash-assistance projects, because the Commission and its UN implementing partners did not have access to original beneficiary data;

Amendment 49 #

Joachim KUHS, Matteo ADINOLFI, Jean-François JALKH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Notes with appreciation the efforts and measures taken by the EU and its Member States to support refugees in Turkey; ~~regrets, however, the general public’s lack of knowledge about these actions~~Calls on the Commission to improve its communication strategy and intensify its contact with the general public to communicate the efforts made by EU to support refugees and host communities in Turkey.

Amendment 5 #

Monika HOHLMEIER

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas the European Parliament agreed to bear half of the expenditure of the Facility from the EU budget, amounting to three billion Euro for the years 2016-2019;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Notes with ~~appreciation the efforts and measures~~ regret the waste of funding undertaken by the EU and its Member States to support refugees in Turkey; regrets, however, the general public’s lack of knowledge about these actions.

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Notes with appreciation the efforts and measures taken by the EU and its Member States to support refugees and host communities in Turkey; regrets, however, the general public’s lack of knowledge about these actions. and their objectives;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Notes ~~with appreciation~~ the efforts and measures taken by the EU and its Member States to support refugees in Turkey; regrets, however, the general public’s lack of knowledge about these actions.

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Stresses that efforts must be made to monitor and enforce EU values and norms in the area of support to refugees, which would foster trust in the EU on the basis of its ability to deliver on its aims.

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Calls on the Commission to convey the need for the working environment for international NGOs to be improved to the Turkish authorities;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Calls on the Commission to take action against all attempts by Turkey to use the facility as leverage against the EU.

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that Union trust funds are set up to react swiftly to challenging circumstances and to increase the flexibility of funding; Reiterates however that these should be considered exceptional or emergency-led instruments whose added value and effects on the ground should be well justified and monitored; stresses the need to ensure that Union trust funds bring clear political visibility for the Union and that the objectives of Union trust funds are aligned with the objectives of the Union.

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Reiterates that these should be considered exceptional or emergency-led instruments whose added value and effects on the ground should be well justified and monitored; notes that this ‘emergency- driven’ nature makes it difficult to ascertain1a what the concrete emergencies are, how additional funding is addressing them, and to ensure a qualitative scrutiny of their results on the ground; _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2018/603821/IPOL_STU(20 18)603821_EN.pdf

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Notes with concern that the EU Trust fund for Africa which has been created and shaped around the EU’s internal objectives on migration policy, is widely criticised as responsible of operations which affects human rights, e.g. the one supporting the Libyan Coast Guards or the ‘Road Project’ with forced labour in Eritrea; Underlines that it is incompatible with the EU public procurement1a law and therefore it should not be financed with ODA; _________________ 1ahttps://www.europeanpapers.eu/en/e- journal/european-external-migration- funds-and-public-procurement-law

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Stresses that the EU must always ensure that EUTF projects and programs promote and protect human rights; strong systems must be put into place to monitor their human rights impacts; an accountability system with specific indicators must before seen to prevent and deal with breaches of international law;

source: 691.199

2021/05/05 AFET, DEVE, BUDG 291 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1

— having regard to Articles 208, 210, 214 and 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Amendment 10 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

— having regard to the new European Consensus on Development of 30 June 2017,

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9 b. Considers that despite the intervention of the EU and other donors, the situation in the country remains unstable due to the emergence of new conflicts and severe food insecurity;

Amendment 101 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Considers that the Madad EUTF has proven its added value in response to the crisis and for the EU in terms of higher external visibility and clout, increased control, coordination and leverage of funds from various sources, as compared to national level or other international channels; notes that its spending was aligned with the legal bases or the Union instruments used; Regrets the conflict in Syria continues, and needs of the Syrian refugees, unable to return to Syria to their home country in the foreseeable future, and needs of their host communities’ in terms of longer-term integration and employment, still require EU and international long-term assistance and secure their capacity of longer-term integration and employment in a cohesive way with the host communities, points out that the conflict-prone areas in Syria do not permit long term reconstruction to take place;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Notes that the Mid-Term Strategic Evaluation report from October 2018 concluded that the Madad Trust Fund has been “large and cost-effective, reaching a large number of beneficiaries at acomparatively low cost”, that it has “allowed the EU to operate flexibly;

Amendment 104 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Welcom~~Notes the ~~rapid and flexible reaction of the~~ Trust Fund in support of partner countries and communities during the coronavirus outbreak, showing active engagement in the realignment and refocusing of activities, not only in the domain of health, but also in other areas, such as livelihoods, protection, education or social cohesion in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Emphasises the importance of continuous support for refugees, internally displaced persons and for vulnerable host communities, both inside Syria and in the wider region, affected by the continued conflict, by means of a mix of longer-term, predictable and rapidly deployable funding under instruments established for the 2021- 2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) and potential contributions from the Member States as external assigned revenue, taking into account all financial instruments provided under the Financial Regulation, in order to address longer term economic, educational, protection and social needs of Syrian refugees and local communities in the region;

Amendment 106 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Emphasises the importance of continuous support for refugees, internally displaced persons ~~and~~, for vulnerable host communities and combatting asylum fraud, both inside Syria and in the wider region, affected by ~~the continued~~ conflict, by means of a mix of longer-term, predictable and rapidly deployable funding under instruments established for the 2021- 2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) and potential contributions from the Member States as external assigned revenue, taking into account all financial instruments provided under the Financial Regulation;

Amendment 107 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Emphasises the importance of continuous support for refugees, internally displaced persons and for vulnerable host communities, ~~both inside Syria and~~including in the wider region, affected by the continued conflict, by means of a mix of longer-term, predictable, fully transparent, and rapidly deployable funding under instruments established for the 2021- 2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) and potential contributions from the Member States as external assigned revenue, taking into account all financial instruments provided under the Financial Regulation;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Stresses the importance of ensuring that humanitarian objectives and principles are met and respected in the implementation of actions under the Trust Fund; recalls that the Trust funds’ objectives should be aligned with those of the Union instruments from which they are funded and, therefore, projects funded under the Madad Trust Fund should promote and protect dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms, promote social and economic inclusion, in particular of minorities and vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, refugees and displaced persons;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Calls on the EU to engage in dialogue with the Syrian Government in order to ensure that the Madad EUTF adequately contributes to the situation of internally displaced people in Syria;

Amendment 11 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)

— having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document of 30 April 2014 on a rights-based approach, encompassing all human rights for EU development cooperation(SWD(2014)0152),

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12 b. Recalls the vulnerability of the Palestine refugee communities in Syria and the region, and calls for continuous support and to their inclusion in EU’s humanitarian plans and responses around the Syria crisis;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 112 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Trust Fund for Africa represents an important tool to provide a swift, flexible and targeted response to emerging challenges and underlines that common, global challenges, such as migration and forced displacement, the impact of climate change and economic crises in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, make this flexibility and rapidity more necessary than everjust one tool of many to provide a response to emerging problems;

Amendment 113 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Consider~~Notes that the Trust Fund for Africa ~~represents an important tool to provide~~was created as an emergency trust fund to contribute to address the crises in three regions in Africa, with the aim of achieving long-term stability and development goals; considers that the EUTF for Africa represents a swift, and flexible ~~and targeted response to emerging challenges and underlines that~~tool, highlights however that, considering the unprecedented challenges that it aims at addressing, including common, global challenges, such as migration and forced displacement, the impact of climate change and economic crises in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ~~make this flexibility and rapidity more necessary than ever~~its design should have been more focused; deplores that the Commission has not defined which particular crises (e.g. per regions, per countries, the causes and impact on stability) the EUTF for Africa is meant to address and instead established very broad objectives which have allowed for flexibility, at the expense of having a strategy that is focused enough to steer action across the three windows and supports the measuring and reporting on results;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Trust Fund for Africa ~~represents an important~~should have represented, under the current circumstances, a tool to provide a swift, flexible and targeted response to emerging challenges and underlines that common, global challenges, such as migration and forced displacement, the impact of climate change and economic crises in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, make this flexibility and rapidity more necessary than ever; stresses, however, that flexibility needs to be always combined with full transparency and accountability of the decision-making process and underlines that focusing priorities on stopping migration flows has led to dangerous perverse effects and a substantial shift away from the original objectives of reducing poverty and tackling the root causes of migration;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Trust Fund for Africa should represents an important tool to provide a swift, flexible ~~and~~, targeted and accountable response to emerging ~~challenges and underlines that~~ common, global challenges, such as migration and forced displacement, or the impact of climate change and economic crises in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic~~, make this flexibility and rapidity more necessary than ever~~;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the Trust Fund for Africa represents an important tool to provide a swift, flexible and targeted response to emerging challenges and underlines that common, global challenges, such as migration and forced displacement, the impact of climate change and economic crises in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, make this flexibility and rapidity more necessary than ever; regrets, however, that despite it proved to be a flexible tool for providing assistance, its objectives are too broad; calls on the Commission to put in place mechanisms to better evaluate the extent to which it has met its objectives;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Expresses concern on the use of the EUTF for Africa for human rights’ violations; deplores the funding of the militias known as the ‘Libyan coastguard’, responsible for grave violations of human rights of migrant people and involved in slave trade; deplores the funding of security and police forces in charge of border control in countries such as Sudan or Eritrea with governments involved in grave violations of human rights; calls for the immediate evaluation and cancellation of all ongoing projects funded by the EUTF for Africa which involve human rights violations, such as the road reconnecting Ethiopia and Eritrea in which it has been denounced that the Eritrean authorities are using slave labour;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Reiterates the concern of the Parliament regarding the compliance of some projects with human rights standards and EU values; underlines the need for further assessment and better support given to auditors to check the compliance with human rights standards and preventing funding of projects that contravenes EU values;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13 b. Calls for greater emphasis on long-term development goals such as employment, education, food security and improving the living conditions of the local population;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)

— having regard to the Consensus on Humanitarian Aid of 30 January 2008,

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the fact that the EUTF for Africa has contributed to the triple humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach, which was not possible with the EU financial instruments under the previous MFF;deleted

Amendment 121 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Welcomes~~Points out the fact that the EUTF for Africa has not sufficiently contributed to the triple humanitarian-development- peace nexus approach~~, which was not possible with the EU financial instruments under the previous MFF~~; disapproves that funds of the EUTF for Africa have been used to strengthen borders, encourage deportations and prevent the influx of migrants into the EU; stresses that Official Development Assistance must fund long-term projects to tackle the root causes of forced migration and the drivers of forced displacement, should be allocated to countries based on actual recipients’ needs and development strategies, and should refrain from including conditionality on migration management, readmissions and returns;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the fact that the EUTF for Africa has contributed to the triple humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach~~, which was not possible with the EU financial instruments under the previous MFF~~;

Amendment 123 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the fact that the EUTF for Africa has in some cases contributed to the triple humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach, which was not possible with the EU financial instruments under the previous MFF, by better linking humanitarian assistance and development cooperation to anticipate, prepare for and respond to crises and disasters, man-made or natural; recalls that as a fundamental principle, humanitarian assistance must be independent and dissociated in particular from security or stability agendas;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Welcomes the fact that the EUTF for Africa has ~~contributed to~~identified the goal of the triple humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach, which was not possible with the EU financial instruments under the previous MFF; notes however that this nexus has often been contradicted and overcome by partnership agreements with actors allegedly responsible for violations of human rights, including training of armed forces and border guards and provision of equipment;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Deplores the fact that 37% of the EUTF is allocated to measures intended to restrict and reduce migration while less than 9% is allocated to addressing the drivers of migration and forced displacement; notes that there is no long- term assessment of the consequences of the measures on migratory routes and the security situation; notes with concern that the EUTF for Africa has financed operations which affect human rights and counter the aims of development aid, such as the “Support to integrated border and migration management in Libya” or the ‘Road Project’ (“Reconnecting Eritrea and Ethiopia through rehabilitation of the main arterial roads in Eritrea”) using forced labour in Eritrea;

Amendment 126 #

14 a. Points out that the short-term focus on implementing restrictive migration measures needs to be downplayed and the focus should be shifted to support human capital and welfare, such as health, education and strengthening social policies and to promote stability, democracy and resilience in Africa;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14 b. Is concerned that the EUTF for Africa has very broad objectives and that it brings together external relations, home affairs, development cooperation, humanitarian aid and neighbourhood policies, which are different in nature, into a single financial instrument; believes that a direct nexus between these policies can only be established between home affairs and migration policies, on one side, and between development cooperation and humanitarian policies, on the other;

Amendment 128 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14 c. Is concerned that barely 1.5% of the total worth of the Trust Fund for Africa is allocated to fund regular migration schemes; stresses that the mere containment of irregular migration does not lead to its effective reduction, only forces migrants to take more dangerous routes and boosts human smuggling networks;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

~~15. Welcomes the generally strong degree of local ownership, the involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa;~~deleted

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021on a new EU-Africa Strategy – a partnership for sustainable and inclusive development,

Amendment 130 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes the ~~generally~~attempt to create a stronger degree of local ownership, by the involvement of local authorities ~~and civil society organisations (CSOs)~~ in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa;

Amendment 131 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Welcomes the generally strong~~Regrets that the absence of a comprehensive analysis of beneficiaries' needs under the EUTF limited the Commission’s ability to demonstrate that the right priorities had been identified and that actions approved were the most relevant to address them, as well as the generally low degree of local ownership~~, the~~ and the weak involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa; deplores the low transparency of the programming process, mainly regarding the lack of public calls for proposals;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Strongly condemns the lack of a proper involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in project supported by EUTF for Africa. Regrets that information on the involvement of local civil society organisations are not openly available due to the low transparency of subcontracting levels;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Welcom~~Notes the ~~generally strong degree of~~potential for local ownership, the involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa; calls on the Commission to actively engage with local authorities and CSOs in order to fully make use of this potential of local ownership;

Amendment 134 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes the generally strong degree of local ownership, the involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa; notes however that according to the Special report No 32/2018 of the European Court of Auditors, there was a need in an improved project selection procedure, higher implementation speed and a more systematic performance monitoring covering the full range of projects;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes the generally strong degree of local ownership, the involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa; underlines the importance of cooperation and dialogue with local partners in order to better understand and effectively address the causes of instability, migration and forced displacement;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes the generally strong degree of local ownership, the involvement of local authorities and civil society organisations (CSOs) in projects supported by the EUTF for Africa; calls for the stop of funding to governments or institutions responsible for human rights violations either directly or indirectly from the EUTF for Africa;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

Amendment 138 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Notes that one of the key objectives of the EUTF for Africa - as determined in its Constitutive Agreement - is addressing the root causes of migration, in particular by promoting resilience, economic and equal opportunities, security and development and addressing human rights abuses;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15 b. Is deeply concerned that the need to address the root causes of migration, which includes prioritising development and anti-poverty policies, has often been overtaken by a short term perspective of migration management driven by domestic policy priorities. Considers that this could lead to dangerous perverse effects, including violation of human rights in the context of project implementation. Criticizes the nature of certain projects related to migration and border management, for which adequate information has not been provided to the Parliament and retains it essential to have more precise explanation about suspected human rights violations linked to the EUTF in Libya, Ethiopia and Niger;

Amendment 14 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

— having regard to the amending budget No 5/2020 of the European Union for the financial year 2020, on the mobilization of the Contingency Margin in 2020 to provide continued humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey, as set out in document 8857/2020,

Amendment 140 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)

15 c. Strongly underlines that funds from the European Development Fund (EDF) and Official Development Assistance (ODA) sources must be devoted to the economic, human and social development of the host country, with particular focus on the development challenges identified in the Trust Fund decision; recalls that funding of the EUTF must be implemented and evaluated on the basis of ODA criteria and that all expenses falling outside this requirement have to be funded from different sources that are pooled in the Trust Fund; stresses, in this regard, the importance of pooling resources from diverse and multiple sources and donors, and recalls that leveraging is one of the foremost reasons for the creation of this instrument devoted to such different and heterogeneous ends; condemns any use of EDF and ODA funds for migration management and control or any other actions without development objectives;

Amendment 141 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)

15 d. Deplores that in several projects, founded under the EUTF Africa, the reduction of migration flows, rather than poverty reduction, has been mentioned as an indicator of success. Stresses that there has been a dangerous shift in priorities away from development policies and considers that this shift risks producing imbalances between countries according to their role in managing migration and readmissions;

Amendment 142 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 e (new)

15 e. Notes that in some countries the approval of development projects has taken place in parallel with, and conditional upon, progress in negotiations on return and readmission agreements and strict management of migration flows; stresses that the use of development cooperation as an incentive for migration management undermines meaningful action to address the needs of people in developing countries, the rights of refugees and migrants, and thus also undermines a wide range of rights under the Sustainable Development Goals and moves away from the objectives of tackling inequality and exclusion, promoting democratic governance and human rights, and enhancing sustainable and inclusive development; rejects any kind of conditionality based on EU’s migration and border policies;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that the EUTF for Africa made a major contribution to strengthening resilience and implementing the humanitarian- development nexus in fragile contexts; notes further that it also fostered cooperation between different stakeholders, and allowed contributions from non-EU donors, which in the post- Brexit context have acquired particular importance, and increased the visibility of the issue of migration and forced displacement and the EU’s response to it;deleted

Amendment 144 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that the EUTF for Africa made a ~~major~~ contribution to attempt to strengthening resilience and implementing the humanitarian-development nexus in fragile contexts; notes further that it a~~lso fostered~~ttempted to create cooperation between different stakeholders, and allowed contributions from non-EU donors, which in the post- Brexit context have acquired particular importance, and increased the visibility of ~~the issue of~~ mass-immigration and ~~forced displacement and~~ the EU’s lack of response to it;

Amendment 145 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that the EUTF for Africa ~~made a major contribution to strengthening resilience and implementing the humanitarian- development nexus in fragile contexts; notes further that it also~~has fostered cooperation between different stakeholders, and allowed contributions from non-EU donors, which in the post- Brexit context have acquired particular importance~~, and increased the visibility of the issue of migration and forced displacement and the EU’s response to it~~;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Notes that the EUTF for Africa made a ~~major~~ contribution to strengthening resilience and implementing the humanitarian-development nexus in fragile contexts; notes further that it also fostered cooperation between different stakeholders, and allowed contributions from non-EU donors, which in the post- Brexit context have acquired particular importance, and increased the visibility of the issue of migration and forced displacement and the EU’s response to it; regrets at the same time that the monitoring of the implementation of this fund has not been adequate and requests to include S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) objectives in the project long frames, as well as establish quantifiable targets for evaluating projects;

Amendment 147 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Acknowledges that border security is essential for the stability of African partner countries and the EU must support partnercountries to improve border security, to tackle illegal migration flows, smuggling and human trafficking;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Denounces the continuing and impressive human rights violations taking place in Libya in the context of the integrated border management actions; underlines that the Libyan Coast Guard regularly continues to be responsible for serious violations of the human rights of migrants, including failure to respect the principle of non-refoulement; stresses that many of the people rescued or intercepted by the coastguard are returned to arbitrary detention in horrendous and shameful conditions in Libya; underlines that in the context of the Emergency Transit Mechanism there are serious concerns to facilitate the return of refugees to countries in which they are not safe, in violation of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Deplores that the EUTF for Africa funded such activities and calls the Commission to suspend this program until there is a real and objective assessment on respect for human rights;

Amendment 149 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Notes that according to the Special report No 32/2018 of the European Court of Auditors, due to the fund’s broad scope, it often lacked efficiency concerning targeted action due to an absence of adequate quantification of the needs and means through which measured impact could have been achieved;

Amendment 15 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

— having regard to its Report of 17 May 2021 on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Turkey 2019/2176(INI),

Amendment 150 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Regrets that, while the aim of the EUTF for Africa was to finance activities aimed at reaching development objectives, the EU's focus has increasingly turned to migration management;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Welcomes the proposal by the Commission to de-commit funds originating from the EUTF for Africa initially allocated to Eritrea, in particular for the procurement for road renovation that used forced labour;

Amendment 152 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Considers that the Trust Fund for Colombia has proven its value and represents, under the current circumstances, an important tool to support the implementation of the peace agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Coluombia (FARC); points out that the extension of the Colombia EUTF has further reaffirmed the EU’s commitment and provided much-needed support to the Colombian peace process; calls however, for the implementation of the Colombian peace process to be prioritised as part of long- and medium-term, fully transparent funding programmes and monitoring, and for these programmes to count with the appropriate democratic scrutiny and involvement of the European Parliament and appropriate, transparent and inclusive stakeholder consultations, notably of the local civil society;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Amendment 155 #

17 a. Points out that more than 400 human rights defenders have been killed in Colombia since the beginning of the peace process in 2016, which is the highest deadly rate for human rights defenders in Latin America, and that more than 27,000 people have been internally displaced only this year, which entails a 177% increase with regard to the same period last year; stresses that enormous challenges remain in the implementation of the peace agreement despite the projects funded by the EUTF on the ground; calls on the Colombian government to take decisive steps to protect human rights defenders and prevent the activities of paramilitary organizations;

Amendment 156 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Congratulates Colombia on its efforts, despite its own challenges with the implementation of the peace agreement, to provide support for over 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants who have fled to Colombia, in particular by granting them a 10-year temporary protection statusExpresses concern regarding the implementation of the peace agreement, particularly in light of the increase of murders of social and political leaders, calls on the Colombian authorities to fully implement the Peace Agreement, including parts which have not been developed yet such as those concerning access to land;

Amendment 157 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Congratula~~Notes Colombia ~~on it~~´s efforts, despite its own challenges with the implementation of the peace agreement, to provide support for over 1.7 million Venezuelan ~~migrant~~refugees who have fled the oppressive regime of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in their homeland to Colombia, in particular by granting them a 10-year temporary protection status;

Amendment 158 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Welcomes the involvement of the Republic of Chile as a donor in the Trust Fund; notes that the participation of regional partners is of high value added, and has increased ~~both~~ local recognition ~~and the legitimation of the EU’s engagement and cooperation~~;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Reminds that the EUTF for Colombia is established under the Development Cooperation Instrument, and must be aligned to the primary objective of the development policy of the European Union, which remains “the fight against poverty”; stresses furthermore that the respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, the promotion of the rule of law, democratic principles, transparency, good governance, peace and stability and gender equality, are essential and part of the Constitutive Agreement establishing the EUTF;

Amendment 16 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)

— having regard to the Draft Amending Budget No. 5/20201a and the accompanying decision on Mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in2020: continuation of humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey2a, _________________ 1aBudget 2020/1157, OJ L 299 11.09.2020, p. 0001 2aDecision 2021/1268, OJ L 298 11.09.2020, p. 0021

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Recalls the important role played by Turkey in welcoming refugees from Syria; takes the view that the EU should continue to give the necessary support to Syrian and other refugees and host communities in Turkey; calls for a fully- fledged human rights impact assessment of the EU-Turkey Statement and underlines the importance of both parties’ compliance with fundamental rights as part of its implementation;

Amendment 161 #

Hélène LAPORTE, Jérôme RIVIÈRE, Thierry MARIANI, Dominique BILDE, Anna BONFRISCO, Susanna CECCARDI, Alessandra BASSO

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 9 a (new)

Points out that Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world, with more than 3 million registered refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

Amendment 164 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Considers that the EU FRT has proven ~~its valu~~EU´s inability to handle the mas ~~an innovative pooling tool and important c~~sive and protracted crisis and security threat for European nations due to the massive volumes of economic immigrants floordin~~ating mechanism for assisting Turkey in swiftly responding to the immediate humanitarian and development needs of refugees and their host communities~~g into Europe via Turkey, that the establishment of the EU FRT can only be viewed as giving in to the threats and aggressive actions from Turkey and placing the burden on the EU taxpayers to fund the legal obligations the Turkish state has towards the minority of refugees and the majority of illegal immigrants present on Turkish territory;

Amendment 165 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Considers that the EU FRT has proven its value as an innovative pooling tool and important coordinating mechanism for assisting Turkey in swiftly responding to the immediate humanitarian and development needs of refugees and their host communities; notes however that the majority of projects needed to be extended to achieve the expected outcome; stresses in particular that according to the Special report No 27/2018 of the European Court of Auditors, greater value could have been achieved in cash- assistance projects; furthermore the report indicates inconsistency in the financing of health and education activities, with a parallel use of different management structures to fund similar projects; additionally the report calls on the Commission to improve the programming for municipal infrastructure and socio-economic support, enable the operating environment for NGOs and improve the reporting on the Facility;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Rejects the EU FRT together with “EU- Turkey statement” as they are an instrument to seal off the EU border for refugees and migrants and de facto abolish the right to seek asylum; considers further that Turkey is not a safe third country, since parts of the Turkish population as well as migrants and refugees are at risk of discrimination, violence and persecution, refugees and their children are at risk of exploitation, racism and lynch law;

Amendment 167 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Recalls that in 2020 the Commission requested a mobilisation of additional EUR 481,6 million under the EU Budget Contingency Margin, which goes beyond the initially foreseen allocation for the FRT, in order to finance the activities under the Emergency Social Safety Net programme and the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education programme;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Considers that renewed support for refugees in Turkey should not be paid directly to the Turkish Government but to Turkish civil society organisations and international organisations active on the ground, to local communities and directly to the refugees themselves;

Amendment 169 #

Hélène LAPORTE, Jérôme RIVIÈRE, Thierry MARIANI, Dominique BILDE, Anna BONFRISCO, Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Susanna CECCARDI, Alessandra BASSO, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Questions the legal basis for authorising the establishment of the Trust Funds in its evaluation and implementation between 2014 and 2018 in the absence of sufficient parliamentary oversight during that period;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas four EUTFs have been established since 2014 to respond to the need for flexible and quick instruments to provide a coherent and reinforced aid response to crises: the Bêkou EUTF, established on 15 July 2014, with the objective of supporting all aspects of the Central African Republic’s exit from crisis and its reconstruction efforts; the Madad EUTF, a European Union Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis to allow for pooling and tailoring resources and response at a regional level, established on 15 December 2014; the Africa EUTF, a European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa, established on 12 November 2015; and the Colombia EUTF, established on 12 December 2016 to support the implementation of the peace agreement in the early recovery and stabilisation post- conflict;

Amendment 170 #

Urmas PAET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Notes the impact of COVID-19 on the refugees; consequently many on the unofficial labour market have lost their income and children are unable to follow schooling due to lack of technological equipment;

Amendment 171 #

Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Condemns the violations of human rights and political freedoms in Turkey; stresses the need to ensure the compatibility of the FRT funds with the respect of the rule of law and human rights;

Amendment 172 #

Urmas PAET

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20 b. Project-based nature of the FRT can prevent addressing long-term development and protection needs of Syrian refugees that are based in Syria for longer; calls for more efforts in integration projects;

Amendment 173 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Reiterates its deep regret that Parliament was not formally consulted or ~~ask~~requested to give its approval to the creation or extension of this Facility; notes the non-transparent and undemocratic actions by the unelected administrators of the Commission and was only involved as one arm of the budgetary authority, thereby ~~undermining the~~depriving the FRT of any democratic accountability ~~of the FRT~~;

Amendment 174 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Reiterates its deep regret that Parliament was not formally consulted or asked to give its approval to the creation or extension of this Facility and was only involved as one arm of the budgetary authority, thereby undermining the democratic accountability of the FRT; affirms that it should not be confronted with this situation again;

Amendment 175 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Reiterates its ~~deep regret~~outrage that Parliament was not formally consulted or asked to give its approval to the creation or extension of this Facility and was only involved as one arm of the budgetary authority, thereby undermining the democratic accountability of the FRT;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Regrets the lack of a proper EU responsibility in managing the migration flows and the externalisation of migration management to Turkey; retains that FRT has been established despite the existence of serious concerns about the human rights situation of refugees in Turkey from the perspective of international asylum law; is aware about the role played by FRT in providing support to some 1.8 million of refugees through basic needs support, 668,900 refugee children with educational support, and millions of refugees with healthcare and protection services; expresses its support to Turkish civil society and recalls the laudable efforts played by international organisations in implementing these projects. Considers it important to continue to ensure adequate support for refugees, avoiding that the Turkish government is directly involved in the management and allocation of funds;

Amendment 177 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Stresses that the refusal by the Turkish authorities to grant access to beneficiary data for the two cash- assistance projects could raise questions as regards the soundness of financial management under the Facility, particularly taking into account Turkey’s rapid backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights; calls on the Commission to obtain the data on beneficiaries of all FRT programmes and projects; stresses that in order to achieve full accountability the Commission should make the resources available on the basis of targets achieved by implementing partners on the ground and after the implementation assessment carried out according to the Financial Regulation rules1a; _________________ 1aSpecial report No 27/2018 of the European Court of Auditors “The Facility for Refugees in Turkey: helpful support, but improvements needed to deliver more value for money”, p. 6 and p. 40

Amendment 178 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Recalls the serious concerns about the implementation and the transparency in the use of funds of the Refugee Facility; notes, that whether implemented by the Government or local authorities or NGOs, the funds have to be exclusively used for accommodating all physical and psychological needs of refugees, including housing, food, education and guaranteeing a decent living standard; stresses the importance of a transparent implementation and the approval of the Turkish Parliament's in case funds are implemented through the government or local authorities; recalls the necessity of scrutiny of the funds implemented by the Turkish government and the local authorities;

Amendment 179 #

Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Stresses the need to closely monitor the use of the FTR funds to ensure that they are used to improve the lives of the refugees and that they are not used by the Turkish government for other purposes; requests, in this regard, a detailed account of where and how these funds have been used and their impact; stresses that the funds should be managed by NGOs or civil society stakeholders that can guarantee accountability and transparency and can ensure that the funds are exclusively used for the purpose that was laid down in the agreement with Turkey;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas in June 2020, the Amending Budget (DAB) No 5 for the year 2020 was adopted by the Council, in order to continue providing support to refugees and host communities in response to the Syria crisis; Under the MFF Heading 4, Global Europe, EUR 100 million in commitment and payment appropriations will be provided as resilience support to refugees and host communities in Jordan and Lebanon whereas EUR 485 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 68 million in payment appropriations will be provided to ensure the continuation of the urgent humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Stresses the importance of transition from humanitarian relief to development cooperation and calls on the Commission to develop and implement a transition strategy, with the final objective of handing over both humanitarian and non-humanitarian activities to the national authorities;

Amendment 181 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)

21 b. Is concerned by several reports of expulsion and return of migrants and refugees, raising concerns in relation to the respect of the principle of non- refoulement, especially with regard to Syrian nationals, as well as to those who have been returned to a third country without having been granted access to asylum procedures; urges the Commission to ensure a close monitoring of the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement, including in relation to the human rights situation of asylum seekers and migrants returned to Turkey as part of the EU-Turkey Statement and report back to Parliament;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)

21 b. Expresses concerns regarding the degradation of human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law in Turkey and calls on the Commission to ensure that the objectives and the implementation of the FRT are consistent with the EU’s general principles, policies and objectives, including democracy, rule of law and human rights;

Amendment 183 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)

21 c. Deeply regrets that in several occasions the Turkish government used the flows of refugees and the situation of migrants at EU borders as a tool of political pressure against the EU; notes with concern that this tool of pressure used by Turkey posed at risks lives and health of migrants and most vulnerable persons;

Amendment 184 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)

21 d. Recalls the importance of a human, solidary and responsible approach towards the refugees and the migration flows; expresses serious concerns for several cases of expulsion and return of migrants and refugees; reminds that no EU funds should facilitate directly or indirectly any forced returns;

Amendment 185 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU; stresses that the financial support to Turkey in the management of refugee flow must be conditional on the respect of the rule of law and fundamental rights, full budgetary transparency, as well as unrestricted involvement of civil society organisations; calls on the Commission to build upon its experience in special third- party verification system to strengthen the oversight of spending;

Amendment 186 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU~~Expresses its concern about the legal status of Syrian refugees in Turkey, stresses the urgency to ensure that the human rights of migrants and refugees as guaranteed by the 1951 Refugee Convention are fully respected and reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border. Calls the Turkish authorities to lift Turkey’s geographical limitation to the 1951 Refugee Convention so that Syrians can be recognised as refugees;

Amendment 187 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and ~~that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU~~calls on both Turkey and the EU not to instrumentalise concerns of migration management and refugees reception for broader political purposes; Calls on the Turkish authorities to grant full access to UNHCR to the removal centres at the Turkish Syrian border to be able to monitor the respect of the principle of non-refoulement;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, ~~and~~ that it ~~not use the flows of refugees against the EU~~does not instrumentalize the migratory flows against the EU, for political purposes, and that it abides fully by the EU-Turkey statement especially with regard to the effective prevention of flows, dismantle of smuggling networks, control of its borders and acceptance of returns, in a non- discriminatory manner;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU; recalls that EU agencies such as Frontex as well as Member State authorities are also bound by the principle of non-refoulement; calls on an immediate end of any form of refoulement to Turkey from EU land and waters;

Amendment 19 #

Demetris PAPADAKIS, Loucas FOURLAS, Lefteris CHRISTOFOROU

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas, in the absence of relevant provisions in the Financial Regulation at the moment of the decision to create four EUTFs, the European Parliament was not consulted on the establishment of an extra-budgetary instruments;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU; expects Turkey to implement in full and in a non-discriminatory manner the EU-Turkey Statement of March 2016 and the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU; stresses that Turkey should stop applying a geographical limitation to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and ~~that it not~~demands it to never use the flows of refugees against the EU; in this regard, calls on the Commission to take action against all attempts by Turkey to use the facility as leverage against the EU;

Amendment 193 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Re~~iterates its re~~quest that Turkey respect ~~the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU~~and assumes her full responsibility for the international agreements she has concluded and take full responsibility for all undertaken and planned illegal moments of third country nationals towards the EU external border and immediately cease all hostilities towards Greece;

Amendment 194 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Reiterates its request that~~Strongly condemns and is deeply concerned about the Turkish government’s use of the flows of refugees against the EU and calls for the end of this practice; urges Turkey to respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border~~, and that it not use the flows of refugees against the EU~~;

Amendment 195 #

Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that it not use the flows of refugees a~~gainst the EU~~s a tool for political pressure against the EU and its Member States;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Reiterates its request that Turkey respect the principle of non-refoulement, in particular on the Syrian border, and that itTurkey should not use the flows of refugees as a source of blackmail against the EU;

Amendment 197 #

Hélène LAPORTE, Thierry MARIANI, Jérôme RIVIÈRE, Dominique BILDE, Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Stresses that this aid has been misused by Mr Erdogan to blackmail the EU, which completely delegitimises this aid, as irregular migratory flows have been used as levers of power serving the geopolitical strategies of the Turkish President;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Calls on Turkey to refrain from keeping refugees in detention centres with the purpose to make them sign voluntary return forms and to guarantee their access to health care services regardless of their place of registration within the country;

Amendment 199 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Calls on all involved parties of the upcoming Multilateral Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean, to address in a comprehensive way, along humanitarian and development issues, the issues of border management and migration, so as to maximise the added value of EU’s engagement in the region; reminds of the EU long-term objective of a gradual take- over of EU-funded activities by the Turkish authorities in full respect of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

— having regard to Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union,

Amendment 20 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas given that the European Development Fund (EDF) contributed to the Africa and Bekou EUTFs, the Parliament was not involved at all in setting-up of these two EUTFs; whereas the European Parliament’s possible involvement was limited to an objection to the draft implementing decisions on constitutive agreements on the Madad and Colombia EUTFs;

Amendment 200 #

Anna BONFRISCO, Susanna CECCARDI, Gianna GANCIA, Valentino GRANT, Marco ZANNI, Alessandra BASSO, Matteo ADINOLFI, Annalisa TARDINO, Harald VILIMSKY, Hélène LAPORTE, Joachim KUHS, Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Dominique BILDE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Underlines that Turkey, through a continuous instrumentalisation of the refugee crisis, is taking advantage of the RFT in order to obtain some leverage for political, economic or military concessions, to justify its aggressive behaviour towards the EU Member States and to pursue its foreign policy ambitions;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Reiterates that NGOs and civil society stakeholders should be better involved in managing any pre-accession funds in Turkey, in order to guarantee both transparency and better accountability, while ensuring that funds are used exclusively for the purposes laid down in the agreement with Turkey;

Amendment 202 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Underlines the need to safeguard the humanitarian principles given the involvement of humanitarian aid in the FRT; considers that a strong role of Turkey therein challenges the purely needs-based character and the principles of neutrality, independence and impartiality;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Calls on the Commission to call upon the Turkish authorities to improve the working environment for international NGOs;

Amendment 204 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22 b. Stresses that the actions under each strand of the FRT will be more sustainable and efficient if they are part of an integrated approach; in this regard, points out that the EU must review its Turkey policies and develop an integrated approach, which should include the termination of accession negotiations with Turkey;

Amendment 205 #

Hélène LAPORTE, Thierry MARIANI, Jérôme RIVIÈRE, Dominique BILDE, Anna BONFRISCO, Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Susanna CECCARDI, Alessandra BASSO, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22 b. Recalls that in 2018 the European Court of Auditors severely criticised the management of this fund: lack of communication of the list of final beneficiaries, questionable use of funds or lack of efficiency of humanitarian projects, which raises questions about the extension of this fund until 2025;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)

22 b. Considers that a protracted presence of refugees in Turkey needs to build up a nexus between humanitarian assistance and a more developmental focus and help create livelihood opportunities for refugees to improve their self-reliance and social inclusion into their host communities;

Amendment 207 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)

22 c. Regrets that the EU-Turkey statement on refugees is a “de facto” readmission agreement concluded by the EU that has been presented as a statement in order to bypass the legal procedures on the conclusion of readmission agreements set in article79(3) TFEU and the obligation of obtaining prior consent of the EP as required by Article 218 (6)(a)(v) TFEU;

Amendment 208 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 d (new)

22 d. Notes that FRT supports only registered refugees, expresses its concerns that many refugees have been left without assistance since registration was made difficult in some provinces and cities;

Amendment 209 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 e (new)

22 e. Underlines that the European Court of Auditors Special report No 27/2018 expresses just a partial satisfaction with the efficiency of the humanitarian projects financed by the Facility since they did not consistently and comprehensively assess the reasonableness of the budgeted costs. The report also raises concern about the fact that is not possible to monitor all the humanitarian projects during the audit due to the Turkish authorities’ refusal to grant access to beneficiary data for some of the cash-assistance projects;

Amendment 21 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the revision of the Financial Regulation in 2018 rejected the European Commission’s proposal to expand the scope and the role of the EUTFs and introduced provisions strengthening Parliament’s scrutiny powers when new EUTFs are established or the current ones are extended; whereas such provisions remain too limited to ensure full democratic scrutiny from the European Parliament as well as complete Parliamentary scrutiny from the budgetary authority;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 f (new)

22 f. Requests therefore the Commission to improve monitoring and reporting, by demanding Turkish authorities to grant implementing partners of cash assistance full access to the data on eligible beneficiaries for the sake of accountability, as well as to set parameters to avoid double-funding for the sake of efficiency, as underlined by the European Court of Auditors Special report No 27/2018;

Amendment 211 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Underlines the need to involve organizations, experts, and NGO’s from across Member States in FRT projects to ensure the implementation utilizes the full range of European expertise; reiterates the importance of the added values generated within EU Member States by the involvement of local organizations, partners, and experts;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Welcomes the Council’s extended invitation to the Commission to present a proposal to the Council for the continuation of financing for Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as in Jordan, Lebanon and other parts of the region;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Stresses the need to ensure sustainability of the Facility’s humanitarian and development activities, particularly in the area of health and education;

Amendment 214 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23.~~ Underlines the necessity of ~~better 23. addressing the funding needs in situations of protracted crisis and with a view to the coordination and transition between humanitarian relief, reconstruction and developm~~understanding why EU Member States should be involved in aid- and development- interventions in each and every case and why the EU should administer these types of interventions, rather than bilateral interventions or via the United Nations massive family of organizations, in order to do away with one layer of complex coordination that has beent in ~~a flexible and interconnected manner~~troduced by allowing the administrators in the Commission to become involved in aid and development;

Amendment 215 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Underlines the necessity of better addressing, in the long-and medium-term, the funding needs in situations of protracted crisis and with a view to the coordination and transition between humanitarian relief, reconstruction and development in a flexible and interconnected manner, while respecting the fundamental principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence at the heart of humanitarian action, as set in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid and the Humanitarian Aid Regulation;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Underlines the necessity of better addressing the funding needs in situations of protracted crisis and with a view to the coordination and transition between humanitarian relief, reconstruction and development in a flexible and interconnected manner, in a way that it is in line with development policy and humanitarian assistance's objectives and principles, such as supporting poverty eradication, the reduction of inequality and the meeting of humanitarian needs;

Amendment 217 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Underlines the necessity of better addressing the funding needs in situations of protracted crisis and with a view to the coordination and transition between humanitarian relief, reconstruction and development in a flexible and interconnected manner; insist that decisions must be geared towards added value and real effects on the ground and be properly justified and monitored;

Amendment 218 #

23. Underlines the necessity of better addressing the funding needs in situations of humanitarian and protracted crisis and with a view to the coordination and transition between humanitarian relief, reconstruction and development in a flexible and interconnected manner;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Stresses that irregular migration can only be prevented by tackling its root causes, such as extreme poverty, lack of employment, conflicts or climate-related emergencies, and that its mere containment only forces migrants to take more dangerous routes and boosts human smuggling networks;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the revision of the Financial Regulation in 2018 introduced weak and insufficient provisions strengthening Parliament’s scrutiny powers when new EUTFs are established or the current ones are extended; whereas this presents a serious circumvention of budgetary scrutiny of the European Parliament as enshrined in the treaties;

Amendment 220 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Underlines the need for a long- term approach that doesn’t leave its recipients dependent on external intervention; notes that empowerment through education is the best way to ensure self-sufficiency for refugees and partners in recipient countries;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Highlights the need to ensure that projects supported by the EU Trust Funds are in line with international humanitarian and development policy targets such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)

23 b. Considers that it is essential to ensure that development cooperation projects are in line with countries’ own development priorities, and fully involve regional and local authorities and civil society actors in their design and implementation; deems it necessary to increase the involvement of CSOs in African and European countries in monitoring the implementation of migration policies and their adherence to human rights frameworks;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)

23 c. Reiterates the importance of development studies and programs in maintaining the support across the EU for EUTF contributions towards underdeveloped regions; recalls the importance of global citizenship education in creating stronger support for development aid and cooperation;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 c (new)

23 c. Underlines that Official Development Assistance cannot be conditional upon cooperation of partner countries in the forced return of their nationals or border management;

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 d (new)

23 d. Points out to the need to address the challenges related to intra-African migration, which makes up almost 90% of migration flows in Africa, in close cooperation with the African Union and in line with its Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan of Action 2018-2030;

Amendment 226 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses the need to take on board the lessons learned in the establishment, management and implementation of the Trust Funds and the FRT ~~in order to apply them to the new generation of external financial instruments~~and the last 50 years of aid and development policies funded by the Member States in order to apply them while rethinking the volumes of funds and what interventions Member States should be involved in; is of the opinion that the actions for which the taxpayers lend support must become more efficient, and the funds for aid and development must be reduced dramatically;

Amendment 227 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Stresses the need to take on board the lessons learned in the establishment, management and implementation of the Trust Funds and the FRT in order to apply them to the new generation of external financial instruments; recalls, in particular, the need for a greater role of the European Parliament in exercising its rights of scrutiny and democratic accountability on funding through the EU external financial instruments;

Amendment 228 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Underlines that any partnership agreement should ensure full protection of human lives, dignity and human rights; deplores that these minimum guarantees were not effectively respected and that migrants and refugees often face inhumane conditions of transfer and detention; calls on the Commission to ensure a transparent risk assessment, carried out by independent EU-bodies and experts on the impact of EU-funded projects on the human rights of migrants and refugees, as well as on the wider population in the country concerned; calls for the establishment of an effective and independent monitoring mechanisms to fully monitor and evaluate the final destination of these funds and protocols for action in the event of violations of fundamental rights;

Amendment 23 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the revision of the Financial Regulation in 2018 introduced provisions strengthening to a certain extent Parliament’s scrutiny powers when new EUTFs are established or the current ones are extended;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Urges the Commission to present its final comprehensive review on the implementation of the EUTF to ensure that it falls in line with the EU’s development, human rights and humanitarian objectives; regrets that the extension of the EUTF was requested by the Commission in the absence of such review and that there is therefore no evidence to show whether these objectives have been properly assessed and achieved;

Amendment 231 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Highlights Commission’s assurances that the 2020 extensions of the Bekou, Madad, Africa and Colombia Trust Funds sought to ensure a continued legal basis for payments of commitments made under the previous MFF 2014- 2020, and that no new commitments to the EUTFs be made under NDICI or IPA III;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Recommends that a gender- sensitive analysis and consideration of the involvement of women in designing supported projects be prerequisite of implementation of projects under both the EU Trust Funds and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey;

Amendment 233 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24 b. Points out that projects funded by the Trust Funds should include detailed risk assessments, especially concerning potential violations of human rights; deplores the reported human rights violations linked to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) in Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Niger; calls on the Commission to duly investigate the alleged cases of human rights violations related to the implementation of the Trust Funds;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24 b. Calls on the Commission to withhold or review the cooperation with third countries that do not fully respect fundamental rights, including suspending specific funding and projects which endanger or undermine human rights;

Amendment 235 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Eero HEINÄLUOMA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)

24 c. Reminds that a trust fund shall only be established and implemented when the existing financing instruments would not be sufficient to achieve policy objectives of the Union, when the Union trust fund would bring clear political visibility for the Union and managerial advantages as well as better control by the Union of risks and disbursements of the Union and other donors’ contributions, when the Union trust fund does not duplicate other existing funding channels or similar instruments without providing any additionality and when the objectives of the trust fund are aligned with the objectives of the Union instrument or budgetary item from which it is funded;

Amendment 236 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Eero HEINÄLUOMA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 d (new)

24 d. Insists that the contribution mechanism to any EUTF or ad hoc instrument should be prepared and negotiated with the full involvement of the European Parliament and the contribution from the Union budget should be clearly defined;

Amendment 237 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Eero HEINÄLUOMA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 e (new)

24 e. Underlines the need to increase the impact and visibility of EU external spending;

Amendment 238 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Eero HEINÄLUOMA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 f (new)

24 f. Calls on the Commission to make the best use of the lessons learnt with the existing EUTFs and the FRT to enhance the synergies and ensure coherence between the EU external funding instruments;

Amendment 239 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas existing legal, regulatory and budgetary solutions should have been used to the full extent before creating and/or extending the EUTFs which should remain a last resort instrument; whereas the Commission has not sufficiently presented the added value of EUTFs in the medium and long-run;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. ~~Reiterates~~While noting that the Financial Regulation allows for the creation of Trust Funds for external action, reiterates further Parliament’s long- standing insistence that external assistance be financed in full from the Union budget and be implemented in a coherent way, following a streamlined set of rules, based on co-legislated instruments and in full respect of the EU Treaties, in particular Article 208 TFEU, and of Parliament’s legislative, budgetary and monitoring prerogatives, and of the principles of accountability, transparency, effectiveness and sound budgetary management; calls on the Commission to delete the EUTF- related articles in the Financial Regulation in the next revision of the Financial Regulation;

Amendment 241 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Reiterates Parliament’s long- standing insistence that external assistance be financed in full from the Union budget and be implemented in a coherent and value-based way, following a streamlined set of rules, based on co-legislated instruments and in full respect of Parliament’s legislative, budgetary and monitoring prerogatives, and of the principles of EU's budgetary unity, accountability, transparency, effectiveness and sound budgetary management; highlights that the adoption of extraordinary tools increases the complexity of financing governance and puts financial pressure on existing foreign policy instruments, thereby possibly affecting their efficiency;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Reiterates Parliament’s long- standing insistence that external assistance be financed in full from the Union budget and be implemented in a coherent way, following a streamlined set of rules, based on co-legislated instruments and in full respect of Parliament’s legislative, budgetary and monitoring prerogatives, and of the principles of accountability, transparency, effectiveness and sound budgetary management and recognizes that EU Trust Funds can remain a useful tool to react to a major sudden crisis and to situations where a multiple donor response needs to be well coordinated in countries with weak national or local administrations;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Reiterates Parliament’s long- standing insistence that external assistance be financed in full from the Union budget and be implemented in a coherent, sufficient and predictable way, following a streamlined set of rules, based on co- legislated instruments and in full respect of Parliament’s legislative, budgetary and monitoring prerogatives, and of the principles of accountability, transparency, effectiveness and sound budgetary management; reiterates its call for the full involvement of the European Parliament in the supervision and governance of the current EU Trust Funds;

Amendment 244 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25 a. Stresses that the full transparency and availability of data on EU added value and human rights record in its engagement with the areas covered by the Trust Funds and the FRT is the precondition of the public support for further EU’s development and humanitarian aid in those areas; calls on the Commission to guarantee a more efficient communication on the ground, highlighting the EU’s role as the biggest donor of global development aid;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)

25 b. Notes that a complete, public overview of EU funding to third countries to facilitate cooperation on migration issues remains unavailable; calls on the Commission to provide improved transparency and participatory mechanisms for civil society and stakeholder consultations, including by establishing a clear overview of the funds used to finance cooperation with third countries, including in the field of migration management, across all its financial instruments and their implementation, including information on the amount, purpose and source of funding as well as detailed information on any other potential support measures provided by EU agencies such as the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, in order to ensure that Parliament can efficiently perform its institutional role of scrutiny of the implementation of the EU budget;

Amendment 246 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Expects the Commission to fully make use of the possibilities afforded by the programme-based approach under the geographic pillar of the NDICI-Global Europe and IPA III, complemented by global thematic programming, rapid response funding and the large unprogrammed reserve under the NDICI- Global Europe;deleted

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. ~~Expects~~Calls on the Commission to fully and primarily make use of the possibilities afforded by the programme-based approach under the geographic pillar of the NDICI-Global Europe and IPA III, complemented by global thematic programming,; insists that the rapid response funding and the ~~large unprogrammed reserve~~emerging challenges and priorities cushion under the NDICI- Global Europe be targeted at well-defined emergency situations in coherence and consistency with all programmes and actions, to allow for proper monitoring and reporting on the results of EU’s intervention;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Expects the Commission to fully make use of the possibilities afforded by the programme-based approach under the geographic pillar of the NDICI-Global Europe and IPA III, which may no longer be used to finance pre-accession assistance to Turkey except for support to Turkish civil society organisations through the financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights, complemented by global thematic programming, rapid response funding and the large unprogrammed reserve under the NDICI- Global Europe;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. ERecalls that EUTFs and FRT should be seen as exceptional or truly emergency-led instruments whose added value and effects on the ground should be very well justified and carefully monitored; expects the Commission to fully make use of the possibilities afforded by the programme-based approach under the geographic pillar of the NDICI-Global Europe and IPA III, complemented by global thematic programming, rapid response funding and the large unprogrammed reserve under the NDICI- Global Europe;

Amendment 25 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas Parliament issued positive opinions in 2020 on the requests to extend the EUTFs until the end of 2021 underlining the Commission’s repeated reassurances that such extension requests concerning the Trust Funds are the last and final ones; whereas, in such opinions, Parliament reminded that the EUTFs are established under the Development Cooperation Instrument, and must be aligned to the primary objective of the development policy of the European Union, which remain “the fight against poverty” and stressed furthermore that the respect for human rights, fundamenta l freedoms, the promotion of the rule of law, democratic principles, transparency, good governance, peace and stability and gender equality, are essential and part of the Constitutive Agreement establishing the EUTF;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Expects the Commission to fully make use of the possibilities afforded by the programme-based approach under the geographic pillar of the NDICI-Global Europe ~~and IPA III~~, complemented by global thematic programming, rapid response funding and the large unprogrammed reserve under the NDICI- Global Europe;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26 a. Recalls that the funds from the Emerging challenges and priorities cushion under the NDICI-Global Europe are expected to top-up funding from the geographic, thematic programmes and rapid response actions; underlines that the Commission has committed to discuss the use of these funds as part of the geopolitical dialogue with the European Parliament, and to provide detailed information before their mobilisation, whilst fully taking into consideration the remarks of the European Parliament on the nature, objectives and financial amounts envisaged;

Amendment 252 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

Amendment 254 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Eero HEINÄLUOMA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Is confident that the NDICI-Global Europe will allow for ~~increased~~ flexibility and responsiveness, ~~allowing it~~while learning from past experiences and assessments of the existing trust funds, allowing it, when relevant, to continue and adapt their activities ~~of the existing Trust Funds~~within the objectives of the Regulation and thereby safeguard the unity of the Union budget;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Is confident that the NDICI-Global Europe will allow ~~for increased~~sufficient flexibility and responsiveness, allowing to evaluate, with t~~o continue the activities of the existing Trust Funds and thereby safeguard the un~~he full involvement of the Parliament, which activities of the existing Trust Funds should continue and which ones should be replaced and thereby safeguard the unity and democratic accountability of the Union budget;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. ~~Is confident~~Stresses that flexibility of financial instruments has to be compatible with parliamentary oversight, aligned with the sustainable development goals and respectful of the integrity of the EU budget; is confident, in this regard, that the NDICI-Global Europe will allow for increased flexibility and responsiveness, allowing it to continue the activities of the existing Trust Funds and thereby safeguard the unity of the Union budget and the role of the European Parliament;

Amendment 257 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Is confident that the NDICI-Global Europe will allow for more efficient and predictable allocation of resources, increased flexibility and responsiveness, allowing it to continue the activities of the existing Trust Funds and thereby safeguard the unity of the Union budget; underlines that ordinary decision-making governance framework confers more legitimacy to the EU’ external action, both within the EU and in the destination countries;

Amendment 258 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Is confident that the NDICI-Global Europe will allow for increased flexibility and responsiveness, allowing it to continue the activities of the existing Trust Funds and thereby safeguard the unity of the Union budget; believes that the allocation of funding to the tasks taken over by NDICI-Global Europe from the Trust Funds needs to be done efficiently;

Amendment 259 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27 a. Calls on the Commission to guarantee that the implementation of the EU humanitarian and development aid in conflict-affected areas and areas with considerable refugee challenge is done in full transparency and under a close supervision of EU staff members responsible for the scrutiny, including audit and anti-corruption activities; underlines the importance of sharing the audit data with the EU financial scrutiny framework, including ECA, OLAF and EPPO;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas Parliament issued overall positive opinions in 2020 on the requests to extend the EUTFs until the end of 2021, while expressing concerns about the lack of transparency over the implementation of projects, with specific regard to the ones related to border and migration management, and under the condition, in the case of the Africa Trust Fund, of providing mandatory guarantees on the respect of fundamental human rights in all funded projects;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 261 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. In the event of any proposed greater needs in the MFF 2021-2027, ~~advocates increasing the NDICI-Global Europe envelope through a revision of the MFF and the NDICI- Global Europe regulations, or a strengthen~~states that no increasing of the ~~relevant~~ NDICI- Global Europe budget lines with contributions in the form of external assigned revenue; stresses that, should a need for a duly justified new Trust Fund nevertheless arise, it insists that Parliament must be fully involved from the very outsetenvelope will be possible;

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. In the event of greater needs in the MFF 2021-2027,. advocates increasing the NDICI-Global Europe envelope through a revision of the MFF and the NDICI-Global Europe regulations, or a strengthening of the relevant NDICI-Global Europe budget lines with contributions in the form of external assigned revenue; stresses that~~, should a need for a duly justified new Trust Fund nevertheless arise, it insists that Parliament must be fully involved from the very outset~~ Parliament must be fully involved from the very outset in any decision taken in this regard and that the creation of new Trust Funds has to be avoided in the future;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. In the event of greater needs in the MFF 2021-2027, advocates increasing the NDICI-Global Europe envelope through a revision of the MFF and the NDICI-Global Europe regulations, or a strengthening of the relevant NDICI-Global Europe budget lines with contributions in the form of external assigned revenue; stresses that, ~~should a need for a duly justified new Trust Fund nevertheless arise, it~~any flexible funding mechanism established in the framework of the NDICI-Global Europe should comply with the thematic spending targets defined in the Regulation; insists that Parliament ~~must~~ be fully involved ~~from the very outs~~in the potential transition process of existing Trust Funds towards the NDICI from the very outset; calls on the Commission not to create any new trust fund or equivalent mechanism outside of the Union budget;

Amendment 264 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. In the event of greater needs in the MFF 2021-2027, advocates increasing the NDICI-Global Europe envelope through a revision of the MFF and the NDICI-Global Europe regulations, or a strengthening of the relevant NDICI-Global Europe budget lines with contributions in the form of external assigned revenue; expects that the upcoming revision of the Financial Regulation will ensure appropriate involvement of the budgetary authority in the governance of external assigned revenue; stresses that, should a need for a duly justified new Trust Fund nevertheless arise, ~~it insists that~~ Parliament must be fully involved from the very outset and considers, therefore, that the Financial Regulation shall be revised to guarantee appropriate role of the Parliament in the establishment and scrutiny of Trust Funds;

Amendment 265 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. In the event of greater needs in the MFF 2021-2027, advocates increasing the NDICI-Global Europe envelope through a revision of the MFF and the NDICI-Global Europe regulations, or a strengthening of the relevant NDICI-Global Europe budget lines with contributions in the form of external assigned revenue; stresses that, should nevertheless a need for a duly justified new Trust Fund ~~nevertheless arise, it~~arise, following an outbreak of a major crisis, a sudden change in international relations requiring a major EU financial response, or the need to pool resources with third countries which would not be feasible under the co-legislated instruments, insists that Parliament must be fully involved from the very outset;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. In the event of greater needs in the MFF 2021-2027, advocates that the first and main solution to be explored should be through the EU programmes by increasing the NDICI-Global Europe envelope through a revision of the MFF and the NDICI-Global Europe regulations, or as a secondary option and under the condition that the Parliament is fully involved in the decision-making process and endowed with the proper scrutiny power, a strengthening of the relevant NDICI-Global Europe budget lines with contributions in the form of external assigned revenue; stresses that, should a need for a duly justified new Trust Fund nevertheless arise, it insists that Parliament must be fully involved from the very outset;

Amendment 267 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28 a. Calls for more transparency and accountability and a better involvement of the Parliament in the Union trust funds, from the deliberations on the setting-up of any trust fund, the drawing up of the constitutive agreement and the mobilisation of the Union’s contribution, to the implementation, continuation and possible liquidation of any trust fund; calls for a revision of the relevant articles of the Financial Regulation in this respect;

Amendment 268 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to ~~prioritise~~consider the nexus approach in the implementation of the NDICI-Global Europe, and calls for the cooperation between EU humanitarian and development actors in compliance with the principle of independence of humanitarian aid, notably in post-crisis settings and in protracted crises, to be increased in order to better adapt to local needs and deliver more efficient results;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas the Constitutive Agreement on EU Trust Funds clearly put border management projects in Libya within the scope of the mandate of the EUTF as well as the regulation of the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). The Constitutive Agreement of the EUTF clearly states that the Trust Fund will finance activities that contribute to improving migration management in all its aspects in line with the Global Approach on Migration and Mobility, including containing and preventing irregular migration and fight against trafficking of human beings;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Calls on the Commission to prioritise the nexus approach in the implementation of the NDICI-Global Europe, and calls for the cooperation between EU humanitarian and development actors, notably in post-crisis settings and in protracted crises, to be increased in order to better adapt to local needs and deliver more efficient results; calls on the Commission to ensure that all Union policies are aligned with regard to the principle of policy coherence for development to ensure the effectiveness of the nexus approach;

Amendment 271 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29 a. Notes that the possibilities of mainstreaming migration policy in EU external policy are significantly broadened by the inclusion of migration in the thematic, geographical and rapid response component of NDICI; notes with concern, however, that through the ‘rapid response’ component, cooperation with third countries on migration management can be funded without the need for the Commission to publish any programming documents or consult civil society actors, and without the involvement of Parliament, including in the framework of the ‘Migration Preparedness and Crisis Blueprint’, which lacks mechanisms to assess the possible adverse impact of such interventions; insists in this regard on the need to ensure that the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework is accompanied by a robust human rights framework for the identification, implementation and monitoring of future migration cooperation programmes;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29 a. Considers that partnerships and consequent allocations of resources should not be conditional on the cooperation with the EU’s demands regarding returns and readmission or border management; insists that the EU should work with its partners to develop a political environment of democratic accountability, with the participation of local communities in decision-making processes regarding the use of funds;

Amendment 273 #

Eero HEINÄLUOMA, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Pierfrancesco MAJORINO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29 a. Notes that gender equality and social inclusion are one of the main spending targets of the NDICI-Global Europe programming; reiterates the EU’s commitment to gender equality, and calls on the Commission to integrate gender equality along with resilience building and climate change adaptation into planning and implementation of the Trust Funds and the FRT;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29 a. Suggests that to ensure a more qualitative overview of the projects’ societal effects and human rights impacts, priority should be given to dedicating more tailored and direct funding to independent NGOs, given their role in critically monitoring and conducting evaluation of the government policies of third-country partners;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)

29 b. Notes that NDICI-Global Europe foresees mid-term and final evaluations and the detailed annual reporting by Commission to Parliament and Council on the ongoing activities, results delivered, effectiveness, as well as progress towards the thematic targets and objectives of the Regulation; calls on the Commission to develop and implement a precise methodology for tracking the 10% expenditure earmarked for migration and forced displacement to effectively ensure proper transparency and accountability regarding this expenditure, as required by the Regulation;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Notes that the close-to-ground decision-making procedure and adaptation to the local realities of the EUTFs and the FRT is of high added value, and needs to be mainstreamed in the future programming exercises linked to budgetary instruments for EU external policy;deleted

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. ~~Notes that~~Welcomes the close-to-ground decision-making procedure ~~and~~, adaptation to the local realities ~~of the EUTFs and the FRT is of high added value, and needs to be mainstreamed~~and the possibility to implement cross-border and multi-year funded projects in the EUTFs and the FRT; calls for mainstreaming such aspects in the future programming exercises linked to budgetary instruments for EU external policy;

Amendment 278 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Notes that ~~the~~ close-to-ground decision-making procedure and adaptation to the local realities ~~of the EUTFs and the FRT is of high added value, and~~ needs to be mainstreamed in the future programming exercises linked to budgetary instruments for EU external policy;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30 a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that migration-related spending should target reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience within impacted communities, while funds allocated should be based on thorough impact assessment procedures and evidence- driven projections, and include a risk assessment, context analysis and conflict analysis as well; should any serious risk be identified, adequate procedures must be in place to mitigate and counterbalance these risks in a manner that is compatible with human rights and democratic standards;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas, in its 2020 opinions on the requests to extend the EUTFs until the end of 2021, Parliament called on the Commission to improve the communication on the Trust Funds and noted that regular, figure-based information on the implementation of the Trust Funds is essential to grant the democratic overview and the scrutiny role of the European Parliament;

Amendment 280 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30 a. Is of the opinion that the political approach and the use of funds in particular of the EUTF for Africa and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey are wrong and must be terminated or reallocated; rejects the use of the EUTF for Africa for border management and anti-migration policies, demands the reallocation of these funds for real development aid and eradication of root causes; calls for the termination of the so called EU-Turkey agreement and of the Fortress-Europe policy;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)

30 b. Expects the Commission to publish all its impact evaluation, monitoring, and analysis, especially concerning high risk projects conducted in close cooperation with partner countries' national agencies; reiterates that the Parliament must be able to evaluate and study these reports on a regular basis;

Amendment 282 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Acknowledges that cooperation with ~~representatives of local communities, including local~~local communities and stakeholders, including local government bodies, civil society organisations, NGOs, trade unions and religious leaders, in settings affected by conflict is crucial to foster reconciliation, dialogue and peace;

Amendment 283 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Acknowledges that ~~cooperation wi~~allowing the representatives of local communities, including local religious leaders, in settings affected by conflict to be in charge of any transitional justice process or similar process is crucial to foster reconciliation, dialogue and peace;

Amendment 284 #

Nathalie LOISEAU

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Acknowledges that cooperation with representatives of local communities~~, including local religious leaders,~~ in settings affected by conflict is crucial to foster reconciliation, dialogue and peace;

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31 a. Stresses the importance of allocating a substantial share of future EU funding in the field of migration to civil society groups in third countries for providing assistance and for the protection and monitoring of the rights of migrants, and of ensuring that a significant part of EU funding is earmarked for the improvement of human rights, international protection, and the future perspective of refugees;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 b (new)

31 b. Reiterates that the EU has a global responsibility in hosting a fair share of people in need of international protection; stresses that financial assistance to third countries for the reception of refugees can under no circumstances substitute this responsibility;

Amendment 287 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Calls on the Commission to adapt the programming methods to the local realities and emerging local challenges and to support local ownership in the implementation of the new EU development instruments; calls further on the Commission to carry out a needs assessment and adapt the EU’s response to local needs;deleted

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)

32 a. Emphasise that local churches and faith-based organisations play an active role in development cooperation and in delivering humanitarian assistance to the people most in need and calls the Commission to engage with them, notably in the case of delivering direct support to hard-to-reach communities in developing countries;

Amendment 289 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 b (new)

32 b. Calls on the Commission to examine the possibilities to involve third country partners in joint initiatives and financing of addressing of common challenges such as migration, forced displacement, climate change, empowerment of women and protection of vulnerable groups;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas there are serious concerns that the EUTFs could have contributed to inhumane and degrading treatment and financed actors that have committed human rights violations, such as in Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Niger;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 c (new)

32 c. Calls on the Commission to prioritise investments in education and job creation to provide possibilities to people in partnercountries to engage in local income generating activities;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 d (new)

32 d. Expects the Commission to address ongoing or future crises and potential reconstruction needs with a more efficient and targeted manner through utilising the existing ways and other means possible under the current Financial Regulation in close and coordinated cooperation with Member States and other EU institutions as ‘Team Europe’, and with like-minded international partners and donors;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 b (new)

— having regard to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,

Amendment 30 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

C b. whereas, the Member States’ contributions to the FRT are not voluntary but based on the GNI contribution key and included in relevant Commission’s decisions; whereas these contributions are directly included in the Union budget as external assigned revenue pursuant to Art.21(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation; whereas in the case of the EUTFs, Member States’ contributions are not integrated into the Union’s budget pursuant to Art. 187(6) of the Financial Regulation;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the establishment of both the EUTFs and the Facility for refugees in Turkey (FRT) have been justified by the need for a flexible, ad hoc and swift reaction not possible under the classical institutional framework; and the limited resources and flexibility available in the EU budget; whereas the Lisbon Treaty reinforced the role of the European Parliament to bring more coherence and democratic accountability and whereas the extra-budgetary instruments such as the EUTFs, as well as extraordinary tools such as the FRT, pose challenges with respect to democratic accountability, including the role of the European Parliament and also the integrity and unity of the EU budget;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the establishment of both the EUTFs and the Facility for refugees in Turkey (FRT) have been justified by the need for a flexible and swift reaction not possible under the classical institutional framework; whereas the extra-budgetary instruments such as the EUTFs, as well as extraordinary tools such as the FRT, pose challenges with respect to democratic accountability, including the role of the European Parliament and also the integrity of the EU budget; whereas, when setting- up a Union Trust Fund, the European Commission has to justify its value added, visibility, complementarity with other EU financing instrument and alignment with policy objectives;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the establishment of both the EUTFs and the Facility for refugees in Turkey (FRT) have been justified by the need for a flexible and swift reaction not possible under the classical institutional framework; whereas the extra-budgetary instruments such as the EUTFs, as well as extraordinary tools such as the FRT, ~~pose challenges with respect to democratic accountability, including~~harm democratic accountability and have a direct impact on the role of the European Parliament and ~~also~~ the integrity of the EU budget;

Amendment 34 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER, Olivier CHASTEL

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the establishment of both the EUTFs and the Facility for refugees in Turkey (FRT) have been justified by the need for a flexible and swift reaction not possible under the classical institutional framework; whereas the extra-budgetary instruments such as the EUTFs, as well as extraordinary tools such as the FRT, ~~pose challenges with respect to democratic accountability, includ~~jeopardise the principles of democratic accountability, transparency and sound financial management, undermining the role of the European Parliament and also the integrity of the EU budget;

Amendment 35 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the establishment of both the EUTFs and the Facility for refugees in Turkey (FRT) have been justified by the need for a flexible and swift reaction not possible under the classical institutional framework; whereas the extra-budgetary instruments such as the EUTFs, as well as extraordinary tools such as the FRT, ~~pose challenges with respect to~~undermine democratic accountability, including the role of the European Parliament and also the integrity of the EU budget;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas the 2016 migration crisis stemming from the Syrian conflict brought nearly 4 million refugees to Turkey, of which about 3.6 million are Syrian refugees and about 360 000 are registered refugees and asylum seekers from other countries, according to UNHCR data;

Amendment 37 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas Article 208 TFEU clearly states that the primary objective of Union development cooperation policy shall be the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty;

Amendment 38 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas according to the Commission estimations, substantial humanitarian refugee-related needs continue also beyond the Facility for Refugees in Turkey;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

D b. whereas the new EU’s external financial framework (NDICI-Global Europe) should overcome the constraints that lead to the need to launch Trust Funds to response in a more flexible and rapid manner to specific crises;

Amendment 4 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)

— having regard to Council Regulation(EC) No 1257/96 on humanitarian aid,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

D c. whereas the primary objective of the Union development cooperation policy is the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty as enshrined in Article 208 TFEU;

Amendment 41 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)

D d. whereas, according to the Financial Regulation, the EUTFs should be subject to an annual external and independent audit and the European Commission has the power to suspend the financing agreement if the third country breaches an obligation relating to respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law and in serious cases of corruption;

Amendment 42 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D e (new)

D e. whereas since July 2017, almost €90m has been allocated through the EUTF for Africa to train, equip and support the capacity of the Libyan coastguard for the interception of migrants at sea and land borders and €49m has been allocated to address the conditions in which returnees are detained;

Amendment 43 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D f (new)

D f. whereas the European Consensus on Development remains the doctrinal framework for EU development policy, and the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid reaffirms the fundamental principles of humanitarian aid;

Amendment 44 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D g (new)

D g. whereas the EU and its partners in the humanitarian field must be able to ensure assistance and protection based on needs and on respect for the principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence of humanitarian action, as enshrined in international law and in particular in international humanitarian law;

Amendment 45 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas Parliament, while acknowledging their value-added, has repeatedly voiced the need for enhanced parliamentary scrutiny of the EUTFs and the FRT and for stronger involvement in the preparation and negotiation of future EUTFs and of the extension of existing EUTFs and other financial instruments in the domain of EU external action; whereas, following the adoption of the 2021-27 MFF and the inclusion of the European Development Fund in the EU budget, Parliament’s demands have gained further relevance and legitimacy, taking into account that the biggest share of contributions to the EUTFs are now coming from the EU budget itself, while contributions from Member States represent a very limited share of the total EUTFs’ budget;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas Parliament~~, while acknowledging their value-added,~~ has repeatedly voiced the need for enhanced parliamentary scrutiny of the EUTFs and the FRT;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas the EU, in conducting its external aid and development policy, is guided by the fundamental principles on which it was founded: liberty, democracy, and respect for human rights and the rule of law; whereas it is essential to guarantee continuous monitoring and evaluation on the use of funds to ensure that their affects are always in line with EU law, fundamental values and objectives;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas European Court of Auditors recommended to the Commission in its special reports on the EUTFs to improve donor coordination (BEKOU), remove weaknesses in implementation, increase efficiency and focused actions (EUTF for Africa) and deliver better value for money(FRT);

Amendment 49 #

Anna BONFRISCO, Susanna CECCARDI, Gianna GANCIA, Valentino GRANT, Marco ZANNI, Alessandra BASSO, Matteo ADINOLFI, Annalisa TARDINO, Harald VILIMSKY, Hélène LAPORTE, Dominique BILDE

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas, the EUTFs, on the one hand, are not always more efficient than traditional development aid and, on the other, are less transparent;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

— having regard to the Commission communication of 18 November 2011 on the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM) (COM(2020)0743),

Amendment 50 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

E b. whereas EUFTs can be used with reduced transparency and limited supervision, thereby reducing accountability;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

E b. whereas Turkey is using the FRT to challenge and to blackmail the EU and its Member States;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Points out that pooling resources from the EDF, the Union budget and other donors in trust funds should not alter the ability of existing EU policies and programmes to pursue their original objectives, such as the eradication of poverty and the promotion of fundamental rights;

Amendment 53 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls that the Turkey Facility is made up of two tranches of EUR 3 billion each; regrets the fact that, unlike in the first tranche 2016-2017, where the ~~EU budget~~Member States via the EU administration contributed EUR 1 billion and Member States directly provided another EUR 2 billion, in the second tranche 2018-2019 the ratio of contributions was reversed, to the detriment of existing Union projects;

Amendment 54 #

Vangelis MEIMARAKIS, Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI, Maria SPYRAKI, Emmanouil KEFALOGIANNIS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Georgios KYRTSOS, Theodoros ZAGORAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls that the Turkey Facility is made up of two tranches of EUR 3 billion each; regrets the fact that, unlike in the first tranche 2016-2017, where the EU budget contributed EUR 1 billion and Member States EUR 2 billion, in the second tranche 2018-2019 the ratio of contributions was reversed~~, to the detriment of existing Union projects~~;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Notes with concern that there are shortcomings in the application of EU public procurement law with regard to the EU’s external migration policy; considers that provisions in Article 3 of the Decision C(2015) 7293 establishing the EUTF for Africa, as well as humanitarian aid projects funded via the Madad Fund and the FRT are incompatible with or exempted from EU public procurement law; stresses the lack of transparency regarding the application and scope of public procurement law procedures in the selection of implementing partners; deplores that procedures and criteria for selecting projects are not sufficiently clear or documented; calls for the simplification and better communication regarding applications to procurement procedures in order to facilitate access to EU funding for smaller and local NGOs;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Is of the opinion that the trust funds are not the appropriate instrument to finance projects, humanitarian and development aid from the EU transparently and with clear targets; on the contrary, the construct of the trust funds circumvents democratic control, co- decision and transparent policy approaches; Is particularly concerned about the use of funds and the policy approach of the Trust Fund for Africa and the FRT, as they serve the security and political interests of the EU only;

Amendment 57 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recalls that while for the first tranche of the FRT, IPAII contributions represented 52,4%, Humanitarian Aid 46,6%, Instrument contributing to Security and Peace 0,7% and the Development Cooperation Instrument 0,3%, for the second tranche, IPA II contribution represents 64,5%and Humanitarian Aid 35,5%;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Welcomes the new EU external financing instrument, NDICI-Global Europe, as it foresees increasing possibilities within the EU budget to respond to new emergencies;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Notes that (by the end of 2020), 36,6% of the FRT first tranche allocation has been implemented through direct management and 63,4% through indirect management (of which over four fifths by international organisations); further notes that for the second tranche, direct management represented 32,1% (100% by the European Commission) and indirect management 67,9% (with three fourths by international organisations);

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

— having regard to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,

Amendment 60 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Further notes that international organisations have been the biggest implementing actors of the EUTFs (36,8%), ahead of the European Commission (35,7%), Member States Agencies (24,2%) and Public Service bodies (3,4%);

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that Committee Chairs and relevant Members have been granted observer status in meetings of the Strategic Boards of the Trust Funds and in the FRT Steering Committee; notes further that this status has not been formally reflected in the Constitutive Agreements of the Trust Funds; regrets that its call to allow Parliament to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee has not been answered and recalls its request to ensure that the Parliament is represented at these meetings;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that Committee Chairs and relevant Members have been granted observer status in meetings of the Strategic Boards of the Trust Funds and in the FRT Steering Committee; ~~notes further~~regrets that this status has not been formally reflected in the Constitutive Agreements of the Trust Funds;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Continues to expresses concerns over~~Notes the limited role of Parliament in the supervision and scrutiny of the Union contributions to the EUTFs; recalls Parliament’s request to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in that Committee and to ensure that Parliament is represented at its meetings; acknowledges EUTF's are designed to swiftly respond to challenging circumstances and to increase the flexibility of funding;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Continues to ~~expresses concerns over~~deplore the limited role of Parliament in the supervision and scrutiny of the Union contributions to the EUTFs; recalls Parliament’s request to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and the Strategic Board, and to be involved in the scrutiny over the choice of projects, and in building a dialogue with local CSOs working on the ground and human rights CSOs; calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in th~~at Committee~~ose governance structures and to ensure that Parliament is represented at ~~its~~their meetings;

Amendment 66 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Continues to expresses concerns over the limited role of Parliament in the supervision and scrutiny of the Union contributions to the EUTFs; recalls the essential role of the Parliament in providing the EU action with democratic legitimacy and accountability; recalls Parliament’s request to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in that Committee and to ensure that Parliament is represented at its meetings;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Continues to expresses concerns over the limited role of Parliament in the decision, supervision and scrutiny of the Union contributions to the EUTFs; recalls Parliament’s request to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in that Committee and to ensure that Parliament is represented at its meetings and that Parliament’s position is taken into account;

Amendment 68 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Continues to expresses concerns over the limited role of Parliament in the supervision and scrutiny of the ~~Union~~Member States contributions to the EUTFs; recalls Parliament’s request to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in that Committee and to ensure that Parliament is represented at its meetings;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Continues to expresse serious concerns over the limited role of Parliament in the supervision and scrutiny of the Union contributions to the EUTFs; recalls Parliament’s request to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in that Committee and to ensure that Parliament is represented at its meetings;

Amendment 7 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)

— having regard to the Commission communication of 7 June 2016 on establishing a new Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration (COM(2016)0385),

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Continues to expresses concerns over~~Deeply regrets the limited role of Parliament in the supervision and scrutiny of the Union contributions to the EUTFs; ~~recalls Parliament’s request~~considers that the Parliament should be able to monitor the activities of the Operational Committee, and calls on the Commission to provide in good time detailed information on the decisions taken in that Committee and to ensure that Parliament is represented at its meetings;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission to regularly report to Parliament on the implementation and programming for EUTFs and FRT and calls for a specific impact assessment covering their human rights impact to be carried out by the European Commission, with the support of the Fundamental Rights Agency; calls on the Commission to timely present the result of such impact assessment to the European Parliament, including within the framework of the working groups on external financial instruments of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Development Committee;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Strongly urges that invitations to board meetings take into account the official calendar of the European Parliament and that all relevant information and documents to be discussed at the board meetings be provided well ahead of the meetings in order to enable the active participation of Members and staff of the Secretariat;

Amendment 73 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Believes that Parliament must make full use of its powers of scrutiny of implementation and budgetary control and ensure that EU funding decisions and related allocations comply with the Union’s principles of legality and sound financial management;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s efforts to closely monitor and evaluate interventions, and to generate knowledge about the activities of the EUTFs and of the FRT, through a dedicated set of reports; ~~hails~~asks to strengthen these efforts to achieve greater transparency by publishing relevant data on the web pages of the EUTFs and the FRT; stresses that the availability, completeness and factual consistency of such reports constitute the precondition for the support of European Parliament as budgetary authority;

Amendment 75 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to closely monitor and evaluate interventions, and to generate knowledge about the activities of the EUTFs and of the FRT, through a dedicated set of reports; hails these efforts to achieve greater transparency by publishing relevant data on the web pages of the EUTFs and the FRT; notes that information on the involvement of civil society organisations (CSOs) were made available in the Annual Report of 2019 and 2020 of the EUTF for Africa; regrets, nevertheless, that information on the involvement of local civil society organisations are limited due to the low transparency of subcontracting levels; where possible, such information should be broken down at project level and shall always take into account the protection of confidential and commercially sensitive information;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to closely monitor and evaluate interventions, and to generate knowledge about the activities of the EUTFs and of the FRT, through a dedicated set of reports; hails these efforts to achieve greater transparency by publishing relevant data on the web pages of the EUTFs and the FRT; considers, nevertheless, that the level of detail provided by the Commission with regard to projects related to migration and border management has not always been sufficient for the Parliament to adequately assess the implementation of these instruments;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to closely monitor and evaluate interventions, and to generate knowledge about the activities of the EUTFs and of the FRT, through a dedicated set of reports; calls the Commission to include in these report an assessment on whether the EUTFs and the FRT have met the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value; hails these efforts to achieve greater transparency by publishing relevant data on the web pages of the EUTFs and the FRT;

Amendment 78 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Regrets the late notice from the Commission on its intention to extend the duration of the EUTFs and the late evaluations of some of the Trust Funds, which did not allow Parliament to arrive at full and precise conclusions in a timely manner in the case of the Trust Fund for Africa;

Amendment 8 #

Katalin CSEH, Vlad GHEORGHE, Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS, Hilde VAUTMANS, María Soraya RODRÍGUEZ RAMOS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 d (new)

— having regard to the Commission communication of 23 September 2020 on a New Pact on Migration and Asylum (COM(2020)0609),

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Regrets the late evaluations of some of the Trust Funds, which did not allow Parliament to arrive at full and precise conclusions in a timely manner in the case of the Trust Fund for Africa, thus limiting democratic oversight and accountability;

Amendment 81 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS, Raphaël GLUCKSMANN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Recalls that the Parliament considered that, in order to proceed with the extension of the EUTF for Africa and also looking at its future functioning, mandatory guarantees on the respect of fundamental human rights should be provided in all funded projects, with particular attention to migration management, where these have not always been fully respected;

Amendment 82 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Underlines that the existing EU institutional framework, NDICI-Global Europe should be used to its full potential, and where necessary improved, while the recourse to extraordinary financing tools should be limited to unforeseen emergencies, so as to guarantee efficiency, coherence and accountability of EU foreign policy instruments;

Amendment 83 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Reiterates Parliament’s insistence that the extension of the EUTFs until December 2021 agreed by the European Parliament be mainly technical to allow for a smooth transition into the new MFF and allowing for an efficient contracting and use of the funds already committed;

Amendment 84 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Underlines that in its reports the Commission should illustrate the complementarity of different financial instruments dedicated to the areas covered by EUTFs and FRT, including the EU External Investment Plan, as well as generated added value;

Amendment 85 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that the Bêkou Trust Fund has proven its value as an important tool to address the post-conflict situation in the Central African Republic (CAR); notes that the EUTF made a major contribution to the nexus approach of development and humanitarian needs in the CAR;deleted

Amendment 86 #

Pierfrancesco MAJORINO, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Maria ARENA, Dietmar KÖSTER, Giuliano PISAPIA, Andreas SCHIEDER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Mónica Silvana GONZÁLEZ, Demetris PAPADAKIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that the Bêkou Trust Fund has partially proven its value as ~~an important~~one of the tools to address the post-conflict situation in the Central African Republic (CAR); notes that the EUTF ~~made a major~~ contribut~~ion~~ed to the nexus approach of development and humanitarian needs in the CAR;

Amendment 87 #

7. Considers that the Bêkou Trust Fund has ~~proven its value as an important tool~~contributed to address the post- conflict situation in the Central African Republic (CAR); notes that the EUTF made a major contribution to the nexus approach of development and humanitarian needs in the CAR;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that the Bêkou Trust Fund has proven its value as an important tool to address the ~~post-conflict~~ situation in the Central African Republic (CAR); notes that the EUTF made a major contribution to the nexus approach of development and humanitarian needs in the CAR;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Further refers to the conclusions of the European Parliament Committee on Development's delegation to the Central African Republic in February 2018, which note that the Bȇkou Trust Fund is visible and seems well perceived in the country, with projects adequately addressing needs transiting between rehabilitation, livelihood provision and longer-term development, at least at local and on smaller scales;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 e (new)

— having regard to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018,

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Note~~Highlights the conclusions by the European Court of Auditors, published in its 2017 special report, that the Bêkou Trust Fund has had positive achievements overall and has attracted aid, but few additional donors, and that most of its projects have delivered their expected outputs and provided enhanced visibility to the EU; considers therefore that the Bêkou Trust Fund missed one of its primarily objectives;

Amendment 91 #

Vlad GHEORGHE, Katalin CSEH, Charles GOERENS, Olivier CHASTEL, Fabienne KELLER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Notes the conclusions by the European Court of Auditors, published in its 2017 special report, that the Bêkou Trust Fund has had positive achievements overall and has attracted aid, but few additional donors, and that most of its projects have delivered their expected outputs and provided enhanced visibility to the EU; indicates however that the report recommended a better definition of the intervention scope, improved donor coordination, project selection procedures, monitoring and performance measurement, as well as optimisation of costs and increased transparency in the selection of implementing organisations;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Underlines the presence of conflicts of interest reported by the European Court of Auditors, with Member States in the Operational Committee of the Bêkou trust fund being represented by their own national development agencies, which in turn are selected as project implementers and lead on the largest projects, while NGOs are awarded smaller ones;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Notes that the study of the Policy Department for Budgetary Affairs requested by the CONT Committee in 20181a highlighted a ‘conflict of interest’ in the project selection procedure of the Operational Committe of the Bêkou Trust Fund due to its recurrence to select projects implemented by Member States’ development agencies; _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2018/603821/IPOL_STU(20 18)603821_EN.pdf

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Expresses concern on the ongoing military presence of the EU in the Central African Republic through the European Union Training Mission (EUTM-RCA), particularly given the reports, including by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, of human rights violations involving the CAR’s army; expresses the need for the EU to promote full accountability regarding the ongoing violence in the CAR;

Amendment 95 #

Bernhard ZIMNIOK, Gunnar BECK, Nicolaus FEST, Dominique BILDE, Joachim KUHS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that the emerging security ~~challenge~~problems in the CAR will require well- targeted, flexible ~~EU support under the NDICI-Global Europe to enhance peace and security, democratisation and strengthening democratic institutions in the CAR~~local interventions by the concerned parties in order ensure that a process towards peace and stability can start in earnest;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that ~~the emerging~~due to the new security challenges ~~in the CAR will require well- targeted~~still ongoing in the CAR further EU support will require well- targeted programmes, and where relevant, flexible EU ~~support~~funding, both under the NDICI-Global Europe to enhance peace and security, democratisation and strengthening democratic institutions in the CAR and to evaluate better the impact of the EU support on ongoing conflicts and populations on the ground;

Amendment 97 #