2023/2068(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas multiple factors, such as patriarchal societal structures, unequal power relations and gender stereotyping, fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women and gender non-conforming people; Whereas they experience this hate online, but also offline in a variety of settings, including the public space, workplace, schools or public transport;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas multiple factors, such as patriarchal societal structures, misogyny, racism, antisemitism and anti-gypsism, unequal power relations and gendered stereotyping, fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women and lead to victim blaming of women and their revicitmisation;

Amendment 13 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas multiple factors, such as patriarchal societal structures, structural discrimination, unequal power relations ~~and~~, gender stereotyping and gender biases, fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas multiple factors, such as ~~patriarchal societal structur~~structural gender inequalities, unequal power relations and gender stereotyping, fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas multiple factors, such as ~~patriarchal societal structures, unequal power relations and gender stereotyping~~unequal power relations and the invention of social media, fuel hate speech and hate crimes against women;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas women who are public figures, in particular politicians, are particular targets of online or offline violence and hate speech; whereas women and LGBTIQ+ rights defenders and women journalists experience more hate than their male counterparts; whereas the aim of sexist hate speech is to humiliate or objectify, to undervalue women’s skills and opinions, to destroy their reputation, to make them feel vulnerable and fearful, and to control and punish them for not following certain behaviour; whereas sexist hate speech seeks to silence women and gender non-conforming people, undermine their freedom of speech and limit their movements and participation in diverse human activities;

Amendment 17 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. Whereas hate speech often starts as an act of bias, which can then lead to motivated violence; whereas gender based hate speech and hate crime have enormous consequences on individual women, such as physical harm, sometimes resulting in severe injury or death and psychological harm, including stress, anxiousness and depression; whereas gender based hate speech and hate crime also have enormous consequences on the society as a whole;

Amendment 18 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas sexist hate speech and disinformation are used both offline and online; whereas it can lead to self- censorship and digital exclusion, resulting in the silencing of women, because of the inability to fully participate and express themselves online out of fear of violence and abuse, excluding them from public debates they would like to be part of1a; _________________ 1a GREVIO General Recommendation No. 1 on the digital dimension of violence against women adopted on 20 October 2021.

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. Whereas 52% of young women and girls have experienced online crime, including threats and sexual harassment1a _________________ 1a See survey conducted by the World Wide Web Foundation & World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts using UNICEF’s U report platform, February 2020. http://webfoundation.org/docs/2020/03/W F_WAGGGS-Survey-1-pager-1.pdf

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas gender-based and sexist hate speech and hate crimes disproportionately affect women1 ; whereas young women and women in the public sphere are targeted by hate speech in particular; whereas some groups of women facing intersectional discrimination ~~experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes~~such as women with disabilities, migrant, racialised women such as women from ethnic minorities, black women and women of colour, older women, women with lower education levels, women with health problems, and LGBTIQ+ people are confronted with exacerbated and different layers of hate speech and hate crimes combining sexism with other forms of intolerance or discrimination; _________________ 1 Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy, ‘Combating Sexist Hate Speech’, 2016.

Amendment 20 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas many women and gender non confirming people are facing daily online threats of murder, sexual assault or rape and often they are not taken seriously by law-enforcement officials and by society as a whole; whereas when reporting this cyber violence, they are still sometimes discredited and stigmatised, resulting in these crimes going underreported and underestimated;

Amendment 21 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. Whereas femicide is the most severe manifestation of gender-based violence; whereas in 2020, the estimation is that 2600 women were killed by intimate partners or other family members in Europe; whereas the number of victims is estimated to be much higher, as there is lack a lack of comparative data and harmonised legal definition of the crime;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. Whereas evidence suggests that young women and women are generally more impacted than men, by threatening behaviour experienced online, and they are more likely to respond by self- censoring1a _________________ 1a EPRS study Social media platforms and challenges for democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights

Amendment 23 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

Bc. Whereas women in the public sphere are often the target of sexist and misogynous hate online, at the individual and institutional level.

Amendment 24 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)

Bd. Whereas online hate speech has increased dramatically following the Covid-19 pandemic and is considered as a direct threat to women’s political participation, as having a chilling effect on women’s ambition and opportunities.

Amendment 25 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)

Be. Whereas young women and women are more likely to experience certain forms of hate including sexist verbal violence, feel intimidated by it and thus reduce their online activities

Amendment 26 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B f (new)

Bf. Whereas the cases of young women and women victims of hate speech are of particular concern, such as the recent case in Ireland, which resulted in the establishment of the so-called “Coco law”.1a _________________ 1a https://www.gov.ie/en/policy- information/35bec-intimate-image-abuse/

Amendment 27 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B g (new)

Bg. Whereas the phenomenon of hate speech, specifically against young women and women on the grounds of sex, gender or other grounds has been rapidly amplified online, across EU Member States frontiers, with the use of the social media platforms, spreading disinformation and threatening human rights, privacy and dignity of the individuals; whereas often these disinformation campaigns try to discredit the professional achievements of women by spreading fake stories about their personal lives;

Amendment 28 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital B h (new)

Bh. Whereas persons belonging to specific groups, such as those of young women and women with disabilities, are at a higher risk of being victims of those crimes, including hate speech and hate crimes;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

~~C. whereas anti-gender movements are internationally connected and spread rhetoric against anyone who does not fall under the norms of the heteronormative, patriarchal society;~~deleted

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas ~~gender-based~~sexist hate speech and hate crimes ~~disproportionately affect women1 ; whereas young women and women in the public sphere are targeted by hate speech in particular; whereas women~~are forms of violence against women and girls that perpetuate and exacerbate gender inequality1; whereas young women and women in the public sphere, particularly politicians, women in the media and human rights defenders, are targeted by hate speech; whereas there has been a marked increase in anti- LGBTIQ hate crime and hate speech in Europe and gender biases and other stereotypes are among the main drivers1a; whereas women and LGBTIQ+ people facing intersectional discrimination experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes; _________________ 1 Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy, ‘Combating Sexist Hate Speech’, 2016. 1a EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020- 2024, 2020 - Council of Europe, Combating rising hate against LGBTI people in Europe, 2022

Amendment 30 #

Samira RAFAELA, Karen MELCHIOR, Hilde VAUTMANS

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas anti-gender movements are internationally connected and spread rhetoric, particularly through the use of online tools, against anyone who does not fall under the norms of the heteronormative, patriarchal society as is the case with the ongoing campaigning against the so-called ‘gender ideology’ ; whereas these movements have the purpose of creating and perpetuating discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics, thereby violating fundamental rights; whereas the rhetoric propagated by anti- gender movements actively contributes to marginalisation, stigmatisation, exclusion and violence;

Amendment 31 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. wWhereas anti-gender ~~movement~~organisations are internationally connected ~~and spread rhetoric against anyone who does not fall under the norms of the heteronormative, patriarchal society~~movements that spread messages and fear for all that is not within the heteronormative, masculine, patriarchal society; whereas these movements create an ‘anti-gender’ ideology and discourse that fuels gender- based hate crime and hate speech against women and LGBTIQ+ persons; whereas these movements have a cross-border dimension, online as well as offline;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas anti-gender movements are internationally connected and spread misleading rhetoric against anyone who does not f~~all under the norms~~it the conservatise and traditional vision of the heteronormative, cisnormative and patriarchal society;

Amendment 33 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas ~~anti-gender movements are internationally connected and~~different ideological groups spread rhetoric against anyone who does not fall under their norms ~~of the heteronormative, patriarchal society~~;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas anti-gender movements are internationally connected and spread rhetoric against anyone who does not fall under the ~~norms of the het~~ir fixed gendero norm~~ative, patriarchal society~~s and stereotypes in all domains;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the emergence of anti- gender movements in several EU Member States has had numerous negative effects on institutional, legal and policy frameworks aimed at combating violence against women and ensuring sexual and reproductive rights and have lead also to serious violations of LGBTIQ+ rights, like the LGBTIQ+-free zones; whereas these movements pose a significant threat to the principles of equality, non-discrimination, human dignity and respect for human rights enshrined in article 2 TEU, they have hindered the process of EU ratification of the Istanbul Convention and have negatively affected the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention at the national level in some Member States;

Amendment 36 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas hate speech often starts as an act of bias, which can then lead to motivated violence; whereas hate speech and hate crimes have an enormous psychological and physical impact on individual women and a detrimental impact on society as a whole;deleted

Amendment 37 #

Samira RAFAELA, Karen MELCHIOR, Hilde VAUTMANS, Sylvie BRUNET

Draft opinion
Recital D

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas hate speech often starts as an act of bias, which can then lead to motivated violence; whereas hate speech and hate crimes have a~~n enormous~~ harmful psychological and physical impact on individual women and a detrimental impact on human rights globally and society as a whole;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas hate speech often starts as an act of bias, which can then lead to motivated violence and aggression; whereas hate speech and hate crimes have an enormous psychological and physical impact on individual women and a detrimental impact on society as a whole;

Amendment 4 #

Samira RAFAELA, Karen MELCHIOR, Hilde VAUTMANS, Sylvie BRUNET

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas gender-based hate speech and hate crimes disproportionately affect women1 ; whereas young women, Roma women and women from ethnic backgrounds, women in poverty and women in the public sphere are targeted by hate speech in particular; whereas women ~~facing intersectional discriminat~~belonging to vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities living in poverty and social exclusion experience exacerbated discrimination hate speech and hate crimes with hate and disparaging language being a daily occurrence for these women; _________________ 1 Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy, ‘Combating Sexist Hate Speech’, 2016.

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas hate speech and fear- inciting speech thrives particularly on online social media platforms and has increased considerably in the last years, leading to an increase hate crimes against women and LGBTIQ+ persons in the physical world1a; whereas the monitoring of the voluntary EU Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online has seen a decrease in companies’ notice and action results in 20221b, and support for this Conduct has further diminished as demonstrated by the departure of Twitter from the Conduct, leading to a worsening online situation; _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2021/662621/EPRS_STU(2 021)662621_EN.pdf 1b https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscor ner/detail/en/ip_22_7109

Amendment 41 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. Whereas in striving for a society free of hate speech and hate crimes, it is of outmost importance to tackle the root causes of this phenomenon; whereas education, including comprehensice sexuality and relationships education, awareness raising campaigns and trainings for professionals can have a big added value in this matter;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas, at present, 15 Member States do not include gender identity in hate speech law; whereas statistics show that hate speech against LGBTIQ+ people is pervasively common, in particular online, and there is a notable absence of laws in some Member States to prevent, address and penalise such forms of online abuse;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas people – including many feminists – who campaign against transactivist ideology and assert that men and women are defined by their biological sex face intimidation, death threats and even verbal and physical attacks;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Condemns all forms of hate speech and hate crimes including those committed against women and girls and LGBTIQ+ persons; condemns the actions of anti-gender and anti-feminist movements in Europe and worldwide that aim to overturn existing laws and public policies on women’s rights and LGBTIQ+ rights;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Council to conclude a Council decision including hate speech and hate crimes as an area of crime within the meaning of Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as soon as possible, with a definition of the criminal conduct that is proportional to the right of freedom of expression;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Council to conclude a Council decision including hate ~~speech and hate~~ crimes as an area of crime within the meaning of Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ~~as soon as possible~~;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Urges the Commission to include sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics as discrimination grounds specifically covered by hate crime and hate speech as a new area of crime under Article 83(1); considers such a measure to be essential to ensure the protection of LGBTIQ+ persons in the Union;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to include an explicit definition of ~~gender-based~~sexist hate speech and hate crimes when legislation is proposed; , recognizing that they are specific forms of violence against women and girls; urges also the Commission to include sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics as discrimination grounds specifically covered;

Amendment 49 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to include an explicit definition of ~~gender-based~~hate speech and hate crimes with and aggravating circumstance for hate speech and hate crimes based on discrimination when legislation is proposed, that establishes minimum standards for Member States’ legislation to follow with room to implement regulations into their own diverse legal systems;

Amendment 5 #

A. whereas gender-based hate speech and hate crimes disproportionately affect women1 ; whereas young women and women in the public sphere ~~are targeted by hate speech in particular~~, such as women politicians or women in the media, are targeted by hate speech in particular and physical safety threats which can escalate into hate crime offline; whereas women facing intersectional discrimination experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes; _________________ 1 Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy, ‘Combating Sexist Hate Speech’, 2016.

Amendment 50 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls upon the Commission to propose a clear definition of hate crime and hate speech, includeing an explicit definition of gender-based hate speech and hate crimes when legislation is proposed; Calls upon the Commission to include in the proposal offline and online gender- based hate speech and hate crime;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to include an explicit definition of gender-based hate speech and hate crimes when legislation is proposed and clarify why this kind of speech goes contrary to the principles of freedom of speech and expression;

Amendment 52 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and Member States to include an explicit definition of gender-based hate speech and hate crimes, which includes sexist hate speech and misogynistic assaults and related penalties when legislation is proposed;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to include an explicit definition of gender-based hate speech and hate crimes when legislation is proposed following the inclusion of hate speech and hate crimes in the list of ‘euro crimes’ in the Treaty ;

Amendment 54 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls the need to address the underlying causes of hate speech and hate crimes against women and girls and LGBTIQ+ people and emphasises the importance of adopting comprehensive measures, including mandatory, recurrent and effective capacity-building targeting professionals likely to come into contact with victims to prevent and minimise the risk of hate speech and hate crimes, as well as measures to ensure protection, access to justice, specialised support services and reparation to victims, all of them fully adapted to the particularities of these crimes;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Welcomes the work of the EU high level group on combating hate speech and hate crime and in particular its key guiding principles on cooperation between law enforcement authorities and civil society organisations and acknowledges the importance of such an approach;1a _________________ 1a https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/ 2023- 03/KGP%20on%20cooperation%20LEAs %20CSOs_final.pdf [SE1]do we need a link between this two? [SP2]https://commission.europa.eu/syste m/files/2023- 03/KGP%20on%20cooperation%20LEAs %20CSOs_final.pdf

Amendment 56 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that the lack of an objective definition of ‘hate speech’ could lead to restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, which are fundamental freedoms;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Recalls that in the EU budget, Citizens Equality Rights and Value (CERV) includes specific funding for calls to promote equality and to fight against racism, xenophobia and discrimination, including hate crime and hate speech;

Amendment 58 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Observes that EU Member States (MSs) have diverging rules, and apply different standards to counter hate speech and hate crimes, however a common EU action is needed in order to ensure the promotion of EU values.

Amendment 59 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Stresses that EU wide measures are needed to reinforce the existing standards and to encourage measures to counter-speech and counter-act against hate speech and hate crime, along with an adequate protection of the victims of such crimes, through the creation of a solid framework and institutional network besides soft measures or self- regulation that serve to build social resilience against hate speech;

Amendment 6 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas gender-based hate speech and hate crimes disproportionately affect women1 ; whereas young women and women in the public sphere are targeted by hate speech in particular; whereas women facing ~~intersectional~~ discrimination experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes; _________________ 1 Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy, ‘Combating Sexist Hate Speech’, 2016.

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)

2e. Notes that in order to complete and reinforce the establishment of hate speech and hate crime in the list of EU crimes, Member States should additionally prepare and implement effective strategies to explore and address the root causes of hate speech, with concrete measures to promote awareness raising or education and training.1a _________________ 1a Council of Europe recommendation 2022

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the Commission 3. proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the inclusion of minimum rules for the definition of the offence of hatred online and cyber-violence; calls on the Commission to ensure that this directive serves as a minimum standard when it comes to legislation tackling online hate speech and hate crimes; regrets that we still do not have a common definition of violence against women and that the offences covered in the Commission proposal are very few; requests that the Commission submit, on the basis of Article 83(1), third subparagraph, TFEU, a proposal for a Council decision identifying violence against women as a new area of crime that meets the criteria specified in that Article;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the inclusion of minimum rules for the definition of the offence of hatred online and cyber-violence; calls on the Commission to ensure that this directive serves as a minimum standard when it comes to legislation tackling online hate speech and hate crimesinclusion of minimum rules for the definition of the offence of hatred online and cyber-violence and stresses the need for awareness raising campaigns about the dangers of an online presence, especially online activities of children;

Amendment 63 #

Samira RAFAELA, Karen MELCHIOR, Hilde VAUTMANS, Sylvie BRUNET

3. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the inclusion of minimum rules for the definition of the offence of ~~hatred online and cyber-violence; calls on the Commission to ensure that this directive serves as a minimum standard when it comes to legislation tackling online hate speech and hate crimes~~cyber incitement to violence or hatred; underlines that in order to ensure that online material qualifies as cyber incitement to violence or hatred, such material should be assessed based on the criteria laid down in the UN Rabat Action Plan ;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the inclusion of minimum rules for the definition of the criminal offence of ~~hatred online and cyber-violence~~cyber incitement to violence or hatred; calls on the Commission to ensure that this directive serves as a minimum standard when it comes to legislation tackling online hate speech and hate crimes;

Amendment 65 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Amendment 66 #

Samira RAFAELA, Karen MELCHIOR, Hilde VAUTMANS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to establish a binding, mandatory Code of Conduct tackling disinformation and hate speech, alongside a large-scale campaign carried by the Commission, Member States and tech and social media platforms in order to spread awareness on human rights-compliant online content moderation and specifically on reporting, flagging and notifying practices in order to empower both victims and bystanders of online hate speech and fear-inciting speech;

Amendment 67 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls on the Council to activate the passerelle clause by adopting a unanimous decision identifying gender- based violence as one a new of the areas of crime listed in Article 83(1) of the TFEU in view of combatting all forms of gender based violence in a coherent, holistic and coordinated way across the EU;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that the proposals for legislation on combating violence against women and domestic violence, as well as the child sexual abuse online legislation, include provisions related to some important aspects of hate speech and hate crimes online and offline.

Amendment 69 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on Member States to develop a comprehensive approach to prevent and combat hate speech with broad policies that take into account the root causes of hate speech, that ensure full and correct implementation of EU law, strategies or action plans and to allocate appropriate resources for their implementation;

Amendment 7 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. A. Whereas equality between women and men is a core value of the Union enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU); whereas Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires the Union, in all its activities, to aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote gender equality; whereas ending the spread of hate and gender based violence is a prerequisite to achieving real gender equality;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Stresses the link between online and offline hate speech and hate crime, following the rapid development of the digital world and social media platforms, targeting in the main young women and women. Notes that presumed anonymity online is increasing people’s engagement with hate speech and hate crime.

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay particular attention to the intersectional forms of gender- based hate speech and hate crime targeted at women and girls from a racial and ethnic background, migrant women, those with disabilities and LGBTIQ+ people;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

~~4. Calls on the Commission to actively research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements, including their strategies and funding.~~deleted

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

~~4. Calls on the Commission to actively research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements, including their strategies and funding.~~deleted

Amendment 74 #

Samira RAFAELA, Karen MELCHIOR, Hilde VAUTMANS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to actively research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements, including their ~~strategies and funding.~~strategies and funding; recalls that the labelling of LGBTIQ+ people as an ‘ideology’ is growing in online and offline communication and in campaigns against so-called ‘gender ideology’; highlights that feminists and LGBTIQ+ activists are often the targets of defamation campaigns, online hate speech and cyberbullying;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to actively research, analyse and report on anti-gender movements~~, including their strategies and funding~~ within 3 years of the implementation of the proposal, including their strategies and funding as well as combat the misinformation that they spread.

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Calls on the Commission to actively research, analyse and repo~~Stresses that promoting the idea of a so-called ‘traditional’ family cannot be equated to hate speech, nor can making the assert ion ~~anti-gender movements, including their strategies and funding.~~that men and women are defined by their biological sex;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the regular availability and comparability of quality, disaggregated data on all forms of hate speech and hate crimes at Union and national level and to harmonise data collection systems among Member States through cooperation with Eurostat, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the EIGE; stresses that Member States need to collect accurate disaggregated data on hate speech and hate crimes against women and LGBTIQ+ persons, to interrelate the factors and multiple layers of deprivation, disadvantage and discrimination that make them vulnerable to hate speech and hate crime;

Amendment 78 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Urges Member States and Commission to develop, together with the European Parliament, effective prevention strategies; including a resilient campaign countering hate speech, disinformation and fake news; calls upon Member States to develop specific educational programmes, including comprehensive sexuality and relationships education curricula, that focuses on creating awareness for gender biases, stereotypes and consequently expected roles in society that can lead gender based hate speech and hate crime;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on Member States to ensure that professionals and practitioners likely to come into contact with victims of hate speech and hate, crime such as law enforcement, lawyers and judicial authorities, health professionals, school teachers receive evidence-based training aiming to provide targeted support and assistance, prevent secondary victimisation and stigma and ensure a human rights based, intersectional, and gender sensitive response;

Amendment 8 #

Eleni STAVROU, Frances FITZGERALD, Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA, Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN, Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas sexist hate speech takes many forms both online and offline, notably victim blaming and re- victimisation; “slut-shaming”; body- shaming”; image-based sexual abuse, brutal and sexualised threats of death, rape and violence; offensive comments on appearance, sexuality, sexual orientation or gender roles; but also false compliments or supposed jokes, using humour to humiliate and ridicule the target;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls the Member States to tackle the problem of underreporting and the issues victims are facing in order to accede to criminal procedures and protection, in a gender sensitive way;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to respect the national constitutions of the different Member States regarding liberal fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, expression and religion.

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls on Member states and the EC to support civil society organisations fighting all forms of online and offline gender based violence, particularly those that provide victim support services, including by providing financial support; Calls to promote the ethical and privacy- by-design development and use of technological solutions that support victims and help them to regain agency and contribute to protect victims in the online space; calls for the full accountability of perpetrators and for the promotion of programmes addressed to perpetrators aimed at ensuring safe relations and pro-social behaviour;

Amendment 83 #

Vera TAX, Maria NOICHL, Radka MAXOVÁ, Evelyn REGNER, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Katarína ROTH NEVEĎALOVÁ, Pina PICIERNO, Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ, Alessandra MORETTI, Robert BIEDROŃ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Emphasizes the importance of trainings for professionals in order to ensure that they are aware of the possible gender aspect of hate speech and hate crime, especially when they play an important role in society, such as teachers and law enforcement authorities. Calls upon employers as well as governments to facilitate these kind of trainings.

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Calls for awareness-raising and educational programmes, including programmes addressed to boys and men, as well as campaigns involving all relevant actors and stakeholders, to address the root causes of hate speech and hate crime, with a specific focus on promoting changes in social attitudes and safe relations and removing gender norms and stereotypes; Stresses the need for special programmes to promote the respect of fundamental rights in the online space, with special regard to developing digital education, literacy and skills to equip users to fight against the dangers of the digital space as well as to manage their responsibilities when interacting within it, particularly in social media platforms, and to ensure the safe use of the internet;

Amendment 9 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas hate speech directed against women increases in emergencies and during conflicts; whereas it can even incite conflict-related sexual violence and atrocity crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes);

source: 751.575

2023/09/12 LIBE 207 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’), and in particular Articles 1, 7, 20, 21, 223, 25, and 236 thereof,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14

~~— having regard to the Council of Europe recommendation of 20 May 2022 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on combating hate speech (CM/Rec(2022)16),~~deleted

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

~~L. whereas social dynamics change and can generate new motivations for hate speech and hate crime that have to be addressed by the common EU framework;~~deleted

Amendment 101 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas changes in social dynamics ~~change and~~and the lack of education and training to ensure safe relations and pro- social behaviour can generate new motivations for hate speech and hate crime that have to be addressed by the common EU framework; whereas it is essential to tackle the root causes of hate speech and hate crime in order to effectively combat them;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas social dynamics change and can generate new motivations for hate speech and hate crime that have to be addressed by the common EU framework; and thus require an expansion of Art. 83 para 2 TFEU, that allows the co- legislators to cover all forms of hate;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas social dynamics change and can generate new motivations for hate speech ~~and hate crime that have to be addressed by the common EU framework~~; this should not mean that any situation where someone feels offended by someone's religious, biological or factual comments is considered hate speech;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas social dynamics change and can generate new motivations for hate speech and hate crime that have to be addressed b~~y the common EU framework~~oth at EU and national levels;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas in 2021, the Commission presented a communication on ‘A more inclusive and protective Europe: extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime’ with a view to adding hate crime and hate speech to the list of areas of crime where Parliament and the Council may establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions applicable in all EU Member States as provided for in Article 83(1) TFEU; ~~whereas the Council must adopt a decision in this regard;~~

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas this Council decision would be a first step in creating the necessary legal basis to adopt, as a second step, a common legal framework to combat hate speech and hate crime across the EU; whereas such a common legal framework is urgently needed to combat hate speech and hate crime on a common European basis in order to ensure consistent protection of the potential victims of such acts across the Union;deleted

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas this Council decision would be a first step in creating the necessary legal basis to adopt, as a second step, a common legal framework to combat hate speech and hate crime across the EU; whereas such a common legal framework is urgently needed to ~~combat hate speech and hate crime~~establish minimum standards concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions on a common European basis in order to ensure consistent protection of the potential victims of ~~such acts~~hate crime and hate speech across the Union;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

– having regard to the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (FCNM),

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas this Council decision would be a first step in creating the necessary legal basis to adopt, as a second step, a common legal framework to combat hate speech and hate crime across the EU; whereas such a common legal framework is ~~urgently~~not needed to combat hate speech and hate crime ~~on a common European basis in order to ensure consistent protection of the potential victims of such acts across the Union~~as it should remain in competence of every Member State;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas this Council decision would ~~be a first step in creating the necessary legal basis to adopt, as a second step, a common legal framework to combat hate speech and hate crime~~in any case be an act that would exceed the competences of the Council in that neither the social criteria nor the criteria for a cr~~oss the EU; whereas such a common legal framework is urgently~~iminal response (particular seriousness of a crime, cross- border dimension, a special needed to combat ~~hate speech and hate crime on a common European basis in order to ensure consistent protection of the potential victims of such acts across the Union~~offences on a common basis) required by Article 83(1) TFEU are met; whereas those criteria, since they constitute an exceptional and extraordinary derogation from the rule of law of the Member States, must be interpreted and applied restrictively;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas the Council has yet to adopt a decision; ~~whereas some Member States have been blocking concrete progress on this specific file in the Council;~~

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas the Council has yet to adopt a decision~~; whereas some Member States have been blocking concrete progress on this specific file in the Council~~ due to the absence of unanimity as required under Article 83(1) TFEU;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas Article 83(1) TFEU requires unanimity in the Council to identify ‘other areas of crime’; whereas ~~this requirement proved detrimental to achieving necessary common progress in an area~~, under Article 83(1) TFEU, the proposal for a directive defining the concept of hate crime can be submitted only after the Council decision has been adopted; whereas the drafting of a sufficiently clear and precise legal text is hampered by the fact that there is no single concept of hate crimes accepted either at European or at international level, and, moreover, the interpretation in this regard differs widely between the Commission and the Court of Justice on the one hand, and the Member States on the other; whereas the ~~common European interest should prevail~~re were never any identifiable fundamental problems with the current content of Union crimes, until the planned extension – with regard to hate crimes and, in particular, to hate speech – the fundamental problem is that there is no consensus on its content, since that content is impacted in its foundations by the Member States’ cultural determination;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas Article 83(1) TFEU requires unanimity in the Council to identify ‘other areas of crime’; ~~whereas this requirement proved detrimental to achieving necessary common progress in an area where the common European interest should prevail;~~

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas Article 83(1) TFEU requires unanimity in the Council to identify ‘other areas of crime’;, wh~~ereas this requirement proved detrimental to achieving necessary common progress in an area where the common European interest should prevail~~ich is a crucial element ensuring Member States' sovereignty;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas Article 83(1) TFEU requires unanimity in the Council to identify ‘other areas of crime’; whereas this requirement proved ~~detrimental to achieving necessary common progress in an area where the common European interest should prevail~~necessary in order to safeguard the sovereignty and fundamental interests of the Member States;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas Article 83(1) TFEU requires unanimity in the Council to identify ‘other areas of crime’; whereas this requirement proved detrimental to achieving necessary common progress in ~~an area where the common European interest should prevail~~combating hate speech and hate crime across the Union;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15

~~— having regard to the Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation No 15 on combating hate speech, adopted on 8 December 2015,~~deleted

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)

Pa. whereas the addition of hate speech and hate crime to the list of EU- crimes without consideration for a Member State's constitution, population, culture, and history, among other peculiarities may lead to undesired consequences for the society, such as disproportional restrictions of human rights, overcriminalisation, devaluation of other social control mechanisms and extensive use of imprisonment;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P b (new)

Pb. whereas a wide definition of hate speech may create ambiguity as to which cases will be prosecuted, leading to uncertainty among society with regards to whether the freedom of expression would be restricted at the expense of plurality of ideas and democracy;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P c (new)

Pc. whereas criminal law should follow the principle of nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege certa which states that the description of the offence should be sufficiently precise and leave no ambiguity as to what constitutes a crime;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Urges the Council to adopt a decision to include hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU, so that the Commission can initiate the second stage of the procedure;deleted

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Urges the Council not to adopt a decision to include hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU~~, so that the Commission can initiate the second stage of the procedure~~;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Urg~~Invites the Council to ~~adopt a~~carefully consider the decision to include hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU~~, so that the Commission can initiate the second stage of the procedure~~;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Urges the Council to ~~adopt a decision to include~~continue the dialogue with the Member States about the inclusion of hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU~~, so that the Commission can initiate the second stage of the procedure~~;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Urges the Council to adopt a decision to include hate speech and hate crime a~~s a~~mong the criminal offences within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU, so that the Commission can initiate the second stage of the procedure;

Amendment 128 #

1. Urges the Council to close the file to adopt a decision to include hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU, soif th~~at the Commission can initiate the second stage of the procedure~~ere is no unanimity among Member States;

Amendment 129 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. stresses that there are significant differences between existing eurocrimes and the proposed new ones, in particular, there is no "tolerable level" of, for example, terrorism or human trafficking, but in the case of verbal speech, there would be a line separating freedom of speech from hate speech;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15

– having regard to the Council of Europe´s Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation No 15 on combating hate speech, adopted on 8 December 2015,

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls that Member States’ criminal laws deal with hate speech and hate crime in different ways, that minimum rules at EU level exist only when such crimes are ~~based on race, skin~~directed against a groups of persons or a member of such group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin, which makes it difficult to implement a successful common strategy to combat hatred; underlines that the Commission has been monitoring the transposition of the Framework Decision in the legal systems of the Member States and that problems with its correct transposition and implementation persist; notes that biases, prejudice, or hatred on grounds other than race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin as the motivation, in whole or in part, for a criminal act do not currently constitute an aggravating circumstance in all EU Member States;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Rrecalls that Member States’' criminal laws ~~deal with hate speech and hate crime in different ways, that minimum rules exist only when such crime~~are their exclusive and sovereign competence and that the Union's competence is are ~~based on race, skin colour, religion or national or ethnic origin, which makes it difficult to implement a successful common strategy to combat hatred~~stricted to the areas, cases and conditions set out in Articles 82 to 86 of the Treaty;

Amendment 132 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls that Member States’ criminal laws deal with hate speech and hate crime in different ways, t~~hat minimum rules exist only when such crimes are based on race, skin colour, religion or national or ethnic origin, which makes it difficult to implement a successful common strategy to combat hatred~~aking into account their national identities, constitutional orders and traditions;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recalls that Member States’ criminal laws deal with hate speech and hate crime in different ways, that minimum ~~rules~~harmonization exist only when such crimes are based on race, skin colour, religion or national or ethnic origin, which makes it difficult to implement a successful common strategy to effectively combat hatred;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Underlines that general provisions of legal protection risk leaving individuals and groups in vulnerable situations unprotected and that contributes to an uneven level of protection across the EU; is concerned that victims of hate speech and hate crime who suffer intersectional discrimination are put in an even more vulnerable situation; recalls that intersectional discrimination, which is rooted in social and gender inequality, reinforces oppression and is fertile ground for hate speech and hate crime to occur; highlights that intersectionality should be used as an analytic tool to zoom in on the interconnectedness of various grounds of discrimination; calls on the Commission to ensure that a robust EU legal protection framework is put in place so that victims are effectively protected; recalls that legal protection for victims must have an intersectional approach and cover the specific needs of individuals and groups put in vulnerable situations;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Draws the Commission’s attention to the excessively brief and generic formulation, which would give almost ‘carte blanche’ to the extension of the range of European crimes; emphasises that, as a result, it would be appropriate to make clear in the proposal exactly what kind of behaviour that spreads hatred or is motivated by hatred would be worth including under Article 83(1) TFEU;

Amendment 136 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

~~3. Strongly regrets that almost two years have passed since the publication of the Commission communication and that no progress has been made;~~deleted

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Strongly regrets that almost two years have passed since the publication of the Commission communication and that ~~no progress has been made~~Council made no progress on it, while it was able to swiftly extend the list of EU crimes for other purposes;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Strongly regret~~Notes that almost two years have passed since the publication of the Commission communication and that no progress has been made;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to work together responsibly and constructively to resume negotiations within the Council in order to adopt a Council decision before the end of the current parliamentary term;deleted

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16

— having regard to the recommendations, reports and resolutions of the ECRI, the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI), the Parliamentary Assembly, the Venice Commission and other bodies of the Council of Europe,deleted

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to work together ~~responsibly and constructively to resume negotiations within the Council in order to adopt a Council decision before the end of the current parliamentary term~~and cooperate actively to provide a criminal-law response to any form of criminal offence penalised in their national criminal laws, to regard equality before the law as constituting a legal right to be protected and to tackle discriminatory acts, in accordance with the universally accepted principle of ultima ratio;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States to work together responsibly and constructively ~~to resume negotiations within the Council in order to adopt a Council decision before the end of the current parliamentary term~~;

Amendment 142 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

~~5. Recalls that successful negotiations require concessions in order to achieve a result that satisfies the common interest and respects European values;~~deleted

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

~~5. Recalls that successful negotiations require concessions in order to achieve a result that satisfies the common interest and respects European values;~~deleted

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

~~5. Recalls that successful negotiations require concessions in order to achieve a result that satisfies the common interest and respects European values;~~deleted

Amendment 145 #

Peter POLLÁK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that successful negotiations require concessions in order to achieve a result that satisfies the common interest and respects European values; regrets indifference to the increasing dimensions of this phenomenon which seems to become the norm in our everyday life;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that successful negotiations require ~~concessions~~political will in order to achieve a result that satisfies the common interest and respects European values;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

~~6. Urges the Member States to agree with the draft decision or at least not to oppose its adoption;~~deleted

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

~~6. Urges the Member States to agree with the draft decision or at least not to oppose its adoption;~~deleted

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Urges~~Calls on the Member States to ~~agree with the draft decision or at least not to oppose its adoption~~carefully consider their national legal systems and the needs of their societies;

Amendment 15 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17

— having regard to the guidelines on improving the collection and use of equality data drawn up by the Subgroup on Equality Data of the Commission High Level Group on Non-discrimination, Equality and Diversity 2018 and published in 2021,deleted

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges the Member States to ~~agree with~~support the draft decision or at least not to oppose its adoption;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges the Member States ~~to agree with the draft decision or at least not to oppose its adopt~~not to oppose the adoption of the draft decision;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the current and future Presidencies of the Council of the Union to ~~consider the Commiss~~guarantee the integrity and correct application of the Treaties, limiting the exercise of competences by the Union's institution’s ~~proposal as a priority when drawing up their agenda and defining objec~~to those expressly attributed in the Treaties, without extensive and abusive interpretations that go against the European interest, respecting the rule of law and in compliance with the Treatives;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

~~8. Deplores the fact that Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council, and calls for the passerelle clause to be activa~~deleted;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

~~8. Deplores the fact that Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council, and calls for the passerelle clause to be activa~~deleted;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Deplores the fact that ~~Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council,~~some Member States are blocking the adoption of the decision to include hate speech and hate crime as a criminal offence within the list under Article 83(1) TFEU and calls for the passerelle clause to be activated;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Deplores the fact~~Notes that Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council, and ~~calls for the passerelle clause to be activ~~welcomes this as a guarantee of an effective consensus among Member Stateds;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Deplor~~Praises the fact that Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council, ~~and calls for the passerelle clause to be activ~~because changes in such key areas cannot be made against the will of even one of the Member Stateds;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Deplor~~Underlines the fact that Article 83 TFEU requires unanimity in the Council, and calls for the ~~passerelle clause~~legal framework of the EU to be ~~activa~~respected;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Deplores the fact that~~Calls for Article 83 TFEU, which requires unanimity in the Council, ~~and calls for the passerelle clause to be activa~~to be respected;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

– having regard to the cooperation between the European Union and the OSCE with respect to democratization, institution-building and human rights and to the annual OSCE Hate Crimes Report in which Participating States have committed themselves to pass legislation that provides for penalties that take into account the gravity of hate crime, to take action to address under-reporting, and to introduce or further develop capacity- building activities for law enforcement, prosecution and judicial officials to prevent, investigate and prosecute hate crimes,

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that future EU legislation to ~~cover hate speech and hate crimes~~establish minimum standards concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions is needed to effectively tackle hate speech and hate crimes of serious nature and with a cross- border dimension; underlines that EU criminal law must protect human dignity and combat hatred and intolerance irrespective of the motivation; recalls that protection must be universal, with a special focus on ~~targeted~~ persons, groups and communities in vulnerable situations which are the main targets;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that future EU legislation to cover hate speech and hate crimes must protect human dignity and combat hatred and intolerance irrespective of the motivation; recalls that protection must be universal, with a special focus on targeted persons, groups and communities which are particularly vulnerable; stresses that the characteristics and criteria of those vulnerable persons, groups or communities shall be clearly defined;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that future EU legislation to cover hate speech and hate crimes must ~~protect human dignity~~restrict any form of incitement to discrimination, hostility, violence or international crimes, protect human dignity, seek to prevent harm, ensure equality, and combat hatred and intolerance irrespective of the motivation; recalls that protection must be universal, with a special focus on targeted persons, groups and communities;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that future EU legislation to cover hate speech and hate crimes must protect human dignity and combat hatred and intolerance irrespective of the motivation and the media used, online as well as offline; recalls that protection must be universal, with a special focus on targeted persons, groups and communities;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that freedom of expression should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be unjustifiably restricted; stresses that misuses of the internet for the purpose of disseminate content deliberately meant to amplify racist, misogynist, xenophobic, or transphobic sentiments, or to dehumanise certain groups or individuals, well as cyberstalking and the publication of online threats constitute particularly serious forms of hate speech that should be investigated and prosecuted across the EU and that those found guilty are effectively sanctioned, regardless of their official status;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that freedom of expression should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be unjustifiably restricted; stresses that future EU legislation should guarantee that any restrictions on freedom of expression for preventing and countering hate speech are necessary and proportionate to protect the rights of others, and that they should not be misused by the competent authorities in the Member States to silence minorities and to suppress criticism of official policies, political opposition or religious beliefs;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that freedom of expression should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be unjustifiably restricted; strongly emphasizes that it is the Member States that are best able to define such boundaries with respect to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, taking into account the specific circumstances of the constitutional order and national identity;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that the criminal law applied to this type of conduct must be that which is indispensable, and must be used to the extent that it contributes to the achievement of a specific purpose; also recalls that freedom of expression should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be unjustifiably restricted;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Recalls that f~~Freedom of expression should not be ~~exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be~~ unjustifiably restricted;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18

– having regard to the UN Human Rights Treaties and the UN instruments on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDP) and the recommendations expressed within the framework of the annual UN Forum on Minority Issues,

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that freedom of expression should not be ~~exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be~~ unjustifiably restricted;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that ~~freedom of expression should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither should it be unjustifiably restricted~~the criminalisation of hate speech would restrict freedom of expression which is a fundamental right, as provided by Article 11 of the Charter;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Recalls that freedom of expression ~~should not be exploited as a shield for hate speech and hate crimes, but neither~~must be exercised within the limits set by laws and regulations, and that it should inot be unjustifiably restricted;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Believes that future EU legislation to cover hate speech and hate crimes should support the monitoring of hate speech by civil society, equality bodies and national human rights institutions, and promote cooperation in undertaking this task between them and public authorities;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Calls for the speedy reactions by public figures both at EU and national levels, and in particular politicians, religious and community leaders, to hate speech that not only condemn it but which also seek to reinforce the values that it threatens;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Asks the Commission to consider an open-ended approach whereby the list of grounds of discrimination will not be limited in order to effectively combat hate speech and hate crimes motivated by new and changing social dynamics;deleted

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Asks the Commission to consider an open-ended approach which includes hate speech and crimes that are already being witnessed today, but which should not be a closed list, whereby the list of grounds of discrimination will not be limited in order to effectively combat hate speech and hate crimes motivated by new and changing social dynamics;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Asks the Commission to consider a~~n open-end~~ closed approach whereby the list of grounds of discrimination ~~will not be limited in order to effectively combat hate speech and hate crimes motivated by new and changing social dynamics~~is limited;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2018 on minimum standards for minorities in the EU1a, _________________ 1a OJ C 363, 28.10.2020, p. 13.

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Asks the Commission to submit a proposal which, taking into account Member States’ rules of criminal law and practice, makes clear its position on exactly what kind of behaviour that spreads hatred or is motivated by hatred it would include under Article 83(1) TFEU; asks the Commission to draw up a clear and precise normative text by means of dialogue and negotiations among Member States, thereby ensuring that the expansion of Union competences takes place exclusively in areas where a Union approach can undeniably be more effective than action at national level;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission to take additional measures in countering the dissemination of illegal hate speech in online content on account of the impact of the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media on revictimisation;deleted

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 183 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission to ~~take additional measures in~~ensure the correct implementation of current legislation such as the DSA in order to counter~~ing~~ the dissemination of illegal hate speech in online content ~~on account of the impact of~~; stresses that the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media contributes to revictimisation; recalls that the business model of social media platforms, based on micro-targeted advertising, contributes in spreading and amplifying hate speech inciting discrimination and violence;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission to take a~~dditional measures in~~ll means at its disposal to counter~~ing~~ the dissemination of illegal hate speech in online ~~content on~~, particularly taking into account of the impact of the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media on revictimisation;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission to ~~take additional measure~~use all available instruments in countering the dissemination of illegal hate speech in online content on account of the impact of the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media on revictimisation;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission to ~~take additional measures in~~explore ways to counter~~ing~~ the dissemination of illegal hate speech in online content on account of the impact of the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media on revictimisation;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to actively counter hate crime and hate speech based on discrimination and exclusion that are politically or ideologically motivated;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to minors, in particular minors belonging to groups put in vulnerable situations, so as to give them special protection from hate speech and hate crimes, to prevent these incidents from occurring and to minimise their impact on minors’ development and mental health; further calls on the Commission to step up efforts to ensure the legal protection of groups in vulnerable situations, such as asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, racialized people, LGBTIQ+ people, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, indigenous communities, people with disabilities, people with socioeconomic disadvantaged backgrounds; recalls that ensuring the legal protection of victims would create a safe environment which would contribute to enhanced reporting; underlines that enhanced reporting is necessary to guarantee that quality, comparable and disaggregated data collection is available, which is essential to document hate speech and hate crimes;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to minors so as to give them special protection from hate speech and hate crimes, to prevent these incidents from occurring and to minimise their impact on minors’ development and mental health; paying special attention to situations of bullying in schools, including cyber-bullying.

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

– Having regard to the 2022 ILGA- Europe report “ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia”

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to minors so as to give them special protection from hate speech and hate crimes~~, to prevent these incidents from occurring and to minimise their impact on minors’ development and mental health~~;

Amendment 191 #

Nathalie COLIN-OESTERLÉ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to minors so as to give them special protection from hate speech and hate crimes, in particular as part of the effort to tackle school bullying, to prevent these incidents from occurring and to minimise their impact on minors’ development and mental health;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission to give particular consideration to minors so as to give them special protection from hate speech ~~and hate crimes, to prevent these incidents from occurring and to minimise their impact on minors’ development and mental health~~, without having to resort to criminal law, which should be a last resort;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Recalls the need to address the underlying causes of hate speech and hate crimes against women and girls, migrants and refugees, and LGBTIQ+ people and emphasises the importance of adopting comprehensive measures, including mandatory, recurrent and effective capacity-building targeting professionals likely to come into contact with victims to prevent and minimise the risk of hate speech and hate crimes, as well as measures to ensure protection, access to justice, specialised support services and reparation to victims, all of them fully adapted to the particularities of these crimes;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to introduce an obligation for authorities competent for the detection, investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of criminal offences across the EU to adequately take into account facts that are indicative of biases, prejudice, hatred or discriminatory motives of a criminal offense, including when such offense is committed by public authorities and officials;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to political violence against women who have gradually entered political life across the EU and its institutions and Member States, as this new form of violence threatens women's participation in politics and undermines democracy itself.

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to be particularly vigilant and to provide legislation and education that promotes diversity and equality to combat hate speech and hate crime in sport;

Amendment 197 #

Peter POLLÁK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls a special attention to be paid to disinformation and fake news spread by internet and social media in virtual forms which has enormous impact on also children and youth

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Stresses that victims of hate crime and speech should be able to report their experiences to competent authorities and be protected and supported, and that such authorities should be required to register the incidents appropriately, and that perpetrators should be held to account; recalls that properly recording and investigating hate speech and hate crimes is essential to document discrimination and racism, as well as to counter bias, prejudice, and intolerance in society; further stresses that equipping competent authorities with the soft skills to carefully listen, understand and respect victims of hate speech and hate-motivated crimes, can help address underreporting, re- victimisation and create a safer environment for victims; recalls that ensuring affordable and safe access to an independent justice system is indispensable to promote a safer environment for victims of hate speech and hate-motivated crimes;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to hate speech against LGTBI people, which is on the rise across the European Union, and which is often accompanied by crimes such as attacks, persecution and even murder, without an adequate response from the authorities.

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and in particular Articles 2, 3, 4(2) and 6 thereof,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas any form of discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation as laid down in Article 21 of the Charter is prohibited; whereas, within the scope of the Treaties and without prejudice to any of their specific provisions, any discrimination on grounds of nationality is also prohibited; whereas following the broad interpretation by the CJEU, the ground of ‘sex’ should be understood broadly to encompass all forms of discrimination related to gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics1a _________________ 1a Judgment of the Court of Justice of 30 April 1994, P v S, C-13/94, ECLI:EU:C:1996:170; Judgment of the Court of Justice of 7 January 2004, K.B., C-117/01, ECLI:EU:C:2004:7; Judgment of the Court of Justice of 27 April 2006, Richards, C-423/04, ECLI:EU:C:2006:256; Judgment of the Court of Justice of 26 June 2018, M.B., C-451/16, ECLI:EU:C:2018:492

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)

13c. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to hate speech against asylum seekers and migrants, whether they are in a regular administrative situation or not, with special emphasis on all the attacks that unaccompanied minors have been subject to in recent years and which undoubtedly also require the cooperation of the competent institutions to guarantee their safety.

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)

13d. Calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to persons in vulnerable situations and to discourse which violates human dignity, including that which promotes aporophobia, and which is targeted at people who generally do not denounce such discourse.

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish adequate data collection systems for obtaining solid and homogenous data on anonymous hate incidents, including hate crimes, in accordance with the relevant national legal frameworks and EU data protection legislation, as well as adequate monitoring mechanisms to assess the impact that policies and regulations have on the fight against hate speech and hate crimes;deleted

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish adequate data collection systems for obtaining solid and homogenous data on anonymous hate incidents, ~~including hate crimes,~~ in accordance with the relevant national legal frameworks and EU data protection legislation, as well as adequate monitoring mechanisms to assess the impact that policies and regulations have on the fight against hate speech ~~and hate crimes~~;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish adequate data collection systems for obtaining solid ~~and homogenous~~, comparable and disaggregated data on anonymous hate incidents, including hate crimes, in accordance with the relevant national legal frameworks and EU data protection legislation, as well as adequate monitoring mechanisms to assess the impact that policies and ~~regulation~~measures have on the fight against hate speech and hate crimes;

Amendment 205 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish adequate data collection systems for obtaining solid ~~and~~, homogenous ~~data on~~and anonymous data on hate incidents, including hate crimes, in accordance with the relevant national legal frameworks and EU data protection legislation, as well as adequate monitoring mechanisms to assess the impact that policies and regulations have on the fight against hate speech and hate crimes;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the regular availability and comparability of quality, disaggregated data on all forms of hate speech and hate crimes at Union and national level and to harmonise data collection systems among Member States through cooperation with Eurostat, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the EIGE; stresses that Member States need to collect accurate disaggregated data on hate speech and hate crimes against women and LGBTIQ+ persons, to interrelate the factors and multiple layers of deprivation, disadvantage and discrimination that make them vulnerable to hate speech and hate crime;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas, according to Article 51 of the Charter, its provisions are addressed to the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, due regard being had for the principle of subsidiarity, and to the Member States when they are implementing Union law, and whereas the Charter itself goes on to state that it does not extend the field of application of Union law beyond their competences, or establish any new power or task for the Union, or modify powers or tasks defined in the Treaties; and whereas Articles 4 and 5 of the Treaty reiterate - given their systemic relevance - the principle that any competence not conferred on the Union in the Treaties lies with the Member States;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Union shall respect the Member States' national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, as enshrined in Article 4 (2) of the Treaty;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas Article 10 of the Charter recognises the right of everyone to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and Article 11 recognises the right to freedom of expression, including freedom of opinion, without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the Union shall constitute an area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States, as enshrined in Article 67 (1) of the TEU;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas it is important to consider the specificities of the criminal systems of the Member States. Even within a supranational environment, criminal law shall always retain its particular nature, since it constitutes the sternest mechanism of social control;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas under the principle of subsidiarity, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Union shall act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas all forms and B. manifestations of hatred and intolerance, including hate speech and hate crime, are incompatible with the Union values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights, ~~as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU~~including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU; whereas the promotion and protection of EU funding values depends upon the countering of bias, prejudice, and intolerance towards certain groups of persons, and the eradication of hatred motivated by the personal or perceived characteristics or status of a person or group;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas all forms and manifestations of hatred ~~and intolerance, including hate speech and hate crime,~~ are incompatible with the Union values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights, as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas tackling xenophobia, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia as well as other forms of prejudice, intolerance and hatred against certain individuals or societal groups requires the EU and its Member States to develop a holistic and multi-pronged policy and legislative response, in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders including civil society organizations, media outlets and social media platforms; whereas the enforcement of fundamental rights through EU criminal law constitutes a measure of last resort, being the most severe response available to the legislator to prevent or repress violations of fundamental rights and freedoms protected at the EU level; whereas hate crime and hate speech must also be combated by other significant measures; whereas the development and use of criminal law at EU level is underpinned by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and in particular Articles 19, 67(1) and 83(1) thereof,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas hate speech is the advocacy, promotion or incitement of the denigration, hatred or vilification of a person or group of persons, as well any harassment, insult, negative stereotyping, stigmatization or threat of such person or persons and any justification of all these forms of expression – that is based on a non-exhaustive list of personal characteristics or status that includes “race”, colour, language, religion or belief, nationality or national or ethnic origin, as well as descent, age, disability, sex, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas hate speech must be defined precisely and impartially and must not be susceptible to political manipulation; whereas the Council of Europe is the only international intergovernmental organisation to have adopted an official definition of hate speech;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. Whereas there is no clear common definition of neither hate speech nor hate crime and the Cmmission did not present any such definition in its Communication;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the inclusion of new areas of crime in the list provided under Article 83(1) TFEU is possible to the extent that such crimes are of particularly serious nature, have a cross-border dimension resulting from the nature or impact of the offense, or from a special need to combat them on a common basis;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the rights to freedom of expression, to information and to public participation, are among the cornerstones of democracy; whereas freedom of expression is indispensable for the realisation of the principles of transparency and accountability;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas European Court of Human Rights case-law on the application of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to hate speech is sufficient;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas the lack of an objective definition of ‘hate speech’ could lead to restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, which are fundamental freedoms;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas promoting the idea of a ‘traditional’ family cannot be equated to hate speech, nor can making the assertion that men and women are defined by their biological sex;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas hate speech and hate crime ~~are particularly serious crimes and~~ affect not only the individual victims and their communities, causing them suffering and limiting their fundamental rights and freedoms, but also society as a whole, undermining the foundations of the EU; whereas hate crime is a criminal act and hate speech can constitute it when it takes the form of conduct that is in itself a criminal offence; whereas discriminatory treatment can amount to degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union where it attains a level of severity such as to constitute an affront to human dignity;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas hate speech and hate crime are particularly serious crimes and affect not only the individual victims and their communities, causing them suffering and limiting their fundamental rights and freedoms, but also society as a whole, undermining the foundations of the EUcriminal law is the last resort in accordance with the European legal tradition and the most elementary principle of respect for human dignity and freedom;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7

— having regard to the Commission communication of 9 December 2021 entitled ‘A more inclusive and protective Europe: extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime’ (COM(2021)0777) and the proposal for a Council decision annexed thereto,deleted

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas hate speech and hate crime ~~are particularly serious crimes and~~ affect not only the individual victims and their communities, ~~causing them suffering and limiting their fundamental rights and freedoms, but also society as a whole, undermining the foundations of the EU~~but also society as a whole;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas hate speech and hate crime are not particularly serious crimes within the meaning of Article 83 (1) TFEU and affect not only the individual victims and their communities, causing them suffering and limiting their fundamental rights and freedoms, but also society as a whole, undermining the foundations of the EU;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas hate speech and hate crime arcan constitute particularly serious crimes and affect not only the individual victims and their communities, causing them suffering and limiting their fundamental rights and freedoms, but also society as a whole, undermining the foundations of the EU;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas political discourse is increasingly characterized by hate speech, which affects not only political sphere but the functioning of society at large; whereas hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric deepen political polarization and directly normalise and reinforce hatred and violence in society;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the suffering and limitation of fundamental rights that may result from hate speech must be assessed by an apolitical and impartial committee of experts;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas hate speech towards women who have a public role, among others politicians, journalists and activists fighting for women’s rights has reached an alarming level and is increasingly becoming a threat to inclusive participation of women in public, electoral and political life;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas election campaigns provide particularly fertile ground for hate speech and incitement to hatred; whereas political rhetoric being a powerful tool for change is strongly protected by provisions for freedom of expression as an essential democratic right but if used in a hateful and discriminatory manner, it can cause widespread intolerance and hate crimes;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas not all hate speech constitutes a crime but it does contribute to normalising manifestations of hatred and intolerance; whereas forms of hate speech that do not constitute a crime can be tackled through different means, including civil or administrative proceedings but also the activation of restorative justice processes; whereas education systems need to provide digital education, literacy and skills for everyone in order to promote users’ understanding of digital technologies, overcome inequalities, improve digital inclusion, and empower and protect individuals and their rights online and offline; whereas equipping individuals with digital education, literacy and skills is key to promote a safe digital space and to prevent online hate speech; whereas education, training and awareness-raising activities are essential to promote gender equality and to address the root causes of hate speech, in particular gender stereotypes;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas ~~not all hate speech constitutes a crime but it does contribute to normalising manifestations of hatred and intolerance~~freedom of expression is one of the foundations of the democratic functioning of the Union and whereas it must be protected; whereas discourse, including political discourse, whatever its content, should not be penalised if it does not violate a law or regulation;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas not all hate speech D. constitutes a crime but it does contribute to normalising such manifestations ~~of hatred and intoleranc~~; and whereas the most serious cases have, in accordance with the constitutions, legal traditions and procedures of the Member States, warranted a criminal response;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9

~~— having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),~~deleted

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas not all hate speech constitutes a crime but it does contribute to normalising manifestations of hatred and intolerance; whereas the targets of hate speech become increasingly excluded from society, forced out of the public debate and silenced;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas not all hate speech constitutes a crime but it does contribute to normalising manifestations of hatred and intolerance and whereas these must be combated by using other types of legal or social instruments where appropriate;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas not all hate speech constitutes a crime ~~but it does contribute to normalising manifestations of hatred and intolerance~~;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the terms intolerance and hatred are legally indeterminate, yet politically and subjectively charged;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4 , an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; whereas ~~this~~2022 was the most violent year for LGBTIQ+ persons in over a decade; whereas the rise in discrimination is being exacerbated in many Member States by extremist and populist movements, in many cases in national parliaments and governments, and the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which favours revictimisation; ~~_________________ 4 See, for insta~~whereas there is evidence, th~~e Annual Report on ECRI’s activities cover~~at hate-motivated incidents, including violence and harassment, continue to be underreported ing the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitled ‘Hate speech and hateEU; whereas groups put in vulnerable situations such as asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, racialized people, LGBTIQ+ people, people with disabilities, people with socioeconomic disadvantaged backgrounds, face greater barriers to reporting hate-motivated crimes; whereas the failure to address the lack of trust and confidence in the law enforcement authorities and in the judicial system by victims of hate-motivated crimes i~~n the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.~~s an important contributor for underreporting1b _________________ 1b https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra _uploads/fra-2021-hate-crime- reporting_en.pdf

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4 , an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; whereas this is being exacerbated in many Member States by extremist and populist movements and the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which favours revictimisation; _________________ 4 See, for instance, the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitlparadigm shift, and as a result, statements of a critical or evaluative nature that functioned in public discourse are now considered ‘Hhate speech ~~and hate crime in the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.~~in some communities;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4, an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; ~~whereas this is being exacerbated in many Member States by extremist and populist movements and the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which favours revictimisation;~~ _________________ 4 See, for instance, the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitled ‘Hate speech and hate crime in the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4 , an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; whereas this is being exacerbated in many Member States by ~~extremist and popul~~right-wing extremist movements and the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which ~~favours revictimisation;~~ leads to dangerous divisions in society as a whole, affects the participation and inclusion of all those targeted by hate crime and hate speech, favours revictimisation and threatens democracy; _________________ 4 See, for instance, the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitled ‘Hate speech and hate crime in the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4, an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; whereas this is being exacerbated in many Member States by extremist and populist movements and the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which favours revictimisation; _________________ 4 See, for instance, the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitled ‘Hate speech and hate crime in the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.violence in European cities, most recently demonstrated by the violent riots in France last July, and whereas attempts are made to seek to justify such conduct politically and in the media with inappropriate claims of minority rights on many occasions;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in the last few decades there has been a sharp rise in discrimination, hate crime and hate speech across the EU4 , an increase in various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance and an alarming spike in online and offline hate speech and incitement; whereas this is being exacerbated ~~in many Member States by extremist and populist movements and~~by the multiplier effect of the online environment and social media, which favours revictimisation; _________________ 4 See, for instance, the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report on ECRI’s activities covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, and the study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs entitled ‘Hate speech and hate crime in the EU and the evaluation of online content regulation approaches’, July 2020.

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10

~~— having regard to the Commission communication of 18 September 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: EU anti- racism action plan 2020-2025’ (the EU anti-racism action plan) (COM(2020)0565),~~deleted

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. whereas media and journalists play a fundamental role in informing both policy and society; whereas normalisation of hate speech in the public sphere demands particular role of balanced and fair media reporting; whereas high ethical standards in journalism and effective self- regulation are key to combat hate speech and disinformation in the media;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

Ea. Whereas political leaders have an important role and responsibility in the fight against hate speech and intolerance, they should lead by example and make responsible use of social media when articulating the public space and debate;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas groups put in vulnerable situations such as asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, racialized people, LGBTIQ+ people, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, indigenous communities, people with disabilities and people with socioeconomic disadvantaged backgrounds are a recurring targets of hate speech, including online; whereas minors are particularly vulnerable victims of hate speech and hate crime; and whereas such attacks endanger their physical and mental integrity and affect their development and mental health;

Amendment 63 #

Nathalie COLIN-OESTERLÉ

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas minors are particularly vulnerable victims of hate speech and hate crime and whereas such attacks endanger their physical and mental integrity and affect their development and mental health; whereas online and offline school bullying is a scourge that can be effectively addressed by European legislation;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas minors are particularly vulnerable victims of hate speech and hate crime ~~and whereas such attacks endanger their physical and mental integrity and affect their development and mental health~~;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas minors are particularly vulnerable victims of hate speech and hate crime and whereas such attacks endanger their physical and mental integrity and affect their development and mental health; whereas special attention should therefore be paid to them;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas minors are particularly vulnerable victims of hate speech and ~~hate crime and~~ whereas such attacks endanger their physical and mental integrity and affect their development and mental health;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas there has been a marked increase in anti-LGBTIQ hate crime and hate speech in Europe and gender biases and other stereotypes are among the main drivers; whereas women and LGBTIQ+ people facing intersectional discrimination experience exacerbated hate speech and hate crimes; whereas anti-gender movements have the purpose of creating and perpetuating discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics, thereby violating fundamental rights; whereas the rhetoric propagated by anti- gender movements actively contributes to marginalisation, stigmatisation, exclusion and violence, and poses a severe threat to the principles of equality, non- discrimination, human dignity and respect for human rights enshrined in article 2 TEU;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas minority groups and indigenous communities such as the Sami people are impacted by multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination; whereas multiple and intersectional discrimination is fertile ground for hate speech and hate crimes to occur; whereas hate speech and hate crime directed at minority groups and indigenous communities such as the Sami people coupled with the lack of protection, put them in an even more vulnerable situation;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. Whereas hate speech in sport is in direct contradiction with the values of respect, diversity and integration that sport should represent; whereas the Union's commitments on violence in sport include the establishment of preventive measures and a context that discourages hate speech in sport;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11

~~— having regard to the Commission communication of 12 November 2020 entitled ‘Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0698),~~deleted

Amendment 70 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. whereas cyberbullying, online hate speech and violence are on the rise and becoming a threat to the mental and physical health especially of children, teenagers and young adults; whereas in many Member States there are still no sufficient legal tools to fight these crimes;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas Member States do not address hate speech and hate crime in the same way in their respective criminal laws, which ~~makes it difficult to define~~leaves certain groups with insufficient protection in some parts of the Union and creates the need for a common European ~~strategy~~approach to combat ithate speech and hate crime;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas Member States do not address hate speech and hate crime in the same way in their respective criminal laws~~, which makes it difficult to define a common European strategy to combat it~~;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas Member States do not address hate speech and hate crime in the same way in their respective criminal laws,; wh~~ich makes it difficult to define a common European strategy to combat it~~ereas the lack of legal protection can have devastating consequences for victims of such crimes;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas Member States do not address hate speech and hate crime in the same way in their respective criminal laws, ~~which makes it difficult to define a common European strategy to combat it~~in accordance with their sovereign competences and the social reality of each Member State;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. Questions the appropriateness of an additional legal framework for criminalising hate speech and hate crime at EU level as the EU already has a framework to address racist and xenophobic hate speech and hate crime, namely the Council Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. Whereas Articles 6 and 9 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) include prominent references in respect of the relationship between freedom of expression and hate speech;

Amendment 77 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the current EU framework only covers hate speech and hate crimes on the grounds of race, skin colour, religion and national or ethnic origin; ~~whereas there is a clear need to effectively address hate speech and hate crimes based on other grounds, such as sex, sexual orientation, age and disability;~~

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the current EU framework only covers hate speech and hate crimes on the grounds of race, skin colour, religion and national or ethnic origin; whereas there is a clear need to effectively address hate speech and hate crimes based on other grounds, such as sex, sexual orientation, gender, age and disability, or any other fundamental characteristic, or a combination of such characteristics;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the current EU framework only covers hate speech and hate crimes on the grounds of race, skin colour, religion and national or ethnic origin, which seems sufficient as a legal framework; whereas there is a clear need to effectively address hate speech and hate crimes based on other grounds, such as sex, sexual orientation, age and disability;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 12

— having regard to the Commission communication of 3 March 2021 entitled ‘Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021- 2030’ (COM(2021)0101), and to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the EU and all its Member States,deleted

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the current EU framework ~~onl~~already covers hate speech and hate crimes on the grounds of race, skin colour, religion and national or ethnic origin; ~~whereas t~~and where ias a ~~clear need to effectively address hate speech and hate crimes based on other grounds, such as sex, sexual orientation, age and disability~~ll Member States' Constitutions and legislation firmly proclaim the equality of all citizens before the law;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the current EU framework only covers hate speech and hate crimes on the grounds of race, ~~skin~~ colour, religion, descent and national or ethnic origin; whereas there is a clear need to effectively address hate speech and hate crimes based on any other ground~~s, such as sex, sexual orientation, age and disability~~ protected under Article 21 of the Charter;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. Whereas legal measures to counter hate speech should be accompanied by preventive measures of fostering including via the media, improved inter- ethnic and intercultural understanding and tolerance through the development of dialogical relationships between communities, whereas the media are capable of contributing to the promotion of tolerance and intercultural understanding, as well as to the elimination of negative stereotyping and negative portrayal of minorities, whereas the Advisory Committee on the FCNM has elaborated a comprehensive strategy for tackling intolerance, hatred and other various contributory causes of hate speech;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas people – including many feminists – who campaign against transactivist ideology and assert that men and women are defined by their biological sex face intimidation, death threats and even verbal and physical attacks;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas underreporting of hate speech and hate-motivated violence makes it difficult to quantify the extent of the problem and take effective measures to address it;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

~~I. whereas the cross-border component of hate speech and hate crime is clear; whereas the digital transformation highlights the need to address this phenomenon at a European level;~~deleted

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the cross-border component of online hate speech ~~and hate crime is clear; whereas the digital transformation highlights the need to address this phenomenon at a European level;~~ is clear; whereas the intrinsic cross-border dimension of online hate speech raises the need to combat it on a common basis; whereas the digital transformation highlights the need to address this phenomenon at a European level; whereas criminalisation of hate speech at the EU level needs to notably target public incitement to violence or hatred, or speech that denies or minimizes genocide and crimes against humanity, or that glorifies war and war crimes, as well as cyberstalking and the publication of online threats;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the cross-border component of hate speech and hate crime is not clear~~; whereas the digital transformation highlights the need to address this phenomenon at a European level~~ and it was not explained sufficiently by the Commission;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. Whereas the protection against hate crime and hate speech is unequal across the union; whereas the EU has the responsibility to ensure that forms of hate crime that are particularly serious, and notably hate crimes of violent nature, that have a cross-border dimension, and serious forms of cyber-violence motivated by biases or other perceived characteristics of a person or group, are criminalised consistently across the Union;

Amendment 9 #

~~— having regard to the Commission communication of 24 June 2020 entitled ‘EU Strategy on victims’ rights (2020- 2025)’ (COM(2020)0258),~~deleted

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

~~J. whereas the response of EU criminal law to hate speech and hate crime should be strong and proportionate in order to duly protect the victim and give due weight to freedom of expression;~~deleted

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the response of EU criminal law to hate speech and hate crime should be strong and proportionate in order to duly protect the victim and give due weight to freedom of expression; whereas the EU should guarantee that any restrictions on freedom of expression for preventing and countering hate speech should not be misused by the competent authorities in the Member States to silence minorities and to suppress criticism of official policies, political opposition or religious beliefs; whereas expressions that offend, shock or disturb may not on that account alone amount to hate speech;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the response ~~of EU criminal law~~ to hate speech and hate crime should be ~~strong and proportionate in order~~left for the Member States that are best equipped to duly protect the victim and give due weight to freedom of expression in particular circumstances and taking into account the traditions, customs, constitutional orders and national identities of the individual Member States;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the response of EU ~~criminal law~~legislation to hate speech and hate crime should ~~be strong and proportionate in order to duly protect the victim and~~ give due weight to freedom of expression;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas the EU and the Member States should promote a better understanding of the need for diversity and dialogue within a framework of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, raise public awareness of the importance of respecting pluralism and combat negative stereotyping and stigmatisation;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the fundamental right that is protected in the fight against hate speech and hate crime is human dignity; whereas such protection should be universal; whereas protection against intolerance, be it racial, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, age, opinion or any other personal, physical or social condition or circumstance, whatever its form of expression, must not be limited to certain grounds or motivations;deleted

Amendment 97 #

Katarina BARLEY, Pietro BARTOLO, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas ~~the~~hate speech is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that has far-reaching consequences for human rights and rule of law in democratic societies such as affecting civil society participation and inclusion; whereas the main fundamental right that is protected in the fight against hate speech and hate crime is human dignity; whereas such protection ~~should~~must be universal; whereas protection against intolerance, be it racial, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, age, opinion or any other personal, physical or social condition or circumstance, whatever its form of expression, must not be limited to certain grounds or motivations;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the fundamental rights that isare protected in the fight against hate speech and hate crime isare foremost human dignity and non-discrimination; whereas such protection should be universal; whereas protection against intolerance, be it racial, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, age, opinion or any other personal, physical or social condition or circumstance, whatever its form of expression, must not be limited to certain grounds or motivations;

Amendment 99 #