# Official Journal C 369/11 O

| | ISSN 1977-091X |
| --- | --- |
| Official Journal
  of the European Union | C 369 |
| | |
| English edition | Information and Notices | Volume 6111 October 2018 |

ISSN 1977-091X

Official Journal

of the European Union

C 369

English edition

Information and Notices

Volume 6111 October 2018

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| Contents | page |
| --- | --- |
| | |
| | EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
  2017-2018 SESSIONSittings of 11 to 14 December 2017
  The Minutes of this session have been published in OJ C 178, 24.5.2018 .
  TEXTS ADOPTED | 1 |

Contents

page

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
  2017-2018 SESSIONSittings of 11 to 14 December 2017
  The Minutes of this session have been published in OJ C 178, 24.5.2018 .
  TEXTS ADOPTED

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The Minutes of this session have been published in OJ C 178, 24.5.2018 .

1

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| | I   Resolutions, recommendations and opinions |
| --- | --- |
| | RESOLUTIONS |
| | European Parliament |
| | Tuesday 12 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/01 | European Parliament non-legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (12409/2016 — C8-0469/2016 — 2016/0166(NLE) — 2017/2035(INI)) | 2 |
| 2018/C 369/02 | European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2017 on the EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change (2017/2069(INI)) | 11 |
| 2018/C 369/03 | European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2017 on Towards a digital trade strategy (2017/2065(INI)) | 22 |
| | Wednesday 13 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/04 | European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (2017/2964(RSP)) | 32 |
| 2018/C 369/05 | European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (2017/2123(INI)) | 36 |
| 2018/C 369/06 | European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (2017/2121(INI)) | 47 |
| 2018/C 369/07 | European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2016 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (2017/2122(INI)) | 56 |
| | Thursday 14 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/08 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on freedom of expression in Vietnam, notably the case of Nguyen Van Hoa (2017/3001(RSP)) | 73 |
| 2018/C 369/09 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on Cambodia: notably the dissolution of CNRP Party (2017/3002(RSP)) | 76 |
| 2018/C 369/10 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on El Salvador: the cases of women prosecuted for miscarriage (2017/3003(RSP)) | 79 |
| 2018/C 369/11 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the situation in Afghanistan (2017/2932(RSP)) | 85 |
| 2018/C 369/12 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the situation of the Rohingya people (2017/2973(RSP)) | 91 |
| 2018/C 369/13 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the implementation of Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (2015/2129(INI)) | 96 |
| 2018/C 369/14 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions during the year 2016 (2017/2222(INI)) | 105 |
| 2018/C 369/15 | European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on a European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility (2016/2327(INI)) | 114 |
| | RECOMMENDATIONS |
| | European Parliament |
| | Wednesday 13 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/16 | European Parliament recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (2016/3044(RSP)) | 132 |
| 2018/C 369/17 | European Parliament recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on Hong Kong, 20 years after handover (2017/2204(INI)) | 156 |

I   Resolutions, recommendations and opinions

RESOLUTIONS

European Parliament

Tuesday 12 December 2017

2018/C 369/01

European Parliament non-legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (12409/2016 — C8-0469/2016 — 2016/0166(NLE) — 2017/2035(INI))

2

2018/C 369/02

European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2017 on the EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change (2017/2069(INI))

11

2018/C 369/03

European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2017 on Towards a digital trade strategy (2017/2065(INI))

22

Wednesday 13 December 2017

2018/C 369/04

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (2017/2964(RSP))

32

2018/C 369/05

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (2017/2123(INI))

36

2018/C 369/06

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (2017/2121(INI))

47

2018/C 369/07

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2016 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (2017/2122(INI))

56

Thursday 14 December 2017

2018/C 369/08

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on freedom of expression in Vietnam, notably the case of Nguyen Van Hoa (2017/3001(RSP))

73

2018/C 369/09

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on Cambodia: notably the dissolution of CNRP Party (2017/3002(RSP))

76

2018/C 369/10

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on El Salvador: the cases of women prosecuted for miscarriage (2017/3003(RSP))

79

2018/C 369/11

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the situation in Afghanistan (2017/2932(RSP))

85

2018/C 369/12

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the situation of the Rohingya people (2017/2973(RSP))

91

2018/C 369/13

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the implementation of Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (2015/2129(INI))

96

2018/C 369/14

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions during the year 2016 (2017/2222(INI))

105

2018/C 369/15

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on a European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility (2016/2327(INI))

114

RECOMMENDATIONS

European Parliament

Wednesday 13 December 2017

2018/C 369/16

European Parliament recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (2016/3044(RSP))

132

2018/C 369/17

European Parliament recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on Hong Kong, 20 years after handover (2017/2204(INI))

156

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| | II   Information |
| --- | --- |
| | INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES |
| | European Parliament |
| | Tuesday 12 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/18 | European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the request for defence of the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza (2017/2199(IMM)) | 162 |
| 2018/C 369/19 | European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle (2017/2220(IMM)) | 164 |

II   Information

INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Parliament

Tuesday 12 December 2017

2018/C 369/18

European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the request for defence of the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza (2017/2199(IMM))

162

2018/C 369/19

European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle (2017/2220(IMM))

164

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| | III   Preparatory acts |
| --- | --- |
| | EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT |
| | Tuesday 12 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/20 | European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008 (11382/2/2017 — C8-0358/2017 — 2015/0289(COD)) | 166 |
| 2018/C 369/21 | P8_TA(2017)0476Amendments to various Regulations in the field of agriculture and rural development ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013, (EU) No 1307/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2016)0605 — C8-0404/2017 — 2016/0282B(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2016)0282BPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), (EU) No 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1307/2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material | 167 |
| 2018/C 369/22 | P8_TA(2017)0477EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): continuing current limitations of scope for aviation activities and preparing to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 (COM(2017)0054 — C8-0028/2017 — 2017/0017(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2017)0017Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 | 172 |
| 2018/C 369/23 | P8_TA(2017)0478Extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub (COM(2016)0597 — C8-0375/2016 — 2016/0276(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2016)0276Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub | 174 |
| 2018/C 369/24 | P8_TA(2017)0481Customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification) (COM(2017)0361 — C8-0226/2017 — 2014/0175(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2014)0175Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification) | 176 |
| 2018/C 369/25 | European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United States of America, of the other part (13419/2016 — C8-0100/2017 — 2006/0058(NLE)) | 177 |
| 2018/C 369/26 | European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (13076/2017 — C8-0415/2017 — 2017/0193(NLE)) | 178 |
| 2018/C 369/27 | European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (12409/2016 — C8-0469/2016 — 2016/0166(NLE)) | 179 |
| 2018/C 369/28 | European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the proposal of the Commission for the renewal of the term of office of the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (N8-0092/2017 — C8-0425/2017 — 2017/0901(NLE)) | 180 |
| | Wednesday 13 December 2017 |
| 2018/C 369/29 | European Parliament decision to raise no objections to the Commission delegated regulation of 17 November 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in financial instruments with regard to regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation for certain derivatives (C(2017)07684 — 2017/2979(DEA)) | 181 |

III   Preparatory acts

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Tuesday 12 December 2017

2018/C 369/20

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008 (11382/2/2017 — C8-0358/2017 — 2015/0289(COD))

166

2018/C 369/21

P8_TA(2017)0476Amendments to various Regulations in the field of agriculture and rural development ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013, (EU) No 1307/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2016)0605 — C8-0404/2017 — 2016/0282B(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2016)0282BPosition of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), (EU) No 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1307/2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material

167

2018/C 369/22

P8_TA(2017)0477EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): continuing current limitations of scope for aviation activities and preparing to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 (COM(2017)0054 — C8-0028/2017 — 2017/0017(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2017)0017Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021

172

2018/C 369/23

P8_TA(2017)0478Extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub (COM(2016)0597 — C8-0375/2016 — 2016/0276(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2016)0276Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub

174

2018/C 369/24

P8_TA(2017)0481Customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America ***IEuropean Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification) (COM(2017)0361 — C8-0226/2017 — 2014/0175(COD))P8_TC1-COD(2014)0175Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification)

176

2018/C 369/25

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United States of America, of the other part (13419/2016 — C8-0100/2017 — 2006/0058(NLE))

177

2018/C 369/26

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (13076/2017 — C8-0415/2017 — 2017/0193(NLE))

178

2018/C 369/27

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (12409/2016 — C8-0469/2016 — 2016/0166(NLE))

179

2018/C 369/28

European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the proposal of the Commission for the renewal of the term of office of the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (N8-0092/2017 — C8-0425/2017 — 2017/0901(NLE))

180

Wednesday 13 December 2017

2018/C 369/29

European Parliament decision to raise no objections to the Commission delegated regulation of 17 November 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in financial instruments with regard to regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation for certain derivatives (C(2017)07684 — 2017/2979(DEA))

181

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| Key to symbols used






  - | Consultation procedure |
| --- | --- |
| *** | Consent procedure |
| ***I | Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading |
| ***II | Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading |
| ***III | Ordinary legislative procedure: third reading |

Key to symbols used

*

Consultation procedure

***

Consent procedure

***I

Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading

***II

Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading

***III

Ordinary legislative procedure: third reading

(The type of procedure depends on the legal basis proposed by the draft act.)

Amendments by Parliament:

New text is highlighted in
  bold italics
  . Deletions are indicated using either the ▌symbol or strikeout. Replacements are indicated by highlighting the new text in
  bold italics
  and by deleting or striking out the text that has been replaced.

bold italics

bold italics

| EN | |
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EN

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11.10.2018

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/1 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/1

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

2017-2018 SESSION

Sittings of 11 to 14 December 2017

The Minutes of this session have been published in OJ C 178, 24.5.2018.

TEXTS ADOPTED

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I Resolutions, recommendations and opinions

RESOLUTIONS

European Parliament

Tuesday 12 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/2 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/2

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P8_TA(2017)0485

EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (Resolution)

European Parliament non-legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (12409/2016 — C8-0469/2016 — 2016/0166(NLE) — 2017/2035(INI))

(2018/C 369/01)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the draft Council decision (12409/2016), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Council decision (12409/2016),

| — | having regard to the draft Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (09452/2015), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (09452/2015),

| — | having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Articles 31(1) and 37 of the Treaty on European Union and to Articles 91, 100(2), 207 and 209 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 218(6)(a) thereof (C8-0469/2016), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Articles 31(1) and 37 of the Treaty on European Union and to Articles 91, 100(2), 207 and 209 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 218(6)(a) thereof (C8-0469/2016),

| — | having regard to the signing of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) on 21 December 2015 in Astana, in the presence of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the signing of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) on 21 December 2015 in Astana, in the presence of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini,

| — | having regard to the provisional application of the parts of the EPCA under the exclusive competence of the EU as of 1 May 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the provisional application of the parts of the EPCA under the exclusive competence of the EU as of 1 May 2016,

| — | having regard to the continued implementation of the EU-Kazakhstan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), signed on 23 January 1995, since its entry into force on 1 July 1999, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the continued implementation of the EU-Kazakhstan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), signed on 23 January 1995, since its entry into force on 1 July 1999,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2012 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service on the negotiations for an EU-Kazakhstan enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2012 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service on the negotiations for an EU-Kazakhstan enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement (1),

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on Kazakhstan, including those of 10 March 2016 (2), 18 April 2013 (3), 15 March 2012 (4), and 17 September 2009 on the case of Yevgeny Zhovtis in Kazakhstan (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Kazakhstan, including those of 10 March 2016 (2), 18 April 2013 (3), 15 March 2012 (4), and 17 September 2009 on the case of Yevgeny Zhovtis in Kazakhstan (5),

| — | having regard to its resolutions of 15 December 2011 on the state of implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia (6), and of 13 April 2016 on implementation and review of the EU-Central Asia Strategy (7), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolutions of 15 December 2011 on the state of implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia (6), and of 13 April 2016 on implementation and review of the EU-Central Asia Strategy (7),

| — | having regard to its legislative resolution of 19 January 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement continuing the International Science and Technology Center (8), established in Astana, Kazakhstan, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its legislative resolution of 19 January 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement continuing the International Science and Technology Center (8), established in Astana, Kazakhstan,

| — | having regard to its legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft decision (9), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft decision (9),

| — | having regard to the Council conclusions of 22 June 2015 and 19 June 2017 on the EU Strategy for Central Asia, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council conclusions of 22 June 2015 and 19 June 2017 on the EU Strategy for Central Asia,

| — | having regard to the fourth progress report by the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Commission services of 13 January 2015 on the implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia adopted in 2007, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the fourth progress report by the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Commission services of 13 January 2015 on the implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia adopted in 2007,

| — | having regard to annual EU-Kazakhstan Human Rights Dialogues, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to annual EU-Kazakhstan Human Rights Dialogues,

| — | having regard to various EU-Central Asia meetings, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to various EU-Central Asia meetings,

| — | having regard to Rule 99(2) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 99(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0335/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0335/2017),

| A. | whereas the EPCA should lead to a perceptible deepening and strengthening of the political and economic ties between the two parties, while respecting and taking account of existing differences and the specific political, economic and social circumstances of the parties, for the benefit of the people of both Kazakhstan and the EU; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas the EPCA should lead to a perceptible deepening and strengthening of the political and economic ties between the two parties, while respecting and taking account of existing differences and the specific political, economic and social circumstances of the parties, for the benefit of the people of both Kazakhstan and the EU;

| B. | whereas the EPCA (Article 1) could strengthen the framework for the fulfilment of essential elements, such as respect for democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of a market economy, already provided for in the PCA, as long as the implementation of all of the clauses is subject to a strict and effective monitoring mechanism based on clear benchmarks and deadlines; whereas countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has been added as a new essential element (Article 11); |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas the EPCA (Article 1) could strengthen the framework for the fulfilment of essential elements, such as respect for democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of a market economy, already provided for in the PCA, as long as the implementation of all of the clauses is subject to a strict and effective monitoring mechanism based on clear benchmarks and deadlines; whereas countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has been added as a new essential element (Article 11);

| C. | whereas Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian country to have signed an EPCA with the EU; whereas the EPCA, once ratified by all Member States and the European Parliament, will replace the PCA of 1999, and whereas the text of the EPCA was made public on 15 July 2015; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian country to have signed an EPCA with the EU; whereas the EPCA, once ratified by all Member States and the European Parliament, will replace the PCA of 1999, and whereas the text of the EPCA was made public on 15 July 2015;

| D. | whereas the EPCA sets out a broad spectrum of new areas of cooperation, which are not only in the political and economic interest of the EU, but are also suited to supporting Kazakhstan in the next stage of modernisation to which it aspires, while at the same time securing cooperation in meeting global challenges, particularly as regards sustainable social and economic development for all citizens, the preservation of cultural diversity, conservation of the environment and management of the consequences of climate change in accordance with the requirements of the Paris Agreement, as well as peacekeeping and regional cooperation; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the EPCA sets out a broad spectrum of new areas of cooperation, which are not only in the political and economic interest of the EU, but are also suited to supporting Kazakhstan in the next stage of modernisation to which it aspires, while at the same time securing cooperation in meeting global challenges, particularly as regards sustainable social and economic development for all citizens, the preservation of cultural diversity, conservation of the environment and management of the consequences of climate change in accordance with the requirements of the Paris Agreement, as well as peacekeeping and regional cooperation;

| E. | whereas since May 2016, two-thirds of the EPCA has been applied provisionally; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas since May 2016, two-thirds of the EPCA has been applied provisionally;

| F. | whereas the European Parliament is prepared, within the framework of its competences, to involve itself actively in developing and fleshing out the specific areas of cooperation with Kazakhstan, including parliamentary relations; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the European Parliament is prepared, within the framework of its competences, to involve itself actively in developing and fleshing out the specific areas of cooperation with Kazakhstan, including parliamentary relations;

| G. | whereas Kazakhstan joined the WTO on 1 January 2016; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas Kazakhstan joined the WTO on 1 January 2016;

| H. | whereas Kazakhstan joined the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) in March 2012; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas Kazakhstan joined the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) in March 2012;

General provisions on EU-Kazakhstan relations and on the EPCA

| 1. | Stresses that the enhancement of political, economic and cultural relations between the EU and Kazakhstan must be based on shared commitments to universal values, in particular, to democracy, the rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights and guided by mutual interests; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Notes Kazakhstan’s consistent strategy of rapprochement with the EU; underlines the country’s essential contribution to the implementation of the EU-Central Asia strategy, which will undergo a substantial review in 2019; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Welcomes the fact that the EPCA establishes a solid basis for the deepening of relations; notes that Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian partner country with which the EU has negotiated and signed an EPCA; considers this new-generation agreement to be a good model that could in future also be applied to other countries in the region; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Welcomes the ambition expressed in the EPCA to enhance cooperation and to significantly boost economic ties between the EU and Kazakhstan in various areas of concern and common interest, such as democracy and the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, sustainable development, foreign and security policy, trade, justice, freedom and security and in 29 other key sectoral policy areas, such as economic and financial cooperation, energy, transport, environment and climate change, employment and social affairs, culture, education and research; encourages both sides to actively fulfil their commitments; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Expects that the EPCA will promote a strengthening of the rule of law and democratic participation by all citizens, a more diverse political landscape, a better functioning, independent and impartial judiciary, increased transparency and accountability of the government, improvements to the labour laws in line with ILO requirements, more business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainable development of the environment, water management, and of other resources, such as an efficient use of energy and the development of renewable energy sources; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Underlines the importance and continued validity of Parliament’s recommendations of 22 November 2012 on the negotiations for an EU-Kazakhstan EPCA; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Recalls that Parliament emphasised that progress in the negotiation of the EPCA must be linked to progress of political reform and real progress on respect for human rights, the rule of law, good governance and democratisation, where implementation of the Venice Commission recommendations could play a beneficial role; expresses serious concerns that rights to the freedom of expression, of peaceful assembly and association remain restricted; urges the country to implement fully the recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the outcome report concerning his mission to Kazakhstan in January 2015; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Stresses that further steps need to be based on the application of the ‘more for more’ principle; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Welcomes the fact that the EPCA introduced the possibility of negotiating a visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Kazakhstan in parallel with the possible negotiation of an agreement regulating the specific obligations in relation to readmissions; points out the importance of stepping up exchanges, in particular at youth and academic level, and calls, in this respect, for a substantial expansion of the Erasmus + programme for Kazakhstan; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Reiterates its call on the Council, Commission and the VP/HR:






  — | to ensure that both sides abide by the essential elements of the EPCA, because failure to observe them would lead to either a dispute settlement (Article 278) or even suspension in the event of serious violations (Article 279), |
| --- | --- | --- |

10.

—

to ensure that both sides abide by the essential elements of the EPCA, because failure to observe them would lead to either a dispute settlement (Article 278) or even suspension in the event of serious violations (Article 279),

| — | develop benchmarks and deadlines for implementation of the EPCA, |
| --- | --- |

—

develop benchmarks and deadlines for implementation of the EPCA,

| — | provide for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism between Parliament and the EEAS once the EPCA fully enters into force, including the elements as specified in its resolution of 22 November 2012; |
| --- | --- |

—

provide for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism between Parliament and the EEAS once the EPCA fully enters into force, including the elements as specified in its resolution of 22 November 2012;

| 11. | Recalls that Article 218(10) TFEU and relevant ECJ rulings with regard to immediate and full access by Parliament to all negotiating documents and related information are still only partially upheld by the VP/HR, Council and the Commission; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Asks the EU-Kazakhstan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC) to update its Rules of Procedure in order to provide for democratic scrutiny of the provisional application in those fields that have entered into force already and to use its prerogatives to adopt recommendations, and to prepare for scrutiny of the whole EPCA once it enters into force fully; |
| --- | --- |

12.

Political dialogue and cooperation, democracy, the rule of law, good governance and fundamental freedoms

| 13. | Calls on the EU to consistently prioritise in its political dialogue with Kazakhstan, the issues of the rule of law and democracy, fundamental freedoms and human rights; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Calls on Kazakhstan, in the light of social protests, some of them violent, to take proactive and concrete steps, when implementing the ‘Kazakhstan 2050’ programme, on political, democratic and social reforms, including a clear separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, and introducing further checks and balances within the constitutional system, in line with the country’s international commitments under various UN, OSCE and Council of Europe instruments; reiterates its conviction that the transition which Kazakhstan seeks, towards a new type of growth with an intensive scientific focus, would not appear to be possible without high-quality education, access for much of the population to essential modern services, an inclusive social policy and a system of regulated social relationships, particularly in the economy; welcomes the ‘100-step programme’ as an attempt to address the need for urgent reforms in the country; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Welcomes some recent positive developments in the field of constitutional and administrative reforms as well as the establishment of a civil society consultative platform; is, however, gravely concerned about the restrictive effects of the Criminal and Administrative Codes that entered into force in 2015 on civil society organisations and their activities; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Calls on Kazakhstan to fully implement the recommendations from the OSCE/ODIHR international observation mission to the 20 March 2016 elections according to which the country still has a considerable way to go in meeting its OSCE commitments for democratic elections; urges the Kazakh authorities to avoid restricting the activity of independent candidates; urges, furthermore, that citizens’ electoral rights be respected; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Welcomes Kazakhstan’s cooperation with the Venice Commission and calls for full implementation of the relevant recommendations made by it in the area of democratic and judicial reforms in particular; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Welcomes the current administrative reforms and recommends further reforms guaranteeing a genuinely independent and impartial judiciary and more efficient efforts in fighting corruption at all levels; appeals, however, for enhanced governance and reform, with a truly independent judiciary free from corruption and guaranteeing the right to a fair trial and defence rights, and for greater, more efficient efforts in fighting corruption, organised crime and drug trafficking; calls for the improvement and modernisation of and investments in core social sectors; stresses that further attention for economic and social development in peripheral regions and outside the main cities will be important for the country’s long-term stability; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Notes the existence of civil society dialogue platforms; reiterates its concern about the legislation on NGOs, undermining their independence and ability to operate; recalls the importance of an active and independent civil society for the sustainable future of Kazakhstan; urges the Kazakh authorities to guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights activists and NGOs in Kazakhstan are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions and thus contribute to the sustainable development of society and the strengthening of democracy; takes the view that the EPCA also implies enhanced support for the development of a genuine civil society, and calls on the Kazakh authorities to act accordingly, and on the Commission to step up programmes aimed at strengthening and consolidating the action of independent NGOs; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Asks for an end to be put to the judicial persecution, harassment and imprisonment of independent journalists, civil society activists, trade union leaders, human rights defenders, opposition political figures and other outspoken individuals in retaliation for their exercise of the freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms, a phenomenon that has intensified over the last couple of years; calls for the full rehabilitation and immediate release of all activists and political prisoners currently in jail, as well as for the lifting of restrictions placed on the movements on others; requests an end to abuse of its Interpol’s extradition procedures and a stop to the harassment of political opposition abroad; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Welcomes the release on parole from prison of the prominent Kazakh activist and Alga! opposition party leader Vladimir Kozlov in August 2016; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Expresses its concerns about the curtailment of freedom of the media, freedom of expression, and freedom of association and assembly, and freedom of religion, including by means of restrictive legislation, pressure, censorship and criminal prosecution of activists; points out that freedom of speech for the independent media, bloggers and individual citizens is a universal value that must be upheld; recommends Kazakhstan to apply the standards of the Council of Europe in its legal system; takes note of the efforts of Kazakhstan to improve the country’s international image as shown by the recent opening of EXPO-2017 in Astana; points out, nevertheless, that these efforts are contradicted by the crackdown on dissenting voices and pressure on civil society over the last few months; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Is concerned that some of the provisions of the recently reformed Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedural Code restrict the freedom of expression; encourages Kazakhstan to revisit those in particular with regard to the criminalisation of defamation; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Underlines that freedom of media and freedom of expression are essential in establishing and consolidating democracy, the rule of law and human rights; regrets that the environment for independent media outlets has become ever more hostile; expresses concern about the draft media legislation aimed at implementing rules for journalists involving them verifying their information with state authorities; urges the Kazakh authorities to withdraw such amendments from their draft legislation and to ensure full independence of investigation and reporting for journalists; calls, furthermore, on the Kazakh authorities to refrain from restricting access to state-critical online and offline media in the country and from abroad; regrets that defamation also remains criminalised in Kazakhstan, and underlines that this has become problematic in the light of freedom of expression in the country; is concerned by the large number of defamation lawsuits, including cases against a few news broadcasters and other websites that report unfavourably on government policies and which are also routinely blocked, initiated by public officials and other public figures who enjoy special protection and demand large amounts in moral compensation as a result of articles containing allegations of corruption, misconduct or other issues that do not please them; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Urges the reversal of the negative trends in terms of freedom of the media, freedom of expression, and freedom of association and assembly, and freedom of religion; recommends that Kazakhstan apply the standards of the Council of Europe in its laws; takes note, in this context, that, as of 2016, all Kazakh NGOs have been required by law to register with the authorities and to provide annual information on their activities for inclusion in a government database on NGOs; underlines that this step might be directed towards enhancing transparency in the sector; is concerned, however, that the new requirements add to the already extensive reporting obligations for the non-governmental sector to the state, while the transparency policy is disproportionally applied towards the non-profit, non-governmental sectors, as it does not apply to any other legal entities; is concerned that involvement in unregistered associations is criminalised and that failing to provide information for the new database or providing ‘incorrect’ information may result in penalties for organisations; regrets that the activities of registered public associations may be suspended or terminated by courts for any violation of national law, no matter how minor; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Notes with concern that the adoption of recent anti-terrorism laws, including a bill proposing the withdrawal of citizenship for terrorist suspects could lead to the suppression of peaceful and legitimate political opposition; urges the Kazakh authorities to avoid using this legislation due to the possible effects of restricting freedom of speech, freedom of religion or belief, the independence of the judiciary or banning opposition activity; |
| --- | --- |

26.

| 27. | Takes note that, in its concluding observations on Kazakhstan adopted in summer 2016, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the broadly formulated provisions of the Criminal Code’s Article 174, which bans ‘inciting’ social, national or other discord, and Article 274, which prohibits ‘spreading information that is known to be false’, and the use of these articles to unduly restrict freedom of expression and other rights protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); regrets that a number of civil society activists and journalists have been charged and imprisoned on the basis of the above-mentioned articles of the Criminal Code; notes that the list includes Maks Bokayev and Talgat Ayan, who are serving five-year prison terms for their role in peaceful land reform protests, which took place in Kazakhstan in the spring of 2016; urges the Kazakh Government to release them all and to drop the charges against them; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Calls on Kazakhstan to revise its Trade Union Law of 2014 and the Labour Code of 2015 to bring them in line with ILO standards; reminds Kazakhstan of its obligations to comply fully with the conclusions adopted by the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards (in 2017, 2016, and 2015); |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Condemns the closure of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Kazakhstan (CITUK) by a court order in January 2017 for allegedly failing to confirm its status under the country’s restrictive 2014 Law on Trade Unions; reminds the Kazakh authorities of the need to guarantee an independent and impartial judiciary and to enable real social dialogue also by fostering the existence and functioning of independent trade unions, such as CITUK and its affiliates; refers to the Conclusions of the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards on the situation in Kazakhstan in June 2017; regrets that Larisa Kharkova, President of CITUK, was found guilty by a court on 25 July 2017 of charges of embezzlement and fraud related to the use of trade union funds, which are believed to be politically motivated charges; deplores the fact that she has been arbitrarily sentenced to four years of court-imposed restrictions on her freedom of movement, in addition to 100 hours of community work and a ban on holding leading positions in public associations for five years; calls on Kazakhstan to quash the conviction and drop the charges against her; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Regrets that, in April and May 2017, two other trade union leaders, Nurbek Kushakbayev and Amin Yeleusinov, were sentenced to two and half and two years in prison, respectively, on criminal charges also considered to be politically motivated; notes that the sentences against the three trade union leaders are a blow to independent trade union activity in the country; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Notes the multi-ethnic and multi-religious character of Kazakhstan and stresses the need for a protection of minorities and their rights, in particular with regard to the use of languages, freedom of religion or belief, non-discrimination and equal opportunities; welcomes the peaceful co-existence of different communities in Kazakhstan; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Calls for a substantial review of the annual EU-Kazakhstan Human Rights Dialogue, in order to make it more effective and result-oriented; calls on the Kazakh authorities to fully engage in it, as well as in all other forums, in order to achieve tangible progress on the human rights situation in the country while paying particular attention to individual cases; recalls that the involvement of civil society in these dialogues and consultations must be guaranteed; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Underlines the necessity for continual engagement within the cycle of the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in particular with regard to effective implementation of its recommendations; |
| --- | --- |

33.

| 34. | Insists that Kazakhstan comply with the recommendations of the UN Committee Against Torture and the 2009 recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Regrets that Kazakhstan has so far refused an independent international investigation into the Zhanaozen events of 2011, despite calls by the UNHRC; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Welcomes the country’s application to join several Council of Europe conventions; |
| --- | --- |

36.

| 37. | Regrets that Kazakhstan is neither a party to, nor a signatory state of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and calls on Kazakhstan to sign and accede to it; |
| --- | --- |

37.

International relations, regional cooperation, and global challenges

| 38. | Welcomes Kazakhstan’s constructive cooperation in international relations as an important contributor to peace and stability at both regional and global levels, for example, through its facilitation of the talks on the Iranian nuclear deal, the negotiations between the parties in Astana for a comprehensive solution to end the war in Syria, its diplomatic efforts with regard to the conflict in Ukraine and its initiative on the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia; encourages Kazakhstan to continue to engage in and play a constructive role on the international stage; welcomes, in this regard, its call for the gradual eradication of armed conflict through nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and its initiation of the Universal Declaration for the Achievement of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World; welcomes, in particular, the decision of Kazakhstan not to join the Russian ban on EU agricultural products, and considers this as a concrete and encouraging sign of the willingness of this country to step up its dialogue and cooperation with the EU; |
| --- | --- |

38.

| 39. | Notes Kazakhstan’s geostrategic importance and acknowledges the country’s multi-vector foreign policy, with its aim of fostering friendly and predictable relations, including, as a priority, building and balancing good neighbourly relations with Russia, China, the Central Asian states with which it shares borders, and other partners, including the US and the EU; |
| --- | --- |

39.

| 40. | Recognises Kazakhstan as an important player in foreign and security policy not least due to the consistent role it plays in global nuclear disarmament and security, and its non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council in 2017-2018; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Recognises the security challenge posed to Kazakhstan by Daesh and other UN Security Council-designated terrorist organisations; notes the high number of Kazakh citizens among the foreign fighters in the Middle East; recognises the potential for further destabilisation of Kazakhstan resulting from the on-going conflict in Afghanistan, including by means of religious extremism, drug trafficking and terrorism; calls for closer cooperation on countering violent extremism and fighting against terrorism, and points out that the priority should be to address the root causes of radicalisation; notes that Article 13 of the EPCA focuses on counter-terrorism measures and plays a crucial role, especially in the current international environment; |
| --- | --- |

41.

| 42. | Notes that Kazakhstan belongs to all of the main regional organisations; regards the international profile which Kazakhstan has very recently achieved, through chairing international organisations as diverse as the OSCE, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, as a good starting point for joint activities endeavouring to stabilise the security situation in the Central Asia region and to find multilateral solutions to global challenges; welcomes, in this context, Kazakhstan’s clear statements to the effect that its membership of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will not affect the strengthening of relations with the EU; |
| --- | --- |

42.

| 43. | Recommends that the EU continue its support for regional cooperation in Central Asia, in particular the rule of law, confidence-building measures, water and resource management, border management, stability and security; supports, in this regard, Kazakhstan’s efforts in promoting good neighbourly relations and becoming a guarantor of stability in the region; calls for a sustainable Central Asian settlement on water management, energy and security issues that responds to all interests; |
| --- | --- |

43.

| 44. | Recognises that Kazakhstan is a leading power in the Central Asian region; urges Kazakhstan to use this position as a basis for positive engagement with its regional neighbours and to take steps to move forward in regional cooperation; |
| --- | --- |

44.

Sustainable development, energy and environment

| 45. | Welcomes Kazakhstan’s third modernisation strategy, announced in January 2017, with the goal of becoming one the 30 most developed countries in the world; |
| --- | --- |

45.

| 46. | Welcomes the enhanced chapter on raw materials and energy cooperation, which holds great potential for contributing to EU energy security; recalls that Kazakhstan plays an important role as an energy supplier to the EU; calls for the EU to engage in more active energy cooperation and to bolster its dialogue with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries to strengthen EU energy security; |
| --- | --- |

46.

| 47. | Welcomes the inclusion in the EPCA of the chapter on cooperation in the area of climate change; calls for the EU to continue to cooperate with the Government of Kazakhstan, assisting it in identifying and developing innovative and sustainable environmental and ecological policies; recalls that Kazakhstan is heavily affected by the consequences of two of the most devastating man-made environmental disasters in the world, namely the drying up of the Aral sea and the Soviet-era nuclear testing at the site of Semey/Semipalatinsk; calls on the Commission to step up its assistance to the Kazakh authorities, both on a technical and a financial level, in order to improve substantially water management and water conservation in the Aral sea basin in the framework of the action programme of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, and to develop an effective action plan for the cleaning-up of the former nuclear ‘Polygon’ area; welcomes Kazakhstan's participation in the voluntary Partnership Programme ‘Green Bridge’; believes this will provide a stable and long-term basis for green investment, the transfer of new technologies and innovations, and moving towards a carbon-energy-free society; |
| --- | --- |

47.

| 48. | Underlines the need to apply the principles of environmentally sustainable development in Kazakhstan with regard to extraction and the processing of its vast natural resources; welcomes, in this context, the fact that the country complies with the standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI); |
| --- | --- |

48.

Trade and economy

| 49. | Recalls that the EU is the country’s first trade and investment partner and that Kazakhstan is the EU’s main trade partner in Central Asia; hopes that these relations will be further strengthened; notes that 80 % of Kazakhstan’s exports to the EU consist of oil and gas; reiterates the importance of greater diversification of its trade with the EU; highlights that trade and human rights can positively reinforce each other when operating in a rule of law environment; recalls that the business community has an important role to play in offering positive incentives in terms of promoting human rights, democracy, and corporate responsibility; points out that global value chains contribute to enhancing international core labour, environmental, social and human rights standards, including the establishment and enforcement of occupational health and safety measures, educational opportunities, impartial institutions, and the reduction of corruption; |
| --- | --- |

49.

| 50. | Welcomes Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO on 1 January 2016, which fostered the economic and administrative modernisation of the country; notes that Kazakhstan’s economy is largely based on the exploitation and export of raw materials and hydrocarbons; hopes that the ambitious programme for diversifying the economy, in which the EU could play an important role, and for reforming the country, which includes, inter alia, the professionalisation of the public administration and the introduction of anti-corruption measures, is fully executed in practice; calls, in particular, on the Commission to assist Kazakhstan so as to make its economy environmentally friendly and sustainable; |
| --- | --- |

50.

| 51. | Takes note of Kazakhstan’s commitment to fully liberalising the movement of capital in the form of direct investment, and regrets that the Trade and Business title of the EPCA does not contain anti-corruption provisions; takes the view that particular attention should be paid to the issues of corporate governance and corruption in monitoring the implementation of the agreement, in order to avoid increasing the risk of money laundering; |
| --- | --- |

51.

| 52. | Welcomes Kazakhstan’s determination, as shown during the first year of the EPCA’s application, to honour and fulfil its EPCA and WTO commitments; calls on Kazakhstan to fulfil its commitments under the EPCA regarding intellectual property rights (IPRs), on the basis of a regional exhaustion regime; |
| --- | --- |

52.

| 53. | Calls on Kazakhstan to fully align its import tariffs with its WTO and EPCA commitments, irrespective of its participation in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), in order to avoid costly compensation payments to WTO trading partners; |
| --- | --- |

53.

| 54. | Calls on Kazakhstan to join the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) in order to enable effective sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls, and to use the bilateral EU-Kazakhstan SPS certificates; |
| --- | --- |

54.

| 55. | Takes note of the general five-year transition period for public procurement and the eight-year transition period for construction laid down in the EPCA, and looks forward to increased trade once these periods have drawn to a close; notes that public procurement constitutes a significant public policy instrument for Kazakhstan; |
| --- | --- |

55.

o

o o

| 56. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for Central Asia, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the government and the parliament of Kazakhstan. |
| --- | --- |

56.

---

(1)  OJ C 419, 16.12.2015, p. 159.

(2)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0083.

(3)  OJ C 45, 5.2.2016, p. 85.

(4)  OJ C 251 E, 31.8.2013, p. 93.

(5)  OJ C 224 E, 19.8.2010, p. 30.

(6)  OJ C 168 E, 14.6.2013, p. 91.

(7)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0121.

(8)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0007.

(9)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0484.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/11 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/11

---

P8_TA(2017)0487

EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening citizens’ rights in a Union of democratic change

European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2017 on the EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change (2017/2069(INI))

(2018/C 369/02)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission report of 24 January 2017 entitled ‘Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change — EU Citizenship Report 2017’ (COM(2017)0030), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission report of 24 January 2017 entitled ‘Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a Union of Democratic Change — EU Citizenship Report 2017’ (COM(2017)0030),

| — | having regard to the Commission report of 24 January 2017 drawn up pursuant to Article 25 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on progress towards effective EU citizenship 2013-2016 (COM(2017)0032), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission report of 24 January 2017 drawn up pursuant to Article 25 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on progress towards effective EU citizenship 2013-2016 (COM(2017)0032),

| — | having regard to the results of the 2015 public consultation on EU citizenship conducted by the Commission, and to the results of the 2015 Eurobarometer surveys on electoral rights and on citizenship, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the results of the 2015 public consultation on EU citizenship conducted by the Commission, and to the results of the 2015 Eurobarometer surveys on electoral rights and on citizenship,

| — | having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

| — | having regard to Articles 2, 6 and 9-12 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), to Articles 18-25 of the TFEU and to Articles 11, 21 and 39-46 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 2, 6 and 9-12 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), to Articles 18-25 of the TFEU and to Articles 11, 21 and 39-46 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,

| — | having regard to respect for the rule of law, as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to respect for the rule of law, as enshrined in Article 2 of the TEU,

| — | having regard to Article 3(2) of the TEU enshrining the right of freedom of movement of persons, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 3(2) of the TEU enshrining the right of freedom of movement of persons,

| — | having regard to the right to petition enshrined in Article 44 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the right to petition enshrined in Article 44 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights,

| — | having regard to Article 165 of the TFEU, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 165 of the TFEU,

| — | having regard to the right to petition enshrined in Article 227 of the TFEU, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the right to petition enshrined in Article 227 of the TFEU,

| — | having regard to Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union,

| — | having regard to Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,

| — | having regard to the Council conclusions of 29 February 2016 on the single market strategy (1) and especially to the document on the outcome of the informal meeting of SOLVIT Centres held in Lisbon on 18 September 2015 (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council conclusions of 29 February 2016 on the single market strategy (1) and especially to the document on the outcome of the informal meeting of SOLVIT Centres held in Lisbon on 18 September 2015 (2),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 12 March 2014 on ‘The EU Citizenship Report 2013. EU citizens: your rights, your future’ (3), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 March 2014 on ‘The EU Citizenship Report 2013. EU citizens: your rights, your future’ (3),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 12 April 2016 on ‘Learning EU at school’ (4), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 April 2016 on ‘Learning EU at school’ (4),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 6 October 2016 on ‘Monitoring the application of Union law: 2014 Annual Report’ (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 6 October 2016 on ‘Monitoring the application of Union law: 2014 Annual Report’ (5),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 2 February 2017 with recommendations to the Commission on cross border aspects of adoptions (6), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 2 February 2017 with recommendations to the Commission on cross border aspects of adoptions (6),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 2 March 2017 (7) on the implementation of the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 2 March 2017 (7) on the implementation of the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme,

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Regulation on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) (COM(2016)0411), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Regulation on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) (COM(2016)0411),

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions on the activities of the Committee’s Working Group on Child Welfare Issues (8), and particularly its conclusions, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions on the activities of the Committee’s Working Group on Child Welfare Issues (8), and particularly its conclusions,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2016 on the activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (9), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2016 on the activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (9),

| — | having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Petitions of 23 March 2017 (10) and to the opinion of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of 1 June 2017 (11) concerning the report from the Commission monitoring the application of EU law 2015, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Petitions of 23 March 2017 (10) and to the opinion of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of 1 June 2017 (11) concerning the report from the Commission monitoring the application of EU law 2015,

| — | having regard to the hearings organised by the Committee on Petitions in 2016 and 2017, and especially to: the joint public hearing of 11 May 2017 co-organised by LIBE, PETI and EMPL entitled ‘The situation and rights of EU Citizens in the UK’; the public hearing of 11 October 2016 entitled ‘Obstacles to EU citizens’ freedom to move and work in the Internal Market’; the public hearing of 4 May 2017 entitled ‘Fighting against discrimination and protecting minorities’; the joint public hearing of 15 March 2016 organised by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and the European Parliament’s LIBE, PETI, AFCO and JURI committees entitled ‘Union Citizenship in practice’; and the joint hearing on statelessness organised by the LIBE and PETI committees on 29 June 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the hearings organised by the Committee on Petitions in 2016 and 2017, and especially to: the joint public hearing of 11 May 2017 co-organised by LIBE, PETI and EMPL entitled ‘The situation and rights of EU Citizens in the UK’; the public hearing of 11 October 2016 entitled ‘Obstacles to EU citizens’ freedom to move and work in the Internal Market’; the public hearing of 4 May 2017 entitled ‘Fighting against discrimination and protecting minorities’; the joint public hearing of 15 March 2016 organised by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and the European Parliament’s LIBE, PETI, AFCO and JURI committees entitled ‘Union Citizenship in practice’; and the joint hearing on statelessness organised by the LIBE and PETI committees on 29 June 2017,

| — | having regard to the PETI hearing of 23 February 2016 entitled ‘Broadening the scope of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 51)?’, the hearing of 21 June 2016 on ‘Transparency and freedom of information within the EU institutions’ and that one of 22 June 2017 on ‘Restoring citizens’ confidence and trust in the European Project’, together with the previous hearings held in this legislative term on the ‘Right to Petition’ (23 June 2015) and on ‘The European Citizens’ Initiative’ (26 February 2015), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the PETI hearing of 23 February 2016 entitled ‘Broadening the scope of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 51)?’, the hearing of 21 June 2016 on ‘Transparency and freedom of information within the EU institutions’ and that one of 22 June 2017 on ‘Restoring citizens’ confidence and trust in the European Project’, together with the previous hearings held in this legislative term on the ‘Right to Petition’ (23 June 2015) and on ‘The European Citizens’ Initiative’ (26 February 2015),

| — | having regard to the studies commissioned in 2016 and 2017 by Parliament’s Policy Department C at the request of the Committee on Petitions, entitled ‘Obstacles to the right of free movement and residence for EU citizens and their families’, ‘Discrimination(s) as emerging from the petitions received’, ‘The impact of Brexit in relation to the right to petition and on the competences, responsibilities and activities of the Committee on Petitions’ and ‘The protection role of the Committee on Petitions in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the studies commissioned in 2016 and 2017 by Parliament’s Policy Department C at the request of the Committee on Petitions, entitled ‘Obstacles to the right of free movement and residence for EU citizens and their families’, ‘Discrimination(s) as emerging from the petitions received’, ‘The impact of Brexit in relation to the right to petition and on the competences, responsibilities and activities of the Committee on Petitions’ and ‘The protection role of the Committee on Petitions in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’,

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions and the opinions of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0385/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions and the opinions of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0385/2017),

| A. | whereas EU citizenship and its related rights were initially introduced in 1992 by the Treaty of Maastricht and were further enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in December 2009, as well as by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas EU citizenship and its related rights were initially introduced in 1992 by the Treaty of Maastricht and were further enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in December 2009, as well as by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;

| B. | whereas the exercise of citizenship calls for a prior guarantee and enjoyment of all human rights, and especially economic, social and cultural rights; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas the exercise of citizenship calls for a prior guarantee and enjoyment of all human rights, and especially economic, social and cultural rights;

| C. | whereas a holistic approach designed to pursue the objectives laid down in the EU Treaties, such as full employment and social progress, is vital in order to permit the genuine enjoyment of the rights and freedoms arising from EU citizenship; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas a holistic approach designed to pursue the objectives laid down in the EU Treaties, such as full employment and social progress, is vital in order to permit the genuine enjoyment of the rights and freedoms arising from EU citizenship;

| D. | whereas access to EU citizenship is gained through nationality of a Member State, which is regulated by national laws; whereas at the same time, rights and duties emerge from this institution which are laid down by EU law and do not depend on the Member States; whereas for the above reason it is equally true that these rights and obligations cannot be limited in an unjustified manner by the Member States, including by their sub-state authorities; whereas in the context of access to national citizenship, Member States should be governed by the principles of EU law, such as those of proportionality and non-discrimination, which are both well elaborated in the case law of the ECJ; whereas according to the Treaties every EU citizen must receive equal attention from the EU institutions; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas access to EU citizenship is gained through nationality of a Member State, which is regulated by national laws; whereas at the same time, rights and duties emerge from this institution which are laid down by EU law and do not depend on the Member States; whereas for the above reason it is equally true that these rights and obligations cannot be limited in an unjustified manner by the Member States, including by their sub-state authorities; whereas in the context of access to national citizenship, Member States should be governed by the principles of EU law, such as those of proportionality and non-discrimination, which are both well elaborated in the case law of the ECJ; whereas according to the Treaties every EU citizen must receive equal attention from the EU institutions;

| E. | whereas EU citizens trust in the Member States, including their sub-state authorities, to apply both Community law and their national laws, this being a precondition for the effective exercise of rights deriving from the EU citizenship which they hold; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas EU citizens trust in the Member States, including their sub-state authorities, to apply both Community law and their national laws, this being a precondition for the effective exercise of rights deriving from the EU citizenship which they hold;

| F. | whereas efforts to promote EU citizenship are linked to improvements in the quality of democracy within the Union, to the practical enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms, and to the opportunity for every citizen to participate in the democratic life of the Union; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas efforts to promote EU citizenship are linked to improvements in the quality of democracy within the Union, to the practical enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms, and to the opportunity for every citizen to participate in the democratic life of the Union;

| G. | whereas any unilateral change in the borders of a Member State constitutes, at the very least, a violation of Articles 2, 3(2) and 4(2) of the TEU, as well as jeopardising enjoyment of all the rights deriving from EU citizenship; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas any unilateral change in the borders of a Member State constitutes, at the very least, a violation of Articles 2, 3(2) and 4(2) of the TEU, as well as jeopardising enjoyment of all the rights deriving from EU citizenship;

| H. | whereas the Treaty of Lisbon consolidated the inalienable rights and guarantees of EU citizenship, including, inter alia, the freedom to travel, work and study in another Member State, to participate in European political life, to promote equality and respect for diversity and to be protected from discrimination, especially that practised on the basis of nationality; whereas the ever-increasing exercise of the right to freely move within the EU in the course of the past decades has had as a consequence the emergence of mixed families with different nationalities, often including children; whereas while this is a positive trend for the consolidation of EU citizenship as an institution in itself, it also entails specific needs and poses challenges in different areas, including legal aspects; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas the Treaty of Lisbon consolidated the inalienable rights and guarantees of EU citizenship, including, inter alia, the freedom to travel, work and study in another Member State, to participate in European political life, to promote equality and respect for diversity and to be protected from discrimination, especially that practised on the basis of nationality; whereas the ever-increasing exercise of the right to freely move within the EU in the course of the past decades has had as a consequence the emergence of mixed families with different nationalities, often including children; whereas while this is a positive trend for the consolidation of EU citizenship as an institution in itself, it also entails specific needs and poses challenges in different areas, including legal aspects;

| I. | whereas the prospect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit) has highlighted the importance of EU citizenship rights and their crucial role in the everyday lives of millions of EU citizens, and has raised awareness in the EU about the potential loss of rights entailed by Brexit on both sides, with special regard to the 3 million EU citizens resident in the UK and the 1,2 million UK citizens resident in the EU; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas the prospect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit) has highlighted the importance of EU citizenship rights and their crucial role in the everyday lives of millions of EU citizens, and has raised awareness in the EU about the potential loss of rights entailed by Brexit on both sides, with special regard to the 3 million EU citizens resident in the UK and the 1,2 million UK citizens resident in the EU;

| J. | whereas on the heels of events in the United Kingdom, the refugee humanitarian crisis, the high levels of unemployment and poverty, and the rise in xenophobia and racism in the EU have undermined confidence in the EU system and the European project as a whole; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas on the heels of events in the United Kingdom, the refugee humanitarian crisis, the high levels of unemployment and poverty, and the rise in xenophobia and racism in the EU have undermined confidence in the EU system and the European project as a whole;

| K. | whereas the right to freedom of movement and its exercise are central to EU citizenship and complement the other freedoms of the EU internal market; whereas young Europeans are particularly attached to freedom of movement, which is ranked among EU citizens, in terms of recognition and popularity, as the EU’s most positive achievement after ensuring peace; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas the right to freedom of movement and its exercise are central to EU citizenship and complement the other freedoms of the EU internal market; whereas young Europeans are particularly attached to freedom of movement, which is ranked among EU citizens, in terms of recognition and popularity, as the EU’s most positive achievement after ensuring peace;

| L. | whereas freedom of movement and the exercising thereof have been violated by various Member States which have expelled EU citizens from their territory or threatened to do so, as reported in a number of petitions; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas freedom of movement and the exercising thereof have been violated by various Member States which have expelled EU citizens from their territory or threatened to do so, as reported in a number of petitions;

| M. | whereas, as petitions and complaints addressed to the Commission and to SOLVIT have shown, EU citizens face notable difficulties in exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms, owing to serious economic and employment problems, aggravated byadministrative burdens and bureaucracy in Member States, and to misinformation and/or lack of cooperation on the part of Member State authorities; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas, as petitions and complaints addressed to the Commission and to SOLVIT have shown, EU citizens face notable difficulties in exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms, owing to serious economic and employment problems, aggravated byadministrative burdens and bureaucracy in Member States, and to misinformation and/or lack of cooperation on the part of Member State authorities;

| N. | whereas the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of 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 enshrined in Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, is the primary expression of EU citizenship; whereas it is also crucial for the successful exercise of freedom of movement, as evidenced in petitions; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of 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 enshrined in Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, is the primary expression of EU citizenship; whereas it is also crucial for the successful exercise of freedom of movement, as evidenced in petitions;

| O. | whereas respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities is one of the EU’s founding values as enshrined in the Treaties; whereas approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language; whereas the effective protection of minorities needs to be strengthened; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities is one of the EU’s founding values as enshrined in the Treaties; whereas approximately 8 % of EU citizens belong to a national minority and approximately 10 % speak a regional or minority language; whereas the effective protection of minorities needs to be strengthened;

| P. | whereas strengthening citizens’ rights and democratic institutions includes combating discrimination and gender inequality, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas strengthening citizens’ rights and democratic institutions includes combating discrimination and gender inequality, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals;

| Q. | whereas women’s under-representation in decision-making positions, especially in the political sphere and in business at board level, hinders capability development and weakens women’s participation in the democratic life of the EU; |
| --- | --- |

Q.

whereas women’s under-representation in decision-making positions, especially in the political sphere and in business at board level, hinders capability development and weakens women’s participation in the democratic life of the EU;

| R. | whereas women’s participation and leadership in political decision-making is still affected by various obstacles, such as the persistence of gender-based stereotypes and the consequences of the recent economic crisis together with its negative repercussions on gender equality issues; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas women’s participation and leadership in political decision-making is still affected by various obstacles, such as the persistence of gender-based stereotypes and the consequences of the recent economic crisis together with its negative repercussions on gender equality issues;

| S. | whereas significant gaps remain in terms of protecting victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence across the EU in cases of cross-border family disputes; |
| --- | --- |

S.

whereas significant gaps remain in terms of protecting victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence across the EU in cases of cross-border family disputes;

| T. | whereas discrimination faced by women across the EU is an obstacle to equality; whereas women remain under-represented as voters as well as in leading positions, whether in elected office, the civil service, academia, the media or the private sector; whereas the widespread multiple discrimination faced by women and the disproportionate number of women facing poverty and social exclusion are obstacles to the full exercise of their citizenship rights; |
| --- | --- |

T.

whereas discrimination faced by women across the EU is an obstacle to equality; whereas women remain under-represented as voters as well as in leading positions, whether in elected office, the civil service, academia, the media or the private sector; whereas the widespread multiple discrimination faced by women and the disproportionate number of women facing poverty and social exclusion are obstacles to the full exercise of their citizenship rights;

| U. | whereas the right to petition the European Parliament, as laid down in Articles 20 and 227 of the TFEU and in Article 44 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, is one of the pillars of EU citizenship, ranks as the second best-known of EU citizenship rights, and must create an interface between citizens and the European institutions through a process that must be open, democratic and transparent; |
| --- | --- |

U.

whereas the right to petition the European Parliament, as laid down in Articles 20 and 227 of the TFEU and in Article 44 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, is one of the pillars of EU citizenship, ranks as the second best-known of EU citizenship rights, and must create an interface between citizens and the European institutions through a process that must be open, democratic and transparent;

| V. | whereas the fundamental rights of EU citizens could be guaranteed by means of a new approach regarding the interpretation of Article 51 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; |
| --- | --- |

V.

whereas the fundamental rights of EU citizens could be guaranteed by means of a new approach regarding the interpretation of Article 51 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

| W. | whereas European citizens are directly represented in the European Parliament and have the democratic right to stand and vote in European elections, even when residing in another Member State; whereas the right of European citizens who have exercised their right of freedom of movement to vote in European and local elections is not facilitated and promoted equally in all Member States; whereas various petitions have pointed out the existence of bureaucratic hurdles and of shortcomings of an administrative or other nature regarding the exercise of the right to vote in national or regional elections of their home Member State for those who reside in another Member State; whereas some citizens are being hindered in the exercise of this democratic right, such as persons with disabilities in Member States which have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) but have not complied with their obligation to reform their electoral laws to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote; |
| --- | --- |

W.

whereas European citizens are directly represented in the European Parliament and have the democratic right to stand and vote in European elections, even when residing in another Member State; whereas the right of European citizens who have exercised their right of freedom of movement to vote in European and local elections is not facilitated and promoted equally in all Member States; whereas various petitions have pointed out the existence of bureaucratic hurdles and of shortcomings of an administrative or other nature regarding the exercise of the right to vote in national or regional elections of their home Member State for those who reside in another Member State; whereas some citizens are being hindered in the exercise of this democratic right, such as persons with disabilities in Member States which have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) but have not complied with their obligation to reform their electoral laws to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote;

| X. | whereas citizens have the right to organise or support, together with other EU citizens from all Member States, a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which should enable them to help set the EU’s legislative agenda; whereas the ECI is an important instrument of direct democracy enabling citizens to become actively involved in the framing of EU policies and legislation; whereas it should be transparent and effective; whereas the exercise of this right has not been satisfactory thus far; |
| --- | --- |

X.

whereas citizens have the right to organise or support, together with other EU citizens from all Member States, a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which should enable them to help set the EU’s legislative agenda; whereas the ECI is an important instrument of direct democracy enabling citizens to become actively involved in the framing of EU policies and legislation; whereas it should be transparent and effective; whereas the exercise of this right has not been satisfactory thus far;

| Y. | whereas the creation of the Schengen area and the integration of the Schengen acquis into the EU framework have greatly enhanced freedom of movement within the EU and constitute one of the greatest achievements of the European integration process; whereas the Council of the European Union, in its conclusions Nos 9166/3/11 and 9167/3/11 of 9 June 2011, confirmed the successful conclusion of the evaluation process and the technical readiness of Bulgaria and Romania to accede to the Schengen area; |
| --- | --- |

Y.

whereas the creation of the Schengen area and the integration of the Schengen acquis into the EU framework have greatly enhanced freedom of movement within the EU and constitute one of the greatest achievements of the European integration process; whereas the Council of the European Union, in its conclusions Nos 9166/3/11 and 9167/3/11 of 9 June 2011, confirmed the successful conclusion of the evaluation process and the technical readiness of Bulgaria and Romania to accede to the Schengen area;

| Z. | whereas security is one of EU citizens’ greatest concerns; whereas the EU should make its citizens feel that their freedom is protected and their security ensured across its territory while ensuring that their freedoms and rights are equally respected and protected; whereas terrorism is a global threat that needs to be dealt with effectively at local, national and EU level in order to ensure the security of European citizens; |
| --- | --- |

Z.

whereas security is one of EU citizens’ greatest concerns; whereas the EU should make its citizens feel that their freedom is protected and their security ensured across its territory while ensuring that their freedoms and rights are equally respected and protected; whereas terrorism is a global threat that needs to be dealt with effectively at local, national and EU level in order to ensure the security of European citizens;

| AA. | whereas, according to the Commission’s impact assessment (SEC(2011)1556) accompanying the proposal leading to the adoption of Council Directive (EU) 2015/637 of 20 April 2015 on the coordination and cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries (12), almost seven million EU citizens travel to or live in places outside the EU where their own country does not have an embassy or consulate; whereas the number of unrepresented EU citizens is expected to increase to at least ten million by 2020; whereas EU citizens resident in the territory of a non-EU country where their Member State of origin does not have representation are entitled to the protection of the diplomatic and consular authorities of any other Member State on the same conditions as that state’s nationals; |
| --- | --- |

AA.

whereas, according to the Commission’s impact assessment (SEC(2011)1556) accompanying the proposal leading to the adoption of Council Directive (EU) 2015/637 of 20 April 2015 on the coordination and cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries (12), almost seven million EU citizens travel to or live in places outside the EU where their own country does not have an embassy or consulate; whereas the number of unrepresented EU citizens is expected to increase to at least ten million by 2020; whereas EU citizens resident in the territory of a non-EU country where their Member State of origin does not have representation are entitled to the protection of the diplomatic and consular authorities of any other Member State on the same conditions as that state’s nationals;

| 1. | Takes note of the Commission’s 2017 EU Citizenship Report, which contains an enumeration of new priorities by field of activity for the years ahead; recalls that the correct application of EU law is a shared responsibility of the Member States and the EU institutions; underlines in that respect the crucial role the Commission plays as the guardian of the Treaties in the implementation of Articles 258 to 260 of the TFEU; expresses the need for priorities to effectively answer citizens’ concerns and for well-defined, concrete commitments and actions for the next three years; urges the Commission to speed up its EU law enforcement policy by using all available tools and mechanisms; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Notes that the rights to petition, to refer cases to the European Ombudsman and to access documents and registers are fundamental, tangible elements of EU citizenship and increase the transparency of decision-making; expresses, therefore, its wish that these rights be promoted and highlighted as key elements of the Commission’s EU Citizenship Report and properly reflected there; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Highlights the fact that the effective exercise of the right to petition has been facilitated thanks to the improved processing of petitions in the European Parliament and the launch in late 2014 of the Committee on Petitions portal, which allows petitions to be submitted in an uncomplicated fashion and managed more efficiently, as illustrated elsewhere by the respective Annual Reports of the Committee on Petitions; calls for the conclusion without delay of the implementation of the next steps of the project as foreseen, since this will allow a far more interactive follow-up of the petition process by petitioners and supporters; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Underlines that the successful exercise of citizenship rights presupposes that all rights and freedoms enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights are upheld by Member States; highlights the fact that the adoption of democratic and participatory governance, the greatest possible level of transparency and the direct involvement of all citizens in decision-making processes ultimately reinforce EU citizenship; calls on the Member States to better inform EU citizens as to their rights and duties and to facilitate equal access to and equal respect for these rights both in their country of origin and in other Member States; highlights existing opt-outs from parts of the EU Treaties by some Member States which lead to de facto differences in citizens’ rights; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Expresses strong regret that for almost a decade now no significant progress has been made in the adoption of the EU-wide Anti-Discrimination Directive; calls on all EU institutions and the Member States to relaunch the relevant negotiations as a matter of the utmost priority; notes the Commission’s undertaking to actively support the conclusion of these negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Is of the view that the effectiveness of EU policies in the field of anti-discrimination should be increased and remaining obstacles removed; recommends that the Commission update the first two anti-discrimination directives, namely Council Directive 2000/43/EC and Council Directive 2000/78/EC, to bring them into line with the current version of the Treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; |
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6.

| 7. | Calls for the adoption of an effective legislative framework and coordination measures at EU and Member State level to ensure high levels of social protection and stable, properly paid jobs; considers this approach to be vital in order to strengthen the fundamental rights and freedoms arising from EU citizenship; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Stresses that the austerity measures adopted at EU and Member State level have aggravated economic and social inequalities, thus severely limiting the practical exercise of the fundamental rights and freedoms arising from EU citizenship; |
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8.

| 9. | Recalls its amendments adopted on 14 September 2017 (13) and the Commission’s proposal on a comprehensive directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States as regards the accessibility requirements for products and services (COM(2015)0615), including different modes of transportation; recommends that legislators expedite their activities with regard to the adoption of a European Accessibility Act; welcomes the interinstitutional agreement reached on the implementation of the Marrakech Treaty on EU copyright law, which has been advocated by the Committee on Petitions since 2011, and reiterates its call for the swift ratification of the Marrakech Treaty by the EU and its Member States; calls on all Member States to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and to sign the Protocol thereto; supports the widening of the use of the mutually recognised EU disability card to as many Member States as possible; encourages them to facilitate the mobility of persons with disabilities and functional limitations in the EU; stresses the need to improve the accessibility of EU websites for persons with disabilities; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Invites the Commission to take more active steps to fight discrimination against LGBTI persons and to combat homophobia by defining concrete action to be taken at national and European level; calls at the same time for the EU institutions to monitor LGBTI rights closely and to promote the recognition of cross-border rights for LGBTI persons and their families in the EU; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Recalls that the principle of equality between women and men can only be implemented through strategic gender mainstreaming in all EU policies, including through its Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019; calls on the Commission to facilitate full access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services in all Member States; calls on the Commission to take meaningful measures to eliminate discrimination and combat discriminatory statements that are directed against women in the EU and which encourage gender stereotypes; reiterates the need for investment in citizenship and civic education and education on gender equality throughout Europe; draws attention to the gender pay and pension gaps in the EU, which undermine the possibility of genuine economic autonomy for millions of women; highlights the importance of the political participation of young people, particularly of women and girls, and calls for more action on the part of the Commission and the Member States in encouraging their participation. |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for the EU to sign and conclude its accession to the Istanbul Convention; regrets, however, that the limitation to two areas — matters relating to judicial cooperation in criminal cases, and asylum and non-refoulement — raises legal uncertainties as to the scope of the EU’s accession; urges the Member States to speed up negotiations on the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention; calls on the Member States which have not yet done so to swiftly ratify this Convention, and on the Commission to propose a directive on combating violence against women; welcomes the submission by the Commission of the work-life balance package, and calls on all institutions to deliver on these measures as soon as possible; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote women’s entry into and representation in leadership positions and to take specific action to address the needs of vulnerable citizens facing intersectional multiple discrimination, so that such citizens are able to exercise their citizenship rights, for example through appropriate strategies; calls on the Council to step up its efforts to unblock the Directive on Women on Boards; reaffirms its call on the Commission to adopt its Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019 as a communication; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Recalls that traditional minorities have coexisted for centuries with majority cultures on the continent of Europe; underlines the need for the EU institutions to play a more active role in the protection of minorities, for instance by promoting awareness-raising meetings, seminars and resolutions as well as concrete administrative steps within the EU institutions; believes that the EU should set high standards for the protection of minorities, beginning with standards codified in international law instruments, such as those of the Council of Europe, and that these standards should be strongly embedded in a legal framework guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights throughout the EU; encourages all Member States to fully ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages without further delay, and to implement the Treaties in good faith; recalls, furthermore, the need to implement the principles developed in the framework of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); deplores any rhetoric that incites discrimination on the grounds of nationality; encourages national governments to find durable solutions and to promote a culture of linguistic diversity in all Member States and the EU as a whole, beyond the confines of the official EU languages, as both the Treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights contain references to the protection of national minorities and to discrimination practised on the grounds of language; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Expresses its deep concern at the numbers of Roma in Europe who are victims of discriminatory birth registration and therefore have no identity documents and are denied access to essential basic services in their countries of residence and, consequently, are also denied enjoyment of any of their rights in the EU; calls on the Member States to take immediate corrective measures in this regard in order to safeguard the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights and of all the rights conferred by EU citizenship; calls on the Commission to assess and monitor the situation in the Member States and to initiate identification and protection of persons whose citizenship has not been recognised and who have no access to identity documents; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Calls on the Commission and the Member States to propose specific measures for removing obstacles to free movement, in line with Parliament’s resolutions of 15 March 2017 on obstacles to EU citizens’ freedom to move and work in the internal market (14) and of 28 April 2016 on safeguarding the best interests of the child across the EU on the basis of petitions addressed to the European Parliament (15); |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Calls on the Commission to regularly monitor the application of Directive 2004/38/EC in the Member States and to take appropriate measures to remove potential obstacles to freedom of movement; welcomes the e-learning tool on the right of free movement of Union citizens, which helps local authorities come to a better understanding of the rights and obligations that come with free movement; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Acknowledges the Commission’s efforts to make multiple information and assistance outlets about the EU and the rights it confers on its citizens, such as the Europe Direct network, the Your Europe portal and the e-justice portal, available and more accessible, in order to better inform individuals exercising their rights as EU citizens; acknowledges the Commission’s proposal for a Single Digital Gateway to give citizens easy, online access to information, assistance and problem-solving services regarding the exercise of rights within the single market; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Calls on the Commission to reinforce the SOLVIT network by improving the interaction between its services and national centres with a view to ensuring better follow-up of unresolved and repetitive cases and closer articulation between the different EU law enforcement tools such as EU PILOT and CHAP; invites the Member States, at the same time, to promote the SOLVIT network and its services, as well as other redress and citizen participation mechanisms, among EU citizens, both at Union level (e.g. via Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, the European Ombudsman or the European Citizens’ Initiative) and at national level (e.g. via regional or local ombudsmen, petitions committees or popular legislative initiatives); |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Supports the Commission’s commitment in the EU Citizenship Report 2017 to organise an EU-wide information and awareness-raising campaign on EU citizenship rights in order to help citizens better understand their rights; points out that citizens should have access to all information necessary for the genuine strengthening of European citizenship, and that such information should be presented in a clear and comprehensible way in order to enable them to make informed decisions on the exercise of their Treaty rights and rights guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; recommends the promotion of transparency and proactive consular support as the most appropriate tools to that end, as well as suitable publication of the information necessary to facilitate establishment for newcomers; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Recalls that access to health services, coordination of social security schemes and recognition of professional qualifications in other Member States are areas in which EU citizens often face difficulties, and calls for vigorous enforcement by the Commission with a view to redressing such situations; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Expresses its concern at the increase in political disaffection among the public; stresses the need to prioritise the fight against xenophobia, racism, discrimination and hate speech; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Acknowledges that action to enhance voter turnout in European elections is a shared responsibility of the EU and Member States; encourages the latter to promote democratic participation by better informing citizens of their right to stand and vote in local and European elections, through multiple channels and in accessible language, and by removing all barriers to their participation, such as economic, social or language discrimination, unfair practices or corruption; urges the Member States to remove accessibility obstacles for citizens with disabilities and to facilitate voting in all elections for citizens residing, working, or studying away from their usual voting location, for instance by embracing electronic identification and voting solutions; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Believes that the reform of the Electoral Act could be an opportunity for the Union to become more democratic; highlights the fact that thousands of Europeans share this view; recalls the need to promote participation in European elections by increasing the visibility of political parties at the European level and that strengthening the European character of the elections to the European Parliament is a shared responsibility of the EU and its Member States; encourages the Council to include gender-mainstreamed and gender-balanced lists in the revision of the abovementioned act; asks the Commission to act on complaints regarding the exercise of the right to vote in European and municipal elections, to devise a concrete action plan for the introduction of electronic voting in the European Parliament elections starting at the earliest feasible date, and to make that system more widely available to all EU citizens; urges the Member States to do all they can to encourage persons who do not possess the citizenship of any state and who reside permanently in the EU Member States to adopt the citizenship of the host Member State so that they can enjoy full EU citizenship rights; considers that EU citizens who move to and reside in another Member State should have the possibility to exercise their right to vote in the national elections of their country of origin; calls on Member States that disenfranchise nationals who choose to live for an extended period of time in another Member State to ease the conditions for these nationals and preserve their right to vote in national elections; urges the Commission to take the necessary steps to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote without any form of discrimination; supports the possibility of introducing a European identity card in addition to national identification documents; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Notes the Commission’s latest communication (COM(2017)0482) on the European Citizens’ Initiative containing a proposal for the revision of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of 16 February 2011, with a view to improving its functioning; is hopeful that the revision of the regulation will result in an ECI instrument that is more transparent, effective and user-friendly, while ensuring democratic and broader participation of citizens in the European debate and agenda-setting; stresses the significant legislative role Parliament will play and the importance of good cooperation with the Commission during the revision of the regulation; calls on the Commission to include provisions aimed at revising the conditions for legal admissibility, the registration requirements and the examination procedures for an ECI; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Takes the view that in the interests of Union citizenship action by the Commission is needed to strengthen the European cultural dimension; encourages the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme to finance more innovative projects with the potential for having a systemic impact; suggests developing the ‘Getting to Know Europe’ programme in parallel with and as a complement to ‘Europe for Citizens’; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Proposes, with the aim of strengthening Union citizenship and the exercise of that citizenship, that the Commission should encourage local authorities to designate councillors responsible for European affairs, since this is the level that is closest to the citizens; |
| --- | --- |

26.

| 27. | Recommends that the Commission introduce an entry register at all of its headquarters, including the representation offices in the Member States, to enable citizens to address any EU institution in writing or face to face with the proper guarantees; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Recommends that the Commission introduce, in cooperation with universal postal service providers, a messaging system with certification of content, date and sender, so that citizens can address the European institutions remotely in writing with the proper guarantees; |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Expresses its conviction that the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, enshrined in Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, free media and access to a plurality of voices in society and the media are indispensable parts of a healthy democracy and are therefore a constitutional foundation of EU membership as enshrined in Articles 2 and 6 of the TEU; underlines the need for a clearly-defined EU policy to tackle anti-European propaganda and false information, and to foster the independence of public media from governments; proposes that a minimum time in public broadcast media in all Member States be dedicated to content related to EU affairs; proposes that EU institutions proceed with the creation of European television channels broadcasting in all Member States and all EU official languages, and with educating citizens on media literacy from an early age; supports dissemination of press and multimedia productions in all official EU languages; underlines in this regard the need for further awareness-raising among European journalists; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Maintains that linguistic diversity and transparency are key tools for bringing citizens closer to the EU and involving them in its activities; notes that access to documents represents 30 % of the investigations completed by the European Ombudsman in 2016, and therefore recommends the promotion of the right to access documents and the translation of as many documents as possible into all official EU languages; supports the intensification of dialogue with citizens and encourages public debates in order to improve citizens’ understanding of the impact of the EU on their daily lives and to allow them to take part in exchanges of views, through slots in television programmes for targeted audiences; calls for an horizontal directive on whistle-blowing which sets out appropriate channels and procedures for reporting cases; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Supports the promotion of a culture of public service among EU and national institutions, and considers that the EU should lead by example through the highest administrative and transparency standards, in accordance with Article 41 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; proposes that local EU offices in the Member States be transformed into ‘one-stop shops’, offering comprehensive services for EU citizens, so as to reduce bureaucracy and the obstacles it poses to the exercise of EU citizenship rights; highlights the importance of the ‘once only’ project, which eliminates unnecessary burdens for European businesses that are asked to present the same data and documents repeatedly in their operations across borders; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Underlines that accessible education plays a vital role in informing future EU citizens about their rights; emphasises the importance of promoting the development of transferable skills that enhance intercultural understanding and active participation in diverse societies through the Erasmus+ programme; encourages the Member States to give more space to civic education focused in particular on EU citizenship and also on EU affairs in their school curricula, and to adapt teacher training accordingly; recalls the need to support teachers and education practitioners in integrating information about EU rights and citizenship into their teaching; stresses, in this context, the need to further promote and develop online platforms, in order for education professionals to be able to access innovative multilingual teaching materials which help them to inspire and motivate students in learning about the EU; urges the Commission to launch an Education for European Citizenship strategy incorporating proposed guidelines to develop a curriculum that could include school visits to EU institutions; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Recalls that, according to EU law as it stands, withdrawal of a Member State from the Union equates to the loss of European citizenship for its citizens; regrets that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will be the first instance in history of citizens being deprived of rights attributed to them through the EU Treaties; underlines that this loss of rights is expected to have a serious impact on their everyday lives; stresses that any agreement should be based on the principles of equity, symmetry, fair treatment, reciprocity and non-discrimination, as well as on full respect for the integrity of EU law, including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its enforcement framework; urges both negotiating parties to give priority to all citizens affected and to safeguard their rights; calls on the negotiating parties to maintain all derivative social, economic and family rights, and in particular healthcare rights, to the fullest extent possible following the UK’s withdrawal; |
| --- | --- |

33.

| 34. | Proposes establishing a European public holiday on 9 May in order to reinforce a European feeling of belonging to the European family; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Urges the Member States to guarantee that their national legislation is sufficiently clear and detailed to ensure that the right of free movement of citizens and their families is respected, to proceed with the proper training of the competent national authorities in this respect and to disseminate accurate information to interested parties in a precise manner, and to foster good cooperation and a swift exchange of information with other national administrations, especially where cross-border insurance and retirement pensions are concerned; calls for better cooperation between host Member States and the relevant consulates which will ensure a proper network of assistance and fair treatment in cross-border cases, particularly where custody of children is involved; urges the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on the cross-border recognition of adoption orders; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Calls on the Council of the European Union and the European Council to allow all countries that fulfil the necessary technical criteria to become members of the Schengen area, thereby allowing all EU citizens to enjoy freedom of movement unhindered by border checks; |
| --- | --- |

36.

| 37. | Recalls that the EU legislation on security should be up-to-date, effective and efficient in preventing, detecting and reacting to evolving security threats; calls for the urgent implementation of the European Agenda on Security, better enforcement of existing EU legal instruments in this field, and more efficient information exchange and coordination among Member States and with EU agencies; welcomes the Commission’s initiatives to strengthen security cooperation between Member States; stresses the importance of fully respecting fundamental rights in the fight against terrorism; emphasises that harmonisation of internal and external EU action in the field of security is essential for the effective protection of EU citizens; |
| --- | --- |

37.

| 38. | Calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to intensify efforts to develop an effective and genuine security union that addresses all dimensions of the terrorist threat; |
| --- | --- |

38.

| 39. | Considers deradicalisation and the prevention of radicalisation to be an absolute priority for the EU, and strongly advocates the strengthening of specific cross-sectoral programmes targeting education, voluntary and cultural activities and youth work, as well as deradicalisation programmes in institutions, local communities, civil society, religious communities and regional administrations; believes that a comprehensive policy in this field should be accompanied by long-term proactive deradicalisation processes in the judicial sphere; stresses the need to develop strategies on social inclusion and policies tackling discrimination; calls on the Member States to address radicalisation holistically and to take advantage of the expertise of the Radicalisation Awareness Network set up on the initiative of the Commission; underlines that the prevention of radicalisation can also be supported through actions funded by EU programmes such as the European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020 and Europe for Citizens; |
| --- | --- |

39.

| 40. | Calls for the full and effective implementation of Directive (EU) 2015/637 in order to ensure consular protection for EU citizens in third countries where their Member States are not represented; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Calls on the Commission to make a proposal for a new, more secure format for an EU emergency travel document for unrepresented EU citizens outside the EU whose passport has been stolen, lost, destroyed or is temporarily unavailable, in order to guarantee that they can return home safely; |
| --- | --- |

41.

| 42. | Stresses that the victims of crime and terrorism must be guaranteed an appropriate level of rights without discrimination across the EU, and that they should be treated with respect and dignity and receive appropriate support in accordance with their individual needs and the needs of their families; underlines that a growing number of European citizens have suffered terrorist attacks in a country that is not their own, and therefore urgently calls for the establishment of protocols in Member States to help non-national Europeans in the event of a terrorist attack, in line with Directive (EU) 2017/541 on combating terrorism; stresses the need for a specific directive on the protection of victims of terrorism; |
| --- | --- |

42.

| 43. | Regrets the existence of cross-border obstacles in civil or social matters, such as family law or pensions, that prevent many citizens from the full enjoyment of their EU citizenship; |
| --- | --- |

43.

| 44. | Regrets that the options for redress open to parents and children in the event of separation or divorce are not the same in each Member State, with the result that hundreds of parents in Europe have contacted the Committee on Petitions to urge it to be more active despite it having very limited competences in this area; |
| --- | --- |

44.

| 45. | Calls for reinforced cooperation between the Member States in order to ensure the protection of victims of gender-based violence and that the best interests of the child are taken into account in cases of cross-border family disputes; |
| --- | --- |

45.

| 46. | Welcomes the launch of the EU Solidarity Corps for young European citizens, and calls for this initiative to be properly funded so that quality jobs are not replaced by unpaid volunteering; |
| --- | --- |

46.

| 47. | Calls on the Member States to put in place coordination and cooperation measures in order to effectively tackle the issues of double taxation and tax discrimination in any cross-border context and to take better account of the realities of cross-border worker mobility; considers that double taxation issues are currently insufficiently addressed insofar as they are handled via existing bilateral tax conventions or unilateral action by a Member State, and that they require concerted and timely action at EU level; |
| --- | --- |

47.

| 48. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the European Ombudsman and the governments and parliaments of the Member States. |
| --- | --- |

48.

---

(1)  Council document 6622/16.

(2)  Council document 14268/15.

(3)  OJ C 378, 9.11.2017, p. 146.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0106.

(5)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0385.

(6)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0013.

(7)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0063.

(8)  PE 601.177v04-00.

(9)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0512.

(10)  PE 597.698v03-00. See also report A8-0265/2017.

(11)  PE 603.107v02-00. See also report A8-0265/2017.

(12)  OJ L 106, 24.4.2015, p. 1.

(13)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0347.

(14)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0083.

(15)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0142.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/22 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/22

---

P8_TA(2017)0488

Towards a digital trade strategy

European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2017 on ‘Towards a digital trade strategy’ (2017/2065(INI))

(2018/C 369/03)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to Articles 207(3) and 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 207(3) and 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

| — | having regard to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),

| — | having regard to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA),

| — | having regard to the WTO Work Programme on E-commerce, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the WTO Work Programme on E-commerce,

| — | having regard to the Joint Declaration by G7 ICT Ministers at the Meeting in Takamatsu, Kagawa on 29 and 30 April 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Joint Declaration by G7 ICT Ministers at the Meeting in Takamatsu, Kagawa on 29 and 30 April 2016,

| — | having regard to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Declaration on the Digital Economy in Cancun in 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Declaration on the Digital Economy in Cancun in 2016,

| — | having regard to the Dynamic Coalition on Trade at the Internet Governance Forum, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Dynamic Coalition on Trade at the Internet Governance Forum,

| — | having regard to the ongoing EU trade negotiations with third countries, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the ongoing EU trade negotiations with third countries,

| — | having regard to the agreement in principle announced by the Commission on 6 July 2017 on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the agreement in principle announced by the Commission on 6 July 2017 on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement,

| — | having regard to Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (1),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (2),

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 14 October 2015 entitled ‘Trade for All: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’ (COM(2015)0497), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 14 October 2015 entitled ‘Trade for All: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’ (COM(2015)0497),

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 19 April 2016 entitled ‘Digitising European Industry’ (COM(2016)0180), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 19 April 2016 entitled ‘Digitising European Industry’ (COM(2016)0180),

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 19 April 2016 entitled ‘European Cloud Initiative — Building a competitive data and knowledge economy in Europe’ (COM(2016)0178), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 19 April 2016 entitled ‘European Cloud Initiative — Building a competitive data and knowledge economy in Europe’ (COM(2016)0178),

| — | having regard to the Commission report of 23 June 2017 on trade and investment barriers (COM(2017)0338), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission report of 23 June 2017 on trade and investment barriers (COM(2017)0338),

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 10 January 2017 entitled ‘Building A European Data Economy’ (COM(2017)0009), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 10 January 2017 entitled ‘Building A European Data Economy’ (COM(2017)0009),

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC (Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications) (COM(2017)0010), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC (Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications) (COM(2017)0010),

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal of 13 September 2017 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data in the European Union (COM(2017)0495), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal of 13 September 2017 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data in the European Union (COM(2017)0495),

| — | having regard to the Commission staff working document of 2 May 2017 entitled ‘Digital4Development: mainstreaming digital technologies and services into EU Development Policy’ (SWD(2017)0157), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission staff working document of 2 May 2017 entitled ‘Digital4Development: mainstreaming digital technologies and services into EU Development Policy’ (SWD(2017)0157),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2016 on a new forward-looking and innovative future strategy for trade and investment (3), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2016 on a new forward-looking and innovative future strategy for trade and investment (3),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 3 February 2016 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Commission on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) (4), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 3 February 2016 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Commission on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) (4),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 8 July 2015 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 8 July 2015 containing the European Parliament’s recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (5),

| — | having regard to the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development and the outcome document adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015 entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development and the outcome document adopted by the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015 entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

| — | having regard to the upcoming 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 10 to 13 December 2017, where e-commerce is likely to be discussed, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the upcoming 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 10 to 13 December 2017, where e-commerce is likely to be discussed,

| — | having regard to the UN International Telecommunication Union’s initiatives in support of Developing Countries (ITU-D), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN International Telecommunication Union’s initiatives in support of Developing Countries (ITU-D),

| — | having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Article 8(1) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and to Article 16(1) of the TFEU, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 8(1) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and to Article 16(1) of the TFEU,

| — | having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

| — | having regard to the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of freedom of speech on Freedom of Expression and the private sector in the digital age (A/HRC/32/38) and on the role of digital access providers (A/HRC/35/22), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of freedom of speech on Freedom of Expression and the private sector in the digital age (A/HRC/32/38) and on the role of digital access providers (A/HRC/35/22),

| — | having regard to the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, adopted by the Council (Foreign Affairs) on 12 May 2014, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, adopted by the Council (Foreign Affairs) on 12 May 2014,

| — | having regard to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, European Treaty Series No 108, and the additional protocol thereto, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, European Treaty Series No 108, and the additional protocol thereto,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on transatlantic data flows (6), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on transatlantic data flows (6),

| — | having regard to the Commission report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the Trade Policy Strategy Trade for All — Delivering a Progressive Trade Policy to Harness Globalisation (COM(2017)0491). |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the Trade Policy Strategy Trade for All — Delivering a Progressive Trade Policy to Harness Globalisation (COM(2017)0491).

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A8-0384/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A8-0384/2017),

| A. | whereas technological developments, access to the open internet and the digitalisation of the economy are an engine for growth as they enable companies particularly start-ups, micro-enterprises and SMEs, to create new opportunities in developing, ordering, producing, marketing or delivering products and services, and to reach customers all over the globe at a faster pace and lower cost than ever before; whereas emerging technologies such as distributed ledger technology have the potential to enhance digital trade by improving the transparency of international contracts and expediting the transfer of value; whereas trade in physical goods has been replaced by increasing amounts of cross-border transfers of digital content, sometimes blurring the distinction between goods and services; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas technological developments, access to the open internet and the digitalisation of the economy are an engine for growth as they enable companies particularly start-ups, micro-enterprises and SMEs, to create new opportunities in developing, ordering, producing, marketing or delivering products and services, and to reach customers all over the globe at a faster pace and lower cost than ever before; whereas emerging technologies such as distributed ledger technology have the potential to enhance digital trade by improving the transparency of international contracts and expediting the transfer of value; whereas trade in physical goods has been replaced by increasing amounts of cross-border transfers of digital content, sometimes blurring the distinction between goods and services;

| B. | whereas data collection, data aggregation and the ability to transfer data across borders has the potential to be a key driver of innovation, productivity and economic competitiveness; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas data collection, data aggregation and the ability to transfer data across borders has the potential to be a key driver of innovation, productivity and economic competitiveness;

| C. | whereas the globalisation and digitalisation of our economies and of international trade have enabled businesses to grow and provided economic opportunities for citizens; whereas the digitalisation of traditional industries affects supply chains, manufacturing and services models, which could lead to job creation in new industries, but could also disrupt current jobs and lead to precarious working conditions as more and more tasks traditionally performed by humans are either automated or off-shored, or both; stresses in this regard that the necessary social flanking measures must be put in place for them to benefit the whole society, such as strong education and training policies, active labour market policies and measures to overcome the digital divide; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas the globalisation and digitalisation of our economies and of international trade have enabled businesses to grow and provided economic opportunities for citizens; whereas the digitalisation of traditional industries affects supply chains, manufacturing and services models, which could lead to job creation in new industries, but could also disrupt current jobs and lead to precarious working conditions as more and more tasks traditionally performed by humans are either automated or off-shored, or both; stresses in this regard that the necessary social flanking measures must be put in place for them to benefit the whole society, such as strong education and training policies, active labour market policies and measures to overcome the digital divide;

| D. | whereas the digital economy requires a rules-based framework, including modern trade rules which can reconcile the rapid changes in the market with the rights of consumers, providing the policy space and room for new regulatory initiatives needed by governments to defend and strengthen the protection of human rights; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the digital economy requires a rules-based framework, including modern trade rules which can reconcile the rapid changes in the market with the rights of consumers, providing the policy space and room for new regulatory initiatives needed by governments to defend and strengthen the protection of human rights;

| E. | whereas access to a free, open and secure internet is a prerequisite for rules-based trade and development in the digital economy; whereas the principle of net neutrality should be a key part of the EU’s digital trade strategy in order to allow for fair competition and innovation in the digital economy, while ensuring freedom of speech online; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas access to a free, open and secure internet is a prerequisite for rules-based trade and development in the digital economy; whereas the principle of net neutrality should be a key part of the EU’s digital trade strategy in order to allow for fair competition and innovation in the digital economy, while ensuring freedom of speech online;

| F. | whereas investment in infrastructure and access to skills remain key challenges to connectivity and, therefore, digital trade; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas investment in infrastructure and access to skills remain key challenges to connectivity and, therefore, digital trade;

| G. | whereas the UN’s SDGs stress that providing universal and affordable access to the internet for people in least developed countries by 2020 will be crucial for fostering development, as the development of a digital economy could be a driver of jobs and growth, e-commerce being one opportunity to increase the numbers of small exporters, export volumes and export diversification; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas the UN’s SDGs stress that providing universal and affordable access to the internet for people in least developed countries by 2020 will be crucial for fostering development, as the development of a digital economy could be a driver of jobs and growth, e-commerce being one opportunity to increase the numbers of small exporters, export volumes and export diversification;

| H. | whereas women can benefit as entrepreneurs and as workers from better access to global markets, and as consumers from lower prices, whereas many challenges and inequalities still hinder women’s participation in the global economy, as many of women in low- and middle-income countries, still have no access to the internet; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas women can benefit as entrepreneurs and as workers from better access to global markets, and as consumers from lower prices, whereas many challenges and inequalities still hinder women’s participation in the global economy, as many of women in low- and middle-income countries, still have no access to the internet;

| I. | whereas e-commerce is also booming in developing countries; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas e-commerce is also booming in developing countries;

| J. | whereas governments around the world are engaging in digital protectionism by putting up barriers that hinder market access and direct investment, or create unfair advantages for domestic companies; whereas a number of broad measures in third countries taken in the name of national (cyber)security have an increasingly negative impact on trade in ICT products; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas governments around the world are engaging in digital protectionism by putting up barriers that hinder market access and direct investment, or create unfair advantages for domestic companies; whereas a number of broad measures in third countries taken in the name of national (cyber)security have an increasingly negative impact on trade in ICT products;

| K. | whereas foreign companies currently benefit from far greater access to the European market than Europeans do to third countries; whereas many of our trade partners are increasingly closing their domestic markets and resorting to digital protectionism; whereas the EU should anchor its digital trade strategy in the principles of reciprocity, fair competition, smart regulation and transparency with a view to restoring consumers’ trust and restoring a level playing field for businesses; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas foreign companies currently benefit from far greater access to the European market than Europeans do to third countries; whereas many of our trade partners are increasingly closing their domestic markets and resorting to digital protectionism; whereas the EU should anchor its digital trade strategy in the principles of reciprocity, fair competition, smart regulation and transparency with a view to restoring consumers’ trust and restoring a level playing field for businesses;

| L. | whereas geo-blocking should be put to an end and no forms of unjustified discrimination based on a customer’s nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market should take place in the future; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas geo-blocking should be put to an end and no forms of unjustified discrimination based on a customer’s nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market should take place in the future;

| M. | whereas the building blocks that preserve the open internet in the EU’s digital single market, including principles such as fair competition, net neutrality and intermediary liability protections, should be promoted in all trade negotiations; whereas the global dimension of digital trade makes the WTO the natural venue for the negotiation of a rule-based multilateral framework; whereas the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017 provides the platform for launching such a process; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas the building blocks that preserve the open internet in the EU’s digital single market, including principles such as fair competition, net neutrality and intermediary liability protections, should be promoted in all trade negotiations; whereas the global dimension of digital trade makes the WTO the natural venue for the negotiation of a rule-based multilateral framework; whereas the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017 provides the platform for launching such a process;

| N. | whereas the European Union is bound by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, including Article 8 thereof on the right to the protection of personal data, by Article 16 TFEU on the same fundamental right, and by Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU); whereas the right to privacy is a universal human right; whereas high data protection standards help to build trust in the digital economy among European citizens and thus foster the development of digital trade; whereas promoting high data protection standards, in particular as regards sensitive data, and facilitating international trade must go hand in hand in the digital era, in order to support freedom of expression and information, e-commerce, and encryption, and to reject digital protectionism, mass surveillance, cyber espionage and online censorship; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas the European Union is bound by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, including Article 8 thereof on the right to the protection of personal data, by Article 16 TFEU on the same fundamental right, and by Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU); whereas the right to privacy is a universal human right; whereas high data protection standards help to build trust in the digital economy among European citizens and thus foster the development of digital trade; whereas promoting high data protection standards, in particular as regards sensitive data, and facilitating international trade must go hand in hand in the digital era, in order to support freedom of expression and information, e-commerce, and encryption, and to reject digital protectionism, mass surveillance, cyber espionage and online censorship;

| O. | whereas digital trade must protect endangered wildlife species, and whereas online market places must ban the sale of wildlife and wildlife products on their platforms; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas digital trade must protect endangered wildlife species, and whereas online market places must ban the sale of wildlife and wildlife products on their platforms;

| P. | whereas private companies are increasingly setting norms and standards in the digital economy, which will have a direct impact on citizens and consumers, as well as on domestic and international trade and at the same time accelerate the development of technological solutions to safeguard business and customers; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas private companies are increasingly setting norms and standards in the digital economy, which will have a direct impact on citizens and consumers, as well as on domestic and international trade and at the same time accelerate the development of technological solutions to safeguard business and customers;

| Q. | whereas the OECD recommendations against base erosion and profit shifting and the EU’s plans for a common consolidated corporate tax base have highlighted the need to address a number of tax challenges, including those posed by the digital economy; whereas taxes should be paid where profits are made; whereas a more transparent, efficient and fair system for calculating the tax base of cross-border companies should prevent profit shifting and tax avoidance; whereas a coherent EU approach to taxation in the digital economy is necessary to achieve fair and effective taxation of all companies and to create a level playing field; recalls that trade agreements should include a clause on tax good governance that reaffirms the parties’ commitment to implementing agreed international standards in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance; |
| --- | --- |

Q.

whereas the OECD recommendations against base erosion and profit shifting and the EU’s plans for a common consolidated corporate tax base have highlighted the need to address a number of tax challenges, including those posed by the digital economy; whereas taxes should be paid where profits are made; whereas a more transparent, efficient and fair system for calculating the tax base of cross-border companies should prevent profit shifting and tax avoidance; whereas a coherent EU approach to taxation in the digital economy is necessary to achieve fair and effective taxation of all companies and to create a level playing field; recalls that trade agreements should include a clause on tax good governance that reaffirms the parties’ commitment to implementing agreed international standards in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance;

| R. | whereas, according to the OECD, up to 5 % of goods imported into the EU are counterfeited, resulting in substantial losses in jobs and tax revenues; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas, according to the OECD, up to 5 % of goods imported into the EU are counterfeited, resulting in substantial losses in jobs and tax revenues;

| S. | whereas sensitive sectors such as audio-visual services, and fundamental rights such as the protection of personal data, should not be subject to trade negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

S.

whereas sensitive sectors such as audio-visual services, and fundamental rights such as the protection of personal data, should not be subject to trade negotiations;

| T. | whereas digital trade must also aim to promote the growth of SMEs and start-ups, and not only that of multinationals; |
| --- | --- |

T.

whereas digital trade must also aim to promote the growth of SMEs and start-ups, and not only that of multinationals;

| U. | whereas Mexico fulfils the conditions for accession to Council of Europe Convention No 108 on data protection; |
| --- | --- |

U.

whereas Mexico fulfils the conditions for accession to Council of Europe Convention No 108 on data protection;

| V. | whereas the protection of personal data is non-negotiable in trade agreements, and whereas data protection has always been excluded from EU trade negotiation mandates; |
| --- | --- |

V.

whereas the protection of personal data is non-negotiable in trade agreements, and whereas data protection has always been excluded from EU trade negotiation mandates;

| W. | whereas trade agreements can be a lever to improve digital rights; whereas the inclusion of provisions on net neutrality, a ban on forced unjustified data localisation requirements, data security, security of data processing and data storage, encryption and intermediary liability in trade agreements can strengthen, in particular, the protection of freedom of speech; |
| --- | --- |

W.

whereas trade agreements can be a lever to improve digital rights; whereas the inclusion of provisions on net neutrality, a ban on forced unjustified data localisation requirements, data security, security of data processing and data storage, encryption and intermediary liability in trade agreements can strengthen, in particular, the protection of freedom of speech;

| 1. | Underlines that the EU, as a community of values and the world’s biggest exporter of services, should set the standards in international rules and agreements on digital trade flows based on three elements: (1) ensuring market access for digital goods and services in third countries, (2) ensuring that trade rules create tangible benefits for consumers and (3) ensuring and promoting respect for fundamental rights; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Stresses that even though the Digital Single Market strategy addresses many of the problems facing digital trade, EU companies still face significant global obstacles such as non-transparent regulations, government intervention and unjustified data location or data storage; points out that some of the key actions of the Digital Single Market strategy, such as the EU cloud initiative and the copyright reform, have an international dimension that could be addressed in a European digital trade strategy; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Stresses the need to bridge the digital divide in order to minimise potential negative social and development impacts; underlines, in this regard, the importance of promoting female participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), of removing barriers to lifelong learning, and of closing gender gaps in access to and in the use of new technologies; calls on the Commission to explore further how current trade policy and gender equality are linked and how trade can promote women’s economic empowerment; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Notes that the network effect of the digital economy enables one company or a small number of companies to hold a large market share, which could lead to excessive market concentration; stresses the importance of promoting fair and effective competition in trade agreements, in particular between digital service providers such as online platforms, and users such as micro-enterprises, SMEs and start-ups, and of promoting consumer choice, reducing transaction costs, ensuring non-discriminatory treatment of all market players and avoiding the creation of dominant positions that distort the markets; stresses, in this context, the importance of including net neutrality as a key part of its digital trade strategy; considers that a digital trade strategy must be complemented by a reinforced and effective international framework for competition policy, including by increased cooperation between competition authorities and strong competition chapters in trade agreements; calls on the Commission to ensure that businesses and companies comply with competition rules and that there is no discrimination against competitors to the detriment of consumers’ interests; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Stresses that access to secure broadband internet connectivity and digital payment methods, effective consumer protection, in particular redress mechanisms for online cross-border sales, and predictable customs procedures, are essential elements in relation to enabling digital trade, sustainable development and inclusive growth; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Considers that trade agreements should provide for increased cooperation between consumer protection agencies and welcomes initiatives to foster consumer trust-enhancing measures in trade negotiations, such as disciplines on electronic signatures and contracts and unsolicited communications; highlights that the rights of consumers must be protected and must not in any event be diluted; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Underlines that SMEs in developing countries make up the majority of businesses and employ the majority of manufacturing and service sector workers; recalls that facilitating cross-border e-commerce can have a direct impact on improving livelihoods, fostering higher living standards and boosting economic development; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Recalls that nothing in trade agreements shall prevent the EU and its Member States from maintaining, improving and applying its data protection rules; recalls that personal data can be transferred to third countries without using general disciplines in trade agreements when the requirements — both at present and in the future — enshrined in Chapter IV of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (7) and in Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, are fulfilled; recognises that adequacy decisions, including partial and sector-specific ones, constitute a fundamental mechanism in terms of safeguarding the transfer of personal data from the EU to a third country; notes that the EU has only adopted adequacy decisions with four of its 20 largest trading partners; recalls the importance of guaranteeing, in particular through adequacy dialogues, the transfer of data from third countries to the EU; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Calls on the Commission to prioritise and speed up the adoption of adequacy decisions, provided that third countries ensure, by reason of their domestic law or their international commitments, a level of protection ‘essentially equivalent’ to that guaranteed within the EU; calls on the Commission to adopt, and to make public, updated and detailed binding procedures with a specific timeframe for reaching these decisions, while fully respecting the powers of national supervisory authorities and the opinion of Parliament; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Recalls that the ability to access, collect, process and transfer data across borders has become increasingly important for every type of company that delivers goods and services internationally; notes that this matters for both personal and non-personal data and includes machine-to-machine communication; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Urges the Commission to draw up rules for cross-border data transfers as soon as possible which fully comply with the EU’s existing and future data protection and privacy rules; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to incorporate into the EU’s trade agreements a horizontal provision, which fully maintains the right of a party to protect personal data and privacy, provided that such a right is not unjustifiably used to circumvent rules for cross-border data transfers for reasons other than the protection of personal data; considers that such rules and provisions should form part of all new and recently launched trade negotiations with third countries; stresses that any disciplines in this regard should be exempted from the scope of application of any future chapter dealing with investment protection; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Calls on the Commission to strictly prohibit unjustified data localisation requirements in free trade agreements (FTAs); considers that the removal of such requirements should be a top priority, and emphasises that the relevant data protection legislation should be adhered to; regrets attempts to use such requirements as a form of non-tariff barrier to trade and as a form of digital protectionism; considers that such protectionism seriously hampers opportunities for European businesses in third country markets and undermines the efficiency benefits of digital trade; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Calls on the Commission to put forward, as soon as possible, its position on cross-border data transfers, unjustified data localisation requirements, and data protection safeguards in trade negotiations, in line with Parliament’s position, so as to include it in all new and recently launched negotiations and to avoid the EU being sidelined in international trade negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Calls on the Commission to combat measures by third countries, such as ‘buy local’ policies, local content requirements or forced technology transfers, to the extent that they are not justified by UN-led programmes on closing the digital divide or TRIPS-related exceptions, so as to ensure that European companies can operate in a fair and predictable environment; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Stresses that the EU should continue to pursue its efforts at bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral level to ensure that third countries offer a level of openness towards foreign investments equivalent to that of the EU, and that they maintain a level playing field for EU operators; welcomes the EU’s proposal for a regulation establishing a framework for review of foreign direct investments into the Union and supports its objectives to better protect critical infrastructures and technologies; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Underlines that a digital trade strategy must be fully in line with the principle of net neutrality and safeguard the equal treatment of internet traffic, without discrimination, restriction or interference, irrespective of its sender, receiver, type, content, device, service or application; recalls, moreover, that traffic management measures should be permitted only in exceptional cases where they are strictly necessary, and only for as long as necessary, to comply with legal requirements, preserve the integrity and security of the network or prevent impending network congestion; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Highlights that the deployment of and access to infrastructure, especially in rural, mountainous and remote areas, that is adequate in coverage, quality and security and supports net neutrality, is crucial for digitising European industry and increasing e-governance; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Strongly deplores third country practices which make market access conditional on the disclosure and transfer to state authorities of the source codes of the software that companies intend to sell; considers that such measures are disproportionate as a blanket requirement for market access; calls on the Commission to prohibit signatory governments to FTAs from engaging in such activities; stresses that the foregoing should not prevent state authorities from promoting transparency of software, encouraging the public disclosure of source code through free and open-source software, as well as sharing data through open data licenses; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Recalls that in some cases local presence requirements are necessary to ensure effective prudential supervision or regulatory oversight and enforcement; reiterates its call on the Commission, therefore, to undertake limited commitments in Mode 1, so as to avoid regulatory arbitrage; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Believes that digital trade should be further facilitated in procurement policies, including by taking advantage of possibilities to provide services remotely and by enabling European companies, particularly SMEs, to obtain access to public and private procurement; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Notes that pro-development technology transfer requirements should not be ruled out by disciplines on digital trade; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Calls on the Commission to prohibit third country authorities from requiring the disclosure or transfer of details of the (cryptographic) technology used in products as a condition of manufacturing, selling or distributing these products; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Notes that the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights and investments in R&D are a precondition on the EU’s knowledge-based economy, and that international cooperation is key to combating the trade in counterfeited goods throughout the entire value chain; encourages the Commission, therefore, to push for the worldwide implementation of international standards such as the WTO TRIPS Agreement and the WIPO Internet Treaties; recalls that legal protection throughout the EU, both online and offline, is needed for new creations since it will encourage investment and lead to further innovations; stresses, however, that trade agreements are not the place to extend the level of IP-protection for rights holders by providing for more extensive copyright enforcement powers; stresses that access to medicines in third countries should not be challenged on the basis of IP protection; stresses that trade in counterfeited goods requires a distinctly different approach to IP infringements in the digital economy; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Exhorts the Commission to keep a close eye on ICANN’s gTLD Program, which expands domain names to thousands of generic names, and to guarantee, in line with its commitment to a free and open internet, the protection of rights holders, in particular those relating to geographical indications; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Calls on the Commission to use trade agreements to prevent parties from imposing foreign equity caps, to lay down pro-competitive wholesale access rules for incumbent operators’ networks, to provide transparent and non-discriminatory rules and fees for licensing, and to secure genuine access to last-mile infrastructures in export markets for EU telecom providers; recalls that rule-based competition in the telecommunications sector leads to higher quality services and lower prices; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Calls on the Commission to continue its efforts towards developing a set of binding multilateral disciplines on e-commerce in the WTO, and to continue focusing on concrete and realistic deliverables; |
| --- | --- |

26.

| 27. | Calls on the Commission to urgently re-launch TiSA negotiations in line with Parliament’s adopted recommendations; espouses the view that the EU should seize the window of opportunity to take the lead to set state-of-the art global digital standards; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Recalls that, since 1998, members of the WTO have upheld a moratorium on tariffs on electronic transmissions; stresses that such tariffs would entail unnecessary additional costs for businesses and consumers alike; calls on the Commission to transform the moratorium into a permanent agreement on banning tariffs on electronic transmissions, subject to careful analysis of the implications in the area of 3D printing; |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Notes the efforts made by the WTO to advance its work programme on e-commerce; asks the Commission to seek the further expansion of the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement to include more products and more WTO members, and takes note of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires scheduled for December 2017; asks the Commission to consult European businesses and Member States as soon as possible on its position on e-commerce and other digital trade matters to be agreed at the conference in order to ensure a united European position; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Calls on the Commission to use trade agreements to promote the interoperability of ICT standards that benefit both consumers and producers, notably in the context of a secure Internet of things, 5G and cybersecurity, while not circumventing legitimate fora for multi-stakeholder governance which have served the open internet well; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Supports the Commission communication of 19 April 2016 on ICT standardisation priorities for the digital single market (COM(2016)0176); stresses that while ICT standardisation must continue to be primarily industry led, voluntary and consensus driven, based on the principles of transparency, openness, impartiality, consensus, effectiveness, relevance and coherence, a clearer set of priorities for ICT standardisation, together with high-level political support, will boost competitiveness; notes that this process should make use of the instruments of the European Standardisation System and involve a wide range of stakeholders, both within the EU and at international level, to ensure delivery of improved standard-setting processes, in line with the Joint Initiative on Standardisation; calls on the Commission to foster the emergence of global industry standards under EU leadership for key 5G technologies and network architectures, notably through the exploitation of the 5G public-private partnership (5G PPP) results at the level of key EU and international standardisation bodies; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Stresses the importance of international standards on digital equipment and services, especially in the area of cybersecurity; asks the Commission to work to ensure the introduction of basic cybersecurity measures into Internet of things products and cloud-based services; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Considers that particular consideration should be given to the increasing number of consumers and individuals who are selling and buying items on the internet and are caught up in burdensome customs procedures for goods purchased online; recalls the need to put in place simplified, tax- and duty-free customs treatment of items sold online and returns unused; recalls that the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement aims to speed up customs procedures and improve their accountability and transparency; stresses the need to digitise customs information and management via online registration and operation of information, which should facilitate clearance at the border, cooperation in fraud detection, anti-corruption efforts and transparency of prices relating to customs; believes that the broader use of tools such as online dispute settlements would be beneficial for consumers; |
| --- | --- |

33.

| 34. | Calls on the Commission to encourage signatories of trade agreements to include, in the telecommunications chapter of their FTAs, provisions making both international roaming fees and the fees applied to international calls and messages transparent, fair, reasonable and consumer-oriented; calls on the Commission to support policies that promote cost-oriented retail prices for roaming services with a view to reducing prices, promoting transparency and preventing commercial practices that are unfair or in any way negative for consumers; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Recognises that the principles of the E-commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) have contributed to the development of the digital economy by creating favourable conditions for innovations and by guaranteeing freedom of speech and the freedom to conduct a business; recalls that the Commission is bound by the EU acquis in its trade negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Calls on the Commission to further mainstream digital technologies and services into the EU’s development policy, as outlined, inter alia, in the Digital4Development agenda; calls on the Commission to use trade agreements to improve and promote digital rights; recognises that only 53,6 % of all households worldwide have access to the internet; deplores the fact that there is still a significant digital divide; calls on the Commission to increase investments in digital infrastructure in the Global South in order to bridge this digital divide, including by stimulating public-private partnerships, but while still respecting the development effectiveness principles; notes in this context the contribution of the UN ITU-D in the creation, development and improvement of telecommunication and ICT equipment and networks; urges the Commission to make investments in broadband infrastructure in developing countries contribute integrally to, and contingent on, respect for a free, open and secure internet and to develop adequate solutions to promote mobile internet access; stresses that such investments are particularly important for local micro, small & medium enterprises, especially in developing countries, in order to enable them to interact digitally with multinational enterprises and to access global value chains; recalls that facilitating cross-border e-commerce can have a direct impact on improving livelihoods, fostering higher living standards and boosting economic development; recalls the contribution that such endeavours could make to gender equality since a great number of these companies are owned and run by women; reiterates that digital trade could also be a resource for public administrations and thus support the development of e-government; |
| --- | --- |

36.

| 37. | Stresses that it is imperative that any digital trade strategy must be fully in line with the principle of policy coherence for development, and should in particular seek to promote and enable start-ups and micro, small & medium enterprises to engage in cross border e-commerce, recalling the contribution this could make to gender equality; |
| --- | --- |

37.

| 38. | Considers that digital issues should also feature more prominently in the EU’s Aid for Trade policy to facilitate the growth of e-commerce via increased support for innovation and infrastructure and access to financing, notably via micro finance initiatives, as well as assistance in increasing online visibility for e-commerce businesses in developing countries, facilitating platform access and promoting the availability of e-payment solutions and access to cost-effective logistics and delivery services; |
| --- | --- |

38.

| 39. | Stresses that any digital trade strategy, including its flanking measures, must be fully in line with and contribute to the realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; notes that SDG 4 on quality education: providing free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education to all girls and boys, SDG 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, SDG 8.10 on promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, in particular by strengthening the capacity of domestic financial institutions and expanding access to financial services, as well as SDG 9.1 on developing reliable and resilient infrastructure with a focus on equitable access for all and SDG 9.3 on increasing the access of small enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets, are particularly relevant in this regard; |
| --- | --- |

39.

| 40. | commits to updating its digital trade strategy every 5 years; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the EEAS. |
| --- | --- |

41.

---

(1)  OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1.

(3)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0299.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0041.

(5)  OJ C 265, 11.8.2017, p. 35.

(6)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0233.

(7)  OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

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Wednesday 13 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/32 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/32

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P8_TA(2017)0490

State of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (2017/2964(RSP))

(2018/C 369/04)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to its resolutions of 5 April 2017 on negotiations with the United Kingdom following its notification that it intends to withdraw from the European Union (1) and of 3 October 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolutions of 5 April 2017 on negotiations with the United Kingdom following its notification that it intends to withdraw from the European Union (1) and of 3 October 2017 on the state of play of negotiations with the United Kingdom (2),

| — | having regard to the European Council (Article 50) guidelines of 29 April 2017 following the United Kingdom’s notification under Article 50 TEU and to the Annex to the Council Decision of 22 May 2017 which lays down the directives for the negotiation of an agreement with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal from the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the European Council (Article 50) guidelines of 29 April 2017 following the United Kingdom’s notification under Article 50 TEU and to the Annex to the Council Decision of 22 May 2017 which lays down the directives for the negotiation of an agreement with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal from the European Union,

| — | having regard to the Joint Report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government of 8 December 2017 on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Joint Report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government of 8 December 2017 on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union,

| — | having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

| A. | whereas the purpose of the negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) being undertaken pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) is to provide for an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU, taking into account the framework for the UK’s future relationship with the Union once it is no longer a Member State; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas the purpose of the negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) being undertaken pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) is to provide for an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU, taking into account the framework for the UK’s future relationship with the Union once it is no longer a Member State;

| B. | whereas achieving an orderly withdrawal requires that negotiations be strictly sequenced such that separation issues arising from the UK’s impending withdrawal are dealt with in a first phase before negotiations can move on to a second phase; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas achieving an orderly withdrawal requires that negotiations be strictly sequenced such that separation issues arising from the UK’s impending withdrawal are dealt with in a first phase before negotiations can move on to a second phase;

| C. | whereas the three most important separation issues by far concern the rights of EU citizens resident in the UK and UK citizens resident in the EU-27, the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and the unique and special circumstances confronting the island of Ireland, and the settlement of the UK’s financial obligations to the EU; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas the three most important separation issues by far concern the rights of EU citizens resident in the UK and UK citizens resident in the EU-27, the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and the unique and special circumstances confronting the island of Ireland, and the settlement of the UK’s financial obligations to the EU;

| D. | whereas sufficient progress must be made on all three of these separation issues before negotiations can proceed to the second phase, and whereas this must be achieved as quickly as possible in order for there to be enough time for the second phase of the negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas sufficient progress must be made on all three of these separation issues before negotiations can proceed to the second phase, and whereas this must be achieved as quickly as possible in order for there to be enough time for the second phase of the negotiations;

| E. | whereas the Joint Report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government indicates that sufficient progress has been achieved; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas the Joint Report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government indicates that sufficient progress has been achieved;

| F. | whereas with regard to citizens’ rights, the UK has:






  — | accepted that all EU citizens legally residing in the UK and UK nationals legally residing in an EU-27 Member State, and their respective family members at the time of withdrawal, will enjoy the full set of rights as established in EU law and interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based on protections which will be set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, |
| --- | --- | --- |

F.

whereas with regard to citizens’ rights, the UK has:

—

accepted that all EU citizens legally residing in the UK and UK nationals legally residing in an EU-27 Member State, and their respective family members at the time of withdrawal, will enjoy the full set of rights as established in EU law and interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based on protections which will be set out in the Withdrawal Agreement,

| — | accepted, in addition, that citizens’ core family members and persons in a durable relationship with them currently residing outside the host state will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and that this will also be the case for children born in the future and outside the host state, |
| --- | --- |

—

accepted, in addition, that citizens’ core family members and persons in a durable relationship with them currently residing outside the host state will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and that this will also be the case for children born in the future and outside the host state,

| — | accepted that the continuation of citizens’ rights will be guaranteed for a lifetime through a proportionate procedure, which will be subject to proper safeguards, in accordance with EU law concepts. This procedure and these safeguards will be set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, |
| --- | --- |

—

accepted that the continuation of citizens’ rights will be guaranteed for a lifetime through a proportionate procedure, which will be subject to proper safeguards, in accordance with EU law concepts. This procedure and these safeguards will be set out in the Withdrawal Agreement,

| — | accepted that administrative procedures will be transparent, smooth and streamlined, that forms will be short, simple and user-friendly, and that applications made by members of a family at the same time will be considered together, |
| --- | --- |

—

accepted that administrative procedures will be transparent, smooth and streamlined, that forms will be short, simple and user-friendly, and that applications made by members of a family at the same time will be considered together,

| — | accepted that all relevant rights based on EU law will be safeguarded and will be set out in detail in the Withdrawal Agreement, |
| --- | --- |

—

accepted that all relevant rights based on EU law will be safeguarded and will be set out in detail in the Withdrawal Agreement,

| — | accepted that all social security rights under EU law will be maintained. This includes the export of all exportable benefits, |
| --- | --- |

—

accepted that all social security rights under EU law will be maintained. This includes the export of all exportable benefits,

| — | accepted that the citizens’ rights’ provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement will be incorporated into a specific UK legal act so that these rights will have direct effect; |
| --- | --- |

—

accepted that the citizens’ rights’ provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement will be incorporated into a specific UK legal act so that these rights will have direct effect;

| G. | whereas with regard to Ireland / Northern Ireland, the UK has made the requisite commitments to ensure that there is no hardening of the border, by means of regulatory alignment, including:






  — | if necessary, specific solutions for Northern Ireland, |
| --- | --- | --- |

G.

whereas with regard to Ireland / Northern Ireland, the UK has made the requisite commitments to ensure that there is no hardening of the border, by means of regulatory alignment, including:

—

if necessary, specific solutions for Northern Ireland,

| — | commitment to protecting the 1998 Agreement in all its parts, |
| --- | --- |

—

commitment to protecting the 1998 Agreement in all its parts,

| — | ensuring that there is no diminution of rights for people in Northern Ireland; |
| --- | --- |

—

ensuring that there is no diminution of rights for people in Northern Ireland;

| H. | whereas with regard to the financial settlement, the UK has clarified adequately what financial obligations it will honour as a departing Member State; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas with regard to the financial settlement, the UK has clarified adequately what financial obligations it will honour as a departing Member State;

| I. | whereas this does not mean that all outstanding issues have been resolved, nor does it indicate what position Parliament will take when it comes to the consent procedure on a final withdrawal agreement; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas this does not mean that all outstanding issues have been resolved, nor does it indicate what position Parliament will take when it comes to the consent procedure on a final withdrawal agreement;

| J. | whereas the second phase of negotiations should, on the basis of sound and unambiguous principles, be dedicated to finalising the arrangements for the orderly withdrawal of the UK from the Union, including possible transitional arrangements needed for the UK’s withdrawal; whereas in this context an overall understanding on the framework for the future relationship should be identified; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas the second phase of negotiations should, on the basis of sound and unambiguous principles, be dedicated to finalising the arrangements for the orderly withdrawal of the UK from the Union, including possible transitional arrangements needed for the UK’s withdrawal; whereas in this context an overall understanding on the framework for the future relationship should be identified;

| K. | whereas the UK and the EU will remain close neighbours and will continue to have many interests in common even though the UK will no longer be a Member State; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas the UK and the EU will remain close neighbours and will continue to have many interests in common even though the UK will no longer be a Member State;

| L. | whereas such a close relationship in the form of an association agreement between the EU and the UK could be considered an appropriate framework by which these common interests can be protected and promoted, including a new trade relationship; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas such a close relationship in the form of an association agreement between the EU and the UK could be considered an appropriate framework by which these common interests can be protected and promoted, including a new trade relationship;

| M. | whereas the advantage of an association agreement is that it is a flexible instrument allowing for cooperation across a wide variety of policy areas; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas the advantage of an association agreement is that it is a flexible instrument allowing for cooperation across a wide variety of policy areas;

| N. | whereas transitional arrangements will be necessary to avoid a cliff-edge scenario when the UK leaves the EU, and to give the EU and UK negotiators the possibility to negotiate a future relationship agreement; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas transitional arrangements will be necessary to avoid a cliff-edge scenario when the UK leaves the EU, and to give the EU and UK negotiators the possibility to negotiate a future relationship agreement;

| O. | whereas, whatever the outcome of the negotiations on the future relationship, there cannot be any trade-off between internal and external security, including defence cooperation, on the one hand, and the future economic relationship on the other hand; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas, whatever the outcome of the negotiations on the future relationship, there cannot be any trade-off between internal and external security, including defence cooperation, on the one hand, and the future economic relationship on the other hand;

| P. | whereas comments such as those made by David Davis, calling the outcome of phase 1 of the negotiations a mere ‘statement of intent’, risk undermining the good faith that has been built during the negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas comments such as those made by David Davis, calling the outcome of phase 1 of the negotiations a mere ‘statement of intent’, risk undermining the good faith that has been built during the negotiations;

| 1. | Welcomes the joint progress report presented by the EU and UK negotiators, which concludes that sufficient progress has been achieved in negotiations for the Withdrawal Agreement, and congratulates the Union’s negotiator on the conduct of the negotiations so far; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Is of the opinion that the report allows for the negotiations to move on to the second phase and recommends that the European Council decide accordingly, but believes that negotiations must be conducted in good faith and is of the opinion that negotiations can only progress during the second phase if the UK Government also fully respects the commitments it made in the Joint Report and if these commitments are fully translated into the draft Withdrawal Agreement; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Points out, however, that there are still outstanding issues with respect to providing for an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU, which must be resolved before the Withdrawal Agreement can be finalised, and notes that, once finalised, the Withdrawal Agreement needs to be set out in a clear and unambiguous legal text; points out that these outstanding issues concern:






  — | extending coverage of citizens’ rights to future partners, |
| --- | --- | --- |

3.

—

extending coverage of citizens’ rights to future partners,

| — | ensuring that the administrative procedure is light-touch, declaratory in nature and free of charge, placing the burden of proof on the UK authorities to challenge the declaration, and enabling families to initiate the procedure by means of a single form, |
| --- | --- |

—

ensuring that the administrative procedure is light-touch, declaratory in nature and free of charge, placing the burden of proof on the UK authorities to challenge the declaration, and enabling families to initiate the procedure by means of a single form,

| — | providing for the binding character of the CJEU decisions in relation to the interpretation of citizens’ rights provisions, as well as for the role of the future independent national authority (ombudsman) created to act on citizens’ complaints, |
| --- | --- |

—

providing for the binding character of the CJEU decisions in relation to the interpretation of citizens’ rights provisions, as well as for the role of the future independent national authority (ombudsman) created to act on citizens’ complaints,

| — | guaranteeing future free movement rights across the whole EU for UK citizens currently resident in an EU-27 Member State, |
| --- | --- |

—

guaranteeing future free movement rights across the whole EU for UK citizens currently resident in an EU-27 Member State,

| — | ensuring that the commitments made with respect to Northern Ireland / Ireland are fully enforceable; |
| --- | --- |

—

ensuring that the commitments made with respect to Northern Ireland / Ireland are fully enforceable;

| 4. | Reserves, therefore, all its rights with respect to the final Withdrawal Agreement, to which it will need, in line with Article 50(2) of the TEU, to give its consent if that Agreement is to come into effect; |
| --- | --- |

4.

Framework for a future EU-UK relationship

| 5. | Recalls that Article 50(2) of the TEU provides for the framework for the EU’s future relationship with the departing Member State to be taken into account by the Union when negotiating and concluding a withdrawal agreement; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Proposes that, should an overall understanding on this framework for the future relationship be agreed between the EU and the UK, this should take the form of a political declaration annexed to the Withdrawal Agreement; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Notes that the agreement setting out the new relationship between the EU and the UK, and based on the above framework, can only be formally negotiated once the UK has left the EU and is a third country; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Underlines that it will accept a framework for the future EU-UK relationship as part of the Withdrawal Agreement only if it is in strict concordance with the following principles:






  — | a third country that does not live up to the same obligations as a Member State cannot enjoy the same benefits as a Member State of the European Union or an EEA member, |
| --- | --- | --- |

8.

—

a third country that does not live up to the same obligations as a Member State cannot enjoy the same benefits as a Member State of the European Union or an EEA member,

| — | protection of the integrity of the internal market and the four freedoms, without allowing for a sector-by-sector approach, |
| --- | --- |

—

protection of the integrity of the internal market and the four freedoms, without allowing for a sector-by-sector approach,

| — | autonomy of the EU’s decision-making, |
| --- | --- |

—

autonomy of the EU’s decision-making,

| — | safeguarding the EU legal order and the role of the CJEU, |
| --- | --- |

—

safeguarding the EU legal order and the role of the CJEU,

| — | the UK’s adherence to the standards provided by international obligations, including fundamental rights, and the Union’s legislation and policies in the fields of the environment, climate change, consumer protection, the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, fair competition, data protection and privacy, trade, and social and workers’ rights, especially safeguards against social dumping, with a clear enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance, |
| --- | --- |

—

the UK’s adherence to the standards provided by international obligations, including fundamental rights, and the Union’s legislation and policies in the fields of the environment, climate change, consumer protection, the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, fair competition, data protection and privacy, trade, and social and workers’ rights, especially safeguards against social dumping, with a clear enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance,

| — | safeguarding of EU agreements with third countries and organisations, including the EEA Agreement, |
| --- | --- |

—

safeguarding of EU agreements with third countries and organisations, including the EEA Agreement,

| — | safeguarding of the financial stability of the EU and compliance with its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application, |
| --- | --- |

—

safeguarding of the financial stability of the EU and compliance with its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application,

| — | a correct balance of rights and obligations, including commensurate financial contributions; |
| --- | --- |

—

a correct balance of rights and obligations, including commensurate financial contributions;

| 9. | Calls for the framework for the future relationship, while remaining consistent with the above principles, to provide for as close a relationship as possible between the EU and the UK; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Reiterates that an association agreement negotiated and agreed between the EU and the UK post-UK withdrawal, pursuant to Article 217 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), could provide an appropriate framework for the future relationship; proposes that such an agreement, in addition to its governance framework which should include a robust and independent dispute resolution mechanism, should cover the following four pillars:






  — | trade and economic relations, |
| --- | --- | --- |

10.

—

trade and economic relations,

| — | thematic cooperation, |
| --- | --- |

—

thematic cooperation,

| — | internal security, |
| --- | --- |

—

internal security,

| — | foreign policy and security cooperation; |
| --- | --- |

—

foreign policy and security cooperation;

| 11. | Recalls that many citizens of the UK have expressed strong opposition to losing the rights they currently enjoy pursuant to Article 20 of the TFEU; proposes that the EU-27 should examine how to mitigate this within the limits of Union primary law while fully complying with the principles of reciprocity, equity, symmetry and non-discrimination; |
| --- | --- |

11.

Transitional arrangements

| 12. | Reiterates that transitional arrangements ensuring legal certainty and continuity can only be agreed if they contain the right balance of rights and obligations, are limited in time, not exceeding three years, and consist of the prolongation of the EU acquis, including rights of citizens, thereby requiring that the existing EU regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judicial and enforcement instruments and structures continue to apply to the UK; notes that the UK will no longer be part of the EU institutions and bodies; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Affirms that any changes to the EU acquis which take effect during the transitional period must apply automatically to the UK in accordance with the transitional arrangements agreed between the EU and the UK; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Insists that any future trade agreements that the UK negotiates post-withdrawal with third countries may only come into force at the end of the period during which transitional arrangements apply; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Points out that a transitional period as agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK can only start once that agreement is in place; |
| --- | --- |

15.

o

o o

| 16. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the national parliaments and the Government of the United Kingdom. |
| --- | --- |

16.

---

(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0102.

(2)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0361.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/36 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/36

---

P8_TA(2017)0492

Annual report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual report on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (2017/2123(INI))

(2018/C 369/05)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Treaty of Lisbon, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Treaty of Lisbon,

| — | having regard to the European Council conclusions of 20 December 2013, 26 June 2015, 15 December 2016, and 22 June 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the European Council conclusions of 20 December 2013, 26 June 2015, 15 December 2016, and 22 June 2017,

| — | having regard to the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the common foreign and security policy (CFSP),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy (1),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2017 on arms export: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2017 on arms export: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP (2),

| — | having regard to the Council conclusions on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of 25 November 2013, 18 November 2014, 18 May 2015, 27 June 2016, 14 November 2016 and 18 May 2017, and the Council conclusions on the EU Global Strategy of 17 July 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council conclusions on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of 25 November 2013, 18 November 2014, 18 May 2015, 27 June 2016, 14 November 2016 and 18 May 2017, and the Council conclusions on the EU Global Strategy of 17 July 2017,

| — | having regard to the 19th Franco-German Ministerial Council meeting in Paris on 13 July 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 19th Franco-German Ministerial Council meeting in Paris on 13 July 2017,

| — | having regard to the informal meeting of defence ministers and the informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers (Gymnich) in Tallinn on 6-9 September 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the informal meeting of defence ministers and the informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers (Gymnich) in Tallinn on 6-9 September 2017,

| — | having regard to the meeting of EU Ministers of Defence on 30 November 2011, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the meeting of EU Ministers of Defence on 30 November 2011,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2013 on ‘EU’s military structures: state of play and future prospects’ (3), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2013 on ‘EU’s military structures: state of play and future prospects’ (3),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2016 on the European Defence Union (4), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2016 on the European Defence Union (4),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 23 November 2016 on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (based on the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the Common Foreign and Security Policy) (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 23 November 2016 on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy (based on the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the Common Foreign and Security Policy) (5),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 16 March 2017 on ‘Constitutional, legal and institutional implications of a common security and defence policy: possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty’ (6), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 16 March 2017 on ‘Constitutional, legal and institutional implications of a common security and defence policy: possibilities offered by the Lisbon Treaty’ (6),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2017 on the mandate for the trilogue on the 2018 draft budget (7), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2017 on the mandate for the trilogue on the 2018 draft budget (7),

| — | having regard to the document entitled ‘Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe — A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy’, presented by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on 28 June 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the document entitled ‘Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe — A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy’, presented by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on 28 June 2016,

| — | having regard to the document entitled ‘Implementation Plan on Security and Defence’, presented by the VP/HR on 14 November 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the document entitled ‘Implementation Plan on Security and Defence’, presented by the VP/HR on 14 November 2016,

| — | having regard to the communication from the Commission of 30 November 2016 to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European Defence Action Plan (COM(2016)0950), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the communication from the Commission of 30 November 2016 to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European Defence Action Plan (COM(2016)0950),

| — | having regard to the joint declaration of 8 July 2016 by the Presidents of the European Council and the Commission and the Secretary-General of NATO, the common set of proposals endorsed by NATO and EU Councils on 6 December 2016 and the Progress report on the implementation thereof adopted on 14 June 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint declaration of 8 July 2016 by the Presidents of the European Council and the Commission and the Secretary-General of NATO, the common set of proposals endorsed by NATO and EU Councils on 6 December 2016 and the Progress report on the implementation thereof adopted on 14 June 2017,

| — | having regard to the Bratislava Declaration of 16 September 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Bratislava Declaration of 16 September 2016,

| — | having regard to the new defence package presented by the Commission on 7 June 2017 in the press release ‘A Europe that defends: Commission opens debate on moving towards a Security and Defence Union’, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the new defence package presented by the Commission on 7 June 2017 in the press release ‘A Europe that defends: Commission opens debate on moving towards a Security and Defence Union’,

| — | having regard to the Reflection Paper on the Future of European Defence of 7 June 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Reflection Paper on the Future of European Defence of 7 June 2017,

| — | having regard to Eurobarometer 85.1 of June 2016, according to which half of EU citizens surveyed consider EU action insufficient and two thirds of them would like to see greater EU engagement through Member States' commitment in matters of security and defence policy, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Eurobarometer 85.1 of June 2016, according to which half of EU citizens surveyed consider EU action insufficient and two thirds of them would like to see greater EU engagement through Member States' commitment in matters of security and defence policy,

| — | having regard to the crisis management concept of the Council for a new civilian CSDP mission in Iraq of 17 July 2017 and to the Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/1425 of 4 August 2017 on a European Union stabilisation action in the Malian regions of Mopti and Segou, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the crisis management concept of the Council for a new civilian CSDP mission in Iraq of 17 July 2017 and to the Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/1425 of 4 August 2017 on a European Union stabilisation action in the Malian regions of Mopti and Segou,

| — | having regard to the EU Policy on Training for CSDP adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council on 3 April 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Policy on Training for CSDP adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council on 3 April 2017,

| — | having regard to the Council Decision of 23 October 2017 on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement (Union's Preparatory Action on Defence Research), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council Decision of 23 October 2017 on the position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, within the EEA Joint Committee concerning an amendment to Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement (Union's Preparatory Action on Defence Research),

| — | having regard to the Notification on Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) of 13 November 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Notification on Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) of 13 November 2017,

| — | having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the Vice-President / High Representative of 10 November 2017 to the European Parliament and the Council on Improving Military Mobility in the European Union (JOIN(2017)0041), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the Vice-President / High Representative of 10 November 2017 to the European Parliament and the Council on Improving Military Mobility in the European Union (JOIN(2017)0041),

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A8-0351/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A8-0351/2017),

The Union’s strategic environment

| 1. | Underlines that the rules-based international order and the values defended by Western democracies, and the peace, prosperity and freedoms which this post-World War II order guarantees and which correspond to the foundations on which the European Union is built, are facing an unprecedented number of conventional and hybrid challenges, as societal, economic, technological and geopolitical trends point to the growing vulnerability of the world's population to shocks and stresses — such as interstate conflicts, natural disasters, extreme weather events, water crises, state collapse and cyber-attacks — that need a united and coordinated response; recalls that security is a key concern for European citizens; states that the Union’s external action is to be guided by the values and principles enshrined in Article 21 TEU; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Stresses that no single Member State can alone tackle any of the complex security challenges we are facing today, and in order for the EU to be able to respond to this internal and external challenges it needs to step up its efforts towards concrete strong cooperation in the context of CFSP/CSDP, be an effective global player, which implies speaking with one voice and acting together, and focus its resources on strategic priorities; takes the view that it is necessary to tackle the root causes of instability, which are poverty and raising inequality, bad governance, state collapse and climate change; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Deplores the fact that transnational terrorist and criminal organisations are increasing in strength and number, potentially facilitated by the defeat of ISIS/Da'esh and the fact that its fighters are fleeing, while instability simultaneously spreads in the southern regions and in the Middle East, as fragile and disintegrating states such as Libya give up on large ungoverned spaces vulnerable to outside forces; expresses its continued concern over the transnational dimension of the terrorist threat in the Sahel region; deeply deplores that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile-related activities have generated increased tension in the region and beyond, posing a clear threat to international peace and security; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Stresses that to the east, Russia’s war against Ukraine is still ongoing, the Minsk agreements — without which there can be no solution to the conflict — have not been implemented and the illegal annexation and militarisation of Crimea, and the imposition of anti-access and area denial systems, continue; is deeply concerned that Russia's excessive exercises and military activities without international observation, hybrid tactics, including cyber-terrorism, fake news and disinformation campaigns, economic and energy blackmail are destabilising the Eastern Partnership countries and the Western Balkans, as well as are being targeted at Western democracies and increasing tensions within them; is concerned that the security environment surrounding the EU will remain highly volatile for years to come; reiterates the strategic importance of the Western Balkans for the security and stability of the EU and the need to focus and strengthen the EU's political engagement towards the region, including by strengthening the mandate of our Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions; is firmly convinced that in order to overcome the EU's vulnerability there is a need for more integration as well as coordination; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Deplores the terrorist threat that is quickly expanding both within Europe and beyond its borders; considers that an incomplete answer on the military level will inevitably lead to ever-growing internal security threats; urgently calls for an European anti-jihadist pact that can tackle these threats in an effective manner; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Believes that terrorism represents today one of the key challenges to the security of EU citizens, requiring swift, firm and coordinated action, both at internal and external level, in order to prevent further terrorist attacks and to fight its root causes; points out, in particular, the need to prevent radicalisation, to block any source of financial resources to terrorist organisations, to tackle terrorist propaganda and block the use of the internet and social networks for this purpose, including through an automated removal service, and to improve intelligence sharing between Member States, as well as with third countries, NATO and other relevant partner organisations; believes that the mandate of our CSDP missions should include the fight against terrorism in order to contribute more consequently to deradicalisation programmes, notably EULEX in Kosovo and EUFOR ALTHEA in Bosnia Herzegovina, countries that are confronted with an important number of fighters returning from abroad; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Is deeply concerned about the increasingly deadly terrorist threat in the Sahel belt as well as its extension to Central Africa, and the instability in the East (Syria, Iraq, Palestine); calls on the VP/HR to ensure that an executive mandate is granted to the CSDP missions and to intervene in a decisive and determined manner; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Believes that, under the current EU enlargement policy, a credible accession process grounded on extensive and fair conditionality remains an important tool for promoting security by enhancing the resilience of countries in the south-eastern Europe; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Believes that in a challenging security environment, and at a moment when the EU and NATO are endeavouring to broaden and deepen their cooperation, through Brexit the EU will lose part of its military capability and will possibly no longer be able to benefit from the UK’s expertise, and vice versa; notes that Brexit gives new momentum to initiatives that have long been blocked, and could open the door to new proposals; stresses the importance of continuing close defence cooperation between the EU and the post-Brexit UK, including in, but not limited to, the areas of intelligence sharing and counterterrorism; considers that, if it so requests, the UK should also be able to participate in CSDP missions as part of a new EU-UK defence cooperation relationship; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Welcomes the renewed US commitment to European security; stresses that the EU stands firmly committed to the transatlantic community of common values and interests; is at the same time convinced that an accountable and self-confident CFSP is needed and that, in this context, the EU must become a self-assured foreign-policy actor; |
| --- | --- |

10.

Institutional framework

| 11. | Believes strongly that, whenever necessary, the EU should take decisive action to determine its future, as internal and external security are becoming increasingly intertwined, and as this has a direct impact on all European citizens; warns that the lack of a common approach could lead to uncoordinated and fragmented action, allows multiple duplications and inefficiency and, as a result, would make the Union and its Member States vulnerable; is therefore of the opinion that the EU should be able to act effectively along the entire spectrum of internal-external security instruments, up to the level of Article 42(7) TEU; stresses that the framing of a common Union defence policy referred to in Article 42(2) TEU has the objective of establishing a common defence and endowing the Union with strategic autonomy to enable it to promote peace and security in Europe and in the world; emphasises the practical and financial benefits of further integrating European defence capabilities; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Underlines that the EU needs to apply the entire tool-box of available policy instruments — from soft to hard power and from short-term measures to long-term policies in the area of classical foreign policy, encompassing not only bilateral and multilateral efforts in diplomacy, development cooperation, civilian and economic instruments, emergency support, crisis prevention and post-conflict strategies, but also peacekeeping and peace-enforcing, also in line with the civilian and military means described in Article 43(1) TEU — in order to cope with the rising challenges; believes that the CSDP should be built on the principle that European security cannot be guaranteed by relying merely on military assets; considers that EU foreign actions should include an assessment of their impact on EU’s people-centred strategic interests of enhancing human security and human rights, strengthening international law and promoting sustainable peace; underlines the need for the EEAS to step up its capacities to better anticipate crises and counter security challenges at the point of their inception; stresses the need for a more coherent and better coordinated interaction between military, civilian, development and humanitarian actors; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Welcomes the visible progress made in framing a stronger European defence stance since the adoption of the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS) in June 2016; welcomes, in particular, the launching of a European Defence Fund (EDF), the proposed scaling-up of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research and the legislative proposal for a European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP); calls on the Member States to increase their future financial contributions to the EU budget in order to cover all additional costs incurred by the EU in connection with the EDF; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Welcomes EFTA’s adhesion to the preparatory action on defence research, and welcomes in particular the Norwegian contribution of EUR 585 000 for 2017; expresses its wish that Norway may continue to participate in Union-funded programmes that have defence implications or are in the defence remit; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Calls on the Commission and the VP/HR, to keep Parliament immediately and fully informed at all stages about any conclusion of, or amendment to, international agreements that have defence implications or are in the defence remit; considers that any third-country financial contribution has important budgetary implications for the Union, as a third country could affect the Union's financial interests in a manner well beyond the size of its contribution by withholding necessary export licenses; stresses that where third parties contribute to Union-funded programmes that have defence implications or are in the defence remit, Parliament expects the Commission and the VP/HR to assess the impact of such participation as regards the Unions' strategic policies and interests before making a proposal, and to inform Parliament about this assessment; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Highlights the facts that the Commission and an increasing number of Member States have committed themselves to launching the European Defence Union (EDU) and that there is a strong support for this among European citizens; stresses that this corresponds to a demand from EU citizens and from Parliament, notably through numerous appeals expressed in its previous resolutions; highlights the greater efficiency, and the elimination of duplication and reduction of costs, that will result from stronger European defence integration; stresses, however, that the launch of a real EDU requires continued political will and determination; urges the Member States to commit themselves to a common and autonomous European defence, and to aim to ensure that their national defence budgets amount to at least 2 % of their respective GDPs within a decade; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Is convinced that the only way to increase the Union’s ability to fulfil its military tasks is to significantly increase efficiency with regard to all aspects of the process which generates military capabilities; recalls that, compared to the US the EU-28 spend 40 % on defence but only manage to generate 15 % of the capabilities that the US gets out of the process, which points to a very serious efficiency problem; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Calls on the VP/HR and the Commission to act on Parliament’s calls for an EU Security and Defence White Book in the context of preparing the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), as requested in Parliament’s resolutions of 22 November 2016, 23 November 2016 and 16 March 2017; considers that building the EDU, linking its strategic orientation with EU contributions to capability development and shaping the European institutional framework for defence, are elements that need to be underpinned by an interinstitutional agreement; stresses that with a comprehensive and trustworthy effort on the part of all stakeholders it is possible to increase the scope and efficiency of defence spending; calls for a powerful role in this process to be defined for neutral countries such as Austria and Sweden, without calling into question the neutrality of individual Member States; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Stresses that, in addition to a description of the strategic environment and the strategic ambitions, the EU Security and Defence White Book should identify, for the next MFF, the required and available capabilities, as well as any capability shortfalls, in the form of the EU Capability Development Plan (CDP), and should be complemented by a broad outline of the intended Member State and Union actions under the MFF and in the longer term; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Welcomes the newly demonstrated political will to make CSDP more effective; supports any attempt to unleash the full potential of the Lisbon Treaty by making cooperation between Member Stakes work, and to make the operationally relevant capabilities for fulfilling Article 43(1) TEU tasks available, by:






  (a) | urgently installing the start-up fund as foreseen by the Treaty in order to allow fast deployment of operations; |
| --- | --- | --- |

20.

(a)

urgently installing the start-up fund as foreseen by the Treaty in order to allow fast deployment of operations;

| (b) | establishing permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) on those military aspects that are necessary to implement CSDP tasks such as permanently pooled military units; |
| --- | --- |

(b)

establishing permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) on those military aspects that are necessary to implement CSDP tasks such as permanently pooled military units;

| (c) | reforming the intergovernmental joint financing mechanism Athena in order to operationalise solidarity between those Member States that can only contribute financially and those that can only contribute with troops to a CSDP operation; |
| --- | --- |

(c)

reforming the intergovernmental joint financing mechanism Athena in order to operationalise solidarity between those Member States that can only contribute financially and those that can only contribute with troops to a CSDP operation;

| (d) | making pooling and sharing of capabilities the rule and not the exception, and moving towards the implementation of a majority of the 300 proposals presented by the 28 Chiefs of Defence in 2011; |
| --- | --- |

(d)

making pooling and sharing of capabilities the rule and not the exception, and moving towards the implementation of a majority of the 300 proposals presented by the 28 Chiefs of Defence in 2011;

| (e) | pooling national resources with regard to research, development, procurement, maintenance and training; |
| --- | --- |

(e)

pooling national resources with regard to research, development, procurement, maintenance and training;

| (f) | coordinating national defence planning (Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, CARD) as currently planned; |
| --- | --- |

(f)

coordinating national defence planning (Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, CARD) as currently planned;

| (g) | initiating common rules for military certification and a common policy on security of supply; |
| --- | --- |

(g)

initiating common rules for military certification and a common policy on security of supply;

| (h) | enforcing, on the part of the Commission, internal market rules in line with the 2009 Defence Procurement Directive with regard to national defence procurement projects; |
| --- | --- |

(h)

enforcing, on the part of the Commission, internal market rules in line with the 2009 Defence Procurement Directive with regard to national defence procurement projects;

| 21. | Welcomes the Commission’s intention to propose a specific programme for defence research, with a dedicated budget and own rules, under the next MFF; stresses that Member States should make additional resources available to that programme, without interfering with existing framework programmes funding research, technological development and innovation, as requested in Parliament’s resolution of 5 July 2017; renews its previous calls on the Commission to provide for Union participation in defence research and development programmes undertaken by Member States, or jointly with industry where appropriate, as referred to in Articles 185 and 187 TFEU; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a EDIDP; underlines that any Union action to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States in the defence remit should have the objective of contributing to the progressive framing of a common defence policy, as referred to, inter alia, in Article 2(4) TFEU, and therefore of covering common development, standardisation, certification and maintenance, leading to cooperative programmes and a higher degree of interoperability; calls on the Commission to promote the new EDIDP as widely as possible, and, in particular, to encourage SMEs to participate in joint, cross-border projects; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Considers that exports by Member States of weapons, ammunitions and defence-related goods and services form an integral part of EU foreign, security and defence policy; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Urges the Council to take concrete steps towards the harmonisation and standardisation of the European armed forces, in accordance with Article 42(2) TEU, in order to facilitate the cooperation of armed forces personnel under the umbrella of a new EDU, as a step towards the progressive framing of a common EU defence policy; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Stresses that the use of all possibilities provided for in the Treaty would improve the competitiveness and functioning of the defence industry within the single market by further stimulating defence cooperation through positive incentives, targeting projects that Member States are not able to undertake, reducing unnecessary duplication and promoting a more efficient use of public money; is of the opinion that the outputs of such strategic cooperative programmes have great potential as dual-use technologies and, as such, bring extra added value to Member States; emphasises the importance of developing European capabilities and an integrated defence market; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Calls for the establishment of precise and binding guidelines to provide a well-defined framework for future activation and implementation of Article 42(7) TEU; |
| --- | --- |

26.

| 27. | Calls on the Commission, the Council and the VP/HR to engage, together with Parliament, in an interinstitutional dialogue on the progressive framing of a common defence policy; stresses that, under the next MFF, a fully-fledged EU defence budget should be established for all the internal aspects of CSDP and that a doctrine for its implementation should be developed within the remit of the Lisbon Treaty; underlines the need for a revision of the Athena mechanism in order to widen the range of operations considered as a common cost and incentivise participation in CSDP missions and operations; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Points out that this new defence budget will have to be financed through new resources in the next MFF; |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Believes that decision-making on CSDP issues could be more democratic and transparent; proposes, therefore, to turn its Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) into a fully fledged parliamentary committee, enabling it to gain greater powers of scrutiny and accountability over the CSDP and to play a prominent role in its implementation, in particular by scrutinising legal acts pertaining to security and defence; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Regrets the lack of cooperation and information-sharing among security and intelligence services in Europe; believes that more cooperation between intelligence services could help counter terrorism; calls, in this regard, for the establishment of a fully fledged European intelligence system; |
| --- | --- |

30.

Permanent Structured Cooperation

| 31. | Welcomes the Notification on Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and its foreseen activation based on the willingness of Member States to make binding commitments within the CSDP framework, thereby implementing an ambitious and inclusive PESCO, and calls for its swift establishment by the Council; underlines that the desired inclusiveness of participation must not compromise either full commitment to the CSDP or a high level of ambition among participating Member States; points to the necessity to set clear participation criteria, leaving other Member States the option to join at a later stage; believes that activities within PESCO should always be in full alignment with CSDP; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Stresses that PESCO should develop within the EU framework and that it should benefit from effective Union support, in full respect of Member States’ competences in defence; renews its call for appropriate PESCO funding to be provided from the Union budget; considers that participation in all Union agencies and bodies falling under the CSDP, including the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), should be made a requirement under PESCO; renews its call for the EU Battlegroup System to be considered as a common cost under the revised Athena mechanism; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Stresses that it is necessary to ease the administrative procedures that are unnecessarily slowing down the generation of forces for CSDP missions and the cross-border movement of rapid response forces inside the EU; calls on the Member States to establish an EU-wide system for the coordination of rapid movement of defence force personnel, equipment and supplies for the purposes of CSDP, where the solidarity clause is invoked and where all Member States have an obligation to provide aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter; welcomes, in this regard, the joint communication on improving military mobility; calls on the Commission to present a substantial action plan to Parliament and the Member States by March 2018 that is fully coherent with ongoing efforts within NATO; |
| --- | --- |

33.

| 34. | Demands the establishment of a fully fledged EU civilian-military strategic headquarters under PESCO — to be composed of the existing Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC), the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC), and the Crisis Management and Planning Directorate (CMPD) — providing a platform for integrated operational support throughout the entire planning cycle, from the initial political concept to detailed plans; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Encourages the Member States participating in PESCO to set up a permanent ‘European Integrated Force’, composed of divisions of their national armies, and to make it available to the Union for the implementation of the CSDP as foreseen by Article 42(3) TEU; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Considers that a common cyber defence policy should be one of the first building blocks of the European Defence Union; encourages the VP/HR to develop proposals for establishing, within the framework of PESCO, an EU cyber defence unit; |
| --- | --- |

36.

Defence Directorate-General

| 37. | Calls for the evaluation, in close coordination with the VP/HR, of the opportunity to establish a Directorate-General for Defence within the Commission (DG Defence), which would drive the Union’s actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States aimed at the progressive framing of a common defence policy, as foreseen by Article 2 TFEU; |
| --- | --- |

37.

| 38. | Considers that the proposed DG Defence should have the responsibility to ensure open borders for the free movement of troops and equipment, as a necessary prerequisite for ensuring the degree of strategic autonomy, inter-operability, security of supply, standardisation and military certification arrangements required for: EU contributions to programmes under the CSDP and PESCO; EU-funded defence research; the EU’s strategic autonomy; the competitiveness of Europe’s defence industry, including SMEs and mid-cap companies forming the European defence supply chain; and the interinstitutional arrangements in the defence remit, including the EU Security and Defence White Book; stresses that the proposed DG Defence should contribute to better coordination of tasks among the various actors with a view to achieving greater policy coherence and consistency; |
| --- | --- |

38.

| 39. | Underlines that the proposed DG Defence should work in liaison with the European Defence Agency (EDA); considers that the EDA should be the implementing agency for Union actions under the European Capabilities and Armaments policy, where this is foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty; renews its call on the Council to ensure that the administrative and operational expenditure of the EDA is funded from the Union budget; notes that EDA's increasing new roles and responsibilities should be followed by an increase of its budget, stressing at the same time that the possible establishment of a DG Defence, and renewed efforts to make CSDP more effective, should not lead to resources being diverted to the growth of bureaucratic structures and to duplicating structures; |
| --- | --- |

39.

Coordinated strategic and annual defence reviews

| 40. | Welcomes the strategic review of the EU’s Capability Development Plan (CDP) due to be completed in spring 2018; underlines that the CDP will serve to foster collaboration among Member States in efforts to fill capability gaps in the context of the EDA; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Welcomes the establishment of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) process; considers that CARD should contribute to the standardisation and harmonisation of the investments and capabilities of national armed forces in an effective manner, ensuring the Union’s strategic and operational autonomy and coherence, and allowing Member States to invest more efficiently together in defence; welcomes the proposal to launch a trial run in 2017; |
| --- | --- |

41.

| 42. | Encourages Member States to explore the possibility of joint procurement of defence resources; |
| --- | --- |

42.

| 43. | Emphasises that CARD should be based on the EU Security and Defence White Book and the CDP, and should address the full spectrum of CSDP-related capabilities, in particular those of the Member States participating in PESCO; considers that CARD should deliver a set of concrete proposals to fill gaps and identify where Union action would be appropriate, to be taken into account in EU budget planning for the following year; underlines the need for the Commission and the EDA to work together in designing the annual work programmes under the capability and research windows of the proposed EDF; points out that the EDA should have a distinct role not only in designing the programme, but also in the management of projects financed from the capability window; |
| --- | --- |

43.

| 44. | Stresses the need for close coordination of all CSDP-related activities, in particular CARD, PESCO and the EDF; |
| --- | --- |

44.

| 45. | Considers that the Commission should take up the results of CARD and initiate an interinstitutional agreement that establishes the scope and funding of subsequent Union actions; considers that, drawing on the interinstitutional agreement, the Council and the Commission should take the necessary decisions in their respective remits to authorise such actions; calls for interparliamentary cooperation on defence to review CARD, and for the subsequent development of defence capabilities on a regular basis; |
| --- | --- |

45.

CSDP missions and operations

| 46. | Thanks the more than six thousand women and men who have given good and loyal service in the Union’s civilian and military missions on three continents; values these missions as Europe’s common contribution to peace and stability in the world; regrets, however, that the efficiency of these missions can still be jeopardised by structural weaknesses, uneven contributions from Member States and unsuitability to the operational environment, deploring in particular the limitations in the CSDP missions mandate; stresses, in this context, the need for real effectiveness that can only be achieved with the provision of proper military equipment, and urges the Council and the VP/HR to make use of the possibilities provided for in Article 41.2 TEU to this end; welcomes the increase in Member States’ defence spending in support of our service members; takes the view that this trend needs to be sustained, strengthened and coordinated at EU level; calls for effective measures to be taken to ensure that lessons learned and experience gained as regards the human dimension of CSDP missions are assessed and taken into account when future CSDP missions are designed; |
| --- | --- |

46.

| 47. | Welcomes the presentation of the first annual report on the CSDP by the VP/HR; believes, however, that this report should not be of quantitative nature only, describing achievements with statistical data and detailed information, but also focus in the future on evaluating the political impact of CSDP activities in improving the security of our citizens; |
| --- | --- |

47.

| 48. | Calls on the VP/HR, the Commission and Member States to orient CSDP missions and operations more toward the priorities of the EU Global Strategy as well as the local and regional realities; |
| --- | --- |

48.

| 49. | Believes in the need to contribute further to crisis management and prevention and, specifically, to provide assistance to the reconstruction and stabilisation of Iraq; welcomes the recent decision by the Council to launch a new civilian CSDP mission in support of security sector reform in Iraq, and expects that the EU takes over the international lead in this area, including in counter-terrorism and civilian reconstruction; calls on the EU to ensure that this time there will be better coordination among participating Member States, and with regional as well as local actors; |
| --- | --- |

49.

| 50. | Welcomes the activities of EU NAVFOR Med and asks the VP/HR and the Member States to increase the support for local security actors on the southern shore of the Mediterranean; |
| --- | --- |

50.

| 51. | Expects from the VP/HR and the Council that EUBAM Libya will be relaunched at the occasion of the renewal of the mandate reaching out to local security actors on Libya's southern borders; calls on the VP/HR and the Member States to come up with fresh ideas on how to tackle the security concerns in the Sahel zone by linking it to EUBAM Libya within its comprehensive and integrated approach and in support of the German-French initiative; welcomes the Council decision of 4 August 2017 on a European Union stabilisation action for Mali in the Mopti and Segou regions; calls, in this regard, on the VP/HR to inform Parliament how this measure interacts with CSDP missions and operations in the region; |
| --- | --- |

51.

| 52. | Welcomes the success of Operation EUFOR ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina in achieving a military end state; is, however, concerned that the political end state has not yet been achieved; |
| --- | --- |

52.

| 53. | Welcomes the recent establishment of a nucleus for a permanent EU operational headquarters, the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC), as demanded by Parliament in its resolution of 12 September 2013, as it is a precondition for effective planning, command and control of common operations; calls on the Member States to staff it with adequate personnel so that it becomes fully functional, and to task it to plan and command executive military CSDP operations such as EUFOR ALTHEA; |
| --- | --- |

53.

| 54. | Considers that, as a consequence of the UK’s announcement of withdrawal from the Union, the command option of EU NAVFOR Somalia / Operation Atalanta needs to be reviewed; stresses the success of the operation, thanks to which not a single vessel has been boarded by pirates since 2014; welcomes the extension of the operation until 2018; |
| --- | --- |

54.

| 55. | Notes that only 75 % of the positions in civilian CSDP missions are filled; regrets, in this regard, that the EU staff regulations, which would provide better conditions and protection to mission staff, do not apply to personnel employed by the missions even though they are funded from the Union budget; is convinced that this impedes the effectiveness of the missions; urges the Member States to ensure that all vacant posts in all missions are swiftly filled; |
| --- | --- |

55.

| 56. | Welcomes the adoption of the EU Policy on Training for CSDP and the important role the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) plays as central training institution embedded within the CSDP structures; calls on the Member States to provide adequate financial, personnel and infrastructural resources for the ESDC; |
| --- | --- |

56.

| 57. | Regrets that Member States are failing to deploy in a swift manner the staff necessary for the preparatory and set-up stages of civilian CSDP missions; welcomes, in this context, the proposal developed jointly by the EEAS and Commission services for a multi-layered approach in order to speed up the deployment of civilian CSDP missions; |
| --- | --- |

57.

| 58. | Encourages further efforts to speed up the provision of financing for civilian and civil-military missions and to simplify decision-making procedures and implementation; believes, in this context, that the Commission should introduce, by delegated acts in accordance with Article 210 of the Financial Regulation, specific procurement rules to the crisis management measures under the CSDP in order to facilitate the rapid and flexible conduct of operations; |
| --- | --- |

58.

| 59. | Welcomes the establishment of the Mission Support Platform (MSP) in 2016; regrets the limited size and scope of the MSP, and reiterates its call for further progress towards a shared services centre that would allow further efficiency gains by providing a central coordination point for all mission support services; |
| --- | --- |

59.

| 60. | Urges the EEAS and the Council to step up their ongoing efforts to improve cyber security, in particular for CSDP missions, inter alia by taking measures at EU and Member State levels to mitigate threats to the CSDP, for instance by building up resilience through education, training and exercises, and by streamlining the EU cyber-defence education and training landscape; |
| --- | --- |

60.

| 61. | Believes that the EU and its Member States face an unprecedented threat in the form of state-sponsored cyber attacks as well as cyber crime and terrorism; believes that the nature of cyber attacks makes them a threat that needs an EU-level response; encourages the Member States to provide mutual assistance in the event of a cyber attack against any one of them; |
| --- | --- |

61.

| 62. | Calls on the Member States to apply full burden sharing to military CSDP missions by progressive enlargement of common funding toward full common funding, which should enable and encourage more Member States to contribute their capabilities and forces, or just funds; underlines the importance of reviewing the Athena mechanism in this regard and of covering all costs related to the financing of military CSDP operations; |
| --- | --- |

62.

| 63. | Urges the Council to act in accordance with Article 41(3) TEU and to adopt without delay the decision of establishing a start-up fund for the urgent financing of the initial phases of military operations for the tasks referred to in Article 42(1) and Article 43 TEU; urges the Council to resolve current problems with financing hybrid missions; calls for more flexibility in the EU's financial rules in order to support its ability to respond to crises and for the implementation of existing Lisbon Treaty provisions; |
| --- | --- |

63.

EU-NATO cooperation

| 64. | Believes that, in the current context, the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO is fundamental to addressing the security challenges facing the Union and its neighbourhood; considers that the EU-NATO Joint Declaration and the subsequent implementation actions have the potential to move cooperation and complementarity to a higher level and to mark a new and substantive phase of the strategic partnership; welcomes the common set of 42 proposals, of which as many as 10 seek to increase resilience against hybrid threats, aimed at strengthening both cooperation and coordination between the two organisations; notes that this work will be taken forward in the spirit of full openness and transparency, in full respect of the decision-making autonomy and procedures of both organisations, and will be based on the principles of inclusiveness and reciprocity without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defence policy of any Member State; praises the cooperation being undertaken in combating cyber threats, developing strategic communications and coordinating maritime activities and joint exercises, and points to the excellent cooperation and complementarity of the EU's Operation Sophia and NATO's Operation Sea Guardian; welcomes as well the publication in June 2017 of the two organisations’ first joint implementation report and the progress made in implementing the common set of proposals, and calls for continued progress; stresses the EU’s full commitment to the transatlantic community of common values and interests; |
| --- | --- |

64.

| 65. | Notes that a stronger EU and a stronger NATO are mutually reinforcing; considers that Member States need to increase their efforts to act both within an EDU and as autonomous regional security providers, and in a complementary role within NATO, where appropriate; notes that, as set out in EUGS, the EU must contribute to: (a) responding to external conflicts and crises; (b) building the capabilities of partners; and (c) protecting the Union and its citizens; welcomes the set of initiatives that are underway to implement EUGS in the field of security and defence, to develop stronger relations between the EU and NATO, and to enable EU Member States to engage in defence research and develop defence capabilities together; is of the opinion that the security and protection of Europe will increasingly depend on both organisations acting within their remits; calls for efforts to improve cooperation in countering hybrid threats, including through the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, and in the exchange of information and intelligence; |
| --- | --- |

65.

| 66. | Stresses the importance of cooperation and integration in cyber security, not only between Member States, key partners and NATO, but also between different actors within society; |
| --- | --- |

66.

CSDP partnerships

| 67. | Stresses that partnerships and cooperation with countries that share EU’s values contribute to the effectiveness and the impact of the CSDP; welcomes, in this regard, the contributions of Albania, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Georgia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zeeland, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States; |
| --- | --- |

67.

| 68. | Welcomes the signature of the EU-US Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) of 7 December 2016; calls on the VP/HR to inform Parliament about how this agreement has improved the conditions for, and protection of, CSDP mission staff; |
| --- | --- |

68.

| 69. | Invites the VP/HR and the Member States to establish EU military attachés in EU delegations contributing to the implementation of the strategic objectives of the Union; |
| --- | --- |

69.

| 70. | Welcomes the proposal of the Commission to review the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) in order to support actions carried out under the Capacity Building in Support of Security and Development (CBSD) initiative, which will enable the EU to fund capacity building and resilience and help strengthen the capabilities of partner countries; encourages the EEAS and the Commission to implement the CBSD initiative without delay, to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of CSDP missions and to provide a more flexible and integrated EU approach that takes advantage of civil-military synergies; |
| --- | --- |

70.

o

o o

| 71. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of NATO, the EU agencies in the space, security and defence fields, and the governments and national parliaments of the Member States. |
| --- | --- |

71.

---

(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0493.

(2)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0344.

(3)  OJ C 93, 9.3.2016, p. 144.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0435.

(5)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0440.

(6)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0092.

(7)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0302.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/47 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/47

---

P8_TA(2017)0493

Annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (2017/2121(INI))

(2018/C 369/06)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the common foreign and security policy, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the common foreign and security policy,

| — | having regard to Articles 21 and 36 of the Treaty on European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 21 and 36 of the Treaty on European Union,

| — | having regard to the Charter of the United Nations, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

| — | having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management,

| — | having regard to the declaration by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on political accountability, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the declaration by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) on political accountability,

| — | having regard to the 2016 European External Action Service (EEAS) communication on a Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy and the 2017 Commission and EEAS joint communication on a Strategic Approach to Resilience in the EU’s External Action, |
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—

having regard to the 2016 European External Action Service (EEAS) communication on a Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy and the 2017 Commission and EEAS joint communication on a Strategic Approach to Resilience in the EU’s External Action,

| — | having regard to the key principles enshrined in the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, particularly those pertaining to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and the inviolability of borders, being equally respected by all participating states, |
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—

having regard to the key principles enshrined in the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, particularly those pertaining to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, and the inviolability of borders, being equally respected by all participating states,

| — | having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and VP/HR of 12 December 2011 entitled ‘Human rights and democracy at the heart of EU external action — towards a more effective approach’ (COM(2011)0886), |
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—

having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and VP/HR of 12 December 2011 entitled ‘Human rights and democracy at the heart of EU external action — towards a more effective approach’ (COM(2011)0886),

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, |
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—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0350/2017), |
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—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0350/2017),

Introduction

| 1. | Is convinced that no single Member State alone is able to tackle the challenges we face today; emphasises that common EU action is the most effective way to preserve Europe’s interests, uphold its values, engage in a wider world as a united and influential global actor and protect its citizens and Member States from increased threats to their security, including in a global digital sphere; is concerned about the EU’s security architecture, which remains fragile and fragmented in the face of continued and fresh challenges every day and in which a ‘hybrid peace’ has become an unsatisfactory reality; urges the Member States to take action and fulfil the wishes of those European citizens who have repeatedly stressed that EU foreign and security policy based on fundamental values and human rights is one of the most important and most necessary of all EU policies; considers that it is high time that Member States implement Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) tools, instruments and policies to enable the EU to respond to external conflicts and crises, build partners’ capacities and protect the European Union; |
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1.

| 2. | Recalls the EU’s commitment to develop a Common Foreign and Security Policy guided by the values of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and compliance with the UN Charter and international law; considers that, in order to live up to this commitment and to contribute to advancing human rights and democracy in the world, the EU and its Member States need to speak with a united voice and ensure that their message is heard; |
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2.

| 3. | Takes the view that, in order for the EU to succeed in addressing and overcoming the challenges it faces, and in particular security threats, it needs to be an effective, credible and values-based global player, with a capacity for action and effective dialogue with other global players, which implies the EU speaking with one voice, acting together and focusing its resources on strategic priorities; |
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3.

| 4. | Stresses the need for the EU’s external policies to be consistent with each other and with other policies with an external dimension, and to pursue the objectives set out in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union; |
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4.

| 5. | Believes that the core milestones for the European Union to deliver on the expectations of its citizens are:






  — | coordination of an assessment of profound threats and challenges within the EU and a common approach in how to address them; taking into account in particular the prevention of radicalisation, which can lead to recruitment by terrorist groups, |
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5.

—

coordination of an assessment of profound threats and challenges within the EU and a common approach in how to address them; taking into account in particular the prevention of radicalisation, which can lead to recruitment by terrorist groups,

| — | consolidation and deepening of the European project and its external action by, inter alia, enhancing the EU’s cooperation and capabilities in the field of its common foreign and security policy, including information warfare, |
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—

consolidation and deepening of the European project and its external action by, inter alia, enhancing the EU’s cooperation and capabilities in the field of its common foreign and security policy, including information warfare,

| — | cooperation between Member States, partners, and international organisations and institutions protecting peace within clearly defined and carefully chosen conditions to strengthen the rules-based, global political and economic order, including the protection of human rights, and working together with partners to play a leading role in reconciliation, peacemaking, peacekeeping and, where needed, peace enforcement; |
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—

cooperation between Member States, partners, and international organisations and institutions protecting peace within clearly defined and carefully chosen conditions to strengthen the rules-based, global political and economic order, including the protection of human rights, and working together with partners to play a leading role in reconciliation, peacemaking, peacekeeping and, where needed, peace enforcement;

Coordination of an assessment of profound threats and challenges: facing the current political and security environment

| 6. | Emphasises that guaranteeing the security of EU citizens and the integrity of the EU’s territory, stabilising the neighbourhood, especially in the Western Balkans with a focus on more visibility of the EU in this region, promoting reforms to preserve a rules-based, cooperative political and economic international order, tackling the root causes of armed conflicts and enhancing policies of conflict prevention, peaceful conflict resolution and dialogue with pluralist democracies committed to the defence of human rights, are the key conditions for the stability of the EU; calls on more active EU public diplomacy and greater visibility for projects implemented by the EU; |
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6.

| 7. | Is of the view that, in an increasingly conflict-ridden and unstable international environment, only a combination of effective multilateralism, joint soft power and credible hard power can be capable of confronting major security challenges, notably the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the violation of the security order in Europe, terrorism, conflicts in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood, proxy wars, hybrid and information warfare, including digital aggression, and energy insecurity; highlights that these challenges also include the refugee crises in its humanitarian dimension, challenging aggressive behaviour by North Korea, the violation of international law by Russia and China’s growing military power, for which only a strong diplomatic response will suffice; |
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7.

| 8. | Is of the opinion that a more effective common foreign and security policy depends primarily on the establishment of common strategic priorities and visions; takes the view that it is necessary to tackle the root causes of instability, spread largely because of failed or fragile states, and of forced and irregular migration: poverty, the lack of economic opportunities and access to education, social exclusion, armed conflicts, undemocratic and inefficient governance, corruption, climate change, increasing sectarianism, the threat of radicalisation and the spread of extremist ideologies; recalls the action plan adopted at the Valletta Summit calling for a shared responsibility of countries of origin, transit and destination; emphasises the importance of breaking the economic model of smuggler networks; |
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8.

| 9. | Underlines the need to counter autocratic and nepotistic trends, to intensify support for democratic forces and to fight against Islamist terrorism in the Southern neighbourhood and among the neighbours of our neighbours and partners, and to target those groups which seek to encourage EU citizens to fight for their extremist cause; recalls that the Sahel region and other connected geographical areas are priority regions for ensuring the security of the European Union; reiterates the need for concerted diplomatic efforts on the part of the EU, the US and other international partners, to work with players in the region, such as Turkey, the Gulf states and Iran, on the need for a clear position against religious extremism and terrorism, and to establish a common strategy to address this global challenge in line with the commitment undertaken at UN level to uphold international law and universal values; believes that diplomatic efforts should be accompanied by the wide range of other tools and instruments at the EU’s disposal, including those for the improvement of political, social and economic conditions conducive to the establishment and preservation of peace; |
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9.

| 10. | Believes that tackling violent extremism should go hand in hand with upholding universal human rights; stresses that the EU must counter and condemn state sponsors of radicalisation and terrorism, particularly where such support is given to entities listed by the EU as terror organisations; underlines the importance of strengthening cooperation with our partners experienced in combating terrorism; |
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10.

| 11. | Stresses that a sustainable solution to the Syrian crisis can only be achieved under the existing UN-agreed framework and needs to be based on an inclusive, Syrian-led political settlement involving all relevant stakeholders; continues to urge all members of the UN Security Council to honour their responsibilities with regard to the crisis; supports the call of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria on the ceasefire guarantor states to undertake urgent efforts to uphold the ceasefire regime; |
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11.

| 12. | Welcomes the EU strategy on Syria adopted in April 2017, which includes extending sanctions to persons involved in the development and use of chemical weapons; encourages the further extension of sanctions to those responsible for human rights violations; stresses that all those responsible for breaches of international law must be held accountable; reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to explore with partners the creation of a Syria war crimes tribunal, pending a successful referral to the ICC; stresses the need for the EU to demonstrate full commitment in assisting the reconstruction of Syria after the conflict; |
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12.

| 13. | Calls on all parties involved, within and outside Libya, to support both the Libyan political agreement signed on 17 December 2015 and its resulting Presidential Council, which is the only authority recognised by the international community and the UN; underlines that solving the Libyan crisis is a prerequisite for stability in the Mediterranean; emphasises the importance of the Southern neighbourhood and the need to achieve a euro-Mediterranean space of peace, prosperity, stability and integration; underlines its strong support for the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with an independent, democratic, viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with the secure State of Israel; stresses the importance of ensuring coherence of EU policy on situations of occupation or annexation of territory; |
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13.

| 14. | Welcomes the continued successful implementation by all parties of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), agreed by the EU3 +3 with Iran; stresses that the continued full implementation of this agreement by all parties is key to global efforts on non-proliferation and conflict resolution in the Middle East; highlights that the JCPOA is a multilateral agreement that was endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution and cannot be changed unilaterally; stresses the security risk posed by Iran’s ballistic missile programme and underlines the need for full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology; |
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14.

| 15. | Notes that the US Treasury Department has officially updated its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) counter-terrorism list to include the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC); |
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15.

| 16. | Expresses its deep concern about the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Yemen; emphasises once again that there can be no military solution to the prolonged conflict in Yemen and supports efforts undertaken by the EU and UN towards achieving the ceasefire and laying the ground for peace negotiations; takes the view that the EU must act to ensure the continued existence of ethnic-religious minorities in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria; |
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16.

| 17. | Condemns the repeated use by Russia of its veto powers on the UN Security Council and considers it to undermine international efforts for peace and conflict resolution in Syria and the European Union’s southern neighbourhood more widely; |
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17.

| 18. | Acknowledges that further efforts should be made to make legal migration and mobility possible, including at bilateral level, by fostering well-managed mobility between and within continents, and by encouraging policies that promote regular channels for migration while fighting illegal networks that profit from vulnerable people; underlines the efforts taken by individual Member States in this regard and considers it essential to strengthen the legal and secure access path to Europe; regrets, in this regard, the lack of a genuine, balanced and credible European migration and asylum policy, as demonstrated by the ongoing crisis in the Mediterranean, and calls on the Council and the Member States to act accordingly; |
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18.

| 19. | Strongly believes that a new approach to the EU’s relations with its Eastern neighbours is needed; believes that supporting those countries that wish to have closer ties with the EU must be a top priority for EU foreign policy; believes that the prolongation of sanctions against individuals and entities in Russia is an inevitable outcome of the failure to implement the Minsk agreements and continues to see such implementation by all sides as the basis for a sustainable political solution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine; |
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19.

| 20. | Emphasises that the possibility of more cooperative relations with Russia is contingent on Russia fully abiding by the European security order and international law; insists that the EU should keep open the option of further gradual sanctions if Russia continues to violate international law; reiterates its commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and all the other Eastern Partnership countries within their internationally recognised borders; stresses that Russia’s decision of 21 March 2014 to incorporate Crimea into the Russian Federation remains illegal under international law and deplores the subsequent decision by the Russian authorities to forcefully impose Russian passports on all inhabitants of Crimea; calls on the VP/HR and the Council to play a more active and effective role in solving protracted and frozen conflicts; |
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20.

| 21. | Deplores Russia’s multiple violations of international law and its hybrid warfare; recognises, however, the possibility of reasoned and coherent selective engagement and dialogue with Russia in areas of common interest, in order to ensure accountability and respect for international law; stresses the need to maintain and encourage the possibility of future cooperation on resolving global crises where there is a direct or indirect EU interest or an opportunity to promote EU values; |
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21.

| 22. | Believes that normalised relations are a necessity for both the EU and Russia, and that any future EU-Russia strategy should emphasise reinforced commitment and support for the EU’s Eastern Partners; stresses that the EU should keep the door open for deepening the bilateral political and economic relationship with Russia, subject to Russia complying with international law and subscribed agreements, and halting its increasingly assertive attitude towards its neighbours and Europe; |
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22.

| 23. | Reiterates that sovereignty, independence and the peaceful settlement of disputes are key principles of the European security order which apply to all states; condemns unreservedly, therefore, Russian aggression in Ukraine, including the illegal annexation of Crimea and the Russian-sponsored conflict in Eastern Ukraine; calls on the EU, its Member States and the international community to demand that Russia must halt its aggression and release all political prisoners; calls for the international community to play a more active and effective role in the resolution of the conflict and to support all efforts for a lasting peaceful solution which respects the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in particular by the deployment — with the consent of the Ukrainian authorities — of a peace-building and peace-keeping mission to the whole territory; |
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23.

| 24. | Reiterates the need for a strategic refocus on the Western Balkans, recognising that the EU should follow through with its ambitions in the region, as doing so would give a fresh impetus to a credible EU enlargement policy based on the Copenhagen criteria, and strengthen the rule of law and the resilience of state institutions; believes that the stability of the Western Balkans must continue to be a major priority; calls for more efforts in improving the socio-economic and political conditions of the region; is convinced that European integration and regional reconciliation are the best means to address the dangers stemming from destabilising foreign interference and influences, the funding of large Salafist and Wahhabi networks and the recruitment of foreign fighters, organised crime, major state disputes, disinformation and hybrid threats; stresses the need to remain dedicated to fostering highly effective political societies in the region; emphasises the importance for Western Balkans countries to align themselves with the foreign and security policy of the EU, notwithstanding their progress in the EU integration process; encourages the immediate opening of the relevant chapter for all the Western Balkans candidate countries; |
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24.

| 25. | Reiterates that once all those criteria have been met, the doors of the EU are open for membership; welcomes recent efforts undertaken as part of the Berlin Process and Trieste Summit to give additional impetus to the convergence of Western Balkan countries towards EU membership; reiterates that special attention and support should be given to the implementation of crucial institutional and political reforms in the Western Balkans and calls on the Commission to rethink the possibility for additional allocation of financial resources for the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), as one of the most important tools for aiding the implementation of those reforms; |
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25.

| 26. | Recalls that the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) calls for the involvement of neighbouring third countries; calls for stronger support for the neighbours of our neighbours, on the basis of shared values and interests, in order to tackle global issues and address common challenges; highlights the need to promote the empowerment and protection of women, vulnerable social groups and minorities, in particular in Africa, where close cooperation between European and local SMEs, in partnership with civil society, and where support for building democratic, transparent and effective institutions and the promotion of a rule-based global order, are needed; |
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26.

| 27. | Considers international cooperation and development policies to be fundamental instruments for achieving such objectives and urges a more transparent, improved, efficient and effective allocation and use of EU funding, and greater synergies with other international organisations; emphasises the need to address the major security threats in Africa with a view to eradicating the terrorist threat posed by any terrorist group, to guarantee the prevention of the recruitment of individuals, to combat radical ideologies and to address energy security by means of environmentally friendly and sustainable energy sources while at the same time promoting off-grid solutions; |
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27.

| 28. | Strongly condemns any attempt by incumbent presidents to overstay in power by violating, evading or unlawfully amending electoral laws, and constitutions in particular; condemns, by the same token, any strategy to abolish or circumvent term limits; urges all governments to take measures to ensure the transparency and integrity of the entire electoral process, and to take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of fraud or any illegal practices; expresses its concern, in this regard, about the political crises, and related violence and violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular in countries in the Great Lakes Region; reiterates its belief in strong electoral observation missions, and, where necessary, financial, technical and logistical support as a means of achieving fair, credible and democratic electoral processes; |
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28.

| 29. | Encourages the development of a coherent, robust strategy for the Sahel region aimed at improving governance and the accountability and legitimacy of state and regional institutions, at boosting security, at tackling radicalisation and the trafficking of people, arms and drugs, and at strengthening economic and development policies; |
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29.

| 30. | Reiterates the need for an updated strategy for EU-Asia relations; voices support in this context for stronger cooperation within the framework of the Asia-Europe Meetings, including in terms of its parliamentary dimension; encourages support for closer regional cooperation and trust-building measures in South Asia with a view to reducing tensions between India and Pakistan; recommends continued support for EU peace mediation in the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process; stresses that preserving peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region is of substantial interest to the EU and its Member States; considers it vital and of great urgency to develop an updated EU strategy for the North-East Asia region in the light of the continued military build-up and the aggressive and irresponsible attitude shown by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK); condemns the tests and provocations by the DPRK, and its multiple violations of UN Security Council resolutions and international obligations; urges the EU’s diplomatic power to be used to apply pressure on the DPRK to persuade its leaders to abandon weapons of mass destruction; calls for the mobilisation of all diplomatic tools, including sanctions, in order to prevent an escalation of this crisis; calls for the irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula by peaceful means and for the full implementation of all relevant UN Security Council resolutions; |
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30.

| 31. | Stresses that preserving peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region is of substantial interest to the EU and its Member States; calls on all the parties concerned to resolve differences through peaceful means and to refrain from taking unilateral action to change the status quo, including in the East and South China Seas and the Taiwan Strait, in order to safeguard regional security; reiterates its commitment to supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations and activities; |
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31.

| 32. | Recalls that Latin America shares with the EU common values, principles and trust in effective multilateralism and believes that the EU-Latin American partnership is important and should be strengthened in order to jointly address major global challenges; expresses its grave concern about the attacks carried out against members of the judiciary and the democratically elected opposition and civil society leaders in Venezuela; emphasises that respect for the rule of law, the fight against corruption, progress towards democracy, and fundamental freedoms and human rights are cornerstones for deeper integration and cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC); |
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32.

| 33. | Reiterates its support for the peace process in Colombia, which is critical for the future of Colombians and for stabilisation in the region; demands that all FARC assets, including the treasure obtained from drug smuggling, be used to indemnify victims of the conflict; |
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33.

Consolidation and deepening of the European project through enhanced EU capabilities

| 34. | Urges the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States to adopt an EU comprehensive approach at every relevant opportunity, and believes that coherent, coordinated action across EU polices, while taking into consideration and implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular in the areas of humanitarian aid, agriculture, development, trade, energy, climate, science and cyber defence and security, should be applied in the EU’s external action in a consistent and structured manner in order to harness the EU’s collective force; believes that energy security, the respect for human rights and climate diplomacy remain important complementary aspects of the EU’s common foreign and security policy to be addressed as part of the comprehensive approach, and that the Energy Union should be further advanced; |
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34.

| 35. | Recognises that climate change could have a serious effect on regional and global stability, as global warming disputes over territory, food, water and other resources weaken economies, threaten regional security, and act as a source of migratory flows; further encourages the EU and its Member States to consider how national and EU military planning can include climate change adaption strategies and what would be considered an appropriate capability, priority and response; |
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35.

| 36. | Stresses that the future of European defence cooperation is significantly affected by the decision of the United Kingdom to withdraw from the EU, and calls for the continued engagement of the EU and UK as major international partners in order to maintain European security; stresses that the presidential elections in the United States introduced uncertainty into the transatlantic partnership and highlights the need for a counterweight for EU defence and the establishment of strategic autonomy; |
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36.

| 37. | Takes the view, that in order to make the Common Foreign and Security policy more assertive, effective and values-based, the EU should enhance its energy security, by immediately reducing its dependence, at present, on oil and gas supplied by authoritarian regimes, and by stopping it altogether in the medium term; |
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37.

| 38. | Stresses that the current decision-making process for the CFSP, based on unanimity in the Council of the EU, is the main obstacle to effective and timely external EU action; is of the opinion that qualified majority voting should also be applied for the CFSP; takes the view that the EU institutions must improve their ability to anticipate conflicts and crises, including by means of short- and long-term impact assessments of its policies, in order to address the root causes of the problems; believes that the EU needs to be able to react more swiftly and effectively to developing crises and should place greater emphasis on preventing conflicts by primarily using civilian tools at an early stage; calls on the Member States to put into practice Parliament’s recommendations to embrace the principle of Responsibility to Protect; stresses the need to deepen cooperation between the Member States, partner countries and international organisations, and underlines the importance of an effective exchange of information and coordination of preventive actions; |
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38.

| 39. | Calls on the VP/HR, the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts to increase the EU’s ability to confront hybrid and cyber threats, to further strengthen the capacity of the EU and its partner countries to fight fake news and disinformation, to draw up clear criteria to facilitate the detection of fake news, to allocate more resources and turn the Stratcom task force into a fully-fledged unit within the EEAS; calls, in this regard, for the development of joint, comprehensive risk and vulnerability analysis capacities and methods, and for the EU’s resilience and strategic communication capabilities to be bolstered; stresses the role of independent media — both on- and offline — in promoting cultural diversity and intercultural competences, and the need to strengthen such media as a source of credible information, especially in the EU and its neighbourhood, and underlines that common EU TV and radio stations should be further enhanced; calls on the Commission to coordinate better with the EEAS and Member States on those issues; |
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39.

| 40. | Is of the view that Europe’s power resides in its ability to strengthen a community of values and respect for the diversity of culture that binds together all Europeans; believes, in this context, that the EU plays a major role as a promoter of democracy, freedom, the rule of law, human rights and equal opportunities, and should continue to promote its values outside the EU; recalls that human rights are an integral part of the CFSP and should form a central conditionality of external policies, and furthermore that these policies must be consistent and principled; highlights that cultural diplomacy should become a substantial part of the EU’s external action and urges the Commission to expand the Erasmus+ programme and foster the development of ambitious science diplomacy; calls for closer coordination with the UNESCO and World Heritage Committee and with non-state actors and civil society organisations as key partners of the EU; |
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40.

| 41. | Points out that it was noted in UN Security Council Resolution 1820 (2008) of 19 June 2008 that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide, and that women must be afforded humanitarian protection in situations of armed conflict; |
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41.

| 42. | Considers that the development of a strong defence industry is strengthening the technological independence of the EU; calls for the industrial and technological resources needed to improve cybersecurity to be developed, including through the promotion of a single market for cybersecurity products; calls for significantly increased financial and human resources to be made available within the EU institutions in order to increase the EU’s cyber security and cyber defence capacity; emphasises the need to mainstream cyber defence into external action and common foreign and security policy, as well as the need for an improved ability to identify cybercrime; |
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42.

| 43. | Notes that information and cyber warfare, targeting EU Member States and other Western countries, is a deliberate attempt to destabilise and discredit political, economic and social structures; recalls that the security of EU Member States which are NATO members is guaranteed under Article 5 of the Alliance; calls for closer coordination on cyber defence between EU Member States, EU institutions, NATO, the United States and other credible partners; |
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43.

| 44. | Stresses the role of independent media in promoting cultural diversity and intercultural competences, and the need to strengthen such media as a source of credible information, especially in the EU and its neighbourhood, and to further strengthen the EU’s capacity to fight fake news and disinformation; highlights in this context the need to develop stronger resilience at EU level against such information spread over the Internet; calls on the Commission to coordinate better with the EEAS on those issues; |
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44.

| 45. | Believes that Europe should further strengthen cooperation on common defence, in order to defend its common values and principles and strategic autonomy; stresses the importance of the link between external and internal security, better use of resources and risk control in the periphery of Europe; recalls that the link between development and security is a key principle underpinning the Union’s approach to external crises and conflicts; calls on the Member States to unleash the Lisbon Treaty’s full potential with regard to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and welcomes in this context the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence; encourages a review of the EU’s approach to civilian CSDP missions in order to ensure they are properly devised, implemented and supported; considers that European Defence Agency (EDA) capabilities and permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) and the EU Battlegroups should be used to their full potential; urges the Member States to provide additional funding to that end; |
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45.

| 46. | Believes that the European Union and its Member States must develop effective foreign and security policy, and must work together with NATO and other international partners, the UN, NGOs, human rights defenders, and others on issues of shared concern and in order to promote peace, prosperity and stability around the world; highlights the importance of raising awareness and political commitment for an urgent implementation of an ambitious, effective and structured CSDP; urges the Council, the Commission and the Member States to address the EU’s communication problems by making EU external action more accountable and visible; calls on the Member States and the EU institutions to deliver on defence following the EU Global Strategy and the Commission’s plans to improve EU defence research and capability development; |
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46.

| 47. | Calls on the Commission to fully reflect the growing security challenges in its proposal for the next multiannual financial framework (MFF); considers that both the size and the flexibility of the CFSP budget must match EU citizens’ expectations about the EU’s role as a security provider; insists on the need for a global vision for EU policy and instruments in the field of security, including fruitful coordination with the proposed European Defence Fund; calls on the Member States to aim for the target of spending 2 % of GDP on defence, and to spend 20 % of their defence budgets on equipment identified as necessary by the EDA; points out, in addition, that any new policy must be backed by funding from new sources; notes that various Member States have difficulty in maintaining a very broad range of fully operational defensive capabilities, mostly because of financial constraints; calls for more cooperation and coordination, therefore, about which capabilities should be maintained, so that Member States can specialise in certain capabilities and spend their resources more efficiently; believes that interoperability is key if Member States’ forces are to be more compatible and integrated; recalls that CFSP appropriations represented 3,6 % of the Heading 4 commitments in 2016 and 0,2 % of the whole EU budget; regrets that the size and under-implementation of and systematic transfers from the CFSP chapter reveal a persistent lack of ambition for the EU to act as a global player; |
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47.

| 48. | Notes that deadlocks within the UN Security Council are impeding action by the international community and preventing crisis resolution; calls once again on the Member States to support reforms in the composition and functioning of the Security Council; |
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48.

Cooperation within coalitions and with institutions delivering security

| 49. | Underlines that it is in the EU’s strategic interest to preserve and deepen its transatlantic relations based on respect for common values, international law and multilateralism; calls for the EU to continue to develop its strategic autonomy and create its own capabilities to better address regional and international conflicts that have an impact on the EU; believes that the EU and US should focus on adapting transatlantic structures to today’s challenges, such as defending human rights, tackling climate change, combating international terrorism and corruption, the prevention of radicalisation, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and countering third-party countries’ efforts to destabilise the EU and NATO; further stresses the importance of continued and reinforced cooperation between the EU and US bilaterally and through NATO on common issues; recalls that the EU and the US are each other’s most important partners and that unilateral moves serve only to weaken the transatlantic partnership; believes that Europe must further enhance a virtuous alliance between the private and public sectors and should reinforce the strategic relationship with the US; calls on the Council and the EEAS to consistently raise the issue of US extraterritorial sanctions in their dialogue with the US Government; |
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49.

| 50. | Strongly supports the 2016 Warsaw Summit Declaration, particularly on EU-NATO cooperation, and welcomes decisions on closer cooperation between NATO and the EU in numerous areas as well as the placement of US, Canadian and other multinational forces at the Eastern flank of the EU; |
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50.

| 51. | Calls for increased intelligence sharing between Member States, increased interinstitutional intelligence sharing, and coordination between the EU, Member States and NATO, and insists that they must continue to cooperate as closely as possible in a complementary manner while fully respecting European core values and norms; acknowledges that information sharing and coordinated action between the EU, its Member States and NATO will produce results in areas such as terrorism response to hybrid threats, situational awareness, resilience building, strategic communications, cyber security and capacity-building vis-à-vis the EU’s partners; believes that further coordination and closer cooperation with other existing multilateral entities such as Eurocorps is needed in order to increase the EU’s security; reiterates that a revitalisation of the strategic partnerships should be a priority for the EU; |
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51.

| 52. | Underlines the role of Parliament in shaping a genuinely common foreign policy in line with the expectations of European citizens; calls on the Council to act in concert with Parliament during the main phases of foreign policy decision-making; |
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52.

| 53. | Acknowledges the work of the VP/HR and calls for her to continue to ensure that future annual reports will be more concise and forward-looking, focusing on the most important priorities for the year ahead and an evaluation of the measures launched in the previous year, including their financial implications, in order to provide a comprehensive overview on the EU’s performance; |
| --- | --- |

53.

o

o o

| 54. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the Member States. |
| --- | --- |

54.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/56 |
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11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/56

---

P8_TA(2017)0494

Annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2016 and the EU policy on the matter

European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2016 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (2017/2122(INI))

(2018/C 369/07)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN human rights treaties and instruments, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN human rights treaties and instruments,

| — | having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights,

| — | having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 18 December 1979 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 18 December 1979 (1),

| — | having regard to CEDAW general recommendations 12, 19 and 35 on violence against women, 26 on women migrant workers and 32 on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to CEDAW general recommendations 12, 19 and 35 on violence against women, 26 on women migrant workers and 32 on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women,

| — | having regard to UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 69/167 of 18 December 2014 (2), on protecting and promoting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 69/167 of 18 December 2014 (2), on protecting and promoting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status,

| — | having regard to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families of 18 December 1990 (3), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families of 18 December 1990 (3),

| — | having regard to UN Security Council resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122 and 2242 on women, peace and security, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to UN Security Council resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122 and 2242 on women, peace and security,

| — | having regard to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (4), and ILO Conventions Nos 43 and 97, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (4), and ILO Conventions Nos 43 and 97,

| — | having regard to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (5),

| — | having regard to the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants adopted by the UNGA on 19 September 2016 (6), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants adopted by the UNGA on 19 September 2016 (6),

| — | having regard to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seek to ensure peace and prosperity for people and the planet (7), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seek to ensure peace and prosperity for people and the planet (7),

| — | having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) of 12 April 2011, which was signed by the EU on 13 June 2017 (8), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) of 12 April 2011, which was signed by the EU on 13 June 2017 (8),

| — | having regard to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, adopted in 1976 and revised in 2011 (9), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, adopted in 1976 and revised in 2011 (9),

| — | having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Articles 2, 3, 8, 21 and 23 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 2, 3, 8, 21 and 23 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

| — | having regard to Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, (TFEU), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, (TFEU),

| — | having regard to the EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy adopted by the Council on 25 June 2012 (10), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy adopted by the Council on 25 June 2012 (10),

| — | having regard to the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019, adopted by the Council on 20 July 2015 (11), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019, adopted by the Council on 20 July 2015 (11),

| — | having regard to the joint staff working document of the Commission and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy entitled ‘EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2015-2019): Mid-Term Review — June 2017’ (SWD(2017)0254), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint staff working document of the Commission and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy entitled ‘EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2015-2019): Mid-Term Review — June 2017’ (SWD(2017)0254),

| — | having regard to the joint staff working document of the Commission and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy entitled ‘Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations 2016-2020’, adopted in 2015 (SWD(2015)0182), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint staff working document of the Commission and of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy entitled ‘Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations 2016-2020’, adopted in 2015 (SWD(2015)0182),

| — | having regard to the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy presented by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) Federica Mogherini on 28 June 2016 (12), as well as the first report on its implementation entitled ‘From Shared Vision to Common Action: Implementing the EU Global Strategy’, published in 2017 (13), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy presented by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) Federica Mogherini on 28 June 2016 (12), as well as the first report on its implementation entitled ‘From Shared Vision to Common Action: Implementing the EU Global Strategy’, published in 2017 (13),

| — | having regard to Council Decision 2011/168/CFSP of 21 March 2011 on the International Criminal Court and repealing Common Position 2003/444/CFSP (14), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Council Decision 2011/168/CFSP of 21 March 2011 on the International Criminal Court and repealing Common Position 2003/444/CFSP (14),

| — | having regard to the European Agenda on Migration of 13 May 2015 (COM(2015)0240) and the Commission communication of 7 June 2016 on establishing a new Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration (COM(2016)0385), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the European Agenda on Migration of 13 May 2015 (COM(2015)0240) and the Commission communication of 7 June 2016 on establishing a new Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration (COM(2016)0385),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, adopted in 2007 and reviewed in 2017 (15), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, adopted in 2007 and reviewed in 2017 (15),

| — | having regard to the joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission entitled ‘The new European Consensus on Development: “Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future”’ (16), adopted by the Council, Parliament and the Commission on 7 June 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission entitled ‘The new European Consensus on Development: “Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future”’ (16), adopted by the Council, Parliament and the Commission on 7 June 2017,

| — | having regard to the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, adopted in 2014 (17), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, adopted in 2014 (17),

| — | having regard to the protection of freedom of expression offline and online afforded by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the protection of freedom of expression offline and online afforded by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, adopted in 2013 (18), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, adopted in 2013 (18),

| — | having regard to the international protection of freedom of religion or belief afforded by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief, Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the international protection of freedom of religion or belief afforded by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief, Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the Council Conclusions on intolerance, discrimination and violence on the basis of religion or belief, adopted on 21 February 2011 (19), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council Conclusions on intolerance, discrimination and violence on the basis of religion or belief, adopted on 21 February 2011 (19),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on Death Penalty, adopted in 2013 (20), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on Death Penalty, adopted in 2013 (20),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines to EU Policy towards third countries on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, adopted in 2001 and reviewed in 2012 (21), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines to EU Policy towards third countries on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, adopted in 2001 and reviewed in 2012 (21),

| — | having regard to the UN Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (22) and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (22) and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings,

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, adopted in 2013 (23), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, adopted in 2013 (23),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on human rights dialogues with third countries, adopted in 2001 and reviewed in 2009 (24), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on human rights dialogues with third countries, adopted in 2001 and reviewed in 2009 (24),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), adopted in 2005 and reviewed in 2009 (25), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), adopted in 2005 and reviewed in 2009 (25),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them, adopted in 2008 (26), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them, adopted in 2008 (26),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on children and armed conflict, adopted in 2003 and reviewed in 2008 (27), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on children and armed conflict, adopted in 2003 and reviewed in 2008 (27),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (28), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (28),

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders, adopted in 2005 and reviewed in 2008 (29), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on human rights defenders, adopted in 2005 and reviewed in 2008 (29),

| — | having regard to the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2015 (30), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2015 (30),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2017 on ‘Arms export: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP’ (31), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2017 on ‘Arms export: implementation of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP’ (31),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2016 on the Annual Report on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter 2015 (32), and previous resolutions on the topic, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2016 on the Annual Report on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter 2015 (32), and previous resolutions on the topic,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2016 on human rights and migration in third countries (33), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2016 on human rights and migration in third countries (33),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2016 on corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries (34), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2016 on corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries (34),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2016 on the fight against trafficking in human beings in the EU’s external relations (35), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2016 on the fight against trafficking in human beings in the EU’s external relations (35),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2016 on the EU’s priorities for the UNHRC sessions in 2016 (36), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2016 on the EU’s priorities for the UNHRC sessions in 2016 (36),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 25 February 2016 on the humanitarian situation in Yemen (37), which calls on the VP/HR to launch an initiative to impose an EU arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 February 2016 on the humanitarian situation in Yemen (37), which calls on the VP/HR to launch an initiative to impose an EU arms embargo on Saudi Arabia,

| — | having regard to its resolutions on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolutions on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law,

| — | having regard to its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought which in 2016 was awarded to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought which in 2016 was awarded to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 10 October 2013 on caste-based discrimination (38), to the report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues of 28 January 2016 on minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status (39), and to the UN Guidance Tool on descent-based discrimination, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 10 October 2013 on caste-based discrimination (38), to the report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues of 28 January 2016 on minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status (39), and to the UN Guidance Tool on descent-based discrimination,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 17 November 2011 on ‘EU support for the ICC: facing challenges and overcoming difficulties’ (40), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 November 2011 on ‘EU support for the ICC: facing challenges and overcoming difficulties’ (40),

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0365/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0365/2017),

| A. | whereas Article 21 of the TEU commits the EU to a common foreign and security policy (CFSP) guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, and which it seeks to advance in the world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principle of equality and solidarity, and compliance with the UN Charter, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and international law; whereas the Union is to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas Article 21 of the TEU commits the EU to a common foreign and security policy (CFSP) guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, and which it seeks to advance in the world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principle of equality and solidarity, and compliance with the UN Charter, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and international law; whereas the Union is to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights;

| B. | whereas today’s worldwide abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, necessitate determined efforts on the part of the whole international community; |
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B.

whereas today’s worldwide abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, necessitate determined efforts on the part of the whole international community;

| C. | whereas respect for and the promotion, indivisibility and safeguarding of the universality of human rights are cornerstones of the CFSP; whereas in its role of scrutiny over the CFSP, Parliament has the right to be kept informed of and consulted on its main aspects and basic choices (Article 36 of the TEU); |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas respect for and the promotion, indivisibility and safeguarding of the universality of human rights are cornerstones of the CFSP; whereas in its role of scrutiny over the CFSP, Parliament has the right to be kept informed of and consulted on its main aspects and basic choices (Article 36 of the TEU);

| D. | whereas the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, adopted by the Council in June 2016, affirms that human rights must be mainstreamed systematically across all policy sectors and institutions, including international trade and commercial policy; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, adopted by the Council in June 2016, affirms that human rights must be mainstreamed systematically across all policy sectors and institutions, including international trade and commercial policy;

| E. | whereas increased coherence between the EU’s internal and external policies, as well as among the external policies themselves, is a fundamental requirement for a successful and effective EU human rights policy; whereas improved consistency should enable the EU to respond more rapidly in the early stages of human rights violations and, in certain cases, predict and prevent their perpetration, including in the field of international trade and commercial policy; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas increased coherence between the EU’s internal and external policies, as well as among the external policies themselves, is a fundamental requirement for a successful and effective EU human rights policy; whereas improved consistency should enable the EU to respond more rapidly in the early stages of human rights violations and, in certain cases, predict and prevent their perpetration, including in the field of international trade and commercial policy;

| F. | whereas the EU’s commitment to effective multilateralism, with the UN at its core, is an integral part of the Union’s external policy and is rooted in the conviction that a multilateral system founded on universal rules and values is best suited to addressing global crises, challenges and threats; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the EU’s commitment to effective multilateralism, with the UN at its core, is an integral part of the Union’s external policy and is rooted in the conviction that a multilateral system founded on universal rules and values is best suited to addressing global crises, challenges and threats;

| G. | whereas Article 207 of the TFEU stipulates that the EU’s commercial policy is to be based on the principles and objectives of the Union’s external action; whereas trade and human rights can have an impact on each other in third countries, and whereas under a system of corporate liability, as is currently being discussed in the UN, and global value chains, the business community has an important role to play in offering positive incentives in terms of promoting human rights, democracy and corporate responsibility; whereas good governance and public authorities acting in the general interest play an important role in business behaviour; whereas the EU is participating in efforts to draft a binding treaty on business and human rights; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas Article 207 of the TFEU stipulates that the EU’s commercial policy is to be based on the principles and objectives of the Union’s external action; whereas trade and human rights can have an impact on each other in third countries, and whereas under a system of corporate liability, as is currently being discussed in the UN, and global value chains, the business community has an important role to play in offering positive incentives in terms of promoting human rights, democracy and corporate responsibility; whereas good governance and public authorities acting in the general interest play an important role in business behaviour; whereas the EU is participating in efforts to draft a binding treaty on business and human rights;

| H. | whereas the protection of the human rights of the most vulnerable groups, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, the LGBTI community, women, children, asylum seekers and migrants, deserves special attention; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas the protection of the human rights of the most vulnerable groups, such as ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, the LGBTI community, women, children, asylum seekers and migrants, deserves special attention;

| I. | whereas women and children face threats, discrimination and violence, particularly in war zones and under authoritarian regimes; whereas gender equality incorporates core European values and is enshrined in the EU’s legal and political framework; whereas violence and discrimination against women and girls has increased in recent years; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas women and children face threats, discrimination and violence, particularly in war zones and under authoritarian regimes; whereas gender equality incorporates core European values and is enshrined in the EU’s legal and political framework; whereas violence and discrimination against women and girls has increased in recent years;

| J. | whereas states have the ultimate responsibility to safeguard all human rights by enacting and implementing international human rights treaties and conventions, monitoring human rights violations and ensuring effective recourse for victims; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas states have the ultimate responsibility to safeguard all human rights by enacting and implementing international human rights treaties and conventions, monitoring human rights violations and ensuring effective recourse for victims;

| K. | whereas an increasing number of human rights violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are being committed by state and non-state actors; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas an increasing number of human rights violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are being committed by state and non-state actors;

| L. | whereas freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to believe or not to believe and to practise or not to practise the religion of one’s choice, and to take on, abandon or change a religion, must be guaranteed all over the world and preserved unconditionally, in particular through interreligious and intercultural dialogue; whereas laws prohibiting blasphemy are widespread, with states laying down punishments ranging from prison sentences to lashings and the death penalty; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to believe or not to believe and to practise or not to practise the religion of one’s choice, and to take on, abandon or change a religion, must be guaranteed all over the world and preserved unconditionally, in particular through interreligious and intercultural dialogue; whereas laws prohibiting blasphemy are widespread, with states laying down punishments ranging from prison sentences to lashings and the death penalty;

| M. | whereas freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the holding of regular, transparent and genuine electoral processes, are essential elements of democracy; whereas in fragile, conflict-prone or oppressive societies, elections can at times trigger widespread violence; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the holding of regular, transparent and genuine electoral processes, are essential elements of democracy; whereas in fragile, conflict-prone or oppressive societies, elections can at times trigger widespread violence;

| N. | whereas engaging with third countries in all bilateral and multilateral fora, for example during human rights dialogues, is one of the most effective tools for addressing human rights concerns; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas engaging with third countries in all bilateral and multilateral fora, for example during human rights dialogues, is one of the most effective tools for addressing human rights concerns;

| O. | whereas appropriate resources must be made available and deployed in the most efficient manner in order to enhance the promotion of human rights and democracy in third countries; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas appropriate resources must be made available and deployed in the most efficient manner in order to enhance the promotion of human rights and democracy in third countries;

| P. | whereas access to water and sanitation is a fundamental human right and limiting this access is one of the causes of geopolitical tension in certain regions; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas access to water and sanitation is a fundamental human right and limiting this access is one of the causes of geopolitical tension in certain regions;

| Q. | whereas cultural heritage sites face increasing threats in the form of illicit looting and vandalism, especially in the Middle East; |
| --- | --- |

Q.

whereas cultural heritage sites face increasing threats in the form of illicit looting and vandalism, especially in the Middle East;

| R. | whereas education has a crucial role to play in preventing human rights violations and conflicts and helps to boost citizens’ participation in decision-making processes within democratic systems; whereas educational institutions that promote human rights, respect and diversity should be supported by states; whereas communication channels, whose numbers have increased, represent an important tool through which to communicate human rights abuses quickly and reach a significant number of victims or potential victims of human rights violations in third countries, providing them with information and assistance; whereas collecting comprehensive disaggregated data is essential in order to safeguard human rights, particularly those of the most vulnerable groups, marginalised groups and groups that are at risk of marginalisation; whereas the use of appropriate indicators is also an effective way of assessing the progress of the fulfilment of states’ obligations under international treaties; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas education has a crucial role to play in preventing human rights violations and conflicts and helps to boost citizens’ participation in decision-making processes within democratic systems; whereas educational institutions that promote human rights, respect and diversity should be supported by states; whereas communication channels, whose numbers have increased, represent an important tool through which to communicate human rights abuses quickly and reach a significant number of victims or potential victims of human rights violations in third countries, providing them with information and assistance; whereas collecting comprehensive disaggregated data is essential in order to safeguard human rights, particularly those of the most vulnerable groups, marginalised groups and groups that are at risk of marginalisation; whereas the use of appropriate indicators is also an effective way of assessing the progress of the fulfilment of states’ obligations under international treaties;

General considerations

| 1. | Expresses profound concern about the pushback against democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which continue to be under threat worldwide; recalls that the EU has committed to promoting the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms and values, as well as to advancing democratic principles, which must be enhanced worldwide; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Reiterates its firm belief that the EU and its Member States must actively pursue the principle of mainstreaming human rights and democracy, as mutually reinforcing fundamental principles at the core of the EU, in all EU policies, including those with an external dimension, such as in the fields of development, migration, security, counter-terrorism, enlargement and trade; reiterates, in this regard, the crucial importance of ensuring increased coherence between the EU’s internal and external policies and greater coordination between the external policies of the Member States; stresses that the growing complexity of conflicts around the world necessitates an integrated, united and vigorous international approach and cooperation; recalls that the EU’s objective to increase its international influence as a credible and legitimate international actor is greatly shaped by its ability to pursue human rights and democracy internally and externally, in line with the commitments enshrined in its founding treaties; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Emphasises the importance of enhanced cooperation between the Commission, the Council, the European External Action Service (EEAS), Parliament and the EU delegations to promote and ensure a consistent and united voice in defence of human rights and democratic principles; underlines, moreover, the importance of a strong commitment to promoting those values in multilateral fora, including through timely coordination at EU level and an active approach during negotiations; encourages the EU, in this context, to initiate and co-sponsor resolutions and to intensify the implementation of cross-regional initiatives under all UN human rights mechanisms; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Welcomes the fact that in 2016, the rule of law, democratic principles and breaches of human rights were debated regularly in its plenary sessions, targeted in various parliamentary resolutions, and raised in committee and interparliamentary delegation meetings; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Highlights the work of its Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), which maintains close working relations with the EEAS, other EU institutions, civil society, multilateral human rights institutions and the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for Human Rights; |
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5.

| 6. | Recalls that in 2016, DROI drafted three reports, namely on human rights and migration in third countries, corporate liability for serious human rights abuses in third countries, and the fight against trafficking in human beings in the EU’s external relations; calls on the Commission to take concrete action following these own-initiative reports; |
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6.

| 7. | Notes that in 2016, numerous DROI missions travelled to different countries with a view to collecting information and exchanging it with local governmental and non-governmental human rights actors, presenting Parliament’s position and encouraging improvements to the protection of and respect for human rights; |
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7.

Addressing human rights challenges

| 8. | Expresses grave concern about the increasing number of attacks against religious minorities, which are often committed by non-state actors such as ISIS/Daesh; deplores the fact that many countries have and enforce anti-conversion and blasphemy laws, which effectively limit the freedom of religion or belief and the freedom of expression of religious minorities and atheists and even deprive them of these freedoms altogether; calls for measures to protect religious minorities, non-believers and atheists who are victims of blasphemy laws and calls for the EU and the Member States to engage in political discussions to repeal such laws; calls for the EU and its Member States to step up their efforts to enhance respect for freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief and to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue when engaging with third countries; requests concrete action towards the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief, including by ensuring the systematic and consistent training of EU staff at headquarters and in delegations; supports fully the EU practice of taking the lead on thematic resolutions on freedom of religion and belief at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UNGA; supports fully the work of the EU Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief outside the EU, Mr Ján Figel; |
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8.

| 9. | Reiterates the fact that freedom of expression online and offline is a vital component of any democratic society, as it nourishes a culture of pluralism that empowers civil society and citizens to hold their governments and decision-makers to account, and supports respect for the rule of law; emphasises that restriction of online or offline freedom of expression, such as via the removal of online content, is to occur only under exceptional circumstances, where prescribed by law and justified by the pursuit of a legitimate aim; stresses, therefore, that the EU should intensify its efforts to promote freedom of expression through its external policies and instruments; reiterates its request for the EU and its Member States to enhance their monitoring of all types of restrictions on freedom of expression and the media in third countries, to rapidly and systematically condemn such limitations and to use all available diplomatic means and instruments to reverse such restrictions; emphasises the importance of ensuring the effective implementation of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline and of regularly monitoring their impact; condemns the death and imprisonment of many journalists and bloggers in 2016 and calls for the EU to protect them effectively; welcomes the new European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) launched in 2016, with its specific focus on training EU delegations and media actors in third countries, on how to apply the Guidelines; stresses the importance of disclosing and condemning hate speech and incitements to violence, both on the internet and elsewhere, since they constitute a threat to the rule of law and the values embodied by human rights; |
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9.

| 10. | Is deeply concerned that civil society, including faith-based organisations, is increasingly under attack worldwide, through, inter alia, a growing number of repressive laws adopted throughout the world, in some cases under the pretext of combating terrorism; underlines that the phenomenon of shrinking civil society space is a global one; recalls that independent civil society plays an essential role in the defence and advancement of human rights and in the functioning of democratic societies, notably by promoting transparency, accountability and the separation of powers; calls for the EU and its Member States to constantly monitor and raise cases of violations of freedom of assembly and association, including the various forms of bans and limitations on civil society organisations (CSOs) and their activities, such as laws whose aim is to shrink civil society space or the promotion of NGOs sponsored by authoritarian governments (government-organised non-governmental organisations (GONGOs)); calls, in addition, for the EU, its Member States and the EU delegations to use all available means, such as human rights dialogues, political dialogues and public diplomacy, to systematically raise individual cases of human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society activists at risk, particularly those who have been detained or imprisoned for arbitrary reasons and/or on account of their political convictions or social engagement, and to unequivocally denounce the repression, harassment and killing of HRDs, including those active in the environmental sphere; calls for the establishment of a system to effectively monitor civil society space, with clear benchmarks and indicators to ensure an enabling and favourable legal environment for civil society; |
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10.

| 11. | Encourages the EU delegations and the Member States’ diplomatic staff to continue to actively support HRDs, by systematically monitoring trials, visiting detained activists and issuing statements on individual cases, where appropriate; highlights the importance of silent diplomacy tools in this regard; welcomes the fact that the EU raised HRD cases in dialogues and consultations at EU level with over 50 countries in 2016; highlights the fact that the EIDHR Emergency Fund supported more than 250 HRDs at EU level in 2016, representing an increase of 30 % compared with 2015; welcomes the establishment and successful operation of the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism, ProtectDefenders.eu, which has been implemented by civil society and has provided critical support to a large number of HRDs; urges the Commission to ensure the continuation of the programme after October 2018 and to increase its capabilities in order to provide more support to HRDs worldwide; |
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11.

| 12. | Considers it deeply regrettable that torture, inhuman or degrading treatment and the death penalty continue in many countries all over the world, and calls for the EU to intensify its efforts to eradicate them; welcomes, in this regard, the revision of EU legislation on trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; urges the EEAS and the VP/HR to engage more strongly in the fight against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, including the death penalty, through increased diplomatic efforts and more systematic public positioning; highlights, in this connection, the worrisome conditions of incarceration in some prisons, including the non-treatment of health issues, and recommends that the EEAS, the EU delegations and the Member States use all existing instruments, such as the EU Guidelines on Torture, to their full potential; welcomes the fact that the UN’s resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty was adopted by the UNGA in December 2016 with the support of 117 countries; notes that in 2016, the number of executions carried out globally fell compared with the previous year and expresses its grave concern that the overall number of executions nevertheless remains higher than the average recorded for the previous decade; emphasises that those targeted are often dissenting members of society and vulnerable groups; calls on countries that still pursue this practice to adopt a moratorium and abolish the death penalty; |
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12.

| 13. | Acknowledges the potentially great importance of modern information and communication technologies in promoting, defending and redressing human rights worldwide, and invites the EU institutions and the Member States to use their information channels to systematically reiterate within their specific frameworks and remits Parliament’s position on different human rights issues, while contributing to the efficiency and visibility of the EU’s common efforts; expresses its concern about the ever-increasing use of certain cyber-surveillance dual-use technologies against politicians, activists and journalists; welcomes, in this regard, the ongoing work of the EU institutions to update Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 of 5 May 2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items (41); strongly condemns the increasing number of HRDs facing digital threats, including compromised data through confiscation of equipment, remote surveillance and data leakages; expresses concern over online platforms deleting legitimate video evidence of potential war crimes as part of the removal of terrorist content and propaganda from the platforms; |
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13.

| 14. | Expresses its concern about the increasing privatisation of the rule of law online, where private companies make decisions about the limitations of fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech, on the basis of their terms of service as opposed to democratically adopted laws; |
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14.

| 15. | Calls on the Commission to adopt a notice-and-action directive that increases the transparency and proportionality of takedown procedures, while providing effective remedies for users whose content has been wrongly taken down; |
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15.

| 16. | Condemns the use of sexual violence against women and girls, including mass rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, gender-based forms of persecution, trafficking, sex tourism and all other forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence, as a weapon of war; draws attention to the fact that gender-related crimes and crimes of sexual violence are classified in the Rome Statute as war crimes, crimes against humanity or constitutive acts with respect to genocide or torture; stresses the importance of defending women’s rights, including their sexual and reproductive rights, through legislation, education and by supporting CSOs; welcomes the adoption of the EU Gender Action Plan 2016-2020 which sets out a comprehensive list of measures to improve the situation of women in terms of equal rights and empowerment; emphasises the importance of ensuring its effective implementation; welcomes, in addition, the adoption of the Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality 2016-2019, which promotes gender equality and women’s rights worldwide; stresses the importance of the ratification and effective implementation by all Member States of the Istanbul Convention; points out that education is the best tool for combating discrimination and violence against women and children; requests that the Commission, the EEAS and the VP/HR step up their fulfilment of the obligations and commitments in the area of women’s rights under CEDAW and encourages third countries to do the same; believes that the EU should continue mainstreaming support for women within common security and defence policy (CSDP) operations, conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction; reiterates the importance of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security; stresses the importance of women’s systematic, equal, full and active participation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, in the promotion of human rights and democratic reforms, and in peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance, post-conflict reconstruction and democratic transition processes leading to lasting and stable political solutions; recalls that the 2016 Sakharov Prize was awarded to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, survivors of sexual enslavement perpetrated by ISIS/Daesh; |
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16.

| 17. | Emphasises that accessible health care and universal respect for and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, family planning, and access to adequate feminine hygiene products, maternal, prenatal and neonatal health care and safe abortion services are important elements to save women’s lives and contribute to avoiding high-risk births and reducing infant and child mortality; finds it unacceptable that women’s and girls’ bodies, specifically with respect to their sexual and reproductive health and rights, still remain an ideological battleground; calls for the EU and its Member States to recognise the inalienable rights of women and girls to bodily integrity and autonomous decision-making, and condemns the frequent violations of women’s sexual and reproductive rights, including the denial of access to family planning services, contraceptives and safe and legal abortion services; |
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17.

| 18. | Strongly condemns the reinstatement and expansion of the Global Gag Rule and its impact on women’s and girls’ global health care and rights; reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to fill the financing gap left by the US in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights, using both national and EU development funding; |
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18.

| 19. | Recalls that equality between women and men is a core principle of the EU and its Member States, and that gender mainstreaming one of the Union’s principal objectives as enshrined in the Treaties; calls on the Commission, therefore, to integrate gender mainstreaming into all EU legislation, guidelines, actions and funding as a core EU principle, with a special emphasis on EU external relations policies; stresses the need to reinforce the role of the EU delegations, as well as that of the EEAS Principal Advisor on Gender, by ensuring a specific budget dedicated to her area of competence; |
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19.

| 20. | Calls on the EEAS to ensure that the outcomes of the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will be included in its policies, and will provide renewed impetus in promoting ‘women’s economic empowerment’ and addressing gender inequalities in the changing world of work; |
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20.

| 21. | Notes the positive contribution of women’s empowerment to achieving an inclusive, equitable and peaceful society and sustainable development; stresses that the focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment is explicit across all the SDGs and that further efforts should be pursued to ensure that women’s rights are fully upheld and that policies promoting economic and social empowerment and women’s participation in decision-making processes are implemented effectively; stresses that particular attention should be given to empowering indigenous women; |
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21.

| 22. | Points out that women should be encouraged to organise themselves in trade unions, and that they should not be discriminated against when seeking business financing; |
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22.

| 23. | Calls for the EU to support all women’s associations that work on an everyday basis to support women in humanitarian crises and conflicts; |
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23.

| 24. | Reaffirms the urgent need for the universal ratification and effective implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its Optional Protocols, in order to provide children with legal protection; underlines that children are often exposed to specific abuse, such as child marriages or genital mutilation, and are therefore in need of enhanced protection; underlines that child labour, recruitment of children in armed conflicts and early and forced marriages remain critical issues in some countries; requests that the EU systematically consult relevant local and international child rights organisations, and raise, in its political and human rights dialogues with third countries, States Parties’ obligations to implement the Convention; welcomes the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021); requests that the EU continue to promote the EU-UNICEF Child Rights Toolkit for integrating child rights in development cooperation through its external delegations, and to train the EU delegation staff adequately in this field; reiterates its request for the Commission to propose a comprehensive children’s rights strategy and action plan for the next five years, in order to prioritise children’s rights within EU external policies, welcomes the fact that under the 2016 Development Cooperation Instrument, resources were allocated to support UN agencies in carrying out measures targeted to children’s rights, which must be designed to maximise the effective benefit for children in need, especially in the field of health systems and access to education, water and sanitation; calls for an urgent solution to the issue of stateless children, in particular those born outside their parents’ country of origin, and migrant children; |
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24.

| 25. | Condemns in the strongest terms all forms of discrimination, including on grounds of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, sex characteristics, language, culture, social origin, caste, birth, age, disability or any other status; stresses that the EU should intensify its efforts to eradicate all types of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance through human rights and political dialogues, the work of the EU delegations and public diplomacy; stresses, in addition, that the EU should continue promoting the ratification and full implementation of all UN conventions that support this cause; |
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25.

| 26. | Reiterates that trafficking in human beings (THB) means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation; calls for the EU and the Member States to take measures to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that lead to trafficking, while maintaining a human rights-based and victim-centred approach; reiterates the need for all Member States to implement the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings and Directive 2011/36/EU (42) on this subject; expresses its profound concern at the extreme vulnerability of migrants and refugees to exploitation, smuggling and THB; stresses the need to maintain a distinction between the concepts of THB and migrant smuggling; |
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26.

| 27. | Condemns the continuing human rights violations committed against people suffering as a result of caste hierarchies and caste-based discrimination, including the denial of equality and access to the legal system and employment, continued segregation and caste-induced barriers to the achievement of basic human rights and development; reiterates its call for the development of EU policy on caste discrimination, and for the EU to take advantage of every opportunity to express its grave concern over such human rights violations; urges the EU and its Member States to intensify efforts and support related initiatives at UN and delegation level by implementing and monitoring the 2030 SDGs, monitoring the new UN Guidance Tool on descent-based discrimination and supporting states’ implementation of recommendations by UN human rights mechanisms on the topic of caste discrimination; |
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27.

| 28. | Expresses profound concern that minorities are still at a heightened risk of discrimination and are especially vulnerable to political, economic, environmental and labour-related changes and disruptions; notes that many have little or no access to political representation and are acutely affected by poverty; stresses that the EU should intensify its efforts to eradicate the violations of human rights committed against minorities; stresses that minority communities have special needs and that they should be guaranteed full access and equal treatment in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life; |
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28.

| 29. | Welcomes the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and reiterates the importance of its ratification and efficient implementation by both the Member States and the EU institutions; emphasises that disabilities do not deprive a person of human dignity, which entails a state duty to protect them; stresses, in particular, the need to mainstream credibly the principle of universal accessibility and the rights of persons with disabilities in all relevant EU policies, including in the area of development cooperation, and underlines the prescriptive and horizontal nature of this issue; calls for the EU to incorporate the fight against discrimination on grounds of disability in its external action and development aid policies; welcomes, in this connection, the inclusion of the rights of people with disabilities in the new European Consensus on Development; |
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29.

| 30. | Reiterates its support for the systematic introduction of human rights clauses in international agreements between the EU and third countries, including trade and investment agreements; recalls that all human rights must be considered of equal value, being indivisible, interdependent and interrelated; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of such clauses effectively and systematically and to provide Parliament with regular reports on partner countries’ respect for human rights; calls on the Commission to adopt a more structured and strategic approach to human rights dialogues within the framework of future agreements; takes a positive view of the GSP+ preference system as a means to stimulate the effective implementation of 27 core international conventions on human rights and labour standards; calls for the genuine enforcement of GSP+ and expects the Commission to report back to Parliament and to the Council on the status of its ratification and the progress made under this scheme; reiterates the importance of the proper implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; |
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30.

| 31. | Reaffirms the fact that the activities of all companies, including European ones, operating in third countries should be in full compliance with international human rights standards and calls for the EU and its Member States to ensure that this is the case; reaffirms, moreover, the importance of promoting corporate social responsibility and of European enterprises playing a leading role in promoting international standards on business and human rights, emphasising that cooperation between human rights and business organisations would empower local actors and promote civil society; acknowledges that global value chains can contribute to enhancing international core labour, environmental and social standards, and represent opportunities and challenges with regard to sustainable progress and the promotion of human rights, especially in developing countries; calls for the EU to play a more active role in achieving the adequate, fair, transparent and sustainable management of global value chains and to mitigate any negative effects on human rights, including the infringement of labour rights; outlines, however, that in the case of business-related human rights abuses, effective access to remedies for victims should be guaranteed; urges the Commission to ensure that the projects supported by the EIB are in line with EU policy and human rights commitments; takes note of the ongoing negotiations on a binding treaty on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights; encourages the EU to constructively take part in such negotiations; |
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31.

| 32. | Calls for the EU and its Member States to use all their political weight to prevent any act that could be considered genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity from taking place, to respond in an efficient and coordinated manner in cases where such crimes occur, to mobilise all necessary resources to bring to justice all those responsible, including through the application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, and to assist the victims and support stabilisation and reconciliation processes; calls on the international community to set up instruments to minimise the warning-response gap in order to prevent the emergence, re-emergence and escalation of violent conflict, such as the EU’s early warning system; |
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32.

| 33. | Calls for the EU to provide support to organisations (including NGOs, open source investigation organisations and civil society) that collect, preserve and protect evidence, digital and otherwise, of crimes committed, in order to facilitate their prosecution internationally; |
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33.

| 34. | Expresses grave concern over the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya; notes that of the world’s 38 endangered cultural heritage sites, 22 are in the Middle East; supports the activities of the Cultural Heritage Initiative and its fact-finding activities in Syria and Iraq related to the destruction of archaeological and cultural heritage; |
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34.

| 35. | Welcomes the EU’s efforts to support the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) set up by the UN to assist in the investigation of serious crimes committed in Syria; emphasises the need to set up a similar independent mechanism in Iraq; calls for the EU and the Member States that have not already done so to contribute financially to the IIIM; |
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35.

| 36. | Strongly condemns the heinous crimes and human rights violations committed by state and non-state actors; is horrified at the vast range of crimes committed, including murder, torture, rape as a weapon of war, enslavement and sexual slavery, the recruitment of child soldiers, forced religious conversions and the systematic ‘cleansing’ and killing of religious minorities; recalls that the situation suffered by religious minorities in the territories governed by ISIS/Daesh was qualified by Parliament, in its resolution of 12 February 2015 on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria, in particular in the IS context (43), as a genocide; emphasises that the EU and its Member States should support the prosecution of members of non-state groups such as ISIS/Daesh by asking the UN Security Council to confer jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or to ensure that justice is rendered by means of an ad-hoc tribunal or universal jurisdiction; |
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36.

| 37. | Reiterates its full support for the ICC, the Rome Statute, the Office of the Prosecutor, the Prosecutor’s proprio motu powers, and the progress made in initiating new investigations as an essential means to fight impunity for atrocity crimes; calls on all Member States to ratify the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression and to add the ‘atrocity crimes’ to the list of crimes for which the EU has competence; condemns any attempt to undermine its legitimacy or independence and calls for the EU and its Member States to cooperate consistently in order to support the ICC’s investigations and decisions with the aim of putting an end to impunity for international crimes, including when referring to the arrest of persons wanted by the ICC; urges the EU and its Member States to consistently support ICC examinations, investigations and decisions and to take steps to prevent and respond effectively to instances of non-cooperation with the ICC and provide for adequate funding; welcomes the meeting of 6 July 2016 between EU and ICC representatives in Brussels in preparation for the 2nd EU-ICC round table meeting, enabling relevant staff at the ICC and the EU institutions to identify common areas of interest, exchange information on relevant activities and ensure better cooperation between both parties; notes, with profound regret, the recent announcements of withdrawals from the Rome Statute, which represent a challenge in terms of victims’ access to justice and which should be firmly condemned; considers that the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States should continue to encourage third countries to ratify and apply the Rome Statute; reiterates its call for the VP/HR to appoint an EUSR for International Humanitarian Law and International Justice with a mandate to promote, mainstream and represent the EU’s commitment to the fight against impunity and to the ICC across EU foreign policies; calls for the EU and its Member States to support UN accountability mechanisms and resolutions at UN multilateral fora, including the Human Rights Council; |
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37.

| 38. | Urges the EU to step up its efforts to promote the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary at multilateral and bilateral level as a fundamental principle for the consolidation of democracy; encourages the EU to support the fair administration of justice worldwide by assisting legislative and institutional reform processes in third countries; encourages, in addition, the EU delegations and Member States’ embassies to monitor trials systematically with a view to promoting the independence of the judiciary; |
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38.

| 39. | Expresses profound concern and solidarity with the growing number of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, including an ever larger number of women, as the victims of conflicts, violence, persecution, governance failures, poverty, irregular migration, trafficking and smuggling networks; stresses the urgent need to take genuine steps to tackle the root causes of migration flows and find long-term solutions based on respect for human rights and dignity, and therefore to address the external dimension of the refugee crisis, including by finding sustainable solutions to conflicts in our neighbourhood, for example by developing cooperation and partnerships with the third countries concerned that comply with international law and ensure respect for human rights in these countries; expresses its profound concern over violence against migrant children, including missing, unaccompanied migrant children, and calls for resettlement, family reunification schemes and humanitarian corridors; is deeply concerned at the plight and rising number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and calls for their safe return, resettlement or local integration; calls for the EU and its Member States to provide humanitarian assistance in the field of education, housing, health and other humanitarian areas that help the refugees closest to their homeland, and for return policies to be properly implemented; underlines the need for a comprehensive human rights-based approach to migration and calls for the EU to collaborate further with the UN, regional organisations, governments and NGOs; calls on Member States to fully implement the common European asylum package and common migration legislation, particularly so as to safeguard vulnerable asylum seekers; stresses that the concepts of safe countries and safe countries of origin must not prevent the consideration of individual asylum applications; warns against the instrumentalisation of EU foreign policy as ‘migration management’; calls for the EU and the Member States to establish full transparency surrounding the funds allocated to third countries for cooperation on migration and to ensure that such cooperation does not benefit structures involved in human rights violations, but rather goes hand in hand with improving the human rights situation within these countries; |
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39.

| 40. | Considers that development cooperation and the promotion of human rights and democratic principles, including the rule of law and good governance, should go hand in hand; recalls, in this context, that the UN has stated that without a human rights-based approach, development goals cannot be fully achieved; recalls, in addition, that the EU has committed to supporting partner countries, taking into account their development situation and their progress as regards human rights and democracy; |
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40.

| 41. | Points out that the rate of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion is higher among women, and asks the Commission to step up its efforts to implement measures to combat poverty and social exclusion as part of its development policies; |
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41.

| 42. | Recalls that criterion two of Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP obliges Member States to examine each arms export licence against the country of destination’s respect for human rights; recalls, in this connection, the commitment made by the Commission in the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy in connection to security forces and the implementation of the EU’s human rights policy, including the development and implementation of a due diligence policy in this field; |
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42.

| 43. | Reiterates its call for a common EU position on the use of armed drones that upholds human rights and international humanitarian law and addresses issues such as the legal framework, proportionality, accountability, the protection of civilians and transparency; insists once again that the EU ban the development, production and use of fully autonomous weapons which enable strikes to be carried out without human intervention; |
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43.

| 44. | Considers that the EU should continue its efforts to enhance respect for the human rights of LGBTI people, in line with the EU Guidelines on the topic; calls for the full implementation of the Guidelines, including through the training of EU staff in third countries; denounces the fact that 72 countries still criminalise homosexuality, is concerned that 13 of these countries have the death penalty, and believes that violent practices and acts of violence against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, such as forced outings, hate crimes and hate speech both online and offline, and corrective rape should not go unpunished; takes note of the legalisation of same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions in some countries and encourages their further recognition; condemns violations of bodily integrity against women and minority groups; calls on states to outlaw these practices, tackle perpetrators and support victims; |
| --- | --- |

44.

| 45. | Emphasises the fundamental importance of combating corruption, in all its forms, so as to safeguard the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights; strongly condemns any conduct accommodating such corrupt practices; |
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45.

| 46. | Recalls that corruption is a threat to the equal enjoyment of human rights and undermines democratic processes such as the rule of law and the fair administration of justice; takes the view that the EU should emphasise in all platforms for dialogue with third countries the importance of integrity, accountability and the proper management of public affairs, finances and property, as stipulated in the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC); recommends that the EU use its expertise to support third countries more consistently and systematically in their efforts to tackle corruption, by setting up and consolidating independent and effective anti-corruption institutions; calls, in particular, on the Commission to negotiate provisions on combating corruption in all the future trade agreements it negotiates with third countries; |
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46.

| 47. | Highlights the essential obligations and responsibilities of states and other duty bearers to mitigate climate change, prevent its negative impacts on human rights and foster policy coherence in order to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts are adequate, sufficiently ambitious, non-discriminatory and otherwise compliant with human rights obligations; underlines that the UN estimates that there will be many environmentally displaced people by 2050; emphasises the link between trade policies, environmental policies and development policies, and the positive and negative impact such policies can have on respect for human rights; welcomes international dedication to promoting the integration of the issues of environmental and natural disasters and climate change with human rights; |
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47.

| 48. | Stresses that land grabbing has increased considerably in recent years in developing countries; considers that the fight against the exploitation and appropriation of resources should be a priority; condemns practices such as land grabbing and the indiscriminate use of natural resources; calls on the Commission to take urgent action in response to Parliament’s many recent resolutions in this field; |
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48.

| 49. | Underlines the importance of ensuring that human rights and access to goods and services such as water and sanitation are covered in social, education, health and security policies; |
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49.

| 50. | Calls on international institutions, national governments, NGOs and individuals to work in synergy to establish an appropriate regulatory framework in order to ensure that everyone in the world has guaranteed access to a minimum amount of water; underlines that water should be considered not merchandise but a question of development and sustainability and that water privatisation does not exempt states from their human rights responsibilities; calls on countries in which water is one of the causes of tension or conflict to cooperate in the sharing of water so as to bring about a win-win situation for the sustainability and peaceful development of the region; |
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50.

Addressing democracy support challenges and activities

| 51. | Stresses that the EU should continue to actively support democratic and effective human rights institutions and civil society in their efforts to promote democratisation; welcomes the invaluable assistance provided to CSOs worldwide under the EIDHR, which continues to constitute the flagship instrument of the EU in implementing its external human rights policy; welcomes, in addition, the European Endowment for Democracy’s consistent efforts to promote democracy and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of the EU; |
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51.

| 52. | Recalls that the experience gained and lessons learned from transitions to democracy within the framework of enlargement and neighbourhood policy could contribute positively to the identification of best practices that could be used to support and consolidate other democratisation processes worldwide; |
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52.

| 53. | Reiterates, in this context, its call for the Commission to develop EU guidelines for democracy support; |
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53.

| 54. | Recommends that the EU step up its efforts to develop a more comprehensive approach to democratisation processes, of which free and fair elections are only one dimension, in order to contribute positively to the strengthening of democratic institutions and public confidence in electoral processes worldwide; |
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54.

| 55. | Welcomes the eight Election Observation Missions (EOMs) and the eight Electoral Expert Missions (EEMs) deployed around the globe by the EU in 2016; highlights the fact that since 2015, the EU has deployed 17 EOMs and 23 EEMs; reiterates its positive view of the EU’s continued support for electoral processes and its provision of electoral assistance and support for domestic observers; welcomes and fully supports the work of the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) in this regard; |
| --- | --- |

55.

| 56. | Recalls the importance of proper follow-up of the reports and recommendations of the EOMs as a way of enhancing their impact and strengthening the EU’s support for democratic standards in the countries concerned; |
| --- | --- |

56.

| 57. | Welcomes the commitment made by the Commission, the EEAS and the Member States under the current Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy to engage more firmly and consistently with election management bodies, parliamentary institutions and CSOs in third countries, in order to contribute to their empowerment and thus to the strengthening of democratic processes; |
| --- | --- |

57.

| 58. | Stresses that enlargement policy is one of the strongest tools for reinforcing respect for democratic principles and human rights in the light of current political developments in candidate and potential candidate countries; calls on the Commission to strengthen its efforts to support the reinforcement of democratic political cultures, respect for the rule of law, the independence of the media and the judiciary, and the fight against corruption in those countries; expresses its conviction that the revised European neighbourhood policy should continue to have the protection, active promotion and enforcement of human rights and democratic principles at its core; reiterates the fact that the protection, active support for and enforcement of human rights and democracy are in the interest of both partner countries and the EU; stresses, furthermore, the need for the EU to uphold the commitment it has made to its partners, especially in its neighbourhood, to support economic, social and political reform, protect human rights and help to establish the rule of law, as the best means of strengthening the international order and ensuring the stability of its neighbourhood; recalls that the Union for the Mediterranean can and should shape political dialogue in this area and push for a strong human rights and democracy agenda in the region; recalls that any country aiming to join the EU has to fully guarantee human rights and strictly fulfil the Copenhagen Criteria, with which non-compliance might lead to the freezing of the negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

58.

| 59. | Stresses that peacebuilding involves efforts to prevent and reduce conflict and strengthen the resilience of political, socioeconomic, and security institutions, in order to lay the foundation for sustainable peace and development in the long term; underlines that the promotion of the rule of law, good governance and human rights is fundamental to sustaining peace; |
| --- | --- |

59.

Ensuring a comprehensive and coherent human rights and democracy support approach via EU policies

| 60. | Takes note of the adoption of the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2016; considers that the Annual Report is an indispensable tool for scrutiny, communication and debate on the EU’s policy on human rights and democracy in the world, and a valuable instrument which provides a comprehensive overview of the EU’s priorities, efforts and challenges in this field and which can be used to identify further ways to address them in an effective manner; |
| --- | --- |

60.

| 61. | Reiterates strongly its invitation to the VP/HR to take part in a debate with MEPs in two plenary sessions per year, once when the Annual Report is presented and once in response to its own report; reiterates the importance of a continuous interinstitutional dialogue, namely regarding the follow-up of Parliament’s urgency resolutions on human rights; recalls that written answers also play an important role in interinstitutional relations, as they allow for a systematic and in-depth follow-up to all the points raised by Parliament and thus contribute to the strengthening of effective coordination; calls on the VP/HR and the EEAS to provide thorough responses to written questions and to address the human rights issues raised at the highest level of dialogue with the countries involved; |
| --- | --- |

61.

| 62. | Commends the EEAS and the Commission on their exhaustive reporting on the activities undertaken by the EU in the area of human rights and democracy in 2016; considers, nevertheless, that the current format of the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy could be improved by offering a better overview of the concrete impact of the EU’s actions on human rights and democracy in third countries; |
| --- | --- |

62.

| 63. | Reiterates its view that the adoption of the EU Strategic Framework and the first Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy in 2012 constituted a major milestone for the EU in placing human rights and democracy at the core of its external relations; welcomes the adoption by the Council in July 2015 of a new Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy for 2015-2019 and the performance of a mid-term review in 2017; calls on the VP/HR, the EEAS, the Commission, the Council and the Member States to ensure the efficient and coherent implementation of the current Action Plan, including through genuine collaboration with CSOs; stresses that the Member States should report back on how they have implemented the Plan; draws particular attention to the importance of increasing the effectiveness and maximising the local impact of the tools used to promote respect for human rights and democracy worldwide; |
| --- | --- |

63.

| 64. | Reiterates its view that a solid consensus and enhanced coordination between Member States and the EU institutions, as well as genuine collaboration with CSOs at local, national and international level, is required in order to advance the human rights and democracy agenda coherently and consistently; stresses firmly that Member States should take greater ownership of the implementation of the Action Plan and the EU Strategic Framework and use them as a blueprint for promoting human rights and democracy bilaterally and multilaterally; |
| --- | --- |

64.

| 65. | Recognises the key role of the EUSR for Human Rights, Mr Lambrinidis, in enhancing the EU’s visibility and effectiveness in protecting and promoting human rights and democratic principles around the world, and highlights his role in promoting the consistent and coherent implementation of the EU’s human rights policy; welcomes the extension of the EUSR’s mandate until 28 February 2019 and reiterates its request for this mandate to be made permanent; recommends, in this regard, that the EUSR be given own-initiative powers, higher public visibility and adequate staff and financial resources to work at his full potential; recommends, in addition, that the EUSR increase the transparency of his activities, plans, progress reports and reviews; |
| --- | --- |

65.

| 66. | Notes that the work and impact of the EUSR for Human Rights can be accessed only partially by reviewing the Annual Report on Human Rights, his social media account and the speeches available; |
| --- | --- |

66.

| 67. | Supports fully the human rights country strategies (HRCSs), which tailor EU action to each country’s specific situation and needs; reiterates its call for MEPs to be given access to strategy content; underlines strongly the importance of taking into account the HRCSs at all levels of policy-making vis-à-vis individual third countries; reiterates that HRCSs should correspond to EU actions to be implemented in each country depending on specific situations, and should contain measurable progress indicators and the possibility to adjust them if necessary; |
| --- | --- |

67.

| 68. | Welcomes the designation of human rights and gender focal points by all EU delegations and CSDP missions; recalls its recommendation to the VP/HR and the EEAS to develop clear operational guidelines on the role of focal points in delegations, so that they may improve, act as true human rights advisors and carry out their work efficiently; |
| --- | --- |

68.

| 69. | Acknowledges that Human Rights Dialogues with third countries can be an efficient tool for bilateral engagement and cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights; welcomes the establishment of Human Rights Dialogues with a growing number of countries; praises and further encourages the involvement of civil society in preparatory dialogues; reiterates its call for the development of a comprehensive mechanism for monitoring and reviewing the functioning of Human Rights Dialogues; |
| --- | --- |

69.

| 70. | Recalls the EU’s commitment to placing human rights and democracy at the centre of its relations with third countries; stresses, therefore, that the advancement of human rights and democratic principles, including human rights conditionality clauses in international agreements, needs to be supported through all EU policies with an external dimension, such as enlargement and neighbourhood policy, the CSDP, and environment, development, security, counter-terrorism, trade, migration, justice and home affairs policies; |
| --- | --- |

70.

| 71. | Recalls that sanctions are an essential tool of the CFSP; urges the Council to adopt the sanctions provided for in EU legislation when they are deemed necessary to achieving the objectives of the CFSP, in particular with a view to protecting human rights and consolidating and supporting democracy, while ensuring that they do not have an impact on the civilian population; asks that these sanctions be focused on officials identified as responsible for human rights violations in order to punish them for their crimes and abuse; |
| --- | --- |

71.

| 72. | Notes the Commission’s efforts to fulfil its commitment to including human rights provisions in its impact assessments for legislative and non-legislative proposals, implementing measures and trade and investment agreements; urges the Commission to improve the quality and comprehensiveness of the impact assessments and to ensure the systematic incorporation of human rights issues in the text of legislative and non-legislative proposals; |
| --- | --- |

72.

| 73. | Reiterates its full support for the EU’s strong engagement in promoting the advancement of human rights and democratic principles through cooperation with UN structures and UN specialised agencies, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), regional organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the African Union, and the Arab League, and other organisations, in line with Articles 21 and 22 TEU; |
| --- | --- |

73.

| 74. | Stresses that in order to fulfil the ambitious objectives set out in the new Action Plan, the EU must set aside sufficient resources and expertise, in terms of both dedicated human resources in delegations and headquarters, and funds available; |
| --- | --- |

74.

| 75. | Reiterates, furthermore, that active and consistent EU engagement in all UN human rights mechanisms, in particular the Third Committee of the UNGA and the UNHRC, is of the utmost importance; acknowledges the efforts of the EEAS, the EU delegations in New York and Geneva and the Member States to increase EU coherence on human rights issues at UN level; encourages the EU to step up its efforts to make its voice heard, including by intensifying the growing implementation of cross-regional initiatives and by co-sponsoring and taking the lead on resolutions; underlines the need for EU leadership to push for UN reform with the goal of reinforcing the impact and strength of the rules-based multilateral system, and of ensuring more efficient human rights protection and the advancement of international law; |
| --- | --- |

75.

o

o o

| 76. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the 70th UN General Assembly, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the EU heads of delegation. |
| --- | --- |

76.

---

(1)  http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/cedaw.pdf

(2)  http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/69/167

(3)  https://treaties.un.org/doc/source/docs/A_RES_45_158-E.pdf

(4)  http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10

(5)  http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf

(6)  http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/ globalcompact/A_RES_71_1.pdf

(7)  https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

(8)  https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/rms/090000168008482e

(9)  http://www.oecd.org/corporate/mne/oecdguidelinesformultinationalenterprises.htm

(10)  https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/ foraff/131181.pdf

(11)  http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10897-2015-INIT/en/pdf

(12)  http://europa.eu/globalstrategy/sites/globalstrategy/files/regions/files/ eugs_review_web_0.pdf

(13)  http://europa.eu/globalstrategy/sites/globalstrategy/files/full_brochure_year_1.pdf

(14)  OJ L 76, 22.3.2011, p. 56.

(15)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eu_guidelines_rights_of_child_0.pdf

(16)  https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/european-consensus-on-development-final-20170626_en.pdf

(17)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eu_human_rights_guidelines_on_ freedom_of_expression_online_and_offline_en.pdf

(18)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/137585.pdf

(19)  http://www.ceceurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CofEU_119404.pdf

(20)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/guidelines_death_penalty_st08416_en.pdf

(21)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/20120626_guidelines_en.pdf

(22)  https://www.osce.org/odihr/19223?download=true

(23)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/137584.pdf

(24)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eu_guidelines_on_human_rights_ dialogues_with_third_countries.pdf

(25)  OJ C 303, 15.12.2009, p. 12.

(26)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/16173_08_en.pdf

(27)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/10019_08_en.pdf

(28)  OJ L 130, 19.5.2017, p. 1.

(29)  https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eu_guidelines_hrd_en.pdf

(30)  http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10255-2016-INIT/en/pdf

(31)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0344.

(32)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0502.

(33)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0404.

(34)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0405.

(35)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0300.

(36)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0020.

(37)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0066.

(38)  OJ C 181, 19.5.2016, p. 69.

(39)  http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session31/ Documents/A_HRC_31_56_en.doc

(40)  OJ C 153 E, 31.5.2013, p. 115.

(41)  OJ L 134, 29.5.2009, p. 1.

(42)  OJ L 101, 15.4.2011, p. 1.

(43)  OJ C 310, 25.8.2016, p. 35.

---

Thursday 14 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/73 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/73

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P8_TA(2017)0496

Freedom of expression in Vietnam, notably the case of Nguyen Van Hoa

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on freedom of expression in Vietnam, notably the case of Nguyen Van Hoa (2017/3001(RSP))

(2018/C 369/08)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on Vietnam, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Vietnam,

| — | having regard to the 7th EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue of 1 December 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 7th EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue of 1 December 2017,

| — | having regard to the EU-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed on 27 June 2012, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed on 27 June 2012,

| — | having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders of 2008, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders of 2008,

| — | having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

| — | having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam acceded in 1982, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam acceded in 1982,

| — | having regard to the decision of the European Ombudsman of 26 February 2016 in case 1409/2014/MHZ on the European Commission’s failure to carry out a prior human rights impact assessment of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the decision of the European Ombudsman of 26 February 2016 in case 1409/2014/MHZ on the European Commission’s failure to carry out a prior human rights impact assessment of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement,

| — | having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

| A. | whereas the EU considers Vietnam to be an important partner in Asia; whereas 2015 marked the 25th anniversary of EU-Vietnam relations; whereas the scope of these relations has broadened rapidly, from trade and aid to a more comprehensive partnership; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas the EU considers Vietnam to be an important partner in Asia; whereas 2015 marked the 25th anniversary of EU-Vietnam relations; whereas the scope of these relations has broadened rapidly, from trade and aid to a more comprehensive partnership;

| B. | whereas 22-year-old videographer and blogger Nguyen Van Hoa was reported missing by his family on 11 January 2017 and was later discovered to have been detained by the police without an official warrant; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas 22-year-old videographer and blogger Nguyen Van Hoa was reported missing by his family on 11 January 2017 and was later discovered to have been detained by the police without an official warrant;

| C. | whereas Nguyen Van Hoa was initially arrested under Article 258 of the Vietnamese Penal Code and charged with ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state’; whereas in April 2017, these charges were upgraded to a violation of Article 88; whereas Article 88 of the Penal Code has been widely used against human rights defenders (HRDs) who have highlighted abuses in Vietnam; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas Nguyen Van Hoa was initially arrested under Article 258 of the Vietnamese Penal Code and charged with ‘abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state’; whereas in April 2017, these charges were upgraded to a violation of Article 88; whereas Article 88 of the Penal Code has been widely used against human rights defenders (HRDs) who have highlighted abuses in Vietnam;

| D. | whereas on 27 November 2017, Nguyen Van Hoa was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for having disseminated online information, including videos, on the environmental disaster in Ha Tinh Province that took place in April 2016, when Formosa Ha Tinh, a Taiwanese steel company, caused an illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste into the ocean, which had devastating environmental effects along 200 km of coastline, killing marine life and making people ill; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas on 27 November 2017, Nguyen Van Hoa was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for having disseminated online information, including videos, on the environmental disaster in Ha Tinh Province that took place in April 2016, when Formosa Ha Tinh, a Taiwanese steel company, caused an illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste into the ocean, which had devastating environmental effects along 200 km of coastline, killing marine life and making people ill;

| E. | whereas this disaster provoked widespread indignation among the Vietnamese population, a vast mobilisation of social networks and massive peaceful demonstrations in all large cities in Vietnam; whereas Nguyen Van Hoa’s arrest was one of a series of arrests by the Vietnamese authorities in the days leading up to the Tet holiday; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas this disaster provoked widespread indignation among the Vietnamese population, a vast mobilisation of social networks and massive peaceful demonstrations in all large cities in Vietnam; whereas Nguyen Van Hoa’s arrest was one of a series of arrests by the Vietnamese authorities in the days leading up to the Tet holiday;

| F. | whereas the People’s Court of Ha Tinh Province found Nguyen Van Hoa guilty of producing propaganda against the state under Article 88 of the Penal Code, following a two and a half hour trial; whereas Nguyen Van Hoa was not permitted access to a lawyer to represent him at the hearing; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the People’s Court of Ha Tinh Province found Nguyen Van Hoa guilty of producing propaganda against the state under Article 88 of the Penal Code, following a two and a half hour trial; whereas Nguyen Van Hoa was not permitted access to a lawyer to represent him at the hearing;

| G. | whereas on 30 November 2017, a Vietnamese court upheld the 10-year sentence of another blogger, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, for anti-state propaganda after she wrote critical posts on environmental degradation, politics and deaths in police custody; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas on 30 November 2017, a Vietnamese court upheld the 10-year sentence of another blogger, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, for anti-state propaganda after she wrote critical posts on environmental degradation, politics and deaths in police custody;

| H. | whereas the UN Human Rights Office and its special procedures and mechanisms have repeatedly denounced Article 88 of the Penal Code, along with several of its other provisions, as being in breach of international human rights law; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas the UN Human Rights Office and its special procedures and mechanisms have repeatedly denounced Article 88 of the Penal Code, along with several of its other provisions, as being in breach of international human rights law;

| I. | whereas most media outlets are owned and controlled by the state; whereas press freedom is severely restricted; whereas Vietnam ranks 175th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2017 World Press Freedom Index; whereas in response to widespread indignation among the Vietnamese population after the disaster in Ha Tinh Province, the authorities momentarily blocked access to social networks, violently repressing demonstrations and arresting protesters; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas most media outlets are owned and controlled by the state; whereas press freedom is severely restricted; whereas Vietnam ranks 175th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2017 World Press Freedom Index; whereas in response to widespread indignation among the Vietnamese population after the disaster in Ha Tinh Province, the authorities momentarily blocked access to social networks, violently repressing demonstrations and arresting protesters;

| J. | whereas in April 2016, Vietnam adopted a Law on Access to Information and an amended Press Law, which restricts freedom of expression and reinforces censorship, as well as regulations banning demonstrations outside courts during trials; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas in April 2016, Vietnam adopted a Law on Access to Information and an amended Press Law, which restricts freedom of expression and reinforces censorship, as well as regulations banning demonstrations outside courts during trials;

| K. | whereas freedom of religion or belief is repressed in Vietnam and the Catholic Church and non-recognised religions, such as the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, several Protestant churches and others, including ethnic minority Montagnards, continue to suffer severe religious persecution; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas freedom of religion or belief is repressed in Vietnam and the Catholic Church and non-recognised religions, such as the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, several Protestant churches and others, including ethnic minority Montagnards, continue to suffer severe religious persecution;

| L. | whereas during the 7th EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, freedom of expression, association, assembly, religion and belief, and access to information were discussed; whereas the EU underlined the deterioration of civil and political rights in Vietnam; whereas it encouraged Vietnam to issue standing invitations to UN Special Procedures; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas during the 7th EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue, freedom of expression, association, assembly, religion and belief, and access to information were discussed; whereas the EU underlined the deterioration of civil and political rights in Vietnam; whereas it encouraged Vietnam to issue standing invitations to UN Special Procedures;

| 1. | Condemns the sentencing of Nguyen Van Hoa to seven years in prison; underlines that Nguyen Van Hoa has exercised his right to freedom of expression; urges the Vietnamese authorities to release Nguyen Van Hoa immediately and unconditionally; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Expresses its concern about the rise in the number of detentions, arrests and convictions of Vietnamese citizens related to the expression of their opinions; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Expresses its concern at the increasingly restrictive approach of the authorities with regard to freedom of expression and other freedoms; condemns, in this regard, the use by the authorities of physical and psychological harassment, extra-judicial house arrest, pressure on lawyers, employers, landlords and family members of activists, and intrusive surveillance; expresses concern, furthermore, at the restrictions placed on freedom of movement to prevent bloggers and activists from participating in public events such as human rights discussions and attending trials of fellow activists; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Calls on the Vietnamese authorities to release all citizens detained for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Calls on the Vietnamese authorities to end all restrictions on and acts of harassment against HDRs and to guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Expresses serious concerns about the extensive application of the national security provisions in Vietnam’s Penal Code; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Denounces Vietnam’s use of the death penalty for certain national security crimes, as prescribed in its amended Penal Code, and the fact that it continues to hand out death sentences; reiterates the EU’s strong opposition to the death penalty, in all cases and without exception; reiterates its call on the Vietnamese authorities to establish a moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards the abolition of capital punishment for all crimes; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Urges the Government of Vietnam to amend certain articles in its Penal Code, including Article 88 on propaganda and Article 79 on activities aimed at overthrowing the administration, which have been denounced by the OHCHR as being in breach of international human rights law, and to ensure that national security concerns are not used as a pretext for the suppression of human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion and belief; expresses its concern about the new Law on Associations and the Law on Belief and Religion, which are incompatible with international norms; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Urges Vietnam to issue a standing invitation to UN Special Procedures, in particular to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, and to give them free and unfettered access to all parties they wish to consult; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Welcomes Vietnam’s ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture and urges it to engage with it meaningfully, including by providing regular and detailed submissions under its provisions; insists that no statement extracted under torture or other ill-treatment are relied upon as evidence to convict individuals accused of propaganda or other politically motivated charges; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Welcomes the strengthened partnership and Human Rights Dialogue between the EU and Vietnam and recalls the importance of the Dialogue as a key instrument to be used in an efficient manner to accompany and encourage Vietnam in the implementation of the necessary reforms; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Welcomes the fact that the EU raised the issues of freedom of expression and association and the increasing number of detentions, arrests and convictions during the 7th EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue; strongly encourages the Commission to monitor progress under the Dialogue through the introduction of benchmarks and monitoring mechanisms; urges the Commission and the VP/HR to continue to raise the issue of freedom of expression in its regular dialogue with Vietnam, including during the next Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Brussels in 2018; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Calls on the Vietnamese authorities to address the environmental disaster in the Ha Tinh Province, which caused mass fish deaths in the region and affected the lives of thousands of people, through legislative measures aimed at restoring and rehabilitating the local economy; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign affairs and Security Policy, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Government and National Assembly of Vietnam. |
| --- | --- |

14.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/76 |
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11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/76

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P8_TA(2017)0497

Cambodia: the banning of the opposition

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on Cambodia: notably the dissolution of CNRP Party (2017/3002(RSP))

(2018/C 369/09)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on Cambodia, in particular that of 14 September 2017 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Cambodia, in particular that of 14 September 2017 (1),

| — | having regard to the visit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) delegation to the European Parliament from 30 to 31 October 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the visit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) delegation to the European Parliament from 30 to 31 October 2017,

| — | having regard to the 2008 EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 2008 EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders,

| — | having regard to the statement by the spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS) of 16 November 2017 on the dissolution of the Cambodian National Rescue Party, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the statement by the spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS) of 16 November 2017 on the dissolution of the Cambodian National Rescue Party,

| — | having regard to the 1997 Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the Kingdom of Cambodia, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1997 Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and the Kingdom of Cambodia,

| — | having regard to the local EU statement of 22 February 2017 on the political situation in Cambodia, and the statements by the spokesperson of the EU Delegation of 3 September 2017 and 25 August 2017 on restrictions of political space in Cambodia, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the local EU statement of 22 February 2017 on the political situation in Cambodia, and the statements by the spokesperson of the EU Delegation of 3 September 2017 and 25 August 2017 on restrictions of political space in Cambodia,

| — | having regard to Resolution (A/RES/53/144) adopted by the UN General Assembly on 8 March 1999 on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Resolution (A/RES/53/144) adopted by the UN General Assembly on 8 March 1999 on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms,

| — | having regard to the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, in which a commitment to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia, including on the part of international signatories, is enshrined in Article 15, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, in which a commitment to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia, including on the part of international signatories, is enshrined in Article 15,

| — | having regard to the International Labour Organisation Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the International Labour Organisation Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise,

| — | having regard to the Cambodian Constitution, in particular Article 41 thereof, in which the rights and freedoms of expression and assembly are enshrined, Article 35 on the right to political participation and Article 80 on parliamentary immunity, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Cambodian Constitution, in particular Article 41 thereof, in which the rights and freedoms of expression and assembly are enshrined, Article 35 on the right to political participation and Article 80 on parliamentary immunity,

| — | having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,

| — | having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,

| — | having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

| A. | whereas in 2017 the human rights situation in Cambodia further deteriorated, with an increasing number of arrests of political opposition members, human rights activists and civil society representatives being carried out in Cambodia; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas in 2017 the human rights situation in Cambodia further deteriorated, with an increasing number of arrests of political opposition members, human rights activists and civil society representatives being carried out in Cambodia;

| B. | whereas the Cambodian parliament passed two sets of repressive amendments to the ‘Law on Political Parties’ in 2017, which contain numerous restrictions tailored to create obstacles for opposition parties; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas the Cambodian parliament passed two sets of repressive amendments to the ‘Law on Political Parties’ in 2017, which contain numerous restrictions tailored to create obstacles for opposition parties;

| C. | whereas, on 6 October 2017, the Ministry of the Interior filed a request with the Supreme Court to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) under the ‘Law on Political Parties’; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas, on 6 October 2017, the Ministry of the Interior filed a request with the Supreme Court to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) under the ‘Law on Political Parties’;

| D. | whereas, on 16 November 2017, the Supreme Court announced the dissolution of the CNRP, at the end of a one-day hearing; whereas the Supreme Court has also banned 118 CNRP politicians from being politically active for five years; whereas this decision, which was based on two rounds of controversial amendments to the ‘Law on Political Parties’, leaves the government with no opposition ahead of next year’s general elections scheduled for July 2018; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas, on 16 November 2017, the Supreme Court announced the dissolution of the CNRP, at the end of a one-day hearing; whereas the Supreme Court has also banned 118 CNRP politicians from being politically active for five years; whereas this decision, which was based on two rounds of controversial amendments to the ‘Law on Political Parties’, leaves the government with no opposition ahead of next year’s general elections scheduled for July 2018;

| E. | whereas opposition party members have been prosecuted and harassed by the Cambodian authorities for years; whereas fewer than 40 % of CNRP members of Parliament remain in Cambodia after other members were forced to flee the country, having been threatened with arrests; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas opposition party members have been prosecuted and harassed by the Cambodian authorities for years; whereas fewer than 40 % of CNRP members of Parliament remain in Cambodia after other members were forced to flee the country, having been threatened with arrests;

| F. | whereas the Ministry of the Interior holds sweeping powers to suspend political parties based on vaguely-defined criteria; whereas, on 2 October 2017, the Ministry of the Interior dissolved 20 political parties pursuant to Articles 19 and 20 of the ‘Law on Political Parties’; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the Ministry of the Interior holds sweeping powers to suspend political parties based on vaguely-defined criteria; whereas, on 2 October 2017, the Ministry of the Interior dissolved 20 political parties pursuant to Articles 19 and 20 of the ‘Law on Political Parties’;

| G. | whereas, on 3 September 2017, Kem Sokha, the president of the CNRP, was arrested and charged with treason under Article 443 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, despite having parliamentary immunity; whereas Kem Sokha’s request for bail was rejected on 26 September 2017, when he was unable to attend the hearing, after the prisons department said they could not ensure his safety; whereas according to human rights organisations he was interrogated on 24 November 2017, even though he has not had adequate access to legal counsel or private medical care; whereas his legal status has to be clarified; whereas the bail request is now pending with the Supreme Court; whereas he faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty; whereas the President of the Court, Dith Munty, is a member of the standing committee of the ruling party; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas, on 3 September 2017, Kem Sokha, the president of the CNRP, was arrested and charged with treason under Article 443 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, despite having parliamentary immunity; whereas Kem Sokha’s request for bail was rejected on 26 September 2017, when he was unable to attend the hearing, after the prisons department said they could not ensure his safety; whereas according to human rights organisations he was interrogated on 24 November 2017, even though he has not had adequate access to legal counsel or private medical care; whereas his legal status has to be clarified; whereas the bail request is now pending with the Supreme Court; whereas he faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty; whereas the President of the Court, Dith Munty, is a member of the standing committee of the ruling party;

| H. | whereas the issue of land grabbing remains a major concern in Cambodia; whereas there has been a steady increase in arrests and detention of members of the political opposition, political commentators, trade unionists, human rights activists and representatives of civil society in Cambodia, including the ADHOC 5; whereas human rights defender Tep Vanny from the Boeung Kak community remains in prison serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in connection with a peaceful protest in 2013; whereas on 8 December 2017 the Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Tep Vanny; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas the issue of land grabbing remains a major concern in Cambodia; whereas there has been a steady increase in arrests and detention of members of the political opposition, political commentators, trade unionists, human rights activists and representatives of civil society in Cambodia, including the ADHOC 5; whereas human rights defender Tep Vanny from the Boeung Kak community remains in prison serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in connection with a peaceful protest in 2013; whereas on 8 December 2017 the Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Tep Vanny;

| I. | whereas the previous president of the CNRP, Sam Rainsy, was forced to resign following legal threats; whereas he was convicted in his absence of criminal defamation and now lives in exile; whereas since the dissolution of the opposition, an increasing number of CNRP members of parliament have fled Cambodia; whereas human rights organisations report that some are seeking asylum; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas the previous president of the CNRP, Sam Rainsy, was forced to resign following legal threats; whereas he was convicted in his absence of criminal defamation and now lives in exile; whereas since the dissolution of the opposition, an increasing number of CNRP members of parliament have fled Cambodia; whereas human rights organisations report that some are seeking asylum;

| J. | whereas the influence of China is playing an important role in political life in Cambodia and on its government; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas the influence of China is playing an important role in political life in Cambodia and on its government;

| K. | whereas Cambodia benefits from the most favourable regime available under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), namely the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme; whereas the EU has allocated up to EUR 410 million to Cambodia for the financial period 2014-2020, of which EUR 10 million is to support the electoral reform process in Cambodia; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas Cambodia benefits from the most favourable regime available under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), namely the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme; whereas the EU has allocated up to EUR 410 million to Cambodia for the financial period 2014-2020, of which EUR 10 million is to support the electoral reform process in Cambodia;

| L. | whereas the right of political participation is enshrined in Article 41 of the Cambodian Constitution; whereas the decision to dissolve the CNRP is a significant step away from the path of pluralism and democracy enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas the right of political participation is enshrined in Article 41 of the Cambodian Constitution; whereas the decision to dissolve the CNRP is a significant step away from the path of pluralism and democracy enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution;

| M. | whereas 55 NGOs released a call for a new Paris Conference on Cambodia with all relevant stakeholders to discuss the rule of law and democracy in Cambodia in order to encourage the Cambodian Government to reconsider its policies on opposition parties; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas 55 NGOs released a call for a new Paris Conference on Cambodia with all relevant stakeholders to discuss the rule of law and democracy in Cambodia in order to encourage the Cambodian Government to reconsider its policies on opposition parties;

| 1. | Expresses its serious concerns at the dissolution of the CNRP; deeply regrets the prohibition of the party, which is evidence of further autocratic action by Prime Minister Hun Sen; urges the government to reverse the decision to dissolve the CNRP, to restore the elected members of the national parliament and commune council to their positions, to allow the full participation of opposition parties in public life and to ensure free space for action for media and civil society organisations and to put an end to the climate of fear and intimidation, as these are all preconditions for free, inclusive and transparent elections; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Reiterates its strong concerns expressed in the previous resolutions about the further worsening climate for opposition politicians, human rights activists and members of civil society in Cambodia; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Supports the view of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that the accusations against the CNRP and its members were vague, as were the legal provisions supporting the complaint to dissolve it; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Considers that the Supreme Court in Phnom Penh is unacceptably interfering with the rights of Cambodian people to freely choose their political representatives and vote for them in the 2018 national elections; regrets the absence of an independent and impartial judiciary in the country; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Calls on the Government of Cambodia to repeal all recent amendments to the ‘Law on Political Parties’ and electoral laws limiting freedom of speech and political freedoms; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Strongly condemns the arrest of Kem Sokha and other political activists; urges the Cambodian authorities to immediately revoke the arrest warrant for, and drop all charges against, opposition leader Sam Rainsy and to immediately and unconditionally release Kem Sokha from prison and to drop all charges against him and other opposition parliamentarians; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Expresses grave concerns about the conduct of credible and transparent elections in Cambodia in 2018 following the decision by the Supreme Court to dissolve the CNRP; stresses that an electoral process from which the main opposition party has been arbitrarily excluded is not legitimate, and that a transparent and competitive election is a key instrument in guaranteeing peace and stability in the country and the entire region; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Welcomes the EU decision to withdraw all electoral assistance until Cambodia engages in reforms in line with international electoral standards in order to advance democracy and protect civil society space; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini, and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights to use all means available to protect the fundamental rights of the Cambodian people to elect and be elected, to guarantee pluralism and democratic principles strictly in line with Cambodia’s constitution; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Reminds the Cambodian Government that it has to fulfil its obligations and commitments regarding democratic principles and fundamental human rights, which are an essential element of the Cooperation Agreement; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Stresses that respect for fundamental human rights is a prerequisite for Cambodia to continue to benefit from the EU’s preferential EBA scheme; calls on the VP/HR and Commissioner Malmström to immediately review Cambodia’s obligations under the conventions in Article 19 of the EBA regulation; Emphasises that if Cambodia is acting in violation of its obligation under the EBA regulation, the tariff preferences it currently enjoys must be temporarily withdrawn; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Calls on the EEAS and the Commission to prepare a list of individuals responsible for the dissolution of the opposition and other serious human rights violations in Cambodia with a view to imposing possible visa restrictions and asset freezes on them; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European External Action Service, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Government and National Assembly of Cambodia. |
| --- | --- |

13.

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(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0348.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/79 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/79

---

P8_TA(2017)0498

El Salvador: the cases of women prosecuted for miscarriage

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on El Salvador: the cases of women prosecuted for miscarriage (2017/3003(RSP))

(2018/C 369/10)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

| — | having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 8, 19, 157, 216 and 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) thereof, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 8, 19, 157, 216 and 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) thereof,

| — | having regard to Chapter 7 of the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Action Plan 2015-2017 on Gender, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Chapter 7 of the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Action Plan 2015-2017 on Gender,

| — | having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995, and to the subsequent outcome documents adopted at the United Nations Beijing + 5 (2000), Beijing + 10 (2005), Beijing + 15 (2010) and Beijing + 20 (2015) special sessions, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995, and to the subsequent outcome documents adopted at the United Nations Beijing + 5 (2000), Beijing + 10 (2005), Beijing + 15 (2010) and Beijing + 20 (2015) special sessions,

| — | having regard to the EU Trio Presidency Declaration of 19 July 2017 by Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria on equality between women and men, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU Trio Presidency Declaration of 19 July 2017 by Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria on equality between women and men,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2016 on the Annual Report on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter 2015 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2016 on the Annual Report on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter 2015 (1),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1567/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on aid for policies and actions on reproductive and sexual health and rights in developing countries (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1567/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2003 on aid for policies and actions on reproductive and sexual health and rights in developing countries (2),

| — | having regard to the fifth UN Millennium Development Goal — improving maternal health, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the fifth UN Millennium Development Goal — improving maternal health,

| — | having regard to the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

| — | having regard to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women February 2017 review of women’s rights in El Salvador and its concluding observations, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women February 2017 review of women’s rights in El Salvador and its concluding observations,

| — | having regard to Articles 6, 24 and 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 6, 24 and 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,

| — | having regard to the Convention against Torture, to which El Salvador has been a party since 1996, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Convention against Torture, to which El Salvador has been a party since 1996,

| — | having regard to Article 144 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador, which states that international treaties concluded with other states or international organisations constitute laws of the republic, and that, in cases where there is a conflict between the treaty and the law, the treaty prevails, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 144 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador, which states that international treaties concluded with other states or international organisations constitute laws of the republic, and that, in cases where there is a conflict between the treaty and the law, the treaty prevails,

| — | having regard to the Framework for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls Through EU External Actions 2016-2020, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Framework for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls Through EU External Actions 2016-2020,

| — | having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),

| — | having regard to the statement of 11 May 2015 by the UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the statement of 11 May 2015 by the UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice,

| — | having regard to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (‘Convention of Belem do Para’), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (‘Convention of Belem do Para’),

| — | having regard to Salvadorean Legislative Decree No 520 (‘Special Comprehensive Law for a Violence-free Life for Women’), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Salvadorean Legislative Decree No 520 (‘Special Comprehensive Law for a Violence-free Life for Women’),

| — | having regard to Articles 133, 135 and 136 of the Salvadorean Penal Code, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 133, 135 and 136 of the Salvadorean Penal Code,

| — | having regard to the statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, at the end of his mission to El Salvador on 17 November 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, at the end of his mission to El Salvador on 17 November 2017,

| — | having regard to Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador,

| — | having regard to the Salvadorean Law on Equality, Equity and Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted in 2016, the Law on a Violence-free Life for Women adopted in 2012, and the Law on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (LEPINA) adopted in April 2009, which mandates the Ministry of Education to provide education on gender and reproductive health and to tackle discrimination against women in the education system, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Salvadorean Law on Equality, Equity and Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted in 2016, the Law on a Violence-free Life for Women adopted in 2012, and the Law on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (LEPINA) adopted in April 2009, which mandates the Ministry of Education to provide education on gender and reproductive health and to tackle discrimination against women in the education system,

| — | having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

| A. | whereas gender equality is a core value of the EU; whereas the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination is a fundamental right enshrined in the Treaties and in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and should be fully respected, promoted and applied in legislation, practice, case law and daily life; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas gender equality is a core value of the EU; whereas the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination is a fundamental right enshrined in the Treaties and in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and should be fully respected, promoted and applied in legislation, practice, case law and daily life;

| B. | whereas in Articles 36 and 37 of its concluding observations of its review on El Salvador’s record on women’s rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for El Salvador’s punitive abortion laws to be repealed; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas in Articles 36 and 37 of its concluding observations of its review on El Salvador’s record on women’s rights, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for El Salvador’s punitive abortion laws to be repealed;

| C. | whereas since 2000, at least 120 women in El Salvador have been prosecuted for abortion or homicide when foetal death occurred in the last months of pregnancy, with 26 of these convicted of homicide and 23 convicted of abortion, and all those convicted serving extremely long sentences, despite not being criminals according to international standards; whereas most of these women were young, poor, with limited education, and from remote communities; whereas there are currently two cases pending under prosecution; whereas after spending the last ten years in prison, Teodora del Carmen Vásquez’s case was reviewed by the Second Sentencing Tribunal on 13 December 2017 and her appeal was rejected, and Evelyn Beatriz Hernandez Cruz’s sentence was confirmed in October 2017; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas since 2000, at least 120 women in El Salvador have been prosecuted for abortion or homicide when foetal death occurred in the last months of pregnancy, with 26 of these convicted of homicide and 23 convicted of abortion, and all those convicted serving extremely long sentences, despite not being criminals according to international standards; whereas most of these women were young, poor, with limited education, and from remote communities; whereas there are currently two cases pending under prosecution; whereas after spending the last ten years in prison, Teodora del Carmen Vásquez’s case was reviewed by the Second Sentencing Tribunal on 13 December 2017 and her appeal was rejected, and Evelyn Beatriz Hernandez Cruz’s sentence was confirmed in October 2017;

| D. | whereas ‘Las 17’ were the women most severely punished, having been sentenced to decades in prison between 2000 and 2011; whereas a handful of them have also been released after courts overturned previous decisions; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas ‘Las 17’ were the women most severely punished, having been sentenced to decades in prison between 2000 and 2011; whereas a handful of them have also been released after courts overturned previous decisions;

| E. | whereas gender-based violence is a major problem in El Salvador, with data showing that one woman is sexually assaulted every three hours, instances of rape often resulting in undesired pregnancies, and an appalling numbers of feminicides, only 5 % of which have been the subject of judicial proceedings; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas gender-based violence is a major problem in El Salvador, with data showing that one woman is sexually assaulted every three hours, instances of rape often resulting in undesired pregnancies, and an appalling numbers of feminicides, only 5 % of which have been the subject of judicial proceedings;

| F. | whereas public employees of any authority, including hospitals and clinics, are under the obligation to report patients who undergo obstetric emergencies, which is a violation of the right to patient confidentiality and creates an environment in which women suffer stigmatisation; whereas the obligation to report patients means that women who suffer serious complications during pregnancy opt not to seek healthcare assistance for fear of prosecution and imprisonment; whereas it is considered a blanket offence to fail to report; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas public employees of any authority, including hospitals and clinics, are under the obligation to report patients who undergo obstetric emergencies, which is a violation of the right to patient confidentiality and creates an environment in which women suffer stigmatisation; whereas the obligation to report patients means that women who suffer serious complications during pregnancy opt not to seek healthcare assistance for fear of prosecution and imprisonment; whereas it is considered a blanket offence to fail to report;

| G. | whereas the rate of gender-based killings of women and girls in El Salvador is appallingly high; whereas 1 097 women were murdered in 2015 and 2016 and 201 women were murdered between January and June 2017; whereas last year, the National Civil Police of El Salvador registered 3 947 complaints of sexual assault, of which 1 049 were cases of rape, including within families, and 1 873 of the victims were minors or classified as ‘incapacitated’, according to the Salvadoran Women’s Organisation for Peace (ORMUSA); |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas the rate of gender-based killings of women and girls in El Salvador is appallingly high; whereas 1 097 women were murdered in 2015 and 2016 and 201 women were murdered between January and June 2017; whereas last year, the National Civil Police of El Salvador registered 3 947 complaints of sexual assault, of which 1 049 were cases of rape, including within families, and 1 873 of the victims were minors or classified as ‘incapacitated’, according to the Salvadoran Women’s Organisation for Peace (ORMUSA);

| H. | whereas El Salvador has a high adolescent pregnancy rate, which is also driven by the lack of sexual education in schools; whereas sexual abuse and rape are the main factors of early pregnancy; whereas according to the Ministry of Health, in 2015 there were 1 445 cases of pregnant girls aged between 10 and 14 years old; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas El Salvador has a high adolescent pregnancy rate, which is also driven by the lack of sexual education in schools; whereas sexual abuse and rape are the main factors of early pregnancy; whereas according to the Ministry of Health, in 2015 there were 1 445 cases of pregnant girls aged between 10 and 14 years old;

| I. | whereas in 1998, El Salvador criminalised abortion under all circumstances, including cases in which pregnancy has life-threatening complications for the woman or girl, and in cases of rape, incest or an unviable foetus; whereas, moreover, in 1999 a constitutional amendment was passed recognising an embryo as a human being from ‘the moment of conception’; whereas any person who performs or self-induces an abortion, even before the foetal stage, is therefore liable to be prosecuted with a sentence of between two and eight years, but in many cases prosecutors have increased the charge to ‘aggravated homicide’, which carries up to 50 years’ imprisonment; whereas legislation that potentially allows abortion under these circumstances has remained frozen in the National Assembly since October 2016, but debates are currently taking place to make further progress; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas in 1998, El Salvador criminalised abortion under all circumstances, including cases in which pregnancy has life-threatening complications for the woman or girl, and in cases of rape, incest or an unviable foetus; whereas, moreover, in 1999 a constitutional amendment was passed recognising an embryo as a human being from ‘the moment of conception’; whereas any person who performs or self-induces an abortion, even before the foetal stage, is therefore liable to be prosecuted with a sentence of between two and eight years, but in many cases prosecutors have increased the charge to ‘aggravated homicide’, which carries up to 50 years’ imprisonment; whereas legislation that potentially allows abortion under these circumstances has remained frozen in the National Assembly since October 2016, but debates are currently taking place to make further progress;

| J. | whereas El Salvador continues, on religious, cultural and other grounds, to deny women and girls access to safe and legal abortion, thereby violating their right to health, life and physical and psychological integrity; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas El Salvador continues, on religious, cultural and other grounds, to deny women and girls access to safe and legal abortion, thereby violating their right to health, life and physical and psychological integrity;

| K. | whereas the Ministry of Education recently prepared materials to integrate sexual and reproductive health into the national school curriculum, but owing to resistance from various forces, the final edited materials focus instead on sexual abstinence instead, despite the fact that 42 % have been pregnant by the age of 20; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas the Ministry of Education recently prepared materials to integrate sexual and reproductive health into the national school curriculum, but owing to resistance from various forces, the final edited materials focus instead on sexual abstinence instead, despite the fact that 42 % have been pregnant by the age of 20;

| L. | whereas in Latin America the risk of maternal death is four times higher among adolescents under the age of 16; whereas 65 % of cases of obstetric fistula occur in the pregnancies of adolescents, with serious consequences for their lives, including severe health problems and social exclusion; whereas early pregnancies are also dangerous for the baby, with mortality rates 50 % higher than average; whereas up to 40 % of women in the region have been victims of sexual violence; whereas 95 % of abortions carried out in Latin America are unsafe; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas in Latin America the risk of maternal death is four times higher among adolescents under the age of 16; whereas 65 % of cases of obstetric fistula occur in the pregnancies of adolescents, with serious consequences for their lives, including severe health problems and social exclusion; whereas early pregnancies are also dangerous for the baby, with mortality rates 50 % higher than average; whereas up to 40 % of women in the region have been victims of sexual violence; whereas 95 % of abortions carried out in Latin America are unsafe;

| M. | whereas the Ministry of Health reports that between 2011 and 2015, 14 women died of complications related to abortion, 13 women died of ectopic pregnancy and 63 women died under current abortion legislation; whereas suicide is the cause of 57 % of deaths of pregnant women aged between 10 and 19 years old; whereas many women are afraid to ask for medical assistance when they suffer complications related to pregnancy, which causes more deaths that could be prevented; whereas this particularly affects women with the least economic resources who cannot access sexual and reproductive health and rights services; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas the Ministry of Health reports that between 2011 and 2015, 14 women died of complications related to abortion, 13 women died of ectopic pregnancy and 63 women died under current abortion legislation; whereas suicide is the cause of 57 % of deaths of pregnant women aged between 10 and 19 years old; whereas many women are afraid to ask for medical assistance when they suffer complications related to pregnancy, which causes more deaths that could be prevented; whereas this particularly affects women with the least economic resources who cannot access sexual and reproductive health and rights services;

| N. | whereas Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International note that women who have miscarriages or stillbirths in El Salvador are often prosecuted on suspicion of having undergone an abortion; whereas in such cases women are often reported by medical personnel and subsequently arrested while in hospital; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International note that women who have miscarriages or stillbirths in El Salvador are often prosecuted on suspicion of having undergone an abortion; whereas in such cases women are often reported by medical personnel and subsequently arrested while in hospital;

| O. | whereas UN experts have warned that the Salvadorean authorities’ decision is resulting in grave violations of women and girls’ right to life, health and to their physical and mental integrity, thereby jeopardising their economic and social opportunities; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas UN experts have warned that the Salvadorean authorities’ decision is resulting in grave violations of women and girls’ right to life, health and to their physical and mental integrity, thereby jeopardising their economic and social opportunities;

| P. | whereas in March 2015, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights asked El Salvador to revise and amend its abortion legislation to ensure its compatibility with other rights, such as the rights to health and life; whereas physical, sexual and psychological violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas in March 2015, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights asked El Salvador to revise and amend its abortion legislation to ensure its compatibility with other rights, such as the rights to health and life; whereas physical, sexual and psychological violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights;

| Q. | whereas El Salvador participated actively in the 61th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; whereas all parties should continue to promote the UN Beijing Platform for Action as regards, among other elements, access to education and health as basic human rights, and sexual and reproductive rights; |
| --- | --- |

Q.

whereas El Salvador participated actively in the 61th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; whereas all parties should continue to promote the UN Beijing Platform for Action as regards, among other elements, access to education and health as basic human rights, and sexual and reproductive rights;

| R. | whereas UN treaty monitoring bodies, including the Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, have called on various Latin American states to establish exceptions to restrictive abortion laws in instances where pregnancy poses a risk to a woman’s life or health, where there is severe foetal impairment, and where pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas UN treaty monitoring bodies, including the Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, have called on various Latin American states to establish exceptions to restrictive abortion laws in instances where pregnancy poses a risk to a woman’s life or health, where there is severe foetal impairment, and where pregnancy is the result of rape or incest;

| S. | whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, expressed his concerns about the situation of women and girls in El Salvador after his visit to the country in November 2017; whereas he called upon El Salvador to introduce a moratorium on the application of Article 133 of the Penal Code and to review the cases of women in detention for abortion-related offences; |
| --- | --- |

S.

whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, expressed his concerns about the situation of women and girls in El Salvador after his visit to the country in November 2017; whereas he called upon El Salvador to introduce a moratorium on the application of Article 133 of the Penal Code and to review the cases of women in detention for abortion-related offences;

| T. | whereas the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) have explicitly recognised the connection between unsafe illegal abortion and high maternal mortality rates; whereas the Convention against Torture stipulates that states that have an absolute prohibition on abortion under any circumstances expose women and girls to circumstances in which they are being humiliated and treated with cruelty; |
| --- | --- |

T.

whereas the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) have explicitly recognised the connection between unsafe illegal abortion and high maternal mortality rates; whereas the Convention against Torture stipulates that states that have an absolute prohibition on abortion under any circumstances expose women and girls to circumstances in which they are being humiliated and treated with cruelty;

| U. | whereas the UN Universal Periodic Review made 10 recommendations to the Salvadoran State to bring its abortion law in line with international human rights standards, all of which were rejected by the Government; |
| --- | --- |

U.

whereas the UN Universal Periodic Review made 10 recommendations to the Salvadoran State to bring its abortion law in line with international human rights standards, all of which were rejected by the Government;

| V. | whereas, according to the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), women who have childcare responsibilities and pregnant women should, wherever possible and appropriate, receive non-custodial sentences; |
| --- | --- |

V.

whereas, according to the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), women who have childcare responsibilities and pregnant women should, wherever possible and appropriate, receive non-custodial sentences;

| W. | whereas the prevention of unplanned pregnancies and the reduction in the number of cases of adolescent motherhood through universal access to sexual and reproductive health services is one of the goals included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); |
| --- | --- |

W.

whereas the prevention of unplanned pregnancies and the reduction in the number of cases of adolescent motherhood through universal access to sexual and reproductive health services is one of the goals included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

| 1. | Expresses its deep concern over the situation of girls’ and women’s human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, in El Salvador and condemns all forms of violence against women; recalls that they constitute a serious violation of the human rights and dignity of women and girls; emphasises that Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (which El Salvador ratified on 3 March 2016), defines forced pregnancy as a crime against humanity and a form of gender-based violence against women, which constitutes a serious violation of the human rights and dignity of women and girls; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Strongly rejects the sentencing and imprisonment of women and girls suffering stillbirths or miscarriages and calls for their immediate and unconditional release; considers that no one should be imprisoned on the basis of these convictions; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Condemns the prosecution of women for abortion, long periods in pre-trial detention and disproportionate criminal penalties applied to women seeking abortion, as well as the incarceration of women just after they have gone to hospital in need of care as a result of health personnel reporting them to authorities out of fear of being penalised themselves; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Condemns the absolute criminalisation of abortion according to Articles 133, 135 and 136 of the Penal Code, and its severe and discriminatory effects on women who are forced to resort to unsafe methods of abortion, thus facing serious risks to health and life; calls on the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador to follow the recommendations of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and the Committee on the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women’s recommendation to place a moratorium on its application; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Calls on El Salvador to ensure that women and girls have access to safe and legal abortion; calls on the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, in this context, to support the draft bill introducing a reform of Articles 133, 135 and 136 of the Penal Code in order to decriminalise abortion at minimum in cases where pregnancy poses a risk to the life or the physical or mental health of a pregnant woman or girl, where there is severe and fatal impairment of the foetus, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Calls on the authorities of El Salvador to introduce a moratorium on the enforcement of the current law and to review the detention of women accused of miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion-related offences, with the aim of ensuring their release, to ensure due process in abortion-related proceedings, to allow the accused women to await trial outside prison and to guarantee professional secrecy for all health personnel and confidentiality for patients; condemns all punitive measures against women and girls seeking an abortion, as well as for health care professionals and others who help obtain and carry out the procedure, and calls for the elimination of such measures; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Recalls the duty of the Salvadoran government to protect the rights of its citizens and to uphold the rule of law in respect to the principle of presumption of innocence, namely that individuals on trial should be treated as innocent until proven guilty, and that the burden of proof should be incumbent upon the prosecuting authorities and not the individual defendant, in keeping with the Rome Statute to which El Salvador is a ratifying party; calls on the authorities of El Salvador to give gender training to public officials, including members of the judiciary; calls on the EEAS and the Commission to fund and support such endeavours; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Condemns inhumane conditions in prisons such as torture, putting inmates in lockdown and suspending family visits; calls on the Salvadoran Government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture as a measure to prevent torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in all prisons and places of detention; calls for international independent organisations to be granted access to the detention centres; urges the Salvadorean authorities to improve the conditions of imprisoned women, including by granting them access to hygiene products and thereby respecting their basic human rights; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Reminds the Government and the judiciary that they are bound to uphold international standards of equal access to justice and the principles guaranteeing a fair trial for all individuals, and that guilt can only be determined upon viewing concrete and sufficient evidence; requests that the Government make available sufficient public funds to support the legal representation of those who cannot afford it themselves; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Calls on the judicial system to ensure a fair trial with all guarantees for Teodora del Carmen Vásquez and Evelyn Beatriz Hernandez Cruz and to set aside their judgments; expresses solidarity with the campaign ‘Las 17’, women who have been unjustly imprisoned for up to 40 years for what amount to miscarriages, stillbirths, and other obstetric complications; extends its solidarity to each and every Salvadoran woman being prosecuted under similar grounds, or being convicted of ‘aggravated homicide’; asks the competent authorities to review all cases with the view of granting them a pardon; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Expresses its grave concern about the high number of child pregnancies in El Salvador; urges the Salvadorean authorities to meet their international obligations and to protect human rights by ensuring that all girls have access to all possible information and medical services for the management of high-risk pregnancies resulting from rape; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Deplores that women’s and girls’ bodies, specifically with respect to their sexual health and reproductive rights, still remain an ideological battleground, and calls on El Salvador to recognise the inalienable rights of women and girls to bodily integrity and autonomous decision-making as regards, inter alia, the right to access to voluntary family planning and safe and legal abortion; believes that the general prohibition on therapeutic abortion and the abortion of pregnancies resulting from rape and incest, and the refusal to provide free health cover in cases of rape, amounts to torture; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Commends the adoption of the ‘Special Comprehensive law for a Violence-free Life for Women’, following a united cross-party vote by female members of the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly, and reminds Salvadorean authorities of the need to fully implement it, particularly with regard to the commitment to protect women and girls from violence; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Welcomes the recent establishment of El Salvador’s policy on sexual and reproductive health and the new programme ‘Ciudad Mujer’, which has developed services for 1,5 million women across the country, in particular through raising awareness and providing information on sexual and reproductive health and rights, supports its endeavour and urges the government of El Salvador to ensure access to modern contraceptive information and services, and to make efforts to provide comprehensive sex education in public schools; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Urges the Council to speed up its work to enable the EU to ratify and implement the Istanbul Convention, so as to ensure coherence between the EU’s internal and external action on violence against children, women and girls; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Calls on the Council to include the issue of safe and legal abortion in the EU Guidelines on rape and violence against women and girls; underscores the fact that universal access to health, in particular sexual and reproductive health and the associated rights, is a fundamental human right; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Calls on the EU-CELAC Heads of State or Government, at their summit, to enhance the chapter on gender-based violence in the EU-CELAC Action Plan with a view to establishing a clear calendar of action and implementing measures intended to guarantee due diligence in relation to the prevention and investigation of, and sanctions for, all acts of violence against women and to offer adequate compensation to victims; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Welcomes the efforts of the EU Delegation in El Salvador to engage with the national authorities on women’s rights, including on the criminalisation of abortion; insists that this matter be considered a high priority, and calls on the EEAS to regularly report back to Parliament on its action in this field; insists that the EU Delegation provide all appropriate support to the women currently in jail for abortion-related offences, including through regular visits, support for their relatives and offering legal assistance; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Reminds the EU of its commitments under the Framework for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through EU External Relations 2016-2020; asks the EEAS to closely follow the revision cases in loco and asks the Commission to ensure that European development cooperation follows an approach that is based on human rights, with a particular emphasis on gender equality and combating all forms of sexual violence against women and girls; calls on the EU Member States and institutions to increase their support for local human rights defenders and NGOs campaigning for the rights of women and girls, especially sexual and reproductive health and rights and family planning in El Salvador, including funding; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the authorities of El Salvador, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Central American Parliament, the Latin American Parliament, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States. |
| --- | --- |

20.

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(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0502.

(2)  OJ L 224, 6.9.2003, p. 1.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/85 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/85

---

P8_TA(2017)0499

Situation in Afghanistan

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the situation in Afghanistan (2017/2932(RSP))

(2018/C 369/11)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the results of the Brussels International Conference on Afghanistan of 5 October 2016 co-chaired by the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the results of the Brussels International Conference on Afghanistan of 5 October 2016 co-chaired by the European Union,

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular those of 26 November 2015 on the situation in Afghanistan, in particular the killings in the province of Zabul (1) and of 13 June 2013 on the negotiations on an EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement on partnership and development (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular those of 26 November 2015 on the situation in Afghanistan, in particular the killings in the province of Zabul (1) and of 13 June 2013 on the negotiations on an EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement on partnership and development (2),

| — | having regard to the Council conclusions on Afghanistan of 16 October 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council conclusions on Afghanistan of 16 October 2017,

| — | having regard to the statement made by the UN Security Council President on 14 September 2016 on the situation in Afghanistan, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the statement made by the UN Security Council President on 14 September 2016 on the situation in Afghanistan,

| — | having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2210 (2015), UN Security Council Resolution 2344 (2017) and to the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2210 (2015), UN Security Council Resolution 2344 (2017) and to the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),

| — | having regard to the joint communication of 24 July 2017 from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European Parliament and the Council on ‘Elements for an EU Strategy on Afghanistan’ (JOIN(2017)0031), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint communication of 24 July 2017 from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European Parliament and the Council on ‘Elements for an EU Strategy on Afghanistan’ (JOIN(2017)0031),

| — | having regard to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report of 13 February 2017 entitled ‘Pakistan Coercion, UN Complicity: The Mass Forced Return of Afghan Refugees’, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report of 13 February 2017 entitled ‘Pakistan Coercion, UN Complicity: The Mass Forced Return of Afghan Refugees’,

| — | having regard to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) Quarterly Report to the United States Congress of 30 January 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) Quarterly Report to the United States Congress of 30 January 2017,

| — | having regard to the EU-Afghanistan Joint Way Forward (JWF) on migration issues signed on 3 October 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU-Afghanistan Joint Way Forward (JWF) on migration issues signed on 3 October 2016,

| — | having regard to the EU-Afghanistan Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development signed on 18 February 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU-Afghanistan Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development signed on 18 February 2017,

| — | having regard to the UN report on the Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees in Afghanistan of April 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN report on the Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees in Afghanistan of April 2017,

| — | having regard to Rule 123(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 123(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

| A. | whereas the European Union and its Member States have been working with Afghanistan and the wider international community since 2001 to combat terrorism and extremism, while also striving to achieve sustainable peace and development; whereas, on account of increasing insurgent and terrorist pressure, a struggling economy and instability in the political sphere, these goals and the substantial progress which has been achieved are at risk; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas the European Union and its Member States have been working with Afghanistan and the wider international community since 2001 to combat terrorism and extremism, while also striving to achieve sustainable peace and development; whereas, on account of increasing insurgent and terrorist pressure, a struggling economy and instability in the political sphere, these goals and the substantial progress which has been achieved are at risk;

| B. | whereas the EU and its Member States have contributed billions of euros in humanitarian and developmental aid and assistance to Afghanistan since 2002; whereas the EU is Afghanistan’s largest development cooperation partner and is expected to provide up to EUR 5 billion of the total EUR 13,6 billion pledged to Afghanistan for the period 2017-2020 during the Brussels International Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas the EU and its Member States have contributed billions of euros in humanitarian and developmental aid and assistance to Afghanistan since 2002; whereas the EU is Afghanistan’s largest development cooperation partner and is expected to provide up to EUR 5 billion of the total EUR 13,6 billion pledged to Afghanistan for the period 2017-2020 during the Brussels International Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016;

| C. | whereas ensuring democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance throughout the transition in Afghanistan and into its decade of transformation (2015-2024) are essential to establishing a stable and prosperous state; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas ensuring democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance throughout the transition in Afghanistan and into its decade of transformation (2015-2024) are essential to establishing a stable and prosperous state;

| D. | whereas major increases in the standard of living have occurred over the past 15 years since 2001, as access to basic healthcare and education and the empowerment of women have increased GDP per capita fivefold and average life expectancy by 15 years; whereas, according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), since the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, attendance at general schools had risen from one million students, most of whom were boys, to almost nine million by 2015, with female students accounting for an estimated 39 % of the total; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas major increases in the standard of living have occurred over the past 15 years since 2001, as access to basic healthcare and education and the empowerment of women have increased GDP per capita fivefold and average life expectancy by 15 years; whereas, according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), since the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, attendance at general schools had risen from one million students, most of whom were boys, to almost nine million by 2015, with female students accounting for an estimated 39 % of the total;

| E. | whereas on 24 July 2017 the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy published a Joint Communication on an EU Strategy on Afghanistan; whereas the EU’s four priority areas critical to achieving progress in Afghanistan concern: (a) promoting peace, stability and regional security; (b) reinforcing democracy, the rule of law and human rights and promoting good governance and women’s empowerment; (c) supporting economic and human development; (d) addressing challenges related to migration; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas on 24 July 2017 the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy published a Joint Communication on an EU Strategy on Afghanistan; whereas the EU’s four priority areas critical to achieving progress in Afghanistan concern: (a) promoting peace, stability and regional security; (b) reinforcing democracy, the rule of law and human rights and promoting good governance and women’s empowerment; (c) supporting economic and human development; (d) addressing challenges related to migration;

| F. | whereas, following the 2014 presidential election crisis, the National Unity Government (NUG) has experienced stalled progress on its reform agenda, resulting in an increasingly unstable political situation; whereas the unemployment rate in Afghanistan is 39 % and over 39 % of the population live in poverty; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas, following the 2014 presidential election crisis, the National Unity Government (NUG) has experienced stalled progress on its reform agenda, resulting in an increasingly unstable political situation; whereas the unemployment rate in Afghanistan is 39 % and over 39 % of the population live in poverty;

| G. | whereas widespread corruption, entrenched patronage systems and the inability of the politically fractured Afghan Government to move forward on reforms threaten to reduce progress or reverse past achievements; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas widespread corruption, entrenched patronage systems and the inability of the politically fractured Afghan Government to move forward on reforms threaten to reduce progress or reverse past achievements;

| H. | whereas the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which was established in 2002, supports the Afghan Government in its efforts to achieve peace, the protection of human rights and good governance; whereas its mandate is renewed annually by the UN Security Council and was most recently unanimously extended to 2018; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which was established in 2002, supports the Afghan Government in its efforts to achieve peace, the protection of human rights and good governance; whereas its mandate is renewed annually by the UN Security Council and was most recently unanimously extended to 2018;

| I. | whereas, although some socio-economic and political gains have been made in recent years, a resurgent Taliban, Al-Qaeda and a newly emerged Islamic State (IS) presence in Afghanistan, such as the emerging local franchise in Afghanistan (Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP)), all threaten to turn instability into larger-scale conflict; whereas the recent report by the UNAMA has documented the highest number of casualties since 2009, with 11 318 civilian casualties in 2016, while from January 2017 to September 2017 casualties already amounted to 8 019; whereas this has also led to increased migration to Europe; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas, although some socio-economic and political gains have been made in recent years, a resurgent Taliban, Al-Qaeda and a newly emerged Islamic State (IS) presence in Afghanistan, such as the emerging local franchise in Afghanistan (Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP)), all threaten to turn instability into larger-scale conflict; whereas the recent report by the UNAMA has documented the highest number of casualties since 2009, with 11 318 civilian casualties in 2016, while from January 2017 to September 2017 casualties already amounted to 8 019; whereas this has also led to increased migration to Europe;

| J. | whereas, under the new US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia, an additional 4 000 soldiers will join the existing US contingent of 8 400 soldiers; whereas the new US strategy demands that Pakistan stop harbouring and supporting terrorists and calls for greater involvement by the Republic of India in helping to stabilise the region; whereas the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission will increase its current troop level from 13 000 to 16 000; whereas the new US strategy will be developed favouring a conditions-based approach according to which diplomatic and economic agreements will be integrated within the framework of the military effort; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas, under the new US strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia, an additional 4 000 soldiers will join the existing US contingent of 8 400 soldiers; whereas the new US strategy demands that Pakistan stop harbouring and supporting terrorists and calls for greater involvement by the Republic of India in helping to stabilise the region; whereas the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission will increase its current troop level from 13 000 to 16 000; whereas the new US strategy will be developed favouring a conditions-based approach according to which diplomatic and economic agreements will be integrated within the framework of the military effort;

| K. | whereas Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented increase in returns of documented and undocumented Afghan nationals, mainly from Pakistan; whereas around two million undocumented Afghans and one million Afghans with refugee status are living in Iran and returning to Afghanistan; whereas according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), there are more than 1,8 million IDPs in Afghanistan as a result of the conflict, with a record 650 000 people fleeing to other areas of the country in search of safety in 2016, representing an average of 1 500 per day; whereas in the second half of 2016 there was a 10-year high surge in the number of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan, rising to 370 000 from 55 000 in 2015; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented increase in returns of documented and undocumented Afghan nationals, mainly from Pakistan; whereas around two million undocumented Afghans and one million Afghans with refugee status are living in Iran and returning to Afghanistan; whereas according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), there are more than 1,8 million IDPs in Afghanistan as a result of the conflict, with a record 650 000 people fleeing to other areas of the country in search of safety in 2016, representing an average of 1 500 per day; whereas in the second half of 2016 there was a 10-year high surge in the number of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan, rising to 370 000 from 55 000 in 2015;

| L. | whereas the Republic of India is the largest regional donor to Afghanistan, providing some USD 3 billion in assistance since the Taliban Government was ousted in 2001; whereas this assistance has funded, among other things, the building of more than 200 schools in Afghanistan, over 1 000 scholarships for Afghan students, and the possibility for roughly 16 000 Afghans to study in India; whereas India has also provided assistance in the construction of critical infrastructure, such as around 4 000 km of roadways in Afghanistan, most notably the Zaranj-Dilaram highway, the Salma dam and electricity transmission lines, and the Afghan parliament building; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas the Republic of India is the largest regional donor to Afghanistan, providing some USD 3 billion in assistance since the Taliban Government was ousted in 2001; whereas this assistance has funded, among other things, the building of more than 200 schools in Afghanistan, over 1 000 scholarships for Afghan students, and the possibility for roughly 16 000 Afghans to study in India; whereas India has also provided assistance in the construction of critical infrastructure, such as around 4 000 km of roadways in Afghanistan, most notably the Zaranj-Dilaram highway, the Salma dam and electricity transmission lines, and the Afghan parliament building;

| M. | whereas instability in Afghanistan has negative economic and security repercussions for Iran and the wider region as a whole; whereas Afghanistan’s economy is highly dependent on poppy production, which has increased significantly in recent years, resulting in a spike in drug use in neighbouring Iran; whereas this illicit drug trade is used by the Taliban to fund its operations; whereas limiting this trade and finding economic alternatives to it would be mutually advantageous for Iran and Afghanistan; whereas opium from Afghanistan is the main source of heroin in the EU; whereas working with Iran and other border countries such as Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is necessary to further limit the flow of opiates to Russian and European markets; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas instability in Afghanistan has negative economic and security repercussions for Iran and the wider region as a whole; whereas Afghanistan’s economy is highly dependent on poppy production, which has increased significantly in recent years, resulting in a spike in drug use in neighbouring Iran; whereas this illicit drug trade is used by the Taliban to fund its operations; whereas limiting this trade and finding economic alternatives to it would be mutually advantageous for Iran and Afghanistan; whereas opium from Afghanistan is the main source of heroin in the EU; whereas working with Iran and other border countries such as Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is necessary to further limit the flow of opiates to Russian and European markets;

| N. | whereas a new infrastructure dimension is pivotal for the future of Afghanistan in order to enable an entirely new reality of economic and social opportunities for one of the poorest countries in the world; whereas a new national infrastructure development programme will attract positive and growing regional investment within the framework of the new Silk Road; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas a new infrastructure dimension is pivotal for the future of Afghanistan in order to enable an entirely new reality of economic and social opportunities for one of the poorest countries in the world; whereas a new national infrastructure development programme will attract positive and growing regional investment within the framework of the new Silk Road;

| O. | whereas reports indicate that Afghanistan has between one and three trillion dollars of undeveloped mineral reserves; whereas illicit mining is a major problem that threatens to turn a potential driver of Afghan development into a source of conflict and instability; whereas mining is the Taliban’s second largest source of revenue; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas reports indicate that Afghanistan has between one and three trillion dollars of undeveloped mineral reserves; whereas illicit mining is a major problem that threatens to turn a potential driver of Afghan development into a source of conflict and instability; whereas mining is the Taliban’s second largest source of revenue;

| 1. | Recognises that, despite substantial international efforts over a long period of time, Afghanistan is still facing a serious conflict which is hampering its economic and social development substantially; recalls that Afghanistan has been torn apart by nearly 40 years of conflict and war; reiterates the European Union’s goals of promoting peace, stability and regional security, strengthening democracy, the rule of law and human rights, promoting good governance and women’s empowerment, supporting economic and human development, and addressing challenges related to migration; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Recalls that Afghanistan in the last decade and a half has achieved progress in the political, security, economic and development spheres; highlights that the GDP per capita has increased fivefold, life expectancy has increased by almost 15 years, and there has been a significant increase in the number of girls attending schools in comparison to 2001, the figure today being some 40 % of the total of 8 to 9 million children; stresses that none of the above would have been possible but for the dedication of the Afghan population and the commitment of the international community, and the provision of funds, know-how and personnel on the ground; underlines that the progress achieved is very fragile and reversible; emphasises that advancing it will require further reforms to take place, stable relations with neighbours and the continued provision of a necessary level of security and stability; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Recognises the efforts and pays tribute to the sacrifices of the international community which provided security to Afghanistan for over a decade through Operation Enduring Freedom and the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, during which nearly 3 500 servicemen and women died; welcomes the 39-nation NATO-led Resolute Support Mission operating since 1 January 2015, which is mandated to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces and institutions; commends the great sacrifice of the ANSF, which endure heavy losses on an annual basis in their fight against insurgents; recalls the international community’s annual contribution of approximately USD 1 billion to sustain the ANSF’s financing until 2020; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Welcomes the commitment of the Afghan Government to pursuing a national strategy focused on a political, social, economic and safe environment that will allow for a peaceful, secure and sustainable Afghanistan, as outlined in the conclusions of the Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan in Brussels on 5 October 2016; calls for the post of Prime Minister to be enshrined in the Afghan Constitution in order to enable greater political stability in Afghanistan; calls on the Afghan Government to ensure a transparent electoral process in 2018; calls on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to match his strong public commitments to the protection of rights and freedoms with swift and robust implementation of legislation to protect them; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Stresses that an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process is the only way forward, unreservedly integrating the whole of civil society and all parties to the conflict; reminds the Afghan Government that in order to permit development and promote peace and stability, political infighting must cease; calls for the EU to actively support an Afghan-led disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme for former insurgents; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Underscores the importance of Afghanistan for regional stability; emphasises that a secure, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is vital for peace and stability in the region as a whole; reiterates, in this context, the importance of regional partners, such as the countries of Central Asia, Iran, China, India and Pakistan; encourages them to cooperate constructively to promote a genuine and results-oriented negotiation process without preconditions; takes note of the activities of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) on Afghanistan comprising the US, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as established in December 2015; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Expresses extreme concern that, despite the political agreement following the 2014 presidential elections, the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and the number of terrorist attacks has multiplied; is alarmed by the Taliban’s ongoing territorial expansion and the recent strengthening of IS and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups; points out that, according to the US SIGAR, 6 785 members of the Afghan forces were killed and another 11 777 wounded from January to November 2016, and that the UNAMA also reported a 3 % increase in civilian casualties (3 498 killed, 7 920 wounded) in 2016 compared with the previous year; regrets the deteriorating security situation that is allowing criminal groups to kidnap both Afghan nationals and foreign citizens, including humanitarian and aid workers; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Expresses strong concern about the emergence of the Islamic State as the latest element to contribute to the increasing fragility of the security landscape in Afghanistan; underlines that in addition to its stronghold in the east of the country (Nangarhar) it is attempting to assert its presence in the north of the country with the assistance of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); highlights that, should this be successful, an environment conducive to the harbouring of foreign fighters and militants will be created, as they are pushed out of Iraq and Syria on account of IS military setbacks in those two countries; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Underscores the importance of a genuine internal reconciliation process; underscores the need to fight radicalisation, extremism and recruitment for terrorist organisations; underlines that combating terrorism and its financing is a key ingredient of creating an environment conducive to security in Afghanistan; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Warns that the poor capabilities of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) and National Police Force remain one of the most critical issues compromising Afghanistan’s security and reconstruction; welcomes the continued EU focus on the enhancement of the role and rights of Afghan women and recognises the need to train female police officers; welcomes the Republic of India’s commitment to assisting Afghanistan with the provision of defence hardware to the Afghan military in December 2015 and the military training of thousands of Afghan security personnel, which significantly helped to enhance its military capability, in accordance with the objective of NATO-led mission ‘Resolute Support’ to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces and institutions, launched in January 2015; is encouraged by the work carried out and cooperation by the Republic of India and Afghanistan on infrastructure projects and humanitarian support; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Believes that the fight against corruption within the Afghan governmental institutions must be a permanent core priority on account of all the negative direct impacts of corruption on the quality of governance in the country; calls on the Government of Afghanistan to increase political inclusiveness, strengthen accountability and actively combat the culture of corruption and nepotism; welcomes notably, in this respect, the establishment of the Anti-corruption Justice Centre in June 2016; notes, in addition, the UNAMA’s call for continued support and assistance from the international community for the Afghan Government’s anti-corruption efforts; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Calls on the Government of Afghanistan and its regional partners, in particular Iran, to fight against illicit drug trafficking and illicit mining and coordinate with one another to eliminate these illegal practices, which are detrimental to the stability of the region; reminds all parties that these are the main sources of funding for terrorist organisations in the region; recognises that any further mining development must be sustainable and beneficial to the general population, in accordance with international standards; condemns the repression, illicit drug trafficking, land grabbing, unlawful confiscation and extortion carried out by warlords; recalls that the production and trafficking of opium in Afghanistan has devastating consequences on the local population and the overall security of the country; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Welcomes Afghan membership of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; urges the Afghan Government to increase transparency in the mining sector and to establish robust requirements for licences and monitoring in order to ensure a sustainable extractive industry; urges the Government to step up efforts to protect vital public resources such as land and minerals from exploitation by criminal and insurgent networks; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Stands with the people of Afghanistan and insists that all parties involved in the conflict adhere to international humanitarian law and respect the rights of all members of society, in particular minorities, women and children, who are disproportionately affected by the situation; urges the Afghan authorities to fully enforce the UN-Afghan action plan signed in Kabul on 30 January 2011 regarding the practice of ‘bacha bazi’ and enabling the rehabilitation of child victims of sexual abuse; condemns the attacks on hospitals and health clinics, schools and humanitarian operations; condemns in the strongest terms the continued disregard for human rights and the barbaric violence carried out by the Taliban, IS and Al-Qaeda against the people of Afghanistan; draws attention to the risk associated with the return of former war criminals, notably Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the founder of Hizb-e-Islami, who was designated a terrorist by the US in 2003 and has been associated with the increased presence of IS in Afghanistan; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Is alarmed by the increasing resurgence of violence against women and the obliteration of women’s rights and living conditions within areas controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan; repeats its call on the Afghan Parliament and the Afghan Government to revoke all laws that contain elements of discrimination against women, which are in breach of the international treaties signed by Afghanistan; welcomes the focus on women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming in EU assistance to Afghanistan, in particular the fact that 53 % of EU programmes have gender equality as a significant objective; fully supports full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, and other domestic measures to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in Afghanistan, as well as to tackle violence against women; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Calls on the governments of regional partners such as the countries of Central Asia, Iran, India, Russia and Pakistan to work together to pursue a peace settlement in Afghanistan, continuous socio-economic development and increased domestic stability, as well as cooperation on security and terror issues, and encourages intelligence sharing and cooperation to fight terrorists and extremists on both sides of the border; urges all Afghan regional actors to commit unreservedly to pursuing transparent engagement in the fight against terrorism; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Reiterates the need for the international community to continue its engagement in Afghanistan and to contribute to rebuilding the country, developing the economy and resisting terrorism; welcomes the financial engagements confirmed by the EU and the Member States at the Brussels Conference; calls notably for support for initiatives that address the priority needs of internally displaced and returning refugees; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Recognises the responsibilities of the EU and its Member States to respect the right to seek international protection and to participate in UNHCR resettlement programmes; stresses the right and ability to seek refuge in safe and legal ways as critical for preventing deaths among asylum seekers; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Notes the conclusion of the Joint Way Forward informal readmission agreement between the EU and Afghanistan; regrets the lack of parliamentary oversight and democratic control on the conclusion of this agreement; calls on governments in the region to refrain from the repatriation of Afghans; points out that this is a direct violation of international humanitarian law and that the increasing number of refugees being treated this way only lends strength to terrorist groups and creates more instability in the region; underlines that repatriations to Afghanistan put the lives of returnees at grave risk, in particular those of single persons without a network of family or friends in Afghanistan who stand little chance of survival; underlines that EU assistance and cooperation must be tailored to achieving development and growth in third countries and to reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, and not to incentivising third countries to cooperate on readmission of irregular migrants, to forcibly deterring people from moving, or to stopping flows to Europe (Parliament’s resolution of 5 April 2017 on addressing refugee and migrant movements: the role of EU External Action (3)); |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Takes note of the decision of the ICC Prosecutor to commence an investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Calls on the Afghan authorities to commute all death sentences and to reintroduce a moratorium on executions with a view to achieving the permanent abolition of the death penalty; urges the Government of Afghanistan to implement in full its National Plan on the Elimination of Torture and deplores the reported use of torture and ill-treatment of conflict-related detainees by all sides in Afghanistan; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Expresses its deepest concern over the massive increase in the number of internally displaced people in 2016, with over 600 000 new displacements, which could lead to a massive humanitarian crisis; encourages all parties involved to provide for these vulnerable Afghans, and calls on the Afghan Government to help reintegrate them into Afghan society; stresses that, according to estimates by the Afghan authorities, UN agencies and other humanitarian agencies, over 9,3 million people will have required humanitarian assistance by the end of 2017; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Welcomes the provisional entry into force of the Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development between the European Union and Afghanistan on 1 December 2017, representing the first legally binding framework for relations between the two sides; further encourages the swift ratification of the agreement by EU Member States in order for it to enter into force in full; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and Parliament of Afghanistan. |
| --- | --- |

24.

---

(1)  OJ C 366, 27.10.2017, p. 129.

(2)  OJ C 65, 19.2.2016, p. 133.

(3)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0124.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/91 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/91

---

P8_TA(2017)0500

Situation of the Rohingya people

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the situation of the Rohingya people (2017/2973(RSP))

(2018/C 369/12)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on Myanmar and on the situation of Rohingya Muslims, in particular those of 14 September 2017 (1), 7 July 2016 (2) and 15 December 2016 (3), and of 13 June 2017 on statelessness in South and South East Asia (4), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Myanmar and on the situation of Rohingya Muslims, in particular those of 14 September 2017 (1), 7 July 2016 (2) and 15 December 2016 (3), and of 13 June 2017 on statelessness in South and South East Asia (4),

| — | having regard to the Council conclusions on Myanmar/Burma of 16 October 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council conclusions on Myanmar/Burma of 16 October 2017,

| — | having regard to the remarks by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on 19 November 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the remarks by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on 19 November 2017,

| — | having regard to the statement of 6 September 2017 by the VP/HR on the situation in Rakhine State, to the statement of 11 September 2017 by the VP/HR on the latest developments in Rakhine State, Myanmar and the border region in Bangladesh, to the declaration of 20 November 2017 by the VP/HR on behalf of the European Union on Myanmar/Burma, and to the statement of 23 November 2017 by the VP/HR on the signing of a bilateral repatriation agreement between the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the statement of 6 September 2017 by the VP/HR on the situation in Rakhine State, to the statement of 11 September 2017 by the VP/HR on the latest developments in Rakhine State, Myanmar and the border region in Bangladesh, to the declaration of 20 November 2017 by the VP/HR on behalf of the European Union on Myanmar/Burma, and to the statement of 23 November 2017 by the VP/HR on the signing of a bilateral repatriation agreement between the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh,

| — | having regard to the visit of the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, to northern Rakhine State in May 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the visit of the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, to northern Rakhine State in May 2017,

| — | having regard to the joint communication of 1 June 2016 by the Commission and the VP/HR to the European Parliament and the Council entitled ‘Elements for an EU strategy vis-à-vis Myanmar/Burma: A Special Partnership for Democracy, Peace and Prosperity’ (JOIN(2016)0024), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint communication of 1 June 2016 by the Commission and the VP/HR to the European Parliament and the Council entitled ‘Elements for an EU strategy vis-à-vis Myanmar/Burma: A Special Partnership for Democracy, Peace and Prosperity’ (JOIN(2016)0024),

| — | having regard to the joint press release on the third EU-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue of 25 November 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint press release on the third EU-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue of 25 November 2016,

| — | having regard to the Council conclusions on statelessness of 4 December 2015, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council conclusions on statelessness of 4 December 2015,

| — | having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between Myanmar and Bangladesh on the repatriation of Rohingya people from Bangladesh to Myanmar, signed on 23 November 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between Myanmar and Bangladesh on the repatriation of Rohingya people from Bangladesh to Myanmar, signed on 23 November 2017,

| — | having regard to the Presidential Statement of the UN Security Council on violence in Rakhine State of 6 November 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Presidential Statement of the UN Security Council on violence in Rakhine State of 6 November 2017,

| — | having regard to the draft resolution on the human rights situation in Myanmar approved by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on 16 November 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft resolution on the human rights situation in Myanmar approved by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on 16 November 2017,

| — | having regard to the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled ‘Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar’ of 20 June 2016, and to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar of 18 March 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled ‘Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar’ of 20 June 2016, and to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar of 18 March 2016,

| — | having regard to the 27th special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation of the minority Rohingya Muslim population and other minorities in Rakhine State, Myanmar, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 27th special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation of the minority Rohingya Muslim population and other minorities in Rakhine State, Myanmar,

| — | having regard to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,

| — | having regard to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness,

| — | having regard to the UNHCR Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-2024, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UNHCR Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-2024,

| — | having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

| — | having regard to the Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State,

| — | having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966,

| — | having regard to the ASEAN Charter, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the ASEAN Charter,

| — | having regard to Rule 123(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 123(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

| A. | whereas Rakhine State in Myanmar is home to approximately one million Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority group facing repression and continued serious human rights violations, including threats to life and security, denial of the right to health and education, malnutrition and food insecurity, forced labour, sexual violence and limitations on their political rights; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas Rakhine State in Myanmar is home to approximately one million Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority group facing repression and continued serious human rights violations, including threats to life and security, denial of the right to health and education, malnutrition and food insecurity, forced labour, sexual violence and limitations on their political rights;

| B. | whereas the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, and whereas they are denied full citizenship rights and rendered stateless under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law; whereas the Rohingya are largely confined to camps with severe restrictions placed on free movement within and outside Rakhine State; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, and whereas they are denied full citizenship rights and rendered stateless under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law; whereas the Rohingya are largely confined to camps with severe restrictions placed on free movement within and outside Rakhine State;

| C. | whereas the most recent attacks on security posts in August 2017 provoked an overwhelmingly disproportionate response from the Myanmar military, which committed severe human rights violations against the Rohingya people; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas the most recent attacks on security posts in August 2017 provoked an overwhelmingly disproportionate response from the Myanmar military, which committed severe human rights violations against the Rohingya people;

| D. | whereas since August 2017 more than 646 000 Rohingya have fled for safety in neighbouring Bangladesh, facing harrowing conditions; whereas the total number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is expected to exceed 1 million by the end of 2017; whereas dozens of people, including women and children, have died en route and more than 400 000 people are in need of healthcare and food assistance; whereas the murder, rape and torture of Rohingya and the burning down of their villages are used as a tool to permanently damage the social structure of the Rohingya and to traumatise the population; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas since August 2017 more than 646 000 Rohingya have fled for safety in neighbouring Bangladesh, facing harrowing conditions; whereas the total number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is expected to exceed 1 million by the end of 2017; whereas dozens of people, including women and children, have died en route and more than 400 000 people are in need of healthcare and food assistance; whereas the murder, rape and torture of Rohingya and the burning down of their villages are used as a tool to permanently damage the social structure of the Rohingya and to traumatise the population;

| E. | whereas the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh has been militarised and landmines have been laid to prevent people from crossing it; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh has been militarised and landmines have been laid to prevent people from crossing it;

| F. | whereas, according to UN agencies, access for humanitarian organisations remains highly restrictive, including for the delivery of food, water and medicine to the Rohingya; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas, according to UN agencies, access for humanitarian organisations remains highly restrictive, including for the delivery of food, water and medicine to the Rohingya;

| G. | whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, announced on 10 September 2017 that the situation in Myanmar ‘seems like a textbook example of ethnic cleansing’ and on 5 December 2017 that an act of genocide against Rohingya Muslims by state forces in Myanmar cannot be ruled out; whereas Amnesty International has described the situation for minorities in Rakhine State as one of ‘apartheid’ and whereas the UN Human Rights Council has condemned ‘the very likely commission of crimes against humanity’ in Myanmar; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, announced on 10 September 2017 that the situation in Myanmar ‘seems like a textbook example of ethnic cleansing’ and on 5 December 2017 that an act of genocide against Rohingya Muslims by state forces in Myanmar cannot be ruled out; whereas Amnesty International has described the situation for minorities in Rakhine State as one of ‘apartheid’ and whereas the UN Human Rights Council has condemned ‘the very likely commission of crimes against humanity’ in Myanmar;

| H. | whereas on 23 October 2017 the pledging conference held in Geneva between the UNHCR, OCHA, IOM, the European Union and the Government of Kuwait secured pledges for aid totalling USD 344 million, more than half of which came from the EU; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas on 23 October 2017 the pledging conference held in Geneva between the UNHCR, OCHA, IOM, the European Union and the Government of Kuwait secured pledges for aid totalling USD 344 million, more than half of which came from the EU;

| I. | whereas the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding which should guarantee the safe return of the Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh; whereas the VP/HR has called the signing of the memorandum of understanding an important step towards addressing one of the worst humanitarian and human rights crises of our time; whereas it is unclear how many potential Rohingya repatriates will be housed in camps and temporary holding areas; whereas there is no clear timeline for a return to adequate security and safe housing or for the recognition of their citizenship rights; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding which should guarantee the safe return of the Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh; whereas the VP/HR has called the signing of the memorandum of understanding an important step towards addressing one of the worst humanitarian and human rights crises of our time; whereas it is unclear how many potential Rohingya repatriates will be housed in camps and temporary holding areas; whereas there is no clear timeline for a return to adequate security and safe housing or for the recognition of their citizenship rights;

| 1. | Strongly condemns the ongoing violence and killings, the systematic use of force, and the loss of lives, livelihoods and shelter in Rakhine State; expresses grave concern at the humanitarian and human rights situation and expresses its deepest sympathy with and full support to the Rohingya people; recalls that the Myanmar authorities have a duty to protect from abuse all civilians, without discrimination, to investigate grievous human rights violations and to prosecute those responsible, in accordance with human rights standards and obligations; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Calls for an immediate end to the violence, to the killing, harassment and rape of Rohingya people and to the destruction of their homes by the Myanmar security forces; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Urges the Myanmar authorities to work in conjunction with international aid agencies, the EU and the UN to allow immediate, unhindered humanitarian access to Rakhine State and the surrounding areas, including dedicated support for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and victims of sexual violence; urges the government to implement measures in line with UN Security Council resolution 2106 (2013) to prevent and respond to incidents of sexual violence; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Calls on the authorities of Myanmar to grant access to independent monitors, in particular the UN Fact-Finding Mission established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2017, to ensure independent and impartial investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by all parties; urges all parties to ensure there is no impunity for human rights violations; recalls that where there is evidence of human rights abuses, individuals must be prosecuted in fair proceedings before independent civilian courts and without the imposition of the death penalty; presses for continued UN Security Council action, including a referral to the International Criminal Court, if Myanmar is unable or unwilling to prosecute or self-refer; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Calls on the Government of Myanmar to grant domestic and international media organisations full, unhindered access to Rakhine State and to ensure the safety and security of media personnel; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Reiterates its call for the Government of Myanmar to immediately cease its use of landmines and to remove all mines it has already laid, including those laid recently along the border with Bangladesh; urges the international community to provide technical assistance in this regard; commends the efforts made by Bangladesh in the face of a humanitarian crisis in one of its neighbouring countries; welcomes the protection Bangladesh has provided for Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar and encourages it to continue offering support in cooperation with the UNHCR; calls on Bangladesh to further facilitate humanitarian operations by international NGOs by simplifying the bureaucratic burden, the registration process and restrictions on movement; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Notes the memorandum of understanding agreed between Myanmar and Bangladesh on repatriation; urges the parties to fully respect the voluntary, safe and dignified return of the Rohingya to their places of origin without discrimination of any kind, and with full UN oversight; insists that the Myanmar authorities offer credible assurances that returnees will not be persecuted or forced into segregated camps on ethnic or religious grounds and guarantee independent and impartial monitoring by human rights bodies; reaffirms the principle of non-refoulement and echoes the UNHCR assessment of 24 November 2017 that ‘at present, conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are not in place to enable safe and sustainable returns’; calls for the EU to lead international efforts by means of an intergovernmental summit together with the UN; proposes that this summit review progress on the Rohingya repatriation process and the restoration of citizenship rights and that the procedure for an independent investigation of crimes against humanity be initiated; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase financial and material support for the accommodation of refugees, while making sure that the assistance does not go towards unacceptable solutions for refugees and returnees; calls on international actors to establish financial support that delivers a sustainable response to the needs of displaced Rohingya and host communities through access to appropriate and improved services; draws particular attention to the urgent need for funding, amounting to an estimated USD 10 million, to deliver specialist medical and mental health services for survivors of rape and gender-based violence; calls on the Commission to support a full investigation into the extent of sexual violence and other crimes against the Rohingya; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Expresses deep concern at reports of trafficking in Rohingya women and girls in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and urges the authorities of both countries to work with the UNHCR and human rights organisations to end the trafficking and provide the women and girls affected with protection and support; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Urges the Government of Myanmar to address the long-standing and systematic discrimination; stresses that without tackling the root causes it is impossible to put a stop to their plight; notes in this regard that the denial of rights to minorities in Myanmar extends beyond the Rohingya and also affects other ethnic groups, including in Kachin and Shan States; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Welcomes the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which was established at the request of the State Counsellor; strongly encourages the Myanmar authorities to appoint an implementation body as soon as possible to fully enact the Annan recommendations; encourages the EU, UN and other international actors to support the process; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Underlines the recommendation of the Advisory Commission on the need to align legal provisions on citizenship with international standards and treaties to which Myanmar is a state party; urges the Government of Myanmar to amend the Citizenship Law and provide legally recognised citizenship documentation to Rohingya residents so that they are accepted as an ethnic minority and their right to self-identification is respected; urges the government to issue ID cards which do not list religions affiliation; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Insists that the segregation of the Rohingya population in Myanmar must be brought to an end; calls for the curfew for the Rohingya to be lifted and all but the necessary checkpoints to be dismantled; urges the Government of Myanmar to ensure that Rohingya residents are able to travel freely throughout Rakhine State and the rest of the country, and in particular that the rights of access to healthcare, food, education and employment are upheld; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Calls on all parties to support the building of effective democratic institutions and a strong civil society, respect for basic rights and freedoms, and the promotion of good governance, the rule of law and an independent and impartial judiciary; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Calls for the EU and its Member States, as a matter of urgency, to adopt targeted punitive sanctions against individuals in the military and security services responsible for perpetuating widespread human rights abuses in Myanmar; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Deplores the failure of the UN Security Council to agree on decisive measures and calls for the EU and its Member States to step up pressure on those blocking meaningful action, including China and Russia; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Calls for the EU and its Member States to extend the scope of the existing arms embargo against Myanmar; further calls on the UN Security Council to impose a global comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, suspending all direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer, including transit and transshipment of all weapons, munitions and other military and security equipment, as well as the provision of training or other military and security assistance; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Calls on the Government of Myanmar, including the State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, to condemn unequivocally all incitement to racial or religious hatred and to combat social discrimination and hostilities against the Rohingya minority, and to uphold the universal right to freedom of religion or belief; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Calls on ASEAN and regional governments to continue to take action and to increase pressure on the Government of Myanmar and the country’s military to halt rights abuses and protect all civilians in Rakhine State and throughout Myanmar; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Recalls that the Sakharov Prize is awarded to those that defend human rights, safeguard the rights of minorities and respect international law, among other criteria; draws attention to the consideration of whether the Sakharov Prize could be revoked should laureates violate those criteria after the prize has been awarded; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Encourages the main international and regional actors, in particular China, to use all bilateral, multilateral, and regional platforms at their disposal to demand an end to the atrocities and bring about a peaceful resolution; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Calls on the VP/HR and the Member States to significantly increase pressure on the Myanmar authorities and security services to end the violence and discrimination perpetrated against the Rohingya people, and engage with the UN, ASEAN and regional governments to put a stop to the segregation within Myanmar; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Requests that the VP/HR inform Parliament about action taken by the EU delegation at the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on 21 November 2017; urges a reinvigoration of the EU-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue to specifically address issues relating to the Rohingya community; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Calls on the Commission to consider consequences in the context of the trade preferences Myanmar enjoys, including considering launching an investigation under the mechanisms provided for in the Everything But Arms provision; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Calls for the EU and its Member States to support the UNHCR Global Action Plan to End Statelessness 2014-2024; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Government and Parliament of Myanmar, the Government and Parliament of Bangladesh, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Human Rights Council. |
| --- | --- |

26.

---

(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0351.

(2)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0316.

(3)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0506.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0247.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/96 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/96

---

P8_TA(2017)0501

Implementation of the directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the implementation of Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (2015/2129(INI))

(2018/C 369/13)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to Articles 3 and 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Articles 82(2) and 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 3 and 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Articles 82(2) and 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

| — | having regard to Articles 7, 8, 24, 47, 48 and 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 7, 8, 24, 47, 48 and 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, and the protocols thereto, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989, and the protocols thereto,

| — | having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of 25 October 2007, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of 25 October 2007,

| — | having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime of 23 November 2001, |
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—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime of 23 November 2001,

| — | having regard to the adoption by the Council of Europe of its Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the adoption by the Council of Europe of its Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021),

| — | having regard to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (1), |
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—

having regard to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (1),

| — | having regard to Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (2), |
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—

having regard to Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (2),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 27 November 2014 on the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (3), |
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—

having regard to its resolution of 27 November 2014 on the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (3),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2015 on child sexual abuse online (4), |
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—

having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2015 on child sexual abuse online (4),

| — | having regard to the Commission Communication of 2 May 2012 on a European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children (COM(2012)0196), and having regard to the report from the Commission of 6 June 2016 entitled ‘Final evaluation of the multi-annual EU programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication technologies (Safer Internet)’ (COM(2016)0364), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission Communication of 2 May 2012 on a European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children (COM(2012)0196), and having regard to the report from the Commission of 6 June 2016 entitled ‘Final evaluation of the multi-annual EU programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication technologies (Safer Internet)’ (COM(2016)0364),

| — | having regard to the report from the Commission of 16 December 2016 assessing the extent to which the Member States have taken the necessary measures to comply with Directive 2011/93/EU (COM(2016)0871), and the report from the Commission of 16 December 2016 assessing the implementation of the measures referred to in Article 25 of Directive 2011/93/EU (COM(2016)0872), |
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—

having regard to the report from the Commission of 16 December 2016 assessing the extent to which the Member States have taken the necessary measures to comply with Directive 2011/93/EU (COM(2016)0871), and the report from the Commission of 16 December 2016 assessing the implementation of the measures referred to in Article 25 of Directive 2011/93/EU (COM(2016)0872),

| — | having regard to the Europol report of 2016 on the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (iOACTA), |
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—

having regard to the Europol report of 2016 on the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (iOACTA),

| — | having regard to the report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of 27 February 2017 entitled ‘Child-friendly justice: Perspectives and experiences of children involved in judicial proceedings as victims, witnesses or parties in nine EU Member States’, |
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—

having regard to the report from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of 27 February 2017 entitled ‘Child-friendly justice: Perspectives and experiences of children involved in judicial proceedings as victims, witnesses or parties in nine EU Member States’,

| — | having regard to the Commission Communication of 12 April 2017 entitled ‘The protection of children in migration’ (COM(2017)0211), |
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—

having regard to the Commission Communication of 12 April 2017 entitled ‘The protection of children in migration’ (COM(2017)0211),

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Culture and Education and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0368/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Culture and Education and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A8-0368/2017),

| A. | whereas the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children constitute serious violations of fundamental rights, in particular of the right of children to the protection and care necessary for their well-being, as provided for by the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; |
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A.

whereas the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children constitute serious violations of fundamental rights, in particular of the right of children to the protection and care necessary for their well-being, as provided for by the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

| B. | whereas the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration when implementing any measures to combat these offences, in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; |
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B.

whereas the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration when implementing any measures to combat these offences, in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

| C. | whereas Directive 2011/93/EU is a comprehensive legal instrument containing provisions on substantive criminal law and on criminal procedures, measures for assistance and protection of victims and for prevention, including administrative measures, and its implementation requires the close involvement of actors from different sectors such as the law-enforcement authorities, the judiciary, parents’ and family associations playing an active role in the protection of minors, non-governmental organisations, internet service providers and others; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas Directive 2011/93/EU is a comprehensive legal instrument containing provisions on substantive criminal law and on criminal procedures, measures for assistance and protection of victims and for prevention, including administrative measures, and its implementation requires the close involvement of actors from different sectors such as the law-enforcement authorities, the judiciary, parents’ and family associations playing an active role in the protection of minors, non-governmental organisations, internet service providers and others;

| D. | whereas the Commission’s implementation report does not provide any statistics on the take-down and blocking of websites containing or disseminating images of child sexual abuse, especially statistics on the speed of removal of content, the frequency with which reports are followed up by law enforcement authorities, the delays in take-downs due to the need to avoid interference with ongoing investigations, or the frequency with which any such stored data is actually used by judicial or law enforcement authorities; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the Commission’s implementation report does not provide any statistics on the take-down and blocking of websites containing or disseminating images of child sexual abuse, especially statistics on the speed of removal of content, the frequency with which reports are followed up by law enforcement authorities, the delays in take-downs due to the need to avoid interference with ongoing investigations, or the frequency with which any such stored data is actually used by judicial or law enforcement authorities;

| E. | whereas one of the main challenges in investigating child sexual abuse and prosecuting perpetrators is the lack of reporting by victims; whereas boys are less likely to report abuse; |
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E.

whereas one of the main challenges in investigating child sexual abuse and prosecuting perpetrators is the lack of reporting by victims; whereas boys are less likely to report abuse;

| F. | whereas children, who are victims of sexual abuse or exploitation, suffer from multiple and long-lasting physical and/or psychological traumas that can follow them well into adulthood; |
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F.

whereas children, who are victims of sexual abuse or exploitation, suffer from multiple and long-lasting physical and/or psychological traumas that can follow them well into adulthood;

| G. | whereas child sexual abuse and exploitation online is an evolving phenomenon and new forms of crime, such as ‘revenge pornography’ and sex-extortion, have come into being on the Internet and need to be addressed with concrete measures by the Member States; |
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G.

whereas child sexual abuse and exploitation online is an evolving phenomenon and new forms of crime, such as ‘revenge pornography’ and sex-extortion, have come into being on the Internet and need to be addressed with concrete measures by the Member States;

| H. | whereas law enforcement authorities face challenges posed by peer-to-peer and private networks exchanging child sexual abuse material; whereas there is a need to raise awareness at an early stage among girls and boys about the risks and the importance of respecting the dignity and privacy of others in the digital era; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas law enforcement authorities face challenges posed by peer-to-peer and private networks exchanging child sexual abuse material; whereas there is a need to raise awareness at an early stage among girls and boys about the risks and the importance of respecting the dignity and privacy of others in the digital era;

| I. | whereas migrant children — especially girls, but also a significant percentage of boys (5) — are particularly exposed to child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation at the hands of traffickers, smugglers, drug dealers, prostitution rings, as well as other individuals or rings, who exploit their vulnerability, along the way and once they reach Europe; |
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I.

whereas migrant children — especially girls, but also a significant percentage of boys (5) — are particularly exposed to child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation at the hands of traffickers, smugglers, drug dealers, prostitution rings, as well as other individuals or rings, who exploit their vulnerability, along the way and once they reach Europe;

| J. | whereas the sex tourism industry affects significant numbers of children, especially girls, but also a significant percentage of boys; |
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J.

whereas the sex tourism industry affects significant numbers of children, especially girls, but also a significant percentage of boys;

| K. | whereas, to comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, measures taken under recital 47 of Directive 2011/93/EU concerning the blocking and removal of websites online must respect the safeguards listed in Article 25 of the Directive; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas, to comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, measures taken under recital 47 of Directive 2011/93/EU concerning the blocking and removal of websites online must respect the safeguards listed in Article 25 of the Directive;

| L. | whereas systematic review and meta-analysis has found that, compared to their non-disabled peers, children with disabilities were around three times more likely to suffer from physical or sexual violence; |
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L.

whereas systematic review and meta-analysis has found that, compared to their non-disabled peers, children with disabilities were around three times more likely to suffer from physical or sexual violence;

| M. | whereas the use of the term ‘child pornography’ is not appropriate to define the offences in Articles 5 and 2(c) of Directive 2011/93/EU and may be detrimental to the child victims; |
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M.

whereas the use of the term ‘child pornography’ is not appropriate to define the offences in Articles 5 and 2(c) of Directive 2011/93/EU and may be detrimental to the child victims;

Main conclusions and recommendations

| 1. | Condemns unequivocally all forms of sexual abuse or exploitation of children, as well as violent and abusive victimisation of children at all levels; welcomes the adoption by the Council of Europe of its Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2016-2021); calls on the all EU institutions and Member States to take appropriate measures to prevent all forms of physical and psychological violence, including physical and sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, and to protect children from them; calls on all EU institutions and Member States to take united, effective action to eradicate sexual abuse and exploitation and, more generally, all sexual crimes against children; calls for the EU institutions and Member States to explicitly consider the protection of children as a priority when programming and implementing policies, which may have a negative impact on them; |
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1.

| 2. | Takes the view that Directive 2011/93/EU constitutes a sound and comprehensive legal framework for combating sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children; deplores the fact that the Member States have faced significant challenges in transposing and implementing the Directive, in particular as regards the provisions on prevention, investigation and prosecution as well as protection and assistance to victims and that the full potential of the Directive has not yet been exploited; urges the Member States to step up their efforts to transpose it fully and correctly; calls on the Member States to ensure that legal transposition is translated into effective implementation so as to ensure the protection and assistance of child victims and zero tolerance for child sexual abuse; |
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2.

| 3. | Deplores that the Commission was not able to present its implementation reports within the deadline set out in Article 28 of Directive 2011/93/EU and that the two evaluation reports presented by the Commission merely documented transposition into national law by Member States and did not fully assess their compliance with the Directive; requests the Member States to cooperate and forward to the Commission all of the relevant information on the implementation of the Directive, including statistics; |
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3.

| 4. | Stresses that the term ‘child sexual abuse material’ is more appropriate than ‘child pornography’ for such crimes against children; calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt the use of the term ‘child sexual abuse material’ instead of the term ‘child pornography’; stresses, however, that the new terminology shall not in any way restrict the offences listed as ‘child pornography’ in Article 5 of Directive 2011/93/EU in relation to Article 2(c); |
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4.

| 5. | Considers it regrettable that the Commission’s implementation report fails to mention whether it assessed the efficiency of the INHOPE system when it transfers reports to counterparts in third countries; |
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5.

| 6. | Considers it regrettable that the Commission has failed to collect data on the types of blocking that have been used; considers it regrettable that data has not been published on the number of websites on blocking lists in each country; considers it regrettable that there is no assessment of the use of security methods, such as encryption, to ensure that blocking lists are not leaked and thereby become seriously counterproductive; welcomes the fact that, having promoted mandatory blocking in 2011, the Commission has explicitly abandoned this position; |
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6.

Substantive Criminal Law (Articles 3, 4 and 5 of the Directive)

| 7. | Takes note of the fact that the substantive criminal law provisions of Directive 2011/93/EU have been transposed by the Member States; is concerned nevertheless that some Member States have not fully transposed the provisions on offences concerning sexual exploitation (Article 4), offences concerning sexual abuse when abuse is made of a recognised position of trust, authority or influence (Article 3(5)(i)) or abuse is made of a particularly vulnerable situation of the child (Article 3(5)(ii)), and concerning the liability of legal persons (Article 12); |
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7.

| 8. | Considers, in particular, that the Member States should make every possible effort to combat the impunity of perpetrators of child sexual abuse, as well as of individuals or legal persons, who are involved in aiding, assisting or abetting any child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse offences; considers it to be of the utmost importance that the Member States ensure the liability of both natural and legal persons, where the lack of monitoring or supervision of a person who is a member of that legal entity, has permitted or facilitated the commission of crimes; |
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8.

| 9. | Is particularly concerned about the threats and risks which the online dimension poses to children, in particular as regards the online recruitment of children, as well as grooming and other forms of incitement; considers that ways must therefore be found to identify, report and investigate such dangerous practices; stresses the necessity of increasing the level of protection of children online, while at the same time launching awareness-raising and information programmes about the dangers that exist online; |
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9.

| 10. | Reminds the Commission that restrictions on online contents should be grounded in the law, well defined, proportionate, legitimate and pursue a clear aim; |
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10.

| 11. | Is concerned at the increase in live streaming of child sexual abuse, the perpetrators of which are highly skilled and innovative in the use of advanced technology; considers that all Member States should therefore seek to develop innovative technical applications to detect and block access to such content, while at the same time placing restrictions on payments for services of this nature; |
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11.

| 12. | Underlines the need to address new forms of crime online, such as revenge porn and sexual-extortion, that affect many youngsters, in particular teenage girls; calls on the Member States’ law enforcement authorities and the judiciary to adopt concrete measures to combat this new form of crime and on the internet industry, hotlines, NGOs and all relevant bodies, to take their shared responsibility while seeking to provide solutions to tackle these crimes, including better use of available technologies and developing new technologies to facilitate the identification of persons committing crimes online; |
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12.

| 13. | Reiterates the right of each individual to decide on the fate of his or her personal data, in particular the exclusive right to control the use and disclosure of personal information, and the right to be forgotten, defined as the possibility to obtain a prompt removal of content that might be prejudicial to his or her own dignity; |
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13.

| 14. | Emphasises the need for Member States which have not yet done so to criminalise not only online grooming, but also cyberstalking and luring children online; recalls that the term cyberstalking refers to a situation in which adults communicate online with a minor or a person they believe to be a minor for the purpose of subsequently committing a crime against that person; |
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14.

| 15. | Considers it regrettable that no statistics have been provided on the use of criminal law procedures to seize equipment in relevant cases; |
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15.

Investigation and prosecution

| 16. | Notes that several Member States have not implemented the requirement to prosecute offences within a sufficient time after the victim has reached the age of majority; encourages, therefore, the Member States to ensure that the statutory limits within which these crimes may be reported and prosecuted are of sufficient length and that, at the very least, they start from the age of majority of the child victim, in order to ensure the possibility of prosecuting the crime; |
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16.

| 17. | Underlines the importance of implementing Article 17 in order to ensure that the Member States have jurisdiction over offences committed by means of information and communication technology (ICT) accessed from their territory whether or not it is based on their territory; emphasises the need to develop the practical foundation for a common EU approach to the issue of jurisdiction in cyberspace, as pointed out at the informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers held on 26 January 2016; |
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17.

| 18. | Deplores that not all offences listed in Directive 2011/93/EU are included in Member States’ national legislation when it comes to extraterritorial jurisdiction; considers it regrettable that some Member States guarantee that sexual abuse offences committed abroad will be prosecuted without a complaint by the victim; calls on the Member States to tackle these shortcomings effectively; |
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18.

| 19. | Calls on all Member States to allocate adequate financial and human resources to law enforcement and judicial authorities to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation, including specific training for police and investigators; calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase the resources earmarked for the identification of victims, and urges the nine Member States which have not yet transposed Article 15(4) of Directive 2011/93/EU on the identification of victims to do so without delay and implement this provision by setting up special investigative teams equipped with appropriate tools and resources; |
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19.

| 20. | Considers it regrettable that precise statistics and data on the number of crimes committed in the area of child sexual abuse and exploitation in particular, is still lacking due to the high percentage of unreported cases, the novelty of the offences, and the differences in the definitions and methodologies used in various Member States; |
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20.

| 21. | Stresses that some of the main challenges faced by the law enforcement and judicial authorities in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse offences online stem, in particular, from the cross-border nature of the investigations and from the dependence on electronic evidence; notes, in particular, the need to upgrade digital investigative techniques in order to keep up with the fast pace of technological development; |
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21.

| 22. | Calls on the Member States to strengthen cooperation between their law enforcement authorities, including through the increased use of joint investigation teams; urges authorities to recognise that over-reliance on hotlines and the industry can be counterproductive and only outsources the fight against child sexual abuse material; |
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22.

| 23. | Calls on the Member States to apply the provisions of Directive 2011/93/EU in a future-proof manner; urges the industry and internet service providers to apply up-to-date technology and to invest in innovative solutions to increase the possibilities to identify and prosecute perpetrators, to dismantle criminal networks online, as well as to protect victims; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Expresses concern at the use by internet service providers of carrier-grade network address translation technologies (NAT CGN) which make it possible for several users to share a single IP address at the same time, thereby jeopardising online security and the ability to establish liability; calls on the Member States to encourage internet service providers and network operators to take the steps needed to limit the number of users per IP address, to phase out the use of CGN technologies and to make the investment required to introduce, as a matter of urgency, the next generation of internet protocol addresses (version 6 — IPv6); |
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24.

| 25. | Calls on the Member States to step up their police and judicial cooperation as well as to make full use of the existing EU cooperation tools provided by Europol — in particular in the context of Analysis Project (AP) Twins and the European Cybercrime Centre — and Eurojust to ensure the successful investigation and prosecution of perpetrators and possible accomplices; stresses that Europol and Eurojust should be given the appropriate resources to fulfil their task in this respect and encourages the Member States to share best practices; |
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25.

| 26. | Calls on the Member States to step up their police and judicial cooperation to combat the trafficking and smuggling of migrant children, who are particularly vulnerable to abuse, trafficking and sexual exploitation, mainly girls, but also boys; calls for enhanced cooperation and the rapid exchange of information among authorities to trace missing children and for the interoperability of data bases; calls on the Member States to adopt a holistic approach involving all actors concerned and to increase cooperation with law enforcement authorities, social services and civil society; recognises the important role of civil society in identifying vulnerable children, given the lack of trust migrant children have shown in law enforcement authorities; |
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26.

| 27. | Encourages the Member States to intensify their efforts to combat child sex tourism and prosecute perpetrators and accomplices, taking into account the responsibility of all actors involved; |
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27.

| 28. | Considers that the Member States should be encouraged to develop a specialised international network to combat sex tourism, accompanied by government-led policies such as the introduction of funding programmes to assist families and children living in danger zones; |
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28.

Prevention (Articles 22, 23 and 24 of the Directive)

| 29. | Calls on the Member States to put in place effective preventive and intervention programmes, including regular training programmes, for all officials, educators, parents’ associations and stakeholders who are in contact with children to better assess the risk of committing crimes; |
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29.

| 30. | Urges all Member States to implement appropriate measures such as public awareness raising, prevention campaigns, training and dedicated education programmes for the authorities, parents, teachers, children and minors — also in cooperation with parents’ associations playing an active role in the protection of children and minors, as well as with relevant civil society organisations — in order to promote media literacy, online safety and the importance of family values (e.g. mutual responsibility, respect and care), human dignity, self-esteem, non-violence, and, more generally, of children’s right to be protected against all forms of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Calls for the EU institutions and the Member States to establish a multi-stage system of child protection based on the best interests of the child and the full respect of his or her fundamental rights, in order to send a clear message that all forms of the physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children are unacceptable, and punishable by law; |
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31.

| 32. | Encourages the Member States to share best practices on educational materials and training programmes for all the actors involved, such as teachers, parents, educators and law enforcement authorities, to raise awareness of grooming and other risks to the safety of children online; encourages the Member States to set up ambitious educational programmes targeted at both parents and youngsters with a view to empowering them, by making them aware of the dangers of the internet and encouraging them to report incidents which they have witnessed or of which they have been the victims, in particular via the hotlines set up specifically for children; considers it very important to give parents guidelines to assess the risks their children might face and to detect the early signs of potential online sexual abuse; calls on the service providers to step up their efforts to raise awareness of the risks inherent in going online, in particular for children, by developing interactive tools and information materials; |
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32.

| 33. | Urges the Member States to introduce into their legislation mandatory criminal background checks for persons applying or volunteering for activities or jobs with access to, or authority over children, and to systematically exchange information on individuals posing a risk to children; |
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33.

| 34. | Calls on the Member States to exchange information about child sex offenders in order to prevent them from moving unnoticed from one Member State to another for work or for the purpose of volunteering with children or children’s institutions; encourages Member States to step up information sharing on criminal convictions and disqualifications, as well as to ensure systematic and coherent data collection in national registers of perpetrators; urges the Member States to fulfil their obligations under Article 22 of Directive 2011/93/EU and to provide effective academically reviewed intervention programmes and measures for persons who fear that they might commit child sexual abuse offences and other offences referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of the Directive; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Notes that some Member States have developed dedicated operational systems and forensic capabilities aimed at investigating child sexual abuse; notes, however, that most Member States neither have specialised investigative services, nor the financial means to acquire forensic materials, such as specific software for enabling online investigations to be carried out; recommends, therefore, that the EU support these services by providing the relevant funds, where needed; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Notes that most cases involving the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children are not reported to the authorities responsible for law enforcement; calls on the Commission and the Member States to take appropriate steps to improve and enhance children’s reporting of abuse and to consider setting up systematic direct reporting mechanisms; |
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36.

| 37. | Calls on the Member States to develop or reinforce child helplines that provide help and support for children who are victims of sexual abuse or exploitation and that deliver on children’s fundamental right to be heard; asks the Member States to ensure the round the clock availability of these helplines, their accessibility via different means of communication, their confidentiality, that they are free of charge for the children, but also for the helplines, their clear position within national child protection systems and for guarantees of structural and long-term funding for these helplines; |
| --- | --- |

37.

Assistance and protection to victims (Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Directive)

| 38. | Calls on the Member States to fully implement Directive 2012/29/EU on the rights of the victims of crime, to adopt specific measures to protect child victims and to share best practices to ensure that children receive proper assistance and support throughout the entirety of criminal proceedings and thereafter; |
| --- | --- |

38.

| 39. | Welcomes the best practices adopted in some Member States for the protection of children, such as the Barnhuset in Sweden, among others; calls on the Member States to focus on ensuring the provision of legal aid, psychological support and assistance and to avoid the secondary victimisation of children; encourages Member States to launch awareness campaigns both at regional and national level to promote support for child victims and to foster a cultural change in public opinion to avoid any victim-blaming attitudes, which may result in additional trauma for child victims of abuse; |
| --- | --- |

39.

Removal and blocking (Article 25)

| 40. | Welcomes the fact that the Member States have put in place legislation and administrative measures to remove webpages containing child sexual abuse material hosted on their territory; calls on the Member States to fully implement Article 25 of Directive 2011/93/EU and give priority to the swift removal-at-source of child sexual abuse material, and with the relevant safeguards in place; regrets the fact that only half of the Member States have incorporated provisions into their legislation making it possible to block access to such webpages for users within their territory; recalls that in the fight against the dissemination of child sexual abuse material, removal measures are more effective than blocking, since the latter does not delete the content; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Regrets and expresses concern that, although the Commission has mentioned that some Member States do not have functional ‘notice and take-down’ procedures, 16 years after the entry into force of Directive 2000/31/EC (the E-Commerce Directive), it has not indicated that any action will be taken to require those Member States to comply with EU law; |
| --- | --- |

41.

| 42. | Calls on the Commission to take further efforts to gather the information necessary to ascertain what procedures are used in Member States where no functional notice and take-down procedures and no criminal penalties are in place and to launch infringement proceedings against Member States should they be found not to comply with the obligations laid down in Directive 2000/31/EC on this matter; |
| --- | --- |

42.

| 43. | Regrets the fact that the Commission has neither assessed the security of blocking lists, the technologies used for blocking in those countries that have implemented the measures, the implementation of security measures, such as encryption, for the storage and communication of blocking lists, nor carried out any meaningful analysis of the effectiveness of this measure; |
| --- | --- |

43.

| 44. | Notes that Directive 2011/93/EU does not require mandatory blocking; recognises that blocking is neither a single technology nor a reliable one; recommends the removal of child abuse, child exploitation and child sexual abuse material at source in the context of efficient judicial and law enforcement actions; |
| --- | --- |

44.

| 45. | Urges the Member States to speed up, in cooperation with the Internet industry, the notice and take-down procedures, which are still too long, and to establish partnerships with the online industry, Europol and Eurojust to prevent networks and systems from being hacked and misused to distribute child sexual abuse material; |
| --- | --- |

45.

| 46. | Calls on the Member States, in cases where the content is made available from third countries, to step up their cooperation with the third countries concerned and with Interpol in order to secure the prompt removal of the content in question; |
| --- | --- |

46.

| 47. | Recommends that blacklists of websites containing child sexual abuse material be updated regularly by the relevant authorities and communicated to internet service providers to avoid, for instance, over-blocking and to ensure proportionality; recommends the sharing of such blacklists of websites among the Member States, with Europol and its European Cybercrime Centre, and with Interpol; considers, in this regard, that newly developed hashing technology involving automatic image detection and recognition, could be applied; stresses that any technology implemented should be rigorously tested to eliminate, or at least minimise the possibility of hacking, abuse or counterproductive effects; |
| --- | --- |

47.

| 48. | Encourages the INHOPE Network to work with its members to create a secure anonymous reporting mechanism on Deep Web networks, such as the Dark Net networks found on the TOR network, which provides the same high standard of anonymity as that given by press organisations to whistleblowers in order to create the opportunity for those using such networks to come forward with information or reports about child sexual abuse material; |
| --- | --- |

48.

| 49. | Urges the Member States to make it mandatory for internet service providers (ISP) to report child sexual abuse material detected in their infrastructure proactively to law enforcement authorities, as well as to national hotlines; calls on the Commission to continue its funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in order to provide the hotlines with adequate resources to fulfil their mandate to tackle illegal content online; |
| --- | --- |

49.

| 50. | Recognises the active and supportive role in combating child sexual abuse material on the Internet played by civil society organisations, such as the INHOPE Network of Hotlines, including the Internet Watch Foundation in the UK; urges the Commission, in cooperation with INHOPE to identify and implement best practices, particularly with regard to statistical reporting and efficient interaction with law enforcement; urges the Member States which have not yet done so to set up such hotlines and takes the view that they should be allowed to search for child sexual abuse material online proactively; |
| --- | --- |

50.

| 51. | Urges the Member States which have not yet done so to put in place, without delay, safe and child-sensitive reporting and counselling mechanisms, such as telephone or computer hotlines with email addresses, or tablet or smartphone applications to which Internet users can report — even anonymously — child sexual abuse material they find online and that are capable of assessing this reported content rapidly with a view to implementing prompt notice and take-down procedures and removing content hosted outside their territory; asks for the clear recognition and strengthening of the hotlines and encourages Member States to equip them properly with resources, including appropriate budgets and trained professionals with expertise; takes the view that these hotlines should be allowed to search proactively for child sexual abuse material online alongside receiving reports from the public; |
| --- | --- |

51.

| 52. | Stresses the need to promote and support EU information programmes enabling members of the public to bring to the attention of the authorities online content that is illegal or harmful to children; |
| --- | --- |

52.

| 53. | Calls on the Commission to continue keeping Parliament regularly informed on the state of play in relation to compliance with the Directive by the Member States, by providing disaggregated and comparable data on the Member States’ performance in preventing and combating child sexual abuse and exploitation offline and online; calls on the Commission to present a more comprehensive report on the implementation of the Directive, which should include additional information and statistics on take-down and blocking of websites containing child sexual abuse material, statistics on the speed of removal of illegal content beyond a period of 72 hours and on the follow-up by the law enforcement authorities to the reported offences, delays in take-downs as a result of the need to avoid interference with ongoing investigations, information on the use of the stored data by judicial and law enforcement authorities and on the actions undertaken by hotlines after informing the law enforcement authorities to contact the hosting providers; instructs its relevant committee to hold a hearing on the state of play in relation to implementation and possibly consider adopting an additional report on the follow up given to the implementation of the Directive; |
| --- | --- |

53.

o

o o

| 54. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission as well as to the parliaments and the governments of the Member States. |
| --- | --- |

54.

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(1)  OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 315, 14.11.2012, p. 57.

(3)  OJ C 289, 9.8.2016, p. 57.

(4)  OJ C 316, 30.8.2016, p. 109.

(5)  Studies demonstrate that boys may feel especially inhibited when it comes to disclosing sexual abuse, including for reasons related to societal assumptions towards males. See, for example, the study by the Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit of the European Parliamentary Research Service, PE 598.614, p. 16, and Schaefer, G.A., Mundt, I.A, Ahlers, C.J., and Bahls, C, ‘Child sexual abuse and psychological impairment in victims: results of an online study initiated by victims’, Journal of Child Sex Abuse, Vol. 21, No 3, 2012, pp. 343-360.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/105 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/105

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P8_TA(2017)0502

Deliberations of the Committee on Petitions 2016

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions during the year 2016 (2017/2222(INI))

(2018/C 369/14)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on the outcome of the Committee on Petitions’ deliberations, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on the outcome of the Committee on Petitions’ deliberations,

| — | having regard to the annual report of the European Ombudsman for the year 2016, |
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—

having regard to the annual report of the European Ombudsman for the year 2016,

| — | having regard to Articles 10 and 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), |
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—

having regard to Articles 10 and 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

| — | having regard to Articles 24 and 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), |
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—

having regard to Articles 24 and 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

| — | having regard to Article 228 of the TFEU, |
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—

having regard to Article 228 of the TFEU,

| — | having regard to Article 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union concerning the right to petition the European Parliament, |
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—

having regard to Article 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union concerning the right to petition the European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the provisions of the TFEU relating to the infringement procedure and, in particular, Articles 258 and 260 thereof, |
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—

having regard to the provisions of the TFEU relating to the infringement procedure and, in particular, Articles 258 and 260 thereof,

| — | having regard to Rules 52 and 216(7) of its Rules of Procedure, |
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—

having regard to Rules 52 and 216(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A8-0387/2017), |
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—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A8-0387/2017),

| A. | whereas 1 569 petitions were received in 2016 — compared to 1 431 in 2015 — of which 1 110 petitions (70,8 %) were considered admissible; |
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A.

whereas 1 569 petitions were received in 2016 — compared to 1 431 in 2015 — of which 1 110 petitions (70,8 %) were considered admissible;

| B. | whereas there were 6 132 users of Parliament’s Petitions Web Portal who supported one or several petitions in 2016, as compared to 902 in 2015, and whereas the number of supports per petitions and per user was 18 810 in 2016, as compared to 1 329 in 2015; |
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B.

whereas there were 6 132 users of Parliament’s Petitions Web Portal who supported one or several petitions in 2016, as compared to 902 in 2015, and whereas the number of supports per petitions and per user was 18 810 in 2016, as compared to 1 329 in 2015;

| C. | whereas the number of petitions received is modest compared to the EU’s total population; whereas the number indicates that a portion of EU citizens are aware, and make use, of the right to petition, and expect to draw the attention of the EU institutions to matters which they are concerned about and that fall within the scope of EU competences, through the petition procedure; whereas, however, greater efforts are needed to increase awareness of and to promote the right to petition the European Parliament; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas the number of petitions received is modest compared to the EU’s total population; whereas the number indicates that a portion of EU citizens are aware, and make use, of the right to petition, and expect to draw the attention of the EU institutions to matters which they are concerned about and that fall within the scope of EU competences, through the petition procedure; whereas, however, greater efforts are needed to increase awareness of and to promote the right to petition the European Parliament;

| D. | whereas the right to address a petition to the European Parliament offers EU citizens and residents the means to submit an official request directly to their representatives and this right should therefore be suitably protected and promoted; whereas this right is essential for ensuring the active participation of EU citizens and residents in the European Union’s fields of activity; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the right to address a petition to the European Parliament offers EU citizens and residents the means to submit an official request directly to their representatives and this right should therefore be suitably protected and promoted; whereas this right is essential for ensuring the active participation of EU citizens and residents in the European Union’s fields of activity;

| E. | whereas the European Parliament has long been at the forefront of the development of the petitions process internationally and it still has the most open and transparent system in Europe, which allows, in particular, the full participation of petitioners in its activities; |
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E.

whereas the European Parliament has long been at the forefront of the development of the petitions process internationally and it still has the most open and transparent system in Europe, which allows, in particular, the full participation of petitioners in its activities;

| F. | whereas the role of the committee in empowering European citizens is one of the essential characteristics that contributes to a reinforcement of the image and authority of Parliament in the eyes of the electorate, by allowing the institution to bring to account and better scrutinise the way in which EU law is implemented by the Member States and the other EU institutions; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the role of the committee in empowering European citizens is one of the essential characteristics that contributes to a reinforcement of the image and authority of Parliament in the eyes of the electorate, by allowing the institution to bring to account and better scrutinise the way in which EU law is implemented by the Member States and the other EU institutions;

| G. | whereas active participation is only possible on the basis of a democratic and transparent process of all EU institutions allowing Parliament and the Committee on Petitions to render its work citizen-friendly and meaningful; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas active participation is only possible on the basis of a democratic and transparent process of all EU institutions allowing Parliament and the Committee on Petitions to render its work citizen-friendly and meaningful;

| H. | whereas those who submit and support petitions are engaged citizens, who in turn expect the EU institutions to bring added value in the resolution of their concerns; whereas failure to act adequately on the petitions is likely to result in frustration and consequently disaffection towards the Union; |
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H.

whereas those who submit and support petitions are engaged citizens, who in turn expect the EU institutions to bring added value in the resolution of their concerns; whereas failure to act adequately on the petitions is likely to result in frustration and consequently disaffection towards the Union;

| I. | whereas it is noted that citizens often turn to the Committee on Petitions as a last resort when other bodies and institutions at regional and national levels are unable to resolve their concerns; |
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I.

whereas it is noted that citizens often turn to the Committee on Petitions as a last resort when other bodies and institutions at regional and national levels are unable to resolve their concerns;

| J. | whereas petitions enable Parliament to listen to and help solve problems affecting its citizens, and whereas the impact of EU legislation on the daily lives of people living in the EU should be assessed through said petitions; |
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J.

whereas petitions enable Parliament to listen to and help solve problems affecting its citizens, and whereas the impact of EU legislation on the daily lives of people living in the EU should be assessed through said petitions;

| K. | whereas an increase in citizens’ direct participation in, and an improvement of the quality of, decision-making at EU level are possible only if they are underpinned by a democratic governance able to guaranteetransparency, effective protection of fundamental rights and the inclusion of EU citizens’ requests on the EU political agenda; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas an increase in citizens’ direct participation in, and an improvement of the quality of, decision-making at EU level are possible only if they are underpinned by a democratic governance able to guaranteetransparency, effective protection of fundamental rights and the inclusion of EU citizens’ requests on the EU political agenda;

| L. | whereas petitions are a useful source of information, among other things, with regard to detecting breaches of EU law and the shortcomings and inconsistencies of EU law in respect of the goal of ensuring that the fundamental rights of all citizens are fully protected; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas petitions are a useful source of information, among other things, with regard to detecting breaches of EU law and the shortcomings and inconsistencies of EU law in respect of the goal of ensuring that the fundamental rights of all citizens are fully protected;

| M. | whereas petitions provide a vast range of important information in various areas of use to other parliamentary committees, also in relation to their legislative activities; whereas fulfilling the fundamental right to petition through an adequate treatment of petitions is a responsibility incumbent on Parliament as a whole; |
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M.

whereas petitions provide a vast range of important information in various areas of use to other parliamentary committees, also in relation to their legislative activities; whereas fulfilling the fundamental right to petition through an adequate treatment of petitions is a responsibility incumbent on Parliament as a whole;

| N. | whereas each petition should be carefully assessed and dealt with, and whereas each petitioner has the right to receive a first reply from the Committee on Petitions that fully addresses the issues raised in full accordance with the right to good administration enshrined in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas subsequent exchanges and replies are often needed as a result of the initial examination of petitions or the interaction with the Commission and national authorities as further follow-up to seek for solutions; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas each petition should be carefully assessed and dealt with, and whereas each petitioner has the right to receive a first reply from the Committee on Petitions that fully addresses the issues raised in full accordance with the right to good administration enshrined in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas subsequent exchanges and replies are often needed as a result of the initial examination of petitions or the interaction with the Commission and national authorities as further follow-up to seek for solutions;

| O. | whereas the criteria for the admissibility of petitions pursuant to Article 227 TFEU and Rule 215 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure state that petitions shall satisfy the formal conditions governing admissibility, namely that a petitioner, who is a EU citizen or residing in the EU, is affected by a matter which comes within the European Union’s fields of activity; whereas it is understood that these fields of activity go far beyond the mere aggregation of the EU’s exclusive competences; whereas 459 petitions were declared inadmissible because they do not comply with the formal conditions; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas the criteria for the admissibility of petitions pursuant to Article 227 TFEU and Rule 215 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure state that petitions shall satisfy the formal conditions governing admissibility, namely that a petitioner, who is a EU citizen or residing in the EU, is affected by a matter which comes within the European Union’s fields of activity; whereas it is understood that these fields of activity go far beyond the mere aggregation of the EU’s exclusive competences; whereas 459 petitions were declared inadmissible because they do not comply with the formal conditions;

| P. | whereas, to ensure the efficient work of the Committee on Petitions, unfounded or inadmissible petitions should be closed and a justification given to the petitioner; whereas the procedure for dealing with petitions should always be based on the best interests of the petitioners; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas, to ensure the efficient work of the Committee on Petitions, unfounded or inadmissible petitions should be closed and a justification given to the petitioner; whereas the procedure for dealing with petitions should always be based on the best interests of the petitioners;

| Q. | whereas the specific interactive nature of the petition process itself and the core role citizens play therein renders each case unique and excludes a predetermined time frame; whereas such procedures require particular flexibility and public relations skills on the part of the administration; |
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Q.

whereas the specific interactive nature of the petition process itself and the core role citizens play therein renders each case unique and excludes a predetermined time frame; whereas such procedures require particular flexibility and public relations skills on the part of the administration;

| R. | whereas a considerable number of petitions are discussed publicly in meetings of the Committee on Petitions; whereas petitioners have the right to present their petitions, and frequently fully take part in the discussion, thereby contributing actively to the work of the committee; whereas in 2016, 201 petitioners were present at the committee’s deliberations, while 61 petitioners participated actively by taking the floor; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas a considerable number of petitions are discussed publicly in meetings of the Committee on Petitions; whereas petitioners have the right to present their petitions, and frequently fully take part in the discussion, thereby contributing actively to the work of the committee; whereas in 2016, 201 petitioners were present at the committee’s deliberations, while 61 petitioners participated actively by taking the floor;

| S. | whereas the information provided by citizens in petitions and during committee meetings — complemented by expertise provided by the Commission, the Member States or other bodies — is pivotal to the work of the committee; |
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S.

whereas the information provided by citizens in petitions and during committee meetings — complemented by expertise provided by the Commission, the Member States or other bodies — is pivotal to the work of the committee;

| T. | whereas the main subjects of concern raised in petitions in 2016 pertained to the internal market (in particular the provision of services and the free movement of people), fundamental rights (especially the rights of the child and of persons with disabilities), social affairs (working conditions), environmental issues (waste management, pollution and environmental protection) and the specific issue of Brexit (loss of acquired rights and the mandate of the referendum); |
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T.

whereas the main subjects of concern raised in petitions in 2016 pertained to the internal market (in particular the provision of services and the free movement of people), fundamental rights (especially the rights of the child and of persons with disabilities), social affairs (working conditions), environmental issues (waste management, pollution and environmental protection) and the specific issue of Brexit (loss of acquired rights and the mandate of the referendum);

| U. | whereas Parliament’s Petitions Web Portal website, launched at the end of 2014, is operational; whereas 1 067 petitions (68 % of those received) were submitted via the web portal in 2016, as compared to 992 in 2015; whereas technical improvements have been made, including improvements to the search function, benefiting both users and portal administrators; whereas petition summaries are uploaded shortly after adoption; whereas the confidentiality settings and privacy statements have been revised, and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been introduced; whereas petition summaries from 2015 and 2016 were uploaded with the help of a new migration tool; whereas a search engine optimisation (SEO) process has been conducted; whereas a high number of individual support requests by users has been handled successfully; whereas further stages of the project are underway, enabling features such as the automatic electronic notification of the inclusion of each petition concerned in committee agendas together with its upcoming web-streaming link and also of the subsequent uploading of related minutes and videos of the relevant debates, for the benefit of both the petitioners and the supporters concerned; |
| --- | --- |

U.

whereas Parliament’s Petitions Web Portal website, launched at the end of 2014, is operational; whereas 1 067 petitions (68 % of those received) were submitted via the web portal in 2016, as compared to 992 in 2015; whereas technical improvements have been made, including improvements to the search function, benefiting both users and portal administrators; whereas petition summaries are uploaded shortly after adoption; whereas the confidentiality settings and privacy statements have been revised, and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been introduced; whereas petition summaries from 2015 and 2016 were uploaded with the help of a new migration tool; whereas a search engine optimisation (SEO) process has been conducted; whereas a high number of individual support requests by users has been handled successfully; whereas further stages of the project are underway, enabling features such as the automatic electronic notification of the inclusion of each petition concerned in committee agendas together with its upcoming web-streaming link and also of the subsequent uploading of related minutes and videos of the relevant debates, for the benefit of both the petitioners and the supporters concerned;

| V. | whereas the European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) is an important tool for strengthening citizens’ participation in the EU political decision-making process that should be exploited fully in order to increase citizens’ trust in the EU institutions and contribute to the construction of a genuine and inclusive European Union; whereas the legislative proposal put forward by the Commission on 13 September 2017 to review the current Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the ECI (COM(2017)0482) represents the launch of a very necessary process of revision in order to render this tool more accessible to and useful for EU citizens; |
| --- | --- |

V.

whereas the European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) is an important tool for strengthening citizens’ participation in the EU political decision-making process that should be exploited fully in order to increase citizens’ trust in the EU institutions and contribute to the construction of a genuine and inclusive European Union; whereas the legislative proposal put forward by the Commission on 13 September 2017 to review the current Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the ECI (COM(2017)0482) represents the launch of a very necessary process of revision in order to render this tool more accessible to and useful for EU citizens;

| W. | whereas four fact-finding visits pursuant to Rule 216a of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure were planned; whereas fact-finding visits represent a core tool for the Committee on Petitions, both in terms of providing a unique opportunity to gather information from different stakeholders on complex issues, and at the same time to help give tangible visibility to the work of Parliament among citizens in different corners of Europe; whereas two fact-finding visits took place, one to Spain following the reception of several petitions from EU citizens regarding possible infringements of the Water Framework Directive, and one to Slovakia on the use of EU structural funds in long-term residential centres for persons with disabilities; whereas two other planned fact-finding visits, one to Ireland and one to Italy, were cancelled; |
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W.

whereas four fact-finding visits pursuant to Rule 216a of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure were planned; whereas fact-finding visits represent a core tool for the Committee on Petitions, both in terms of providing a unique opportunity to gather information from different stakeholders on complex issues, and at the same time to help give tangible visibility to the work of Parliament among citizens in different corners of Europe; whereas two fact-finding visits took place, one to Spain following the reception of several petitions from EU citizens regarding possible infringements of the Water Framework Directive, and one to Slovakia on the use of EU structural funds in long-term residential centres for persons with disabilities; whereas two other planned fact-finding visits, one to Ireland and one to Italy, were cancelled;

| X. | whereas the Committee on Petitions has responsibilities for relations with regard to the office of the European Ombudsman, which is responsible for investigating complaints from EU citizens about possible maladministration within EU institutions and bodies; |
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X.

whereas the Committee on Petitions has responsibilities for relations with regard to the office of the European Ombudsman, which is responsible for investigating complaints from EU citizens about possible maladministration within EU institutions and bodies;

| Y. | whereas Emily O’Reilly, the European Ombudsman, presented her Annual Report for 2015 to the Committee on Petitions at its meeting on 20 June 2016, and whereas the annual report of the Committee of Petitions, in turn, is partly based on the Ombudsman’s annual report; |
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Y.

whereas Emily O’Reilly, the European Ombudsman, presented her Annual Report for 2015 to the Committee on Petitions at its meeting on 20 June 2016, and whereas the annual report of the Committee of Petitions, in turn, is partly based on the Ombudsman’s annual report;

| Z. | whereas the Committee on Petitions is a member of the European Network of Ombudsmen, which also includes the European Ombudsman, national and regional ombudsmen and similar bodies of the Member States, the candidate countries, and other European Economic Area countries, and which aims to promote the exchange of information about EU law and policy, and to share best practices; |
| --- | --- |

Z.

whereas the Committee on Petitions is a member of the European Network of Ombudsmen, which also includes the European Ombudsman, national and regional ombudsmen and similar bodies of the Member States, the candidate countries, and other European Economic Area countries, and which aims to promote the exchange of information about EU law and policy, and to share best practices;

| AA. | whereas 147 petitions received (whereof 120 in 2016) pertain to various issues — mainly the protection of citizen’s rights — raised by the referendum in the United Kingdom on withdrawal from the European Union; |
| --- | --- |

AA.

whereas 147 petitions received (whereof 120 in 2016) pertain to various issues — mainly the protection of citizen’s rights — raised by the referendum in the United Kingdom on withdrawal from the European Union;

| AB. | whereas the guidelines of the Committee on Petitions, adopted in January 2016 and implemented since, have brought clarity and structure to the work of the committee and to the processing of petitions; |
| --- | --- |

AB.

whereas the guidelines of the Committee on Petitions, adopted in January 2016 and implemented since, have brought clarity and structure to the work of the committee and to the processing of petitions;

| AC. | whereas the overhaul of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (adopted in Plenary in December 2016) also entails changes to, and the clarification of, the petition procedure; |
| --- | --- |

AC.

whereas the overhaul of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (adopted in Plenary in December 2016) also entails changes to, and the clarification of, the petition procedure;

| AD. | whereas a purely formalistic approach to the treatment of petitions in relation to environmental assessments jeopardises the proper implementation of EU environmental law in the Member States and the credibility of the Commission, which should carry out effective supervision to ensure that the fundamental rights of citizens are fully protected; |
| --- | --- |

AD.

whereas a purely formalistic approach to the treatment of petitions in relation to environmental assessments jeopardises the proper implementation of EU environmental law in the Member States and the credibility of the Commission, which should carry out effective supervision to ensure that the fundamental rights of citizens are fully protected;

| 1. | Highlights the vital role that the Committee on Petitions has to play as a contact point where EU citizens and residents can submit their complaints concerning infringements and shortcomings in the application of EU law in the Member States, and any gaps and inconsistencies in EU legislation; stresses the need to guarantee in full that the issues raised will be treated promptly, exhaustively, impartially and fairly by the institutions; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Acknowledges that petitions are an important source of first-hand information, not just about violations and deficiencies in the application of EU law in the Member States, but also about potential loopholes in EU legislation as well as citizens’ suggestions about new legislation that could be adopted, or possible improvements to the legislative texts in force; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Recalls that petitions allow Parliament and other EU institutions to reconnect with EU citizens affected by the application of EU law at different administrative levels; considers that the ability to ensure transparency, direct citizen involvement, full protection of fundamental rights, a clear improvement in the response from the EU institutions in terms of addressing and resolving the problems brought to their attention by citizens, in addition to enhanced cooperation of EU institutions and other EU bodies with national, regional and local authorities, are a vital means of strengthening the democratic legitimacy and accountability of the Union’s decision-making process; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Confirms that the effective treatment of petitions challenges and, ultimately, enhances the capacity of both Commission and Parliament to react to and resolve problems related to the transposition and incorrect application of legislation; notes that the Commission considers the implementation of EU law as a priority, so that citizens can benefit from it in their everyday lives; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Calls for the definition of a clear distinction between the status and rights of the petitioners and of their supporters in compliance with transparency principles; |
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5.

| 6. | Continues to consider it a particular obligation to ensure that, where petitions are inadmissible or unfounded, no disproportionately long delay occurs before they are declared inadmissible or are closed; emphasises, in this context, the requirement that the inadmissibility or closure of petitions on account of being unfounded must be carefully justified vis-à-vis the petitioner; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Acknowledges the impact of the effective application of EU law in strengthening the credibility of the EU institutions; recalls that the right to petition, enshrined in the Treaty of Lisbon, is an important element of European citizenship and a real litmus test for monitoring the application of EU law and identifying possible loopholes; calls on the Committee on Petitions to set up a regular meeting with its counterparts in the respective national contexts on important petitions in order to raise awareness of European citizens’ concerns in the EU and in the Member States and to strengthen their rights further through better European law making and implementation; calls, therefore, for a strong commitment from all the authorities involved at national and European levels in handling and resolving petitions as a matter of priority; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Reminds the Commission that petitions offer a unique means of referring situations where EU law is not respected and to investigate them with the help of the political scrutiny of the European Parliament; reminds the Commission that requests for assistance from the Committee on Petitions should be followed up properly, and reiterates its call on the Commission to improve the quality of its replies, including during committee meetings, in substance as well as depth, to ensure that the concerns of European citizens are addressed properly and in a transparent fashion; points out that the manner in which the problems highlighted in petitions are addressed has a vital impact on citizens, on whether respect for their right to petition enshrined in EU law is effective, and on their opinions of the EU institutions; insists that the Commission identify the means of enhancing cooperation with Member States’ authorities when it comes to responding to inquiries regarding the implementation of, and compliance with, EU law; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Considers the fact that national courts have primary responsibility for ensuring the proper implementation of EU legislation in the Member States should by no means preclude a more proactive role by the Commission, in its capacity as guardian of the Treaties, when it comes to ensuring compliance with EU law, particularly in cases related to protection of the environment and public health where the precautionary principle should prevail; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Highlights the need for Council and Commission representatives of the highest possible rank to be present at meetings and hearings of the Committee on Petitions where the content of the issues discussed requires the involvement of the aforementioned institutions; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Calls on the Commission officials who are present at the meetings of the Committee on Petitions to be ready to engage in a proper dialogue with the petitioners and not limit themselves to reading the answer already established and sent out prior to the meeting; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Calls for inquiries to be made as to the possibility of the use of teleconferencing services; encourages the use of new audiovisual technologies to enable the petitioners to play a greater role in the work of the Committee by participating in real time in the consideration of their petition; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Disagrees with the Commission’s recurrent interpretation of the 27th annual report on monitoring the application of European Union law (2009), on the basis of which it is allegedly entitled to close files on which no formal step towards infringement proceedings has yet been taken, or to suspend active infringement proceedings in cases in progress before a national court; recalls that in paragraph 11 of its annual resolution of 15 December 2016 (1) on the activities of the Committee on Petitions, Parliament reaffirmed its disagreement with the Commission’s original approach in the aforementioned report, as already expressed in its resolution of 14 September 2011 (2), where, particularly in paragraphs 1, 23 and 32, the Commission was requested to step up its efforts to ensure consistent implementation of EU legislation, within its capacities, and to make use of infringement mechanisms independently of the existence of judicial proceedings at national level; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Notes with concern, referring to the Commission’s annual report of 6 July 2017 on monitoring the application of European Union law in 2016 (COM(2017)0370), the considerable increase — by 21 % — in open infringement cases compared to the previous year; calls on the Commission to follow up on Parliament’s calls to share information on the state of play of ongoing infringement procedures; highlights the important role of petitions in identifying poor implementation or late transposition of European law; reminds the Commission that the Committee on Petitions is committed to respond to citizens’ expectations in a timely and responsible manner, while ensuring the democratic scrutiny and proper application of EU law; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Asks the Commission to provide precise statistics concerning the number of petitions that led to the initiation of an EU Pilot or infringement proceedings; asks, furthermore, to receive reports on cases relating to proceedings and/or procedures under way and the documents exchanged in the course of the EU Pilot and infringement procedures once these have been closed by way of applying the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in order to facilitate structured dialogue and reduce the timeframe for settling disputes; calls on the Commission to discuss these reports with the Committee on Petitions proactively, involving the Vice-President responsible for the application of law and simplification; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Urges the Commission to use its powers stemming from its role as guardian of the Treaties properly, as such a role is of the utmost importance to the functioning of the EU with regard to the citizens and the European legislators; calls for a timely handling of the infringement proceedings in order to put an end to situations where EU law is not respected without delay; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Considers cooperation with other parliamentary committees essential; refers, in this regard, to the adoption of the Committee on Petitions guidelines, which spell out the principle of establishing a petitions network with the other committees; welcomes the fact that the guidelines for such a network have been adopted; draws attention to the questionnaire submitted to all committees with a view to understanding better their procedures for dealing with petitions submitted for opinion or information; notes with satisfaction that the first network meeting at staff level took place in 2016 and at Members’ level twice in 2017; takes positive note of the progress made in the coordination between the Committee on Petitions and other committees and the thematic breakdown of policy areas in each committee concerned that will allow for a better follow-up on the petitions sent to other committees; calls for the reinforcement of the PETI network with the objective of streamlining petitions in ongoing legislative work; recommends that staff of the Members of the European Parliament should be offered specific guidance on the right to petition to enable them to better assist constituents interested in pursuing the process; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Deplores the fact that the Charter of Fundamental Rights only applies in Member States when implementing EU law; reiterates the fact that many citizens have found its implementation to be unclear and unsatisfactory; regrets that the Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted Article 51 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in a cautious way, yet allowing for the scope of application of the Charter to be expanded to include national provisions that implement EU law, as well as those that ensure effective application of EU provisions; considers that the expectations of most of EU citizens in relation to the rights conferred by the Charter go far beyond their current scope of application; stresses that a too narrow or incoherent interpretation of Article 51 alienates citizens from the EU; urges the Commission to take steps to ensure that the interpretation of the scope of Article 51 is as coherent and wide as possible; welcomes the introduction by the Fundamental Rights Agency of an interactive tool providing easy access to information on which authority to address in each of the Member States with inquiries regarding fundamental rights; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Notes the anxiety of petitioners concerned about their future rights following the referendum in the United Kingdom on withdrawal from the European Union which was evident in a large number of petitions concerning the United Kingdom; recalls its resolution of 5 April 2017 (3) by which Parliament underlines that the withdrawal agreement can only be concluded with its consent and its requirement for the fair treatment of EU-27 citizens living or having lived in the United Kingdom and of United Kingdom citizens living or having lived in the EU-27, and is of the opinion that their respective rights and interests must be given full priority in the negotiations; notes the unresolved concerns about voting rights and the disenfranchisement of UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU for over 15 years; recalls that the Committee on Petitions has been playing an active role in defending the rights of EU and British citizens by contributing to Parliament’s resolutions of 5 April 2017 and of 3 October 2017 (4) on the state of play of the negotiations with the United Kingdom following its notification to withdraw from the EU as well as by commissioning a study on the impact of Brexit in relation to the right to petition and on the competences, responsibilities and activities of the Committee on Petitions and by examining the petitions dealing with Brexit and the rights of citizens in its meeting on 21 June 2017; supports the Commission’s commitment to fully guarantee the rights of European citizens residing in the United Kingdom during the Brexit negotiations and following its exit from the EU, and calls on the Commission to guarantee the full acquired rights for UK citizens residing in the rest of the European Union to ensure that citizens are not used as bargaining chips or see their rights eroded as a result of the negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Points to the important ongoing work carried out by the Committee on Petitions in connection with petitions pertaining to issues on disabilities, and underlines the willingness of the committee to continue its support for efforts to strengthen the rights of persons with disabilities; calls for the European institutions to lead by example on this subject and to ensure that implementation measures by the national authorities comply fully and consistently with EU legislation and with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); emphasises that a fact-finding visit to Slovakia took place on 22 and 23 September 2016 to gather information on the issue of the use of investments in institutions for persons with disabilities and recommended that the Commission look into the current situation; emphasises the need to improve the political participation of persons with disabilities, in particular in preparation for the next European elections, as well as to recognise the right to vote of all persons with disabilities in accordance with Articles 12 and 29 of the CRPD; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Reiterates the committee’s work to support the ratification and swift implementation of the 2013 Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled; stresses the relevance, in this regard, of its short resolution of 3 February 2016 (5) on the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty, which called for a swift reaction from all parties concerned in order to unblock the long-standing situation with a view to facilitating ratification at EU level; notes that Parliament and the Council have reached an agreement on the Commission’s legislative proposals on the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty (COM(2016)0595 and COM(2016)0596), which have become binding (6); |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Draws attention to two annual reports, the Annual Report on all the committee’s activities in 2015 (7) and the Annual Report on the European Ombudsman’s work in 2015 (8), and to several opinions by the committee, such as on cross-border recognition of adoptions (9), on EU options for improving access to medicines (10), on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with special regard to the concluding observations of the UN CRPD Committee (11), on monitoring the application of Union Law: 2014 Annual Report (12) and on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2015 (13); |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Points to the committee’s support of the European Citizens’ Initiative; notes the Commission’s proposal for a revision of the regulation with a view to increasing its importance as a tool for democratic participation; regrets that the Commission failed to duly take into account the recent work on a non-legislative resolution on the ECI, in particular the opinion of the Committee on Petitions, thereby also failing to fully respect the interinstitutional agreement; urges the Commission to take account of the opinion of the Committee on Petitions during the upcoming legislative procedure in order to achieve the full and effective involvement of EU citizens in the EU decision-making process through the ECI; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Regrets that the Commission has not exercised its powers of control in a resolute manner in order to prevent the placing on the single market of pollutant, diesel-powered cars that contribute significantly to the release of NO2 into the atmosphere over the limit values, and that do not comply with EU rules on the type-approval and emissions of passenger and light commercial vehicles; points out that this aspect forms an integral part of the concerns of citizens, who have exercised their right to petition to call for effective protection of human health, the environment and consumer rights; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Stresses that transparency and public access to the documents of the EU institutions should be the rule in order to ensure the highest levels of protection of the democratic rights of citizens; takes the view that a proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 in this regard should promptly be put forward; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Emphasises Parliament’s strong collaboration with the European Ombudsman, as well as its involvement in the European Network of Ombudsmen; underlines the excellent relations within the institutional framework between the Ombudsman and the Committee on Petitions; appreciates in particular the Ombudsman’s regular contributions to the work of the committee throughout the year; underlines the Ombudsman’s crucial role in helping to improve decision-making processes and administration at EU level, which should, as soon as possible, be made fully transparent, impartial and fit for protecting citizens’ rights effectively and efficiently; supports the current Ombudsman’s work in the different fields of her competence, including her own-initiative and strategic inquiries which are of benefit not only in terms of good administration, but also in terms of the better democratic functioning of the Union; welcomes the initiatives taken by the European Ombudsman to better benefit from the network’s potential and to strengthen its visibility; |
| --- | --- |

26.

| 27. | Welcomes the Award for Good Administration launched by the office of the European Ombudsman in 2016 as a way to recognise staff members, agencies and bodies of EU institutions engaged in promoting good administration while performing their everyday duties; calls for the current Code of Good Administrative Behaviour to be upgraded into a binding regulation, including, among other aspects, concrete provisions to prevent conflicts of interest at all levels within EU institutions, agencies and bodies; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Stresses the wide range of subjects raised in the petitions filed, from the internal market, justice, energy and transport to fundamental rights, health, environmental law, disability and animal welfare, and on the various implications of Brexit on citizens; underlines the increase by 10 % in the number of petitions received in 2016 (1 569) and calls for the European institutions to adequately staff the services in charge of handling petitions, notably the secretariat of the Committee on Petitions; |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Calls on the Commission to ensure that comprehensive analyses are conducted of the compliance with EU law of environmental assessments carried out by Member States, with regard to permission granted for infrastructure projects in relation to which citizens, through their petitions, have highlighted serious risks to human health and the environment; insists on the importance of these analyses and possible derived actions by the Commission being performed on a proactive ex ante basis in order to prevent irreversible environmental degradation, in line with the precautionary principle; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Draws attention to numerous petitions on the practices of child welfare authorities and the protection of children’s rights, particularly with cross-border implications; acknowledges the work done by the committee’s working group on child welfare; draws attention to the short motion for resolution on ‘Protecting the best interest of the child (across borders) in Europe’ adopted in March 2016; takes note of the proposal to recast the Brussels IIa Regulation on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction, and notes that a large number of issues raised in petitions, such as those related to the procedures and practices specifically followed by the relevant authorities in the Member States in child-related decisions with cross-border implications, and the efficacy of return proceedings following international parental child abduction, need to be examined thoroughly with a view to resolving the existing difficulties; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Highlights the consistently high number of petitions concerning animal welfare and reiterates its regret over the delay which has built up in the implementation of the European Union Strategy for the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2012-2015; considers it vital to launch a new strategy at EU level to bridge all the existing gaps and ensure full and effective protection of animal welfare through a clear and comprehensive legislative framework that fully meets the requirements of Article 13 TFEU; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Regrets that no significant progress has been made in the case concerning the electoral rights of non-citizens in Estonia and Latvia, following petition No 0747/2016; stresses that any unnecessary delays may cause distrust in the European institutions; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Stresses the important role of the SOLVIT network, which provides a means for citizens and enterprises to address concerns about possible breaches of EU law by public authorities in other Member States; calls on the Commission, and on the Member States themselves, to promote SOLVIT in order to make it more helpful and visible to citizens; welcomes, in this regard, the Action Plan to reinforce the SOLVIT network published by the Commission in May 2017; calls on the Commission to ensure the swift implementation of this Action Plan and to report back to Parliament on its results; |
| --- | --- |

33.

| 34. | Points to the improvements made to the Petitions Web Portal; underlines the need for further technical improvements to the web portal to ensure that the Committee on Petitions is fully prepared to deal with unexpected situations, such as a sudden increase in the number of petitions submitted; considers the ongoing technical development, and enhanced technical capacity, of the portal as essential for a smooth petition process; underlines the importance of the portal as an easily accessible communication gateway for citizens and petitioners, also for users of mobile devices and for persons with disabilities; looks forward to the prompt implementation of the remaining phases of the project, which will allow for an enhanced interactive experience and increased real-time information for petitioners and those supporting petitions; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Calls for a more focused and active press and communications service and a more active social media presence, making the work of the committee more responsive to public concerns; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution and the report of the Committee on Petitions to the Council, the Commission, the European Ombudsman and the governments and parliaments of the Member States, their committees on petitions and their national ombudsmen or similar competent bodies. |
| --- | --- |

36.

---

(1)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0512.

(2)  OJ C 51 E, 22.2.2013, p. 66.

(3)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0102.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0361.

(5)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0037.

(6)  OJ L 242, 20.9.2017, p. 1 and p. 6.

(7)  Opinion adopted on 30 November 2016.

(8)  Opinion adopted on 11 November 2016.

(9)  Opinion adopted on 21 April 2016.

(10)  Opinion adopted on 15 November 2016.

(11)  Opinion adopted on 27 April 2016.

(12)  Opinion adopted on 22 April 2016

(13)  Opinion adopted on 12 October 2016.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/114 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/114

---

P8_TA(2017)0503

A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility

European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2017 on a European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility (2016/2327(INI))

(2018/C 369/15)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 20 July 2016 entitled ‘A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’ (COM(2016)0501), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 20 July 2016 entitled ‘A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’ (COM(2016)0501),

| — | having regard to the Commission white paper of 28 March 2011 entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’ (COM(2011)0144), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission white paper of 28 March 2011 entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’ (COM(2011)0144),

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 31 March 1998 entitled ‘Transport and CO2 — developing a Community Approach’ (COM(1998)0204), which was published following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol but was not translated into sufficient measures, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 31 March 1998 entitled ‘Transport and CO2 — developing a Community Approach’ (COM(1998)0204), which was published following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol but was not translated into sufficient measures,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 9 September 2015 on the implementation of the 2011 White Paper on transport: taking stock and the way forward towards sustainable mobility (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 9 September 2015 on the implementation of the 2011 White Paper on transport: taking stock and the way forward towards sustainable mobility (1),

| — | having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 23 February 2017 on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 20 July 2016 entitled ‘A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 23 February 2017 on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 20 July 2016 entitled ‘A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’,

| — | having regard to Directive 2009/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2009/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles (2),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU (3), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU (3),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (4) and to Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2011 setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (4) and to Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2011 setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (5),

| — | having regard to Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars (6), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars (6),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to emissions from heavy duty vehicles (EURO VI) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information and amending Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directives 80/1269/EEC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC (7), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to emissions from heavy duty vehicles (EURO VI) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information and amending Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directives 80/1269/EEC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC (7),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC (8), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC (8),

| — | having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (9), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (9),

| — | having regard to Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC (10), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC (10),

| — | having regard to Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC (11), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC (11),

| — | having regard to Directive (EU) 2015/1513 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (12), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2015/1513 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (12),

| — | having regard to the Commission communication of 30 November 2016 entitled ‘A European strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, a milestone towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility’ (COM(2016)0766), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 30 November 2016 entitled ‘A European strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, a milestone towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility’ (COM(2016)0766),

| — | having regard to the Master Plan for the deployment of Interoperable Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems in the EU, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Master Plan for the deployment of Interoperable Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems in the EU,

| — | having regard to Commission Directive 1999/52/EC of 26 May 1999 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 96/96/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers (13), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Commission Directive 1999/52/EC of 26 May 1999 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 96/96/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers (13),

| — | having regard to Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community (14) and to Commission Decision 2009/750/EC of 6 October 2009 on the definition of the European Electronic Toll Service and its technical elements (15), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community (14) and to Commission Decision 2009/750/EC of 6 October 2009 on the definition of the European Electronic Toll Service and its technical elements (15),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight (16), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight (16),

| — | having regard to Council Directive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States (17), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Council Directive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States (17),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 (18), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 (18),

| — | having regard to Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (19), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (19),

| — | having regard to Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues (20), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues (20),

| — | having regard to the results of the 39th session of the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), held in 2016 in Montreal, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the results of the 39th session of the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), held in 2016 in Montreal,

| — | having regard to Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (21), amended by Directive 2009/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 (22), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (21), amended by Directive 2009/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 (22),

| — | having regard to the report of Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector on the results of the committee’s work (A8-0049/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector on the results of the committee’s work (A8-0049/2017),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 2 December 2015 on sustainable urban mobility (23), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 2 December 2015 on sustainable urban mobility (23),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 23 June 2016 on the renewable energy progress report (24), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 23 June 2016 on the renewable energy progress report (24),

| — | having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC (25), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC (25),

| — | having regard to its recommendation of 4 April 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the inquiry into emission measurements in the automotive sector (26), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its recommendation of 4 April 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the inquiry into emission measurements in the automotive sector (26),

| — | having regard to its mandate for interinstitutional negotiations on the revision of type approval and market surveillance, as adopted on 4 April 2017 (27), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its mandate for interinstitutional negotiations on the revision of type approval and market surveillance, as adopted on 4 April 2017 (27),

| — | having regard to the Circular Economy Package adopted by the Commission on 2 December 2015, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Circular Economy Package adopted by the Commission on 2 December 2015,

| — | having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A8-0356/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A8-0356/2017),

| A. | whereas all 151 parties to the Paris Agreement, which was ratified by the EU on 4 November 2016 and which entered into force on the same date, have committed to keeping the global temperature increase to well below 2 oC above pre-industrial levels and to pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1,5 oC above pre-industrial levels; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas all 151 parties to the Paris Agreement, which was ratified by the EU on 4 November 2016 and which entered into force on the same date, have committed to keeping the global temperature increase to well below 2 oC above pre-industrial levels and to pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1,5 oC above pre-industrial levels;

| B. | whereas given that road transport is responsible for over 70 % of transport greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and much of air pollution, action should be focused predominantly in this area, while efforts to reduce emissions should be intensified in all transport sectors; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas given that road transport is responsible for over 70 % of transport greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and much of air pollution, action should be focused predominantly in this area, while efforts to reduce emissions should be intensified in all transport sectors;

| C. | whereas natural gas (such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG)), and in particular biomethane, synthetic methane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), could assist in the decarbonisation of the transport sector, in particular with regard to shipping and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs); |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas natural gas (such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG)), and in particular biomethane, synthetic methane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), could assist in the decarbonisation of the transport sector, in particular with regard to shipping and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs);

| D. | whereas in its 2011 White Paper the Commission states that it aims to reduce transport GHG emissions by at least 60 % by 2050 compared with 1990; whereas in order to comply with the Paris Agreement it will be necessary to drastically reduce GHG emissions from transport by mid-century; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas in its 2011 White Paper the Commission states that it aims to reduce transport GHG emissions by at least 60 % by 2050 compared with 1990; whereas in order to comply with the Paris Agreement it will be necessary to drastically reduce GHG emissions from transport by mid-century;

| E. | whereas a reliable long-term emissions reduction trajectory can provide vehicle manufacturers with the necessary planning security for investments in new technologies; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas a reliable long-term emissions reduction trajectory can provide vehicle manufacturers with the necessary planning security for investments in new technologies;

| F. | whereas the long-term decarbonisation of the transport sector requires the wide use of renewable energy sources, diversified according to the different modes of transport; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the long-term decarbonisation of the transport sector requires the wide use of renewable energy sources, diversified according to the different modes of transport;

| G. | whereas electric transport systems, whether private or public, can help tackle major problems related to urban mobility by reducing CO2 emissions and eliminating pollutants and noise altogether in a sustainable way; whereas the degree of sustainability of electric vehicles also depends on the use of renewable electricity; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas electric transport systems, whether private or public, can help tackle major problems related to urban mobility by reducing CO2 emissions and eliminating pollutants and noise altogether in a sustainable way; whereas the degree of sustainability of electric vehicles also depends on the use of renewable electricity;

| H. | whereas transport is responsible for over 25 % of GHG emissions in the EU, of which road transport accounts for over 70 %; whereas transport is the main cause of air pollution in urban areas; whereas such air pollution causes over 400 000 premature deaths (28) per year in the EU and generates health costs of between EUR 330 billion and EUR 940 billion (29), amounting to between 3 % and 9 % of EU GDP; whereas particulate matter and nitrogen oxides have an especially adverse impact on public health; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas transport is responsible for over 25 % of GHG emissions in the EU, of which road transport accounts for over 70 %; whereas transport is the main cause of air pollution in urban areas; whereas such air pollution causes over 400 000 premature deaths (28) per year in the EU and generates health costs of between EUR 330 billion and EUR 940 billion (29), amounting to between 3 % and 9 % of EU GDP; whereas particulate matter and nitrogen oxides have an especially adverse impact on public health;

| I. | whereas the transport sector is the least decarbonised and still relies on fossil fuels for over 94 % of its energy needs; whereas its GHG emissions already account for almost a quarter of total CO2 emissions in the EU and are continuing to rise; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas the transport sector is the least decarbonised and still relies on fossil fuels for over 94 % of its energy needs; whereas its GHG emissions already account for almost a quarter of total CO2 emissions in the EU and are continuing to rise;

| J. | whereas the development of passenger and freight transport is largely dependent on the effective use of a variety of modes of transport, and European transport policy should be based on efficient co-modality, under which the use of the most energy-efficient and sustainable transport modes should be prioritised where possible; |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas the development of passenger and freight transport is largely dependent on the effective use of a variety of modes of transport, and European transport policy should be based on efficient co-modality, under which the use of the most energy-efficient and sustainable transport modes should be prioritised where possible;

| K. | whereas modal shift will lead to an optimal rebalancing between different transport modes, and will provide for interoperability within and between modes, promote more sustainable transport and logistics chains, and enhance seamless traffic flows across modes and nodes; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas modal shift will lead to an optimal rebalancing between different transport modes, and will provide for interoperability within and between modes, promote more sustainable transport and logistics chains, and enhance seamless traffic flows across modes and nodes;

| L. | whereas according to Special Eurobarometer 406, published in 2013, some 50 % of EU citizens use their private cars every day, while only 16 % use public transport and only 12 % use bicycles; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas according to Special Eurobarometer 406, published in 2013, some 50 % of EU citizens use their private cars every day, while only 16 % use public transport and only 12 % use bicycles;

| M. | whereas bunker fuel used for maritime transport is among the most polluting types of fuel, meaning that this sector has an ample margin for reducing its emissions by promoting and integrating alternative propelling systems; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas bunker fuel used for maritime transport is among the most polluting types of fuel, meaning that this sector has an ample margin for reducing its emissions by promoting and integrating alternative propelling systems;

| N. | whereas the protection of public health and the environment should be a shared societal concern and responsibility, in which all stakeholders have an important role to play; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas the protection of public health and the environment should be a shared societal concern and responsibility, in which all stakeholders have an important role to play;

| O. | whereas the Seventh Community Environment Action Programme clearly recognises the role of transport in achieving the Union’s 2050 vision of ‘living well, within the limits of our planet’; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas the Seventh Community Environment Action Programme clearly recognises the role of transport in achieving the Union’s 2050 vision of ‘living well, within the limits of our planet’;

| P. | whereas since the adoption of the Biofuels Directive in 2003 the legislative framework has been changed repeatedly; whereas the legislative approach must have a certain degree of stability in order to attract investments in advanced biofuels; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas since the adoption of the Biofuels Directive in 2003 the legislative framework has been changed repeatedly; whereas the legislative approach must have a certain degree of stability in order to attract investments in advanced biofuels;

| Q. | whereas the transition to a circular economy also means that consumers will increasingly become service users, and this shift to new business models could have a significant impact on resource efficiency in the transport sector; |
| --- | --- |

Q.

whereas the transition to a circular economy also means that consumers will increasingly become service users, and this shift to new business models could have a significant impact on resource efficiency in the transport sector;

| R. | whereas over 100 million Europeans are exposed to noise levels above the EU threshold of 55 decibels (dB), including some 32 million who are exposed to ‘very loud’ levels, i.e. in excess of 65 dB; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas over 100 million Europeans are exposed to noise levels above the EU threshold of 55 decibels (dB), including some 32 million who are exposed to ‘very loud’ levels, i.e. in excess of 65 dB;

| S. | whereas according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), noise from road traffic alone is the second most harmful environmental stressor in Europe, just behind air pollution, and whereas at least 9 000 premature deaths per year can be attributed to heart disease caused by traffic noise; |
| --- | --- |

S.

whereas according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), noise from road traffic alone is the second most harmful environmental stressor in Europe, just behind air pollution, and whereas at least 9 000 premature deaths per year can be attributed to heart disease caused by traffic noise;

| T. | whereas applying WHO guidelines on human exposure to PM2,5 would increase citizens’ average life expectancy by roughly 22 months and would generate annual savings of some EUR 31 billion; |
| --- | --- |

T.

whereas applying WHO guidelines on human exposure to PM2,5 would increase citizens’ average life expectancy by roughly 22 months and would generate annual savings of some EUR 31 billion;

| 1. | Welcomes the Commission’s communication ‘A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’, and concurs that a shift to low-emission mobility is essential for the broader shift to a sustainable, low-carbon and circular economy; calls on the Commission and the competent authorities in the Member States to fully engage with the strategy; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Underlines the fact that to abide by the Paris Agreement GHG emissions from transport will need to be near zero by mid-century, and that air pollutant emissions from transport will need to be drastically reduced if the WHO public health guidelines, at the very least, are to be met without delay; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Notes that the shift towards low emission mobility is not only beneficial for public health and the environment, but also offers major challenges and opportunities for vehicle, railway, maritime and aeronautics manufacturers and suppliers as well as for innovative energy, transport and logistics and service providers, particularly SMEs; stresses that adequate support for fostering, on the basis of a cost-effective approach, new technologies and business models encouraging innovative partnerships between large companies, SMEs and start-ups is needed in order to achieve an effective reduction of GHG emissions within the transport sector; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Recognises the need for significant changes in transport demand management and spatial planning in order to make the necessary shift to a multimodal approach; reiterates that transport should be seen as an important service and not as a goal in itself; supports, to this end, the implementation of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T); reiterates that the transition to a sustainable, circular and low-carbon transport sector entails increased awareness of service users with regard to resource efficiency; considers that one of the most important factors in terms of behavioural change involving switching to more sustainable modes of transport is an affordable, well-developed and multimodal public transport system that covers urban nodes and connects with rural areas; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Recalls that regarding the 2011 White Paper on Transport, Parliament stressed that a European sustainable mobility policy needs to build on a broad range of policy tools in order to effect a shift towards the least polluting and most energy-efficient modes of transport in a cost-efficient manner; points out that a shift in the balance between modes of transport is necessary in order to disconnect mobility from the adverse effects of the present transport system such as congestion, air pollution, noise, accidents and climate change; acknowledges in this regard that the modal shift policy has not so far delivered satisfactory results; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Encourage the Commission to act as the leading actor for global and harmonised measures with regard to more sustainable and efficient transport; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Invites the Commission to ensure full implementation of the existing legislation and, if needed, to propose additional concrete measures in the transport sector in order to achieve the agreed EU climate objectives, covering all modes, including urban mobility, in a manner which does not jeopardise the competitiveness of the transport sector; also invites the Commission to promote the market uptake of technologies that contribute to low-emission mobility by increasing the efficiency of vehicles while preserving safety; asks the Commission, in the context of compliance with the Paris Agreement, to present an update of its 2011 White Paper on Transport; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Is convinced that when sustainability is assessed the entire footprint, from manufacture through use to the disposal of vehicles and the requisite infrastructure, should be taken into account, and emphasises for that reason that only a technology-neutral energy mix can offer realistic and genuinely sustainable solutions; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Notes that a sustainable transition in transport requires systemic multi-stakeholder action from civil society, consumers, social partners, SMEs, innovative start-ups, major corporations that are global players, and politicians and official bodies at all levels of government; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Calls on the Commission to recognise the increasing importance of embedded emissions by incorporating incentives for life-cycle emissions accounting; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Calls on the Commission to recognise the growing importance of measuring life-cycle emissions, from energy supply emissions through to manufacturing and end-of-life emissions, by putting forward holistic proposals that guide manufacturers towards optimal solutions, in order to ensure that upstream and downstream emissions do not erode the benefits related to the improved operational energy use of vehicles; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Calls on the Commission to urgently introduce and improve CO2 standards for all road transport, as cost-effective vehicle standards in all probability represent the most effective measure for improving energy efficiency in the EU in the period up to 2030; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Recalls that energy efficiency should be considered as the best energy alternative, and that, therefore, all measures to improve energy efficiency in a cost-effective way and to reduce energy demand should be prioritised, promoted, and duly integrated into transport policy and European climate action; |
| --- | --- |

13.

Optimising the transport system

Enhancing efficiency

| 14. | Calls on the Commission and the Member States to review connectivity between different regions of the EU, also as regards remote, disadvantaged and border regions of the Union; calls on the Commission, in this respect, to review the EU approach to aviation connectivity and explore the possibility of developing a connectivity index, also taking into account the interplay with other transport modes; underscores that this should be combined with investments in and promotion of sustainable alternatives; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Strongly encourages the Member States to accelerate the implementation of the Single European Sky, as the current fragmentation leads to longer flight times, delays, additional fuel burn and increased CO2 emissions; points out that this would contribute to achieving a 10 % reduction in emissions; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Calls on the Commission to maintain high innovation ambitions by encouraging research into the use of photovoltaic energy in the aviation sector (for example, Solar Impulse 2) and alternative renewable liquid fuels; |
| --- | --- |

16.

Fair and efficient pricing

| 17. | Considers that clearer price signals across all transport modes which better reflect the polluter-pays and user-pays principles are essential in ensuring fairness and a level playing field for different transport modes in Europe; points out that existing policies should be reassessed from that perspective; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Considers that each transport mode should cover its marginal costs, both for infrastructure wear and tear (‘user pays’) and for external costs, e.g. for air pollution and noise pollution (‘polluter pays’); believes that applying those two principles EU-wide will help address the current charging discrepancy between transport modes; |
| --- | --- |

18.

| 19. | Underlines that transport pricing legislation should not create unfair competition to the disadvantage of more sustainable modes such as rail, and urges the Commission to come up with proposals to guarantee fair competition in this regard; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Welcomes the Commission’s efforts at developing standards for interoperable electronic tolling systems in the EU, as well as the forthcoming revision of the Eurovignette directive, which should include distance-based charging and differentiation on the basis of CO2 emissions, as well as the possibility of differentiation of charging on the basis of updated Euro standards; believes that the extension of distance-based charging should cover all passenger cars and vans, while allowing for some form of flexibility for remote and sparsely populated areas; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Emphasises that a modal shift in transport requires promotion of and investment in multimodality and public transport; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Asks the Commission to update its ‘manual on external costs from transport’ as a matter of urgency, taking into account real driving emissions data; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Stresses that aviation represents the mode furthest away from internalising its external costs, and therefore calls on the Commission to live up to the Paris Agreement and explore the possibilities for harmonised international measures for kerosene taxation for aviation and the removal of the VAT exemption on air passenger tickets; |
| --- | --- |

23.

Logistics and digitalisation

| 24. | Recognises that logistics can play a crucial role in reducing transport’s carbon impact through environmentally-friendly collaborative strategies addressing supply chain integration, multimodal transport, consolidation of deliveries and reverse logistics; considers that digital technologies are critical to these objectives; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Considers that intelligent transport systems, platooning and autonomous and connected vehicles can constitute an important asset in improving the efficiency of both individual and commercial transport in the road, rail, maritime and air sectors; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Acknowledges that connected car technology will not only improve road safety but also has significant environmental implications, and notes the dense network infrastructure required to guarantee high capacity and low latency needs for a 5G network to make best use of the opportunities for connected and autonomous vehicles to improve mobility in the urban environment; recognises that, in line with the wider process of digitisation across European industry, many companies will have to underpin their transformation strategy with mobility, thus affording significant opportunities for SMEs and start-ups in the transport sector, and believes this should be supported; |
| --- | --- |

26.

| 27. | Stresses that public transport, as part of the concept of mobility as service, has a vast potential to reduce traffic volumes and the related emissions, and calls on the Commission to foster digitisation and connectivity of public transport systems in order to remove barriers between transport modes and systems and incentivise their use; considers, at the same time, that the measures taken should be tailored according to the specificities of the areas concerned, be they urban or rural, as in rural areas economic viability is more difficult to achieve; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to develop specific initiatives for more efficient transport in rural environments and areas that are hard to access, also taking into account public service obligations; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Supports initiatives for mobility management aimed at achieving more efficient and environment-friendly intermodal transport services and smart mobility, which can be key to promoting the concepts of mobility as a service and synchronised intermodality (‘synchromodality’); believes that in order to further enhance mobility as a service, suitable attention should be paid in the future regulation to the contribution of Intelligent Transport Management Systems (ITS), the development of ICT capabilities, interoperability of systems, sharing services and integrated multimodal ticketing; |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Notes that urban freight vehicles contribute disproportionately to air and noise pollution and have a negative impact on congestion; calls, therefore, for better optimisation of the supply chain in urban areas; calls on the Commission to encourage the use of zero-emissions light-duty commercial vehicles, zero-emissions buses, waste trucks, taxis and freight bicycles in last mile logistics; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Stresses the potential benefits of lightweighting and of a more efficient use of the current infrastructure, including better distribution of traffic and enhanced intermodal solutions; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Calls on the Commission to emphasise, in the framework of the Digital Single Market legislation, the potential of safer, smarter and greener means of transport for road traffic, and to promote projects for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-road devices, as part of boosting the economy for innovation and opening up new business opportunities for European ICT companies; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Stresses the importance of investing in optimal hinterland connections in order to decrease the ecological footprint of hinterland transport by encouraging the use of multimodal connections, sustainable rail transport, inland shipping, real time transport data and IT applications along the corridors of the Trans-European Transport Networks; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Is convinced that promoting mobility management initiatives in regions and cities, institutions and industry has a considerable potential for reducing the need for citizens to travel both in terms of distance and speed; |
| --- | --- |

33.

| 34. | Calls on the Member States to support pilot projects that will encourage greater use of electric vehicles and alternative advanced biofuel vehicles; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Stresses that there is a need for a holistic EU approach to enable a swift digitalisation of transport, which, together with better transport planning and the change towards ‘mobility as a service’ will highly contribute to improving efficiency and will have profound effects on society; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Considers that better transport planning, better use of digitalisation and logistics are fields where the potential for emissions reduction is huge, and that numerous cheap and easy measures could be in place very fast with a measurable effect, such as flow and load optimisation, as well as e-Freight; calls therefore on the Commission to list and identify such measures, in order to promote them in a near future; calls for a coherent legislative framework and standards that will allow innovative logistical and transport solutions to be deployed throughout Europe; |
| --- | --- |

36.

| 37. | Supports the Commission and the transport operators to elaborate projects that contain consistent information on a comparative CO2 footprint from different transport modes through publications, information, booking and ticketing; |
| --- | --- |

37.

| 38. | Stresses the imperative need of adapting ICT standardization policy to market and policy developments in order to achieve interoperability for e-Freight and Intelligent Transport Systems; |
| --- | --- |

38.

| 39. | Stresses the importance of interoperability for reducing emissions from HGVs, in both urban and extra-urban transport; |
| --- | --- |

39.

Low-emission alternative energy

| 40. | Underlines the fact that electric mobility solutions based on sustainable energy sources afford great potential for decarbonising transport; considers, however, that optimisation of the technology involved and large-scale provision of infrastructure facilities are unlikely before 2030; reiterates its call for technological innovations; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Welcomes efforts to deploy and ensure comprehensive and interoperable infrastructure for supplying renewable energy and/or sustainable alternative fuels to alternatively powered vehicles; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to coordinate with the Member States to ensure the full transposition of the relevant provisions of Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure as well as of Article 8 of Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings as amended by Directive (EU) .../... (procedure 2016/0381(COD)); |
| --- | --- |

41.

| 42. | Calls on the Commission to adopt an ambitious action plan for the market uptake of electric vehicles and to issue Member States with guiding recommendations to encourage them to implement fiscal incentives for zero- and low-emission vehicles; stresses that the availability and accessibility of charging and refuelling infrastructure, including in private and public buildings in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Directive 2010/31/EU, EPBD), and the competitiveness of electric vehicles, are essential for increasing consumer acceptance; highlights the importance of ensuring that electricity generated for electric vehicles comes from sustainable energy sources; calls in this connection for a long-term European initiative on next-generation batteries as well as for the development of the necessary infrastructure to encourage sustainable production standards of low-emission energy and vehicles; |
| --- | --- |

42.

| 43. | Calls on the Commission to swiftly present its evaluation on the implementation of the Clean Power for Transport Directive (Directive 2014/94/EU) by Member States, and to take action on those Member States which have not yet presented a national strategy; |
| --- | --- |

43.

| 44. | Considers that an obligation for fuel suppliers to reduce the GHG emissions of energy supplied through renewable electricity, hydrogen, sustainable and advanced biofuels, synthetic fuels or other low-carbon fuels (e.g. CNG, LNG) would be one of the most effective approaches for reducing the climate impact of road transport; |
| --- | --- |

44.

| 45. | Reminds the Commission how urgent it is, with a view to taking tangible action geared to the sustainable energy transition of the whole of society, to transfer the financial incentives which fossil fuels continue to enjoy to alternative and sustainable forms of energy; |
| --- | --- |

45.

| 46. | Calls for a more ambitious approach for renewables in transport than that proposed in the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive, in order to achieve the long-term decarbonisation of the transport sector; |
| --- | --- |

46.

| 47. | Urges that specific incentives be put in place for the deployment of sustainable alternative fuels for those transport modes that currently have no alternatives to liquid fuel; believes that such incentives should be reflected in the new Renewable Energy Directive as well as in the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans, as foreseen in the proposed regulation on governance of the Energy Union; |
| --- | --- |

47.

| 48. | Recalls that 94 % of European transport relies on oil products, and believes that sustainable domestic biofuels reduce fossil fuel import dependence, thereby strengthening EU energy security; |
| --- | --- |

48.

| 49. | Calls on the Commission to propose the phasing-out of direct and indirect subsidies for fossil fuels by 2020 at the latest; |
| --- | --- |

49.

| 50. | Calls on the Commission and Member States to support the potential of LNG to render mobility, the economy and employment sustainable (30); |
| --- | --- |

50.

| 51. | Underlines the role that natural gas (for example, CNG and LNG), and in particular biomethane, synthetic methane and LPG, could play in the transition towards the decarbonisation of the transport sector, especially with regard to shipping, HDVs and city buses; |
| --- | --- |

51.

| 52. | Takes note of the limits proposed in the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive with a view to phasing down first generation biofuels by 2030 and achieving long-term decarbonisation of the transport sector; calls on the Commission, in this connection, to distinguish between first-generation biofuels with high GHG efficiency and a low risk of indirect land use change and those which do not meet those criteria, and to take measures as soon as possible to phase out the use of feedstocks, including palm oil, that drive deforestation or the use of peat land, as a component of biofuels; stresses the importance of a stable and predictable legislative environment that takes due consideration of investment cycles to attract necessary investments in advanced biofuels; takes note of the potential climate benefits of EU agricultural production based on biofuels with high GHG efficiency and a low risk of indirect land use change, especially with regard to emissions from large-scale animal protein imports from non-EU countries; |
| --- | --- |

52.

| 53. | Encourages the Commission to develop objective criteria for the recognition of advanced biofuels in order to stimulate innovation and market uptake; |
| --- | --- |

53.

| 54. | Stresses the importance of achieving the long-term decarbonisation of the transport sector, and invites the Commission to encourage the greater market penetration of advanced biofuels with high GHG efficiency, which comply with the waste hierarchy as part of the circular economy and which respect strong environmental and social sustainability criteria, in order to further reduce fossil fuel use and GHG emissions; welcomes the Commission’s proposal to strengthen the GHG savings requirements for biofuels so as to ensure that they continue to deliver on the EU climate goals; stresses the importance of robust and credible accounting concerning emissions and removals deriving from bioenergy under the proposed Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation (COM(2016)0479); |
| --- | --- |

54.

| 55. | Stresses that only crop-based biofuels that comply with sustainability criteria should count towards Member States’ climate targets under the proposed Effort Sharing Regulation (COM(2016)0482); |
| --- | --- |

55.

| 56. | Calls on the Commission to follow closely the development of hydrogen technology from renewable energy sources and to commit to a feasibility study on the role and possibilities of hydrogen in the European transport system; |
| --- | --- |

56.

| 57. | Stresses that synthetic fuels (liquid and gaseous) derived from surplus renewable energies, in particular solar- and wind-energy at peak production that would otherwise be wasted, could contribute to reducing the GHG emissions of the existing fleets from a life-cycle perspective, while also increasing renewable energy yield; |
| --- | --- |

57.

| 58. | Calls on the Commission and Member States, in the context of the circular economy, emissions and climate policy, and the Union’s renewable energy targets, to increase and fully support the production of green biogas through manure processing; |
| --- | --- |

58.

| 59. | Welcomes the fact that EU businesses are currently world leaders in synthetic fuel technologies, and sees this as an opportunity to strengthen economic growth and high-quality employment in the EU; stresses, therefore, the importance of creating a framework that encourages the further development and roll-out of such technologies; |
| --- | --- |

59.

| 60. | Considers that the promotion of Guarantees of Origin could lead to an important increase in the share of renewable energy in the transport sector; |
| --- | --- |

60.

| 61. | Notes that the EU approach to sustainable energy should be technology-neutral and that the goals of EU sustainability policies should be focused on reducing climate- and health-damaging emissions; |
| --- | --- |

61.

| 62. | Asks the Commission to make full use of the potential of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) as regards conducting research into clean energy for transport; |
| --- | --- |

62.

| 63. | Welcomes the support existing under Horizon 2020 for research, development and innovation in the field of clean transport and sustainable energy, and asks for this support to be pursued in the next MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework); |
| --- | --- |

63.

| 64. | Underlines the importance of R&D for tackling technological challenges regarding low-emission mobility; urges the Commission to continue its strong support for research programmes such as Clean Sky and SESAR (the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research); |
| --- | --- |

64.

Transport infrastructure and investment

| 65. | Urges the Commission and the Member States to intensify EU cofinancing of transport projects that contribute to climate action and air quality and the minimisation of other external costs, in the framework of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and the TEN-T; |
| --- | --- |

65.

| 66. | Considers that Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) projects are key for the European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility, and regrets that the CEF budget was used to feed EFSI; asks, therefore, for the CEF budget to be restored, and reiterates that EFSI II should be financed from other sources; considers furthermore that the financing of CEF-eligible projects by EFSI should be avoided; |
| --- | --- |

66.

| 67. | Highlights the importance of a successful use of EFSI or of combining EFSI with the ESIFs; considers that Member States should invest more in their railway system and make efforts to increase the absorption rates of cohesion funding for rail projects; |
| --- | --- |

67.

| 68. | Points to the importance of maintaining the infrastructure network in good condition and with high levels of quality, since this facilitates traffic flow and also makes it possible to reduce congestion and hence levels of CO2 and other pollutant emissions; |
| --- | --- |

68.

| 69. | Urges the Commission to make more funds available for cities to bid jointly for infrastructure or technologies that would contribute to decarbonising urban transport and reducing air pollution from road vehicles: notes that this would include, but not be limited to, public recharging stations for electric vehicles, car and bicycle sharing systems, and the development of public transport; |
| --- | --- |

69.

| 70. | Stresses the importance of financial support measures for innovation in the sector and preservation of the environment during infrastructure work; |
| --- | --- |

70.

Empowering citizens and decision-makers towards behavioural change

| 71. | Encourages cities to include GHG reduction targets and clean air strategies in their mobility plans (e.g. the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs)), and calls on the Commission to prioritise EU cofinancing of urban mobility projects which contribute to achieving such targets, including through support of innovations that enable cities in this respect; |
| --- | --- |

71.

| 72. | Takes the view that one of the most efficient ways of reducing emissions and improving transport efficiency is to promote collective public transport; considers it important to boost the role of public transport services; calls further on the Commission and Member States to promote and incentivise the purchase of cleaner, less polluting vehicles by both public authorities and private fleets; |
| --- | --- |

72.

| 73. | Stresses the opportunities offered by Green Public Procurement for more sustainable transport, in particular for (sub)urban buses; |
| --- | --- |

73.

| 74. | Calls on the Commission to strengthen the networks of front-runners among cities which prioritise sustainable mobility, including walking, cycling, enhancing public transport, car-pooling and car-sharing, in their city planning, and to enable local, regional and national authorities to share best practices in terms of both GHG emission reductions and clean air strategies in this respect; calls on the Commission also to encourage local, regional and national authorities to fully integrate the needs and procedures of transport, housing and land-use planning in order to better achieve the climate policy goals; |
| --- | --- |

74.

| 75. | Calls on the Commission and the Member States, taking into account the failure of European standards for light-duty vehicles to reflect real-world emissions, to examine the benefits of introducing a label or standard for Ultra Low-Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) that would meet emission limit values in real driving conditions; |
| --- | --- |

75.

| 76. | Considers that more attention must be paid to increasing the integration and attractiveness of non-motorised forms of transport, since this would comprehensively reduce the attractiveness of private forms of transport; |
| --- | --- |

76.

| 77. | Calls on the Commission to include the transport needs of citizens in rural and remote areas in its strategies for low-emission mobility; |
| --- | --- |

77.

| 78. | Encourages all public entities to incorporate sustainability criteria into public procurement; |
| --- | --- |

78.

| 79. | Supports the Commission, the Member States and the regions in investing more in the combination and integration of the EuroVelo Cycling Network with the TEN-T rail networks; |
| --- | --- |

79.

| 80. | Stresses that a proposal for the revision of the General Safety Regulation is overdue, and calls on the Commission to publish such a proposal by the end of 2017; considers that the technology for ‘intelligent speed adaption’ is mature and can save many lives, and should therefore be introduced for all vehicles without further delay; underlines that ‘direct vision’ for lorries is a very effective solution for avoiding accidents with vulnerable road users, and that mandatory standards in this regard should be part of the proposal; |
| --- | --- |

80.

Sector-specific demands

Motorcycles, cars and vans

| 81. | Calls on the Commission to come forward with a proposal for 2025 standards for cars and vans in line with the position expressed by Parliament in the procedures concerning two legislative acts in 2013 (31), and confirmed in the associated Commission statements on the 2025 target (32); stresses that these average fleet standards should be calculated on the basis of the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), and should reflect the long-term emissions reduction trajectory set out in the EU 2030 climate and energy framework and the long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement; |
| --- | --- |

81.

| 82. | Welcomes the introduction of the new WLTP; stresses, however, that in the light of the fact that research shows that the new WLTP laboratory test cycle will still diverge by around 20 % from real-world emissions and will remain open to test optimisation and manipulation, a targeted ex-post real driving emissions (RDE) methodology for CO2 emissions should be developed to complement the WLTP; notes that this methodology could be based on measuring devices already present in vehicles, for example fuel consumption meters (FCM); notes in addition that, to that end and with a view to obtaining reliable data, a standard approach to collecting, storing, using and communicating fuel consumption values should be developed, making maximum use of sensors already present in cars while fully respecting privacy rules; calls on the Commission to consider additional solutions to curb CO2 emissions from the transport sector, and in particular to take greater account of the contribution of lightweighting to directly reducing CO2 emissions from vehicles; |
| --- | --- |

82.

| 83. | Recalls that, in order for RDE tests to be effective in reducing discrepancies between the emissions measured in the laboratory and on the road, the specifications of the test and evaluation procedures should be set out very carefully and should cover a wide range of driving conditions, including the different temperatures, engine loads, vehicle speeds, altitudes, types of road and other parameters experienced when driving in the Union; |
| --- | --- |

83.

| 84. | Calls for the swift adoption of a harmonised, mandatory and transparent EU labelling system, which would provide consumers with accurate, robust and comparable data on the fuel consumption, life cycle, CO2 emissions and air pollutant emissions of cars placed on the market; calls for the revision of the Car Labelling Directive (Directive 1999/94/EC), which could be amended to include a mandatory requirement to provide information on other air pollutant emissions, such as NOx and particulate matter; |
| --- | --- |

84.

| 85. | Calls on the Commission to review the Clean Power for Transport Directive (Directive 2014/94/EU) and to come forward with a proposal for a regulation on CO2 standards for car fleets entering the market from 2025 onwards, with the aim of phasing out new CO2-emitting cars; |
| --- | --- |

85.

| 86. | Calls on the Commission to introduce a minimum target for the share of zero-emission cars for all manufacturers; |
| --- | --- |

86.

| 87. | Emphasises the benefits for the European economy of an early transition to those vehicles that the life cycle assessment (LCA) findings have found to have the lowest climate impact; stresses that such a transition will ensure that European carmakers remain competitive on the global stage while preserving existing jobs and creating new ones; |
| --- | --- |

87.

| 88. | Hopes that an increasing amount of funding will be allocated to technological research on the production, handling and disposal of the batteries of electric motors, to ensure that they are increasingly eco-friendly; |
| --- | --- |

88.

| 89. | Notes that the Commission has launched a number of infringement procedures against Member States that have breached Directive 2008/50/EC on air quality by continuously exceeding NO2 and PM10 limit values; urges the Commission to exercise its powers of control to prevent the placing on the market of polluting diesel-powered cars that contribute significantly to the release of NO2 and PM10 into the atmosphere and do not comply with the EU rules on the type approval and emissions of passenger and light-duty vehicles; |
| --- | --- |

89.

| 90. | Stresses the need to promote wide SME participation in the manufacture of vehicles and components so as to ensure a level playing field in the transport market and encourage research and innovation; |
| --- | --- |

90.

| 91. | Calls on the Commission to ensure that CO2 regulation post-2020 takes account as far as possible of all technological approaches to reducing CO2 emissions on the roads; notes that regulation should take particular account of the possibilities afforded by the latest alternative fuels (for example, electrofuels, synthetic fuels, power to gas and power to liquid); |
| --- | --- |

91.

Heavy-duty vehicles

| 92. | Notes that HDVs will be responsible for 40 % of total road transport CO2 emissions if no additional measures are taken by 2030; urges the Commission, therefore, to come up with a proposal on the certification, monitoring and reporting of HDVs by the end of 2017, as well as with ambitious 2025 CO2 standards by 2018, based on the best available data; welcomes the Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO) freight efficiency simulator, and stresses the need to continue ensuring access to transparent, realistic and up-to-date monitoring data; |
| --- | --- |

92.

| 93. | Calls on the Commission to start developing a European Low Carbon Trucking Strategy on the basis of a comparative study, in order to facilitate the market uptake of energy-efficient and zero emission buses and trucks; points out that there are already Member State initiatives looking at zero emission road freight; |
| --- | --- |

93.

| 94. | Considers that the growing use of clean engines for heavy duty vehicles, for instance electric or LNG powered, should be supported, and that this requires important and strategic infrastructure investments; |
| --- | --- |

94.

| 95. | Calls on the Commission to establish, and allow Member States to introduce, incentives for the transit of low or zero emission vehicles and priority for their movement throughout the TEN-T networks; |
| --- | --- |

95.

| 96. | Underlines that low and zero emission city buses could help to significantly reduce pollutant emissions in urban areas; calls, therefore, for the introduction of zero emission city buses through the insertion of European green public procurement criteria in the Clean Vehicles Directive (Directive 2009/33/EC), currently under revision; calls on the Commission and the Member States to facilitate and promote the use of available EU funds, such as the ESIFs, to support the corresponding measures; |
| --- | --- |

96.

| 97. | Stresses that it is important to create the right conditions to stimulate low emission alternative energy for transport, and notes that this can be facilitated by ensuring that industry has a clear and long-term framework on which to base investment concerning the decarbonisation of fuels and other new technologies; calls on the Commission to consider undertaking a feasibility study on the potential solutions on offer, on which a low carbon strategy for road freight transport can be based; |
| --- | --- |

97.

| 98. | Supports the Commission’s plan for a Clean Bus Platform bringing together bus operators, local authorities, bus manufacturers and energy supplies in order to encourage the rapid take-up of cleaner vehicles, and calls on the Commission to promote the bus as an environmentally sustainable form of public transport; |
| --- | --- |

98.

| 99. | Notes that there are many new technologies, and innovations based on existing technologies, that can have significant environmental benefits, such as better tyres, improved lubricants, more efficient transmission and hybrid engines, and that Europe should look to be a technological leader in this regard; calls on the Commission to investigate the role of such technologies in improving both efficiency and environmental performance; |
| --- | --- |

99.

| 100. | Stresses the importance of improving air quality in the EU and adhering to the EU ambient air quality limits, as well as to the WHO recommended levels; calls on the Commission, in this connection, to review the emissions limits set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information, and to come forward with proposals, as appropriate, for new technology-neutral Euro 7 emission limits applicable by 2025 for all light-duty vehicles covered by this Regulation; |
| --- | --- |

100.

| 101. | Underlines the fact that emission reduction and air-quality targets necessitate measures that concern older vehicles, too, and recalls, in this regard, that retrofitting is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce emissions and pollutants from older fleets, since the systematic implementation of advanced diesel exhaust after-treatment systems enables older heavy-duty vehicles, such as buses and trucks, to operate in an environment-friendly manner, meeting even the strictest emission requirements and achieving maximum NOx, NO2 and PM reductions; calls on the Commission, therefore, to come up with common EU guidelines to encourage the Member States to fully deploy possible retrofitting solutions, and also to ensure eligibility for funding in the context of EU financial instruments for the decarbonisation of the transport system; |
| --- | --- |

101.

Type approval and market surveillance

| 102. | Calls for a more comprehensive and coordinated type approval and market surveillance system at EU level, involving strong and reliable EU oversight and a system of controls, in order to address the failures and legal loopholes identified in the aftermath of ‘Dieselgate’; stresses the importance of the swift adoption of the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers (COM(2016)0031), and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles; recalls in this connection Parliament’s negotiating mandate adopted on 4 April 2017; confirms that the future adoption of the aforementioned regulation should ensure a consistent and more transparent level playing field for all stakeholders in the vehicle sectors, establish effective rules to protect consumers, and ensure the full implementation of the new type approval and market surveillance framework; |
| --- | --- |

102.

| 103. | Welcomes the guidance on the evaluation of auxiliary emission strategies and the presence of defeat devices, published by the Commission on 26 January 2017 with a view to supporting Member States and the competent authorities in detecting defeat devices; |
| --- | --- |

103.

| 104. | Regrets the adoption of high conformity factors for NOx emissions which act as a loophole enabling excessive emissions, including from cars post-2020; urges the Commission to review the conformity factor for real driving emissions (RDE) tests of NOx emissions in 2017, as set out in the second RDE package, and to continue to revise it annually in line with technological developments, so as to bring it down to 1 by 2021 at the latest; |
| --- | --- |

104.

| 105. | Calls for the swift adoption of the fourth RDE package to complete the regulatory framework for the new type approval procedure, and for the swift application of this framework; |
| --- | --- |

105.

Railways

| 106. | Supports strongly the new Commission calls for proposals on missing cross-border rail links at regional level, and welcomes the perspective of minimising or reducing the climate impact; calls on the Commission to continue taking these projects into account, and to issue calls for applications within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility, as well as in the framework of amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight, so as to better take into account the real effectiveness of the different types of rail transport in terms of their impact on energy efficiency in the transport sector; |
| --- | --- |

106.

| 107. | Endorses the priority given by the Commission to investments in rail infrastructure, in particular regarding missing links and cross-border connections; recalls in this context that for freight transport in particular, rail is an efficient and sustainable mass transport system; |
| --- | --- |

107.

| 108. | Supports achieving the transition from road transport to rail transport (Shift2Rail) by increasing the interoperability of the various transport modes; |
| --- | --- |

108.

| 109. | Urges ambitious proposals for the Combined Transport Directive that better promote efficient freight transport and encourage a modal shift towards rail and inland waterways, in order to reach the 2030 and 2050 modal shift targets laid down in the ‘Ten goals for a competitive and resource-efficient transport system’ of the 2011 Transport White Paper; |
| --- | --- |

109.

| 110. | Calls on the Member States, the Commission and rail stakeholders to take all necessary actions for the implementation of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking, in order to accelerate the integration of advanced technologies into innovative rail product solutions, increase the attractiveness of rail transport, and bolster the position of the European rail industry; |
| --- | --- |

110.

| 111. | Calls on the Member States, without delay, to thoroughly and effectively implement Directive 2012/34/EU, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/909 and the 4th Railway Package, in order to ensure the competitive setting of Track Access Charges enabling fair cross-modal competition; |
| --- | --- |

111.

| 112. | Calls on the Commission to examine the disadvantages of passenger rail transport (e.g. those related to taxation, track charging and direct and indirect subsidies) compared to other modes of transport, and to establish a level playing field; |
| --- | --- |

112.

| 113. | Reiterates the importance of interoperability and coordination with the other transport modes, of improved reliability and noise reduction, and of seamless multimodal transport; |
| --- | --- |

113.

| 114. | Stresses the need for a full, effective and uniform implementation of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight that will benefit both freight and the industry; |
| --- | --- |

114.

Aviation

| 115. | Asks the Commission to improve aviation efficiency, inter alia by ensuring the speedy implementation by Member States of the Single European Sky, actively participating in the work of ICAO in order to secure ambitious international CO2 standards, and providing appropriate funding for the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) Joint Undertaking and the Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiatives; |
| --- | --- |

115.

| 116. | Recalls that airspace is also part of the EU single market, and that any fragmentation resulting from its inefficient use or from diverging national practices (concerning, for instance, operational procedures, taxes, levies, etc.), causes longer flight times, delays, extra fuel burn, and higher levels of CO2 emissions, in addition to negatively impacting the rest of the market and hampering the EU's competitiveness; |
| --- | --- |

116.

| 117. | Stresses that the aviation sector should adequately, fairly and effectively contribute to the achievement of the 2030 climate targets and the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and therefore to the Climate Action Sustainable Development Goal (SDG); |
| --- | --- |

117.

| 118. | Notes the decision of the 39th Session of the ICAO Assembly to develop a global market-based measure (MBM) scheme for international aviation; calls on the Commission to assess the decision, including the voluntary commitments and reservations made by states, and to monitor progress towards the implementation, both international and domestic, of the decision in the 67 states that intend to voluntarily participate in the global MBM; calls on the Commission to carry out an assessment in a timely manner of the suitability of the provisions of the scheme, which provides for carbon-neutral growth, in order to curb the rise in emissions in the aviation sector in accordance with the Paris objectives; notes that a review of the ICAO scheme is envisaged every three years, which should allow scope for it to be made more ambitious and robust; |
| --- | --- |

118.

| 119. | Takes note of the Commission proposal of 3 February 2017 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global marked-based measure from 2021 (COM(2017)0054), which proposes continuing with the limited geographical scope of the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) for aviation; calls on the Commission to carry out a further assessment and review of the EU ETS for the period post-2020 once there is more clarity as to the implementation of the global MBM; |
| --- | --- |

119.

| 120. | Stresses the importance of providing incentives to use the best and shortest flight routes in order to save on fuel and reduce harmful emissions, as compared to longer routes chosen to avoid airspaces, which involve higher costs; |
| --- | --- |

120.

| 121. | Stresses the importance of continuing to boost research in this area in order to step up investment in technologies for the development of sustainable aviation by promoting the design of lighter aircraft, the use of digital and satellite technology to support a more efficient management of flight routes, and the production and use of alternative new-generation fuels, especially given that in this sector there are not many alternatives to traditional liquid fuels, including through the development of public-private partnerships; |
| --- | --- |

121.

| 122. | Calls on the Commission to look for new ways of supporting the deployment of renewable aviation fuels in order to reduce GHG emissions in aviation; |
| --- | --- |

122.

| 123. | Invites the Member States and the aeronautic industry to encourage the development of further measures to promote smart initiatives aiming at reducing emissions in the aviation sector, from, to and within airports; |
| --- | --- |

123.

Maritime transport

| 124. | Notes that efforts are being made at the level of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to limit international maritime emissions, and therefore encourages the IMO to adopt clear GHG emission reduction targets and measures without delay; stresses, however, that in the absence of a comparable system operating under the IMO, CO2 emissions emitted at Union ports and during voyages to and from Union ports should be subject to the EU ETS as of 2023; urges the Commission to establish the conditions for the promotion of the use of alternative fuels such as natural gas, LPG and hydrogen, and to promote the integration of renewable technologies (for example, sails, batteries, solar panels and wind generators) in the maritime sector; stresses in this connection that financial instruments must be considered at Member State and EU level in order to speed up investment in green fleets; |
| --- | --- |

124.

| 125. | Stresses that, in order to ensure an effective global reduction of GHG emissions from international shipping in line with meeting the target of ‘well below 2 degrees’ of the COP21 Paris Climate Agreement, as well as addressing current market barriers to ship design and operational efficiency, the EU Monitoring, Reporting, Verification (MRV) system should be consistently amended so as to align its system with the IMO’s recently adopted Data Collection System (DCS), while preserving transparency, verification and real transport work data collection; |
| --- | --- |

125.

| 126. | Underlines the importance of fully transposing and implementing the deployment of the alternative fuels infrastructure Directive (Directive 2014/94/EU), including the establishment of LNG refuelling points across the TEN-T corridors and at maritime ports; believes that the wider use of LNG in freight transport could contribute to low-emission mobility, having regard to the international long-term climate and energy targets; |
| --- | --- |

126.

| 127. | Considers it necessary to create a European Black Sea macro-region, in order to ensure that the opportunities resulting from cross-border cooperation in this region can be fulfilled; |
| --- | --- |

127.

| 128. | Underlines that innovative financing solutions and the use of the EU investment support facilities available from the European Investment Bank (EIB) should provide useful tools to help shipowners shoulder and/or cover the initial cost of actions to reduce GHG; |
| --- | --- |

128.

| 129. | Welcomes the recent adoption by the IMO of a 0,5 % global sulphur limit, which is expected to prevent 250 000 premature deaths globally; |
| --- | --- |

129.

| 130. | Supports the introduction of more sulphur emission and NOx emission control areas across Europe; |
| --- | --- |

130.

| 131. | Recalls that reducing black carbon emissions from maritime transport, especially in the Arctic region, is essential to reducing global warming; |
| --- | --- |

131.

| 132. | Underscores the important role that combined transport can play in reducing emissions; notes the Commission’s proposals for the modernisation of the Combined Transport Directive (COM(2017)0648), which should incentivise a shift towards transporting freight by rail and inland waterways; |
| --- | --- |

132.

Inland waterways

| 133. | Believes that additional measures are necessary to guarantee a climate-friendly and efficient inland waterway transport sector; reiterates the importance of financial support measures for innovation in the sector to increase the energy efficiency of ships and preserve the environment during infrastructure works; |
| --- | --- |

133.

| 134. | Asks the Commission to come forward in 2018 with a review of the Directive on River Information Services (RIS) (33), with a view to promoting the use of RIS for reducing inland waterways emissions, and to set an EU-wide legal basis for cross-border data exchange, enabling the comprehensive implementation of cross-border RIS and digital integration with other modes of transport; |
| --- | --- |

134.

| 135. | Stresses that inland waterway transport in Europe should be encouraged and exploited, and calls on the Commission to allocate funding for the cleaning of sunken vessels, given the high cost of such operations, along with the prospect of regional development and the expansion of inland waterway shipping and transport operations in the internal market; |
| --- | --- |

135.

| 136. | Encourages the Commission and the Member States to come forward with measures on the use of wind and solar energy as well as on greening the engines and fuel of inland vessels, through, inter alia, pointing to good practice on the part of front-runners and supporting the financing of clean inland waterways via the existing scrapping fund and EFSI/EIB tools; |
| --- | --- |

136.

| 137. | Stresses that, looking at the actual market needs, strong support is needed at EU, national and regional levels in order to ensure that a sufficient number of inland ports of the TEN-T core network are equipped with alternative energy infrastructure and publicly accessible refuelling and storage points for inland waterway transport within adequate distances; |
| --- | --- |

137.

o

o o

| 138. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission. |
| --- | --- |

138.

---

(1)  OJ C 316, 22.9.2017, p. 155.

(2)  OJ L 120, 15.5.2009, p. 5.

(3)  OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(4)  OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 1.

(5)  OJ L 145, 31.5.2011, p. 1.

(6)  OJ L 12, 18.1.2000, p. 16.

(7)  OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 1.

(8)  OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 55.

(9)  OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32.

(10)  OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 16.

(11)  OJ L 350, 28.12.1998, p. 58.

(12)  OJ L 239, 15.9.2015, p. 1.

(13)  OJ L 142, 5.6.1999, p. 26.

(14)  OJ L 166, 30.4.2004, p. 124.

(15)  OJ L 268, 13.10.2009, p. 11.

(16)  OJ L 276, 20.10.2010, p. 22.

(17)  OJ L 368, 17.12.1992, p. 38.

(18)  OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 88.

(19)  OJ L 307, 28.10.2014, p. 1.

(20)  OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 81.

(21)  OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 11.

(22)  OJ L 280, 27.10.2009, p. 52.

(23)  OJ C 399, 24.11.2017, p. 10.

(24)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0292.

(25)  OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 1.

(26)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0100.

(27)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0097.

(28)  https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer-2015/europe/air

(29)  https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2015/download

(30)  European Parliament resolution of 25 October 2016 on EU strategy for liquefied natural gas and gas storage (Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0406).

(31)  OJ L 103, 5.4.2014, p. 15; OJ L 84, 20.3.2014, p. 38.

(32)  See Council documents 5584/14 and 6642/14.

(33)  Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on harmonised river information services (RIS) on inland waterways in the Community (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 152).

---

RECOMMENDATIONS

European Parliament

Wednesday 13 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/132 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/132

---

P8_TA(2017)0491

Recommendation following the inquiry on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion

European Parliament recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (2016/3044(RSP))

(2018/C 369/16)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to Articles 116 and 226 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 116 and 226 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

| — | having regard to Decision 95/167/EC, Euratom, ECSC of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 19 April 1995 on the detailed provisions governing the exercise of the European Parliament’s right of inquiry (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Decision 95/167/EC, Euratom, ECSC of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 19 April 1995 on the detailed provisions governing the exercise of the European Parliament’s right of inquiry (1),

| — | having regard to its decision of 8 June 2016 on setting up a Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion, its powers, numerical strength and term of office (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its decision of 8 June 2016 on setting up a Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion, its powers, numerical strength and term of office (2),

| — | having regard to its resolutions of 25 November 2015 (3) and of 6 July 2016 (4) on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolutions of 25 November 2015 (3) and of 6 July 2016 (4) on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect,

| — | having regard to its resolution of 16 December 2015 with recommendations to the Commission on bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the Union (5), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its resolution of 16 December 2015 with recommendations to the Commission on bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the Union (5),

| — | having regard to the Commission report of 26 June 2017 on the assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities (COM(2017)0340), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission report of 26 June 2017 on the assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities (COM(2017)0340),

| — | having regard to the Platform of the Financial Intelligence Units of the European Union (EU FIUs’ Platform) mapping exercise and gap analysis on EU FIUs’ powers and obstacles in obtaining and exchanging information, of 15 December 2016, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Platform of the Financial Intelligence Units of the European Union (EU FIUs’ Platform) mapping exercise and gap analysis on EU FIUs’ powers and obstacles in obtaining and exchanging information, of 15 December 2016,

| — | having regard to the draft recommendation of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft recommendation of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion,

| — | having regard to the final report of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (A8-0357/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the final report of the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (A8-0357/2017),

| — | having regard to Rule 198(12) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 198(12) of its Rules of Procedure,

1.   
  General

| 1. | Notes with concern that the Panama Papers have shaken citizens’ trust in our financial and tax systems; stresses how crucial it is to restore public confidence and ensure fair and transparent tax systems and tax and social justice; calls, to this end, for the European Union and its Member States to properly implement and reinforce their legal tools to shift from secrecy to transparency, mutual cooperation and exchange of information, and to counter money laundering more effectively, and for Member States to simplify their tax systems, in order to ensure fairer taxation and to invest in the real economy; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Emphasises the urgent need to redefine the European taxation model in order to limit unfair competition between the Member States; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Deplores the number of cases of maladministration that Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion has uncovered in relation to the implementation of EU legislation, and underlines its serious concerns about breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive III (AMLD III) (6) related to cooperation by Financial Intelligence Units’ (FIUs); urges both the Commission and the Member States to step up their efforts, commitments, cooperation, and investments in financial and human resources to improve supervision and enforcement, not only with a view to preventing and fighting against illegal practices, such as money laundering, tax evasion and tax fraud, more effectively, but also in order to prevent and combat tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning, which may be legal, but are contrary to the spirit of the law; recalls the principle of predictability of charges being brought; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that any breach of law is duly punished; insists on the cost-effectiveness of efforts to this effect; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Calls on the Member States to take action on reported cases of money laundering and suspicious transaction reports with a view to conducting proper investigations as soon as the authorities are made aware of the information; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Recalls the EU framework for suspicious transaction reports, and stresses the need for closer international cooperation among EU and non-EU Financial Intelligence Units; also requests greater investigatory powers for European bodies, in particular Europol and Eurojust, in cases of money laundering; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Recalls that the proper verification of ultimate beneficial owners is essential to avoid shell companies being used to launder money (as was shown by the Azerbaijan Laundromat case); also calls for effective implementation and enforcement of the European anti-money laundering directive; |
| --- | --- |

6.

| 7. | Calls on the Member States to refrain from pursuing supply-side aggressive tax planning through the advertising and offering of tax rulings and advantages or ad hoc rules; |
| --- | --- |

7.

| 8. | Calls on all jurisdictions which have transposed or will transpose the OECD’s anti-BEPS recommendations into national law to comply not only with the letter but also with the spirit of the recommendations; recalls that transparency is an important instrument for tackling tax evasion, and in particular aggressive tax planning; |
| --- | --- |

8.

| 9. | Considers it regrettable that many loopholes still exist in the current legislation on tax evasion and anti-money laundering at both EU and national level, and considers that thorough implementation and further strengthening of the existing legislation is urgently needed; welcomes the increased efforts and progress made since the publication of the Panama Papers in putting forward new legislative proposals aimed at introducing inclusive strategies, but regrets the lack of political will among some Member States to make progress with reforms and enforcement that would bring effective change; |
| --- | --- |

9.

| 10. | Considers it regrettable that tax policy issues at Council level are often blocked by individual Member States; reiterates warnings made by the TAXE1 Committee according to which granting each Member State a veto right in tax matters means that the unanimity rule within the Council reduces the incentive to move from the status quo towards a more cooperative solution; reiterates its call on the Commission to use the procedure laid down in Article 116 TFEU which makes it possible to change the unanimity requirement in cases where the Commission finds that a difference between the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States is distorting the conditions of competition in the internal market; |
| --- | --- |

10.

| 11. | Notes that tax avoidance, tax evasion and money laundering continue to be global phenomena and therefore require a comprehensive, clear and coherent response based on mutual support and increased cooperation at EU and global level; urges the Commission to take a leading role in the global fight against tax avoidance, tax evasion and money laundering; |
| --- | --- |

11.

| 12. | Notes with concern the lack of ambitious and concrete measures to fight against tax havens; draws attention, in this connection, to the fact that increasing transparency alone will not be sufficient to deal with this problem; stresses, therefore, that it is a matter of urgency to push for international cooperation and a multilateral approach in which developed and developing countries must be involved; |
| --- | --- |

12.

| 13. | Calls on the Member States and the EU institutions to support and promote an intergovernmental summit at UN level with a view to defining a road map and Joint Action Plan to put an end to tax havens; |
| --- | --- |

13.

| 14. | Stresses that it is necessary to define a concept of digital business establishments in order to take the digitalisation of the business environment fully into account and ensure that companies which raise revenues in one Member State without having a physical establishment in that Member State are treated the same way as companies with a physical business establishment; calls on the Commission, therefore, to include digital businesses in all European anti-tax avoidance and tax-related measures; |
| --- | --- |

14.

| 15. | Calls on the Commission and the Member States to be proactive and not wait for media revelations before addressing these issues as a matter of priority; recalls that transparency cannot be merely sectoral; |
| --- | --- |

15.

| 16. | Stresses that there is a need to be vigilant to ensure that Brexit would neither favour tax competition between the 27 remaining Member States to attract certain industries and services currently located in the United Kingdom, nor lead to a relaxation of efforts in fighting tax evasion on the UK’s side, including its overseas and related territories; draws the Commission’s attention to the fact that this dimension should be duly taken into account during the second phase of Brexit while negotiating any partnership or trade agreement with the United Kingdom; |
| --- | --- |

16.

| 17. | Deplores the decision by the Commission to end its commitment to a biennial anti-corruption report on all Member States; notes that anti-corruption monitoring by the Commission will be pursued through the European Semester process; takes the view that anti-corruption might be overshadowed by other economic and financial matters in this process; calls on the Commission to lead by example, resuming the publication of the report and committing to a much more credible and comprehensive anti-corruption strategy; |
| --- | --- |

17.

| 18. | Calls on the Commission and the Member States to carry out an impact assessment on the possibility of obligatory registration or prohibition of ownership, including beneficial ownership, of financial accounts and of shell companies by EU nationals and by EU companies in countries included in the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and the EU list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes, in order to prevent tax evasion and tax fraud; |
| --- | --- |

18.

2.   
  Tax evasion and tax avoidance

2.1.   Offshore structures

| 19. | Stresses the urgent need for a common international definition of what constitutes an offshore financial centre (OFC), a tax haven, a secrecy jurisdiction, a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction and a high-risk country in terms of money laundering; calls for these definitions to be internationally agreed without prejudice to the immediate publication of the EU common blacklist; stresses that these definitions presuppose the establishment of clear and objective criteria; |
| --- | --- |

19.

| 20. | Reminds Member States of the importance of the GAAR principle in tax policy, and encourages tax authorities to use this principle consistently in order to avoid structures being created for tax fraud and tax evasion; |
| --- | --- |

20.

| 21. | Believes, in seeking to promote greater international cooperation, that it is also crucial to retain the legal objectivity of these definitions and their enforcement, since some jurisdictions could sign up to internationally agreed standards without applying them in practice; stresses that these definitions should not be subject to political bias, and should motivate listed jurisdictions to adopt measures leading to their removal from the list; |
| --- | --- |

21.

| 22. | Recalls that formal commitment to internationally agreed standards is the first step, but that only the proper implementation of these standards and real and genuine effort will mitigate risk factors and lead to a successful fight against money laundering, tax fraud and tax evasion; |
| --- | --- |

22.

| 23. | Recalls that free zones and freeports must not be abused with the aim of achieving the same effects as tax havens or of circumventing international transparency rules in order to launder money; calls on the Commission to tackle the issue of freeports in the European Union; |
| --- | --- |

23.

| 24. | Calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal to ensure that offshore structures with beneficial owner(s) in the Member States are subject to similar auditing and account disclosure requirements as apply in the European jurisdiction where the beneficial owner is located; |
| --- | --- |

24.

| 25. | Considers that the EU should make it illegal to maintain commercial relations with legal structures established in tax havens if the ultimate beneficiary cannot be identified; |
| --- | --- |

25.

| 26. | Calls on the Commission to publish an annual public report on the use of EU funds as well as European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) money transfers to offshore structures, including the number and nature of projects blocked, explanatory comments on the rationale for blocking projects and follow-up actions taken to ensure that no EU funds directly or indirectly contribute to tax avoidance and tax fraud; |
| --- | --- |

26.

2.1.1.   A common EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions

| 27. | Welcomes the leading role of the Commission in drawing up criteria for a common EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions; regrets the excessive amount of time taken up by this process; calls on the Council not to dilute, but rather to increase the level of ambition in relation to the criteria of the aforementioned list; insists that all of the criteria proposed by the Commission be taken into consideration including, but not limited to, the absence of corporate tax or a close-to-zero corporate tax rate, and stresses their importance for the list to be effective and non-arbitrary; considers that the transparency criteria should be fully applied and that the criteria should also adequately take into consideration implementation and enforcement; calls on the Council, in order for this list to be effective and credible, to put in place strong, proportionate and deterrent common sanctions against listed countries, and underlines that the assessments of individual countries should be carried out in a transparent manner; calls on the Council and the Commission to put in place a transparent and objective review mechanism, including the involvement of Parliament, to update the list in the future; recalls that the goal of such a list is to change the behaviour of such a jurisdiction with respect to money laundering and the facilitation of tax fraud; |
| --- | --- |

27.

| 28. | Regrets that the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions approved and published by the Council focuses only on jurisdictions outside the EU, omitting countries within the EU that have played a systematic role in promoting and enabling harmful tax practices and that do not meet the fair taxation criterion; emphasises that at least four Member States would be included on the list if screened according to the same EU criteria, as demonstrated in a simulation carried out by Oxfam; is concerned that the a priori exclusion of EU countries from scrutiny affects the legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness of the entire process; |
| --- | --- |

28.

| 29. | Takes the view that once the EU list, of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions is in place, the Commission should propose accompanying legislation determining harmonised obligations for the tax authorities in every Member State to annually disclose data containing the total value and destination of the money transfers from each Member State to each jurisdiction on the list; |
| --- | --- |

29.

| 30. | Calls for sanctions also to be applied to companies, banks, accountancy and law firms, and tax advisers proven to have been involved in illegal, harmful or wrongful activities with non-cooperative jurisdictions or proven to have facilitated illegal, harmful or wrongful corporate tax arrangements involving legal vehicles in those jurisdictions; |
| --- | --- |

30.

| 31. | Regrets that several EU citizens, entities and politically exposed persons (PEPs) featured in the Panama Papers; encourages the Member States to clarify whether such mentions have been duly investigated and, if so, whether they constituted breaches of national law; underlines that, unfortunately, along similar lines, many citizens, entities, and PEPs, when they were requested to cooperate with this Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion, refused to provide information that would have been useful in terms of the committee’s objectives; |
| --- | --- |

31.

| 32. | Notes that, according to the most recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data on foreign direct investment, Luxembourg and the Netherlands combined have more inward investment than the US, the vast majority of which is in special-purpose entities with no substantial economic activity, and Ireland has more inward investment than either Germany or France; points out that, according to its National Statistics Office, foreign investment in Malta amounts to 1 474 % of the size of its economy; notes that, according to research carried out by the University of Amsterdam, 23 % of all corporate investments that ended up in tax havens passed through the Netherlands; believes that these data are a clear indication that some Member States are facilitating excessive profit-shifting activities at the expense of other Member States; |
| --- | --- |

32.

| 33. | Calls on the Commission to present, by the end of 2018, a report assessing the tax regimes of Member States and their dependent jurisdictions, regions or other administrative structures that facilitate tax evasion and tax fraud and have a potentially harmful impact on the single market; |
| --- | --- |

33.

2.1.2.   An EU anti-money laundering list of high-risk third countries

| 34. | Deplores the fact that that the Commission has to date not carried out its own independent assessment identifying high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies as provided for by the AMLD provisions, but has relied solely on the list produced by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), of which the Commission is a member; deplores the fact that the Commission did not respond satisfactorily to Parliament’s demands in this regard; |
| --- | --- |

34.

| 35. | Urges the Commission to speed up work on its own list and to report to Parliament on the implementation of its roadmap and, in particular, its commitment to increase all the resources needed by the taskforce on preventing financial crimes; |
| --- | --- |

35.

| 36. | Believes that it is of primary importance that the EU goals be more ambitious than those of the FATF on this issue; highlights, in this regard, the need for more investment in human and financial resources or for their allocation to be optimised within the Commission in order to strengthen the screening procedure; |
| --- | --- |

36.

| 37. | Believes that the aim of this list is to encourage a change in behaviour on the part of jurisdictions in relation to money laundering and the financing of terrorism and to discourage other states from implementing similar, potentially harmful policies; |
| --- | --- |

37.

| 38. | Calls on the Commission to be the central institution for both the anti-money laundering list of high-risk third countries and the review of the European list of tax havens to ensure consistency and complementarity; |
| --- | --- |

38.

2.2.   Other tax legislation

| 39. | Welcomes the new legislation adopted in the past two years as a reaction to LuxLeaks; welcomes the EU’s dedication to the OECD BEPS project; calls on the Member States to swiftly transpose EU legislation into their respective legal systems and ensure its enforcement; |
| --- | --- |

39.

| 40. | Calls for ambitious public country-by-country reporting (CbCR) in order to enhance tax transparency and the public scrutiny of multinational enterprises (MNEs) as this would allow the wider public to have access to information about the profits made, subsidies received and the taxes paid by MNEs in the jurisdictions where they operate; urges the Council to reach a common agreement on the proposal to enter into negotiations with the other EU institutions in order to adopt a public CbCR, one of the key measures for achieving greater transparency in relation to companies’ tax information for all citizens; |
| --- | --- |

40.

| 41. | Underscores that public CbCR will allow investors and shareholders to take companies’ tax policies into account when intervening in shareholders’ meetings and taking investment decisions; |
| --- | --- |

41.

| 42. | Recalls that tax information should become an essential component of financial reporting from corporations; |
| --- | --- |

42.

| 43. | Urges the Council to reach a rapid and ambitious agreement on both steps of the common corporate consolidated tax base (CCCTB); recalls that, in addition to cost reductions for both firms and the tax administrations of Member States, it would solve the issue of transfer pricing and ensure fairer competition within the single market; stresses that the harmonisation of tax bases is the best solution with a view to putting an end to tax optimisation and aggressive tax planning by legal means; recalls that a new binding definition of ‘permanent establishment’ is needed to ensure that taxation occurs where economic activity takes place and value is created; stresses that this should be accompanied by minimum binding criteria to determine whether economic activity has sufficient substance to be taxed in a Member State in order to avoid the problem of ‘letterbox companies’, in particular in connection with the challenges posed by the digital economy; |
| --- | --- |

43.

| 44. | Encourages the Commission and the Member States to move towards far more ambitious reforms in the field of taxation; |
| --- | --- |

44.

| 45. | Stresses that, for unitary taxation to work as a means to end profit-shifting, it needs to be global, and that implementing the CCCTB at EU level runs the risk of creating a situation in which current losses from Member States to the rest of world could be locked in, as could the exploitation of the rest of the world by some Member States; notes that an EU-only approach could eliminate the incentives to shift profit within the EU, but open the door to further incentives and opportunities to shift profit out of the EU; |
| --- | --- |

45.

| 46. | Recalls its recommendations to ensure that the automatic exchange of information on tax rulings is extended to all rulings and that the Commission get access to all relevant information, in order to ensure respect for European competition rules (7); |
| --- | --- |

46.

| 47. | Calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal to revise the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC) (8) as soon as possible in order to further enhance tax cooperation between Member States through an obligation to answer group requests on tax matters so that one European country can provide all the information necessary for the others to prosecute cross-border tax evaders; recalls its proposal to amend the DAC to improve Member States’ coordination on tax audits (9); |
| --- | --- |

47.

| 48. | Regrets that under EU state aid rules, unpaid taxes recovered from beneficiaries of illegal tax aid belong to the country that granted the aid, rather than to the countries that have suffered an erosion of their tax bases as a result of distortive tax schemes; calls on the Commission, to this end, to develop appropriate methodologies for quantifying the revenue loss for the Member States affected and adequate recovery procedures for ensuring that unpaid taxes are distributed to the Member States in which the economic activity actually took place; |
| --- | --- |

48.

| 49. | Takes the view that tax reforms must always enable scrutiny on the part of citizens and provide civil society access, information and training to allow them to productively engage in the framing of these policies, which is not current practice; |
| --- | --- |

49.

| 50. | Stresses, in addition, that tax legislation, be it at national or EU level, must be simplified and drafted in such a way as to make it accessible to any citizen in order to avoid the complexity that serves the tax-dodging industry; |
| --- | --- |

50.

| 51. | Calls on the Commission to put forward a revision of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement (10), which includes measures to prevent public administrations from working with companies that use tax havens; |
| --- | --- |

51.

| 52. | Calls on the Commission to initiate a comprehensive evaluation of the 19 years of work of the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation, focusing on the results achieved in the prevention of cross-border harmful corporate tax regimes, in the form of a public report; calls for a reform of the Code of Conduct Group, based on the findings and leading to greater transparency and efficiency in their work, given that the group must play the central role in EU efforts to make improvements in this area; calls for Parliament to acquire powers of scrutiny and accountability over the group; |
| --- | --- |

52.

| 53. | Calls on the Commission to compile a list of the harmful regimes on which the Code of Conduct Group has not been able to agree to take action to date and to publish this list; calls on the Commission to assess, by 2020, the impact of the nexus approach for compliant patent box regimes and to quantify, if possible, their impact on innovation and loss of tax collection; |
| --- | --- |

53.

| 54. | Regrets that several EU Member States featured in the Panama Papers; calls on the Commission, in cooperation with tax authorities, to launch a broad evaluation of potentially harmful tax measures in the Member States that distort competition and of the countermeasures in place, as well as of the spill-over effects of these measures on other jurisdictions; calls for an effective scrutiny mechanism to be established to monitor Member States in respect of the possible new harmful tax measures they might introduce; |
| --- | --- |

54.

| 55. | Calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal to address the issue of cross-border conversions and transfers of seats and to provide clear rules on the transfer of a company’s headquarters within the EU, including rules to counteract letterbox companies; |
| --- | --- |

55.

| 56. | Urges the Commission and all the Member States to ensure an end to the practice of corporate tax inversion, whereby a multinational corporation is acquired by a smaller company located in a tax haven and adopts the latter’s legal domicile, so as to ‘relocate’ its headquarters and reduce the combined firm’s overall tax burden, a process that is followed by ‘earnings stripping’ through tax-deductible payments to the tax haven (in the form of loans, royalties and services, for example) that have as an objective the avoidance of taxes on the domestic profits of that multinational corporation; |
| --- | --- |

56.

| 57. | Underscores the need to provide special attention to harmful tax practices ever more widely used, such the abuse of patent boxes, derivatives, swaps, etc. deployed for the purpose of tax avoidance; |
| --- | --- |

57.

| 58. | Welcomes the Commission’s state aid findings of August 2016 to the effect that Ireland illegally granted EUR 13 billion in undue tax relief to Apple; questions the Irish Government’s decision to appeal against this decision in an attempt to not collect the owed sum; |
| --- | --- |

58.

| 59. | Calls on the Member States to identify and stop all use of any form of tax amnesties that could lead to money laundering and tax evasion or that could prevent national authorities from using the data provided to pursue financial crime investigations; |
| --- | --- |

59.

| 60. | Expresses its concern regarding the United States (US) administration’s intentions to promote tax breaks for large corporations and financial deregulation; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the proposed tax reform in the US known as Blueprint, and the possibility of the implementation in the US of a tax amnesty in order to allow the repatriation of profits by large technological companies at a very low tax rate; |
| --- | --- |

60.

| 61. | Calls on the Member States to reinforce their tax administrations with adequate staffing capacity in order to ensure the effective collection of tax revenues and to address harmful tax practices, given that a lack of resources and staff cuts, in addition to the lack of adequate training, technical tools and investigative powers, have seriously hampered tax administrations in some Member States; |
| --- | --- |

61.

| 62. | Notes one example of a tax avoidance scheme in the EU, the so-called Double Irish structure which will be phased out by 2020; calls on all Member States to monitor their double taxation treaties (DTTs) to ensure that tax avoidance schemes are not exploited through tax mismatches; |
| --- | --- |

62.

| 63. | Deplores the lack of reliable and unbiased statistics on the magnitude of tax avoidance and tax evasion; stresses the importance of developing appropriate and transparent methodologies to quantify the scale of these phenomena, as well as their impact on countries’ public finances, economic activities and public investments; |
| --- | --- |

63.

| 64. | Calls on the Commission to issue guidance to draw a clear distinction between what is illegal and what is legal, even if it runs counter to the spirit of the law, in the framework of tax evasion and tax avoidance practices, in order to ensure legal certainty for all parties concerned; calls on the Member States and third countries to ensure that the fines and pecuniary sanctions imposed on tax evaders and intermediaries are not tax-base deductible; |
| --- | --- |

64.

| 65. | Stresses that pursuing a responsible tax strategy is to be considered a pillar of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and that tax evasion, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning practices are incompatible with CSR; reiterates its call on the Commission to include this element in an updated EU strategy on CSR; |
| --- | --- |

65.

| 66. | Calls on companies to make the complete fulfilment of tax obligations without any kind of tax avoidance an integral part of their CSR; |
| --- | --- |

66.

| 67. | Reiterates the call from the TAXE2 Committee for the creation of a new Union Tax Policy Coherence and Coordination Centre (TPCCC) within the structure of the Commission that can assess and monitor Member States’ tax policies at Union level and ensure that no new harmful tax measures are implemented by Member States; suggests that such a TPCCC should be able to monitor Member States’ compliance with the common Union list of uncooperative jurisdictions in addition to ensuring and fostering cooperation between national tax administrations (e.g. in relation to training and the exchange of best practices); |
| --- | --- |

67.

| 68. | Reiterates Parliament’s recommendations (11) for the creation of a catalogue of counter-measures that the Union and Member States should apply as shareholders and financers of public bodies, banks and funding programmes, to be applied to companies which use tax havens in order to put in place aggressive tax planning schemes and therefore do not comply with Union tax good governance standards; |
| --- | --- |

68.

| 69. | Reiterates its call to the Commission to amend European legislation, including the provisions concerning the European Investment Bank (EIB) Statute, the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) Regulation, the four common agricultural policy (CAP) regulations, and the five European Structural and Investment funds (European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund) to prohibit EU funding going to ultimate beneficiaries or financial intermediaries proven to be involved in tax evasion or aggressive tax planning; |
| --- | --- |

69.

| 70. | Calls on the Commission and the Council to create a mandatory standardised public European Business Register in order to obtain up-to-date and trustworthy information on companies and to achieve transparency via cross-border access to comparable and reliable information on companies in the EU; |
| --- | --- |

70.

| 71. | Suggests that the Commission evaluate the impact of footballers’ cross-border transfers on revenue collection by Member States and present any measure deemed relevant to address significant losses of revenues, including measures related to intermediaries facilitating such transfers; |
| --- | --- |

71.

| 72. | Calls on the Commission to refrain from concluding trade agreements with jurisdictions defined by the EU as tax havens; |
| --- | --- |

72.

2.3.   Exchange of information

| 73. | Considers it regrettable that the provisions of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC), which were in force during the time covered by the Panama Papers revelations, were not implemented effectively and that the amount of information and rulings exchanged was low; recalls that the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities is key for the Member States in ensuring mutual assistance in collecting tax revenues and creating a level playing field; calls on the Commission to put forward proposals to further enhance tax cooperation between Member States through an obligation to answer group requests on tax matters so that one European country can provide all the information necessary for the others to prosecute cross-border tax evaders; |
| --- | --- |

73.

| 74. | Is very concerned that the number of tax rulings granted by Member States to multinationals has increased in recent years, notwithstanding the social alarm created by the LuxLeaks scandal; |
| --- | --- |

74.

| 75. | Insists that the Commission should have access, in accordance with data protection rules, to all the information exchanged under the DAC in order to properly monitor and enforce the implementation thereof; stresses that this information should be stored in a central registry managed by the Commission, given its exclusive competence in the field of competition; |
| --- | --- |

75.

| 76. | Calls for a more effective exchange, treatment and use of information globally and urges that the provisions on common reporting standards (CRS) be implemented efficiently and consistently, moving from the name and shame policy under the peer review system to a sanctions regime; draws attention to the need for reciprocity in the exchange of information between the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and participating signatory states; calls on the Member States to support participating developing countries in the implementation of these standards; underlines the need for countries not only to commit to CRS, but also to implement the system and assure the high quality of data provided; points out that the current CRS has weaknesses and welcomes the fact that the OECD is working on refining the standard to make it more effective; calls on the Commission to contribute to closing identified loopholes; |
| --- | --- |

76.

| 77. | Calls for enhanced public commercial and public beneficial ownership registries and public country-by-country reporting, in order to overcome the limitations imposed by the exchange of information under the OECD’s ‘Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS’ of June 2017, which gives countries the choice of selecting partners, permitting, in practice, bilateralism; |
| --- | --- |

77.

| 78. | Stresses that the mandatory automatic exchange of information in relation to potentially aggressive tax planning arrangements with a cross-border dimension (DAC6) should be accessible not only for tax authorities; |
| --- | --- |

78.

| 79. | Calls on the Commission to ensure reciprocity in the exchange of information between the EU and third countries which have not signed up to internationally agreed standards; underlines the need for effective sanctions against financial institutions with European clients and which failed to comply with automatic information exchange standards; considers that a dispute resolution mechanism should be included in such a proposal in order to solve potential conflicts between the EU and third countries; recalls its recommendation to introduce a withholding tax, or measures with similar effect, to avoid profits leaving the EU untaxed; |
| --- | --- |

79.

| 80. | Considers that the entities obliged to provide information to the tax authorities must be the same as those listed in the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and more particularly:






  (1) | credit institutions; |
| --- | --- | --- |

80.

(1)

credit institutions;

| (2) | financial institutions; |
| --- | --- |

(2)

financial institutions;

| (3) | the following legal or natural persons, in the performance of their professional activities:






  (a) | auditors, external accountants and tax advisers; |
| --- | --- | --- |

(3)

the following legal or natural persons, in the performance of their professional activities:

(a)

auditors, external accountants and tax advisers;

| (b) | notaries and other independent legal professionals, where they participate, whether acting on behalf of and for their client in any financial or property transaction, or assisting in the planning or execution of transactions for their client concerning:






  (i) | the purchase and sale of property or business entities; |
| --- | --- | --- |

(b)

notaries and other independent legal professionals, where they participate, whether acting on behalf of and for their client in any financial or property transaction, or assisting in the planning or execution of transactions for their client concerning:

(i)

the purchase and sale of property or business entities;

| (ii) | the management of funds, securities or other assets belonging to the client; |
| --- | --- |

(ii)

the management of funds, securities or other assets belonging to the client;

| (iii) | the opening or managing of bank, savings or securities accounts; |
| --- | --- |

(iii)

the opening or managing of bank, savings or securities accounts;

| (iv) | the organisation of the contributions needed to create, operate or manage undertakings; |
| --- | --- |

(iv)

the organisation of the contributions needed to create, operate or manage undertakings;

| (v) | the creation, operation or management of trusts, companies, foundations, or similar structures; |
| --- | --- |

(v)

the creation, operation or management of trusts, companies, foundations, or similar structures;

| (c) | providers of trust and corporate services not already covered under points (a) or (b); |
| --- | --- |

(c)

providers of trust and corporate services not already covered under points (a) or (b);

| (d) | real estate agents; |
| --- | --- |

(d)

real estate agents;

| (e) | other persons trading in goods, only to the extent that payments are made or received in cash and for amounts of EUR 10 000 or more, whether in a single transaction or in a series of apparently linked transactions; |
| --- | --- |

(e)

other persons trading in goods, only to the extent that payments are made or received in cash and for amounts of EUR 10 000 or more, whether in a single transaction or in a series of apparently linked transactions;

| (f) | providers of gaming services; |
| --- | --- |

(f)

providers of gaming services;

3.   
  Money laundering

3.1.   Anti-money laundering legislation

| 81. | Stresses that all AMLD provisions should be effectively and consistently implemented by the Member States; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure proper law enforcement; calls on the Commission to enhance and provide adequate resources for existing monitoring systems; calls on the Commission to allocate more resources to its taskforce to prevent financial crimes; |
| --- | --- |

81.

| 82. | Stresses that the 4AMLD legal framework fully bans anonymous bearer shares that, unless duly registered, have proven to be a useful tool for creating international schemes for money laundering; calls on the Member States to properly implement and enforce the 4AMLD that entered into force on 26 June 2017; calls on the Commission to monitor the proper transposition and implementation of the Directive; |
| --- | --- |

82.

| 83. | Calls on the Commission to start infringement procedures against Member States for non-compliance with Union law revealed by the Panama Papers and other leaks; |
| --- | --- |

83.

| 84. | Stresses the need for regularly updated, standardised, interconnected and publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers of companies, foundations, trusts and similar legal arrangements to prevent the anonymity of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs); calls for a lowering of the current threshold for shareholding in the definition of beneficial ownership; takes the view that the EU and its Member States must take the lead in promoting UBO standards of transparency in international forums; |
| --- | --- |

84.

| 85. | Underlines the call made by the representatives of the French FIU in Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion according to which, in keeping with the GAFI 26 recommendation on financial supervision, it should be expressly provided at EU level that the application of the supervision by the competent supervisory authority can go back as far as the parent entity of the group; |
| --- | --- |

85.

| 86. | Calls on the Commission to supervise the creation of publicly accessible land registers; |
| --- | --- |

86.

| 87. | Calls for an identification of beneficial ownership that includes all natural persons who ultimately own or control a legal entity, other than a company listed on a regulated market that is subject to disclosure requirements consistent with Union law or subject to equivalent international standards which ensure adequate transparency of ownership information, through direct or indirect ownership of at least one share or equivalent minimum unit of interest in that entity, including through bearer shareholdings, or through control via other means; |
| --- | --- |

87.

| 88. | Observes that the illicit money deposited through the redemption of these transactions is transformed into legitimate funds deriving from legitimate transactions; urges the need therefore for extending the anti-money laundering rules to the real estate market with the goal of preventing new illicit phenomena; |
| --- | --- |

88.

| 89. | Underlines the need to improve the enforcement of customer due diligence (CDD) checks to make sure that a proper assessment of the risks linked to the client profile is carried out; stresses that, even when outsourced, the CDD obligation should always fall under the responsibility of the obliged entities; calls for this responsibility to be clear and for provision to be made for penalties in the event of negligence or conflicts of interest in cases of outsourcing; believes, furthermore, that the scope for obliged entities should be extended to, among others, real estate agents to ensure that CDD provisions apply equally to regulated and currently non-regulated actors; calls for the harmonisation of CDD at EU level, providing an appropriate shape to these procedures in order to guarantee their compliance; |
| --- | --- |

89.

| 90. | Believes that sanctions for money laundering, tax evasion and tax fraud should be more severe and deterrent and that Member States should employ the risk-based approach when directing resources towards combating these illegal practices; welcomes, in this connection, the Commission proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on countering money laundering by criminal law (COM(2016)0826); calls on the Member States to consider the desirability of banning settlement without charges in very serious tax fraud cases; notes, however, that, in parallel, the EU and its Member States should develop incentives for each category of obliged entities to discourage them from engaging in such activities and make it unprofitable for them to do so; calls on the Member States to review prescription periods for money laundering so as to avoid time-bars as a consequence of competent authorities’ failure to act; |
| --- | --- |

90.

| 91. | Calls for an effective monitoring mechanism to be implemented at European level with outreach into connected jurisdictions, since the FATF peer reviews and regular mutual evaluations can easily be frustrated by political or other forms of connivance; |
| --- | --- |

91.

| 92. | Stresses the need to agree on a common understanding and definition at EU level of a PEP; |
| --- | --- |

92.

| 93. | Calls for a harmonised definition of tax crimes at EU level and the creation of a distinct criminal law instrument to be adopted under Article 83(2) TFEU or, ultimately, under Article 116 TFEU if Member States are unable to agree on eliminating distortion of the conditions of competition in the internal market; calls for the definition of predicate offences to money laundering to be harmonised within the EU and for a narrowing down of the exemptions Member States can invoke to refuse collaboration and the exchange of information; recalls its position on the revision of the fourth and fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directives to decouple tax crimes from the requirement of being punishable by deprivation of liberty or a detention order; |
| --- | --- |

93.

| 94. | Is concerned by the adoption of citizenship programmes for non-EU residents, the so-called golden visa or investor programmes to third country nationals in exchange for financial investments without proper or indeed any CDD having been carried out; calls on the Commission to assess Member States’ compliance with the AMLD and other related EU legislation when citizenship is granted under such programmes; |
| --- | --- |

94.

| 95. | Calls on the Commission and the Council to take seriously the ambitious revision of AMLD IV (COM(2016)0450), on which Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs voted on 28 February 2017 (12), and which would close many existing loopholes and considerably strengthen the current anti-money laundering legislation by, for example, tightening up the definition of who is a beneficial owner, by disallowing senior managers, nominee directors and other proxy agents to be identified as beneficial owners unless they fulfil the criteria, by granting full public access to beneficial ownership registers of companies and trusts and by implementing a more effective sanction mechanism for breaches of the AMLD; urges the Commission and the Council, therefore, not to water down Parliament’s strong proposal during the ongoing trilogue negotiations; |
| --- | --- |

95.

| 96. | Calls for increased political and regulatory focus on emerging risks related to new technologies and financial products, such as derivatives, swaps and virtual currencies (13); |
| --- | --- |

96.

| 97. | Calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of harnessing the potential of new technologies, such as unique digital identities, to facilitate the identification of serious cases of financial crime, while ensuring that this respects fundamental rights, including the right to privacy; |
| --- | --- |

97.

| 98. | Calls for an urgent assessment by the Commission of the implications for money laundering and tax crimes involving e-gaming activities, virtual currencies, crypto currencies, blockchain and FinTech technologies; calls, furthermore, on the Commission to consider possible measures, including legislation, to create a regulatory framework for these activities in order to limit the tools for money laundering; |
| --- | --- |

98.

| 99. | Urges that assets generated by criminal activities be confiscated; calls, to this end, for a swift adoption of the regulation on the mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders to facilitate the cross-border recovery of criminal assets; stresses that the legal instrument proposed by the Commission will allow for better cooperation and easier recognition of such orders, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity; |
| --- | --- |

99.

| 100. | Stresses that steps are also needed in order to align national strategies with those of European agencies and bodies such as Europol, Eurojust and OLAF; urges that, in order to facilitate this collaboration, the legal obstacles preventing information exchanges should be removed; |
| --- | --- |

100.

| 101. | Welcomes the recent decision by the Government of Portugal to ban the issuing of bearer shares and to convert the current ones into nominal securities, and urges the Commission to propose EU-wide legislation to the same effect; |
| --- | --- |

101.

| 102. | Calls for much more stringent scrutiny by the competent authorities in assessing the fitness and propriety of members of management boards and shareholders of credit institutions in the EU; believes that conditions must be put in place to allow the competent authorities to perform continuous supervision of the assessment criteria of both shareholders and members of management boards, which currently make it very difficult to revoke approval once it has been granted; believes, furthermore, that the timetables and flexibility in relation to objecting to acquisitions should be broadened, particularly where it is necessary for the competent authorities to carry out their own investigations into the information provided about events in third countries and in relation to PEPs; |
| --- | --- |

102.

3.2.   Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)

| 103. | Believes that, by harmonising the status and functioning of European FIUs, the exchange of information would be strengthened; calls on the Commission to launch a project within the FIU Platform to identify the information sources to which FIUs currently have access; calls on the Commission to issue guidance on how to ensure greater convergence of functions and powers of European FIUs, identifying the minimum common scope and content of financial, administrative and law enforcement information that FIUs should obtain and be able to exchange among themselves; believes that such guidance should also include explanations of a common understanding of the strategic analysis functions of FIUs; |
| --- | --- |

103.

| 104. | Believes that, to be more efficient, all European FIUs should have unlimited and direct access to all information related to their functions from obliged entities and registries; FIUs should also be able to obtain such information on the basis of a request made by another Union FIU and to exchange this information with the requesting FIU; |
| --- | --- |

104.

| 105. | Suggests to Member States that, when implementing the AMLD, they remove the requirement for FIUs to obtain clearance from a third party to share information with another FIU for intelligence purposes, in order to foster the exchange of information between FIUs; calls on the Commission to issue guidance on general provisions in the AMLD, especially on the need to ‘spontaneously and promptly’ exchange information with other FIUs; |
| --- | --- |

105.

| 106. | Stresses the need for more effective communication between the relevant competent authorities at national level, but also between FIUs in different Member States; calls on the Commission to set up an EU benchmarking system as a tool to standardise the information to be collected and exchanged and to enhance cooperation between FIUs; points out that this should include the strengthening of FIU.net under Europol, but also of Europol itself, in particular to enable it to extract information and statistics on flows of information, activities and the outcome of analysis performed by FIUs, and of Eurojust competences and resources to deal with money laundering and tax evasion; calls, furthermore, on the Member States to increase human, financial and technical resources in FIUs to bolster their investigation and cooperation capacities in order to properly process and make use of the increased number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs); |
| --- | --- |

106.

| 107. | Notes that the purpose limitation on the use of the information exchanged by FIUs should be reviewed and unified at EU and global level in order to allow for information to be used for tackling tax crimes and for purposes of producing evidence; |
| --- | --- |

107.

| 108. | Insists that appointments to managerial positions in FIUs need to be independent and free from political bias, based on professional qualifications and that the selection process be transparent and supervised; stresses the need for common rules on the independence of the institutions in charge of enforcing rules on tax fraud and money laundering, as well as the need for the full independence of law enforcement bodies in the follow-up of FIU reports; |
| --- | --- |

108.

| 109. | Calls on the Commission to verify whether this obligation is being duly respected in all Member States; |
| --- | --- |

109.

| 110. | Reiterates its position on AMLD V regarding the creation of a European FIU and the need to ensure an effective and coordinated system for the exchange of information, as well as centralised databases; stresses the need to support the Member States’ FIUs, particularly in cross-border cases; |
| --- | --- |

110.

| 111. | Insists on the fact that the competent authorities should not wait to be overwhelmed by the increasing use of digital technologies by tax advisers and taxpayers; believes that the competent authorities should develop their own tools and investigating capacities accordingly; believes that it could offer new opportunities to competent authorities with regard to the recurrent issue of resource allocation or to help improve cooperation among them; |
| --- | --- |

111.

4.   
  Intermediaries

| 112. | Regrets that intermediaries are currently regulated in a non-homogenous manner across the EU; calls on the Council to swiftly examine and adopt the Commission’s proposal on mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to reportable cross-border arrangements (COM(2017)0335) with the aim of strengthening the reporting obligations of intermediaries; encourages the Member States to consider the potential benefits of extending the scope of the directive to purely domestic cases; |
| --- | --- |

112.

| 113. | Underlines the need for this proposal to close the loopholes potentially allowing aggressive tax planning by designing new rules for intermediaries involved in such practices; |
| --- | --- |

113.

| 114. | Notes that wealth management is conducted in a largely unregulated manner and that binding international rules and standards should be established in order to create a level playing field and to better regulate and define the profession; calls, in this context, on the Commission to take the initiative in all relevant international forums for the creation of such standards and rules; |
| --- | --- |

114.

| 115. | Acknowledges that oversight should be carried out in the context of self-organisation and self-regulation; calls on the Commission to assess the need for targeted EU action, including the possibility of drawing up legislation, to ensure appropriate oversight of the self-regulation of obliged entities, i.e. via a separate and independent national regulator/supervisor; |
| --- | --- |

115.

| 116. | Calls on the Commission — in collaboration with the Member States and supervisors — to issue guidance in order to standardise reporting formats for obliged entities in order to ease the processing and exchanging of information by FIUs; |
| --- | --- |

116.

| 117. | Calls for the regulation of tax intermediaries with incentives to refrain from engaging in tax evasion and tax avoidance and shielding beneficial owners; |
| --- | --- |

117.

| 118. | Stresses that, if the intermediary is based outside the EU, the taxpayer concerned must be required to send potentially aggressive tax plans directly, before they are put in place, to the tax authorities in the taxpayer’s country, so that the authorities can respond to tax risks by taking the appropriate steps; |
| --- | --- |

118.

| 119. | Believes that more rigorous rules on the role of intermediaries would benefit the industry as a whole as sincere intermediaries will no longer be placed at a disadvantage by unfair competition, thus separating the wheat from the chaff; |
| --- | --- |

119.

| 120. | Calls for more efficient, dissuasive and proportionate sanctions at both EU and Member State level against banks and intermediaries that are knowingly, wilfully and systematically involved in illegal tax or money laundering schemes; stresses that the sanctions should be targeted towards the companies themselves as well as the management-level employees and board members responsible for the schemes; stresses that substantial penalties are essential and believes that the use of a public shaming regime for confirmed cases could discourage intermediaries from circumventing their obligations and encourage compliance; |
| --- | --- |

120.

| 121. | Calls on the Member States to ensure that the sectors most exposed to risks from opaque beneficial ownership schemes (as identified in the Commission’s assessment of the risks of money laundering) are effectively monitored and supervised; calls on the Member States to provide guidance on the risk factors arising from transactions involving tax advisors, auditors, external accountants, notaries and other independent legal professionals; |
| --- | --- |

121.

| 122. | Calls for better enforcement of the rules related to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion and for it to have a deterrent effect by increasing public visibility, particularly through improved published statistics on enforcement measures involving professionals advising on tax and money laundering; |
| --- | --- |

122.

| 123. | Underlines the need for greater scrutiny, supervision and coordination of national certification schemes for intermediaries practising as tax professionals in the EU; calls on the Member States to withdraw licences if intermediaries are proven to be involved in actively promoting or enabling cross-border tax evasion, illegal tax planning and money laundering; |
| --- | --- |

123.

| 124. | Calls on the Commission to assess whether the competent authorities in the Member States have complied with the licensing procedures for intermediaries already provided for in Union law, e.g. in Capital Requirements Directive IV; |
| --- | --- |

124.

| 125. | Calls for the profession to adopt a methodology whereby lawyers’ professional confidentiality does not impede adequate STRs or the reporting of other potentially illegal activities without prejudice to the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the general principles of criminal law, or to improve the existing methodology to the same effect; |
| --- | --- |

125.

| 126. | Calls on the Member States to introduce disincentives for EU-based intermediaries to be active in jurisdictions listed in the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and the EU list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes, for example by way of excluding them from public procurement calls; calls furthermore on the Commission to carry out an impact assessment on the possibility of banning EU-based intermediaries from being active in jurisdictions included in the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and the EU list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes; |
| --- | --- |

126.

| 127. | Stresses that, with a view to improving international cooperation, audit and accounting requirements should be coordinated at the global level, so as to discourage accounting and auditing firms from participating in illegal tax structures; believes, in this connection, that better implementation of international accounting standards should be regarded as an efficient tool; |
| --- | --- |

127.

4.1.   Banks

| 128. | Encourages all Member States to put in place, as recommended in AMLD IV, systems of bank account registries or electronic data retrieval systems which would provide FIUs and the competent authorities with access to information on bank accounts; recommends considering the standardisation and interconnection of national bank account registers containing all accounts linked to legal or natural persons for the purpose of easy access by the competent authorities and FIUs; |
| --- | --- |

128.

| 129. | Recommends that such an account register should record and publish statistics on transactions with tax havens and high-risk countries, and disaggregate the information on transactions with related parties those with non-related parties, and by Member State; |
| --- | --- |

129.

| 130. | Recognises that banks were found to be involved in four broad activities, namely providing and managing offshore structures, delivering bank accounts to offshore entities, providing other financial products and correspondence banking (14); stresses the importance of making legislation on correspondence banking clearer and stricter in relation to the remittance of funds to offshore and non-cooperative jurisdictions, with the obligation to cease activities if beneficial information is not provided; |
| --- | --- |

130.

| 131. | Calls for the stringent application of effective sanctions on banks, providing for the suspension or withdrawal of the banking licence of financial institutions that are proven to be involved in promoting or enabling money laundering, tax evasion or aggressive tax planning; |
| --- | --- |

131.

| 132. | Underlines the importance of better coordination between bank headquarters and subsidiaries, both within the EU and with third countries, so as to ensure full compliance with internal codes of conduct and AML legislation; |
| --- | --- |

132.

| 133. | Stresses that national banking supervision checks should provide for systematic and random checks to ensure the full implementation of anti-money laundering rules in all banks; |
| --- | --- |

133.

| 134. | Calls for increased powers for the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) to carry out regular compliance checks (both announced in advance and without prior warning) across the EU banking sector instead of the current system of checks carried out only when a specific case is under investigation or has become public; |
| --- | --- |

134.

| 135. | Calls for an analysis of the feasibility of empowering the supervisory authorities to carry out a banking investigation in situations where an account holder is not known by name; |
| --- | --- |

135.

| 136. | Welcomes the existing analysis of risks and vulnerabilities in the EU financial system; underlines the importance of identifying new technologies and financial products which could potentially be used as vehicles for money laundering; calls, on the basis of this analysis, for money laundering provisions to be included in all new proposals addressing such new technologies, including FinTech; |
| --- | --- |

136.

| 137. | Calls for the creation of a bankers’ oath, following the Dutch example, in the form of a voluntary commitment by the sector not to deal with tax havens; |
| --- | --- |

137.

4.2.   Lawyers

| 138. | Points out that professional secrecy cannot be used for the purposes of protection, the covering up of illegal practices or violating the spirit of the law; urges that the client-attorney privilege principle should not impede adequate STRs or the reporting of other potentially illegal activities without prejudice to the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the general principles of criminal law; calls on the Member States to issue guidance on the interpretation and application of the legal privilege principle for professionals and to introduce a clear demarcation line between traditional judicial advice and lawyers acting as financial operators; |
| --- | --- |

138.

| 139. | Stresses that lawyers carrying out an activity that falls outside their specific duties of defence, legal representation or legal advice can, under certain circumstances relating to the protection of public order, be required to inform the authorities of certain information that they are aware of; |
| --- | --- |

139.

| 140. | Underlines that lawyers advising clients should be held legally co-responsible when designing tax evasion and aggressive tax plans punishable by law, and money laundering schemes; points out that when they take part in fraud, they must systematically be liable for both penal sanctions and disciplinary measures; |
| --- | --- |

140.

4.3.   Accounting

| 141. | Stresses that, with a view to improving international cooperation, audit and accounting requirements should be better coordinated at global level, while respecting European standards of democratic legitimacy, transparency, accountability and integrity, so as to discourage accounting and auditing firms, as well as individual advisors, from designing tax evasion, aggressive tax planning or money laundering structures; calls for the proper enforcement of the recently adopted Audit Package (15) and the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies (CEAOB) as the new framework for cooperation between national audit oversight bodies at EU level, with the aim of strengthening EU-wide audit oversight; believes, in this respect, that better implementation of international accounting standards should be regarded as an efficient tool in ensuring respect for EU standards of transparency and accountability; |
| --- | --- |

141.

| 142. | Notes that the EU’s existing definition of the control required to create a group of companies should be applied to accountancy firms that are members of a network of firms associated by legally enforceable contractual arrangements that provide for the sharing of a name or marketing, professional standards, clients, support services, finance or professional indemnity insurance arrangements, as anticipated by Directive 2013/34/EU (16) on annual financial statements; |
| --- | --- |

142.

| 143. | Calls on the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal on the separation of accounting firms and financial or tax service providers as well as on all advisory services, including a Union incompatibility regime for tax advisers, in order to prevent them from advising both public revenue authorities and taxpayers and to prevent other conflicts of interest; |
| --- | --- |

143.

4.4.   Trusts, fiduciaries and similar legal arrangements

| 144. | Strongly condemns the misuse of trusts, fiduciaries and similar legal arrangements as vehicles for laundering money; calls, therefore, for clear rules facilitating a straightforward identification of the beneficial owner(s), including an obligation for trusts to exist in written form and to be registered in the Member State where the trust is created, administered or operated; |
| --- | --- |

144.

| 145. | Calls for standardised, regularly updated, publicly accessible and interconnected beneficial ownership registers at EU level, on all parties of commercial and non-commercial trusts, fiduciaries, foundations and similar legal arrangements to form the basis of a global register; |
| --- | --- |

145.

| 146. | The EU register of trusts should include:






  (a) | the trustees, including names, addresses and the names and addresses of all those on whose instructions they act; |
| --- | --- | --- |

146.

(a)

the trustees, including names, addresses and the names and addresses of all those on whose instructions they act;

| (b) | the trust deed; |
| --- | --- |

(b)

the trust deed;

| (c) | all letters of wishes; |
| --- | --- |

(c)

all letters of wishes;

| (d) | the name and address of the settlor; |
| --- | --- |

(d)

the name and address of the settlor;

| (e) | the name of any enforcer and the instructions they hold; |
| --- | --- |

(e)

the name of any enforcer and the instructions they hold;

| (f) | the annual accounts of the trust; |
| --- | --- |

(f)

the annual accounts of the trust;

| (g) | details of all trust distributions and allocations with the names and addresses of all beneficiaries; |
| --- | --- |

(g)

details of all trust distributions and allocations with the names and addresses of all beneficiaries;

| (h) | nominee intermediaries, including their names and addresses; |
| --- | --- |

(h)

nominee intermediaries, including their names and addresses;

| 147. | Calls on the Commission to assess to what extent freeports and ship licensing may be misused for purposes of tax evasion, and, if appropriate, to come up with a suitable proposal for mitigating such risks; |
| --- | --- |

147.

5.   
  Third-country dimension

| 148. | Underlines the need, under the auspices of the UN, for enhanced global cooperation on taxation and money laundering matters as a result of their international nature; stresses that only coordinated and global responses based on cooperation will provide efficient solutions and calls for the EU to be a driving force in working towards a fair global tax system; stresses that any EU action at international level will be effective and credible only if no EU Member State or overseas country or territory (OCT) acts as a corporate tax haven or secrecy jurisdiction; |
| --- | --- |

148.

| 149. | Notes with concern the high correlation between the number of shell companies and tax rulings and certain third-country tax jurisdictions and EU Member States; welcomes the automatic exchange of information between EU Member States on their tax rulings; expresses its concern, however, that some Member States or some of their ‘tax haven’ territories are issuing ‘oral tax rulings’ to circumvent this obligation; calls on the Commission to investigate further into this practice; |
| --- | --- |

149.

| 150. | Stresses that the EU should renegotiate its trade, economic and other relevant bilateral agreements with Switzerland to bring them into line with EU anti-tax fraud policy, anti-money laundering legislation and legislation on the financing of terrorism, so as to eliminate serious flaws in the Swiss supervisory system which enable a policy of internal banking secrecy to continue, the creation of offshore structures worldwide, tax fraud, tax evasion not constituting a criminal offence, weak supervision, the inadequate self-regulation of obliged entities, and aggressive prosecution and intimidation of whistle-blowers; |
| --- | --- |

150.

| 151. | Believes that the EU should speak with one voice through the Commission when negotiating tax agreements with third countries instead of continuing the practice of bilateral negotiations producing sub-optimal results; believes that the same approach should be adopted by the EU when negotiating future free trade, partnership and cooperation agreements, by including tax good governance clauses, transparency requirements and anti-money laundering provisions; |
| --- | --- |

151.

| 152. | Stresses the importance of strengthening the anti-tax avoidance provisions of the CCCTB to eliminate transfer pricing to third-country jurisdictions leading to a reduction in the taxable base of companies in the Union; |
| --- | --- |

152.

| 153. | Considers, in particular, that when future trade or partnership agreements are negotiated, or existing agreements are revised, they should contain a binding clause of tax conditionality, including compliance with the international standards of the OECD BEPS Action Plan, and the FATF recommendations; |
| --- | --- |

153.

| 154. | Requests that the ‘Investment’ or ‘Financial Services’ chapters of future trade or partnership agreements be negotiated on the basis of the positive list principle, so that only the financial sectors necessary for commercial development, the real economy and households benefit from the facilitation and liberalisation brought about by the agreement between the Union and the third party concerned; |
| --- | --- |

154.

| 155. | Calls for strong enforcement measures in all international agreements on the exchange of information between tax authorities to ensure proper implementation by all jurisdictions and the application of effective, dissuasive and proportionate automatic procedures for sanctions in the case of non-implementation; |
| --- | --- |

155.

| 156. | Underlines the importance of full effective reciprocity in frameworks such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement and other similar agreements; |
| --- | --- |

156.

| 157. | Calls on the relevant Member States to make use of the opportunity afforded by their direct relations with the countries concerned to take the necessary steps in order to put pressure on their overseas countries and territories (OCTs) (17) and outermost regions (18) that do not respect international standards pertaining to tax cooperation, transparency and anti-money laundering; takes the view that the EU transparency and due diligence requirements should be effectively enforced in these territories; |
| --- | --- |

157.

| 158. | Underlines the importance of clear definitions of ‘offshore jurisdiction’, ‘overseas country’ and ‘outermost region (OR)’, since each of these terms relates to different legal systems, practices and regimes; stresses the need to fight all forms of tax fraud and tax evasion, regardless of where they occur; notes that the current regimes in the outermost regions apply Union legislation and comply with Union and international standards, with their special status as set forth in Article 349 of the TFEU and confirmed by the European Court of Justice in its decision C132/14 (19); |
| --- | --- |

158.

| 159. | Believes that the misuse of privacy and data protection laws cannot be used to shield those engaged in wrongdoing from the full force of the law; |
| --- | --- |

159.

| 160. | Calls for a global summit on the fight against money laundering, tax fraud and tax evasion to end secrecy in the financial sector, to enhance international cooperation and to put pressure on all countries, in particular their financial centres, to comply with global standards and for the Commission to take the initiative for such a summit; |
| --- | --- |

160.

| 161. | Invites the Commission to conduct an assessment of the overall cost-benefit and the potential impact of high levels of taxation on the repatriation of capital from third countries applying low taxation; calls on the Commission and Council to assess the rules on the deferred payment of tax in the United States, the potential tax amnesty announced by the new administration and the possible undermining of international cooperation; |
| --- | --- |

161.

| 162. | Stresses the importance of better bilateral exchange of information between third countries and EU FIUs; |
| --- | --- |

162.

| 163. | Recalls that the amount of aid in support of domestic resource mobilisation is still low, and urges the Commission to support developing countries in the fight against tax dodging and to increase financial and technical assistance to their national tax administration, in line with the commitments of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda; |
| --- | --- |

163.

Developing countries

| 164. | Calls for the EU to take into account the specific legal features and corresponding vulnerabilities of developing countries, for example the lack of capacities on the part of authorities charged with the task of combating tax fraud, tax evasion and money laundering; stresses the need for adequate transition periods for developing countries that do not have the capacity to collect, manage and share the required information in the context of automatic exchange of information; |
| --- | --- |

164.

| 165. | Highlights the fact that, when devising actions and policies to tackle tax avoidance, specific attention should be paid at national, EU and international level to the situation of developing countries and, in particular, least developed countries, which are usually the most affected by corporate tax avoidance and have very narrow tax bases and low tax-to-GDP ratios; stresses that these actions and policies should contribute to generating public revenues commensurate with the value added generated on their territory, to enable the countries concerned to appropriately finance their development strategies; |
| --- | --- |

165.

| 166. | Calls on the Commission to work with the African Union (AU) to ensure that measures to combat illegal financial flows are highlighted in the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption; |
| --- | --- |

166.

| 167. | Calls for the EU and its Member States to strengthen policy coherence for development in this field and reiterates its call for a spill-over analysis of national and EU tax policies in order to assess their impact on developing countries in relation to agreed tax treaties and economic partnership agreements (EPAs); |
| --- | --- |

167.

| 168. | Calls on the Member States to properly ensure the fair treatment of developing countries when negotiating tax treaties, taking into account their particular situation and ensuring a fair distribution of taxation rights between source and residence countries; calls, in this regard, for adherence to the UN model tax convention and for transparency around treaty negotiations to be ensured; |
| --- | --- |

168.

| 169. | Calls for more international support to be given to developing countries to fight against the corruption and secrecy which facilitate illicit financial flows (IFFs); stresses that the fight against IFFs requires close international cooperation and the coordinated efforts of developed and developing countries, in partnership with the private sector and civil society; highlights the need to help boost the capacity of tax administrations and the transfer of knowledge to partner countries; |
| --- | --- |

169.

| 170. | Calls for public development aid to be directed to a greater extent towards the implementation of an appropriate regulatory framework and the bolstering of tax administrations and the institutions responsible for fighting IFFs; calls for this aid to be provided in the form of technical expertise in relation to resource management, financial information and anti-corruption rules; |
| --- | --- |

170.

| 171. | Regrets that the current OECD tax committee is not sufficiently inclusive; recalls its position (20) regarding the creation of a global body within the UN framework, well-equipped and with sufficient additional resources to ensure that all countries can participate on an equal footing in the formulation and reform of global tax policies; |
| --- | --- |

171.

| 172. | Regrets that, in order not to be branded as non-cooperative jurisdictions, developing countries must pay to be considered as participants in the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, where countries are subject to an evaluation of their practices against benchmarks they have not been full participants in determining; |
| --- | --- |

172.

| 173. | Stresses the essential role that regional organisations and regional cooperation must play in carrying out transnational tax audits, taking account of the principles of subsidiarity and complementarity; calls for the joint development of a model tax convention that would help to eliminate double taxation and thereby prevent abuse; points out that cooperation and the exchange of information between the various information services will be essential for that purpose; |
| --- | --- |

173.

| 174. | Points out that tax havens plunder global natural resources, in particular those of developing countries; calls for the EU to give support to developing countries in the fight against corruption, criminal activities, tax fraud and money laundering; calls on the Commission to help these countries, by means of cooperation and the exchange of information, to combat the erosion of the tax base, the transfer of profits to tax havens and banks practising banking secrecy; stresses that all of these countries must comply with the global standards governing the automatic exchange of information on bank accounts; |
| --- | --- |

174.

| 175. | Calls on the Commission to include provisions on the fight against tax evasion, tax fraud and money laundering in the future agreement on post-2020 EU-ACP relations; |
| --- | --- |

175.

| 176. | Calls on the Commission to establish, without delay, additional measures to reinforce EU law on conflict minerals; stresses that these measures must establish an integrated approach which will strengthen the ongoing dialogue with mineral-rich countries and thereby promote international due diligence and transparency standards, such as those defined in the OECD guidelines; |
| --- | --- |

176.

| 177. | Takes the view that the international community, including parliaments, should take all the necessary steps to establish effective, transparent tax and trade policies; calls for more coherence and better coordination in the international action taken by the OECD, the G20, the G8, the G77, the AU, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB); |
| --- | --- |

177.

6.   
  Whistle-blowers

| 178. | Fears that the prosecution of whistle-blowers to maintain secrecy can discourage the revealing of malpractices; underlines that protection should be designed to protect those acting in the public interest and avoid the silencing of whistle-blowers while also taking into account the legal rights of firms; |
| --- | --- |

178.

| 179. | Calls on the Commission to finalise, as soon as possible, a thorough assessment of the possible legal basis for further action at EU level and, if appropriate, to submit comprehensive legislation covering both the public and private sectors, including tools to support whistle-blowers to ensure that they are given effective protection and adequate financial assistance as soon as possible; argues that whistle-blowers should be free to report anonymously, or to lodge complaints, as a matter of priority, to the internal reporting mechanisms of the organisation concerned or to the competent authorities, and, furthermore, that they should be protected, regardless of their choice of reporting channel; |
| --- | --- |

179.

| 180. | Recommends that the Commission study best practices from whistle-blowers’ programmes already in place in other countries around the world and carry out a public consultation to seek the view of stakeholders on reporting mechanisms; |
| --- | --- |

180.

| 181. | Stresses the role of investigative journalism and calls on the Commission to ensure that its proposal affords the same protection to investigative journalists as it does to whistle-blowers; |
| --- | --- |

181.

| 182. | Believes that employers should be encouraged to introduce internal reporting procedures and that a single person should be responsible for collecting reports in each organisation; considers that employee representatives should be involved in the assignment of that role; recommends that the EU institutions lead by example by swiftly installing an internal whistle-blowing protection framework; |
| --- | --- |

182.

| 183. | Underlines the importance of awareness-raising among employees and other individuals of the positive role that whistle-blowers play and the legal frameworks on whistle-blowing which already exist; encourages the Member States to implement awareness-raising campaigns; believes that it is necessary to introduce protective measures against any retaliatory and destabilising practices against whistle-blowers, as well as full compensation for any damage incurred by them; |
| --- | --- |

183.

| 184. | Calls on the Commission to develop instruments focusing on providing protection against unjustified legal prosecutions, economic sanctions and discrimination against whistle-blowers, and calls, in this connection, for a general fund to be set up, financed in part from money recovered or proceeds from fines, to give appropriate financial support to whistle-blowers whose livelihood is put at risk as a result of disclosures of relevant facts; |
| --- | --- |

184.

7.   
  Interinstitutional cooperation

7.1.   Cooperation with the Committee of Inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA)

| 185. | Reiterates the importance of respecting the principle of sincere cooperation between the EU institutions; |
| --- | --- |

185.

| 186. | Believes that the exchange of information between the EU institutions should be enhanced, in particular regarding the provision of relevant information to be made available to committees of inquiry; |
| --- | --- |

186.

| 187. | Regrets that the Council, its Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation and some Member States showed little commitment towards the PANA Committee’s requests for cooperation; believes that a stronger commitment by the Member States is key in order to pool efforts and achieve better results; resolves to monitor the activities and progress of the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation through regular hearings; calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal under Article 116 TFEU by mid-2018 if the Member States have not adopted a reform of the Code of Conduct Group’s mandate by then; |
| --- | --- |

187.

| 188. | Voices its objection to the fact that even documents that have since become public were only partly made available to its committee of inquiry; |
| --- | --- |

188.

| 189. | Recalls that in December 2015 the ECOFIN Council invited the High Level Working Party on Taxation to conclude on the need to enhance the overall governance, transparency and working methods and to finalise the reform of the Code of Conduct Group during the Dutch Presidency; recalls that in March 2016, the ECOFIN Council invited the High Level Working Party to review the new governance, transparency and working methods, especially on the efficiency of the decision-making process also in relation to the use of the broad consensus rule in 2017; awaits with interest the results of these efforts; |
| --- | --- |

189.

7.2.   The European Parliament’s right of inquiry

| 190. | Stresses that the current legal framework for the operation of committees of inquiry in the European Parliament is outdated and falls short of providing the necessary conditions under which the exercise of Parliament’s right of inquiry can effectively take place; |
| --- | --- |

190.

| 191. | Stresses that the lack of powers and the limited access to documents significantly hampered and delayed the work of the inquiry in view of the temporary nature of its investigation and precluded a full assessment of alleged breaches of EU law; |
| --- | --- |

191.

| 192. | Notes that in several recent committees of inquiry and special committees (including PANA), the Commission and Council in some cases failed to provide the documents requested and in other cases only provided the requested documents after long delays; calls for the introduction of an accountability mechanism in order to ensure the immediate and guaranteed transfer of documents to Parliament that the committee of inquiry or special committee requests and is entitled to have access to; |
| --- | --- |

192.

| 193. | Considers that the right of inquiry is an important competence of Parliament; calls for the EU institutions to strengthen Parliament’s rights of inquiry on the basis of Article 226 TFEU; is of the firm opinion that the ability to subpoena persons of interest and to have access to relevant documents is vital for the proper functioning of parliamentary committees of inquiry; |
| --- | --- |

193.

| 194. | Stresses that it is vital for the exercise of democratic control over the executive for Parliament to be empowered with powers of inquiry that match those of the national parliaments of the EU Member States; believes that, in order to exercise this role of democratic oversight, Parliament must have the power to summon and compel witnesses to appear and to compel the production of documents; believes that, in order for these rights to be exercised, the Member States must agree to implement sanctions against individuals for failure to appear or to produce documents in line with national law governing national parliamentary inquiries; reiterates its support for the position outlined in its 2012 proposal on this issue (21); |
| --- | --- |

194.

| 195. | Resolves to establish a permanent committee of inquiry, on the model of the US Congress; |
| --- | --- |

195.

| 196. | Invites Parliament’s political groups to decide on the establishment of a temporary special committee during the present parliamentary term to follow up on the work of the PANA committee, and to investigate the recent Paradise Papers revelations; |
| --- | --- |

196.

| 197. | Requests, without prejudice to any other appropriate measure, that, in accordance with Rule 116a(3) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the Secretary-General withdraw long-term access badges from any undertaking which has refused to comply with a formal summons to appear before a committee of inquiry; |
| --- | --- |

197.

| 198. | Calls on the Member States to improve the transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the working methods of the Code of Conduct Group as a matter of urgency; |
| --- | --- |

198.

| 199. | Asks the Code of Conduct Group to produce an annual report identifying and describing the most harmful tax measures used in the Member States, and stating what counter-measures were taken; |
| --- | --- |

199.

| 200. | Calls for the necessary reform of the Code of Conduct for Business Taxation Group to be finalised, in a manner ensuring full transparency and the involvement of all of the EU institutions and of civil society; calls for that reform to radically redefine the governance structure and transparency of the Code of Conduct Group, including its mandate and rules of procedure, as well as its decision-making processes and criteria for identifying harmful tax measures adopted by Member States; |
| --- | --- |

200.

7.3.   Other institutions

| 201. | Welcomes, as a first step, the establishment of a single independent European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), and calls on all Member States to join the initiative; |
| --- | --- |

201.

| 202. | Calls for stronger enforcement powers for the Commission to ensure efficient and consistent implementation of Union legislation in the Member States and stronger scrutiny by the European Parliament; |
| --- | --- |

202.

| 203. | Calls for the creation of a new Union Tax Policy Coherence and Coordination Centre (TPCCC) within the Commission to address systemic weaknesses in cooperation among competent authorities across the EU; |
| --- | --- |

203.

| 204. | Calls for a significant strengthening of FIU.net cooperation within the framework of Europol and suggests linking these activities with the proposed TPCCC in the hope of creating a ‘Tax Europol’ capable both of coordinating Member States’ tax policies and of strengthening Member States’ authorities in investigating and uncovering illegal international tax schemes; |
| --- | --- |

204.

| 205. | Calls on the Member States, while reforming the Treaties, to support the adoption of decisions in the field of tax policy by a qualified majority in the Council and within the framework of the ordinary legislative procedure; |
| --- | --- |

205.

o

o o

| 206. | Instructs its President to forward this recommendation and the final report of the committee of inquiry to the Council and the Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States. |
| --- | --- |

206.

---

(1)  OJ L 113, 19.5.1995, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 166, 24.6.2016, p. 10.

(3)  OJ C 366, 27.10.2017, p. 51.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0310.

(5)  OJ C 399, 24.11.2017, p. 74.

(6)  Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing (OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15).

(7)  European Parliament resolution of 16 December 2015 with recommendations to the Commission on bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the Union; Recommendation A4.

(8)  Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and repealing Directive 77/799/EEC (OJ L 64, 11.3.2011, p. 1).

(9)  European Parliament resolution of 16 December 2015 with recommendations to the Commission on bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the Union; Recommendation B5.

(10)  OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65.

(11)  European Parliament resolution of 16 December 2015 with recommendations to the Commission on bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the Union; Recommendation C3.

(12)  See report A8-0056/2017.

(13)  PANA Committee hearing with Brooke Harrington and other experts on 24 January 2017.

(14)  ‘The Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the World’s Rich and Powerful Hide their Money’, Obermayer and Obermaier, 2016.

(15)  Directive 2014/56/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts (OJ L 158, 27.5.2014, p. 196), and Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on specific requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities and repealing Commission Decision 2005/909/EC (OJ L 158, 27.5.2014, p. 77).

(16)  Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19).

(17)  Greenland, New Caledonia and Dependencies, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten), Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena and Dependencies, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.

(18)  ORs: the Canary Islands, La Réunion, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Saint Martin, the Azores and Madeira.

(19)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62014CJ0132&from=EN

(20)  European Parliament resolution of 6 July 2016 on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect (Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0310).

(21)  OJ C 264 E, 13.9.2013, p. 41.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/156 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/156

---

P8_TA(2017)0495

Hong Kong, 20 years after handover

European Parliament recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on Hong Kong, 20 years after handover (2017/2204(INI))

(2018/C 369/17)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Basic Law of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong adopted on 4 April 1990, which entered into force on 1 July 1997, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Basic Law of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong adopted on 4 April 1990, which entered into force on 1 July 1997,

| — | having regard to the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong of 19 December 1984, also known as the Sino-British Joint Declaration, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong of 19 December 1984, also known as the Sino-British Joint Declaration,

| — | having regard to the joint reports of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 26 April 2017 on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — Annual Report 2016 (JOIN(2017)0016), of 25 April 2016 on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — Annual Report 2015 (JOIN(2016)0010), and of 24 April 2015 on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — Annual Report 2014 (JOIN(2015)0012), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint reports of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 26 April 2017 on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — Annual Report 2016 (JOIN(2017)0016), of 25 April 2016 on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — Annual Report 2015 (JOIN(2016)0010), and of 24 April 2015 on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — Annual Report 2014 (JOIN(2015)0012),

| — | having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 22 June 2016 on elements for a new EU strategy on China (JOIN(2016)0030), the Commission communication of 14 October 2015 entitled ‘Trade for all: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’ (COM(2015)0497), and the Council conclusions of 18 July 2016 on EU Strategy on China, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 22 June 2016 on elements for a new EU strategy on China (JOIN(2016)0030), the Commission communication of 14 October 2015 entitled ‘Trade for all: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’ (COM(2015)0497), and the Council conclusions of 18 July 2016 on EU Strategy on China,

| — | having regard to the EU’s ‘One China’ policy, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU’s ‘One China’ policy,

| — | having regard to the 1999 EU-HKSAR Customs Co-operation Agreement (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the 1999 EU-HKSAR Customs Co-operation Agreement (1),

| — | having regard to the visa-free entry to the Schengen area (2) and the rest of the European Union for holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports and vice versa, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the visa-free entry to the Schengen area (2) and the rest of the European Union for holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports and vice versa,

| — | having regard to the EU-China dialogue on human rights launched in 1995, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the EU-China dialogue on human rights launched in 1995,

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on Hong Kong, in particular those of 24 November 2016 on the case of Gui Minhai, jailed publisher in China (3), of 4 February 2016 on the case of the missing book publishers in Hong Kong (4), of 15 December 2005 on human rights situation in Tibet and Hong Kong (5), of 8 April 2003 on the Third and Fourth Annual Reports by the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (6), of 19 December 2002 on Hong Kong (7), of 26 October 2000 on the First and Second Annual Reports by the Commission on the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (8), of 8 October 1998 on the communication from the Commission to the Council on the European Union and Hong Kong: Beyond 1997 (9), and of 10 April 1997 on the situation in Hong Kong (10), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on Hong Kong, in particular those of 24 November 2016 on the case of Gui Minhai, jailed publisher in China (3), of 4 February 2016 on the case of the missing book publishers in Hong Kong (4), of 15 December 2005 on human rights situation in Tibet and Hong Kong (5), of 8 April 2003 on the Third and Fourth Annual Reports by the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (6), of 19 December 2002 on Hong Kong (7), of 26 October 2000 on the First and Second Annual Reports by the Commission on the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (8), of 8 October 1998 on the communication from the Commission to the Council on the European Union and Hong Kong: Beyond 1997 (9), and of 10 April 1997 on the situation in Hong Kong (10),

| — | having regard to its previous resolutions on China, in particular those of 16 December 2015 (11) and of 14 March 2013 on EU-China relations (12), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its previous resolutions on China, in particular those of 16 December 2015 (11) and of 14 March 2013 on EU-China relations (12),

| — | having regard to Rule 113 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 113 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A8-0382/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A8-0382/2017),

| A. | whereas sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 1997;

| B. | whereas the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration guaranteed, and the 1990 Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) stipulates that Hong Kong will maintain the autonomy and independence of the executive, legislature and judiciary for 50 years after the handover of sovereignty; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration guaranteed, and the 1990 Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) stipulates that Hong Kong will maintain the autonomy and independence of the executive, legislature and judiciary for 50 years after the handover of sovereignty;

| C. | whereas the EU and the European Parliament remain strong supporters of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under China; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas the EU and the European Parliament remain strong supporters of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under China;

| D. | whereas the EU and Hong Kong hold an annual high-level meeting called the Structured Dialogue, which was initiated in 2005; whereas the 10th annual Structured Dialogue took place in Brussels on 17 November 2016; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the EU and Hong Kong hold an annual high-level meeting called the Structured Dialogue, which was initiated in 2005; whereas the 10th annual Structured Dialogue took place in Brussels on 17 November 2016;

| E. | whereas bilateral relations between the EU and Hong Kong continue to grow stronger; whereas the EU is Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner after mainland China, and Hong Kong is the EU’s 14th largest trading partner in goods and a key partner for trade in services; whereas future bilateral relations should benefit from Hong Kong’s need for further economic diversification, close links with the New Silk Road and greater integration with the Pearl River Delta region; whereas according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Hong Kong is the world's second largest target market for foreign direct investment; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas bilateral relations between the EU and Hong Kong continue to grow stronger; whereas the EU is Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner after mainland China, and Hong Kong is the EU’s 14th largest trading partner in goods and a key partner for trade in services; whereas future bilateral relations should benefit from Hong Kong’s need for further economic diversification, close links with the New Silk Road and greater integration with the Pearl River Delta region; whereas according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Hong Kong is the world's second largest target market for foreign direct investment;

| F. | whereas Hong Kong’s defence and foreign affairs are within the remit of the Government of the PRC; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas Hong Kong’s defence and foreign affairs are within the remit of the Government of the PRC;

| G. | whereas the Basic Law gives the Hong Kong SAR the right to organise its own external economic relations and to become a member of international organisations; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas the Basic Law gives the Hong Kong SAR the right to organise its own external economic relations and to become a member of international organisations;

| H. | whereas even after 1 July 1997, existing agreements on civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and international human rights agreements have continued to apply; whereas the PRC has also signed and ratified international agreements guaranteeing these rights and has thus acknowledged the significance and universality of human rights; whereas China has established forums for dialogue with the EU and other international partners on matters linked to the rule of law; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas even after 1 July 1997, existing agreements on civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and international human rights agreements have continued to apply; whereas the PRC has also signed and ratified international agreements guaranteeing these rights and has thus acknowledged the significance and universality of human rights; whereas China has established forums for dialogue with the EU and other international partners on matters linked to the rule of law;

| I. | whereas Hong Kong is a member or associate member of more than 20 international organisations including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Interpol, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the International Olympic Committee, the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; |
| --- | --- |

I.

whereas Hong Kong is a member or associate member of more than 20 international organisations including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Interpol, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the International Olympic Committee, the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions;

| J. | whereas Hong Kong is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); |
| --- | --- |

J.

whereas Hong Kong is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);

| K. | whereas the Basic Law lays down provisions providing protection for human rights and individual freedoms; |
| --- | --- |

K.

whereas the Basic Law lays down provisions providing protection for human rights and individual freedoms;

| L. | whereas Article 27 of the Basic Law guarantees freedom of speech, of the press and publication, and of association, assembly, procession and demonstration; |
| --- | --- |

L.

whereas Article 27 of the Basic Law guarantees freedom of speech, of the press and publication, and of association, assembly, procession and demonstration;

| M. | whereas Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law stipulate that the Chief Executive and all members of the Legislative Council should ultimately be elected by universal suffrage; |
| --- | --- |

M.

whereas Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law stipulate that the Chief Executive and all members of the Legislative Council should ultimately be elected by universal suffrage;

| N. | whereas the PRC State Council issued a white paper on the practice of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy in Hong Kong on 10 June 2014, stressing that the autonomy of the Hong Kong SAR is ultimately subject to central PRC government authorisation; |
| --- | --- |

N.

whereas the PRC State Council issued a white paper on the practice of the ‘one country, two systems’ policy in Hong Kong on 10 June 2014, stressing that the autonomy of the Hong Kong SAR is ultimately subject to central PRC government authorisation;

| O. | whereas Hong Kong’s traditional open society has paved the way for the development of a genuine and independent civil society that actively and constructively takes part in the public life of the SAR; |
| --- | --- |

O.

whereas Hong Kong’s traditional open society has paved the way for the development of a genuine and independent civil society that actively and constructively takes part in the public life of the SAR;

| P. | whereas Hong Kong’s civil society has raised public awareness of civil and political rights, religion, healthcare, the environment, climate change, women’s political participation, the rights of domestic workers, LGBTI rights, and academic and cultural freedoms; |
| --- | --- |

P.

whereas Hong Kong’s civil society has raised public awareness of civil and political rights, religion, healthcare, the environment, climate change, women’s political participation, the rights of domestic workers, LGBTI rights, and academic and cultural freedoms;

| Q. | whereas Hong Kong enjoys a lively multi-party system; whereas, over the years, the people of Hong Kong have witnessed mass demonstrations in favour of democracy and the full implementation of the Basic Law, including the 2014 protests by the so-called Umbrella Movement, as well as on media freedoms, and, among other things, against the disappearance of the Hong Kong booksellers; |
| --- | --- |

Q.

whereas Hong Kong enjoys a lively multi-party system; whereas, over the years, the people of Hong Kong have witnessed mass demonstrations in favour of democracy and the full implementation of the Basic Law, including the 2014 protests by the so-called Umbrella Movement, as well as on media freedoms, and, among other things, against the disappearance of the Hong Kong booksellers;

| R. | whereas during the last 20 years, some journalists and other media workers, often supporters of democracy and expressing critical views, have been forced to resign, moved to cover less sensitive areas and, in some cases, even threatened with violence; |
| --- | --- |

R.

whereas during the last 20 years, some journalists and other media workers, often supporters of democracy and expressing critical views, have been forced to resign, moved to cover less sensitive areas and, in some cases, even threatened with violence;

| S. | whereas at the end of 2015, four Hong Kong residents and one non-resident associated with the publishing house Mighty Current and its bookshop disappeared, whereas months later, information emerged that they were detained in mainland China in undisclosed locations, and whereas one of the released booksellers reported that his confession of wrongdoing had been forced; |
| --- | --- |

S.

whereas at the end of 2015, four Hong Kong residents and one non-resident associated with the publishing house Mighty Current and its bookshop disappeared, whereas months later, information emerged that they were detained in mainland China in undisclosed locations, and whereas one of the released booksellers reported that his confession of wrongdoing had been forced;

| T. | whereas, over the last few years, growing self-censorship has been observed in the Hong Kong media on matters concerning mainland China, as also corroborated by the surveys and reports by the Hong Kong Journalists Association; |
| --- | --- |

T.

whereas, over the last few years, growing self-censorship has been observed in the Hong Kong media on matters concerning mainland China, as also corroborated by the surveys and reports by the Hong Kong Journalists Association;

| U. | whereas Hong Kong offers scope for pursuing high-level training and reaching a high academic level, but academic freedom is in danger owing to repeated interferences by China’s central government, particularly as regards university council appointments; |
| --- | --- |

U.

whereas Hong Kong offers scope for pursuing high-level training and reaching a high academic level, but academic freedom is in danger owing to repeated interferences by China’s central government, particularly as regards university council appointments;

| V. | whereas a poll conducted at regular intervals by Hong Kong University’s public opinion programme catalogues a lengthy decline in identification with China; |
| --- | --- |

V.

whereas a poll conducted at regular intervals by Hong Kong University’s public opinion programme catalogues a lengthy decline in identification with China;

| W. | whereas in January 2017, the Hong Kong Environment Bureau published the cross-sectoral ‘Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2030+’, which, following the Paris Agreement, sets new targets for carbon emissions, namely reducing carbon intensity by two thirds and absolute carbon emissions by one third by 2030 compared with the 2005 base line; |
| --- | --- |

W.

whereas in January 2017, the Hong Kong Environment Bureau published the cross-sectoral ‘Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2030+’, which, following the Paris Agreement, sets new targets for carbon emissions, namely reducing carbon intensity by two thirds and absolute carbon emissions by one third by 2030 compared with the 2005 base line;

| X. | having regard to the importance of the port of Hong Kong to the PRC and international trade; |
| --- | --- |

X.

having regard to the importance of the port of Hong Kong to the PRC and international trade;

| 1. | Recommends the following to the Council, the Commission and the Vice President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy:






  (a) | to stress with the authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the PRC that in the same way that the EU’s ‘One China’ policy is the cornerstone of the EU’s engagement, fully respecting the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle is of key importance for the development and further strengthening and expanding of present and future relations with the EU, and that intervening in Hong Kong's internal affairs has the potential to undermine that principle and should therefore be avoided; |
| --- | --- | --- |

1.

(a)

to stress with the authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the PRC that in the same way that the EU’s ‘One China’ policy is the cornerstone of the EU’s engagement, fully respecting the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle is of key importance for the development and further strengthening and expanding of present and future relations with the EU, and that intervening in Hong Kong's internal affairs has the potential to undermine that principle and should therefore be avoided;

| (b) | to condemn the constant interference of the PRC in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, which may put at risk the long-term viability of the ‘one country, two systems’ model; |
| --- | --- |

(b)

to condemn the constant interference of the PRC in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, which may put at risk the long-term viability of the ‘one country, two systems’ model;

| (c) | to reinforce bilateral dialogue with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, not least through the annual EU-Hong Kong Structured Dialogue, on a wide range of topics and policy areas, such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, trade, investment, financial services, customs, the environment, climate change, research and education, to support the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, and to continue annual reporting by the VP/HR and the Commission to Parliament and the Council on developments in Hong Kong; |
| --- | --- |

(c)

to reinforce bilateral dialogue with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, not least through the annual EU-Hong Kong Structured Dialogue, on a wide range of topics and policy areas, such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, trade, investment, financial services, customs, the environment, climate change, research and education, to support the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, and to continue annual reporting by the VP/HR and the Commission to Parliament and the Council on developments in Hong Kong;

| (d) | to acknowledge that, over time, Hong Kong evolved into an open society in which citizens enjoy human rights, freedoms, high standards of public health and safety, transparency, and have a judiciary which is trusted, and where the rule of law and low levels of corruption prevail, and that the people of Hong Kong have a legitimate right to expect to continue enjoying their way of life and these rights and values under a high degree of autonomy; |
| --- | --- |

(d)

to acknowledge that, over time, Hong Kong evolved into an open society in which citizens enjoy human rights, freedoms, high standards of public health and safety, transparency, and have a judiciary which is trusted, and where the rule of law and low levels of corruption prevail, and that the people of Hong Kong have a legitimate right to expect to continue enjoying their way of life and these rights and values under a high degree of autonomy;

| (e) | to emphasise that respecting Hong Kong’s autonomy is essential for its further positive development and favourable relations with the Chinese mainland, and for the resumption of the dialogues between the mainland and Taiwan; |
| --- | --- |

(e)

to emphasise that respecting Hong Kong’s autonomy is essential for its further positive development and favourable relations with the Chinese mainland, and for the resumption of the dialogues between the mainland and Taiwan;

| (f) | to commit fully to supporting Hong Kong’s autonomy, prosperity and the rights and freedoms of its people, and to express firm support for the start of a political reform process which complies with international standards and the Basic Law, which grants the people of the SAR the right to elect and to be elected in the selection process for top leadership positions, and which reflects the majority view within Hong Kong public opinion; |
| --- | --- |

(f)

to commit fully to supporting Hong Kong’s autonomy, prosperity and the rights and freedoms of its people, and to express firm support for the start of a political reform process which complies with international standards and the Basic Law, which grants the people of the SAR the right to elect and to be elected in the selection process for top leadership positions, and which reflects the majority view within Hong Kong public opinion;

| (g) | to call, in this context, on the Governments of Hong Kong and the PRC to maintain their commitment and to build up momentum once again for the reform of universal suffrage in the future election of the Chief Executive and the members of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, in order to have an election system that is democratic, fair, open and transparent; |
| --- | --- |

(g)

to call, in this context, on the Governments of Hong Kong and the PRC to maintain their commitment and to build up momentum once again for the reform of universal suffrage in the future election of the Chief Executive and the members of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, in order to have an election system that is democratic, fair, open and transparent;

| (h) | to find ways to support the consolidation of Hong Kong’s democracy and its multi-party system and to express concern at the increasing harassment of opposition political parties and the refusal of the Companies Registry to register a number of pro-democracy groups; |
| --- | --- |

(h)

to find ways to support the consolidation of Hong Kong’s democracy and its multi-party system and to express concern at the increasing harassment of opposition political parties and the refusal of the Companies Registry to register a number of pro-democracy groups;

| (i) | to welcome the record turnout in the last Legislative Council elections in 2016, while regretting that, in 2016, Hong Kong authorities refused to register a new pro-independence political party for the Legislative Council elections and disqualified six candidates with views promoting greater autonomy for Hong Kong; |
| --- | --- |

(i)

to welcome the record turnout in the last Legislative Council elections in 2016, while regretting that, in 2016, Hong Kong authorities refused to register a new pro-independence political party for the Legislative Council elections and disqualified six candidates with views promoting greater autonomy for Hong Kong;

| (j) | to condemn threats to the personal safety of pro-democracy politicians, including abductions and physical violence, as reported by some lawmakers; |
| --- | --- |

(j)

to condemn threats to the personal safety of pro-democracy politicians, including abductions and physical violence, as reported by some lawmakers;

| (k) | to welcome the release on bail of the three leaders of the pro-democracy movement Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow recently sentenced to jail for between six and eight months for ‘unlawful assembly’, after having been sentenced last year to non-custodial penalties, including community service, for their participation in peaceful protests; to urge the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal to consider the cases of Mr Wong, Mr Law and Mr Chow in accordance with Hong Kong’s obligations under international human rights law, and to urge the Hong Kong Government to revise the Public Order Ordinance to bring it in line with international human rights standards; |
| --- | --- |

(k)

to welcome the release on bail of the three leaders of the pro-democracy movement Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow recently sentenced to jail for between six and eight months for ‘unlawful assembly’, after having been sentenced last year to non-custodial penalties, including community service, for their participation in peaceful protests; to urge the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal to consider the cases of Mr Wong, Mr Law and Mr Chow in accordance with Hong Kong’s obligations under international human rights law, and to urge the Hong Kong Government to revise the Public Order Ordinance to bring it in line with international human rights standards;

| (l) | to point out to China that, even though the Basic Law, the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle are largely respected, there are growing and widespread concerns that the agreed high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong, or the legal value, or the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration have been called into question; |
| --- | --- |

(l)

to point out to China that, even though the Basic Law, the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle are largely respected, there are growing and widespread concerns that the agreed high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong, or the legal value, or the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration have been called into question;

| (m) | to express deep concern about the National People’s Congress Standing Committee issuing interpretations, whether unsolicited or otherwise, of the Basic Law prior to court rulings, suggesting that democratically elected legislators should be disqualified, and thus undermining trust in the full independence of the judiciary in the individual cases in question; to recall that the Hong Kong court system and normal judicial process should be the main instrument to resolve disputes; |
| --- | --- |

(m)

to express deep concern about the National People’s Congress Standing Committee issuing interpretations, whether unsolicited or otherwise, of the Basic Law prior to court rulings, suggesting that democratically elected legislators should be disqualified, and thus undermining trust in the full independence of the judiciary in the individual cases in question; to recall that the Hong Kong court system and normal judicial process should be the main instrument to resolve disputes;

| (n) | to emphasise that the handling of the case of the five missing booksellers has raised regrettable questions about the autonomy of the SAR, as stated in its Basic Law, and about the lack of clarity concerning the role of mainland law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong; |
| --- | --- |

(n)

to emphasise that the handling of the case of the five missing booksellers has raised regrettable questions about the autonomy of the SAR, as stated in its Basic Law, and about the lack of clarity concerning the role of mainland law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong;

| (o) | to express concern at allegations that China’s law enforcement agencies are operating in Hong Kong, which would constitute a violation of the Basic Law and would be inconsistent with the ‘one country, two systems’ principle; |
| --- | --- |

(o)

to express concern at allegations that China’s law enforcement agencies are operating in Hong Kong, which would constitute a violation of the Basic Law and would be inconsistent with the ‘one country, two systems’ principle;

| (p) | to underline that freedom of information and freedom of speech have generally been upheld, while expressing concern at the steady deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong, with growing pressure on the media, both print and electronic, increasing self-censorship with regard, in particular, to covering sensitive issues on mainland China or concerning the Hong Kong Government, and the tightening of control over the sale of sensitive political books by monopolising ownership of almost all storefront bookshops; |
| --- | --- |

(p)

to underline that freedom of information and freedom of speech have generally been upheld, while expressing concern at the steady deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong, with growing pressure on the media, both print and electronic, increasing self-censorship with regard, in particular, to covering sensitive issues on mainland China or concerning the Hong Kong Government, and the tightening of control over the sale of sensitive political books by monopolising ownership of almost all storefront bookshops;

| (q) | to continue the bilateral dialogue with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR on a variety of policy areas as well as on the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle; |
| --- | --- |

(q)

to continue the bilateral dialogue with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR on a variety of policy areas as well as on the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle;

| (r) | to reiterate that any legislation introduced under the Basic Law, including any legislation to be proposed on the basis of Article 23 of the Basic Law such as a possible National Security Bill, must not interfere with the independence and exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong judiciary and should not undermine obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), nor should it undermine freedoms such as freedom of speech, media freedoms, freedom of association and assembly, freedom of demonstration, freedom to form trade unions and to strike, and freedom of academic research and cultural and artistic expression, and should not be used to target human rights activists and government critics; |
| --- | --- |

(r)

to reiterate that any legislation introduced under the Basic Law, including any legislation to be proposed on the basis of Article 23 of the Basic Law such as a possible National Security Bill, must not interfere with the independence and exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong judiciary and should not undermine obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), nor should it undermine freedoms such as freedom of speech, media freedoms, freedom of association and assembly, freedom of demonstration, freedom to form trade unions and to strike, and freedom of academic research and cultural and artistic expression, and should not be used to target human rights activists and government critics;

| (s) | to submit to Parliament in the near future proposals for the development of cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities in the area of tax transparency, including Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), the combating of money laundering and terrorist funding, and the implementation of the measures called for by the OECD in its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) package; |
| --- | --- |

(s)

to submit to Parliament in the near future proposals for the development of cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities in the area of tax transparency, including Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), the combating of money laundering and terrorist funding, and the implementation of the measures called for by the OECD in its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) package;

| (t) | to encourage and support the regionally coordinated pro-democracy movements as a key tool to foster Asian cooperation on democracy and human rights issues; |
| --- | --- |

(t)

to encourage and support the regionally coordinated pro-democracy movements as a key tool to foster Asian cooperation on democracy and human rights issues;

| (u) | to urge the Hong Kong Government to take more effective measures against tax evasion and tax fraud, and to take measures to monitor and sanction firms that facilitate tax evasion and fraud through their subsidiaries in Hong Kong; |
| --- | --- |

(u)

to urge the Hong Kong Government to take more effective measures against tax evasion and tax fraud, and to take measures to monitor and sanction firms that facilitate tax evasion and fraud through their subsidiaries in Hong Kong;

| (v) | to find ways to support Hong Kong’s civil society, in particular organisations that uphold universal values, promote human rights and support the independence of the judiciary and press freedom; to stress that only non-violent forms of protest and dialogue can be a means to engage in disputes; |
| --- | --- |

(v)

to find ways to support Hong Kong’s civil society, in particular organisations that uphold universal values, promote human rights and support the independence of the judiciary and press freedom; to stress that only non-violent forms of protest and dialogue can be a means to engage in disputes;

| (w) | to recommend to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong that it carefully examine future legislation on high-speed rail in consultation with civil society organisations and the citizens of Hong Kong; |
| --- | --- |

(w)

to recommend to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong that it carefully examine future legislation on high-speed rail in consultation with civil society organisations and the citizens of Hong Kong;

| (x) | to encourage Hong Kong’s academic institutions to maintain the high standards of their curricula and research and to preserve academic freedoms, but to express concern, in this respect, about the procedure for the appointment of university councils and the external interferences aimed at modifying school curricula, which could undermine the independence of higher education institutions; to promote the strengthening of ties between European and Hong Kong academic institutions; |
| --- | --- |

(x)

to encourage Hong Kong’s academic institutions to maintain the high standards of their curricula and research and to preserve academic freedoms, but to express concern, in this respect, about the procedure for the appointment of university councils and the external interferences aimed at modifying school curricula, which could undermine the independence of higher education institutions; to promote the strengthening of ties between European and Hong Kong academic institutions;

| (y) | to call for the timely adoption of an anti-discrimination law; |
| --- | --- |

(y)

to call for the timely adoption of an anti-discrimination law;

| (z) | to recall that Hong Kong’s society and its people have been heavily influenced by immigration, including refugees, and to call on the Hong Kong Government to bring its refugee and migration policy in line with international standards, particularly when it comes to unaccompanied minor refugees; |
| --- | --- |

(z)

to recall that Hong Kong’s society and its people have been heavily influenced by immigration, including refugees, and to call on the Hong Kong Government to bring its refugee and migration policy in line with international standards, particularly when it comes to unaccompanied minor refugees;

| (aa) | to point out that, even though recent surveys show that many inhabitants of Hong Kong wish to emigrate, it would be unfortunate if Hong Kong could not keep its brightest and best, and troubling if so many, particularly young people, were to lose their faith in the future; |
| --- | --- |

(aa)

to point out that, even though recent surveys show that many inhabitants of Hong Kong wish to emigrate, it would be unfortunate if Hong Kong could not keep its brightest and best, and troubling if so many, particularly young people, were to lose their faith in the future;

| (ab) | to express concern that the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea has established in its reports that Hong Kong is one of two business jurisdictions in which the largest share of North Korean-controlled front companies have been operating; recalls that joint international ventures with North Korea are in violation of the most recent UN Security Council resolution 2388 (2017) and urges the Hong Kong authorities to address the concerns of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea; |
| --- | --- |

(ab)

to express concern that the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea has established in its reports that Hong Kong is one of two business jurisdictions in which the largest share of North Korean-controlled front companies have been operating; recalls that joint international ventures with North Korea are in violation of the most recent UN Security Council resolution 2388 (2017) and urges the Hong Kong authorities to address the concerns of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea;

| (ac) | to draw the attention of the Hong Kong authorities to the fact that, according to a study, municipal waste in Hong Kong has increased by 80 % in the past decade, which is more than double that of the population growth, and to assist them in developing an effective waste reduction policy, promoting recycling and other forms of circular economy, and raising awareness of responsible consumption; |
| --- | --- |

(ac)

to draw the attention of the Hong Kong authorities to the fact that, according to a study, municipal waste in Hong Kong has increased by 80 % in the past decade, which is more than double that of the population growth, and to assist them in developing an effective waste reduction policy, promoting recycling and other forms of circular economy, and raising awareness of responsible consumption;

| (ad) | to underline to the Chinese authorities that full respect for Hong Kong’s autonomy could provide the model for a process of deep democratic political reforms in China and for the gradual liberalisation and opening up of Chinese society; |
| --- | --- |

(ad)

to underline to the Chinese authorities that full respect for Hong Kong’s autonomy could provide the model for a process of deep democratic political reforms in China and for the gradual liberalisation and opening up of Chinese society;

| (ae) | to underline the EU’s commitment to strengthening democracy, including the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, fundamental freedoms and rights, transparency, and freedom of information and expression in Hong Kong; |
| --- | --- |

(ae)

to underline the EU’s commitment to strengthening democracy, including the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, fundamental freedoms and rights, transparency, and freedom of information and expression in Hong Kong;

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and, for information, to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Government of the People’s Republic of China. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  OJ L 151, 18.6.1999, p. 20.

(2)  OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 1.

(3)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0444.

(4)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0045.

(5)  OJ C 286 E, 23.11.2006, p. 523.

(6)  OJ C 64 E, 12.3.2004, p. 130.

(7)  OJ C 31 E, 5.2.2004, p. 261.

(8)  OJ C 197, 12.7.2001, p. 387.

(9)  OJ C 328, 26.10.1998, p. 186.

(10)  OJ C 132, 28.4.1997, p. 222.

(11)  OJ C 399, 24.11.2017, p. 92.

(12)  OJ C 36, 29.1.2016, p. 126.

---

II Information

INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Parliament

Tuesday 12 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/162 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/162

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P8_TA(2017)0479

Request for defence of the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza

European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the request for defence of the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza (2017/2199(IMM))

(2018/C 369/18)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the request from Gabriele Zimmer of 20 July 2017, announced in plenary on 11 September 2017, for the defence of the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza in connection with an incident the latter endured following a demonstration held in the context of the G20 summit in Hamburg on 8 July 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the request from Gabriele Zimmer of 20 July 2017, announced in plenary on 11 September 2017, for the defence of the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza in connection with an incident the latter endured following a demonstration held in the context of the G20 summit in Hamburg on 8 July 2017,

| — | having heard Eleonora Forenza in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having heard Eleonora Forenza in accordance with Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage,

| — | having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986, 15 and 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011 and 17 January 2013 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986, 15 and 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011 and 17 January 2013 (1),

| — | having regard to Rules 5(2), 7 and 9 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rules 5(2), 7 and 9 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A8-0398/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A8-0398/2017),

| A. | whereas Gabriele Zimmer, MEP, Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, has requested, under Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7, the defence of the parliamentary immunity of Eleonora Forenza, an MEP belonging to the same political group, who was searched and then detained by the German police along with a number of other activists following a demonstration held in the context of the G20 summit in Hamburg on 8 July 2017; whereas the search and detention took place after the demonstration, when Ms Forenza and her companions were on their way to have lunch together; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas Gabriele Zimmer, MEP, Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, has requested, under Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7, the defence of the parliamentary immunity of Eleonora Forenza, an MEP belonging to the same political group, who was searched and then detained by the German police along with a number of other activists following a demonstration held in the context of the G20 summit in Hamburg on 8 July 2017; whereas the search and detention took place after the demonstration, when Ms Forenza and her companions were on their way to have lunch together;

| B. | whereas Parliament has broad discretion as to the direction it wishes to give to a decision following a request from an MEP for the defence of immunity (2); |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas Parliament has broad discretion as to the direction it wishes to give to a decision following a request from an MEP for the defence of immunity (2);

| C. | whereas Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union are mutually exclusive (3); whereas the case at hand does not concern any opinion expressed by an MEP, but rather conduct deemed to pose a danger to public order (alleged participation in a riot); and whereas, therefore, Article 9 of Protocol No 7 clearly applies in this case; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas Articles 8 and 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union are mutually exclusive (3); whereas the case at hand does not concern any opinion expressed by an MEP, but rather conduct deemed to pose a danger to public order (alleged participation in a riot); and whereas, therefore, Article 9 of Protocol No 7 clearly applies in this case;

| D. | whereas, under Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, MEPs are to enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament, and, in the territory of any other Member State, immunity from any measure of detention and from legal proceedings; and whereas Ms Forenza, as an Italian MEP visiting Germany, therefore enjoyed such immunity; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas, under Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, MEPs are to enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament, and, in the territory of any other Member State, immunity from any measure of detention and from legal proceedings; and whereas Ms Forenza, as an Italian MEP visiting Germany, therefore enjoyed such immunity;

| E. | whereas, according to the request for the defence of her immunity, Ms Forenza had told the German police right from the outset that she was an MEP; whereas she had immediately presented documents attesting to her status; and whereas she had even managed to put the Italian Consul in Hamburg in contact with the police officer in charge; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas, according to the request for the defence of her immunity, Ms Forenza had told the German police right from the outset that she was an MEP; whereas she had immediately presented documents attesting to her status; and whereas she had even managed to put the Italian Consul in Hamburg in contact with the police officer in charge;

| F. | whereas, despite her status as an MEP, the German police nevertheless subjected Ms Forenza to a thorough body search, and then detained her for more than four hours; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas, despite her status as an MEP, the German police nevertheless subjected Ms Forenza to a thorough body search, and then detained her for more than four hours;

| G. | whereas, in the light of the foregoing, the German police must have known that they had detained an MEP; whereas that amounts to a breach of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and in particular Article 9, first paragraph, point (b) thereof; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas, in the light of the foregoing, the German police must have known that they had detained an MEP; whereas that amounts to a breach of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and in particular Article 9, first paragraph, point (b) thereof;

| H. | whereas, given the circumstances of the case, it is clear that Ms Forenza was not found in the act of committing an offence, so the exception laid down in Article 9, third paragraph, of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union does not apply, and whereas Ms Forenza is therefore fully covered by her parliamentary immunity in this case; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas, given the circumstances of the case, it is clear that Ms Forenza was not found in the act of committing an offence, so the exception laid down in Article 9, third paragraph, of Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union does not apply, and whereas Ms Forenza is therefore fully covered by her parliamentary immunity in this case;

| 1. | Decides to defend the privileges and immunities of Eleonora Forenza; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany and to Eleonora Forenza. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  Judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 1964, Wagner v Fohrmann and Krier, 101/63, ECLI:EU:C:1964:28; judgment of the Court of Justice of 10 July 1986, Wybot v Faure and others, 149/85, ECLI:EU:C:1986:310; judgment of the General Court of 15 October 2008, Mote v Parliament, T-345/05, ECLI:EU:T:2008:440; judgment of the Court of Justice of 21 October 2008, Marra v De Gregorio and Clemente, C-200/07 and C-201/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:579; judgment of the General Court of 19 March 2010, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-42/06, ECLI:EU:T:2010:102; judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 September 2011, Patriciello, C-163/10, ECLI: EU:C:2011:543; judgment of the General Court of 17 January 2013, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-346/11 and T-347/11, ECLI:EU:T:2013:23.

(2)  Case T-42/06, Gollnisch v Parliament, cited above, paragraph 101.

(3)  Joined Cases C-200/07 and C-201/07, Marra/De Gregorio and Clemente, cited above, paragraph 45.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/164 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/164

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P8_TA(2017)0480

Request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle

European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle (2017/2220(IMM))

(2018/C 369/19)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle forwarded on 27 July 2017 by the public prosecutor’s office in Ellwangen (Germany), in connection with criminal proceedings ref. 21 Js 11263/17, and announced in plenary on 2 October 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle forwarded on 27 July 2017 by the public prosecutor’s office in Ellwangen (Germany), in connection with criminal proceedings ref. 21 Js 11263/17, and announced in plenary on 2 October 2017,

| — | having regard to the waiver by Ingeborg Gräßle of her right to be heard under Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the waiver by Ingeborg Gräßle of her right to be heard under Rule 9(6) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage,

| — | having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986, 15 and 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011 and 17 January 2013 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986, 15 and 21 October 2008, 19 March 2010, 6 September 2011 and 17 January 2013 (1),

| — | having regard to Article 46 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 46 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany,

| — | having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 5(2), Rule 6(1) and Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A8-0397/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A8-0397/2017),

| A. | whereas the public prosecutor’s office in Ellwangen has forwarded a request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle, Member of the European Parliament elected for the Federal Republic of Germany, in connection with an offence within the meaning of Article 229 of the German Criminal Code; whereas, in particular, the proceedings relate to allegations of causing of physical injury through negligence; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas the public prosecutor’s office in Ellwangen has forwarded a request for waiver of the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle, Member of the European Parliament elected for the Federal Republic of Germany, in connection with an offence within the meaning of Article 229 of the German Criminal Code; whereas, in particular, the proceedings relate to allegations of causing of physical injury through negligence;

| B. | whereas on 10 June 2017, at the junction of Brenzstraße and Ploucquetstraße in Heidenheim, Ms Gräßle drove through a red light and caused an accident in which a person suffered a shoulder injury; whereas a private action has been brought for damages; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas on 10 June 2017, at the junction of Brenzstraße and Ploucquetstraße in Heidenheim, Ms Gräßle drove through a red light and caused an accident in which a person suffered a shoulder injury; whereas a private action has been brought for damages;

| C. | whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union stipulates that Members of the European Parliament ‘shall enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament’; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas Article 9 of Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union stipulates that Members of the European Parliament ‘shall enjoy, in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament’;

| D. | whereas Article 46 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany stipulates that a Member may not be called to account or arrested for a punishable offence without permission of the Bundestag unless he or she is apprehended while committing the offence or in the course of the following day; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas Article 46 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany stipulates that a Member may not be called to account or arrested for a punishable offence without permission of the Bundestag unless he or she is apprehended while committing the offence or in the course of the following day;

| E. | whereas it is for Parliament alone to decide, in a given case, whether or not to waive immunity; whereas Parliament may reasonably take account of the position of the Member in order to decide whether or not to waive his or her immunity (2); |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas it is for Parliament alone to decide, in a given case, whether or not to waive immunity; whereas Parliament may reasonably take account of the position of the Member in order to decide whether or not to waive his or her immunity (2);

| F. | whereas the alleged offence has no clear or direct bearing on the performance by Ms Gräßle of her duties as a Member of the European Parliament and does not constitute an opinion expressed or vote cast in the performance of those duties within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas the alleged offence has no clear or direct bearing on the performance by Ms Gräßle of her duties as a Member of the European Parliament and does not constitute an opinion expressed or vote cast in the performance of those duties within the meaning of Article 8 of Protocol No 7 on the privileges and immunities of the European Union;

| G. | whereas, in this case, Parliament has found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, i.e. a sufficiently serious and precise suspicion that the proceedings have been brought with the intention of causing the Member political damage; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas, in this case, Parliament has found no evidence of fumus persecutionis, i.e. a sufficiently serious and precise suspicion that the proceedings have been brought with the intention of causing the Member political damage;

| 1. | Decides to waive the immunity of Ingeborg Gräßle; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its committee responsible immediately to the competent authority of the Federal Republic of Germany and to Ingeborg Gräßle. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  Judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 1964, Wagner v Fohrmann and Krier, 101/63, ECLI:EU:C:1964:28; judgment of the Court of Justice of 10 July 1986, Wybot v Faure and others, 149/85, ECLI:EU:C:1986:310; judgment of the General Court of 15 October 2008, Mote v Parliament, T-345/05, ECLI:EU:T:2008:440; judgment of the Court of Justice of 21 October 2008, Marra v De Gregorio and Clemente, C-200/07 and C-201/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:579; judgment of the General Court of 19 March 2010, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-42/06, ECLI:EU:T:2010:102; judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 September 2011, Patriciello, C-163/10, ECLI:EU:C:2011:543; judgment of the General Court of 17 January 2013, Gollnisch v Parliament, T-346/11 and T-347/11, ECLI:EU:T:2013:23.

(2)  Case T-345/05, Mote v Parliament (op. cit.), paragraph 28.

---

III Preparatory acts

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Tuesday 12 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/166 |
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11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/166

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P8_TA(2017)0475

Sustainable management of external fishing fleets ***II

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008 (11382/2/2017 — C8-0358/2017 — 2015/0289(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

(2018/C 369/20)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Council position at first reading (11382/2/2017 — C8-0358/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Council position at first reading (11382/2/2017 — C8-0358/2017),

| — | having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 25 May 2016 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 25 May 2016 (1),

| — | having regard to its position at first reading (2) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2015)0636), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its position at first reading (2) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2015)0636),

| — | having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to Rule 67a of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 67a of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Fisheries (A8-0374/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Fisheries (A8-0374/2017),

| 1. | Approves the Council position at first reading; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. |
| --- | --- |

5.

---

(1)  OJ C 303, 19.8.2016, p. 116.

(2)  Texts adopted of 2.2.2017, P8_TA(2017)0015.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/167 |
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11.10.2018

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/167

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P8_TA(2017)0476

Amendments to various Regulations in the field of agriculture and rural development ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013, (EU) No 1307/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2016)0605 — C8-0404/2017 — 2016/0282B(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

(2018/C 369/21)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0605), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0605),

| — | having regard to the decision by the Conference of Presidents on 16 November 2017 to split the Commission proposal and to authorise the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to draw up a separate legislative report for the provisions pertaining to the remit of that committee, namely Articles 267 to 270 and 275 of the Commission proposal, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the decision by the Conference of Presidents on 16 November 2017 to split the Commission proposal and to authorise the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to draw up a separate legislative report for the provisions pertaining to the remit of that committee, namely Articles 267 to 270 and 275 of the Commission proposal,

| — | having regard to Article 294(2) and (3) and Article 42, Article 43(2) and point (b) of Article 168(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(2) and (3) and Article 42, Article 43(2) and point (b) of Article 168(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the opinion of the European Court of Auditors No 1/2017 of 26 January 2017 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Court of Auditors No 1/2017 of 26 January 2017 (1),

| — | having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 December 2016 (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 14 December 2016 (2),

| — | having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 11 May 2017 (3), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 11 May 2017 (3),

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Budgetary Control (A8-0211/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Budgetary Control (A8-0211/2017),

| — | having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure hereinafter set out, and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 15 November 2017 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure hereinafter set out, and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 15 November 2017 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A8-0380/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A8-0380/2017),

| 1. | Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Approves its statement annexed to this resolution; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Takes note of the statements by the Commission annexed to this resolution |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Underlines that the split of the Commission proposal is aimed at enabling the provisions pertaining to the remit of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to apply from 1 January 2018 and that the remaining part of the Commission proposal (4) will be examined at a later stage; |
| --- | --- |

4.

| 5. | Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; |
| --- | --- |

5.

| 6. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. |
| --- | --- |

6.

---

(1)  OJ C 91, 23.3.2017, p. 1.

(2)  OJ C 75, 10.3.2017, p. 63.

(3)  OJ C 306, 15.9.2017, p. 64.

(4)  Procedure number 2016/0282A(COD).

---

P8_TC1-COD(2016)0282B

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), (EU) No 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1307/2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2017/2393.)

---

ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The new rules on producer organisations and competition law (CMO)

The European Parliament recalls that, according to Article 42 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), rules on competition apply to the production of and trade in agricultural products only to the extent determined by the Parliament and the Council, account being taken of the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as laid down in Article 39 of the same Treaty.

As set out in the treaty, and in accordance with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (1), the objectives of the CAP prevail over those of European competition policy. However, agricultural markets are not exempt from the application of competition law. The adaptation of competition rules to agricultural specificities is the prerogative of the co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council.

Within this context, the European Parliament by means of this Regulation proposes a clarification of the relationship between CAP rules, in particular the role and the missions of producer organisations and associations of producer organisations, and the application of European competition law. Such a clarification is necessary because of the existing uncertainties regarding the implementation of these rules, and is essential to reach the Union's objective to strengthen farmers’ position within the food supply chain. The European Parliament's proposals are based on the recommendations in the Agri-Market Task Force (AMTF) report of 14 November 2016. These recommendations were based on a series of hearings and contributions received from all actors in the food supply chain: producers, processors and retailers.

The European Parliament aims to simplify and clarify the conditions under which producer organisations or associations of producer organisations in all the sectors listed in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 may carry out, on behalf of their members, activities of production planning, placing on the market, negotiation of contracts for the supply of agricultural products and optimisation of production costs. These tasks essentially require the existence of certain practices, including internal consultations and the exchange of commercial information within those entities. It is therefore proposed that these practices fall outside of the scope of the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements, laid down by Article 101(1) of the TFEU, and that producer organisations or associations of producer organisations, carrying out at least one economic activity, benefit from a derogation from the application of this article. However, this derogation is not absolute: competition authorities retain the possibility to intervene if they consider that such activities are likely to exclude competition or jeopardize the objectives of the CAP.

The role and the missions of producer organisations or associations of producer organisations and their relationship with competition law is thus clarified. Without prejudice to the institutional prerogatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament considers that the new rules do not require further clarification in the form of guidelines of the European Commission.

STATEMENTS BY THE COMMISSION

Ad Article 1 — Rural development

—   Extension of the duration of rural development programmes

Expenditure relating to the 2014-2020 rural development programmes approved in accordance with Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 will continue to be eligible for EAFRD contribution if paid to the beneficiaries by latest 31 December 2023. The Commission will address the continuation of support for rural development after 2020 in the context of its proposal for the next MFF.

—   Risk management

The Commission confirms its intention to review the functioning and efficiency of the risk management tools which are currently included in Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 in the context of its proposal on the modernisation and simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy.

—   Penalties for Leader

The Commission confirms its intention to review the effectiveness and proportionality of the penalties for LEADER included in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014.

Ad Article 2 — Horizontal Regulation

—   Crisis reserve

The Commission confirms that the operation of the reserve for crises in the agricultural sector and the reimbursement of appropriations related to financial discipline as provided for in Articles 25 and 26(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 will be reviewed in the context of the preparations for the next MFF with a view to allowing an efficient and timely intervention in times of market crisis.

—   Single audit

The Commission supports the single audit approach, as confirmed by its proposal for Article 123 of the new Financial Regulation. The Commission also confirms that the current legal framework for the management and control of agricultural expenditure, established by Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, already allows for such an approach and that this has been taken up in its audit strategy for the 2014-2020 period. In particular, where the opinion of the Certification Body delivered in accordance with Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 is considered reliable, the Commission takes this opinion into account when assessing the need for audits of the paying agency concerned.

Ad Article 3 — Direct payments

—   Protein Plan

The Commission confirms its intention to review the supply and demand situation for plant proteins in the EU and to consider the possibility of developing a ‘European plant protein strategy’ with a view to further encouraging the production of plant proteins in the EU in an economically and environmentally sound way.

Ad Article 4 — CMO

—   Voluntary production reduction

The Commission confirms that Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products already contains, in Articles 219 and 221, the necessary legal base allowing it, subject to the availability of budgetary resources, to address market disturbances and other specific problems, including at regional level, with the possibility of granting direct financial assistance to farmers. Moreover, the Commission's proposal to add a sector-specific income stabilisation tool to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development will allow Member States to include in their rural development programmes the possibility of compensating farmers in a specific sector in the event of a significant drop in their income.

The Commission further confirms that Article 219 allows it to introduce, in case of market disturbance or threats thereof, schemes under which Union aid is granted to producers who undertake to reduce their production on a voluntary basis, including the necessary details for the operation of such a scheme (Example: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2016/1612, OJ L 242, 9.9.2016, p. 4).

—   Recognition of transnational IBOs

The Commission recalls that rules on producer cooperation of recognising transnational producer organisations, transnational associations of producer organisations or transnational interbranch, including the necessary administrative cooperation between the Member States concerned, are currently laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/232. The operation and adequacy of these rules will be reviewed in the context of the ongoing process on the modernisation and simplification of the CAP.

—   Unfair trading practices

The Commission confirms that it has launched an initiative on the food supply chain which is now proceeding through the various stages required by the Better Regulation guidelines. It will decide on a possible legislative proposal once this procedure has been completed, if possible in the first half of 2018.

—   Producer co-operation

The Commission takes note of the agreement between Parliament and Council on the amendments to Articles 152, 209, 222 and 232. The Commission notes that the amendments agreed by Parliament and Council are substantial in nature and included without an impact assessment as required by point 15 of the Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making. This leads to an unwelcome degree of legal and procedural uncertainty of which the impact and implications are not known.

As the changes to the Commission's original proposal taken together result in a significant change to the legal framework, the Commission notes with concern that some of the new provisions in favour of producers' organisations might have the effect of endangering the viability and wellbeing of small farmers and the interest of the consumers. The Commission confirms its commitment to maintain effective competition in the agricultural sector, and give full effect to the objectives of the CAP laid down in Article 39 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In this context, the Commission notes that the amendments agreed by the co-legislators foresee only a very limited role for both the Commission and the national competition authorities to act to preserve effective competition.

The Commission's overall agreement on the ‘Omnibus’ proposal, including the amendments agreed by Parliament and Council, is without prejudice to any future proposals the Commission may make in these areas in the context of the reform of the common agricultural policy for the post-2020 period and other initiatives which are specifically meant to address some of the issues touched upon by the text now agreed by the European Parliament and the Council.

The Commission regrets that the issue of the very limited role for both the Commission and the National Competition authorities to act to preserve effective competition has not been addressed in a satisfactory manner by the co-legislators, and expresses concern with the possible implications of this limitation for farmers and consumers. The Commission notes that the legal text must be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Treaty, notably as regards the possibility for the Commission and national competition authorities to intervene if a producer organisation, which covers a large share of the market, seeks to restrict the freedom of action of its members. The Commission regrets that this possibility is not clearly safeguarded in the legal text.

---

(1)  Judgment Maizena, 139/79, EU:C:1980:250, paragraph 23; Judgment Germany v Council, C-280/93, EU:C:1994:367, paragraph 61.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/172 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/172

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P8_TA(2017)0477

EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): continuing current limitations of scope for aviation activities and preparing to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021 (COM(2017)0054 — C8-0028/2017 — 2017/0017(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

(2018/C 369/22)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2017)0054), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2017)0054),

| — | having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8-0028/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8-0028/2017),

| — | having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 31 May 2017 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 31 May 2017 (1),

| — | after consulting the Committee of the Regions, |
| --- | --- |

—

after consulting the Committee of the Regions,

| — | having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 27 October 2017 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 27 October 2017 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0258/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0258/2017),

| 1. | Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out (2); |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Approves the joint statement by Parliament, the Council and the Commission annexed to this resolution; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. |
| --- | --- |

4.

---

(1)  OJ C 288, 31.8.2017, p. 75.

(2)  This position replaces the amendments adopted on 13 September 2017 (Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0338).

---

P8_TC1-COD(2017)0017

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2017/2392.)

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ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

STATEMENT BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION

The outcome of the work of ICAO on the implementation of the global market-based measure is key for its effectiveness and for the future contribution of the aviation sector to the achievement of the objectives under the Paris Agreement. It is important that ICAO member states, aircraft operators and civil society continue to be engaged in this work of ICAO. It will be necessary in this context for ICAO to act in full transparency and to reach out to all stakeholders to inform them about progress and decisions in a timely manner.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/174 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/174

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P8_TA(2017)0478

Extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub (COM(2016)0597 — C8-0375/2016 — 2016/0276(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

(2018/C 369/23)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0597), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2016)0597),

| — | having regard to Article 294(2) and Articles 172 and 173, the third paragraph of Article 175 and Article 182(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8-0375/2016), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(2) and Articles 172 and 173, the third paragraph of Article 175 and Article 182(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8-0375/2016),

| — | having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 15 December 2016 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 15 December 2016 (1),

| — | having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 7 December 2016 (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 7 December 2016 (2),

| — | having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committees responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 8 November 2017 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committees responsible under Rule 69f(4) of its Rules of Procedure and the undertaking given by the Council representative by letter of 8 November 2017 to approve Parliament’s position, in accordance with Article 294(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs under Rule 55 of the Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs under Rule 55 of the Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Regional Development (A8-0198/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Regional Development (A8-0198/2017),

| 1. | Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Takes note of the Commission statement annexed to this resolution; |
| --- | --- |

2.

| 3. | Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal; |
| --- | --- |

3.

| 4. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. |
| --- | --- |

4.

---

(1)  OJ C 75, 10.3.2017, p. 57.

(2)  OJ C 185, 9.6.2017, p. 62.

---

P8_TC1-COD(2016)0276

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/... of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2017/2396.)

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ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Statement by the Commission on the EUR 225 million increase of the Connecting Europe Facility programme

As a result of the political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the financing of EFSI 2.0 an amount of EUR 275 million will be redeployed from CEF financial instruments, which represents a reduction of EUR 225 million in comparison with the Commission proposal.

The Commission confirms that the financial programming will be revised to reflect the corresponding EUR 225 million increase of the CEF programme.

In the framework of the annual budgetary procedures for the years 2019-2020 the Commission will make the appropriate proposals to ensure an optimal allocation of this amount within the CEF programme.

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| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/176 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/176

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P8_TA(2017)0481

Customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification) (COM(2017)0361 — C8-0226/2017 — 2014/0175(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure — codification)

(2018/C 369/24)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2017)0361), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2017)0361),

| — | having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 207(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8-0226/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 207(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C8-0226/2017),

| — | having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 20 December 1994 — Accelerated working method for official codification of legislative texts (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 20 December 1994 — Accelerated working method for official codification of legislative texts (1),

| — | having regard to Rules 103 and 59 of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rules 103 and 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A8-0331/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A8-0331/2017),

| A. | whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the proposal in question contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts without any change in their substance; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the proposal in question contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts without any change in their substance;

| 1. | Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  OJ C 102, 4.4.1996, p. 2.

---

P8_TC1-COD(2014)0175

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 12 December 2017 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America (codification)

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) 2018/196.)

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/177 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/177

---

P8_TA(2017)0482

EU-USA Air Transport Agreement ***

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United States of America, of the other part (13419/2016 — C8-0100/2017 — 2006/0058(NLE))

(Consent)

(2018/C 369/25)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the draft Council decision (13419/2016), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Council decision (13419/2016),

| — | having regard to the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United States of America, of the other part (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United States of America, of the other part (1),

| — | having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 100(2) and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0100/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 100(2) and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0100/2017),

| — | having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0376/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0376/2017),

| 1. | Gives its consent to conclusion of the agreement; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the United States of America. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  OJ L 134, 25.5.2007, p. 4.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/178 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/178

---

P8_TA(2017)0483

EU-Switzerland agreement on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems***

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (13076/2017 — C8-0415/2017 — 2017/0193(NLE))

(Consent)

(2018/C 369/26)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the draft Council decision (13076/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Council decision (13076/2017),

| — | having regard to the draft Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (13073/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the linking of their greenhouse gas emissions trading systems (13073/2017),

| — | having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 192(1) and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0415/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 192(1) and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0415/2017),

| — | having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A8-0386/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A8-0386/2017),

| 1. | Gives its consent to conclusion of the agreement; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Swiss Confederation. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/179 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/179

---

P8_TA(2017)0484

EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (Consent) ***

European Parliament legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (12409/2016 — C8-0469/2016 — 2016/0166(NLE))

(Consent)

(2018/C 369/27)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the draft Council decision (12409/2016), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Council decision (12409/2016),

| — | having regard to the draft Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (09452/2015), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Kazakhstan, of the other part (09452/2015),

| — | having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 37 and Article 31(1) of the Treaty on European Union; and in accordance with Article 91, Article 100(2), Articles 207 and 209, and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), and Article 218(8), second subparagraph of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0469/2016), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 37 and Article 31(1) of the Treaty on European Union; and in accordance with Article 91, Article 100(2), Articles 207 and 209, and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a), and Article 218(8), second subparagraph of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C8-0469/2016),

| — | having regard to its non-legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 (1) on the draft decision, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to its non-legislative resolution of 12 December 2017 (1) on the draft decision,

| — | having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 99(1) and (4) and Rule 108(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0325/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0325/2017),

| 1. | Gives its consent to conclusion of the agreement; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Republic of Kazakhstan. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  Texts adopted of that date, P8_TA(2017)0485.

---

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/180 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/180

---

P8_TA(2017)0486

Renewal of the mandate of the Chair of the Single Resolution Board

European Parliament decision of 12 December 2017 on the proposal of the Commission for the renewal of the term of office of the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (N8-0092/2017 — C8-0425/2017 — 2017/0901(NLE))

(Approval)

(2018/C 369/28)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission proposal of 29 November 2017 for the renewal of the term of office of the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (N8-0092/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission proposal of 29 November 2017 for the renewal of the term of office of the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (N8-0092/2017),

| — | having regard to the third subparagraph of Article 56(6) and to Article 56(7) of Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2014 establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (1), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the third subparagraph of Article 56(6) and to Article 56(7) of Regulation (EU) No 806/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2014 establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 (1),

| — | having regard to Rule 122a of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 122a of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A8-0393/2017), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A8-0393/2017),

| A. | whereas on 19 December 2014, the Council appointed Elke König as Chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) for a term of office of three years as from 23 December 2014 (2); |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas on 19 December 2014, the Council appointed Elke König as Chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) for a term of office of three years as from 23 December 2014 (2);

| B. | whereas in accordance with Article 56(7) of Regulation (EU) No 806/2014, the term of office of the first Chair of the SRB may be renewed once for a period of five years; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas in accordance with Article 56(7) of Regulation (EU) No 806/2014, the term of office of the first Chair of the SRB may be renewed once for a period of five years;

| C. | whereas on 29 November 2017, the Commission adopted a proposal for the renewal of the term of office of Elke König as Chair of the SRB and transmitted this proposal to Parliament; |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas on 29 November 2017, the Commission adopted a proposal for the renewal of the term of office of Elke König as Chair of the SRB and transmitted this proposal to Parliament;

| D. | whereas Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs then proceeded to evaluate the credentials of the proposed candidate for the functions of Chair of the SRB, in particular in view of the requirements laid down in Article 56(4) of Regulation (EU) No 806/2014; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs then proceeded to evaluate the credentials of the proposed candidate for the functions of Chair of the SRB, in particular in view of the requirements laid down in Article 56(4) of Regulation (EU) No 806/2014;

| E. | whereas on 4 December 2017, the Committee held a hearing with Elke König, at which she made an opening statement and then responded to questions from the members of the Committee; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas on 4 December 2017, the Committee held a hearing with Elke König, at which she made an opening statement and then responded to questions from the members of the Committee;

| 1. | Approves the Commission's proposal for the renewal of the term of office of Elke König in the function of Chair of the SRB; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward this decision to the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  OJ L 225, 30.7.2014, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 367, 23.12.2014, p. 97.

---

Wednesday 13 December 2017

| 11.10.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 369/181 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.10.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 369/181

---

P8_TA(2017)0489

Non-objection to a delegated act: Regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation for certain derivatives

European Parliament decision to raise no objections to the Commission delegated regulation of 17 November 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in financial instruments with regard to regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation for certain derivatives (C(2017)07684 — 2017/2979(DEA))

(2018/C 369/29)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2017)07684), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission delegated regulation (C(2017)07684),

| — | having regard to the Commission’s letter of 29 November 2017 asking Parliament to declare that it will raise no objections to the delegated regulation, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the Commission’s letter of 29 November 2017 asking Parliament to declare that it will raise no objections to the delegated regulation,

| — | having regard to the letter from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs of 4 December 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the letter from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs of 4 December 2017,

| — | having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (1) (MiFIR), and in particular Articles 32(1) and 50(5) thereof, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (1) (MiFIR), and in particular Articles 32(1) and 50(5) thereof,

| — | having regard to Articles 10(1) and 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (2), |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Articles 10(1) and 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (2),

| — | having regard to the draft regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation for derivatives under MiFIR submitted by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on 28 September 2017 pursuant to Article 32(1) of MiFIR, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the draft regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation for derivatives under MiFIR submitted by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on 28 September 2017 pursuant to Article 32(1) of MiFIR,

| — | having regard to the accompanying letter from ESMA to the Commission of 28 September 2017 on ESMA’s draft regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation under MiFIR, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the accompanying letter from ESMA to the Commission of 28 September 2017 on ESMA’s draft regulatory technical standards on the trading obligation under MiFIR,

| — | having regard to the recommendation for a decision by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the recommendation for a decision by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs,

| — | having regard to Rule 105(6) of its Rules of Procedure, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to Rule 105(6) of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the fact that no objections have been raised within the period laid down in the third and fourth indents of Rule 105(6) of its Rules of Procedure, which expired on 12 December 2017, |
| --- | --- |

—

having regard to the fact that no objections have been raised within the period laid down in the third and fourth indents of Rule 105(6) of its Rules of Procedure, which expired on 12 December 2017,

| A. | whereas the delegated regulation sets out in its Annex the classes of derivatives that should be subject to the trading obligation introduced by Article 28 of MiFIR; whereas derivatives subject to this trading obligation may only be traded on a regulated market, on a multilateral trading facility, organised trading facility or third-country trading venue deemed to be equivalent by the Commission; |
| --- | --- |

A.

whereas the delegated regulation sets out in its Annex the classes of derivatives that should be subject to the trading obligation introduced by Article 28 of MiFIR; whereas derivatives subject to this trading obligation may only be traded on a regulated market, on a multilateral trading facility, organised trading facility or third-country trading venue deemed to be equivalent by the Commission;

| B. | whereas ESMA submitted the draft regulatory technical standard (RTS) on 28 September 2017 with an accompanying letter to the Commission, asking all parties involved to commit to shortening their deadlines to ensure that the political objective for the trading obligation to apply as of 3 January 2018 is achieved; whereas ESMA notes, furthermore, that a significant number of equivalence determinations still need to be completed before the trading obligation takes effect; |
| --- | --- |

B.

whereas ESMA submitted the draft regulatory technical standard (RTS) on 28 September 2017 with an accompanying letter to the Commission, asking all parties involved to commit to shortening their deadlines to ensure that the political objective for the trading obligation to apply as of 3 January 2018 is achieved; whereas ESMA notes, furthermore, that a significant number of equivalence determinations still need to be completed before the trading obligation takes effect;

| C. | whereas Parliament considers that the RTS adopted is not the same as the draft RTS submitted by ESMA due to the Commission’s amendments to the text, and whereas Parliament considers that it has three months to object to the RTS (‘scrutiny period’); |
| --- | --- |

C.

whereas Parliament considers that the RTS adopted is not the same as the draft RTS submitted by ESMA due to the Commission’s amendments to the text, and whereas Parliament considers that it has three months to object to the RTS (‘scrutiny period’);

| D. | whereas the delegated regulation should apply from 3 January 2018, the date of application of Directive 2014/65/EU (‘MiFID II’) and MiFIR, and a full use of the three-month scrutiny period available to Parliament would go beyond the date on which the rules on the trading obligation take effect; |
| --- | --- |

D.

whereas the delegated regulation should apply from 3 January 2018, the date of application of Directive 2014/65/EU (‘MiFID II’) and MiFIR, and a full use of the three-month scrutiny period available to Parliament would go beyond the date on which the rules on the trading obligation take effect;

| E. | whereas the trading obligation for derivatives is an important element of the commitments agreed upon by G20 leaders in Pittsburgh in 2009; |
| --- | --- |

E.

whereas the trading obligation for derivatives is an important element of the commitments agreed upon by G20 leaders in Pittsburgh in 2009;

| F. | whereas a swift publication of the delegated regulation in the Official Journal would allow for timely implementation and legal certainty concerning the provisions applicable to the trading obligation for derivatives; |
| --- | --- |

F.

whereas a swift publication of the delegated regulation in the Official Journal would allow for timely implementation and legal certainty concerning the provisions applicable to the trading obligation for derivatives;

| G. | whereas Parliament underlines the importance of the Commission finalising the appropriate equivalence decisions before the trading obligation comes into effect; |
| --- | --- |

G.

whereas Parliament underlines the importance of the Commission finalising the appropriate equivalence decisions before the trading obligation comes into effect;

| H. | whereas Parliament notes that the RTS does not contain any specific provisions regarding package transactions and that further guidance might be needed by the Commission and ESMA on the treatment of packages; whereas Parliament considers that this guidance should be in line with the provisions laid down in the MiFID II ‘Quick Fix’; |
| --- | --- |

H.

whereas Parliament notes that the RTS does not contain any specific provisions regarding package transactions and that further guidance might be needed by the Commission and ESMA on the treatment of packages; whereas Parliament considers that this guidance should be in line with the provisions laid down in the MiFID II ‘Quick Fix’;

| 1. | Declares that it has no objections to the delegated regulation; |
| --- | --- |

1.

| 2. | Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission. |
| --- | --- |

2.

---

(1)  OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 84.

(2)  OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84.

---