ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
P7_TA(2012)0434

Mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund — earthquakes in Italy

European Parliament resolution of 21 November 2012 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund, in accordance with point 26 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (COM(2012)0538 — C7-0300/2012 — 2012/2237(BUD))

(2015/C 419/43)

The European Parliament,

having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2012)0538 — C7-0300/2012),

having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (1) , and in particular point 26 thereof,

having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (2) ,

having regard to the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, adopted during the conciliation meeting on 17 July 2008 on the Solidarity Fund,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A7-0380/2012),

Instructs its President to sign the decision with the President of the Council and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution, including its annex, to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3.

ANNEX

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund, in accordance with point 26 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management

(The text of this annex is not reproduced here since it corresponds to the final act, Decision 2013/108/EU.)
147.

Condemns any intolerance, discrimination or violence on the grounds of religion or belief wherever and to whomever it occurs, whether directed at religious people, apostates and non-believers; expresses its profound concern about the increasing number of such acts in various countries, perpetrated against religious minority representatives as well as against those modest voices in majority religious traditions promoting pluralist and diverse societies based on mutual respect between individuals; expresses worry about the impunity for such violations, the bias on the part of the police and judiciary systems in dealing with such matters, and the lack of appropriate victim compensation schemes, that is evidenced in many countries in the world; notes that, paradoxically, the events of the Arab Spring, which were expected to bring about a pro-democratic transformation, in many cases rather brought about the deterioration of the freedoms and rights of religious minorities and, therefore, strongly condemns all acts of violence against Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other religious communities; recognises the growing need in a number of countries for conflict transformation and reconciliatory efforts, including inter-faith dialogue at various levels; urges the EU and VP/HR, the EU Special Representative on Human Rights, the Commission and the EEAS to address discriminatory and inflammatory content in, e.g., the media, as well as obstacles to the free profession of faith in EU dialogues with third countries concerning human rights; considers that in third countries where religious minorities are faced with violations of their rights, such problems cannot be solved by isolating them from the surrounding societies in order to protect them, thereby creating ‘parallel societies’;
12.

To that extent: (i) acknowledges that the composition of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance should be multinational; considers as regards their composition that account should be taken of the existing court structures, while bearing in mind that the overriding objective is to ensure that the new court is genuinely unified; proposes, therefore, that the composition of the local divisions should become multinational as soon as possible but that reasoned exceptions to this general principle may be made after approval from the Administrative Committee during a transitional period of no more than five years, while it has to be ensured that the standard of quality and efficiency of the existing structures is not reduced; considers that the period of five years should be used for intensive training and preparation for the judges; (ii) believes that the Court should be composed of both legally qualified and technically qualified judges; the judges should ensure the highest standards of competence and proven capacity in the field of patent litigation and antitrust law; this qualification should be proven inter alia by relevant work experience and professional training; legally qualified judges should possess the qualifications required for judicial offices in a Contracting Member State; technically qualified judges should have a university degree and expertise in a field of technology as well as knowledge of civil and civil procedural law; (iii) proposes that the provisions of the Agreement on the composition of the Court, once in force, should not be amended unless the objectives of the litigation system, i.e. highest quality and efficiency, are not fulfilled because of these provisions; proposes that decisions regarding the composition of the Court should be taken by the competent body acting unanimously; (iv) is of the opinion that the Agreement should contain safeguards ensuring that judges are only eligible if their neutrality is not in question, especially if they have served as Members of boards of appeal of a national patent office or the EPO;
3.

Considers that among the key priorities for addressing violence against women and girls should be the elimination of discriminatory socio-cultural attitudes that reinforce women’s subordinate place in society and result in the toleration of violence against women and girls in both private and public spheres, in the home and in workplaces and educational institutions; in this context, hopes there will be accelerated progress in the development of international legal norms, standards and policies that will improve services and protection for victims, raise awareness in order to change behaviour and attitudes, and, above all, ensure sufficient and consistent implementation in all parts of the world;
E.

whereas since this recent attack in New Delhi, other rape crimes have been widely reported in the national and international press, such as that of 27 December 2012 when a girl in Punjab committed suicide after she was gang-raped because the police were unwilling to register her complaint or arrest the accused, and instead suggested that she marry one of her aggressors, and that of 12 January 2013 in Punjab when a 29-year-old mother of two was gang-raped on a bus trip in very similar circumstances to those of the first case, following which the police again arrested six suspects and a day later a 16-year-old girl set herself on fire after being raped;
12.

Expresses its particular concern about the severity of the food situation the country is facing and its impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of the population; calls on the Commission to maintain existing humanitarian aid programmes and channels of communication with the DPRK, and to secure their safe delivery to the targeted parts of the population; calls on the DPRK authorities to ensure access for all citizens to food and humanitarian assistance on the basis of need, in accordance with humanitarian principles;
37.

Welcomes the agreement reached at the European Council meeting of 28 and 29 June 2012 to increase the EIB‘s capital by EUR 10 billion, which will enable the EIB group to boost its lending capacity within the Union by approximately EUR 60 billion over the period 2012-2015 and leverage some EUR 180 billion of total investment, and thus play a welcome role as part of the concerted efforts to boost the European economy; welcomes the fact that the EIB in its lending priorities specifically identified the need to extend the range of banking partners for SME lending so as to include new financial and non-conventional intermediaries; stresses that this new commitment must not undermine the parallel efforts to strengthen and improve the joint EIB-Union budget instruments used to share risk and take equity stakes; in light of this, calls on the Commission to strengthen and optimise the risk-sharing instruments of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund programmes for portfolios of equity or mezzanine financing granted by financial institutions (intermediaries) to SMEs; recognises that cohesion policy is one of the main sources of financial support for SMEs and that funding programmes under the Structural Funds, a reduction in red tape and increased speed and efficiency are essential to fostering the recovery of the EU economy and its competitiveness;
20.

Welcomes the fact that the Fifth International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) will address the issue of integrity in sport and the fight against match-fixing, and believes this is a good forum in which to address the need for a global body dealing with match-fixing, and in which all the relevant actors can meet, exchange information, coordinate their action and promote concepts of good governance;
6.

Notes the ESRB’s statement of views of 9 December 2011 containing its reservations as regards a financial indicator, in which it states that the scoreboard ‘should include short-term liabilities (the sum of liabilities maturing within one year) for the unconsolidated financial sector, net of bank deposits, as a share of total liabilities’ and that ‘this indicator should be preferred to indicators based on flow-of funds equity measures, such as leverage or gearing ratios, because since equity is estimated at market values it is very sensitive to movements of the stock market’; reminds the Commission that Article 4(5) of the MIP Regulation stipulates that ‘the work of the ESRB shall be taken into due consideration in the drafting of indicators relevant to financial market stability’;
66.

Notes that the European market in electronic payments is still fragmented, both across and within national borders; encourages the necessary measures and enforcement to ensure a more open, transparent, innovative and competitive single market in payments, in such a way that it brings advantages and choice to all consumers with regard to card, internet and mobile payment options and mobile wallets, interoperability, costs and portability; asks the Commission, therefore, to assess the possible ways of bringing new entrants into the European market for card, internet and mobile payments while protecting future technological innovations in this sector; believes that the supervision of multilateral interchange fees needs to be strengthened, and welcomes the proposals set out in the Single Market Act II relating to a revision of the Payment Services Directive and a legislative initiative on multilateral bank charges;
16.

Believes that regional industrial strategies must be based on an integrated approach, including an employment, training, and education component, aimed at promoting growth sectors capable of creating sustainable local and regional jobs, especially for young people, e.g. in innovative SMEs, as part of the programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and SMEs (COSME); highlights the special role cities play in developing regional strategies for industrial areas; believes in this framework that cities are central to achieving smart growth; underlines, therefore, the fact that, in particular, cities with an old industrialised base offer an enormous potential, which the EU should explore to the full; calls on the Commission to engage in closer dialogue with the cities concerned with a view to raising the profile of cities as direct partners of the EU;
7.

Condemns the execution of Daniel Nsofor by the Nigerian authorities for crimes committed when he was under 18 years of age; recommends that the authorities take the necessary steps to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 2010 concluding observations on Nigeria, in particular by ensuring that the definition of the child in domestic legislation and at state level is in full compliance with that set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to review the files of all prisoners on death row for crimes committed before the age of 18, and to outlaw the death penalty for all persons under the age of 18 in domestic legislation;
9.

Supports the ongoing negotiations on an EU-Azerbaijan association agreement and reaffirms its position that such an agreement must include clauses and benchmarks relating to the protection and promotion of human rights, especially with regard to freedom of the media, freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, which reflect the principles and rights enshrined in the Azerbaijani constitution and the commitments made by Azerbaijan within the Council of Europe and the OSCE;
13.

Deplores the fact that the Council has not been able to make any progress on the reform of the own-resources system on the basis of the legislative proposals put forward by the Commission; emphasises that the EU budget should be financed by genuine own resources, as provided for in the Treaty, and states its commitment to a reform that reduces the share of GNI-based contributions to the EU budget to a maximum of 40 %; expects, therefore, the Joint Declaration on Own Resources agreed between the three EU institutions to allow tangible progress to be achieved, especially in view of the mid-term review/revision of the MFF; calls, therefore, for the high-level group on own resources to be convened at the time of the formal adoption of the MFF Regulation with a mandate to examine all aspects of the reform of the own-resources system;
A.

whereas, in its statement of 4 July 2013, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces announced the suspension of the constitution, the transfer of power to the head of the High Constitutional Court until early presidential elections are held, to be followed by parliamentary elections, and the forming of a national coalition government and a committee to look into amendments to the constitution; whereas Mr Adly Mansour has been sworn in as interim President;
14.

Calls on the VP/HR and the Member States to work together to develop a clear strategy as to how the EU will, both publicly and privately, actively push for the release of prisoners of conscience, and calls on the VP/HR to work with the Member States to ensure the adoption of Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on the human rights situation in Bahrain, which should include a specific call for the immediate and unconditional release of those prisoners;
8.

Recalls that the Association Agreements and DCFTAs are aimed at boosting the competitiveness, economic output and performance of partner countries and of the EU, while at the same time respecting the Eastern Partnership countries’ economic cooperation with Russia in a way that is beneficial to all parties; points out that, as such, the Association Agreements and DCFTAs do not undermine the long-standing trade relations which Eastern Partnership countries maintain in the region; believes that, on the contrary, they should not be seen as incompatible with those trade relations, and that, without prejudice to the obligations stemming from the Association Agreements and DCFTAs, any trade disputes should be resolved in accordance with the rules and obligations laid down in the World Trade Organisation; affirms, furthermore, that the EU is ready to assist Eastern Partnership partners in their integration efforts by supporting the provisional application of the relevant sections of the Association Agreements or DCFTAs upon signature, unfreezing suspended loans and assistance programmes if the required conditions are met, pursuing visa facilitation measures and the prospect of visa-free travel;
—

having regard to its resolutions of 15 November 2007 on serious events which compromise Christian communities’ existence and those of other religious communities (1), of 21 January 2010 on recent attacks on Christian communities (2), of 6 May 2010 on the mass atrocities in Jos, Nigeria (3), of 20 May 2010 on religious freedom in Pakistan (4), of 25 November 2010 on Iraq: the death penalty (notably the case of Tariq Aziz) and attacks against Christian communities (5), of 20 January 2011 on the situation of Christians in the context of freedom of religion (6), of 27 October 2011 on the situation in Egypt and Syria, in particular of Christian communities (7), and of 13 December 2012 on the annual report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2011 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (8),
K.

whereas recourse to sexual violence and the more widespread use of rape as a war weapon have enormous consequences, such as the physical and psychological destruction of victims, and must be regarded as war crimes; whereas national authorities and the international community have largely invested in strengthening the judicial system, especially on the military side, and on encouraging the opening of inquiries and prosecutions on sexual violence; whereas trials have been held but with a lack of execution of the judgments, and in many cases those found guilty are able to escape and little is done to compensate the victims;
64.

Recalls that Member States urgently need to improve the transparency and increase the openness of their defence markets, while stressing the specific nature of defence procurement and pointing out that it affects vital national security interests and cannot therefore be placed on the same footing as other sectors; calls on the Member States and the Commission to make sure that the 2009 directives on defence procurement and transfers are correctly and coherently applied, in particular with regard to any exemptions from EU rules under Article 346 TFEU, in order to strengthen the single market by reducing the complexity of procurement rules in the defence sector where appropriate;
33.

Emphasises that women with disabilities have to be guaranteed affordable, easy and safe access to justice and that they need to be able, at each stage of the process, to use the verbal communication support systems and technologies they choose, including sign-language interpreters or guides-interpreters for deaf-blind people, in order to ensure they can communicate correctly with police and legal personnel; stresses that as many women with disabilities are highly dependent on the person caring for them, who is also in very many cases the person assaulting and abusing them, independent methods of communication need to be provided so that opportunities exist for disabled women who have been assaulted to file a complaint and be transferred immediately to a temporary full-time care centre until the complaint has been resolved through due legal process; proposes the introduction of trial procedures specifically tailored to meet the needs of women and girls with disabilities, including the provision of NGO assistance; underscores that no barriers may hinder the access of women with disabilities to legal recourse; points out in this respect that effective measures need to be taken so that women with disabilities can access the support they may need in exercising their legal capacity — support that, when required, must be in proportion to their personal needs and abilities, in regard to taking decisions concerning civil and political rights; points out that appropriate effective safeguard measures such as impartial assessment of women’s genuine needs by recognised independent experts are also needed in order to prevent third parties or institutions taking advantage of disabled women in the exercise of their legal capacity, and that these measures should be periodically reviewed;
I.

whereas this practice is worth formalising so that it can serve as a precedent for the future, and whereas it should also be improved; whereas, on the European patent system, the European Council called into question a legislative agreement concluded between Parliament and the Council; whereas, on economic governance, the European Council saw fit to renegotiate provisions identical to those which a previous regulation had already made applicable; whereas, on an EU banking supervisory authority, the European Council adopted two contradictory positions one year apart, which it could have avoided by taking greater account of Parliament’s position; whereas negotiations on the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework saw the legislative process held to ransom as the legally required unanimity in the Council could only be achieved by pre-empting certain major policy choices in the regulations on the policies to be financed, which, in these areas, reduces Parliament’s role to one of merely amending secondary provisions;
5.

Recalls that Burundi is bound by the human rights clause of the Cotonou Agreement, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and therefore has an obligation to respect universal human rights, including freedom of expression; calls on the Government of Burundi to allow genuine and open political debate to take place ahead of the elections in 2015 without fear of intimidation, by refraining from interfering in the internal management of the opposition parties, from placing restrictions on campaigning for all parties, especially in rural areas, and from abusing the judiciary to exclude political rivals;
C.

whereas on 6 November 2014, after more than eleven years of detention and while his trial is still ongoing, the Trial Chamber of the Tribunal issued an order proprio motu for the provisional release of Šešelj on the grounds of the deterioration of his health, subject to the conditions that he: (i) does not influence witnesses and victims; and (ii) appears before the Chamber as soon as it so orders; whereas Šešelj has displayed a hostile attitude towards the ICTY since the start of the trial by repeatedly interrupting, disrupting and retracting the proceedings before the Court, and has been charged with contempt of court on three separate occasions for intimidation of witnesses;
5.

Underlines, therefore, the urgent need to further encourage reconciliation and improve relationships between communities and also to boost economic and social development in order to consolidate the peace process; highlights, in this regard, support from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund and, in particular, the EUR 150 million for the PEACE Programme to tackle these priority issues in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland, to the benefit of all, north and south;
38.

Welcomes the fact that at the last G-8 summit (held at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June 2013) it was decided to take action to tackle the illegal trafficking of protected or endangered wildlife species and to offer political and practical support to those regional and international organisations which are leading efforts to enhance the ability of countries to monitor and control their borders and tackle facilitating factors such as corruption, transnational organised crime and illicit trafficking which undermine governance and the rule of law and in some cases provide an important source of funding for terrorists;