18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/2

P9_TA(2021)0307

Challenges and opportunities for the fishing sector in the Black Sea

European Parliament resolution of 23 June 2021 on the challenges and opportunities for the fishing sector in the Black Sea (2019/2159(INI))

(2022/C 81/01)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2019/2236 of 16 December 2019 fixing for 2020 the fishing opportunities for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks applicable in the Mediterranean and Black Seas (1),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the common fisheries policy (2),

—	having regard to UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 on life below water,

—	having regard to Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (the Marine Strategy Framework Directive) (3),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/982 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area (4),

—	having regard to Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (5) (the Habitats Directive),

—	having regard to Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework of maritime spatial planning (6),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (7) (EMFF),

—	having regard to a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1004,

—

having regard to its legislative resolution of 11 March 2021 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, and amending Council Regulations (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1005/2008 and Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards fisheries control (8),

—	having regard to the GFCM’s mid-term strategy (2017-2020) towards the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries, and its decision on a new strategy for 2021-2025,

—	having regard to the GFCM decision on ‘building together a new strategy for Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries and aquaculture’ for 2021-2025, which was taken during the high-level meeting of 3 November 2020,

—	having regard to the Commission’s European Green Deal and EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 proposals,

—	having regard to Ministerial Declarations on a Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea adopted at the meetings in Burgas on 31 May 2018 and in Bucharest on 9 May 2019, which have been signed by all six littoral Black Sea states,

—	having regard to the Charter of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the aims of which is to improve the policy dialogue and numerous policies in the areas of environmental protection and the exchange of statistical data,

—	having regard to the strategic research and innovation agenda for the Black Sea, which was launched in 2019 and is aimed at advancing a shared vision for a productive, healthy, resilient and sustainable Black Sea by 2030,

—	having regard to the declarations of the high-level conferences on Black Sea fisheries and aquaculture held in Bucharest in 2016 and in Sofia in 2018 (the Sofia Ministerial Declaration),

—	having regard to the high-level Black Sea stakeholder conferences on blue economy in the Black Sea held in Bucharest (2014), Sofia (2015), Odessa (2016) and Batumi (2017),

—

having regard to the 1992 Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (the Bucharest Convention) and its Protocols, to which Bulgaria and Romania are parties and for which the European Union has observer status, and also having regard to the work of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution on the basis of this convention,

—	having regard to the Ministerial Declaration on the Protection of the Black Sea of 7 April 1993,

—	having regard to the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution’s Black Sea integrated monitoring and assessment program for years 2017-2022 (BSIMAP 2017-2022),

—	having regard to the BlackSea4Fish project, which has the financial support of the EU and an annual budget of around EUR 1 100 000 to ensure the sustainable management of fish stocks in the Black Sea,

—

having regard to the GFCM’s 2018 recommendation on a regional research programme for rapa whelk fisheries in the Black Sea, the aim of which is to provide an estimate of the distribution, abundance, size and age structure of the veined rapa whelk population in the participating countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia and Ukraine),

—

having regard to the report by the Commission’s Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries of 11 December 2020 entitled ‘Assessment of balance indicators for key fleet segments and review of national reports on Member States efforts to achieve balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities’,

—	having regard to the 2010 report by Parliament’s Policy Department B entitled ‘Fisheries in the Black Sea’,

—	having regard to the 1995 Food and Agriculture Organization Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries,

—

having regard to the reports of the EU-United Nations Development Programme regional initiative (the EMBLAS-I and EMBLAS-II projects), which helped to strengthen the capacities of three countries (Georgia, Ukraine and Russia) for biological and chemical monitoring of water quality in the Black Sea in line with EU water-related legislation and were implemented between 2013 and 2014 (EMBLAS-I) and 2014 and 2018 (EMBLAS-II) respectively,

—	having regard to the GFCM’s 2009 recommendation on the establishment of a list of vessels presumed to have carried out IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing in the GFCM area of application,

—

having regard to the GFCM Regional Repository of National Legislation (GFCM-Lex), an online platform which currently encompasses national legislation on the conservation of marine living resources and ecosystems in three GFCM countries and which the GFCM is aiming to extend to the whole GFCM area (including the Black Sea) in the future,

—

having regard to the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the Bern Convention), the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2018 pan-European action plan for sturgeons adopted under the Bern Convention,

—	having regard to GFCM’s 2020 report entitled ‘The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries’,

—	having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2011 on current and future management of Black Sea fisheries (9),

—	having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 entitled ‘More fish in the seas? Measures to promote stock recovery above the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), including fish recovery areas and marine protected areas’ (10),

—

having regard to the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism, the aim of which is to provide guidance and support to governments, private investors, trade and industrial associations, research institutions, universities and the general public regarding opportunities to engage in blue economy maritime activities in the Black Sea region,

—	having regard to the EU Black Sea Synergy Initiative, and the three Commission reports on the implementation of the Black Sea Synergy of 19 June 2008 (COM(2008)0391), 20 January 2015 (SWD(2015)0006) and 5 March 2019 (SWD(2019)0100),

—	having regard to the EU strategy for the Danube region, which among other things is aimed at facilitating and coordinating key issues such as biodiversity and socio-economic development in the countries of the Danube River basin,

—	having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0170/2021),

A.	whereas the Black Sea is a semi-enclosed sea which is only connected to an ocean by the Mediterranean via the Marmara and the Aegean Seas and is bordered by six countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia), of which only two are Member States (Bulgaria and Romania);

B.	whereas the Black Sea has undergone dramatic environmental changes since the 1960s, resulting from pressures such as eutrophication, the introduction of invasive species and overfishing;

C.	whereas the environmental regime shifts in the Black Sea were triggered by the depletion of top predators in the pelagic food web and the subsequent reduction of planktivorous fish;

whereas the Black Sea has a large anoxic layer (87 %) and whereas its oxic layer has thinned by 20 to 25 metres over the last 20 years; whereas human actions, such as pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing, led to severe ecosystem degradation in the Black Sea in the 1980s; whereas with the exception of a few anaerobic bacteria, marine life is absent at depths of 50-200 m;

whereas eight species fished in the Black Sea are of major interest to the fishing sector (European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), European sprat (Sprattus sprattus), horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus), turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), whiting (Merlangius merlangus), red mullet (Mullus barbatus), veined rapa whelk (Rapana venosa), piked/spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)), most of which form part of shared stocks, while two species are subject to quotas — sprat, which has an autonomous quota and turbot, which has a total allowable catch quota set by the GFCM; whereas other species, such as spur-dog (shark), whiting and anchovy remain unprotected; whereas the quota for sprat for 2020-2022 is the same as in 2011, at 11 445 tonnes per year for the EU (8 032,5 tonnes for Bulgaria and 3 442,5 tonnes for Romania), while the EU rate for turbot has increased from 114 to 150 tonnes per year and is divided equally between Bulgaria and Romania;

whereas a system of maximum sustainable yields for economically important species in the Black Sea countries will be beneficial for biodiversity, as well as the sustainability of the fishing sector in the mid- and long-term; whereas Romania has put in place a national quota for species other than the two quoted at EU level — such as veined rapa whelks, mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), gobies (Ponticola cephalargoides), striped venus clams (Chanelea gallina), whiting and piked/spiny dogfish;

G.	whereas, according to 2018 figures, annual fish consumption per capita in Bulgaria (7,00 kg) and Romania (7,99 kg) is well below the EU average (24,36 kg), which can be seen as an opportunity for the local fishing sector to grow;

H.	whereas on average, 91 % of the Black Sea fishing fleets of all six littoral countries consist of small vessels; whereas almost 95 % of the Bulgarian fleet and 87 % of the Romanian fleet fall into this category;

I.	whereas, according to the GFCM, the small-scale sector in the Black Sea has a substantial by-catch of vulnerable shark and ray species and marine mammals, such as dolphins and porpoises;

J.	whereas small-scale fishing is characteristic of the Black Sea and Lower Danube regions;

K.	whereas IUU fishing vessels are operating in the Black Sea and the littoral states have little capacity to monitor fishing operations; whereas according to the latest available GFCM data from 4-8 November 2019, 65 vessels have been identified as IUU fishing vessels;

whereas the EMFF allocated more than EUR 88 million to Bulgaria and more than EUR 168 million to Romania for 2014-2020; whereas the absorption rates of both countries, according to the latest available information from 31 December 2020, remain among the lowest in the EU, with Bulgaria having spent only 36,34 % of the allocated funding and Romania having spent only 33,72 %; whereas lower absorption rates could translate into missed opportunities for the fishing communities in these countries;

M.	whereas the Black Sea Advisory Council is operational and participates in the development of EU policies on Black Sea fishing; whereas fisheries management for the Black Sea is performed by the GFCM;

whereas the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution acts on the mandate of the Black Sea countries (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine), which signed and shortly thereafter ratified the Bucharest Convention; whereas this convention requires all contracting parties to prevent, reduce and control pollution in the Black Sea in order to protect and preserve this marine environment;

whereas climate change is contributing to an increase in the air temperature in the Black Sea region, which has an impact on the sea temperature and consequently affects biodiversity and marine species; whereas this change has an impact on the fishing sector as the resources it depends on are affected;

whereas the Commission has proposed the European Green Deal and the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, which lay the groundwork for legislative packages changing the acquis communataire in relation to the environment; whereas this would create new opportunities and measures to better integrate environmental aspects in sectoral policies, restore species and habitats and promote more environmentally friendly investments and policies;

whereas the Black Sea’s characteristics, such as its large drainage basin, make it a particularly sensitive area for marine litter pollution and microplastic accumulation; whereas according to the report drawn up as part of the EMBLAS-Plus project on the Black Sea, it contains almost twice as much waste as the Mediterranean Sea, which undoubtedly has consequences for biodiversity, fish stocks and the fishing sector;

whereas the Black Sea has three endemic sub-species of cetaceans — the Black Sea common dolphin (Delphinus delphis ponticus), the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) and the Black Sea harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta) — all of which are classified as endangered species and two of which — the Black Sea bottlenose dolphin and the Black Sea harbour porpoise — are covered by the Habitats Directive; whereas all of these are carnivores which feed mainly on fish;

whereas the veined rapa whelk is considered to be an invasive species without natural enemies in the Black Sea, which poses a serious threat to the populations of other organisms; whereas at the same time it has become an important source of income and is a target species for commercial fishing vessels;

whereas the Black Sea ecosystem depends on major European rivers such as the Danube for water inflow; whereas this dependency creates a close link between the ecological status of the Danube and other rivers and the ecological status of the Black Sea; whereas these rivers transport large amounts of natural and anthropogenic debris from inland sources; whereas both the Danube and the Black Sea are home to certain species, including sturgeon (Acipenseriformes) and Pontic shads (Alosa immaculata);

whereas factors such as the degradation of the habitat of these species, disruption of their migration corridors, their over-exploitation for caviar and their flesh, and pollution, have brought Danube and Black Sea sturgeon to the verge of extinction; whereas, due to the drastic reduction in the number of reproductive sturgeons, this species can only very rarely breed in the wild nowadays; whereas both the Danube and the Black Sea once had large populations of sturgeon;

V.	whereas the drastic decrease in the number of spawners, which is associated with population decline, is causing natural reproduction to fail by reducing the chances of the few remaining male and female sturgeons to meet and spawn;

whereas data held by research institutes indicate that populations of sturgeon species are fragmented and missing certain generations, that the natural reproduction of species of sturgeon is deficient, that the number of adults migrating to the Danube for reproduction is extremely low and that five sturgeon species (sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus), European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) and beluga sturgeon (Huso huso)) are on the verge of extinction, while the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) is already considered extinct;

X.	whereas the EU fishing sector already applies high standards, which need to be reviewed and adjusted in order to ensure environmental and social sustainability along the entire value chain, including labour rights and animal health and welfare, and provide high-quality fishery products;

Y.	whereas the recreational fishing sector can provide opportunities such as activity or income diversification, while being compatible with environmental objectives, given that recreational angling is a very selective form of fishing;

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is having a serious impact on the Black Sea fishing sector; whereas analyses have shown that the fishing sector in the Black Sea has suffered drastically during the pandemic, with the work of the operating ships having been reduced by up to 80 %, on top of an initial reduction of around 75 % of production;

AA.	whereas the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of fisheries and aquaculture in ensuring access to food;

Status of stocks of Black Sea species of major economic importance

Underlines the high strategic and geopolitical stakes in the Black Sea basin due, among other things, to the very specific environmental conditions, which demand special attention, a tailored approach, ambitious environmental standards and collective actions aimed at achieving a sustainable blue economy and growth; stresses the need to further strengthen and deepen cooperation among the littoral Black Sea countries with a view to efficiently managing fish stocks and meeting challenges, including through the GFCM; calls in this regard for a regional capacity plan ensuring an appropriate balance among available natural resources, environmental safety and the maintenance of the fleet capacity of all Black Sea littoral countries;

Points out that the Sofia Ministerial Declaration of 7 June 2018 already emphasised the need for a collaborative approach to fishing-related issues in the Black Sea, such as the sustainability of marine resources, improving data collection and tackling IUU fishing; calls on the Commission to publish a report on the implementation of the Sofia Ministerial Declaration;

Highlights the fact that cooperation on an equal footing in the field of fisheries management is needed in the Black Sea region because of the shared stocks and global challenges, which go beyond national borders;

Highlights the fact that for the Mediterranean and Black Seas, all but one of the 65 fleet segments for which the so-called sustainable harvest indicator could be calculated were out of balance in 2018;

Stresses the importance of promoting measures to support the collection and processing of scientific data;

Urges the inclusion of all Black Sea countries in the GFCM-Lex project in order to facilitate the common management of fish stocks and coordinate it in a better and faster way;

Is concerned that after decades of increasing human pressure on the Black Sea marine and Danube River ecosystems and fisheries resources, the latest data suggest that only one stock (sprat) is considered to be sustainably exploited and that other fish stocks are overfished, to the extent that some of them are close to depletion; notes that there have been some positive trends in the past years for some stocks, for example turbot, for which the total allowable catch quota has been increased for 2020-2022, but that there is no significant improvement on a general level for the Black Sea yet; stresses that all stock developments of Black Sea turbot and sprat stocks have to be accompanied by continued protective measures such as management plans;

Recognises the role of the administrations in the whole Black Sea basin, which have different policies, carry out monitoring, control and sustainable management, and contribute to improving the sustainability of the fishing sector;

Calls on the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities to help the sector by securing resources specifically targeted at improving the selectivity of the fishing vessels through better mesh nets; believes that such a targeted measure will reduce the quantities and varieties of unwanted by-catch;

10.

Calls for the institutional and human capital of the Black Sea littoral countries to be integrated for joint research and applied activities aimed at improving the biological resources of the Black Sea and the stocks of the economically important species;

11.

Stresses that the lack of sufficient information on fishing activity, catch quantity, catch composition and its impact on the current state of the fish stocks is a critical issue for the Black Sea region; underlines, therefore, the need for sufficient funding for scientific bodies researching stocks of fish species in the Black Sea, including migratory species such as sturgeon and Black Sea shads, endangered cetaceans and non-fish species (veined rapa whelks, mussels, etc.), as well as linked parameters for the marine ecosystem; demands increased cooperation between Member States on control matters using relevant digital technologies and specific mandatory scientific instruments such as onboard cameras or mandatory onboard observers, where applicable and in line with applicable EU legislation;

12.

Welcomes the regional research programme on the population of the veined rapa whelk initiated by the GFCM as it will help reach a consensus on the species; believes that this will help to develop science-based exploitation, which could bring socio-economic profits to communities and environmental benefits for the Black Sea ecosystem by limiting the impact of this invasive species;

13.

Stresses the importance of introducing a zero-tolerance policy towards IUU fishing in the Black Sea; welcomes the efforts of the GFCM in this regard and urges all littoral states to make and combine efforts to end IUU fishing in their waters;

14.

Urges all littoral states to promote sustainable fishing, which, among other things, includes combating overfishing and/or eliminating by-catch of endangered species, such as sturgeon, shads and others;

15.

Urges all intergovernmental institutions and organs, together with all Black Sea littoral states, among others, to facilitate and monitor their fisheries resources, and in line with their commitments, to share data on them in a thorough and inclusive manner in order to ensure the high ecosystem status of these marine habitats;

16.

Recalls that reliable official statistics, collected regularly through a harmonised methodology among all littoral states, regular monitoring and common regulatory measures are crucial to the success of proper fisheries management in the Black Sea; calls, in this regard, on the respective authorities in both Member States and the cooperating countries to conduct regular and thorough research on the fish resources for which national funding and aid is key;

17.

Stresses the need for local and regional communication cooperation within the different Black Sea littoral states, so that a common and coherent approach to the management of the fish stocks can be executed;

18.

Recalls the potential that new technologies provide and the high added value for the research and planning of fisheries management they can have; recalls that there are projects funded through the EMFF which aim, among other things, at mapping the sea bottom and its research as well as the presence of plastics in it;

19.

Urges the Black Sea littoral states to invest in the digitalisation of statistics and data on the fish stocks in the Black Sea basin in order to make it possible to manage those stocks in a better and more sustainable way; calls for a common methodology on tabling and using this data;

20.

Calls on the fishing industry in the region to consider making use of underrated and unused fish stocks, which are also sources of protein;

21.

Invites the scientific communities in the Member States to research the potential of an oxygen-free environment;

22.

Highlights the role of the non-governmental sector in the decision-making process vis-à-vis the Black Sea; recommends that a mechanism to include the non-governmental sector in this process be set up;

23.

Welcomes the support that was provided to the fishing and aquaculture sectors through the EMFF programmes in order to mitigate the damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local fishing sector; recalls, however, that not all affected stakeholders could benefit from that support due to administrative requirements and limitations, which has put some in a more unfavourable situation than others;

24.

Underlines the important work that the Black Sea Advisory Council does at both the regional and EU level in providing expertise on the fishing sector and the trends that affect it; calls, in this regard, on the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities to contribute to the functioning of the council to help it to fulfil its functions and also to allow all stakeholders, including small-scale fishers, to take part in the council’s work and decision-making process;

Trade aspects

25.

Stresses that through the fishing sector, seafood can be offered for sale on local markets where consumption rates for such products are low; invites the competent authorities in Bulgaria and Romania to help the fishing and aquaculture sectors to increase awareness about local consumption and the cumulative positive effects sustainable fishing and aquaculture have for the local economy;

26.

Recognises and underlines that Black Sea fisheries make a significant contribution to regional and local economies by generating direct revenue and income, driving wider spending and providing crucial jobs either independently or via cooperation with other sectors such as tourism and transport; calls for cooperation to be strengthened among all sectors that use the marine environment in order to achieve better results and a better balance between the interests of the environment, industry and small-scale fishers;

27.

Recalls that imported products have reduced the popularity of traditionally prepared products and driven their price below the limit of profitability, thereby jeopardising traditional fish-based business models;

28.

Recalls that the fishing fleet of the Black Sea comprises mostly small-scale fishing vessels, which underlines the need for more tailor-made approaches to and policies on this segment of the fishing sector; is worried that small-scale fishers have more unstable and lower incomes compared to those working in other sectors, which makes them vulnerable to unforeseen developments or crises; calls on the competent authorities in the littoral Member States to involve representatives of the small-scale fishing sector in the policy draft and discussions in a transparent and inclusive manner;

29.

Points out that there is rising global demand for protein, to which both the fishing and aquaculture sectors can make a significant contribution; considers that supporting marine aquaculture could help the sector develop and grow in the years to come and could also reduce the pressure on wild fish stocks; is of the opinion that sustainable aquaculture would also require further scientific research on issues such as density and side effects, which need to be taken into account when designing policies for the aquaculture sector in the Black Sea;

30.

Calls on local fishing communities to consider introducing designations of origin for Black Sea products coming from areas of regional or local importance; calls on the local and regional authorities to help these communities in their efforts to do so;

A targeted policy for the sector

31.

Calls on the Member States in the region to consider supporting the sector through its inclusion in their national programmes for 2021-2027 or other national instruments and allocations for campaigns dedicated to the benefits of fish consumption and the importance of sustainable fishing, to support the sector by creating local food chains to facilitate easier access to the market, especially for small-scale fishers, and to develop, improve or facilitate the building of fishery infrastructure (e.g. fish markets or fish auction houses etc.) where applicable; calls on the Member States in the region to invest more in the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of EU environmental and fisheries legislation;

32.

Urges the competent authorities in Romania and Bulgaria to include in their respective European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund operational programmes for 2021-2027 an instalment of a targeted scheme for young fishers in order to rejuvenate the fishing sector, including grants for first-time buyers of a first fishing vessel, and also measures targeted at reducing pollution by providing grants for the replacement of old fishing vessel engines with new more environmentally friendly ones;

33.

Underlines that the pressure to adapt to new challenges should not fall solely on the fishing and aquaculture sectors, as they already apply high environmental and social standards; insists, therefore, that other marine activities should also be focused on, such as recreational fishing, coastal tourism, harbour and shipping activities and resource exploitation activities, which need to raise their standards to ensure a successful blue transition;

34.

Stresses the role of fisheries local action groups in exchanging and promoting best practices of interest for the sciences, local stakeholders and industry among members of the respective fishing communities, and also through international cooperation; urges the competent authorities in Bulgaria and Romania to provide national support for the exchange of best practices with the other Black Sea littoral states, which have good practices in stock management for economically important species such as turbot;

35.

Notes the necessity of preserving good practices in the fishing sector by reducing economic burdens for small-scale fishers and their associations;

36.

Calls for training and education in the sector at both secondary and higher education level to be made more attractive through, for example, targeted information campaigns and open days for prospective students in cooperation with the public and private sector;

37.

Recalls that the low education level of fishers (11 % of Bulgarian fishers and 53 % of Romanian fishers have a lower education level than a secondary school diploma) requires proactive measures on different levels in order to ensure that there is a skilled and well-trained labour force which is familiar with the necessary technical, social and environmental standards, and will help to achieve better levels of sustainability of stocks; calls for a strong societal dimension in the Black Sea region’s sustainable blue growth with respect to key principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, especially with regard to precarious, seasonal and undeclared workers and to the access of women to the sector;

38.

Welcomes the efforts to establish demonstration centres in Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria in cooperation with the GFCM, which have the potential to increase the attractiveness of fisheries for local businesses and stakeholders;

39.

Calls for the full and urgent implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive;

Environment, biodiversity and climate change

40.

Calls for targeted measures and adequate resources to reduce pollution and by-catch of vulnerable elasmobranchs (such as the piked dogfish) and marine mammals, and for a rapid stepping-up of efforts to safeguard the environment and biodiversity throughout the basin through joint programmes and budgets, drawing in particular on the financial resources available under the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund; calls for extensive research on and estimates of plastic pollution and the effects of plastics and other pollutants on living organisms in the Black Sea; calls for the systematic measurement of nitrogen pollution in the Black Sea basin; calls, furthermore, for basin-wide surveys to allow comparisons of marine litter composition and accumulation within and between countries to be made;

41.

Recalls that the fishing and aquaculture sectors are not causing temperature rises and climate change, but rather are suffering from their consequences, such as an increased air temperature, which increases the temperature in the upper layers of the sea;

42.

Calls for the swift setting up of monitoring networks and programmes capable of systematically measuring the state of the environment of the Black Sea, as required by the Bucharest Convention;

43.

Stresses the importance of measures to prevent IUU fishing; urges the littoral states to take a tougher stance on IUU fishing in the Black Sea;

44.

Calls on the Black Sea littoral states to invest in scientific research and data collection on the effects of climate change on the Black Sea and Lower Danube ecosystems; recalls that this should include providing enough resources to the scientific community to conduct on-the-spot research on migratory routes, wintering, feeding and reproductive maturity, which will also have an effect on the characteristics and availability of stocks;

45.

Emphasises that the reduction of land-based pollution is crucial to reduce both eutrophication and the presence of harmful substances affecting the status of living marine resources;

46.

Stresses the importance of marine protected areas (MPAs) in preserving biodiversity and halting or restoring the current loss in the marine environment, and stresses that MPAs are designed to protect habitats of high ecological value; stresses that in order to delineate such areas, socio-economic studies and compensatory solutions for members of coastal communities are necessary; considers that the implementation of any MPA should be based on the best available knowledge in coordination with all stakeholders, such as local authorities, the scientific community and fishers’ organisations;

47.

Is very concerned by the real threat of extinction facing the remaining five sturgeon species in the Black Sea and Danube Delta basin; acknowledges the efforts undertaken by the authorities in Bulgaria and Romania, which introduced complete bans on sturgeon fishing in the Black Sea in 2008 and in the Danube River in 2011, and have just prolonged them for five more years (until 2026); welcomes the efforts to restock these areas with sturgeon, which have been undertaken and supported by experts from non-governmental and state structures and which should be continuously monitored; believes that efforts should also involve aquaculture facilities; calls on all littoral states to introduce strict sturgeon conservation measures and restocking programmes for the whole Black Sea;

48.

Is concerned that the research on climate change and its effects on the Black Sea is not sufficient, and will still be crucial in the years to come; calls on the littoral states to fund such research, covering fish species (their physiology, migratory routes and reproduction) and changes in their food chain, which have an effect on stocks;

49.

Is of the opinion that regular measurements of the dynamics of stocks is necessary for the design of adequate management measures; recalls that due to overfishing and anthropogenic pressure, the stocks of economically significant species are more sensitive and vulnerable to climate change;

50.

Urges the respective monitoring authorities to monitor NATURA 2000 sites and MPAs in the Black Sea effectively;

51.

Invites the Member States to develop ex situ farming of sturgeon aimed at restocking the local population for non-commercial purposes; invites the Member States to provide retraining programmes and access to other livelihoods for sturgeon fishers, with the aim of reducing illegal catch levels;

52.

Invites the Member States to support the creation of migration passes that allow sturgeon and other migratory species to cross the dams at Porțile de Fier (Iron Gates) and Gabčíkovo;

53.

Stresses the urgent need to establish areas in which wild populations of sturgeon, shads and other fish species can recover; calls on the competent authorities in the Member States concerned to come up with a proposal in this direction, which will be beneficial both for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management;

54.

Invites the Member States to explore the possibility of becoming signatories to the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean in order to align the objectives for species and habitat protection set out therein with the objectives of the Bucharest Convention;

55.

Recalls that further scientific research on the population of some molluscs such as the striped venus clam (Chamalea gallina) is needed in order to better map the distribution of the species and also explore the possibility of using it for marine aquaculture;

56.

Invites the Black Sea littoral states to develop a common approach on helping cetaceans to reach stable population levels and improving their conservation status; calls for targeted measures such as acoustic deterrent devices and other adequate resources to improve the status of endangered species in the Black Sea, such as dolphins;

57.

Calls on the Commission and the competent authorities in Bulgaria and Romania to provide funding for research on the state of the Black Sea shads (Alosa spp.) currently listed in Annex V of the Habitats Directive, including scientific and socio-economic analyses assessing the need to move it to Annex II or even Annex I of the directive, if the necessary criteria are met;

58.

Calls on the Commission to urgently consider transferring the sturgeon, which is currently listed in Annex V of the Habitats Directive to Annex II or even Annex I;

Practical action

59.

Calls on the Commission to explore whether a multi-annual management plan similar to those in place in other sea basins could be introduced for the Black Sea;

60.

Notes that every year, in its communication on the state of play of the common fisheries policy and its consultation on fishing opportunities, the Commission reports that stocks in the Black Sea are being overfished; considers, therefore, that urgent action needs to be taken to improve the situation;

61.

Calls on the Commission to assess the state of play with regard to the implementation of the common fisheries policy in the Black Sea, paying particular attention to how coastal Member States used the 2014-2020 EMFF to ensure that stocks were managed sustainably and that biodiversity was improved;

o o

62.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Georgia, the Republic of Turkey, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution.

(1) OJ L 336, 30.12.2019, p. 14.

(2) OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 22.

(3) OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p. 19.

(4) OJ L 164, 20.6.2019, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

(6) OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 135.

(7) OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 1.

(8) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0076.

(9) OJ C 51 E, 22.2.2013, p. 37.

(10) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0017.

18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/13

P9_TA(2021)0308

The role of the EU's development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

European Parliament resolution of 23 June 2021 on the role of the EU’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020/2118(INI))

(2022/C 81/02)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to the statement of the World Health Organization (WHO) of 30 January 2020 declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern,

—	having regard to the opening remarks of the WHO Director-General at the media briefing on COVID-19 of 11 March 2020, declaring COVID-19 a pandemic,

—	having regard to the United Nations (UN) report of March 2020 entitled ‘Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19’,

—

having regard to the joint statement of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund of 25 March 2020 regarding a call to action on debt of International Development Association countries and the communiqué of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors of 15 April 2020 announcing a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries that request forbearance,

—	having regard to UN General Assembly Resolution 74/270 of 2 April 2020 on global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),

—	having regard to UN General Assembly Resolution 74/274 of 20 April 2020 on international cooperation to ensure global access to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to face COVID-19,

—	having regard to the joint communication of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 8 April 2020 on the Global EU response to COVID-19 (JOIN(2020)0011),

—	having regard to the international pledging conference hosted by the EU together with the WHO and other partners on 4 May 2020, which raised EUR 7,4 billion in initial funding to kick-start global research cooperation,

—

having regard to the Commission proposal of 28 May 2020 for a Council regulation establishing a European Union Recovery Instrument to support the recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (COM(2020)0441), which proposed allocating up to EUR 5 billion at 2018 prices for humanitarian aid outside the Union,

—	having regard to the Council conclusions of 8 June 2020 on the ‘Team Europe’ global response to COVID-19,

—	having regard to the proposal contained in the Council’s draft conclusions of 10 July 2020 to provide EUR 5 billion for humanitarian assistance via the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe) under the Next Generation EU instrument,

—	having regard to the Council’s proposal contained in the draft conclusions of 10 July 2020 that clear criteria and modalities for the allocation of the new Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve envelope be defined,

—	having regard to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) component of the 2020 Global COVID-19 humanitarian response plan entitled ‘Addressing the impacts of COVID-19 in food crises, April-December 2020’,

—	having regard to the article of the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) entitled ‘Protecting the most vulnerable children from the impact of coronavirus: An agenda for action’, published on 3 April 2020 and updated on 21 September 2020,

—	having regard to the report of the World Food Programme (WFP) of 29 September 2020 entitled ‘WFP Global Response to COVID-19’,

—	having regard to the report of the Food Security Information Network of 20 April 2020 entitled ‘2020 Global Report on Food Crises 2020: Joint Analysis for Better Decisions’,

—	having regard to the report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development of 19 November 2020 entitled ‘Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and development: transitioning to a new normal’,

—	having regard to the report of the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, the WFP and the WHO of 2020 entitled ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020: Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets’,

—

having regard to the issues paper of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of September 2020 entitled ‘Impacts of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition: developing effective policy responses to address the hunger and malnutrition pandemic’,

—	having regard to the World Health Assembly’s resolution of 28 May 2019 on water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities,

—	having regard to the progress report of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Programme Coordinating Board of 23 November 2020 entitled ‘COVID-19 and HIV: Progress Report 2020’,

—	having regard to the UN Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage of 23 September 2019 entitled ‘Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World’,

—	having regard to the WHO report of 15 October 2020 entitled ‘Global Tuberculosis Report 2020’,

—	having regard to the recommendations of 5 May 2004 from the WHO consultation on zoonoses,

—	having regard to the 2021-2025 EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III entitled ‘An ambitious agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment in EU external action’,

—	having regard to the policy brief of UN Women of 9 April 2020 entitled ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Women’,

—	having regard to the report of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) of 27 April 2020 entitled ‘Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage’,

—	having regard to the UNFPA article of 28 April 2020 entitled ‘Millions more cases of violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, unintended pregnancy expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic’,

—	having regard to the WHO’s International Health Regulations of 2005,

—	having regard to the New European Consensus on Development of 2018 entitled ‘our world, our dignity, our future’,

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

—	having regard to its resolution of 27 October 2015 entitled ‘the Ebola crisis: the long-term lessons and how to strengthen health systems in developing countries to prevent future crises’ (1),

—	having regard to the study by Professor Sabine Oertelt-Prigione of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘The impact of sex and gender in the COVID-19 pandemic’,

—	having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences (2),

—	having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Culture and Education,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Development (A9-0151/2021),

A.	whereas COVID-19 is a global pandemic affecting every country in the world;

whereas, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development special report of 2020 entitled ‘Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on trade and development: transitioning to a new normal’, the disruption caused by COVID-19 has had real and disproportionate consequences on vulnerable and disadvantaged low-income households, migrants, workers in the informal sector, and often women, notably in developing countries, where populations are not covered by social safety nets and yet are particularly affected by soaring unemployment;

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has increased gender-based violence, child marriage and existing inequalities, in particular in terms of access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, and has already reversed some of the progress made on gender equality over the last decades;

D.	whereas humanitarian aid is severely underfunded, which makes it difficult to adequately address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries;

whereas the economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt most strongly in developing countries; whereas global extreme poverty is expected to rise in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years, leading to the sale of assets, increased borrowing and the use of savings by vulnerable individuals;

F.	whereas short-term humanitarian aid must be combined with support to tackle existing challenges such as security, poverty, peace, democracy and climate change, in order to strengthen long-term resilience;

G.	whereas there is a disproportionately high risk of contagion for millions of refugees worldwide, who often live in densely populated refugee camps or collective centres, where the population of children alone is estimated to be around 3,7 million;

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on access to SRHR, in particular for women and young people, due to the deprioritisation of and disruption to the provision of SRHR services, as well as travel restrictions and changes in health-seeking behaviours; whereas an additional 49 million women have had an unmet need for modern contraceptives because of COVID-19;

whereas climate change, the continuous worldwide loss of biodiversity and the destruction of natural habitats greatly increase the risk of zoonotic diseases developing; whereas the COVID-19 outbreak must in no way be used as an excuse for delays in tackling the climate and environmental emergency; whereas there is an urgent need for a green, social rebuilding of the global economy after the COVID-19 outbreak;

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exacerbated the existing debt problems of developing countries, further endangering their efforts to mobilise sufficient resources to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while also severely reducing global remittances and foreign direct investment;

K.	whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic, pressure on public health systems and lockdown measures have further restricted access to SRHR services, and whereas this jeopardises the health of women;

L.	whereas, according to UNICEF, 1,6 billion children and young people worldwide were affected by school closures at their peak in 2020, with many not having internet access at home; whereas at least 24 million students could drop out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic;

M.	whereas the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the needs of communities affected by extreme weather events, natural disasters and climate change;

whereas the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak to education and training systems across the world is likely unprecedented in contemporary history, with the closure of schools and training institutions affecting 94 % of the global learner population, according to UNESCO, risking a lasting impact on the long-term prospects of many young people, in particular girls; whereas school closures due to the pandemic have deprived vulnerable children of school feeding and nutrition services that are essential to their health, thereby increasing the number of children living in hunger by 36 million in 2020, and also increasing their exposure to violence and abuse;

whereas the pandemic has highlighted the fragility of global supply chains, notably in the food and health sectors, and has heightened the vulnerability of developing countries that depend on them; whereas the pandemic presents an opportunity to develop more sustainable and resilient supply chains, among them regional value chains, and to boost regional integration; whereas food insecurity and malnutrition are on the rise as a secondary effect of the pandemic;

whereas education plays a key role in breaking the cycle of poverty and in reducing inequalities; whereas the target of SDG 4 is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and whereas this is essential for the achievement of other SDGs; whereas the contribution of culture to sustainable development is pointed out in several SDG targets, notably in SDG 4;

whereas the pandemic will have devastating consequences for people in countries with underfunded health systems, especially women and girls, and for people living in conflict-affected countries; whereas the pandemic will put more than 47 million women and girls worldwide below the poverty line by 2021;

whereas the economic consequences of the measures taken to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries will exacerbate existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, including by further weakening health infrastructure, worsening food insecurity, widening education gaps and increasing poverty and social exclusion;

S.	whereas around 1,8 billion people are at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 and other diseases because they use or work in healthcare facilities without basic water services, according to a December 2020 WHO-UNICEF report;

T.	whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted routine immunisation programmes and other basic health services, which is putting lives at risk;

whereas, according to recent data from UNFPA, it is estimated that the delay or interruption of community outreach programmes and education on harmful practices globally will lead to two million more cases of female genital mutilation and 13 million more child marriages over the next decade compared to pre-pandemic estimates;

V.	whereas the lockdowns have had a particularly severe impact on persons with physical and intellectual disabilities;

W.	whereas improved coordination, capacity sharing and cooperation is needed as part of international efforts to promote an efficient and resilient humanitarian-development-peace nexus;

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated human rights violations and stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV, LGBTI persons and other vulnerable groups, underlining the critical need for COVID-19 responses to be rooted in human rights and equality, as learned from the HIV response; whereas key populations have on occasion been denied access to services or been subject to discriminatory enforcement of COVID-19 lockdown orders;

Y.	whereas the medium-term consequences of COVID-19 are likely to have a devastating impact, reversing years of development gains, and require unprecedented global cooperation;

Z.	whereas the pandemic-induced crisis has accelerated the digital transition and the shift towards new learning tools such as remote and blended learning;

AA.	whereas it is crucial to acknowledge once more that achieving the SDGs and the Paris Agreement objectives requires investing in human development and pursuing a rights-based approach, while complying with the Busan principles for effective development cooperation;

Team Europe approach

Welcomes the EU’s global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrates its ambition to lead and show solidarity with all partner countries, including those affected by conflict and humanitarian crises; points out, however, that current funds are essentially reallocated from other budget lines and that the challenge of aid front-loading has to be tackled; requests that the distribution criteria for the allocation be updated according to the impact of the pandemic in partner countries; calls, therefore, for substantial new flexible funds to be mobilised to assist developing countries worldwide in fighting the direct and indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing their critical needs in relation to health governance and epidemiological surveillance; stresses that making safe vaccines, treatments, equipment, therapeutics and diagnostics available globally in a fast, equitable and affordable manner must be one of the first steps; highlights that it is also important that priority for vaccines is given to health and social workers, followed by teachers and other essential workers and people who are most at risk of developing COVID-19 complications; urges donors to rapidly scale up official development assistance to achieve levels that have been committed to in the past, but never delivered;

Welcomes, in this regard, COVAX, the world’s facility to ensure fair and universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, and the strong support of Team Europe, which is the biggest donor and has so far allocated more than EUR 850 million euro to this initiative, while EU and non-EU countries have already announced their intention to donate their vaccine surplus via COVAX; welcomes the WHO’s announcement that the global rollout to 91 eligible countries started in the first quarter of 2021 and that by now, two billion vaccine doses have been delivered; underlines that safe vaccines should be made universally available, affordable and easily accessible for all in order to curb the pandemic; stresses that health personnel and the most vulnerable have to be prioritised;

Calls on Team Europe to strengthen effective mechanisms to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development so that they are systematically and efficiently used by all EU institutions and Member States; stresses that the EU should perform sustainability impact assessments in every policy sphere, including as regards its responses to the pandemic;

Insists that the momentum gained from the common Team Europe approach in terms of joint analysis, joint programming and joint implementation must translate into a new standard for cooperation in the fields of humanitarian aid and development policy, both in law and in practice; considers that the EU should promote the idea that coordination should be increased not only between Member States, but also with non-EU donor countries, with a view to maximising the efficacy and efficiency of international cooperation and humanitarian aid; highlights the importance of the NDICI-Global Europe in ensuring funding for human development, including health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), social and child protection, and the education sector; calls on the EU and the Member States to prioritise human development and health in their joint programming; encourages the Commission to use humanitarian and development instruments flexibly, in line with an integrated nexus approach, particularly when it comes to the financing and distribution of vaccines;

Calls on EU donors to ensure that local civil society organisations and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on the front line are given funding to implement programmes and projects tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences at community level, to reach the people left furthest behind; underlines that in the absence of additional resources for the COVID-19 response and recovery, and with most funds going to geographic envelopes, ensuring optimal complementarity of the EU’s funding is crucial;

Humanitarian aid funding

Warns that the pandemic risks triggering a humanitarian crisis; is therefore deeply concerned about the underfunding of the EU humanitarian aid budget, given the additional humanitarian needs caused by the pandemic; calls for a clear distribution of the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve envelope, which should aim to provide balanced coverage of its obligations as follows: neither internal nor external operations may be allocated more than 60 % of the annual amount of the reserve; on 1 October of each year, at least one quarter of the annual amount for ‘year n’ must remain available to cover needs arising until the end of that year; as of 1 October, the remaining funds may be mobilised to cover needs arising until the end of that year;

Emphasises the need to provide humanitarian assistance, such as staff and medical equipment, including personal protective equipment and test kits, to the most vulnerable populations; welcomes in this regard the setting up of the 2020 European Union Humanitarian Air Bridge;

Urges the EU and the Member States to allocate additional money to the countries that will suffer the greatest impacts of the pandemic to address its direct and indirect consequences and insists on the need to accelerate the implementation of emergency food aid programmes targeting those who were already identified as being vulnerable before the COVID-19 crisis, while enforcing procedures to reduce the risks of transmission;

Food security

Emphasises that the pandemic is threatening food security in rural, urban and peri-urban settings; underlines that pastoral farming is an ecologically sound, environmentally friendly and local method of food production and is therefore part of a sustainable food system; points out that pastoralists are particularly vulnerable to food security disruptions and the impacts of climate change; considers it essential to support pastoralists by ensuring safe access to local markets during the pandemic, in order to make sure that they are able to continue to provide protein-rich food to the local population, that cross-border mobility of people and livestock is allowed, that their herds have access to water and grazing land and that mobile community one-health teams monitor the situation and intervene in individual cases but also, where necessary, with a view to maintaining public health; calls for cash transfers for pastoralists in order to ensure their basic needs are covered, including food and feed, and calls for feed aid for herds as part of livelihood support in the form of humanitarian aid, when this is needed;

10.

Underlines the need to support family farms and local small and medium-sized enterprises, notably in the agro-industrial sector, in order to increase food security and resilience;

11.

Emphasises the need to support the actions of UN agencies, notably the FAO and the WFP, as well as the actions of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement and international NGOs, aimed at mitigating hunger, malnutrition and loss of livelihood and building up resilient food systems, such as those to set up a global data facility for the provision of swift information on humanitarian needs, to provide food production assistance and access to food, to organise cash transfers and vouchers or in-kind food distribution and school meals, developing linkages with shock-responsive social protection systems, to stabilise food systems, to ensure the functioning of local food markets, value chains and systems while focusing on smallholder farmers and small-scale fishers by implementing sanitary measures in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, and to respond to other crises, economic downturns and conflicts such as the desert locus upsurge in East Africa; considers that the process of economic recovery offers an opportunity to better integrate small farmers and producers into local and regional markets and to develop more sustainable livelihoods; emphasises the importance of technology and digitalisation in this regard as a means of facilitating market knowledge and access, and scaling up small businesses through tools such as mobile money applications;

12.

Recalls that safe and affordable food will have to be provided for a global population of approximately 10 billion people by 2050, while securing decent employment and livelihoods along the entire food value chain, protecting the most vulnerable in rural areas, including indigenous people, migrants, and informal and ad-hoc workers, and countering extreme food price volatility in national and international food markets; recognises the crucial role of nutrition in strengthening resilience; calls for a more integrated approach towards preventing, diagnosing and treating hunger and malnutrition in both humanitarian and development responses, particularly among the countries most vulnerable to climate change; highlights that it is crucial to develop local agriculture for local consumption in order to reduce the dependence of developing countries on imports and exports and possible disruptions along the food chain; underlines that reaching SDGs 1 and 2 requires a transdisciplinary approach in order to transform the way food is produced, processed, consumed and traded; emphasises, in this respect, the need for a holistic transformation to accelerate fair, safe and healthy food systems, taking the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit as a turning point from which to build back better from the COVID-19 crisis; calls on the EU to promote sustainability throughout food supply chains, from production to consumption, in line with the European Green Deal and the farm to fork strategy;

13.

Points out that the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the already extremely serious problem of food insecurity in East Africa and the Middle East caused by the locust infestation, as restrictions are delaying the delivery of pesticides and equipment to control the locusts; emphasises the need for increased cooperation to help countries in East Africa and the Middle East to cope with crop loss;

14.

Points out that various global burdens such as rapid population growth, climate change, scarcity of natural resources and changing consumption patterns are impeding the ability of our food systems to ensure food security and food availability in a socially and environmentally sustainable way for all;

15.

Stresses that sufficient measures are needed to improve the current situation in African countries, which are facing rapid population growth coupled with uncertainty that their agricultural sectors are able to ensure food production and implement climate change adaptation measures;

16.

Considers that limits on land availability, land degradation, water scarcity and constraints in food production are severe barriers to increasing agricultural supply and productivity, which are linked to socio-economic and institutional uncertainties in developing countries;

Poverty and social protection

17.

Underlines that global extreme poverty is expected to rise dramatically in 2020 for the first time in over 20 years, especially for children, with the COVID-19 pandemic compounding the forces of conflict, poor governance and climate change and having a particularly profound impact on women and girls (an additional 47 million people are expected to live in extreme poverty by 2021), informal and migrant workers (who represent one quarter of the global workforce), the tourism sector, and Latin American, Caribbean and African economies; highlights, against the backdrop of this extreme crisis, the importance of universal social protection and social dialogue; asks the Commission to design strategies with partner countries for economic recovery, job creation and for improving social security systems, fostering the expansion of social protection coverage to informal workers in rural sectors;

18.

Highlights the fact that the most vulnerable are being hit the hardest by the pandemic, in particular refugees, internally displaced people and migrants in precarious situations, who are facing three crises: a health crisis, a socio-economic crisis and a protection crisis; highlights that children on the move are particularly vulnerable due to their limited access to essential services including WASH, and education, healthcare and care services, thereby putting at great risk the development, future and health of these children;

19.

Highlights the fact that the consequences of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are disproportionately affecting the poorest and people in the most disadvantaged, marginalised and unprotected social categories, including persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, persons with chronic medical conditions, persons with mental health problems and elderly persons, who already have limited or no access to basic hygiene and treatment for their healthcare needs, and have become even more vulnerable due to the pandemic;

Refugees and displaced persons

20.

Urges the Commission to address the specific needs of refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons (IDPs), upholding the guiding principle of public health networks of leaving no-one behind and refraining from blocking front-line humanitarian workers from having direct contact with those they serve; recalls with concern that refugees, migrants and IDPs are among the most vulnerable populations facing this health crisis, as they are often faced with more precarious living conditions and tend to face greater obstacles to accessing basic health services than local populations; stresses the absolute need for equal access to COVID-19 treatments and other health services and safety net programmes for all affected people, regardless of nationality, legal status, origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic; stresses the importance of supporting refugees and IDPs to address the disproportionate socio-economic impact of the pandemic, by strengthening livelihood support and income-generating activities, in addition to their access to safety; emphasises that EU policies should seek to support their access to employment, education and civic documentation; urges the EU and the Member States to create the conditions for children and young people in refugee camps to have access to education, including remote learning options, in particular for basic learning;

Strengthening the health sector

21.

Underlines that the COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated the persistent problem of medicine shortages globally, with acute consequences in developing countries; underlines that development aid should primarily be dedicated to delivering ‘horizontal’ universal health care system coverage through a holistic and rights-based approach, which entails, inter alia, fully addressing the multidimensional nature of health (with close links to gender, food security and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and poverty); calls, in particular, for the revision of proposed or existing strategies and partnerships with the aim of further strengthening and supporting public health systems in partner countries, in particular as regards preparedness for pandemics and the organisation and management of health systems, including the provision of universal healthcare, vaccinations, health monitoring and information (including disease surveillance), training, recruitment and retention of medical staff, diagnostic capacity and medicine supply;

22.

Recalls that the strengthening of health systems should not exclusively take into account the epidemiological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on partner countries, but should also consider factors such as the need to manage increased malnutrition caused by the disruption of food supply chains or the psychological impacts of measures to mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks;

23.

Reminds the Commission that the EU’s well-established partner organisations, such as the Global Fund, provide valuable help in rapidly procuring and deploying personal protective equipment, diagnostics and therapeutics for COVID-19 while playing a vital role in building up and reinforcing health systems and providing donors;

24.

Stresses the need to catch up on routine immunisation programmes as soon as possible and to ensure that the provision of other basic health services is resumed; calls for adequate funding for initiatives such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; is concerned about the outsourced, fragmented global vaccine governance system, which has led to competition for vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, rather than cooperation; urges the EU and Member States to lead calls for equal and affordable vaccine access worldwide based on the principle of global solidarity; calls on the Commission to ensure that the EU global response to the COVID-19 pandemic does not undermine EU funding for other vital health programmes, including the Minimum Initial Services Package for sexual and reproductive health and programmes targeting the health of women and pregnant women; urges all Member States and the Commission to continue to support partner countries in providing services related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), while ensuring the safety of communities and health workers;

25.

Recalls the importance of implementing key lessons from previous health crises such as the Ebola epidemic; highlights in this regard the importance of working with community leaders to spread key public health messages and mobilise societies; underlines the critical role played by civil society organisations and national and international NGOs in delivering health services to the poorest communities; recognises that such organisations will be essential partners in distributing vaccines for COVID-19; calls on the EU to support the capacity-building of these organisations;

26.

Underlines the role of health education in preventing and alleviating the impact of pandemic outbreaks and in preparedness for future public health emergencies; highlights the benefits of sport in addressing the physical and mental health consequences of extended confinement and closure of schools;

27.

Urges the Commission and the Member States to commit to making anti-pandemic vaccines and treatments a global public good, accessible to all;

28.

Highlights that the continuity of basic health services, including nutrition, is needed in the response to and recovery from COVID-19; underlines that quality nutrition services should be provided as part of primary healthcare, including the prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of all forms of malnutrition; recognises the role of community health workers as front line workers that need to be supported, including through training;

29.

Underlines that research and innovation (R&I) have been of crucial importance in the global COVID-19 response, enabling the development of urgently needed therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics; emphasises that R&I activities need to be steered towards tools that work in low resource settings in order to allow for a truly global response; emphasises that similar efforts are needed to address existing research and product gaps to fight other epidemics, in particular poverty-related and neglected diseases that affect billions of people worldwide but offer limited market incentives for private sector investments, and in order to end the dependence on richer countries as regards their research into diseases that may not directly affect them; calls on the EU and its Member States, therefore, to increase opportunities for trans-national collaboration among researchers and encourage the development of the human research potential in partner countries, with a particular focus on women;

30.

Supports the important work of the WHO and points out its central role as the leading and coordinating authority on the COVID-19 response, while recognising the need for its reform, including, but not limited to, the reform of the International Health Regulations, after the acute crisis has been managed;

31.

Underlines the need for urgent action, increased funding and improved coordination of responses on hygienic behaviour and practices as one of the most vital defences to prevent, contain and treat COVID-19; underlines the need for reliable supplies of clean water to keep homes and schools, as well as healthcare facilities clean and highlights the importance of access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, services and commodities, because they are key for building resilience to future disease outbreaks; calls on the EU and its Member States to significantly increase their funding for WASH as part of their COVID-19 response and to strengthen global resilience against future crises;

32.

Highlights the crucial role played by community-led organisations and civil society organisations (CSOs) in delivering health services to the most marginalised and underserved communities; calls on the Commission to ensure political, financial and technical support for CSOs delivering community-based services in order to make sure that those who cannot go to health clinics are able to access tailored and appropriate services;

33.

Stresses that a more equitable distribution of vaccines around the globe is essential to combat effectively the spread of COVID-19 and its mutation; recalls equally that COVID-19 medical tools should be affordable, safe, effective, easily administered and universally available, and that they should be considered a global public good;

Human rights, governance and democracy

34.

Is concerned that, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, many governments have used the emergency to justify placing restrictions on democratic processes and the civil space, including limiting humanitarian access, and to oppress minorities; condemns, in particular, censorship, arrests and intimidation of journalists, opposition figures, healthcare workers and other individuals for criticising governments, including over their crisis management; draws attention, more broadly, to the growing negative impact of COVID-19 on all human rights, democracy and the rule of law and calls, therefore, for the strengthening of aid, political dialogue and support for civil society and institution building in all these fields, with particular attention to human rights defenders and civil society activists;

35.

Notes that research globally indicates that stigma and discrimination continue to affect people living with HIV, in particular key populations and vulnerable groups; recalls UNAIDS’ conclusions that people and groups associated with COVID-19 have also experienced negative perceptions and actions; highlights that vulnerable and marginalised populations continue to be stigmatised, including through HIV and COVID-19 intersections, such as people living in poverty, the homeless, refugees, migrants, sex workers, people who use drugs, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons;

36.

Underlines that the consequences of a combined health pandemic and a global recession will seriously undermine the capability of developing countries, notably least developed countries (LDCs), to achieve the SDGs; recalls the UN’s call for a USD 2,5 trillion COVID-19 crisis package for developing countries, which face unprecedented economic damage from the COVID-19 crisis; calls for a far-reaching policy response based on the core Agenda 2030 principle of leaving no-one behind;

37.

Underlines that a state of emergency has negative effects on human rights and fundamental freedoms and must therefore always be limited in time, duly justified through democratic and legal procedures, and proportionate to the emergency, while respecting the constitutional order and international human rights law; insists that health emergencies should never be used as a pretext to undermine the rule of law, democratic institutions, democratic accountability or judicial control;

38.

Is concerned about the violent attacks on humanitarian and medical personnel and facilities, as well as bureaucratic obstacles such as unclear, changing requirements to get access or restrictions on staff and vehicle numbers in partner countries; underlines the importance of continuing to address these attacks and obstacles at both diplomatic and political levels;

39.

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support parliaments as they continue to play an active role in scrutinising government measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and in assessing the human rights implications of public health measures; stresses that the health sector in many countries is prone to corruption and there is a need to strengthen accountability and oversight;

40.

Highlights the particularly severe consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns and the collateral damage that has been suffered by women, girls and children, in particular the rise in gender-based violence, including female genital mutilation, the increasing incidence of child marriage, early and unwanted pregnancies, and limited access to health services, including SRHR services, but also the exposure of women to COVID-19 due to their disproportionately high representation in the global health workforce; notes that in many partner countries women are employed in feminised sectors such as the garment industry which have been hit hard; emphasises the need for the NDICI-Global Europe to stimulate post-crisis opportunities for women’s employment; calls for action to counterbalance the disproportionate care burden borne by women and any potential roll-backs in safety, health, emancipation, economic independence and empowerment, and education, through specific programmes such as the spotlight initiative and the Gender Action Plan III, and by re-focusing European support; calls for efforts to be stepped up to better prevent and address domestic violence; calls for the meaningful participation of women in the decisions that impact their health and working lives; underlines the need to include the gender perspective in the EU’s COVID-19 response, to advocate for inclusive decision-making bodies and to collect sex- and age-disaggregated data for gender analysis;

41.

Recalls that the economic and social effects of the pandemic are disproportionately affecting women and risk reversing decades of progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment; urges the EU and its Member States, with a view to addressing this challenge and ensuring a sustained recovery, to upgrade their external support to actions aimed at enhancing the voice and participation of women in decision-making processes, improving education and training for women, removing discrimination in access to credit and enacting laws against gender-based violence;

Debt service and sound budgets

42.

Welcomes the temporary suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries announced by the G20 and joins the call on private creditors and state-owned commercial banks to follow suit; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote full implementation of the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and the G-20’s new Common Framework on Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI; underlines that the magnitude of the economic and social crisis in the developing world requires more profound and far-reaching measures and encourages the Commission to support international efforts in this regard; considers that interest saved thanks to this suspension should instead be invested in the health sector, which is often severely underfunded in developing countries; invites the Commission and the Member States, in this regard, also to support initiatives at international level proposing flexible mechanisms for debt reduction linked to the creation of counterpart funds in local currency to promote investments aimed at achieving the SDGs;

43.

Points out that many developing countries were already experiencing significant levels of debt before the pandemic, thereby preventing adequate investments in crisis prevention, health systems and social protection; underlines the importance of addressing debt sustainability in partner countries as a priority; calls on the Commission to take new initiatives to tackle the problems of illicit financial flows, tax evasion and tax fraud in order to improve the tax bases of developing countries; urges the EU, to this end, to ensure that its trade, double taxation and investment agreements are consistent with the objective of domestic resource mobilisation of ACP countries and translate into tangible and sustainable development outcomes, in line with the principle of policy coherence for development, as enshrined in Article 208 of the Treaty of Lisbon; calls more broadly for the setting up of a global tax body at UN level to help coordinate tax policies; calls, furthermore, for budget support to be directed towards universal basic services, notably access to basic health, water and sanitation services, and resilience;

44.

Calls on the Commission to envisage more support for the most fragile countries to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and provide access to healthcare while not neglecting existing challenges such as extreme poverty, security, access to quality education and jobs, democracy, equal opportunities and climate change;

45.

Highlights that reduced inflows of remittances in developing countries will worsen the living conditions of households that rely on this source of income to finance the consumption of goods and services such as food, health care and education; urges the EU and the donor community, therefore, to take decisive action to fulfil their promise to contribute to reducing the cost of remittance fees to close to zero, and at least to 3 %, as called for in SDG 10;

Education and digitalisation

46.

Underlines the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented numbers of pupils missing out on months of schooling, constituting a major setback to efforts in the education sector, especially with regard to the education of women, girls and displaced persons; urges governments to use school closures only as a measure of last resort in the fight against the pandemic; supports the continuation and prioritisation of investment in education in emergencies and other humanitarian settings; calls for education to remain a spending priority in EU development policy and for due consideration to be given to the social and cultural function of schools; urges governments, in this context, to prioritise support for the most marginalised children and their families, since economic and social inequalities are deeply linked to early school leaving and poor performance from early childhood, which jeopardise employability prospects through adulthood; stresses that the most at-risk children, especially those with disabilities and those living in conflict-affected areas, are the hardest hit by this pandemic; recommends that the EU support the actions of UNICEF and that EU countries share their approaches to keeping up teaching even in times of crisis, and calls on the EU and its Member States to exploit the potential of remote (offline apps, radio, TV, printed materials) and digital learning in their international support programmes so that no child is left without education; supports, therefore, open, secure and affordable access to the internet (including mobile data) and equal access to and use and creation of digital technology, with a view to bridging digital divides including the digital gender and age gaps, and to including those who are disadvantaged or marginalised by the digital transformation;

47.

Calls for culture to be considered for its intrinsic value as a fourth standalone, transversal pillar of sustainable development, together with social, economic and environmental dimensions; calls on the EU to integrate cultural sustainability at all levels of development cooperation and to systematically include the cultural dimension in negotiations for Association Agreements, and in the whole set of its external relations and foreign policy instruments;

48.

Highlights the importance of lifelong learning and re-qualification, also in the long-term after the COVID-19 pandemic, as it will become not only common practice but also a necessary requirement for working citizens, given how rapidly technology develops;

49.

Points out the need to provide support and recognition to teachers, whose pivotal role in education and in building active citizenship has been further underscored by the pandemic; stresses the need to invest in teacher training in order to adequately prepare teachers for new learning models such as e-learning and blended learning, as a requirement to ensure continued education when in-person learning is compromised;

50.

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 through times of crisis and uncertainty;

51.

Draws attention to the heavy toll the pandemic has taken on the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), world heritage sites, intangible cultural heritage and heritage tourism around the world, especially in least developed countries, where these sectors are particularly fragile; calls on the EU and its Member States to provide financial aid to these sectors in the context of development cooperation, trough dedicated funds with thematic and geographical priorities, as well as technical assistance, including digital support initiatives to mitigate the negative impacts of lockdown measures, and to exploit synergies between local governments, cultural organisations and NGOs, on the one hand, and EU delegations and overseas branches of cultural institutions of the Member States, on the other;

52.

Recalls that the share of education in total development aid has fallen steadily over the last decade; calls on the Member States to invest 10 % of their official development assistance in education by 2024 and 15 % by 2030, including investment in digital education, infrastructure and connectivity, to address the digital gap that exacerbates socio-economic disadvantages;

Resilience

53.

Underlines the importance of exchanging best practices with and assisting partner countries (including capacity building of their local and regional administrations) and of exchanging best practices with and assisting local civil society organisations in identifying vulnerabilities and building up prevention and crisis response mechanisms as well as protecting critical infrastructure in order better to deal with future systemic shocks of all kinds; underlines, furthermore, the importance of adopting a One Health approach from central government down to community level, in order to prevent or combat zoonoses;

54.

Is concerned that, due to changes brought about by climate change, extreme whether events will add to the difficulties of the COVID-19 crisis, which will put economies, the functioning of states and the provision of humanitarian aid under additional pressure; demands, therefore, that the recovery strategy must pursue the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change; considers, furthermore, that economic stimulus measures should pave the way towards a zero-carbon and climate-resilient future and calls for support for the conservation of seed varieties under the umbrella of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to help communities to restore varieties after climate change-induced disasters;

55.

Considers that the pandemic offers an opportunity to build back better and that the EU’s humanitarian and development policies should support this objective in partner countries; highlights in particular the need to support developing countries in unlocking progress in the digital economy in areas such as health, education and other public services; welcomes the launch of the Digital4Development (D4D) Hub in December 2020 and encourages the EU to make further investments in digitalisation efforts in partner countries, including by leveraging private sector investment;

56.

Recalls that resilience is ultimately about both general preparedness and the ability to adapt to new circumstances; recalls, in this context, that communities that lead their own solutions tailored to their particular contexts are more engaged throughout recovery, and ultimately rebuild stronger; stresses that overcoming this crisis in a spirit of solidarity with our partners will strengthen and render more resilient the relations between the EU and developing countries;

57.

Recalls that private sector investment could play an important role in contributing to economic recovery and the attainment of the SDGs, given the heightened needs generated by the pandemic; calls for the role of the private sector and blended finance to be further explored as part of recovery and resilience building efforts;

58.

Points out that pandemics are often of zoonotic origin; underlines, therefore, the need to support education programmes regarding the dangers of hunting and trading in wild animals as well as the stricter protection and restoration of ecosystems and habitats, and to address challenges posed by industrial farming; calls for increased support for partner countries in preventing poaching and the trafficking of wild animals, ensuring in particular that local communities are involved in wildlife protection; considers that more EU funds need to be granted to anticipatory research on the links between human health, animal health and ecosystems in order to increase the readiness to respond to future health crises created by virus mutations of zoonotic origin;

59.

Is of the opinion that resilience against future public health crises must also be built upon research into diseases that cause deadly outbreaks in developing countries on a regular basis; regrets that there is currently not enough research into the development of vaccines that effectively prevent diseases that are recurrent in developing countries, such as malaria or zika; calls on the EU and its Member States to fund more research with a view to developing vaccines that prevent future outbreaks of such diseases;

60.

Points out that, even in times of crisis, food production and distribution must be an absolute priority; considers that dependence on external sources of food, plants, seeds and fertilisers should be reduced, while local and diversified agricultural production should be increased; welcomes, in this regard, the EU’s support for agroecology, which needs to be further strengthened; calls for support for the sharing of knowledge about new, old and more resilient agro-ecological seeds;

61.

Recalls that developing countries are historically vulnerable to external shocks owing to narrow export bases and less diversified economies; stresses, therefore, that one of the main challenges for developing countries is to climb up the global value chain through economic diversification and to shift from an a export-oriented production model towards development based on domestic and regional markets; to this end, emphasises the crucial role of regional economic cooperation, domestic industrial policy and investment promotion to increase national or regional autonomy in the production of essential goods and services; finds it essential, against this background, to harness financing and business practises, with a view to promoting the integration of sustainability standards along the entire investment chain; reiterates that mandatory corporate due diligence on human rights and the environment is a necessary condition in order to prevent and mitigate future crises and ensure sustainable value chains;

62.

Underlines that investments in recovery actions need to be responsible, in line with the CFS’ Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security and its Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, to mitigate climate change and foster the resilience of vulnerable populations;

63.

Calls on the EU to better mainstream children’s rights in the fight against climate change and in its actions to promote resilience and disaster preparedness directly in social sectors such as education, health, WASH, nutrition, and social and child protection;

Humanitarian-development-peace nexus

64.

Underlines that implementation of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus has to be a priority in the programming of the NDICI-Global Europe in fragile countries; calls on the Commission’s DG ECHO, DG INTPA and DG NEAR to implement complementary programmes suited to local contexts and local opportunities, whenever possible, in order to mutually reinforce the different aspects of the nexus;

65.

Underlines the need to work alongside local communities and CSOs in the definition and implementation of the response to the COVID-19 crisis; emphasises the role of the European Solidarity Corps in supporting CSOs on the ground which provide assistance to people in need;

66.

Calls for the empowerment of local communities and for their engagement in humanitarian and development actions, along with local CSOs, including churches, faith-based organisations and other local representatives;

o o

67.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of 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 governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the African Union countries, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

(1) OJ C 355, 20.10.2017, p. 2.

(2) Texts adopted P9_TA(2020)0054.

18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/27

P9_TA(2021)0313

Commission’s 2020 Rule of law report

European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report (2021/2025(INI))

(2022/C 81/03)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to Article 295 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

—	having particular regard to Article 2, Article 3(1), Article 3(3), second subparagraph, Article 4(3) and Articles 5, 6, 7 and 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

—	having regard to the articles of the TFEU relating to the respect for and protection and promotion of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the Union, including Articles 70, 258, 259, 260, 263 and 265 thereof,

—	having regard to Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union and Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, annexed to the Treaties,

—	having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (hereinafter ‘the Charter’),

—	having regard to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU),

—	having regard to Article 49 TEU, the Copenhagen criteria and the body of Union rules that a candidate country must fulfil if it wishes to join the Union (the acquis),

—	having regard to the Commission communication of 30 September 2020 on the 2020 Rule of Law Report — the rule of law situation in the European Union (COM(2020)0580),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (1) (the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/692 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1381/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EU) No 390/2014 (2),

—	having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

—	having regard to the UN instruments on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the recommendations and reports of the UN Universal Periodic Review, as well as the case law of the UN treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,

—	having regard to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders of 8 March 1999,

—	having regard to the recommendations and reports of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Representative on Freedom of the Media and other bodies of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),

—

having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Social Charter, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Committee of Social Rights, and the conventions, recommendations, resolutions, opinions and reports of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of Ministers, the Human Rights Commissioner, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance, the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion, the Venice Commission and other bodies of the Council of Europe,

—	having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union of 23 May 2007 and the Council conclusions of 8 July 2020 on EU priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2020-2022,

—	having regard to the UN Convention against Corruption,

—	having regard to UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,

—	having regard to the Council of Europe’s toolkit for Member States entitled ‘Respecting democracy, rule of law and human rights in the framework of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis’ of 7 April 2020,

—	having regard to the Interim Report on the measures taken in the EU Member States as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and their impact on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, adopted by the Venice Commission at its 124th Plenary Session on 8 October 2020,

—	having regard to the 2020 Annual Report by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists,

—	having regard to the Commission’s reasoned proposal for a Council decision of 20 December 2017 on the determination of a clear risk of a serious breach by the Republic of Poland of the rule of law, issued in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union (COM(2017)0835),

—	having regard to the Commission communication of 17 July 2019 entitled ‘Strengthening the rule of law within the Union — A blueprint for action’ (COM(2019)0343),

—	having regard to the 2020 EU Justice Scoreboard,

—	having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 19 June 2019 entitled ‘Further strengthening the Rule of Law within the Union. State of play and possible next steps’, which proposed the establishment of an annual forum on fundamental rights and the rule of law,

—	having regard to the report of the European Economic and Social Committee Group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law of June 2020 entitled ‘National developments from a civil society perspective, 2018-2019’,

—

having regard to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights’ report of 17 January 2018 entitled ‘Challenges facing civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU’, its bulletins published in 2020 on the fundamental rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the EU, and its other reports, data and tools, in particular the European Union Fundamental Rights Information System (EFRIS),

—	having regard to the report of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights of 10 September 2020 entitled ‘Antisemitism: Overview of antisemitic incidents recorded in the European Union’,

—	having regard to the report of the European Institute for Gender Equality entitled ‘Beijing + 25: the fifth review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States’, published on 5 March 2020,

—	having regard to the conclusions of the Council of the European Union and the Member States meeting within the Council on ensuring respect for the rule of law of 16 December 2014,

—	having regard to the EU Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025, the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy for 2020-2025, the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child for 2021-2024, and the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for 2021-2030,

—	having regard to the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan for 2020-2025 and the EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation,

—	having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2016 with recommendations to the Commission on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (3),

—	having regard to its resolution of 1 March 2018 on the Commission’s decision to activate Article 7(1) TEU as regards the situation in Poland (4),

—	having regard to its resolution of 19 April 2018 on the need to establish a European Values Instrument to support civil society organisations which promote fundamental values within the European Union at local and national level (5),

—	having regard to its resolution of 19 April 2018 on protection of investigative journalists in Europe: the case of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová (6),

—	having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2018 on a proposal calling on the Council to determine, pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union, the existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded (7),

—	having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2018 on the rule of law in Romania (8),

—	having regard to its resolution of 14 November 2018 on the need for a comprehensive EU mechanism for the protection of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (9),

—	having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU (10),

—	having regard to its resolution of 28 March 2019 on the situation of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in the EU, specifically in Malta and Slovakia (11),

—	having regard to its resolution of 18 December 2019 on the rule of law in Malta following the recent revelations surrounding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia (12),

—	having regard to its resolution of 18 December 2019 on public discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI people, including LGBTI free zones (13),

—	having regard its resolution of 15 January 2020 on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter — annual report 2018 (14),

—	having regard to its resolution of 16 January 2020 on ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) TEU regarding Poland and Hungary (15),

—	having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences (16),

—	having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on the anti-racism protests following the death of George Floyd (17),

—	having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2020 on the reopening of the investigation against the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on the misuse of EU funds and potential conflicts of interest (18),

—	having regard to its resolution of 17 September 2020 on the proposal for a Council decision on the determination of a clear risk of a serious breach by the Republic of Poland of the rule of law (19),

—	having regard to its resolution of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (20),

—	having regard to its resolution of 8 October 2020 on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Bulgaria (21),

—	having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2020 on strengthening media freedom: the protection of journalists in Europe, hate speech, disinformation and the role of platforms (22),

—	having regard to its resolution of 26 November 2020 on the situation of Fundamental Rights in the European Union — Annual Report for the years 2018-2019 (23),

—	having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, the Interinstitutional Agreement, the EU Recovery Instrument and the Rule of Law Regulation (24),

—	having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2021 on the declaration of the EU as an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone (25),

—	having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021 on the application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092, the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism (26),

—	having regard to its resolution of 29 April 2021 on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the rule of law in Malta (27),

—	having regard to its European Added Value Assessment accompanying the legislative initiative report on an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights of October 2016,

—	having regard to its Preliminary Assessment on the European added value of an EU mechanism on democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights of 23 April 2020,

—	having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Legal Affairs, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Petitions,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A9-0199/2021),

whereas the Union is founded on the common values enshrined in Article 2 TEU of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities — values common to the EU Member States and to which candidate countries must adhere in order to join the Union; whereas democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing values which, when undermined, may pose a systemic threat to the Union; whereas respect for the rule of law is binding on the Union as a whole and its Member States at all levels of governance, including subnational entities;

whereas the annual rule of law review cycle is a welcome addition to the tools available to preserve the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU by addressing the situation in all EU Member States based on four pillars, with a direct bearing on respect for the rule of law; whereas it is intended as a yearly cycle to ensure the rule of law and to prevent problems from emerging or deepening;

C.	whereas the Commission’s first rule of law report (2020 report) is limited in scope, as it does not cover all EU values as provided for in Article 2 TEU;

whereas the Charter became a fully-fledged component of the Treaties when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force, and is therefore now legally binding on the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the EU and on the Member States when EU legislation is applied; whereas a genuine culture of fundamental rights must be developed, fostered and strengthened not only within the EU institutions, but also in the Member States, in particular when they apply EU law domestically and in their relations with non-EU countries;

whereas while the 2020 report raises concerns and awareness, it does not provide a sufficient assessment of the effectiveness of the changes carried out by each country, nor any concrete country-specific recommendations or examination of each country’s adherence to the rule of law over time, which could jeopardise its intended preventive effects;

whereas without effective follow-up through annual monitoring, the 2020 report may fail to prevent, detect and effectively address systemic challenges and backsliding on the rule of law as witnessed in several EU Member States in recent years; whereas upholding the rule of law is an essential precondition for compliance with the principle of sound financial management and for the protection of the Union’s financial interests;

G.	whereas in the last few years, several resolutions adopted by Parliament have identified serious rule of law issues in a number of Member States (28);

whereas backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights in some countries is seriously affecting mutual trust in the functioning of the area of freedom, security and justice and threatening the Union objectives as enshrined in Article 3 TEU, as illustrated by several cases where the European Arrest Warrant was placed under strain owing to profound doubts about the independence of the judiciary;

I.	whereas ombudsperson institutions and equality bodies in the Member States play a critical role in safeguarding key principles of the rule of law, such as transparency, accountability and due process;

whereas emergency measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the exercise of EU citizens’ fundamental rights, such as the right to free movement, access to justice, access to public information, privacy, the freedom of association and the freedom of assembly, as well as having an impact on democratic checks and balances; whereas it is therefore crucial to ensure that effective checks and balances on governments’ actions are in place in defence of EU citizens’ rights;

whereas several Member States’ international press freedom rankings have declined and violence against journalists has increased; whereas the threats to media freedom include harassment and attacks aimed at journalists, a disregard for journalists’ legal protection, as well as media capture and actions motivated by economic or political aims in the media sector; whereas the worrisome developments aimed at stifling free speech and press freedom set a bad example within the EU and EU accession countries;

L.	whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and to develop an effective EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights to ensure that the principles and values enshrined in the Treaties are upheld throughout the Union;

whereas respect for the rights of minorities constitutes one of the political criteria that a candidate country must fulfil upon accession; whereas the Union has an important role to play in ensuring respect for the rights of national and linguistic minorities in candidate countries; whereas Parliament has already called on the Commission (29) to adopt a common framework of minimum EU standards for the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, which are strongly embedded in a legal framework guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights throughout the Union;

I. The 2020 Rule of Law Report: lessons for 2021

Welcomes the Commission’s first annual rule of law report; considers it vital to establish a European rule of law monitoring and enforcement architecture in the Union; reiterates the importance of identifying risks in advance and of preventing violations of fundamental rights and the rule of law, instead of reacting ex post when such violations are repeated; encourages, therefore, the further development of this new tool;

Welcomes the fact that the functioning of the justice systems, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and certain institutional issues related to checks and balances, including civic space to a certain extent, are all part of the Commission’s annual overview of the rule of law situation in the Member States; calls, moreover, for the inclusion in the annual reports of certain important elements of the Venice Commission’s 2016 Rule of Law Checklist, such as legal safeguards to prevent arbitrariness and abuse of power by public authorities, the independence and impartiality of the legal profession, equality before the law and non-discrimination; encourages the Commission to also highlight positive trends in Member States that could serve as good examples for others to follow;

Notes with satisfaction that the report contains country-specific chapters; commends the Commission’s efforts to engage with national governments and national parliaments as well as civil society and other national actors; encourages the Commission to devote greater efforts to deepening the country analyses with a view to better assessing the severity of rule of law challenges; believes that more time should be devoted to the Commission’s country visits, including on site, in order to achieve broader engagement and dialogue with national authorities and civil society; considers that the Commission should raise greater awareness of these visits in order to foster a rule of law culture at national level;

Welcomes the fact that all Member States are scrutinised according to the same indicators and methodology; emphasises, however, that presenting breaches of a different nature equally risks trivialising the most serious breaches of the rule of law; urges the Commission to differentiate its reporting by distinguishing between systemic breaches of the rule of law and individual, isolated breaches; stresses the potential preventive benefits of the annual rule of law report; considers that a more thorough evaluation is needed to assess whether the report has had a sufficient preventive effect; considers that in any event this is clearly not the case as regards the Member States under the Article 7(1) TEU procedure; believes that the 2020 report could have provided more in-depth and transparent assessments, stating whether there were serious deficiencies, a risk of a serious breach or an actual breach of EU values in each of the pillars analysed in the country chapters; considers these assessments necessary to formulate conclusions about the state of the rule of law and to identify follow-up actions and remedial measures and tools; calls for a synthetic approach in future reports in order to clearly identify where the most important risks and problems lie across the Member States; calls on the Commission to update its methodology accordingly and to keep Parliament informed without undue delay;

Considers that the 2020 report is overly descriptive and does not provide sufficient analysis; calls on the Commission to make future reports more analytical; considers it necessary that future reports should contain country-specific recommendations on how to address the concerns identified or remedy breaches, including deadlines for implementation, where appropriate, and benchmarks to be followed up on; calls on the Commission to include in the reports indications of the follow-up on the implementation of its recommendations and remedial action;

Is concerned by the spillover effects of the erosion of media freedom into other areas analysed in the report; considers that smear campaigns against academics, journalists, judges, legal professionals, civil society organisations and activists, notably strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), serve to limit their independence and ability to act, with chilling effects;

Calls, therefore, for a more integrated analysis on the interlinkages between the four pillars included in the report and of how combined deficiencies may amount to systemic breaches of the rule of law or risks thereof, and a signal if those are affecting or risk affecting the financial interests of the Union;

Considers that the annual reports should identify cross-cutting trends at EU level; believes that an EU-wide perspective is absent from the 2020 report; asks the Commission to identify instances where certain measures or practices that undermine the rule of law, media freedom, checks and balances, or the fight against corruption in one Member State become blueprints for others, or when the gravity and scope of such practices have the potential to affect the Union as a whole; calls on the Commission to assess how such attacks compromise the quality of democracy in the Union; calls for the reports’ analyses to prioritise these trends, including the increasing challenges posed by national constitutional courts to the EU legal architecture, in order to guide remedial action at EU level; calls on the Commission to provide clear illustrations of systematic disinformation and foreign interference campaigns aimed at undermining public trust in state institutions and independent media while pushing Member States towards authoritarian-style governance structures;

Regrets the fact that not all rule of law issues were covered in sufficient detail in the 2020 report; invites the Commission to develop its country-specific expertise and capacity so as to react more swiftly to negative developments in the Member States; calls on the Commission to devote sufficient resources to the monitoring and enforcement of the rule of law in the EU;

10.

Stresses that the Member States’ laws, adherence to the rule of law, checks and balances, and democratic institutions, including the independence thereof, should be functional not only de jure but also de facto;

Justice systems

11.

Welcomes the monitoring of the independence, quality and efficiency of the Member States’ justice systems, including the national prosecution services and their capacity to provide for effective judicial protection to ensure compliance with EU law; considers that the enabling environment to ensure access to justice for all should also be monitored, including access to justice at EU level and the efforts and resources devoted to guaranteeing access to justice; is concerned about the lack of a direct redress mechanism available to EU citizens to defend their rights as provided by the Charter; considers that the reports should go beyond a static annual snapshot and include any relevant information in the country chapters about the state of the rule of law, including on relevant antecedents and the political context in which new developments take place, so as to enable an accurate, dynamic and integral assessment of the de jure and de facto independence of judicial systems, including the independence of lawyers and the legal profession, and should cover a longer period of time than just the previous 12 months; highlights that adequate rule of law standards should be guaranteed for EU citizens and residents when exercising their right to freedom of movement within the EU; stresses that effective access to justice for all citizens is a cornerstone of the rule of law which, on account of their vulnerability, must be especially guaranteed for seasonal workers and cross-border workers when pursuing a professional activity in another Member State;

12.

Stresses that effective, independent and efficient justice systems are essential for upholding the rule of law; recalls that the Union’s judicial architecture includes national justice systems; underlines the fact that in order to safeguard EU citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms, justice systems and judges must be independent and thus protected from any kind of pressure, threat or interference — whether direct or indirect — from any quarter, including political authorities; welcomes the fact that the composition of judicial bodies, appointment methods, in addition to mechanisms governing length of service and grounds for rejection and dismissal, career advancement, disciplinary procedures and sanctions, have also been identified as indicators of judicial independence; stresses that the monitoring of these parameters must be constant and embedded in a comprehensive assessment of all checks and balances, while refraining from focusing only on a limited number of parameters, in order to verify the true state of independence of the judiciary in the Member States;

13.

Notes that the 2020 report rightly addresses the need to digitalise justice proceedings and training for judges; recalls that significant differences remain between the Member States in the level of participation in training dedicated to legal professions; regrets the fact that the report fails to mention training for lawyers;

14.

Is alarmed by the stark deterioration of the independence of some Member States’ justice systems and by the increasing and blatant lack of compliance with EU law, including CJEU judgments; notes that judicial independence continues to be an area of serious concern in some Member States, as reflected in some country chapters; calls on the Commission to clearly assess and designate such shortcomings and findings identified as a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law; is deeply concerned by the Commission’s failure to react promptly and with legal means to the serious risks regarding the rule of law identified in the country chapters, above all once these have materialised into actual breaches of the rule of law; calls on the Commission to provide a meaningful, simple and clear assessment of the different national justice systems and to highlight where best practices for comparable systems might be applied and how similar deficiencies could be addressed;

15.

Highlights that in accordance with Article 17(1) TEU, the Commission is required to ensure the application of the Treaties and secondary legislation, including in cases where risks of serious breaches of the values laid down in Article 2 TEU, as identified in the country chapters, have effectively materialised following the publication of the 2020 report;

16.

Decries the political pressure applied in Hungary and Poland to prevent national courts from initiating preliminary ruling proceedings before the CJEU under Article 267 TFEU, which is intended to prevent national judges from asking the CJEU questions in relation to EU requirements on judicial independence; considers this practice to be in contravention of the Treaties and the CJEU’s established interpretation of the relevant provisions; is appalled by the growing and deliberate lack of compliance with CJEU rulings; believes that these unlawful developments pose a systemic threat to the unity and consistency of EU law and to the very functioning of the Union; invites the Commission to include in its future reports detailed data on Member States’ compliance with CJEU rulings; considers, therefore, that forthcoming annual reports should consider the failure to respect CJEU rulings as serious violations in the assessment; urges the Commission to ensure immediate and adequate legal responses to refusals to implement and respect CJEU rulings, such as court actions under Article 260 TFEU; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the rulings of national courts regarding the primacy of EU law over national constitutional norms and to initiate infringement proceedings against Member States that consistently breach this principle; deplores, moreover, the request made by the Prime Minister of Poland to the Constitutional Tribunal to rule on the primacy of national constitutional norms over EU law;

17.

Notes that the slowness of civil, criminal and administrative judicial procedures constitute a major danger, not least for the respect for the rule of law; calls on the Commission to include in its future reports an evaluation of prison conditions, judicial backlogs and the average duration of trials for each Member State;

Anti-corruption framework

18.

Welcomes the dedication of a specific chapter to anti-corruption efforts in each country chapter, since systemic corruption undermines both the functioning of the rule of law and the trust of EU citizens in the decisions taken by authorities, civil servants and the judiciary; stresses that by diverting public funds away from their intended public use, corruption detracts from the level and quality of public services, thereby undermining fundamental rights; points out that while the existence of national anti-corruption legislation, policies and strategies can be considered progress, their implementation and subsequent effectiveness on the ground are crucial for the rule of law and must also be assessed; underlines that anti-corruption frameworks should cover areas such as ethical rules, awareness-raising measures, rules on asset disclosures, incompatibilities and conflicts of interest, public procurement, internal control mechanisms, rules on lobbying, and revolving doors; calls on the Member States and institutions to devise effective tools to prevent, detect risk, halt and sanction cases of corruption and fraud, as well as mechanisms to recover the profits from those cases, in particular by regularly monitoring the use of both EU and national public funds; notes that an assessment of the resilience of the anti-corruption framework to tackle corruption-related risks in the area of public procurement remains largely absent from the 2020 report;

19.

Invites the Commission to place greater emphasis on the misuse of EU funds, particularly in view of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, and to review the proper functioning of investigations and public prosecution services in each Member State in relation to the investigation and prosecution of fraud, including tax fraud, corruption or other breaches of EU law relating to the implementation of the EU budget or the protection of the Union’s financial interests; expresses its concern over the potentially increasing risk of the Union’s budget being misused as a means to weaken the rule of law in some Member States;

20.

Is deeply concerned by the growing threat of corruption-related crimes; calls on the Commission to update and enhance the Union’s anti-corruption legislation where necessary, using the report’s findings to better respond to the deficiencies identified, and to enact an appropriate set of policies to combat judicial corruption in the Member States; underlines the dangers of the rise of corruption for the cohesion of the Union’s legal order, the effectiveness of its common policies, the protection of fundamental rights, its international credibility and the functioning of its internal market, in which respect for the rule of law plays an important role; calls on the Commission to outline best practices, identify areas that are particularly susceptible to corruption and devise country-specific recommendations for improvements, and to use that knowledge to update and enhance the Union’s anti-corruption framework;

21.

Recalls the key role of whistleblowers in combating organised crime, corruption and money laundering offences;

22.

Warns that the lack of uniform, up-to-date and consolidated statistics across all Member States, coupled with challenges in collecting information on the beneficiaries of EU programmes, hinder the assessment and comparison of data about the investigation and prosecution of corruption offences; calls on the Commission, therefore, to support and promote the harmonisation of the definitions of such offences across the Union, and to ensure a better use of existing data sets and the methodology to develop new data sets in order to obtain comparative data across the EU on the treatment of corruption cases; highlights the importance of supporting and strengthening cooperation between the EU institutions, the Member States, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in the fight against corruption; is of the opinion that fighting corruption requires not only a strong mandate, but also a far greater budget, resources and any kind of support necessary for the aforementioned institutions and bodies;

Freedom of expression: media freedom and pluralism, artistic and academic freedoms

23.

Welcomes the inclusion in the report of a specific chapter on monitoring media freedom and media pluralism; welcomes, in particular, the focus on the safety of journalists; urges the Commission to provide an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the national frameworks for the protection of media freedom and media pluralism; stresses the importance of assessing and monitoring the situation of the media in the Member States, in particular by examining measures taken by any government to silence critical media and/or to undermine freedom and pluralism, in order to prevent the risk of further concentration of information in the hands of a few, which could hamper the spread of free and independent information;

24.

Deplores the lack of assessment as regards the public service and private media sector at national level and its de jure and de facto degree of independence from national authorities, political parties or any other interference, including the lack of an assessment of potential conflicts of interest and of media concentration and transparency of media ownership; highlights the need to ensure the financial independence of and conditions for sustainable activity by private media operators in order to avoid the political capture of the media; highlights the irreplaceable role of the public service media and stresses that it is essential to ensure and maintain their independence and freedom from political interference; deplores the lack of assessment of the de jure and de facto degree of independence of national media regulatory bodies; believes that proper implementation of Article 30 of the 2018 Audiovisual Media Services Directive (30) should be closely monitored and that, where warranted, infringement procedures should be swiftly initiated following this process; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to examine the attempts to intimidate and defame journalists, in particular by public service broadcasters, including direct attacks on foreign journalists as public enemies for their investigative reports;

25.

Is alarmed by the growing deterioration of media freedom and media pluralism in some Member States since the publication of the 2020 report; is deeply concerned at the physical, psychological and economic threats, abuses, crimes and assassinations being committed against journalists and media workers in the Union in response to their activities and recalls that such attacks often lead to self-censorship; calls on the Commission to include in the country chapters of future reports an overview of the attacks against journalists across the Union, with a specific focus on assassinations of journalists, including the effective independence of subsequent criminal investigations and proceedings from political interference, and the responses provided by Member States in this regard;

26.

Observes with concern that challenges to media freedom are closely linked to the undermining of artistic freedom and academic freedom; calls, therefore, for this pillar to be expanded to all aspects of freedom of expression, including the fight against hate speech, and for the title of the pillar to be adapted accordingly;

27.

Expresses concern at the use of legal measures by governments and powerful individuals to silence critics, such as SLAPPs or laws curtailing the right to freedom of expression in a manner incompatible with individuals’ fundamental rights; calls on the Member States to legislate in order to protect journalists from this practice; calls on the Commission to propose EU anti-SLAPP legislation to protect journalists from vexatious lawsuits;

28.

Observes that the deterioration of media freedom is leading to an increase in the scapegoating and targeting of minorities, often government-led, such as against LGBTI people, migrants and refugees, resulting in an increase in hate speech against these groups and censorship of media; calls on the Commission to assess in future reports the effect that hate crimes and hate speech have on discrimination;

Other institutional issues linked to checks and balances, including the protection of an enabling civic space

29.

Welcomes the report’s pillar on checks and balances and its examination of exceptional measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic; recalls that government-led emergency measures that respect the rule of law, fundamental rights and democratic accountability are needed to combat the pandemic and should be the cornerstone of all efforts to control the spread of COVID-19; considers that emergency powers require additional scrutiny to ensure that they are not used as a pretext for changing the balance of powers more permanently; is alarmed by the use of COVID-19 emergency measures as a pretext to fast-track discriminatory legislation; calls on the Commission to continue its monitoring of exceptional measures to ensure that bills are prepared and enacted in a timely and transparent way so that they are necessary, proportionate, socially equitable and temporary and that access to judicial redress is not disproportionally affected by the closure of courts; underlines, in this context, the role of parliamentary scrutiny and consultation with civil society; calls on the Commission to continue to monitor the gradual lifting of measures in a timely manner; encourages the Commission to ensure that the rights of EU citizens are respected, protected and upheld by the Member States during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond;

30.

Recalls the importance of independent national human rights institutions and ombudsperson bodies, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, as well as equality bodies, in preserving EU citizens’ rights and being able to defend the rule of law at national, regional and local levels; is deeply concerned by recent attempts in Poland to undermine the independence from the executive of the national ombudsman; welcomes the reference to the role of ombudsperson institutions in the 2020 report; calls on the Commission to pay more attention in the next annual cycle to the activities of national ombudspersons and equality bodies by looking in greater depth at how they function, their degree of independence and their real contribution in ensuring that adequate safeguards are in place; stresses, in particular, the diminishing independence of some Member States’ equality bodies since the publication of the 2020 report, which constitutes an immediate threat to the fundamental rights of citizens; reiterates its concern about the increasingly shrinking space for independent civil society in some Member States, notably for women’s rights, minorities and human rights defenders, including the criminalisation of activities, unreasonable administrative burdens, restrictions on access to funding, decreasing financial support for advocacy activities, and restrictions on freedom of assembly and organisation;

31.

Stresses the importance of a healthy civic space for promoting and monitoring EU values and holding governments accountable with regard to their adherence to these, as well as for counterbalancing the erosion of the rule of law and fostering a rule of law culture; invites the Commission to deepen its assessment of civic space in the 2021 report; considers it beneficial to explore the definition of clear benchmarks on an enabling civic space to further strengthen this area of analysis in the long run, including, among other areas, an enabling legal environment for the exercise of civic freedoms, a framework for civic organisations’ financial viability and sustainability, including the issue of government-organised non-governmental organisations (GONGOs), access to and participation in decision-making, the right to access information, safe space, including as regards incidences of and responses to verbal and physical attacks, smear campaigns, and legal, administrative and fiscal harassment including from SLAPPs, the chilling effects they create, and their long-term consequences in terms of active citizenship in another country; reiterates that the EU institutions should maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society; calls on the Commission to assess in its future reports whether the exercise of political rights by EU citizens is guaranteed in all Member States;

32.

Regrets the fact that Hungary’s failure to implement a CJEU ruling in relation to the unlawful restrictions imposed on the financing of civil organisations by persons established outside Hungary, which in itself constitutes a serious violation of the rule of law, has served to perpetuate the process of shrinking space for civil society in the country; urges the Commission to refer Hungary to the CJEU and to request dissuasive financial sanctions under Article 260 TFEU as a matter of urgency; notes with concern that an increasing number of Member States are adopting legislation which creates severe constraints on the freedom of association and expression for civil society organisations, thereby contributing to shrinking space for civil society;

33.

Regrets the fact that the report fails to clearly recognise the deliberate process of democratic and rule of law backsliding organised by national authorities in some EU Member States and the ensuing progressive establishment of (semi-)autocratic regimes based on the gradual annihilation of all checks and balances; calls on the Commission to acknowledge and take account of the multiple annual reports and indexes by respected and established organisations which assess the Member States’ adherence to democracy, the rule of law and human rights over time;

Scope of the report — the missing areas

34.

Regrets the fact that the 2020 report fails to encompass fully the Article 2 TEU values of democracy and fundamental rights, which are immediately affected when countries start backsliding on the rule of law;

35.

Calls on the Commission to include country chapters of all candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, including an in-depth analysis of their justice systems, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and pluralism situation, and institutional checks and balances;

36.

Reiterates the intrinsic link that exists between the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights and the need to increase awareness of the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU and the Charter; calls on the Commission to consider including within the scope of future reports the application of all rights guaranteed by the Charter; stresses that any action taken by a Member State when acting within the scope of EU law must respect the rights and principles of the Charter; insists, therefore, on maintaining the link between upholding the rule of law and equality before the law, the right to an effective remedy before an independent and impartial tribunal, the right to a fair trial, and the right to be advised, defended and represented, as well as the provision of independent legal aid to those who lack sufficient resources, and the right to good administration as set out in Article 41 of the Charter;

37.

Strongly denounces the fact that EU and international legislation is not fully respected in some EU Member States, for example in the field of anti-discrimination or asylum, as exemplified by Hungary’s failure to implement several rulings of the CJEU and European Court of Human Rights in relation to access to the asylum procedure, including automatic and unlawful detention and the deprivation of food, which violates the rights of migrants and asylum seekers to apply for international protection;

38.

Underlines its concern at the fact that people in vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, children, religious minorities, particularly at a time of rising antisemitism and islamophobia in Europe, Roma and other persons belonging to ethnic and linguistic minorities, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, LGBTI+ persons and elderly people as well as women, continue to see their rights not being fully respected across the Union in contravention of Article 2 TEU; emphasises the obvious link between deteriorating rule of law standards and fundamental rights and minority rights violations in the Member States concerned; calls on the Commission to assess the persistent violations of democracy and fundamental rights throughout the Union, including attacks against people in vulnerable situations;

39.

Welcomes the Commission’s announcement of its strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter; considers that focusing on a single pre-defined topic every year would not allow other serious violations of the Charter that take place in a given year to be highlighted; believes that such an annual review should provide input for a comprehensive monitoring mechanism and that its methodology, cycle and scope should therefore be aligned with the annual reports; expresses regret and concern about the Commission’s reluctance to initiate infringement proceedings with regard to the violations of the Charter;

40.

Calls on the Member States to draw up annual reports on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, including equality and the rights of persons belonging to minorities;

41.

Points out that the Union’s annual reporting mechanism should consolidate and supersede existing instruments in order to avoid duplication, in particular the annual rule of law report, the Commission’s Rule of Law Framework, the Commission’s annual reporting on the application of the Charter, the Council’s Rule of Law Dialogue, and the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, while ensuring greater complementarity and consistency with other tools available, including procedures under Article 7 TEU, infringement proceedings and budgetary conditionality; considers that the three institutions should use the findings of the annual monitoring cycle in their assessment for the purposes of triggering Article 7 TEU and budgetary conditionality; stresses that the roles and prerogatives of each of the three institutions must be respected; commits to combining its annual work on the rule of law and fundamental rights reports into a broader annual monitoring cycle on Article 2 TEU, and to start working on it immediately after the Commission has published its rule of law report;

42.

Calls for an evaluation to determine whether the scope of the non-discrimination clause in the Charter is broad enough to make the enforcement of the rule of law in the Member States and the Union consistent with Article 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and what further actions the EU institutions can take to ensure it is adequately applied; recalls that while the Charter is only applied by judicial authorities when implementing EU law, it is important that the rights enshrined in the Charter are always taken into account in proceedings in order to foster a common rule of law culture; calls on the Commission, therefore, to also consider Charter-focused training modules for judges and legal practitioners;

Sources and methodology of the report

43.

Calls on the Commission to strengthen the regular, inclusive and structured dialogue with governments and national parliaments, NGOs, national human rights institutions, ombudspersons, equality bodies, professional associations and other stakeholders; calls on the Commission, moreover, to continue to allow for both public and confidential reporting in order to protect and support human rights defenders and rule of law specialists at risk of SLAPPs, prosecution or harassment by national authorities or their proxies; while welcoming the fact that 24 Member States transparently made public their submissions for the 2020 report, regrets the fact that three Member States refused to do so; calls for full transparency in the process and for all Member States’ submissions to be made public; considers that civil society organisations should be closely involved in all phases of the review cycle;

44.

Regrets the fact that the Commission did not consult stakeholders, including Parliament, on the development of the methodology and preparation process for the 2020 report, nor did it seek to obtain feedback on their workability;

45.

Recalls that the Commission must take into account relevant information from pertinent sources and recognised institutions; recalls that the findings of relevant international bodies, such as those under the auspices of the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe, are of crucial importance for assessing the situation in the Member States; believes that EFRIS is a source of information in this regard; calls on the Commission to invite the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights to provide methodological advice and conduct targeted comparative research to plug the gaps and add detail in key areas of the rule of law report; stresses the need to involve a panel of independent experts in cooperation with the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Venice Commission in the rule of law report, in order to help identify the main positive and negative developments in each Member State;

46.

Stresses that civil society are key partners to identify rule of law violations and promote democracy and fundamental rights; strongly believes that the Commission should institute a formal and continuous dialogue with civil society representatives on these issues and ensure their meaningful involvement in the elaboration of the annual rule of law report; highlights, in this regard, that based on the experience of NGOs in the 2020 cycle, thematically structured consultations held within the framework of the rule of law debates would increase the efficiency of the process and the amount of valuable feedback provided by civil society; stresses that the consultation questionnaire should allow stakeholders to report aspects beyond the scope envisaged by the Commission, which could serve to further assess whether the constitutional arrangements provide efficient mechanisms to limit the exercise of power;

47.

Considers that the timeframes for consultation with civil society could often be perceived as too short and should be suitably adapted and flexible in order to allow for complete and comprehensive input; points out that this has made it more difficult for stakeholders, especially civil society organisations, to prepare and plan their contributions as well as the domestic awareness-raising activities they intend to pursue for the launch of the report; notes that organising consultations before the annual release of public statistics impoverishes contributions; calls on the Commission to allow multilingual submissions; suggests making the framework for stakeholders’ contributions predictable and less rigid; notes that consultation can be improved by ensuring, among other endeavours, follow-up with civil society actors on the input they provide;

48.

Considers that cooperation in the annual monitoring cycle with the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly, including through a more structured partnership, is of particular relevance for advancing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in the EU; calls on the Commission to include in the country chapters data on non-compliance with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights as assessed by the Committee of Ministers; recalls that the Union’s accession to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is a legal obligation laid down in Article 6(2) TEU; reiterates the need for a swift conclusion of the accession process in order to ensure a consistent framework for human rights protection throughout Europe and to further strengthen the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms within the Union;

II. Institutional aspects of the EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights

49.

Reiterates its calls on the Commission and the Council to insist that they respond positively to Parliament’s call in its resolution of 7 October 2020 for a joint EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, which should cover the full scope of Article 2 TEU values; reiterates that such a mechanism is necessary to reinforce the promotion and respect for EU values; recalls that this annual cycle should be comprehensive, objective, impartial, evidence-based and applied equally and fairly to all Member States;

Country-specific recommendations

50.

Reiterates its call on the Commission to provide for a true assessment of the situation of each of the Article 2 TEU values in the Member States and to adopt clear country-specific recommendations on how to address the concerns identified and remedy the breaches concerned, including deadlines for implementation, where appropriate, and benchmarks to be followed up on, including timelines, targets and concrete actions to be taken, in order to assist Member States in addressing the weaknesses identified in the report; calls for these initiatives to be followed up on in subsequent annual or urgent reports;

51.

Recommends that the Commission align its recommendations with tools that could be applied to remedy the shortcomings identified; calls on the Commission to improve its follow-up of the implementation of the country-specific chapters by the Member States concerned and to activate, when necessary, other rule of law tools to achieve results where recommendations are not implemented; considers that the Commission could make more use of infringement actions before the CJEU; underlines the importance of identifying clear positive and negative trends in each Member State and the need to pay particular attention to comparisons with the report of the previous year;

Interinstitutional agreement

52.

Considers that the existing institutional arrangement behind the annual report falls short of Parliament’s expectations; expects the three institutions to establish a permanent interinstitutional working group, as proposed in its resolution of 7 October 2020;

53.

Calls on the Commission and the Council to immediately enter into negotiations with Parliament on an interinstitutional agreement pursuant to Article 295 TFEU in order to complete existing tools with the establishment of a rule of law mechanism, by means of a legal act binding the three institutions to a more transparent and regularised process with more clearly defined responsibilities, involving a panel of independent experts to advise the working group and the three institutions, in close cooperation with the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, in order to make the protection and promotion of all EU values a permanent and visible part of the Union’s agenda; considers that the proposal set out in the annex to Parliament’s resolution of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights constitutes an appropriate basis for such negotiations; considers that in the meantime, a pilot project involving independent experts assessing compliance with EU values could help to build the requisite knowledge and expertise;

Complementarity with other rule of law instruments

54.

Reiterates that the mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights must complement and reinforce — but by no means substitute — ongoing and future proceedings under Article 7 TEU; strongly regrets the inability of the Council to make meaningful progress in enforcing EU values in ongoing Article 7 TEU procedures; notes that the Council’s hesitance to apply Article 7 TEU is in fact effectively enabling a continued disregard for the values provided for in Article 2 TEU, including blatant non-compliance with CJEU judgments and the harassment of those seeking to uphold the rule of law in some Member States; regrets the Council’s failure to organise hearings, using COVID-19 as a pretext for this, despite the fact that there is no legal obligation whatsoever to require hearings to be held in person as opposed to via videoconferencing; requests that any legal opinion issued by the Council’s legal service arguing otherwise should be made public; urges the Council to move forward with proceedings under Article 7(1) TEU and to ensure that hearings recommence as a matter of urgency and also address new developments; reiterates its call on the Council to address concrete recommendations to the Member States in question, as stipulated by Article 7(1) TEU, as a follow-up to the hearings, and to provide deadlines for the implementation of those recommendations; calls for a reflection at the Conference on the Future of Europe on a revision of Article 7 TEU, including the voting requirements, in order to render its procedure more effective, with particular regard to overcoming unanimity for the imposition of sanctions; insists that Parliament’s role and competences be respected, in particular the right to be duly informed on the procedures of the rule of law instruments, including Article 7 TEU hearings;

55.

Believes that while the annual report is an essential monitoring tool, clear recommendations on the challenges identified and follow-up action required are indispensable; reiterates that in the case of failures to implement the shortcomings and recommendations, the annual report should serve as a basis for deciding whether to activate one or several relevant instruments such as the procedure provided for in Article 7 TEU, the conditionality mechanism, whether to activate the Rule of Law Framework or whether to launch infringement procedures, including expedited procedures, applications for interim measures before the CJEU and actions regarding non-implementation of CJEU judgments concerning the protection of EU values; stresses that the report should in any case be accompanied by actionable recommendations, including deadlines for implementation; recalls that infringement actions can be simultaneously launched in respect of issues identified in Article 7(1) TEU reasoned proposals as already established by the CJEU; urges the Commission to make robust use of infringement procedures, where appropriate, to prevent backsliding on the rule of law in national justice systems; considers that the Conference on the Future of Europe should further consolidate in Treaty provisions the well-established legal principle on the primacy of EU law; invites the Conference on the Future of Europe to consider strengthening the role of the CJEU in protecting the Union’s founding values;

56.

Welcomes the fact that the Joint Declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe identifies European rights and values, including the rule of law, as one of the topics for discussion at the conference; calls for the Conference on the Future of Europe to include a reflection on the effectiveness of the Union’s existing tools for monitoring, preventing and tackling violations of Article 2 TEU principles and to present concrete proposals for tangible action to strengthen the Union’s toolbox;

57.

Stresses that the applicability, purpose and scope of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation is clearly defined in the legal text of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092; stresses that the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation has entered into force, has directly applied since 1 January 2021 and is binding in its entirety for all commitment appropriations and payment appropriations in all Member States, notably covering the disbursement of the Next Generation EU funds, and that its application by the EU institutions is not subject to the adoption of guidelines or judicial interpretation; considers that the European Council conclusions of 10 and 11 December 2020 on the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation contravene Articles 15 and 17 TEU and Article 288 TFEU insofar as they introduce unnecessary legal uncertainty with regard to the additional Commission guidelines and suspended adoption of the regulation, in cases of Article 263 TFEU, as is currently the case following the recent actions for annulment lodged by Hungary and Poland; reiterates its call on the Commission to take immediate action under the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation to make full use of its existing investigation tools without further delay in order to address rule of law deficiencies in Member States that could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the EU budget in a sufficiently direct way; calls on the Commission to apply the Common Provisions Regulation (31) and Financial Regulation (32) more stringently in order to tackle the discriminatory use of EU funds, as it did when withholding funds for municipal or local governments proclaiming themselves ‘free from LGBTI ideology’;

58.

Calls for the Commission to use the findings of the annual report in its assessment that forms the basis of the mechanism to protect the budget against breaches of the principle of the rule of law, as well as in any other relevant assessment for the purposes of existing and future budgetary tools; reiterates its call on the Commission to include in its annual rule of law reports a dedicated section with an analysis of cases where breaches of the principles of the rule of law in a particular Member State could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the EU budget in a sufficiently direct way, which could then serve as a basis for triggering the conditionality mechanism; urges the Commission to strengthen synergies between its annual rule of law reports and the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, using them as distinct but complementary tools;

59.

Acknowledges that the Commission must use the annual rule of law report as an important source of information when building cases for the application of the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, which should include, inter alia, information from reports by the European Court of Auditors, OLAF and the EPPO, audit reports by the Commission and national audit authorities, judgments by the CJEU and national courts, analyses by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and information from different systems such as the Early Detection and Exclusion System for the Protection of the Union’s Financial Interests (EDES) and Arachne; calls on the Commission to clarify in the methodology used the link between the rule of law report and the rule of law conditionality mechanism; recalls that it is essential that the legitimate interests of final recipients and beneficiaries are properly safeguarded when measures are adopted in the event of breaches of the principles of the rule of law;

60.

Calls on the Commission to promote a culture of respect for the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU, including through strengthened efforts to promote education on EU citizenship, including on the rule of law; calls on the Commission to launch a dedicated programme that supports innovative initiatives with the aim of promoting EU citizenship education; urges the Council and the Commission to provide adequate information and funding for EU-wide, national, regional and local civil society organisations and independent journalism, notably by making strategic use of funding opportunities under the Regulation establishing the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme to help them raise awareness and promote EU values and applicable tools, including the annual report, to counteract threats to the rule of law identified in the annual report, in particular where violations and shortcomings have been identified; calls on the Member States to learn from best practices and to address the gaps identified and adopt measures to improve the situation regarding all four main pillars identified in the rule of law report; highlights the need to raise awareness among EU citizens and residents on the means and procedures available at national and EU level to safeguard respect for the rule of law and to report breaches;

III. Follow-up and impact of the report

61.

Calls on the Commission to assess in successive reports how the issues identified in the areas analysed in previous reports have evolved, been solved, risk deteriorating or have deteriorated further, to identify positive and negative trends and cross-cutting issues, notably any systemic or reoccurring patterns of rule of law breaches, and to put forward clear recommendations to remedy any risks or backsliding identified;

62.

Stresses the importance of promoting the findings of the annual report at national level; encourages the Commission to foster debate about the report in national parliaments and to engage with civil society organisations in the follow-up to the report;

63.

Calls on the Commission to make clear in its annual rule of law reports that not all rule of law shortcomings and violations are of the same nature and/or intensity and that when the values listed in Article 2 TEU are being deliberately, gravely, permanently and systematically violated over a period of time, Member States could fail to fulfil all the criteria that define a democracy and become authoritarian regimes; stresses that the Commission’s main priority should be to enforce EU law when breaches of Article 2 TEU occur and that its annual rule of law reports should mainly contribute to that end; calls on the Commission, therefore, to assess countries under ongoing Article 7 TEU proceedings in depth in order to illustrate how the rule of law has been structurally undermined to facilitate the consolidation of authoritarian-style governance structures;

64.

Underlines that this report should serve as a basis for the prioritisation of follow-up actions by the EU regarding those Member States where shortcomings or deficiencies have been witnessed, and that its contributions should be a key part of the overarching democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights mechanism;

65.

Commits to beginning work on the 2021 report as soon as possible after its publication;

o o

66.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 433 I, 22.12.2020, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 156, 5.5.2021, p. 1.

(3) OJ C 215, 19.6.2018, p. 162.

(4) OJ C 129, 5.4.2019, p. 13.

(5) OJ C 390, 18.11.2019, p. 117.

(6) OJ C 390, 18.11.2019, p. 111.

(7) OJ C 433, 23.12.2019, p. 66.

(8) OJ C 363, 28.10.2020, p. 8.

(9) OJ C 363, 28.10.2020, p. 45.

(10) OJ C 449, 23.12.2020, p. 102.

(11) OJ C 108, 26.3.2021, p. 107.

(12) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2019)0103.

(13) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2019)0101.

(14) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0007.

(15) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0014.

(16) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0054.

(17) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0173.

(18) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0164.

(19) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0225.

(20) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0251.

(21) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0264.

(22) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0320.

(23) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0328.

(24) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0360.

(25) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0089.

(26) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0103.

(27) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0148.

(28) See, for example, its resolutions cited herein of 1 March 2018, 19 April 2018, 13 November 2018, 28 March 2019, 18 December 2019, 19 June 2020, 8 October 2020 and 29 April 2021.

(29) Resolution of 13 November 2018 on minimum standards for minorities in the EU (OJ C 363, 28.10.2020, p. 13).

(30) OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 69.

(31) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320.

(32) OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1.

18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/43

P9_TA(2021)0314

Sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health

European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health (2020/2215(INI))

(2022/C 81/04)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union,

—	having regard to Articles 5, 6 and 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—	having regard to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, its Programme of Action and the outcomes of its review conferences,

—	having regard to the Nairobi Statement on ICPD25 of 1 November 2019 entitled ‘Accelerating the Promise’ and to the national and partner commitments and collaborative actions that were announced at the Nairobi Summit,

—	having regard to the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcomes of its review conferences,

—	having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was adopted on 25 September 2015 and entered into force on 1 January 2016, and in particular to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 5, 16 and the related indicators,

—	having regard to the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 Contraception Atlases, which rank access to contraception in geographical Europe and highlight inequalities across the continent and the fact that the unmet need for contraception in some parts of Europe has gone largely unnoticed,

—	having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 18 December 1979, and its General Recommendations No 21 (1994), No 24 (1999), No 28 (2010), No 33 (2015) and No 35 (2017),

—	having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (‘Istanbul Convention’),

—	having regard to Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) of 3 May 2008,

—

having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 25 November 2020 entitled ‘EU Gender Action Plan (GAP) III: an ambitious agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment in EU external action’ (JOIN(2020)0017),

—	having regard to its resolution of 26 November 2020 on the de facto ban on the right to abortion in Poland (1),

—	having regard to the decision of the CEDAW Committee of 28 February 2020 in the case S.F.M. v. Spain,

—	having regard to the report of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of 25 September 2017 on promoting the human rights of and eliminating discrimination against intersex people,

—	having regard to the report of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of 2 April 2015 on discrimination against transgender people in Europe,

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

—	having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2019 on the rights of intersex people (2),

—	having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/522 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing a Programme for the Union’s action in the field of health (‘EU4Health Programme’) for the period 2021-2027, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 282/2014 (3),

—	having regard to the report of the European Institute for Gender Equality of 22 November 2019 entitled ‘Beijing + 25: the fifth review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States’,

—

having regard to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe Action Plan for Sexual and Reproductive Health: Towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Europe — leaving no one behind, which has three closely interlinked goals: ‘Enable all people to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and ensure that their human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled’, ‘Ensure that all people can enjoy the highest attainable standard of sexual and reproductive health and well-being’, and ‘Guarantee universal access to sexual and reproductive health and eliminate inequalities’,

—	having regard to the European Network of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF EN) and the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) report entitled ‘Sexuality Education in Europe and Central Asia: State of the Art and Recent Developments’,

—	having regard to the IPPF EN Partner Survey: Abortion Legislation and its Implementation in Europe and Central Asia,

—	having regard to the study entitled ‘The gendered impact of the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis’, published by its Directorate-General for Internal Policies on 30 September 2020 (4),

—	having regard to the UN Women policy brief of 9 April 2020 entitled ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Women’,

—	having regard to the UN report of 23 April 2020 entitled ‘COVID-19 and Human Rights: We are all in this together’,

—	having regard to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) report of 27 April 2020 entitled ‘Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage’,

—	having regard to the UNFPA statement of 28 April 2020 entitled ‘Millions more cases of violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, unintended pregnancy expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic’,

—	having regard to the European Women’s Lobby policy brief entitled ‘Women must not pay the price for COVID-19!’,

—	having regard to the study by Professor Sabine Oertelt-Prigione entitled ‘The impact of sex and gender in the COVID-19 pandemic’, published on 27 May 2020,

—	having regard to the WHO’s guidance entitled ‘Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems’,

—	having regard to the WHO’s ‘Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem’,

—	having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 measures on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (5),

—	having regard to the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF) and IPPF EN joint report of 22 April 2020 entitled ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic’,

—	having regard to Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

—	having regard to general comment No 22 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 2 May 2016 on the right to sexual and reproductive health,

—	having regard to Articles 2, 7, 17 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

—	having regard to general comment No 36 of the UN Human Rights Committee of 30 October 2018 on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life,

—	having regard to the interim report of the UN Special Rapporteur of 3 August 2011 on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,

—	having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur of 4 April 2016 on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,

—

having regard to the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, including the report of 11 July 2019 on a human-rights-based approach to mistreatment and violence against women in reproductive health services with a focus on childbirth and obstetric violence,

—	having regard to the WHO statement of 2015 on the prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during childbirth,

—	having regard to the report of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of 16 September 2019 on obstetrical and gynaecological violence,

—	having regard to Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between women and men in the access to and supply of goods and services (6),

—	having regard to the report of the UN Working Group of 8 April 2016 on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, presented at the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council in June 2016,

—	having regard to Section II of the Report of the UN Working Group of 14 May 2018 on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice,

—	having regard to Section III of the Report of the UN Working Group of 8 April 2016 on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice,

—	having regard to the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur of 10 January 2019 on the situation of human rights defenders,

—	having regard to Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare (7),

—	having regard to Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (8),

—

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 of 19 November 2018 entitled ‘The New European Consensus on Development: Our World, Our Dignity, Our Future’, in which the EU reaffirms its commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual to have full control over, and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, free from discrimination, coercion and violence,

—	having regard to its resolution of 14 November 2019 on the criminalisation of sexual education in Poland (9),

—	having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU (10),

—	having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2017 on promoting gender equality in mental health and clinical research (11),

—	having regard to the European Pact for Gender Equality (2011-2020), adopted by the Council on 7 March 2011,

—	having regard to the Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003 on cancer screening (12),

—	having regard to the European guidelines for quality assurance in cervical cancer screening of 7 May 2008 and to the European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis of 12 April 2006,

—	having regard to the issue paper of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights of December 2017 on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe,

—	having regard to WHO’s 2017-2021 Strategy on women’s health and wellbeing in the WHO European Region and the 2016 Action Plan for Sexual and Reproductive Health: towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Europe — leaving no one behind,

—	having regard to WHO’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016-2030,

—	having regard to the WHO Regional Office for Europe and BZgA’s standards for sexuality education in Europe: a framework for policy makers, educational and health authorities and specialists, and to UNESCO’s international technical guidance on sexuality education: an evidence-informed approach,

—

having regard to the decision of the European Committee of Social Rights of 30 March 2009 on collective complaint No 45/2007 by the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (INTERIGHTS) vs Croatia and general comment No 15 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child of 17 April 2013 on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (art. 24), which stresses that adolescents should have access to appropriate and objective information on sexual and reproductive issues,

—	having regard to the United Nations Population Fund’s State of World Population 2019 report entitled ‘Unfinished Business: the pursuit of rights and choices FOR ALL’,

—	having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Development,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0169/2021),

whereas sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to all aspects of sexuality and reproduction, not merely the absence of dysfunction, infirmity or mortality, and whereas all individuals have a right to make decisions governing their bodies (13), free from discrimination, coercion and violence, and to access SRH services that support that right and take a positive approach to sexuality and reproduction, as sexuality is an integral part of human existence;

whereas sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are, according to the WHO, an umbrella term for various issues affecting all persons and representing four separate areas: sexual health, sexual rights, reproductive health and reproductive rights, and they are based on the rights of all individuals to have their bodily integrity, privacy and personal autonomy respected; have their sexual orientation and gender identity fully respected; to decide whether, with whom and when to be sexually active; to have safe sexual experiences, decide whether, when and who to marry, whether and by what means to have a child or children, and how many children; have access throughout their lifetime to the information, resources, services and support necessary to achieve all of the above free from discrimination, coercion, exploitation and violence;

whereas sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) are protected as human rights in international and European human rights law such as in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, CEDAW and the European Convention on Human Rights, and constitute an essential element of comprehensive healthcare provision; whereas health rights, in particular sexual and reproductive health rights, are fundamental women’s rights which should be enhanced and cannot in any way be watered down or withdrawn; whereas the realisation of SRHR is an essential element of human dignity and is intrinsically linked to the achievement of gender equality and combating gender-based violence; whereas a person’s body, their choice, and thus their full autonomy, are what should be guaranteed;

whereas the European Union has direct competence to act in advancing SRHR in external action; whereas the European Union does not have direct competence to act in advancing SRHR within the Union but cooperation between Member States takes place through the open method of coordination; whereas the European Union invites, encourages and supports Member States in advancing SRHR for all;

whereas gender-based violence is widespread and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; whereas an estimated 25 per cent of women experience some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime and countless women experience sexual assault and harassment in the context of intimate partnerships and public life owing to entrenched gender stereotypes and the resulting social norms;

whereas violations of SRHR constitute breaches of human rights, specifically the right to life, physical and mental integrity, equality, non-discrimination, health and education, dignity, privacy and freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment; whereas violations of women’s SRHR are a form of violence against women and girls, and hinder progress towards gender equality (14);

G.	whereas SRHR are targets in the framework of UN SDG 3, and whereas combating gender-based violence and harmful practices are targets within SDG 5;

whereas although the EU has some of the highest SRHR standards in the world and some Member States have implemented policies and programmes that uphold SRR, there are still challenges, a lack of access and affordability, gaps, disparities and inequalities in the realisation of SRHR, both across the EU and within Member States, based on age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, class, religious affiliation or belief, marital status, socio-economic status, disability, HIV (or sexually transmitted infections, STIs) status, national or social origin, legal or migration status, language, sexual orientation or gender identity;

whereas SRHR challenges and obstacles can include, among other things, obstacles of a legal, financial, cultural and information-related nature, such as a lack of access to universal, high-quality and accessible SRHR services; a lack of comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based sexuality education, especially in the light of the fact that the enjoyment of SRHR for LGBTI persons may be severely hindered owing to the omission from sex education curricula of the diversity of sexual orientation; gender identity, expression and sex characteristics; a lack of available modern contraception methods; the denial of medical care based on personal beliefs; legal restrictions and practical barriers in accessing abortion services; the denial of abortion care; forced abortion; gender-based violence; gynaecological and obstetric violence; forced sterilisation, including in the context of legal gender recognition; intimidation, cruel and degrading treatment; disparities and gaps in maternal mortality rates and mental health support; increasing Caesarean section rates; a lack of access to treatment for cervical cancer; limited access to medically assisted reproduction and fertility treatments; difficulties in accessing the goods necessary for SRHR; high rates of STIs and HIV; high adolescent pregnancy rates; harmful gender stereotypes and practices such as female and intersex genital mutilation; child, early and forced marriages (CEFM) and honour killings, and so-called ‘conversion therapy’ practices which can take the form of sexual violence such as ‘corrective rape’ perpetrated against lesbian and bisexual women and girls, as well as transgender persons; and outdated or ideologically driven legal provisions limiting SRHR;

whereas SRH services are essential healthcare services that should be available to all and include comprehensive, evidence-based and age-appropriate sexuality and relationship education; information, confidential and unbiased counselling and services for sexual and reproductive health and well-being; information and counselling on modern contraception, as well as access to a wide range of modern contraceptives; antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care; midwifery; obstetric and newborn care; safe and legal abortion care and services, including treatment of the complications of unsafe abortion; the prevention and treatment of HIV and other STIs; services aimed at detecting, preventing and treating sexual and gender-based violence; prevention, detection and treatment for reproductive cancers, including cervical cancer; and fertility care and treatment;

whereas SRHR are human rights and must be upheld by EU Member States, in line with international human rights standards; whereas respect for human rights is necessary for a democracy to function; whereas human rights, democracy and the rule of law are all interdependent; whereas all these EU values must be fully respected by all EU Member States;

whereas sexual health is fundamental to the overall health and well-being of individuals, couples and families, in addition to the social and economic development of communities and countries, and whereas access to health, including SRH, is a human right; whereas providing some form of sexuality and health education is already mandatory in the majority of Member States;

whereas the WHO defines infertility as ‘a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse’; whereas this definition fails to encompass the reality of lesbian and bisexual women, as well as transgender persons, in same-sex couples, or single women interested in fertility options, exacerbating the socio-legal challenges they already face in access to Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) as a result of the focus on countering infertility; whereas lesbian and bisexual women may be unable to prove their ‘infertility’ and therefore be denied access to ART (15);

N.	whereas in certain circumstances transgender men and non-binary persons may also undergo pregnancy and should, in such cases, benefit from measures for pregnancy and birth-related care without discrimination on the basis of their gender identity;

O.	whereas nobody should die in childbirth and access to evidence-based, quality and accessible maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care is a human right and must be ensured without any discrimination;

whereas pregnant people experience various forced and coercive medical interventions during childbirth, including physical and verbal abuse, the suturing of birth injuries without pain relief, disregard for their decisions and lack of respect for their informed consent, that may amount to violence and cruel and inhuman treatment;

whereas comprehensive, evidence-based, non-discriminatory and age-appropriate sexuality education grounded in a rights-based and gender-focused approach, as specified by the UNESCO international technical guidance, facilitates responsible sexual behaviour and empowers children and young people, as it provides scientifically accurate and age-appropriate information on sexuality, addressing sexual and reproductive health issues, including, but not limited to, human development; sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology; consent, puberty and menstruation; reproduction, modern contraception, pregnancy and childbirth; STIs; and combating gender-based violence, including harmful practices such as CEFM and female genital mutilation (FGM); whereas age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education is key to building children’s and young peoples’ skills to form healthy, equal and safe relationships, notably by addressing gender norms, gender equality, power dynamics in relationships, consent and respect for boundaries, and contributes to achieving gender equality;

R.	whereas the unavailability of scientifically accurate and evidence-based information and education violates the rights of individuals, is damaging to them in making informed choices about their own SRHR and undermines healthy approaches to gender equality;

whereas SRH includes menstrual hygiene and sanitation, as well as systemic and socio-economic factors of stigmatisation and discrimination linked to menstruation; whereas period poverty, which refers to limited access to sanitary products, affects about one in 10 women in Europe, and is exacerbated by gender-biased taxation of menstrual hygiene products in the EU; whereas shame, untreated menstrual pain and discriminatory traditions lead to school drop outs and lower attendance rates of girls at school and women at work; whereas existing negative attitudes and myths surrounding menstruation influence reproductive health decisions; whereas understanding the links between menstrual hygiene and maternal morbidity, mortality and infertility, STI/HIV and cervical cancer can support early detection and save lives;

whereas modern contraception plays a key role in achieving gender equality and preventing unintended pregnancies, as well as in realising the right of individuals to make decisions about their family choices by proactively and responsibly planning the number, timing and spacing of their children; whereas certain methods of modern contraception also reduce the incidence of HIV/STIs; whereas access to modern contraception is still hindered by practical, financial, social and cultural barriers, including myths surrounding contraception, outdated attitudes towards female sexuality and contraception, as well as a stereotypical perception of women being the only ones responsible for contraception;

whereas abortion laws are based on national legislation; whereas even when abortion is legally available, there are often a range of legal, quasi-legal and informal barriers to accessing it, including limited time periods and the grounds on which to access abortion; medically unwarranted waiting periods; a lack of trained and willing healthcare professionals; and the denial of medical care based on personal beliefs, biased and mandatory counselling, deliberate misinformation or third-party authorisation, medically unnecessary tests, distress requirements, the costs involved and the lack of their reimbursement;

whereas some Member States still have highly restrictive laws prohibiting abortion except in strictly defined circumstances, resulting in women having to seek clandestine abortions, to travel to other countries or to carry their pregnancy to term against their will, which is a violation of human rights and a form of gender-based violence (16) affecting women’s and girls’ rights to life, physical and mental integrity, equality, non-discrimination and health, and whereas some Member States which have legalised abortion on request or on broad social grounds nonetheless continue to maintain specific criminal sanctions for abortions performed outside of the scope of the applicable legal provisions;

W.	whereas several Member States are currently attempting to further limit access to SRHR through highly restrictive laws which lead to gender discrimination and negative consequences for women’s health;

whereas opponents of sexual and reproductive rights often instrumentalise issues, such as the national interest or demographic change, in order to undermine SRHR, thus contributing to the erosion of personal freedoms and the principles of democracy; whereas all policies addressing demographic change must be rights-based, people-centred, tailor-made and evidence-based, and must uphold sexual and reproductive rights;

whereas opponents of sexual and reproductive rights and women’s autonomy have had a significant influence on national law and policy with retrogressive initiatives taken in several Member States, seeking to undermine SRHR, as noted by Parliament in its resolutions on experiencing backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU and on abortion rights in Poland, and by the European Institute for Gender Equality in its report of 22 November 2019 entitled ‘Beijing + 25: the fifth review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States’; whereas these initiatives and this backsliding obstruct the realisation of people’s rights, countries’ development and undermine European values and fundamental rights;

whereas numerous reports show that, during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, SRHR services were limited and/or revoked (17), and there was a disruption in access to essential medical services such as contraception and abortion care, HIV and STI testing, access to FGM Prevention and Awareness Centres and reproductive cancer screenings, and respectful maternal healthcare, which has had severe implications for women’s fundamental right to bodily autonomy; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that there is a need to strengthen the resilience of health systems to such crises, to ensure that services related to SRHR continue to be fully available and are provided in a timely manner;

AA.

whereas there is a persistent effort to instrumentalise the COVID-19 health crisis as a pretext to adopt further restrictive measures in SRHR (18), leading to the reallocation of resources; whereas this has a broad and long-term negative effect on the exercise of the fundamental right to health, on gender equality and on the fight against discrimination and gender-based violence, and is putting the well-being, health and lives of women and girls at risk;

AB.

whereas marginalised persons and groups, including racial, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, people without health insurance, people living in rural areas, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ people and victims of violence, among others, often face additional barriers, intersecting discrimination and violence in accessing healthcare, as a result of laws and policies that allow coercive sexual and reproductive healthcare practices and failures to ensure reasonable accommodation in access to quality care and information; whereas there is a lack of substantive data on the issue of obstetric violence towards racialised women in Europe; whereas this discrimination leads to higher maternal mortality rates and morbidity (among black women, for example), a higher risk of abuse and violence (for women with disabilities), a lack of access to information and overall injustice and inequality in accessing SRHR services;

AC.

whereas infertility and subfertility affect one in six people in Europe and are a global public health issue; whereas there is a need to reduce inequalities in access to fertility information and treatments, and to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sex, gender, sexual orientation, health or marital status;

AD.

whereas, according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, women’s sexual and reproductive health is related to multiple human rights, including the right to life and dignity, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to access healthcare, the right to privacy, the right to education and the prohibition of discrimination;

AE.

whereas the European Parliament addressed SRHR in its position adopted at first reading of 13 November 2020 on the Programme for the Union’s action in the field of health for the period 2021-2027 (‘EU4Health Programme’), in order to ensure timely access to the goods that are needed for the safe provision of SRHR (for example, medicines, contraceptives and medical equipment);

AF.	whereas adolescents often face barriers in relation to SRHR owing to the lack of youth-friendly services;

AG.	whereas the Spotlight Initiative was launched by the EU and the UN to combat violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls, and whereas one of its aims is to improve access to sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services;

AH.	whereas water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are essential to sexual and reproductive health, but are still too often inaccessible, particularly in remote areas;

Forging a consensus and addressing SRHR challenges as EU challenges

In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and in line with national competences, calls on the Member States to safeguard the right of all persons, regardless of age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, class, caste, religious affiliation and beliefs, marital or socio-economic status, disability, HIV (or STI) status, national and social origin, legal or migration status, language, sexual orientation or gender identity, to make their own informed choices with regard to SRHR, to ensure the right to bodily integrity and personal autonomy, equality and non-discrimination, and to provide the necessary means to allow everyone to enjoy SRHR;

Recalls the EU’s commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual and of every woman and girl to have full control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights, free from discrimination, coercion and violence (19);

Calls for the EU, its bodies and agencies to support and promote universal and full access to SRHR services within the exercise of their competences by advancing gender equality, respect for personal autonomy, accessibility, informed choice, consent and respect, non-discrimination and non-violence, and calls on the Member States to ensure access to a full range of high-quality, comprehensive and accessible SRHR, and to remove all legal, policy, financial and other barriers impeding full access to SRHR for all persons; calls, in this context, for the facilitation of regular exchanges and the promotion of good practices between Member States and stakeholders on the gender aspects of health;

Reaffirms that SRHR are key for gender equality, economic growth and development, child protection and the elimination of gender-based violence, human trafficking and poverty;

Calls on the Member States to address the persistent challenges in accessing or exercising SRHR and to ensure high-quality and accessible SRH services for all, irrespective of their socio-economic status, so that no one is left behind by being unable to exercise their right to health;

Acknowledges the importance of public information on SRHR; recalls that all policies relating to SRHR should be founded on reliable and objective evidence from organisations such as the WHO, other UN agencies and the Council of Europe;

Reaffirms the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights call on its member states (20) to guarantee sufficient budgetary provision for SRHR and ensure the availability of adequate human resources and necessary goods across all levels of the health system, in both urban and rural areas, to identify and address legal, policy and financial barriers that impede access to good quality SRH care and to integrate SRHR services into existing public health insurance, subsidisation or reimbursement schemes in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage;

Recalls the views endorsed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which recommended that trans-specific healthcare such as hormonal treatment and surgery should be accessible and reimbursed by public health insurance schemes (21);

Sexual and reproductive health as an essential component of good health

Calls on the Member States to establish effective strategies and monitoring programmes that guarantee the enjoyment of and universal access to a full range of high-quality and accessible SRHR services, in line with international health standards, regardless of financial, practical and social barriers, and free from discrimination, with special consideration for marginalised groups, including but not limited to, women from ethnic, racial and religious minorities, migrant women, women from rural areas and outermost regions where geographical constraints prevent direct and immediate access to such services, women with disabilities, women without health insurance, LGBTI persons and victims of sexual and gender-based violence;

10.

Stresses that equity in access, quality of care and accountability with regard to healthcare and SRHR are fundamental to respect for human rights; further emphasises that services, commodities and facilities need to be responsive to gender and life course requirements and to respect confidentiality and informed consent;

11.

Urges the Commission and the Member States to systematically collect robust equality data disaggregated by various grounds including gender, age, racial and ethnic origin and sexual orientation, cultural and socio-economic background, as well as statistics on all SRHR services, on an anonymous basis, so as to detect and address possible differences in outcomes in the provision of SRH care;

12.

Urges the Commission to make full use of its competence in health policy, and to provide support to Member States in guaranteeing universal access to SRHR in the framework of the EU4Health Programme for the period 2021-2027; in promoting health information and education; in strengthening national health systems and upward convergence of healthcare standards to reduce health inequalities within and between Member States; and in facilitating the exchange of best practices among Member States with regard to SRHR; calls on the Member States to progress towards universal health coverage, for which SRHR is essential, including through using, where appropriate, the EU4Health Programme and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+);

13.

Stresses the need for a positive and proactive approach to healthcare throughout the lifecycle, by ensuring universal, high-quality healthcare, supported by adequate resources; highlights that the EU can provide support to Member States for integrated and intersectional approaches to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, and can also support Member States’ actions to ensure access to SRH services and related medicinal products, including in the global market; calls for the enhanced use of emerging technologies for the provision of cutting-edge and emerging treatments and diagnostic methods, allowing patients to fully benefit from the digital revolution; stresses the need to fully utilise Horizon Europe and Digital Europe to further these priorities;

14.

Urges the Member States to raise awareness among women of the importance of regular screenings, and to ensure that public health services provide screenings such as mammograms and mammary ultrasonographies, cytology tests and bone density scans;

15.

Emphasises the importance of illness prevention through education; further stresses the importance of vaccinations in illness prevention where vaccinations exist; calls, therefore, on the Member States and on the Commission to extend the EU’s purchase of vaccines to combat COVID-19 to the purchase of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, ensuring that every person in Europe can have access to this vaccine;

16.

Recalls that all medical interventions related to SRHR must be undertaken with prior, personal and fully informed consent; calls on the Member States to combat gynaecological and obstetrical violence by reinforcing procedures that guarantee respect for free and prior informed consent and protection from inhuman and degrading treatment in healthcare settings, including through the training of medical professionals; calls on the Commission to tackle this specific form of gender-based violence in its activities;

17.

Is deeply concerned that women and girls with disabilities are far too often denied access to facilities in the area of sexual and reproductive health, are denied informed consent regarding the use of contraceptives and that they even face the risk of forced sterilisation; calls on the Member States to implement legislative measures that safeguard physical integrity, freedom of choice and self-determination with regard to the sexual and reproductive life of persons with disabilities;

18.

Calls on Member States to prohibit and take effective measures without delay to prevent all forms of discrimination against racialised women, including ethnic segregation in health facilities, and to guarantee universal access to quality sexual and reproductive healthcare free from discrimination, coercion and abuse, and to address, remedy and prevent human rights violations affecting them;

19.

Reaffirms its call on Member States to adopt legislation ensuring that intersex persons are not subjected to non-vital medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood, and that their right to bodily integrity, autonomy, self-determination and informed consent is fully respected;

20.

Stresses the need to take into consideration specific health needs related to SRHR such as infertility, the menopause and specific reproductive cancers; calls on the Member States to provide all necessary rehabilitation services and support mechanisms, including the requisite mental and physical healthcare, to all victims of SRHR violations; calls on the Commission to provide information on the contribution of EU programmes to advancing and supporting reproductive health;

21.

Recalls the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in A.P., Garçon and Nicot v. France, in which it recognised that a Member State’s requirement for sterilisation ahead of allowing legal gender recognition procedures amounted to a failure to secure the right to respect for the private life of the applicant; recalls the UN’s acknowledgement that forced sterilisation is a violation of the right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (22); deplores the fact that sterilisation remains a sine qua non condition for access to legal gender recognition in some EU Member States; calls on the Member States to abolish the sterilisation requirement and to protect transgender persons’ right to self-determination (23);

22.

Stresses the need to consider the impacts of environmental changes on SRHR and fertility, including but not limited to, water and air pollution, and an increase in the consumption of chemicals; asks that this be further examined through Horizon Europe and addressed through the European Green Deal;

23.

Stresses the importance of sexual and reproductive health providers in the provision of a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health services, including both physical and mental health; encourages the Member States to take their unique circumstances into consideration when planning the provision of healthcare overall;

a)	Access to safe, fair and circular menstrual products for all

24.

Urges the Member States to encourage the widespread availability of toxin-free and reusable menstrual products, in particular in large retailer outlets and pharmacies across the country (which should at least match the proportion of single-use items on sale), accompanied by awareness-raising measures on the benefits of reusable menstrual products compared to single-use ones;

25.

Stresses the negative effects of the so-called tampon tax on gender equality; calls on all Member States to eliminate the so-called care and tampon tax by making use of the flexibility introduced in the VAT Directive and applying exemptions or 0 % VAT rates to these essential basic goods;

b)	Comprehensive sexuality education benefits young people

26.

Urges the Member States to ensure universal access to scientifically accurate, evidence-based, age-appropriate, non-judgemental and comprehensive sexuality education and information for all primary and secondary school children, as well as children out of school, in line with the WHO standards for Sexuality Education and its Action Plan on Sexual and Reproductive Health, without discrimination on any grounds; urges the Member States to ensure comprehensive education about menstruation and its links to sexuality and fertility; calls on the Member States to establish well-developed, well-funded and accessible youth-friendly services, as well as teacher training, and the means for the proper functioning of support offices and health education centres;

27.

Stresses that SRHR education and information is one of the main instruments for achieving the commitments on the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25), namely zero unmet needs for family planning, zero preventable maternal deaths and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women, girls and young people; emphasises that SRHR education and information can significantly contribute to reducing sexual violence and harassment, complemented through EU funding and projects enhancing cooperation and the coordination of public health policies, and the development and dissemination of good practices; stresses the importance of comprehensive and age-appropriate sexual and relationship education and sexuality information, and its importance for family planning and access to reproductive health, as well as its consequences for unintended pregnancies and SRH-related illnesses;

28.

Recalls that stereotypes and taboos surrounding menstruation remain widespread in our societies and that these can delay the diagnosis of diseases such as endometriosis which, in spite of affecting one in 10 women of reproductive age, of being the primary cause of women’s infertility and of causing chronic pelvic pain, takes an average of eight years to be diagnosed, and for which there is no cure; calls on the Member States to ensure comprehensive and scientifically accurate education about menstruation, to raise awareness and to launch major information campaigns on endometriosis targeting the public, healthcare professionals and legislators; calls on the Member States to ensure access to period education programmes for all children, so that menstruators can make informed choices about their periods and bodies; calls on the Member States to urgently tackle menstrual poverty by ensuring that free period products are available to anyone who needs them;

29.

Calls on the Member States to combat the spread of discriminatory and unsafe misinformation on SRHR, as it endangers all persons, especially women, LGBTI persons and young people; acknowledges the part that the media, social media, public information institutions and other stakeholders play in ensuring accurate and scientifically based information, and calls on them to reject disinformation and misinformation on SRHR from their programmes, materials and activities; calls on the Member States to develop age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality and relationship education curricula, taking into account that the imparting of information should reflect the diversity of sexual orientations, gender identities, expressions and sex characteristics, so as to counter misinformation based on stereotypes or biases, and to enhance safeguards of the right to reproductive health through public health services;

c)	Modern contraception as a strategy for achieving gender equality

30.

Calls on the Member States to ensure universal access to a range of high-quality and accessible modern contraceptive methods and supplies, family planning counselling and information on contraception for all, to address all barriers impeding access to contraception, such as financial and social barriers, and to ensure that medical advice and consultations with healthcare professionals are available, allowing all persons to choose the contraception method that best suits them, and thereby safeguarding the fundamental right to health and the right to choice;

31.

Calls on the Member States to ensure access to modern, effective and accessible contraception, taking into account success rates in the long term; calls on the Member States to recognise that this coverage should be extended to all people of reproductive age; calls on the Member States to ensure that all health services provide proper regular medical and psychological care that promotes and defends women’s lifelong SRH;

32.

Recalls that Member States and public authorities have a responsibility to provide evidence-based, accurate information about contraception and to establish strategies to tackle and dispel barriers, myths, stigma and misconceptions; calls on the Member States to establish awareness-raising programmes and campaigns on modern contraceptive choices and the full range of contraceptives, and to provide high-quality modern contraceptive service delivery and counselling by healthcare professionals, including emergency contraception without prescription, in line with WHO standards, which is often denied in certain countries by doctors on the grounds of personal beliefs;

d)	Safe and legal abortion care anchored in women’s health and rights

33.

Reaffirms that abortion must always be a voluntary decision based on a person’s request, given of their own free will, in accordance with medical standards and availability, accessibility, affordability and safety based on WHO guidelines and calls on the Member States to ensure universal access to safe and legal abortion, and respect for the right to freedom, privacy and the best attainable healthcare;

34.

Urges the Member States to decriminalise abortion, as well as to remove and combat obstacles to legal abortion, and recalls that they have a responsibility to ensure that women have access to the rights conferred on them by law; urges the Member States to enhance the existing methods and examine new methods in delivering SRHR-related care and ways of addressing gaps in the provision of services that have come to light through COVID-19, and to do so for all, with a particular focus on the most marginalised groups; urges the Commission to promote the protection of SRHR through the next EU Health Strategy;

35.

Invites the Member States to review their national legal provisions on abortion and bring them into line with international human rights standards (24) and regional best practices by ensuring that abortion at request is legal in early pregnancy and, when needed, beyond if the pregnant person’s health or life is in danger; recalls that a total ban on abortion care or denial of abortion care is a form of gender-based violence (25) and urges Member States to promote best practices in healthcare by establishing available SRH services at primary-care level, with referral systems in place for all required higher-level care;

36.

Recognises that for personal reasons, individual medical practitioners may invoke a conscience clause; stresses, however, that an individual’s conscience clause may not interfere with a patient’s right to full access to healthcare and services; calls on the Member States and healthcare providers to take such circumstances into account in their geographical provision of healthcare services;

37.

Regrets that sometimes common practice in Member States allows for medical practitioners, and on some occasions entire medical institutions, to refuse to provide health services on the basis of the so-called conscience clause, which leads to the denial of abortion care on grounds of religion or conscience, and which endangers women’s lives and rights; notes that this clause is also often used in situations where any delay could endanger the patient’s life or health;

38.

Notes that this conscience clause also hinders access to prenatal screening, which is not only a violation of women’s right to information on the condition of the foetus, but also in many cases obstructs the successful treatment during pregnancy or immediately afterwards; calls on the Member States to implement effective regulatory and enforcement measures that ensure that the ‘conscience’ clause does not put women’s timely access to SRH care at risk;

e)	Access to fertility treatments

39.

Calls on the Member States to ensure that all persons of reproductive age have access to fertility treatments, regardless of their socio-economic or marital status, gender identity or sexual orientation; stresses the importance of closely examining fertility in the EU as a public health issue, and the prevalence of infertility and subfertility which are a difficult and painful reality for many families and persons; calls on the Member States to take a holistic, rights-based, inclusive and non-discriminatory approach to fertility, including measures to prevent infertility, and ensuring equality of access to services for all persons of reproductive age, and to make medically assisted reproduction available and accessible in Europe;

f)	Maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care for all

40.

Calls on the Member States to adopt measures to ensure access without discrimination to high-quality, accessible, evidence-based and respectful maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care for all, including midwifery, antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care, and maternal mental health support, in accordance with the current WHO standards and evidence, and consequently to reform laws, policies and practices that exclude certain groups from access to maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care, including by removing discriminatory legal and policy restrictions that apply on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, nationality, racial or ethnic origin and migration status;

41.

Calls on the Member States to do their utmost to ensure respect for women’s rights and their dignity in childbirth, and to strongly condemn and combat physical and verbal abuse, including gynaecological and obstetric violence, as well as any other associated gender-based violence in antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care, which violate women’s human rights and may constitute forms of gender-based violence;

42.

Calls on the Commission to develop common EU standards in maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care, and to facilitate the sharing of best practices among experts in the field; calls on the Member States to encourage and ensure that healthcare providers have training in women’s human rights and the principles of free and informed consent and informed choice in maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care;

43.

Recalls that the WHO European region has the lowest instance of breastfeeding in the world; highlights the need for greater awareness of and information on the benefits of breastfeeding; calls on the Member States and the Commission to launch high-profile campaigns to stress the benefits of breastfeeding;

Provision of SRHR services during the COVID-19 pandemic and in all other crisis-related circumstances

44.

Points out that the EU and its Member States are experiencing an economic and social crisis, in addition to the sanitary crisis; urges the Member States to consider the health impact of COVID-19 through a gender lens and to ensure the continuation of a full range of SRH services through the health systems in all circumstances, in line with international human rights standards; insists on countering any attempts to restrict SRHR during the pandemic and beyond; further calls on Member States to direct additional efforts and resources to rebuilding a health system which recognises that SRHR are essential for the health and well-being of all persons;

45.

Recognises the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the supply of contraceptives and access to them, and reiterates UNFPA’s projections from April 2020, which state that some 47 million women in 114 low- and middle-income countries are expected to be unable to use modern contraceptives if the lockdown or supply chain disruptions continue for six months;

46.

Urges the Member States to ensure full access to contraception during the COVID-19 pandemic and, through joint efforts, to prevent disruptions in production and supply chains; emphasises examples of good practice such as accessible contraceptives for all women below a certain age group and/or teleconsultations in accessing contraceptives;

47.

Regrets that access to safe and legal abortion continues to be limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, with examples of efforts to completely ban it under the pretence of its being a lower priority service (26); urges the Member States to additionally implement safe, free and adjusted access to abortion during the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, such as the abortion pill, and to recognise abortion care as urgent and as a medical procedure, thereby also rejecting all limitations in accessing it;

48.

Stresses the negative consequences of the pandemic for maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care as health systems focus on tackling COVID-19, and emphasises that unacceptable changes are being made to the provision of pregnancy and birth-related care, which are not based on scientific evidence, WHO guidelines or the guidelines of the relevant European professional organisations, and that these changes are not proportional to the response required to the COVID-19 pandemic (27); urges the Member States to ensure adequate resources for quality maternity, pregnancy and birth-related care;

49.

Urges the Member States to ensure full access to fertility treatments and fertility care during the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent disruptions in offering fertility treatments, which will lead to fewer children being born from medically assisted reproduction treatments and, as a consequence, may deprive certain people completely of their right to try to have a child;

50.

Calls on the Commission to address the impact of emergency circumstances such as COVID-19 on gender-specific healthcare considerations, such as access to SRHR in the EU in its health-related policy response; further calls on the Commission to recognise that SRHR are grounded in fundamental human rights and, as such, are a priority during the current health crisis and beyond, and to take all necessary measures, including by supporting actions by Member States and SRHR civil society organisations, to guarantee full access to SRHR services, keeping in mind resources such as the ESF+ and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme;

SRHR as pillars of gender equality, democracy and the elimination of gender-based violence

51.

Calls on the Member States to exercise their competence in SRHR by striving to fully protect, respect and fulfil human rights, specifically the right to health with regard to SRHR, and to guarantee a wide range of available, accessible, high-quality and non-discriminatory SRH services available to all without discrimination, such as treatments for fertility and for genetic diseases with gamete preservation, ensuring that the principle of non-retrogression under international human rights law is respected, including for individuals who have to travel for treatment, such as residents in remote areas and the outermost regions; condemns any attempt to limit access to SRHR through restrictive laws; strongly affirms that the denial of access to SRHR is a form of gender-based violence (28);

52.

Calls on the Council to establish a configuration on Gender Equality bringing together ministers and secretaries of state in charge of gender equality in one dedicated forum in order to deliver common and concrete measures to address the challenges in the field of women’s rights and gender equality, including SRHR, and to ensure that gender equality issues are discussed at the highest political level;

53.

Stresses the highly damaging and diverse health consequences of gender-based violence which has been shown to have the potential to lead to severe physical and mental health consequences, including gynaecological disorders and adverse pregnancy outcomes; calls, therefore, for proper protection and adequate resources for victims of domestic violence, with an increase in resources and effective action to that end;

54.

Stresses that there are a number of links between prostitution and trafficking, and acknowledges that prostitution — both in the EU and across the globe — fuels the trafficking of vulnerable women and minors;

55.

Calls on the Commissioner for Democracy and Demography to take an evidence- and human rights-based approach to tackling demographic challenges in the EU, ensuring that every EU resident, including those residing in more remote areas, such as the outermost regions, can fully realise their SRHR, and to take special note of and confront those who instrumentalise SRHR in order to undermine EU values and the principles of democracy;

56.

Calls on the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety to facilitate and promote the protection of SRHR as a vital part of achieving the right to health, safety and gender equality; to monitor and promote the full implementation of SDG 3, including target 3.7, in the EU, using the UN global indicator framework; in partnership with the Member States, to collect systematic, comparable, disaggregated data and conduct studies to better measure gender inequalities in health and unmet needs in access to SRH services in the EU with an intersectional perspective; to promote health information and education, including on SRH; to support the upward convergence of healthcare standards and policies in order to reduce health inequalities within and between Member States and, in the light of the welcomed inclusion of SRH services in the EU4Health Programme, to support actions by the Member States and SRHR civil society organisations to achieve access to SRH services through the programme; stresses the need to boost investment in all services considerably, particularly in healthcare, in order to contribute towards the independence, equality and emancipation of women;

57.

Calls on the Commissioner for Equality to facilitate and promote the protection of SRHR and to include them in the implementation of the EU Gender Equality Strategy and the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy; to strongly condemn the backsliding in women’s rights and to develop concrete measures to counter it; to recognise the intrinsic links between realising SRHR, achieving gender equality and combating gender-based violence, and to monitor and promote the full implementation of SDG 5, including target 5.6, in the EU; to successfully mainstream gender throughout all EU policies; to support the activities of SRHR civil society organisations; to facilitate and promote the exchange of best practices between Member States and stakeholders on the gender aspects of health, including SRHR; and to facilitate synergies between EU4Health and the EU Gender Equality Strategy; stresses that the EU4Health Programme should be gender-mainstreamed, take gender bias into account and develop a gender-sensitive approach to disease awareness, screening, diagnosis and treatment; stresses further that any equality strategy should address all forms of gender-based violence, including backsliding on and violations of women’s SRHR;

58.

Calls on the Commissioner for International Partnerships to uphold the European Consensus on Development and the SDGs, in particular targets 3.7, 5.6 and 16, in order to ensure that SRHR remain a development priority in all EU external activities and relations; welcomes the commitment to promoting SRHR in the new Gender Action Plan III and calls on the Commissioner for International Partnerships to propose concrete measures to fulfil this objective; emphasises the need to prioritise the removal of all barriers to accessing SRHR services in its development policy;

59.

Calls on the Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life to ensure that the new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief is dedicated to a human-rights based approach, thus respecting SRHR and dedicated to jointly working on guaranteeing the right to health for all, in the EU and globally, without any discrimination;

60.

Calls on the Commissioner for Crisis Management to include a gender equality perspective in the EU and Member States’ humanitarian aid response, and a perspective on SRHR, as access to sexual and reproductive healthcare is a basic need for people in humanitarian settings;

61.

Calls for the immediate elimination of harmful practices such as FGM and CEFM; stresses that CEFM is a human rights violation and often results in making young girls vulnerable to violence, discrimination and abuse; is extremely concerned that more than 200 million girls and women worldwide have been forced to undergo FGM, and that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that the delay or interruption of community outreach programmes and education on harmful practices globally will lead to two million more cases of FGM and 13 million more child marriages over the next decade compared to pre-pandemic estimates;

62.

Calls for full access to physical and psychological care by interculturally sensitive and trained personnel; urges all EU countries to ratify the Istanbul Convention; calls on the Commission to examine the synergies between internal and external EU programmes to ensure a coherent long-term approach to stopping FGM both within and outside the EU; reiterates, in particular, calls to incorporate FGM prevention measures in all policy areas, especially in health, asylum, education, employment and in cooperation and human rights dialogues with third countries;

63.

Recalls that some girls living in the EU are also subject to the risk of suffering FGM while visiting their countries of origin, mainly during family visits; considers it important that all Member States, including regional and local administrations, share their best practices on protocols to prevent FGM committed on girls who travel to countries or regions where FGM is widely practised; calls on all Member States which have not yet done so to enact specific criminal law on FGM in order to protect victims and prosecute this crime more effectively when it is committed outside their territories;

64.

Calls for the EU to support health and family planning centres in partner countries with a view to exchanging information, doing away with taboos surrounding menstruation, sexuality and procreation, and also fully involving young men in the fight against stereotypes and taboos; stresses the importance of improving the availability of contraceptive methods in developing countries, especially for adolescent girls who are at greater risk of complications during pregnancy; affirms that all women and girls are entitled to make their own free and informed choices with regard to their sexual and reproductive health and lives;

65.

Calls for the participation of girls and women in education to be ensured, as this is an indispensable tool for the social and economic empowerment of women; calls for efforts to reduce absenteeism among girls during their periods, by improving menstrual hygiene facilities in schools, in particular WASH services, and by combating stigmatisation; stresses the need to ensure access to adequate WASH infrastructure in schools to ensure SRH, whether in relation to contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases or menstrual hygiene;

66.

Calls for the potential of communication tools such as radio, television and the telephone, and also digital tools, including social networks and messaging services, to be harnessed to improve young people’s access to sexuality education, and, in particular, to improve their awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and the risks associated with early pregnancies; considers that this will entail addressing gender inequalities in access to digital services, as well as cyber-bullying and violence against women and girls on the internet;

67.

Calls for the EU’s Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) to give greater prominence to its SRHR thematic policy area, given the tremendous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls in developing countries; underlines the importance of strengthening the promotion of the right of every individual to have full control over, and make free and responsible decisions on, matters related to their sexuality and SRH;

68.

Calls on the Member States to commit to the GAP III objectives, in particular regarding SRHR; calls for the EU and the Member States to prepare ‘country-level implementation plans’ prioritising SRHR, applying measurable indicators and including monitoring mechanisms; asks the EU delegations to prioritise actions regarding SRHR in their implementation of GAP III;

69.

Calls on the EU and the Member States to secure adequate and well-targeted funding for SRHR in their development cooperation policy and in their external action instruments, such as the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument; in this regard, asks the Commission, the European External Action Service and the Member States to consider SRHR as a priority in the EU programming process, including in joint programming;

70.

Stresses that it is essential to ensure that development cooperation policy involves civil society organisations which are directly involved in the defence of SRHR in developing countries;

71.

Believes that the EU needs to facilitate the integration of SRHR services into the national public health strategies and policies of partner countries; recalls with concern that most unmet needs for sexual and reproductive health services are among adolescents, unmarried people, LGBTIQ people, persons with disabilities, members of minorities and minority ethnic groups, and the rural and urban poor; emphasises that SRHR services should be gender-responsive, rights-based, youth-friendly and available to all, regardless of age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, social class, religion, marital status, economic resources, national or social origin or disabilities, including in humanitarian settings during conflicts and disasters;

72.

Calls on the Member States to counter discrimination in SRHR services and use an intersectional approach to make sure that women and girls (both transgender and cisgender), non-binary persons, lesbian, bisexual and intersex women have equal access to SRHR services and rights;

73.

Points out that women and girls are particularly exposed to rape and sexual violence in crisis-affected areas, including in the context of conflicts, natural disasters and the consequences of climate change; calls for the EU to step up the fight against the use of rape as a weapon of war and to guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health services for rape victims;

74.

Calls on the Commission to strongly condemn the backsliding in women’s rights and SRHR, and to use its full capability to strengthen its actions to counter it; calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their political support for human rights defenders, healthcare providers working to advance SRHR, women’s rights and SRHR civil society organisations which are key actors for gender-equal societies and crucial providers of SRH services and information, particularly those working in challenging contexts in Europe, and to continuously monitor and allocate sufficient financial support accordingly, through the ongoing programmes such as the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme;

75.

Calls on the Commission to implement gender budgeting throughout all the instruments of the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027, including the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values, the ESF+ and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument;

76.

Calls on the Commission to take concrete steps in protecting SRHR, starting with the establishment of an EU Special Envoy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and the addition of a designated chapter on the ‘State of play of SRHR’ in the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy;

o o

77.

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

(1) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0336.

(2) OJ C 449, 23.12.2020, p. 142.

(3) OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 1.

(4) Study — ‘The gendered impact of the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis period’ — European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department C — Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, 30 September 2020.

(5) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0307.

(6) OJ L 373, 21.12.2004, p. 37.

(7) OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45.

(8) OJ L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 67.

(9) OJ C 208, 1.6.2021, p. 24.

(10) OJ C 449, 23.12.2020, p. 102.

(11) OJ C 252, 18.7.2018, p. 99.

(12) OJ L 327, 16.12.2003, p. 34.

(13) Guttmacher-Lancet Commission, Executive Summary on sexual and reproductive health and rights, The Lancet, London, 2018, https://www.guttmacher.org/guttmacher-lancet-commission/accelerate-progress-executive-summary

(14) Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Information Series on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf

(15) https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/infertility/en/

(16) https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf

(17) UNFPA Interim Technical Note entitled ‘Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage’, 27 April 2020, available at: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/ resource-pdf/COVID-19_impact_brief_for_UNFPA_24_April_2020_1.pdf

(18) EPF and IPPF EN, op. cit., p. 8.

(19) Council conclusions of 13 July 2020 on EU priorities at the United Nations and the 75th United Nations General Assembly, September 2020-September 2021.

(20) Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe, 2017, https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-rights-in-europe

(21) Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) Report on the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, available at https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=09000016809f9ba0

(22) https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session22/A.HRC.22.53_English.pdf

(23) European Court of Human Rights, Case of A.P., Garçon and Nicot v. France (Applications Nos 79885/12, 52471/13 and 52596/13).

(24) UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), General Comment No 36 (2018), HRC: Mellet v. Ireland, Communication No 2324/2013 (2016) and Whelan v. Ireland, Communication No 2425/2014 (2017); HRC: K. L. v. Peru, Communication No 1153/2003 (2005) and L. M. R. v. Argentina, Communication No 1608/2007 (2011); CEDAW (2017), General Recommendation No 35; Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2016), General Comment No 22; Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, A/HRC/32/448, 8 April 2016; Joint Statement of UN Special Procedures, International Safe Abortion Day, 28 September 2016; CEDAW General Recommendation No 35; CEDAW General Recommendation No 30; CEDAW, L. C. v. Peru, Communication No 22/2009 (2011).

(25) https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf

(26) Moreau, C., Shankar M., Glasier, A., et al., Abortion regulation in Europe in the era of COVID-19: a spectrum of policy responses, BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 22 October 2020, available at: https://srh.bmj.com/content/familyplanning/early/ 2021/02/22/bmjsrh-2020-200724.full.pdf

(27) Human Rights in Childbirth, Human Rights Violations in Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum during the COVID-19 Pandemic, San Francisco, 6 May 2020, available at: http://humanrightsinchildbirth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Human-Rights-in-Childbirth-Pregnancy-Birth-and-Postpartum-During-COVID19-Report-May-2020.pdf

(28) OHCHR, Information Series on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/SexualHealth/INFO_Abortion_WEB.pdf

18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/63

P9_TA(2021)0315

25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) (Nairobi Summit)

European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) (Nairobi Summit) (2019/2850(RSP))

(2022/C 81/05)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, its Programme of Action, and the outcomes of its review conferences,

—	having regard to Principle 1 of the ICPD Programme of Action, which states that everyone has the right to liberty and security of person,

—	having regard to the Nairobi Statement on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise, of 1 November 2019, and to the National and Partner Commitments and Collaborative Actions that were announced at the Nairobi Summit,

—	having regard to the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcomes of its review conferences,

—	having regard to the Ottawa Statement of Commitment adopted at the seventh International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation (IPCI) of the ICPD, which took place on 22 and 23 October 2018 in Ottawa, Canada,

—

having regard to the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations of 5 October 1999 on the 21st special session of the General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (five-year review of progress in implementing the Programme of Action),

—	having regard to the report of the Secretary-General of the UN entitled ‘Framework of Actions for the follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development Beyond 2014’ (‘ICPD beyond 2014 Global Report’),

—	having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in September 2015, which entered into force on 1 January 2016, and in particular to Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5,

—	having regard to the UN World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul on 23 and 24 May 2016 and to the ensuing report of the UN Secretary-General (A/70/709), in particular the Agenda for Humanity,

—	having regard to its resolution of 31 May 2018 entitled ‘Implementation of the Joint Staff Working Document (SWD(2015)0182) — Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External Relations 2016-2020’ (1),

—	having regard to its resolution of 4 July 2018 entitled ‘Towards an EU external strategy against early and forced marriages –next steps’ (2),

—	having regard to its resolution of 25 November 2014 on the EU and the global development framework after 2015 (3),

—	having regard to its resolution of 16 December 2015 entitled ‘Preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit: Challenges and opportunities for humanitarian assistance’ (4),

—	having regard to its resolution of 3 February 2021 entitled ‘Challenges ahead for women’s rights in Europe: more than 25 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’ (5),

—	having regard to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) State of World Population 2019 report entitled ‘Unfinished Business: the pursuit of rights and choices for all’,

—	having regard to the Euromapping report 2018 entitled ‘Accountability Guide for Reproductive, Maternal, New Born and Child Health and Family Planning’,

—	having regard to the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Contraception Atlas ranking access to contraception in Europe by country, which highlights inequalities across Europe and the fact that the unmet need for contraception in some parts of Europe has gone largely unnoticed,

—	having regard to its resolution of 12 December 2018 on the annual report on human rights and democracy in the world 2017 and the European Union’s policy on the matter (6),

—	having regard to the European Pact for Gender Equality (2011-2020), adopted by the Council on 7 March 2011 (7),

—	having regard to the Council conclusions on Gender in Development of 26 May 2015,

—	having regard to the EU Gender Action Plan for 2021-2025 (GAP III), published on 25 November 2020 by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (JOIN(2020)0017),

—	having regard to the European Consensus on Development — ‘Our World, our Dignity, our Future’, adopted in June 2017,

—	having regard to the questions to the Council and the Commission on the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) (Nairobi Summit) (O-000020/2021 — B9-0018/2021 and O-000021/2021 — B9-0019/2021),

—	having regard to Rules 136(5) and 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the motion for a resolution of the Committee on Development and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

whereas 2019 marked 25 years since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, where the ICPD Programme of Action was adopted by 179 governments, declaring a global commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in line with the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action itself, and consolidating the consensus to place the rights and well-being of the individual at the centre of the reproductive health agenda and demographic planning;

whereas the Programme of Action placed family planning in the context of comprehensive reproductive healthcare and called on governments to provide access to services such as antenatal and postnatal care, safe delivery, infertility treatment, safe abortions where legal, management of the consequences of unsafe abortions, and treatment of reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted infections, breast cancer and cancers of the reproductive system, as well as to information, education and counselling on sexuality, reproductive health and responsible parenthood, while always recognising that prevention of gender-based violence and other harmful practices should be integral to primary healthcare;

C.	whereas sexual and reproductive health, including maternal and newborn mortality and HIV, are targets for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, and whereas gender-based violence and harmful practices are targets for SDG 5;

whereas the SDGs also call for achieving universal health coverage, specifically by ensuring access to quality essential healthcare services and to safe, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines for all; whereas guaranteeing SRHR and women’s rights and the freedom to decide over their bodies and lives is a central pre-condition to achieving the other SDGs;

E.	whereas the 25th anniversary provided an opportunity for governments and other global actors to reaffirm their commitment to the SRHR agenda, as SRHR are still denied in many countries; whereas the ICPD is a universal document which must be implemented both within and outside the European Union;

F.	whereas the population has never been growing so rapidly, for at the current rate the world population will double in only 35 years;

G.	whereas population trends will fundamentally shape future development prospects; whereas the promotion of gender equality, SRHR and sustainable family sizes go hand in hand;

H.	whereas women must have full control over their bodies, their health and their fertility, and be able to define their own role in society if sustainable growth and development is to follow such steep population growth;

I.	whereas the growing availability of contraception and emerging contraceptive methods have been instrumental in women planning their pregnancies, and thus all other aspects of their lives;

J.	whereas innovations in modern contraceptive methods have made their use more convenient and reduced their side effects; whereas, however, significant side effects still exist and their reduction should be a priority for research on the subject;

K.	whereas by 2015 94 % of governments provided support for family planning;

L.	whereas worldwide the proportion of non-single women who reported using a contraceptive rose from 36 % in 1970 to 64 % in 2015;

M.	whereas access to reproductive health services is crucial for women to enjoy their reproductive rights; whereas access implies not only that supplies and services are available, but also that social, economic, legal and any other barriers to them, including ideological barriers, are removed;

whereas access to critical sexual and reproductive healthcare (including comprehensive sexuality education, family planning services, modern contraception, access to safe and legal abortion care, adequate antenatal and postnatal healthcare, assistance during childbirth) in most developing countries today is generally lowest among the poorest 20 % of households and highest among the richest 20 %; whereas according to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018 at least 214 million women wanted to prevent or postpone pregnancy but did not have access to modern methods of contraception;

whereas access to SRHR also varies greatly within and between EU Member States, and is most difficult for people in the most vulnerable situations; whereas the analysis of every country in the 2019 Contraception Atlas shows that more action should be undertaken to improve access to information and contraceptive supplies, so that people have a choice over their reproductive lives;

P.	whereas certain countries legally require third-party authorisation for women or adolescents to access health services or criminalise same-sex relationships; whereas this limits access to the information or services required by people in need;

Q.	whereas family planning programmes in developing regions covered about 40 % of demand in 1970, and currently cover about 77 % of demand; whereas family planning services run out of stocks of some methods of contraception about three quarters of the time;

whereas according to the UNESCO international technical guidance on sexuality education, curriculum-based programmes on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) enable children and young people to develop accurate knowledge and the appropriate attitudes and skills, including respect for human rights, gender equality and diversity, which contribute to safe, healthy, and respectful relations; whereas such education empowers children and young people as it provides evidence and age-appropriate information on sexuality, addressing sexual and reproductive health issues, including, but not limited to: sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology; puberty and menstruation; reproduction, modern contraception, pregnancy and childbirth; sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS; and harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) and female genital mutilation (FGM); whereas most adolescents worldwide do not have access to CSE;

whereas in 1994, the Programme of Action urged countries to achieve a reduction in maternal mortality by one half of 1990 levels by the year 2000 and a further reduction by half by the year 2015, which would mean a 75 % reduction in maternal mortality; whereas while globally the maternal mortality ratio has declined by about 44 % since 1995, with progress seen in every region, adolescent pregnancy is still a major contributor to maternal mortality and morbidity, with about 70 000 adolescent girls dying of pregnancy or childbirth-related causes annually, and the vast majority of maternal deaths are still happening in environments with poor resources or as a result of intersectional discrimination; whereas maternal mortality from unsafe abortions, and the overall maternal mortality rate, is reduced by eliminating legal restrictions on access to abortion;

whereas women without access to services such as antenatal care, assistance during childbirth and emergency obstetric care are more likely to suffer debilitating health impacts; whereas despite accounting for 92 % of the world’s maternal and newborn mortality rates, developing countries employ just 42 % of the world’s medical, midwifery and nursing personnel;

U.	whereas more than 500 women and girls die every day in emergency environments during pregnancy and childbirth due to a lack of skilled birth attendants or emergency obstetric procedures or because of unsafe abortions;

whereas only 55 % of all abortions worldwide are safe; whereas this means that around 25 million unsafe abortions are estimated to have taken place every year between 2010 and 2014 according to the WHO; whereas abortion is still completely illegal in 26 countries, and abortion on request is only legal in 67 countries, with gestational limits varying from country to country; whereas a worrying backlash against women’s rights over their bodies may be observed throughout the world in both developing and developed countries, including several EU Member States;

W.	whereas one in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence at some point in her lifetime; whereas according to the UN, more than 200 million girls and women have been forced to undergo FGM;

whereas an estimated 650 million women were married when they were children, and nine out of ten births to girls under 18 years of age happen within marriage; whereas according to UNICEF some of the negative effects of child marriage include: the separation of family and friends, the lack of freedom to interact with people of the same age and participate in community activities, the reduction of opportunities to receive education, sexual abuse, serious health risks such as premature pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and, increasingly, HIV/AIDS; whereas child marriage can also lead to forced labour, slavery and prostitution;

whereas forced marriage is one of the most common causes of persecution on the grounds of gender, alleged by a significant number of women at the time of applying for asylum; whereas there are still a number of impediments to recognising forced marriage as a reason to grant international protection, despite being a form of persecution on the grounds of gender and a serious and systematic violation of fundamental rights which leads to inhuman and degrading treatment that may constitute torture;

Z.	whereas LGBTIQ people continue to suffer from discrimination and violence both within and outside the European Union, with some countries keeping in place laws that criminalise same-sex relationships;

AA.	whereas the Spotlight Initiative brings together the EU and the UN to fight against all gender-based violence across the world and is a key tool to fight sexual violence and harmful practices such as FGM and forced marriages;

AB.

whereas funding priorities in SRHR have been uneven, with publicly funded health services generally offering some family planning, maternal, newborn and child healthcare, and HIV/AIDS services receiving substantial donor attention, while services for treatment of sexual violence, gynaecological cancers and infertility or safe abortion have been regrettably underfunded;

AC.

whereas since 2015, the Global Financing Facility has sought to encourage national governments to increase their spending in line with the SDG targets on health; whereas the reinstatement and expansion of the ‘Global Gag Rule’ has had a damaging impact on women’s and girls’ access to comprehensive healthcare, including SRHR;

AD.	whereas many developing countries have committed to the Programme of Action by aligning national objectives and budgets to it, but most of them still rely on donor assistance, thereby putting the stability of national programmes at risk;

AE.	whereas it is crucial for sexual and reproductive health funding to be stable and predictable in order to ensure a constant supply of the services needed;

AF.	whereas a global monitoring and evaluation mechanism is indispensable for tracking whether governments are delivering on the commitments undertaken in the Programme of Action and at the Nairobi Summit over the next period, and ensuring that the health-related SDGs are attained by 2030;

AG.

whereas the European Consensus on Development includes gender equality and women’s and girls’ human rights as well as their empowerment and protection as core principles and priorities in all areas of EU external action; whereas it also stresses the need for ‘universal access to quality and affordable comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education, including comprehensive sexuality education, and healthcare services’ and reiterated the commitment to spend at least 20 % of EU aid on social inclusion and human development;

AH.	whereas the implementation of the GAP II represented a key opportunity to channel additional funds to SRHR under the pillar on physical and psychological integrity;

AI.	whereas 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action; whereas the ICPD and the Beijing Platform for Action should be interlinked so as to achieve gender equality and SRHR for everyone;

AJ.	whereas the UN Women Generation Equality Forum in Mexico City and Paris in 2020 could have been an opportunity for urgent action and accountability on gender equality, but was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak;

ICPD Programme of Action — since 1994

Commends the progress that has been made so far in specific areas such as the increasing availability of contraceptives, which has allowed women greater control over fertility, or decreasing maternal and newborn mortality, but recognises that efforts need to be considerably stepped up by national governments and international organisations, particularly in innovation, coordination and ensuring access, if we are to attain the objectives of the Programme, and create a reality which is conducive to well-being, empowerment and self-realisation of half of the world’s population;

Welcomes and supports the Nairobi Statement on ΙCPD+25: ‘Accelerating the Promise’, its call to intensify efforts for the full, effective and accelerated implementation and funding of the ΙCPD Programme of Action, and its goal of achieving universal access to SRHR as a part of universal health coverage (UHC);

Welcomes the objective agreed at the Nairobi Summit to mobilise the political will and financial commitments urgently needed to finally achieve zero unmet need for family planning information and services, zero preventable maternal deaths, and zero sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls; welcomes the concrete commitments, both financial and political, made by governments, donors, businesses, non-governmental organisations, civil society and other actors to support the ‘three zeros’ and help ensure SRHR for all by 2030; welcomes in particular the commitment made by the EU to dedicate, in the framework of the 2018 Annual Action Programme of the Intra-ACP programme, EUR 29 million to promoting adolescent girls’ health and SRHR, and calls for the continuation of the EU’s financial and political commitment to these issues both within and outside the EU;

Reaffirms that a people-centred and rights-based approach must be central to any demographic policy and to health, education and social systems geared towards enabling women’s self-determined roles in society and respecting their dignity and human rights; reaffirms furthermore that women have a right to decide about whether, when and how often they conceive; particularly welcomes, in this regard, the fact that the voices of marginalised communities, and youth and civil society advocates played a central role in the Nairobi Summit, and that these advocates were able to directly engage heads of state and policymakers about how to realise the rights and promote the health of all people;

Reaffirms that SRHR are grounded in human rights, are essential elements of human dignity, and remain crucial to achieving gender equality; calls for the EU and its Member States to recognise the rights of women and girls to bodily integrity and autonomous decision-making; condemns frequent violations of women’s sexual and reproductive rights, including the denial of access to comprehensive sexuality education, family planning services, contraceptives and maternal healthcare, as well as safe and legal abortion care; calls for an adequate budget for the above purposes;

Stresses that SDG 5 calls for, among other things, the integration of the recommendations of the ICPD Programme of Action into national plans, policies and programmes; underlines that the achievement of the SDGs is dependent on delivering universal access to sexual and reproductive health;

Recalls that achieving the commitments of the ICPD Programme of Action requires challenging discriminatory gender norms and ending sexual violence against girls and women, as well as strengthening girls’ and women’s agency and ability to make autonomous and informed decisions about their reproductive health;

Reaffirms the commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual to have full control over their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, to be able to decide freely and responsibly on these matters, and to live free from discrimination, coercion and violence;

Zero unmet need for family planning

Points out that on average, 214 million women in developing countries do not have access to effective contraception, which leads to around 75 million unintended pregnancies annually; is concerned that in some countries, access to contraception means availability of just one method; underlines that women and adolescents must not only have access to safe and modern contraceptives, but also be able to make an informed choice as to which method to use and have access to that method;

10.

Is concerned that in some countries, access to reproductive health services is greatly impeded by barriers such as prohibitive costs, low-quality care and facilities or supplies, discriminatory and coercive laws, and dismissive treatment, and that the greatest unmet needs for sexual and reproductive health services are among adolescents, unmarried people, LGBTIQ people, persons with disabilities, minority ethnic groups, and the rural and urban poor;

11.

Recalls that SRHR services should be gender-responsive, rights-based, adolescent-and-youth-friendly and available to all adolescents and women, regardless of age or marital status, including during conflicts and disasters; considers, furthermore, that such services should respect privacy and confidentiality, and be free of requirements for judicial, spousal, parental or guardian consent;

12.

Commends the concerted efforts to expand family planning coverage to those women who are hardest to reach, and calls for such efforts to involve all other sexual and reproductive health services; recommends the use of creative models of service delivery such as vouchers for services at subsidised prices, conditional cash transfers, social insurance programmes and performance-based monitoring;

13.

Emphasises that evidence- and curriculum-based CSE programmes are the basis for the development of healthy adults as they provide age-appropriate information about puberty, pregnancy and childbirth, in particular contraception, prevention of HIV and STIs, and the risks inherent in early pregnancies; underlines, further, that such CSE programmes should also focus on interpersonal relationships, sexual orientation, gender equality, gender norms, consent and the prevention of gender-based violence, all of which are crucial for enabling young people to cultivate healthy self-esteem and form equal, nurturing and safe relationships; believes that the provision of CSE is crucial not only for the self-actualisation of girls but also for the early engagement of boys, who have a vital role to play in fostering and advocating gender equality among their peers and in their communities;

14.

Emphasises that women should be guaranteed proper and affordable healthcare, universal respect for their sexual and reproductive rights, and access to these rights; emphasises that accessible healthcare and universal respect for and access to SRHR, family planning, maternal, antenatal and neonatal healthcare and safe abortion services are important elements for saving women’s lives and reducing infant and child mortality; finds it unacceptable that women’s and girls’ bodies remain an ideological battleground, specifically with regard to their SRHR;

15.

Recalls that almost a thousand girls and women contract HIV every day, and that women and girls are more exposed than boys to the risk of HIV infections, especially in sub-Saharan Africa; stresses that HIV-positive women and girls have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer; stresses the need to develop and strengthen prevention and screening strategies targeting young women in particular;

16.

Stresses that access to water and sanitation is a human right and is necessary to ensure sexual and reproductive health, whether in relation to contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases or menstrual hygiene;

17.

Recalls that, in addition to taboos around menstruation, the lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in schools and the lack of free menstrual protection are a major obstacle to the schooling of girls when they have their period; stresses the need for adequate infrastructure in schools to ensure that girls have access to water and separate toilets;

18.

Calls for the EU to further incorporate issues relating to WASH services into its work on gender equality and combating discrimination against women;

19.

Reaffirms the importance of guaranteeing the meaningful and inclusive participation of adolescents and young people in all stages of decision-making; believes that the Nairobi global commitment should include a strong emphasis on younger adolescents and sexual education as part of efforts to tackle adolescent pregnancy, which is a major contributor to maternal mortality; recognises that gender-sensitive and life-skills based comprehensive sexuality education, in a manner consistent with evolving capacity, is essential for adolescents and young people to be able to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, and to promote values of tolerance, mutual respect, consent and non-violence in relationships and to plan their lives;

Zero preventable maternal deaths

20.

Is concerned that restrictive abortion laws in many countries, poor availability of services, high costs, stigma, conscientious objection of healthcare providers and unnecessary requirements, such as mandatory waiting periods, mandatory counselling, provision of misleading information, third-party authorisation, and medically unnecessary tests, are among the main barriers to addressing maternal health and contribute to unsafe abortions and maternal deaths;

21.

Considers it crucial that the governments that have not yet done so adopt policy measures as a part of health coverage so as to reduce the number of newborn or maternal deaths and prevent unsafe abortions by boosting the recruitment and training of skilled medical staff and expanding the coverage of essential post-partum and newborn care, comprehensive prenatal and obstetric care, and post-abortion care;

22.

Underlines that in line with the Beijing Platform for Action and the ICPD Programme of Action, the right of all individuals to bodily integrity and autonomy needs to be protected, and access to essential services which give effect to this right needs to be ensured; calls for a comprehensive approach in the essential sexual and reproductive health package, including measures for preventing and avoiding unsafe abortions, and post-abortion care, that must be integrated into the national UHC strategies, policies and programmes;

Zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women, girls and young people

23.

Calls for the EU and its Member States to prevent gender-based violence and provide support to victims; reiterates its call for the EU, for all its Member States and for the Member States of the Council of Europe that have not yet done so to ratify and implement the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women (the Istanbul Convention) as soon as possible; calls for the EU to work with Member States and other countries to invest in the collection of quantitative and qualitative data that is of high quality and disaggregated by age, gender, vulnerability status and geography; calls for legislative and policy frameworks to be strengthened in order to prevent, investigate and punish acts of gender-based violence within and outside the family, and to provide support to victims and survivors, including counselling and health, psychosocial and legal services; calls for the provision of training programmes on gender-based violence for members of the judiciary, law enforcement and healthcare professionals, and for health and education systems to be strengthened so as to prevent and respond to gender-based violence from a rights-based, life-course perspective;

24.

Condemns all forms of gender-based violence, for example physical, sexual and psychological violence and exploitation, mass rape, trafficking, and FGM; notes that gender-based violence remains a pervasive challenge in Europe, which requires coordinated responses from the health, education, social and legal sectors through rights-based, life-course preventive and response measures; expresses concern about the ongoing attacks on women’s rights and SRHR, including the denial of access to family planning services, contraceptives and safe and legal abortion services, as well as about legislation in many parts of the world that restricts these rights, including in the EU; strongly affirms that the denial of SRHR services, including safe and legal abortion, is a form of violence against women and girls;

25.

Expresses deep concern about the serious inadequacies of public systems for collecting and processing requests for assistance, protection and complaints against gender-based violence, in particular to the police; considers it crucial that monitoring measures and sanctions for perpetrators are put in place in all countries in order to eliminate gender-based violence including early, child and forced marriages, FGM and other harmful practices; calls for urgent improvements to police systems and public systems for collecting and processing requests for assistance, protection and complaints against gender-based violence;

26.

Believes that it is also crucial to challenge harmful gender norms and stereotypes in order to achieve SDG 5 on gender equality and further advance the SRHR agenda; recalls the importance of involving men and boys in this agenda; stresses the need, in this context, for the inclusion of men and boys in projects and programmes to fight against all gender-based violence and harmful stereotypes; highlights in this regard that comprehensive relationship and sexuality education is key to building children’s and young peoples’ skills to form healthy, equal, nurturing and safe relationships that are free from discrimination, coercion and violence, and to prevent sexual, gender-based and intimate partner violence; encourages all Member States, therefore, to introduce comprehensive age-appropriate sexuality and relationship education for young people in schools;

27.

Welcomes the Spotlight Initiative to combat gender-based violence worldwide and stresses that it should mobilise more countries at international level;

28.

Highlights the advent of online gender-based violence and the need to ensure that all efforts to eliminate gender-based violence should take account of online spaces;

29.

Recognises that a statutory ban on child, early and forced marriages will not guarantee an end to these practices in itself; calls for the EU and its Member States to better coordinate and strengthen the enforcement of international treaties, legislation and programmes, including via diplomatic relations with governments and organisations in third countries, in order to address issues related to child, early and forced marriages; calls for every effort to be made to enforce statutory bans, and complement them with a broader set of laws and policies; recognises that this requires the adoption and implementation of comprehensive and holistic policies, strategies and programmes, including the repeal of discriminatory legal provisions concerning forced marriage and the adoption of affirmative measures to empower girl children;

30.

Reiterates that FGM is a form of gender-based violence; calls on the Commission to examine the synergies between the internal and external programmes of the EU to ensure a coherent and continuous approach to combating FGM both within and outside the EU, given that the issue is inherently linked to other parts of the world;

31.

Strongly believes that action aimed at putting an end to the practice of FGM should include engagement with communities as well as traditional and religious leaders;

32.

Strongly believes that any strategies against gender-based violence must include LGBTIQ persons;

33.

Recognises the fact that humanitarian crises intensify challenges related to SRHR, affecting the most vulnerable people in the Global South in particular; recalls that in crisis zones, women and girls are particularly exposed to sexual violence, rape, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual exploitation and unwanted pregnancies; stresses the importance of access to SRHR services in such situations, and the need to adapt humanitarian aid accordingly; calls on the Commission and Member States to reinforce a gender equality perspective and SRHR in their humanitarian aid response, including in terms of training of humanitarian actors as well as funding, as access to sexual and reproductive healthcare is a basic need for people in areas requiring humanitarian assistance;

34.

Calls for the investigation of war crimes, where women and girls have been tortured and faced violence, such as members of the Christian and Yazidi population in Northern Iraq, who have suffered at the hands of the so-called Islamic State terror organisation;

Development and funding commitments

35.

Is convinced that a mechanism to ensure accountability for delivering on global and national commitments, as well as the effectiveness of measures, should be one of the outcomes of the Nairobi Summit;

36.

Calls for the EU to show strong leadership in achieving girls’ and women’s rights and gender equality, including in its external action through the implementation of the ambitious GAP III for the post-2020 period; calls for the EU, moreover, to secure adequate funding for SRHR and family planning in its development cooperation policy, especially in the new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), and to devise strategies to ensure stable and continuous provision of all required services;

37.

Calls for specific investments to be made to promote the physical and mental health and well-being of adolescents, including through access to youth-friendly health services; believes that such investments must include adequate funding and capacity building for women’s and youth organisations which often do the essential work of providing information on family planning, comprehensive sexuality education and dismantling harmful gender and societal stereotypes in the absence of national programmes or if such programmes are insufficient;

38.

Notes that the EU contributes to SRHR through a range of EU instruments such as geographic and regional programmes focusing on gender, health and population development, contributions to global initiatives and UN organisations, and grants to civil society organisations; considers it regrettable, however, that it is difficult to quantify accurately how much EU funding directly promotes SRHR and family planning; calls for ambitious levels of financing to improve SRHR provision in the current multiannual financial framework, and for the continuous improvement of the methodology to allow for better evaluation of the effectiveness of measures on SRHR in the future;

39.

Calls on national governments and international donors to ensure that the universal package of essential sexual and reproductive health services also contains services such as treatment for infertility, reproductive cancers or sexual violence, which have so far received the least financial support;

40.

Recognises the role played by NGOs as service providers and also as advocates for SRHR; calls in this regard for stronger EU support and protection for NGOs contributing to the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action and, for women’s rights organisations in particular, both within and outside the EU, as crucial actors for gender-equal societies;

41.

Urges the Commission, in defining its future global sustainable development policy as well as implementing the comprehensive strategy for Africa, to fully integrate and strengthen EU support for sexual and reproductive health projects as well as the Spotlight Initiative, which aims to eliminate violence against women and girls;

42.

Deeply regrets the joint statement on the Nairobi Summit of 14 November 2019 made by the United States, Brazil, Belarus, Egypt, Haiti, Hungary, Libya, Poland, Senegal, St. Lucia, and Uganda, which seeks to undermine the established consensus and their obligations regarding women’s SRHR as agreed in accordance with the ICPD Programme of Action, the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences; welcomes the recent repealing of the Global Gag Rule and the impact it has had on women’s and girls’ global healthcare and rights; reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to address the financing gap in this field by means of national funding and EU development funding;

43.

Takes note of the commitments made by Commissioners Urpilainen and Dalli at their hearings on 1 and 2 October 2019 respectively to prioritise sexual and reproductive health as a central focus of the Commission’s work on gender equality;

44.

Insists that the new NDICI should promote gender equality and the empowerment of women, including their SRHR, by means of transparent measures which allow for continuous evaluation, including with regard to sexual and reproductive health and rights in line with the Beijing Platform for Action and the ICPD Programme of Action; welcomes the NDICI ambition that at least 85 % of programmes funded by official development assistance (ODA) should have gender equality as a significant or principal objective, and that at least 5 % of these actions should have gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment as a principal objective; calls, however, for increased ambition to devote 20 % of ODA to projects that have gender equality as a principal objective (OECD gender marker 2);

45.

Calls for the EU to implement a comprehensive and ambitious Gender Equality Strategy, including proposals for binding measures, which should be linked to its implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, including commitments and indicators in all relevant policy areas, and which holds EU institutions and Member States accountable through a monitoring mechanism; calls for the condemnation of the backlash against gender equality and SRHR and of discourse and measures undermining women’s rights, autonomy and emancipation in every field; notes that an important way to combat this backlash is to proactively advance rights-based gender equality and gender mainstreaming;

o o

46.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 76, 9.3.2020, p. 168.

(2) OJ C 118, 8.4.2020, p. 57.

(3) OJ C 289, 9.8.2016, p. 5.

(4) OJ C 399, 24.11.2017, p. 106.

(5) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0058.

(6) OJ C 388, 13.11.2020, p. 100.

(7) OJ C 155, 25.5.2011, p. 10.

18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/82

P9_TA(2021)0317

2019-2020 Reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina

European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019/2171(INI))

(2022/C 81/07)

The European Parliament,

—

having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), of the other part, and to the Protocol of its Adaptation to take account of the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union,

—

having regard to the first meeting of the EU-BiH Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC) held on 5 and 6 November 2015, to the third meeting of the EU-BiH Stabilisation and Association Council held on 13 July 2018 and to the fourth meeting of the EU-BiH Stabilisation and Association Committee held on 7 November 2019,

—	having regard to BiH’s application for membership of the European Union of 15 February 2016,

—

having regard to the regional cooperation initiatives in Southeast Europe and pan-European initiatives, such as the South-East Europe Cooperation Process, Brdo-Brijuni Process, the Central European Initiative, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the Energy Community Treaty, Erasmus+, the EU Strategies for the Danube Region and for the Adriatic-Ionian Region, the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI), the Regional Commission tasked with establishing the facts about all victims of war crimes and other human rights violations committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia (RECOM), the Regional Network for Accession (RENA), the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA), the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), the Transport Community Treaty, the Western Balkans Fund and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and Common Regional Market,

—	having regard to the Commission communication of 5 February 2020 entitled ‘Enhancing the accession process — A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0057),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 29 May 2019 entitled ‘2019 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy’ (COM(2019)0260), accompanied by the Commission Staff Working Document entitled ‘Commission Opinion on BiH’s application for membership of the EU’ (COM(2019)0261) and the Analytical Report (SWD(2019)0222),

—	having regard to the Commission communication of 6 October 2020 entitled ‘2020 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy’ (COM(2020)0660), accompanied by the Commission Staff Working Document entitled ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina 2020 Report’ (SWD(2020)0350),

—	having regard to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted by the UNESCO General Conference at its 33rd session on 20 October 2005,

—	having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Minority SafePack — one million signatures for diversity in Europe’ (1),

—	having regard to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, adopted on 25 February 1991,

—	having regard to Council conclusions of 25 January 2021 on Climate and Energy Diplomacy — Delivering on the external dimension of the European Green Deal; and of 20 January 2020 on Climate Diplomacy, and to the European Council conclusions of 10-11 December 2020 on climate,

—	having regard to the working document of the European External Action Service of 6 November 2020 entitled ‘Climate Change and Defence Roadmap’,

—	having regard to the Council conclusions on enhancing cooperation with Western Balkans partners in the field of migration and security of 5 June 2020,

—	having regard to the Council conclusions of 14 October 2019 and 12 October 2020 on BiH and Operation EUFOR Althea,

—	having regard to the Commission communication of 6 October 2020 entitled ‘Economic and Investment plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0641),

—	having regard to the Berlin Process, launched on 28 August 2014 and its EU-Western Balkans summit, held in Sofia on 10 November 2020,

—	having regard to the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament — Western Balkans Speakers’ Summit of 28 January 2020,

—	having regard to the Zagreb Declaration, adopted during the EU-Western Balkans Zagreb Summit of 6 May 2020,

—	having regard to its recommendation of 19 June 2020 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Western Balkans, following the 2020 summit (2),

—	having regard to the Sofia Declaration adopted during the EU-Western Balkans summit of 17 May 2018, and to the Sofia Priority Agenda annexed thereto,

—	having regard to the Expert Report on Rule of Law issues in BiH of 5 December 2019,

—

having regard to the Opinion on the Constitutional Situation in BiH and the Powers of the High Representative adopted by the Venice Commission at its 62nd plenary session held in Venice on 11 and 12 March 2005, and to subsequent Venice Commission recommendations regarding constitutional matters in BiH,

—	having regard to the European Charter of Local Self-Government,

—	having regard to the final report of 25 January 2019 by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 7 October 2018 general elections in BiH,

—

having regard to the Declaration of 5 July 2019 of Western Balkans partners on Roma Integration within the EU Enlargement Process, known as the Poznan Declaration, and to the Commission communication entitled A Union of Equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation’(SWD(2020)0530),

—	having regard to the OSCE publication of 26 October 2020 entitled ‘Two Schools under One Roof: The Most Visible Example of Discrimination in Education in BiH’,

—	having regard to the resolution on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by BiH adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 12 June 2019,

—	having regard to the document entitled ‘Joint socio-economic reforms for the period 2019-2022’ which was adopted by the entity governments on 10 October 2019, and to the Council of Ministers’ document of 30 January 2020 entitled ‘Socio-economic reforms in BiH for the period 2020-2022’,

—	having regard to the 58th and previous reports to the UN Security Council by the High Representative for Implementation of the Peace Agreement on BiH,

—	having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2549 (2020) of 5 November 2020 renewing the mandate of operation Althea,

—	having regard to its resolution of 9 July 2015 on the Srebrenica Commemoration (3), its resolution of 15 January 2009 on Srebrenica (4) and its resolution of 7 July 2005 on the the Balkans 10 years after Srebrenica (5),

—	having regard to its resolution of 2 April 2009 on European conscience and totalitarianism (6),

—	having regard to its resolution of 19 September 2019 on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe (7),

—	having regard to the resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of 12 November 2020 establishing the enlarged partial agreement on the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe,

—	having regard to the Council Conclusions on EU priorities for cooperation with the Council of Europe 2020-2022,

—	having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2015 on the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement (8),

—	having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2018 on minimum standards for minorities in the EU (9),

—	having regard to its resolution of 11 September 2013 on endangered European languages and linguistic diversity in the European Union (10),

—	having regard the joint statement of 21 December 2020 by High Representative Josep Borrell and Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi on the holding of local elections in Mostar,

—

having regard to the decision of the UN Security Council on the creation of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (‘Mechanism’), which performs a number of essential functions previously carried out by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (‘ICTY’), its reports, achievements and recommendations,

—	having regard to the Report of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia of 1 July 2017,

—	having regard to the Progress Report of the Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals of 19 May 2020,

—	having regard to its previous resolutions on the country,

—	having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A9-0185/2021),

A.	whereas the Stabilisation and Association Process and BiH’s EU membership application represent the country’s strategic choice towards European integration, which must translate into tangible results on the ground and increased efforts to move to the second stage of the SAA by all sides;

B.	whereas Parliament is a strong supporter of BiH’s European integration;

C.	whereas its progress in European and Euro-Atlantic integration contributes to the country’s security, stability and economic prosperity;

D.	whereas the implementation of meaningful reforms that improve the lives of people in BiH and facilitate EU accession require the engagement of all BiH political leaders, authorities, institutions and office holders;

E.	whereas a clear domestic distribution of responsibilities and enhanced and meaningful cooperation in good faith between different levels of government is essential;

F.	whereas BiH’s progress on the path to EU accession depends on its implementation of the 14 key priorities in the Commission’s opinion on BiH’s EU membership application;

whereas the country continues to face numerous challenges related to the rule of law, democratic institutions, human rights and fundamental freedoms, governance, accountability, the fight against corruption and organised crime, freedom of expression and media freedom, and a functioning market economy, and the credibility of the enlargement process is based on unequivocal results in these key areas;

H.	whereas the country’s first pride event was held on 9 September 2019 in the capital Sarajevo;

I.	whereas culture and cultural heritage help strengthen one’s identity and promote social cohesion, stability and understanding in society; whereas cultural heritage is a value in its own right;

J.	whereas the persistent challenges in the reconciliation process should be addressed more vigorously;

whereas BiH being a migrant transit route, reception capacities remain insufficient to adequately address a grave humanitarian situation in full respect for human rights standards and fundamental rights of people in need of international protection, to ensure integrated border management and to control irregular migratory flows in light of a difficult socio-economic situation and despite significant EU financial support;

L.	whereas the EU is BiH’s biggest trading partner and by far the most significant provider of financial assistance, which makes a profound difference in the country;

whereas the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated BiH’s socio-economic situation; whereas the EU has mobilised EUR 80,5 million to assist BiH in tackling COVID-19 and its post-pandemic recovery, and up to EUR 250 million for macro-financial assistance; whereas the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans will facilitate and serve as an important basis for the country’s long-term recovery from the consequences of the pandemic;

Reiterates its strong support for the European integration of BiH and calls on the European Council to continue backing its European perspective, including by sending a positive political message by granting of candidate status;

Welcomes BiH’s commitment to advancing on its EU path, and highlights the strong support for European integration among its population;

Recalls that Parliament strongly advocates the merit-based approach, coupling fulfilment of the criteria set with a consistent and credible conditionalities;

Welcomes the steps taken by BiH to address some key aspects of the Commission’s opinion, and its continued implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, including progress made on the joint parliamentary committee as well as the adoption of legislative amendments allowing the local elections in Mostar to take place in December 2020;

Recalls that the path towards the EU depends on sustainable peace, lasting stability, social cohesion and genuine reconciliation warranting the democratic and multicultural character of BiH; urges the country to expedite effective prosecution of war crimes under the revised National War Crimes Processing Strategy, and calls for impartial and effective investigations into these crimes; condemns any kind of historical revisionism, non-implementation of the ICTY and International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgements, anti-constitutional, secessionist, nationalistic and inflammatory rhetoric and related acts, denial or glorification of war crimes committed during the 1990s war, including the Srebrenica genocide; urges long overdue action to tackle the issue of the tens of thousands of women who were raped or otherwise sexually assaulted during the wars of the 1990s;

Reconfirms strongly its support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of BiH; condemns statements and proposals aiming to undermine BiH’s statehood and constitutional values, and reiterates the need for all BiH authorities, institutions, office holders and political leaders to bring the constitution into line with the European Convention on Human Rights;

Reconciliation

Welcomes the efforts by local and international organisations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, to account for over 30 000 persons who went missing during the 1990s conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and more than 8 000 Srebrenica genocide victims; recalls that over 7 200 people are still missing, and urges regional and national authorities and international stakeholders to intensify cooperation and data sharing on issues related to missing persons, redress to civilian victims of war, including survivors of sexual violence, and to ensure the safe and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced people through access to healthcare, education and social protection; acknowledges that some progress, albeit insufficient, has been made in the implementation of Annex VII to the Dayton Peace Agreement on Refugees and Displaced Persons; reiterates its call for the eradication of all forms of discrimination against returnees; calls for the adoption of a law banning the denial of genocide, the Holocaust, crimes against humanity and war crimes;

Calls on all authorities across the region to set up the Regional Commission tasked with establishing the facts about all victims of war crimes and other human rights violations committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia from 1 January 1991 until 31 December 2001 (RECOM), building upon the significant work carried out by the Coalition for RECOM;

Highlights the importance of the work of the RYCO promoting the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation between young people in the region through youth exchange programmes, and welcomes the active participation of BiH;

10.

Reiterates that the work on the reconciliation process must focus on the country’s youth and start at an early age, embedding reconciliation into the education process, therefore urges the authorities at all levels to ensure inclusive and non-discriminatory education for all children, regardless of their ethnic, cultural or personal background, in line with resolution of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on the implementation of the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities by BiH of 2019; underlines the possibility of making use of the best practices in integration and inclusiveness adopted by multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Member States;

11.

Stresses the need to urgently put an end to the segregation in education, embodied notably by the ongoing discriminatory practice of ‘two schools under one roof’, which institutionalises ethnic divisions, perpetuates stereotypes and prejudices, and fosters mistrust by preventing contact between students from different backgrounds; underscores that this practice is not only completely at odds with the very notion of reconciliation, but also constitutes a long-term threat to the stability and prosperity of the country;

12.

Underlines that differences in history teaching and textbooks pose a considerable threat to a shared sense of citizenship and social cohesion, and encourages a meaningful harmonisation of the three existing curricula by mainstreaming critical thinking skills and eliminating counterfactual content that promotes division;

13.

Calls on the Commission to develop a programme to support sustainable reform of BiH’s education system; stresses that quality education gives young people a vision and perspective of a positive future, contributing to tackling the brain drain and youth unemployment; calls for increased engagement in and promotion of European educational, cultural and research programmes, such as Horizon Europe, Creative Europe and Erasmus+;

14.

Invites decision-makers to enable BiH’s participation in the OECD’s next programme for international student assessment (PISA) survey, and to implement the proposals stemming from the results of the 2018 PISA survey;

15.

Calls on BiH to remedy unequal access to remote schooling, resulting in many children being deprived of their right to education during the pandemic;

Functioning of democratic institutions

16.

Urges all BiH authorities, institutions, office holders and political leaders to significantly accelerate work and cooperation in order to fully comply with the 14 key priorities in the Commission’s opinion on BiH’s EU membership application; calls on the authorities to mobilise political will in order to facilitate the enhanced cooperation needed to address the COVID-19 crisis and to prioritise the work in the areas of democratic functioning, the rule of law, fundamental rights and public administration reform;

17.

Underlines the need to considerably strengthen cooperation and data exchange between state, entity and cantonal jurisdictions across all policy areas; notes the urgent need to strengthen the country’s capacity and expertise on the wide range of issues relative to the fulfilment of its obligations arising from European integration;

18.

Underlines that effective establishment, independent functioning and accountability of democratic institutions are essential feature of a viable democracy and a prerequisite for moving forward with the EU integration process, including obtaining candidate status; warns that divisive and secessionist ethno-nationalistic and anti-constitutional rhetoric, and attempts to obstruct the functioning of institutions undermine country-wide co-ordination and decision-making on key policies and reforms, as well as unity and lasting stability;

19.

Highlights the adoption of the amendments to the BiH Election Law that allowed Mostar citizens to vote in the 2020 local elections for the first time since 2008, and welcomes the formation of the new local authorities; calls on the city council and the mayor to fulfil their democratic mandates; underlines that the political agreement should not by any means undermine the Union’s long-held aim of eliminating segregation and ensuring reunification of the city; stresses that any EU mediation or co-facilitation of agreements must be dealt with within the framework of democratically elected institutions in an inclusive process, including opposition parties and civil society representatives, should move the country closer to international standards and benefit all citizens without deepening ethnic divisions;

20.

Welcomes the Parliamentary Assembly’s vote of 22 July 2020 on the Rules of Procedure governing the meetings of Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC), paving the way for their formal adoption by the 2nd EU-BiH SAPC as soon as possible and for constructive parliamentary cooperation;

21.

Recalls that upon joining the Council of Europe in 2002, BiH undertook the obligation to address shortcomings in its constitutional framework, including through harmonisation of laws on cantonal and federal level, as well as to make progress on reforms that would transform BiH into a fully functional and inclusive state which fully ensures the rights of all citizens; stresses that institutional reforms depend on the will and commitment of the authorities, institutions, office holders and political leaders in the country to make genuine and long overdue progress on constitutional change, which is part of the 14 key priorities, preferably ahead of the 2022 general elections; urges the international community to facilitate the conditions and actively support an inclusive dialogue on constitutional change, including within BiH institutions and among elected representatives in BiH, under the facilitation of the EU, in particular Parliament, with the active participation of civil society and citizens; insists that such dialogue must run in parallel to the implementation of other reforms;

22.

Urges the Commission to put more emphasis on constitutional reform in its next annual report;

23.

Calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to step up their facilitation activities in BiH, in order to strengthen political dialogue and reconciliation and to provide a framework for dealing with the legacies from the past and for overcoming the divisions in the society; calls for a coordinated involvement of EU actors and institutions in BiH and a reinforced transatlantic approach;

Rule of law

24.

Regrets the lack of progress on judicial reforms, including the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Commission opinion’s 14 priorities and the Priebe report; reiterates the urgent need to improve the professionalism and accountability of the judiciary to ensure its independence from undue influence as well as to resolve the mounting backlog of cases pending trial; stresses that these reforms are essential for the country to obtain candidate status and that they depend solely on the necessary political will;

25.

Urges to swiftly enact the reform of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and the Courts of BiH in line with the EU standards, pursuant to the Commission’s recommendations and the opinion of the Venice Commission, strengthening independence of the BiH judiciary through appointment, appraisal, and integrity and disciplinary measures, including through verification of asset declarations;

26.

Underlines the need to enable a unified interpretation of the law across the country; urges BiH to establish a legal body ensuring consistent and harmonised interpretation of the law, and recalls the necessity to ensure independent judicial review by setting up an second instance appellate court;

27.

Welcomes the memorandum of understanding on setting up a joint coordination body of associations of judges and prosecutors as a tool to enhance independence, transparency and accountability of the judiciary, and calls upon all the relevant associations to join;

28.

Urges BiH to establish a national joint contact point for cooperation with Europol, enhancing the exchange of criminal intelligence, and to sign a cooperation agreement with Eurojust allowing for an efficient exchange of judicial information and the sharing of evidence;

29.

Calls on BiH decision-makers to urgently ensure the proper functioning of judicial institutions, including the process of appointment of judges at the Federation Constitutional Court;

30.

Welcomes the BiH authorities’ efforts to prevent radicalisation, the financing of terrorism and its citizens’ involvement in foreign conflict zones;

31.

Calls for immediate steps to tackle widespread corruption and impunity in the public sphere in order to rebuild citizens’ trust in the institutions; notes in this regard the importance of putting in place effective and consistent dissuasion, prevention, detection, pro-active investigation and sanction mechanisms, in line with international standards and Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) recommendations;

32.

Calls on BiH to adopt a new state-level anticorruption strategy and action plan, and ensure its adequate funding, and the effective functioning, independence and coordination of corruption prevention bodies at all levels in order to enable unhindered investigations in order to safeguard accountability;

33.

Reiterates the need to eradicate political and administrative links to organised crime through clear anti-corruption safeguards and checks, and increased political and administrative transparency and effective prosecution of high-profile corruption cases, with a particular focus on addressing economic, financial, public procurement crime, COVID-related corruption cases and political party and campaign financing; urges the competent bodies to initiate investigation of the illicit enrichment of public officials;

34.

Calls on BiH to complete its legal framework on the prevention of conflicts of interest and protection of whistle-blowers;

35.

Underlines the need to ensure consistent country-wide professional civil service standards, and calls for the implementation of merit-based standards and transparency in public appointments and promotions as a priority, promoting a culture of integrity; welcomes the adoption of the Public Administration Reform Strategic Framework, enabling mobilisation of related EU funds; recalls the need to streamline and harmonise public administration across the country, ensuring transparent, proportionate, merit-based appointments and selection procedures;

Fundamental rights

36.

Expresses concern over the fundamental rights situation, and calls for more effective and comprehensive country-wide human rights and anti-discrimination strategies, as well as measures against inter-faith and inter-ethnic intolerance; stresses the need to duly prevent discrimination and prosecute the proliferation of online and offline hate speech, hate crimes and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, women, the LGBTIQ+ community as well as migrants and asylum seekers, and to promote social, educational and occupational inclusion of minorities and vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities and the Roma, in line with the 2019 Poznan Declaration on Roma Integration within the EU Enlargement Process;

37.

Welcomes efforts aiming at promoting freedom of religion, mutual respect and interfaith dialogue, including through the Inter-Religious Council of BiH; urges the competent authorities to promptly investigate and prosecute all crimes committed on religious grounds;

38.

Insists that genuine reconciliation is impossible if there is continuing segregation and discrimination, including in access to online and offline education, employment and social rights, and calls for measures to alleviate large-scale discrimination against specific groups; urges the competent authorities to ensure inclusive and non-discriminatory education for all children;

39.

Notes progress in the field of child protection, including the implementation of Laws on Protection and Treatment of Children and Juveniles in Criminal Proceedings and the establishment of a system of foster care; recalls the need for an action plan on child protection and further measures to ensure the implementation of childrens’ right to health, education, protection, justice and equal opportunities through inclusive education and prevention of violence against children;

40.

Stresses the need to improve measures targeting gender-based and domestic violence, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring country-wide measures to guarantee protection, victim support, legal aid, and safe accommodation; urges the authorities to harmonise and implement legislation on gender equality, and to ensure adequate support for women’s rights defenders and civil society organisations; recalls the need to focus funding on gender equality in all EU external financing instruments, and to improve access to funding for local and small civil society organisations;

41.

Encourages BiH to step up its work to protect people with disabilities, and develop and adopt a strategy on deinstitutionalisation, ensuring a dignified life for people with disabilities; condemns the fact that the law allows persons with disabilities to be deprived of their legal capacity, in a clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which the country is signatory; denounces discrimination in disability support, such as the prioritisation of persons with war-related disabilities;

42.

Stresses the need to ensure the participation of citizens in the democratic life of the country through adequate and inclusive involvement of civil society organisations in the EU integration process; calls on authorities to ensure an enabling environment for civil society by upholding European standards on protecting and promoting freedom of association and freedom of assembly, and deplores any selective restrictions; underlines that every citizen has a right to exercise their freedom of expression in their mother tongue; calls on the authorities to develop a strategic framework of cooperation with civil society, and to ensure meaningful consultation as part of inclusive policy dialogues;

43.

Commends the first-ever Sarajevo Pride, held on 9 September 2019, and expects that the latest pandemic-related restrictions do not prevent it from resuming in the near future; recalls the need to improve the situation of LGBTIQ+ people, prosecute violence and hate crimes against them, as well as to promote their social inclusion and adopt a relevant action plan;

44.

Welcomes the signature by BiH of the Council of Europe’s Convention 108+, and urges the authorities to take legal steps ensuring EU-compliant personal data protection standards;

45.

Commends the decision of the Constitutional Court of 4 October 2019 to repeal Article 11 of the Constitution of the Republika Srpska entity, thus abolishing capital punishment across BiH; regrets, however, that this decision, which meets part of one of the key priorities, had to be imposed by a court instead of being the result of a political process;

46.

Deplores the fact that BiH remains in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights by not complying with anti-discrimination rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Sejdić-Finci, Zornić, Pilav and Šlaku cases on ensuring the democratic equality of citizens in the country’s election process, which is a prerequisite for opening accession negotiations; calls for the implementation of the rulings of the ECtHR and the Constitutional Court of BiH without further delay; notes the continuing shortcomings in the election process, and reiterates the need to urgently address discriminatory ethnicity and residency-based restrictions to the right to stand for election through the required constitutional changes;

47.

Calls on the authorities, institutions, office holders and political leaders to resume inclusive negotiations on electoral reform, and regrets their reluctance to implement these rulings by eliminating all forms of inequality and discrimination in the electoral process; emphasises that agreement was possible on the Mostar elections, showing political will to reach a compromise, and stresses that any agreement on election-related issues must not be misused for purposes other than the ones laid out by the ECtHR; underlines the need to implement these changes preferably before the 2022 general elections, ensuring an adequately diverse political representation at all levels of governance and making sure that elections are conducted in line with European standards by implementing OSCE ODIHR and relevant Venice Commission recommendations;

48.

Calls for thorough investigations into alleged electoral irregularities, including voter registration fraud, identity theft, barriers to independent electoral observation and undue political pressure on voters and the BiH Central Election Commission (CEC) during the 2020 municipal elections, including the elections in Mostar; calls for measures to ensure the proper functioning of the CEC;

49.

Regrets continued political and financial pressure on and instrumentalisation of the media, which increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, undermining freedom of expression and media pluralism; expresses its concern at the hostile environment for independent media, and urges the authorities to effectively investigate and prosecute verbal and physical threats and attacks against all journalists and media personnel; urges BiH to put in place a mechanism for gathering and exchanging information on violations of freedom of expression and media throughout the country, under the relevant Memorandum of Understanding signed with the OSCE;

50.

Reiterates its call to enact effective legislative measures ensuring transparency of editorial and media ownership structure, along with the rules on subsidies and advertising; insists that effective measures should be taken to counter online and offline hate speech;

51.

Recalls the need to ensure sustainable funding, independence, objectivity and financial transparency of the state-wide public broadcasting service (BHRT), entity-level public broadcasters and the Communications Regulatory Agency;

52.

Recalls that high quality multilingual content in all official languages of BiH is an essential component of genuine media pluralism that would contribute to protecting cultural diversity in the country; encourages the establishment of a multinational and multilingual public broadcaster that would unite people and promote peace and reconciliation among Southeast European states, following the example of ARTE;

53.

Recalls the importance of ensuring media freedom and promoting quality journalism, fact-checking and media literacy in order to tackle propaganda, disinformation and fake news, and encourages the introduction of media, information and digital literacy in education curricula; insists that the EU must enhance its communication strategy in order to proactively and effectively counter disinformation campaigns and foreign interference; notes that by distorting facts and exploiting ethnic and religious differences, certain foreign actors aim to undermine reforms, foment divisions jeopardising the country’s unity, as well as to diminish the credibility of the EU and its actions in the region, especially in relation to the overall enlargement process and financial assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, thereby endangering BiH’s stability and European integration of; calls on the EU to offer further financial and other assistance to the relevant BiH institutions in order to improve the country’s ability to counter these threats;

54.

Calls for the EU integration process to be properly communicated to the public, including as a project for reconciliation and the development of a political culture based on compromise and mutual understanding;

55.

Calls on the EEAS and Commission to improve coordination and address disinformation and hybrid threats that seek to undermine the European perspective of the region by more strategically underscoring the EU’s relevance to citizens in the region;

56.

Is concerned about the increased migratory pressure on the country and the inadequate reception conditions that have led to a grave humanitarian situation; calls on BiH’s authorities to work on meaningful, sustainable, immediate and long-term solutions to the situation, through a coordinated, strategic and country-wide response, effective inter-institutional coordination, and improved border management and reception capacities, to provide access to humanitarian assistance and decent basic living conditions, including special safeguards for unaccompanied minors, access to adequate accommodation and child protection; calls for equitable responsibility-sharing across the whole territory of BiH avoiding politicisation and ensuring adequate support for local communities hosting temporary reception centres; urges BiH to conclude an agreement with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) with a view to strengthening capacity for processing asylum claims and improving cooperation with the EU, including on resettlement as a safe and legal pathway for persons seeking international protection;

57.

Calls on BiH and the EU to further strengthen cooperation on the international protection of those in need, to work on solidarity-based solutions and prevent reported violations of international law and fundamental rights, such as reported pushbacks at BiH borders; calls on the Commission to put in place an independent monitoring and investigation mechanism; supports the work of the European Parliament Frontex Scrutiny Working Group; calls on the Commission, EU agencies and international organisations to engage actively with Bosnian authorities in order to develop a functioning and sustainable migration and asylum system; calls on the Commission, EU agencies and international organisations to provide further operational, technical, logistical and financial assistance to BiH for ensuring appropriate reception capacities and conditions across the country, preferably at migrants’ entry points to the country, access to an effective asylum procedure, to boost capacity for processing incoming migrants and asylum claims, and, where applicable, conduct return procedures in line with international and European standards; calls for an assessment of the relevant funding so as to ensure that transparent, conditional and credible EU assistance for migration needs serves its purpose and reaches the intended beneficiaries;

58.

Urges BiH to step up its efforts against cross-border crime, especially human, firearms and drug trafficking by enhancing strategic cooperation with neighbouring countries and relevant EU agencies (Europol, Eurojust, Frontex); calls on the country to ensure the swift signature and ratification of the status agreement with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) reached on 5 February 2019, which would facilitate better protection of borders in full respect for fundamental rights, while helping fight cross-border crime, including people-smuggling by criminal organisations, and preventing irregular migration;

59.

Calls for a co-ordinated, strategic and transparent country-wide response to the ongoing health emergency and non-discriminatory mitigation and post-pandemic recovery measures, addressing the specific needs of women, minorities and vulnerable groups, including migrants and refugees;

60.

Calls for more proactive information and data-sharing on the pandemic, and for urgent and specific measures to address the plight of women in all spheres of life, including domestic violence, which has increased during the pandemic;

61.

Recalls COVID-related EU support to address the acute situation in the country, including new loan guarantees of EUR 12 million to support SMEs; encourages BiH to make full use of the Union’s mechanisms, including adherence to the Joint Procurement Agreement for medical equipment; underlines the importance of European solidarity; calls on the Commission and the Member States to allocate a sufficient number of COVID-19 vaccines to the Western Balkan countries and to support their vaccination preparedness and implementation; welcomes in this respect the exemption from export authorisations and the package enabling BiH and other Western Balkans partners to finally benefit from EU Advance Purchase Agreements;

62.

Stresses the need for the Bosnian authorities to ensure the right balance between fundamental rights and freedoms and the restrictions necessary forthe pandemic; in particular regarding freedom of assembly and freedom of expression; considers that short-term measures addressing the pandemic-related slowdown in trade, services, transport, manufacturing and tourism should not undermine implementation of long-term reforms;

63.

Recalls that rule of law deficiencies, together with fragmented and malfunctioning product and labour markets, undermine the functioning of the market economy, economic growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows;

Socio-economic reforms

64.

Calls on BiH to step up socio-economic and active labour market measures, including vocational education and training, reducing long-term unemployment, including that of women and youth, in order to address demographic decline and the most acute brain drain in the region, notably in the health and IT sector, by investing more in the education sector, including in vocational education and training, by addressing a mismatch between education and labour market needs, and fighting against discrimination in employment; welcomes in this regard the Youth Guarantee flagship initiative as part the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, aiming to ensure high quality job opportunities, continued education and traineeships for young people;

65.

Calls on the authorities to strengthen measures to guarantee social cohesion, poverty and inequality reduction, access to health care and social protection, to harmonise legislation on maternity and paternity leave across entities and cantons, prevent gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, and to foster socio-economic dialogue among social partners;

66.

Urges the authorities to prioritise measures aimed at boosting economic diversification, digitalisation and tackling the informal economy, while developing effective and transparent mechanisms for energy market, transport infrastructure, sustainable tourism and support for SMEs;

67.

Underlines the urgency of creating a single country-wide economic space, including by simplifying, centralising and harmonising procedures for business registration, licensing, permits and insolvency; highlights the great potential of digitalisation for the development of BiH’s economy;

68.

Recalls the need to fully implement measures envisaged in the 2020-2022 BiH Economic Reform Programme and the Policy Guidance based on the Economic and Financial Dialogue;

69.

Renews its calls for the adoption of a country-wide strategy on public finance management and for increased budget transparency in BiH, enabling EU-funded budget support; recalls the need to make progress on the sustainability of public debt and budget-consolidation efforts; regrets the inter-entity disputes affecting the functioning of the single indirect tax system; recalls the need for a coherent and transparent restructuring and depoliticisation of public companies across the country, leading to improved governance and transparency; underlines the need to establish a publicly available register of state-owned enterprises;

70.

Calls for the effective functioning and enforcement of decisions by the Competition Council and the State Aid Council to be ensured, and for implementation of the strategy on enforcing intellectual property rights; underlines that the independence of the Central Bank and its reserves is key for macroeconomic stability; recalls the need to ensure timely, comprehensive, high-quality country-wide statistics;

71.

Urges BiH to actively promote regional economic integration in the Western Balkans, and supports the proposal to reduce roaming charges in region; notes the extension of EU trade preferences for the Western Balkans until 31 December 2025, thereby contributing to the sustained economic development of Western Balkans countries;

72.

Urges the country to fully enact the law on customs policy, implement the trade aspects of the Regional Economic Area (REA) and complete the steps required to conclude its accession to the WTO;

Connectivity, energy and environment

73.

Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to invest more strategically in the Western Balkans through a dedicated Economic and Investment Plan (EIP), and recognises its importance for reinforcing regional and cross-border cooperation; stresses that EIP investments must be in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the EU climate targets, and provide for ex ante environmental impact assessments; recognises the EIP’s potential to contribute to facilitating social development and long-term recovery following the pandemic, and stresses the need to ensure that EU funds contain both incentives and conditionalities, and effectively contribute to strengthening democracy, good governance, the rule of law and fundamental rights for all people in BiH;

74.

Recalls that predictable pre-accession funding is conditional upon effective coordination methods and implementation of the country-wide strategies and reforms; underlines the need to improve absorption capacity for pre-accession assistance; stresses that funding allocation should be carried out in a transparent, effective, accountable, depoliticised and non-discriminatory manner; urges the authorities of BiH at all levels and other beneficiaries of Union funding to enhance the transparency and visibility of the Union’s action, and to communicate adequately on the added value of Union’s support;

75.

Recommends focusing on sustainable and inclusive growth-enhancing public investment, energy and infrastructure projects increasing connectivity, transport multimodality and road safety, in full compliance with the rules on state aid, public procurement and socio-ecological impact, including the implementation of Directives on the Environmental impact assessment (EIA) and Strategic environmental assessment (SEA);

76.

Urges BiH’s authorities to improve alignment with EU standards and policy objectives on climate protection and energy, facilitating the green and digital transition; calls for the prioritisation of measures reducing ecological degradation and environmental risks to health;

77.

Welcomes the adoption of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, which must incentivise the transition to a circular economy and the adoption of the measures needed to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive areas;

78.

Urges the authorities to develop a national energy strategy which guarantees full alignment and implementation of the Paris Agreement and relevant EU climate and biodiversity objectives; stresses the need to put in place a carbon pricing mechanism as a means for effective decarbonisation in line with the European Green Deal and the political commitments made in the Sofia Declaration of 2020;

79.

Calls on BiH to step up its efforts on nature conservation, as it is one of the countries in Europe with the greatest biodiversity in plant and animal species; urges BiH’s authorities to consult local communities, civil society and independent experts on socio-ecologically sensitive projects;

80.

Calls for enhanced, harmonised and consistent countrywide efforts to improve air quality in alignment with the EU acquis on reduction of air pollution and to reduce harmful cross-border emissions; takes note of the fact that BiH emissions of nitrogen oxides in large combustion plants are now compliant with EU legislation, and urges swift action to remedy breaches of emission ceilings for dust and sulphur dioxide;

81.

Underlines the need to increase sustainability of the energy generation sector by boosting energy efficiency and diversification through sustainable use of renewables; recalls that overreliance on coal delays an overdue transition to renewable energy; urges the authorities to take steps to phase out inefficient and polluting coal-powered plants; recalls the need to put in place a ‘just transition’ mechanism;

82.

Welcomes the transposition of the electricity connection code regulations as well as the transposition and implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011(the REMIT Regulation) (11) in the national electricity regulatory framework, and invites the authorities to also apply the same integrity regime in the gas sector;

83.

Urges the country to adopt a state-wide law on the electricity and natural gas regulator, transmission and electricity market and implement national measures of energy efficiency and renewable energy generation, ensuring compliance with the obligations of the Third Energy Package and the Treaty Establishing the Energy Community; urges authorities of the Western Balkan countries to contribute to the regional connectivity by working towards completing the regional energy Market and stresses that BiH’s failure to comply with the related energy community acquis in the electricity and gas sectors jeopardises the prospects of regional energy sector integration;

84.

Underlines that planning and construction of eco-sensitive projects, such as hydropower development, must comply with international and EU norms on impact assessments and environmental protection; stresses the need to prevent and effectively prosecute environmental crimes, increase inspection oversight and combat illegal construction;

85.

Calls for steps enabling sustainable waste management processes as part of a waste management information system, putting in place adequate recycling facilities and preventing illegal waste dumping;

86.

Recalls the need to improve preparedness for climate change phenomena, in particular flooding and drought; recalls that BiH has yet to establish an integrated civil emergency response information system;

Foreign policy and security

87.

Urges BiH to continue progressively improving common foreign and security policy (CFSP) alignment, having reached an average of 70 %, as it constitutes an essential component of EU membership; strongly urges BiH to align itself with all Council decisions introducing restrictive EU measures;

88.

Calls for the strengthening of good neighbourly relations and increased efforts to resolve all outstanding bilateral issues, such as border demarcation with Croatia and Serbia and normalisation of relations with Kosovo;

89.

Welcomes BiH’s contribution to EU common security and defence policy (CSDP) training missions, its participation in NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) and the country’s contribution to the NATO's Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan; welcomes, further, the signature of a EU-BiH joint roadmap for action on the G7 partnership initiative for the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security;

90.

Firmly believes that better communication of the EU’s commitment towards the region is paramount to tackling malign foreign influences;

91.

Underlines the need for the EU and the United States to strengthen their partnership and coordination in the Western Balkans in order to help move ahead with key reforms, improve governance and reconciliation;

92.

Welcomes the continued presence of EUFOR Operation Althea in the country and the extension of EUFOR’s mandate until November 2021; commends the work of operation EUFOR Althea that paved the way towards peace, stabilisation and the European integration of BiH; recalls that this mission still plays a pivotal role for the security and stability of the country and the region;

93.

Commends EUFOR for remaining fully operational and continuing to support the country in spite of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic; regrets the withdrawal of the UK from the Operation Althea; looks forward to the forthcoming strategic review of the operation, and stresses that it should retain its intelligence assets and readily available reserves;

94.

Welcomes ongoing and continued efforts on the disposal of weapons, ammunition, explosives and demining, and recalls the importance of its proper funding; calls for further support from the EU and international organisations to ensure that demining can be stepped up, allowing BiH to be freed from these vestiges of its war-torn years;

95.

Stresses the importance of enhancing efforts to fight against trafficking in small arms and light weapons in BiH and the region; commends, therefore, the adoption of the 2021-2024 BiH Strategy for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and its action plan, and the corresponding Franco-German initiative launched in 2018, and encourages BiH authorities to fully and resolutely commit to their implementation, with the support of the EU;

96.

Calls for the creation of new opportunities for high level political and policy dialogue with the Western Balkans countries through regular EU-Western Balkans summits, in order to strengthen the political ownership of the enlargement process and to ensure better steering and high-level engagement, as also set out in the revised enlargement methodology;

97.

Reaffirms its position that representatives of BiH and other Western Balkan countries should be appropriately included and actively engaged in the Conference on the Future of Europe, both at the governmental and at the civil society level, including youth;

o o

98.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Governments and Parliaments of the Federation of BiH, the Republika Srpska and Brčko District, and the Governments of the ten cantons.

(1) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0370.

(2) Texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0168.

(3) OJ C 265, 11.8.2017, p. 142.

(4) OJ C 46 E, 24.2.2010, p. 111.

(5) OJ C 157 E, 6.07.2006, p. 468.

(6) OJ C 137 E, 27.5.2010, p. 25.

(7) OJ C 171, 6.5.2021, p. 25.

(8) OJ C 399, 24.11.2017, p. 176.

(9) OJ C 363, 28.10.2020, p. 13.

(10) OJ C 93, 9.3.2016, p. 52.

(11) Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (OJ L 326, 8.12.2011, p. 1).

18.2.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 81/117

P9_TA(2021)0310

European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking *

European Parliament legislative resolution of 24 June 2021 on the proposal for a Council regulation on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (COM(2020)0569 — C9-0335/2020 — 2020/0260(NLE))

(Consultation)

(2022/C 81/18)

The European Parliament,

—	having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2020)0569),

—	having regard to Article 187 and the first paragraph of Article 188 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C9-0335/2020),

—	having regard to Rule 82 of its Rules of Procedure,

—	having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0177/2021),

Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, in accordance with Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the Commission proposal;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 5

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(5)

The Communication from the Commission of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘A European Strategy for Data’ outlines Europe’s strategy for policy measures and investments to enable the data economy for the coming five years. It emphasises the creation of European public common data spaces that will boost growth and create value. Support to the creation of such common European data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures would ensure that more data becomes available for use in the economy and society, while keeping companies and individuals who generate the data in control. High Performance Computing and quantum computing are essential components of the seamless provision of computing resources with different performance characteristics required to maximize the growth and exploitation of European public common data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures for public, industrial and scientific applications.

(5)

The Communication from the Commission of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘A European Strategy for Data’ outlines Europe’s strategy for policy measures and investments to enable the data economy for the coming five years. It emphasises the creation of European public common data spaces that will boost growth and create value. Support to the creation of such common European data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures would ensure that more data becomes available for use in the economy and society, while keeping companies and individuals who generate the data in control. In order to ensure that users’ data is ported effectively, cloud infrastructures in the Union should be based on the principles of trust, openness, security, interoperability and portability. High Performance Computing and quantum computing are essential components of the seamless provision of computing resources with different performance characteristics required to maximise the growth and exploitation of European public common data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures for public, industrial and scientific applications.

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6)

The Communication from the Commission of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’ presents Europe’s digital strategy and focuses on few key objectives to ensure that digital solutions help Europe to pursue its own way towards a digital transformation that works for the benefit of people. Among the key actions it proposes is to invest in building and deploying cutting-edge joint digital capacities, including in supercomputing and quantum technologies, and to expand Europe’s supercomputing capacity to develop innovative solutions for medicine, transport and the environment.

(6)

The Communication from the Commission of 19 February 2020 entitled ‘Shaping Europe’s digital future’ presents Europe’s digital strategy and focuses on few key objectives to ensure that digital solutions help Europe to pursue its own way towards a human-centric digital transformation that works for the benefit of people and contributes to the European Green Deal . Among the key actions it proposes is to invest in building and deploying cutting-edge joint digital capacities, including in supercomputing and quantum technologies, and to expand Europe’s supercomputing capacity to develop innovative solutions across all economic sectors, such as industry, manufacturing, cybersecurity, health and medicine, transport and sustainable mobility, environment , energy and climate change .

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 7

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(7)

The Communication from the Commission of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘A new Industrial Strategy for Europe’ is reflecting an ambitious industrial strategy for Europe to lead the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. The Communication stresses the support, among others, to the development of key enabling technologies that are strategically important for Europe’s industrial future, including High Performance Computing and quantum technologies. The development of a world-class High Performance Computing infrastructure and ecosystem represents a strategic resource for the future and resilience of the Union’s industry and SMEs, while at the same time combating regional disparities, creating new jobs and encouraging global competition which could benefit the achievement of a vibrant data economy and help fight climate change.

Amendment 4

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 9

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(9)

Europe’s leading role in the data economy, its scientific excellence, and its industrial strength increasingly depend on its ability to develop key High Performance Computing technologies, as well as to provide access to world-class supercomputing and data infrastructures, and to maintain its present leadership in High Performance Computing applications. High Performance Computing is a mainstream technology for the digital transformation of the European economy , enabling many traditional industrial sectors to innovate with higher value products and services. In combination with other advanced digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, big data and cloud technologies, High Performance Computing is paving the way towards innovative societal and industrial applications in critical areas for Europe such as personalised medicine, weather forecast and climate change, smart and green development and transport, new materials for clean energy, drug design and virtual testing, sustainable agriculture, or engineering and manufacturing.

(9)

Europe’s leading role in the data economy, its scientific excellence, and its industrial strength increasingly depend on its ability to develop key High Performance Computing technologies, as well as to provide access to world-class supercomputing and data infrastructures, and to maintain its present leadership in High Performance Computing applications. High Performance Computing is a mainstream technology for the digital transformation of the European economy and it has the potential to enable many traditional industrial sectors to innovate with higher value products and services. In combination with other advanced digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, big data and cloud technologies, when deployed and used in a human centric and ethical way High Performance Computing is paving the way towards innovative societal and industrial applications in critical areas for Europe such as personalised medicine, weather forecast and climate change, smart and green development and transport, new materials research for sustainable clean energy technologies , drug design and virtual testing, sustainable agriculture, or engineering and manufacturing.

Amendment 5

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 10

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(10)

High Performance Computing is a strategic resource for policy-making, powering applications that provide the means to understand and design efficient solutions to address many complex global challenges and for crisis management. High Performance Computing contributes to key policies such as the European Green Deal with models and tools for transforming the increasing number of complex environmental challenges into opportunities for social innovation and economic growth. An example is the Destination Earth initiative announced in the Communications from the Commission of 11 December 2019 on ‘The European Green Deal’, and of 19 February 2020 on ‘A European strategy for data’ and on ‘Shaping Europe's digital future’.

(10)

High Performance Computing is a strategic resource for policy-making, powering applications that provide the means to understand and design efficient solutions to address many complex global challenges and for crisis management. High Performance Computing contributes to key policies such as the European Green Deal with models and tools for transforming the increasing number of complex environmental challenges into opportunities for social innovation and sustainable economic growth. An example is the Destination Earth initiative announced in the Communications from the Commission of 11 December 2019 on ‘The European Green Deal’, and of 19 February 2020 on ‘A European strategy for data’ and on ‘Shaping Europe's digital future’. High performance computing is a strategic asset to safeguard the innovation capacity and the strategic autonomy of the Union and foster economic growth.

Amendment 6

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 11

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(11)

Global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have shown the importance of investing in High Performance Computing and health-related modelling platforms and tools, as they are playing a key role in the fight against the pandemic, often in combination with other digital technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence and computer modelling and simulation . High Performance Computing is being used to accelerate the identification of critical components for the pharmaceutical sector and production of treatments, to predict the virus’ spread, to help plan the distribution of medical supplies and resources, and to simulate post-epidemic exit measures in order to evaluate different scenarios. High Performance Computing modelling platforms and tools are critical tools for the current and future pandemics, and they will play an important role in health sector as they enable the testing of the safety, efficacy and performance of new preventive strategies, optimisation of automated diagnosis modelling, medicines and medical devices . It is also important to ensure the interoperability of High Performance Computing, artificial intelligence (including machine and deep learning), big data, high performance data analytics and cloud, as major economic sectors relying on High Performance Computing include manufacturing, health and pharmaceuticals.

Amendment 7

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(14)

In order to equip the Union with the computing performance needed to maintain its research and industrial capacities at a leading edge, the Member States investment in High Performance Computing and quantum computing should be coordinated and the industrial and market take-up of High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies be reinforced both in the public and private sectors. The Union should increase its effectiveness in turning the technology developments into demand-oriented and application-driven European High Performance Computing and quantum computing systems of the highest quality, establishing an effective link between technology supply, co-design with users, and a joint procurement of world-class systems, and creating a world-class ecosystem in High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies and applications. At the same time, the Union should provide an opportunity for its supply industry to leverage on such investments, leading to their uptake in large-scale and emerging application fields such as personalised medicine, climate change, connected and automated driving or other lead markets that are underpinned by artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, edge computing or more broadly by the digitalisation of the European industry.

(14)

In order to equip the Union with the computing performance needed to maintain its research and industrial capacities at a leading edge, the Member States investment in High Performance Computing and quantum computing should be coordinated and the industrial and market take-up of High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies be reinforced both in the public and private sectors. The Union should increase its effectiveness in turning the technology developments into demand-oriented and application-driven European High Performance Computing and quantum computing systems of the highest quality and widely spread and accessible across Europe , establishing an effective link between technology supply, co-design with users, and a joint procurement of secure world-class systems, and creating a world-class ecosystem in High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies and applications for the benefit of all Member States and regions . At the same time, the Union should provide an opportunity for its supply industry to leverage on such investments, leading to their uptake in large-scale and emerging application fields that are underpinned by artificial intelligence , computer modelling and simulation , blockchain technologies, edge computing or more broadly by the digitalisation of the European industry.

Amendment 8

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 14 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(14a)

In order to design, refresh and implement a new range of low-power and highly energy-efficient European world-class and innovative supercomputing ecosystems, technologies and hardware systems, a vast amount of research and innovation activities and resources is needed. In synergy with other European partnerships and initiatives, the Joint Undertaking is well placed to establish strategic roadmaps and research and investment plans to help bolster European electronics and embedded systems value chain, with a view to expanding the European industrial presence, addressing key technological, security and societal challenges and establishing advanced European hardware design capabilities and production facilities.

Amendment 9

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 15

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(15)

In order for the Union and its Member States to reach technological autonomy in key digital technologies such as High Performance Computing and quantum computing, they should invest in next generation low-power supercomputing technologies, innovative software and advanced supercomputing systems for exascale and post-exascale computing and quantum computing, and for innovative supercomputing and data applications for medicine, the environment, manufacturing and engineering . This should allow the European supply industry to thrive in a wide range of key technology and application areas that reach beyond High Performance Computing and quantum computing and, in the long run, feed broader ICT markets with such technologies. It would also support the High Performance Computing and quantum computing science and user industry to undergo a digital transformation and boost its innovation potential.

(15)

In order for the Union and its Member States to reach a strategic technological autonomy , while preserving an open economy, in key digital technologies such as High Performance Computing and quantum computing they should invest in next generation low-power and energy and resource efficient supercomputing technologies, innovative software and advanced supercomputing systems for exascale and post-exascale computing and quantum computing, including technologies for privacy-preserving computation, and for innovative supercomputing and data applications . High Performance Computing and data management should be actively supported in all fields of research, including social sciences and humanities. Investments are needed to develop relevant competencies . This should allow the European supply industry to thrive in a wide range of key technology and application areas that reach beyond High Performance Computing and quantum computing and, in the long run, feed broader ICT markets with such technologies. It would also support the High Performance Computing and quantum computing science and user industry to undergo a digital transformation and boost its innovation potential.

Amendment 10

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 15 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(15a)

In order to establish a robust quantum computing ecosystem within the Union it is necessary to invest in developing hardware-aware algorithms for neural networks, standardisation for encoding input-output data and to facilitate access to end-users enabled by cloud services.

Amendment 11

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 16

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(16)

Pursuing a common strategic EU vision in High Performance Computing and quantum computing is essential for realising the Union’s and its Member States’ ambition to ensure a leading role and strategic autonomy in the digital economy. The objective would be to establish in Europe a world leading hyper-connected, federated and secure High Performance Computing and quantum computing service and data infrastructure ecosystem, and be in a position to produce innovative and competitive High Performance Computing and quantum computing systems based on a supply chain that will ensure components, technologies and knowledge limiting the risk of disruptions.

(16)

Pursuing a common strategic EU vision in High Performance Computing and quantum computing , ensuring the transition from simulation-centric High Performance Computing and integrating High Performance Computing in a full continuum of IT infrastructure, including other ecosystems such as big data, AI and the Internet of Things are essential for realising the Union’s and its Member States’ ambition to ensure a leading role and strategic autonomy in the digital transition, while preserving an open economy. The objective would be to establish in Europe a world leading hyper-connected, federated and secure High Performance Computing and quantum computing service and data infrastructure ecosystem, and be in a position to produce innovative and competitive High Performance Computing and quantum computing systems based on a resilient and responsible supply chain ensuring the availability of components, technologies and knowledge limiting the risk of disruptions while protecting the people and the environment .

Amendment 12

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 17

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(17)

A Joint Undertaking represents the best instrument capable to implement the strategic EU vision in High Performance Computing and quantum computing, ensuring that the Union enjoys world-class supercomputing, quantum computing and data capabilities according to its economic potential, matching the needs of European users, and with the required strategic autonomy in critical High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies. The Joint Undertaking is the best instrument to overcome the present limitations, as described in the Staff Working Document accompanying this Regulation, while offering the highest economic, societal, and environmental impact and best safeguarding the Union’s interests in High Performance Computing and quantum computing. It can pool resources from the Union, the Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme or the Connecting Europe Facility and the private sector. It can implement a procurement framework and operate world-class High Performance Computing and quantum computing systems. It can launch research and innovation programmes for developing European technologies and their subsequent integration in world-class supercomputing systems.

(17)

A Joint Undertaking represents the best available instrument capable to implement the strategic EU vision in High Performance Computing and quantum computing, ensuring that the Union enjoys world-class supercomputing, quantum computing and data capabilities according to its economic potential, matching the needs of European users, and with the required strategic autonomy , while preserving an open economy, in critical High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies. The Joint Undertaking is one of the instruments that contribute to overcoming the present limitations, as described in the Staff Working Document accompanying this Regulation, while offering a high economic, societal, and environmental impact and best safeguarding the Union’s interests in High Performance Computing and quantum computing when properly funded, developed and implemented . It can pool resources from the Union, the Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme or the Connecting Europe Facility and the private sector. It can implement a procurement framework and operate world-class High Performance Computing and quantum computing systems. It can launch research and innovation programmes for developing European technologies and their subsequent integration in world-class supercomputing systems.

Amendment 13

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 18

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(18)

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking is part of the Institutionalised Partnerships portfolio under Horizon Europe which should strive to strengthen EU scientific capacities to deal with emerging threats and future challenges in a reinforced European Research Area; secure sustainability-driven EU value chains and EU strategic autonomy in key technologies and industries; and enhance the uptake of innovative solutions addressing climate, environmental, health and other global societal challenges in line with Union strategic priorities, including to reach climate neutrality in the Union in 2050.

(18)

The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking is part of the Institutionalised Partnerships portfolio under Horizon Europe which should strive to strengthen EU scientific capacities to deal with emerging threats and future challenges in a reinforced European Research Area; secure environmental targets and sustainability-driven EU value chains and EU strategic autonomy in key technologies and industries; and enhance the uptake of innovative solutions addressing climate, environmental, health and other global societal challenges in line with Union strategic priorities, including to reach climate neutrality in the Union in 2050 at the latest .

Amendment 14

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 19

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(19)

The Joint Undertaking should be set up and start operating at the latest by early 2021 until 31 December 2033 to equip the Union with a world-class federated, secure and hyper-connected supercomputing infrastructure, and to develop the necessary technologies, applications and skills for reaching exascale capabilities around 2022-2024, and post exascale around 2025 — 2027, while promoting a world-class European High Performance Computing and quantum computing innovation ecosystem.

(19)

The Joint Undertaking should be set up and start operating at the latest by 2021 until 31 December 2033 to equip the Union with a world-class federated, secure and hyper-connected supercomputing infrastructure, and to develop the necessary technologies, applications and skills for reaching exascale capabilities around 2022-2024, and post exascale around 2025-2027, while promoting a world-class European High Performance Computing and quantum computing innovation ecosystem.

Amendment 15

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 20

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(20)

The public-private partnership in the form of the Joint Undertaking should combine the financial and technical means that are essential to master the complexity of the ever escalating pace of innovation in this area. Therefore, the members of the Joint Undertaking should be the Union, Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme or the Connecting Europe Facility agreeing on a joint European initiative in High Performance Computing and quantum computing; and associations representing their constituent entities and other organisations with an explicit and active engagement to produce research and innovation results, to develop and deploy high performance computing or quantum computing capabilities, or contributing to address the skills gap and keep the know-how in the field of High Performance Computing and quantum computing in Europe. The Joint Undertaking should be open to new members.

(20)

The public-private partnership in the form of the Joint Undertaking should combine the financial and technical means that are essential to master the complexity of the ever escalating pace of innovation in this area while ensuring that the functioning of the Joint Undertaking remains simple and flexible . Therefore, the members of the Joint Undertaking should be the Union, Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme or the Connecting Europe Facility agreeing on a joint European initiative in High Performance Computing and quantum computing; and associations representing their constituent entities and other organisations with an explicit and active commitment to produce research and innovation results, to develop and deploy high performance computing or quantum computing capabilities, or contributing to address the skills gap and keep the know-how in the field of High Performance Computing and quantum computing in Europe. The Joint Undertaking should be open to new members. The design and development of new teaching and training schemes are key since the technologies and software in the fields of High Performance Computing and quantum computing are undergoing continuous change. The Joint Undertaking should provide a favourable framework for supporting Participating States. In order to maximise the impact of indirect actions, the specificities of the Joint Undertaking, with its tripartite model, should be taken into consideration with regard to the management of financial contributions from Participating States.

Amendment 16

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 25

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(25)

The Joint Undertaking should address clearly defined topics that would enable academia and European industries at large to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing and quantum computing, and to establish an integrated and federated, secure networked infrastructure across the Union with world-class High Performance Computing and quantum computing capability, high-speed connectivity and leading-edge applications and data and software services for its scientists and for other lead users from industry, including SMEs , start-ups, innovative businesses and the public sector. The Joint Undertaking should be able to work in an agile, simple and flexible manner, in order to ensure that the development and use of top class technologies and infrastructures, address the demanding requirements of European scientific, industrial and public sector users. The Joint Undertaking should significantly reduce access barriers, such as the cost of service fees, heavy administrative burdens and a lack of awareness, for SMEs and start-ups in the phase of research and development (R&D), in order to have a more open-access and distributed service. The Joint Undertaking should have in place a set of clear and simple rules, in accordance with Union legislation, in particular for intellectual property, liability or in-kind contributions to additional activities, in order to enhance attractiveness for all stakeholders and in particular for industry and SMEs.

Amendment 17

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 25 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(25a)

The Joint Undertaking should be organised around seven pillars, of which one is administrative and six are technical. The infrastructure pillar, part of the federation of supercomputing services pillar and the widening usage and skills pillar should be funded by the Digital Europe Programme. The remaining activities of the federation of supercomputing services pillar, including the interconnection with the Union's common European data spaces and secure cloud infrastructures, should be funded by Connecting Europe Facility. The technology, the application and the international cooperation pillars should be funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

Amendment 18

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 26

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(26)	The Joint Undertaking should contribute to reducing the specific skills gap across the Union by engaging in awareness raising measures and assisting in the building of new knowledge and human capital.

(26)

Considering that a lack of skills is the primary obstacle to accessing research and innovation infrastructure and investing more in research and innovation and digitalisation, and to accessing High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies, the Joint Undertaking should actively contribute to reducing the specific skills gap across the Union through upskilling and reskilling, and to adopting measures to increase the gender balance and address the gender dimension, while also attracting and retaining the best talents. It should do so by assisting in the building of new knowledge and human capital , by engaging in awareness raising campaigns and by promoting educational and dissemination activities, with the involvement of academic, scientific and knowledge networks, social and economic partners, media, industry and SMEs organisations and other players, while preventing all kinds of biases, especially gender and racial biases from being introduced in the algorithms, products or conclusions resulting from its work . This should all be part of a coordinated effort on outreach to inform potential users on the possibilities that High Performance Computing and quantum computing can offer. There is also a need to build competencies in procurements made in the framework of this Regulation.

Amendment 19

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 26 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(26a)

Considering that a lack of skills and experience is an obstacle to accessing High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies, the Joint Undertaking should encourage the development of specific university degrees and educational programmes for quantum computing, given the increasing need for experts in that field, and in order to avoid creating a ‘quantum bottleneck’. In that regard, the Joint Undertaking can contribute to raising the skills and experience level across the Union among students, academics and experts (ensuring gender balance) in the relevant domains, upgrading competencies combining software and industry expertise with understanding of frontier research in science and innovation, paying special attention to the gender perspective and adopting measures to promote gender balance in that field, while ensuring the widest geographical coverage in the Union.

Amendment 20

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 27

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(27)

In line with the external policy objectives and international commitments of the Union, the Joint Undertaking should facilitate cooperation between the Union and international actors by defining a cooperation strategy, including identifying and promoting areas for cooperation in R&D and skills development and implementing actions where there is a mutual benefit, as well as ensuring an access policy of respective High Performance Computing and quantum computing capabilities and applications mainly based on reciprocity.

(27)

Amendment 21

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 28

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(28)

The Joint Undertaking should aim at promoting the exploitation of any resulting High Performance Computing technologies in the EU. It should also aim at safeguarding the investments in the supercomputers it acquires. In doing so, it should take appropriate measures to ensure the security of the supply chain of acquired technologies that should cover the whole lifetime of these supercomputers.

(28)

The Joint Undertaking should cooperate with the ‘Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe’ (PRACE), the GÉANT network, as well as with other European and national supercomputing and data infrastructures. The Joint Undertaking should aim at promoting the exploitation of any resulting High Performance Computing technologies in the EU. It should also aim at safeguarding the investments in the supercomputers it acquires. In doing so, it should take appropriate measures to ensure the security of the supply chain of acquired technologies that should cover the whole lifetime of these supercomputers.

Amendment 22

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 30

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(30)

In order to achieve its objectives to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing and quantum computing, the Joint Undertaking should provide financial support in particular in the form of grants and procurement following open and competitive calls for proposals and calls for tenders based on annual work programmes. Such financial support should be targeted in particular at proven market failures that prevent the development of the programme concerned, should not crowd-out private investments and should have an incentive effect in that it changes the behaviour of the recipient.

(30)

In order to achieve its objectives to design, develop and use the most innovative technologies in High Performance Computing and quantum computing, the Joint Undertaking should provide financial support in particular in the form of grants and procurement following open , fair, transparent and competitive calls for proposals and calls for tenders based on annual work programmes. Such financial support should be targeted in particular at proven market failures that prevent the development of the programme concerned, should not crowd-out private investments and should have an incentive effect in that it changes the behaviour of the recipient.

Amendment 23

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 31

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(31)

In order to achieve its objectives to increase the innovation potential of industry, and in particular of SMEs, to contribute to reducing the specific skills gap, to support the increase of knowledge and human capital and to upraise High Performance Computing and quantum computing capabilities, the Joint Undertaking should support the creation, and in particular the networking and coordination of national High Performance Computing competence centres across the Union. These competence centres should provide High Performance Computing and quantum computing services to industry, academia and public administrations on their demand. They should primarily promote and enable access to the High Performance Computing innovation ecosystem, facilitate access to the supercomputers and quantum computers, address the significant shortages in skilled technical experts by undertaking awareness raising, training and outreach activities, and embark on networking activities with stakeholders and other competence centres to foster wider innovations, for example by exchanging and promoting best practice use cases or application experiences, by sharing their training facilities and experiences, by facilitating the co-development and exchange of parallel codes, or by supporting the sharing of innovative applications and tools for public and private users, in particular SMEs.

(31)

In order to achieve its objectives to increase the innovation potential of industry, and in particular of SMEs, start-ups and innovative businesses to contribute to reducing the specific skills gap, to support the increase of knowledge and human capital and to upraise High Performance Computing and quantum computing capabilities, the Joint Undertaking should support the creation, and in particular the networking and coordination of national High Performance Computing competence centres across the Union. These competence centres should provide High Performance Computing and quantum computing services to industry, academia and public administrations on their demand and provide a possibility for individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to use the computing powers for socially and environmentally beneficial goals . They should primarily promote and enable access to the High Performance Computing innovation ecosystem, facilitate access to the supercomputers and quantum computers, address the significant shortages in skilled technical experts by undertaking awareness raising, training and outreach activities, and embark on networking activities with stakeholders and other competence centres to foster wider innovations, for example by exchanging and promoting best practice use cases or application experiences, by sharing their training facilities and experiences, by facilitating the co-development and exchange of parallel codes, or by supporting the sharing of innovative applications and tools for public and private users, in particular SMEs , start-ups and innovative businesses . In order to avoid duplication, synergies and coordination should be ensured with other similar structures, such as the Digital Innovation Hubs.

Amendment 24

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 33

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(33)

The Joint Undertaking should hyper-connect all the supercomputers and data infrastructures it will own or co-own with state-of-the-art networking technologies, making them widely accessible across the Union, and should interconnect and federate its supercomputing and quantum computing data infrastructure, as well as national, regional and other computing infrastructures with a common platform. The Joint Undertaking should also ensure the interconnection of the federated, secure supercomputing, and quantum computing service and data infrastructures with the common European data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures announced in the Communication from the Commission of 19 February 2020 on ‘A European Strategy for Data’, for seamless service provisioning to a wide range of public and private users across Europe.

(33)

The Joint Undertaking should hyper-connect all the supercomputers and data infrastructures it will own or co-own with state-of-the-art networking technologies, making them widely accessible across the Union, especially for SMEs, start ups in the R&D phase and researchers, and should interconnect and federate its supercomputing and quantum computing data infrastructure, as well as national, regional and other computing infrastructures with a common platform , in order to form a strong European ecosystem in which each cloud user has potential access to high-end computing resources as well as to scientific and commercial data repositories, while providing resources to bring interactive processing closer to High Performance Computing systems and large-scale databases. Interactive computing services are also needed to make collaborative working easier . The Joint Undertaking should also ensure the interconnection of the federated, secure supercomputing, and quantum computing service and data infrastructures the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), GAIA — X and with the common European data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures announced in the Communication from the Commission of 19 February 2020 on ‘A European Strategy for Data’, for seamless service provisioning to a wide range of public and private users across Europe and support the use of open standards, open source software, hardware and platforms and, where appropriate, open APIs in an effort to achieve interoperability .

Amendment 25

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 34

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(34)

Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme should respectively contribute to the closing of the research and innovation divide within the Union and to deploying wide-range supercomputing capabilities by promoting synergies with the European Structural and Investments Funds (ESIF ). Therefore, the Joint Undertaking should seek to develop close interactions with the ESIF, which can specifically help to strengthen local, regional and national research and innovation capabilities.

(34)

Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme should respectively contribute to the closing of the research and innovation divide within the Union and to deploying wide-range supercomputing capabilities by promoting synergies with all relevant programmes and policies, with a particular emphasis on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF ) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), InvestEU and other EIB programmes . Therefore, the Joint Undertaking should seek to develop close interactions with those funds, with the purpose of specifically helping to strengthen local, regional and national research and innovation capabilities.

Amendment 26

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 35

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(35)

The Joint Undertaking should provide a favourable framework for Participating States that are Member States to use their ESIF for the acquisition of High Performance Computing and quantum computing and data infrastructures and their interconnection. The use of ESIF in the Joint Undertaking activities is essential for developing in the Union an integrated, federated, secure and hyper-connected world-class High Performance Computing, quantum computing service and data infrastructure , since the benefits for such infrastructure extend well beyond the users of the Member States . If Member States decide to use ESIF for contributing to the acquisition costs of the supercomputers and quantum computers of the Joint Undertaking, the Joint Undertaking should take into consideration the Union's share of ESIF of this Member State, while accounting only the national ESIF share as national contribution to the budget of the Joint Undertaking.

(35)

The Joint Undertaking should provide a favourable framework for Participating States that are Member States to use financial contributions to ESIF, RRF and under programmes co-financed by the ERDF, the ESF+, the EMFF and the EAFRD for the acquisition of High Performance Computing and quantum computing and data infrastructures and their interconnection. The use of financial contributions in the Joint Undertaking activities is essential for developing across the Union an integrated , excellence-based , federated, secure and hyper-connected world-class High Performance Computing, quantum computing service and data infrastructure. If Member States decide to use those financial contributions for contributing to the acquisition costs of the supercomputers and quantum computers of the Joint Undertaking, those contributions should be considered national contributions to the budget of the Joint Undertaking , provided that Article 106 and other applicable provisions of Regulation (EU) …/… (1a) and the fund-specific regulations are complied with .

Amendment 27

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 35 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(35a)

It should be possible for the RRF funds to complement the actions funded by the Joint Undertaking, provided that support under the RRF is additional to the one provided by the Union funds of the Joint Undertaking and it does not cover the same cost, despite of the fact that RRF should not be accounted as national contribution to the budget of the Joint Undertaking.

Amendment 28

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 36

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(36)

The Union's contribution from the Digital Europe Programme funds should partly cover the acquisition costs of high-end supercomputers, quantum computers, industrial-grade supercomputers and mid-range supercomputers to align with the Joint Undertaking's objective to contribute to the pooling of resources for equipping the Union with top-class supercomputers and quantum computers. The complementary costs of these supercomputers and quantum computers should be covered by the Participating States, or the Private Members or consortia of private partners. The share of the Union's access time to these supercomputers or quantum computers should be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union made for the acquisition of these supercomputers and quantum computers and should not exceed 50 % of the total access time of these supercomputers or quantum computers.

(36)

The Union's contribution from the Digital Europe Programme funds should partly cover the acquisition costs of high-end supercomputers, quantum computers, at least mid-range industrial-grade supercomputers and mid-range supercomputers to align with the Joint Undertaking's objective to contribute to the pooling of resources for equipping the Union with top-class supercomputers and quantum computers. The complementary costs of these supercomputers and quantum computers should be covered by the Participating States, or the Private Members or consortia of private partners. The share of the Union's access time to these supercomputers or quantum computers should be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union made for the acquisition of these supercomputers and quantum computers and should not exceed 50 % of the total access time of these supercomputers or quantum computers.

Amendment 29

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 37

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(37)

The Joint Undertaking should be the owner of the high-end supercomputers and quantum computers it has acquired. The operation of each high-end supercomputer or quantum computer should be entrusted to a hosting entity. The hosting entity should be able to represent a single Participating State that is a Member State or a hosting consortium of Participating States. The hosting entity should be in position to provide an accurate estimate and to verify the operating costs of the supercomputer, by ensuring, for example, the functional separation, and to the extent possible, the physical separation of the Joint Undertaking’s high-end supercomputers or quantum computers and any national or regional computing systems it operates. The hosting entity should be selected by the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking (‘Governing Board’) following a call for expression of interest evaluated by independent experts. Once a hosting entity is selected, the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or the hosting Consortium should be able to decide to call for other Participating States to join and contribute to the funding of the high-end supercomputer or quantum computer to be installed in the selected hosting entity. If additional Participating States join the selected hosting Consortium, this should be without prejudice to the Union’s access time to the supercomputers. The contributions of the Participating States in a hosting Consortium to the supercomputer or quantum computer should be translated into shares of access time to that supercomputer or quantum computer. The Participating States should agree among themselves the distribution of their share of access time to the supercomputer or the quantum computer.

(37)

The Joint Undertaking should be the owner of the high-end supercomputers and quantum computers it has acquired. The operation of each high-end supercomputer or quantum computer should be entrusted to a hosting entity. The hosting entity should be able to represent a single Participating State that is a Member State or a hosting consortium of Participating States. The hosting entity should be in position to provide an accurate estimate and to verify the operating costs of the supercomputer, by ensuring, for example, the functional separation, and to the extent possible, the physical separation of the Joint Undertaking’s high-end supercomputers or quantum computers and any national or regional computing systems it operates. The hosting entity should develop a sustainable energy management plan for the acquired infrastructure. The hosting entity should be selected by the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking (‘Governing Board’) following an open fair and transparent call for expression of interest evaluated by independent experts. Once a hosting entity is selected, the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or the hosting Consortium should be able to decide to call for other Participating States to join and contribute to the funding of the high-end supercomputer or quantum computer to be installed in the selected hosting entity. If additional Participating States join the selected hosting Consortium, this should be without prejudice to the Union’s access time to the supercomputers. The contributions of the Participating States in a hosting Consortium to the supercomputer or quantum computer should be translated into shares of access time to that supercomputer or quantum computer. The Participating States should agree among themselves the distribution of their share of access time to the supercomputer or the quantum computer.

Amendment 30

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 39

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(39)

The Joint Undertaking should jointly with Participating States acquire the mid-range supercomputers. The operation of each mid-range supercomputer should be entrusted to a hosting entity. The hosting entity should be able to represent a single Participating State that is a Member State or a hosting consortium of Participating States. The Joint Undertaking should own the part that corresponds to the Union's share of financial contribution to the acquisition costs from Digital Europe Programme funds. The hosting entity should be selected by the Governing Board following a call for expression of interest evaluated by independent experts. The share of the Union's access time to each mid-range supercomputer should be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union from Digital Europe Programme funds to the acquisition costs of that mid-range supercomputer. The Joint Undertaking should be able to transfer its ownership to the hosting entity or when it is being wound up. The hosting entity should reimburse the Joint Undertaking the residual value of the supercomputer.

(39)

The Joint Undertaking should jointly with Participating States acquire the mid-range supercomputers. The operation of each mid-range supercomputer should be entrusted to a hosting entity. The hosting entity should be able to represent a single Participating State that is a Member State or a hosting consortium of Participating States. The Joint Undertaking should own the part that corresponds to the Union's share of financial contribution to the acquisition costs from Digital Europe Programme funds. The hosting entity should be selected by the Governing Board following an open, fair and transparent call for expression of interest evaluated by independent experts. The share of the Union's access time to each mid-range supercomputer should be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union from Digital Europe Programme funds to the acquisition costs of that mid-range supercomputer. The Joint Undertaking should be able to transfer its ownership to the hosting entity or when it is being wound up. The hosting entity should reimburse the Joint Undertaking the residual value of the supercomputer.

Amendment 31

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 39 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(39a)

To promote a balanced distribution across the Union of EuroHPC supercomputers and the emergence of an easily accessible federated infrastructure ecosystem, specific eligibility conditions should apply in the calls for expression of interest of a EuroHPC supercomputer to a Participating State which is already hosting a EuroHPC supercomputer.

Amendment 32

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 40

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(40)

The Joint Undertaking should be able to acquire together with the Private Members or a consortium of private partners industrial-grade supercomputers. The operation of each such supercomputer should be entrusted to an existing hosting entity. The hosting entity should be able to associate itself with the Private Members or the consortium of private partners for the acquisition and operation of such supercomputer. The Joint Undertaking should own the part that corresponds to the Union's share of financial contribution to the acquisition costs from Digital Europe Programme funds. The hosting entity and its associated Private Members or consortium of private partners should be selected by the Governing Board following a call for expression of interest evaluated by independent experts. The share of the Union's access time to such supercomputer should be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union from Digital Europe Programme funds to the acquisition costs of that industrial-grade supercomputer. The Joint Undertaking should be able to reach an agreement with the Private Members or the consortium of private partners to sell such supercomputer to another entity or decommission it. Alternatively, the Joint Undertaking should be able to transfer the ownership of such supercomputer to the Private Members or the consortium of private partners. In this case or when the Joint Undertaking is being would-up, the Private Members or the consortium of private partners should reimburse the Joint Undertaking the residual value of the Union’s share of the supercomputer. In the case the Joint Undertaking and the Private Members or the consortium of private partners decide to proceed to the decommissioning of the supercomputer after the full depreciation of its operation, such costs should be covered by the Private Members or the consortium of private partners.

(40)

The Joint Undertaking should be able to acquire together with the Private Members or a consortium of private partners industrial-grade supercomputers , that are at least mid-range . The operation of each such supercomputer should be entrusted to an existing hosting entity. The hosting entity should be able to associate itself with the Private Members or the consortium of private partners for the acquisition and operation of such supercomputer. The Joint Undertaking should own the part that corresponds to the Union's share of financial contribution to the acquisition costs from Digital Europe Programme funds. The hosting entity and its associated Private Members or consortium of private partners should be selected by the Governing Board following a transparent, open and competitive procedure and the call for expression of interest should be evaluated by independent experts. The share of the Union's access time to such supercomputer should be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union from Digital Europe Programme funds to the acquisition costs of that industrial-grade supercomputer. The Joint Undertaking should be able to reach an agreement with the Private Members or the consortium of private partners to sell such supercomputer to another entity or decommission it. Alternatively, the Joint Undertaking should be able to transfer the ownership of such supercomputer to the Private Members or the consortium of private partners. In this case or when the Joint Undertaking is being would-up, the Private Members or the consortium of private partners should reimburse the Joint Undertaking the residual value of the Union’s share of the supercomputer. In the case the Joint Undertaking and the Private Members or the consortium of private partners decide to proceed to the decommissioning of the supercomputer after the full depreciation of its operation, such costs should be covered by the Private Members or the consortium of private partners.

Amendment 33

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 41

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(41)

For industrial-grade supercomputers the Joint Undertaking should take into account the specific needs of industrial users, for example access procedures, quality and type of services, protection of data, protection of industrial innovation, and intellectual property, usability, trust, and other confidentiality and security requirements.

(41)

In the medium-term, the Joint Undertaking should aim to define EuroHPC supercomputers and should ensure that they comply with the highest possible security, in particular cybersecurity, accessibility and usability standards and requirements, in particular for industry and SMEs. For the industrial-grade supercomputers the Joint Undertaking should take into account the specific needs of industrial users, for example access procedures, quality and type of services, protection of data, protection of industrial innovation, and intellectual property, usability, trust, and other confidentiality and security requirements.

Amendment 34

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 42

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(42)	The design and operation of the supercomputers supported by the Joint Undertaking should take into consideration energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, using for example low-power technology , dynamic power-saving and re-use techniques like advanced cooling and heat recycling.

(42)

The design and operation of the supercomputers supported by the Joint Undertaking should always address energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and circularity, contributing to carbon-neutrality, including by using renewable power purchasing agreements, taking into consideration the added value of their integration into the comprehensive energy system in place where they are located , using for example electricity produced from renewable sources, low-power technologies , dynamic power-saving and re-use techniques , such as advanced cooling and heat recycling.

Amendment 35

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 42 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(42a)

The Joint Undertaking should address the growing demand for energy caused by the increased use of High Performance Computing infrastructure, by streamlining the its objectives with relevant strategies, policy and legislation in the energy sector. Furthermore, by combining power-efficient servers with sophisticated workload management tools, the Joint Undertaking will improve efficiency both on-premises and in the cloud, reducing the costs and the carbon footprint of data centres.

Amendment 36

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 44

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(44)

User allocation of access time to the supercomputers of the Joint Undertaking should be free of charge for public users. It should also be free of charge for private users for their applications related to research and innovation activities funded by Horizon Europe or the Digital Europe Programme , as well as for private innovation activities of SMEs , where appropriate . Such allocation of access time should primarily be based on open calls for expression of interest launched by the Joint Undertaking and evaluated by independent experts. With the exception of SME users undertaking private innovation activities, all users benefiting from free-of-charge access time to the supercomputers of the Joint Undertaking should adopt an open science approach and disseminate knowledge gained through this access, in accordance with the Horizon Europe Regulation. User allocation of access time for economic activities other than private innovation activities of SMEs (which face particular market failures), should be granted on a pay-per-use basis , based on market prices. Allocation of access time for such economic activities should be allowed but limited and the level of the fee to be paid should be established by the Governing Board. The access rights should be allocated in a transparent manner. The Governing Board should define specific rules to grant access time free of charge, where appropriate, and without a call for expression of interest to initiatives that are considered strategic either by the Union or by the Governing Board. Representative examples of strategic initiatives of the Union include: Destination Earth, the Human Brain Project Flagship, the ‘1+ Million Genomes’ initiative, the common European data spaces operating in domains of public interest, and in particular the health data space, the High Performance Computing Centres of Excellence and Competence Centres, the Digital Innovation Hubs, etc. Upon Union’s request, the Joint Undertaking should grant direct access time on a temporary or permanent basis to strategic initiatives and existing or future application platforms that it considers essential for providing health-related or other crucial emergency support services for the public good, to emergency and crisis management situations or to cases that the Union considers essential for its security and defence. The Joint Undertaking should be allowed to carry out some limited economic activities for commercial purposes. Access should be granted to users residing, established or located in an EU Member State or a country associated to the Digital Europe Programme and to Horizon Europe. The access rights should be equitable to any user and allocated in a transparent manner. The Governing Board should define and monitor the access rights to the Union's share of access time for each supercomputer.

(44)

User allocation of access time to the supercomputers of the Joint Undertaking should be free of charge for public users. It should also be free of charge for private users , including NGOs and individuals, for their applications related to research and innovation activities, as well as for private innovation activities of SMEs and start-ups, based on fair and transparent criteria and procedures . Such allocation of access time should primarily be based on periodic, peer-reviewed and open as well as transparent calls for expression of interest launched by the Joint Undertaking and evaluated by independent experts with a view to ensuring balanced and appropriate allocation of High Performance Computing resources . With the exception of SME and start-ups users undertaking private innovation activities, all users benefiting from free-of-charge access time to the supercomputers of the Joint Undertaking should adopt an open science approach and disseminate knowledge gained through this access, in accordance with the Horizon Europe Regulation. User allocation of access time for economic activities other than private innovation activities of SMEs and start-ups (which face particular market failures), should be granted on a pay-per-use basis on cost-based prices. Allocation of access time for such economic activities should be allowed but limited and the level of the fee to be paid should be established by the Governing Board in a transparent manner . The access rights should be allocated in an open and transparent manner. The Governing Board should define specific rules to grant access time free of charge, where appropriate, and without a call for expression of interest to initiatives that are considered strategic either by the Union or by the Governing Board. Representative examples of strategic initiatives of the Union include: Destination Earth, the Human Brain Project Flagship, the ‘1+ Million Genomes’ initiative, the common European data spaces operating in domains of public interest, and in particular the health data space, the High Performance Computing Centres of Excellence and Competence Centres, the Digital Innovation Hubs, etc. Upon Union’s request, the Joint Undertaking should grant direct access time on a temporary or permanent basis to strategic initiatives and existing or future application platforms that it considers essential for providing health-related or other crucial emergency support services for the public good, emergency and crisis management situations or to cases that the Union considers essential for its security and defence. The Joint Undertaking should be allowed to carry out some limited economic activities for commercial purposes. Access should be granted to users residing, established or located in an EU Member State or a country associated to the Digital Europe Programme and to Horizon Europe. The access rights should be equitable to any user and allocated in an open and transparent manner. The Governing Board should define and monitor the access rights to the Union's share of access time for each supercomputer.

Amendment 37

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 47

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(47)

The Joint Undertaking governance should be assured by two bodies: a Governing Board, and an Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board. The Governing Board should be composed of representatives of the Union and Participating States. The Governing Board should be responsible for strategic policy making and funding decisions related to the activities of the Joint Undertaking, including all the public procurement activities. The Industrial and Scientific Advisory Board should include representatives of academia and industry as users and technology suppliers. It should provide independent advice to the Governing Board on the strategic research and innovation agenda, on the acquisition and operation of the supercomputers owned by the Joint Undertaking, the capability building and widening activities programme and the federation, connectivity and international cooperation activities programme.

(47)

Amendment 38

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 47 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(47a)

Since the supercomputers are demand-oriented and user-driven, the Joint Undertaking should maintain a permanent dialogue with civil society and users of High Performance Computing infrastructures. The continuous, effective involvement of users, particularly to implement the co-design approach needed to strengthen the uptake, in particular for commercial applications, by industry, SMEs, and innovative companies and start-ups, can have a high added value and multiplier effect. The user-side input should be actively sought through a regular consultation process with end-users from the public and private sectors. For that purpose, the Governing Board should set up a working group for users (the ‘user forum’) to assist in the identification of the enhanced quality of service, usability, trust, and security requirements of public and private users. The user forum should include representatives from civil society, industrial and public users, Union social partners, SMEs and independent European value chain actors in software development.

Amendment 39

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 49

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(49)

The Union's financial contribution should be managed in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and with the relevant rules on indirect management set out in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. Rules applicable for the Joint Undertaking to enter into public procurement procedures should be set in its financial rules.

(49)

The Union's financial contribution should be managed in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and administrative simplification and with the relevant rules on indirect management set out in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. Rules applicable for the Joint Undertaking to enter into public procurement procedures should be set in its financial rules.

Amendment 40

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 50

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(50)

To foster an innovative and competitive European High Performance Computing and quantum computing ecosystem of recognised excellence, the Joint Undertaking should make appropriate use of the procurement and grant instruments, including joint procurement, pre-commercial procurement and public procurement of innovative solutions.

(50)

To foster an innovative, competitive , and resilient European High Performance Computing and quantum computing ecosystem of recognised excellence , and widely spread across the Union , the Joint Undertaking should make appropriate use of the procurement and grant instruments, including joint procurement, pre-commercial procurement and public procurement of innovative solutions. The use of such procurement and grant instruments should facilitate the involvement of SMEs, microenterprises and startups, and their clusters. The Joint Undertaking will take into consideration the possibility of upgrading existing facilities to guarantee state-of-the-art technologies and a world-class ecosystem in High Performance Computing and quantum computing technologies and applications.

Amendment 41

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 53

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(53)

Participation in indirect actions funded by the Joint Undertaking should comply with Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe. The Joint Undertaking should, moreover, ensure the consistent application of those rules based on relevant measures adopted by the Commission. In order to ensure appropriate co-financing of indirect actions by the Participating States, in compliance with Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe, the Participating States should contribute an amount at least equal to the reimbursement provided by the Joint Undertaking for the eligible costs incurred by beneficiaries in the actions. To this effect, the maximum funding rates set out in the annual work programme of the Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe should be fixed accordingly.

(53)

Amendment 42

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 53 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(53a)

In order to ensure the right balance of stakeholders’ participation in the actions funded by the Joint Undertaking, it is necessary to allow a differentiation of reimbursement rates, in particular for SMEs, start-ups and not-for-profit legal entities. The application of differentiated rates should not increase administrative complexity of the projects and should be done in the simplest and most effective way. The reimbursement rates should be indicated in the work programme.

Amendment 43

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 56

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(56)

The financial interests of the Union and of the other members of the Joint Undertaking should be protected by proportionate measures throughout the expenditure cycle, including the prevention, detection and investigation of irregularities, the recovery of lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used funds and, where appropriate, the application of administrative and financial penalties in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

(56)

The financial interests of the Union and of the other members of the Joint Undertaking should be protected by proportionate and simple measures throughout the expenditure cycle, including the prevention, detection and investigation of irregularities, the recovery of lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used funds and, where appropriate, the application of administrative and financial penalties in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.

Amendment 44

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 57

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(57)

The Joint Undertaking should operate in an open and transparent way providing all relevant information in a timely manner as well as promoting its activities, including information and dissemination activities, to the wider public. The rules of procedure of the bodies of the Joint Undertaking should be made publicly available.

(57)

The Joint Undertaking should operate in a simple, flexible, open and transparent way providing all relevant information in a timely manner as well as promoting its activities, including information and dissemination activities, to the wider public. The rules of procedure of the bodies of the Joint Undertaking should be made publicly available.

Amendment 45

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 58

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(58)	For the purpose of simplification, the administrative burden should be reduced for all parties. Double audits and disproportionate amounts of documentation and reporting should be avoided.

(58)

For the purpose of simplification, the administrative burden should be reduced for all parties in particular for the Joint Undertaking and its beneficiaries . Double audits and disproportionate amounts of documentation and reporting should be avoided. The Joint Undertaking should provide a favourable framework to support Participating States. In order to maximise the impact of indirect actions, the specificities of the Joint Undertaking, with its tripartite model, should be taken into consideration with regard to the management of financial contributions from Participating States.

Amendment 46

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 61

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(61)	The Commission’s internal auditor should exercise the same powers over the Joint Undertaking as those exercised in respect of the Commission.

(61)	The Commission’s internal auditor should exercise the same powers over the Joint Undertaking as those exercised in respect of the Commission , while avoiding an increase of the administrative burden on the Joint Undertaking or its beneficiaries .

Amendment 47

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 62

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(62)

The Commission, the Joint Undertaking, the Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) should get access to all necessary information and the premises to conduct audits and investigations on the grants, contracts and agreements signed by the Joint Undertaking.

(62)

Amendment 48

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2)	‘access time’ means the computing time of a supercomputer that is made available to a user or a group of users to execute their computer programmes;

(2)	‘access time’ means the computing time of a supercomputer that is made available through a transparent and open process to a user or a group of users to execute their computer programmes;

Amendment 49

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 4

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(4)	‘Centre of Excellence’ in HPC means an initiative to promote the use of upcoming extreme performance computing capabilities enabling user communities in collaboration with other HPC stakeholders to scale up existing parallel codes towards exascale and extreme scaling performance;

(4)

‘Centre of Excellence’ in HPC means a collaborative initiative selected through an open, transparent and competitive call for proposals to promote the use of upcoming extreme performance computing capabilities enabling user communities in collaboration with other HPC stakeholders to scale up existing parallel codes towards exascale and extreme scaling performance;

Amendment 50

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 5

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(5)	‘co-design’ is a collective approach between technology suppliers and users engaged in a collaborative and iterative design process for developing new technology, application and systems;

(5)	‘co-design’ is a collective approach between technology suppliers and users engaged in a collaborative and iterative design process for developing new technologies, applications, systems , services, skills and competencies ;

Amendment 51

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6)

‘Competence Centre’ in High Performance Computing (HPC) means a legal entity established in a Participating State providing users from industry, including SMEs , academia, and public administrations with access on demand to the supercomputers and to the latest High Performance Computing technologies, tools, applications and services, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking and outreach;

(6)

‘ Union Competence Centre’ in High Performance Computing (HPC) means a Union legal entity selected through an open and transparent process and established in a Participating State providing users from industry, in particular SMEs and start-ups , academia, and public administrations with access on demand to the supercomputers and to the latest High Performance Computing technologies, tools, applications and services, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking and outreach;

Amendment 52

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 16

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(16)	‘industrial-grade supercomputer’ means a supercomputer specifically designed with security, confidentiality and data integrity requirements for industrial users that are more demanding than for a scientific usage;

(16)	‘industrial-grade supercomputer’ means at least a mid-range supercomputer specifically designed with security, confidentiality and data integrity requirements for industrial users that are more demanding than for a scientific usage;

Amendment 53

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 19 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(19a)‘

multiannual strategic programme’ means a document laying out strategy and plans for achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking;

Amendment 54

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point 20

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(20)

‘national High Performance Computing competence centre’ means a legal entity established in a Participating State that is a Member State, associated with the national supercomputing centre of that Member State, providing users from industry, including SMEs , academia, and public administrations with access on demand to the supercomputers and to the latest High Performance Computing technologies, tools, applications and services, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking and outreach;

(20)

‘national High Performance Computing competence centre’ means a legal entity or a consortium of legal entities, selected through an open and transparent process and established in a Participating State that is a Member State, associated with the national supercomputing centre of that Member State, providing users from industry, in particular SMEs and start-ups , academia, and public administrations with access on demand to the supercomputers and to the latest High Performance Computing technologies, tools, applications and services, and offering expertise, skills, training, networking and outreach;

Amendment 55

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) The mission of the Joint Undertaking shall be to develop, deploy, extend and maintain in the Union a world leading federated, secure and hyper-connected supercomputing, quantum computing, service and data infrastructure ecosystem; support the production of innovative and competitive supercomputing systems based on a supply chain that will ensure components, technologies and knowledge limiting the risk of disruptions and the development of a wide range of applications optimised for these systems; and, widen the use of this supercomputing infrastructure to a large number of public and private users, and support the development of key skills for European science and industry.

(1) The mission of the Joint Undertaking shall be to develop, deploy, extend and maintain in the Union a world leading federated, secure and hyper-connected supercomputing, quantum computing, service and data infrastructure ecosystem , thereby contributing to achieving a scientific, digital and industrial leadership of the Union in the world ; support the development, deployment and operation, preferably within the Union, of innovative and competitive supercomputing systems based on a supply chain that will ensure critical raw materials and state of the art components, technologies and knowledge limiting the risk of disruptions and the development of a wide range of applications optimised for these systems based on the principles of trust, openness, security, interoperability and portability ; and, widen the use of this supercomputing infrastructure to a large number of Union’s public and private users , with particular attention to SMEs and start-ups, including those in the R&D phase , and support the development of advanced digital skills , competencies and knowledge for European society science and industry.

Amendment 56

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point a

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(a)

to contribute to the implementation of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe and in particular Article 3 thereof, to deliver scientific, economic, environmental, technological and societal impact from the Union's investments in research and innovation, so as to strengthen the scientific and technological bases of the Union, deliver on the Union strategic priorities, contribute to the realisation of EU objectives and policies, including those related to the European Green Deal, the European Recovery Plan, the European data strategy, digital, SME and industrial strategies, achieving Europe’s strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy, accelerate the social, ecological and economic transitions and contribute to tackling global challenges, addressing the Sustainable Development Goals by following the principles of the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement;

Amendment 57

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point b

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(b)

to develop close cooperation and ensure coordination with other European Partnerships, including through joint calls, as well as seek synergies with relevant activities and programmes at Union, national, and regional level, in particular with those supporting the deployment of innovative solutions, education and regional development , where relevant ;

(b)

to develop close cooperation and ensure synergies and coordination with other European Partnerships, including through joint calls, as well as seek sequential, parallel or integrated synergies with relevant activities and programmes at Union, national, and regional and local level, in particular with those supporting the deployment of innovative solutions, and modelling platforms, education and regional development;

Amendment 58

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point c

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(c)	to develop, deploy, extend and maintain in the Union an integrated, demand-oriented and user-driven hyper-connected world-class supercomputing and data infrastructure;

(c)	to develop, deploy, extend and maintain in the Union an integrated, demand-oriented and user-driven hyper-connected world-class supercomputing and data infrastructure which helps strengthen the Union’s strategic autonomy ;

Amendment 59

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point d

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(d)	to federate the hyper-connected supercomputing and data infrastructure and interconnect it with the European data spaces and cloud ecosystem for providing computing and data services to a wide range of public and private users in Europe;

(d)

to federate the hyper-connected supercomputing and data infrastructure , through high-quality network infrastructures in all Member States, and interconnect it with the European data spaces , in particular with the European Health Data Space to ensure the availability of large, high-quality health data sets, and cloud ecosystem for providing computing and data services to a wide and geographically diverse range of public and private users in Europe , based on the principles of trust, openness, security, interoperability and portability ;

Amendment 60

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point d a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(da)	to promote scientific excellence and support the uptake and systematic use of research and innovation results generated within the Union;

Amendment 61

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point e

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(e)

to further develop and support a highly competitive and innovative supercomputing and data ecosystem in Europe contributing to the standing and technological autonomy of the Union in the digital economy, capable to autonomously produce computing technologies and architectures and their integration on leading computing systems, and advanced applications optimised for these systems;

(e)

to further develop and support a highly competitive , social, sustainable, energy-efficient and innovative , interconnected, interoperable and secure supercomputing and data ecosystem in Europe contributing to the scientific and technological leadership and the standing strategic autonomy of the Union in the digital transition, while reducing dependence on foreign technology, particularly in critical infrastructure components, while preserving an open economy , maintaining global leadership in HPC applications , capable to autonomously produce and own world-class computing technologies and architectures and their integration on leading computing systems, and advanced applications optimised for these systems;

Amendment 62

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 2 — point f

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(f)	to widen the use of supercomputing services and the development of key skills that European science and industry need.

(f)

to promote, facilitate and widen the use of supercomputing services in all sectors and to contribute to the development of advanced digital skills , competencies and knowledge that European science , society, economy, environment and industry need to achieve autonomy and global leadership, with an emphasis on enhancing women’s and girls’ participation in STEM subjects through their involvement and employment in related areas and reducing the gender gap in the digital sector .

Amendment 63

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(3) The Joint Undertaking shall contribute to safeguarding the interests of the Union when procuring supercomputers and supporting the development of High Performance Computing technologies, systems and applications. It shall enable a co-design approach for the acquisition of world-class supercomputers, while safeguarding the security of the supply chain of procured technologies and systems. It shall contribute to the Union’s technological autonomy by supporting the development of technologies and applications reinforcing the European HPC technology supply chain and promoting their integration in supercomputing systems that address a large number of societal and industrial needs.

(3) The Joint Undertaking shall contribute to safeguarding the interests of the Union when procuring supercomputers and supporting the development of world-class High Performance Computing technologies, systems and applications. It shall enable a co-design approach for the acquisition of world-class supercomputers, while safeguarding the security of the supply chain of procured technologies and systems and ensure the highest standards of cybersecurity applicable to supercomputers . It shall contribute to the Union’s strategic autonomy , while preserving an open economy, particularly in critical areas, increasing the competitiveness of European industry, by supporting the development of technologies and applications reinforcing the European HPC energy-efficient technology supply chain and promoting their integration in supercomputing systems that address a large number of societal and industrial needs. It shall support Europe's global leadership in various industries, especially in high value-added and technology-intensive products and services to provide critical components, technology, and skills aiming to close the technological gap with third countries.

Amendment 64

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(3a) The Joint Undertaking shall implement its mission and objectives in a clear, simple and flexible way in order to increase attractiveness towards industry, SMEs and all relevant stakeholders.

Amendment 65

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 — paragraph 3 b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(3b) The Joint Undertaking shall minimise any risk involved in handling, storing and processing of personal data in the supercomputing infrastructures and shall comply with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and other relevant Union legislation. It shall also ensure that High Performance Computers are exclusively accessible to entities that comply with the same rules and that its resources are open to scientists from all Participating States.

Amendment 66

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point b

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(b)

Infrastructure pillar, encompassing the activities for the acquisition, deployment, and operation of the secure, hyper-connected world-class supercomputing, quantum computing and data infrastructure, including the promotion of the uptake and systematic use of research and innovation results generated in the Union .

(b)

Infrastructure pillar, encompassing the activities for the acquisition , upgrades , deployment, and operation of the secure, hyper-connected world-class supercomputing, quantum computing and European data infrastructure, including upgrading the existing infrastructure and the promotion of the uptake and systematic use within the Union of research and innovation results generated by the Joint Undertaking .

Amendment 67

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point c — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(c)

Federation of supercomputing services pillar, covering all activities for providing EU-wide access to federated, secure supercomputing and data resources and services throughout Europe for the research and scientific community, industry ( including SMEs) and the public sector. In particular this includes:

(c)

Federation of supercomputing services pillar, covering all activities for providing EU-wide access to federated, secure supercomputing and data resources and services throughout Europe for the research and scientific community, industry ( in particular SMEs) and the public sector , in cooperation with PRACE and GEANT among others . In particular this includes:

Amendment 68

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point c — point i

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(i)	support to the interconnection of the High Performance Computing, quantum computing and data resources owned fully or partially by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking or made available on a voluntary basis by the Participating States;

(i)	support to the interconnection of the High Performance Computing, quantum computing and data resources owned fully or partially by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking or made available on a voluntary basis by the Participating or the Observer States;

Amendment 69

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point c — point ii

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(ii)	support to the interconnection of the supercomputing, and quantum computing data infrastructures with the Union's common European data spaces and federated, secure cloud infrastructures;

(ii)

support to the interconnection and interoperability of the supercomputing, and quantum computing data infrastructures with the Union's common European data spaces and federated, secure cloud and data infrastructures , while including specific requirements for cybersecurity, open data, data portability and where possible the use of open source software and hardware, without jeopardising data protection and privacy ;

Amendment 70

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point c — point iii

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(iii)

support to the development, acquisition and operation of a platform for the seamless federation and secure service provisioning of supercomputing and quantum computing service and data infrastructure, establishing a one-stop shop access point for any supercomputing or data service managed by the Joint Undertaking, providing any user with a single point of entry and establishing an effective vulnerability management programme and a data sharing resource that enables users of the high-performance computing resources to transfer, share and discuss their data .

Amendment 71

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point d — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(d)

Technology pillar, addressing the activities for supporting an ambitious research and innovation agenda for developing a world-class, competitive and innovative supercomputing ecosystem addressing hardware and software technologies, and their integration into computing systems, covering the whole scientific and industrial value chain, for ensuring technological autonomy of the Union . Focus shall be on energy-efficient High Performance Computing technologies. Activities shall address inter alia:

(d)

Technology pillar, addressing ambitious research and innovation activities for developing a world-class, competitive , trustworthy, sustainable and innovative supercomputing ecosystem across the Union addressing hardware and software technologies, and their integration into computing systems, covering the whole scientific and industrial value chain from research to prototyping, piloting and demonstration , for ensuring strategic autonomy while preserving the open economy of the Union and strengthening Union’s research capacities. Trustworthy supercomputing requires the creation of safety, legal, ethical, security and interoperability standards aiming at preventing bias. The implementation of the pillar shall contribute to the development of the relevant European industrial sectors so that they can cover the entire production chain (design, manufacturing, implementation and application), take in due consideration energy consumption and focus on the most energy-efficient High Performance Computing technologies , with particular emphasis on renewable-based solutions . Activities shall address inter alia:

Amendment 72

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point d — point i

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

i)	low-power micro-processing components, and related technologies such as novel algorithms, software codes, tools, and environments;

(i)	low-power micro-processing components , power-efficient and power-enhancing nanoelectronics , and related technologies such as novel algorithms, software codes, tools, middleware solutions, parallel programming and computing resource optimisation solutions and environments;

Amendment 73

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point d — point iii

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(iii)

technologies and systems for the interconnection and operation of classical supercomputing systems with other, often complementary computing technologies, such as neuromorphic or quantum computing and ensure their effective operation.

(iii)

technologies, systems and algorithms for the interconnection and operation of classical supercomputing systems with other, often complementary computing technologies, such as neuromorphic, quantum computing or other emerging technologies and ensure their secure and reliable operation.

Amendment 74

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point d — point iii a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(iii a)

research and innovation activities for the constant improvement of the capacity of the supercomputing hardware systems, the technological development of low-power supercomputing hardware systems and the development of the next generation of chip technology.

Amendment 75

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point e — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(e)	Application pillar, addressing activities for achieving and maintaining European excellence in key computing and data applications and codes for science, industry ( including SMEs ) and the public sector, including;

(e)

Application pillar, addressing activities for achieving and maintaining European excellence and leadership in key computing and data applications and codes for science, industry ( in particular SMEs and start-ups ) and the public sector, while paying special attention to geographical diversity and gender balance, including;

Amendment 76

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point e — point i

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(i)

applications for public and private users that exploit the capabilities of high-end supercomputers and their convergence with advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, high performance data analytics, cloud technologies, etc. through the co-design, development and optimisation of High Performance Computing-enabled large-scale and emerging lead-market codes and applications;

(i)

applications , algorithms and software development for public and private users that exploit the capabilities of high-end supercomputers and their convergence with advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer modelling and simulation, privacy enhancing applications, high performance data analytics, cloud technologies , quantum computing , etc. through the co-design, development and optimisation of High Performance Computing-enabled large-scale and emerging lead-market codes and applications , potentially benefitting from open cooperation models like open source ;

Amendment 77

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point e — point ii

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

ii)	support, among others, to Centres of Excellence in High Performance Computing applications and large-scale High Performance Computing-enabled pilot demonstrators and test-beds for big data applications and services in a wide range of scientific and industrial sectors.

(ii)

support, among others, to Centres of Excellence in High Performance Computing applications and large-scale High Performance Computing-enabled pilot demonstrators and test-beds for big data applications and services in a wide range of scientific , environmental and industrial sectors , while excluding personal data and activities that lead to de-anonymisation of personal data .

Amendment 78

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point f

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(f)

Widening usage and skills pillar, aiming at fostering excellence in supercomputing, quantum computing, and data use and skills taking into account synergies with other programs and instruments, in particular Digital Europe Program, widening the scientific and industrial use of supercomputing resources and data applications and fostering the industrial access and use of supercomputing and data infrastructures for innovation adapted to industrial needs; and providing Europe with a knowledgeable leading scientific community and a skilled workforce for scientific leadership and digital transformation of industry, including the support and networking of national High Performance Computing Competence Centres and High Performance Computing Centres of Excellence

(f)

Widening usage and skills pillar, aiming at fostering excellence and developing skills, capabilities and competencies in supercomputing, quantum computing, and data use and skills , including skills for procurements made in the framework of this Regulation, taking into account synergies with other programs and instruments, in particular Digital Europe Program, widening the scientific and industrial use , in particular by SMEs and start-ups, of supercomputing resources and data applications and fostering the industrial access and use of supercomputing and data infrastructures for innovation adapted to industrial needs; and providing Europe with a knowledgeable leading scientific community and a skilled workforce for scientific leadership and digital transformation of industry, including the support and networking of national High Performance Computing Competence Centres and High Performance Computing Centres of Excellence ; all activities in this pillar should take into consideration gender diversity and the need to increase the participation of women, also via the creation of specific programmes to reduce the additional barriers that they face, while ensuring that application knowledge and expertise have the widest geographical coverage. Specific actions on the activities above may include:

Amendment 79

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point f — point i (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(i)

defining a set of career paths, job placements involving the use of HPC in real environment, HPC hackathons and skillsets required to leverage EuroHPC to promote sustainable growth in Europe, by providing relevant, mission-driven research and application problems, funding for internships and scholarships, such as Master’s programmes in HPC and computational science and partnerships with industry and academia;

Amendment 80

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point f — point ii (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(ii)	working with academia and business sector leaders to describe and develop curricula that will produce new experts in supercomputing and quantum computing with the necessary skillsets and engineering knowledge;

Amendment 81

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point f — point iii (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(iii)

working with front-runners in the computing and education communities to adapt and test new, more flexible methods of education and workforce development that enable rapid knowledge advancement and in-career transitions to HPC-related positions;

Amendment 82

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 1 — point f — point iv (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(iv)	industry-specific training, including hands on training and solving real use cases, and SME-tailored courses and support offerings like staff exchange programmes with research and academia.

Amendment 83

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 — paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(2a) When implementing the activities listed in paragraphs 1 and 2, the Joint Undertaking shall pay constant attention to geographical and gender diversity, as well as to the involvement of newcomers on the market such as start-ups and SMEs. In addition, all pillars shall take in due account the complementarities with other supercomputing initiatives at Union level, such as PRACE and GEANT.

Amendment 84

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 — paragraph 1 — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(1) The Union financial contribution to the Joint Undertaking including EFTA appropriations shall be up to EUR [XXXXX], including up to EUR [XXXXX] for administrative costs, distributed as follows:	(1) The Union financial contribution to the Joint Undertaking including EFTA appropriations shall be up to EUR [XXXXX], including up to 5 % for administrative costs and technical assistance , distributed as follows:

Amendment 85

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) Additional Union funds complementing the contribution referred to in paragraph 1 may be allocated to the Joint Undertaking to support activities for the research and innovation and deployment of innovative solutions.	(3) Additional Union funds complementing the contribution referred to in paragraph 1 may be allocated to the Joint Undertaking to support activities for the research and innovation and deployment of innovative solutions within the Union .

Amendment 86

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 — paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(6) The Union's financial contribution referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be used for the Joint Undertaking to provide financial support to indirect actions as defined in Article xxx of the Horizon Europe Regulation , corresponding to the research and innovation agenda.	(6) The Union's financial contribution referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be used for the Joint Undertaking to provide financial support to indirect actions as defined in Article xxx of the Horizon Europe Regulation through open, competitive and transparent procedures, along the priorities identified in research and innovation agenda.

Amendment 87

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 — paragraph 7

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(7) The Union's financial contribution referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall be used for capability building across the whole Union, including the acquisition, and operation of High Performance Computers, quantum computers or quantum simulators, the federation of the High Performance Computing and quantum computing service and data infrastructure and the widening of its use, and the development of advanced skills and training.

(7) The Union's financial contribution referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall be used for capability building across the whole Union, including the acquisition, upgrades of only supercomputers owned by the Joint Undertaking and operation of High Performance Computers, quantum computers or quantum simulators, the federation of the High Performance Computing and quantum computing service and data infrastructure and the widening of its use, and the development of advanced skills and training , accessible also to citizens living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and taking in due account the need to improve the gender equality .

Amendment 88

Proposal for a regulation

Article 5 — paragraph 8

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(8) The Union's financial contribution referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to the Connecting Europe Facility and shall be used for the interconnection of the High Performance Computing and data resources and the creation of an integrated pan-European hyper-connected High Performance Computing and data infrastructure.

(8) The Union's financial contribution referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 shall be paid from the appropriations in the general budget of the Union allocated to the Connecting Europe Facility and shall be used for the interconnection of the High Performance Computing and data resources established within the European territory and the creation of an integrated pan-European hyper-connected High Performance Computing and data infrastructure.

Amendment 89

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
Contributions from Union programmes other than those referred to in Article 5(1) that are part of a Union co-financing to a programme implemented by one of the Participating States shall not be accounted for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution referred to in Article 5.	Contributions from Union programmes other than those referred to in Article 5(1) that are part of a Union co-financing to a programme implemented by one of the Participating States shall not be accounted for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution referred to in Article 5 and shall not cover the same costs .

Amendment 90

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 — paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	Financial contributions under programmes co-financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, ERDF, the ESF+, the EMFAF and the EAFRD may be considered as a contribution of the Participating State, provided that the relevant provisions of the Regulation (EU) …/… [Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027] and the fund-specific regulations are complied with.

Amendment 91

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) The Participating States shall make a total contribution of at least equal to the amount of the Union contribution referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation, including up to EUR [XXXXX] contribution for administrative costs[equal to the amount of the Union contribution for administrative costs referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation]. The Participating States shall arrange among them how they will deliver their collective contribution.

(1) The Participating States shall make a total contribution of at least equal to the amount of the Union contribution referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation, including up to 5 % for administrative costs and technical assistance [equal to the amount of the Union contribution for administrative costs and technical assistance referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation]. The Participating States shall arrange among them how they will deliver their collective contribution.

Amendment 92

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 — paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(1a) The Joint Undertaking shall provide a favourable framework for supporting Participating States. In order to maximise the impact of indirect actions, the specificities of the Joint Undertaking, with its tripartite model, shall be taken into consideration with regard to the management of financial contributions from Participating States.

Amendment 93

Proposal for a regulation

Article 7 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2) The Private Members of the Joint Undertaking shall make or arrange for their constituent entities and affiliated entities to make contributions for at least EUR [XXXXX] to the Joint Undertaking, including up to EUR [XXXXX] for administrative costs [equal to 22.22 % of the amount of the Union contribution for administrative costs referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation].

(2) The Private Members of the Joint Undertaking shall make or arrange for their constituent entities and affiliated entities to make contributions for at least EUR [XXXXX] to the Joint Undertaking, including up to 5 % for administrative costs and technical assistance [equal to 22.22 % of the amount of the Union contribution for administrative costs and technical assistance referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation].

Amendment 94

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) EuroHPC supercomputers shall be located in a Participating State that is a Member State. A Participating State shall only host more than one EuroHPC supercomputer if there are more than four years between the selection dates following the calls for expression of interest. In the case of acquisition of quantum computers and simulators or in the case of upgrade of a EuroHPC supercomputer with quantum accelerators owned by the Joint Undertaking, that period shall be two years .

Amendment 95

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 — paragraph 5 — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(5) Following a call for expression of interest, the hosting entity referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the corresponding Participating State where the hosting entity is established or the corresponding hosting consortium shall be selected by the Governing Board through a fair and transparent process based, inter alia, on the following criteria:	(5) Following an open, fair and transparent call for expression of interest, the hosting entity referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the corresponding Participating State where the hosting entity is established or the corresponding hosting consortium shall be selected by the Governing Board through a fair and transparent process based, inter alia, on the following criteria:

Amendment 96

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 — paragraph 5 — point d

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(d)	quality of the hosting facility's physical and IT infrastructure, its security and its connectivity with the rest of the Union;

(d)	quality of the hosting facility's physical , energy and IT infrastructure, its security and its connectivity with the rest of the Union;

Amendment 97

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 — paragraph 5 — point d a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(da)	provision of an energy management plan that examines the availability of an adequate access to clean affordable energy, including through renewable power purchase agreements, and a strategy to increase energy-efficiency of the installations;

Amendment 98

Proposal for a regulation

Article 8 — paragraph 7 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(7a) The Joint Undertaking shall take into account the energy efficiency first principle, in order to accelerate energy savings and efficiency research, stimulate constant technological advancements to improve power-efficiency in both new and existing system designs, and actively research, develop and test novel energy-efficient approaches including in particular fully renewables-based approaches that improve the GHG emission and environmental footprint of supercomputers.

Amendment 99

Proposal for a regulation

Article 9 — paragraph 2 — point k

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(k)	the obligation of the hosting entity to submit by 31 January of each year to the Governing Board an audit report and data on the use of access time in the previous financial year;

(k)	the obligation of the hosting entity to submit by 31 January of each year to the Governing Board an audit report and data on the use of access time in the previous financial year; the audit report shall be made publicly available within three months of approval by the Governing Board;

Amendment 100

Proposal for a regulation

Article 10 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) The selection of the supplier of the high-end supercomputer shall address the security of the supply chain.	(3) The selection of the supplier of the high-end supercomputer shall assess compliance with the general system specifications, including user needs, and ensure excellence in European research and innovation. It shall also address the security of the supply chain.

Amendment 101

Proposal for a regulation

Article 11 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) The selection of the supplier of the quantum computers and quantum simulators shall address the security of the supply chain.	(3) The selection of the supplier of the quantum computers and quantum simulators shall assess compliance with the general system specifications, including user needs, and ensure excellence in European research and innovation. It shall also address the security of the supply chain.

Amendment 102

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(1) The Joint Undertaking shall acquire together with the Private Members, or a consortium of private partners, supercomputers, or partitions of EuroHPC supercomputers, primarily destined for use by industry, and shall own them or co-own them with the Private Members or a consortium of private partners.	(1) The Joint Undertaking shall acquire together with the Private Members, or a consortium of private partners, at least mid-range supercomputers, or partitions of EuroHPC supercomputers, primarily destined for use by industry, and shall own them or co-own them with the Private Members or a consortium of private partners.

Amendment 103

Proposal for a regulation

Article 12 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) The selection of the supplier of an industrial-grade EuroHPC supercomputer shall address the security of the supply chain.	(3) The selection of the supplier of an industrial-grade EuroHPC supercomputer shall assess compliance with the general system specifications, including user needs, and ensure excellence in European research and innovation. It shall also address the security of the supply chain.

Amendment 104

Proposal for a regulation

Article 13 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2) The Union financial contribution referred to in Article 5(1) shall cover up to 35 % of the acquisition costs of the mid-range supercomputers. The remaining total cost of ownership of the mid-range supercomputers shall be covered by the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or the Participating States in the hosting consortium, possibly supplemented by the contributions referred to in Article 6.

(2) The Union financial contribution referred to in Article 5(1) shall cover up to 50 % of the acquisition costs plus up to 50 % of the operating costs of the mid-range supercomputers. The remaining total cost of ownership of the mid-range supercomputers shall be covered by the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or the Participating States in the hosting consortium, possibly supplemented by the contributions referred to in Article 6.

Amendment 105

Proposal for a regulation

Article 13 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) The selection of the supplier of the mid-range supercomputer shall address the security of the supply chain.	(3) The selection of the supplier of the mid-range supercomputer shall assess compliance with the general system specifications, including user needs, and ensure excellence in European research and innovation. It shall also address the security of the supply chain.

Amendment 106

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(2) The share of the Union's access time to each mid-range supercomputer shall be directly proportional to the financial contribution of the Union referred to in Article 5(1) to the acquisition cost of the supercomputer and shall not exceed 35 % of the total access time of the supercomputer.	deleted

Amendment 107

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 — paragraph 5

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(5) The Governing Board shall define the access rights to the Union's share of access time to the EuroHPC supercomputers.	(5) The Governing Board shall define and make publicly available the access rights to the Union's share of access time to the EuroHPC supercomputers.

Amendment 108

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 — paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6) Use of the Union's share of access time to the EuroHPC supercomputers shall be free of charge for the users from the public sector referred to in Article 14(4) of this Regulation. It will also be free of charge for industrial users for applications related to research and innovation activities funded by Horizon Europe or the Digital Europe Programme and for private innovation activities of SMEs, where appropriate. As a guiding principle, allocation of access time for such activities shall be based on a fair and transparent peer review process defined by the Governing Board following continuously open calls for expression of interest launched by the Joint Undertaking.

(6) Use of the Union's share of access time to the EuroHPC supercomputers shall be transparent and free of charge for the users from the public sector referred to in Article 14(4) of this Regulation. It will also be free of charge for industrial users , NGOs, students and other individuals for applications related to open research and innovation activities and for private innovation activities of SMEs, where appropriate. As a guiding principle, allocation of access time for such activities shall be based on a fair and transparent peer review process defined by the Governing Board following continuously open calls for expression of interest launched by the Joint Undertaking.

Amendment 109

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 — paragraph 8

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(8) The Governing Board shall define specific rules for access conditions that depart from the guiding principles referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article. These concern the allocation of access time for projects and activities considered as strategic either by the Union or by the Governing Board.	(8) The Governing Board shall define specific and transparent rules for access conditions that depart from the guiding principles referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article. These concern the allocation of access time for projects and activities considered as strategic either by the Union or by the Governing Board.

Amendment 110

Proposal for a regulation

Article 15 — paragraph 9

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(9) Upon request of the Union, the Executive Director shall grant direct access to the EuroHPC supercomputers to initiatives that the Union considers essential for providing health-related or other crucial emergency support services for the public good, to emergency and crisis management situations or to cases that the Union considers essential for its security and defence. The modalities and conditions for the implementation of such access shall be defined in the access conditions adopted by the Governing Board.

(9) Upon request of the Union, the Executive Director shall grant direct access to the EuroHPC supercomputers to initiatives that the Union considers essential for providing environment, health-related or other crucial emergency support services for the public good, to emergency and crisis management situations or to cases that the Union considers essential for its security and defence. The modalities and conditions for the implementation of such access shall be defined in the access conditions adopted by the Governing Board taking into account that research and innovation activities will have an exclusive focus on civil applications, recognising that there are areas of dual-use technology .

Amendment 111

Proposal for a regulation

Article 16 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(1) Specific conditions shall apply to all industry users for commercial purposes. This service for commercial use shall be a pay-per-use service, based on market prices. The level of the fee shall be established by the Governing Board.	(1) Specific conditions shall apply to all industry users for commercial purposes. This service for commercial use shall be a pay-per-use service, based on market prices. The level of the fee shall be established by the Governing Board but shall not constitute an entry barrier, in particular for SMEs .

Amendment 112

Proposal for a regulation

Article 16 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(2) The fees generated by the commercial use of the Union's access time shall constitute revenue to the Joint Undertaking budget and shall be used to cover operational costs of the Joint Undertaking.	(2) The fees generated by the commercial use of the Union's access time shall constitute revenue to the Joint Undertaking budget and shall be used to cover operational costs of the Joint Undertaking and the operating costs of the EuroHPC supercomputers .

Amendment 113

Proposal for a regulation

Article 16 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) The access time allocated to commercial services shall not exceed 20 % of the Union's total access time of each EuroHPC supercomputer. The Governing Board shall decide on the allocation of the Union's access time for the users of commercial services, taking into account the outcome of the monitoring referred to in Article 15(10).	(3) The access time allocated to commercial services shall in principle not exceed 20 % of the Union's total access time of each EuroHPC supercomputer. The Governing Board shall decide on the maximum allocation of the Union's access time for the users of commercial services, taking into account the outcome of the monitoring referred to in Article 15(10).

Amendment 114

Proposal for a regulation

Article 18 — paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6) The staff resources shall be set out in the staff establishment plan of the Joint Undertaking, indicating the number of temporary posts by function group and by grade, as well as by the number of contract staff expressed in full-time equivalents, in accordance with its annual budget.

(6) The staff resources shall be set out in the staff establishment plan of the Joint Undertaking , and shall adequately reflect the staff numbers and grades needed to ensure the highest standards of recruitments in the field , indicating the number of temporary posts by function group and by grade, as well as by the number of contract staff expressed in full-time equivalents, in accordance with its annual budget.

Amendment 115

Proposal for a regulation

Article 19 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(2) The Governing Board shall adopt a decision laying down rules on the secondment of national experts to the Joint Undertaking and on the use of trainees.	(2) The Governing Board shall adopt a decision laying down rules on the secondment of national experts to the Joint Undertaking and on the use of trainees , including on their remuneration .

Amendment 116

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) The activities of the Joint Undertaking shall be subject to continuous monitoring and periodic reviews in accordance with its financial rules, to ensure the highest impact and excellence, as well as the most efficient use of resources. The outcomes of monitoring and periodic reviews shall feed into the evaluations of the Joint Undertaking as part of Horizon Europe evaluations.

(1) The activities of the Joint Undertaking shall be subject to continuous monitoring and periodic reviews in accordance with its financial rules, to ensure the highest impact and excellence, as well as the most efficient use of resources. Such monitoring and reviews shall not increase the administrative burden on the Joint Undertaking or its beneficiaries. The outcomes of monitoring and periodic reviews shall feed into the evaluations of the Joint Undertaking as part of Horizon Europe evaluations.

Amendment 117

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) Evaluations of the Joint Undertakings’ operations shall be carried out in a timely manner to feed into the overall interim and final evaluations of Horizon Europe and the related decision-making process as specified in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe.	(3) Evaluations of the Joint Undertakings’ operations shall be carried out in a timely manner and without increasing the administrative burden on the Joint Undertakings or its beneficiaries, to feed into the overall interim and final evaluations of Horizon Europe and the related decision-making process as specified in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe.

Amendment 118

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 — paragraph 4

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(4) The Commission shall carry out an interim evaluation of each Joint Undertaking as part of the Horizon Europe interim evaluation, as specified in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe. This evaluation shall be performed with the assistance of independent experts on the basis of a transparent process once there is sufficient information available about the implementation of Horizon Europe, but no later than four years after the start of Horizon Europe implementation. The evaluations shall examine how the Joint Undertaking fulfils its mission according to its economic, technological, scientific, societal and policy objectives, including climate-related objectives, and evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, and Union added value of its activities as part of Horizon Europe, its synergies and complementarities with relevant European, national and, where relevant, regional initiatives, including synergies with other parts of Horizon Europe (such as missions, clusters or thematic/specific programmes). Impacts achieved at Union and national level, taking into account the component of synergies and policy retrofitting will be given particular attention. The evaluations shall, where relevant, also include an assessment of the long-term scientific, societal, economic and policy-relevant impact of the Joint Undertaking and shall include an assessment of the most effective policy intervention mode for any future action, as well as the positioning of any possible renewal of the Joint Undertaking in the overall European Partnerships landscape and its policy priorities.

(4) The Commission shall carry out an interim evaluation of each Joint Undertaking as part of the Horizon Europe interim evaluation, as specified in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe and without increasing the administrative burden on the Joint Undertaking . This evaluation shall be performed with the assistance of independent external experts on the basis of a transparent process once there is sufficient information available about the implementation of Horizon Europe, but no later than four years after the start of Horizon Europe implementation. The evaluations shall examine how the Joint Undertaking fulfils its mission according to its economic, technological, scientific, environmental, societal and policy objectives, including climate-related , and health-related objectives, and evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence , integrity , and Union added value of its activities as part of Horizon Europe, its synergies and complementarities with relevant European, national and, where relevant, regional initiatives, including synergies with other parts of Horizon Europe (such as other European partnerships, missions, clusters or thematic/specific programmes). Impacts achieved at Union and national level, taking into account the component of synergies and policy retrofitting will be given particular attention. The evaluations shall, where relevant, also include an assessment of the long-term scientific, societal, environmental, economic and policy-relevant impact of the Joint Undertaking , an assessment of the outreach and awareness raising progress, such as number of users, and shall include an assessment of the most effective policy intervention mode for any future action, as well as the positioning of any possible renewal or phasing out of the Joint Undertaking in the overall European Partnerships landscape and its policy priorities.

Amendment 119

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 — paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6) The Commission may carry out further evaluations of themes or topics of strategic relevance, with the assistance of external independent experts selected on the basis of a transparent process, to examine the progress made by the Joint Undertaking towards the objectives set, identify the factors contributing to the implementation of the activities and identify best practices. By carrying out those further evaluations, the Commission shall fully consider the administrative impact on the Joint Undertaking.

(6) Without increasing the administrative burden on Joint Undertaking, the Commission may carry out further evaluations of themes or topics of strategic relevance, with the assistance of external independent experts selected on the basis of a transparent process, to examine the progress made by the Joint Undertaking towards the objectives set, identify the factors contributing to the implementation of the activities and identify best practices. By carrying out those further evaluations, the Commission shall fully consider the administrative impact on the Joint Undertaking and shall in particular make best efforts to reduce the administrative burden and to ensure that the evaluation process is kept simple and fully transparent . Any evaluation shall be based on a sound assessment of policy options from the perspective of governance, including in particular the possibility to set adequate safeguards to ensure that the public interests are duly respected in all operations.

Amendment 120

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 — paragraph 7

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(7) The Joint Undertaking shall perform periodic reviews of its activities to inform the interim and final evaluations of the Joint Undertaking as part of Horizon Europe evaluations referred to in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe.	(7) The Joint Undertaking shall perform periodic reviews of its activities with the minimum burden for the beneficiaries to inform the interim and final evaluations of the Joint Undertaking as part of Horizon Europe evaluations referred to in Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe.

Amendment 121

Proposal for a regulation

Article 22 — paragraph 7 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(7a) Reporting shall be in line with the standard Horizon Europe reporting requirements. The development of the reporting systems in the context of the strategic coordinating process shall also involve Member States and partnership representatives in order to ensure synchronisation and coordination of reporting and monitoring efforts, including on the division of data collection and reporting tasks.

Amendment 122

Proposal for a regulation

Article 25 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) Ex-post audits of expenditure on actions funded by the Horizon Europe budget shall be carried out in accordance with in accordance with Article 48 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe as part of the Horizon Europe indirect actions, in particular in line with the audit strategy referred to in Article 48(2) of that Regulation.

(1) Ex-post audits of expenditure on actions funded by the Horizon Europe budget shall be carried out without increasing the administrative burden on the Joint Undertaking or its beneficiaries in accordance with in accordance with Article 48 of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Horizon Europe as part of the Horizon Europe indirect actions, in particular in line with the audit strategy referred to in Article 48(2) of that Regulation.

Amendment 123

Proposal for a regulation

Article 25 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(2) Ex-post audits of expenditure on activities funded by the Digital Europe budget shall be carried out by the Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article xxx of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Digital Europe Programme.	(2) Ex-post audits of expenditure on activities funded by the Digital Europe budget shall be carried out by the Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article xxx of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Digital Europe Programme , without increasing the administrative burden on the Joint Undertaking or its beneficiaries .

Amendment 124

Proposal for a regulation

Article 25 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(3) Ex-post audits of expenditure on activities funded by the Connecting Europe Facility budget shall be carried out by the Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article xxx of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Connecting Europe Facility as part of the Connecting Europe Facility actions.	(3) Ex-post audits of expenditure on activities funded by the Connecting Europe Facility budget shall be carried out by the Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article xxx of Regulation (EU) No xxx establishing Connecting Europe Facility as part of the Connecting Europe Facility actions , without increasing the administrative burden on the Joint Undertaking or its beneficiaries .

Amendment 125

Proposal for a regulation

Article 27 — paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
The Joint Undertaking shall ensure the protection of sensitive information the disclosure of which could damage the interests of its members or of participants in the activities of the Joint Undertaking.	Without prejudice to Article 28, the Joint Undertaking shall ensure the protection of sensitive information the disclosure of which could damage the interests of its members or of participants in the activities of the Joint Undertaking.

Amendment 126

Proposal for a regulation

Article 30 — paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(2a) In line with other European Partnerships that are co-funded by Horizon Europe, all data for projects submitted and funded by the Joint Undertaking shall be included in the single Horizon Europe database.

Amendment 127

Proposal for a regulation

Article 31 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	Article 31a Reimbursement rates By way of derogation from Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2021/695, the Joint Undertaking may apply different reimbursement rates for the Union funding within an action depending on the type of participant, namely SMEs and not-for-profit legal entities, and the type of action. The reimbursement rates shall be indicated in the work programme.

Amendment 128

Proposal for a regulation

Article 35 — paragraph 1 — subparagraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

In order to ensure equal treatment of all supercomputers under Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 and under this Regulation, the Union financial contribution referred to in Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 shall cover up to 50 % of the acquisition costs plus up to 50 % of the operating costs. The rules on allocation of Union's access time referred to in Article 13(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1488 shall be adjusted accordingly.

Amendment 129

Proposal for a regulation

Annex — Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point c

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(c)	initiate and manage the calls for expression of interest for hosting EuroHPC supercomputers and evaluate the offers received, with the support of independent external experts;

(c)	initiate and manage the calls for expression of interest for hosting EuroHPC supercomputers in an open and transparent manner and evaluate the offers received, with the support of independent external experts;

Amendment 130

Proposal for a regulation

Annex — Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point h

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(h)	initiate open calls for proposals and award funding in accordance with Regulation (EU) xxx establishing Horizon Europe, and within the limits of available funds, to indirect actions, mainly in the form of grants;

(h)	initiate open calls for proposals and award funding in accordance with Regulation (EU) xxx establishing Horizon Europe, and within the limits of available funds, to indirect actions, mainly in the form of grants , promoting a gender-balanced participation ;

Amendment 131

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point n

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(n)	develop close cooperation and ensure coordination with other European Partnerships, as well as operational synergies with other Joint Undertakings, including through centralisation of administrative functions;

(n)	develop close cooperation and ensure coordination with other European Partnerships, as well as operational synergies with other Joint Undertakings, including through centralisation of administrative functions , especially for common tasks and with the aim of optimising the use of resources ;

Amendment 132

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point n a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(n a)

ensuring joint activities with other relevant research and innovation initiatives at Union, national and regional level, will be crucial in achieving greater impact, ensuring the uptake of results and securing an optimum level of interconnections;

Amendment 133

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point o a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(o a)

promote the involvement of SMEs in their activities and take measures ensuring information to SMEs, in line with the objectives of Horizon Europe;

Amendment 134

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 2 — paragraph 1 — point b

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(b)

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, [Montenegro], the Netherlands, [North Macedonia], Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, [Switzerland], [Turkey];

(b)

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, [ Malta], [ Montenegro], the Netherlands, [North Macedonia], Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, [Switzerland], [Turkey];

Amendment 135

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 3 — paragraph 6

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(6) Each Private Member shall inform the Joint Undertaking once per year of any significant changes in the composition of the Private Member. Where the Commission considers that the change in composition is likely to affect the Union’s or the Joint Undertaking’s interest on grounds of security or public order, it may propose to the Governing Board to terminate the membership of the concerned Private Member. The termination shall become effective and irrevocable within six months of the decision of the Governing Board or on the date specified in that decision, whichever is earlier.

(6) Each Private Member shall inform the Joint Undertaking without delay of any significant changes in the composition of the Private Member. Where the Commission considers that the change in composition is likely to affect the Union’s or the Joint Undertaking’s interest on grounds of security or public order, it may propose to the Governing Board to terminate the membership of the concerned Private Member. The termination shall become effective and irrevocable within six months of the decision of the Governing Board or on the date specified in that decision, whichever is earlier.

Amendment 136

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 6 — paragraph 5 — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(5) For those tasks referred to in Article 7(4) points (f), (g) and (h) of these Statutes, and for each EuroHPC supercomputer, the voting rights of the Participating States shall be distributed in proportion to their committed financial contributions and to their in-kind contributions to that supercomputer until either its ownership is transferred to the hosting entity in accordance with Article 8(3) of this Regulation or until it is sold or decommissioned; the in-kind contributions shall only be taken into account if they have been certified ex-ante by an independent expert or auditor.

Amendment 137

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 6 — paragraph 10 — subparagraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

Each observer State may appoint one delegate in the Governing Board, who shall receive all relevant documents and may participate in the deliberations of the Governing Board unless decided otherwise by the Governing Board on a case-by-case basis. Those delegates shall have no voting rights and shall ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information according to Article 27 of this Regulation and subject to the rules of conflict of interest.

Amendment 138

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 6 — paragraph 14 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(14a) Two or more representatives of the user forum, selected according to its rules of procedure, shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Governing Board as observers and shall take part in its deliberations, but shall not have voting rights.

Amendment 139

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 6 — paragraph 14 b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(14b) Observers attending the meetings of the Governing Board shall not have voting rights, shall ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information according to Article 27 of this Regulation and shall be subject to the rules on conflicts of interest.

Amendment 140

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 7 — paragraph 3 — point j a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(j a)

set up a working group as a user forum, with the purpose of advising the Governing Board on user requirements aspects, in accordance with the Governing Board’s rules of procedure;

Amendment 141

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 7 — paragraph 3 — point j b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(j b)

lay down rules and specific criteria for the selection, appointment and dismissal of members of the user forum and of the advisory groups set up in accordance with points (j) and (k) including considerations of gender and geographical diversity, and approve the rules of procedure laid down autonomously by the user forum and these advisory groups; specific user groups should be addressed through the user forum, including access for students from participating member states in order to further future careers in supercomputing. To that end, the selection criteria shall provide that at least two Master’s or PhD students are represented in the user forum. European academies may be involved in the selection of the students;

Amendment 142

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 8 — paragraph 1 — introductory part

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1) The Commission shall propose a list of candidates for Executive Director after consultation of the members other than the Union of the Joint Undertaking. For the purpose of such consultation the members other than the Union of the Joint Undertaking shall appoint by common accord their representatives as well as an observer on behalf of the Governing Board.

Amendment 143

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 10 — paragraph 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2) The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall consist of no more than ten members, which shall be appointed by the Private Members taking into account their commitments to the Joint Undertaking.

(2) The Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall consist of no more than twelve members, of which no more than six shall be appointed by the Private Members taking into account their commitments to the Joint Undertaking and no more than six shall be appointed by the user forum, upon the recommendation of the Governing Board . The user forum shall establish the specific criteria and selection process for the members that it appoints.

Amendment 144

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 10 — paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(3) The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall consist of ten members. The Governing Board shall establish the specific criteria that will be considered for selecting the members of the Infrastructure Advisory Group. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Board shall appoint the members of the Infrastructure Advisory Group, following inputs received from the Governing Board and the Executive Director.

(3) The Infrastructure Advisory Group shall consist of twelve members. The Governing Board shall establish the specific criteria that will be considered for selecting the members of the Infrastructure Advisory Group. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Board shall appoint the members of the Infrastructure Advisory Group, following inputs received from the Governing Board and the Executive Director and taking into account the opinion of the user forum .

Amendment 145

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 10 — paragraph 3 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	(3 a) The Governing Board shall establish the specific criteria and the process for the selection of the members of the Research and Innovation Advisory Group and the Infrastructure Advisory Group.

Amendment 146

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 13 — paragraph 1 — point a

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(a)

draw up and regularly update the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in Article 19(1) of these Statutes for achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. This draft multiannual strategic programme shall include: i) the strategic research and innovation agenda identifying the research and innovation priorities for the development and adoption of technologies and key competences for High Performance Computing and quantum computing across different application areas in order to support the development of an integrated High Performance Computing, quantum computing and data ecosystem in the Union, increase its resilience and help create new markets and societal applications, and measures to promote the development and uptake of European technology; ii) potential international cooperation activities in research and innovation that add value and are of mutual interest; iii) training and education priorities for addressing the skills gap in High Performance Computing and Quantum Computing technologies and applications, in particular for industry. It shall be reviewed regularly in accordance with the evolution of the scientific and industrial demand;

(a)

draw up and regularly update the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in Article 19(1) of these Statutes for achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. This draft multiannual strategic programme shall include: i) the strategic research and innovation agenda , based on the scientific and industrial demands, identifying the research and innovation priorities for the development and uptake of user technologies , services, applications and key competencies for High Performance Computing and quantum computing across different application areas in order to support the development of an integrated High Performance Computing, quantum computing and data ecosystem in the Union, increase Union’s resilience and help create new markets and societal applications, and measures to promote the development and uptake of European technology; ii) potential international cooperation activities in research and innovation that add value and are of mutual interest; iii) training and education priorities for addressing the competencies and skills gap in High Performance Computing and Quantum Computing technologies and applications, in particular for industry. That draft multiannual strategic programme shall be reviewed regularly in accordance with the evolution of the scientific and industrial demand;

Amendment 147

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 13 — paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	In performing its tasks, the Research and Innovation Advisory Group shall seek the opinion of the user forum.

Amendment 148

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 14 — paragraph 1 — point a

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(a)

draw up and regularly update the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in Article 19(1) of these Statutes for achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. The draft multiannual strategic programme shall address: i) the acquisition of the EuroHPC supercomputers taking into account inter alia, the planning of the acquisition, the needed capacity increases, the types of applications and user communities to be addressed, the relevant user requirements and appropriate system architectures, the user requirements, and the architecture of the infrastructure; ii) the federation and interconnection of this infrastructure, taking into account inter alia, the integration with national High Performance Computing or quantum computing infrastructures, and the architecture of the hyper-connected and federated infrastructure; and iii) the capability building, including the Competence Centres and widening and training activities for end-users, as well as opportunities for promoting the take-up and use of European technology solutions notably by the Competence Centres;

(a)

draw up and regularly update the draft multiannual strategic programme referred to in Article 19(1) of these Statutes for achieving the objectives of the Joint Undertaking set out in Article 3 of this Regulation. The draft multiannual strategic programme shall address: i) the acquisition of the EuroHPC supercomputers taking into account inter alia, the planning of the acquisition, the needed capacity increases, the types of applications and user communities to be addressed, the relevant user requirements and appropriate system architectures, the user requirements, and the architecture of the infrastructure; ii) the federation and interconnection of this infrastructure, taking into account inter alia, the integration with national High Performance Computing or quantum computing infrastructures, and the architecture of the hyper-connected and federated infrastructure; and iii) the capability building, including the Union's and the national High Performance Computing Competence Centres and the High Performance Computing Centres of Excellence widening and training activities for end-users, as well as opportunities for promoting the take-up and use of European technology solutions notably by the Competence Centres;

Amendment 149

Proposal for a regulation

Annex – Article 14 — paragraph 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
	In performing its tasks, the Infrastructure Advisory Group shall seek the opinion of the user forum.

(1a) Regulation (EU) …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council of … laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (OJ L …, …, p. …).

		ISSN 1977-091X
Official Journal of the European Union		C 81

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 65 18 February 2022

	III Preparatory acts
	European Parliament
	Wednesday 23 June 2021
2022/C 81/08	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (06674/1/2021 — C9-0193/2021 — 2018/0196(COD))	96
2022/C 81/09	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 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 European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund (06168/1/2021 — C9-0194/2021 — 2018/0197(COD))	98
2022/C 81/10	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 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 specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments (05488/1/2021 — C9-0192/2021 — 2018/0199(COD))	99
2022/C 81/11	P9_TA(2021)0301 Conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) ***I European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Regulation (EU) 2019/833 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (COM(2020)0215 — C9-0157/2020 — 2020/0095(COD)) P9_TC1-COD(2020)0095 Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 23 June 2021 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/… of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2019/833 laying down conservation and enforcement measures applicable in the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation	100
2022/C 81/12	P9_TA(2021)0302 Cross-border payments in the Union (codification) ***I European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on cross-border payments in the Union (codification) (COM(2020)0323 — C9-0204/2020 — 2020/0145(COD)) P9_TC1-COD(2020)0145 Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 23 June 2021 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on cross-border payments in the Union (codification)	101
2022/C 81/13	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on a regulation of the European Parliament laying down the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (Statute of the European Ombudsman) and repealing Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom (2021/2053(INL) — 2019/0900(APP))	102
2022/C 81/14	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Thailand pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (05444/2021 — C9-0171/2021 — 2021/0003(NLE))	112
2022/C 81/15	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Republic of Indonesia pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff-rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (06505/2021 — C9-0181/2021 — 2021/0044(NLE))	113
2022/C 81/16	European Parliament legislative resolution of 23 June 2021 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and the Argentine Republic pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (06837/2021 — C9-0170/2021 — 2021/0054(NLE))	114
	Thursday 24 June 2021
2022/C 81/17	P9_TA(2021)0309 European Climate Law ***I European Parliament legislative resolution of 24 June 2021 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law) (COM(2020)0080 — COM(2020)0563 — C9-0077/2020 — 2020/0036(COD)) P9_TC1-COD(2020)0036 Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 24 June 2021 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/… of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law)	115
2022/C 81/18	European Parliament legislative resolution of 24 June 2021 on the proposal for a Council regulation on establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (COM(2020)0569 — C9-0335/2020 — 2020/0260(NLE))	117
2022/C 81/19	P9_TA(2021)0311 Public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism ***I European Parliament legislative resolution of 24 June 2021 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (COM(2020)0453 — C9-0153/2020 — 2020/0100(COD)) P9_TC1-COD(2020)0100 Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 24 June 2021 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2021/… of the European Parliament and of the Council on the public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism	182
2022/C 81/20	Amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 24 June 2021 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/625 as regards official controls on animals and products of animal origin exported from third countries to the Union to ensure compliance with the prohibition of certain uses of antimicrobials (COM(2021)0108 — C9-0094/2021 — 2021/0055(COD)) [Amendments 1 — 7, unless otherwise indicated]	184

Contents		page

	EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2021-2022 SESSION Sittings of 23 and 24 June 2021 TEXTS ADOPTED	1

	I Resolutions, recommendations and opinions
	RESOLUTIONS
	European Parliament
	Wednesday 23 June 2021
2022/C 81/01	European Parliament resolution of 23 June 2021 on the challenges and opportunities for the fishing sector in the Black Sea (2019/2159(INI))	2
2022/C 81/02	European Parliament resolution of 23 June 2021 on the role of the EU’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in addressing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020/2118(INI))	13
	Thursday 24 June 2021
2022/C 81/03	European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report (2021/2025(INI))	27
2022/C 81/04	European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the EU, in the frame of women’s health (2020/2215(INI))	43
2022/C 81/05	European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) (Nairobi Summit) (2019/2850(RSP))	63
2022/C 81/06	European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on European Union regulatory fitness and subsidiarity and proportionality — report on Better Law Making covering the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 (2020/2262(INI))	74
2022/C 81/07	European Parliament resolution of 24 June 2021 on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019/2171(INI))	82