—

having regard to Article 2 and Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union,

—

having regard to Article 8, Article 83(1) and Articles 84 and 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—

having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and in particular Articles 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 47 thereof,

—

having regard to the communication of the Commission of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, and, in particular, the objective of freeing women and girls from violence and stereotypes laid down therein,

—

having regard to the communication of the Commission of 14 April 2021 on the EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings 2021-2025,

—

having regard to the communication of the Commission of 28 September 2017 entitled ‘Tackling Illegal Content Online — Towards an enhanced responsibility of online platforms’,

—

having regard to the communication of the Commission of 24 June 2020 entitled ‘EU Strategy on victims' rights (2020-2025)’,

—

having regard to the communication of the Commission of 12 November 2020 entitled ‘Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’,

—

having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, by the European Union, of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence,

—

having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC,

—

having regard to the Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online, published by the Commission in May 2016 and to its fifth monitoring round, resulting in the document ‘Factsheet — 5th monitoring round of the Code of Conduct’,

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which opened for signature in Istanbul on 11 May 2011,

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention of 23 November 2001 on Cybercrime,

—

having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality (1),

—

having regard to its resolution of 10 June 2021 on promoting equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers (2),

—

having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2021 on the declaration of the EU as an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone (3),

—

having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2021 on the implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2021 on challenges ahead for women’s rights in Europe: more than 25 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (5),

—

having regard to is resolution of 21 January 2021 on the gender perspective in the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis period (6),

—

having regards to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on closing the digital gender gap: women’s participation in the digital economy (7),

—

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 (8),

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences (9),

—

having regard to its resolution of 28 November 2019 on the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention and other measures to combat gender-based violence (10),

—

having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality in the EU (11),

—

having regard to its resolution of 11 September 2018 on measures to prevent and combat mobbing and sexual harassment at workplace, in public spaces, and political life in the EU (12),

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2018 on empowering women and girls through the digital sector (13),

—

having regard to its resolution of 26 October 2017 on combating sexual harassment and abuse in the EU (14),

—

having regard to its resolution of 3 October 2017 on the fight against cybercrime (15),

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2017 on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, by the European Union, of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (16),

—

having regard to the provisions of the United Nations legal instruments in the area of human rights, in particular those concerning women’s and children’s rights, and to other United Nations instruments on violence against women and children,

—

having regard to the United Nations General Assembly resolutions of 16 December 2020 entitled ‘Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls’ (A/RES/75/161) and ‘The right to privacy in the digital age’ (A/RES/75/176),

—

having regard to the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution of 5 July 2018 entitled ‘Accelerating efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls: preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in digital contexts’ (A/HRC/RES/38/5),

—

having regard to the United Nations reports of Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, its causes and consequences, in particular the report of 18 June 2018 on online violence against women and girls from a human rights perspective (A/HRC/38/47), the report of 6 May 2020 on combating violence against women journalists (A/HRC/44/52) and the report of 24 July 2020 on intersection between the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the pandemic of gender-based violence against women, with a focus on domestic violence and the ‘peace in the home’ initiative,

—

having regard to the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women of 20 December 1993,

—

having regard to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 10 December 1984,

—

having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 18 December 1979,

—

having regard to General recommendation No. 35 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women of 14 July 2017 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19,

—

having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989,

—

having regard to General comment No. 13 (2011) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child of 18 April 2011 on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence,

—

having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and, in particular, to Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality,

—

having regard to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe report on the safety of female journalists online (17),

—

having regard to the European Parliamentary Research Service study on ‘Combating gender-based violence: Cyber violence — European added value assessment’,

—

having regard to the European Parliamentary Research Service study entitled ‘Cyber violence and hate speech online against women’,

—

having regard to the Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality,

—

having regard to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (18),

—

having regard to the Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (19),

—

having regard to the Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on a temporary derogation from certain provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC as regards the use of technologies by providers of number-independent interpersonal communications services for the processing of personal and other data for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse (20),

—

having regard to the report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of 3 March 2014 entitled ‘Violence against women: an EU-wide survey’,

—

having regard to the report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of 14 May 2020 entitled ‘EU LGBTI II: A long way to go for LGBTI equality’ (21),

—

having regard to the legal opinion of the Advocate-General at the Court of Justice of the European Union on the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, aimed at clarifying the legal uncertainty if and how the Union can conclude and ratify the Convention, delivered on 11 March 2021 (22),

—

having regard to the work of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), including the latter’s European Cybercrime Centre, and its Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment,

—

having regard to Rules 47 and 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0338/2021),

A.

whereas gender equality is a fundamental value and a core objective of the Union and should be reflected in all Union policies; whereas the right to equal treatment and non-discrimination is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 2 and Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), Articles 8, 10, 19 and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Articles 21 and 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’); whereas the first objective of the Union’s 2020-2025 Gender Equality Strategy focuses on ending gender-based violence and describes it as ‘one of our societies’ biggest challenges’, as it affects women at all levels of society, regardless of age, education, income, social background or country of origin or residence, and is one of the most serious obstacles to achieving gender equality;

B.

whereas violence against women and girls and other forms of gender-based violence are widespread in the Union and are to be understood as an extreme form of discrimination which has a huge impact on victims and their families and communities and a violation of human rights entrenched in gender inequality, which they contribute to, perpetuate and reinforce; whereas gender-based violence is rooted in the unequal distribution of power between women and men, in established patriarchal structures and practices and gender norms, sexism and harmful gender stereotypes, and prejudices which have led to domination over and discrimination by men against women and girls in all their diversity, including LGBTIQ people;

C.

whereas violence against women should be understood to mean all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life or perpetrated online or offline;

D.

whereas women and girls in all their diversity and LGBTIQ people can be targeted by gender-based cyberviolence on the grounds of their gender, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics; whereas intersectional forms of discrimination, including discrimination based on race, language, religion, belief, national or social origin, belonging to a national or ethnic minority, birth, sexual orientation, age, state of health, disability, marital status or migrant or refugee status can exacerbate the consequences of gender-based cyberviolence; whereas the Union’s LGBTIQ Equality Strategy recalls that everyone has a right to safety, be it at home, in public or online;

E.

whereas the Union’s LGBTIQ Survey II conducted by FRA shows that 10 % of LGBTIQ people had experienced cyberharassment due to being LGBTIQ in the year prior to the survey, including on social media; whereas intersex and trans people are over-proportionally affected (16 %); whereas teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 were the group that most experienced cyberharassment due to being LGBTIQ (15 %), compared with other age groups (7 %-12 %);

F.

whereas violence against women and girls in all their diversity and gender-based violence present different but not mutually exclusive forms and manifestations; whereas online violence is often interlinked with, and inseparable from offline violence because the former can precede, accompany or continue the latter; whereas gender-based cyberviolence should therefore be understood as a continuum of offline gender-based violence in the online environment;

G.

whereas the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) study entitled ‘Combating gender-based violence: Cyber violence — European added value assessment’ on gender-based cyberviolence estimates that 4 to 7 % of women in the Union have experienced cyberharassment during the 12 months prior to the assessment, while between 1 and 3 % have experienced cyberstalking; whereas cyberstalking takes multiple forms and is the most common form of sole or combined hate speech and has for too long been unrecognised and unacted upon; whereas the World Wide Web Foundation survey conducted in 2020 among respondents from 180 countries revealed that 52 % of young women and girls have experienced online abuse such as the sharing of private images, videos or messages without their consent, mean and humiliating messages, abusive and threatening language, sexual harassment and false content, and 64 % of respondents stated that they know someone who has experienced it;

H.

whereas young women and girls are at a greater risk of encountering cyberviolence, particularly cyberharassment and cyberbullying; whereas at least 12,5 % of school bullying cases are online (23); whereas young people are now increasingly connected to social networks at an earlier age; whereas those forms of violence reinforce the weight of social inequalities because it is often the most disadvantaged young people who are the target; whereas according to UNICEF, girls are harassed twice as much as boys (24); whereas, according to that survey, women are more sceptical with regard to tech companies using their data responsibly;

I.

whereas in 2014, according to the report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) of 3 March 2014 entitled ‘Violence against women: an EU-wide survey’, 11 % of women had experienced cyberharassment and 14 % had experienced stalking since the age of 15 in the Union;

J.

whereas internet connectivity and the need to access the digital public sphere are becoming increasingly necessary for the development of our societies and economies; whereas jobs increasingly involve and become dependent on the digital solutions leading to an increasing risk of women encountering gender-based cyberviolence when engaging in the labour market and economic activity;

K.

whereas the increasing reach of the internet, the rapid spread of mobile information, and the use of social media, coupled with the continuum of multiple, recurring and interrelated forms of gender-based violence, has led to the proliferation of gender-based cyberviolence; whereas women and girls who have access to the internet face online violence more often than men; whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences noted that new technologies ‘will inevitably give rise to different and new manifestations of online violence against women’; whereas innovation happens at a pace that often does not allow for reflecting on its long-term consequences and the prevalence of gender-based cyberviolence is likely to continue to rise in the coming years; whereas there is a need to adequately assess the impact of gender-based cyberviolence on victims and to understand the mechanisms that allow perpetrators of that form of gender-based violence to perpetrate violence in order to ensure redress, accountability and prevention;

L.

whereas, according to the World Health Organization (25), one in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence mostly by an intimate partner; whereas gender-based violence has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns have aggravated the risk of domestic violence and abuse; whereas the greater use of the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence, since abusive partners and ex-partners also monitor, track and threaten their victims and perpetrate violence with digital tools; whereas that cyberviolence can coincide with and escalate to physical violence if not addressed early on; whereas in the EU Strategy on Victims' Rights (2020-2025), the Commission acknowledges that the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has occasioned an increase in cybercrimes, such as online sexual offences and hate crime;

M.

whereas the most common types of gender-based cyberviolence are crimes such as cyber harassment, cyberstalking, ICT-related violation of privacy, including the accessing, taking, recording, sharing and creation and manipulation of data or images, including intimate data, without consent, identity theft and online hate speech, coercive control by means of digital surveillance and control of communications via stalkerware and spyware apps, and the use of technological means for trafficking in human beings, including for the purposes of sexual exploitation;

N.

whereas gender-based cyberviolence can be perpetrated using a range of online communication channels and tools, including social media, web content, discussion sites, dating websites, comment sections, and gaming chat rooms; whereas many types of gender-based cyberviolence can be perpetrated with far greater ease and scale than physical forms of gender-based violence;

O.

whereas some Member States have adopted laws on only some specific forms of gender-based cyberviolence and, therefore, significant gaps remain; whereas there is currently no common definition or effective policy approach to combating gender-based cyberviolence at Union level; whereas such an absence of a harmonised definition at Union level leads to significant differences as to the extent to which Member States combat and prevent gender-based cyberviolence, leaving wide disparities and fragmentation in the level of protection afforded by them, despite the cross-border nature of the crime; whereas a harmonised legal definition of gender-based cyberviolence is therefore needed in order to ensure convergence both at national and Union levels;

P.

whereas, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the definition of ‘online violence against women’ extends to any act of gender-based violence against women that is committed, assisted or aggravated in part or fully by the use of ICT, such as mobile phones and smartphones, the internet, social media platforms or email, against a woman because she is a woman, or affects women disproportionately (26);

Q.

whereas criminalising gender-based cyberviolence could have a deterrent effect on perpetrators due to the fear of penalties or the awareness that they are committing a crime;

R.

new forms are emerging due to the rapid development and use of digital technologies and applications; whereas those different forms of gender-based cyberviolence and online harassment target all age groups, from early ages, to school and professional life, to later years; whereas the potential for violence in the cyber-sphere to manifest psychically should also not be discounted;

S.

whereas, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), seven out of 10 women have experienced cyberstalking; whereas stalkerware is a software facilitating abuse by allowing a person’s device to be monitored without their consent and without making the monitoring activity known to the owner of the device and while the software stays hidden; whereas stalkerware is legally available for use and purchase in the Union, often marketed as parental control software;

T.

whereas image-based sexual abuse is often weaponised to harass and humiliate victims; whereas ‘deepfakes’ are a relatively new way to deploy gender-based violence, harnessing artificial intelligence to exploit, humiliate and harass women;

U.

whereas image-based sexual abuse and websites on which such abuse is disseminated is a growing form of intimate partner violence; whereas the consequences of image-based-sexual abuse can be sexual, in that the sexual encounter was recorded or disseminated without consent, psychological, as regards the impact on victims of having their private life become public, and economic, in that the image-based sexual abuse may potentially compromise the present and future professional life of victims;

V.

whereas there is an increased risk that non-consensual intimate and sexual videos of women are disseminated on pornography websites and that they are disseminated for a monetary benefit; whereas the online dissemination of private content without the consent of the victim and, particularly, of sexual abuse brings an additional traumatic element to violence, often with dramatic consequences, including suicide;

W.

whereas young women, and girls in particular, are subjected to gender-based cyberviolence involving the use of new technologies, including cyberharassment and cyberstalking by means of rape threats, death threats, ICT-related violations of privacy, and the publication of private information and photos;

X.

whereas, at present, 15 Member States do not include gender identity in hate speech law; whereas the Commission has committed in the Union’s 2020-2025 Gender Equality Strategy and in 2020-2025 LGBTIQ Equality Strategy to present an initiative with a view to extending the areas of crime where harmonisation is possible to include specific forms of gender-based violence in accordance with Article 83(1) TFEU;

Y.

whereas the statistics mentioned in this resolution show that hate speech against LGBTIQ people is pervasively common, in particular online, and there is a notable absence of laws in some Member States to prevent, address and penalise such forms of online abuse;

Z.

whereas in 2017 the Union signed the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the ‘Istanbul Convention’), which remains the benchmark for international standards for the eradication of gender-based violence, and concluding the Union’s accession to that Convention is a key priority for the Commission;

AA.

whereas, in order to end gender-based violence, including gender-based cyberviolence, it is necessary to rely on consistent, tangible, representative and comparable administrative data, based on a robust and coordinated framework of data collection; whereas there is a lack of comprehensive and comparable disaggregated data on all forms of gender-based violence and its root causes; whereas despite a growing awareness of that phenomenon, the lack of data collection on all forms of gender-based violence prevents an accurate assessment of its prevalence; whereas such lack of available data is linked to the underreporting of cases of gender-based cyberviolence; whereas the Istanbul Convention and Directive 2012/29/EU require Member States to report statistical data and to produce gender-disaggregated data;

AB.

whereas the criminal justice response to victims of gender-based cyberviolence is still lagging behind, demonstrating a lack of understanding and awareness of the seriousness of those offences and discouraging reporting in many Member States; whereas equipping police officers with the soft skills to carefully listen, understand and respect all victims of all forms of gender-based violence can help to address underreporting and re-victimisation; whereas ensuring accessible reporting procedures and mechanisms, as well as remedies, is indispensable to promoting a safer environment for all victims of gender-based violence; whereas information should be available for victims of cyberviolence as regards how and whom to contact in law enforcement services as well as regards the available remedies to help them through distressing situations’;

AC.

whereas the Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Eurojust and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) have conducted research on online cybercrime; whereas some women and LGBTIQ people such as feminist and LGBTIQ activists, artists, politicians, women in public positions, journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and other public figures, are particularly impacted by gender-based cyberviolence, and whereas this causes them not only reputational damage, psychological harm and suffering but can also lead to disruption to a victim’s living situation, invasions of privacy and damage to personal relationships and family lives and can deter victims from participating digitally in political, social, economic and cultural life;

AD.

whereas gender-based cyberviolence often leads to self-censorship and that situation can have a detrimental impact on the professional lives and reputations of victims of gender-based cyberviolence; whereas the violent and gendered nature of the threats means that victims often resort to the use of pseudonyms, maintain low online profiles, decide to suspend, deactivate or permanently delete their online accounts, or even to leave their profession entirely; whereas that can silence female voices and opinions and worsen an already present gender inequality in political, social and cultural life; whereas the growing gender-based cyberviolence faced by women can prevent them from further participating in the digital sector itself, thereby solidifying gender-biased conception, development, and implementation of new technologies and causing the replication of existing discriminatory practices and stereotypes contributing to the normalisation of gender-based cyberviolence;

AE.

whereas gender-based cyberviolence has a direct impact on women's sexual, physical and psychological health and well-being and has a negative social and economic impact; whereas gender-based cyberviolence negatively impacts the ability of victims to fully exercise their fundamental rights, which, therefore, has dire consequences for society and democracy as a whole;

AF.

whereas the detrimental economic impact of gender-based violence and the mental health issues it causes can have a severe impact on victims, including their ability to seek employment, and can cause financial burden; whereas the economic impact of gender-based violence can include an impact on employment, such as lower presence at work, a risk of employment status being compromised, inducing a risk of job loss or lower productivity; whereas the mental health impact of gender-based cyberviolence can be complex and long term; whereas the mental health impact of gender-based cyberviolence, such as anxiety, depression and ongoing symptoms of post-trauma, has detrimental interpersonal, social, legal, economic and political implications and ultimately affects young people’s livelihood and identity; whereas some of those impacts compound other forms of discrimination, exacerbating existing forms of discrimination and inequalities;

AG.

whereas according to the EPRS study entitled ‘Combating gender-based violence: Cyber violence — European added value assessment’ the overall costs of cyberharassment and cyberstalking are estimated at between EUR 49 and 89,3 billion, with the largest cost category being the value of the loss in terms of quality of life, which accounted for more than half of the overall costs (about 60 % for cyberharassment and about 50 % for cyberstalking);

AH.

whereas prevention, especially through education, including digital literacy and skills such as cyber hygiene and netiquette, must be a key element of any public policy aimed at tackling gender-based cyberviolence;

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—

having regard to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on European Union, Articles 6, 8, 10, 83, 153 and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Articles 21 and 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

—

having regard to the EU directives from 1975 onwards on various aspects of equal treatment for women and men, namely Council Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security (1), Council Directive 86/613/EEC of 11 December 1986 on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity, including agriculture, in a self-employed capacity, and on the protection of self-employed women during pregnancy and motherhood (2), Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (3), Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services (4), Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (5), Council Directive 2010/18/EU of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC (6), and Directive 2010/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employment capacity and repealing Council Directive 86/613/EEC (7),

—

having regard to the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 1949,

—

having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular goal 5 and its targets and indicators,

—

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

—

having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995 and to the subsequent outcome documents adopted at the UN Beijing+5, + 10, + 15 and + 20 special sessions,

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 18 December 1979,

—

having regard to Convention No 100 of the International Labour Organization concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value,

—

having regard to Convention No 156 of the International Labour Organization concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities,

—

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 the Commission communication of 12 November 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0698),

—

having regard to the Commission staff working document of 5 March 2021 entitled ‘2021 report on gender equality in the EU’ (SWD(2021)0055),

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 24 March 2021 entitled ‘EU Strategy on the rights of the child (2020-2025)’ (COM(2021)0142),

—

having regard to the study entitled ‘The gendered impact of the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis period’, published by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs of its Directorate-General for Internal Policies on 30 September 2020,

—

having regard to the 2019 and 2020 Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality,

—

having regard to its resolution of 9 June 2015 on the EU Strategy for equality between women and men post 2015 (8),

—

having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap (9),

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2020 on the need for a dedicated Council configuration on gender equality (10),

—

having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality (11),

—

having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the gender perspective in the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis period (12),

—

having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2021 on challenges ahead for women’s rights in Europe: more than 25 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (13),

—

having regard to its 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 (14),

—

having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0315/2021),

A.

whereas women’s rights are human rights and thus universal and indivisible, as enshrined in the Treaty on European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas the struggle for gender equality and the promotion and protection of women’s rights is a truly collective responsibility that requires faster progress and efforts by EU institution and Member States; whereas the EU and its Member States must aim to combat inequalities and discrimination based on gender and sex, promote gender equality, and guarantee equal rights and treatment for women and men in all their diversity, as well as ensure that they have equal power and opportunities to shape society and their own lives; whereas according to the European Institute for Gender Equality, the EU is at least 60 years away from achieving complete gender equality; whereas gender equality in the EU has not yet been achieved and progress in this direction remains slow, stagnating or even regressing in certain regions and countries; whereas the EU’s score in the Gender Equality Index has increased by only 4.1 points since 2010 and 0.5 points since 2017 (15); whereas Member States achieved an average score of 67.9 out of 100 in 2020;

B.

whereas women must have the same opportunities as men for reaching economic independence; whereas although female employment rates have risen, gender inequality on the labour market remains a worrying reality and a significant challenge, while labour market trends in the light of the pandemic show a more significant impact on women than men (16); whereas the employment rate for men of working age in the EU-27 was 79 % in 2019, exceeding that of women by 11,7 percentage points; whereas with regard to labour market participation, 8 % of men in the EU are working part-time compared to 31 % of women, revealing persistent inequalities; whereas the gender gap in the full-time equivalent employment rate has increased in eight Member States since 2010; whereas too little progress has been made in challenging the sectoral and occupational gender segregation in the labour market; whereas the employment gap is particularly high for women of poor socioeconomic status, such as single mothers, female caregivers, women with disabilities, migrant and refugee women, women from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and from religious minorities, women with low educational achievements, LGBTIQ+ women, as well as young and elderly women;

C.

whereas women in the EU are paid 14 % less per hour than men on average and whereas the gender pay gap varies from between 3,3 % to 21,7 % across the Member States; whereas despite the fact that the principle of equal pay for men and women has been part of the EU acquis since 1957 and a significant amount of national legislation, and in spite of the action taken and resources spent trying to reduce these disparities, progress has been extremely slow and wage inequality has even got worse in several Member States; whereas far more women than men work part-time (8,9 million vs 560 000) owing to their care responsibilities; whereas the increasing long-term care needs and lack of care services exacerbate gender inequalities within families and in employment; whereas Eurostat figures show that unemployment among women grew from 6,9 % in April to 7,9 % in August 2020, while unemployment among men grew from 6,5 % to 7,1 % over the same period;

D.

whereas women face intersectional inequalities and discrimination, including on account of their race, ethnic or social origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion or belief, residence status and disability, and whereas efforts must be made to address all forms of discrimination to achieve gender equality for all women; whereas until now EU policies have not deployed an intersectional approach and have focused only on the individual dimension of discrimination, which downplays its institutional, structural and historical dimensions; whereas applying an intersectional analysis not only allows us to understand structural barriers, but also offers evidence to create benchmarks and set a path towards strategic and effective policies against systemic discrimination, exclusion and social inequalities;

E.

whereas the Commission’s 2021 report on gender equality in the EU concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected women’s lives and exacerbated existing gender inequalities in almost every respect; whereas at the forefront of efforts to combat the pandemic, around 70 % of workers in the social and health sectors are women, such as nurses, doctors or cleaning assistants; whereas the manifold impacts of the pandemic on women range from an increase in gender-based and domestic violence and harassment to a greater burden of unpaid care and domestic responsibilities, with women continuing to carry out the majority of household and family tasks, even more so when teleworking, unemployed or in part-time work; whereas in addition, women face economic disadvantages on the labour market, particularly healthcare workers, caregivers and workers in other female-dominated and precarious sectors, and restricted access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); whereas the economic impact of the pandemic threatens to reverse the hard-won progress with regard to women’s economic independence over the past decade; whereas women’s employment has fallen more sharply during the pandemic than it did during the 2008 recession (17), with significant consequences for women and their families and the wider economy, including reduced opportunities, freedoms, rights and well-being; whereas the Global Gender Gap report 2021 states that the time it will take to close the gender gap has increased by a generation from 99,5 years to 135,6 years as a result of the pandemic (18);

F.

whereas there has been an unprecedented focus on gender equality in sport over the last decade, but not always for the best reasons and purposes, especially as regards women’s rights in practice;

G.

whereas the European Institute for Gender Equality defines gender-based violence against women as any form of violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately; whereas violence against women in all its forms (physical, sexual, psychological, economic or cyber-violence) is a violation of human rights, an extreme form of discrimination against women and one of the biggest obstacles to achieving gender equality; whereas gender-based violence is rooted in the unequal distribution of power between genders, patriarchal structures and gender stereotypes, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and can differ in appearance, intensity and form; whereas a society free from gender-based violence must be acknowledged as an absolute prerequisite for gender equality;

H.

whereas 31 % of women in Europe have experienced physical and/or sexual violence and whereas countless women experience sexual assault and harassment in intimate partnerships and public life (19); whereas reports and figures from several Member States show a worrying increase in gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic; whereas according to the World Health Organization, some Member States have reported a 60 % increase in emergency calls from women subjected to violence by their intimate partner during the pandemic (20); whereas according to a report by Europol, child sexual abuse online has increased dramatically in the EU (21); whereas the impact of confinement on social, economic, psychological and democratic life has been disproportionally severe on people and women in vulnerable situations, with particular regard to exposure to violence, increased economic dependence and inequalities in the workplace and between caring roles; whereas in addition, lockdown measures made it more difficult for the victims of intimate partner violence to seek help as they were often confined with their abusers and had limited access to support services; whereas insufficient or inadequate support structures and resources have exacerbated an existing ‘shadow’ pandemic;

I.

whereas there are worrying anti-gender and anti-feminist movements attacking women’s rights across Europe, challenging achievements and progress and thus undermining democratic values; where the backlash against gender equality policies and women’s rights is becoming a matter of grave concern;

J.

whereas trafficking in human beings is a highly gendered phenomenon with nearly three quarters of the reported victims in the EU being women and girls, who were predominantly trafficked for sexual exploitation; whereas trafficking in human beings is a growing part of organised crime and a human rights violation; whereas 78 % of all children trafficked are girls and 68 % of adults trafficked are women;

K.

whereas access to SRHR, including sexuality and relationships education, family planning, contraceptive methods and safe and legal abortion, is essential to achieving gender equality and eliminating gender-based violence; whereas the autonomy and ability of girls and women to make free and independent decisions about their bodies and lives is a precondition for their economic independence and thus for gender equality and the elimination of gender-based violence; whereas it is unacceptable that several Member States are currently attempting to limit access to SRHR through highly restrictive laws, which lead to gender discrimination and have negative consequences for women’s health;

L.

whereas women in the EU are more disproportionally affected by poverty or the risk of social exclusion than men, notably women who experience intersectional forms of discrimination owing to structural factors, gender norms and stereotypes; whereas since 2010 the gender gap in earnings has increased in 17 Member States, while the gender gap in income has gone up in 19 Member States, leading to an overall increase in gender inequality in earnings and income in the EU (22); whereas 40,3 % of single-parent households in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2019 (23); whereas women are at greater risk of poverty and job insecurity, with those at risk often working in low-paid jobs with wages insufficient to overcome the poverty line and precarious working conditions;

M.

whereas it is important to guarantee the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, as enshrined in the Treaties;

N.

whereas the EU gender pay gap is 14,1 %, with variations between the Member States; whereas this gender pay gap has a number of implications, not least a 29,5 % (24) difference in corresponding pension entitlements, leading to a gender pension gap that places older women at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion; whereas this is the result of career and employment gaps that have built up through care responsibilities and/or part-time work undertaken by women over time, and the ensuing repercussions for access to financial resources such as benefits and pension payments; whereas the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value is not always guaranteed and remains one of the biggest challenges to be met in efforts to combat pay discrimination (25); whereas gender-equal sharing of parental leave is important for tackling the gender pay gap; whereas although essential and of high socioeconomic value, work in highly female-dominated sectors such as care, cleaning, retail and education is often less valued and lower paid than work in male-dominated sectors; whereas this fact highlights the urgent need to reassess the adequacy of wages in female-dominated sectors;

O.

whereas 20,6 % of women with disabilities are in full-time employment in the EU, compared with 28,5 % of men with disabilities; whereas figures show that on average, 29,5 % of women with disabilities in the EU are at risk of falling victim to poverty and social exclusion, compared with 27,5 % of their male counterparts;

P.

whereas gender stereotypes still influence the division of labour at home, in education, in the workplace and in society; whereas unpaid care and domestic work, which is mostly carried out by women, imposes a disproportionate burden on women, who play a vital role in this respect; whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the shocking state of European care homes and the sector as a whole, which mostly employs women; whereas 80 % of care in the EU is provided by informal caregivers, 75 % of whom are women (26); whereas prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, women in the EU spent an average of 13 hours more than men on unpaid care and housework every week; whereas the unequal sharing of care responsibilities in the Member States is exacerbated by a limited or total lack of access to adequate and accessible care facilities, including public care facilities for children and older people, which leads to periods of absence from the labour market and widens the gender pay and pension gaps; whereas 7,7 million women aged between 20 and 64 were away from the EU labour market in 2019 because they were looking after children or other people with care needs, compared with 450 000 men; whereas investment in universal services, including care services, can alleviate the disproportionate care responsibilities placed on women and improve their ability to participate freely in the labour market; whereas everyone, regardless of gender, has the right to work and to balance their professional and private lives;

Q.

whereas measures to achieve a work-life balance are important in ensuring an equal division of caregiving responsibilities between women and men and addressing income and employment disparities; whereas the achievement of a work-life balance depends on the availability and accessibility of high-quality and affordable care services; whereas all maternity benefits should be ensured and upheld, with full implementation of the Work-Life Balance Directive (27) by the Member States; whereas public policies are required for the protection and promotion of nursing and breastfeeding, without prejudice to women’s choices;

R.

whereas the Commission adopted its Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025 on 5 March 2020, outlining an ambitious framework on how to advance gender equality in the EU; whereas policies must contribute more to advance gender equality; whereas women are disproportionately affected by rising unemployment, increased precariousness, low pay and budget cuts including in public services, notably health and education; whereas Parliament has called on the Commission to establish a concrete roadmap with timeframes, objectives, a yearly review and monitoring mechanism, clear and measurable indicators of success, and additional targeted actions; whereas through its policies, programmes and relations with the Member States, including close cooperation on the national recovery funds, the EU should assess the Member States carefully to ensure they are taking proper account of the gender dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic;

S.

whereas the presence of women in both chambers of national parliaments in the EU has increased from 24 % in 2010 to 32 % in 2020; whereas the gender balance has improved among cabinet ministers in national governments, from 26 % in 2010 to 32 % in 2020; whereas there are significant differences between the Member States however, with only seven having achieved gender parity or a gender balance in their cabinets: whereas the pace of change continues to be extremely slow at regional and local levels, with only 29 % of positions represented by women in 2019 and Hungary, Slovakia and Romania having more than 80 % male representation in regional assemblies;

T.

whereas the right to equal pay for equal work of equal value is not guaranteed in many circumstances, even where enshrined in law; whereas the root causes of such discrimination need to be tackled, whether by protecting and enhancing labour rights or by stepping up business monitoring, especially by national labour inspectorates; whereas collective bargaining is key to reversing and overcoming gender inequalities;

U.

whereas gender equality is closely linked to the green and digital transitions and whereas the inclusion of women in decision-making is a prerequisite for sustainable development and the efficient management of both the green and digital transitions in order to achieve fair and just transitions that leave no one behind; whereas all climate action and digital policies must include a gender and intersectional perspective;

V.

whereas the effects on families of involving men and of fatherhood show that caring men are important to the optimal development of children and can improve the work-life balance and help redress gender inequality in relationships; whereas male engagement can help to prevent violence in families and contribute to more equitable societies;

W.

whereas the persistence of gender stereotypes and expectations about the roles of men and boys can make them reluctant to show positive emotions and make them internalise negative emotions such as sadness and anxiety, which can result in men and boys displaying greater levels of aggression and anger than women; whereas this can make men and boys more likely to perpetrate violence such as gender-based violence;

X.

whereas gender imbalance is a persistent phenomenon in central banks, which are cornerstones of economic decision-making that shape social, political and economic realities; whereas all central banks of the Member States are currently governed by a man and whereas last year women occupied only a quarter (24,6 %) of the positions on key decision-making bodies of the EU’s national central banks;

Y.

whereas the European Institute for Gender Equality has concluded that the performance of the Member States in gender mainstreaming has been getting worse since 2012; whereas despite slightly more ambitious commitments by governments to mainstream gender into public administrations, the availability of gender mainstreaming structures and the use of gender mainstreaming tools has waned;

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having regard to Articles 310, 317 and 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (PIF Directive) (1),

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and amending Directives 2009/138/EC and 2013/36/EU (2),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/20121 (3) (Financial Regulation),

—

having regard to the OLAF Reports 2019 and 2020, and the 2019 and 2020 Activity Reports of the OLAF Supervisory Committee,

—

having regard to Special Report No 01/2019 of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) entitled ‘Fighting fraud in EU spending: action needed’,

—

having regard to Special Report No 06/2019 of the ECA entitled ‘Tackling fraud in EU cohesion spending: managing authorities need to strengthen detection, response and coordination’,

—

having regard to Special Report No 13/2021 of the ECA entitled ‘EU efforts to combat money laundering in the banking sector are fragmented and implementation is insufficient’,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 28 April 2019 entitled ‘Commission Anti-Fraud Strategy: enhanced action to protect the EU budget’ (COM(2019)0196) and the accompanying staff working document entitled ‘Fraud risk assessment’ (SWD(2019)0171),

—

having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 3 September 2020 entitled ‘31st Annual Report on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests — Fight against fraud — 2019’ (PIF Report) (COM(2020)0363) and the accompanying staff working documents (SWD(2020)0156, SWD(2020)0157, SWD(2020)0158, SWD(2020)0159 and SWD(2020)0160),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/785 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Union Anti-Fraud Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 250/2014 (4),

—

having regard to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (5),

—

having regard to Decision (EU) 2019/1798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 appointing the European Chief Prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (6),

—

having regard to Article 5(3) of the Treaty on European Union and Protocol (No 2) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,

—

having regard to the 2019 report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) entitled ‘Fraud and corruption in European Structural and Investment Funds — a spotlight on common schemes and preventive actions’ (7),

—

having regard to the Guidelines on National Anti-Fraud Strategies developed by a working group of Member States’ experts, directed and coordinated by the Fraud Prevention, Reporting and Analysis unit in the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (8), published on 13 December 2016,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 14 April 2021 entitled ‘The EU Strategy to tackle Organised Crime 2021-2025’ (COM(2021)0170),

—

having regard to the study published by the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Internal Policies on 7 July 2021 entitled ‘The Impact of Organised Crime on the EU’s Financial Interests’,

—

having regard to the Commission’s package of four legislative proposals to harmonise the EU’s rules on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), published on 20 July 2021,

—

having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2021 on the protection of the EU’s financial interests — combating fraud — annual report 2019 (9),

—

having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0330/2021),

A.

whereas financial and economic crime involves corruption, fraud, coercion, violence, collusion, obstruction and intimidation for unlawful gain, with monies of illegal origin being concealed by means of money laundering and, possibly, used for further unlawful purposes, including the financing of terrorism;

B.

whereas, according to the ECA, fraud prevention has not received enough attention and the Commission lacks comprehensive information on the scale, nature and causes of fraud;

C.

whereas a rising number of organised crime groups are active in the EU, often with cross-border reach; whereas the phenomenon is increasingly complex with new criminal markets and new ways of operating that are emerging due to globalisation and new technologies; whereas Mafia-style organisations are particularly active in their attempts to intercept EU funds in various Member States;

D.

whereas technology brings new detection and monitoring capabilities, rendering the work of investigators more effective and enabling the design of smarter enforcement measures;

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having regard to Articles 310, 317 and 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

—

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

—

having regard to Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts (1),

—

having regard to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (2),

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having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2017 on the role of whistleblowers in the protection of EU’s financial interests (3),

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law (PIF Directive) (4),

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, and amending Directives 2009/138/EC and 2013/36/EU (5),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (6),

—

having regard to the OLAF Report 2019 (7) and the 2019 Annual Activity Report of the OLAF Supervisory Committee,

—

having regard to the European Court of Auditors’ special report No 01/2019 entitled ‘Fighting fraud in EU spending: action needed’,

—

having regard to the European Court of Auditors’ special report No 06/2019 entitled ‘Tackling fraud in EU cohesion spending: managing authorities need to strengthen detection, response and coordination’,

—

having regard to the European Court of Auditors’ review No 06/2020 entitled ‘Risks, challenges and opportunities in the EU’s economic policy response to the COVID-19 crisis’,

—

having regard to the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), and its 21st general activity report (2020),

—

having regard to the study entitled ‘Public Integrity for an Effective COVID-19 Response and Recovery’, published by the OECD in April 2020,

—

having regard to the study entitled ‘Corruption in the times of Pandemia’, published in May 2020 (8),

—

having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 3 September 2020 entitled ‘31st Annual Report on the protection of the European Union’s financial interests — Fight against fraud — 2019’ (COM(2020)0363) and the accompanying staff working documents (9),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2020/2221 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 December 2020, amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards additional resources and implementing arrangements to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and for preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU) (10),

—

having regard to the Emergency Support Instrument,

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (11),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 (12),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/785 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing the Union Anti-Fraud Programme and repealing Regulation (EU) No 250/2014 (13),

—

having regard to Article 5(3) of the Treaty on European Union and Protocol (No 2) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,

—

having regard to the Court of Auditors Opinion No 4/2020 concerning the proposal 2020/0101(COD) for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards exceptional additional resources and implementing arrangements under the Investment for growth and jobs goal to provide assistance for fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU); and on the amended proposal 2018/0196(COD) for 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 and Fisheries Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum and Migration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument (14),

—

having regard to Europol’s press release of 5 June 2020, entitled ‘Europol launches the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre’ (15),

—

having regard to Europol’s press release of 12 April 2021, entitled ‘Serious and organised crime in the EU: A corrupting influence’ (16),

—

having regard to its resolution of 29 April 2021 on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the rule of law in Malta (17),

—

having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2021 on the protection of the EU’s financial interests — combating fraud — annual report 2019 (18),

—

having regard to its resolution of 10 June 2021 on the ongoing assessment by the Commission and the Council of the national recovery and resilience plans (19),

—

having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A9-0320/2021),

A.

whereas financial and economic crime refers to illegal acts committed by an individual or a group of individuals to obtain economic or professional gain and includes, inter alia, corruption, fraud, coercion, collusion, obstruction, money laundering and financing of terrorism;

B.

whereas the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the subsequent economic emergency and social turmoil, has pushed the EU and the public authorities in Member States to provide for or to be involved in the management of extra funding and substantially and swiftly increase spending;

C.

whereas the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with an envelope of more than EUR 670 billion, and REACT-EU, with an envelope of more than EUR 50 billion, are powerful tools to help EU countries recover; whereas, as early as spring 2020, the cohesion policy provided emergency response assistance to the value of EUR 11,2 billion in business support, EUR 7,6 billion in EU reallocations for health actions and EUR 4,1 billion in direct support for workers;

D.

whereas on 2 April 2020, as part of the EU response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Commission proposed to activate the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI);

E.

whereas the decision on its activation was taken by the Council alone, without Parliament’s involvement in compliance with the provisions for activation as stipulated in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/369 (the ‘ESI Regulation’) (20);

F.

whereas NextGenerationEU is a temporary recovery instrument of some EUR 800 billion in current prices, established to support the EU’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and help build a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe;

G.

whereas because of the pressing nature of the crisis, procurement procedures and means of control have been made more flexible in many places in order to expedite implementation;

H.

whereas response plans do not give enough consideration to governance and the problem of illegal activities such as corruption and fraud, and measures to avoid non-fraudulent irregularities;

I.

whereas crisis creates opportunities for numerous violations of integrity and could intensify fraud and corruption, as well as non-fraudulent irregularities, particularly in public procurement, economic stimulus packages and public organisations;

J.

whereas, according to the Court of Auditors, fraud prevention has not received enough attention and the Commission lacks comprehensive information on the scale, nature and causes of fraud; whereas the official statistics on detected fraud are not complete and the Commission has so far not carried out any assessment of undetected fraud (21);

K.

whereas corruption is a major threat in the private and public spheres and has a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable groups, as it causes a loss of resources that threatens long-term growth, social protection and equitable access to public services (including health, education and justice), all of which erode public trust, increase social inequalities and undermine the core values of the Union; whereas it is essential to better understand the causes of corruption in order to be able to fight effectively against this phenomenon and its harmful consequences;

L.

whereas a rising number of organised crime groups are active in the EU, often with cross-border reach; whereas this phenomenon is becoming increasingly complex, with new criminal markets and modi operandi emerging as a result of globalisation and new technologies, which makes it possible to operate from anywhere in the world and at any time;

M.

whereas technology brings new detection and monitoring capabilities, reducing the burden on investigators and enabling the design of smarter enforcement measures;

N.

whereas the integrity of the Union financial system is dependent on the transparency of corporate and other legal entities, trusts and similar legal arrangements;

O.

whereas the Commission has taken a number of measures to address risks related to corruption and the misuse of funds in the Union, including progress on its legislative proposals on anti-money laundering; whistleblower protection, public procurement and the European rule of law mechanism;

P.

whereas according to the latest report from Transparency International and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (WHO CC) (22), the European Commission is not entirely respecting its own commitments on transparency and international principles of ‘good practice’ on transparency of public contracts when it uses too much redaction to cover elements of text in the Advance Purchase Agreements (APA) contracts; whereas the Commission is, however, obliged by law to respect the provisions of the Financial Regulation, and a better and improved structure for a more rapid response from the Commission in future crises is necessary;

Q.

whereas curbing corruption requires government ownership of reforms, public support, political commitment, international cooperation, and a joint effort with civil society and the private sector;

R.

whereas in a situation of high expectation, severe pressure and unprecedented spending volumes, the responsibility for meeting this challenge rests with public officials, who need appropriate support to deal with both the increased professional standards and new difficulties in fulfilling their mission; whereas, furthermore, officials may not necessarily become promptly aware of conflict-of-interest situations;

S.

whereas there is evidence that professionalisation and adequate wages in public procurement positively influence public officials to refrain from corruption (23);

T.

whereas the Lisbon Treaty took the direction of reinforcing the role of the European Parliament, to bring about more coherence, parliamentary scrutiny and democratic accountability;

U.

whereas the fight against corruption is essential for the protection of the financial interests of the EU and for the maintenance of citizens’ confidence in the EU institutions;

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having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Article 194 thereof,

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 September 2020 on maximising the energy efficiency potential of the EU building stock (1),

—

having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on access to decent and affordable housing for all (2),

—

having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on a European strategy for energy system integration (3),

—

having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2021 on a European Strategy for Hydrogen (4),

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having regard to Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (5) (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive — EPBD),

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having regard to Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC (6) (Energy Efficiency Directive),

—

having regard to Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (7), and its planned review,

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles (8) and the Commission proposal of 14 July 2021 to amend Regulation (EU) 2019/631 as regards strengthening the aforementioned standards in line with the Union’s increased climate ambition (COM(2021)0556),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (9),

—

having regard to Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/786 of 8 May 2019 on building renovation (10),

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having regard to Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/1019 of 7 June 2019 on building modernisation (11),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 on the European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640) and to Parliament’s resolution of 15 January 2020 (12) thereon,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 11 March 2020 on a new Circular Economy Action Plan — For a cleaner and more competitive Europe (COM(2020)0098),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 14 October 2020 on a Renovation Wave for Europe — greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives (COM(2020)0662),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 9 December 2020 on a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy — putting European transport on track for the future (COM(2020)0789),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 6 July 2021 on a Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy (COM(2021)0390),

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having regard to the Commission staff working document of 25 March 2021 entitled ‘Preliminary analysis of the long-term renovation strategies of 13 Member States’ (SWD(2021)0069),

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having regard to the recently published Fit for 55 package,

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having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,

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having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0321/2021),

A.

whereas buildings are responsible for 36 % of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and whereas the building renovation sector is one of the key areas for reducing GHGs and reaching the EU’s climate neutrality, energy efficiency and European Green Deal objectives;

B.

whereas deep and staged deep renovations of the 210 million existing buildings will be crucial to any convincing strategy, as those are the most energy inefficient with up to 110 million buildings potentially in need of renovation (13);

C.

whereas 6 % of EU households were unable to pay their utility bills in 2019; whereas the energy efficiency of buildings can have a positive impact in combating energy poverty;

D.

whereas the building renovation rate is currently very low at around 1 % per year, with the rate of deep renovations at 0,2 % per year; whereas renovation programmes do not always cover energy efficiency improvements and increases in renewable energy sources;

E.

whereas in accordance with the definition in Article 2(18) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (14) on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, ‘energy efficiency first’ is a guiding principle of EU energy policy to make energy demand and energy supply more efficient, in particular by means of cost-effective end use energy savings, demand-response initiatives and the more efficient conversion, transmission and distribution of energy;

F.

whereas according to an assessment by the Commission, heating and hot water alone account for 79 % of total final energy use in EU households (192,5 Mtoe) (15);

G.

whereas the latest revision of the EPBD in 2018 through Directive (EU) 2018/844 (16) aimed to accelerate the renovation of existing buildings by 2050 and to support the modernisation of all buildings with smart technologies and a clearer link to clean mobility, as well as provide a stable environment for investment decisions and enable consumers and businesses to make more informed choices to save energy and money;

H.

whereas since the last revision of the EPBD, the EU has adopted the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;

I.

whereas the EPBD mandates Member States to adopt long-term renovation strategies (LTRSs), but without obliging them to renovate or setting out how to do so, and provides no clear means to check their strategies against results;

J.

whereas the LTRSs should adequately support the energy performance of social housing;

K.

whereas the building automation and control system measures included in the revised EPBD have not yet been fully transposed in the Member States; whereas implementation would create more certainty for investors and professionals;

L.

whereas the Energy Efficiency Directive requires Member States to carry out comprehensive assessments on efficient and renewable heating and cooling with a view to identifying the potential for heating and cooling solutions in the building sector and proposing policies to deliver efficiency and renewable potential;

M.

whereas the New European Bauhaus initiative aims to remove the divide between design and function, sustainable living, the smart use of resources, and innovative and inclusive solutions;

N.

whereas adequate funding and financing is key to unleashing the Renovation Wave; whereas renovation is a flagship area for investment and reform under the Recovery and Resilience Facility;

O.

whereas electric vehicles (EVs) are an important element of the EU’s clean energy transition based on energy efficiency measures, renewable energy, alternative fuels and innovative solutions for the management of energy flexibility and in order to achieve the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;

P.

whereas the EPBD complements Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure by providing a legal basis for the deployment of recharging points in residential and non-residential buildings; whereas the EPBD plays a key role at EU level to support smart, private recharging, given that the majority of recharging is likely to take place in private and on publicly accessible non-residential sites;

Q.

whereas private EV chargers often have different applications and technical requirements from public charging points, as they are supplied with less power and are used for longer charging periods, while remaining to a large extent the most affordable type of charging method;

R.

whereas the EPBD would need to reflect the requirements for the installation of a minimum number of recharging points for the parking spaces of buildings by mandating the deployment of adequate pre-cabling for EV charging; whereas from 2025 Member States must define a minimum requirement of recharging points for all non-residential buildings, both public and private, which have more than 20 parking spaces, according to the relevant national, regional and local conditions;

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having regard to its resolution of 14 February 2019 on the future of the INF Treaty and the impact on the European Union (1),

—

having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2020 with recommendations to the Commission on a framework of ethical aspects of artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies (2),

—

having regard to its recommendation of 21 October 2020 to the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning the preparation of the 10th Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) review process, nuclear arms control and nuclear disarmament options (3),

—

having regard to its resolution of 20 January 2021 entitled ‘The implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy — annual report 2020’ (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 September 2018 on autonomous weapon systems (5),

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 January 2013 on the recommendations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference regarding the establishment of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction (6),

—

having regard to its resolution of 27 October 2016 on nuclear security and non-proliferation (7),

—

having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items (8) (‘Dual-Use Regulation’),

—

having regard to the annual progress reports on the implementation of the European Union strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (in particular those of 2019 (9) and 2020 (10)),

—