Verbatim report of proceedings of 10 February 2015

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Published date: 08 December 2022
• Celex Number: C2022/468/02

8.12.2022 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 468/64

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10 February 2015
VERBATIM REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS OF 10 FEBRUARY 2015

(2022/C 468/02)

Contents

1. Opening of the sitting 65

2. Debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (announcement of motions for resolutions tabled): see Minutes 65

3. Initiatives in the framework of the International Labour Organization debate on the right to strike (debate) 65

4. European Youth Initiative (modification of the ESF regulation) (debate) 78

5. Promotion of employee financial participation (debate) 110

6. Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting : see Minutes 123

7. Cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences (debate) 123

8. Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (debate) 137

9. Shortage of funding for the UNRWA (debate) 144

10. Corrigendum (Rule 231): see Minutes 154

11. Situation in Ukraine (debate) 154

12. 2015 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) (debate) 175

13. The work of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (debate) 183

14. Composition of Parliament : see Minutes 195

15. Composition of interparliamentary delegations: see Minutes 195

16. Zero tolerance for female genital mutilation (debate) 195

17. Accession of Gabon to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of Andorra to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of the Seychelles to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of Russia to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of Albania to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of Singapore to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of Morocco to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Accession of Armenia to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (debate) 212

18. Agenda of the next sitting : see Minutes 224

19. Closure of the sitting 224

Verbatim report of proceedings of 10 February 2015

Elnökváltás: GÁLL–PELCZ ILDIKÓ asszony

Alelnök

1. Opening of the sitting

(Az ülést 09.00-kor nyitják meg.)

Alessandra Mussolini (PPE). - Signor Presidente , onorevoli colleghi, oggi 10 febbraio si celebra in Italia la Giornata del ricordo delle vittime della tragedia delle foibe e dell'esodo giuliano-dalmata, la popolazione autoctona di lingua italiana dell'Istria, del Quarnaro e della Dalmazia conquistata dall'ex Iugoslavia dopo la fine della Seconda Guerra mondiale.

Parliamo di migliaia di persone trucidate brutalmente solamente perché di lingua italiana e di 350.000 esuli fuggiti dalla loro terra, con uno svuotamento del 90% dei territori.

Al Consiglio dell'Unione europea la minoranza di lingua italiana chiede una rinegoziazione tra Italia, Slovenia e Croazia dell'accordo di Roma formalmente decaduto e la toponomastica in lingua italiana.

Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE). - Gospođo predsjednice, hvala gospođo Mussolini, htio bih vas pitati da li znate da je danas Istra dvojezična, da je mojom zaslugom, osobno mojom zaslugom, i zaslugom onih koji su naravno podržavali tu politiku, danas dvojezičnost hrvatko-talijanski…

(Predsjednica je oduzela riječ govorniku)

Elnök asszony. – Képviselő Úr! Kérem, fejezze be a hozzászólását. Ez nem a vitának a helye, ez egy bejelentés volt.

2. Debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (announcement of motions for resolutions tabled): see Minutes

3. Initiatives in the framework of the International Labour Organization debate on the right to strike (debate)

Elnök asszony. - A következő pont a Bizottság nyilatkozata – A sztrájkjoggal kapcsolatos ILO-vita keretében tett kezdeményezések (2015/2553(RSP))

Marianne Thyssen, Member of the Commission . - Madam President, let me underline, in order to set the context, that the European Union and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have a long record of good cooperation. Even more, the ILO is a key partner for our external policies.

The European Union promotes the ratification and implementation of ILO Conventions and relies on ILO supervision of labour standards, in particular core labour standards, and in the monitoring of trade association enlargement and development agreements. Therefore, having a well-functioning ILO standard supervisory system is important for us since its conclusions are crucial to assessing compliance with international labour standards. And here we have a problem, due to the fact that since 2012 the supervision of labour standards cannot be carried out properly.

Why not? Because employers' and workers' representatives at the ILO disagree on whether or not the right to strike is protected under ILO Fundamental Convention No 87, the Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention. Secondly, employers' and workers' representatives also disagree on the capacity of the ILO supervisory bodies to decide on the scope of the right to strike, its limits and the conditions for its legitimate exercise. Beyond this there is, as well, a risk of endangering the tripartite relationships and weakening the ILO supervisory system.

As the Commissioner in charge of relations with the International Labour Organisation, I am deeply concerned about these developments and that is why I followed the discussion at the ILO very closely. I personally met the ILO Director-General, Mr Guy Ryder, last week who informed me of the most recent developments. However, as you know, the European Union is only an observer at the ILO. The Commission will therefore not intervene on the substance of the discussion. These matters fall within the competence of the Member States.

The recognition of the right to strike in ILO Convention No 87 is a delicate matter. At the last session of the ILO Governing Body, also thanks to European Union coordination in approximating their positions, the EU Member States were ready to support the option of asking the International Court of Justice for a clarification of the matter so that we can move forward and resolve this pending disagreement between employers' and workers' representatives. A tripartite meeting will take place in the ILO between 23 February and 25 February, the last week of this month, to discuss the issue.

The Commission is ready to support all players and provide information to feed into the discussion, notably by retrieving information on the situation regarding the right to strike in the European Union. Let me remind you that the right to strike is recognised as a fundamental right in the European Union.

The Commission and the EU Delegation in Geneva will support EU Member States and will help them to coordinate their positions and speak with one voice.

Claude Rolin, au nom du groupe PPE . – Madame la Présidente, Madame la Commissaire, il est clair que le droit de grève est un droit fondamental, constitutif de nos systèmes démocratiques. Bien qu'il ne relève pas de la compétence directe de l'Union européenne, les textes sont nombreux – comme la charte des droits fondamentaux de l'Union européenne ou la charte sociale européenne – qui prouvent l'attachement de l'Union au dialogue social et à ce droit.

Dans son article 28, la charte des droits fondamentaux garantit aux salariés le droit de négocier et de conclure des conventions collectives aux niveaux appropriés et de recourir, en cas de conflits d'intérêts, à des actions collectives pour la défense de leurs intérêts, y compris la grève. En la matière, la référence est clairement l'Organisation internationale du travail (OIT), et plus particulièrement sa Convention no 87, ainsi que l'interprétation du comité des experts, qui est reconnue au niveau mondial.

Pour traiter des problèmes qui pourraient surgir dans ce domaine, l'OIT a mis en place un comité de la liberté syndicale et également la commission de l'application des normes, avec des experts. Depuis 60 ans, ces instances ont parfaitement fonctionné, de manière idéale. Elles ont toujours été reconnues par les trois composantes de l'Organisation internationale du travail et ont permis de trouver des compromis au bénéfice des différentes parties.

Malheureusement, depuis 2012, nous devons constater que le processus est quelque peu grippé et que les partenaires sociaux ne parviennent plus à trouver un accord.

L'Union européenne a toujours eu une position claire et voulu favoriser le dialogue social. Le blocage actuel est donc problématique, en ce qu'il remet en cause le dialogue social.

Je souhaite donc que la Commission fasse le maximum pour peser de tout son poids de façon à permettre à l'OIT de sortir de cette impasse. Si, toutefois, c'est impossible, le seul moyen sera de demander un avis devant la Cour internationale de justice de La Haye.

Je vous remercie, Madame la Commissaire, pour le travail que vous faites et, au passage, j'en profite pour vous inviter à renouveler les initiatives pour relancer le dialogue social au niveau européen.

Jutta Steinruck, im Namen der S&D-Fraktion . – Frau Präsidentin! Gleich eins voraus: Wir, die Europäische Sozialdemokratische Fraktion, werden eine...