Written explanations of vote - 8th parliamentary term Catherine STIHLER

I voted in favour, as the draft amending budget updates both the expenditure and the revenue sides of the budget to take account of the latest developments. It shows that the implementation of the EU programmes of the current financial framework has reached cruising speed.

I voted in favour of this report, which is the logical result of the budget 2019 deal.

I voted in favour because this vote ensures that there are funds available in the European budget to help Member States, which have been struck by a natural disaster, in an even more timely and efficient way.

I voted in favour of this report. Although I believe that the draft budget amended by the Council does not entirely meet the real need for a sustainable, coherent and efficient Union budget, Parliament’s objective is to provide the Union with a budget that can deliver tangible benefits to the citizens and companies and adopting this resolution takes us one step closer toward achieving that goal.

I voted in favour as this agreement is of major bilateral and global strategic importance, representing a timely signal in support of open, fair, values- and rules-based trade, while promoting high standards.

I voted in favour as the Agreement strengthens the overall partnership between EU and Japan by promoting political and sectoral cooperation across a wide spectrum of policy fields, such as climate change, research and innovation, maritime affairs, education, culture, migration, counter-terrorism and the fight against organised crime and cybercrime.
Additionally, the agreement restates the Parties’ commitment to safeguard international peace and security by preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and by taking measures to deal with the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. It establishes a Joint Committee with the objective of coordinating the overall partnership which is built upon the Agreement. This Committee will be co-chaired by the HRVP.

I voted in favour as the Agreement strengthens the overall partnership between EU and Japan by promoting political and sectoral cooperation across a wide spectrum of policy fields, such as climate change, research and innovation, maritime affairs, education, culture, migration, counter-terrorism and the fight against organised crime and cybercrime.
Additionally, the agreement restates the Parties’ commitment to safeguard international peace and security by preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and by taking measures to deal with the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. It establishes a Joint Committee with the objective of coordinating the overall partnership which is built upon the Agreement. This Committee will be co-chaired by the HRVP.

I voted for this report because we, Labour and S&D colleagues, have worked very hard to embed a progressive character to the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe. The main concerns of the S&D, such as the SME Instrument, global challenges, climate change, gender balance and SSH (social sciences and humanities) have been covered. This will give a social balance to this proposal that was missing in the European Commission text.

I voted in favour of this report as it takes stock of the most important developments in the realm of the Common Foreign Security Policy (CFSP) over the last year, in terms of the institutional set-up of the CFSP, horizontal issues, such as human rights, non-proliferation and spread of the EU values and geographical issues concerning the main areas of the CFSP: enlargement, transatlantic relations, relations with Russia, EU neighbourhood, Middle East and Asia.

I voted to support this CSDP report, which welcomed a new focus on defence in Europe. Importantly, this report stresses that EU defence cooperation should only take place alongside NATO so that the two institutions do not compete. This will be important for the UK, as one of NATO’s major powers. It condemns the Salisbury chemical attacks and urges, alongside the UK, the Council to sanction those responsible.

I voted in favour of this , which aims to look at the human rights and democracy challenges in third countries and the parliamentary scrutiny of human rights in external policies for the year 2017.

I voted in favour of this report. In a world where Trump does not fully back NATO and of increased volatility throughout the world, Europe is making the decision to step up its defence cooperation through initiatives such as PESCO. Part of this is to foster Europe’s defence industry supporting strategic autonomy and hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process. This new fund will support cross—border technology cooperation in the defence industry offering Europe’s armed forces more options whilst providing taxpayers with more value for money. Labour MEPs voted in favour of amendments to open up the possibility of the UK taking part in this fund in order to preserve thousands of quality jobs in the UK’s defence sector.

. ‒ I voted in favour of this report. This report contains a lot of good and important elements, while at the same time also underlying the importance of promoting the territorial accessibility and connectivity of all regions of the Union, including the remote, outermost, island, peripheral, mountain and cross-border regions, as well as in depopulated and scarcely populated areas, many of which can be found in my constituency of Scotland.

I voted in favour of this report because of the crucial need to prepare pupils and students to deal with social and economic challenges brought about by rapid technological and social developments. Educational institutions play a key role in order to equip learners with the appropriate skills, with particular attention to students with disabilities, minority groups, migrant communities, early school leavers, the long-term unemployed and the elderly. We recommend the introduction of cybersecurity—related teaching programmes in academic and vocational training curricula.

I voted in favour, as in times of increased labour mobility, protecting social rights is of the utmost importance. Equally important is maintaining the continuity of social security when moving from one legislation to another. With this report, we seek to guarantee to all EU workers effective social protection that does not discriminate against anyone. We also want to bring more clarity to the rules applicable to posted and self-employed workers, as well as to people engaged in multiple activities abroad.

I voted in favour of this proposal to set up an efficient and effective European Labour Authority (ELA) in order to end labour exploitation and ensure fair mobility of workers across the EU. With over 20 million mobile workers in the EU, protecting labour and social rights and ensuring fair mobility are more crucial than ever. Yet national labour authorities can do little to monitor and apply EU rules across borders, thus leaving room for exploitation of loopholes in the current legislation. This is why we need a real and effective European Labour Authority. We want to make sure that cases of labour exploitation can be detected in time and that EU legislation is properly applied to protect mobile workers across the EU.

. ‒ I voted in favour of this report which enables Member States to use remaining committed funds of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to address Union priorities in the area of migration, including carrying out relocation.

. ‒ I voted to support the proposal for a new LIFE programme for 2021-2027. The proposed increase in funding will be crucial to promote environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects in Europe. I also support the inclusion of provisions for the association of third countries in the programme.

. ‒ I voted in favour of this report in order to take another important step in protecting European workers from work-related cancer. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, reached an agreement on legislation covering a further eight cancer-causing chemicals, including diesel exhaust. This will ensure better protection for more than 20 million workers in Europe. Workers in the chemical, metal and car industry, professional drivers, construction workers and workers in the dock and warehouse sector, in particular, will benefit. At the same time, it will make our internal market simpler and fairer, with particular attention to help small and micro-enterprises comply with health and safety rules.

I voted in favour of this report in order to address demands from citizens that the risk assessment process in the area of food law be more transparent.