ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY. Committee on Political Affairs

Transcription

1 ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMTARY ASSEMBLY ASSEMBLEE PARLEMTAIRE PARITAIRE ACP-UE Committee on Political Affairs AP /AA AMDMTS 1-74 Draft report Worlea Saywah Dunnah (Liberia), Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (European Parliament) (AP v01-00) Financing of political parties in ACP and EU countries AA\ docx AP v04-00

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3 1 Sabine Lösing Recital A A. whereas to fulfil their role of representing and ensuring the participation of citizens, political parties require substantial funds to compete in political contests; A. whereas to fulfil their role of representing and ensuring the participation of a country s population/residents, political parties require substantial funds to compete in political contests; 2 Recital A A. whereas to fulfil their role of representing and ensuring the participation of citizens, political parties require substantial funds to compete in political contests; A. whereas to fulfil their role of representing and ensuring the participation of citizens, political parties today require substantial funds to compete in political contests, but recent experiences of democratic participation worldwide show that it is possible to represent and ensure the participation of citizens, also spending very little in funds; 3 Recital B AA\ docx 3/32 AP v04-00

4 B. whereas funding for political parties derives from both public and private sources, yet the primary source is self-funding from membership dues and party fundraising events; B. whereas funding for political parties derives from both public and private sources, but the sole source that can ensure the political independence of a political party while avoiding misuse of public funds is self-funding, from membership dues and party fundraising events; 4 Sabine Lösing Recital C C. whereas public financing has become an increasingly popular form of ensuring regular support for political parties; C. whereas public financing has become an increasingly popular form of ensuring regular, equal and fair support for political parties; 5 Recital C C. whereas public financing has become an increasingly popular form of ensuring regular support for political parties; C. whereas public financing has become an increasingly popular form of ensuring regular support for political parties and this has favoured, in some cases and in countries of all regions of the world, corruption and misuse of public funds; AP v /32 AA\ docx

5 6 Recital D D. whereas it is to the benefit of the public and democracy that political parties are adequately funded to carry out their work within an agreed framework of accountability and transparency mechanisms; D. whereas it is to the sole benefit of the public and democracy that political parties are adequately funded, with the sole purpose of carrying out their work within an agreed framework of accountability and transparency mechanisms; whereas any misuse of public money should be sanctioned as a crime with effective rules; 7 Sabine Lösing Recital E E. whereas the amount of funding, both public and private, is often conditioned by the economic situation of countries; E. whereas the amount of funding, both public and private, is often conditioned by the size of the political party and the economic situation of countries; 8 Cristian Dan Preda Recital E AA\ docx 5/32 AP v04-00

6 E. whereas the amount of funding, both public and private, is often conditioned by the economic situation of countries; E. whereas the amount of funding, both public and private, is often conditioned by the poor economic and political situation of countries, including lack of administrative capacities; 9 Recital E E. whereas the amount of funding, both public and private, is often conditioned by the economic situation of countries; E. whereas the amount of funding, both public and private, is often conditioned by the economic situation of countries; whereas especially in poor countries, public funds should be devoted to expenditure aimed at directly ameliorating people s living conditions and their enjoyment of human rights, especially social rights, such as the right to education, the right to health, labour rights, etc.; 10 Recital G G. whereas mandatory disclosure of political party funding contributes to greater transparency and gives the public G. whereas mandatory disclosure of political party funding is essential for the rule of law, being fundamental to greater AP v /32 AA\ docx

7 an opportunity to understand the role and actions of political parties; transparency and giving the public an opportunity to understand the role and actions of political parties; 11 Sabine Lösing Recital G G. whereas mandatory disclosure of political party funding contributes to greater transparency and gives the public an opportunity to understand the role and actions of political parties; G. whereas mandatory disclosure of political party funding contributes to greater transparency and accountability and gives the public an opportunity to understand the role and actions of political parties; 12 Sabine Lösing Recital H H. whereas transparency on the provenance of political funding is essential in order to prevent all forms of interference involving money from dubious or illegal sources; H. whereas full transparency on the provenance of political funding is essential in order to prevent all forms of interference involving money from dubious or illegal sources; 13 AA\ docx 7/32 AP v04-00

8 Recital H H. whereas transparency on the provenance of political funding is essential in order to prevent all forms of interference involving money from dubious or illegal sources; H. whereas transparency on the provenance of political funding is essential in order to prevent all forms of interference involving money from dubious or illegal sources and preventing any interference from big private actors acting for private interests and generating corruption; 14 Cristian Dan Preda Recital H H. whereas transparency on the provenance of political funding is essential in order to prevent all forms of interference involving money from dubious or illegal sources; H. whereas transparency on the provenance of political funding is essential in order to prevent all forms of interference involving money from dubious or illegal sources; whereas an increase in illicit funding in political processes represents a major threat to democracy; 15 Cristian Dan Preda Recital H a (new) Ha. whereas the dependence on cash transactions and the limited penetration of the banking system in most of the ACP countries makes the monitoring of AP v /32 AA\ docx

9 political funding very challenging; 16 Sabine Lösing Recital I I. whereas political corruption remains a major problem, with reforms to curb corrupt behaviour often initiated in the aftermath of political finance scandals and public outcry; whereas the continued practice of vote-buying is prevalent in some countries; I. whereas political corruption remains a major problem and seems to be increasing, also in particular in European countries, with reforms to curb corrupt behaviour often initiated in the aftermath of political finance scandals and public outcry; whereas the continued practice of vote-buying is prevalent in some countries; 17 Cristian Dan Preda Recital I I. whereas political corruption remains a major problem, with reforms to curb corrupt behaviour often initiated in the aftermath of political finance scandals and public outcry; whereas the continued practice of vote-buying is prevalent in some countries; I. whereas political corruption remains a major problem, with reforms to curb corrupt behaviour often initiated in the aftermath of political finance scandals and public outcry; whereas corruption in political finance may take many forms, from the use of donations for personal enrichment to the abuse of state resources; whereas the continued practice of vote-buying is prevalent in some countries; AA\ docx 9/32 AP v04-00

10 18 Recital I I. whereas political corruption remains a major problem, with reforms to curb corrupt behaviour often initiated in the aftermath of political finance scandals and public outcry; whereas the continued practice of vote-buying is prevalent in some countries; I. whereas political corruption remains a major problem, with reforms to curb corrupt behaviour often initiated in the aftermath of political finance scandals and public outcry; whereas the continued practice of vote-buying is prevalent in some countries; whereas political corruption is among the main causes of underdevelopment, diverting policy actions from the common public interest and the wellbeing of peoples; 19 Recital J J. whereas fundraising can give rise to conflicts of interest, and private donors might seek to use political financing to influence decision-taking, thus negating the principle of democratic equality; J. whereas fundraising often gives rise to conflicts of interest, and private donors often seek to use political financing to influence decision-taking, thus negating the principle of democratic equality; 20 AP v /32 AA\ docx

11 Recital K K. whereas the development of social networks is transforming traditional political financing processes through micro-financing and the involvement of volunteers; K. whereas the development of social networks is commendably transforming traditional political financing processes through micro-financing and the involvement of volunteers, and this phenomenon should be strongly encouraged in order to favour real independence of political parties and the alignment of their policies and actions to the people s will; 21 Sabine Lösing Recital L L. whereas private funding can lead to unequal financial capacity among political parties; whereas to ensure democratic fairness, additional indirect financing possibilities might need to be taken into account; L. whereas private funding can lead to unequal financial capacity among political parties; whereas to ensure democratic fairness, additional financing possibilities need to be taken into account; 22 Recital L L. whereas private funding can lead to unequal financial capacity among political L. whereas private funding coming from big donors can lead to unequal AA\ docx 11/32 AP v04-00

12 parties; whereas to ensure democratic fairness, additional indirect financing possibilities might need to be taken into account; financial capacity among political parties; whereas to ensure democratic fairness, only small donations collected through micro-financing and the involvement of volunteers should be authorised, and any form of big contribution should be avoided and sanctioned as a form of illicitly influencing parties policies; 23 Recital M M. whereas the illegal use of public funds can undermine public confidence in government institutions; M. whereas the illegal use of public funds strongly undermines public confidence in government institutions and democracy itself; 24 Carlos Zorrinho Recital M M. whereas the illegal use of public funds can undermine public confidence in government institutions; M. whereas the illegal use, or misuse, of public funds can undermine public confidence in government institutions; Or. fr 25 Sabine Lösing AP v /32 AA\ docx

13 Recital M M. whereas the illegal use of public funds can undermine public confidence in government institutions; M. whereas the illegal use of public funds undermines public confidence in government institutions; 26 Cristian Dan Preda Recital M M. whereas the illegal use of public funds can undermine public confidence in government institutions; M. whereas the illegal use of public funds can undermine public confidence in government institutions; whereas the abuse of state resources with the objective of improving the re-election chances of governing party candidates is a very worrying trend; 27 Recital N N. whereas independent monitoring of the financing of political parties remains a considerable challenge; N. whereas independent monitoring of the financing of political parties remains a considerable challenge and should be urgently and effectively improved; AA\ docx 13/32 AP v04-00

14 28 Cristian Dan Preda Recital N N. whereas independent monitoring of the financing of political parties remains a considerable challenge; N. whereas independent monitoring of the financing of political parties remains a considerable challenge; whereas in many ACP countries a genuine regulatory framework for political financing is still lacking, and few countries have the administrative capacity to collect and verify the financial reports; 29 Sabine Lösing Recital O O. whereas the legislation on political financing should include regulations on private and public funding, expenditure, accountability, oversight, and sanctions; O. whereas the legislation on political financing should include regulations on private and public funding, expenditure, accountability, transparency, oversight and sanctions; 30 Recital O AP v /32 AA\ docx

15 O. whereas the legislation on political financing should include regulations on private and public funding, expenditure, accountability, oversight, and sanctions; O. whereas the legislation on political financing should include regulations on private and public funding, expenditure, accountability, oversight and criminal sanctions; 31 Carlos Zorrinho Recital O O. whereas the legislation on political financing should include regulations on private and public funding, expenditure, accountability, oversight, and sanctions; O. whereas the legislation on political financing should include regulations on private and public funding, expenditure, accountability, disclosure of the origin of funds, oversight, and sanctions; Or. fr 32 Cristian Dan Preda Recital P P. whereas the regulation of political financing and the use of funds is crucial to preserve democracy and to prevent corruption and use of illicit funds; P. whereas the regulation of political financing and the use of funds is crucial in order to preserve democracy and enhance competition among a broad range of political parties, as well as to prevent corruption and use of illicit funds; AA\ docx 15/32 AP v04-00

16 33 Cristian Dan Preda Recital Q Q. whereas poor enforcement of regulation serves to facilitate uncontrolled spending during elections and illicit practices; Q. whereas poor enforcement of regulation serves to facilitate uncontrolled spending during elections and illicit practices; whereas in most ACP countries imposing sanctions on violators of political financing remains a challenge; 34 Enrique Guerrero Salom Recital Q a (new) Qa. whereas it is essential for public funding to meet minimum requirements in respect of democracy and human rights; Or. es 35 Recital R R. whereas most EU countries have strict regulations on external or foreign R. whereas most EU countries do not have strict regulations on external or AP v /32 AA\ docx

17 funding that prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; foreign funding that prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 36 Enrique Guerrero Salom Recital R a (new) Ra. whereas consideration could be given to reducing the age of participation in the democratic process in some countries; Or. es 37 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph 1 1. Considers that political party funding should aim to give people a voice in the political democratic process by encouraging a range of different opinions and political perspectives, together with meaningful participation in the political process by all actors, so as to foster democracy and to ensure alternation of office; 1. Considers that political party funding should aim to give people a voice in the political democratic process by encouraging a range of different opinions and political perspectives, together with meaningful participation in the political process by all actors, so as to foster democracy and to ensure the possibility of alternation of office as well as equality of available resources; Or. es AA\ docx 17/32 AP v04-00

18 38 Sabine Lösing Paragraph 2 2. Recalls that political parties require appropriate funding to fulfil their core functions of running election campaigns, but also to carry out activities relating to empowerment, political training and institutional development; 2. Recalls that political parties require appropriate funding to fulfil their core functions of running election campaigns, but also to carry out activities relating to empowerment, development of policy programmes, political education and training and institutional development; 39 Paragraph 2 2. Recalls that political parties require appropriate funding to fulfil their core functions of running election campaigns, but also to carry out activities relating to empowerment, political training and institutional development; 2. Recalls that political parties require appropriate funding to fulfil their core functions of running election campaigns, but also to carry out activities relating to empowerment, political training and institutional development; recalls that parties can and should find such funds through micro-financing and the involvement of volunteers; 40 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 2 a (new) AP v /32 AA\ docx

19 2a. Believes that the adoption of clear and balanced eligibility criteria on public funding will contribute to the consolidation of a fair electoral process; 41 Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Is deeply convinced that the only way to grant effective independence of political parties and ensure that their policies and actions reflect popular will and peoples needs is to ban any form of public funding and any form of public donation exceeding a fixed amount; 42 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Calls on governments to encourage indirect public funding of political parties; believes that indirect public funding represents an interesting financing source in a time of economic constraints, as it allows access to existing resources; AA\ docx 19/32 AP v04-00

20 43 Sabine Lösing Paragraph 3 3. Urges all governments to guarantee a free political stage for true meaningful competition between political parties so that they may be established and develop the capacity to collect funds without intimidation by the ruling party; 3. Urges all governments to guarantee a free and fair political stage for true meaningful competition between political parties so that they may be established and develop the capacity to collect funds without intimidation by the ruling party; 44 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 3 3. Urges all governments to guarantee a free political stage for true meaningful competition between political parties so that they may be established and develop the capacity to collect funds without intimidation by the ruling party; 3. Believes that public funding, although complementary to private funding, remains essential to improve transparency, accountability and equity in political financing; urges all governments to guarantee a free political stage for true meaningful competition between political parties so that they may be established and develop the capacity to collect funds without intimidation by the ruling party; 45 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler AP v /32 AA\ docx

21 Paragraph 4 4. Is convinced that corruption poses a serious threat to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, equity and social justice; 4. Is convinced that corruption poses a serious threat to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, equity and social justice; accordingly, urges all states to adopt or reinforce their anti-corruption legislation regarding the funding of political parties and election campaigns and to fully ensure their implementation and enforcement; 46 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls for the establishment of reserves to be authorised for the financial years following receipt of public allocations; Or. es 47 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Recalls that the principle of state neutrality must be respected under all circumstances and that the freedom of AA\ docx 21/32 AP v04-00

22 organisation and independence of political groups or parties should not be conditional on any allocation of public funds; 48 Sabine Lösing Paragraph 5 5. Urges governments to separate institutional resources from the ruling party s resources, to safeguard the neutrality of institutions and to foster an environment of real competition between political parties; 5. Urges governments to separate institutional resources from the ruling party s resources, to safeguard the neutrality and independence of institutions, and to foster an environment of real competition between political parties; 49 Carlos Zorrinho Paragraph 5 5. Urges governments to separate institutional resources from the ruling party s resources, to safeguard the neutrality of institutions and to foster an environment of real competition between political parties; 5. Urges governments to separate institutional resources from the ruling party s resources, to safeguard the neutrality of institutions and transparency and to foster an environment of real competition between political parties; Or. fr AP v /32 AA\ docx

23 50 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 5 5. Urges governments to separate institutional resources from the ruling party s resources, to safeguard the neutrality of institutions and to foster an environment of real competition between political parties; 5. Urges governments to separate institutional resources from the ruling party s resources, to safeguard the neutrality of institutions and to foster an environment of real competition between political parties in order to achieve an electoral level playing field; considers that the abuse of state resources is a major threat to good governance and to the establishment of an inclusive democratic system; 51 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 6 6. Urges all governments to establish and fully enforce a set of regulations on political party funding; 6. Urges all governments to establish and fully enforce a set of regulations on the funding of political parties and candidates, allowing the traceability and monitoring of political and electoral funding, resources and spending; 52 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph 6 AA\ docx 23/32 AP v04-00

24 6. Urges all governments to establish and fully enforce a set of regulations on political party funding; 6. Urges all governments to establish and fully enforce a set of regulations on political party funding, including objective rules on respect for democracy and human rights; Or. es 53 Paragraph 6 6. Urges all governments to establish and fully enforce a set of regulations on political party funding; 6. Urges all governments to establish and fully enforce a set of regulations on political party funding, including independent effective control mechanisms and criminal sanctions; 54 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph 7 7. Calls for the mandatory disclosure of political party funding from all sources (public, private, foreign and within the party) so as to ensure full transparency; 7. Calls for the mandatory disclosure of political party funding from all sources (public, private, foreign and within the party) so as to ensure full transparency and accountability; Or. es AP v /32 AA\ docx

25 55 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Believes that the strengthening of the banking system in ACP countries could considerably limit the impact of illicit funding on political life and facilitate the fight against corruption; 56 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 9 9. Calls for the establishment of independent regulatory bodies with the power to enforce compliance, to investigate parties financial reports and to monitor the financial status of elected representatives; 9. Calls for the establishment of independent regulatory bodies responsible for controlling the management of the financial accounts of political parties and having the power to enforce compliance, to investigate parties financial reports and to monitor the financial status of elected representatives, including by imposing criminal or financial sanctions for violations; calls on the EU to actively support the reinforcement of the ACP countries administrative capacities to increase the efficiency of the financial monitoring system, through technical assistance and knowledge-sharing programmes; AA\ docx 25/32 AP v04-00

26 57 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Recalls that regulatory bodies need adequate resources and a clear mandate to be able to investigate political finance violators and enforce appropriate sanctions; 58 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Considers that respect for the rules on political financing should be taken into consideration in the reporting and recommendations of the Election Observation Missions; 59 Carlos Zorrinho Paragraph Urges all governments to establish and reinforce preventive and robust measures designed to combat corruption and to set up independent disciplinary bodies to investigate and apply sanctions 10. Urges all governments to establish and reinforce preventive and robust measures designed to combat corruption and to set up independent disciplinary bodies to investigate and apply sanctions AP v /32 AA\ docx

27 for corruption in political parties; for corruption in political parties or misuse of financial resources; Or. fr 60 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph Urges all governments to establish and reinforce preventive and robust measures designed to combat corruption and to set up independent disciplinary bodies to investigate and apply sanctions for corruption in political parties; 10. Urges all governments to establish and reinforce preventive and robust measures designed to combat corruption and to set up independent disciplinary bodies to investigate and apply sanctions for corruption and human rights abuses in political parties; Or. es 61 Paragraph Calls for public accountability to be strengthened by addressing the issue of the unregulated use of public funds, which enables the abuse of state resources; 13. Calls for criminal legislation and public accountability to be strengthened by addressing the issue of the unregulated use of public funds, which enables the abuse of state resources and diverts public money from general public interests; 62 Enrique Guerrero Salom AA\ docx 27/32 AP v04-00

28 Paragraph Calls for public accountability to be strengthened by addressing the issue of the unregulated use of public funds, which enables the abuse of state resources; 13. Calls for public accountability to be strengthened by addressing the issue of the unregulated use of public funds, which enables the abuse of state resources; urges, furthermore, for limits to the private financing of political parties and, where applicable, for transparency and oversight by a suitable public body; Or. es 63 Carlos Zorrinho Paragraph Urges the introduction of restrictions to prevent companies in receipt of public contracts from making donations to political parties; 14. Urges the introduction of restrictions to prevent companies in receipt of, or in a position to receive, public contracts from making donations to political parties; Or. fr 64 Paragraph Urges the introduction of restrictions to prevent companies in receipt of public contracts from making donations 14. Urges the introduction of restrictions to prevent companies and any big private donor from making donations AP v /32 AA\ docx

29 to political parties; to political parties; 65 Paragraph Calls on all governments to introduce bans or caps on foreign donations to political parties so as to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 15. Calls on all governments to introduce bans, with effective criminal sanctions, on foreign donations to political parties so as to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 66 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph Calls on all governments to introduce bans or caps on foreign donations to political parties to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 15. Calls on all governments to consider bans or caps on direct or indirect foreign donations to political parties so as to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 67 Bodil Valero Paragraph 15 AA\ docx 29/32 AP v04-00

30 15. Calls on all governments to introduce bans or caps on foreign donations to political parties so as to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 15. Calls on all governments to introduce caps on donations to political parties so as to prevent excessive influence of single donors; 68 Carlos Zorrinho Paragraph Calls on all governments to introduce bans or caps on foreign donations to political parties so as to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process; 15. Calls on all governments to introduce bans or caps on foreign donations to political parties so as to prevent foreign interests from influencing the political process and to require the disclosure of any donations received from abroad; Or. fr 69 Marielle de Sarnez Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. Takes the view that a clear and balanced regulation on the financing of political parties would also establish a relationship of trust between public authorities and political parties; Or. fr AP v /32 AA\ docx

31 70 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph Encourages civil society organisations and the media to continuously and independently monitor the funding of political parties, to denounce any illicit practices and to inform citizens about the exercise of power; 18. Encourages civil society organisations and the media to continuously and independently monitor the funding of political parties, to denounce any illicit practices and to inform citizens about the exercise of power; calls, further, for the legislation to protect whistleblowers; Or. es 71 Cristian Dan Preda, Michael Gahler Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. Believes that civil society organisations, together with financial regulatory bodies, can play a major role in raising awareness among citizens, political parties and all stakeholders on the importance of regulating political financing; 72 Sabine Lösing Paragraph 19 AA\ docx 31/32 AP v04-00

32 19. Encourages EU and ACP countries to define common directives on financing political parties to ensure good governance in their countries; 19. Encourages EU and ACP countries to define common directives on and to introduce a transparency register of the financing of political parties, to ensure good governance in their countries; 73 Enrique Guerrero Salom Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. Calls for these rules for financing of political parties not to be limited to political parties, and also to apply to their electoral campaigns and other forms of political participation, such as referendums; Or. es 74 Sabine Lösing Paragraph Urges those countries which have not yet done so to ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption; 20. Urges those countries which have not yet done so to ratify the UN Convention against Corruption and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; AP v /32 AA\ docx