BELVAL 2016 RESOLUTION BOOKLET INFORMATION BOOKLET
M O T IO N F O R A R E S O L U T IO N B Y T H E C O M M IT T E E
ON
H U M A N R IG H T S I
Evaluating the European refugee resettlement plan: With Member States challenging or refusing to adhere to the resettlement plan proposed by the European Commission, how should the EU address the persisting uneven spread of refugees across Europe?
Submitted by:
Erwan Entringer (LU), Sophie Folmer (LU), Michelle Kahn (LU), Iris Klein (LU), Elena Perticucci (LU), Armin Thon (LU), Liam Bremer (LU), Antonia von Malsen (FR), Guillermo Escuder (ES) Ioanna Bagia (Chairperson, LU), Yannick Léonard (Chairperson, BE).
The European Youth Parliament, A. Recognising the Dublin III regulation 1 places disproportionate pressure on coastal and transit countries’ capacity and administration, B. Alarmed by the rise of hostile rhetoric from certain media regarding refugees in Europe, C. Keeping in mind that sixteen Member States do not have a Safe Country of Origin2 list, D. Deeply concerned by the misinformation regarding the perception of the economic impact that refugees have on Member States, E. Fully aware that Member States’ fear of losing sovereignty may prohibit them from cooperating on the issue of refugees’ resettlement on a European level, F. Further aware of Member States indecisiveness regarding which specific groups of refugees to accept into their country, G. Noting with regret the lack of solidarity between EU Member States regarding: i) financial means, ii) distribution of refugees;
The Dublin III Regulation is a regulation that states that an asylum seeker must ask asylum in the first country they enter when entering the EU. 2 A Safe Country of Origin list is a list of countries that are deemed “safe”, being democratic and generally and consistently have no persecution of minorities, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, no threat of violence and no armed conflict. 1
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H. Noting Member States’ difficulty or unwillingness to financially invest in the settlement of refugees due to financial constraints, I. Realising the current distribution system does not adequately take into account the living conditions of each Member State, 1. Calls for a new multilevel refugee application process whereby refugees first apply for European refugee status, and when granted reapply to a specific Member State; 2. Urges for the creation of a European refugee status in order to set a minimum acceptance requirement for all Members States; 3. Declares this European refugee status to correspond to the lowest standards of acceptance of the Member States; 4. Seeks amending the Dublin regulation in order to allow refugees to apply for refugee status in anywhere within the European Union; 5. Suggests that Member States are to be given the ability to select what groups of refugees are to be distributed to them; 6. Invites the European Council to accept the European Commission’s proposal for a European Safe Country of Origin list; 7. Requests the adjustment of the current refugee quota system to include a factor corresponding to a Member States’ Human Development Index3; 8. Instructs the creation of a media campaign to inform European citizens on the positive impact of migration and refugees; 9. Encourages financial incentives to be granted to Member States that willingly accept refugees.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. 3
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M O T IO N F O R A R E S O L U T IO N B Y T H E C O M M IT T E E H U M A N R IG H T S II
With Luxembourg passing a law on euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2009, there are now four countries that have legislated the procedure. What stance should the EU take on the legislation of assisted suicide?
Submitted by: Charles Drinkwater (LU), Janina Garboutcheva (LU), Camille Kohn (FR), Maura Lehman (LU), Hana Mason (LU), Hyebeen Song (LU), Danica Eirin Torrens (LU) Roman Svintitsky (UA), Amelle Zitouni (FR), Nina Zukanovic (RS), Jure Susnik (SI) Miriam Aitken (Chairperson, CH), Anna Sveco (Chaiperson, CZ)
The European Youth Parliament, A. Believing that euthanasia and assisted suicide is considered a fundamental human right due to the fact that it falls under the right of freedom of choice, B. Approving the existence of legal framework of euthanasia such as the European Convention on Human Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding the protection of freedom of choice, C. Noting with deep concern that only four European nations have legalised either euthanasia or assisted suicide, D. Recognising the existence of the negative stigma surrounding death in most European countries, due to: i)
religious and ethical reasons,
ii)
wishes of the relatives and other issues,
E. Acknowledging that death can be perceived as ordinary in certain cultures such as Mexico’s "Day of the Dead" F. Deeply concerned that the pressure from family members and friends may prohibit individuals to act independently regarding euthanasia, G. Taking into account that legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide will decrease the suicide rates compared to maintaining their current illegal status, H. Further noting that the cost of keeping terminally ill patients alive is higher than performing euthanasia and assisted suicide,
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I. Fully recognising the potential conflict generated between powerful parties such as the government, religious institutions and the public opinion; 1. Urges the EU Member States to legalise euthanasia with the same conditions as Luxembourgian and Dutch law; 2. Request an amendment of the Luxembourgian and Dutch law to include two oral requests to perform euthanasia and assisted suicide within the period of two weeks; 3. Supports the idea that traditional beliefs, such as the religious and ethical perception of life and death, should not be imposed on anyone; 4. Recommends the European Commission to launch a supervisory NGO which will: a. verify that the euthanasia law is not misused, b. control the whole procedure of euthanasia by requesting obligatory explanation of the decision to undergo euthanasia, c. provide information about euthanasia as well as about basic human rights in schools; 5. Approves the existing psychological support for potential patients prior to the procedure in order to ensure their choice is independent.
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M O T IO N F O R A R E S O L U T IO N B Y T H E C O M M IT T E E
ON INTERNAL
MARKET
AND
C O N S U M E R P R O T E C T IO N
With recent drastic increases in the prices of life-saving medicines, how can the EU secure the stability and competitiveness in the internal pharmaceutical market whilst ensuring its citizens’ access to affordable and quality healthcare?
Submitted by:
Phillippe Dengler (LU), Blanaid O’Hara (LU), Dominik Unger (DE), Gilles Zellweger (LU), Amir Vesali (LU), Rozenn Revois (FR), Eléonore Varale (FR), Vuk Vukovic (RS), Osman Teklies (SE) Maria Bianka Lojanica (Chaiperson, NL)
The European Youth Parliament, A. Fully alarmed by the average national medicine prices differing up to 25% between European countries,1 B. Noting with regret some citizens’ inability to access life-saving medicines due to their high cost, C. Further noting that despite only investing an average of 18% of revenues into Research & Development2, pharmaceutical companies attempt to justify the high prices of their patented medicines citing research and development purposes, D. Taking into account that the delays in drug approval times, which can take up to 15 years, restricts the public access to potential life-saving drugs4 E. Deeply concerned by the lack of transparency regarding the price deals made between pharmaceutical companies and Member States. F. Further concerned that the aforementioned deals offset the prices obtained through External Price Referencing mechanism, leading to overinflated prices,
European Parliament. "DIFFERENCES IN COSTS OF AND ACCESS TO PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS IN THE EU." page 18: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2011/451481/IPOLENVI_ET(2011)451481_EN.pdf 2 Investopedia. How much of a drug company's spending is allocated to research and development on average?: http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/060115/how-much-drug-companys-spendingallocated-research-and-development-average.asp. [Accessed 29 October 2016]. 4 Study by the UK cancer research centre: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-ingeneral/cancer-questions/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-new-drug-to-go-through-clinical-trials 1
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G. Alarmed by the fact that the patent system allows companies to have an unhindered price monopoly over a certain medicine for approximately 15 years5, H. Recognising the lack of competitiveness on the pharmaceutical market due to the existence of patent thickets 6 preventing smaller companies from accessing the pharmaceutical market,
I. Expressing its appreciation for the establishment of a European Medicines Regulatory Network (EMRN) which consists of a partnership between the European Commission, the European Medical Association and the regulatory authorities or the national competent authorities in Member States,
J. Aware that generic drugs cannot reach the market immediately after the patent expiration date, even though companies producing these drugs could increase their profits by up to 20%7 by doing so;
1. Calls upon the Member States to: a. increase patent8 fees, b. Introduce a European subsidy for smaller pharmaceutical companies stimulating competitiveness on the pharmaceutical market; 2. Encourages Member States to use differential price referencing9 as a tool to define the prices of pharmaceutical products; 3. Encourage Member States to reduce taxes on generic drugs 10 compared to patented drugs; 4. Invites the Pharmaceutical Committee of the European Commission to determine a minimal percentage of revenues which patented drug producers should invest into Research and Development; 5. Requests the EURN to actively monitor the abuse of patent rights; 6. Urges the European Union to re-examine the drug approval procedure and propose more efficient practices to reduce delays until a drug is on the market; 7. Emphasises the need to create a European authority to regulate and publicise deals between EU Member States and pharmaceutical transnational companies operating within the EU;
ibid. Patent thicket is a collection of patents linked to a drug, their content and way of manufacturing. Study by the UK cancer research centre: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-ingeneral/cancer-questions/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-new-drug-to-go-through-clinical-trials 7 Study by the European Commission, page 27: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/economic_paper/2012/pdf/ecp_461_en.pdf 8 A patent gives companies the exclusive right to produce a new drug for a limited amount of time. 9 External reference pricing is a commonly employed instrument to control prices of pharmaceuticals that are protected by intellectual property rights and benefit from a legal monopoly (in-patent drugs). 10 A generic drug is a medicine that has expired the patent period and is now free to be manufactured by anyone. 5 6
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8. Further requests Member States which have not yet done so to make it mandatory that customers are given the option to choose between generic and patented medicine; 9. Proclaims that terminally ill and dying patients should have the right to use experimental and not yet approved medicines, if tested treatment does not yet exist.
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M O T IO N F O R A R E S O L U T IO N B Y T H E C O M M IT T E E
ON INDUSTRY,
RESEARCH
AND
ENERGY
The projects Copernicus and Galileo proclaimed the flagships of the European Space Policy, providing high-quality data to the public as well as the research sectors. Bearing in mind the growing importance of internationally competitive space-business sector, what measures should the European Union take to keep up with the fast paced progress in this field?
Submitted by:
Idder Boukhcha (LU), Ben Conrad (LU), Philippe Ferber (LU), Sean O’Hara (LU), Elisabeth Oosthork (NL), Veronica Redlaff (LU), Adrianne Schaus (LU), Xin Ran Song (LU), Caroline Van Rijckervorsel (LU), William Flores (CH) Vasilis Tsenes (Chaiperson, GR), Veronika Sedlàkovà (Chairperson, CZ)
The European Youth Parliament, A. Deeply concerned by the insufficient awareness of space projects and their benefits, leading to: a. public disregard of the potential opportunities provided by the space sector; b. many companies being hesitant to contribute to research and development in the space sector, B. Noting with regret that the European Union and its Member States do not prioritise the space sector in terms of funding and budget allocation, C. Concerned by the inadequate time-management and the postponement of projects such as Copernicus1 due to extensive amounts of bureaucracy, D. Fully alarmed by the fact that Europe is too dependent on other stakeholders, such as the USA and Russia in the matters of facilities, infrastructure and equipment in the space sector, E. Taking into consideration the inadequate regulations concerning the ownership and commercial use of space resources, such as the Outer Space Treaty,2 1 2
Copernicus is a European satellite system for monitoring the Earth. The Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967, is a treaty that forms the basis of international space law.
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F. Observing that Europe is not keeping up with other countries in the domain of asteroid mining3; G. Noting with satisfaction that over 320,000 people in the EU are employed within the space sector; 1. Aims to improve the public image of the space industry and market by creating TV documentaries, publication of papers and the use of social media; 2. Calls upon individual schools to promote the space industry and market by organising excursions and engaging with promotional materials; 3. Suggests the European Space Agency (ESA)4 to simplify the bureaucratic structure in cooperation with companies involved in the space industry; 4. Supports the ESA’s effort to accomplish the projects Copernicus and Galileo,5 5. Further calls upon the ESA to allocate resources for the production of new hardware such as spaceships equipped to carry humans; 6. Stresses the importance of increasing the cooperation between the private sector and the ESA by improving conditions for start-ups that may be able to contribute to the space sector; 7. Promotes the use of subsidies in order to help European companies to invest in the asteroid mining market.
Asteroid mining is the exploitation of raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. 4 The European Space Agency (ESA) is an independent, intergovernmental organization which realizes the European space programs. 5 Galileo is Europe’s own global navigation satellite system, providing global positioning service under civilian control. 3
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M O T IO N F O R A R E S O L U T IO N B Y T H E C O M M IT T E E
ON
C IV IL L IB E R T IE S , J U S T IC E
AND
H O M E A F F A IR S
“Combating cross-border crime and terrorism is a common European Responsibility” – Jean Claude Junker, President of the European Commission. Taking into account the already existing security cooperation network and institutions such as Europol and Eurojust, what should the EU’s future security cooperation look like?
Submitted by:
Emilie Bergling (LU), Janina Blum (LU), Laila Dostert (LU), Carrie Kiefer (LU), Maxime Lorenzoni (LU), Pit Riewer (LU), Anastasia Tkachuk (LU), Ludivine Piroux (LU), Aleksandra Lazic (RS), Kilian Tranchant (FR), Nikolaos Dimitrou (GR) Noel Lessinger (Chaiperson, LU), Carolina Almeida (Chairperson, LU)
The European Youth Parliament, A. Fully alarmed that the lack of trust between Member States regarding sharing security information and potential terrorist threats prohibits Member States from tackling such attacks on a European level, B. Acknowledging that there is no European agreed definition of ‘Terrorism’, C. Recognising citizens concerns regarding the collection and use of personal data by national intelligence agencies, D. Noting with regret that Member States are reactive to terrorist attacks instead of being proactive in their prevention, E. Realising the Passenger Name Record (PNR) 11 is inefficient since the data is depersonalised after 6 months and only stored for 5 years. 1. Calls upon the European Union to implement a Security Union in order to improve the cooperation and communication regarding counterterrorism issues by: a. gathering representative experts from each Member States at least twice a year at summits, 11 Passenger Name Record (PNR) is a database that contains an itinerary for a passenger. The Airlines
exchange reservation data and the passenger's information
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b. establishing a transparent EU-wide security network server for national law enforcement agencies to use, storing criminal records, suspicions, data, and reports, c. increasing diplomatic relations between each Member State; 2. Urges Member States to agree upon a common definition of the term Terrorism; 3. Invites national governments as well as Europol to raise awareness on the reasons behind personal data collection, by organising media campaigns, workshops in schools and public seminars; 4. Authorises Europol to use Social Media Scanners 12 , in order to detect and prevent terrorist attack; 5. Accepts a regular national military surveillance at crowded public areas or/and public events; 6. Further requests the prolongation of the period for saved data as well as the suspension of depersonalization of data within the Passenger Name Record.
Social Media Scanners look through e-mails and social media messages to detect the plotting of terrorist attacks. 12
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