On 10 June 2026, the European Parliament published an amendment to the draft report on countering transnational repression (TNR), tabled by the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group. The amendment would weaken the report's call for coordinated EU action, replacing language that stresses the need for collective measures with a warning against using TNR as a pretext for EU overreach. If adopted, the change would shift the report's stance from advocating EU-level coordination to cautioning against it, impacting the EU's ability to respond to third-country coercion against dissidents abroad.
The amendment targets paragraph 7 of the draft report by rapporteur Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA). The original text stresses that TNR cannot be addressed effectively through isolated national measures. The PfE amendment replaces this with a recall that TNR is a serious threat but must not be exploited by the EU as a pretext to act. This procedural downgrade from stresses to recalls, combined with the explicit caveat, would neutralise the paragraph's policy direction, removing the call for collective EU action and inserting a constraint on EU competence.
As the only amendment submitted on this paragraph, the PfE position reveals a clear split with the likely stance of centrist groups (EPP, S&D, Renew) and the rapporteur, who generally support a stronger EU-level response to foreign interference. The PfE group argues for national-level solutions and warns against EU encroachment on Member State prerogatives. The amendment reflects a broader tension between protecting democratic values and respecting national sovereignty and subsidiarity.
The draft report is scheduled for a plenary vote later in June. If the amendment is adopted, it would signal a more cautious EU approach to TNR, potentially limiting the scope of future EU measures. The Council and Commission will follow the Parliament's position as the EU develops its strategy on countering transnational repression.
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