Activities of Matthijs van MILTENBURG related to 2017/2208(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on lagging regions in the EU PDF (469 KB) DOC (88 KB)
Amendments (40)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to ex-ante conditionalities for smart specialisation strategies,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the economic crisis in the EU has adversely affected economic growth at regional level, despite the fact that cohesion policy has contributed significantly towith around one third of the EU budget aiming at boosting growth and employment and reducing disparities between EU regions;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the principal objective of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion FundSI Funds for the period 2014-2020 is investmenting in growth and employment with a view to strengthening the labour market, regional economies and European regional cooperation and improving cross-border, transntaking into account EU strategies, ESI Funds specific objectives and Treaty’s objectives of economic, social and territorial cohesion, linking it with relevant Country Specific Recommendationals and interregional cooperation within the Unionperforming necessary Structural Reforms;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas according to the European Commission's report, 47 regions are lagging behind in eight Member States; whereas, however, this difference is not reflected in the regulations;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas lagging regions suffer more than others from the shortage of public and private investment, which is also due to public debt reduction requirements imposed by the Stability Pact;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas lagging regions are affected by the lack of Structural reforms which makes the limited public investments ineffective and which makes lagging regions less attractive to private investments;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas lagging regions have serious infrastructural shortcomings and are in need of targeted investments to ensure that they are used more effectively and are more accessiblemore efficient and effective investments in order to increase the impact of public investments;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the Commission hopes foris of the opinion that a closer relationship between cohesion policy and country-specific recommendations in the framework of the European Semester is needed;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas mass departures from lagging regions, especially on the part of young people and skilled labour, are making them less attractive in terms of employinvestments;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the efficient public services contribute significantly to ensuring economic growthare also needed in lagging regions;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas obstacles limiting growth and gaps in infrastructures should be reduced in lagging regions;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)
Recital L b (new)
Lb. whereas lagging regions' SMEs are financed with much higher interest rates and have more difficulties in receiving loans from the banking sector in order to co-finance ESI Funds projects;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L c (new)
Recital L c (new)
Lc. whereas strengthening administrative capacity should be seen as improving efficiency and better using ICT tools, and not as continuing to increase the number of public administration staff only;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. NotWelcomes the Commission's report on competitiveness in low-income and low- growth regions: the lagging regions (SWD (2017) 0132) and welcomes the solutions proposed to support growth and the economy in these regions;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that cohesion policy plays a key role in ensuring investment in all EU regions, especially in lagging regions;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to better define regional categories (e.g. low- income, low-growth, transitional regions) based on general economic conditions and on reference periods in line with ESI fund programming cycledefine lagging areas at NUTS III level within NUTS II regions, and to better target the financing of those areas;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that in addition to SMEs' low development and investments, unemployment, particularly among young people, remains dramatically high and represents one of the most serious and pressing problems in a large majority of lagging regions; stresses the fundamental role of education and on-the-job training in combating the particularly alarming unemployment and departure levels among young people in these regions; stresses the importance of education and training in relation to the needs and the development of SMEs;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the presence of a properly educated and trained workforce has a powerful impact on competitiveness, productivity and the attractiveness of the labour marketfor investments;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that, in lagging regions especially, it is necessary to strike the correct balance between structural interventions, social policies andinvest in the real needs of those regions by better combining grants with financial industrial policies in the programming of ESI fundsuments in order to stimulate growth and employment;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights the adverse effects of austerity policiepublic and private high debt rates and the past economic crisis, especially infor low- growth regions, encouraging public investment cuts and giving priority to debt repayment over any other national budget itemwhich have reduced the margins of budgetary policies, producing public investment cuts;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that growth and employment, especially in the most disadvantaged regions, can only be properly stimulated through cohesion policies if the necessary co-funding is unaffected by budgetary constraintthe commonly agreed position on the Stability and Growth Pact regarding flexibility for cyclical conditions, structural reforms uander the Stability Pact; reiterates in this regard the call for exemption of total national contributions to European structural and investment funding from Stability and Growth Pact constraints, given their objective of achieving Europe 2020 objectives and supporting competitiveness, growth and job creation, with particular regard to youth employment for government investments aiming at the implementation of major structural reforms, should be applied to the biggest extent possible, with a view to achieving Europe 2020 goals;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls for strengthened action to increase convergence between all regions also with a view to ensure their resiliency to sudden shocks;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers it necessary to show greater flexibility than allowed under theThinks that more positive incentives within the existing framework of macroeconomic conditions imposed by the European Semester when it comes to funding lagging regionscould be more effective;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Takes into consideration the importance of sound economic governance for an effective increase of the overall performance of ESI Funds;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Believes that the measures linking the effectiveness of ESI Funds to sound economic governance as outlined in Regulation 1303/2013 should be carefully analysed, including through the involvement of all the stakeholders; furthermore, believes its rationale should be rethought, with a view to the next programming period and taking into account its 2014-2020 implementation; is of the opinion that the Commission should consider adjustments regarding the link of the European Semester to cohesion policy; in this regard, suggests a system of positive incentives, with margins to be created in the new MFF, that could serve as an envelope which can be used when member states comply with the Country Specific Recommendations (CSR) and other requirements under the European Semester;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Considers it necessary to support productive business activities specific to lagging regions, including sustainable tourism and agriculture, through the increasingly effective combination of funding from regional and national bodies and from EU instruvia integrated territorial investments.;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to consider reviewing the existing relationship between cohesion policy and macroeconomic governance, stressingrecalling that cohesion policy's legitimacy is based directly on the Treaties and is one of the most visible European policies and the most important expression of European solidarity and added value across all European regions; believes that the link between cohesion policy and economic governance processes in the framework of the European Semester must be balanced, reciprocal and non- punitive towards all stakeholderfocused on a system of positive incentives; supports a further recognition of the territorial dimension, which could be beneficial for the European Semester; notes that it is accordingly necessary to take a balanced approach to economic governance and economic, social and territorial cohesion objectives as laid down by the Treaties and to sustainable growth, employment and environmental protection;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. CRecalls on the Commissionneed for all political actors to recognise the role played by cohesion policy as an essentialthe main European economic policy instrument to promote investments that take into account the specific economic, social and territorial characteristics of the regions; stresses that such investment should therefore be exempt from the budgetary constraints of the Stability Pact, especially in lagging regions, where they promote growth, employment and improvement of the macro-economic framework throughout the EU;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls for cohesion policy to continue to be a priority for the Union and accordingly provided with adequate funding, keeping in mon the Commission and Member States to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the funding within cohesion policy, and to increase the synergies with other EU Funds and financial instruments ind the review of the post-2020 multiannual programming framework.;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Commission to better support the development of innovation systems and to strengthen the interaction between businesses, universities and research centres in lagging region;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to explore the extension of the application of Article 7 of ERDF by financing the links of cities with their surrounding areas in the lagging regions;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Calls on the Commission and Member States to increase the efficiency of the public sector administration involved in the management of ESI Funds, not necessarily by increasing its staff;