23 Amendments of Terry REINTKE related to 2014/2245(INI)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas through thematic concentration, cohesion policy resources are targeted at a limited number of strategic goals with growth-enhancing potential, for job creation, and environmental and climate protection;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes are strategickey tools to guide investments in Member States and regions, provided for in Articles 14, 16 and 29 of the Common Provisions Regulation with a timeline for their submission and adoption, according to which Partnership Agreements should have been adopted by the end of August 2014, and Operational Programmes by the end of January 2015, at the latest;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that cohesion policy has proven its capacity to react quickly with flexible measures to improve the liquiditytackle the investment gap for Member States and regions, such as reducing national co-financing and providing additional advance payments, as well as redirecting 13 % of total funding (EUR 45 billion) to support economic activity and employment with direct effects; recalls that the environmental and climate protection must not be sacrificed over growth, but provides for development and employment opportunities to be further exploited;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that a stable fiscal and economic – as well as regulatory, administrative and institutional – environment is crucial for the effectiveness of cohesion policy; emphasises that, in order to achieve both the cohesion and Europe 2020 objectives, the policy must be aligned closely with sectoral policies and synergies shall be achieved with other EU investment schemes;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that it is imperative to start the implementation of the Operational Programmes as soon as they are adopted, in order to maximise the results of the investments, boost job creation and, raise productivity growth and contribute to the Union's climate and energy targets, and that the Commission and the Member States should do their utmost to speed up their adoption; demands that the Commission – while keeping a high focus on quality and the need to keep up the fight against fraud – analyses all possible ways of streamlining its internal procedures in order to ensure that Operational Programmes resubmitted after the deadline of 24 November 2014 are also taken into consideration; is aware that two scenarios are envisaged for the adoption of Operational Programmes, both implying further delays as regards the start of implementation;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. WelcomesTakes note of the new European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and its potential leverage effect; advises the parties concerned to build on the experiences gained from the implementation of the European Economic Recovery Plan in 2008, in particular regarding smart investments; calls for the coordination of all EU investment policies – in particular cohesion policy – to ensure complementarity and avoid overlaps as well as to guarantee a high degree of quality in the use of EU money; suggests that the implementation of this new EU investment plan build on the experiences of the three joint initiatives JEREMIE, JESSICA and JASMINE, which allowed an increase in the delivery of Structural Funds from EUR 1.2 billion in 2000-2006 to EUR 8.4 billion in 2007- 2012;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that cohesion policy legislation provides for the extended use of financial instruments, in order to double their contribution to about EUR 25-30 billion in 2014-2020, by extending their thematic scope and offering more flexibility to Member States and regions; supports, in particular, the risk-sharing ‘SME initiative’, and calls on the Commission to make all efforts to make financial instruments easily usable and tempting for Member States and regions, thus ensuring that the doubling is achieved on its own merits and that stakeholder ownership of this target is well established; emphasises the need to ensure transparency, accountability and scrutiny for financial instruments that involve EU money;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Warns, however, that the EFSI should not undermine the strategic coherence and long-term perspective of cohesion policy programming; stresses that a re-direction of Structural Funds would be counterproductive, putting their effectiveness – and the development of the regions – at risk; points out that the financial allocations to Member States agreed on under Heading 1b in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014- 2020 cannot be modified in response to potential needs of the EFSI; emphasises that the replacement of grants by loans, equity or guarantees, while having certain advantages, must be carried out with caution, taking into account regional disparities; points out that the regions most in need of investment stimuli often have low administrative and absorption capacities;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Highlights the importance of all measures aimed at increasing the effectiveness, efficiency and result and performance orientation of cohesion policy;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Underlines the added-value deriving from the horizontal principles and the mechanisms introduced in the regulatory framework for their strengthening in order to ensure compliance with and contributions to Union policies in the field of gender equality, non-discrimination and climate spending;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the thematic concentration supporting investments in smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; maintains, at the same time, the requirement of some flexibility for the regions, depending on local and regional specificities, especially in the context of the severe crisis; calls for a genuinely integrated and territorial approach to target programmes and projects that address the needs on the ground;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes the importance of a solid macroeconomic environment for cohesionlocal and regional development in order to facilitate and continue necessary public investments and welcomes the link of the ESIF to the European Semester;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Emphasises, in this context, Parliament’s responsibility to control; demands that the Commission and the Council provide full, transparent and timely information on the criteria for, and on the entire procedure that could trigger, a suspension of commitments or payments of the ESIF in accordance with in Article 23(15) of the Common Provisions Regulation; recalls that a proposal for re- programming submitted in accordance with Article 23(4) of that regulation requires the prior consultation of the monitoring committee concerned as referred to in Article 49(3) of the same regulation;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Stresses that the ESIF could make a significant contribution to reversing the negative social consequences of the crisis, and that, for this to happen, an integrated approach offered bysuch as multi-fund programming should be pursued, with more efficient coordination of, and greater flexibility among, the funds, allowing for better exploitation of the synergies between the ESF and the ERDF, in particular; emphasises that investments funded by the ESF canmay not produce optimal results if the relevant infrastructure and appropriate institutions are not in place; stresses that the integrated and territorial approach is particularly essential when it comes to environmental and energy matters; draws attention to the fact that the ESIF can effectively support social inclusion, and should therefore be mobilised to help the integration of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups such as Roma and persons with disabilities;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Stresses that the integrated and territorial approach is particularly essential when it comes to environmental and energy matters; regrets that the opportunities offered by the new regulations to invest in clean and renewable energies, sustainable and multi-modal mobility as well as prevention, recycling and reuse of waste have not been sufficiently used; demands further efforts to be taken to shift towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy and green jobs;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Warns that the alarming rates of youth unemployment threaten to bring about the loss of an entire generation; insists that advancing the integration of young people into the job market must remain a top priority, to the attainment of which the integrated use of the ESF, YEI and the ERDF can make a major contribution; considers that a more results-oriented approach should be taken in this regard to ensure the most effective use of available resources;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Emphasises that cohesion policy needhas to be conducted within the spirit of properly functioning multi-level governance, combined with an effective set-up for responding to the requests of the public and businessesprivate sector as well as civil society, and with transparent and innovative public procurement, all of which is crucial to enhancing the policy’'s impact; stresses, in this regard, that, notwithstanding the importance of decisions taken at EU and Member State levels, local and regional authorities often have primary administrative responsibility for public investment, and that cohesion policy is a vital tool enabling these authorities to play a key role in the EU; stresses that this level of responsibility should be taken into consideration, in keeping with the partnership principlfurther empowered including by means of capacity building and technical assistance;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Welcomes that increasing attention is paid by the Commission to the role of governance and agrees that good governance and high-quality public services including the absence of corruption are essential for a stable investment environment; requests high ambitions for making Cohesion Policy spending less prone to fraudulent use and for strict application of anti-fraud measures;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Welcomes the strengthening of the partnership principle which acknowledges the key role of the various partners for ownership of the policy and transparency and effectiveness in implementation; congratulates those Member States and regions who have managed to involve their partners for the preparation of the Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes in accordance with the Code of Conduct on Partnership; however, raises serious concerns about the numerous cases of weak application of the partnership principle and calls on the Commission not to approve programmes for which the involvement of partners has not been sufficient;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Is convinced that the Code of Conduct on Partnership will strengthen participation inat all stages of programming in the regions, in form and substance, and has a fundamental role to play in boosting the effects of cohesion policy and consolidating its impact;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Welcomes the introduction of new tools to integrate coordination of stakeholders and EU policies, and to focus investments on the real needs on the ground, such as the Integrated Territorial Investments and the Community-Led Local Development instruments; regrets, that the use of CLLD is only voluntary for the ERDF thus calling on Member States and regions to use it more often; points to the importance of adopting instruments for assessing the territorial impact of policies, the main objective of which is to consider the territorial impact of EU policies on local and regional authorities and to draw greater attention to that impact in the legislative process; calls for an overall integrated EU investment strategy, and a strengthening of the EU Territorial Agenda 2020 that was adopted under the Hungarian Presidency 2011 and that is scheduled to be evaluated by the presidencies of 2015; is of the opinion that particular attention should be paid to strengthening the role of small- and medium-sized urban areas in the framework of an EU Urban Agenda;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Stresses the crucial importance of administrative capacities; calls on policy makers at all governance levels to favour targeted technical assistance for the implementation of cohesion policies in general, and for the extended use of financial instruments combined with ESIF in particular; calls on Member States to reinforce multi-level governance including by advancing de-centralisation and stronger involvement of local and regional authorities in investment decisions;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Recalls that the impacts of the crisis should be thoroughly analysed as well as the adaptability of Cohesion Policy; Considers that emphasis should be given to reflections on the ability of the Union's economy, society and environment to resist an economic shock and to recover from it and on appropriate contributions from Cohesion Policy to make EU regions more resilient and increase their adaptive capacity;