Activities of Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO related to 2017/2279(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union: the 7th report of the European Commission
Amendments (28)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas unemployment and youth unemployment in the Union have been falling gradually since 2013, but are still above 2008 levels, with considerable differences among and within the Member States; whereas regional disparities have started to narrow; whereas the vary on unemployment rates is still relevant, ranging from around 4% in Germany to almost 20% in Spain and 23.6% in Greece; whereas hidden unemployment was at 20% in 2016 (unemployed, willing to work but not actively searching for employment)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas long-term unemployment remains, sharing above 50% of total unemployment in some Member States and represents 45,6% in the EU and 49,7% in the EA; whereas unemployment rate only tracks individuals who do not have a job and have actively looked for work in the last 4 weeks and long term unemployment rate only measures the share of the economically active population aged 15 to 74 who has been unemployed for 12 months or more
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the employment rate in the EU has been growing for four consecutive years and now surpasses the 2008 figure, but still remains below the pre-crisis level in half of the Member States; whereas regional disparities have started to narrow; whereas, employment rates diverge widely, ranging from much below the EU average of 65% in Greece, Croatia, Italy and Spain, to higher than 75% in the Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden; whereas employment measured in terms of hours worked per employee remains 3% below the pre-crisis level in the EU and 4% in the Euro Area due to increases in part- time work and reductions in the hours worked by full-time employees; whereas young people are more often employed under non-standard and atypical forms of employment, including temporary jobs, involuntary part-time work and lower wage jobs
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the employment rate in the EU has been growing for four consecutive years and now surpasses the 2008 figure, but still remains below the pre-crisis level in half of the Member States; whereas regional disparities have started to narGDP per head in many less developed regions converged towards the EU average through faster productivity growth, but they lost employment, while the regions with GDP per head well above the EU average have grown faster than the less developed ones through a combination of both productivity and employment growth;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas part-time work has increased 11% compared to 2008, and full-time employment has dropped by 2% in the same period, while involuntary part-time work still represents almost one- third of this type of contracts; whereas labour market segmentation between permanent and atypical jobs remains worrying, with countries showing a percentage of temporary contracts ranging from 10% to 20%, with particularly low transition rates towards permanent contracts and temporary jobs representing "dead ends" rather than "stepping stones" towards permanent jobs; whereas this phenomenon is impeding large numbers of workers to benefit from secure, relatively well-paid employment and good prospects, creating a wage gap between permanent and temporary workers; whereas labour market segmentation worsen due to many EU countries adopting two-tier reforms in employment protection legislation, easing the use of temporary contracts.
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas gender employment gap still remains above 10pps, scoring 11.6 % for the EU, with a 76.9% employment rate for men and 65.3% for women, and even wider gaps among non-EU born and Roma women;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. whereas increasing in-work poverty remains in Europe as a whole, with highest levels recorded in Spain (13.1%), Greece (14%) and Romania (18.6%), showing that employment alone is not always sufficient to lift people out of poverty and reflecting different labour market patterns, including part-time and/or temporary jobs, wage levels, and work intensity in the households and poor working conditions;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas while the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU has fallen back to its pre-crisis level, it remains very high and far from reaching the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion target; whereas, according to the Commission publication ‘Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2017’, in 2015 there were 118,8 million people at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE), 1,7 million above the 2008 level and far from the Europe 2020 Strategy target of reducing AROPE by 20 million, with wide disparities between Member States ranging from 5% or less in the Czech Republic or Germany to around 20 % in Greece and Spain; whereas children AROPE rate (0-17) in 2016 is 26,4%, higher than 24,2% of adult people (16-64) and almost 10pps higher than AROPE rate of 18,3% for elder people (65+); whereas, the number of children experiencing poverty remains alarmingly high in Europe, currently standing at more than 25 million and whereas the impact of poverty on children can last a lifetime and perpetuates the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas while thealmost 24% of EU population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion and inequalities continue to rise, and despite the proportion is at risk of poverty in the EU hasving fallen back to its pre-crisis level, it remains very high and far from reaching the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion target;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas gross disposable household income (GDHI) per capita has still not recovered in several Member States from its pre-crisis levels, several of them recording levels from 20 to 30pps lower than in 2008; whereas income inequalities increases have not been reversed from the onset of the crisis in several Member States, and in some cases even have worsened; whereas in the EU as a whole the richest 20% of households received an income share that is 5.1 times that of the poorest 20%, with ratios of 6.5 or above in some Eastern and Southern European countries, almost twice as high as values for some Centre Europeans and Nordic best performers countries;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. IHighlights that Cohesion policy is the base to guarantee upward social convergence and shared prosperity in the EU and must concentrate on major societal challenges such as living conditions, unemployment, precariousness, poverty, exclusion, discrimination, migration and climate change; is of the opinion that Cohesion Policy, as the main investment policy of the Union, should be maintained at at least a similar budgetary level in these objectives, should not only be maintained but increased in the future multiannual financial framework; considers that the European Social Fund (ESF) should be retainedsubstantially increased to at least 30% of the cohesion policy envelop as the main EU instrument for the integration and reintegration of workers into the labour market as well as for supporting measures for social inclusion, combating poverty and inequalities; believes that a scenario merging the ESF into one single social investment fund is a threat to the integrity of Cohesion policy, whose objective of social cohesion, enshrined in the Treaties, is mainly achieved through ESF funding; stresses that the ESF must therefore continue to be an integral part of Cohesion Policy to ensure that the EU’s renewed focus of Social Europe can be realised on the ground
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is of the opinion that Cohesion Policy, as the main public investment policy of the Union, should be maintained at at least a similar budgetary level in the future multiannual financial framework; considers that the European Social Fund (ESF) should be retained as the main EU instrument for social cohesion and the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including the integration and reintegration of workers into the labour market as well as for supporting measures for social inclusion, combating poverty and inequalities;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that public investment in the EU is still below pre-crisis levels, making regions and Member States in need for more support to take up the current and future challenges; believes that given the growing social divergences across the EU, the social investment approach must be put at the centre of a coherent policy framework aligning the EU governance framework and its budget with the social investment imperative; stresses that these types of investment with long-term return are key to the future competitiveness of EU regions.
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Takes note of the data provided in the 7th Cohesion report showing signs of general improvement in the social situation, but also for remaining social divergences among Member States, aggravated as a result of the harmful impact of the economic crisis and years of austerity measures; observes with concern that despite positive signs, the risk of poverty or social exclusion remains a key challenge, being one of the main challenges to social cohesion together with an increase in inequalities in many Member States;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. States that some of the more relevant employment and social imbalances and social divergences in Europe, as labour market segmentation, wage dispersion or child poverty, have not been resolved but have worsened, evidencing that public policies at the national level and European mechanisms are insufficient for building a stronger social cohesion and a fairer European labour market; highlights that stronger and wider policies at European level are needed to complement current national efforts; stresses that fiscal flexibility to support social investment in social rights is vital as well as mainstreaming all principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights effectively at all stages.
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Is of the opinion that cohesion policy and particularly ESF have contributed to reaching certain level of recovery by Member States and regions corresponding to the pre-crisis situation, however, the share of ESF from the next cohesion envelope and the share from the ESF for combating poverty and social exclusion should be increased for further reduction of disparities and inequalities, and for achieving the Europe 2020 targets for inclusive growth;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Is of the opinion that the Social Progress Index should be evaluated and considered as an additional indicator to complement the GDP indicator for allocation of ESIF, given that increase in GDP per head does not correspond to the same extent of increase in employment for all regions, and is not sufficient itself for measuring the new types of inequalities between EU regions, and that the economic growth does not impact on certain determinants of social progress as, for example, access to education, and that there are other important factors which determinate inclusion and social progress;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Recalls that inequalities threaten the future of the European project, erode its legitimacy and can damage trust in the EU as an engine of social progress and that the reduction of inequalities must be one of the main priorities at the European level, as recently stated by the Parliament; considers essential to improve the process of policy coordination in order to better monitor, prevent and correct negative trends that could increase inequalities and weaken social progress and social cohesion or negatively affect social justice, putting in place preventive and corrective measures when necessary;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. highlights that the social dimension of EU policies has become a priority with the proclamation of the Pillar of Social Rights, agreed in part as a response to the harmful impact of the economic crisis and years of austerity measures which have aggravated social divergences across Europe; considers the creation of the European Pillar of Social Rights as a positive step towards a more social Europe; warns that social and employment policies at national, regional and local level need to be supported with sound EU cohesion funding for all EU regions.
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. believes that before linking social funding to policy priorities agreed with Member states in the European Semester, regional authorities must be involved and changes into the indicators for social progress in cohesion policy must be introduced; stresses that Country Reports and Country Specific Recommendations cannot become the only reference documents for programming EU investments on the ground, especially social investment.
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Takes the view that the job creation potential of Union funds is still insufficient and should therefore be further strengthened through more efficient and results-based policy-making and implementation; considers, moreover, that access to funding should be eased for all beneficiaries, especially SMEs, NGOs and smaller municipalities;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Takes the view that the job creation potential of Union funds is still insufficient and should therefore be further strengthened through more efficient and results-based policy-making and implementation; considers, moreover, that access to funding should be eased for all beneficiaries, especially SMEs;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. considers that it is essential, in the framework of the discussions for the new MFF, to carry out a reflection around the EU cohesion policy and how effective is to be a driver for social progress and deliver on the EU's social objectives; points out that despite the intensified efforts of the EU to align cohesion policy with social objectives, strong socio-economic disparities still remain across Europe and new geographical divides are appearing across the EU, accelerated by the economic crisis; believes that inclusion and social progress, can only be achieved through well-balanced redistributive policies; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reconsider whether GDP per capita is really the right criteria to determine where and how EU funding should be allocated or if other types of criteria and indicators need to be incorporated.
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to incorporate new indicators to measure social convergence, including the Social Progress Index which aims to measure the multiple dimensions of social progress while helping regions identify the main issues they are confronted with.
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Calls on the Commission to also use new indicators in the social scoreboard to get a fine and precise overview of the social situation in each region and as a determinant for the allocation of EU funding to thematic objectives with a social dimension; considers that in the state of ex post evaluation, social indicators should also be used as a tool to assess the success of EU funding in achieving better social outcomes and that adapting a criteria of distribution to the set of objectives is therefore essential to give more prominence to social developments in EU cohesion policy.
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue initiatives aimed at increasing access to better education, skillsquality public education and training, and quality, sustainable and inclusive employment, especially for young people; points out that training programmes financed under the ESF should be tailored to the needs of the workers and the unemployed in their integration and progression in the labour market;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Reiterates its concern about the rising trend towards underemployment and hidden unemployment, the chronification of long term unemployment and the level of youth unemployment and long-term unemployment; recalls the importance of investment in plans prioritising the reduction of long term unemployment combining vocational training with personalised guidance
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. underlines that combating poverty and social exclusion should be a top priority for EU and its Member States; considers that all EU funds should contribute to the implementation of this priority;