Activities of Philippe BOULLAND related to 2011/2071(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the European Semester for economic policy coordination
Amendments (18)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph C
Paragraph C
C. whereas there is a need to ensure a strengthened interaction between employment, social and economic policies in the context of the European Semester, and whereas this has to be done in a manner fostering the democratic accountability, ownership and legitimacy of the actors involved in drawing up these policies,
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that Europe 2020 and the European Semester as a framework for strengthened economic and social governance have a potential to help reinforce a common approach to the challenges, the responses and the assessment of the employment and social situation in the Member States; deplores, however, the failure to involve European Parliament in this process during the first European Semester;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for Parliament to be fully involved in the European Semester in order to represent citizens’ interests and to increase the legitimacy of the social policies to be conducted by the Member States;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Wishes to see the role of the national parliaments strengthened with regard to their involvement in the process of economic and social policy-making so as to demonstrate their solidarity as partners in the European Semester; considers that this would serve to increase the legitimacy of the decisions taken and would ensure that the European Parliament is not the sole representative of the interests of European citizens and that strong political signals are sent at national level;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Council and the Commission, when providing policy guidance to Member States relating to education, employment and social affairs, macroeconomic policy and the budget, to respect the principles of subsidiarity and social dialogue in the field of wages and pensions as well and, in keeping with Article 153(5) TFEU, to respect the competences of the Member States and social partners in these areas;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls for the Commission and Council recommendations to focus as a priority on a social policy that promotes education and training, access to employment, reintegration of the unemployed into the labour market and improved coordination of social protection systems in the Member States;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point b
Paragraph 5 – point b
b) Encourages the Employment Committee (EMCO) toransparency among European Semester stakeholders, including the Employment Committee (EMCO), so as to ensure that it will regularly share the results of its employment surveillance with the responsible committee of the European Parliament,
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point c
Paragraph 5 – point c
c) Invites the social partners, social NGOs and other stakeholders to take part in a regular exchange of views with Parliament, in particular on the implementation of employment and social policies and on the progress towards achieving the related EU targets; requests that preparatory documents for exchanges of views be communicated in advance to the members of the appropriate parliamentary committee;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission and the Council, as far as the European Semester is concerned, to devote particular attention to guideline 8 on young people’s access to education, educational guidance, and appropriate personalised lifelong training, since this will enable training of a high standard, and indeed at high levels, to be geared to future needs on the labour market.
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls on the Commission and the Council to devote particular attention to guideline 9, bearing in mind that economic recovery will be impossible unless the current unemployment rate in the EU, especially among young people, is brought down and, as regards earlier stages in life, measures are taken to prevent early school leaving.
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Proposes, with a view to achieving an employment rate of 75% and facilitating mutually reinforced interaction of employment, social, and economic policy, that social benefits for the unemployed be limited or made subject to an obligation to carry out community service and financial incentives provided to take up a new job.
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Calls on the Commission and the Council, when adopting economic policies, to keep the implementation of the social objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy under review, with particular reference to macroeconomic policies serving to fund a social policy to promote the integration of older people into the labour market, the guidelines to be laid down by Member States regarding a minimum common core of social protection at company level (European label), and the mobility of young workers.
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8e. Hopes that the European Semester will serve to implement guideline 7, especially as regards measures to stamp out undeclared work in Member States, since this would lead to a manifest gain in wealth for the EU.
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 f (new)
Paragraph 8 f (new)
8f. Hopes that recommendations will be drawn up long enough in advance to have a real impact on national budgetary decisions.
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 g (new)
Paragraph 8 g (new)
8g. Maintains that public sector wages should be limited if they are index linked and, above all, when the Member State concerned is running a substantial government deficit.
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 h (new)
Paragraph 8 h (new)
8h. Calls on the Commission and Council to implement guideline 7 and, in particular, without infringing the subsidiarity principle, to encourage economic and social policies allowing for higher life expectancy as far as the retirement age is concerned.
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 i (new)
Paragraph 8 i (new)
8i. Hopes that the European Semester, instead of focusing solely on the economic procedures and approaches specific to each Member State, will also allow for the cross-border effects of the single market and that a tax on financial transactions will be imposed within the single market as a whole; considers that such a tax would serve to correct structural macroeconomic imbalances and thus reduce the social impact of potential crises on European workers; believes that the tax would consequently act as a tax shield.