Activities of Inês Cristina ZUBER related to 2013/2134(INI)
Shadow opinions (2)
OPINION on European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2013 priorities
OPINION on European Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation of 2013 priorities
Amendments (14)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomNotes the fact that some Member States have submitted reports on progress on the EU2020 targets, in some cases outlining the specific projects attributed to these goals; calls on all Member States to include these reports as part of their 2014 European Semester contributions;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to assess the impact of fiscal consolidation measures on gender equality; calls on the Member States to pay specific attention to gender equality in Stability and Convergence Programmes and National Reform Programmes (NRPs), inter alia by ensuring that transparent descriptions of the gender effects of the planned revenues and expenditures are included in these programmesNotes that the policies of the European Semester and economic governance are neoliberal ones which essentially seek to weaken the role of the state and destroy its social functions and the acquired rights of workers; believes that these policies are partly to blame for the worsening social crisis in a number of more economically fragile countries which is making life increasingly difficult for families, particularly women and children, as they are the main victims of the rise in poverty, unemployment and precarious and ill- paid work;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the importance of public investment at EU and national level to promote social and economic cohesion, particularly with regard to investment in less developed regions; therefore considers it essential to eliminate all so- called budgetary consolidation policies because of their negative impact on the proper implementation of the structural funds and investment in general; stresses that spending on education, social services, R&D and infrastructure, including renewable energies, transport and communications, constitute an investment in the future of any country;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that the neoliberal so-called austerity measures that have been reinforced, inter alia as part of the national reform plans, economic governance and the European Semester, are contributing to a deepening of the economic and social crisis in a number of countries with more fragile economies, making life more and more difficult for working-class families and, in particular, for women and children, who are the main victims of the increase in poverty, unemployment, and precarious and poorly paid work;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) to improve childcare facilities, remove disincentives for second earners, harmoniseEmphasises the need to give full priority to finding solutions to the problems of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, which means breaking with existing political and economic policies, in particular the sStatutory retirement age for men and women, accommodate needs to combine work and private life, and eliminate gender and pension gaps; expressebility and Growth Pact, economic governance, the Budgetary Treaty and the Troika programmes, in order to prioritise the maintenance and creation of sustainable, proper jobs wits concern about the fact that many of these recommendations were already laid down in 2012, indicating a lack of implementation in Member Statesh rights, public investment and quality public services guaranteeing social inclusion, particularly in the fields of education, public health, childcare, care of dependent persons, public transport and social services, as sectors which are crucial to ensuring gender equality;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Points out that only if Europe makes structural changes to its macroeconomic policies will it be possible to promote sustainable development and social cohesion and strengthen jobs with rights and public services, and that without these guarantees, gender equality can never be transformed from good intentions into a practical reality; considers that monetary and tax policies in the EU have had a negative impact on the growth of the economy and employment, and recalls that monetary policy should contribute to strengthening economic recovery and fighting unemployment;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. WelcomUrges the fact that several Member States haveto adopted major labour market reforms aimed at improving the resilience of the labour market, introducing more internal and external flexibility, reducing segmentation and fathat focus strongly on promoting quality in work with rights, improving rights to social security and social inclusion, enhancing the existing social and labour rights of workers and introducing new rights, and promoting health and safety at work, better social risk management and the reconcilitating transition between jobson of work and family life;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that all Member States have received recommendations with regard to levels of labour market participation; calls on those Member States with high levels of unemployment to step up, in consultation with the social partners, active labour market measures, such as training and employment services, and to introduce further reforms to facilitate access to employment, prevent early withdrawals from the labour market, reduce the cost of labour and combat labour market segmentation;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes the fundamental importance of increasing and enhancing pensions and wages, especially in those countries with more fragile economies, in order to revitalise their internal markets and improve living conditions for workers and their families;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. WelcomNotes the adoption of the Youth Guarantee by the Council and the earmarking of EUR 6 billion for Youth Employment Initiative as part of the next MFF; calls on Member States to implement Youth Guarantee Schemes; refers in this context to the ILO study ‘Euro Zone job crisis: trends and policy responses’, which notes that an injection of EUR 21 billion is needed in order to make a real impact on youth unemployment, demonstrating that the amount budgeted is clearly inadequate for the task;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Underlines that Member States should rigorously introduce measures to enhance workers’ security by phasing out precarious employment and atypical contractual arrangements, in order to restrict and reduce insecure forms of employment, the abusive use of which should be punished; points out that Member States therefore have a responsibility to introduce a combination of secure and reliable employment contracts, active and integrative labour- market policies, lifelong learning and effective, high-quality social security systems, accompanied by clear entitlements for the unemployed, providing them with adequate benefits and tailor-made measures to enable them to find quality employment or training and upgrade their skills and competences where necessary;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that the large economic and job potential of the services sector remains untapped; calls for full and appropriate implementation of the EU Services Directive; calls on Member States to remove barriers in the retail e important role of public services in safeguarding social rights; calls on Member States to strengthen such services, rather than pursuing policies requiring the dismissal of public employees; stresses that recoursec tor and excessive restrictions in professional services and regulated profession private services should not be made at the expense of dismembering public service networks;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls the skills mismatches and bottlenecks in many regions and sectors and the inadequacy of certain education and training systems to cope with market demands; welcomTakes the reforms of vocationalview that educational and/or training systems undertaken by several Member States in order to adapt skills and competences to labour market needs,establishments must provide curricular internships, to add to their students’ curricula and allow them to gain experience in their chosen fields of study, thereby enhancing their learning esxpecially those of young peoplerience and their understanding of working practices; recalls that almost all Member States need to undertake further action and investment in the field of education and training;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Emphasises that, to emerge stronger from the economic and social crisis, enjoy higher levels of growth and ensure their systems of welfare in the long term, the Member States should promote quality public services, making full use of their workforces’ potential, guaranteeing workers’ rights and promoting collective bargaining and public, universally- available social security;