16 Amendments of Petri SARVAMAA related to 2021/2251(INI)
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that by mid-February 2022, all Member States but one had submitted national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs), requesting in total EUR 337.5 billion in grants and EUR 166 billion in loans; reminds that the benefits of economic recovery will only be achieved if the sustainability of public finances is in balance in long term;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard that provides an overview of the progress made in the implementation of the NRRPs and thereby fosters the transparency, public scrutiny and accountability of the Facility; notes that the Facility should not undermine the responsibility of Member States to manage their own public finances; stress that the Facility should not cover current expenditure in Member States; recalls that the facility should support reforms and investments that increase the productive potential of the economy in Member States;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the reliability of the performance data concerning the targets and milestones of the Facility is of the utmost importance; reminds that the protection of the EU’s financial interests is a key element of the EU policy agenda to strengthen and increase the confidence of the public and ensure that taxpayer money is used properly;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the Court of Auditors and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) may exercise their rights laid down in Article 129(1) of the Financial Regulation with regard to the Facility; asks the Commission to provide information about the measures ensuring the early detection of the abuse of EU funds; commends the invaluable work carried out by OLAF and EPPO in combating fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, and stresses that these institutions are chronically understaffed and lacking financial resources;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that he use of ARACHNE should be regulated mandatory as soon as possible; in the meantime calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to use ARACHNE and, in the meantime, to make sure that the alternative measures to risk- score the entities and individuals involved in implementation of the Facility are equivalent to ARACHNE; calls on the Commission to make sure that, in addition to the information on the beneficiaries of the programme, data on beneficial owners is also collected by the Member States;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to make approval of the NRRPs conditional on the observance of the rule of law and the prevention and detection of, and the fight against, fraud, conflicts of interest and corruption; therefore calls on the Commission to implement the Conditionality Regulation approved by the European Court of Justice without any further delay; stresses that all measures set out in the NRRPs must comply with the Union’s values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Deplores the factNotes that women20 , children21 , young people, the elderly and vulnerable groups have been the most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis; recalls the need to ensure that the EU leaves no one behind, and that it tackles gender- specific socio- economic impacts on its path to recovery; keeping in mind that these are not root targets for financing from RRF; __________________ 20 European Parliament, Directorate- General for Internal Policies, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, COVID-19 and its economic impact on women and women’s poverty – Insights from 5 European Countries, May 2021. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/et udes/STUD/2021/693183/IPOL_STU(202 1)693183_EN.pdf 21 Eurochild, Growing up in lockdown: Europe’s children in the age of COVID-19, 17 November 2020. https://www.eurochild.org/resource/growin g-up-in-lockdown-europes-children-in-the- age-of-covid-19/
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that in the 26 NRRPs that have been submitted so far, Member States have requested a total of EUR 337.5 billion in grants out of the EUR 338 billion available; reminds that this should not come as a surprise, since free money is always taken out first; notes furthermore that not all Member States, in their current NRRPs, have requested the full amount of grants available to them;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Reminds that the current regulation on RRF already makes it possible for Member States to use the funds as remedy in recovering from unexpected problems in energy transition, caused by the war in Ukraine
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is concerned, however, that only seven Member States have requested loans amounting to a total of EUR 166 billion out of the EUR 385.8 billion available for loans, leaving a considerable amount available should Member States require loans at a later stage; is preoccupied that the limited interest for the loan component may lead to lost opportunities and prevent the RRF from reaching its full potential; underlines that should the Union decide on a similar package ever again, this lesson should be kept in mind when deciding on the allocation between grants and loans;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reminds the Commission that the rule of law conditionality mechanism is anmechanism and the conditionality regulation are essential components of the RRF; calls on it to refrain from approving the NRRPs of Poland and Hungary as long as concerns regarding the observance of the rule of law and the prevention and detection of and fight against fraud, conflicts of interest and corruption persist in those countries, and to ensure that all the measures set out in their plans comply with EU values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Urges the Commission to monitor very carefully the risks to EU financial interests in the implementation of the RRF and any breach or potential breach of the principles of the rule of law; reminds the Commission to implement the conditionality regulation without any further delay in order to protect the sound financial management and the Union’s financial interests;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Emphasises that the RRF should not be used to substitute recurring national budgetary expenditure, unless duly justified; notes that the Commission has only approved NRRPs to cover the initial costs of setting up and launching reforms; underlines that in order to ensure that the RRF does not lead to negative effects in the light of moral hazard, the temporary and one-off nature of the RRF is essential; reminds that the instrument must be implemented in a way that it does not undermine the Member States' own responsibility for the management of public finances and the implementation of structural reforms that improve economic sustainability;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Observes that a large majority of NRRPs include a specific section explaining how the plan addresses gender- related concerns and challenges; debates the relevance of these sections, considering the core function of RRF, which is to finance reforms and investments, helping citizens and economies to cope with the COVID-19 impacts and setting up the basis of sustainable recovery
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recalls that Member States are required to set up a robust control system in order to guarantee the protection of the financial interests of the Union and to prevent fraud and tackle corruption, and that the Commission is responsible for assuring that these systems are in place before the first payments are approved; underlines that corruption prevention policies cover many fields, typically including ethical rules, awareness-raising measures, rules on asset disclosures, incompatibilities and conflicts of interest, internal control mechanisms, rules on lobbying, and revolving doors; reiterates the role of national measures in preventing fraud and corruption;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to use the Commission’s annual rule of law reports to resolutely fight against systemic corruption and devise effective instruments for preventing, combating and sanctioning corruption and fighting fraud, as well as for regularly monitoring the use of public funds;