12 Amendments of Nils TORVALDS related to 2014/2004(BUD)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that the European economy is showing some signs of recovery and considers that along with Member States continuing their growth-friendly fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, the European budget can be a very strong tool to increase strategic investment with European added value and put the European economy back on track, generating sustainable growth and employment while aiming to foster economic and social cohesion throughout the EU;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights in particular the importance of the European Structural and Investment Funds, which form the biggest single block of expenditure in the EU budget; underlines the fact that these ESIFs are particularly important in helping Member States and regions to exit the current crisis and achieve the Europe 2020 targets; stresses the need to endow citizens with the tools to find a way out of the crisis; stresses in this regard the special need to also foster investments in areas such as education and mobility, research and innovation, digital agenda, SMEs and entrepreneurship, in order to boost the creation of employment –, in particular youth and 50+ employment;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers it also important to invest in other areas such as renewable energy, infrastructures, in particular broadband infrastructure, with a stronger and enhanced use of ‘innovative financial instruments’, particularly in respect of long term investments; underlines the importance of ensuring that sufficient resources are made available for EU external actions; recalls the EU’s international commitments as regards the allocation of 0.7 % of GNP to the Millennium Development Goals Instruments by 2015;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Underlines the importance of ensuring that sufficient resources are made available for EU external actions to allow the European Union to respect the principles and pursue the objectives set out in article 21 of the TEU as well as article 323 of the TFEU; recalls the EU and its Members States' international commitment to increase their Official Development Aid (ODA) spending to 0.7% of GNI and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls the recent agreement on the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework (MFF), which defines the main parameters for the annual budgets until 2020; underlines the fact that each annual budget must be in line with the MFF Regulation and the Interinstitutional Agreement and should not be considered an excuseopportunity to re-negotiate downwards the MFF; points out, however, that this does not exclude the use of all means available to the budgetary authority within the framework of the annual budget procedur the special instruments agreed upon in the MFF 2014-2020 regulation and in the related Interinstitutional Agreement which are available to the budgetary authority within the framework of the annual budget procedure in order to provide the EU budget with the necessary flexibility; highlights its determination to use them as appropriate;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls the agreement within the MFF, which is being implemented for the first time in the 2014 budget, to frontload in 2014 and 2015 commitments for specified policy objectives relating to youth employment, research, Erasmus+ in particular for apprenticeships, and SMEs; emphasises that a similar approach needs to be taken for the 2015 budget throughrecalls that for 2015 this means a frontloading of the Youth Employment Initiative (by 871.4 million( in 2011 prices) as well as of Erasmus+ and COSME, by (20 million each (in 2011 prices);
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Emphasises that, in order to help European citizens to exit the crisis, investments should be brought forward as much as possible in those programmes; invites the Commission, furthermore, to identify furpossible other programmes for which could benefit froma frontloading, could usefully benefit and contribute to this purpose and would also be able to fully absorb help the EU to renew with growthe additional appropriationsnd employment;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the importance of decentralised agencies, which are vital for the implementation of EU policies and programmes; stresses the need to assess all agencies individually and to provide them in the 2015 budget and in the following years with the appropriate financial means and staff so that they are able to properly fulfil the tasks assigned to them by the legislative authority;expects the first outcome of the Interinstitutional Working Group on decentralised agencies to be delivered in due time for Parliament's reading of the budget;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that the overall level of payment appropriations agreed for the 2014 budget is below the level considered necessary and proposed by the Commission in its original draft budget; is deeply concerned that the unprecedented level of outstanding bills at the end of 2013, upamounting to EUR 23.4 billion under Heading 1b alone, cannot be covered within 2014 ceilings; Underlines also the backlog of payments appropriations of EUR 160 million for humanitarian aid carried over from 2013 to 2014, which could result in delay of payments, with all the tragic consequences that this would have in a sector where immediate reaction is essential; stresses therefore that, even if all the new flexibility mechanisms are mobilised in payments in 2014, this will again lead to a large implementation deficit at the end of 2014; underlines the fact that the recurrent shortages of payment appropriations have been the main cause of the unprecedentedly high level of outstanding commitments (RALs) especially in the last years;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recalls that according to the Treaty4 ‘the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall ensure that the financial means are made available to allow the Union to fulfil its legal obligations in respect of third parties’; expects the Commission in its draft budget to propose an adequate level of payment appropriations, based on real forecasts rather than political expectations; __________________ 4 Article 323 TFEU.
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Insists that the use of all special instruments in payments (EU Solidarity Fund, Globalisation Adjustment Fund and Emergency Aid Reserve) must be entered in the budget over and above the MFF payment ceilingRecalls its position of principle that the financing of special instruments shall be entered in the budget over and above the multiannual financial framework ceilings for commitments and for payments;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Given the alarming situation of payment appropriations in humanitarian aid at the very beginning of 2014, calls for the Commission to take all necessary measures and to react as quickly as possible in order to ensure the proper delivery of EU humanitarian Aid in 2014; given the particularity of this funding for which most of commitments have to be paid within the budgetary year, invites the Commission to reflect on the possibility to enter in the draft budget 2015 not only a sufficient level of appropriations but also to enter an amount of payments appropriations equal to the level of commitment appropriations for humanitarian aid and for the emergency aid reserve;