Activities of Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ related to 2023/2116(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2024
Amendments (29)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, according to the Commission’s 2023 autumn economic forecast, the EU labour market continued to perform strongly in the first half of 2023, despite the slowdown in economic growth; whereas employment growth in the EU is projected at 1.0 % this year, with a projected easing to 0.4 % in both 2024 and 2025; whereas the unemployment rate in the EU is expected to remain broadly stable at 6.0 % in 2023 and 2024 and to edge down to 5.9 % in 2025, which is the lowest rate ever recorded for the EU, and 2024 and to edge down to 5.9 % in 2025; whereas the EU debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to 83 %, which is in contradiction with the criteria of the Stability and Growth Pact;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the Annual Sustainable Growth Survey for 2024 highlights that despite marked wage increases in the EU in 2022 and the beginning of 2023, these remained below the high inflation rates and resulted in reduced purchasing power, affecting lower incomes the most; whereas real wages in the EU decreased by 3.7 % in 2022, increasing the risk of in-work poverty; whereas real wages are expected to increase as of next year as a result of continued nominal wage growth and declining inflationthe risk of in-work poverty is increased by other factors such as family composition with single parents or large families being especially affected; whereas real wages are expected to increase as of next year as a result of continued nominal wage growth and declining inflation; whereas the worsening the socio-economic situation was further exacerbated by Russia´s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas, energy prices in the EU remain high on average compared to pre- crisis levels and the rest of the world, which jeopardizes the social-economic stability within the EU;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Commission’s 2023 autumn economic forecast stressed that uncertainty and downside risks to the economic outlook have increased in recent months because of Russia's protracted war of aggression against Ukraine and the wider regional consequences of the Hamas' brutal terrorist attacks against Israel and that the transmission of monetary tightening may weigh on economic activity for longer and to a larger degree than projected in this forecast, as adjusting the finances of firms, households and governments to the high interest rate environment could prove more challenging;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the digital and green transitions could have a significant impact on the environment and the people affected, but also on the economy, including the labour markepeople, enterprises, the environment, but also on the economy, including the labour market; whereas the implementation of the Green Deal requires an important amount of investments that result in the general increase of prices all over the EU and therefore reduces the purchasing power of the EU citizens, affecting lower incomes the most;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas with regard to the general escape clause under the Stability and Growth Pact, which expires at the end of 2023, fiscal policy of the Member states needs to support monetary policy in reducing inflation and public debt, and needs to safeguard fiscal sustainability, while providing sufficient space for additional investments, including investments in social protection, quality social infrastructure and social services and support for long-term growtheconomic growth and strengthening competitiveness and resilience;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the joint employment report for 2024 provides a first assessment of Member States’' state of play on the three headline targets for 2030 and shows: good progress towards the employment target with an employment level of 74.6 %, but with significant differences according to gender and agebetween Member States and between men and women as well as among different age groups; progress by the majority of Member States towards their national poverty reduction targets, but changes in the opposite direction by others; a need for significant progress to reach the EU headline target of 60 % of adults in learning every year in the EU by 2030, from a low level of 37.4 % in 2016;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the inclusion of a social convergence framework in the European Semester should foster upward social convergence and should improve the assessment and monitoring of employment and social developments in the Member States and the EU by identifying risks to upward convergence for Member States in the joint employment report based on the Social Scoreboard headline indicators and through the Commission’s publication of social convergence reports for those Member States identified as facing risks to upward social convergence;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas skilled workers that can respond to the demands of the labour market and education, training and lifelong learning are of key importance to ensure sustainable growth, increased innovation and competitiveness and the sustainable and just transition of the EU economy; whereas while the EU unemployment rate remains stable at 6% in 2023, EU companies keep struggling to find employees with required skills; whereas the availability of skilled employees is one of the biggest problem for EU’s small and medium-sized enterprises, representing 99% of all EU businesses;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas productivity is the main driver of competitiveness, average productivity growth in the EU has stagnated over the last decade; whereas the stagnation of production represents an obstacle to greater competitiveness in the EU;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
H b. whereas EU businesses are burdened by administrative obstacles that hinder their ability to invest; whereas joint efforts are required to enforce existing rules, remove barriers, and explore areas for further integration;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas, as a result of demographic ageing, the number of people over 65 is rising rapidly and, at the same time, a growing number of critical jobs cannot find suitabkilled candidates to fill open positions, leading to a decrease in the number of employees financ; whereas workforce shortages vary across the EU but are reported by all Member States, whereas these shortages in combination with ageing population and projected increase of number of persons with disabilities might underminge the social welfare model in the EUustainability of crucial sectors such as care sector;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas negative demographic trends might magnify regional disparities in the EU, especially in the rural and outermost regions; whereas brain drain within the EU as well as outwards worsens the overall negative impact of these trends;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that some of the aims of sustainable economic growth must be to ensure wellbeing through an inclusive socio- ecological and digital transformation of our economies to prevent social, economic, digital and environmental imbalances by fighting poverty, reducing inequalities and creating decent jobs with adequate wages and working conditions, while ensuring alignment withtaking into account the Sustainable Development Goals and the EPSR, as well as to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the importance of up-to- date monitoring of the labour market and of supply and demand for skills at the occupational, sectoral and regional level to assist in the identification and forecasting of relevant occupational and transversal skills needs; stresses that anticipating and better matching the skills of the workforce to the labour market needs leads to more resilient economies in view of the future economy shocks which require active labour market policies;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need to invest significantly in peopleEuropean employees and to offer quality, inclusive and subsidis and future-oriented education and training in areas linked tobased on the individual aspirations as well as skills and competences that are in long-term demand in labour markets andor future-oriented sectors according to local and regional needs; further stresses the need to address skills mismatches and labour market shortages and provide assistance to SMEs for the recruitment of new skilled and qualified employees; underlines the need to ensure that workers are ready for the green and digital transitions, that they can benefit from opportunities for new employment or career progression and that training and education programmes are aligned withvailable for all workers and aligned with their individual aspirations, the needs of the planet, the economy and society of the future;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the need to consider the distribution of quality employment in society due to the prevalence of poverty and social exclusion among certain groups, such as Romany people, in order to better design tailored activation and inclusion policies; stresses the importance of devoting particular attention to thecalls on Commission to learn from the many initiatives across the EU in tackling long-term unemployment such as through a job guarantee; stresses the importance of devoting particular attention to facilitating youth employment and pre- retirement transition; stresses that younger generation, which is still facesing difficulties entering the labour market, and to children whoyoung adults are at a higher risk of falling into poverty and social exclusion; insists, in that respect, on the need to better assess the impact of current policies, with the aim of enhancing Member States’ capacity to foster on job creations, competitiveness, economic growth, and upward social convergence;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on Member States to ensure that all skills trainings are adapted to the capacities and desires of individuals and tailor-made for groups in vulnerable situations, such as NEETs (not in education, employment or training) and older workers;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the creation of good- quality jobs and the implementation of retention strategies are the best ways to attract a skilled workforce and calls on employers to invest, therefore, suggest that employers create such conditions inf their workers;y encounter recruitment difficulties, highlights that recruitment difficulties and labour shortages are particularly prevalent in sectors with challenging working conditions and poor job quality; highlights that creating high-quality, well-paid jobs that improve quality of life is therefore crucial could be resolved by offering decent jobs with adequate wages and working conditions;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to propose new initiatives on mental health, to prevent and manage the psychosocial risks at work and ensure the well-being of workers;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Supports the increase of EU funds dedicated to social objectives and the promotion of future-oriented investments focused on the just green and digital transitions, with a strong social dimension, including gender equality and equal access to essential services, such as education, health and digital infrastructure; stresses that financial instruments at all levels must become less fragmented and bureaucratic and more blended and bundled;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Highlights the need to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for companies, especially for SMEs and start- ups, while maintaining the highest standards of consumer protection;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Calls on the Member States to swiftly implement their National Action Plan on the EU Child Guarantee, and to ensure the availability of affordable, accessible and quality social services, such as early childhood education and care, out-of-school care, education, training, housing, health and long-term care, as a necessary condition for ensuring equality;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that EU fiscal rules should allow for the necessary public investment and financing of the just transition to a zero-carbon economy, as well as for the proper implementation ofwhile taking into account the principles of the EPSR and of social investments; stresses that, although there is ae need to reduce public debt within a reasonable time frame, smaller or more indebted Member States need more flexible individual adjustment paths that allow them enough fiscal space to undertake the investments and reforms needed for socially fair green and digital transitions in a way that leaves no one behind as required by Stability and Growth Pact, allowing a flexibility in a specific and exceptional cases;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Reminds the Member States of their commitment to undertake reforms and make investments that have a social impact and contribute to the EU’s economic, social and territorial cohesion and sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as contribute to the implementation of the EPSR through their national recovery and resilience plans; calls, in this sense, for a mainstreaming of the EPSR in all EU funds through the introduction of social conditionality in their allocation rules, as part of the Financial Regulation1 covering the EU general budget;; _________________ 1 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes note of the Commission’s proposals for new regulations within the revision of the economic governance framework of April 2023 to strengthen debt sustainability and its reduction and enhance sustainable and inclusive economic growth through investment and reforms, including fiscal adjustment paths that allow for social investment; calls on the Commission to assess which expenditures, reforms and investments are necessary to achieve the long-term socioeconomic objectives required to comply with milestones in the national recovery and resilience plans; calls on the Commission to propose a new system for excessive deficit calculations based on this assessment in order to increase fairness during the green and digital transitions, social resilience and the implementation of the EPSR, while ensuring the sustainability of public finances in the Member States and with compliance of the Stability and Growth Pact;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the fact that, in order to promote upward social convergence, the multilateral surveillance procedure set out in Article 148(4) TFEU has been, for the first time, complemented by an early warning system within the European Semester through a social convergence framework that could encourage the correction of risks to social convergence identified through the Social Scoreboard headline indicators and through social convergence reports published by the Commission; hHighlights the importance of including social divergence risks in the country-specific recommendations, especially those risks that concern people’s early development and that can have long- lasting consequences for individuals, such as equal access to quality education and healthcare, and highlights the importance of taking them into account when defining fiscal adjustment paths;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for a more democratic European Semester process, with Parliament closely involved in setting macroeconomic and social policy priorities, in particular; considers that a revised European Semester process should follow the ordinary legislative procedure and so be agreed on between the Counon the Commission to consider how to strengthen democratic decision-making in the context of the European Semester process and in setting macroeconomic and social and Parliamentpolicy priorities;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. ReconfirmNotes the role of social partners in strengthening social dialogue and considers that the revision of the European Semester process should promote further dialogue with the relevant stakeholders, in particular relevant social partners and civil society organisations, on the main policy issues where appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the TFEU and national legal and political arrangements;