Activities of Marco VALLI related to 2017/2053(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
The next MFF: Preparing the Parliament’s position on the MFF post-2020 - Reform of the European Union’s system of own resources (debate) IT
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on reform of the European Union’s system of own resources PDF (658 KB) DOC (110 KB)
Amendments (31)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the main goal of the EU budget should be to support sustainable growth, employment, economic recovery, migration, and security, as well as accelerated growth in less developed regions to achieve an equivalent level of development within all Member States;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that own resources should focus on projects that can generate the highest European added value (EAV); emphasises that expenditure should be focused on areas for which funding at European level is indispensable, or where funding at national level would be insufficient to achieve the European goal, and that if programmes have to date not been shown to provide any added value, they should be thoroughly reviewed in order to be discontinued;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that the way the system of own resources has evolved, gradually replacing genuine own resources by the so- called ‘national contributions’, places a disproportionate emphasis on net balances between Member States, thus largely ignoring the European added value; notes that the total share of national contributions to the EU budget, calculated either on the basis of GNI or as a percentage of the statistical VAT-based resource, represents around 83 % of total EU revenue;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that the use of own resources should be oriented to public EU goods that can benefit all Member States equally; notes twohe areas of increased EAV that also enjoy a high approval rating among citizens, namely research and development, and both internal and external securityclimate action, and safeguarding land against man-made and natural disasters;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is convinced that the dominance of the GNI resource has reinforced the budgetary logic of ‘fair return’ that has prevailed in the debates in the Council, on both the revenue and expenditure sides of the EU budget; recalls, in this context, the introduction of the British rebate and a series of related drebates and other correction mechanisms on the revenue side, on the one hand, as well as the inability to agree on a sufficient level of appropriations for the EU budget in the annual budgetary procedure, on the other hand;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers, in particular,Notes that the decision on the size of the annual EU budget is affected by financial considerations at national level and that the budgetary negotiations often result inare moving towards a zero-sum gameresult between net payers and net beneficiaries in the Council; considers that, as a result, a number of EU policies that show the highest European added value are often the areas where cost savings are proposed;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its concern about the low share of the Union budget devoted to climate-related spending; maintains that the revenues obtained from own resources should be spent oin projects that generate higher EAV, including the fight against climate changeorder to fight climate change and depollute sites affected by industrial activities with a high environmental impact;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that the national contributions to the EU budget are clearly identified on the expenditure side of national budgets and are often perceived as a financial burden, outweighing the benefits triggered by areas of EU expenditure that are often less visible; stresses, in this regard, the need to address the lack of public awareness on the benefits of the EU budget;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls for an own resources system with no financial impact on national budgets, citizens, or SMEs; points out that the introduction of a tax – on as international a basis as possible – on financial transactions by the most aggressive and expert investors could be a way not just to finance the EU budget, but also to combat financial speculation; calls also for a tax on CO2 emissions to be levied on multinationals;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Is convinced, therefore, that the current system of own resources violates, in essence, the letter and the spirit of the Treaty; reiterates its long-standing position that an in-depth reform of EU resources, which does not involve additional costs for citizens, is imperative in order to realign the financing of the EU budget with the requirements of the Treaty and the needs of the Union as a whole;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Deplores the disparities in the customs checks carried out within the EU and the large amounts involved in fraud affecting the own resource collection system; calls on the Commission to strengthen the common policy on customs checks by providing for genuine harmonisation with a view to improving the collection of traditional own resources;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines that the post 2020-MFF will need to ensure the proper financing of EU policies and programmes with a clear European added value, but also to provide additional means for and addressing new challenges that have already been identified in fields such as sustainable growth and jobs, competitiveness, cohesion, innovation, environmental protection and territorial revival, migration, security and defence;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that long-term projects, such as Horizon 2020 and the Juncker Commission’s 10 priorities, should be taken into account when own resources are allocated; calls on the Commission to orient its priorities towards the successful achievement of these long-term projects;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Draws attention to the increasing instances of transnational VAT fraud, also known as ‘carousel fraud’, and calls on the Commission to further strengthen measures to prevent and avert fraud of this kind; considers it essential for the VAT resource to be optimised at the practical level without imposing an additional burden on EU citizens and Member States;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses, moreover, the need to avoid the shortcomings of the current MFF and to provide from the outset for a level of resources that will enable the Union to respond effectively to unforeseen events, environmental disasters or crises that may occur during the period of the next financial framework; recalls the substantial mobilisation of the MFF flexibility provisions that was needed in order to confront the migration and refugee crisis alone;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Expects that, without prejudice to the financial settlement, the consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU will represent an important challenge also for the next MFF and all related budgetary decisions; considers that, ahead of a decision on the post-2020 MFF, options will need to be examined for bridging the ‘Brexit gap’ while excluding a decrease in EU resources;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Favours the establishment of a transparent, simpler and fairer system, building on elements of the current system where they have proved effective; considers that the reform of the system of own resources should be based on a series of guiding principles and should not be a financial burden on EU citizens;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Considers that the introduction of new own resources should have a dual purpose, i.e. first, to bring about a substantial reduction in the proportion of GNI-based contributions, thus creating savings for Member State budgets, and second, to enable the financing of an higher level of EU spending under the post-2020 MFF, also covering the gap resulting from the withdrawal of the UKnot to directly burden EU citizens; recalls in this context that the new own resources domust on not aim toccount increase the overall fiscal burden for the EU taxpayer;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Considers that the traditional own resources, namely customs duties, agricultural duties and the sugar and isoglucose levies, constitute a reliable and genuine source of EU revenue, as they arise directly from the EU being a customs union and from the legal competences and common commercial policy linked to that; takes the view, therefore, that the traditional own resources should be retained as a source of revenue for the EU budget; considers that if the proportion of collection costs retained by Member States is reduced, a bigger share of this revenue can be secured for the EU budgetcollection procedure should be optimised in order to reduce collection costs, enabling the EU budget to secure a bigger share of this revenue;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Acknowledges that the GNI-based contribution provides a reliable and stable source of revenue for the EU budget, and benefits from very strong support from a large majority of Member States; believes, therefore, that it should be preserved as a balancing and residual resource for the EU budget, which would put an end to the budgetary logic of ‘fair return’; stresses the need, in this context, to ensure that the GNI contribution is classified in the same manner in all national budgets, namely as revenue attributed to the EU and not as expenditure of national governments;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls that the report of the High Level Group on Own Resources (HLGOR) proposes the following criteria to identify potential new own resources: equity/fairness; efficiency; sufficiency and stability; transparency and simplicity; democratic accountability and budgetary discipline; focus on European added value; subsidiarity principle and fiscal sovereignty of Member States; zero-impact on EU citizens and limiting political transaction costs;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Supports an in-depth reform of the VAT system in the EU, which should aim at broadening the tax base, without, however imposing further burdens on EU citizens, reducing the scope for fraud and compliance costs, and generating new revenue; considers that a fraction of such new revenue should be allocated to the EU budget;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Agrees with the HLGOR’s assessment of the CCCTB as a basis for a new own resource, meeting all the criteria set by the Group; underlines that the CCCTB is also a key element in the development of the single market, which is also a European public good, as it prevents both inappropriate tax competition between Member States and fiscal optimisation damaging to the level playing field;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Calls therefore for the creation of a new own resource for the Union budget, to be calculated on a quota based on the volume of transnational activities on the basis of Member States’ revenue from tax levied on companies subject to the CCCTB;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Calls, in principle, for the creation of a new own resource for the Union budget to be levied on speculative financial transactions in the digital economy; considers, however, that in view of the important ongoing negotiations at both EU and OECD level, it is too early to decide on the exact arrangements for the establishment of such a resource;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Calls for the introduction of a carbon border adjustment tax in the form of import fees levied on goods manufactured in countries without domestic emission pricing systems of their own and the establishment of a new own resource based on a tax on CO2 emissions for multinationals;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Regrets that the potential of such other revenue has been neglected so far in the debate on the financing of the EU; believes that, even if such revenue does not represent an alternative to other own resources because of its level, volatility and unpredictability, it nonetheless represents a possible means for covering the increasedpart of the financial needs under the next MFF;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Reiterates its long-standing positionPoints out that any revenue resulting from fines imposed on companies for breaching EU competition law or linked to late payments of national contributions to the EU budget should constitute extra revenue for the EU budget without entailinghas hitherto involved a corresponding reduction in GNI contributions;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Underlines the potential for the EU budget of fees required for the implementation of European schemes, such as the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for third- country nationals; points out that this revenue should not, however, replace local revenue and should be a reasonably low figure in order to prevent adverse effects on tourism, and at least 50% of the revenue should remain with the entry states, in order to reward the more attractive ones; considers that in certain cases such revenue could be earmarked for the same policy or purpose; considers that for the post-2020 generation of EU programmes and policies, this type of prospective income should be considered more systematically, with the aim of providing the EU budget with an additional source of revenue;