10 Amendments of Alfred SANT related to 2016/2101(INI)
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the Commission’s focus in its 2016 country-specific recommendations (CSRs) on the three main priorities to further strengthen economic growth: supporting investment, pursuing structural reforms and preserving responsible public finances contributing to economic growth and social equality;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Fully supports the efforts made to ensure greater national ownership in the formulation and implementation of CSRs as an ongoing reform process; stresses that more than half of CSRs are to be implemented by or relevant to local and regional authorities, and that therefore reform formulation and implementation must be ensured in partnership with the sub-national government levels;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that Europe’s long economic crisis has shown that there is a strong need to focus on public and private investment, in order to enhance the EU’s competitiveness; notes that while the overall assessment of the European Fund for Strategic Investment after one year of functioning is moderately positive, its geographical balance and the truly additional character of its investments should be improved, as should the efforts to develop Investment Platforms including at regional level;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines that the still-too-high unemployment rates show that the capacity to create jobs in most Member States is still limited; emphasises that further action is needed, in consultation with social partners and in accordance with national practices, to make labour markets more inclusive overall; stresses that the crisis has widened the economic gaps between EU regions, also within Member States, which is a main cause of increasing inequalities in the EU;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the fact that investment has so far lagged and failed to lead to sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU and that under the current circumstances, monetary policy alone is unlikely to bring about recovery, even though the rules made necessary by banking union have imposed more stringent financial criteria on banks; considers that a coordinated fiscal expansion is also needed in the EU, therefore, in line with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact and its flexibility clauses, in order to place emphasis on public and private investment; reiterates that specifically investment-friendly rules, or those where public investment or other priority outlays are excluded from the perimeter of the rule, are the most effective way to increase counter cyclicality in fiscal policy;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11a (new)
Paragraph 11a (new)
11a. Points out that almost two thirds of the territory-related CSRs this year concerned administrative capacity issues and were addressed to vast majority of Member States; stresses therefore, that the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) should be open to local and regional authorities, involving them directly when putting together the structural reform project in question;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11b (new)
Paragraph 11b (new)
11b. Notes that investments at sub- national governments level have decreased strongly in recent years, now counting for around sixty per cent of public investment in the EU; underlines that investment policy instruments such as the EFSI and ESIF require a territorial dimension and complementarity between each other;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises the need to improve the EU’s overall capacity to create and sustain jobs and thus to tackle high levels of unemployment, while considering that migration could play an important role in compensating for the negative effects of the ageing population; emphasises, however, that this alone cannot be the main response to address structural demographic, labour market or fiscal challenges but that it should be complemented with efficient public expenditure, especially in high-quality social and environmentally sustainable investments and on the ability of the Member States to better use migrants' skills and to adapt labour migration management systems to employers' needs;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Points out that efforts should be made to remove remaining barriers to investment in the Member States and allow for a more suitable policy mix, including a genuine focus on research and development spending; believes that public and private spending and support for research and higher education institutions are crucial factors and that the weakness or absence of this infrastructure places certain countries at a massive disadvantage; stresses that there is no one-size-fits-all ideal EU innovation policy prescription but in order to close the innovation- capacity divide in the EU, sufficiently differentiated innovation policies in Member States, which are tailored to address each country's specific innovation capacity position are needed by building on the models of success stories that have already been attained;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17a (new)
Paragraph 17a (new)
17a. Underlines that, given the current distribution of powers and competences in most Member States, delivery on the Country-specific Recommendations will improve with the active participation of the local and regional authorities; to this aim, supports the proposal of a code of conduct for the involvement of the local and regional authorities in the European Semester;