44 Amendments of Alfred SANT related to 2022/2150(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the exceptionally uncertain EU economic and social outlook resulting from the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of the war against Ukraine;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU labour market has proved particularly resilient, with an additional two million people in employment, leading to a record low unemployment rate of 6.2 % in 2022; whereas according to the Commission’s autumn economic forecast the public sector was a key contributor to the increase in employment; whereas despite labour market tightness wage growth has remained moderate and has failed to keep up with inflation, implying real wage losses of, on average, 8% between Q4 2020 and Q2 2022 in the Euro Area according to ECB research13a; whereas the unemployment rate is expected to increase slightly in 2023 (6.5 %), before marginally coming down again in 2024 (6.2 %); _________________ 13a https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date /2022/html/ecb.blog221125~d34babdf3e.e n.html
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the robustness of the labour market; highlights the stabilising effect of national short-time work schemes supported by the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE); welcomes the fact that the recovery and resilience facility is mitigating those consequences and contributing to the Union’s competitive sustainabilitya sustainable and resilient Union; stresses that its successful implementation requires the completion of milestones and targets, in particular compliance with the rule of law and the general regime of conditionality, to be monitored transparently and thoroughly; stresses that large parts of the success of the RRF are due to the mobilisation of financial support for reforms and investments undertaken by Member States; welcomes the Commission’s proposal to include a REPowerEU chapter in the national recovery and resilience plans; insists that the financing of REPowerEU must not divert resources away from other agreed EU priorities;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Welcomes however the European Commission’s call on Member States to deliver targeted measures to offset the impact of high energy prices on vulnerable households and companies; agrees with the European Commission in stressing that such measures should maintain incentives for energy savings; recalls that Member States find themselves in significantly diverging positions regarding the fiscal space available to them; notes that this situation entails the risk of furthering divergence between Member States and of potential distortions of the Single Market as the energy crisis continues and progresses.
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas inflation has a differentiated impact across income groups, with low-income groups suffering proportionally more especially as inflation is mainly driven by price developments in essential goods that cannot be substituted and make up a relatively larger share of the consumption basket of low-income households; whereas such differentiated impacts cause a veritable cost-of-living crisis for parts of the population that poses challenges to social cohesion;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that the Union budget primarily supports strategic, targeted and growth-enhancing investment and entails a lower risk of inflationary pressure compared to untargeted and extensive national; believes that RRF provides a solid foundation for discussions on how to allow sufficient public investment under the fiscal stimrulues; calls on the Commission and the Member States, in the revision of the EU economic governance framework, to treat gross national income- based contributions to the Union budget in the same way as the national investment commitment; under the European Fund for Strategic Investments in the context of the Commission communication on flexibility .
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses that the European Parliament should be fully involved in the reform of the economic governance framework as well as the future conduct of economic governance in the EU, including in the establishment and management of fiscal instruments.
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas inflation and economic forecasts are operating under the conditions of heightened uncertainty, with key risks, especially to growth, continuing to be pitched to the downside; whereas such uncertainty compels the EU and Member State governments to remain vigilant and to take rapid action if risks materialise;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned at the economic impact of the aforementioned crises on the Union and on national budgets; stresswelcomes that crisis response has led Member States to adopt extensivenecessary economic and social measures; highlights the positive long-term impact of these measures on economic sustainability, but considers that it should be possible to return to a state of economic discipline in the long run; is also concerned at the Union’s increasing debt repayment obligations if not appropriately handled; stresses that Union borrowing should not increase further as long as there are nowell-targeted measures and public investments on economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability that will contribute to increase potential growth and fiscal sustainability in the long run; considers that the Union’s debt should be accompanied by the introduction of new own resources to cater for debt repayment obligations.
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Believes that future reforms of the European Semester should draw on the lessons learned on the Next Generation EU, the RRF and the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument, especially as regards more transparent and democratic processes as well as policy coordination and collaborative approaches to the definition of reforms and investment priorities and projects;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Considers that all options to incentivise Member State investments to tackle the long-term challenges should be on the table, specifically the revision of the Stability and Growth Pact to promote a future-oriented economy and the extension of lending and borrowing capacities at EU level, building on Next Generation EU;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Considers that an adequately- designed permanent fiscal capacity at EU level could play a crucial role in maintaining sufficiently high levels of strategic investment and ensuring an appropriate fiscal stance at the aggregate level;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes that the European Systemic Risk Board has issued a warning on 22 September 2022 calling for heightened awareness with regards to financial stability risks resulting from sharply falling asset prices; is concerned that rising mortgage rates and the deterioration in debt servicing capacity due to a decline in real household income may cause further distress for families and for financial markets;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recognises that the EU finds itself in a critical juncture with both external and internal negative pressures forcing the European economy into a continuous adaptation mode;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Welcomes the positive projections in the Commission’s Annual Sustainable Growth Survey 2023 as regards inflation and real GDP growth from the year 2024 onwards; stresses that it remains essential for EU economic policy to have in place the needed tools for an adverse scenario in order to cushion European enterprises and households from further difficulties;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Is concerned that both the COVID crisis and to a larger extent, the ongoing inflation plus energy shake-up are exposing the fragility of the social safety net, which was side-lined for years due to other priorities during a long period of practically zero inflation; points out that already by the end of 2021, 95.4 million EU citizens, equivalent to 21.7 % of the EU population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion with one fifth of the EU population living in households where dependent children were at risk of poverty or social exclusion;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Stresses the urgent need to have more EU investment directly funnelled towards programmed social projects in the Member States and that EU actors must push towards EU and national budgetary policies that embrace such approach;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that while the primary objective of the European Central Bank (ECB) is to maintain price stability, the primary objective of the Union as a whole should be to minimise the impact of current turbulences on the real economy, thereby defending the wellbeing of its citizens and preserving its production structure and the international competitiveness of its companies; underlines, in this regard, the importance of adequate and coordinated fiscal, structural and regulatory policies that complement the ECB’s monetary policy actions, which are also capable of supporting household incomes and providing targeted support to companies suffering from supply bottlenecks and high energy costs; notes that further increases of the ECB’s key policy rate or quantitative tightening may further contract economic activity;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Welcomes the European Commission’s call on Member States to deliver targeted measures to offset the impact of high energy prices on vulnerable households and companies; agrees with the European Commission in stressing that such measures should maintain incentives for energy savings; recalls that Member States find themselves in starkly diverging positions regarding the fiscal space available to them; notes that this situation entails the risk of furthering divergence between Member States as the energy crisis continues;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Notes the increased need for fiscal space in most Member States; underlines that in periods of increasing interest rates, Member States should also consider raising more revenues on higher earners or on industries and firms that are highly profitable; notes how a healthy balance between government revenues and expenditures is also necessary to reduce legacy debt and to build up buffers in times of economic recovery;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Calls for the general escape clause under the Stability and Growth (SGP) pact to remain activated as long as Member States are recovering from the crises caused by the pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; notes that the policy leeway created by the general escape clause is necessary to allow Member States to strengthen their competitiveness as well as their economic and social resilience under the current circumstances and within the constraints of the SGP in its current form;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Notes that through the years, the Semester process has lacked ownership by national and regional entities as well as the European public;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Insists that NRRPs must respect the principle of subsidiarity and should not hamper the Member States’ autonomy to manage sectors which fall outside EU competence;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point a
Paragraph 7 – point a
(a) the six-pillar structure, ensuringwhich was developed as part of the ordinary legislative procedure and hence under the full involvement of the European Parliament and that ensures that Member States give adequate consideration in their reform and investment agendas to all the relevant dimensions for making EU economies and societies more prosperous, sustainable, inclusive, competitive and resilient;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Believes that future reforms of the European Semester should draw on the lessons learned as part of Next Generation EU and the RRF, especially as regards more transparent and democratic processes relating to the definition of policy objectives, the conduct of policy coordination as well as in relation to the collaborative approaches to the definition of reforms and investment projects that were pioneered between the European Commission and Member States; considers that such reforms should also incorporate lessons learned from the temporary establishment of the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Agrees with the Commission’s orientations as regard the simplification of the framework, differences in Member States’ debt reduction paths, the use of a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis and the general escape clauses; retains its inclination towards a simplified approach to determine debt sustainability challenges;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Awaits for further clarifications from the European Commission as regards the technicalities of the tool and the way it will be assessed; points out that the automaticity of the debt sustainability analysis process in the fiscal coordination process needs further political and technical discussion;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes the aim to stimulate investment and reforms by allowing Member States to have different debt reduction paths, provided that these enhance growth, improve debt sustainability and are in line with the EU’s objectives, in particular those of the green and digital transition and social resilience; requires that such paths maintain a level of flexibility on the basis of possible errors in established forecasts arising from potential rapid structural changes; notes the elastic nature of small transition economies which leaves them more prone to such rapid changes as compared to larger European economies;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Stresses that the revised regulatory framework must ensure that Member States have sufficient leeway to deliver decisive crisis-resolution measures when they are needed; is of the opinion that implementation of such measures should not require the suspension of regulatory provisions by means of escape clauses; notes that, in the future, the activation of escape clauses should remain a measure of last resort;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Highlights the need for common criteria that ensure, despite more country- specific flexibility in debt reduction, that all Member States are assessed according to the same standards, are treated equally, and that policy outcomes are predictable; notes that such common criteria should include criteria for the definition of Member States’ debt reduction paths; stresses that debt reduction should be delivered in a growth-friendly way and that underlying regulatory criteria should be defined in relation to Member States’ output and expenditure growth;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11 d. Notes that the Commission's Communication puts debt sustainability analyses (DSAs) at the centre of the fiscal rules and suggests using them to determine multi-year fiscal-structural plans; expresses concerns that DSAs would not be able to project future debt developments with certainty; underlines that the usage of DSAs still requires estimating unobservable variables, thereby undermining transparency and hampering ownership and predictability, and thus leaving space for discretion; stresses that the result of a DSA may create self-fulfilling prophecies, by encouraging investors to buy/sell bonds of the respective Member States, thereby influencing outcomes; observes that since there is not one unique set of assumptions, they should be aligned with the objectives of the EU-Treaties as regards growth and convergence, and they should be agreed upon in a political process, ideally by the European Parliament and the European Council;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Notes that the Commission's communication acknowledges the potential inconsistencies between the application of the fiscal rules and the recommendations under the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP), and provides for the inclusion of reforms and investments required to correct the imbalances under the MIP in the national plans; regrets that the Communication does not encompass any instrument that allows for the correction of such inconsistencies;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Stresses that large parts of the success of the RRF are due to the mobilisation of financial support for reforms and investments undertaken by Member States; notes that the European Commission’s proposals for a revised EU economic governance framework seek to incentivise compliance by way of sanctions that apply automatically in the case of non-compliance;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Recalls that the RRF is expected to end in late 2026; recalls that there is a near-undisputed consensus on the need for a degree of fiscal centralisation for currency unions, such as the Economic and Monetary Union, to be viable in the long-run, which was most recently reiterated by the International Monetary Fund13d; _________________ 13d International Monetary Fund, DP/2022/014, Reforming the EU Fiscal Framework - Strengthening the Fiscal Rules and Institutions
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13 c. Considers that a permanent fiscal capacity at EU level could, if designed appropriately, play a crucial role in maintaining sufficiently high levels of strategic investment, resolving the inconsistencies between the application of the fiscal rules and the MIP, and ensuring an appropriate fiscal stance at the aggregate level; calls for the timely establishment of a permanent instrument of a significant volume to succeed the RRF prior to its expiration at the end of 2026; considers that such an instrument should comprise both an investment and a stabilisation function;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Emphasises the need to strengthen national ownership of the process and in this regard to maintain the utmost level of transparency as well as fair and equal treatment towards all Member States;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13 b. Takes into consideration the systemic weakening of healthcare systems in many Member States of the EU also due to a reduction of public spending in the sector; proposes a separate treatment for health related expenses until a suitable upgrade of the European public health sector is achieved;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13 d. Considers that such an instrument should support national reform and investment initiatives towards common EU priorities, especially in the context of the social-ecological transformation and with regard to MIP-related measures for which Member States lack the fiscal space at national level under the applicable fiscal framework;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recalls that the better law-making agreement reiterates that the European Parliament and the Council are to exercise their powers as co-legislators on an equal footing and that the Commission therefore needs to treat them equally; stresses that the European Parliament should therefore be fully involved in the reform of the economic governance framework as well as the future conduct of economic governance in the EU, including in the establishment and management of fiscal instruments; stresses the role and responsibility of national parliaments;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Recognises the need for sufficient public revenue to ensure the sustainability of public finances in times of pressing investment needs and frequent economic shocks; highlights the various observations made by the European Commission as part of the European Semester on the tax mix; considers as necessary a shift from labour and consumption taxation towards the taxation of environmentally harmful practices, speculative behaviours, the windfall and/or excess profits of multinational corporations, and capital; stresses that further action to counter tax avoidance and evasion in the EU and in global fora is a necessary complement to the reform of the EU economic governance framework;