20 Amendments of Maria GRAPINI related to 2018/0231(COD)
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Several programmes for Union action exist currently in the fields of competitiveness of enterprises, micro- enterprises, including SMEs, consumer protection, customers and end-users in financial services, policy making in financial services and food chain. Some additional activities are financed directly under the internal market budget lines. It is necessary to streamline and exploit synergies between various actions and provide for a more flexible, transparent and agile framework to finance activities aiming to achieve a well-functioning internal market in the most cost-efficient manner. It is therefore necessary to establish a new programme bringing together activities financed previously under those other programmes and other relevant budget lines. The programme should also include new initiatives which aim to improve the functioning of the internal market.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) A modern internal market promotes fair competition and benefits consumers, businesses and employees. Making better use of the ever evolving internal market in services should help European businesses create jobs and grow across borders, offer wider choice of services at better prices, and maintain high standards for consumers and workers. To achieve this, the Programme should contribute to the removal of remaining barriers, and to ensure a regulatory framework that can accommodate new innovative business models.
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Placing on the market of products that are not compliant with Union law puts those who comply at disadvantage and may endanger consumers. ManyThere are entrepreneurs who disregard the rules either through lack of knowledge or intentionally to gain a competitive advantage. Market surveillance authorities are often underfunded and constrained by national boundaries, while entrepreneurs trade at Union or even global level. In particular, in the case of e-commerce, market surveillance authorities have great difficulties in tracing non-compliant products imported from third countries and identifying the responsible entity within their jurisdiction. The Programme should therefore seek to strengthen product compliance by providing the right incentives to entrepreneurs, intensifying compliance checks and promoting closer cross-border cooperation among enforcement authorities. The Programme should also contribute to the consolidation of the existing framework for market surveillance activities, encourage joint actions of market surveillance authorities from different Member States, improve the exchange of information and promote convergence and closer integration of market surveillance activities.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Public procurement is used by public authorities to ensure value for public money spent and to contribute to a more innovative, sustainable, inclusive and competitive internal market. Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council49, Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council50 and Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council51 provide the legal framework for the integration and effective functioning of the public procurement markets representing 14% of Union’s gross domestic product, to the benefit of public authorities, businesses as well as citizens, including consumers. The Programme should therefore support measures to ensure a wider uptakse of strategic public procurement, the professionalisation of public buyers, improved access to procurement markets for SMEs, increase of transparency, integrity and better data, boosting the digital transformation of procurement and promotion of joint procurement, through strengthening a partnership approach with the Member States, improving data gathering and data analysis including through development of dedicated IT tools, supporting exchange of experiences and good practices, providing guidance, pursuing beneficial trade agreements, strengthening cooperation among national authorities and launching pilot projects. _________________ 49 Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 1). 50 Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65). 51 Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) The Programme should support the development of the Union regulatory framework in the area of company law and corporate governance, as well as contract law, with a view to make business, especially SMEs, more efficient and competitive while providing protection for stakeholders affected by company operations, and to react to emerging policy challenges. It should also ensure appropriate evaluation, implementation and enforcement of the relevant acquis, inform and assist stakeholders and promote information exchange in the area. The Programme should further support the Commission's initiatives in favour of a clear and adapted legal framework for the data economy and innovation. Those initiatives are necessary to enhance legal certainty with regard to contractual and extra contractual law, in particular with regard to liability and ethics in the context of emerging technologies, such as internet of things, artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D Printing. The Programme should aim at stimulating the development of data-driven business, as it will be decisive for the position of the Union economy in a global competition.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Strengthening the competitiveness of European enterprises while reassuring an effective level playing field and an open and competitive internal market is of outmost importance. SMEs, especially for SMEs which are the engine of the European economy making up 99% of all businesses in Europe, providing two thirds of jobs, and contributing substantially to the creation of new jobs with a regional and local dimension.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) SMEs share common challenges that do not affect larger firms to the same extent to obtain finance, to find skilled work force, to alleviate administrative burden, to take-up creativity and innovation, to access markets and foster internationalisation activities and to access public procurement. The Programme should address such market failures proportionally, while not unduly distorting competition in the internal market.
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) The Programme should support national competent authorities, including those responsible for monitoring product safety, who cooperate notably via the Union’s rapid alert system for dangerous products. It should also support the enforcement of Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council58 and Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 regarding consumer protection and product safety, and the Consumer Protection Cooperation network and international cooperation between the relevant authorities in third countries and in the Union. The Programme should also aim to ensure access for all consumers and traders to quality out of court dispute resolution and online dispute resolution and information on redress possibilities, at the lowest cost. _________________ 58 Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety (OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4).
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 80
Recital 80
(80) Horizontal financial rules adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the basis of Article 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to this Regulation. These rules are laid down in the Financial Regulation and determine in particular the procedure for establishing and implementing the budget through grants, procurement, prizes, indirect implementation, and provide for checks on the responsibility of financial actors. Rules adopted on the basis of Article 322 TFEU also concern the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States, as the respect for the rule of law is an essential precondition for sound financial management and effective Union funding.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) making the internal market more effective, also through digital transformations by: i. facilitating the prevention and removal of obstacles, supporting the dprevelopment, implementation and enforcement of the Union law in the areantion of unfair treatment of the participants/consumers ofn the internal market for goods and servicesmarket, supporting development, public procurement, market surveillance as well as in the areas of company law and contract and extra- contractual law, anti- money laundering, free movement of capital, financial services and competition, including the development of governance tools; ii. supporting the effective market surveillance and product safety in the Union and implementation and enforcement of the Union law in the areas of the internal market for goods and services;
Amendment 178 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) improving the competitiveness of enterprises with special emphasis on SMEs and achieving additionality throughacross the Union through measures, such as: i. the provision of measures that provide various forms of support to SMEs, access to markets including the tourism sector; ii. fostering access to markets by internationalisation of SMEs,; iii. fostering a favourable business environment for SMEs, the; iv. supporting competitiveness of sectors, the; v. fostering modernisation of industry and; vi. supporting development of industrial value chains; vii. the promotion of entrepreneurship;
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c – point i
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c – point i
(i) enable the financing of European standardisation and stakeholder participation of all stakeholders in setting up European standards;
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. EUR 500 000 000 to the objective referred to in Article 3.2(a) (ii)
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point f – point i (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point f – point i (new)
(i) facilitating SMEs' access to the public procurement procedure;
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1
1. The Programme shall be implemented by work programme(s) referred to in Article 110 of the Financial Regulation. Each of the specific objectives laid down in this regulation shall be implemented by a annual or multiannual work programme. However, if synergies can be established among certain objectives, the necessary provisions can be implemented in a common work programme. In order to ensure for the implementation of the programme, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to adopt work programmes. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 21. The programme sets out in detail: a. the objectives pursued for each action, which shall be in accordance with the general and specific objectives referred to in Article 3, an indication of the budget for each of the financing types referred to in Article 6, a total amount for the actions and an indicative implementation timetable; b. for grants, the essential evaluation criteria, which shall be set so as best to achieve the objectives pursued by the programme, and the maximum rate of co- financing; Work programmes shall set out, where applicable, the overall amount reserved for blending operations.
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Work programmes implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b) shall be adopted by the Commission by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 21(1).
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Work programmes implementing the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i) shall be adopted by the Commission by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 21(2).
Amendment 258 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 1
1. TRegarding the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(e), the Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health established by Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council.99 . That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. _________________ 99 Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (OJ L 031, 01.02.2002, p. 1).
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 21 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Regarding the specific objective referred to in Article 3(2)(b), the Commission shall be assisted by a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Amendment 261 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 21 – paragraph 1 b (new)