17 Amendments of Maria GRAPINI related to 2019/2204(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Defence Procurement Directive seeks to introduce fair and transparent rules for defence procurement in an effort to make it easier for defence companies in the Member States to access other Member States’ defence markets; notes that there is unfortunately no adequate access for SMEs and that they face major challenges when participating in public procurement procedures;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes some of the positive trends witnessed in the progressive implementation of the Defence Procurement Directive, namely the increasing number of contract notices and contract-award notices issued by Member States, and the increasing proportion of procurement that has been tendered competitively through Tenders Electronic Daily (TED); stresses, however, that a very high volume of procurement expenditure is still incurred outside the directive, and that procedures are still not easily accessible by SMEs;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. BCalls for a reduction in the use of exemptions and offset requirements in defence acquisitions; believes, in this regard, that the Commission should take a more proactive role in monitoring the necessity and proportionality of exclusions usinvoked by the Member States in their awarding of contracts outside the scope of the Defence Procurement Directive, and should not be mainly reliant on received complaints filed by the industry;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that there is still a strong need to focus on the effective implementation of the Defence Procurement Directive, considers that, for that to happen, the Member States should focus on ensuring equal treatment, transparency and competition and on access to public procurement in this field, and that the Commission should focus on providing the Member States with further guidelines and information on the application of the provisions laid down in the directive;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that some aspects of the implementation of the Defence Procurement Directive could be improved, such as the Member States’ use of the open procedure as provided for in Directive 2014/24/EC9 and how consistently they apply that directive whenever possible; believes, however, that noa revision of the Defence Procurement Directive is needed at this point, since the existing regulatory framework is sufficitoo general and allows for too broad a divergence whent ift correctly implemented and properly usedmes to incorporation into national legislation, resulting in dysfunctionalities and fragmentation on the internal market; __________________ 9 OJ L 094 28.3.2014, p. 65.
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls, therefore, on the Commission to cmontinue monitoringitor the implementation, improve transparency and providinge guidance to the Member States in order to ensure consistent use of the directiveand fully enforce the directive to prevent backsliding of implementation, reduce usage of exemptions and therefore fully achieve its objectives;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Observes, further, that there was a slower and lower than expected uptake of certification, and that there are still barriers to effective application of the directive, with low levels of awareness, particularly among SMEs, of the tools available under the directive and the opportunities that exist on the internal market, and of the system used by the Member States in their export controls, in addition to the lack of harmonisation in the implementation of GTLs, which act as major barriers to the effective application of the directive;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers, therefore, that the Transfers Directive has only partially achieved its main objectives, in particular that of smoothing the circulation of defence-related products within the internal market and of having an efficient internal market, greater security of supply and improved competitiveness, and that a revision of the Transfers Directive is therefore needed;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines the importance of having a genuine internal market for intra- EU transfers of defence-related products, and also of facilitating transfers from third countries, while at the same time ensuring the transparent monitoring of the whole process, where national authorities are aware of what and to whom products are transferred and where the export authorisations and other restrictions to exports are brought to a required minimum;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States to take due account of the Commission recommendations on the scope of application and conditions of GTLs and to avoid adding conditions for transfers under GTLs, which would contradict or undermine the conditions listed in the recommendations; underlines the need to provide translations of national transfer licences regulations;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. CObserves that a number of SMEs active in the defence markets are involved in dual-use, while many remain specialised specifically in defence-related activities and are therefore particularly dependant on military and defence-related businesses; calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase efforts in raising awareness of the directive’s tools and benefits, in particular among SMEs to help increase their participation in the field;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission and Member States to improve the quality and availability of data, such as TED data,Highlights the disparities in publication rates of contract notices between Member States on TED; stresses the importance of ensuring the accessibility and usability of the Register of the Certified Defence-related Enterprises (CERTIDER) online database; emphasises the need to make data systematically available on intra-EU transfers, including quantitative data as well as a breakdown by categories of licences, to better take into account defence and armament activities; notes that such disparities contribute to the lack of reliable data and could cause a disruption to the internal market and that the lack of reciprocity could disincentive Member States with a higher degree of implementation; calls on the Commission and Member States to improve the quality, consistency and availability of data in order to facilitate the monitoring on implementation of these two directives; and provide meaningful scrutiny;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that SMEs appear to be less successful in winning contracts under the Defence Procurement Directive than in general EU public procurement; notes, further, that the subcontracting provisions of the directive have clearly not been used on a regular and structured basis by Member States’ authorities; finds that some Member States experience these provisions as complex and difficult to use, which partially explains the limited impact of the directive, and that there is hence a need for SMEs to be encouraged to participate in this process and for procedures to be simplified in order to cut red tape;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Highlights that certification processes are regarded as costly, lengthy and burdensome, hence neither accessible nor attractive for SMEs;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission to continue its work and thoroughly examine the causes behind the lack of SME participation and to find an effective means for SMEs to participate in the public procurement process;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Commission to work towards increasing the uptake of the legislative framework on transfers of defence-related products, improving the availability of GTLs throughout the EU and addressing the limited application of the certification scheme, which shouldcan boost the development of the EDEM and thereby improve the functioning of the internal market for defence products;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. CallsWelcomes the launch onf the Member States to boost the EDEM through cooperation on projects under the Permanent Structured Cooperation and the European Defence FundPermanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the Coordinated Annual Review of Defence (CARD), the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the revised Capability Development Plan (CDP) which altogether can boost collaborative defence capability planning, development, procurement and operation; calls on the Member States to boost the EDEM through cooperation on projects under PESCO and the EDF; notes in this regard that lessons learnt and best practices stemming so far from the implementation of the Defence Package should be shared among the Member States in order to remedy an uneven level of their implementation;