Activities of Daniele VIOTTI related to 2017/2044(BUD)
Plenary speeches (2)
2018 budgetary procedure (debate) IT
General budget of the European Union for 2018 - all sections (debate) IT
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018 PDF (993 KB) DOC (188 KB)
Amendments (27)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its political support for the establishment of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) and welcomes the legislative proposal put forward in this regard by the Commission; considers, however, that, pending a decision on the financing of the ESC and the adoption of the relevant regulation under the ordinary legislative procedure, no financial provision should be entered for this purpose in the 2018 Budget in accordance with Article 54(1) of the Financial Regulation; decides, therefore, that relevant appropriations and redeployments, entered by the Commission in the Draft Budget 2018 (DB), should be for the moment reversed, as the decision on the 2018 Budget should not prejudge in any way the outcome of the legislative negotiations; remains fully committed to integrate the decision on ESC financing in next year’s budget immediately via an amending budget, in case the negotiations on the relevant regulation are not concluded before the end of the 2018 budgetary procedure;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes that, while at present the peak of the migratory and refugee crisihallenges seems to have passlightly decreased, the Union must stand ready to respond to any unforeseenfurther future event in this area; therefore urges the Commission to continuously monitor the adequacy of allocations under Heading 3 and make full use of all available instruments under the current MFF to respond in a timely manner to any unforeseen event that might require additional funding; decides therefore to reinforce in a limited manner the Asylum Migration and, the Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund and the European Asylum and Support Office (EASO) to provide the adequate financial and human resources; notes, once again, that the Heading 3 ceiling is vastly insufficient to provide for appropriate funding for the internal dimension of the migration and refugee crisihallenges as well as other priority programmes, such as the culture and citizenship programmes;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines that Heading 3 has been largely mobilised in recent years to address challenges arising from the migratory and refugee crisis and that such actions should continue for as long as needed; insists however that in the light of recent security concerns across the Union, funding under that heading should also pay particular attention to measures which will lead to enhancing security of Union citizens; decides for this reason to reinforce agencies in the field of Justice and Home Affairs which due to increased workload and additional tasks, have been facing shortage of staff and funding in the past yearshallenges and that such actions should continue for as long as needed;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Underlines that in the light of recent security concerns across the Union, funding under Heading 3 should also pay attention to measures which will lead to enhancing security of Union citizens; decides for this reason to reinforce agencies in the field of Justice and Home Affairs which due to increased workload and additional tasks, have been facing shortage of staff and funding in the past years;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Reiterates that part of the solution to the migratory and refugee crisihallenges as well as to the security concerns of Union citizens lie in addressing the root causes of migration and devoting sufficient financial means to external instruments that aim at tackling issues such as poverty, lack of employment, education and economic opportunities, instability, conflict and climate change; is of the opinion that the Union should make an optimal use of financial means under Heading 4 which proved to be insufficient to equally address all external challenges, considering that the resources are clearly insufficient and should be increased in a more organic way;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Regrets that, while preparing its position, Parliament has not been sufficiently informed about the budgetary impact of a possible political decision to extend the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRT); reiterates its longstanding position that new initiatives shall not be financed to the detriment of existing EU external projects; calls therefore on the Commission, in the event of the prolongation of the FRT, to propose its financing through fresh means; notes that the Heading 4 ceiling is vastly insufficient to provide a sustainable and effective response to the current external challenges, including the migration and refugee crisis; phenomenon;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Concludes that, for the purpose of adequately financing all pressing needs, and considering the very tight MFF margins in 2018, all means available in the MFF Regulation in terms of flexibility will need to be deployed; expects that the Council will share this approach and that an agreement will easily be reached in conciliation, allowing the Union to rise to the occasion and effectively respond to the challenges ahead; underlines that the constant deviation of the original programming under the current MFF each budgetary year advocate in favour of an upward adjustment of the ceilings in the MFF post-2020;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Underlines that the constant deviation of the original programming under the current MFF advocates in favour of an upward adjustment of all headings ceilings in the MFF post-2020;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses the importance of stimulating cooperative defence research in Europe for addressing key capability shortfalls at a time when international developments increasingly require Europe to step up its efforts on defence; fully supports the increased allocation for the Preparatory Action on defence research; reiterates, nevertheless, its longstanding position that new initiatives shouldall be financed through fresh appropriations and not ato the expensedetriment of existing EU programmes;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Notes that, while the number of migrant crossings on the Central and Eastern Mediterranean routes into the Union fell in the first eight months of 2017, pressure on the Western Mediterranean route remains high; is of the opinion that additionalincreased funding is needed to fully cover the needs of the Union in the field of asylum and migration, notably through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to support Members States in improving integration measures and practices for those in need of international protection, especially unaccompanied minors, and, where necessary, carrying out return operations for those not entitled to protection while fully respecting the principle of non-refoulement sound return operations; in this context also insists that the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) will be equipped with adequate, increased financial and human resources to allow the agency to fulfil its assigned tasks and deliver the best possible results;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30 a. Is in favour of the creation of a new budget line for a Research and Rescue Fund to support Member States in their obligations under international maritime law; asks the Commission to present a legislative proposal to set up such an EU Research and Rescue Fund;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Is convinced that, in order to effectively tackle security concerns of Union citizens, the budget of the Internal Security Fund must be boostedneeds additional funds to equip the Member States better in the fight against terrorism, cross-border organised crime, and radicalisation and cybercrime; underlines, in particular, that sufficient resources must be provided for reinforcing security infrastructures and boosting information- sharing between law enforcement agencies and national authorities, including through improving the interoperability of information systems;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Reiterates its conviction that it is time to boost funding for important EU programmes in the areas of culture and citizenship, in particular Creative Europe and Europe for Citizens and, which have a key role in supporting cultural and creative industries, as well as participatory citizenship, especially in view of the European elections in 2019; reiterates that all institutions must honour the political agreement found on the 2018 funding for the European Year of Cultural Heritage by providing sufficient appropriations for it through Creative Europe’s Culture sub- programme, in the absence of a separate budget line for the Year;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Is in favour of increased transparency of and visibility for the Daphne objective of the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme, as a key Union tool in combatting all forms of violence against children, young people, women, LGBTI people and other at-risk groups; supports setting up a European monitoring centre on gender-based violence within the European Institute for Gender Equality;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Reinforces Heading 3 by EUR 108,8 million in commitment appropriations above the Commission’s proposal, excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions, and proposes to finance these reinforcements by a further mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Stresses once again that the Union’s external action is faced with ever growing funding needs which greatly exceed the current size of Heading 4 as well as the related margin ; considers that the mobilisation of the Union budget to respond to the migration challenge will continue to require dynamic responses in the coming years; stresses that an ad hoc one-year increase, such as that in 2017, cannot be considered sufficient in view of the complex challenges that the Union is facing and the urgent need for stronger Union external presence in today’s global world;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Is of the opinion that priority should be given to the Union’s immediate neighbours and to measures aimed at tackling the main issues they are facing, namely the migratory and refugee crisisphenomenon and corresponding humanitarian challenges in the Southern Neighbourhood, and the Russian aggression in the Eastern Neighbourhood; believes that stability and prosperity of the EU Neighbourhood are beneficial to both the concerned regions and to the Union as a whole; reiterates that supporting countries which are implementing association agreements with the Union is pivotal to facilitating political and economic reforms, but stresses that such support should apply as long as those countries meet the eligibility criteria, especially as regards the rule of law and enforcing democratic institutions; therefore decides to increase resources for the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), for the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) and for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA); stresses the importance of the role that Europe plays at global level in eradicating poverty and bringing development in the most deprived regions of the globe, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals; therefore, allocates additional financial resources to the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and Humanitarian Aid; reminds that, since a consistent share of migrants crossing the |Mediterranean Sea is coming from Sub- Saharan Africa, Union support in this region is the key for tackling the root causes of migration;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Is of the opinion that priority should be given to the Union’s immediate neighbours and to measures aimed at tackling the main issues they are facing, namely the migratory and refugee crisis and corresponding humanitarian challenges in the Southern Neighbourhood, and the Russian aggression in the Eastern Neighbourhood; believes that stability and prosperity of the EU Neighbourhood are beneficial to both the concerned regions and to the Union as a whole; reiterate its call to increase support to UNRWA to cope with growing needs, in order to achieve EU’s stated objective to promote development and stability in the region and support the resilience and staying power of Palestine refugees; reiterates that supporting countries which are implementing association agreements with the Union is pivotal to facilitating political and economic reforms, but stresses that such support should apply as long as those countries meet the eligibility criteria, especially as regards the rule of law and enforcing democratic institutions; therefore decides to increase resources for the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), for the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) and for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA);
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Is of the opinion that in order to adequately tackle disinformation campaigns, especially those coming from the Russian Federation, and to promote an objective image of the Union outside its borders, additional financial means are needed; calls therefore to step up funding to counter disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks; decides therefore to increase resources for strategic communication actions to be carried out in the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood as well as in the Western Balkans;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43 a. Stresses the importance of election observation missions in strengthening democratic institutions and building public confidence in electoral processes, which in return promote peace-building and stability; emphasizes the need to ensure sufficient financial resources for this objective;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 b (new)
Paragraph 43 b (new)
43 b. Points out that DCI funding shall not be redeployed in order to finance the new Capacity Building for Security and Development (CBSD) initiative under the IcSP; deplores the draft budget proposal to redeploy EUR 7,5 million from the DCI to the CBSD and stresses the urgent need to find alternative solutions to fill this gap;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Considers that Council’s cuts do not reflect the real needs and therefore restoresus jeopardise the already significantly rationalised administrative expenditure; restores therefore the DB for all Commission administrative expenditure, including administrative and research support expenditure in Headings 1 to 4;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Considers that additional appropriation and staff are needed for the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) to fulfil its expanded mission related to the implementation of the electricity and gas network codes and guidelines and its monitoringcoordination between National Regulatory Authorities inthe fields of electricity and natural gas;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54 a (new)
Paragraph 54 a (new)
54 a. Stresses therefore the efforts made by the Parliament in this regard and asks the Commission to show good will in the implementation of the adopted PP-PAs at the end of the budgetary procedure, regardless its implementability assessment, as for any decision of the budgetary authority;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57
57. Is concerned about the current under-execution trend in payments throughout the Union budget, not only in subheading1b but also in Headings 3 and 4, despite the surge in crisis-related expenditureneed to answer the surge of new challenges and the setting-up of flexible funding mechanisms; recalls that for the past two years the payment level of the Union budget was considerably decreased, coupled with a high level of budget surplus; expresses, therefore, its concern that the DB still leaves an unprecedented margin of EUR 10 billion below the payment ceiling, which reflects a low execution trend that may lead to an acute payment pressure at the end of the current MFF;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 58
Paragraph 58
58. DecidesInsists on the necessity to restore the DB in payments on all lines cut by the Council and reinforces payment appropriations in targeted manner, mostly on those lines which are amended in commitment appropriations;