23 Amendments of Siegfried MUREŞAN related to 2016/2004(BUD)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the 2017 budget will have to face a context of fragile economic recovery jeopardised by thshould enforce the path towards economic growth and job creation in the context of a fragile situation in emerging markets and geopolitical tensions;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the 2017 budget will be affected by the ongoing migration and refugee crisis;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the Union budget has proven to be a crucial resource in tackling recent crises and responding to needs that had not been anticipated during the negotiation of the MFF 2014-2020, such as the EFSI, the migration and refugee crisis or geopolitical tensions in the European neighbourhood produccausing a number of serious emergencies, while in the Union a continuous lowering of investment levels has led to an investment gap;challenges and emergencies.
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the capacity of the Union budget to tackle these crises arises principally from the use of all means available agreed upon in the MFF negotiations, and particularly the use of special instruments such as the flexibility instrument; recalls Parliament’'s decisive role in shaping those instruments during the MFF negotiations; highlights, however, that if the crises continue to worsen even the full activation of the existing flexibility provisions will be insufficient to address the problem; in this context, inviturges the Council to reconsider its position on the question of budgeting the MFF special instruments so as to alleviate the constraints weighing on the Union budget; reiterates in that connectiontext its long- standing position that the payment appropriations for the special instruments (the flexibility instrument, the EU Solidarity Fund, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the Emergency Aid Reserve) should be calculated over and above the MFF ceilings, as is the case for commitments; expects theseis issues to be resolved in the context of the MFF mid-term revision;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the Commission’s European Economic Forecast (Autumn 2015), which indicates a modest recovery; stresses, however, that this recovery remains worryingly weak andrecovery which is still below the growth potential of the European Union; stresses, however, that the growth fundamentals have to be enhanced in order too slow for a prompt return to full employment to be achieved, withboost job creation taking also into account that long-term and very long- term unemployment on the riseare still at worrying levels; notes, furthermore, the appearance of new challenges, such as the slowdown in emerging market economies and global trade, with particular pressure arising from volatility on Chinese markets, the need to tackle the migrant and refugee crisis, and persisting geopolitical tensions;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes, additionally, the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey for 2016; strongly believes that boosting private investment, including a coordinated increase inthrough a better coordination between private and public investment with a focus on the Europe 2020 targets, is a proper policy response with a view to a more balanced economic policy; believes that those two elements should be taken into consideration in the preparation of the draft budget for 2017 insofar as this should help identify priorities within an economic context; calls, consequently, for more synergies between the Union dimension of the European semester for economic policy coordination and the Union budget;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes, in this context, the Commission’'s efforts to enhance the use of the European Structural and Investment Funds in support of key priorities highlighted in the country-specific recommendations, and supports the proposal to use Union funding programmes for the Commission’sestablishment of the Structural Reform Support ServicProgramme;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. RegretUnderlines that the EUnion budget has in recent years been a collateral victim of Member States’ fiscal consolidation efforts aimed at complying with their obligations under the Stability and Growth Pact, which have led them to consider their, as an investment budget, can bring particularly strong EU added value by boosting growth, competitiveness and job creation in the Member States; draws the attention that Member States contributions to the Union budget as a burden and tomust not be treat ited as an adjustment variable subject to macro- economic conditions;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the fact that the Union has had to face numerous crises in recent years; recalls that aUnderlines that a holistic solution has still noto been found for the challenge of unprecedented Europe-wide migrant and refugee crisis, which escalated in 2015 with a sudden and massive increase in the numbers of refugees and migrants travellfleeing to the Union to seek asylum, which has further impacted on the internal crisis; underlinerecalls that the Union budget should be usedprovided immediate response to the crisis as part of a European solution to overcome theseis emergenciesy;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. RWelcomes the adoption of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) which serves as one of the main tools for enhancing investments at EU level and will contribute to stimulating the creation of jobs; notes with satisfaction that a significant number of projects and EIF operations have already been approved and encourages Member States and private entities to make full use of the financial resources available through the EFSI; recalls that the Union budget provides the backbone of the new investment plan by making available the EUR 8 billion required in commitment and payment appropriations for the provisioning of the guarantee fund of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), out of which a total of EUR 3.38 billion has already been mobilised in the 2015 and 2016 budgets; recalls that the Global Margin for Commitments was fully utilised for this purpose in 2016 and notes that, according to the EFSI legislative financial statement, the Commission foresees a similar scenario for the Draft Budget 2017; reiterates its commitment to reinforce Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility through the annual budgetary procedure, in order to compensate the cuts agreed during the EFSI negotiations as much as possible;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Stresses that the EU Budget should further facilitate SME's access to markets and funding through its already existing programs such as COSME, since SMEs are the backbone of the EU economy and the main source of jobs across Europe; is convinced that the EU Budget has to step up its contribution towards enhancing economic competitiveness of European enterprises;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers the European Youth Initiative (YEI), in particular, to be a fundamental contribution to the Union’'s priority objective for jobs and growth, and therefore reiterates its commitment to continued funding for this programme with a view to scaling it up and thereby offering a greater number of young people the prospect of effectively entering the labour market by receiving a good quality offer of employment, continued education or apprenticeship; recalls the commitment made byjoint statement of the three institutions to ‘ensure appropriate funding via an Amending Budget in 2016, by making use of all available means provided for in the MFF, and primarily of the Global Margin for Commitments’; notes that the figures foron the Budget 2016 that states that 'reducing youth unemployment remains a high and shared political priority, and to this end they reaffirm their determination to make the best possible use of budgetary resources available to tackle it, and in particular the Youth Employment Initiative'; notes that, despite the initial delays in the implementation of this programme and the continuing procrastination to designate authorities for YEI Operational Programmes in many Member States, the current implementation figures indicate a full success in terms of absorption capacity; calls on the Commission to present its evaluation of the YEI at the latest by the end of April 2016, and at all events in time for the inclusion of a prolongation of the programme in the EU budget 2017, while also laying the groundwork for the search for a permanent source of funding for the YEI as; stresses that a permanent solution for the funding of YEI through new commitment appropriations until 2020 will be part of the mid-term revision of the MFF;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is alarmed by increasing poverty, particularly amHighlights that according to the recent report of Save the Children Organisation 27 milliong children; recalls it are currently at risk of poverty in EU; recalls European Parliament's report advocating the possibility of establishment of aing child guarantee in order to lift children out of poverty and avoid their being socially excluded7 ; welcomes the efforts of the Member States that have recently adopted child poverty reduction strategies, with a view to reduce overall poverty levels, including for children and young people; considers education, childcare, health services, housing and security to be basic needs to which every European child has the right; __________________ 7 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0403. Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0403.
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Acknowledges the mobilisation of significant budgetary means spread over 2015 and 2016 to address the migration and refugee, crisis both internally within the Union and externally in refugees’ countries of origin; stresses, however, that substantial additional financial means are required to address this crisis, as the increase in numbers of refugees and migrants cannot be considered a temporary phenomenon; highlights that longer-term solutions should be sought, not only in the annual budgetary procedure, but also in the upcoming interim revision of the MFF; highlights the need to address root causes of the migration phenomenon by improving living conditions in the country of origin of migrants through more security, better education and medical services and enhanced support for investments in infrastructure;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Attaches the utmost importance to the Council's public statements concerning the response to the unprecedented migration and refugee crisis; expects the Council to fulfil the expectations raised by its own statements and decisions related to Member States contributions matching the EU budget support to Madad and Africa Trust Funds as well as fully implementing the Commission's initial proposal on the Refugee Facility for Turkey;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes the setting-up of the Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis and of the Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displacement of people in Africa; urges the Member States to stand by their promises and contribute to these funds; underlines that the Member States have reconfirmed their commitment, at the informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government held to discuss migration on 23 September 2015, the European Council of 15 October 2015, and the Valletta summit of 11-12 November 2015; stresses, however, that further financial efforts will be needed to provide humanitarian assistance along the transit routes and to manage the challenges posed by increasing numbers of refugeis deeply concerned by the low level of the financial contributions from Member States; reminds that the above funds were created in response to the lack of flexibility and funding in the EU budget; insists that the actions undertaken to tackle the migration and refugee problem should not come at the cost of the EU´s development policies in other areas;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the principle and objectives of the EUR 3 billion Refugee Facility for Turkey, and calls onurges each Member State to take on its share, but raises the question ofgo beyond political pledges and provide adequate financial support to this facility; expects the Commission to explain how the Union contribution should be made available within the respective ceilings of the Union budget for 2016 and 2017; deplores the fact that Parliament was not properly involved in either the setting- up of the facility or the mobilisation of the Union’'s contribution, as shown by the Commission’'s announcement of its intention to finance the Union contribution by redeployment from the recently adopted Union budget for 2016 and by pre-empting the margins of the 2017 budget; considers these actions to be clear infringements of Parliament’'s rights as an arm of the budgetary authority;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for the full implementation of the joint statements on payments agreed between Parliament, the Council and the Commission in 2015 and 2016; recalls the commitment to hold in the course of this year at least three interinstitutional meetings on payments in order to take stock of payment implementation and revised forecasts; expects the first of the three meetings, in March 2016, to provide an initial overview of the level of unpaid bills at the end of 2015, for the main policy areanotes that the Commission has announced a 2015 end- of-year backlog of 8.2bn, which is almost half of what it had originally anticipated; intends to raise this issue at the first interinstitutional meeting on payments in March 2016, in order to determine the causes of this divergence and the possible long-term impact on payment forecasts; expects that in its reading of the 2017 Union budget the Council will take on board and fully respect the amounts confirmed at the April 2016 meeting; urges the Commission to provide Parliament and the Council, as agreed in the joint statement adopted in the framework of the budgetary procedure for 2016, with longer- term forecasts for the expected evolution of payments up to the end of the MFF 2014- 2020 in order to avoid a payment backlog in the second half of the MFF;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recalls thate importance of gender mainstreaming should underpin Union policies as a horizontal principle; calls on the Commission to put the principle of gender mainstreaming into practice when preparing the draft budget for 2017, where appropriate;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts in developing the ‘EU Budget Focused on Results’ strategy; stresses that particular attention should be paid to the performance of financial instruments under the Union funding programmes; believes, furthermore, that, apart from the Union institutions, considerable responsibility also lies with the Member States, given the fact that 80 % of the budget is under ‘shared management’; emphasizes the need to focus more on improving output indicators in order to have a concrete image on the effect of EU spending in real economy; calls on the Member States, therefore, to do their utmost to guarantee sound financial management and the reduction of errors, and to avoid any delays in the implementation of programmes under their responsibility;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recalls that the final agreement on the MFF 2014-2020, as sigenshrined in December 2013, included a proposal forArticle 2 of the MFF Regulation, includes a compulsory review of the MFF 2014-2020, accompanied by a legislative proposal for revision of the MFF by the end of 2016; stresses that the purpose of the review/revision is to provideis process should ensure that the Union withis granted sufficient resources to effectively address internal and external crises and finance evolving political priorities for the second half of the current MFF; stresses that the Council should live up to the expectations raised by its ownthe statements and decisions of the European Council; underlines in this respect that the Council should take on responsibility for ensuring the financing of new tasks, either by clearly identifying the policy areas which would no longer be among the Union’s priorities or by agreeing tonecessary appropriations should be made available to respond to the additional financing needs, including through an upward revision of the relevant MFF ceilings;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Reiterates its position in favour of an in-depth reform of the system of Union own resources, and gives the highest political importance to the work of the High Level Group on Own Resources created as part of the MFF 2014-2020 agreement; expects the Commission and the Council to take oin boardconsideration the final outcome, which is expected by the end of 2016, including any new candidate for own resources; recalls that the leading idea behind the own resources reform is to make the Union budget more stable, more sustainable, more predictable, and more autonomous, while also alleviating the burden of excessive spending from national budgets and improving transparency for the citizens; believes that in order to have a completely independent EU Budget, genuine own resources have to be put in place;