BETA

Activities of Bernd LUCKE related to 2017/2226(INI)

Plenary speeches (1)

European Semester for economic policy coordination: Annual Growth Survey 2018 - European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2018 (debate) DE
2016/11/22
Dossiers: 2017/2226(INI)

Shadow reports (1)

REPORT on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: Annual Growth Survey 2018 PDF (591 KB) DOC (84 KB)
2016/11/22
Committee: ECON
Dossiers: 2017/2226(INI)
Documents: PDF(591 KB) DOC(84 KB)

Amendments (33)

Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas levels of public debt persist at high levels and remain a drag on growth;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas growth has to an important degree relied upon unconventional and, in the long term, unsustainable monetary policy; whereas this monetary policy has failed to create a momentum for productivity-enhancing reforms;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
C. whereas the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has provided important support for investment in the EU, in addition to the European Structural and Investment Funds, while at the same time the orientation of savings towards equity has decreased returns and provided fewer incentives for investment;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas EFSI has not had much of an effect beyond financing projects that would have been financed by other commercial and promotional banks anyway;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
D. whereas employment is expected to continue to expand, while some labour market indicators and the relatively high level of ‘involuntary’ part-time work, suggest persistent labour market difficulties aggravating inequalitiin some member states;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
E. whereas both employment and unemployment rates are still higher than in 2008; whereas hidden unemployment (unemployed, willing to work, but not actively searching for employment) stood at 20 % in 2016;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
F. whereas tax avoidance, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning have caused billions in losses of potential revenues for the public finances of several Member States, to the benefit of large corporations;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the stability of financial institutions in the Eurozone is still a matter of grave concern; whereas there is slight progress on reducing non- performing loans; whereas this progress is clearly insufficient;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas structural reforms in the Member States are needed in order to create the conditions for sustained and sustainable growth;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 69 #
F b. whereas close to zero interest rates severely distort the intertemporal allocation of capital; whereas a flat yield curve severely damages the traditional borrowing and lending business model of banks and drives them into riskier business activities;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
F c. whereas public debt levels have increased further in most member states and may be hard to sustain when interest rates return to normal levels;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights, however, the persistent structural problem of insufficient growth of potential output and productivity, flanked by too low a level of investments and wages, leading to persistent social inequalities;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of a wage increase at European level in order to boost private consumption as the main support for growth; points out the need to focus on the interaction between monetary, fiscal and incomes (including wage and profit development) policies rather than only fiscal issues;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the improvements in public finances, in particular the gradually declining debt/GDP ratios for the EU and euro area and falling headline budget deficits; recalls that, while many Member States have limited fiscal leeway for implementing sustainable, growth-friendly structural reforms, some Member States still have large surpluses which should be used to sustain investments and growth across the EU growth-friendly structural reforms do not require fiscal space but rather legislative and administrative efforts aimed at strengthening market forces and private sector initiatives;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. recalls the need to reduce the levels of public debt and rebuild fiscal buffers, to help the European economies to be more resilient to shocks, especially in highly indebted countries; warns about higher financing costs in the future once monetary policy accommodation is reduced, especially in the euro area;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. asks the Commission to not only focus on public debt levels, but also take into account the implications for sustainable economic growth of an excessive rise in household and corporate debt;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the importance ofat public investment for boosting and leveraging investment in the EU; considers that the policy mix proposed in the AGS 2018 should be further developed to remedy the current decrease in public investment in the EU; highlights that this decrease also affects local and regional authorities, threatenmay crowd out private investment; recalls that private investment depends on private sector competitiveness; recalls that monetary policy cannot boost private sector competitiveness and that public investment can do so only ing their ability to deliver quality public services case of infrastructure investment;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
6. Asks for aRejects any revision of the accounting standards ( European System of National and Regional Accounts, ESA 2010) to ensure a depreciation of investments over a longer period, which would allow budgetary margins to recover and permit the realisation of infrastructure projectsmotivated by the desire to paint a rosier picture of the Eurozone economy;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines thatNotes the social priorities in the European Ssemester ; demands the Country-Specific Recommendations should achieve the objectives set out in the Pillar of Social Rightsnecessary respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality; stresses that Member States must continue to have sufficient flexibility in implementing an appropriate social policy;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Underlines that economic policy and social rights fall in the exclusive competence of the Member States;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
8. Insists on the need to develop within the European semester a comprehensive strategy to support investment that enhances environmental sustainability; calls on the Commission, in this respect, to demonstrate how its statement that ‘the SDGs are now fully integrated in the Semester’ (Commission communication of 22 May 2017, COM(2017)0500) is reflected in Annual Growth Survey 2018 and will be reflected in the subsequent Semester process;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the fact that the AGS 2018 acknowledges the need for efficient and fair tax systems to ensure sustainable finance and reverse the current fall in capital income taxation; supports the Commission’s initiatives to achieve increased transparency, a reformed VAT system and a common consolidated corporate tax base;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets that the overall neutral fiscal stance proposed in the recommendations for thQuestions the usefulness of an aggregate eEuro aArea, even though the fiscal stance is expected to be slightly expansionary in a number of Member States in 2018, does not appear to fully support the strengthening of economic growth and job creation fiscal stance ; insists on the full and unambiguous implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
11. Insists on a common effort to bring euro area expenditure on R&D closer to the EU2020 targets; cCalls for proper policies and investment to ensure equal access to higher education and training;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
12. Recalls that the role of the Member States is to guarantee access to quality education and training; emphasizes that access alone will not help unless matched by diligence and efforts on the side of those trained and educated;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt adequate measures to help refugees settle and integrate and to anticipate at an early stage the requirements for facilitating their smooth transition to the labour market, as well as ensuring that public services are provided with sufficient resources; stress; emphasizes that social partners should play a key role in facilitating the integration of migrants and preventing them from suffering from labour abuse;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that the tools available are not yet equal to the task of fully addressing the EU’s cyclical and structural problems, in particular the need to strengthen inclusive growth and productivity, to boost job creation, promote convergence, support sustainable investments and enhance resilience to shocks;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines that a fiscal capacity – on top of existing capacities, and not through redeployments that woulddoes not fall undermine the vital role currently played by structural funds and cohesion policy – represents a necessary tool for increasing incentives for convergence and to counter asymmetric or symmetric economic shocksEU’s competences as defined in Article 3 TFEU;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines that a fiscal capacity – on top of existing capacities, and not through redeployments that would undermine the vital role currently played by structural funds and cohesion policy – represents a necessary tool for increasing incentives for convergence and to counter asymmetric or symmetric economic shockas a shock-absorber is not required since governments with access to financial markets can play this role themselves;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
16. Is concerned that gaps and discrimination on the labour market remain high throughout the European Union, contributing to differences in remuneration, retirement, participation in decision-making and wealth between men and women; stresses the importance of preserving high standards in relation to the quality of the proposed employment;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the completion of the Banking Union, including a credible European deposit-insurance scheme and a common fiscal backstop;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
18. Highlights the importance of an improved European Semester process, including the formalisation of the euro area aggregate fiscal stance as a key tool for policy formulation and implementation across the EMU; calls for a broader reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in order to improve its flexibility, to incorporate the differentiated treatment of investments and to introduce the concept of aggregate fiscal stance;deleted
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines that any further step towards a deepening of the EMU must go hand in hand with stronger democratic controls; insists that, to this end, the role of the European Parliament and national parliaments must be strengthened; asks to include trade unions in the negotiation process at both national and European level; urges the launch of the long- awaited negotiation of an interinstitutional agreement (IIA) on the Semesteris unable to solve its underlying problem of a lack of exchange rate flexibility;
2018/01/17
Committee: ECON