Activities of Beatrix von STORCH related to 2016/2063(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
European Central Bank annual report for 2015 (A8-0302/2016 - Ramon Tremosa i Balcells) DE
European Central Bank annual report for 2015 (debate) DE
Amendments (24)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, according to the Commission’s latest spring forecast, euro area real growth is repeatedly expected to be modest – 1.6 % in 2016 and 1.8 % in 2017, following 1.7 % in 2015;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, again according to the same forecast, the government deficit in the euro area willis expected to gradually decline from 2.1 % in 2015 to 1.9 % in 2016 and 1.6 % in 2017 and the debt-to- GDP ratio is also forecast to decline for the first time since the beginning of the crisis, even though there are still four countries involved in the Commission’s excessive deficit procedure: France, Spain, Greece and Portugal;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, according to the same forecast, the euro area will continue to exhibit an external surplus, of around 3 % of GDP, pushed mainly by those euro area economies that are in less need of structural reforms;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the measuring of inflation used by the ECB is constricted to consumer prices and ignores the development of asset prices;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the inflation target set by the ECB has no legal base in the Treaties and, moreover, should be revised by taking into account the development of asset prices;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the inflation target is getting harder to reach owing to the fact that the ECB's policies have reached their limits, the consolidation of demographic trends, and the full impact of trade globalisation on a high-unemployment European society;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas in 2015 the ECB launched an expanded Asset Purchase Programme (APP) as an unprecedented unconventional monetary instrument amounting to EUR 1.1 trillion and initially scheduled to run until September 2016;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas this programme has since been upgradedunconventional monetary instrument has since been expanded even more, with the asset purchase scheduled to run until March 2017 for a total amount which should be close to EUR 1.7 trillion, and the list of eligible assets has been enlarged to even include corporate bonds;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the ECB has bought just EUR 19 094 million of asset-backed securities (ABS) since the beginning of its purchase programme;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that the euro area continuescrisis of the euro area has been brought about by a monetary policy of artificially suppressing the interest rate; warns that pushing interest rates down even further will only make matters worse, so that the euro area will continue to suffer from a high level of unemployment and excessive low inflation and that, in addition, the euro area is facing a very low level of productivity growth, which is the result of the lack of investment since the beginning of the crisis; warns that keeping the interest rate at an artificially low level causes malinvestment and prevents the market from correcting misguided production capacities that have been provoked by the monetary policy of suppressing interest rates in the first place; notes that the high level of public debt and the huge number of non- performing loans in the banking sector in some Member States are still fragmenting the euro area financial market, thus reducing room for manoeuvre to support the most fragile economiesa burden on the members of the euro area;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges that, confronted with this very complex environment and the risks of a prolonged period of low inflation, the ECB whas within the terms ofviolated its mandate in adopting extraordinary measures to lift inflation back up to the misguided medium-term objective of 2 %; notes that, since the launching of the APP in March 2015, and owing to targeted long-term refinancing operation (TLTRO) programmes targeted at the real economy, financial conditions have improved, which has promoted a recovery in lending to, in the short term, only improved superficially, while endangering the long term outlook of firms and households in the euro area;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that the APP would have an even highermore dangerous impact on the European economy if it had a higher share of EIB bond buying, particularly related to the TEN-T and TEN-E (projects with proven added European value in social and economic terms), and SME securitised loans, or; warns that if the ECB were ablellowed to buy Member States’ public debt directly linked to investment and research expenditure on the secondary markets; believes that in order to choose the eligibility of public debt assets for the APP, the Eurosystem should assign a complementary credit rating in addition to those assigned by private agenciesthis would constitute illegal monetary financing; believes that in order to return to a sound monetary policy the APP should be withdrawn;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Agrees with ECB President Mario Draghi that the single monetary policy cannot stimulate aggregate demand unless it is complemented bysks for sound fiscal policies and ambitious structural reform programmes at Member State level; recalls that the main benefit of monetary policy is to safeguard price stability in order to guarantee a stable environment for investmentcurrency; considers that monetary policy is not the appropriate tool to solve the structural problems of the European economy; deplores that monetary policy is currently dominated by the lack of sound fiscal policies pursued by the Member States;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that structural reforms in the economy and the labour market should also fully take into account the demographic trends in Europe, in order to create incentives for a more balanced demographic structure that would make it easier to maintain an inflation target of around 2 %take place in all economies of the euro area; reminds Member States that they should pursue a regulatory policy that concentrates on setting up a viable and stable legal and political framework while abstaining from setting incentives to steer the economy in a certain direction;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes, however, that even though the impact of unconventional measures has been significant, inflation is not expected to converge to the 2 % medium-term objective at the 2017 horizon; notes that the current recovery in bank and market lending has not wholly produced the expected effect on the existing investment gap in the euro area so far; considers that it is necessary for a restart of investment activity that there have to be readjustments to all malinvestments created during the preceding boom period;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. DeplorNotes the existing, albeit gradually decreasing, gaps between the financing rates granted to SMEs and those granted to bigger companies, between lending rates on small and large loans, and between credit conditions for SMEs located in different euro area countries, but recognises the limits of what monetary policy can achieve in this respectat loans to businesses are granted on an individual basis;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines that a prolonged period of ultra-low (negative) interest rate policy creates potential risks for financial stability and ultimately the whole economy; warns that a decline in the profitability of banks will dampen their willingness to develop lending activity; points particularly to the effect of such an interest rate policy on local and regional banks and savings banks with little funding from financial markets, and to risks in the insurance sector; insists that interest rates determine the relative price of present and future consumption and have, therefore, to be positive;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. UnderstandsConsiders that the reason why negative rates have been implemented, but is a mistaken view of economics; remains concerned about the potential consequences of negative interest rate policy for individual savers and the financial equilibrium of pension schemes; believes that owing to demographic trends and cultural preferences for saving, these negative effects on income may lead to an increase in the household saving rate, which could be detrimental to domestic demand in the euro areais necessary for a rebuilding of the capital stock;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recognises the existence of distributional consequences of the ECB policies, e.g. the Cantillon Effect, which can be perceived as increasing inequalities, but believes that the ECB policies are the right ones to lower the costs of credit for citizens and SMEs and enhance employment in the euro area;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that the ECB’s APP has lowered bond yields in most Member States to unprecedented levels; warns against the risk of too-high valuations on the bond markets, which would be difficult to handle if interest rates start to rise again, particularly for the countries involved in the excessive deficit procedure or with high levels of debt; insists that the APP has to be ended;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Deplores the fact that some Member States are using the ultra-low (negative) interest rate policy as a pretext to defer the necessary consolidation of their primary public deficits, particularly at central government level; asks therefore to provide counter-incentives by establishing a mechanism for sovereign debt restructuring within the euro zone;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Insists that the euro area cannot be seen as a single macroeconomic entity; insists further that the euro area can only survive if its members can exit the euro area both voluntarily and, in the case of grave misconduct, as last resort, involuntarily; recommends that the voluntary exit mechanism should be rooted in democratic decision-making at the level of the Member States; considers that economic integration does neither presuppose a single currency nor coordination of economic or fiscal policy- making between Member States; considers that Member States should therefore no longer be required to enter the third stage of the EMU and adopt the euro as their currency once they meet the convergence criteria; regards the idea that the EMU has to be completed as misguided;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the publication of the minutes of the Council meeting and the decision to disclose the agreements on net financial assets (ANFA) between the ECB and the national central banks; encourages the ECB to pursue its transparency effort; hopes that in the near future the minutes will incorporate information on who made each statement; insists that the competences granted to National Central Banks (NCB) under ANFA should not be misapplied for concealed illegal monetary financing;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recalls that the independence of the ECB for the conduct of monetary policy, as enshrined in the Treaties, is crucial to the objective of safeguarding price stability; asks all governments to avoid statements questioning the role played by the institution within its mandate; notes, however, that conferring the task of bank supervision on the ECB is a burden on its independence;