47 Amendments of Rosa D'AMATO related to 2018/0230(COD)
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The European Union is built onfounded on common values and one of its aims is to promote solidarity, among its citizens and among its Member States, and between generations. Thisese common values and aims should guides its actions and provides the necessary unitave the way to cope with current and future societal challenges, which young Europeans are willing to help address by expressing their solidarity in practice.
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The State of the Union address of 14 September 2016 emphasised the need to invest in young people and announced the establishment of a European Solidarity Corps (the ‘Programme’) with a view to creating opportunities for young people across the Union to make a meaningful contribution to society, show solidarity and develop their skills, thus getting not only work but also invaluable human experience.
Amendment 20 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In its Communication ‘A European Solidarity Corps’ of 7 December 201618 , the Commission emphasised the need to strengthen the foundations for solidarity work across Europe, to provide young people with more and better opportunities for solidarity activities covering a broad range of areas, and to support national and local actors, in their efforts to cope with different challenges and crises. The Communication launched a first phase of the European Solidarity Corps whereby different Union programmes were mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the Union. Considering, on the one hand, the difficulties of implementing adequate and transparent safeguard sable to avoid abuses of youth workforce as well as the precarious nature of the jobs offered and, on the other hand, the ambiguities and risks arising from the coexistence, within the same programme, of an altruistic and free of charge activity like volunteering and of activities carried out in return of payment, traineeships and jobs should not be included in the scope of the European Solidarity Corps. _________________ 18 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A European Solidarity Corps (COM(2016) 942 final).
Amendment 23 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Young people should be provided with easily accessible opportunities to engage in solidarity activities, which could enable them to express their commitment to the benefit of local communities and ultimately social cohesion, while acquiring useful experience, skills and competences for their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, thereby potentially improving their employability. Those activities should also support the mobility of young volunteers, trainees and workers.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The solidarity activities offered to young people should be of high quality, in the sense that they should respond to clearly identified unmet societal needs, contribute to strengthening local communities, offer young people the opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and competences, be financially sustainable and accessible to young people, and be implemented in safe and healthy conditions.
Amendment 29 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The European Solidarity Corps provides a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the Union and beyond. Consistency and complementarity should be ensured with other relevant Union policies and programmes. The European Solidarity Corps is built on the strengths and synergies of predecessor and existing programmes, notably the European Voluntary Service19 and the EU Aid Volunteers20 . It also complements the efforts made by Member States to support young people and ease their school-to- work transition under the Youth Guarantee by providing them with additional opportunities to make a start on the labour market in the form of traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related areas within their respective Member State or across borders. Complementarity with existing Union level networks pertinent to the activities under the European Solidarity Corps, such as the European Network of Public Employment Services, EURES and the Eurodesk network, are alsoshould be ensured. Furthermore, complementarity between existing related schemes, in particular national solidarity schemes and mobility schemes for young people, and the European Solidarity Corps should be ensured, building on good practices where appropriate. _________________ 19 Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 50–73). 20 Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (‘EU Aid Volunteers initiative’) (OJ L 122, 24.4.2014, p. 1-17).
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The European Solidarity Corps opens up new opportunities for young people to carry out volunteering, traineeship or job activities in solidarity- related areas as well as to devise and develop solidarity projects based on their own initiative. These opportunities contribute to enhancing their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development. The European Solidarity Corps also supports networking activities for European Solidarity Corps participants and organisations as well as measures to ensure the quality of the supported activities and to enhance the validation of their learning outcomes. It will thus also contribute to European cooperation relevant to young people and raising awareness of its positive impact. In consideration of the scope and purpose of the programme, participation to the European Solidarity Corps should only be allowed to non-profit organisations.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) These activities should be to the benefit of communities while also fostering the individual’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, which may take the form of volunteering, traineeships and jobs, projects or networking activities, developed in relation to different areas, such as education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship – in particular social entrepreneurship –,citizenship and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and wellbeing, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion, and cooperation across borders. Such solidarity activities should include a solid learning and training dimension through relevant activities that can be offered to participants before, during and after the solidarity activity.
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) Volunteering activities (both within and beyond the Union) constitute a rich experience in a non-formal and informal learning context which enhances young people’s personal, socio-educational and professional development, active citizenship and, potentially, employability. Volunteering activities should not have an adverse effect on potential or existing paid employment, nor should they be seen as a substitute for it. The Commission and the Member States should cooperate regarding volunteering policies in the youth field via the open method of coordination.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) A quality label should ensure effective and continuous compliance of the participating organisations with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps, as regards their rights and responsibilities during all stages of the solidarity experience. Obtaining a quality label is a precondition for participation but should not automatically lead to funding under the European Solidarity Corps.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Any non-profit entity willing to participate in the European Solidarity Corps should receive a quality label provided that the appropriate conditions are fulfilled. The process that leads to the attribution of a quality label should be carried out on a continuous basis by the implementing bodies of the European Solidarity Corps. The attributed quality label should be reassessed periodically and cshould be revoked if, in the context of the checks to be performed, the conditions that led to its attribution were found to be no longer fulfilled.
Amendment 54 #
(19) An entity willing to apply for funding to offer activities under the European Solidarity Corps should be a non-profit organisation and should have first received a quality label as a precondition. This requirement does not apply to natural persons seeking financial support on behalf of an informal group of European Solidarity Corps participants for their solidarity projects.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) The European Solidarity Corps Portal should be continuously developed in order to ensure easy and user-friendly access to the European Solidarity Corps and to provide a one-stop shop for both interested individuals and organisations as regards, inter alia, registration, identification and matching of profiles and opportunities, networking and virtual exchanges, online training, language and post-activity support as well as other useful functionalities, which may arise in the future.
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26 a (new)
Recital 26 a (new)
(26a) In order to spare Member State budgets any additional burden, national contributions to the Union budget should deducted from the calculated deficit. Furthermore, it is necessary to avoid increasing Union budget contributions of individual Member States for the 2021- 2027 MFF compared to the 2014-2020 MFF and find the necessary programme implementation funding through a rigorous spending review, making it possible to identify and rationalise expenditure that is of little benefit to citizens and accordingly channel resources away from inefficient sectors with no real added value and towards efficient sectors.
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) Special attention should be given to ensuring that the activities supported by the European Solidarity Corps are accessible to all young people, notably the most disadvantaged ones. Specialose with fewer opportunities. Special and effective measures should be put in place to promote social inclusion, and, in particular, the participation of disadvantaged young peopleyoung people with fewer opportunities, as well as to take into account the constraints imposed by the remoteness of a number of rural areas and of the outermost regions of the Union and the Overseas Countries and Territories. Similarly, the participating countries should endeavour to adopt all appropriate measures to remove legal and administrative obstacles to the proper functioning of the European Solidarity Corps. This should resolve, where possible, and without prejudice to the Schengen acquis and Union law on the entry and residence of third-country nationals, administrative issues that create difficulties in obtaining visas and residence permits, as well as the issuing of a European Health Insurance Card in the case of cross-border activities within the European Union.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Recital 40
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 50
Recital 50
(50) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to enhance the engagement of young people and non- profit organisations in accessible and high- quality solidarity activities, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
(1) ‘solidarity activity’ means a high- quality temporary activity contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps, which may take the form of volunteering, traineeships, jobs, solidarity projects and networking activities in various fields, including those referred to in paragraph 13, ensuring the European added value and compliance with health and safety regulations;. Such solidarity activities shall not interfere with the functioning of the labour market.
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5
(5) ‘participating organisation’ means any public ornon-profit public or non-profit private entity, whether local, regional, national or international, that has been attributed the European Solidarity Corps quality label;
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
(10) ‘quality label’ means the certification attributed to a participating organisation, on the basis of specific and different conditions aimed at distinguishing the type of solidarity activity offered willing to provide solidarity activities under the European Solidarity Corps, in the role of a host and/or in a support function, following a successful assessment by the competent implementing body of the European Solidarity Corps;
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. The general objective of the Programme is to enhance the engagement of young people and non-profit organisations in accessible and high- quality solidarity activities as a means to contribute to strengthening active citizenship, cohesion, solidarity and democracy in the Union and abroad, addressing societal and humanitarian challenges on the ground, with particular effort to promote social inclusion.
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. The specific objective of the Programme is to provide young people, including particular those with fewer opportunities, with easily accessible opportunities for engagement in solidarity activities in Europe and abroad while improving and properly validating their competences as well as potentially facilitating their employability and transition into the labour market.
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. The solidarity activities shall be implemented in accordance with specific requirements set for each type of activity carried out in the framework of the Programme as referred to in Articles 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11, as well as with applicable regulatory frameworks in participating countries.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) measures aimed at ensuring the quality and accessibility of volunteering, traineeships or jobs, including training, language support, complementary insurance, support before or after the solidarity activity as well as the further use of Youthpass that identifies and documents the competences acquired during the solidarity activities for participants, and capacity building and, administrative support for participating organisations;
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point a a (new)
(aa) measures aimed at promoting social inclusion and equal opportunities, in particular for the participation of young people with fewer opportunities, such as appropriate formats of solidarity activities and personalised support;
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 104 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Volunteering as referred to in Article 4.1, point (a) shall include a learning and training component, shall not substitute traineeships or jobs, shall not be equated with employment and shall be based on a written volunteering agreement. Such agreement shall ensure an adequate legal, social and financial protection of the participant.
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8
Article 8
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. Volunteering, traineeships, jobs, solidarity projects, networking activities and quality and support measures as referred to in Articles 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11 shall be open to the participation of the Member States and overseas countries and territories.
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 1 a (new)
When implementing this Regulation, the Commission, the Member States and other participating countries shall ensure that specific and effective measures are taken to promote social inclusion and equal access conditions, in particular for the participation of young people with fewer opportunities.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1
1. The European Solidarity Corps shall be open to the participation of public ornon- profit public or non-profit private entities and international organisations, provided that they have received a European Solidarity Corps quality label.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
2. An application from an entity to become a European Solidarity Corps participating organisation shall be assessed by the competent implementing body of the European Solidarity Corps on the basis of the principles of equal treatment; equal opportunities and non-discrimination; avoidance of job substitution; provision of high quality activities with learning dimension focusing on personal, socio- educational and professional development; adequate training, working and volunteering arrangements; safe and decent environment and conditions; and the 'no- profit principle' in compliance with the Financial Regulation. The above principles ascertain whether its activities meet the requirements and the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps.
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Separate quality labels, with specific and different conditions, shall be designed to distinguish the type of solidarity activity offered by participant organisations.
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3
Article 16 – paragraph 3
3. As a result of the assessment the entity may be attributed the European Solidarity Corps quality label. The obtained label shall be re-assessed periodically and mayin case of misuse of the label or failure to comply with the requirements and conditions set out in paragraph 2 shall be revoked.
Amendment 126 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Any public ornon-profit public or non-profit private entity established in a participating country as well as international organisations may apply for funding under the European Solidarity Corps. In the case of the activities referred to in Articles 7, 8 and 11, a quality label shall be obtained by the participating organisation as a pre- condition for receiving funding under the European Solidarity Corps. In the case of the solidarity projects referred to Article 9, natural persons may also apply for funding on behalf of informal groups of European Solidarity Corps participants.
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 1
1. EvaluatThe Commissions shall be carried out ensure regular monitoring a timely manner to feed into the decision- making processnd external evaluation of the Programme, based notably on the performance reporting system as referred to in Article 19, paragraph 3.
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 2
Article 20 – paragraph 2
2. The interim evaluation of the Programme shall be performed once there is sufficient information available about the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after the start of the programme implementationIn addition to regularly monitoring the Programme, the Commission shall establish an interim evaluation report and shall submit it to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions no later than 31December 2024. It shall also be accompanied by a final evaluation of the predecessor programme.
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 4
Article 20 – paragraph 4
4. At the end of the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after the end of the perOn the basis of a final external and independent evaluation, the Commissiodn specified in Article 1,hall establish a final evaluation report of the Programme shall be carried out by the Commission, which assesses its longer-term impacts and its sustainability.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 5
Article 20 – paragraph 5
5. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations accompanied by its observations,submit the final evaluation report referred to in paragraph 4 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions no later than 31 December 2030.
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 2
Article 21 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the Programme, and its actions and results. Financial resources allocated to the Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 28 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of measures to prevent fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective controls and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties.
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point b
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) percentage of participants from a fewer opportunities background; and
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) number of organisations whose European Solidarity Corps Quality Label has been revoked.