30 Amendments of Michela GIUFFRIDA related to 2017/2279(INI)
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the 7th Cohesion Report shows that regional disparities are narrowing again, but that the picture isattern is very uneven, and that certain disparities persist, or are shifting or growing, between and within regions, in particular in some eurozone Member States;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the 7th Cohesion Report draws attention to the diversity of regions and territories, including within current categories of regions, owing to their specific circumstances (ultraperipherality, low income, low growth, etc.), making a tailored territorial approach essential;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers it crucial that cohesion policy should continue to cover all European regions and remain the European Union’s main investment instrument, with a budget which is commensurate with the challenges and at least equal to the current budget;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that cohesion policy investments provide European added value by contributing to European public goods and to the Treaty objective of reducing disparitiehave as their priority objective, as laid down in the Treaties, reducing disparities between regions, but that they also provide European added value and can help to produce European public goods;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates its commitment to shared management which should be maintained and strengthened for post 2020 and the principles of partnership and subsidiarity, which contribute to the added value generated by cohesion policy; stresses that the added value of this policy stems primarily from its ability to take account of the needs and specificities of each territory and to bring the European Union closer to its citizens;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that European added value is also reflected in European territorial cooperation, in all its dimensions; calls for an increase in its share of the budget allocated to cohesion policy, while improving coordination between different programmes to avoid overlaps, by means of ambitious tailored strategies, funding and measures which help to generate increased synergies with other EU funds, to avoid overlaps and attract complementary financial support under the post-2020 multiannual programming period;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that European added value is also reflected in European territorial cooperation, in all its dimensions; calls for an increase in its share of the budget allocated to cohesion policy, while improving coordination between different programmes to avoid overlaps; reminds the importance of macroregional strategies in the achievement of the cohesion policy objectives;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas in all their diversity, by valuing their potential and supporting projects which boost local economies, improving their transport connectivity and very high-speed broadband and providing support to help them meet the challenges they face: rural desertification, the destruction of city- centre communities, areas without health care, etc.;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for greater account to be taken of certain specific territorial characteristics, such as those of island, mountain or border regions, and of territories in which people are required to travel long distances to avail themselves of essential services (e.g. health, education, collective mobility) when investment priorities are set;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that social and fiscal convergence help to foster cohesion while improving the functioning of the single market; takes the view that divergent practices in this area may run counter to the objective of cohesion and are liable to cause further problems for territories which are laggfalling behind or are the most vulnerable to globalisation; considerspoints out that cohesion policy could contribute to theis geared to promotion ofng social and fiscal convergence by providing incentives, economic and territorial convergence; calls on the Commission to take better account of this aspect in the European Semester;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Supports a strong thematic concentration on a limin appropriated number of priorities linked to major European political objectives, leaving managing authorities the task of drawing up their territorial strategies on the basis of their needs; stresses that employment, innovation, support for SMEs, climate change and the circular economy should constitute priority areas for cohesion policy in future;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Underlines that Investments through the ESIF fund support other political priorities such as research, digitalisation or combating climate change as well and stresses therefore that not only the poorest regions need support in these areas but all regions and a concentration of Cohesion policy on only the least developed regions would hinder progress in these political priorities in the whole European Union;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Stresses the need to promote further investments in quality education, training and vocational training, further improvements in the labour market for the creation of quality jobs and to tackle youth unemployment in particular; welcomes a promotion for social inclusion and to be more ambitious to combat poverty and any form of discrimination; supports the development of cultural and creative industries that are closely linked to innovation and creativity; highlights the investment priorities of research, technological development, innovation and creativity; investments in SMEs and start-ups and investments in digitalisation of industries and societies;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Stresses that although cohesion policy has mitigated the impact of the recent economic and financial crisis in the EU, and that of the austerity measures, regional disparities, as well as disparities in competitiveness and social inequalities, remain high; calls for strengthened action to reduce these disparities and prevent the development of new disparities in all types of regions, while maintaining and consolidating support for the regions so as to facilitate ownership of the policy in every type of region and to achieve EU objectives throughout the EU; considers, in this context, that more attention needs to be paid to making regions more resilient to sudden shocks;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Believes that it is both legitimate and necessary to establish a link between cohesion policy and the guarantee of an environment conducive to investment, effectiveness and the proper use of funds, while stressing that cohesion policy is not meant to be reduced to an instrument for serving priorities without reference to its objectives; expresses its support for a balanced link with economic governance where this helps to maximrules out any link between the ESI Funds and economic governance that might lead to the consequence of commitments or payments being suspended despite of the regularity of the action taken by beneficiaries; emphasises the impact of ESI Fundsat such situations necessarily jeopardise the very essence and objectives of the ESI Funds and significantly weaken their impact on the ground; calls on the Commission to overhaul the European Semester to strengthen its territorial dimension and take account of other factors which contribute to the achievement of cohesion objectives, such as real convergence;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Believes that it is both legitimate and necessary to establish aestablishing a positive link between cohesion policy and the guarantee of an environment conducive to investment, effectiveness and the proper use of funds, while stressing that cohesion policy is not meant to be reduced must not on any account reduce cohesion policy to an instrument for serving priorities without reference to its objectives; expresses its support for a balancedby the same token, regards a link with economic governance, where this helps to maximise the impact of ESI Funds; calls on the Commission to overhaul the European Semester to strengthen its territorial dimension and take accoun, as balanced and non-punitive; calls on the Commission to take account of the reform ideas put forward as part of other factors which contribute to the achievement of cohesion objectives, such as real convergence European Semester with a view to strengthening its territorial dimension;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Believes that it is both legitimate and necessary to establish a link between cohesion policy and the guarantee of an environment conducive to investment, effectiveness and the proper use of funds, while stressing that cohesion policy is not meant to be reduced to an instrument for serving priorities without reference to its objectives; expresses its support for a balanced link with economic governance where this helps to maximise the impact of ESI Funds; calls on the Commission to overhaul the European Semester to strengthen its territorial dimension and take account of other factors which contribute to the achievement of cohesion objectives, such as real convergence;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls for the smart specialisation strategies to be continued, and acknowledges the importance of ex-ante conditionalities, which have proved their worth, but stresses that they have been a source of complexity and delays in the development and launching of programming; calls on the Commission to reduce the number of ex ante conditionalities and, in this field, to improve compliance withvise and rationalise the conditionality mechanism, applying the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity more strictly, making maximum use of existing strategic documents and selecting ex ante conditionalities which have a direct bearing on the effectiveness of the investments;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Notes that the quality of public administration is a decisive factor in regional growth and the effectiveness of ESI funds; emphasises the need to increase administrative capacities, provided that any increase is accompanied and supported by the administrative measures needed to achieve results in many territories which, more than others, encounter problems in using EU funds properly and effectively;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Underlines that the most effective simplification comes from the stability and continuity of the procedures and regulations, to which the interested subjects and managing authorities are now familiar with; calls therefore for the next cohesion policy regulations to be changed only where strictly necessary;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Stresses, at the same time, the need to make operational programmes genuine strategic documents which are more concise and more flexible, establishing a simplified procedure for their modification during programming, by cutting red tape, calling for greater flexibility as regards compliance with the macroeconomic conditions laid down as part of the European Semester and, at the same time, releasing co-financing from the budgetary straitjacket imposed by the Stability Pact;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Welcomes the establishment of a task force on subsidiarity and proportionality, and looks to this working group to make practical proposals to improve compliance with these principles in the context of cohesion policy, on the basis of the closer involvement of all stakeholders, and to consolidate the vertical and horizontal partnerships in order to improve the way the strategy is implemented;
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. WelcomNotes the establishment of a task force on subsidiarity and proportionality, and looks to ithis working group to make practical proposals to improve compliance with these principles in the context of cohesionEU policyies;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Regards it as essential that the relationship between the Commission and managing authorities should evolve towards a ‘contract of confidence’; calls on the Commission to build on the work already done in the area of sound public finance management, introducing the principle of a new label to reward managing authorities which have demonstrated their ability to comply with the rules; in relation to monitoring, calls for greater reliance on national and regional rules where their effectiveness has been verified and validated;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Is concerned at the Commission’s recent statements concerning the cuts to the cohesion policy budget that might be made under the next MFF and which would exclude certain regions from the scope of cohesion policy; wishes to see a budget commensurate with theall the major challenges facing the regions, and calls for cohesion policy not to be made an adjustment variable; points out that the coverage of all EU regions is a ‘red line’ for the European Parliament; stresses that the theory of ‘economic development clubs’ confirms the importance of differentiated support for all European regions, including regions with a very high income, which must remain competitive with their global competitors;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Points out that the coverage of all EU regions is a ‘red line’ for the European Parliament; stresses that the theory of ‘economic development clubs’ confirms the importance of differentiated support for all European regions and that, while adequate resources must still be set aside for less-developed regions, regions with a high income, which must remain competitive with their global competitors, must also still continue to receive support;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Welcomes the positive results of the Juncker investment planNotes the extension of the scope of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and the data on the take-up of resources, but draws attention to the consistent failure to provide information on the progress of the projects funded and the leverage effect generated by attracting private capital; stresses that cohesion policy and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) are complementary, but that one cannot be a substitute for the other, irrespective of the level of development of the regions;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Calls for every effort to be made to avoid delays in programming for the new period; stresses the importance of submitting all documents relating to the future legal framework on time in all the official languages and of simplifying the formalities which managing authorities must complete before they can start the programming process (e.g. ex-ante conditionality, designation of the managing authority itself);
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Takes the view that any move to increase co-financing levels must take account of the problems which some Member States and regions in particular have in raising funds without placing a strain on national budgets; emphasises that any such increase must be covered by mechanisms for the netting of resources invested, excluding these from the calculation of the deficit for the purposes of the Stability and Growth Pact;