15 Amendments of Brando BENIFEI related to 2015/2353(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that the post-electoral revision of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) must address the new political challenges facing the EU; underlines that reallocation of funds for emergencies is not a sustainable solution; recalls that most of the challenges that the EU is facing, from social dumping to dislocation of refugees, have their roots in the inequalities between Member States and insists that the existing resource commitments for achieving the Union’s strategic objectives and greater economic, social and territorial cohesion be maintained;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the employment rate in the EU currently stands at 69.2 %, which is well below the Europe 2020 target, that unemployment remains especially high among women, the young, the elderly and the disadvantaged groups and that more than 12 million people in Europe are long-term unemployed, representing 5% of the EU’s active population; and in this context reminds recently passed Council Recommendation on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labour market which has demonstrated again a need for strong Union policies and much more resources and calls for increased public investment in job creation and skills;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
Paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. Considers that a review of the MFF in 2016 should take stock of a number of serious crises and new political initiatives, together with their respective budgetary consequences, which were not anticipated at the time of the MFF’s adoption; notes, inter alia, the migration and refugee crisis, external emergencies, internal security issues, the crisis in agriculture, the funding of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the persistent high level of unemployment, especially among young people, threatening social inclusion and cohesion, rising inequalities, populism and extremism challenging our democratic pluralistic societies and the payment crisis in the EU budget; observes that, in order to finance the additional pressing needs, an unprecedented recourse to the MFF’s flexibility mechanisms and special instruments was deemed necessary, as the MFF ceilings proved to be too tight in some headings; considers that, over the past two years, the MFF has essentially been pushed to its limits;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that the resources of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived are not sufficient to address the rise of inequality and poverty, the worst consequences of the economic crisis and of austerity policies on the labour market concerning labour exclusion of young people and long-term unemployed, and the unprecedented flow of refugees; and is concerned that competition for scarce funds may lead to social conflict; insists that the ESF share amount to 2530 % of the total cohesion budget, that no reductions in the national envelopes for ESF measures be made and that sufficient cash flow be provided annually for payments from the EU budget;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that significant budgetary means have been deployed to tackle the root causes of the refugee and migration crisis by reinforcing specific EU programmes under Heading 4; stresses the additional upcoming budgetary means necessary for the inclusion of most vulnerable migrants, especially women and girls, young and under-aged and LGBTI migrants, recalls the reallocations in favour of migration/refugee-related actions of EUR 170 million in the course of 2015, as well as the approval in 2016 of an additional EUR 130 million under Heading 4 for migration/refugee-related activities, together with the reshuffling of EUR 430 million under the Instrument for Pre- accession Assistance, the Development Cooperation Instrument and the European Neighbourhood Instrument; recalls, furthermore, that in order to address the external dimension of the migration and refugee crisis the Commission has made various additional proposals having an impact on the EU budget, such as those for the establishment of EU trust funds (the Madad Trust Fund and the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, with an estimated initial budgetary impact of EUR 570 million and EUR 405 million respectively), as well as of the Refugee Facility for Turkey, for which EUR 1 billion is to be funded from the EU budget, not counting possible additional funding; stresses that further pressure on the Union budget might arise from other planned actions announced by the Commission such as the ‘London pledge’ or from events such as the EU- Turkey summit of 18 March 2016; is concerned, however, that owing to the magnitude of the problems the EU is facing further actions might still be required;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises that the policies for poverty reduction and social inclusion among vulnerable groups have failed to produce the expected results and calls for; draws attention to the fact that 24,4 % of people in the EU are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, and that their number has increased by five million after 2008; calls therefore to substantially increased the financial aid to social services and the social economy and further strengthen the commitment to act against poverty and social exclusion by introducing a compulsory minimum share of 25 % from ESF on Member State level for promotion of social inclusion;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Draws attention to the huge problem of child poverty in Europe, which is afflicting over 20 million children, and reiterates its call for the establishment of a (27,8 % in EU-28 and almost 50 % in certain Member States), living in families that suffer daily from lack of income and basic services, such as food supplies, housing, education and healthcare; reiterates its call on the Commission and Member States for the establishment of a specific fund dedicated to the Child Guarantee with dedicated special resources, together with programmes to assist parents in getting out of social exclusion and unemployment;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Takes the view that the maximum annual amount available for mobilisation through the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) should at least stay at EUR 150 million (2011 prices) as this instrument, despite underutilisation so far, has a huge potential for supporting workers affected by major economic structural changes;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes the increased commitment of the EU budget to various financial engineering instruments including the European Fund for Strategic Investments; is concerned however about the access to funding of various key stakeholders in social policy areas such as NGOs, education and training institutions, social partners and social economy enterprises;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses that youth unemployment remains dramatically high and represents one of the most pressing and serious problems that the EU is currently facing; highlights that 4.4 million young persons under 25 were unemployed across the Union in February 2016 and that this corresponds to a proportion of over 40 % in several Member States; consequently too many young people are at risk of social exclusion and more specific actions on including young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) should be taken;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Underlines that the EU budget makes a significant contribution to the fight against unemployment, especially through the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI); stresses that despite the initial delays in the designation of national authorities and the implementation of the YEI, the current figures indicate full absorption capacity; notes that an evaluation of this initiative will soon be concluded by the European Commission, and expects that the necessary adjustments will be introduced to ensure its successful implementation;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Strongly supports the continuation of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), as a means of ensuring an urgent response in the fight against youth unemployment, following the necessary adjustments brought about by the ongoing evaluation of European institutions as well as a continued assessment of its performance by all relevant stakeholders, especially young people and youth organisations; considers that this can only be achieved through the provision of an adequate level of commitment appropriations for the YEI for the remaining years of the current MFF; notes that this should entail an upwards revision of the ceilings of Subheading 1b, as no margins are available;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. In a context of new increasing challenges, including migration and diverse societies, more investments in education, training, youth and culture are very much needed to reinforce cohesive, equal and inclusive societies as well as intercultural dialogue;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Believes that the mid-term review/revision provides for an excellent opportunity for the first-time assessment of the functioning of the EU policies and programmes concerned, and expects the Commission to supply an analysis involving relevant stakeholders such as civil society in a structured dialogue, identifying the shortcomings of the current implementation system; invites the Commission to come up with concrete proposals to address the possible deficiencies and to improve the implementation environment for the remaining years of the current MFF, in order to ensure the best possible use of scarce financial resources;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Acknowledges the increased role of financial instruments in the Union budget as a complementary form of funding as compared to subsidies and grants; recognises the potential of these instruments in terms of increasing the financial, and therefore the political, impact of the Union budget; underlines, however, that a shift from traditional financing to more innovative instruments is not advisable in all policy areas, as not all policies are entirely market-driven (e.g. youth and education sectors); underlines that increasing use of financial instruments should not lead to a reduction in the Union budget; recalls Parliament’s repeated calls for greater transparency and democratic scrutiny regarding the implementation of financial instruments supported by the Union budget;