38 Amendments of Kosma ZŁOTOWSKI related to 2015/2349(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas SMEs play a special role in job creation in the transport sector, particularly in road transport, and whereas they are in a weaker position in terms of access to finance for essential investments, including loans and support from European funds;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas small transport undertakings play a crucial role in the proper functioning of mobility in Europe, especially in peripheral areas and around big cities without a properly developed suburban transport service, but often encounter difficulties in accessing or maintaining their place within the market;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the organisation of transport in big cities and on the roads leading to them causes congestion and traffic jams, creating a significant burden on the economy; whereas this can be addressed by supplementing the transport network with public transport services provided by SMEs or sharing economy operators;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the passenger and goods road transport sector is the most suitable area for the creation and operation of SMEs in the transport sector; whereas barriers to entering the road transport market are lowest for SMEs, access to road infrastructure easiest and the cost of purchasing and servicing vehicles most affordable;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas their flexibility, understanding of consumers’ transport needs and affordability mean that SMEs in the transport sector are an important complement to the public transport network in big cities, particularly at times of day when public transport is very infrequent;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. having regard to the expectations of consumers looking for easily accessible and flexible ways to use transport services while prices are maintained in line with the actual costs of provision as well as easy access to reservations and secure payment for services provided;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes the view that, in order to respond to the increasing demand for mobility within the constraints of limited infrastructure and increasing environmental requirements, all transport undertakings are under pressure to provide sustainable solutions that are environmentally responsiblemaintain the energy efficiency of means of transport while limiting congestion, but that it is harder for small business to meet these challenges;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes the opportunities of the collaborative economy and the Digital Single Market for job creation and more inclusive growth within small transport businesses; stresses, however, that the collaborative economy must not lead to an avoidance of tax and social contributions, nor to non-compliance with employment and social legislation; stresses the need for a legal definition which clearly sets out the responsibilities in terms of rights and obligations in the area of employment and social security of workers employed by operators in the collaborative economy;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Condemns all attempts by certain Member States to unilaterally restrict, in a manner incompatible with the Treaty, the freedom of small and medium-sized transport companies to provide cross- border services by using rules on minimum pay; points out that it is natural for Member States to have different levels of economic development, and that those differences should only be reduced gradually, without infringing the freedom to provide services;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is concerned about the rise of precarious employment, bogus self- employment, and undeclared work and social dumping; calls on the Member States to guarantee fair competition and ensure decent working conditions and the highest possible level of social protection for all workers;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Deplores the anti-competitive practices resulting from inequality in the application of the rules, notably between residents and non-residents, in particular as regards pay and social security systems, which may lead to distortions such as social dumping;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is concerned about the misuse of subcontracting in the transport sector to circumvent working and employment standards; calls on the Commission andto monitor such misuse and calls on the Member States to introduce and strstrengtheng then laws on joint and several liability rules and control mechanisms relating to the social responsibility of employers;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that small transport firms need to invest not only to comply with t0he law, including meeting the increasing environmental requirements, but also to remain competitive; deplores that, on one hand, their access to credit and funding on the money markets remains limited in spite of quantitative easing measures, while, on the other hand, aid from the public purse, particularly at European level, is rarely forthcoming, owing to overly complex and long-winded administrative procedures;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the development of new working time models that enable workers to improve their work-life balancbetter reconcile their work, private life and family life; stresses, however, the importance of monitoring compliance with mandatory driving and resting times as well as working hours;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses the particular importance of SMEs operating in the transport sector in small towns, hard-to-access regions and on the outskirts of large urban areas in providing transport for people commuting to work or travelling to school, particularly where the public transport system does not function properly; notes that these undertakings fill a gap in this area which exists in many central and eastern European Member States;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Notes the positive impact of the emergence of new collaborative economy business models in the transport sector on the increase in employment among young people, particularly those seeking casual work and flexible forms of employment allowing them to combine work with study;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses the importance for urban mobility of rental services for light vehicles, such as bicycles or scooters; notes that a large majority of such operators are SMEs; calls for the potential of these operators to be more frequently taken into account in the process of increasing the level of urban mobility and developing energy-efficient and resource-efficient urban transport;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the importance of 21st century skills, particularly digital skills, and calls on the social partners and on education and training institutions to develop related skills strategies for small transport businesses.
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Points out that the transport sector comprises not only direct transport service providers but also SMEs offering services such as vehicle servicing, the sale of spare parts, the training of vehicle drivers and operators and the rental of vehicles, which have enormous potential for creating jobs, including for highly qualified people; stresses that the needs of these undertakings and companies must also be taken into account in designing solutions for the entire transport sector;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Notes that digital economy operators providing services transporting persons and goods cannot avoid responsibility and compliance with consumer safety rules or tax obligations on the basis of a lack of precise legal rules; stresses that promoting innovation cannot mean lowering safety standards, and that the definition of an undertaking providing transport services should be based on the basic income source of a given economic operator;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Warns of the danger that intermediation platforms, with their ‘winner takes all’ ethos, will give rise to monopolies and harm theexcessive concentration of technology and profits in a limited number of economic operators and may reduce the innovativeness of the European economy and negatively affect the number and diversity of the economic fabric, but alsooperators in the transport services market, which in the long term may lead to price rises; notes that these platforms have brought into play the idea of challenging the existing operators and have led Member States to review the structure of the market; led companies operating on the basis of traditional business models to use a wider range of digital tools and offer consumers the possibility of using more convenient and safer forms of payment for services; welcomes the fact that these platforms have led Member States to review the structure of the market and look at the existing barriers to entry for SMEs operating in the transport services sector;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Highlights the potential dangers posed to small and medium-sized companies from the development of autonomous vehicle technology; notes the need to analyse the potential effects that widespread use of this technology could have on the European transport sector, particularly in terms of a possible fall in the number of jobs in the passenger and goods transport sector; stresses that a full and fair assessment of this technology should not be done prematurely;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Notes that services provided by SMEs in the transport sector are not always sufficiently tailored to the needs of disabled people and the elderly; calls for all the tools and programmes aimed at supporting these operators to take into account the need to adapt transport services as far as possible to the needs of people with reduced mobility;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Takes the view that, in view of the lack of investment in infrastructure, all transport operators benefiting from the use of transport infrastructure should contribute; stresses the importance, in road transport, of internalising negative externalities, but recognises that this poses specific problems for small businesses, which must be taken into account;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls for restrictions and administrative requirements relating to passenger and consumer safety not to constitute a barrier to SMEs entering the transport services market;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to do more to combat anti- competitive practices by large integrated groups and to lay down clear definitions and legislation enabling SMEs, especially those operating on the basis of new business models, to tackle discrimination and market access restrictions more effectively; unequivocally condemns any attempts to eliminate companies operating on the basis of new business models in the transport sector by using force or intimidating their employees and customers;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls for SMEs to be included in the plans for European integrated ticketing; notes that the effectiveness of such a system will depend on it including as many transport service undertakings and operators as possible; notes that the exchange of information and experience between large operators and SMEs can produce highly beneficial synergies for designing an effective transport network in Europe;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls for a review and harmonisation of the rules on access to regulated occupations in Europe and of checks on these occupations;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls for excessive regulation of access to transport-related professions not to lead to a restriction of access for young people entering the labour market; notes the positive effects of sharing economy operators in creating new jobs for people seeking temporary and part-time employment;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Takes the view, in view of the dynamic development of collaborativenew business models, that the solution is nei based on the principles of ther sector- specific regulation nor regulation aimed solely at digital platforms, and that in future the mobility system needs to be addressed as aharing economy, that they should be considered part of the mobility system, which should form an integrated whole; calls for the establishment of a modernised regulatory framework that fosters innovation as well as the protection of consumers and their data, and ensures healthy competition;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that this objective requires a convergence of models which is based on a clear definition of ‘intermediaries’ and ‘service providers’, which will not restrict the freedom of establishment of either the former or the latter or lead to any form of discrimination not arising directly from the legislation on passenger safety or tax obligations, and permits the creation of a framework in which small businesses contribute to the social cost of transport in line with the specific features of the mode(s) of transport in which they operate;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Stresses that transport undertakings also include operators not directly providing transport services, such as training providers, vehicle rental companies, workshops and service centres; notes that a large majority of such operators are SMEs; calls for the needs of these operators to be taken into account in the design of legal measures and investment programmes aimed at supporting the development of SMEs;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Regrets that the Member States’ response to the development of collaborative business models has so far been very fragmented, and in some cases entirely inconsistent with the potential and benefits of the development of this sector, as well as contrary to consumer expectations; considers that a coordinated, overall European level approach is indispensable; notes the Commission’s reasonable approach to this ‘new business model’ and eagerly awaits the publication of its guidelines on this topic;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Notes the huge potential of new technologies for the emergence of new forms of service provision in the goods transport sector; stresses, in particular, the enormous opportunities offered by drones, which are already a highly effective tool for working in difficult conditions; stresses that the European Union should support the potential of SMEs involved in the design, production and use of unmanned aircraft;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Notes that light commercial vehicles are widely used by SMEs, including in cross-border transport; notes that the smooth functioning of the digital single market, especially in the delivery of products purchased over the internet, must be based on an efficient, flexible and mobile delivery network based on light vehicles; calls for European legal measures to be adopted that will promote the functioning of existing SMEs and the creation of new SMEs in this sector;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for the establishment of cooperation structures between small transport firms and local authorities with a view to improving the organisation of urban mobility and better aligning the existing public transport networks to the needs and expectations of passengers;