39 Amendments of Paul TANG related to 2020/2075(INI)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas the challenge of the dual transformation (climate protection and digitalisation) requires additional annual public investment in the three digit billion range, which cannot be provided for under current fiscal policy; whereas in both public and private sector investment was already clearly insufficient before the crisis, despite historically low interest rates;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas national expansionary fiscal policies have both negative externalities due to an increased bail-out risk for other EU countries and positive externalities due to an increase in total demand In neighbouring countries; whereas this implies that fiscal policy could be too timid compared to the optimum outcome;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas the EU has committed to climate neutrality by 2050 and it is the ECB’s mission to help achieve it ; Whereas the missions of the ECB are not limited to price stability but also include the safety and soundness of the banking system and the stability of the financial system;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D. whereas the current governance framework presents conceptual and practical weaknesses that lead to rules overly complex, weak enforcement, lack of ownership and of incentives to pursue symmetrical counter-cyclical policies and it did not succeed to reduce divergences between in the EU nor to protect or stimulate growth enhancing public investment;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E. whereas gross public investment was severely cut following the financial and sovereign debt crisis, and in many Member States net public investment is even negative implying that the current fiscal framework leads to too recessive consolidation measures and facilitates the decline of public investment during the periods of fiscal consolidation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F. whereas there are significant investment funding gaps that should be addressed: €470 billion a year until 2030 to meet EU environmental objectives 20a; €142billion a year for social infrastructure such as hospitals or schools 21a ; along with €190 billion a year to stabilise the stock of public capital 22a; _________________ 20aEuropean Commission, “SWD(2020) 98 final - Identifying Europe’s recovery needs”, 27.5.2020, p.14-16. 21aThis estimation only cover health and long-term care (EUR 70 billion), education and life-long learnings (EUR 15 billion) and affordable housing (EUR 57 billion). Source: FRANSEN, L., BUFALO, G., REVIGLIO, E., “Boosting Investment in Social Infrastructure in Europe - Report of the High-Level Task Force on Financing Social Infrastructure in Europe”, 2018, 116p. 22aEuropean Commission, “SWD(2020) 98 final - Identifying Europe’s recovery needs”, 27.5.2020, p. 18-20
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K (new)
Recital K (new)
K. whereas the discretionary fiscal support differed in size and composition across Member States with a clear positive correlation between fiscal space and the size of policy response leading to an asymmetric response, creating risks of an unequal level playing field in the internal market and further differentiate the speed of recovery;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M (new)
Recital M (new)
M. whereas environmental 25a and social sustainability are interconnected with long-term fiscal sustainability; _________________ 25aExtreme disaster tend to lower economic output (Botzen, Deschenes and Sanders, 2019); IMF forecasts that major weather-related disasters could have a negative impact in real GDP per capita and countries that are better equipped to address major natural disasters could more easily cushion the impact.
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Notes that several banking institutions have already recognized the existence of a climate-related financial systemic risk(Federal Reserve, Bank of England, BIS); Calls on the ECB to recognize the systemic risk posed by climate change to financial stability and to present a clear roadmap with a detailed presentation of its actions to tackle these risks;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the policy response of governments aimed at avoiding a sharp increase in corporate insolvencies and unemployment; warns that an abrupt and uncoordinated withdrawal of support measures could lead to financial distress; calls however for strict selectivity and to focus the public support only towards corporates viable in the long run, in light of the EU green and digital agenda;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Reiterates the IMF call to consider a temporary COVID-19 recovery contribution levied on high incomes or wealth as well as the need to implement domestic and international tax reforms;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Recalls the importance of the swift, responsible and efficient implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility to address the EU´s long term challenges by focusing on building a resilient, inclusive and greener economy, by supporting the recovery and by boosting productivity and investment;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Highlights that monetary policy has been carrying the main burden of stabilisation in the past years and crisis; notes that the crisis caused by the pandemic showed that monetary policy is not enough for stabilisation purposes and fiscal policy should play an increasing role;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that national fiscal policies, together with Community policies, will be decisive in achieving the social, carbon neutrality and environmental protection objectives, in particular those relating to biodiversity; to this end, national budgetary policies, public spending and taxation, must support public policies in the key sectors of the transition, namely renewable energies, mobility and freight, thermal insulation of buildings, agriculture, the circular economy, and the industrial sectors that emit the most greenhouse gases;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines that structural factors are likely to keep rates low in the long term; considers that macroeconomic policies should address the factors underlying secular stagnationsuch as ageing, global savings, low inflation and productivity slowdown are likely to keep rates low in the long term and the impact of Covid-19 shocks is likely to accelerate this tendency as precautionary savings are rising further and investment decisions might be delayed; considers that macroeconomic policies should address the factors underlying secular stagnation through high-quality fiscal expansion with durable repercussions on the private-sector savings-investment balance complemented with growth-enhancing reforms;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for an appropriate fiscal, supervisory and monetary policy mix that work together towards achieving the EU’s objectives;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Notes that some Member States will have, also as result of the pandemic, significantly higher debt levels than 60% of their GDP, and that meeting the commitment enshrined in the Stability and Growth Pact to reduce their debt to the level of 60% of GDP within 20 years would result in an irresponsible worsening of the economic crisis in these countries; considers that for the highly indebted countries it is insufficient to extend the adjustment period, because in this case, the economic crisis is likely to worsen and be prolonged;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses that, following the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the public debt levels, the new fiscal framework must establish a slower pace for debt reduction, thus allowing Member States to build sustainable public finances without implementing austerity measures;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls the importance of growth- enhancing policies and public investment aimed at increasing sustainable growth potential and achieving the EU’s objectives; reiterates that future-oriented investment and expenditure has positive spill overs in the medium-to-long-term debt sustainability;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importance of pursuing a broad and transparent DSA in orderebt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) in order to support policymakers´ decision to set an appropriate country-specific path, using innovative tools and techniques such as stress tests and stochastic analysis to better reflect risks to public debt dynamics; (such as interest-growth differentials, debt composition, demographics and climate change) and the quality of public expenditure;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for the renewed fiscal framework to promote sustainability and cyclical stabilisation and to improve the quality of public expenditure through sustainable investments and reforms; calls for well-defined, transparent, simple, and flexible and enforceable rulerules or standards embedded in a credible and democratic framework that take into account the specificities of Member States and promote upward economic and social convergence and a transition to a sustainable economy; calls for these rules or standards to be made operational and enforceable through specific medium-term targets set jointly by the European Commission and the Member States; seeks ownership of the discussion by Member States through policy debate at national level; seeking therefore that national budgets are verified by national Independent Fiscal Institutions, with assistance of the European Fiscal Board;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for the renewed fiscal framework to promote sustainability and cyclical stabilisation and to improve the quality of public expenditure throughby applying, if appropriate, the "do no significant harm" (DNSH) principle and by favouring sustainable investments and reforms; calls for well-defined, transparent, simple, flexible and enforceable rules embedded in a credible and democratic framework that take into account the specificities of Member States and promote upward economic and social convergence;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Notes that while the EU’s macroeconomic framework is build up around the concept of GDP, a reform should move away from only using GDP as a key indicator and instead put factors such as economic equality and sustainability of the economy at the centre;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Suggests focusing the fiscal targets on the achievement of a single credible debt anchor aimed at reducing high debt ratios in a realistic and reasonable period of time and differentiated according to the existing debt leveldegree of debt sustainability of the Member States;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Proposes an expenditure rule with a ceiling20 on nominal public expenditure when a country’s public debt exceeds a certain thresholdis no longer seen as sustainable with a high probability; _________________ 20 A ceiling fixed for 3-5 years that would depend on the expected potential output growth, expected inflation and the distance from the debt anchor.
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that the country-specific path outcome should result from a discussion between each Member State and the Commission, after a consultation with the EFB in the context of the European Semester; considers that the expenditure rule should also include a correction mechanism to remove cyclical items; deems national independent fiscal institution, if functioning properly, important actors to evaluate national budgets based on country-specific spending plans;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Underlines that expenditure rules allow for automatic stabilisers to operate and are under the direct control of the government; argues that while potential output growth is unobservable and has to be estimated, it is less likely to be subject to revisions than the output gap; notes that expenditure rules show to be more effective in reducing the procyclicality bias of fiscal policy 28a; _________________ 28aManescu, C., Bova, E. (2021), Effectiveness of national expenditure rules: Evidence from EU member states.
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Shares the EFB’s opinion that sustainable growth-enhancing public investments should be exempt from the expenditure rule, in particular those investments that are aligned with the EU’s long-term objectives of the NGEU; calls for a revamped fiscal framework that promotes the increase and stabilisation of growth-enhancing public investment related namely to social resilience, climate change and digitalisation;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Shares the EFB’s opinion that sustainable growth-enhancing public investments should be exempt from the expenditure rule, in particular those investments that are aligned with the EU’s long-term objectives of the NGEUa future EU green bond standard; highlights that growth- enhancing investments should lead to a higher future revenue-raising capacity and thus spending ceiling;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Underlines that not just the quantity but also the quality of public expenditure is essential in determining the sustainability of public finances; highlights that investments in creating an environmentally and socially sustainable economy improve the country’s long-term debt sustainability; wishes to see such expenditures stimulated at all levels of the EU economic framework; calls also for independent assessment of investment programmes through social a cost-benefit analysis by IFIs based on a broad concept of wellbeing;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses that governments’ revenues are essential to guarantee the sustainability of public finances; as well as to finance the post-pandemic recovery, restoring the EU's sustainable competitiveness and to support the just transition to a sustainable economy; considers it therefore necessary to subject the level of taxes and duties in the Member States to greater European coordination inter alia to avoid competition to lower taxes; believes that Member States must ensure through their tax policies that there is no reduction in government revenues if debt rules are not respected; recalls that tax evasion and tax avoidance at EU level amount to up to EUR 160-190 billion each year, constituting missing revenues for the treasuries; therefore, calls on the Member States to take action to tackle tax fraud, tax avoidance, and tax evasion, as well as money laundering;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Calls for the creation of an Anti- Tax Haven Pact to be integrated in the European semester, with the effect that the EU Commission assesses the tax rules of the Member States on an annual basis and gives country specific recommendations for how to reform the tax rules in the case a Member State facilitates harmful tax practices;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Highlights that, in addition to the review of the fiscal framework, further efforts should be taken to improve and complete the Economic and Monetary Union, including the completion of the banking union with a fully-fledged European Deposit Insurance Scheme, an effective capital markets union, a permanent budgetary instrument for the Euro Area, and a more effective cooperation and coordination on tax affairs, notably regarding harmful tax practices and tax competition;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls for the establishment of an EU Investment Fund of 1% of EU GDP per year, financed by EU borrowing in analogy to the Recovery Fund and an increase of the EU's own resources, with the objective of providing funding for investments in the digital and climate- neutral transformation in the Member States;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Stresses the importance of the MIP in identifying and taking preventive and corrective actions against emerging imbalances; points out, however, that the potential of this mechanism has not been fully exploited on account of its structural weaknesses notably the asymmetry of the indicators in the Alert Mechanism, indicators lacking a clear prioritization and the lack of clear accountability;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Seeks to increase national ownership of macroeconomic policymaking and to stimulate debate on this at national level; wishes to include a strong role for national independent fiscal institutions in determining, in coordination with the European Fiscal Board, responsible levels of government spending and in providing the first-line evaluation of national budgetary plans;
Amendment 385 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Believes that any future EU Investment Fund should create incentives for better compliance with EU fiscal policies;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Underlines the importance to clarify the link between each specific governance tool and the objectives to be achieved; calls for better reflecting the existing scoreboards in policy recommendations;
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Calls for more involvement of national macro prudential authorities and national productivity councils in the MIP process;