Activities of Xabier BENITO ZILUAGA related to 2016/2004(BUD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Guidelines for the 2017 Budget - Section III (A8-0036/2016 - Jens Geier) ES
Amendments (17)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the 2017 budget will be affected byhave to be increased in order to properly address the ongoing refugee crisis;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas in order to offset the weak economic recovery, the new latent crisis trends and the increased divergence in the EU it is necessary to provide an adequate increase to the Union's budget to ensure the adequate level of resources in next year's budget with particular emphasis on the programs and projects aimed at boosting growth and decent employment, eradicating poverty, investing in smart, sustainable, green growth and development; underlines that contributions to this increase should result from an increase in the payments made by Member States with the highest GNI and the highest per capita income, correcting the current biased and unfair system of contribution keys; reiterates that it is imperative to increase support to Member States, especially those facing economic recession, for investment in infrastructure, social facilities, research, innovation and development;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. NoteHighlights that the Union budget has proven to be a crucialBudget should be used in such a way to give priority to policies of real convergence, integration and cohesion, based on social progress and solidarity, safeguarding and promoting decent, quality and stable job creation, sustainable use of natural resources and protection of the environment; stresses that the Union budget has proven to be scarce despite its potential to become an important resource in tackling recent crises and responding to needs that hadwere not been anticipated during the negotiation of the MFF 2014-2020, such as the migration and refugee crisis or geopolitical tensions in the European neighbourhood producing a number of serious emergencies, while in the Union a continuous lowering of investment levels has ledpublic and private investment levels led to an increase of inequalities as well as to an investment gap;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that the capacity of the Union budget to tackle these crises arises so far principally from the use of all means available agreed upon in the MFF negotiations, and particularly the use of special instruments such as the flexibility instrument; recalls Parliament’s decisive role in shaping those instruments during the MFF negotiations; highlights, however, that if the crises continue to worsen even the full activation of the existing flexibility provisions will beis already insufficient to address the problems; in this context, invites the Council to reconsider its position on the question of budgeting the MFF special instruments so as to alleviate the constraints weighing on the Union budget and to propose a new budget line to adequately respond to the refugee crisis; reiterates in that connection its long- standing position that the payment appropriations for the special instruments (the flexibility instrument, the EU Solidarity Fund, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the Emergency Aid Reserve) should be calculated over and above the MFF ceilings, as is the case for commitments; expects these issues to be resolvedconsiders that a thorough revision of the MFF should be taken as an opportunity to better address shortcoming key issues and the upcoming crisis within the Budget of the Union, to secure a reasonable level of flexibility and to establish higher ceilings for most demanded EU programmes Budget lines, with an emphasis on social development;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the Commission’s European Economic Forecast (Autumn 2015), which indicates a modestlow recovery; stresses, however, that this recovery remains worryingly weak and too slow for a prompt return to full employment to be achieved, with long- term and very long-term unemployment on the rise, notably in the Union's poorest regions and among the youth; regrets the persistence and the aggravation of the disparities in terms of economic development between the European regions and between the European countries, as well as the deepening of the gap between the poorest and the richest Europeans; notes, furthermore, the appearance of new challenges, such as the slowdown in emerging market economies and global trade, with particular pressure arising from volatility on Chinese markets, the need to tackle the refugee crisis, and persisting geopolitical tensions;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Regrets that the Union budget has in recent years been a collateral victim of Member States’ fiscal consolidation efforts aimed at complying with their obligations under the Stability and Growth Pact, which have led them to consider their contribution to the Union budget as a burden and to treat it as an adjustment variable; considers that the contributions to the EU Budget from the Member States should not be accounted when calculating Member States' structural deficits;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights the fact that the Union has had to face numerous crises in recent years; recalls that a solution has still not been found for the Europe-wide migrant and refugee crisis, which escalated in 2015 with a sudden and massive increase in the numbers of refugees and migrants travelling to the Union to seek asylum, which has further impacted on the internal crisis; underlines that the Union budget should be used as part of a European solution to overcome these emergencies; calls on the commission to Draft a mechanism to strongly sanction Member States that violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Stresses that further efforts to increase investment should be made, in particular by developing new financial instruments based upon a new European public investment plan financed by new own resources on the basis of a more harmonised and progressive tax regime;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers the European Youth Initiative (YEI), in particular, to be a fundamental contribution to the Union’s priority objective for jobs and growth, and therefore reiterates its commitment to continued funding for this programme with a view to scaling it up and thereby offering a greater number of young people the prospect of effectively entering the labour market by receiving a good quality offer of employment, continued education or apprenticeship; recalls the commitment made by the three institutions to ‘ensure appropriate funding via an Amending Budget in 2016, by making use of all available means provided for in the MFF, and primarily of the Global Margin for Commitments’; notes that the figures for implementation indicate full success in terms of absorption capacity; deeply regrets that during the negotiations of the EU Budget 2016 the YEI financing got halted after the very first year of its implementation while youth unemployment remains at its highest rates in the EU; calls on the Commission to present its evaluation of the YEI at the latest by the end of April 2016, and at all events in time for the inclusion of a prolongation of the programme in the EU budget 2017, while also laying the groundwork for the search for a permanent source of funding for the YEI as part of the revision of the MFF;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is alarmed by increasing poverty, particularly among children; recalls its report advocating the establishment of a child guarantee in order to lift children out of poverty, provide for an environment suitable for their personal development and avoid their being socially excludedsion7 ; considers education, childcare, health services, housing and security to be basic needs to which every European child has the right; __________________ 7 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0403.
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Acknowledges the mobilisation of significant budgetary means spread over 2015 and 2016 to address the migration and refugee, crisis both internally within the Union and externally in refugees’ countries of origin; stresses, however, that they are insufficient and that substantial additional financial means are urgently required to address this crisis, as the increase in numbers of refugees and migrants cannot be considered a temporary phenomenon; highlights that longer-term solutions should be sought, not only in the annual budgetary procedure, but also in the upcoming interim revision of the MFF;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes the setting-up of the Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis and of the Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displacement of people in Africa; urges the Member States to stand by their promises and contribute to these funds; underlines that the Member States have reconfirmed their commitment, at the informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government held to discuss migration on 23 September 2015, the European Council of 15 October 2015, and the Valletta summit of 11-12 November 2015; stresses, however, that further financial efforts will be needed to provide humanitarian assistance along the transit routes and to manage the challenges posed by increasing numbers of refugees; reminds that the above funds were created in response to the lack of flexibility and funding in the EU budget; insists that the actions undertaken to tackle the migration and refugee problem should not come at the cost of the EU´s development policies in other areas; considers that a sustainable management of the migration crisis on the long term demands the inclusion of the emergency funds within the EU budget, allowing for a better accountability of all EU's actions in this field;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the principle and objectives ofHighlights the need to ensure and guarantee that human, civil rights and liberties, social protection, including protection for the most vulnerable, healthcare, social and financial benefits are implemented in full compliance with international law, in particular UN Human Rights Charter and Convention relation to the Refugee Status, the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Geneva Convention, the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, the Council of Europe's Recommendations on Refugees and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU; within this framework, acknowledges the EUR 3 billion Refugee Facility for Turkey, and calls on each Member State to take on its share, but raises the question of how the Union contribution should be made available within the respective ceilings of the Union budget for 2016 and 2017; deplores the fact that Parliament was not properly involved in either the setting- up of the facility or the mobilisation of the Union’s contribution, as shown by the Commission’s announcement of its intention to finance the Union contribution by redeployment from the recently adopted Union budget for 2016 and by pre-empting the margins of the 2017 budget; considers these actions to be clear infringements of Parliament’s rights as an arm of the budgetary authority; is deeply concerned with the allegations of mistreatment in the Turkish refugee detention facilities; calls for a thorough investigation of these events and calls for an enhancement of the synergies with the local and national authorities as well as with the international organizations operating on the field to guarantee the adequate support and assistance both to refugees and to all those applying for the refugee status, to prevent the EU from being accused of complicity in violations of basic Human Rights;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the agreement reached on 12 December 2015 in Paris by the 196 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on a universal, binding, dynamic and differentiated agreement to face the challenge of climate change; regrets, however, the fact that there is no clarity on how donor countries will meet the yearly USD 100 billion goal to support developing countries, or in particular on how they will agree on a common methodology to account for climate finance; notes that this issue is to be resolved before COP 22 in Marrakesh, and expects the Commission to anticipate such financing in its draft budget for 2017; calls on the commission to deliver a consolidated EU regulation framework proposal to be implemented in all EU Member States and at the EU level in full compliance with all the engagements taken in Paris;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts in developing the ‘EU Budget Focused on Results’ strategy; stresses that particular attention should be paid to the performance of financial instruments under the Union funding programmes; believes, furthermore, that, apart from the Union institutions, considerable responsibility also lies with the Member States, given the fact that 80 % of the budget is under ‘shared management’; calls on the Member States, therefore, to do their utmost to guarantee sound financial management and the reduction of errors, and to avoid any delays in the implementation of programmes under their responsibility; calls on all Member States to promote and set in place concrete measures to actively fight against corruption in public contracts;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Confirms its support for the ITER research programme and is committed to securing appropriate financing for it; is concerned, however, that further delays and additional costs may arise regarding this programme, as well as at the related potential repercussions for the Union budget; regrets, therefore, that it was unable to assess the level of the 2016 ITER appropriations against the updated payment plan and schedule; expects this revised plan to be included in the preparation of the draft budget for 2017; calls for a proper accountability mechanism that will offer a clear overview of the amount in financial resources provided for the international project and will evaluate the efficiency of their use; calls on the Commission and the Member states to launch a program for the development of new revolutionary clean and renewable energies with the same approximate level of financing;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Reiterates its position in favour of an in-depth reform of the system of Union own resources, and gives the highest political importance to the work of the High Level Group on Own Resources created as part of the MFF 2014-2020 agreement; expects the Commission and the Council to take on board the final outcome, which is expected by the end of 2016, including any new candidate for own resources; recalls that the leading idea behind the own resources reform is to make the Union budget more stable, more sustainable, more predictable, and more autonomous, while also alleviating the burden of excessive spending from national budgets and improving transparency for the citizens; insists on the need to provide the EU with new own resources, among others, with new own resources based upon taxation of financial transactions and the appropriate taxation of all multinationals which are involved in tax evasion; considers this to be is an adequate answer to the large majority of the EU citizens requests;