28 Amendments of Markus FERBER related to 2017/2226(INI)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas recovery in the labour markets, and growth, is uneven among the Member States, benefitting those that have implemented ambitious structural reforms; whereas that demonstrates the effectiveness of structural reforms;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas growth has to an important degree relied upon unconventional and, in the long term, unsustainable monetary policies; whereas policy for sustainable growth involves a three-pronged approach made up of growth-friendly investment, full implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact in all Member States, and ambitious structural reforms;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas fiscal consolidation measures are easier to take, politically, in times of robust growth;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the level of investment as a proportion of GDP today is still lower than in the period immediately before the financial crisis;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas employment is expected to continue to expand, while some labour market indicators and the relatively high level of ‘involuntary’ part-time work, suggest persistent point to structural difficulties and a lack of flexibility on the labour market difficultiesthat are aggravating inequalities;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas some Member States are still carrying sovereign debt that is too high;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas competitiveness both within the EU and globally must be a key criterion for economic governance measures;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the publication of the 2018 Annual Growth Survey (AGS) package and the proposed policy mix of investment, ambitious structural reform and fiscal consolidation, presented as a way that is intended to further promote higher growth levels and to strengthen, European recovery, and upward convergencecompetitiveness;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights also, however, the persistent structural problem of insufficient growth ofin potential output and productivity, flanked by and too low a level of investments and wages, leading to persiprivate investment social inequalities;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of a wage increase at European level in order to boost private consumption as the main support for growth; points out the need to focus on the interaction between monetary, fiscal and incomes (including wage and profit development) policies rather than only fiscal issuesat the tax burden on labour in particular should be lowered in order to raise the level of employment and boost private consumption, since that, alongside private investment, is an important growth factor;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that wage developments must be in line with productivity developments, otherwise competitiveness within the EU and globally will be seriously impaired;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the improvements in public finances, in particular the gradually declining debt/GDP ratios for the EU and euro area and falling headline budget deficits; recalls that, while many Member States have limited fiscal leeway for implementing sustainable, growth- friendly structural reforms, some Member States still have large surpluses which should be used to sustain investments and growth across the EUpoints out that many Member States still have much too high a debt-to- GDP ratio, which must be reduced as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that the positive economic development should be used to consolidate public finances, since that is markedly easier to do in times of economic recovery;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the importance of both public and private investment for boostincreasing andthe leveragingl of investment in the EU; considers that the policy mix proposed in the AGS 2018 should be further developed to remedy the current decrease in public investment in the EU; highlights that this decrease also affects local and regional authorities, threatening their ability to deliver quality public servicesregulatory environment for private investment must be further improved;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the fact that the European Semester and the Country- Specific Recommendations should achieve the objectives set out in the Pillar of Social Rightfurther the competitiveness and resilience of the Member State economies;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Insists on the need to develop within thePoints out that European sSemester a comprehensive strategy to support investment that enhances environmental sustainability; calls on the Commission, in this respect, to demonstrate how its statementinstruments should not be used in pursuit of extraneous political objectives and that ‘the SDGs are now fully integrated in the Semester’ (Commission communication of 22 May 2017, COM(2017)0500) is reflected in Annual Growth Survey 2018 and will be reflected in the subsequent Semester procesfocus should be on promoting the competitiveness and resilience of Member State economies;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the fact that the AGS 2018 acknowledges the need for effective, efficient and fair tax systems to ensure sustainable finance and reverse the current fall in capital income taxationhat provide the right incentives for economic activity; supports the Commission’s initiatives to achieve increased transparency, a reformed VAT system and a common consolidated corporate tax base;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Regrets that the overall neutral fiscal stance proposed in the recommendations for the euro area, even though the fiscal stance is expected to be slightly expansionary in a number of Member States in 2018, does not appear to fully support the strengthening of economic growth and job creatIs of the opinion that, in the light of the high level of indebtedness of the euro zone, an aggregated fiscal position geared to consolidation is the only logical conclusion;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Insists on a common effort to bring euro area expenditure on R&D closer to the EU2020 targets; stresses that, to do so, private capital in particular needs to be mobilised; calls for proper policies and investment to ensure equal access to higher education and training;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recalls that the role of the Member States is to guarantee access to quality education and training; stresses that education and training systems should take account of the needs of the labour market;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that the tools available are not yet equal to the task of fully addressing the EU’s cyclical and structural problems, in particular the need to strengthen inclusive growth and productivity, to boost job creation, promote convergence, support sustainable investments and enhance resilience to shockhigh level of indebtedness of many Member States and the little fiscal leeway available to them make it difficult to respond appropriately to cyclical problems;
Amendment 291 #
15. Underlines the fact that a fiscal capacity –, on top of existing capacities, and not through redeployments that would undermine the vital role currently played by structural funds and cohesion policy – represents a necessary tool for increasing incentives for convergence and to counter asymmetric or symmetric economic shocksto absorb asymmetrical or symmetrical economic shocks can at best complement Member States’ efforts and must be subject to strict conditionality; stresses that any fiscal capacity requires a proper incentives structure and under no circumstances is intended to be a long- term redistributive instrument;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the completion of the Banking Union, including a credible European deposit-insurance scheme and a common fiscal backstopfocusing in particular on reducing risks in the banking system;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Highlights the importance of an improved European Semester process, including the formalisation of the euro area aggregate fiscal stance as a key tool for policy formulation and implementation across the EMU; calls for a broader reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in order to improve its flexibility, to incorporate the differentiated treatment of investments and to introduce the concept of aggregate fiscal stance; stresses that the European Semester needs greater focus on a few key reforms per Member State instead of too diversified a set of measures; stresses that the Stability and Growth Pact must remain the basis for economic governance in the EU and therefore must be made more binding; calls on the Commission to ensure strict enforcement of Stability and Growth Pact provisions; is concerned that, often in the past, the Commission’s decisions have been ‘political’ and not based on the rulebook in force; is concerned that that puts the credibility of the Stability and Growth Pact at risk;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Stresses that aggregate pictures hide significant disparities across the Member States and can lead to wrong conclusions being drawn; stresses that aggregate pictures cannot replace examination of individual budgets; rejects therefore the concept of a common euro area fiscal stance;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the fact that any further step towards a deepening of the EMU must go hand in hand with stronger democratic controls; insists that, to this end, the role of the European Parliament and national parliaments must be strengthened; asks to include trade unions in the negotiation process at both national and European level; urges the launch of the long- awaited negotiation of an interinstitutional agreement (IIA) on the Semestertake particular account of the liability principle;