72 Amendments of Markus FERBER related to 2020/0104(COD)
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) In order to safeguard the sustainable character of the investments, it is of crucial importance to make sure funded projects are of European added value and generate appreciable impact in terms of innovation, growth and creation of jobs. Therefore, consumptive expenditures and regular ongoing budgetary expenditures shall not be eligible for funding.
Amendment 206 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) The European Court of Auditors' Special report 16/2020 on the European Semester calls on the Commission to strengthen the link between the Country Specific Recommendations and the distribution of EU funds.
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Against this background, it is necessary to strengthen the current framework for the provision of support to Member States and provide direct financial support to Member States through an innovative tool. To that end, a Recovery and Resilience Facility (the ‘Facility’) should be established under this Regulation to provide effective financial and significant support to step up the implementation of reforms and related public investments in the Member States. The Facility should be comprehensive and should also benefit from the experience gained by the Commission and the Member States from the use of the other instruments and programmes. In order to reap the greatest benefits from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and fulfil its goals to the maximum degree, the incentives should be designed in a way to encourage full implementation of the recovery and resilience plan. Therefore, pay-out of the funds should be proportionate to the level of completion of the recovery and resilience plan and the pay-out should only take place after the completion of the relevant milestones has been verified by the Commission.
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Against this background, it is necessary to strengthen the current framework for the provision of support to Member States and provide direct financial support to Member States through an innovative tool. To that end, a Recovery and Resilience Facility (the ‘Facility’) should be established under this Regulation to provide effective financial and significant support to step up the implementation of growth enhancing reforms and related sustainable public investments in the Member States. The Facility should be comprehensive and should also benefit from the experience gained by the Commission and the Member States from the use of the other instruments and programmes. The Facility should be of a temporary character and limited to tackling the adverse effects of the pandemic.
Amendment 224 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The types of financing and the methods of implementation under this Regulation should be chosen on the basis of their ability to achieve the specific objectives of the actions, particularly addressing the challenges identified in the context of the European Semester, and to deliver results, taking into account, in particular, the costs of controls, the administrative burden, and the expected risk of non- compliance. This should include consideration of the use of lump sums, flat rates and unit costs, as well as financing not linked to costs as referred to in Article 125(1)(a) of the Financial Regulation.
Amendment 234 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Recital 10 a (new)
(10a) The Recovery and Resilience Facility as part Next Generation EU shall not become a financial burden for the next generations. Therefore, it is crucial that the recovery and resilience plans encourage sound fiscal policies and a swift repayment of the loan component of this instrument.
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 b (new) s
Recital 10 b (new) s
(10b) In order to meaningfully contribute to the economic recovery, the Facility shall not finance recurring national expenditure and adhere to the general principle of additionality.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to enable measures to be taken that link the Facility to sound economic governance, with a view to ensuring uniform implementing conditions, the power should be conferred on the Council to suspend, on a proposal from the Commission and by means of implementing acts, the period of time for the adoption of decisions on proposals for recovery and resilience plans and to suspend payments under this Facility, in the event of significant non-compliance in relation to the relevant cases related to the economic governance process laid down in the Regulation (EU) No XXX/XX of the European Parliament and of the Council [CPR] (…). The power to lift those suspensions by means of implementing acts, on a proposal from the Commission, should also be conferred on the Council in relation to the same relevant cases.
Amendment 314 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The Facility’s general objective should be the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion. For that purpose, it should contribute to improving the resilience and adjustment capacity of the Member States, mitigating the social and economic impact of the crisis, and supporting the green and digital transitions aimed at achieving a climate neutral Europe by 2050, thereby restoring the growth potential of the economies of the Union in the aftermath of the crisis, fostering employment creation and to promoting sustainable growth. Supported actions should have a clear European added value.
Amendment 320 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The Facility’s general objective should be the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion. For that purpose, it should contribute to improving the resilience and adjustment capacity of the Member States, mitigating the social and economic impact of the crisis, and supporting the green and digital transitions aimed at achieving a climate neutral Europe by 2050, thereby restoring the growth potential and long-term competitiveness of the economies of the Union in the aftermath of the crisis, fostering employment creation and to promoting sustainable growth.
Amendment 323 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14 a (new)
Recital 14 a (new)
(14a) The resources of the Facility, as part of the Recovery Instrument (Next Generation EU), should be accompanied by a clear and credible repayment plan. The repayment should be done by means of additional own resources which should be in place in the course of the next MFF.
Amendment 334 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) To ensure its contribution to the objectives of the Facility, the recovery and resilience plan should comprise measures for the implementation of reforms and public investment projects through a coherent recovery and resilience plan. The recovery and resilience plan should be consistent with the relevant country- specific challenges and priorities identified in the context of the European Semester, with the national reform programmes, the national energy and climate plans, the just transition plans, and the partnership agreements and operational programmes adopted under the Union funds. To boost actions that fall and within the priorities of the European Green Deal and the Digital Agenda, the plan should also set out measures that are relevant for the green and digital transitions. The measures should enable a swift deliver of targets, objectives and contributions set out in national energy and climate plans and updates thereof. All supported activities should be pursued in full respect of the climate and environmental priorities of the Unionnational reform programmes.
Amendment 379 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19 a (new)
Recital 19 a (new)
(19a) In order to ensure that Member States only finance actual policy priorities that generate a positive long-term economic impact, they should have skin in the game. Therefore, Member States shall be required to co-finance expenditure under this Facility at a rate of 20%.
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22 a (new)
Recital 22 a (new)
(22a) In order to ensure the national ownership, linking disbursements from the Facility to the challenges identified in the CSRs, as well as monitoring the progress made on the implementation of the growth enhancing reforms and sustainable investments should be enhanced.
Amendment 462 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) To ensure that the financial support is frontloaded in the initial years after the crisis, and to ensure compatibility with the available funding for this instrument, the allocation of funds to the Member States should be made available until 31 December 20242. To this effect, at least 60 percent of thethe full amount available for non- repayable support should be legally committed by 31 December 2022. The remaining amount should be legally committed by 31 December 2024A swift distribution of the funds is crucial in order to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on Europe’s economy.
Amendment 473 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) The request for a loan should be justified by the financial needs linked to additional reforms and investments included in the recovery and resilience plan, notably relevant for the green and digital transitions, and by therefore, by a higher cost of the plan than the maximum financial contribution (to be) allocated via the non-repayable contribution. The request for a loan should also substantiate how the loan fits into the Member State’s long-term planning in relation to sound fiscal policies. It should be possible to submit the request for a loan together with the submission of the plan. In case the request for loan is made at a different moment in time, it should be accompanied by a revised plan with additional milestones and targets. To ensure frontloading of resources, Member States should request a loan support at the latest by 31 August 20242. For the purposes of sound financial management, the total amount of all the loans granted under this Regulation should be capped. In addition, the maximum volume of the loan for each Member State should not exceed 4.72.0% of its Gross National Income. An increase of the capped amount should be possible in exceptional circumstances subject to available resources. For the same reasons of sound financial management, it should be possible to pay the loan in instalments against the fulfilment of results.
Amendment 489 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) A Member State should have the possibility to make a reasoned request to amend the recovery and resilience plan within the period of implementation, where objective circumstances justify such a course of action. The Commission should assess the reasoned request and take a new decision within fourtwo months.
Amendment 491 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) For reasons of efficiency and simplification in the financial management of the instrument, the Union financial support to recovery and resilience plans should take the form of a financing based on the achievement of results measured by reference to milestones and targets indicated in the approved recovery and resilience plans. To this effect, the additional loan support should be linked to the additional milestones and targets compared to those relevant for the financial support (i.e. the non-repayable support). Disbursements should only be made upon completion of the relevant milestones.
Amendment 495 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31 a (new)
Recital 31 a (new)
(31a) Member States should report in their annual implementation reports on sound financial management. Therefore, specific requirements should be formulated.
Amendment 532 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Recital 37
(37) It is opportune that the Commission provides an semi-annual report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Facility set out in this Regulation. This report should include information on the progress made by Member States under the recovery and resilience plans approved; it should also include information on the volume of the proceeds assigned to the Facility under the European Union Recovery Instrument in the previous year, broken down by budget line, and the contribution of the amounts raised through the European Union Recovery Instrument to the achievements of the objectives of the Facility. It should also contain information on the progress made towards individual milestones, targets and corresponding indicators outlined in each Member State’s recovery and resilience plan.
Amendment 545 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
(39) The recovery and resilience plans to be implemented by the Member States and the corresponding financial contribution allocated to them should be established by the Commission by way of implementing act. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. The implementing powers relating to the adoption of the recovery and resilience plans and to the payment of the financial support upon fulfilment of the relevant milestones and targets should be exercised by the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council, under the examination procedure thereof13 . After the adoption of an implementing act, it should be possible for the Member State concerned and the Commission to agree on certain operational arrangements of a technical nature, detailing aspects of the implementation with respect to timelines, indicators for the milestones and targets, and access to underlying data. To allow the continuous relevance of the operational arrangements in respect of the prevailing circumstances during the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, it should be possible that the elements of such technical arrangements may be modified by mutual consent. Horizontal financial rules adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on the basis of Article 322 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply to this Regulation. These rules are laid down in the Financial Regulation and determine in particular the procedure for establishing and implementing the budget through grants, procurement, prizes, indirect implementation, and provide for checks on the responsibility of financial actors. Rules adopted on the basis of Article 322 TFEU also concern the protection of the Union's budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States, as the respect for the rule of law is an essential precondition for sound financial management and effective EU fundingdelegated act. __________________ 13 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).
Amendment 566 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40 a (new)
Recital 40 a (new)
(40a) The unprecedented scale of the Recovery and Resilience Facility warrants the highest degree of scrutiny in the interest of the European taxpayer. Therefore, the Union budgetary procedure shall be applicable. The auditing of accounts should be undertaken by the Court of Auditors. The overall budget is subject to the discharge procedure.
Amendment 1097 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) whether the provided justification in the recovery and resilience plan is expected towill contribute to effectively address challenges identified in the relevant country-specific recommendations, including fiscal aspects thereof, and recommendations made under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No1176/2011, addressed to the Member State concerned, or in other relevant documents officially adopted by the Commission in the European Semester, for euro area countries particular attention shall be given to the recommendations for the euro area as endorsed by the European Council; the measures aligned with the country-specific recommendations shall be prioritised during the disbursal of funds;
Amendment 1107 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a a (new)
(a a) in case a Member State is experiencing imbalances or excessive imbalances as concluded by the Commission after an in-depth review, an explanation of the way the recommendations made under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 are to be addressed;
Amendment 1110 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a b (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a b (new)
(a b) whether the plan contains measures that effectively contribute to the strengthening of the Single Market;
Amendment 1112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a c (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point a c (new)
(a c) whether the arrangements proposed by the Member States concerned are expected to ensure an effective monitoring and implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, including the envisaged timetable, milestones and targets, and the related indicators;
Amendment 1136 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point b b (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point b b (new)
(b b) whether the justification provided by the Member State on the amount of the estimated total costs of the recovery and resilience plan submitted is reasonable and plausible and is commensurate to the expected impact on the economy and employment;
Amendment 1152 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point c b (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point c b (new)
(c b) whether the recovery and resilience plan is expected to contribute to effectively address challenges identified in the relevant country-specific recommendations addressed to the Member State concerned or in other relevant documents officially adopted by the Commission in the European Semester;
Amendment 1163 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point d
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point d
(d) whether the recovery and resilience plan is expected to effectively contribute to strengthen the growth potential, long-term competitiveness, job creation, and economic and social resilience of the Member State, mitigate the economic and social impact of the crisis, and contribute to enhance economic, social and territorial cohesion;
Amendment 1178 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point e
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point e
(e) whether the justification provided by the Member State on the amount of the estimated total costs of the recovery and resilience plan submitted is reasonable and plausible and is commensurate to the expected impact on the economy and employ, employment and whether recovery and resilience plan is in line with the notion of sound financial management;
Amendment 1184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point e a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point e a (new)
(e a) how the recovery and resilience plan fits into the Member State’s medium- term plan to (re-)establish a sound fiscal position in line with the Union’s economic governance framework;
Amendment 1214 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. When assessing Member States’ resilience and recovery programmes, the Commission shall encourage and give priority to projects that are of a cross- border nature and link several Member States. In its dialogue with Member States, the Commission shall encourage synergies between the recovery plans of different Member States.
Amendment 1215 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16 a (new)
Article 16 a Decision process 1. After receiving the annual national recovery and resilience plans of each Member State, the Commission shall provide to the European Parliament and the Council by means of a delegated act and no later than 31 May, a report consolidating the information of these national plans and assessing the impact of the proposed measures in the Union's economy and in what concerns the objectives of the Annual Sustainable and Growth Strategy. This report shall among others: (a) reflect how the Recovery and Resilience Facility delivers on the EU objectives of competitive sustainability and green transition, the digital transformation, economic and social cohesion and the European Pillar of Social Rights and institutional resilience; (b) the total amount of financial contribution and loans from the Facility committed and paid to Member States, and the volume of proceeds assigned to the Facility, broken down by budget line.
Amendment 1221 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall adopt a decision within fourtwo months of the official submission of the recovery and resilience plan by the Member State, by means of an implement delegated act ing actcordance with Article 26a. In the event that the Commission gives a positive assessment to a recovery and resilience plan, that decision shall set out the growth enhancing reforms and sustainable investment projects to be implemented by the Member State, including the clear milestones and targets, and required for the disbursal of instalment of the financial contribution allocated in accordance with Article 11.
Amendment 1228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall adopt a decision within four months of the official submission of the recovery and resilience plan by the Member State, by means of an implementingdelegated act. In the event that the Commission gives a positive assessment to a recovery and resilience plan, that decision shall set out the reforms and investment projects to be implemented by the Member State, including the milestones and targets, and the financial contribution allocated in accordance with Article 11.
Amendment 1247 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 17 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) where the recovery and resilience plan complies satisfactorieither completely, mostly or partially with the criteria set out in Article 16(3), and the amount of the estimated total costs of the recovery and resilience plan is equal to, or higher than, the maximum financial contribution for that Member State referred to in Article 10, the financial contribution allocated to the Member State concerned shall be equal to the total amount of the maximum financial contribution referred to in Article 10;
Amendment 1261 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point a
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point a
(a) the financial contribution to be paid only in instalments once the Member State has satisfactorily implemented the relevantclear milestones and targets identified in relation to the implementation of the recovery and resilience plan; at the request of the European Parliament, following non- attainment of one or several milestones and targets, further instalments shall be withhold, until satisfactory explanation is provided to the European Parliament.
Amendment 1271 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point c – point 1
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point c – point 1
(1) as regards completion of the investment, the investment period by which the investment project must be implemented shall end no later than sefiven years after the adoption of the decision;
Amendment 1274 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point c – point 2
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point c – point 2
(2) as regards completion of reforms, the period by which the reforms must be implemented shall end no later than fourthree years after the adoption of the decision.
Amendment 1276 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point d
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point d
(d) the arrangements and timetable, including specific milestones, for implementation of the recovery and resilience plan;
Amendment 1281 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point f
Article 17 – paragraph 4 – point f
(f) the arrangements for providing full access by the Commission to theall underlying relevant data.
Amendment 1284 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. In order to allow for meaningful tracking of the progress made under the RRF, each recovery and resilience plan shall consist of at least five individual milestones linked to at least five individual instalments.
Amendment 1298 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 7
Article 17 – paragraph 7
Amendment 1320 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 2
2. Where the Commission considers that the reasons put forward by the Member State concerned justify an amendment of the relevant recovery and resilience plan, the Commission shall assess the new plan in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 and shall take a new decision in accordance with Article 17 within fourtwo months of the official submission of the request.
Amendment 1328 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
3. Where the Commission considers that the reasons put forward by the Member State concerned do not justify an amendment of the relevant recovery and resilience plan, it shall reject the request within fourtwo months of its official submission, after having given the Member State concerned the possibility to present its observations within a period of one month of the communication of the Commission's conclusions.
Amendment 1332 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 a (new)
Article 18 a (new)
Article 18 a Programme European Added Value (1) Until 31 July 2022 the Commission shall launch public tenders for projects of European added value. (2) The maximum co-financing rate for project proposals shall be no higher than 50%. (3) The maximum amount receivable for individual project proposals shall be no higher than 5 000 000 000 EUR. (4) The Commission shall assess suitable projects within three months of receiving the proposal. (5) The Commission shall assess the project proposals received applying comparable standards to those outlined for the assessment of the national recovery and resilience plans. (6) The Commission shall assess the eligibility against the criteria outlined in Article 18b.
Amendment 1333 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 b (new)
Article 18 b (new)
Article 18 b Programme European Added Value - Eligibility Projects under this framework shall maximise Union added value and impact and shall support Union policy goals of strategic European interest that have a cross-border dimension, shall encompass at the least two Member States and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the Union as a whole.
Amendment 1346 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Upon completion of the relevant agreed milestones and targets indicated in the recovery and resilience plan as approved in the implementing act of the Commission, the Member State concerned shall submit to the Commission a duly justified request for payment of the financial contribution and, where relevant, of the loan tranche. Such requests for payment may be submitted by the Member States to the Commission on a biannual basis. The Commission shall assess, within two months of receiving the request, the fulfilment of the following criteria: (1) whether the relevant milestones and targets set out in the decision referred to in Article 17(1) have been satisfactorily implemented. For the purpose of the assessment, the operational arrangement referred to in Article 17(6) shall also be taken into account. The Commission may be assisted by experts. (2) whether, after the establishment of this Facility, Member State has not repealed, in a way that circumvents the essence of the recommendation, previous reforms adopted following the guidance of the European Semester. (3) whether the recipients have fulfilled their obligation under Article 26(1).
Amendment 1348 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Upon completion of the relevant agreed milestones and targets indicated in the recovery and resilience plan as approved in the implementing act of the Commission, the Member State concerned shall submit to the Commission a duly justified request for payment of the share of the financial contribution corresponding to the completion of the targets and milestones and, where relevant, of the loan tranche. Such requests for payment may be submitted by the Member States to the Commission on a biannual basis. The Commission shall assess, within two months of receiving the request, whether the relevant milestones and targets set out in the decision referred to in Article 17(1) have been satisfactorily implemented. The disbursement of funds shall correspond to the level of completion of the agreed milestones and targets. For the purpose of the assessment, the operational arrangement referred to in Article 17(6) shall also be taken into account. The Commission may be assisted by experts.
Amendment 1358 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Where the Commission makes a positive assessment, it shall adopt a decision authorising the disbursement of the financial contribution in accordance with the Financial Regulation. Each payment decision should be disbursed only if relevant milestones have been completed and clear progress has been registered since the previous disbursement.
Amendment 1360 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Where the Commission makes a positive assessment, it shall adopt a decision authorising the disbursement of the financial contribution in accordance with the Financial Regulation. Distributions should be made gradually and are subject to the completion of milestones.
Amendment 1366 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
The suspension shall only be lifted where the Member State has taken the necessary measures to ensure a satisfactory implementation of the milestones and targets referred to in Article 17(1).
Amendment 1379 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 7 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 7 – introductory part
7. Where, within eighteensix months of the date of the adoption the decision referred to in Article 17(1), no tangible progress has been made in respect of any relevant milestones and targets by the Member State concerned, the amount of the financial contribution shall be cancelled pursuant to Article 14(1) of the Financial Regulation.
Amendment 1384 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 8 a (new)
Article 19 – paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Any unused funds of this Facility shall not be repurposed, but used in order to reduce the Union's overall borrowing requirements as part of Next Generation EU.
Amendment 1388 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 a (new)
Article 19 a (new)
Article 19 a Measures linking the Facility to the protection of the Union budget in case of regression of the implemented projects 1. If the Commission assesses that for one or more milestones or targets there has been a clear regression, it shall recover payments made in relation to the respective milestones or targets. 2. Moreover, a Member State shall repay to the Commission any financial contribution paid to it pursuant to Article 19 with respect to a reform commitment, where, within five years of the payment, the conditions that allowed such payments have changed significantly in the Member State concerned. 3. The following cases shall represent a significant change in the conditions that allowed the payment: (a) the elements that led to the achievement of the reform commitments were reversed; or (b) the elements that led to the achievement of the reform commitments were significantly modified by other measures. 4. The Commission shall take a decision on the repayment after having given the Member State concerned the possibility to present its observations within a period of two months of the communication of its conclusions.
Amendment 1390 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 a (new)
Article 19 a (new)
Article 19 a Rule of Law Member States that are subject to a procedure in accordance with Article 7 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union shall only be eligible to receive 25% of the financial contribution determined in accordance with Article 19.
Amendment 1391 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 b (new)
Article 19 b (new)
Article 19 b Non-Regression and Claw-Back Clause 1. A Member State shall repay to the Commission any financial contribution paid to it pursuant to Article 19 with respect to a reform commitment or milestone, where, within five years of the payment, the conditions that allowed such payments have changed significantly in the Member State concerned. 2. The following cases shall represent a significant change in the conditions that allowed the payment: (a) the elements that led to the achievement of the reform commitments were reversed; or (b) the elements that led to the achievement of the reform commitments were significantly modified by other measures; or (c) the milestones reached in the context of the recovery and resilience plans were reversed; or (d) the milestones reached in the context of the recovery and resilience plans were significantly modified by other measures. 3. The Commission shall take a decision on the repayment after having given the Member State concerned the possibility to present its observations within a period of two months of the communication of its conclusions. 4. Only genuinely new reforms are eligible for funding under this programme. Reform commitments that have been implemented under previous programmes and since been reversed are not eligible for funding under this programme.
Amendment 1395 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 1
The Member State concerned shall report on a quarterly basis within the European Semester process on the progress made in the achievement of the recovery and resilience plans, including the operational arrangement referred to in Article 17(6) and the completion of individual proposed milestones, targets, and the related indicators. To that effect, the quarterly reports of the Member States shall be appropriately reflected in the National Reform Programmes, which shall be used as a tool for reporting on progress towards completion of the recovery and resilience plans.
Amendment 1401 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 20 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Independent fiscal institutions, as defined by Council Directive 2011/85/EU, shall, on a biannual basis, complement and assess such reports focusing on the reliability of the information, data and forecasts provided, as well as the performance and the general progress made in the achievement of the recovery and resilience plans.
Amendment 1407 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall transmit the recovery and resilience plans as approved in the implementingdelegated act of the Commission in accordance with Article 17 to the European Parliament and the Council without undue delay. The Member State concerned may request the Commission to redact sensitive or confidential information, the disclosure of which would jeopardise public interests of the Member State. In such a case, the Commission shall liaise with the Parliament and Council how the redacted information can be made available to the Co-legislator in a confidential manner and without undue delay.
Amendment 1418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 a (new)
Article 21 a (new)
Article 21 a 1. The Commission shall establish a recovery and resilience scoreboard (the ‘Scoreboard’) displaying the status of implementation of the agreed growth enhancing reforms and sustainable investments through the recovery and resilience plans of each Member State, and the status of the disbursal of instalments to Member States linked to the satisfactorily implementation of the clear milestones and targets. 2. The Scoreboard shall include key indicators, such as social, economic, environmental and competitiveness indicators, that evaluate the progress registered by the recovery and resilience plans in each of the six areas that define the scope of this Regulation. 3. The Scoreboard shall indicate the degree of fulfilment of the clear milestones of the recovery and resilience plans and the identified shortcomings in their implementation, as well as the recommendations of the Commission to address the respective shortcomings. 4. The Scoreboard shall indicate arrangements and timetable for implementation of the recovery and resilience plan, and for the disbursal of instalments linked to the satisfactorily implementation of the clear milestones and targets; 5. The Scoreboard shall also summarise the main recommendations addressed to the Member States as regards their recovery and resilience plans. 6. The Scoreboard shall serve as a basis for a permanent exchange of best practices between Member States which will materialise in the form of a structured dialogue organised on a regular basis. 7. The Scoreboard shall be constantly updated and shall be publicly available on the Commission’s website. It shall indicate the status of payment claims, payments, suspensions and cancellations of financial contributions. 8. The Commission shall present the Scoreboard at a hearing organised by the competent committees of the European Parliament.
Amendment 1449 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1
Article 24 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall provide an annual semi-annual public report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Facility set out in this Regulation.
Amendment 1459 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 2
Article 24 – paragraph 2
2. The semi-annual report shall include information on the progress made with the recovery and resilience plans of the Member States concerned under the Facility.
Amendment 1463 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. The semi-annual report shall also include the following information:
Amendment 1468 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 24 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) The volume of the proceeds assigned to the Facility under the European Union Recovery Instrument in the previous year, broken down by budget line and Member State, and
Amendment 1480 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 4
Article 24 – paragraph 4
Amendment 1490 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1
Article 25 – paragraph 1
1. FourTwo years after the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall provide the European Parliament, and the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions with an independent evaluation report on its implementation and with an independent ex post evaluation report no later than three years after the end of 20274.
Amendment 1493 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 2
Article 25 – paragraph 2
2. The evaluation report shall, in particular, assess to which extent the objectives have been achieved, the efficiency of the use of resources and the European added value., the appropriateness of the conditionality provisions as well as assessment of moral hazard risks; It shall also consider the continued relevance of all objectives and actions.
Amendment 1500 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 a (new)
Article 25 a (new)
Article 25 a Control of the Budget 1. By 1 March following the completion of each financial year, the Commission’s accounting officer shall forward to the Court of Auditors the provisional accounts of the Facility, accompanied by the report on budgetary and financial management during the financial year. The Commission’s accounting officer shall also send the report on budgetary and financial management to the European Parliament and the Council by 31 March of the following year. 2. After receiving the observations of the Court of Auditors on the provisional accounts of the Authority in accordance with Article 245 and 246 of the Financial Regulation, the Commission, shall draw up the final accounts of the Authority and transmit them, for opinion, to the Management Board. 3. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request and as provided for in Article 261 (3) of the Financial Regulation, any information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question. 4. The European Parliament, following a recommendation from the Council acting by qualified majority, shall, before 15 May of the year N + 2, grant a discharge to the Authority for the implementation of the budget comprising revenue from the General Budget of the European Union and competent authorities for the financial year N. 5. The final accounts shall be published.
Amendment 1508 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 26 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. When promoting the actions and their results, the recipients of Union funding shall involve Members of the European Parliament coming from the same region as the recipients.
Amendment 1516 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27
Article 27