Activities of Thomas MANN related to 2016/2063(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
European Central Bank annual report for 2015 (debate) DE
European Central Bank annual report for 2015 (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the European Central Bank Annual Report for 2015 PDF (281 KB) DOC (58 KB)
Amendments (22)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, according to the Commission’s latest spring forecast issued in May 2016, euro area real growth is expected to be modest – 1.6 % in 2016 and 1.8 % in 2017, following 1.7 % in 2015; whereas, against the backdrop of the United Kingdom's likely exit from the European Union, the ECB is warning of a decline in euro area growth of up to half a percentage point over the next three years;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, according to the same forecast, unemployment in the euro area is expected to record a slow decrease, from 10.9 % at the end of 2015 to 9.9 % at the end of 2017; whereas Brexit could have an adverse impact on employment levels in the euro area; whereas disparities between the unemployment rates of the Member States continued to widen in 2015, with figures ranging from 4.6 % in Germany to 24.9 % in Greece;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, again according to the same forecast, the government deficit in the euro area is expected to gradually decline from 2.1 % in 2015 to 1.9 % in 2016 and 1.6 % in 2017 and the debt-to- GDP ratio is also forecast to decline for the first time since the beginning of the crisis, even though there are still four euro area countries involved in the Commission’s excessive deficit procedure: France, Spain, Greece and Portugal; whereas Cyprus, Ireland and Slovenia have implemented macroeconomic adjustment programmes which have enabled them to reduce their respective deficits to less than the threshold of 3 % of GDP;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, according to the same forecast, the euro area will continueis expected to exhibit an external surplus, of around 3% of GDP of 3.2 % of GDP in both 2016 and 2017; whereas Brexit may have an adverse impact on the EU's trade balance, given that the UK is one of the euro areas main trading partners;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas, according to the ECB projection of March 2016, the average inflation rate in the euro area, after being nil in 2015, will remain close to this level in 2016 (0.2 %) and reach 1.2 % in 2017 and 1.6 % in 2018; whereas in June 2016 the ECB's economists lowered their forecasts for core inflation growth;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the inflation target is getting harder to reach owing to consolidation of demographic trends, continuing low energy prices and the full impact of trade globalisation on a high- unemployment European society;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas this programme has since been upgraded, with the asset purchase scheduled to run until March 2017 for a total amount which should be close to EUR 1.74 trillion, and the list of eligible assets has been enlarged to include corporate bonds;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the ECB is offering banks incentives to grant loans and, with that aim in view, is carrying out a further series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-II);
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that the euro area continues to suffer from a high, but slowly falling, level of unemployment and excessive low inflation and that, in addition, the euro area is facing a very low level of productivity growth, which is the result of the lack of investment since the beginning of the crisis; notes that the level of investment is still some 10 percentage points below what it was before the crisis; notes that the high level of public debt and the huge number of non- performing loans in the banking sector in some Member States are still fragmenting the euro area financial market, thus reducing room for manoeuvre to support the most fragile economies; emphasises that sound fiscal policies and structural reforms are the only way of bringing about sustainable economic improvements in these Member States;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges that, confronted within the light of this very complex environment and the risks of a prolonged period of low inflation, the ECB was within the terms of its mandate in adopting extraordinary measures to lift inflation back up to the medium-term objective of 2 %measures taken by the ECB to increase the inflation rate to 2 % in the medium term are consistent with the terms of its mandate, as laid down in Article 127 TFEU, and therefore not illegal, as confirmed by the judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court of 21 June 2016 (2 BvR 2728/13 - Rn. 1- 220); notes that, since the launching of the APP in March 2015, and owing to targeted long-term refinancing operation (TLTRO) programmes targeted at the real economy, financialng conditions have improved, slightly; which has promoted a recovery in lending to firms and households in some Member States in the euro area;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that the APP would have an even higher impact on the European economy if it had a higher share of EIB bond buying, particularly related to the TEN-T and TEN-E (projects with proven added European value in social and economic terms), and SME securitised loans, or if the ECB were able to buy Member States’ public debt directly linked to investment and research expenditure on the secondary markets; believes that in order to choose the eligibility of public debt assets for the APP, the Eurosystem should assign a complementary credit rating in addition to those assigned by private agencies;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Agrees with ECB President Mario Draghi that the single monetary policy cannot stimulate aggregate demand unless it is complemented by sound fiscal policies and ambitious structural reform programmes at Member State level; recalls that the main benefit of monetary policy is to safeguard price stability in order to guarantee a stable environment for investmentemphasises that, in accordance with its mandate laid down in primary law in the EU Treaties, the ECB's main aim must be to safeguard price stability; points out that supporting EU economic policy necessarily represents a departure from that mandate; considers that monetary policy is not the appropriate tool to solve the structural problems of the European economy; emphasises that the expected economic recovery is no substitute for essential structural reforms;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that structural reforms in the economy and the labour market should also fully take into account the demographic trends in Europe, in order to create incentives for a more balanced demographic structure that would make it easier to maintain an inflation target of around 2 %; points up the risk of negative investment expectations where demographic trends are unfavourable;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes, however, that even though the impact of unconventional measures has been significant, inflation is not expected to converge to the 2 % medium-term objective at the 2017 horizon; notes that the current recovery in bank and market lending has not wholly produced the expected effect on the existing investment gap in the euro area so far; stresses that a lack of investment is caused not only by a lack of access to funding, but also by low demand for credit;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Deplores the existing, albeit gradually decreasing, gaps between the financing rates granted to SMEs and those granted to bigger companies, between lending rates on small and large loans, and between credit conditions for SMEs located in different euro area countries, but recognises the limits of what monetary policy can achieve in this respect; points up the risk, moreover, of possible further distortions of competition as a result of ECB corporate bond buying on the capital market, in which SMEs do not participate;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines that a prolonged period of ultra-low (negative) interest rate policy creates potential risks for financial stability and ultimately the whole economy, in particular for private savings and pension and insurance funds; warns that a decline in the profitability of banks will dampen their willingness to develop lending activity; points particularly to the negative effect of such an interest rate policy on local and regional banks and savings banks with little funding from financial markets, and to risks in the insurance sector;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Understands the reason why negative rates have been implemented, but remains very concerned about the potential consequences of negative interest rate policy for individual savers and the financial equilibrium of pension schystemes; believes that owing to demographic trends and cultural preferences for saving, these negative effects onis very concerned at the fact that, inc some may lead to an increase in the household saving rate, which could be detrimental to domestic demand in the euro areaMember States, longer-term savings interest rates are below inflation rates;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the ECB to carefully assess the risks of a future resurgence of housing bubbles owing to its ultra-low (negative) interest rate policy, especially in the light of much increased lending volumes and disproportionately high prices in the property sector, particularly in big cities, and to design specific macroprudential recommendations in this regard, not least to dispel fears of a negative impact as a result of socioeconomic structural change;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recognises the existence of distributional consequences of the ECB policies, which can be perceived as increasing inequabut believes that the politcies, but believes that the ECB policies of the ECB, within its mandate under the Treaty, are the right ones to lower the costs of credit for citizens and SMEs and enhance employment in the euro area;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Deplores the fact that some Member States are using the ultra-low (negative) interest rate policy as a pretext to defer the necessary consolidation of their primary public deficits and necessary structural reforms, particularly at central government level;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the publication of the minutes of the Council meeting and the decision to disclose the agreements on net financial assets (ANFA) between the ECB and the national central banks; encourages the ECB to pursue its transparency effort; hopes that in the near future the minutes will incorporate information on who made each statement;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recalls that the independence of the ECB for the conduct of monetary policy, as enshrined in the Treaties, and of national central banks, under Article 130 TFEU, is crucial to the objective of safeguarding price stability; asks all governments to avoid statements questioning the role played by the institution within its mandate;