28 Amendments of Alex AGIUS SALIBA related to 2022/2046(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft report
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas citizens rightly expect the EU budget to respond effectively to evolving needs and to support them in 1 Recital 12the crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and the war against Ukraine will have a serious impact on the social and economic situation in the EU, inter alia ofn the Commission proposal of 14 July 2021 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Social Climate Fund (COM(2021)0568); Data from 2018. Eurostat, EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, 2018. EU’s labour markets and living conditions and risks negatively impacting growth and employment; whereas increasing inflation and, in particular, rapid increases in food and energy prices across the EU are affecting the most vulnerable populations, further increasing inequalities, and aggravating poverty and energy poverty; whereas people rightly expect the EU budget to respond effectively to evolving needs and to support them in crises;
Amendment 5 #
Draft report
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas wages are not projected to increase as fast as inflation and therefore workers are losing purchasing power and might see their living conditions worsen in the next few months; whereas this will also exert greater pressure on social policy capacity, as well as on automatic stabilisers such as national unemployment schemes;
Amendment 6 #
Draft report
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan set a target for the EU to have at least 78% of population aged 20 to 64 in employment, at least 60% of all adults in training every year and to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million, including at least 5 million children, and adopted a series of proposals in order to reach those goals by 2030; whereas in the current context, reaching the targets is becoming more challenging, given the projected increase in poverty and unemployment in the months to come; whereas social protection systems are under severe pressure to mitigate the social impact of the crisis, to give support to refugees and to ensure decent living conditions for all, as well as access to quality essential services such as health, education and housing;
Amendment 9 #
Draft report
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the central role that the EU budget plays in delivering on the Union’s political priorities, including making a success of the green and digital transitions, fostering an inclusive and socialcreating quality employment and decent working conditions, with adequate wages and social security protection, high occupational health and safety standards and gender-balanced opportunities, eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, fostering an inclusive and socially sustainable, just, and non-discriminatory recovery, promoting growth, strategic autonomy and energy independence, providing strong support forparticularly for the young generation, children, families, workers and small and medium-sized enterprises, fostering sustainable development that leaves no one behind and ensures cohesion and upward social convergence, ensuring a more robust European Health Union in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, promoting the rule of law, EU values and fundamental rights, contributing to greaterfostering greater and equal opportunities for all, and ensuring a stronger Union for its people and in the world;
Amendment 12 #
Draft report
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underscores that there is a clear consensus among the institutions that, in the wake of the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, the EU should provide the strongest possible social, economic and financial assistance to Ukraine, while addressing the economic and social consequences of the crisis within the Union and delivering the necessary support to its citizenpeople and workers; underlines, in this context, the shared Union goals of delivering on the European Green Deal and the digital transition, investing in people, promoting high employment levels, building social protection and developing a skilled and resilient workforce ready for the transition to a green and digital economy, scaling up defence cooperation and coordination, improving its strategic autonomy and energy independence and security, ensuring food security, and addressing the challenges caused by high inflation; such as increased inequalities, risk of poverty and unemployment;
Amendment 16 #
Draft report
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. PUnderlines that the flexibility available under the current 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF) is not sufficient to fully cover the financial needs generated by the war against Ukraine and the COVID pandemic; stresses that the current MFF was neither designed nor conceived in terms of size to address the new challenges and future crisis situations while simultaneously maintain investments in the EU’s programmes and policies, including important priorities like the just, green and digital transitions; points out that essential new policy initiatives put forward since the adoption of the current MFF have come with proposals to shift money away from key EU policies and objectives;
Amendment 18 #
Draft report
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. EPoints out that the economic and political context was different when the current MFF was negotiated; emphasises, therefore, that the 2021-2027 MFF is already being pushed to its limits less than two years after its adoption, a situation aggravated by the unforeseeable events of 2022; recalls that the current high inflation puts a great pressure on the ceilings in the MFF leaving no margins available to tackle the biggest challenges and long-term EU goals; points out that it is simply not equipped, in terms of size, structure or rules, to respond to a multitude of crises of this scale, nor to adequately finance new shared EU policy ambitions and the swift implementation of the requisite EU-wide solutions;
Amendment 22 #
Draft report
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Concludes that, in this context, the need for an urgent review and comprehensive, ambitious revision of the MFF is beyond any doubt and that a ‘business as usual’ approach will not remotely suffice to tackle the array of challenges posed, stimulate stagnant economies, rebuild Europe’s industrial base and tackle the social and employment crisis, as well as the refugee and migration crises and could thereby undermine confidence in the Union in the long term;
Amendment 23 #
Draft report
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission, therefore, to conduct an in-depth review of the functioning of the current MFF and proceed with a legislative proposal for a comprehensive MFF revision as soon as possible and no later than the first quarter of 2023, in order to provide additional flexibility needed in the EU budget, respond to unforeseen and urgent needs and take into account the long-term implications of the covid-19 pandemic and the war against Ukraine and the emergency measures taken;
Amendment 24 #
Draft report
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Considers that a number of issues will need to be taken into account in the MFF revision, namely the importance of increased flexibility and sufficient resources in the MFF to support sustainable growth and investment and effectively tackle the social and labour market implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war of aggression against Ukraine, especially mass unemployment; Calls therefore for reinforced MFF and increased budget to support the EU 2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development strategies objectives and initiatives set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Porto Declaration and to take up new challenges;
Amendment 26 #
Draft report
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reminds that programmes and their envelopes should be respected and reaffirms its long-standing position that new political initiatives must be financed with additional fresh money for new tasks and not to the detriment of well- established, pre-existing Union programmes or policies; is concerned about the very limited margins available under the current MFF and insists on the need to enhance spending to speed up the implementation of the EPSR Action Plan;
Amendment 30 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Stresses that as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war against Ukraine continues to create uncertainties, it is therefore important to also continue financing the recovery and to address the social and employment-related challenges resulting from the pandemic, as well as support workers and businesses in the move towards a more solidarity-based digital, greener and climate neutral economy;
Amendment 31 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Insists that ESF+ must continue playing a key role in supporting Member States, people and regions to achieve high employment levels that ensure adequate wages, decent working conditions, healthy work environments and social security coverage, fair social protection and a skilled, competitive and resilient workforce ready for the transition to a green and digital economy and for the future world of work, as well as inclusive and cohesive societies aiming to eradicating poverty and delivering on the principles set out in the EPSR; notes that the ESF+ was adopted before the current crisis situation, which currently implies higher public and social investment than planned so far and that the current financial programming risks not meeting the existing needs; calls therefore for a reinforced ESF+ supplemented by a social rescue facility with increased public support for existing instruments aimed at the poorest in our society;
Amendment 32 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Stresses furthermore that the ESF+ must provide adequate support for capacity building of the social partners and civil society organisations, including in the form of training, networking measures, and strengthening of the social dialogue, and to activities jointly undertaken by the social partners;
Amendment 33 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Is concerned that wages have been on a decreasing trend and that real wages are currently falling following a series of exceptional energy price shocks; considers that there is an urgent need for wage increases, in order to sustain internal demand and inclusive growth, and to reduce the impact of the double crisis on workers and households and that additional efforts are required within the EU budget and the MFF to help social partners in delivering wage increases through tripartite capacity building frameworks, so anticipating the expected positive impact of the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages and its swift implementation;
Amendment 34 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 e (new)
Paragraph 19 e (new)
19e. Welcomes the Union ambition to step up its efforts to fight the alarming child poverty rates and eradicate child poverty via the recently created European Child Guarantee; warns however that the current crises have and will further exacerbate the current deteriorating situation of children in or at risk of poverty; reiterates thus its call for an urgent increase of the European Child Guarantee funding with a dedicated budget of at least EUR 20 billion and insists on making this part of the revised MFF; moreover calls on the Commission to make available - and on the Member States to make full use of - all available resources for the effective implementation of the Child Guarantee including, inter alia, the ESF+, ReactEU, and the RRF;
Amendment 35 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 f (new)
Paragraph 19 f (new)
19f. Recalls that young people have been particularly affected by the COVID- 19 crisis in terms of employment, education, training and mental well- being; is concerned that the economic fallout from the current crisis resulting from the Russian aggression in Ukraine will risk leaving many more young people in Europe unemployed, with long-lasting socio-economic consequences; stresses in this regard that the revised MFF needs to prioritise support for young people and combating youth unemployment and to strengthen the existing initiatives, such as the Youth Guarantee;
Amendment 36 #
Draft report
Paragraph 19 g (new)
Paragraph 19 g (new)
19g. Recalls that the Union agencies play an important role in providing Union institutions and countries with specialised knowledge notably on employment and social issues and that they must be guaranteed the necessary resources, including staffing, to fulfil their tasks which are evolving;
Amendment 39 #
Draft report
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. RHighlights the need to fully implement the Just Transition Mechanism and the swift adoption of the Social Climate Fund by focusing on social well-being and individuals’ needs; reiterates its position that the Social Climate Fund must be fully incorporated into the EU budget and within the MFF, without negatively impacting other programmes and funds under this heading, bearing in mind the importance of ensuring food security and delivering on the Green Deal; calls for the ceiling of Heading 3 to be adjusted accordingly;
Amendment 47 #
Draft report
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Stresses that, while crisis response measures are necessary and useful, cohesion policy is not a crisis response tool; points out that the EU cohesion policy is essential to support regional development, sustainable growth and quality employment and is concerned that cohesion policy is increasingly being used to reinforce other policies and to make up for shortcomings in budgetary flexibility or crisis response mechanisms in the MFF; emphasises that cohesion policy is one of the priorities of the Union, has long-term investment objectives linked to the EU’s strategic agenda, in particular the European Green Deal and the Digital Agenda, and should not be used to replenish funding for other policies; calls, therefore, for cohesion funding levels to be preserved in the budget;
Amendment 48 #
Draft report
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Calls to reinforce measures for income protection, fight against poverty, just transition and to help alleviate the impact of high levels of inflation on the poorer workers and households; stresses that the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE) has proved to be successful in fighting unemployment as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and believes that additional efforts are needed to prevent unemployment and underemployment coming from the effects of the war, by refinancing and making SURE permanent to support employment support measures in the Member States and expanding the scope of SURE to support short time work schemes and workers that would be temporarily laid- off;
Amendment 49 #
Draft report
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Insists that all national and EU emergency measures, particularly those connected to employment protection and income compensation continue and are refinanced as long as the socio-economic consequences of the war continue to have a negative impact on the labour market and until the full recovery of the economy and the stabilisation of jobs; calls also to introduce a permanent instrument in form of a European Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme to protect employment and fight against unemployment, including the preservation of jobs and workers’ income in situations of external shocks;
Amendment 50 #
Draft report
Paragraph 29 c (new)
Paragraph 29 c (new)
29c. Calls in this regard for a temporary European social resilience package coordinating a set of measures and means to strengthen social welfare and social protection systems in the EU, and the creation of a new EU fund for social emergencies (a ‘social rescue facility’), for crises situations of a different nature, which are becoming increasingly multi-faceted, hybrid and complex;
Amendment 51 #
Draft report
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Recalls that the special instruments sit outside the MFF ceilings, therefore ensuring a degree of flexibility and the ability to respond to crises, and are only mobilised in the event of a budgetary authority decision; points to the extensive use made of the special instruments in the first two years of the MFF; insists that all existing shortcomings of the emergency measures need to be addressed and fully resolved, particularly in terms of adequacy and universality of coverage and access;
Amendment 53 #
Draft report
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Amendment 54 #
Draft report
Paragraph 36 b (new)
Paragraph 36 b (new)
36b. Believes that addressing social gaps with EU and governments’ budgets through social investment in key policy areas improving the living and working conditions for people affected by the high inflation, the war against Ukraine, the health crisis or by transition of the accelerating green and digital transformations should be at the heart of the recovery strategy of the EU; to this end, considers that detecting social risks and taking into account the divergent employment effects and long-term unemployment across particular industries should be adequately addressed; calls therefore on the Commission to present a Sustainable Development Goal expenditure and tracking methodology for the social expenditure in the EU budget based on the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and a Social Scoreboard and well-being indicators to measure the overall impact of different funds, instruments and facilities financed under the MFF;
Amendment 55 #
Draft report
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Stresses that the overall EU budget under the current MFF is not big enough to deliver ambitious green and digital transformation and adequate resources for cohesion, upward social convergence and support of the European social model; insists on strengthening social priorities and social investments in the revision of the MFF and the post -2027 MFF, ensuring strong ambitious social dimension and reinforced the ESF+ and social protection systems, fully implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Agenda 2030 of the UN;
Amendment 56 #
Draft report
Paragraph 37 b (new)
Paragraph 37 b (new)
37b. Calls to reinforcing social partners involvement, and the partnership principle, in the design, governance and implementation of MFF, in the design and implementation of the investment’s priorities, and in the monitoring of the results particularly in terms of job protection, quality job creation, just transitions and protection of workers’ and social rights; insist on making the respect for social dialogue, collective bargaining and workplace democracy compulsory conditions for funding;