33 Amendments of Henrike HAHN related to 2021/2061(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas growth is not an objective in itself as meeting the goals of the Green Deal and Paris agreement requires targeted fiscal efforts;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas environmental and social sustainability are interconnected with risks on long term fiscal sustainability and there is growing importance of monitoring sustainability related fiscal risks;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas post-pandemic economic recovery requires the fast implementation of the EU recovery plan, which must focus on (i) the just green transition, (ii) the digital transformation, (iii) economic cohesion, productivity and competitiveness, (iv) social and territorial cohesion, (v) institutional resilience and (vi) policies for the next generation;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the premature withdrawal of fiscal stimulus and the lack of coordination of fiscal action can exacerbate already existing divergences in the Eurozone and thus undermine its cohesiveness and integrity;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the ratio of debt to GDP was at 98 % in 2020 and 83.9 % in 2019;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the European economy is recovering from the devastating impact of the global pandemic; remains concerned about low growth potential compared to other regions in the post-pandemic recovery and risks of recession as pandemic impact continues; underlines that economic developments will be largely determined by how successfully vaccination programmes will tame the pandemic and how quickly governments will lift restrictions;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges that despite the progress with vaccination campaigns, substantial risks to the forecasts remain from an epidemiological and economic perspective, which in turn could delay the transition to a more sustainable, green, inclusive and future- proof economy; is concerned that COVID-19 will remain a public health concern, despite the high share of the population being vaccinated (including refreshed protection when needed, for example due to new variants);
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that the roll-out of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) will contribute to mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, fostering European solidarity, and advancing territorial cohesion; stresses that the successful implementation of the RRF will help to make EU economies and societies more sustainable, inclusive, resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions; notes that the facility, which is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, will provide large- scale financial support to Member States of up to EUR 672.5 billion in grants and loans to finance reforms and investments;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is pleased that, according to the Commission, economic activity in the EU is expected to pick up in all Member States, with acceleration as of the second half of 2021, as containment measures are gradually relaxed and vaccination progresses, reflecting the growth impulse stemming from the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans; remains concerned, however, that the speed of the recovery will vary across Member States and regions and that the differences in the pace of the recovery remain substantial;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines that as the recovery takes hold, its focus will have to shift from damage control to strengthening the recovery and resilience of the EU economy and that the implementation of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans under the NextGenerationEU programme should serve this purpose;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact will continue to be applied in 2022 and is expected to be deactivated as of 2023; notes, furthermorestresses, in this regards, the volatility in the evolution of the health, social and economic situations across the EU and the euro area economy; expects, therefore, that the general escape clause will remain activated as long as severe economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic persist in order to support the efforts of the Member States to sustain the recovery and strengthen economic and social resilience; considers, in particular, that the decision to deactivate the general escape clause should be taken as an overall assessment of the state of the economy based on quantitative criteria, with the level of economic activity in the EU compared to pre-crisis levels as thea key quantitative criterion; points out that country-specific situations will continue to be taken into account after the deactivation of the general escape clause; stresses that a premature application of the current fiscal rules under the Stability and Growth Pact would jeopardise both the post-covid recovery and the required transition to a carbon neutral economy; agrees with the European Fiscal Board (EFB) on the importance of having a reformed fiscal framework, prior to the deactivation of the general escape clause;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Supports that the current fiscal rules framework is unresponsive to spending quality and presents conceptual and practical weaknesses that lead to overly complex rules, weak enforcement, and effectively pro-cyclical fiscal policies; underlines that gross public investment was cut following the financial and sovereign debt crisis, and in many Member States net public investment is even negative implying that the current fiscal framework leads to too recessive consolidation measures; stresses that the challenge of the green transition requires additional public investment, which cannot be provided under current fiscal rules framework;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Reiterates its call for the revision of the EU fiscal rules framework; highlights the EFB’s opinion that some clearly delineated sustainable expenditure needs to be excluded from the renewed fiscal rules; supports that under the new fiscal framework, such favourable treatment should apply to expenditure compliant with the EU’s green and forthcoming social Taxonomy;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is convinced that coordination of national fiscal policies remains crucial in underpinning the recovery; notes that the overall fiscal stance, taking into account national budgets and the RRF, should remain supportive in 2021 and 2022 to ensure that the RRF’s impact is lasting, sustainable, and fairy distributed across societies and regions;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that Member States with high debt should use the RRF to finance additional investment to support the recovery, while pursuing a prudent fiscal policy; stresses the importance of the Member States using the potential of the RFF to support the necessary structural changes and the transformation to more green, sustainable, globally competitive, future-proof, agile industreconomies ; agrees that the growth of nationally financed current expenditure should be kept under control and be limited for Member States with high debt, allowing fiscal measures to maximise support to the recovery without pre- empting future fiscal trajectories and creating a permanent burden on public finances; calls for the spending financed by RRF loans to benefit from special treatment in the EU fiscal framework, as otherwise borrower countries will have to reduce their non-RRF spending once the currently suspended fiscal rules are re- activated; considers that the growth of nationally financed current expenditure should be countercyclical and targeted towards investments that ensure long- term environmental and social sustainability;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the fact that the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021 confirms the refocusing of the European Semester (Semester) process to place sustainability, health and the wellbeing of citizens at the centre of economic and social policies;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Stresses that the alignment of the Semester process with the EU’s long-term climate, environmental and social objectives is crucial and must be accelerated, as per the Commission’s engagements under the Green Deal;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Calls on the Commission to address the distributional consequences of the transition to a climate neutral economy in the upcoming Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2022 and to analyse the distributional fairness of taxation and social policies in relation to the transition in the country reports;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that environmental sustainability, productivity, fairness and macroeconomic stability remain the guiding principles of the EU’s economic agenda in line with the European Green Deal and the EU target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest; stresses, furthermore, that the digital transformation of our societies, businesses and economies is crucial in order to increase Europe’s productivity and competitiveness for a robust recovery, in line with the Digital Decade;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Urges the Commission to ensure Member States’ Recovery Plans investments and reforms in flagship areas, such as clean technologies and renewables, energy efficiency of buildings are fully in line with the EU’s increased 2030 climate target and the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;
Amendment 206 #
13b. Underlines the need of compliance of national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) with the requirements of the underlying Regulation, especially with regard to the ‘do no significant harm’ principle; calls, in this respect, on the Commission to apply additional scrutiny on any extension of the green tagging methodology and prevent that fossil fuel and nuclear related investments are classified as climate relevant; further stresses that all investment projects need to comply with existing environmental laws and regulations and the implementation of the RRF cannot lead to any lowering of environmental standards;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the fact that the updated New European Industrial Strategy, the European Digital Strategy and all the other relevant strategies set out the framework for speeding up Europe’s recovery and transition towards a cleanergreener, sustainable, more digital, and more resilient economic and industrial model, as well as for building a stronger and more resilient single market;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Highlights that tackling structural challenges is crucial for a long-lasting sustainable recovery and continued growth, and that implementing reforms to address structural vulnerabilities is key not only to improving the ability to withstand and cope with existing challenges but also to accomplishing the twin transitions in a sustainable and fair manner, fair and inclusive manner; points towards the lack of national ownership as one the main weaknesses of the implementation of reforms aimed at addressing structural vulnerabilities; considers instrumental in addressing this ownership gap, grounding reforms on targets and objectives, rather than the precise means to achieve those, which should remain in the discretion of Member States; considers that the Recovery and Resilient Facility offers a great opportunity to improve ownership in the future economic policy coordination;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls for the MIP recommendations to become more forward-looking and symmetrical with regard to over- and undershooting target values; stresses, in particular, that the current account thresholds should be adjusted so as to apply a symmetric approach between account surpluses and deficits;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Takes note of the Commission’s latest technical revision of the MIP indicators; supports, however, that the MIP scoreboard would benefit from further modification towards a broader and more balanced scope; suggests, in particular, its streamlining around meaningful indicators, geared towards intra-euro area imbalances rather than performance vis-à-vis the rest of the world; further calls for the introduction of indicators on households’ disposable income, poverty, capital unit costs, as well as indicators to measure progress towards investment in environmental sustainability and innovation, with respective alert thresholds signalling the build-up of imbalances; considers in particular, that inefficiencies in energy and resource usage should be targeted since they may deteriorate significantly the current account balance and competitiveness;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. WishNotes that the Commission had not presented targeted and tailor made CSRs for 2021, instead of identical CSRs for all Member States, which could have focused on areas not covered by the scope of the RRF;
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Notes that the Semester, since its inception, has been expanded to a more comprehensive framework to include, among others, issues related to the financial sector and taxation, as well as objectives of the Paris agreement, the European Green Deal and the UN SDGs;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Calls on the Commission to develop a climate indicator to assess the discrepancy between the structure of Member States’ budgets and the Paris- aligned scenario for each of their national budgets; stresses the need for this indicator to provide Member States with information on their trajectory within the framework of the Paris Agreement in order to ensure the achievement of climate-neutrality targets by 2050; expects the climate indicator to be used as a guide for the European Semester and reflected in the CSR;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Calls on the Commission to establish an inventory of all environmentally harmful subsidies, including in the form of tax rebates, that continue to exist at national level and hamper the achievement of the European Green Deal, and to monitor their phase out as soon as possible in the context of the Semester and the CSR; reiterates its call for the reorientation of taxation systems towards an increased use of environmental taxation;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Reiterates the urgency of increasing and diversifying the EU Own Resources according to the roadmap annexed to the Inter-institutionnal Agreement of 16 December 2020; stresses that the own resources shall be aligned with the Union priorities, especially the fight against climate change, the circular economy, Europe fit for the Digital Age and shall contribute to ensuring fair taxation and to the strengthening of the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion; recalls that the basket of new Own Resources listed in the IIA is non- exhaustive and that the Commission shall take due account of suggestions made by the European Parliament or the Council;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20