Activities of Pedro MARQUES related to 2020/0101(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Additional resources in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: REACT-EU (debate)
Amendments (13)
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) Member States have been affected by the crisis due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in an unprecedented manner. The crisis hampers growth in Member States, which in turn aggravates the serious liquidity shortages due to the sudden and important increase in public investments needed in their health systems and other sectors of their economies. This has created an exceptional situation which needs to be addressed with specific measuresand immediate measures that reach the real economy swiftly, to stimulate investment, economic growth and job creation.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) An additional exceptional amount of EUR 58 272 800 000 (in current prices) for budgetary commitment from the Structural Funds under the Investment for growth and jobs goal, for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 should be made available to support Member States and regions most impacted in crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic or preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy, with a view to deploying resources quickly to the real economy through the existing operational programmes. Resources for 2020 stem from an increase in the resources available for economic, social and territorial cohesion in the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020 whereas resources for 2021 and 2022 stem from the European Union Recovery Instrument. Part of the additional resources should be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. The Commission should set out the annual breakdown of the remaining additional resources for each Member State on the basis of an allocation method based on the latest available objective statistical data concerning Member States’ relative prosperity and the extent of the effect of the current crisis on their economies and societies. The allocation method should include a dedicated additional amount for the outermost regions given the specific vulnerability of their economies and societies. In order to reflect the evolving nature of the effects of the crisis, the breakdown for 2021 should be revised at the end of 2020 on the basis of the same allocation method, using the latest statistical data available by 15 December 2020, and the breakdown for 2022 should be revised in 2021 on the basis of the same allocation method using the latest statistical data available by 19 October 2021 to distribute the 2022 tranche of the additional resources.
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In order to complement the actions already available under the scope of support of the ERDF, as extended by Regulations (EU) 2020/460 and (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council5, Member States should continue to be allowed to use the additional resources primarily for investments in products and services for health services, for providing support in the form of working capital or investment support to SMEs, in operations contributing to the transition towards a digital and green economy, infrastructure providing basic services to citizens or economic support measures for those regions most dependent on sectors most affected by the crisis. Other investments with a proven high job creation potential, such as urban renewal, should also be supported. Technical assistance should also be supported. It is appropriate that the additional resources are focused exclusively under the new thematic objective “Fostering crisis repair in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy”, which should also constitute a single investment priority, to allow for simplified programming and implementation of the additional resources. _________________ 5 Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 508/2014 as regards specific measures to mobilise investments in the healthcare systems of Member States and in other sectors of their economies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative) (OJ L99, 31.3.2020, p. 5); Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 1301/2013 and (EU) No 1303/2013 as regards specific measures to provide exceptional flexibility for the use of the European Structural and Investments Funds in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, (OJ L 130, 23.4.2020, p. 1).
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) For the ESF, Member States should primarily use the additional resources to support job maintenance, including through short-time work schemes and support to self-employed, job creation, in particular for people in vulnerable situations, support to youth employment measures, education and training, skills development and, to enhance access to social services of general interest, including for children, and to reduce poverty, including through income support measures and the reinforcement of the public services provision. It should be clarified that in the present exceptional circumstances support to short-time work schemes for employees and the self- employed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic can be provided even when that support is not combined with active labour market measures, unless the latter are imposed by national law. Union support to those short-time work schemes should be limited in time.
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Recital 10 a (new)
(10a) In order to accelerate investment and induce economic growth and job creation, Member States could also use the additional resources to increase the co-financing rate of projects, for the share of investments executed between 1 September 2020 and 31 December 2021, even if the projects were initiated or approved before the entry into force of this regulation.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11a) In order to increase beneficiaries’ ability to initiate their investments swiftly, where applicable, Member States should provide high levels of initial pre-financing to projects.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 4
Article 92 b – paragraph 4
4. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out the breakdown of the additional resources as appropriations from the Structural Funds for 2020 and 2021 for each Member State in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in Annex VIIa. That decision shall be revised at the end of 2020 to set the breakdown of the additional resources for 2021, based on the data available by 15 December 2020, and shall be revised again in 2021 to set out the breakdown of the additional resources for 2022 based on data available by 19 October 2021.
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 13
Article 92 b – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 13
The additional resources shall be implemented in accordance with the rules of the Fund to which they are allocated or transferred, taking into account the provisions defined in the current regulation.
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 3
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 3
For the ERDF, the additional resources shall primarily be used to support investment in products and services for health services, to provide support in the form of working capital or investment support to SMEs, investments contributing to the transition towards a digital and green economy, investments in infrastructure providing basic services to citizens, and economic measures in the regions which are most dependent on sectors most affected by the crisis. Other investments with a high job creation potential, such as urban renewal, shall also be supported.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 4
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 – subparagraph 4
For the ESF, the additional resources shall primarily be used to support job maintenance, including through short-time work schemes and support to self- employed, even when that support is not combined with active labour market measures, unless the latter are imposed by national law. The additional resources shall also support job creation, in particular for people in vulnerable situations, youth employment measures, education and training, skills development, in particular to support the twin green and digital transitions, and to enhance access to social services of general interest, including for children. Poverty reduction, including through income support measures, shall also be supported, as well as the reinforcement of public service provision.
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 a (new)
Article 92 b – paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Member States may also use the additional resources to increase the co- financing rate for projects, for the share of investments executed between 1 September 2020 and 31 December 2021, even if the projects were initiated or approved before the entry into force of this regulation.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
The revised financing plan set out in Article 96(2)(d) shall set out the allocation of the additional resources for the years 2020, 2021 and, where applicable, for 2022, without identifying amounts for the performance reserve and with no breakdown per category of regions, for 2020 and shall, where applicable, be revised for 2021 and 2022.
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Article 92 b – paragraph 9 a (new)
Article 92 b – paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. By way of derogation from paragraph 9, where a Member State intends to use the additional resources for the purposes of paragraph 8a, those resources shall be programmed in priorities that include those projects that will have their co-financing rates increased.