Activities of Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ related to 2020/0006(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Just Transition Fund (debate)
Amendments (45)
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy constitutes one of the most important policy objectives for the Union. On 12 December 2019, the European Council endorsed the objective of achieving a climate-neutral Union by 2050, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. While fighting climate change and environmental degradation will benefit all in the long term and provides opportunities and challenges for all in the medium term, not all regions and Member States start their transition from the same point or have the same capacity to respond. Some are more advanced than others, whereas the transition entails a wider social and economic impact for those regions that rely heavily on fossil fuels - especially coal, lignite, energy peat and oil shale - or, greenhouse gas intensive industries or industries whose products are impacted by the transition to EU climate neutrality. Such a situation not only creates the risk of a variable speed transition in the Union as regards climate action, but also of growing disparities between regions, detrimental to the objectives of social, economic and territorial cohesion.
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In order to be successful, the transition has to be fair and socially acceptable for all. No Member State nor region should be left behind in the transition to climate neutrality. Therefore, both the Union and the Member States must take into account its economic and social implications from the outset, and deploy all possible instruments to mitigate adverse consequences. The Union budget has an important role in that regard.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation establishes the Just Transition Fund (‘JTF’) which is one of the pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism implemented under cohesion policy. The aim of the JTF is to mitigate the adverse effects of the climate transition by supporting the most affected territories and workers concerned and creating a balanced socio-economic transition that avoids creating or furthering the risks of social precarity or an unstable business environment in these territories. In line with the JTF specific objective, actions supported by the JTF should directly contribute to alleviate the impact of the transition by financing the diversification, reconversion and modernisation of the local economy and by mitigating the negative repercussions on employment. This is reflected in the JTF specific objective, which is established at the same level and listed together with the policy objectives set out in Article [4] of Regulation EU [new CPR].
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) In view of the importance of tackling climate change in line with the Union’s commitments to implement the Paris Agreement, the commitment regarding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the increased ambition of the Union as proposed in the European Green Deal, the JTF should provide a key contribution to mainstream climate actions. Resources from the JTF own envelope are additional and come on top of the investments needed to achieve the overall target of 25% of the Union budget expenditure contributing to climate objectives. Resources transferred from the ERDF and ESF+ will contribute fully toVoluntary transfers of resources from the ERDF and ESF+ decided by each Member State will complement the achievement of this target.
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The resources from the JTF should complement the resources available under cohesion policy and should not lead to cuts or compulsory transfers from the EU funds covered by the Regulation.../…[new CPR].
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Transitioning to a climate-neutral economy is a challenge for all Member States. It will be particularly demanding for those Member States that rely heavily on fossil fuels or, have greenhouse gas intensive industrial activities or have industrial activities whose products are impacted by the transition to EU climate neutrality, which need to be phased out or which need to adapt due to the transition towards climate neutrality and that lack the financial means to do so. The JTF should therefore cover all Member States, but the distribution of its financial means should reflect the capacity of Member Statesstarting position of each Member State in the energy transition process as well as their capacity to finance the necessary investments to cope with the transition towards climate neutrality.
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) This Regulation identifies types of investments for which expenditure may be supported by the JTF. All supported activities should be pursued in full respect of the climate and environmental, cohesion, industrial, mobility and energy policy priorities of the Union. The list of investments should include those that support local economies and are sustainable in the long- term, taking into account all the objectives of the Green Deal. The projects financed should primarily focus on mitigating negative economic and social impacts of the transition and contribute to a gradual transition to a climate-neutral and circular economy taking into account the economic, social and energy characteristics of each Member State. Investments in transitional energy sources such as natural gas should be eligible for support if such investments lead to a substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and allow for the use of renewable gas as a sustainable alternative. For declining sectors, such as energy production based on coal, lignite, peat and oil shale or extraction activities for these solid fossil fuels, support should be linkallowed toif the phasing out of the activity and the corresponding reduction in the employment levelterritorial just transition plan describes the phase-out strategy. As regards transforming sectors with high greenhouse gas emission levels, support should promote new activities through the deployment of new market-ready technologies, new processes or products, leading to significant emission reduction, in line with the EU 2030 climate objectives and EU climate neutrality by 205013 while maintaining and enhancing employment and avoiding environmental degradation. Particular attention should also be given to activities enhancing innovation and research inas well as deployment of advanced and sustainable technologies, as well as in the fields of digitalisation and connectivity, smart and sustainable mobility provided that such measures help mitigate the negative side effects of a transition towards, and contribute to, a climate- neutral and circular economy. _________________ 13 As set out in “A Clean Planet for all European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy”, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank - COM(2018) 773 final.
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) To protect citizens who are most vulnerable to the climate transition, the JTF should also cover the up-skilling and reskilling of the affected workers, up to 25% of the total amount of the JTF, with the aim of helping them to adapt to new employment opportunities, through European certified skill classes that include both theoretical and practical modules, as well as providing job- search assistance to jobseekers and their active inclusion into the labour market.
Amendment 211 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to enhance the economic diversification of territories impacted by the transition, the JTF should provide support to productive investment in SMEs, up-to at least 50% of the total amount of the JTF. Productive investment should be understood as investment in fixed capital or immaterial assets of enterprises in view of producing goods and services thereby contributing to gross-capital formation and employment. For enterprises other than SMEs, productive investments should only be supported if they are necessary for mitigating job losses resulting from the transition, by creating or protecting a significant number of jobs and they do not lead to or result from relocation. Investments in existing industrial facilities, including those covered by the Union Emissions Trading System, should be allowed if they contribute to the transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050 and go substantially below the relevant benchmarks established for free allocation under Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council14 and if they result in the protection of a significant number of jobs. Any such investment should be justified accordingly in the relevant territorial just transition plan. In order to protect the integrity of the internal market and cohesion policy, support to undertakings should comply with Union State aid rules as set out in Articles 107 and 108 TFEU and, in particular, support to productive investments by enterprises other than SMEs should be limited to enterprises located in areas designated as assisted areas for the purposes of points (a) and (c) of Article 107(3) TFEU. _________________ 14Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to provide flexibility for the programming of the JTF resources under the Investment for jobs and growth goal, it should be possible to prepare a self- standing JTF programme or to programme JTF resources in one or more dedicated priorities within a programme supported by the European Regional Development Fund (‘ERDF’), the European Social Fund Plus (‘ESF+’) or the Cohesion Fund. In accordance with Article 21a of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], JTF resources shouldcan be reinforced with complementaryvoluntary transfers of funding from the ERDF and the ESF+. The respective amounts transferred from the ERDF and the ESF+ should be consistent with the type of operations set out in the territorial just transition plans.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The JTF support should be conditional on the real need for external support in the green transition and a present dependence on unsustainable business cycles, and provide the required support for local authorities, economic operators and society to begin the effective implementation of a transition process in a specific territory in order to achieve a climate-neutral economy. In that regard, Member States should prepare, in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and supported by the Commission, territorial just transition plans, detailing the transition process, consistently with, and possibly going further than, their National Energy and Climate Plans. To this end, the Commission should set up a Just Transition Platform, which would build on the existing platform for coal regions in transition to enable bilateral and multilateral exchanges of experience on lessons learnt and best practices across all affected sectors.
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The territorial just transition plans should identify the territories most negatively affected, where JTF support should be concentrated and describe specific actions to be undertaken to reach a climate-neutral economy, notably as regards the conversion or closure of facilities involving fossil fuel production or other greenhouse gas intensive activities or activities whose products are impacted by the transition to EU climate neutrality. Those territories should be precisely defined and correspond to NUTS level 3 regions or should be parts thereof. The plans should detail the challenges and needs of those territories and identify the type of operations needed in a manner that ensures the coherent development of climate-resilient economic activities that are also consistent with the transition to climate-neutrality and the objectives of the Green Deal. Only investments in accordance with the transition plans should receive financial support from the JTF. The territorial just transition plans should be part of the programmes (supported by the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund or the JTF, as the case may be) which are approved by the Commission.
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation establishes the Just Transition Fund (‘JTF’) to provide support to territories, people and economic activities facing serious socio-economic challenges deriving from the transition process towards a climate-neutral economy of the Union by 2050.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
In accordance with the second subparagraph of Article [4(1)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], the JTF shall contribute to the single specific objective ‘enabling regions, economic operators and people to address the social, economic and environmental impacts of the transition towards a climate- neutral economy’.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. The JTF shall support the Investment for jobs and growth goal in all Member States. The JTF shall prioritise regions heavily dependant on fossil fuel, with greenhouse gas intensive industrial activities or with industrial activities whose products are impacted by the transition to EU climate neutrality.
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. The JTF shall only support activities that are directly linked to its specific objective as set out in Article 2 and which contribute to the implementation of the territorial just transition plans established in accordance with Article 7.
Amendment 357 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
In accordance with paragraph 1, the JTF shall exclusively support the following activities:
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) productive investments iand working capital in SMEs, and in enterprises other than SMEs, including start-ups, leading to economic diversification, modernisation and reconversion;
Amendment 381 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) investments in the creation of new firms, including through business incubators, established and managed by economic operators, NGOs and specialised universities, and consulting services;
Amendment 407 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
(d) investments in the deployment of technology and infrastructures for affordable clean energy, in greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy efficiency and renewable energy, including SMEs and the households of the people directly affected by the transition;
Amendment 417 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) investments related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of gas, provided that it is used as a bridging technology replacing coal, lignite, peat, or oil shale, and demonstrates it delivers significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. These investments should allow for the use of renewable gas at a later stage.
Amendment 427 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d b (new)
(db) investment in district heatings;
Amendment 428 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d c (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d c (new)
(dc) ensuring the security of energy supply;
Amendment 429 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d d (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d d (new)
(dd) investments in the deployment of technology and infrastructures including charging infrastructures for electric vehicles to enable affordable, clean, smart and sustainable mobility contributing to greenhouse gas emission reduction and to the diversification of mobility solutions;
Amendment 442 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point f
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point f
(f) investments in regeneration and decontamination of sites and brown fields, land restoration and repurposing projects; elaborated and implemented by environmental NGOs or specialised companies, including investments in preparation of their support and background documentation and analysis;
Amendment 483 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point h
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point h
(h) upskilling and reskilling of workers through European certified skills classes that include both theoretical and practical modules;
Amendment 511 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point j a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point j a (new)
(ja) innovative infrastructure projects leading directly to regional growth and enhancing economic diversification, with the aim of achieving climate neutrality;
Amendment 526 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Furthermore, investments should also enable the financing of costs of expertise and analysis to help to achieve the goals of a successful transformation in already existing or well-established companies under points c) to g).
Amendment 572 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) investment related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels, except for investment defined by Article 4(2)(da);
Amendment 605 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
The JTF resources shall be programmed for the categories of regions where the territories or economic activities concerned are located, on the basis of the territorial just transition plans established in accordance with Article 7 and approved by the Commission, as part of a programme or a programme amendment. The resources programmed shall take the form of one or more specific programmes or of one or more priorities within a programme.
Amendment 636 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. The JTF priority or priorities shall comprise the JTF resources consisting of all or part of the JTF allocation for the Member States and the resources voluntarily transferred in accordance with Article [21a] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR]. The total of the ERDF and ESF+ resources transferred to the JTF priority shall be at least equal to one and a halfup to three times the amount of support from the JTF to that priority but shall not exceed three times that amount.
Amendment 653 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall prepare, together with the relevant authorities of the territories concerned, and with the assistance of the European Investment Bank, where relevant to ensure complementarity with the other pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism, one or more territorial just transition plans covering one or more affected territories corresponding to level 3 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics (‘NUTS level 3 regions’) as established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 868/201417 or parts thereof, in accordance with the template set out in Annex II. Those territories shall be those most negatively affected based on the economic and social impacts resulting from the transition, in particular with regard to expected job losses in fossil fuel production and use and the transformation needs of the production processes of industrial facilities with the highest greenhouse gas intensity. _________________ 17 Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (OJ L 154 21.6.2003, p. 1).
Amendment 689 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) a justification for identifying the territories or economic activities as most negatively affected by the transition process referred to in point (a) and to be supported by the JTF, in accordance with paragraph 1;
Amendment 695 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) an impact assessment of the transition challenges faced by the most negatively affected territories, including the social, economic, and environmental impact of the transition to a climate-neutral economy, identifying the potential number of affected jobs and job losses, the development needs and objectives, to be reached by 2030 linked to the transformation or closure of greenhouse gas-intensive activities in those territories;
Amendment 713 #
Amendment 730 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point h
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point h
(h) where support is provided to productive investments to enterprises other than SMEs, an exhaustive list of such operations and enterprises and a justification of the necessity of such support through a gap analysis demonstrating that the expected job losses would exceed the expected number of jobs created in the absence of the investmentdemonstrating its necessity for the protection of a number of jobs;
Amendment 735 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point i
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point i
(i) where support is provided to investments to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC, an exhaustive list of operations to be supported and a justification that they contribute to a transition to a climate neutral economy and lead to a substantial reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions going substantially below the relevant benchmarks established for free allocation under Directive 2003/87/EC and provided that they are necessary for the protection of a significant number of jobs;
Amendment 747 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. The preparation and implementation of territorial just transition plans shall involve the relevant partners in accordance with Article [6] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR]. The Managing Authorities implementing the JTF shall coordinate with the implementing partners and financing partners under the other pillars of the JTM, as applicable.
Amendment 753 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Territorial just transition plans shall be consistent with the territorial strategies referred to in Article [23] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], with relevant smart specialisation strategies, the NECPs and the European Pillar of Social Rights. They shall also provide elements of information regarding other pillars of the JTM.
Amendment 772 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. For output indicators, baselines shall be set at zero. The milestones set for 2024 and targets set for 2029 shall be cumulative. Targets shall not be revised after the request for programme amendment submitted pursuant to Article [14(2)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] has been approved by the Commission.
Amendment 777 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. Where a JTF priority supports the activities referred to in points (h), (i) or (j) of Article 4(2), data on the output indicators for participants shall only be transmitted where all the data relating to that participant, required in accordance with Annex III are available.
Amendment 794 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Where the Commission concludes, based on the examination of the final performance report of the programme, that there is a failure to achieve at least 650% of the target established for one or more output or result indicators for the JTF resources, it may make financial corrections pursuant to Article [98] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] by reducing the support from the JTF to the priority concerned in proportion to the achievements.
Amendment 821 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point a – point ii
(ii) employment in mining and energy use of coal and lignite (weighting 25%),
Amendment 845 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point b
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) the allocations resulting from the application of point (a) are adjusted to ensure that no Member State receives an amount exceeding EUR 2 billion, or 5 billion for a Member State that can justify with clear indicators that it holds a larger proportion of vulnerable regions where the transition to an environmentally sustainable energy policy would create tangible socio-economic risks above the average of other Member States. The amounts exceeding EUR 2 billion per Member State, or 5 billion for heavily affected Member States, are redistributed proportionally to the allocations of all other Member States. The Member States shares are recalculated accordingly;
Amendment 879 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – point 2 – point 2.3
Annex II – point 2 – point 2.3