Activities of Eugen TOMAC related to 2022/2151(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social priorities for 2023
Amendments (39)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
— having regard to Articles 9 and 149 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
— having regard to European Labour Authority Report on Labour Shortages and Surpluses, November 2021;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas recent studies have shown that social inequalities are the biggest concern of people in the EU; whereas high income inequalities can have damaging effects on economic growth and endanger, competitiveness and upward social cohesionnvergence;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas in-work poverty remains a challenge for themany Member States;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas climate change and environmental destructionthe COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic and social consequences caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have exacerbated already existing inequalities and disproportionately affected the poor and the most vulnerable groups in society;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas rapid increases in energy prices and high inflation across the EU are placing a burden on households and SMEs;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the new digital economy should generate benefits for society as a whole by improving quality of life and working conditions and, preserving as well as creating new employment opportunities;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights the fact that the swift and coordinated EU policy action during the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented economic shocks and protected the population from the most adverse consequences of the crisis; believes that, although the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine poses multiple new economic, social and geopolitical challenges to the EU economy and society, other, longer- standing social challenges such as poverty, social exclusion and inequalities continue to grow and must be tackled with appropriate actions by the Member States; stresses that anticipating and better adapting the society to the labour market leads to more resilient economies in view of future economy shocks which require active labour market policies, continuous upskilling and reskilling of workers and strong social protection systems;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Endorses the Commission’s and the Member States' ambition of further strengthening coordinated EU and national policy responses to mitigate in the short term the burden that high energy prices, inflation, supply-chain disruptions, rising debt levels and the increased cost of borrowing are placing on European households and businesses; highlights the fact that social, economic and structural investment iss are essential to allow forenable sustainable growtheconomic growth and a highly competitive social market economy in the medium and long term and that national welfare systems have an essential stabilisationupport function;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that public services are pillars of democracy and a bulwark against populism, ensure core democratic values including respect for fundamental and human rights and play a crucial role in overcoming crises; recalls for the revision of the legal fthat social inclusion services often serve as an entry point into the national social protection system and therefore, vulnerable people with no or limited access to targeted social services have their access to other important public services, such as healthcare or training, negatively impacted; calls for the Commission to consider the possibility of a revision of the EU Quality Framework for services of general economic interest to ensure that households in need ha(SGI) to help support the Member States to improve access to good- quality essential services, particularly housing,such as energy, transport, water, the internet and sasanitation, financial services and digital communitcations;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports a more democratic European Semester process, with Parliament strongly involved in setting economic and social policy priorities as well as in the taking of economic governance decisions, especially those with a strong social dimension; calls on the Commission; to considers that the Europea how to strengthen Sdemester process should follow the community method and be agreed between the Council and Parliamentocratic decision-making in the context of the European Semester process;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Highlights the need to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for companies, especially for SMEs and start- ups, while maintaining the highest standards for consumers, workers, health and environmental protection;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Supports a shift towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth model, strengthening the sustainable developmentcompetitiveness and resilience of the EU’s economy and, with special attention for SMEs as the backbone of our economy, and a competitiveness check; the full implementation of the EPSR, including its relevant headline targets for 2030, a social progress protocol and promoting future- oriented investments focused on the just green and digital transitions, with a strong social dimension, including gender equality;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the revised European Semester process, with a broader scope and enhanced multilateral surveillance to take into account the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, with a broader scope and enhanced multilateral surveillance; the European Semester will complement the implementation of Europe’s Recovery Plan, reforms and investments through the national Recovery and Resilience Plans, Europe’s clean energy transition through REPowerEU, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes the new dual function of the national reform programmes (NRPs); reminds the Member States of their obligation to undertake reforms and make investments that contribute to the implementation of the EPSR through their national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs), as well as their commitment to continuing to deepen this io promote the Union’s economic, social and territorial cohesion by improving the resilience, crisis preparedness, adjustment capacity and growth potential of the Member States, by mitigating the social and economic impact of that crisis, in particular on women, by contributing to the implementation of the EPSR through their national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs), as well as their commitment to contribute to upward economic and social convergence, restoring and promoting sustainable growth and the integration of the economies of the Union, fostering high quality empleoyment creation, at EU and natnd contributing to the strategic autonomy of the Union al levels in order to reduce inequalities; ongside an open economy and generating European added value;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Reminds that the European Semester should further integrate the principles of the EPSR, with particular attention to be given to principle no 11 regarding childcare and support to children; the availability of affordable, accessible and quality services such as early childhood education and care, out- of-school care, education, training, health, as well as access to adequate housing and healthy nutrition are necessary conditions for ensuring equal opportunities, fighting poverty and social exclusion; addressing child poverty requires appropriately funded, comprehensive and integrated measures, together with the implementation of the European Child Guarantee at national levels; reiterates that Member States should spend more than 5% of their allocated ESF+ funds on fighting child poverty and promoting children’s well- being;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Is concerned of the reported labour shortages in many occupations, in particular those related to STEM qualifications and healthcare; highlights that these shortages are mainly due to underlying structural developments in the European economy and society and stresses the need to strengthen EU education programs while at the same time aligning training and education with the needs of the economy and the society of the future, supporting employees and teachers to train the right skills, as well as investments in the digital infrastructure; highlights in this regard that a significant part of the funds provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility should be spent on upskilling and lifelong learning;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is concerned that the constraints imposed by the stability and convergence programmes mighNotes that the rules of the stability and convergence programmes aim to prevent the emergence or exacerbation of fiscal difficulties of the Member States and ensure sound fiscal health; underlines that the rules should not hinder the proper implementation of severalthe principles of the EPSR;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls onWelcomes the Commission to present a regulation on a social convergence framework, establishing a new mechanism to monitor social concommunication setting out the orientations for a reformed EU economic govergenance risks, prevent other policy actions or economic shocks from having negative social spillover effects on upward social convergence, detect potential setbacks for the proper implementation of the EPSR and establish mandatory social targets to be achieved; believes that social diframework1a; _________________ 1a Commission communication of 9 November 2022 on orientations for a reform of the EU economic govergenance risks should be included in the country-specific recommendations and taken into account when defining fiscal adjustment paths; framework (COM(2022)0583), https://economy- finance.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022- 11/com_2022_583_1_en.pdf
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Highlights the high level of regulatory burden on European employers and its negative impact on competitiveness, growth and quality job creation; continues to support the ‘One In, One Out’ principle and calls on the Commission to develop a more ambitious Better Regulation agenda, which should lead to a reduction of the regulatory burden for European employers of at least 20%;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Underlines the importance to strengthen the competiveness of European economies and develop the right skills set for the future, in order to keep up with the demands of a modern labour market; highlights the need to reform and update education and training systems to adapt to the qualifications of workers to the requirements of the labour market, including the green and digital transitions, and to make Europe the entrepreneurial hotspot in the world;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the importance of better assessing the distributional impactimpact on competitiveness, economic growth and upward social governance of existing and new policies and reforms monitored through the European Semester process; calls on the Commission to include distributional impact assessment requirements in the NRPs; points out that fiscal consolidation can only be fair and sustainable if the distributional impact of reallocated expenditure or shifts in revenues is well calibrated and contributesreminds Member States of the requirements to include in the NRPs an explanation of how the measures are expected to contribute to gender equality and equal opportunities for all and the mainstreaming of those objectives; points out that economic growth and sound fiscal policies are prerequisites to sustainable labour markets, job creation and to reducing inequalities;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that the revised social scoreboard doesmay not propersufficiently cover the 20 EPSR principles; calls, therefore, for the Commission to assess whether a further revision and improvement of the social scoreboard and the inclusis necessary, including the addition of relevant indicators to identify social divergences through a dynamic assessment; draws attention to the importance of including indicators that fully reflect the trends in and causes of inequality, such as indicators on good- quality employment, wealth distribution, access to good-quality public services, adequate pensions, minimum income schemes, occupational diseases (including mental healthequal opportunities, fair working conditions) and unemployment benefits, as well as indicators measuring the social impact of environmental degradation and climate changesocial protection and inclusion; reminds the Commission that the ‘at risk of poverty or social exclusion’ (AROPE) indicator does notmay not sufficiently capture the wider and more complex causes of inequalities;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Acknowledges the Commission proposal for the revision of the economic governance framework to strengthen debt sustainability and enhance sustainable and inclusive growth through investment and reforms; points out that, with the objective to facilitate economic surveillance and to ensure equal treatment; points out that the Member States' cyclical expenditure for unemployment as well as other social expenditure and investment required tomust comply with NRRP milestones must be excluded from excessive-deficit calculations in order to increasthe European economic governance framework and the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact; calls on the Member states to ensure fairness in the green and digital transitions, social resilience and the implementation of the EPSR, while ensuring the sustainability of public finances in the Member States;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is concerned about the current economic landscape, forecasts for the near future and the impact that wage increases below inflation could have on living standards in the EU; calls on the Member States to rapidly implement the provisions established in the Minimum Wages Directive1 , so that minimum wages are increased to at least 60 % of a country’sWelcomes the Annual Sustainable Growth Survey 2023 and notes that despite the current economic shock caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, GDP growth in the EU remained robust in the first half of 2022 and stayed positive in the third quarter with unemployment reaching a record low and employment a record high; notes the forecasts that EU GDP growth will slow from 3.3 % in 2022 to only 0.3 % in 2023, but picking up to 1.6 % in 20242a; is concerned of the impact of the high inflation on wages and on living standards in the EU; calls on the Member States to rapidly implement the provisions established in the Minimum Wages Directive1 , so that Member States with statutory minimum wages establish necessary procedures for setting and updating minimum statutory minimum wages, where Member States may use indicative reference values commonly used at international level such 60 % of a gross median salary orwage and 50 % of the gross average; calls on the Commission to monitor the state of play in relation to minimum wages and ensure that low-, and/or indicative reference values used at national level; calls on the Member States to ensure that adequate minimum wages, with aim to achieve a decendt salaries, and particularly minimum wages, reflect the soaring cost of livingtandard of living, reducing in- work poverty as well as promoting social cohesion and upward social convergence, and reducing the gender pay gap; _________________ 1 Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union, OJ L 275, 25.10.2022, p. 33. 2a Commission Annual Sustainable Growth Survey 2023
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the agreement on the adoption of the Social Climate Fund; warns that both the aims and the funding of this instrument make it clearly insufficient to address thunderlines that the general objective is to contribute to a social fair transition towards climate unequal impact of climate change and environmental degradation on different income groupsutrality that leaves no one behind; highlights the urgeimportancye of adopting instruments that enableing all parts of society to enjoy the benefits of a climate-neutral economy, and that protect households from the impact of both climate change and pollution and prevent them from suffering any negative social consequences that might arise from the implementation of European Green Deal policieso support vulnerable households, vulnerable micro-enterprises and vulnerable transport users, especially those in energy poverty or mobility poverty; insists that social and environmental policies and objectives must be integrated on an equal footing with the economic ones;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – introductory part
Paragraph 15 – introductory part
15. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to lay the foundations for the development of greeMember States to invest in social protection schemes2 at national level with EU funding support, in order to strengthen social resilience against the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation by addressing the side effects of green policies on jobs and living conditions; points out that these schemes should include the following aspects: _________________ 2 https://www.social- protection.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action ?ressource.ressourceId=57240.nd promote quality jobs and decent working conditions;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point a
Paragraph 15 – point a
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point b
Paragraph 15 – point b
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point c
Paragraph 15 – point c
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point d
Paragraph 15 – point d
d) social assistance benefits for people affected by climate shocks, supporting their income and food security;eleted
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point e
Paragraph 15 – point e
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to propose a new directive on mental health, toLooks forward to the Commission’s forthcoming comprehensive approach to mental health in response to the European Parliament own-initiative report on mental health in the Digital World of Work, and underlines it needs to address matters related to the prevention and management of the psychosocial risks at work and ensure the well-being of workers;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights that, with the working- age population shrinking, policies that bring more people into the labour market are essential; Member States should identify specific measures in the workforce demography while facilitating youth employment and pre-retirement transition, together with the transfer of knowledge and experience from one generation to the next one;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is concerned about the discrepancies between the analysis and recommendations of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) on skills policy and the policies implemented at EU and national levels, which might be causing inefficiencies; draws attention to the evidence laid out in Cedefop reports3 regarding skills underutilisation, overqualification, low skills demands and limited complexity in many European jobs and the relatively modest level of digital skills demands in Europe, and that while 45 % of adult workers acknowledge they need new knowledge and skills to work with digital technology, only one in four took part in digital skills training in 2020-2021, which could hinder the digital transition; calls on the Commission to present proposals and coordinatecoordinate European and national policy actions that contribute to increasing the number of more digitally complex jobs and facilitate the design of incentives that boost the digital upskilling of workers; _________________ 3 https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/3092_ en.pdf.
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls that Cedefop’s reports stress that recruitment difficulties (including owing to skills mismatches) also reflect to a considerable extent poor job quality, a lack of people-oriented HR policy and untapped job design opportunities; calls on the Commission to revise its upskilling and reskilling policies in light of Cedefop’s findings, for instance by elevating skills demands and job complexity at European firms via demand-side interventions;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls for the EU industrial strategyUrges the Commission to develop an EU strategy to boost industrial competitiveness, trade and quality jobs; one of the objectives of this strategy should be to ensure that the jobs of tomorrow are not only green and digital, but above all decent, well paid and based onwith good working conditions, with health and safety at work, robust social protection and; Member States should also ensure robust national social protection systems and ensure that work-place policies are inclusive and respecting gender equality; calls also for iton European employers to ensure that peopletheir employees are adequately remunerated, in line with their qualifications and certified competences;