28 Amendments of Aurore LALUCQ related to 2023/0138(COD)
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The involvement ofIn order to increase the democratic accountability of the fiscal governance framework, the effective involvement of the European Parliament is key as well as the structured involvement of national parliaments, local and regional authorities, social partners, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders in the European Semester is keyand in the economic governance process as a whole to ensure ownership and transparent and inclusive policy-making.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The economic governance framework of the Union should be adapted to better take into account the growing heterogeneity and challenges of fiscal positions, and public debt challenges and other vulnerabilities acrossacross the Member States, national public investment gaps and needs to achieve the priorities of the Union, together with other vulnerabilities. The framework should also provide enough flexibility and be capable of quickly adapt to unexpected and structural shocks with asymmetric impact on Member States. The strong and coordinated policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by bold, innovative and common instruments at EU level, proved highly effective in mitigating the economic and social damage of the crisis, but tturning the EU economy more resilient and credible to financial markets. The crisis resulted in a significant increase in public- and private-sector debt ratios, underscoring the importance of reducing debt ratios to prudent levels in a gradual, sustained, and growth-friendly and inclusive manner and addressing macroeconomic imbalances, while paying due attention to employment and social objectives and upward social convergence. At the same time, the economic governance framework of the Union should be adapted, to helpprovide, with a level playing field, the necessary fiscal space - at EU and Member State level to address the medium- and long-term challenges facing the Union including achieving a fair digital and green transition, including the Climate Law22 , ensuring energy security, open strategic autonomy, addressing demographic change, strengthening social and economic resilience and implementing the strategic compass for security and defence, all of which requires reforms and sustained high levels of investment in the years to come. _________________ 22 The European Climate Law sets a Union-wide climate neutrality objective by 2050 and requires Union institutions and Member States to progress in enhancing adaptive capacity, requiring significant public investment to reduce the negative socio-economic impacts of climate change on the EU and its Member States, including negative impacts on growth and fiscal sustainabilitystrengthening social and economic resilience, including the implementation of the Pillar of Social Rights, ensuring energy security, open strategic autonomy, addressing demographic.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The economic governance framework of the Union should put debt sustainability, investment and reforms, the common priorities of the Union and sustainable and inclusive growth at its core on equal footing and therefore differentiate between Member States by taking into account their public debt challenges and allowing country-specific fiscal trajectories, and ensure consistency among the Union as a whole, including the euro area.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6 a) To achieve the central objective of the reform of this framework - to strengthen public debt sustainability while promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in all Member States and respond fully to the sustained high levels of investment needed to finance EU public goods to address the current and future strategic priorities of the EU - , this framework would be better equipped, if supported by a central and permanent investment instrument. The lessons learned from the implementation of EU instruments, such as SURE or NextGenerationEU, could serve as constructive models for forthcoming investment and macroeconomic stabilisation mechanisms aimed at strengthening the fiscal governance framework.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 b (new)
Recital 6 b (new)
(6 b) In order to increase the legitimacy of the European semester, in order to account for the far-reaching consequences of measures adopted in the context of the European semester on the economic and fiscal course of action and the social fabric of the Member States and in order to ensure appropriate public scrutiny, the European semester should only be launched by a legislative act in the form of a decision on a proposal made by the Commission, based on Article 121(6) TFEU, and promptly adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council. In this decision, the European Parliament and the Council define, in the recitals, their benchmarks for the outcome of the European semester that is to be launched. The European Commission has to take due account of this decision and its recitals when adopting its communication on the Annual Sustainability Growth Survey. By the same token, the Commission takes due account of the Annual Sustainability Growth Survey, the Council’s conclusions and the European Parliament’s resolutions thereon when drafting the recommendations for the draft broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and the Union pursuant to Article 121(2) TFEU and the proposal for the guidelines for employment pursuant to Article 148(2) TFEU. The European Parliament evaluates the Commission's role in the previous European semester against the benchmark of launching decision, the Annual Sustainability Growth Survey and the Parliament’s resolution thereon when adopting the decision to launch the subsequent European semester.
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 c (new)
Recital 6 c (new)
(6 c) In order to set out the detailed arrangements of the interinstitutional relationship between the European Parliament and the European Commission in the context of the European semester, both institutions should conclude an interninstitutional agreement between each other on the involvement of the European Parliament in the drafting and approval of the Annual Sustainability Growth Survey, of the broad economic policy and employment guidelines, of the reference trajectory, of the medium-term fiscal- structural plans, of the country-specific recommendations. In order to increase the personal accountability of the Commissioner responsible for the implementation of the European semester, the President of the Commission should commit itself, as a rule, to request that Commissioner to resign, in accordance with Article 17(6) TEU and Point 5 of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission, if Parliament asks the President of the Commission to withdraw confidence in that Commissioner on the basis of a negative assessment of the outcome of the European semester. If the President refuses exceptionally to require resignation, she/he explains his/her refusal to do so before Parliament in the following part-session.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 d (new)
Recital 6 d (new)
(6 d) In order to promote upward social convergence, the multilateral surveillance procedure set out in Article 148(4) TFEU is complemented with an early warning system within the European Semester (Social Convergence Framework). Within the Social Convergence Framework, the Commission - pursuant to Article 148 TFEU - first identifies risks to upward convergence for Member States in the Joint Employment Report based on the Social Scoreboard headline indicators. In the second stage, the Commission identifies Member States requiring further examination and publishes the ‘Social Convergence Reports’ for those Member States identified as facing risks to upward social convergence. The country-specific conclusions of the multilateral surveillance activities under the new framework should provide input to the Commission’s reflection on CSR proposals.
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9 a) A Member State's debt level is only sustainable if this Member State is sufficiently protected from the risk of climate change. As such green debt in the form of European Green Bonds issued in accordance with the Regulation on European Green Bonds should be encouraged by excluding such debt from net expenditure calculation in the control account.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Cohesion policy funds are also synchronised with the European Semester process. As the long-term investment policy of the EU budget, strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion, cohesion policy investments and reforms should also be duly taken into account in the drawing of the national medium-term fiscal-structural plans. Each Member State should also explain how its national medium-term fiscal-structural plan will ensure consistency with the expenditure on EU programmes fully matched by EU funds revenue and the relevant national co- financing.
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24 a (new)
Recital 24 a (new)
(24 a) Government budgets can be brought in line either by spending reductions or revenue increases. As such this regulation should be neutral in the way governments seek to reduce their levels of debt and deficit, and should not prioritise cuts in public expenditures over increases in tax revenue;
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) Independent fiscal institutions have proven their capacity to foster fiscal discipline and strengthen the credibility of Member States’ public finances. In order to enhance national ownership, the role of independent fiscal institutions, traditionally mandated to monitor compliance with the national framework, should be expanded to the economic governance framework of the Union with an appropriate balance with the role of the European Parliament in order to increase the overall democratic accountability of the framework.
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
It lays down detailed rules concerning the content, submission, assessment and monitoring of national medium-term fiscal- structural plans as part of multilateral budgetary surveillance by the Council and the Commission so as to promote debt sustainability, with involvement of the European Parliament, so as to promote debt sustainability, investments and reforms, common priorities of the Union, and sustainable and inclusive growth and upward social convergence in the Member States and prevent the occurrence of excessive government deficits, by medium- term planning ensuring consistency among the Union, including the euro area.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
(2) ‘net expenditure’ means government expenditure net of total tax revenues, interest expenditure, discretionary revenue measures and other budgetary variables outside the control of the government as set out in Annex II, point (a);
Amendment 403 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 a (new)
Article 3 a (new)
Article3a Launching the European Semester 1. The European Semester is launched by a decision of the European Parliament and Council, on a proposal by the Commission, based on Article 121(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. 2. Following the adoption of the decision pursuant to paragraph 1, the European Commission shall adopt a communication on the Annual Sustainability Growth Survey taking due account of the decision referred to in paragraph 1. 3. When drafting the recommendations for the draft broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and the Union pursuant to Article 121(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and when drafting the proposal for the guidelines for employment pursuant to Article 148(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union the European Commission shall take due account of Annual Sustainability Growth Survey referred to in paragraph 2.
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
Amendment 468 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 483 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
(d a) the plan has sufficient investments in climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation;
Amendment 492 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
Amendment 495 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point e
Amendment 826 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point d
Amendment 835 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point e
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point e
Amendment 844 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point f
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – point f
Amendment 937 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 2
Article 21 – paragraph 2
The Commission shall set up a control account, functioning in accordance with Annex IV, and shall keep track of cumulative upward and downward deviations of actual net expenditures from the net expenditure path. Debt issued in the form of European Green Bonds according to [the Green Bonds Regulation] shall not be counted in the calculation of deviations from the net expenditure path.
Amendment 1077 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I
Annex I
Amendment 1090 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point c
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point c
Amendment 1091 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point d
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 1095 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point e
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point e
Amendment 1098 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point f
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point f