Activities of Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ related to 2023/0199(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) and amending Directive 2003/87/EC, Regulations (EU) 2021/1058, (EU) 2021/1056, (EU) 2021/1057, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) 2021/1060, (EU) 2021/523, (EU) 2021/695, (EU) 2021/697 and (EU) 2021/241
Amendments (14)
Amendment 2 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The EU industry has proven its inbuilt resilience but is being challenged. High inflation, labour shortages, post- COVID supply chains disruptions, rising interest rates, and spikes in energy costs and input prices are weighing on the competitiveness of the EU industry. This is paired with strong, but not always fair, competition on the fragmented global market. The EU has already put forward several initiatives to support its industry, such as the Green Deal Industrial Plan,40 the Critical Raw Materials Act41 , the Net Zero Industry Act42 , the new Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State aid,43 and REPowerEU.44 While these solutions provide fast and targeted support, the EU needs a more structural answer to the investment needs of its industries, safeguarding cohesion and the level playing field in the Single Market and to reduce the EU’s strategic dependencies. The Union should promote a global economic system based on open and rules-based trade providing quality jobs, including fair and adequate wages, job security and access to social protection, lifelong learning opportunities, good working conditions in safe and healthy workplaces, reasonable working time with a good work-life balance, as well as trade union representation and bargaining rights, respecting and advancing social and environmental sustainability standards. __________________ 40 Communication on A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age, COM(2023) 62 final. 41 COM(2023) 160 final 42 COM(2023) 161 final 43 Communication on a Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for State Aid measures (OJ C 101, 17.3.2023, p. 3). 44 Regulation (EU) 2023/435 as regards REPowerEU (OJ L 63, 28.2.2023, p. 1).
Amendment 4 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The uptake and scaling up in the Union of deep and digital technologies, clean technologies, and biotechnologies will be essential to seize the opportunities and meet the objectives of the green and digital transitions, thus promoting the competitiveness of the European industry and its sustainability. Therefore, immediate action is required to support the development or manufacturing in the Union of such technologies, safeguarding and strengthening their value chains thereby reducing the Union’s strategic dependencies, and addressing existing labour and skills shortages in those sectors through trainings and apprenticeships and the creation of attractive, quality jobs accessible to all. Union policies should ensure regional and social cohesion in view of overcoming structural differences between regions as well as social inequalities, including inequalities between women and men and the issue of brain drain.
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Strengthening the manufacturing capacity of key technologies in the Union will not be possible without a sizeable skilled workforce. However, labour and skills shortages have increased in all sectors including those considered key for the green and digital transition and endanger the rise of key technologies, also in the context of demographic change. Therefore, it is necessary to address the root causes of such shortages and to boost the activintegration of more people to the labour market relevant for strategic sectors, in particular through the creation of quality jobs and apprenticeships for young, disadvantaged persons, in particular, young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs). At the same time, it is necessary to increase the attractiveness of technical careers, especially among women. Such support will complement a number of other actions aimed at meeting the skills needs stemming from the transition, outlined in the EU Skills Agenda.45 In this context it is also essential to support the integration of women in line with the European Strategy for Gender Equality and to address educational and occupational gender stereotypes. __________________ 45 Communication on a European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience, COM(2020) 274 final.
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) The scale of investments needed for the transition require a full mobilisation of funding available under existing EU programmes and funds, inclusive those granting a budgetary guarantee for financing and investment operations and implementation of financial instruments and blending operations. Such funding should be deployed in a more flexible manner, to provide timely and targeted support for critical technologies in strategic sectors. Therefore, a Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) should give a structural answer to the Union investment needs by helping to better channel the existing EU funds towards critical investments aimed at supporting the development or manufacturing of critical technologies, while preserving a level playing field in the Single Market, thereby preserving cohesion and aiming at a geographically balanced distribution of projects financed under the STEP in accordance with the respective programme mandates. Any project financing under the STEP should be in line with the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) A Sovereignty Seal should be awarded to projects contributing to the two STEP objectives, provided that the project has been assessed and complies with the minimum quality requirements, in particular eligibility, exclusion and award criteria, provided by a call for proposals under Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe programme,50 the EU4Health programme,51 the European Defence Fund or the Innovation Fund, and regardless of whether the project has received funding under those instruments. These minimum quality requirements will be established with a view to identify high quality projects. This Seal should be used as a quality label, to help projects attract public and private investments by certifying its contribution to the STEP objectives. Moreover, the Seal will promote better access to EU funding, notably by facilitating cumulative or combined funding from several Union instruments. __________________ 50 Regulation (EU) 2021/694 establishing the Digital Europe Programme (OJ L 166, 11.5.2021, p. 1). 51 Regulation (EU) 2021/522 establishing a Programme for the Union’s action in the field of health, EU4Health Programme (OJ L 107, 26.3.2021, p. 1).
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) In order to increase the resilience of the European Union in view of future crises, a minimum of 30% of the STEP funding should be allocated for social investments, inter alia to strengthen social welfare systems, and to provide affordable housing and social services for vulnerable groups.
Amendment 28 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) In order to help accelerate investments and provide immediate liquidity for investments supporting the STEP objectives under the ERDF, the ESF+59 and the JTF, an additional amount of exceptional pre-financing should be provided in the form of a one-off payment with respect to the priorities dedicated to investments supporting the STEP objectives. The additional pre-financing should apply to the whole of the JTF allocation given the need to accelerate its implementation and the strong links of the JTF to support Member States towards the STEP objectives. The rules applying for those amounts of exceptional pre-financing should be consistent with the rules applicable to pre-financing set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. Moreover, to further incentivise the uptake of such investments and ensure its faster implementation, the possibility for an increased EU financing rate of 100% for the STEP priorities should be available. When implementing the new STEP objectives, managing authorities are encouraged toshould apply certain social criteria or promote social positive outcomes, such as creating apprenticeships and jobs for young disadvantaged persons, in particular young persons not in employment, education or training, applying the social award criteria in the Directives on public procurement when a project is implemented by a body subject to public procurement, and paying the applicable wages as agreed through collective bargaining. __________________ 59 Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 establishing the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 21).
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. To strengthen European sovereignty and security, accelerate the Union’s green and digital transitions and enhance its competitiveness, reduce its strategic dependencies, favour a level playing field in the Single Market for investments throughout the Union, and promote inclusive access to training and attractive, quality jobs for all, the Platform shall pursue the following objectives:
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
While following this objective, the Platform shall contribute to addressing shortages of labour and skills critical to all kinds of quality jobs related to technologies listed under points (i), (ii) and (iii) and apply social criteria in order to contribute to the achievement of social positive outcomes. Addressing the skills shortages in these technologies shall be made in close cooperation with existing education and training initiatives, in particular the European Net Zero Industry Academies, not least by using the learning content developed by them.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. The social criteria referred to in paragraph 1 includes the compliance with Union and national labour law, social rights and workers’ rights as well as with applicable collective agreements. It also includes well-defined objectives in terms of skilling, upskilling and reskilling of workers, and the promotion of inclusive labour markets through measures aimed at improving gender equality and diversity at work, such as via the inclusion of people with disability or young people not in education, training or employment (NEETs), or the provision of quality and paid apprenticeships. These social criteria shall also be part of the selection and assessment in public procurement procedures.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall award a Sovereignty Seal to any action contributing to any of the Platform objectives, provided the action has been assessed and complies with the minimum quality requirements, in particular eligibility, exclusion and award criteria, provided by a call for proposals under Regulation (EU) 2021/695, Regulation (EU) 2021/694, Regulation (EU) 2021/697, Regulation (EU) 2021/522, or Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/856.
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)
(ca) ongoing and upcoming calls for proposals and calls for tender linked to the European Net Zero Academies, the deployment of their learning content and other training initiatives in net-zero technologies;
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – point 1
In addition to the pre-financing for the programme provided for in Article 90(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, where the Commission approves an amendment of a programme including one or more priorities dedicated to operations supported by the ESF+ contributing to the STEP objectives referred to in Article 2 of Regulation .../...66 [STEP Regulation], it shall make an exceptional pre-financing of 30% on the basis of the allocation to those priorities. This exceptional pre-financing shall benefit education and training providers who contribute to the deployment of the learning content of the European Net Zero Academies as well as the training of young people and the skilling, upskilling and reskilling of workers in net-zero technologies .The exceptional pre-financing shall be paid by 31 December 2024, provided the Commission has adopted the decision approving the programme amendment by 31 October 2024. __________________ 66 Regulation …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council … [insert full title and OJ reference].