Activities of Alin MITUȚA related to 2021/2251(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the implementation report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility
Amendments (27)
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that by mid-February 2022, all Member States but one had submitted national recovery and resilience plans (NRRPs), requesting in total EUR 337.5 billion in grants and EUR 166 billion in loans; further highlights that four of these NRRPs are pending assessment by the Commission;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas, according to the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, Member States have put forward 228 measures with a focus on supporting children and youth; whereas 74% of the measures focus on general, vocational and higher education and training capacity, as well as accessibility, affordability, quality and inclusiveness, including digitisation and infrastructure, the performance of education and increasing capacity in higher education; whereas 14% of the measures that Member States included are dealing with early childhood education and care, early school leaving and child poverty; whereas 12% of the measures focus on tackling youth unemployment through job creation, hiring, job transition incentives and support for self-employment;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Notes that out of EUR 385.8 billion available for loans, seven Member States have requested loans amounting EUR 166 billion, leaving a considerable amount available for Member States to request loans at a later stage if needed; urges the European Commission to explore ways in which unused loans could address the economic, social and energy consequences impacting Member States, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the RRF created an unprecedented structure adapted to addressing the complex effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economy, society and institutions; whereas the RRF will drive Member States' reforms and investments in line with the EU’s priorities as set out in the six pillars;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned about the fact that all Member States have received a B-rating for the criteria evaluating whether the estimated total costs of the NRRPs are reasonable; calls on the Commission to ensure that costs are plausible and that proper cost analysis is being conducted in order to tackle fraud and corruption; urges the Commission to evaluate milestones before accepting payment requests and performing disbursements of funds;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas social and territorial cohesion is one of the six pillars of the RRF; whereas creating and fostering high- quality employment creation is one of the objectives included in the RRF Regulation; whereas this should be achieved through a comprehensive package of reforms and investments in order to promote social impact investments, as well as stable employments contracts, decent wages, collective bargaining and social protection coverage;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard that provides an overview of the progress made in the implementation of the NRRPs and thereby fosters the transparency, public scrutiny and accountability of the Facility; welcomes the development of other monitoring tools on implementation at national level by governments, civil society organisations or relevant stakeholders; calls on the Commission to consider the integration of these datasets in the Scoreboard;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the reliability of the performance data concerning the targets and milestones of the Facility is of the utmost importance; urges Member States to publicly provide detailed and timely information in order to ensure effective reporting of the impact of the Facility;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that serious irregularities such as fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and double funding, may lead to the reduction of financial contributions or the recovery of funds by the Commission;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that irregularities may lead to the reduction of financial contributions or the, delays in disbursement of funds or recovery of funds by the Commission;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that the Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the Court of Auditors and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) mayshall exercise their rights laid down in Article 129(1) of the Financial Regulation with regard to the Facility to ensure prevention, detection and investigation of fraud, conflicts of interest and corruption, and correction of irregularities; asks the Commission to provide information about the measures ensuring the early detection of the abuse of EU funds;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that the COVID-19 crisis has already left many young people jobless or in precarious employment; calls on the Commission and Member Sstates to fight against youth unemployment and to ensure that young people, especially those not in employment, education or training (NEETs), receive adequate, paid and quality first working experience; condemns the practice of unpaid internships as a form of exploitation of young workers, and a violation of their rights, and calls on the Commission and the Member States, in collaboration with Parliament, and respecting the principle of subsidiarity, to propose a common legal framework to ensure fair remuneration for traineeships and apprenticeships in order to avoid exploitative practices;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes with satisfaction from the Commission’s assessments of NRRPs that Member States’ prevention of double funding, arrangements to correct serious irregularities and recovery of funds are in general quite well developed; insists on the necessity of a close cooperation between all EU institutions and bodies as well as with national authorities to ensure the efficient and proper use of funds;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to use ARACHNE and, in the meantime, to make sure that the alternative measures to risk- score the entities and individuals involved in implementation of the Facility are equivalent to ARACHNE; highlights the need to ensure a harmonised data collection process and interoperability of ARACHNE with national and local databases; calls on the Commission to make sure that, in addition to the information on the beneficiaries of the programme, data on beneficial owners is also collected by the Member States;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that Member States must adopt reforms and includeHighlights that, according to the Commission estimates provided to the European Parliament working group on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Member States included in their plans measures dedicated to children and youth worth EUR 49.21 billion, representing approximately 11,5% of the total budget of the 22 recovery and resilience plans currently approved; stresses that Member States must include reforms and investments in the next generation, children and the youth in line with the objectives of the Child Guarantee and reinforced Youth Guarantee; recalls that there is RRF funding expressly available for the development of education, training and skills, particularly digital skills; stresses, further, the importance of the mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences in fostering labour mobility in order to access financing under the RRF and ensure complementarity between RRF, ESF+ and EU programmes; calls on the Commission to closely monitor Member States' investment in this area via the Semester cycle and the national reform programmes in line with the RRF, while involving social partners in the monitoring and evaluation of the national recovery and resilience plans;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that the absorption of grants under the Facility is projected to be front- loaded with 42 % of the total amount of allocated grants to euro area Member States to be spent by the end of 2022; notes that most grants are geared towards funding private and public investments; recalls that such investments are relatively more prone to errors; calls on the Commission to be vigilant, especially for payment requests from Member States where systematic failures in the management and control systems exist;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to make approval of the NRRPs conditional on the observance of the rule of law and the prevention and detection of, and the fight against, fraud, conflicts of interest and, corruption and double funding; stresses that all measures set out in the NRRPs must comply with the Union’s values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses the need to address skills gaps and skills obsolescence in the EU in order to address labour market shortages which are holding back productivity and economic growth; stresses the need to transform and modernise education and training in light of the digital and green transitions enhancing the acquisition of digital skills and education particularly and promoting VET and lifelong learning; recalls the RRF funding expressly available for the development of education, training and skills, particularly digital skills; further stresses the importance of the mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences in fostering labour mobility and addressing labour market; demands and welcomes in this regard the Commission proposals for Council Recommendations on individual learning accounts and micro-credentials and urges the Council to adopt and implement the proposals without delay;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Reiterates its concerns expressed in its resolution of 10 June 2021 on the views of Parliament on the ongoing assessment by the Commission and the Council of the national recovery and resilience plans1 that many Member States have not, or have only inadequately, involved regional and local authorities in the drafting process of the NRRPs; recalls that regional and local authorities and civil society organisations are at the forefront of NRRP local implementation and asks the Commission and the Member States to ensure proper involvement of social partners, civil society, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the NRRPs, as well as an effective coordination between the relevant levels of government; _________________ 1 OJ C 67, 8.2.2022, p. 90.
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has already received first payment requests under the RRF; urges the Commission to ensure a fast deployment of payments and to closely monitor the implementation of reforms and investments;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. CNotes that, according to the Commission estimates provided to the European Parliament working group on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, EUR 188 bln have been allocated for measures related to the social and territorial cohesion in the 22 approved plans; regrets that social investment measures were rather restricted towards social infrastructure and did not allow the development of proper care services and temporary relief measures; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support legislative and policy initiatives aimed at reducing inequalities and promoting decent working conditions for all, with a particular focus on telework, the right to disconnect, mental well-being at work, occupational health and safety, ensuring quality jobs for essential workers, and strengthening the role of the social partners and collective bargaining; calls in this regard for the swift adoption of the directives on improving working conditions in platform work and on adequate minimum wages in the European Union;
Amendment 110 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Notes that, according to the Commission estimates provided to the European Parliament working group on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the total expenditure on healthcare-related measures is estimated at EUR 37 billion; welcomes the opportunity for investment in health and long-term care systems which are essential in the demographic change; regrets that Member States did not include measures to make mental health care accessible and affordable for all age groups, especially in early ages, and to address health inequalities through the provision of adequate support to vulnerable groups; recalls those living alone, those with lower socio-economic status, and those who were unemployed1a had higher rates of mental distress, while that the mental health of young people has worsened significantly or almost doubling in several Member States compared to the pre-crisis level; highlights that mental health should represent an integral part of the EU’s socio-economic recovery from the pandemic and an occupational health priority, in particular in educational and workplace environments; _________________ 1a OECD Tackling the mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis: An integrated, whole-of-society response https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy- responses/tackling-the-mental-health- impact-of-the-covid-19-crisis-an- integrated-whole-of-society-response- 0ccafa0b/
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the creation and publication of the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard. steps taken by the Commission in order to ensure full transparency in implementing of the RRF, such as making the Operational Arrangements concluded with the Member States available of the dedicated RRF website as well as launching Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, that contains data on the plans submitted by Member States, approved by the Commission and endorsed by the Council; Reiterates the importance of the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard in providing a clear framework for the additionality impact, as well as ensuring a qualitative analysis of the reforms and investments proposed; urges the Member States to provide detailed information to the Commission in order to ensure an effective reporting of the impact of the RRF;
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 137 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Reiterates the importance of a successful implementation by the Member States in order to ensure a long-term impact on the EU economy and society; urges the Commission to use all lessons learned from the creation and implementation of the RRF in shaping the new EU economic governance framework;