Activities of Paul RÜBIG related to 2015/2044(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Financing for development (debate) DE
Financing for development (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on Financing for Development PDF (186 KB) DOC (120 KB)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on Financing for Development
Amendments (41)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Points out that the EU is the world's leading donor in development aid, representing almost 60% of the world official development aid; nevertheless requests the Commission to provide clear and transparent data on the share of the overall budget in EU development aid in order to assess the follow-up of the Monterrey Consensus by all European donors; also expresses its regret that the level of EU financial contributions to developing countries lacks visibility and invites the Commission to develop appropriate and targeted communication and information tools to increase the visibility of EU development aid;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for a joint international effort of developed and emerging countries to find new and additional climate financing for developing countries – though not at the expense of the development budget – in the agreement on Global Climate Action to be concluded at the Paris Conference of December 2015;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Emphasises the importance of a clear priority-setting on the expenditure side with a special focus on measures in the area of health, education, energy and water supply, as well as infrastructure; underlines the necessity of further efforts and improvements in the area of aid effectiveness through a higher degree of coordination between the different aid mechanisms and donors;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Welcomes the firm stance of the EU on the efforts to be concentrated on both the quantity and the quality of development aid; calls on the Commission to use its expertise and authority to convince other public and private donors around the world to honour their financial promises;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 12 December 2014 on a stronger role of the private sector in development cooperation,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Underlines the absolute need for the EU to aim for the highest level of coordination in order to achieve coherence with other policy areas (environment, migration, international trade, Human Rights, agriculture, etc.) and avoid duplication of work and inconsistency of activities;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
- having regard to the European Court of Auditors' Special Report No. 16/2014 on "The effectiveness of blending regional investment facility grants with financial institution loans to support EU external policies",
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that official development assistance remains the key instrument for financing development and urges the EU and its Member States to re-commit to the 0.7 GNI (Gross National Income) target; highlights, furthermore, the huge potential of private investment and the relevance of innovative financial instruments for leveraging such additional resources; also calls for approrecalls that public aid alone is far from sufficient to cover all investment needs in developing countries; therefore insists on the leverage role of blending and public- private partnerships (PPP) as a means to enhance the impact of development assistance, to attract private finance and to support local businesses; however stresses that blended finance must not replace state responsibility for delivering on social needs and should be guided by development effectiveness principles; encourages public-private partnerships, in particular in the field of research related to the Innovative Medicines Initiative such as the Ebola+ programme;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 (new)
Paragraph 9 (new)
9. Underlines the high importance of supporting micro, small and medium enterprises and calls in particular for further strengthening micro-finance-loan and guarantee systems; insists on the necessity of further developing local and regional banks and credit unions in order to significantly decrease excessive interest rates for market loans in order to better support community development at a local level1.
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the magnitude of the SDGs financing challenge demands a strong and global partnership and the use of all forms - including innovative sources - of financing (domestic, international, public and private);
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas domestic resource mobilisation and Official Development Assistance (ODA) are non-substitutable anchors of development finance which must be strengthened in order that developing countries can reach their full potential;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas three-quarters of the world's poorest people - an estimated 960 million - currently live in middle-income countries; whereas developing countries’ potentials for domestic resource mobilisation are significant, but there are limits to what countries can accomplish on their own;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the nature and impacts of private capital flows affects developing countries in many different ways, positive as well as negative; whereas financial flows to developing countries from private sources are significant but unevenly distributed and are often associated with outflows such as profit repatriation;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the EU and its Member States, as the largest donors of development aid, must lead the FfD process and help bring about a credible response to the development finance challenges; whereas other developed and emerging countries should follow its example;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report and its transformative, holistic and integrated approach to an ambitious global partnershipas a negotiation basis for achieving an ambitious global partnership on new development goals and the associated financial framework;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the EU to leadaffirm its political leadership all throughout the preparatory process towards the definition of a sustainable development framework and its means of implementation along the commitments and values stated in its founding Treaties;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the recent Commission communication entitled ‘A Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015’, for its comprehensiveness, for its policy coherence focus and for confirming that the EU is committed to playing its full part in this global partnership; however, regrets a certain lack ofencourages further commitments as regarding the timeline fors future financial targets;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the EU and its Member States to re-commit without delay or negotiationgradually increase their level of ODA and re-commit to the 0.7 % of GNI target, with at least 0.2 % of GNI reserved for LDCs, and to present multiannual budget timetables for the scale-up to thes; these efforts should be done in a joint effort and in close cooperation with all other donor countries around the world in order to ensure the best possible outcome in view of the implementation of the Sustainable lDevels by 2020opment Goals;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the EU and other developed countries must honour their commitment to provide scaled-up, new and additional climate finance to developing countries reaching USD 100 billion per year by 2020reach the goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion annually, from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries; calls on countries with emerging economies to increasingly follow this example by financially contributing to these goals;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Supports innovative sources of additional development and climate finance, including financial transaction taxes and carbon taxes on international aviation and maritime transport; welcomes further European and international efforts to identify other additional sources;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises that ODA should remain the standard measure of financial efforts made; supports the inclusion of concessional loans based on calculation of their grant equivalents, despite due consideration of total official support for development; stresses the role of ODA as a catalyst to attract private investment;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the EU and its Member States to promote an aid effectiveness agenda building on the commitments in the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, in particular by reducing aid fragmentation through greater coordination between different aid delivery mechanisms and donostakeholders;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the importance of a clear priority-setting in the spending of aid with a special focus on sectorial areas such as health, education, energy and water supply, agriculture as well as infrastructure;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Recalls that development efforts need to be undertaken in a joint effort following the principles of shared responsibility and mutual accountability between local, regional and national authorities on the one side and donors on the other side;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. SFully encourages developing countries' efforts to increasingly finance their own development; to this end, stresses that domestic resource mobilisation must be a key source of financing for all developed and developing countries; emphasises the need for robust, far and progressiveeffective and well-balanced tax systems;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Encourages the Commission to further help strengthening the areas oftax collection capacity of developing countries by improving tax administration, financial governance and public financial management through enhanced cooperation and capacity building in developing countries;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the EU and its Member States to actively crack down on tax havens, tax evasion and illicit financial flows; supports the setting-up ofidea of having an intergovernmental body for tax cooperation under the auspices of the UN, in particular with the Economic and Social Council of the UN and UNCTAD being in charge; recalls that illicit capital flows coming out of developing countries amount to USD 1 trillion and correspond ten times the total ODA;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the decisive importance of good governance, the rule of law and democracy, institutional framework and regulatory instruments in particular of public registers such as land and commercial registers; especially supports investment in capacity-building, education, health, public services, social protection, the protection of human rights and the fight against poverty and inequality, including in terms ofwith regard to gender; recognises the need for infrastructures and selective public investments, as well as the sustainable use and management of natural resources, including by the extractive industries;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls for greater financing of research and development in science, technology and innovation in developing countries in order to improve their position in global value chains and to support the domestic production of sophisticated goods and services; emphasises in this context the important role of micro, small and medium enterprises;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Stresses the importance of favourable conditions for private enterprise and entrepreneurship in developing countries; calls for alignmentthe active participation of the private sector with the aim of contributing to the sustainable development goals through appropriate partnerships, financial instruments, incentives and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); such efforts should be accompanied by a commitment to strengthening domestic legal frameworks;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Insists that the EU’s support and cooperation with the private sector can and must contribute to reducing poverty and inequality and promote human rights, environmental standards and social dialogue; recalls that the private sector generates 90 percent of jobs in developing countries and therefore insists on its fundamental role as engine of job creation and inclusive growth;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for the EU to setupport developing countries in setting up a regulatory business framework that stimulates responsible, transparent and accountable investment which contributes to the development of the private sector in developing countries;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes the Cotonou Agreement Investment Facility as a tool for increasing developing countries’ ownership while promoting the private sector, in particular in fragile states or least developed countries, where the development impact is potentially greater;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to support increased access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises in developing countries as this constitutes an effective path out of poverty for the local communities; underlines the importance of micro-finance loan systems and guarantees in particular for the creation phase of such companies;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Insists on the necessity of further developing local and regional banks and credit unions in order to significantly decrease excessive interest rates for market loans in order to better support community development at a local level 1 a ; stresses in this context the specific needs of micro, small and medium enterprises as well as NGOs and calls for the development of targeted programmes and instruments in order to address their respective situations; __________________ 1a http://www.eib.org/attachments/dalberg_s me-briefing-paper.pdf
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. CRecalls for the adoption of an ‘SDG partner’ framework forthat public aid alone is far from sufficient to cover all investment needs in developing countries; therefore, insists on the leverage role of blending projects and public-private partnerships (PPPs) that will ensure that such projects respect the best international practices and the internationally agreedas means to enhance the impact of development assistance, to attract private finance and to support local businesses; however, stresses that blended finance must not replace state responsibility for delivering on social needs and should be guided by development effectiveness principles;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Supports increased market access for developing countries, especially LDCs, as it can strengthen the private sector and create incentives for reform; urges the Commission to ensure that trade and investment agreements, especially with developing countries, LDCs and fragile states, are aligned with the SDGs; emphasises that such agreements should be subjected to SDG impact assessmentson measures that strengthen competition authorities in the respective countries, bring more transparency into public procurement procedures and focus on trade facilitation; supports the Commission’s suggestion of updating its Aid for Trade Strategy in light of the outcomes of the post-2015 negotiations;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recalls the role of local authorities and civil society, including NGOs, as an essential development partner; calls for an increasedphilanthropic foundations and the private sector, as an essential development partner; supports an effective participation of the representatives of civil society voice in the discussions of development priorities and the set-up of operations on the ground; underlines the role of EU delegations in the respective countries as a facilitator of such dialogues;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Recalls the UN’s central role, in complementarity with other existing institutions and forums such as the OECD, in global economic governance and development; supports efforts to further enhance the voice and representation of developing countries in multilateral institutions and other norm- and standard- setting bodies;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Insists that sustainable debt solutions must be facilitated through a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes with a view to alleviating the debt burden; takes in particular into consideration the recent contributions of the IMF as well as of the Paris Club on this matter; urges the EU to push for the implementation of the UNCTAD principles of responsible sovereign debt transactions for both borrowers and lenders;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for a review of international organisations’ programmes and instruments of financial assistance for development in order to align them with the new SDGs; urges, and to allow notably, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to increase low- income countries’ levels of access to their concessional facilities and to gear their resources more closely to the needs of developing countries, including through mutually effective pro-poor lending facilities;