27 Amendments of Pascal ARIMONT related to 2021/2202(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
— having regard to the resolution of the European Committee of the Regions on a vision for Europe: The Future of Cross-border Cooperation7 a _________________ 7 a OJ C 440, 29.10.2021, p. 6-10.
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard to the proposal of the Commission of 14 December 2021 on revision of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders9 a. _________________ 9 a COM(2021)0891 final.
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Union and its immediate neighbours in the European Free Trade Association have 40 internal land borders and internal border regions, and whereas those regions cover 40 % of the EU’s territory, account for 30 % of the EU’s population and, produce almost one third of EU GDP; and boost its economies and territories;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas some sectors face very specific obstacles that call for better coordination at EU level, such as the wine and spirits sectors, which are subject to heavy red tape to trade in neighbouring countries; whereas practical solutions, such as access to one-stop shops, must be made accessible to economic operators when possible;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on new challenges in border regions, such as teleworking, which has now become common and also causes social protection and tax law issues;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how fragile and interdependent Europe’s cross-border regions are and paralysed many services, especially in healthcare settings, and whereas the pandemic has also disrupted the free movement of people, goods and essential medical equipment following the closure of national borders;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the COVID-19pandemic and the resulting border closures have highlighted the uniquevulnerability of border regions; both in terms of the economic fallout from themomentary collapse of cross-border health care services, the threat to thelivelihood of cross-border workers and the financial hardships befalling SMEsin border regions;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas it is acknowledged that the unique vulnerability of border regions requires profound changes to financing methods in border regions in order to finally create a level playing field for border regions vis-à-vis the heartland;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas there remains alack of language learning opportunities, as well as a lack of initiatives raising awareness about the benefits for border residents in learning a neighbouring language;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
I c. whereas it is deplored that a true bottom-up approach in European Cohesion Policy is still prevented by the fact the institutions and actors that are closest du citizens, the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation, are not entrusted with the independent management of funds from the EU Cohesion Policy Budget;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)
Recital I d (new)
I d. whereas it is estimated that adopting the proposal for a European cross-border mechanism (ECBM) regulation, published in May 2018 by the Commission on the recommendation of the former Luxembourgish Council presidency, would have helped to overcome at least 30 %, and likely even 50 %, of the recognised obstacles to cross- border cooperation;
Amendment 34 #
3 a. Recommends an EU initiative providing language courses for the neighbouring language at low cost for participants in all NUTS-3 regions whose territory borders a neighbouring Member State; this EU initiative shall also be charged with raising awareness of the benefits of learning the neighbouring language;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Demands that a sum of one billion euro of the EU’s Cohesion Policy Budget shall be reserved exclusively for the development of border regions at the beginning of every new programming period, starting with the period 2028-2034 (=“Borderland Billion”);
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Suggests that the “Borderland Billion” is to be entrusted directly to the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs), who are to be tasked with its independent management and distribution among projects;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Recommends that the “Borderland Billion” be deducted from the EU cohesion policy funding prior to distribution according to the country key as a special budgetary item;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3 f. Recommends that changes to the EU Regional Aid Guidelines be made; considering that less than half of the EU’s total population are permitted to receive regional aid at the same time, it is suggested that within this rule, border regions shall be given priority;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 g (new)
Paragraph 3 g (new)
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Council to unblock the legislative process for the European cross-border mechanism (ECBM) regulation, or to propose an alternative to the ECBM in order to overcome the obstacles to the cross-border co-operation this mechanism could address; further calls on the Commission to put forward a new proposal for the mechanism, addressing potential concerns that had led to the Council to discontinuing its first reading of the regulation in question; reminds in this context, that the Parliament’s first reading position on this regulation included specific formulations that would have ensured its voluntary application, thus allaying such concerns of the Member States;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recognises the important role that macro-regions and, Euroregions, non-profit organisations and associations play in promoting collective interests and in cross- border cooperation;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the adoption of the 'Cross-Border Crisis Response Integrated Initiative (CB-CRII)' pilot project, intended to bolster border regions' resilience to future crises; urges the Commission's DG REGIO to implement the project11 a; _________________ 11 a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/ 214920/budg2021-doc6-tab-en.pdf
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Acknowledges cross-border workers' tax and social security difficulties while teleworking; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to take account of those difficulties and take the requisite measures to solve them;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission to start discussions on teleworking with the aim of proposing avenues for improvement, including by specifying the benefits and impact of teleworking in cross-border regions;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Member States to play a full part in the Commission’s efforts to complete the European Education Area, which, in tune with the European Skills Agenda and the European Research Area, will ensure access to targeted education and training on both sides of the border by providing shared education services and by ensuring the mutual recognition of diplomas, skills and qualifications and by encouraging learning;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Recognises the that the COVID-19 pandemic has put an undue administrative burden on cross-border workers, especially in the health care sector and that therefore a renewed effort must be made to create better working and commute conditions for cross-border workers, through a faster and more comprehensive recognition of diplomas and other qualifications obtained after training, improved healthcare, expansion of local and long-distance transport and better access to information on job vacancies; calls for an increase in funds and additional flexibility in order for regional and local authorities in border regions to better coordinate neighbouring national legal and administrative systems, as this is required in order to improve the quality of life of cross-border workers; stresses that these problems pose an even greater threat to cross-border workers coming to and from non-EU countries;