Activities of Edina TÓTH related to 2020/0006(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing the Just Transition Fund
Amendments (39)
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) The resources from the JTF shouldmay complement the resources available under cohesion policy. The establishment of the JTF should not lead to cuts in or transfers from the funds covered by Regulation (EU) [new CPR].
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 b (new)
Recital 12 b (new)
(12b) Support for productive investment in enterprises other than SMEs through the Just Transition Fund should not be limited to the areas eligible for State aid under the applicable State aid rules pursuant to Article 107(3)(a) and (c) TFEU. On the contrary, State aid rules should allow all regions receiving assistance through the JTF to effectively address the threat of job losses at an early stage. This should also be ensured by adapting the general block exemption Regulation accordingly;
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 c (new)
Recital 12 c (new)
(12c) The areas most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy should be given the opportunity to actively address the associated structural change as early as possible. This requires adjustments to state aid law, e.g. through a new guideline of the European Commission on the basis of Article 107 (3) (b) or (c) TFEU, so that it is ensured that aid is permissible under the applicable rules regardless of the status of the assisted regions;
Amendment 188 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In order to supplement and amend certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the amendment of the elements contained in Annex III of this Regulation regarding the common output and result indicators. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making15 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts; these experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. __________________ 15 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p.13.
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12a) EU state aid rules must be flexible if eligible regions in transition are to attract private investment. When drafting the new guidelines, the Commission should therefore also take into account the problems of structural change in the regions concerned, in order to ensure that these regions are given sufficient flexibility to carry out their projects in a socially and economically viable manner.
Amendment 195 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 b (new)
Recital 12 b (new)
(12b) Support for productive investment in enterprises other than SMEs through the Just Transition Fund should not be limited to the areas eligible for State aid under the applicable State aid rules pursuant to Article 107(3)(a)and (c) TFEU. On the contrary, State aid rules should allow all regions receiving assistance through the JTF to effectively address the threat of job losses at an early stage. This should also be ensured by adapting the general block exemption Regulation accordingly;
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 c (new)
Recital 12 c (new)
(12c) The areas most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy should be given the opportunity to actively address the associated structural change as early as possible. This requires adjustments to state aid law, e.g. through a new guideline of the European Commission on the basis of Article 107 (3) (b) or (c)TFEU, so that it is ensured that aid is permissible under the applicable rules regardless of the status of the assisted regions;
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. It lays down the specific objective of the JTF, its geographical coverage and resources, the scope of its support with regard to the Investment for jobs and growth goal referred to in [point (a) of Article 4(2)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] as well as specific provisions for programming and indicators necessary for monitoring.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The JTF support should be conditional on the effective implementation of a transition process in a specific territory in order to achieve a climate-neutral economy. In that regard, Member States should prepare, in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and supported by the Commission, territorial just transition plans, detailing the transition process, consistently with their National Energy and Climate Plans. To this end, the Commission should set up a Just Transition Platform, which would build on the existing platform for coal regions in transition to enable bilateral and multilateral exchanges of experience on lessons learnt and best practices across all affected sectors.
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In order to supplement and amend certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the amendment of the elements contained in Annex III of this Regulation regarding the common output and result indicators. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making15 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts; these experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. _________________ 15 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p.13.
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. It lays down the specific objective of the JTF, its geographical coverage and resources, the scope of its support with regard to the Investment for jobs and growth goal referred to in [point (a) of Article 4(2)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] as well as specific provisions for programming and indicators necessary for monitoring.
Amendment 263 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Amendment 281 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d a (new)
(da) investments related to the production, processing, transportation, distribution, storage or combustion of natural gas, renewable gas and hydrogen;
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The resources for the JTF under the Investment for jobs and growth goal available for budgetary commitment for the period 2021-2027 shall be EUR 7.5 billion in 2018 prices, which may be increased, as the case may be, by additional resources allocated in the Union budget, and by other resources in accordance with the applicable basic act.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
In accordance with paragraph 1, the JTF shall exclusively support the following activities:
Amendment 325 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point g a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point g a (new)
(ga) decommissioning or the construction of nuclear power stations;
Amendment 342 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) investments in research and innovation activities and fostering the transfer of advanced technologies, including AI technologies;
Amendment 346 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
(d) investments in the deployment of technology and infrastructures for affordable clean energy, in greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy efficiency and renewable energy, including investments in development and deployment of means of zero-emission mobility and automated driving;
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point d
(d) investments in the deployment of technology and infrastructures for affordable clean energy, in greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy efficiency, district heating networks and renewable energy;
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 391 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. The JTF priority or priorities shall comprise the JTF resources consisting of all or part of the JTF allocation for the Member States and the resources transferred in accordance with Article [21a] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR]. The total of the ERDF and ESF+ resources transferred to the JTF priority shall be at least equal to one and a half times the amount of support from the JTF to that priority but shall not exceed three times that amount.
Amendment 416 #
(ga) decommissioning or the construction of nuclear power stations;
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point g b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point g b (new)
(gb) investments related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of natural gas as a transitional energy;
Amendment 436 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point k a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point k a (new)
(ka) investments for transport and construction sector decarbonisation.
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Territorial just transition plans shall be consistent with the territorial strategies referred to in Article [23] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], with relevant smart specialisation strategies, the NECPs and the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Amendment 461 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. For output indicators, baselines shall be set at zero. The milestones set for 2024 and targets set for 2029 shall be cumulative. Targets shall not be revised after the request for programme amendment submitted pursuant to Article [14(2)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] has been approved by the Commission.
Amendment 464 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the decommissioning or the construction of nuclear power stations;deleted
Amendment 474 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Annex I – paragraph 1 – introductory part
For each Member State, the financial envelope is determined in accordance with the following steps: An amount of 6.5 billion EUR of the Just Transition Fund resources is shared amongst Member States as follows:
Amendment 480 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) investment related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels; except for natural gas high efficiency co- generation combined with district heating;
Amendment 484 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) investment related to the production, processing, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels other than natural gas;
Amendment 508 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 2 a (new)
Annex I – paragraph 2 a (new)
The remaining 1 billion EUR of the Just Transition Fund resources should serve as a compensation mechanism for Member States that achieved at least 30% gross greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2017 based on their national inventories compared to the 1990 emission levels, thus outperforming the 2020 EU emission reduction target by at least 150%. The 1billion EUR is shared amongst these Member States based on the ratio of their2017 gross greenhouse gas emissions.
Amendment 524 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
The Commission shall only approve a programme where the identification of the territories most negatively affected by the transition process, contained within the relevant territorial just transition plan, is duly justified and the relevant territorial just transition plan is consistent with the National Energy and Climate Plan of the Member State concerned.
Amendment 529 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. The JTF priority or priorities shall comprise the JTF resources consisting of all or part of the JTF allocation for the Member States and the resources transferred in accordance with Article [21a] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR]. The total of the ERDF and ESF+ resources transferred to the JTF priority shall be at least equal to one and a half times the amount of support from the JTF to that priority but shall not exceed three times that amount.
Amendment 543 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall prepare, together with the relevant authorities of the territories concerned, one or more territorial just transition plans covering the areas of one or more affected territories corresponding to level 3 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics (‘NUTS level 3 regions’) as established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 868/201417 or parts thereof, in accordance with the template set out in Annex II. Those territories shall be those most negatively affected based on the economic and social impacts resulting from the transition, in particular with regard to expected job losses in fossil fuel production and use and the transformation needs of the production processes of industrial facilities with the highest greenhouse gas intensity. _________________ 17 Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (OJ L 154 21.6.2003, p. 1).
Amendment 603 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Territorial just transition plans where possible shall be consistent with the territorial strategies referred to in Article [23] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], with relevant smart specialisation strategies, the NECPs and the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Amendment 605 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Territorial just transition plans shall be consistent with the territorial strategies referred to in Article [23] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR], with relevant smart specialisation strategies, the NECPs and the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Amendment 611 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. For output indicators, baselines shall be set at zero. The milestones set for 2024 and targets set for 2029 shall be cumulative. Targets shall not be revised after the request for programme amendment submitted pursuant to Article [14(2)] of Regulation (EU) [new CPR] has been approved by the Commission.
Amendment 628 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Annex I – paragraph 1 – introductory part
For each Member State, the financial envelope is determined in accordance with the following steps: I. An amount of 6.5 billion EUR of the Just Transition Fund resources is shared amongst Member States as follows:
Amendment 664 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex I – paragraph 2 a (new)
Annex I – paragraph 2 a (new)
II. The remaining 1 billion EUR of the Just Transition Fund resources should serve as a compensation mechanism for Member States that achieved at least 30% gross greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2017 based on their national inventories compared to the 1990 emission levels, thus outperforming the 2020 EU emission reduction target by at least 150%. The 1billion EUR is shared amongst these Member States based on the ratio of their2017 gross greenhouse gas emissions.