2017/2114(INI)

Marian HARKIN

C. whereas poverty is decreasing ~~but remains~~, with 4.8 million fewer people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2015 than in 2012; the rate of the-at-risk-of poverty or exclusion is still unacceptably high at 23.7%; however notes that figures remain very high in some Member States;

2017/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/2114(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Highlights the fact that insufficient and inadequately focused investment in skills development and lifelong learning, particularly digital skills and programming may undermine the Union’s competitive position; notes that inequality has intensified in around ten Member States and is one of the main socio- economic challenges in the EU1c; _________________ 1cEmployment and Social Developments in Europe, Annual Review 2017(ESDE),P47

2017/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/2114(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Takes the view that better skills matching and improved mutual recognition of qualifications is necessary to address skills shortages and mismatches; highlights the role that VET and apprenticeships can play in this regard; calls on the Commission to develop a pan- European skills needs forecasting tool;

2017/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/2114(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on Member States to ensure adequate and sustainable pensions in light of continued demographic change; in this regard, highlights the importance of older workers continued participation and women’s integration into the labour market to combat old age poverty;

2017/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas ~~the~~ social provisions ~~of the Charter are at~~are a crucial part of the Chearter and of the Union’s legal structure and therefore they contribute to reinforceing respect for fundamental rights across the Union;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights is a source of primary law, applying in the first place to the institutions and bodies in the Union;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas this means EU institutions should not only seek to avoid violations of Charter rights but also enhance the potential of the Charter by actively and systematically incorporating those rights when legislating or developing policies ;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas Council and Parliament must ensure that systematically any choices to be made between different policy options under consideration should be assessed by the contribution that such options make to the fulfilment of the Charter;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights further enhances equal opportunities and access to the labour market, ~~fair~~decent working conditions and social protection and inclusion;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Reaffirms that all legal acts adopted by the EU must fully include and comply with the Charter’s ~~social~~ provisions, ~~particularly in economic governance, and must be systematically assessed on compli~~including its social provisions. This shall include the area of economic governance;.

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Understands that EU legislation and policies shall be systematically assessed on compliance with the Charter;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Understands that jurisprudence will impact on the scope of the Charter and this must be taken into consideration;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that all EU actors should devote equal consideration to social and economic rights and principles as to the other fundamental rights and other principles enshrined in the Charter;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls for the institutions and agencies to better align their practices with regard to Charter implementation;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that EU Institutions and Member States should respect their obligations relating to the social and economic requirements of the Charter when seeking to ~~fulfil~~ensure compliance with EU instruments, such as the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (TSCG).

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2089(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Recognises the vital role of the Fundamental Rights Agency in assessing compliance with the Charter;

2018/10/22
Committee: EMPL

2017/2044(BUD)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that growth is the key to more jobs and increased prosperity and that it is necessary to direct the structural funds more effectively towards promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;

2017/07/26
Committee: EMPL

2017/2044(BUD)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls that youth unemployment rates remain ~~ver~~unacceptably high in the Union and that the situation of unemployed young people, especially ~~the~~ persons who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETS), is particularly worrying; emphasises that, in order to address this issue, it is of high importance to ensure the proper and timely funding of the Youth Guarantee schemes through the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and the European Social Fund; in this regard, stresses the importance of the agreed fresh funding of EUR 500 million for the YEI for 2017;

2017/07/26
Committee: EMPL

2017/2044(BUD)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the importance of sufficient funding and good budgetary management of the programmes within the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework that aim to address unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, such as the YEI, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), the different axes of the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD); welcomes the increases proposed for EGF (+2 % in commitment appropriations) and FEAD (+1,9 % in commitment appropriations); however, regrets the significant proposed reduction of EUR 40 million in payment appropriations for the FEAD in addition to a reduction to its support expenditure;

2017/07/26
Committee: EMPL

2017/2044(BUD)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the EUR 72,8 million funding proposed by the Commission for the European Solidarity Corpse (appropriations are to be entered into the reserve until such time as the basic act is adopted by the legislator), EUR 2,5 million being provided in 2018 by the Progress axis of the EaSi; notes with concern the proposed EUR 11,1 million redeployment from the ESF to contribute to the Corps´ funding for 2018 and believes that such funding should instead be covered by the Global Margin for Commitments;

2017/07/26
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that ~~growth is the key to more jobs~~sustainable growth and investment are the key to job creation and increased prosperity and that it is necessary to direct the structural funds more effectively towards promoting growth;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Emphasises that the 2018 budget must play a key role in enhancing the Union’'s contribution to ~~growth and jobs~~sustainable growth, jobs and social inclusion, especially in ~~combating~~the areas of youth unemployment and inequality;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Recalls that youth unemployment rates remain ~~ver~~unacceptably high in the Union1a and that the situation of unemployed young people, especially NEETS (not in education, employment, or training), is particularly worrying; emphasises that, in order to address this issue, it is of the utmost importance to ensure the ~~proper~~adequate and timely funding of ~~the~~ Youth Guarantee schemes through the ~~European Youth Initiative and the European Social Fund;~~Youth Employment Initiative and the European Social Fund; in this regard, highlights the importance of continuing the YEI up to the end of the current MFF; also notes the Court of Auditors statement that it is not possible to address the whole NEET population with the resources available from the EU budget alone1b; _________________ 1aIn March 2017, the youth unemployment rate was 17.2% in the EU28 and 19.4% in the euro area, compared with 19.1% and 21.3% respectively in March 2016 - Eurostat, 2nd May 2017: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/29 95521/8002525/3-02052017-AP- EN.pdf/94b69232-83a9-4011-8c85- 1d4311215619 1bSpecial report No 5/2017: Youth unemployment – have EU policies made a difference?, p. 8

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Believes it is essential that the Youth Employment Initiative continues to be adequately funded and stresses in the context of the Multiannual Financial Framework mid-term review that the Council must adopt the agreed increase of EUR 500 million;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines the importance of sufficient funding and good budgetary management of the programmes within the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework that aim to address unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, such as the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), the different axes of the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD); insists, therefore, that for 2018 these programmes’' resources should at least be maintained at the levels of the previous EU budget; notes that payment amounts for this year's budget were limited as the structural funds have not been absorbed as quickly as expected and stresses that adequate payment appropriations be provided for in budget 2018;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Takes the view that the EU budget should also support vocational training and professional qualification measures; highlights, in this respect, that proper funding for the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) is paramountensure the adequate financial and human resourcing of EUROFOUND, CEDEFOP, ETF and EU-OSHA in order to allow them to fulfil their respective remits and ensure the best possible results in support of EU legislative and policy objectives;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Emphasises the need for additional funding for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) in order to balance the substantial increase of the Irish country coefficient over recent years which makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the level of research done by the Agency; stresses the need for additional funding, particularly, to secure the work on the pan-European surveys and to allow for additional work in relation to 'Undeclared Work' and 'Integration of Refugees and Migrants into the Labour Market';

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Points out that micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises are ~~a major source of employment in the Union and~~the backbone of Europe's economy, representing 99% of all businesses in the EU; notes that one of the main problems in setting up and maintaining such enterprises ~~and keeping them going~~ is that of obtaining finance; underlines that the 2018 budget should support measures promoting entrepreneurship ~~in those enterprises~~, including social entrepreneurship ~~and~~, innovative social enterprises and self-employment; stresses, in this respect, that the budget 2018 should in particular facilitate access to micro- credits available through the microfinance and social entrepreneurship axis of the Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) programme;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Urges that financial support ~~be provided for programmes creating jobs for those with multiple disadvantages on~~from EU funds reaches as many targeted beneficiaries as possible in particular for those furthest from the labour market, such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities and people from minority backgrounds;

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2043(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Reiterates that pilot projects and preparatory actions are very valuable tools to initiate new activities and policies in the fields of employment and social inclusion; stresses that several ideas of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs have been implemented successfully in the past as pilot projects/preparatory actions; ~~is of the opinion, therefore, that that committee will make further use of those instruments in 2018;~~ encourages the full use of the margins available under each heading; calls for Parliament to be given regular, detailed updates on the various stages in the implementation of pilot projects and preparatory actions by the Commission.

2017/05/10
Committee: EMPL

2017/2039(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Is concerned about initial observations which show that improvements need to be made in the registration of and outreach to all NEETs, in particular those who are proving difficult to re-integrate, and especially inactive NEETs; urges the Member States to pay special attention to the needs of vulnerable NEETs;

2017/09/27
Committee: EMPL

2017/2039(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that establishing whether the YEI budget is well spent, and whether the ultimate YEI goal of helping young unemployed people into sustainable employment is attained, can only be achieved if operations are closely monitored on the basis of reliable and comparable data; calls on the Member States to urgently step up their monitoring of the YEI and YG and to guarantee that reliable and comparable data are gathered and made available in a timely manner; calls on the Commission to revise its guidelines on data collection in line with the recommendations of the COA in order to minimise the risk of overstatement of results;

2017/09/27
Committee: EMPL

2017/2024(INL)

Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN, Javier NART

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for the simplification of online signature collection (“OCS”) and verification and for a progressive approach to countering the technological barriers to OCS; invites the Commission to address data requirement divergences in national systems, especially regarding nationality and place of residence; and invites the Commission to explore the inclusion of a European citizen’s ID number (to be used on a secure website in the Member States) and qualified electronic signatures (QES); welcomes the AFCO proposal that the Commission run a free, centralised OCS system; suggests that this system make use of existing, proven online platform technologies and enable synergies with social media tools to galvanize more widespread signature collection; welcomes the Commission’s public survey on creating a “Collaborative ECI Platform”; invites the Commission to prolong the collection period such that the clock for collection starts running from the date of ECI registration; calls for greater transparency measures for ascertaining ECI financing;

2017/07/27
Committee: PETI

2017/2024(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Javier NART

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls upon the Commission to create a ~~one-stop shop for ECI information dissemination~~physical and online one-stop shop making use of the existing staff, resources of the point of contact based in the Europe Direct Contact Centre and EU facilities in each Member State for ECI information dissemination, help to manage technical and bureaucratic support related with the ECI, provide guidance during the whole process, translation services and citizen advisory services, in particular the provision of support in defining a compliant legal basis for an initiative; welcomes the AFCO proposal for a provision in the new Regulation on ECI communication activities at EU level; urges the Commission to link such efforts to the principles set out in the EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020; and encourages the Commission and the Member States to achieve more user- friendly and more harmonised data collection requirements;

2017/07/27
Committee: PETI

2017/2024(INL)

Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN, Javier NART

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Invites the Commission to consider the possibility of registering only part of an initiative in the event that the entire ECI does not fall within the Commission’s powers; invites the Commission to give the organisers, at the time of registration, an indication as to which part they could register, recognising that dialogue and engagement with ECI organisers is essential throughout the process, and to inform Parliament of its decision concerning the registration of the ECI;

2017/07/27
Committee: PETI

2017/2024(INL)

Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Invites the Commission to address the real need to solve the economic burdens for the organisation of ECIs in order to guarantee equal opportunities among citizens; and invites the Commission to reduce costs, red tape and to provide financial support where appropriate;

2017/07/27
Committee: PETI

2017/2024(INL)

Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Javier NART

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Notes the important role of the European Ombudsman in investigating the handling of ECI requests by the Commission, and especially cases of refusal to register an ECI;

2017/07/27
Committee: PETI

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. Whereas the EU 2020 strategy establishes the EU's target of 75 % of men and women in employment by 2020 and, in particular, to close the gender gap in employment; whereas coordinated efforts will be required to facilitate women's labour-market participation.

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. Whereas greater economic empowerment of women and greater gender equality is an economic opportunity which would significantly boost Europe´s economic growth, competitiveness, and opportunities in employment. Emphasises that GDP would grow between 15% and 45% in the EU Member States if gender gaps in employment were eliminated.

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

A c. Whereas although women account for almost 60% of graduates in the EU they remain under-represented in science, mathematics, IT, engineering and related careers; highlights, as a result, inequality in occupations is taking new forms and, despite the investment in education, young women are still twice as likely as young men to be economically inactive;

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Member States to promote the ~~well-being~~equality of women, by tackling the pay and pension gaps ~~and combating atypical and insecure forms of work and employment, such as temporary co~~, which currently stand at 16 % and 40 % respectively; highlights the importance of the attractiveness of new forms of work by providing adequate flexibility that can promote higher employment ra~~cts or involuntary part-time work~~tes among women;

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Highlights that the causes and consequences of the gender pension gap need to be addressed, as this is an obstacle to the economic independence of women in old age, when they face a higher risk of poverty than men.

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission, together with the Member States, to promote and support female entrepreneurship initiatives as it can provide women the knowledge they need to found or co-found their own businesses based on their innovative ideas. In this regard, it is crucial to provide information on access to training, to support women entrepreneurs in accessing alternative sources of funding, business networking opportunities as well as advising on the start-up, management and growth of their businesses in the early phases.

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Underlines that due to the rapid spread of digital technology, this will result in a growing demand for digital and other complementary skills to address the existing digital gap between men and women;believes further measures aimed at enhancing digital skills among women and girls should not only cover the upskilling of the workforce but the process should already begin in the early schools years with the implementation of technical, entrepreneurial and relevant soft skills in the education programmes;

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for measures to ~~guarante~~ensure the economic and social dignity of feminised work, such as domestic work;

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Stresses also the importance to pay attention to the specific needs of groups facing particular barriers to entry to the labour market such as women in rural areas as well as women with disabilities and migrant women.

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to ~~enforce~~strengthen the implementation of existing laws and workplace policies t~~hat~~o pro~~hibit discrimination~~tect women from discrimination, particularly, in the recruitment, retention and promotion of women in employment in both the public and private sectors;

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2008(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Robert ROCHEFORT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Member States to strengthen and enforce the full exercise of the right of collective bargaining in the private and public sectors; in this regard, social partners have high potential to support gender equality on the labour market by actively raising the issue of equal pay during collective bargaining;

2017/04/28
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the flexibility and ease of entry inherent in platform economy models can provide employment opportunities for groups traditionally excluded from the labour market in particular women, young people and migrants and in areas predominantly impacted by high unemployment such as disadvantaged or rural areas;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas access to high speed broadband is essential to participate in the platform economy and a lack of broadband provision potentially excludes groups such as older persons or those living in rural areas and outermost regions from benefiting from new opportunities;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the need for a clear distinction between ‘'professional’' and ‘'non- professional’' platforms and to recognise activities in the platform economy that are properly categorised as ‘'work’'; In this regard encourages Member States to establish minimum thresholds to differentiate between occasional peer-to- peer activity and professional service provision;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for a framework directive on working conditions in the platform economy in order to encourage innovation and sustainable growth while guaranteeing the legal situation of platform workers and to ensure that all platform workers have the same social and employment rights and health and safety protection as workers in the traditional economy;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls for more reliable data on jobs and working conditions in the platform economy and for the adjustment of related policies to create a level playing field between the platform and traditional economies; in this regard believes this data should include the employment status and history of platform workers, interviews with platform workers as well as platform collected data and that metrics should be developed which take into account job quality, income stability and work-life balance;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for EU standards on transparency and disclosure obligations for platform operators in order to monitor tax payments, social security contributions and practices regarding the rating of work on platforms; believes that Member States should facilitate platform workers in their self-reporting obligations with simplified tax declarations for platform work and should work with online platforms to communicate annual worker income via recorded electronic transactions to help combat tax evasion and undeclared work;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes the potential for unfair practices regarding work rating mechanisms, such as account deactivation or search result relegation by platforms based on an arbitrary number of negative client reviews, which may not necessarily reflect work quality and which cannot be challenged which impact on workers' ability to obtain jobs; believes platforms should notify and provide an arbitration process for platform workers before taking such action as a result of ratings scores;

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/2003(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines that constant accessibility represents a serious health and safety risk in the platform economy; advocates the establishment of a ‘right to log off’ without impacting on platform workers' ratings.

2017/02/03
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4

(4) Young people should be provided with easily accessible opportunities to engage in solidarity activities, which cwould enable them in the first place to express their commitment to the benefit of communities while acquiring useful experience, skills and competences for their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, ~~thereby~~which would improv~~ing~~e their employability. Those activities would also support the mobility of young volunteers, trainees and workers.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5

(5) The solidarity activities offered to all young people should be of high quality, in the sense that they should respond to unmet societal needs, contribute to strengthening communities, offer young people the opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and competences, be financially accessible to young people, in particular efforts must be made to ensure participation of young persons with disabilities and disadvantages and be implemented in safe and healthy conditions.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6

(6) The European Solidarity Corps would provide a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the Union. Consistency and complementarity of that framework should be ensured with other relevant Union policies and programmes. The European Solidarity Corps should build on the strengths and synergies of existing programmes, notably the European Voluntary Service. It should also complement the efforts made by Member States to support young people and ease their school-to-work transition under the Youth Guarantee19 by providing them with additional opportunities to make a start on the labour market in the form of traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related areas within their respective Member State or across borders. Complementarity with existing Union level networks pertinent to the activities under the European Solidarity Corps, such as the European Network of Public Employment Services, EURES and the Eurodesk network, the European Youth Forum (YEJ), the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) and other relevant civil society organisations including the social partners should also be ensured. Furthermore, complementarity between existing related schemes, in particular national solidarity schemes and mobility schemes for young people, and the European Solidarity Corps should be ensured, building on good practices where appropriate. __________________ 19 Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (2013/C 120/01).

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Robert ROCHEFORT, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8

(8) The European Solidarity Corps should open up new opportunities for young people to carry out volunteering, traineeship or job placements in solidarity- related areas as well as to devise and develop solidarity projects based on their own initiative. Those opportunities should help respond to unmet societal needs and contribute to strengthening communities while also contribute to enhancing their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development. The European Solidarity Corps should also support networking activities for European Solidarity Corps participants and organisations as well as measures to ensure the quality of the supported activities and to enhance the validation of their learning outcomes.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9

(9) Voluntary activities constitute a rich experience in a non-formal and informal learning context which enhances young people's personal, socio-educational and professional development, active citizenship and employability. Voluntary activities should not have an adverse effect on potential or existing paid employment, nor should they be seen as a substitute for it. Solidarity placements in the form of volunteering under this Regulation should be offered by public authorities or by participating organisations in the not for profit sector or those involved in collaboration with a not for profit entity. In order to ensure continuity with respect to the volunteering activities that are supported at Union level, the volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that fall within the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should be supported by the latter in the form of cross-border volunteering placements. The other volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that do not fall under the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should continue to be supported under the Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport20 . With respect to the interpretation of related legislation at Union level, both the cross-border volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps and the volunteering activities that continue to be supported under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 should be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service. __________________ 20 Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 50.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10

(10) Traineeships and jobs in solidarity- related areas ~~can offer additional~~help to build social , economic and civic cohesion while offering opportunities for young people to make a start on the labour market ~~while contributing to addressing key societal challenges~~. This can help foster the employability and productivity of young people while easing their transition from education to employment, which is key to enhancing their chances on the labour market. The traineeship placements offered under the European Solidarity Corps should be remunerated by the participating organisation and follow the quality principles outlined in the Council Recommendation on establishing a Quality Framework for Traineeships of 10 March 201421 . The traineeships and jobs offered should constitute a stepping stone for young people to enter the labour market and should therefore be accompanied by adequate post-placement support. The traineeship and job placements should be facilitated by relevant labour market actors, in particular public and private employment services, social partners and Chambers of Commerce. As participating organisations, they should be able to apply for funding via the competent implementing structure of the European Solidarity Corps in view of intermediating between the young participants and employers offering traineeship and job placements in solidarity sectors. Traineeships and jobs in solidarity related areas must be entirely separate from any volunteering activities. __________________ 21 Council Recommendation of 10 March 2014 on a Quality Framework for Traineeships, OJ C 88, 27.3.2014, p. 1.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) Young people’s spirit of initiative is an important asset for society and for the labour market. The European Solidarity Corps should contribute to fostering this aspect by offering young people the opportunity to devise and implement their own projects aimed at addressing specific challenges to the benefit of their local communities. Those projects should be an opportunity to try out ideas in a sustainable way and support young people to be themselves drivers of solidarity actions. They could also serve as a springboard for further engagement in solidarity activities and could be a first step towards encouraging European Solidarity Corps participants to engage in self- employment or setting up associations, NGOs or other bodies active in the solidarity, non-profit and youth sectors.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) Young people and organisations participating in the European Solidarity Corps should feel that they belong to a community of individuals and entities committed to enhancing solidarity across Europe. At the same time, participating organisations need support to strengthen their capacities to offer good quality placements to an increasing number of participants. The European Solidarity Corps should support networking activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of young people and participating organisations’ engagement in this community, at fostering a European Solidarity Corps spirit, as well as at encouraging the exchange of useful practices and experience. Those activities should also contribute to raising awareness about the European Solidarity Corps among public and private actors as well as to collect feedback from participants and participating organisations on the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15

(15) A quality label should be put in place to ensure compliance of the participating organisations with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter, as regards their rights and responsibilities during all stages of the solidarity experience. Obtaining a quality label should be a precondition for participation but should not automatically lead to funding under the European Solidarity Corps. The process that leads to attribution of a quality label should not create additional bureaucracy that would dissuade organisations, in particular private businesses in the occupational component, from contributing to the European Solidarity Corps.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17

(17) A European Solidarity Corps Portal should continuously be developed in order to ensure easy access to the European Solidarity Corps and to provide a one-stop shop for both interested individuals and organisations as regards, inter alia, registration, identification and matching of profiles and opportunities, networking and virtual exchanges, online training, language and pre and post-placement support as well as other useful functionalities, which may arise in the future.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25

(25) Any entity willing to participate in the European Solidarity Corps, whether funded by the European Solidarity Corps budget, by another Union programme or by a different funding source, should receive a quality label provided that the appropriate conditions are fulfilled. The process that leads to the attribution of a quality label should be carried out on a continuous basis by the implementing structures of the European Solidarity Corps. Unnecessary administrative burdens must be avoided in this process. The attributed quality label should be reassessed periodically and could be revoked if, in the context of the checks to be performed, the conditions that led to its attribution were found to be no longer fulfilled.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41

(41) This Regulation should apply from 1 ~~January~~March 2018. In order to allow for the prompt application of the measures provided for in this Regulation, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1

(1) “solidarity activity” means an activity aimed at addressing unmet societal needs to the benefit of a community while also fostering the individual’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, which may take the form of placements, projects or networking activities which have local or European added value, developed in relation to different areas, such as education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship, in particular social entrepreneurship, citizenship and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and wellbeing, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion;

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6

(6) “volunteering” means a ~~full-time32 unpaid voluntary service for a period of up to twelve months~~n unpaid placement undertaken for a period of up to 12 months either on a full-time or on a part time basis of at least ten hours per week, which provides young people with the opportunity to contribute to the daily work of organisations active in solidarity- related fields, to the ultimate benefit of the communities within which the activities are carried out, including a solid learning and training dimension in order to enable the young volunteer(s) to gain skills and competences, which will be useful for their personal, educational, social and professional development, and which will also contribute to improving their employability; __________________ 32 As a general principle, an activity carried out continuously, 5 days a week for 7 hours a day.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8

(8) “traineeship” means a period of work practice from twohree to twelve months, remunerated by the organisation hosting the European Solidarity Corps participant, based on a written traineeship agreement, which includes a learning and training component, and undertaken in order to gain practical and professional experience with a view to improving employability and facilitating transition to regular employment;

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 9

(9) "job" means a period of work from twohree to twelve months, remunerated by the participating organisation employing the European Solidarity Corps participant, carried out in a participating country and based on an employment contract in accordance with the national regulatory framework of that participating country;

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13

(13) “European Solidarity Corps Resource Center” means the additional functions performed by a ~~designated national agency~~n entity selected for this purpose following a tender allocation process to support the development and implementation of activities under the European Solidarity Corps as well as the identification of the competences acquired by the participants through their placements and projects;

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) the development and maintenance of a quality labels for entities willing to provide respectively volunteering placements or traineeships and job placements for the European Solidarity Corps in order to ensure compliance with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter;

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0102(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2

2. An application from an eligible entity to become a European Solidarity Corps participating organisation shall be assessed by the competent implementing body of the European Solidarity Corps in order to ascertain that its activities adhere to the requirements of the European Solidarity Corps. The application and registration process should be user- friendly. Administrative burdens should be avoided. The process that leads to the volunteering component should be differentiated to the process leading to the attribution of a quality label for the volunteering component, taking into consideration the specific characteristics of each component.

2017/11/16
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 4

(4) The Union is party to the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The provisions of that Convention are thus, from the time of its entry into force, an integral part of the European Union legal order and Union legislation must as far as possible be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with the Convention. The Convention provides, among other things, in its Article 7 that Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by children with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with other children. Moreover, the Convention, in its Article 23, provides that States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 5 a (new)

(5a) Informal carers or family carers currently provide 80% of all care across the EU, free of charge. The prevalence of informal care in Europe coupled with the pressure on public expenditure in some countries renders this form of support even more important in the future. It is therefore clear that informal care needs to be supported and measures that enable carers to combine care with work are indispensable in this respect.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)

(6a) The 2013 European Parliament Own Initiative Report entitled ‘Impact of the crisis on access to care for vulnerable groups’ (2013/2044) specifically calls for a Directive on Carers’ Leave

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Recital 7

(7) Work-life balance remains however a considerable challenge for many parents and workers with caring responsibilities, with a negative impact on female employment. A major factor contributing to the underrepresentation of women in the labour market is the difficulty of balancing work and family ~~obligation~~responsibilities. When they have children, women tend to work less hours in paid employment and spend more time fulfilling unpaid care responsibilities. Having an ill or dependent relative has also been shown to have a negative impact on female employment, leading some women to drop out of the labour market entirely.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 7

(7) Work-life balance remains however a considerable challenge for many parents and workers with caring responsibilities, with a negative impact on female employment. A major factor contributing to the underrepresentation of women in the labour market is the difficulty of balancing work and family obligations. When they have children, women tend to work less hours in paid employment and spend more time fulfilling unpaid care responsibilities. Having an ill or dependent relative has also been shown to have a negative impact on female employment, leading some women to drop out of the labour market entirely. This in turn has negative financial consequences, as the social security and pension rights of these carers may be affected as a result. There is a strong business case to address the needs of working carers, as this can lead to better outcomes such as reduced absenteeism, attracted and retained staff, and better motivation of staff.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)

(8a) The availability of quality, accessible, and affordable care infrastructures – supporting childcare as well as care for other dependants – has proven to be a crucial aspect to work-life balance policies. However, the majority of EU Member States have still not yet achieved the so-called Barcelona objectives for childcare, set in 2002. The achievement of these objectives is crucial to allow women to fully participate in employment. Moreover, funding for community-based services for persons with disabilities or other support needs is key for ensuring that women are not forced out of the labour market or unable to remain or re-enter paid employment, in line with the Council Conclusions of 7 December 2017 on Enhancing Community-Based Support and Care for Independent Living.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)

(8a) Member States and, where appropriate, the European Union, should take measures under the European Pact for Gender Equality (2011-2020) and its provisions on the promotion of a better work-life balance to improve the supply of adequate, affordable, high-quality childcare services for children under the mandatory school age in line with the objectives set at the European Council in Barcelona in March 2002. Commission Recommendation 2013/112/EU[21] “Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage” also stresses the need to improve access to sufficient resources and to achieve the Barcelona objectives on childcare facilities for young children. At the same time, work-life balance and gender equality need to be complemented by investment in quality long-term care and diversification of services in this area.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 b (new)

(8b) In order to improve work-life balance, discriminatory practices such as the persistent gender pay gap should be tackled as to eventually ensure greater equity in the labour market. Member States together with the social partners and relevant stakeholders should include gender equality education in their curricula in compulsory and pre-school education and to continue with public authorities’ efforts to provide information and raise awareness. Policies on equal treatment should aim at addressing the issue of stereotypes in both male and female occupations and roles and social partners should act upon their key role in informing both workers and employers and in raising their awareness about tackling discrimination.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 c (new)

(8c) To better assess the impact of the underlying and other related legislation, relevant data such as the number of working hours, pay, position, including a breakdown by gender and age should be collected and published at local, regional and national level in order to document intersectional discrimination and shape policies in a targeted and resource- efficient way. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) and the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) together with national and regional equality bodies should continuously update work-life balance indicators to ensure data is relevant and timely.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Recital 9 a (new)

(9a) Social partners should be constantly encouraged by Member States to continue their active work on ways to facilitate reconciliation of work, private and family life and improve gender equality and equal treatment in the labour market through education, adult learning, raising awareness and information campaigns.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 11

(11) This Directive lays down minimum requirements related to paternity, parental and carers' leave and to flexible working arrangements for parents and workers with caring responsibilities. By facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life for parents and carers, this Directive should contribute to the Treaty-based goals of equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities, equal treatment at work and the promotion of a high level of employment in the Union. Current demographic developments, lead to increasing care needs due to the ageing of society on the one hand and the diminishing informal care potential on the other (due to smaller and more dispersed families and increasing female labour market participation). This requires a combination of investments in appropriate long-term care services and practical measures such as care leave and respite care that allows carers to maintain an active professional life.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Recital 12 b (new)

(12b) Union legislation ensures the principle of equal treatment between various types of employment relationships, prohibits any direct or indirect discrimination based on sex in matters of employment, occupation, social protection and access to goods and services, ensures portability and preservation of rights in case of mobility between Member States and guarantees minimum requirements for the acquisition and preservation of supplementary pension rights across borders, as well as minimum requirements in terms of transparency of occupational schemes.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 12 c (new)

(12c) As labour markets evolve, social protection systems need to evolve too, to ensure that the European social model is future-proof and that it enables Union societies and economies to make the most of the future world of work. However, in most Member States, the rules governing contributions and entitlements of social protection schemes are still largely based on full-time open-ended contracts between a worker and a single employer while other groups of workers and the self-employed have been more marginally covered. Evidence shows that some non- standard workers and some self-employed have insufficient access to the branches of social protection which are more closely related to the labour market status or type of employment relationship. Social protection rights are not always preserved and transferred when individuals are transiting between different labour market statuses, for instance going from employment to self-employment or unemployment, combining salaried employment and self-employment, starting or closing down a business.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 15

(15) In order to provide greater possibility for parents to use parental leave as their children grow up, the right to parental leave should be granted until the child is at least twelve years old. Member States should be able to specify the period of notice to be given by the worker to the employer when applying for parental leave and to decide whether the right to parental leave may be subject to a certain period of service. In view of the growing diversity of contractual arrangements, the sum of successive fixed-term contracts with the same employer should be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the period of service. To balance the needs of workers with those of employers, Member States should also be able to decide whether they define if the employer may be allowed to postpone the granting of parental leave under certain circumstances. In such cases, the employer should provide justification for the postponement. Given that flexibility makes it more likely that second parents, in particular fathers, will take up their entitlement to such leave, workers should be able to request to take parental leave on a full-time or part-time basis or in other flexible forms. It should be up to the employer whether or not to accept such a request for parental leave in other flexible forms than full-time. Member States should also assess if the conditions and detailed arrangements of parental leave should be adapted to the specific needs of parents in ~~particularly disadvantaged situations~~specific situations, in particular with regard to children with disabilities, children with special needs or with serious medical conditions or illness, in accordance with their national law and practice.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 16

(16) In order to facilitate the return to work following parental leave, workers and employers should be encouraged to maintain a reasonable level of contact during the period of leave and may make arrangements for any appropriate reintegration measures, to be decided between the parties concerned, taking into account national law, collective agreements and practice.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 17

(17) In order to provide greater opportunities to remain in the work force for men and women ~~carrying of~~who care for elderly family members and/or other relatives in need of care, all workers with a seriously ill or dependaent relative should have the right to take time off from work in the form of carers' leave to take care of that relative. This not only reflects the current care provision reality, with increasing care needs on the one hand and a deficit in the supply of formal long-term care options, it will also help carers to maintain their attachment to the labour market and prevent them from dropping out altogether when faced with a particularly intensive period of care. Finally, it will also help employers to mitigate the cost of absenteeism, presenteeism and the erosion of motivation and performance among working carers. Informal care is the bedrock of care provision and carers need to be enabled to care. To prevent abuse of that right, proof of the serious illness or dependency may be required prior to granting of the leave.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Recital 19 a (new)

(19a) Member States should give special attention to single parents who face particular challenges in terms of work-life balance and need specific support. This Directive should allow for separate provisions regarding leave and flexible working arrangements for single parents.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 21

(21) In order to encourage working parents and carers to remain in the work force, those workers should be able to adapt their working schedules to their personal needs and preferences. Working parents and carers should therefore be able to request flexible working arrangements, meaning the possibility for workers to adjust their working patterns, including through the use of remote working arrangements, flexible working schedules, or a reduction in working hours, for caring purposes. In order to address the needs of workers and employers, it should be possible for Member States to limit the duration of flexible working arrangements, including a reduction in working hours. While working part-time has been shown to be useful in allowing some women to remain in the labour market after having children, or taking care of other dependants with a chronic care need, long periods of reduced working hours may lead to lower social security contributions translating into reduced or non-existing pension entitlements. In the case of many carers, this can lead to financial hardship, due to loss of direct as well as of future income and pension entitlements. It must be borne in mind that the provision of informal care is ultimately a sizeable contribution to society as well as to tight health and social budgets. The ultimate decision as to whether or not to accept a worker’s request for flexible working arrangements should lie with the employer, Specific circumstances underlying the need for flexible working arrangements can change. Workers should therefore not only have the right to return to their original working patterns at the end of a given agreed period, but should also be able to request to do so at any time where a change in the underlying circumstances so requires.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Recital 22 a (new)

(22a) Council Directive 2010/18/EC of 8 March 2010 implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC provides the baseline reference for any actions by the Member States or the worker in the case of parental leave.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Recital 27 a (new)

(27a) Civil society, including equality bodies should have a role in the effective application of gender equality laws and provisions in employment relations with a view to ensuring equal treatment; Member States should improve social dialogue and the exchange of experience and best practice among all relevant stakeholders.

2018/04/20
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1

This Directive applies to all workers, men and women, who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by law, collective agreement and/or practices in force in each Member State.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point a

(a) "paternity leave" means paid leave from work for fathers or the persons legally recognised as such to be taken on the occasion of the birth of a child;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b

(b) “parental leave” means paid leave from work on the grounds of the birth or adoption of a child to take care of that child;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c

(c) "carer" means a worker providing personal care or support in case of a serious ~~illness or dependency of a relative~~or chronic illness, disability or dependency of a relative, or, in accordance with national law, a worker not directly belonging to the family who provides such care on a non-profit basis, upon written request of the person being cared for;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point d

(d) "relative" means a worker's son, daughter, ~~mother, father,~~step-child, foster child, mother, father, including adoptive ones, as well as step-father, -mother, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, as well as spouse or partner in civil partnership, where such partnerships are envisaged by national law;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e

(e) "dependency" means a situation in which a person is, temporarily or permanently, in need of care and / or assistance due to disability or, a serious medical condition other than serious illness or age;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f

(f) “flexible working arrangements” means the possibility for workers after discussions with their employer to adjust their working patterns, including through the use of remote working arrangements, flexible working schedules, or a reduction in working hours.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)

(fa) "single parent" means a person who is neither married nor in a partnership as recognised by national law and who has sole parental responsibility for a child.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 - point h a (new)

(ha) “carer’s leave” means leave from work for carers in order to provide personal assistance or support to a relative with support needs due to a disability, a mental health problem or a health condition;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 - point i a (new)

(ia) “support needs” mean personalised assistance or support which allows an individual with a disability, a mental health problem or a health condition to fully participate in society;

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that fathers or the persons legally recognised as such have the right to take paternity leave of at least ten working days on the occasion of the birth of a child.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that fathers have the right to take paternity leave of at least ten working days on the occasion of the birth, stillbirth or adoption of a child.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Single parents shall have access to at least the same level of rights and protection ensured to parents under this Directive and may benefit from specific provisions, in accordance with national law, considering their specific situation.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that workers have the right to carers' leave of at least five working days per year, per worker. Such right may be subject to appropriate substantiation of the medical condition ~~of the worker's relativ~~, dependency or the loss of autonomy of the worker's relative. The information on the medical condition, dependency or situation of loss of autonomy should be kept confidential and be shared only with a restricted number of involved services to safeguard the right to data protection of both the worker and the person in need of care.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that workers have the right to carers' leave of at least five working days per year, per worker. Such right may be subject to appropriate substantiation of the medical condition and support needs of the worker'’s relative.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 a (new)

Member States shall assess the need to adapt or extend the definition of "carer" to the purpose of applying for the relevant leave, with the aim of taking into account situations of particular difficulty.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Member States shall assess the need for arrangements necessary to make sure the application of flexible working arrangements is adapted to the needs of adoptive parents, disabled parents, parents with mental health problems, parents of children with disabilities, long- terms illnesses or mental health problems.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2

2. Employers shall consider and respond to requests for flexible working arrangements referred to in paragraph 1, taking into account the needs of both employers and workers. Employers shall justify any refusal of such a request in writing.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 1

1. Rights acquired or in the process of being acquired by workers on the date on which leave referred to in Article 4, 5, 6, 7 or 69 starts shall be maintained until the end of such leave or of the respective period of time for the flexible working arrangements. At the end of such leave, those rights, including any changes arising from national law, collective agreements or practice, shall apply.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 3

3. .Member States shall define the status of the employment contract or employment relationship for the period of leave or of the respective period of time for the flexible working arrangements referred to in Article 4, 5, 6, 7 or 6,9 including as regards entitlements to social security, while ensuring that the employment relationship is maintained during that period.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1

Member States together with the social partners shall take the necessary measures to prohibit less favourable treatment of workers on the ground that they have applied for, or have taken, leave referred to in Article 4, 5, 6 or 6,7 or on the ground that they have exercised their right to flexible working arrangements referred to in Article 9.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Member States together with the social partners shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable, available and accessible legal advice and assistance can be obtained and is provided to those in need of it, including confidential and in-person counselling, by equality bodies or appropriate intermediaries.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1 a (new)

This Directive shall not constitute valid grounds for reducing the general level of protection already afforded to workers within Member States.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1 b (new)

This Directive shall not affect Member States' prerogative to apply or to introduce laws, regulations or administrative provisions which are more favourable to workers or to encourage or permit the application of collective agreements more favourable to workers.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Robert ROCHEFORT

Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1 c (new)

This Directive is without prejudice to any other rights conferred on workers by other legal acts of the Union.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2017/0085(COD)

Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 2

2. On the basis of the information provided by Member States pursuant to paragraph 1, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report in which it reviews the application of this Directive, including data disaggregated by gender and age on the take-up of different types of leave contained in this Directive and its impact on micro, small and medium-sized undertakings, accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal.

2018/04/25
Committee: EMPL

2016/2307(INI)

Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Emphasises the need of structural reforms creating a more flexible and secure labour market and responsible fiscal consolidation, thus reinforcing a favourable environment for business with a view to creating more employment while balancing the social and economic dimensions; stresses that those priorities will only be achieved if investment in human capital is prioritised as a common strategy;

2016/12/19
Committee: EMPL

2016/2307(INI)

Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Encourages the Member States to implement the necessary measures for the social inclusion of refugees as well as people of ethnic minority or immigrant origin;

2016/12/19
Committee: EMPL

2016/2307(INI)

Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes that in the AGS 2017 emphasis is placed on the need to promote tax and benefit reforms aimed at improving work incentives and making work pay, as tax systems can also contribute to combating income inequalities and poverty; calls on the Member States to gradually shift taxes from labour to other sources;

2016/12/19
Committee: EMPL

2016/2307(INI)

Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work together on removing the obstacles to labour mobility, ensuring that EU mobile workers are treated equally with non-mobile workers;

2016/12/19
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. NHighlights that Cohesion policy proved to be one the most important public tools in promoting growth and jobs and reducing regional disparities; notes with concern that in 2015 only 34 % of Europeans said that they had heard about projects co-financed by the EU to improve the area in which they live and that this proportion has remained unchanged since June 20101 ; therefore, there is an urgent need to improve communication strategies to citizens, considering the low awareness of the positive effects cohesion policies have in quality of life and economic growth, which is even more important in times of challenge by populism and spread negativity about the European project; __________________ 1 Flash Eurobarometer 423: Citizens’ awareness and perceptions of EU regional policy.

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission, in close cooperation with the managing authorities, to monitor regularly that all legal provisions as regards information and communication are being implemented thoroughly in order to ensure transparency and the widespread dissemination of information about the achievements of the Funds, and paying special attention to groups of beneficiaries in vulnerable positions;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve the visibility of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) by communicating the European added value of the projects, particularly in terms of job creation and social integration; in this context, draws attention to the growing importance of social media as the main source of information among many citizens, and also the dissemination of anti-European propaganda on the internet; recommends the more intense use of social media to communicate the successes of cohesion policies and the opportunities related to their use;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission to reduce the administrative burden ~~on authorities and beneficiaries~~, without affecting necessary controls and audits, with a view to ensuring a better absorption rate, in particular for SMEs, which have created around 85 % of new jobs within the Union in the past five years, and micro- businesses and companies in remote rural areas in order to foster their capacity to create employment and add economic value;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses the importance of the integration of refugees as an urgent policy matter in the aftermath of the refugee crisis. In this regard, insists on appropriate allocation of the funds, flexible use of funds, and more appropriate targeting of the risk groups, in order to mitigate the risk of exclusion and social tensions;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Calls on the Commission to analyse the real impact of investing EU funds during the previous programming period and to draw specific conclusions regarding the positive and negative experiences as a starting-point for adding value to the investment process;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Robert ROCHEFORT, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Stresses that there is a particular need at EU and at Members States level to improve simplification for beneficiaries with more precise targeting to meet their needs. In this regard, the social partners and stakeholders could contribute to the identification of both good and bad practices and help in introducing simplification option in their Member States;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2304(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Underlines concerns regarding the exclusion of some regions or municipalities from financing due to the increase in public debt since this increase usually stems from the activities of the central authorities;

2017/03/10
Committee: EMPL

2016/2271(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas digitalisation penetrates deeply into all parts of the industrial se-ctor's activities increasing its competitiveness with innovative and sustainable production of goods and services which drives economic growth creating jobs as well as playing a significant role in the European countries' prosperity;

2017/02/02
Committee: EMPL

2016/2271(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the digitisation of industry represents a major challenge in terms of the organisation of work as well as resulting in an emerging opportunity of creating a significant number of new jobs and therefore requires targeted responses regarding employment, social and education policies, as well as the provision of up-to-date infrastructure;

2017/02/02
Committee: EMPL

2016/2271(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in cooperation with social partners, to regularly assess the impact of digitisation on the quality, number and types of jobs and to consider not only the adjust related policies accordingly in case of having a clear negative impact but also a continued strengthening of the policies already considered as having positive effects on the labour market;

2017/02/02
Committee: EMPL

2016/2271(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to ensure universal access to training in digital skills, in order to allow equal participation of all citizens in the digital single market, be it as employees, entrepreneurs or customers; in this regards, highlights the importance of improving the matching between the industrial sector ´s labour requirements and the educational system at all educational levels in order to provide students with knowledge and skills required in knowledge society and for transition to a digitalised economy;

2017/02/02
Committee: EMPL

2016/2271(INI)

Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses the need to ~~identify potential occupational health and safety risks~~reach a balanced approach to define not only the potential occupational health and safety risks but also advantages such as flexibility and teleworking stemming from the digitisation of industry and to take appropriate measures.

2017/02/02
Committee: EMPL

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Sylvie GOULARD, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas Europe is one of the wealthiest regions in the world, although recent data on income poverty highlights the rising of poverty and severe poverty in Europe;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Sylvie GOULARD, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas income poverty is only a part of the overall concept of poverty, therefore poverty does not only refer to material resources, but also to social resources, notably education, health and access to services;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas a number of Member States have been coerced into reducing budget deficits and cutting their social spending, which has undermined public health, education, social security and housing systems;deleted

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Sylvie GOULARD, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas the concept of minimum income must not be confused with the concept of a minimum wage, which is fixed by collective agreement or by legislation;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that urgent practical steps need to be taken to eradicate poverty and social exclusion and ~~promote the fair distribution of income and wealth~~reduce inequalities that will help to ensure economic and territorial cohesion and an equilibrium between economic and social objectives;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Reinforces that the best way to reduce poverty and avoid social exclusion is to boost sustainable growth and to create favourable framework conditions for European companies - notably avoiding excessive administrative burdens as well as ensuring access to finance - in order to allow them to create jobs;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for priority to be given now, when shaping macroeconomic policies, to reducing social inequalities and guaranteeing universal ~~free~~ access to public social services, thus tackling poverty;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Argues that minimum income schemes ~~are essential~~could act as transitional instruments in reducing and fighting poverty, social exclusion and inequalities, and they should be seen not only as a social ~~investment~~but also as an economic investment; Notes the counter-cyclical effects of minimum incomes schemes;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Sylvie GOULARD, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to exchange best practices from minimum income schemes;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2270(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission ~~to propose a framework directive establishing minimum income schemes set at above 60% of national median equivalised disposable income~~and the Member States to evaluate the manner and the means of providing an adequate minimum income in all Member States and to consider further steps in support of social convergence across the EU, taking due account of each country’s specific characteristics., as well as national practices and traditions;

2017/05/10
Committee: ECON

2016/2269(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Recital –A (new)

-A. Whereas equality and fairness are part of the European values and a cornerstone for the European Social model, the EU and its Member States.Whereas Member States and EU objectives are the promotion of employment, with a view to lasting high employment and the combating of exclusion.

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. Whereas inequalities are understood both as the income gap among individuals and also as individuals' loss of opportunities, impeding the potential progress of the individual's abilities and skills, curbing their development and, consequently, their potential contribution to society;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas inequality undermines growth and ~~quality~~ job creation16 , according to international institutions such as the IMF17 or the OECD18 ; _________________ 16 IMF (2017) Working Paper 17/76 Inequality Overhang. Grigoli, Francesco; Robles, Adrian. 17 IMF (2015), Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective. Staff Discussion Note SDN/15/13 Washington: International Monetary Fund http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/20 15/sdn1513.pdf 18 OECD (2015) In It Together. Why Less Inequality Benefits All. OECD Publishing, Paris.

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. Whereas the OECD and the IMF have stated that too high and rising inequalities have direct social costs, hamper social mobility and can also hamper economic growth today and in the future;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

C b. Whereas OECD highlights that "lowering inequality by 1-Gini point would translate into an increase in cumulative growth of 0.8% in the following five years" [1]. [1] OECD's report 'In it Together:Why Less Inequality Benefits All', p.67

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

~~D. whereas increases in inequality are linked with declining labour shares of national wealth and shrinking trade union density;~~deleted

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

F a. whereas inequalities throughout the life-cycle are reflected in inequalities in old-age such as lower healthy life expectancy, old-age poverty, and a gender pension gap of almost 40 %;whereas this prevents older people to contribute fully to society and to support growth and quality of life as volunteers, carers, consumers or mentors;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas inequalities increased inwithin several Member States between 2008 and 2014 in terms of household disposable income, mainly in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Greece, Portugal, or Cyprus19 ; _________________ 19 Eurofound (2017) Income inequalities and employment patterns in Europe before and after the Great Recession.

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

H a. Whereas disparities in and within the Member States' economic growth are leading to economic imbalances within the Union, these excessive unequal economic trends have generated excessive unemployment and poverty pockets.

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Firmly believes that the reduction of inequalities must be ~~an institutional~~one of the main priorityies at the European level in this very moment, not only in order to tackle poverty or to promote convergence, but also as the precondition for economic recovery, ~~quality~~ job creation and shared prosperity;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights that reducing inequalities ~~is essential to promote fairer and~~can help promoting more stable democracies, marginaliseing populism and extremism and ensureing that Europe is a project embraced by all its citizens;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Asks the Commission and the Member States to evaluate the performance and outcomes of economic policy coordination, taking into account the evolution of social progress and social justice in the EU; ~~warns that the European Semester has not been successful in the achievement of these aims and in reducing inequalities;~~

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop a concrete framework of measures ranging from social measures to economic ones that could address inequalities;Believes that specific polices aimed to fight economic inequalities should be introduced in the European Semester and in Country- specific recommendations;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Urges~~Calls on the Commission to ~~extend~~include in the scope of the European Semester and in the in-depth analysis in the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP) ~~by adding new binding indicators to estimate individual imbalances in inequalities as a way to link economic coordination with employment and social performance~~an estimate of imbalances in inequalities;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Reiterates its call for the establishment of a~~n authentic~~ European Pillar of Social Rights and the building of a deeper and fairer social dimension of the EMU, with the necessary legislative, institutional and financial means being devoted to guaranteeing ~~true~~ social progress for its citizens to ensure a level playing field in our market union;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Calls on the Member States to continue their efforts and to encourage an adequate framework of measures which ensures public education, health, adequate public infrastructure and social services, among others that encourages equality of opportunities.Such framework should enable a well-functioning "social lift";

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Calls for more equal economic trends without hampering incentives to free competition, entrepreneurship and innovation;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9 b. Calls on the European Commission and Member States to complement the Gini Index as a measure of inequalities with the Palma ratio as the evolution of the relationship between the 10% richest an the 40% poorest;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Boosting ~~quality~~decent job creation

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Expresses its concern regarding the evolution of inequality in the EU after the crisis, which was largely driven by growing unemployment21 ;Understands unemployment as the main source of economic inequality.Despite the fact that it falls under Member States' competences, job-creation policies are the best option to increase productivity and raise competitiveness.Hence, believes that job-creation policies targeted towards the main unemployment pockets will not only homogenise unemployment rates across the Union but they will also help reduce differences in the incomes distribution; _________________ 21 Eurofound (2017) Income inequalities and employment patterns in Europe before and after the Great Recession.

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Calls on the European Commission and Members States to complement Economic and Monetary Union with a fully-fledged European labour market;Believes that well- functioning labour markets and welfare systems are vital to the success of the European monetary union and are part of a broader convergence process towards more resilient economic structures within the euro area;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12 b. Calls on Members States to ensure better alignment of education and training with labour market needs across the EU, improving opportunities for mobility, improving recruitment and training strategies - particularly 'on the job' training and through targeted investment that will boost job creation and increase employment demand;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)

12 c. Recalls that reskilling is one important element which enables to re- integrate people back into the labour market, helps to tackle long-term unemployment and to better match skills with jobs available;In addition, strongly supports anticipation of future skills' needs as well as fostering entrepreneurship and individual responsibility to meet demands of the labour market;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Expresses its concern about the increas~~ing number of atypical work contracts and forms of non-stand~~e in undeclared ~~employment~~work linked with precarious working conditions, ~~lower wages,~~ exploitation and ~~poorer~~lacking social security ~~contributions~~, and rising inequality;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for a Framework Directive on decent working conditions for all forms of employment, ensuring for every worker a core set of enforceable rights, eliminating discrimination based on contractual status, ensuring a minimum number of working hours and facilitating decent working times and the right to negotiate schedulessocial partners to analyse if there is a need for common approach on decent working conditions for all forms of employment;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Expresses its concern regarding the negative effects of increasing automation due to the delay in adapting legislation, which threatens to exert downward pressure on~~Acknowledges the effects of increasing automation and the need to ensure the adequacy of the social protection systems and wages, especially affecting low and medium-skilled workers;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for ~~a common ap~~exchange of best proac~~h across~~tices between Member States regarding ~~the introduction of a~~an adequate Minimum Income Scheme, in order to support people with insufficient income, ease access to fundamental services, combat poverty and foster social integration;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Believes that the major step to avoid economic unequal trends is the creation of a Europe-wide income-policies framework that favour individuals with lower incomes, and a minimum income policy as a last resort for individuals before reaching poverty and social exclusion in line with the principle of subsidiarity;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ~~establish~~reflect on the feasibility of a European Unemployment Insurance sScheme, which avoids moral hazard and free-riding, complementing current national benefit systems; considers that such an automatic stabiliser can play an important role in ~~reducing inequality between countries and in neutralis~~cushioning the consequences arising from the absorption of asymmetric shocks;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. ~~Calls on the Commission and the Members States to strengthen~~Notes the importance of adequate workers’' rights and fostering the bargaining power of employees through structural reforms of labour markets, w~~idening collective bargaining coverage, and promoting unionisation~~here appropriate; Recognizes that national authorities' role will be to ensure and reinforce the right to syndicate as well as the strength and autonomy of both workers and employers unions when engaging in negotiations at any level;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Stresses the role of dialogue between social partners to address inequalities in the labour market;highlights that social dialogue should be complemented by civil dialogue with representatives of different groups of society, such as people living in poverty, different age groups, persons with different sexual orientations, persons with disabilities when discussing matters relating to inequalities and the fight against poverty and social exclusion;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Highlights that, in many countries, welfare and social protection systems have been ~~severely undermined by austerity measures with huge consequences in terms of income inequalities~~impacted by financial consolidation;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Believes that welfare systems should act as a safety net, but also ensure there are incentives to work;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Affirms that universal access to public, solidarity-based and adequate retirement and old-age pensions must be granted to all; calls on the Commission to support Member States in strengthening public and occupational pension systems to provide an adequate retirement income well above the poverty threshold and to allow pensioners to maintain their standard of living and to live in dignity and independence; reiterates its call for care credits in pension systems to compensate for lost contributions of women and men due to child and long-term care responsibilities as a tool to reduce the gender pension gap; highlights that while personal pension schemes can be important tools to improve pension adequacy, statutory solidarity-based pension systems remain the most efficient tool to combat old-age poverty and social exclusion and therefore should be provided with adequate resources;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Affirms that universal access to public, solidarity-based and adequate retirement and old-age pensions must be granted to all; calls on the Commission to support Member States in strengthening public and occupational pension systems to provide an adequate retirement income well above the poverty threshold and to allow pensioners to maintain their standard of livingHighlights also the important role of work-related pension systems and individual pension savings as a way to ensure an adequate mix, in line with Members States' practices;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Considers that international trade has been an engine for growth ~~in many countries, but also can be perceived as a source of inequalities~~but that the benefits are not always well distributed; calls on the Commission and the Member State to ~~promote fairer~~continue promoting international trade agreements that respect European labour market regulations, while ~~protec~~contributing to quality employment and workers’' rights and ensuring intra- European and national mechanisms for the compensation of workers and sectors negatively affected;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28 a. Considers that each and every EU citizen is subject to the right for equal opportunities and free to choose its own path to emancipation;Believes in the capacity of individuals to shape their own destiny and create their own opportunities;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Calls on the Member States ~~and the Commission to facilitate a common approach towards a National Child Basic Income to ensure that every child receives a minimum income, thereby helping~~ to achieve the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy on reducing poverty and the risk of social exclusion;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls on the Commission to complete its work-life balance legislative package ~~with two essential initiatives: a proposal for a new Maternity Leave Directive renewing these rights and a new proposal for a directive on long-term care and carers~~;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Considers that, despite existing legislation enshrining the principle of equal pay for work of equal value by male and female workers, there is still a gender pay gap and an even greater gender pension gap; calls on the Commission ~~and~~, the Member States and social partners to address the gender gap challenge in pay and pensions;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. ~~Calls on the Commission to introduce legislation requiring Member States to publish tax rulings signed with large companies within a limited time- frame~~Asks the Member States to swiftly implement the Directive on Administrative Cooperation;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2269(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to correct excessive interpersonal inequalities by supporting and encouraging most productive investments;recalls that for that objective taxation policies are crucial and that many Members States need a deep taxation reform.Calls on the Commission to monitor, advice, promote and prepare benchmarks in the light of the European Semester;

2017/07/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas, according to the European Court of Auditors Special report No 5/2017: 'Youth unemployment – have EU policies made a difference?'1a, while the seven Member States examined had made some progress in implementing the Youth Guarantee none had ensured that all NEETs had the opportunity to take up an offer within four months; notes the Court's comment that it is not possible to reach all NEETs with resources only from the EU budget; _________________ 1a http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocu ments/SR17_5/SR_YOUTH_GUARANTE E_EN.pdf

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

Ab. notes that there is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a 'good quality offer' under the Youth Guarantee; believes that a good basis for such a definition is the Court's suggestion that Member States should ensure that offers are only considered to be of good quality if they match the participant's profile and labour market demand and lead to sustainable integration in the labour market;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

1. Stresses that effective mechanisms to discuss and resolve difficulties experienced when implementing YG schemes are needed, together with a strong commitment by the Member States to implement the scope of the YG in full, including partnership-building, ensuring an effective outreach, enabling skills enhancement and putting in place proper evaluation structures as well as strengthening the administrative capacity;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that effective mechanisms to discuss and resolve difficulties experienced when implementing YG schemes are needed, together with a strong commitment by the Member States to implement the scope of the YG in full, including partnership-building, ensuring an effective outreach, enabling skills enhancement and putting in place proper monitoring, reporting and evaluation structures;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that pr~~eventive intervention~~oactive, holistic strategies and structural reform efforts by the Member States are needed in order to reap the benefits of the YG and ensure the success of school-to-work transitions of young people; stresses in this regard the importance of strong partnerships between key stakeholders, training for PES personnel, capacity building for public authorities, education & training institutions, career guidance providers and youth support services and cooperation with NGOs, where relevant;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that preventive interventions and structural reform efforts by the Member States are needed in order to reap the benefits of the YG and ensure the success of school-to-work transitions of young people; stresses in this regard the importance of training PES personnel, capacity building and cooperation with employers and NGOs, where relevant;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls the importance of cooperation between all levels of governance (EU, Member States and local entities) and the European Commission´s technical assistance in implementing effectively the YG;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses that the full potential of exchanging best practices among Member States has not yet been realised; ~~notes in this respect the importance of m~~encourages the Commission and Member States to fully utilise the sharing of best practices through EMCO and the European Employment Strategy Mutual lLearning ~~aimed at the activation of the most vulnerable group~~Programme and believes that a dedicated annual exchange of national YG contact persons should be established to facilitate this;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that a more diversified approach in the provision of services to different groups within the youth population is needed in order to avoid ‘cherry-picking’; calls for a stronger and dedicated outreach to young people facing multiple barriers and those furthest from the labour market (e.g. young people with disabilities);

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to provide consistent, quality data to facilitate the development of more evidence-based youth policies and to ensure the provision of follow-up data to assess the long-term sustainability of outcomes;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Member States to establish concrete and measurable objectives in implementing YG schemes and to identify its main challenges and appropriate action plans to overcome them; furthermore insists on the Member States to establish an overview of the cost of implementing the Youth Guarantee and to prioritize related measures according to available financing;

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2242(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Cautions against the repeated take- up of the YG which goes against the spirit of labour market activation and the aim of transition into permanent employment; to that end believes Member States should perform gap assessments and market analyses prior to setting up schemes and must ensure that offers of employment, education or training match participants' profiles and labour market demand to create sustainable employment.

2017/05/04
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas digitalisation, ambitious climate change goals, migration ~~issues~~ and the fight against poverty and social exclusion offer great potential for social entrepreneurship;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas across all Member States, social enterprises should have a common identity while drawing attention to the importance of recognising their diversity;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Highlights the vital importance of the ~~hundreds of thousands of~~approximately 2 million social enterprises in Europe1a, which employ ~~around 1~~more than 14.5 million people1b, and their invaluable contribution to continued economic growth ~~in the EU internal market;~~ and social cohesion in the EU; __________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/social- economy_en 1b http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId= 738&langId=en&pubId=7523, p. 47

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that, given the ~~constantly~~ rising demand for social services, social enterprises in the EU often bear enormous social responsibility and are becoming increasingly important;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Emphasises the importance of networking among social enterprises, and calls on the Member States to optimise knowledge transfer within Member States and throughout the EU;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for an online European platform for social enterprises, through which they could exchange ideas on ~~setting-up and funding procedures and the legal situation~~establishment and information, EU funding opportunities and requirements and possible legal structures;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to take quantifiable steps to unblock and attract public and private investment needed by social enterprises; notes in this regard that social and solidarity-based economy enterprises still face difficulties in accessing public procurement, such as barriers related to size and financial capability; reiterates the importance of effective implementation of the public procurement reform package by Member States in order to achieve greater participation by these enterprises in tendering procedures for public contracts, by improving the earmarking of contracts for such enterprises, including social clauses and criteria, simplifying procedures and drawing up tenders in a way that makes them accessible to smaller operators;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises the need to introduce at EU level a ‘European social label’ for social enterprises~~, based on clear criteria~~ in order to increase their visibility, encourage investment and optimise their impact; believes the awarding of such an label should be done following a request by the enterprise and based on the subsequent satisfaction of clear common criteria such as a social objective, an entrepreneurial dimension, participatory decision-making, and the reinvestment of profits;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls for ~~the~~EU funds to be used effectively, and stresses that access to EUthese funds needs to be made easier for beneficiaries, not least in order to ~~rule out the emergence of consultancy services provided solely for profit~~support and bolster social enterprises in their primary objective of making a social impact rather than profit maximisation, which ultimately offers a return on investment for society in the long-term.

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Emphasises the importance of social enterprises providing social services to support people at risk or experiencing poverty and social exclusion;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Highlights the necessity of offering employment to those most commonly excluded from the labour market, by reintegrating long-term unemployed people and combating unemployment in general.

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2237(INL)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Highlights the importance of only awarding the European Social Label to enterprises that comply with the qualifying criteria; stresses the importance that a substantial percentage of the profits made by the undertaking must be reinvested or otherwise used to achieve the enterprises social purpose;

2018/04/11
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas ~~the role of~~ whistle-blowers ~~is to help in deterring and preventing~~help to disclose or report acts or omissions which could harm the public interest as well as to deter future wrongdoing and corruption, thus contributing to the promotion of the rule of law, freedom of expression, transparency and democratic accountability;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the importance of protection of whistleblowers has been recognised by all major international instruments concerning corruption and whistle-blowing standards have been set out by the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)7 and the 2009 OECD Anti- Bribery Recommendation;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas recent mass leaks revealing corruption, such as the Panama Papers affair or the avoidance of rules on labour law leading in certain cases to ~~precarious~~illegal employment, confirm the importance of the role played by whistle- blowers in defending the public interest;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital D

D. whereas serious concerns have ~~often~~ been raised that whistle-blowers can face hostility and exclusion at their place of work, rather than being viewed positively; whereas fears of retaliation can result in a chilling effect on whistle-blowers thereby endangering the public interest;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital E

E. whereas the objective of whistle- blowing should be the reporting of acts or omissions that represent a threat to the public interest or a breach of law;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital F

F. whereas s~~ome Member States already ha~~ignificant legal gaps and weaknesses in whistle-blower protection within a number of Member States results in an uneven l~~aws that~~evel of protection of whistle- blowers~~, but others do not, which limits the protection of whistle-blow~~ across the EU; whereas this is particularly significant where therse are cross ~~the EU;~~ -border or EU-wide implications;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital G

G. whereas corruption is ~~one of the most~~a serious problems facing the ~~world~~European Union today, as it can hamper ~~a s~~Member State’s' ability to deliver inclusive economic growth ~~in various fields;~~and competitiveness; whereas corruption is estimated to cost the EU economy €120 billion annually or 1% of EU GDP1a; __________________ 1ahttps://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what- we-do/policies/organized-crime-and- human-trafficking/corruption_en

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for effective measures to protect w~~ork~~histle-blowers who detect and report wrongdoings in the ~~field of unemployment~~workplace specifically protection from dismissal or other work-related unfair treatment, retaliation and criminal and civil liability;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points to the dangers to the public interest of excluding whistle-blowing workers from career progression and of retaliation by colleagues at their workplace, and the dampening effect this has on those who may come across wrongdoing;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recalls the importance of devising instruments to ban any form of retaliation, ~~whether this be active dismissal or passive measures such as the blocking of promotion~~in the form of harassment, dismissal or other punitive or discriminatory treatment;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Urges employers and the authorities to put in place effective channels for reporting and disclosing wrongdoing and to act on the information reported to them after this has been thoroughly verified, and to address the shortcomings identified;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2224(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that proper legislation is needed; encourages Member States to develop legislative instruments that protect those who report ~~just~~verified ~~and proven breaches of conduct to~~wrongdoing within organisations or public authorities;

2017/04/27
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas increases in employment rates ~~mask the insufficient and socially inadequate response to the economic crisis, promoting~~can sometimes mask ongoing impacts of the economic crisis, and the development of precarious forms of employment such as zero-hour contracts, bogus self-employment and involuntary part-time jobs, which do not provide workers with either a decent ~~living~~wage or full labour rights;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas part-time employment had never declined since the crisis, and full- time employment is still below its 2008 pre-crisis level; whereas the number of people working full-time in the second quarter of 2016 remained 2.5 % below the figure for 2008, while part-time employment increased by 11.1 % in the same period10 ; __________________ 10 ESDE Quarterly Review autumn 2016.the most common type of contract in Europe is still permanent full- time employment, accounting for more than half of total employment, although this is decreasing in most countries; whereas the number of employees with a permanent contract grew by 2.7 million in the year to the second quarter of 2016 and full-time workers saw their numbers increase by about 3.1 million; whereas part-time employment had never declined since the crisis, and full-time employment is still below its 2008 pre-crisis level;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Understands standard employment to mean full or part-time, regular employment on the basis of open-ended contracts or fixed-term contract work, and non- standard or atypical forms of employment to include, i.a., marginal part- time work, temporary agency work, ~~fixed-term contract work,~~ zero- hour contracts, internships that are not part of an education programme, and informal or undeclared work;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 1

- little or no job security owing to the non-permanent nature of the work, as in ~~some fixed-term contracts,~~ involuntary and often marginal part-time contracts, ~~contracts containing poor conditions,~~ unwritten contracts, unclear working hours, and duties that change owing to work on demand;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 2

- ~~low~~ remuneration below a minimum living wage, which may even be unofficial or unclear;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 4

~~- no protection against discrimination;~~deleted

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 5

~~- limited or no prospects for advancement in the labour market;~~deleted

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that decent work should specifically guarantee coverage by applicable collective agreements, security of collective bargaining, equal pay for equal work in the same place, ~~and protection of the workers’ families,~~ while supporting the work-life balance for all workers;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Notes that numerous factors, such as digitalisation and automation, are contributing to a radical transformation of work, with an increase in non-standard forms of employment trends that ~~will~~could intensify unless ~~new~~responsive and proportionate regulation is put into place; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that work being transformed through digitalisation, and new employment being created as a result of it, is decent;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses that precarious employment conditions have a long-term effect on social security protection and pensions, and can place workers at greater risk of poverty, social exclusion and deterioration of their fundamental rights;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that social protection, and protection by collective agreements and collective bargaining, should be available to all workers; calls on the ~~Commission and the~~ Member States to guarantee effective protection for workers who perform work in the context of an employment relationship, and a comprehensive policy response that includes policies towards reducing and ultimately eradicating precarious work; calls for policies that empower workers by strengthening social dialogue and promoting the extension of collective bargaining, ensuring that all workers can access and exercise their right to associate, and to bargain collectively, freely and without fear;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses the importance of labour inspectorates and the social partners in safeguarding workers’ rights~~, defin~~ and agreeing decent wages and incomes in accordance with Member States’ laws and practices~~, and in providing consultation and guidance to employers~~; strongly underlines that labour inspectorates should focus on the goal of monitoring and improving working conditions, and should not be used as migration control mechanisms; strongly condemns the practice of companies twho employ migrants without securing their full rights and benefits;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat ~~non-standard, atypical and~~ precarious forms of employment, in line with the ILO Decent Work Agenda and the European Social Charter;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Stresses that the policies of the Member States should be formulated and implemented in accordance with national law and practice, in consultation with~~, and without prejudice, the most representative organisations of employers and work~~ the social partners;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2221(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure effective protection to workers especially affected by ~~uncertainty and~~ precariousness, giving special priority to women workers, young workers, older workers, workers in the informal economy, migrant workers and workers with disabilities;

2017/02/22
Committee: EMPL

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that Sweden submitted the application for a financial contribution from the EGF on 31 March 2016, and that ~~the assessment of that application~~following additional information provided by Sweden, its assessment was finalised by the Commission on 5 September 2016, and notified to Parliament th~~at same day~~e same day, thereby respecting the deadline of 12 weeks from receipt of the completed application;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Points out that~~Emphasises that the regions affected are faced with a relatively large group of older workers with similar backgrounds who have been made redundant at the same time~~, with~~ and that most of the~~se workers~~m, particularly those located in Kista, the town with the highest number of redundancies, do not possess~~ing~~ the skills sought ~~after on~~by the local labour market;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes ~~the fact that the Swedish authorities decided to focus possible~~Sweden’s decision to concentrate potential EGF assistance ~~especially~~ on the Kista, Katrineholm and Kumla sites, ~~as these~~which face the ~~bigg~~greatest challenges~~; recalls that~~, while also offering individualised help ~~must be offered~~ to workers made redundant at the other sites ~~as well~~;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Acknowledges Arbetsförmedlingen’s (the Swedish Public Employment Service) assessment that blue-collar workers have potential opportunities in public or private sector service industries, provided major retraining is offered to them;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Recognises that most of the affected white-collar workers are engineers, some of whom are specialised in niches that are unique to Ericsson, but welcomes the confidence of the Swedish PES that a personalised package of training programmes and coaching will enable most of those redundant employees to find new jobs of high quality.

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Notes that ~~Sweden is planning four types of measur~~the EGF co-funded personalised services for the redundant workers ~~covered by this application: (i) counselling and career guidance divided in: in-depth assessment and individual planning, guidance counselling and motivation coaching and career planning, (ii)~~include: counselling and career guidance; sheltered and supported employment and rehabilitation measures~~, (iii)~~; education and training~~, (iv)~~; and job search allowances; welcomes the special emphasis that will be placed on participants aged 50 and above when providing motivational coaching and career planning;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Notes that the income support measures amount to 33,92 % of the overall package of personalised measures, close to the maximum 35 % set out in the EGF Regulation; and that these actions are conditional on the active participation of the targeted beneficiaries in job-search or training activities; considers this relatively high percentage to be justified in view of the significant proportion of older workers concerned and the provision of individual support to participants with learning disabilities;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Welcomes the Swedish authorities’ assurance that special efforts will be undertaken to break traditional gender barriers, including encouraging male beneficiaries to find jobs in the health care sector, as well as the contribution the measures will make to the 16 Swedish Environmental Quality Objectives;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Notes that ~~Sweden~~the Swedish authorities have confirmsed that the ~~eligible~~proposed actions dowill not receive ~~assistance~~financial support from other Union funds or financial instruments, that any double financing will be prevented and that those actions are complementary to actions funded by the Structural Funds; reiterates its call to the Commission to present a comparative evaluation of those data in its annual reports in order to ensure full respect for existing regulations and that no duplication of Union-funded services can occur;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2214(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Reiterates that assistance~~Welcomes Sweden’s assurance that a financial contribution from the EGF ~~must~~will not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements nor measures for restructuring companies or sectors; notes that Finland has confirmed that the EGF contribution will indeed not replace themthe enterprise concerned is required to take by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that Finland submitted the application for a financial contribution from the EGF on 11 March 2016, and that following additional information provided by Finland, its assessment was finalised by the Commission on 29 July 2016, thereby respecting the deadline of 12 weeks from receipt of the completed application;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Recognises that this application continues a series of cases revolving around the decline of Nokia in Finland and that two further related applications for workers being made redundant in the ICT sector are expected to follow;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Emphasises the importance of the ICT sector to employment in the regions of Helsinki-Uusimaa, Etelä-Suomi and Länsi-Suomi and the potential for the redundant workers to contribute to the industry if they receive sufficient support through further education, training and plans to take up entrepreneurship;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Welcomes the high percentage (close to 80 %) of the overall package being used for personalised services;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Notes that the pay subsidy mentioned in paragraph 7 is between 30 and 50 % of the worker’s payroll costs and will be given for a period of 6 to 24 months; calls on Member States to pay strict attention when using pay subsidies to ensure that redundant workers hired with a subsidy are not replacing, in whole or in part, a position held previously by another employee at the company concerned; is pleased the Finnish authorities have given assurances that this is the case;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

7 b. Notes that the income support measures amount to 16,64 % of the overall package of personalised measures, well below the 35 % limit set by the EGF Regulation and that these actions are conditional on the active participation of the targeted beneficiaries in job-search or training activities;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. Invites the Commission to evaluate and provide information about the impact of these income support measures over a period of several years, to ensure that they are supporting high-quality employment and not being used to subsidise short- term, low-cost contracts;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9 c. Recalls that, in line with Article 7 of the EGF Regulation, the design of the coordinated package of personalised services should anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills and should be compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy.

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Stress~~Notes that the Finnish authorities have confirmed that the ~~eligible~~proposed actions dowill not receive ~~assistance~~financial support from other Union funds or financial instruments, that any double financing will be prevented and that such actions are complementary to actions funded by the Structural Funds; reiterates its call to the Commission to present an annual comparative evaluation of those data to ensure full respect of the existing regulations and that no duplication of Union-funded services can occur;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2211(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Reiterates that assistance~~Welcomes Finland’s assurance that a financial contribution from the EGF ~~must~~will not replace actions which are the responsibility of companies by virtue of national law or collective agreements nor measures for restructuring companies or sectors; notes that Finland has confirmed that the EGF contribution will indeed not replace themthe enterprise concerned is required to take by virtue of national law or pursuant to collective agreements;

2016/09/16
Committee: BUDG

2016/2161(DEC)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that the Centre introduced a new internal structure in the beginning of 2015 and that 2015 was the Centre's first full year under the remit of the European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion;

2016/12/14
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes note of the results envisaged in PAs and OPs, and expects Member States ~~and regions~~ to take the right path in order to achieve cohesion policy objectives; recalls that more effective and efficient policies are needed, in order to avoid overlap, redundancies, destructive administrative burden and incoherencies;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Ask the Commission to be more assertive in monitoring the implementation of recommendations and investments under the ESIF;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the priority nature of the challenges that the ESF is charged with tackling, this being reflected in the sum of EUR 86.4 billion dedicated to ESF measures under the relevant thematic objectives in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to improve simplification for beneficiaries, and for more precise targeting to meet their objectives bearing in mind the specific needs and particularities of Member States; Moreover, calls on the Member States to also make an effort in this area;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that 6 million unemployed young people are to benefit from the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) – which will help them find jobs or improve their skills and qualifications – now that YEI has been integrated into 34 ESF programmes in the 20 eligible Member States; is concerned, however, about the delayed start ~~to th~~and effective implementation of the YEI; urges Member States to intensify their efforts to ensure that the results envisaged are achieved successfully;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Commission to analyse carefully the real impact of investing EU funds during the previous programming period and to draw conclusions regarding the positive and negative outcomes of the PAs and OPs. The same should be done for future programming period; A portal summarising statistics on projects already approved is necessary to avoid fragmented information;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Underlines that the EU funds should not be only used to achieve the targets of Europe 2020 but also for more structural improvements and investments in the real economy; A quantified evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of funds already invested must be implemented, especially assessing the effects in job creation;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Recommends that the Commission develop and establish a user-friendly portal that provides a brief description of all funding options at EU level and links to the webpage of each individual programme.

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Notes that only rarely do ESF- supported measures generate revenue directly, and that grants are therefore the appropriate tool for their implementation, while financial instruments could be a useful complementary tool for certain ESF interventions with a possible leverage effect; Underlines that scarce investment resources can be better targeted by forging links and synergies with other EU funding instruments, notably Erasmus+, Life+, the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation and Horizon 2020 with a holistic coordination;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2148(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Underlines the need to guarantee sufficient administrative capacity before investments are made, taking the fact that more EU funds do not mean more growth; A point is reached where returns begin to decline and additional funds do not lead to higher growth;

2016/09/05
Committee: EMPL

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas petitioners tend to be citizens engaged in the improvement and future well-being of our societies; whereas the experience of these citizens in regard to the processing of their petitions, when based on the Committee's competences, may determine their perception of the EU institutions and respect for the right to petition contained in EU law;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas confidence in the system and in the European project as a whole has been dented by recent events in the United Kingdom, the humanitarian refugee crisis, the social and economic impact of the financial crisis, and the rise in xenophobia and racism throughout Europe; whereas the Committee on Petitions has the responsibility and the huge challenge of maintaining and strengthening constructive dialogue with EU citizens on European issues;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the Committee on Petitions is best able to show citizens what the European Union does for them, according to its competences, and what solutions it can provide at European, national or local level; whereas the Committee on Petitions can do excellent work explaining the successes and benefits of the European project;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the right to petition should enhance the European Parliament’s capacity to react, helping to resolve problems relating mainly to how EU legislation is applied, as petitions, which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, constitute a valuable source of information in detecting deficiencies in how EU legislation is applied; whereas such petitions are a basic tool in the early detection of those Member States lagging behind in transposition of EU law;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas, therefore, petitions, which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, are very important for the legislative process as they provide other Parliament committees with useful and direct input for their legislative work in their respective fields; whereas such petitions are not solely the responsibility of the Committee on Petitions, but should rather be a shared endeavour of all Parliament committees;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas, through petitions which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, EU citizens can complain about poor implementation of EU law; whereas in so doing citizens act as a useful source of information when it comes to detecting breaches of EU law;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas during 2015 petitions lodged by citizens were processed faster and with greater efficiency, the timespan involved in correspondence with petitioners having been reduced; whereas the Secretariat has performed a noteworthy effort to achieve it;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas petitioners actively contribute to the work of the Committee, providing additional information to its members, the Commission and representatives of the Member States who may be present; whereas petitioners, by taking part in these discussions and presenting their petitions along with more detailed information, contribute to establishing a fluid and constructive dialogue with Members of the European Parliament and with the European Commission; whereas in 2015, 191 petitioners attended and were involved in the Committee’s deliberations; whereas although this number seems relatively low, the meetings of the Committee on Petitions are broadcast, enabling petitioners to follow live discussions in real time by means of internet streaming;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA

Motion for a resolution
Recital AC

AC. whereas the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) has to be an important tool for enabling citizens to participate in the EU political decision-making process, and its potential must be exploited fully while ensuring that citizens are fully informed as to matters of EU competence and national competence; whereas, as emerged from statements in the public hearing of 22 February 2015, there is a widespread feeling on the part of organisations processing an ECI that the administrative barriers need to be removed in order to obtain the best possible results in regard to participation by citizens; notes however the need for transparency and accountability by such organizations;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the right to petition should enhance the European Parliament’s capacity to react, helping to resolve problems relating mainly to implementation of EU legislation, as petitions, which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, constitute a useful source of information in detecting breaches in the implementation of EU legislation;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the work that the Committee on Petitions carries out in listening to and helping to solve problems affecting its citizens at the European level and which fall within the Union's competences; believes that petitions can help in assessing the impact that EU legislation has on their daily lives;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Highlights the fact that the Committee on Petitions has an opportunity and the huge challenge of maintaining a dialogue with citizens as it has the possibility to bring the EU’s institutions and citizens together ~~once again~~; notes also that it helps to promote participative democracy;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Considers it essential to improv~~ing~~e cooperation with national parliaments and their relevant committees and with Member State governments, particularly to help ensure that the petition is dealt with by the relevant and competent authorities; encourages the representatives of Member States and of local and/or regional authorities concerned to attend meetings; highlights the need for Council and Commission representatives to be present at meetings and hearings of the Committee on Petitions;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Deplores~~Is aware of the strict way in which the Commission has interpreted Article 51 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights with its stipulation that ‘the provisions of the [...] Charter are addressed to the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity and to the Member States only when they are implementing Union law; recalls that, owing to the existence of Article 51 of the Charter, the expectations of citizens often go beyond what the Charter’s legal provisions strictly allow for; calls on the European Commission to adopt a new approach that is more consistent with those expectations;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Stresses the wide range of subjects raised in the petitions filed by citizens, such as fundamental rights, child welfare, the rights of persons with disabilities, the internal market, environmental law, labour relations, migration policies, trade agreements, public health issues, ~~child welfare,~~ transport, animal rights and discrimination;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Cecilia WIKSTRÖM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Believes that the organisation of public hearings is an important way of examining problems raised by petitioners which fall within the EU competences; draws attention to the public hearings organised on 26 February 2015 with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety in response to the ECI on ‘Water is a Human Right’, and with the Committee on Legal Affairs for the ECI entitled ‘One of Us’;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2146(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Emphasises the important role of SOLVIT, a problem-solving network between the Member States which should be thoroughly developed to its full potential in collaboration with the States and their national SOLVIT centres under their national administrations, and requests that it be given ~~mor~~adequate resources and that a more systematic analysis of the problems identified by SOLVIT be conducted as this network helps to give a realistic picture of the dysfunctions of the single market;

2016/10/24
Committee: PETI

2016/2140(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that voluntary initiatives a~~re not adequate~~lone cannot fully address~~ing~~ issues such as health and safety, wages, social security and working time;

2016/12/13
Committee: EMPL

2016/2140(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. BWel~~ieves the current flagship initiative does not go f~~comes the Commission's proposed objectives of better collaboration between stakeholders, awareness raising among European consumers, supporting developing countries to endorse and implement international labour and environmental standards, and fostering companies' responsible management and transpar en~~ough in~~cy of supply chains; believes the current flagship initiative can go further to improv~~ing~~e the garment sector; calls on the Commission to release as a matter of urgency the report it commissioned identifying gaps in current policy;

2016/12/13
Committee: EMPL

2016/2140(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that trade unions must be able to operate independently and freely to promote and protect workers’' rights, particularly health and safety, with access to factories to educate workers on their rights and their safety and that they are a necessary partner in social dialogue and collective bargaining;

2016/12/13
Committee: EMPL

2016/2140(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises the importance of independent labour inspections in early warning and prevention, yet notes that factors such as audit fatigue can undermine their effectiveness; recommends further research on ways of improving audits and inspections, such as sending different labour inspectors each time, which can lead to more stringent standards, especially in countries with corruption issues; notes the importance of the adequate recruitment of labour inspectors and ongoing training for new and existing inspectors alike;

2016/12/13
Committee: EMPL

2016/2140(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that responsibility should extend throughout the entire supply chain, and commends existing efforts to this effect; ~~believes, howev~~consider,s that ~~the~~new EU ~~is best placed to develop a common framework through legislation on mandatory due diligence and supply chain transparency~~legislation is necessary to create a legal obligation of corporate Human Rights due diligence for EU garment companies outsourcing production to third countries, including binding measures to secure traceability and transparency, which would oblige companies wishing to operate on the European market to provide information about the entire supply chain of their products; recommends that regulation should come in addition to and in support of voluntary initiatives, and that information gathered as a result of EU action should be publicly available.

2016/12/13
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) demonstrate the differences that exist between Member States; argues that the Member States should continue to give priority to reforms that will strengthen their economic recovery and job creation, making a commitment to investment, implementing structural reforms and taking an approach based on fiscal and budgetary responsibility; Request that major structural reforms advocated by CSRs should be accompanied by a social impact assessment regarding their medium-long term effects with the propose to better understand the impact on job creation and economic growth;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) demonstrate the differences that exist between Member States under the European Semester framework; argues that the Member States should continue to give priority to reforms that will strengthen their economic recovery, making a commitment to growth-friendly investment, implementing necessary structural reforms and taking an approach based on fiscal and budgetary responsibility;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to provide stronger guidance on the implementation of the CSRs. Notes that the dialogue with Member States and other European institutions and social partners must continue to be intensified to enhance the ownership of CSRs in order to improve the unsatisfactory rate of reform implementation;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls for a stronger effort from the Commission and Members States to reduce poverty, social exclusion and growing inequalities, for instance through Member States´ exchange of best practices on the implementation of national minimum income schemes; Reiterates that tackling economic inequalities is fundamental to achieve long lasting economic growth and a socially sustainable rhythm of implementation;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Recalls that the longer-term vision outlined in the Europe 2020 Strategy is a good first step, but these targets should be adapted to the reality and needs in different Member States, leaving sufficient political space for Member States to find their own contextually adapted path to reform in close consultation with stakeholders while ensuring that the 2020 Strategy remains central to their objectives;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that economic growth should guarantee a positive social impact; welcomes the introduction of the three new headline ~~social~~employment indicators in the macroeconomic imbalances procedure; reiterates the call for ~~these to be p~~a balanced ~~on an equal footing~~equilibrium with existing economic indicators, thereby guaranteeing that internal imbalances are better assessed and making structural reforms more effective; calls, in this connection, for a social imbalances procedure to be introduced; The social imbalance procedure must prevent a race to the bottom in terms of taxation and social standards, building on an effective use of the social and employment indicators in macroeconomic surveillance;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that economic policies should adapt to social needs and should guarantee minimum social policies and basic services for its citizens; Highlights that a renewed process of upward economic and social convergence is needed, notably through investments in human capital and other social infrastructures, in order to tackle the economic and social disparities between Member States and within societies;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. The introduction of the 3 employment indicators shows that the European Employment Strategy, including Employment Guidelines, plays an important role in the EU economic governance process, but more efforts need to be made, notably through the introduction of social indicators, like the gini coefficient, palma index and persistent-at-risk-of-poverty rate;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Calls on the Commission to deliver the results of the consultation and to move forward with new effective steps on the establishment of a European Pillar of Social Rights, which is fundamental to broader efforts to deliver a fairer Union;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for a strong commitment to promoting the Juncker Plan (EFSI) in Member States ~~with a low level of participation~~that are especially affected by severe unemployment;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the European Commission to closely monitor and control the investments under the Juncker Plan; A report should audit and measure the economic and employment impact of the investments in real terms;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Recognises the significant progress made by the Member States in implementing structural reforms~~, while nevertheless taking the view that further progress is necessary:~~ to enhance productivity, foster job creation, raise competitiveness and improve the business environment, while nevertheless taking the view that further progress is necessary, especially from Member States with large current account surpluses, notably through the implementation of measures to channel excess savings towards the domestic economy and thereby boost domestic investment;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Highlighted the importance of private investment, but believes that public expenditure should be also promoted in an efficient and effective way; Member States should focus on sources of expenditure that will raise productivity capacity in the future and that will have strong positive spill-overs on the economy as a whole - especially through education and training (academic, professional and vocational), R&D and infrastructures (transport, energy and communication);

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls on Member States to reduce the tax wedge on labour, particularly for low earners, in a budgetary neutral way to foster job creation and to implement tax rules that foster incentives on entrepreneurship and employment creation;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Recalls once again that free movement of people is fundamental to enhance convergence and integration between European countries;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Regrets the fact that the Commission has disregarded Parliament’'s request to strengthen the application of Article 349 TFEU with a view to enhancing the outermost regions’ ' integration into the EU; notes that these regions have unemployment rates over 30%; Priority should be also given to economies and regions that still face high long-term and youth unemployment and that productivity growth remains slow affecting living standards and competitiveness;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for account to be taken of the challenges that have been emerging in the EU since ~~2015~~the beginning of the crisis, which have required serious adaptation efforts; calls on the Commission ~~not to apply any sanctions to the Member States in 2016~~to apply the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) exactly the same way in every Member State, so as to prevent any sort of discrimination; Notes the flexibility already contained within the SGP;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that more EU transfers might be expected to generate greater additional growth, but in reality, it appears there may be decreasing returns from investment and investment- stimulating transfers; More funds do not necessarily mean more growth and better results; A point may be reached where returns begin to decline and additional funds do not lead to higher growth; Transfers to regions should therefore not exceed maximum desirable levels if inefficiency and misuse are to be avoided;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Calls on the Commission to help and to exchange best practices with Member States to improve administrative capacity at national, regional and local level which is a key challenge for re- launching long-term investments and ensuring job creation and sustainable growth;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2101(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Stresses that Member States deficit levels may be increased due to the Member States need to co-finance projects financed by ESI funds; Having regard to budgetary restrictions, many deprived regions have less possibilities to benefit from ESIF. Asks the Commission to revise the requests of co-financing in areas with dramatic indebtment or deficit;

2016/07/20
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

– having regard to the Report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons,

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)

– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the EU in 2010,

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 10 September 2015 on creating a competitive EU labour market for the 21st century,

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the European Union ~~needs a paradigm shift towards a strong~~must continue to strengthen and build upon the European social model based on solidarity, social justice, ~~a fair distribution of wealth,~~ gender equality, a high- quality public education system, quality employment and sustainable growth - a model that ensures ~~good~~adequate social protection for all, combats economic inequality, empowers vulnerable groups, enhances participation in civil and political life, and improves ~~the~~ living standards for all citizens, delivering on the objectives and rights set out in the EU Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Social Charter;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. The social dimension of the EU is much broader than EU Social Rights, the EPRS or Social Pillar also includes an extensive body of EU and national legislation protecting workers, as well as well-developed national social systems;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the Commission is expected to come forward in the spring of 2017 with a proposal for a ~~binding~~ European Pillar of Social Rights;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) ~~cannot be limited to a declaration of principles or good intentions but must consist of real matter (legislation, policy-making mechanisms and financial instruments),~~should include specific policy-making mechanisms delivering a positive impact on citizens’ lives in the short term and ~~enabling support for European construction in the 21st century~~ by effectively upholding social rights and Treaty objectives, strengthening cohesion and upward convergence, and helping to complete EMU in the long term;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights that the EPSR should ~~equi~~help European citizens ~~with stronger means to keep control over their lives and make markets work for wellbeing~~to maintain ownership over their lives and make economic policy also work for social cohesion and sustainable ~~development~~growth;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Morten LØKKEGAARD, Alexander Graf LAMBSDORFF, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Acknowledges that the Social Pillar should not undermine the prerogative of social partner to agree beyond minimum standards agreed at EU level, and should never impair the freedom of social partners to negotiate in areas where flexicurity-approaches have proven to be effective. Neither create any difficulty or setback to Member States, sectors or citizens that have reached levels of social rights beyond the basic frame of the Social Pillar;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recognises that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is ratified by the European Union and therefore believes that the EPSR should reference and mainstream the principles of the CRPD throughout each policy domain;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Morten LØKKEGAARD, Alexander Graf LAMBSDORFF, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. In addition, EPSR should provide an instrument to foster upward convergence for national reforms of the economic, social and labour market systems of the member states to facilitate the free movement of labour in a deeper and fairer market;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Emphasises that the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States and social partners, should also reinforce the European social dialogue with a view to better reconciling labour markets and social protection demands in order to address social inequalities and competitiveness challenges;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point a

a. decent working conditions for internships, traineeships and apprenticeships, prohibiting those that are unpaid ~~or paid so little that they do not enable workers to make ends meet~~;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point b

~~b. for work intermediated by digital platforms, a definition of employment that is less dependent on full cumulation of the relevant criteria;~~deleted

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point c

c. ~~limits regarding on-demand work:~~ zero-hour contracts should be banned ~~and certain core working hours should be guaranteed to all workers~~;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – point c a (new)

ca. reduce social inequalities and promote employment, especially for young people and the long-term unemployed in order to boost economic growth;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Takes note that traditional work patterns are being challenged by an increase in the diversity of non-standard forms of employment, and new forms of work are emerging that are blurring the boundary between dependent employment and self-employment. Calls on Member States and the Commission improve the legal certainty and legal clarity on worker´s employment status and employers responsibility;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises the need for renewed upward convergence in wages throughout the EU; calls on the Commission to actively support a wider coverage for collective bargaining in line with Member States’ national traditions and practices; considers that to ensure decent living wages, minimum wages ~~set at a decent level~~ are necessary; recommends the establishment of national wage floors through legislation or collective bargaining~~, with the objective of attaining at least 60 % of the respective national average wage~~;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to carry out a substantive analysis of the best practice to assist Member States in the calculation of minimum pensions;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Stres~~Recognises the importance of collective rights~~; expect~~ in many Member States; encourages the Commission to step up concrete support for strengthening social dialogue in Member States and ~~sectors where it is weak owing to the prolonged crisis or the prevalence of non-standard forms of employment~~at European level and in sectors where it is weak;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Supports more integrated provision of social protection benefits and social services as a way to make the welfare state more understandable and accessible while not weakening social protection; points to the importance of informing citizens about social rights and to the potential of e- government solutions, possibly including a European social security card, which could improve EU Social Security Coordination, individual awareness and also help mobile workers clarify their contributions and entitlements;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Is aware that rising life expectancy and ~~workforce~~a shrinking workforce pose a challenge to the sustainability and adequacy of pensions systems and to intergenerational fairness; ~~reaffirms that the best response is to increase the overall employment rate~~notes that tackling the gender pension gap must also be a priority in this regard; reaffirms that the best response is to increase the overall employment rate for both younger and older workers with particular attention given to disadvantaged groups most excluded from the labour market; considers that pensionable ages should reflect, besides life expectancy, other factors including labour market trends, the economic dependency ratio, the birth rate and differences in job arduousness;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Insists that all workers should be covered by insurance against ~~involuntary unemployment or part-time employment,~~ unemployment, coupled with job-search assistance and investment in (re)-training;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Calls for a European framework for~~Encourages Member States to introduce minimum income schemes; highlights the importance of such schemes for maintaining human dignity as well as their role as a form of social investments enabling people to undertake training and/or look for work;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Agrees that all persons with disabilities must be ensured enabling individualised services and basic income security allowing them a decent standard of living and social inclusion; recognises that disability benefits must be developed in a way which both encourages access to the labour market and ensures a decent standard of living in the community;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Considers access to quality and affordable long-term care services, including home-based care, to be a right that should be upheld with the ~~help of suitab~~support of adequately qualified professionals employed under decent conditions; believes that low- income households should therefore be targeted by adequate public services and tax deductions to avoid institutionalisation and the risk of poverty; repeats its call for ~~legislation on~~a carers’ leave directive accompanied by adequate remuneration and social protection;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls ~~for legislation~~on Member States to ensure that access to social housing or adequate housing benefits are provided for those in need, ~~obviously~~ including homeless people, and that vulnerable people and poor households are protected against eviction; calls for tax incentives to help young people on low incomes set up their own households; calls for greater use of the EFSI to support urban renewal and affordable housing provision;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Morten LØKKEGAARD, Ulrike MÜLLER, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls for ~~legislation~~measures ensuring fair access for all to good-quality and affordable social services of general interest and other essential services, such as e-communications, energy, transport and financial services; highlights the role of social enterprises;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Supports a Skills Guarantee as a new right for everyone to acquire fundamental skills for the 21st century, including digital literacy; stresses that universal access to broadband is a crucial component for the implementation of this right; highlights this as an important social investment, requiring adequate financing;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – introductory part

19. Is ~~alarmed at the spre~~concerned about the lack of stability and security of new forms of contractual arrangement and the abusive use of 'atypical' contracts that have led to a certain fade of ~~precariousness arising from the excessive use of ‘atypical’ contract~~the employment relationship, making it difficult for workers to exercise their rights at work, or gain access to social security benefits; points out that a variety of employment contracts should be available for employers and workers; stresses the importance of ensuring sufficient institutional and budgetary capacities to provide adequate protection for people in non-standard forms of employment; considers in particular that:

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Points out that ~~secure~~ professional transitions require adequate investment, both in the institutional capacity of public employment services and to assist individual job-search and upskilling;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls for full implementation of the Youth Guarantee for all people under 30 and of the recommendation on the long- term unemployed, including through the development of additional measures necessary to ensure the Youth Guarantee is accessible for persons with support needs; highlights these as important structural reforms and social investments that are in need of adequate financing;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 – point b

b. there is a need for new legislative proposals at both a national and European level on family leave schemes, including maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave and carers’ leave, encouraging equal take-up of leave arrangements by men and women across all categories of workers in order to improve women’s access to and position within the labour market and facilitate work-life balance;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5

~~Fair m~~Mobility

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Emphasises that labour mobility within the EU ~~is a right whose exercise must be supported but which should not be forced on workers by poor conditions in their home regions, and should not undermine host countries’ social standard~~, non-discrimination and freedom of movement is a cornerstone for a well-functioning internal market, mobility should be encourage and support by the European Commission and Member States;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls for a structured, long-term EU strategy to address the challenges posed by demographic change, as all the Member States are now faced with an increasingly ageing population; calls on the Commission, in this context, to look extensively into future shortages and mismatches in the EU labour market, and to examine in depth how such problems can be addressed across the EU, inter alia through targeted anticipation of future skills needs, and by better matching skills with the jobs available in the labour market and further strengthening labour mobility; Calls on the EU and its Member States to continue its efforts to financial aid and services to families to improve labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Urges the Commission to put in place all suitable mechanisms for greater mobility among young people, with a special accent in apprenticeships, as a way to address skill mismatches in the labour market and improve access to employment opportunities; Calls for the establishment and regular use of coordination mechanisms between business organisations and training institutions to ensure that they provide training programmes adapted to market needs;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission to propose a clear roadmap for legislative updates and other measures that are necessary for full practical application of the EPSR; ~~highlights that in cases of conflict of law,~~Welcomes that the EPRS delivers on the horizontal social clause (Article 9 TFEU) ~~should be properly applied;~~, calls on the Commission and Member States to inspired the action in the goals and objectives an continue to promote and attaint high level of employment, to guarantee adequate social protection, to fight against social exclusion, and to provide for a high level of education, training and protection of human health.

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – introductory part

26. Considers that the objective of upward social convergence should be underpinned by a set of targets, building on the Europe 2020 strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals and serving to guide the coordination of economic, employment and social policies in the EU; Regrets that coordination mechanisms used in the employment and social fields have failed to achieve upward convergence in the past; believes that these targets could also form part of the Convergence Code currently being discussed for the euro area, and could be based on the following indicators which are directly affected by public policies:

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point a

a. Education, including the early school-leaving rate and the proportion of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs);

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point a a (new)

aa. Productivity and labour costs

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point a b (new)

ab. Labour mobility and protection of workers

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point a c (new)

ac. Investment in infrastructure

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point c

~~c. the proportion of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs);~~deleted

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point d

d. the at-risk-of-poverty ~~rate~~or social exclusion rate (AROPE) ;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point d a (new)

da. gini and palma index

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point d b (new)

db. income quintile share ratio

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point e a (new)

ea. access to adequate, safe and affordable housing;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point e b (new)

eb. EIGE gender equality index;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point j a (new)

ja. Pensions

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – introductory part

30. Reiterates wit~~s c~~hout a comprehensive mid-term revision of the MFF the Union budget will be able neither to further address additional financial needs and new political priorities of the EPSR; Call for the raising of the MFF 2014-20 ceilings in order to cope with increased needs; calls, in particular, for:

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – point c

~~c. the establishment of a new instrument, to be financed, for example, from EU revenue arising from competition law enforcement, to support the implementation of the Child Guarantee;~~deleted

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls on the Commission and the EIB to refocus the EFSI on job creation and social investment and adapt its risk/return requirements accordingly; welcomes Commissioner Thyssen's statement that the social dimension of the investment plan for Europe will be reinforced by increasing support for social enterprises, social services and microfinance with €1 billion;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 – point a

a. a fund for renewed structural convergence, supporting the implementation of socially just reforms and investments that are necessary for increasing the growth potential of crisis- affected areas and restoring upward social convergence, including implementation of the Youth Guarantee, Skills Guarantee and ~~Child Guarantee~~investment that reduce inequalities and poverty;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

~~33. Calls on the Commission to integrate the above-mentioned financial instruments in its proposals for the post- 2020 multiannual financial framework and its white paper on EMU;~~deleted

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2095(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Considers that the EPSR should be adopted in 2017 as a ~~binding~~n agreement between the European Parliament and the European Council, involving social partners at the highest level, and should contain a clear roadmap for implementation, with concrete commitments and target dates;

2016/10/18
Committee: EMPL

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the Code of Conduct for Commissioners adopted in 2011 fails to sufficiently address several of Parliament’s recommendations for improvements, in particular as regards the declarations of financial interests of Members of the Commission, the post-office employment restrictions and the strengthening of the ad-hoc Ethical Committee responsible for the assessment of conflicts of interests;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Regrets~~Denounces the fact that the 2011 code of conduct has failed to address all the recommendations issued by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 2 March 20111 and points out, in particular, that Commissioners ~~are not~~should be required to declare all their financial interests or assets buand not only those interests or assets ‘which might create a conflict of interest in the performance of their duties’, that there is no requirement to declare debts and liabilities and that dependent children are not required to produce the same information as spouses; __________________ 1 Letter from Mr De Magistris, chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control, to Mr Lehne, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs.

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. SConsiders that conflict of interests can only be assessed by an independent third party and stresses in particular that the Commissioners ~~are expected to~~cannot make their own judgement on what might create a conflict of interest in the absence of a clear definition to guide them;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point c

(c) with regard to the declaration of possession of company shares, stock and other property or rights representing assets and other intangible assets;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Regrets the code of conduct fails to adequately codify the requirement under the Article 245 TFEU that "both during and after their term of office, Commissioners will respect the obligations... in particular their duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits."

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Regrets that the Commission does not report regularly on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Commissioners, in particular as regards their declarations of interests and that the code of conduct does not provide for complaints or sanctions with regard to infringements with the exception of serious misconduct as referred to in Articles 245 and 247 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Regrets, in particular, the negative response by the President of the Commission to the request of the European Ombudsman to proactively publish its decisions on the authorisation of post term-of-office activities of former Commissioners, as well as the opinions of the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee; emphasises in this respect that the mere publishing of the minutes of Commission meetings is insufficient to offer the Parliament and civil society an insight in the interpretation in practice of 'potential conflicts of interest' and the integrity policies developed in this respect by the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Regrets that the code of conduct does not require former commissioners to make publicly available information on their meetings and telephone calls with officials of the European Institutions or officials of the governments of the Member States up to 10 years after they have ceased to hold office;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point d

(d) that Commissioners ~~disclose~~in office suspend and former Commissioners disclose for 10 years their membership of any non-governmental organisations or trade unions, and any donations to NGOs of more than EUR 500;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point d a (new)

(da) that the Code of Conduct be amended, in line with Article 245 TFEU to extend Commissioners' post-office employment restriction to three years;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES, Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point e

(e) that Commissioners designate submit their declarations within a specific time frame ~~before their~~so that the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee can submit to Parliament its views on potential conflicts of interests well in time for the hearings in Parliament;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES, Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point e a (new)

(ea) that Commissioners designate include in their declarations all professional EU interest representation activities and all their financial interests in such activities in the past three years;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point g

(g) that the Commission ~~guides the Commissioners on how to implement~~revises section 1.3 of the code of conduct, which stipulates that the Commissioners must declare any financial interest or asset which might create a conflict of interests in the performance of their duties, and in particular on the definition of conflicts of interests in order to make sure that all financial interests and related rules are clearly defined and guides both Commissioners designate and Commissioners in office how to implement section 1.3 of the code of conduct fully and comprehensively;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES, Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point i a (new)

(ia) that the decisions on the authorisation of post term-of-office activities of former Commissioners, as well as the opinions of the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee are proactively published;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES, Benedek JÁVOR, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point i b (new)

(ib) that the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee is composed of independent experts who have not themselves fulfilled positions as Commissioner or as Member of the European Parliament;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES, Benedek JÁVOR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point i c (new)

(ic) that the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee shall draw up and publish an annual report on its activities and may include any recommendations on the improvement of the Code of Conduct or of its implementation, as it may see fit;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2080(INI)

Dennis de JONG, Marian HARKIN, Ana GOMES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point i d (new)

(id) that, as a matter of priority, the duty to behave with integrity and discretion pursuant to Article 245 of the Treaty (TFEU) even beyond a period of 18 months after ceasing to hold office is elaborated and that the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee develops a manual providing guidelines on the basis of practical examples indicating which type of positions could be at odds with this duty both during and beyond the period of 18 months after ceasing to hold office; that the 'cooling off' period of 18 months is considerably extended, as long as such a manual has not yet been developed;

2016/09/06
Committee: CONT

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that small-scale fishing in the Mediterranean accounts for 80% of the fleet and 60% of jobs; points to the importance of small-scale non-industrial fishing for the sustainability of stocks, environmental conservation, and the socio- economic development of fishing communities, particularly rural communities;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Maintains that where fisheries are concerned, policy-making should be such as to enable fishermen and their organisations, trade unions, and coastal communities to be involved in – and made an integral part of – decision-taking processes in line with the CFP's regionalisation principle;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – introductory part

3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make information and technical support more readily available to fishermen’s organisations applying for EU funding, which should meet the sector’s needs by:

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – indent 1

– promoting fleet renewal and modernisation, while ~~seeking to reduce the fishing effort~~maximising catches in a sustainable way and improve active and passive safety devices, for example personal locator systems in life jackets;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – indent 2

– promoting the recruitment of young people, thereby en~~hancing the status of work and vocational training;~~ suring the continuity and vitality of the sector and a decrease in rural to urban migration or migration abroad; stresses the need for adequate provision of, and information on, training for fishermen by the competent authorities in this regard;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – indent 3

– encouraging those working in the sector to join forces and organise themselves for example through trade unions, community organisations, cooperatives and/or fishers' and fishing vessel owners' representative organisations;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Suggests that a minimum wage could be established for fishermen in line with the national traditions and practices of the individual Member States; ~~recommends that a wage compensation fund be set up to cover non-fishing periods and that such periods be treated as actual working time for the purposes of the retirement~~ encourages the Member States to examine the feasibility of a fisheries wage compensation afund ~~other social security entitlement~~to cover non-fishing periods;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2079(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, António MARINHO E PINTO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on those Member States who have not already done so to ratify the ILO's Work in Fishing Convention 188 which ensures that fishers have decent conditions of work on board fishing vessels;

2016/10/24
Committee: EMPL

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Agrees with the Commission that the ~~conditions~~intervention criteria set out in Article 4(2) of the ~~EGF~~ Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 are met and that, therefore, Belgium is entitled to a financial contribution of EUR 1 824 041 under thatis Regulation, which represents 60 % of the total cost of EUR 3 040 069;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Notes that the ~~Belgian authorities submitted the application for a financial contribution from the EGF on 17 December~~Commission respected the deadline of 12 weeks from the reception of the completed application from the Belgian authorities, on 11 February 20156, ~~and that its assessment was finalised by the Commission~~until finalising its assessment on the compliance with the conditions for providing a financial contribution, on 4 May 2016 and notif~~ied~~ying it to Parliament ~~that~~on the same day;.

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that following the announcement byof Caterpillar Belgium SA on 23 February 2013 of a collective redundancy procedure in its Gosselies plant, the majority of its 1399 workers were subject of EGF/2014/011 BE/Caterpillar application; and points out that the current application is a follow-up to that application ~~since~~, as it is part of the same ~~collective~~ redundancy procedure; ~~further points out~~underlines that Hainaut is facing a difficult labour market situation with an unemployment rate of 14,5 % (5,9% higher than the national average), 1 236 job losses in 2013 and 1 878 in 2014 in the manufacturing sector, drop in job offers of 13 % since 2012 and high proportion of underqualified labour, as (over half of the job seekers lack upper secondary qualifications); , as well as high levels of long-term unemployment, which stands at 39,0% of overall unemployment in Hainaut Region;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the fact that ~~the~~ Belgian authorities started providing the personalised services to the ~~affected worker~~targeted beneficiaries on 1 January 2015, well ahead of the application for the EGF support ~~for the proposed coordinated package~~;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that Belgium is planning ~~six~~the following types of measures for redundant workers covered by this application: ~~(i)~~ support/guidance/integration~~, (ii)~~; facilitating job-search~~, (iii)~~; integrated training~~, (iv)~~; support for enterprise creation~~, (v)~~; support for collective projects, ~~and (vi)~~ job- search and training allowances~~, taking into consideration the potential of the area and the business environment~~;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Welcomes the fact that the allowances and incentives, for which Belgium confirmed that they are conditional on the active participation of the targeted beneficiaries in job-search or training activities, (Actions under Article 7(1)(b) of the EGF Regulation) are limited to less than 5 % of the total costs, which is far below the threshold of 35% of the total cost for the package of personalised measures allowed by the Regulation;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Notes that the personalised services provided to NEETs~~Welcomes that additionally to the 488 workers dismissed, 300 young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) under the age of 25 from the same region are expected to participate in the measures and receive personalised services co-financed by EGF, which shall include: ~~(i)~~ mobilisation and guidance, either ~~for~~to further education/training or to follow induction sessions~~, (ii) training, (iii)~~ to explore interests; specific training courses; personalised upskilling~~, and (iv)~~; job- search, training and mobility allowances;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Welcomes the fact that the Belgian authorities are proposing special measures designed for NEETs, targeting in this way more specifically their needs;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Notes the importance of launching an information campaign in order to reach the NEETs who could be eligible under these measures; recalls its position on the need to help the NEETs in a permanent and sustainable way;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Notes~~Welcomes the fact that the coordinated package of personalised services hwas ~~been drawn up in~~established following further consultations with all stakeholders including social partners, enterprises and the public employment services, who will also follow the implementation of the proposed measures through a monitoring committee;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Welcomes especially the approach of Belgian authorities and the cooperation with social partners for granting support to collective projects for workers who consider setting up a "social enterprise" together as a group, as a measure with a highly value added potential;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Recalls that, in line with Article 7 of the EGF Regulation, the design of the coordinated package of personalised services supported by the EGF should~~Notes that the proposed actions, constitute active labour market measures within the eligible actions set out in Article 7 of the EGF Regulation and recalls that, in line with this article, the personalised services provided are expected to anticipate future labour market perspectives and required skills and ~~should~~ be compatible with the shift towards a resource-efficient and sustainable economy; notes, at the same time, that these actions do not substitute passive social protection measures;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Recalls the importance~~Highlights the need of improving ~~the~~ employability of all workers by ~~means of~~ adapted training and ~~the recognition of skills and competences gained throughout a worker's professional career;~~ expects that the training on offered in the coordinated package ~~to be adapted not only to~~ will meet bothe needs of the ~~dismissed workers but also to the actual~~ workers and the business environment;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Asks~~Reiterates the call on the Commission to ~~further~~provide more detail,s in future proposals, on the sectors ~~in which the workers are likely to find employment and whether the training on offer is aligned to the future economic prospects and labour market needs in the regions concerned by the dismissals~~having prospects to grow, and therefore to hire people, as well as to gather substantiated data on the impact of the EGF funding, including on the quality of jobs and the reintegration rate achieved through EGF;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Notes that, to date, the Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. sector has been the subject of 14 EGF applications, ~~including this one,~~ 8 of which ~~were~~ based on trade- related globalisation and 6 on the global financial and economic crisis;

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2074(BUD)

Thomas HÄNDEL, Jeroen LENAERS, Maria ARENA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Asks~~Reiterates its call to the Commission ~~again~~ to assure public access to all the documents related to EGF cases;.

2016/06/02
Committee: BUDG

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Believe~~Recalls that the ~~main aim of projects financed under~~purpose of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) ~~should be to create growth and a dynamic labour market in Europe, and hence to enhance the well-being of EU citizen~~is to make sure that scarce public resources are used to mobilise private investment to target market failures by crowding-in private capital and ensuring investment reach real economy; believes that projects financed under the EFSI should create growth, stimulate the creation of jobs in Europeans areas where unemployment is huge and alarming and invest in sectors critical to Europe's future notably through social and human capital, European infrastructures and industry; stresses that it should be clear that all EFSI-supported projects could not have been carried out, without EFSI support; emphasises that the EFSI must be considered as an emergency plan; regrets that the EIB evaluation finds that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) or H2020 may potentially compete with EFSI, and that the EIB sometimes privileges EFSI over those programmes;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Recalls that according to recital 13 of the EFSI regulation, EFSI should seek to contribute to strengthening the Union's economic, social and territorial cohesion; in that sense, calls on the Commission to provide guidance to avoid EFSI' aggregated portfolio concentration in the EU15 (92%) as mentioned in the operations evaluation of the European Investment Bank; recalls that the introduction of quotas - regional and sectorial - is not an objective, but the fact that the EFSI is being concentrated in countries where the market gap on investment is less evident, leads to the conclusion that not enough attention is paid to really addressing market failures and labour market constraints; highlights also that 46% of the EFSI financing is allocated to the energy sector and 19% to the transport sector; stresses that there is a need to assess if these concentrations are really enhancing or hampering the fight against the big pockets of unemployment; stresses the need to develop more information campaigns about the EFSI, which would allow to increase private investment and thus avoid this regional and sectorial concentration;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Recognises the importance of the extension of the lifetime of the EFSI beyond 2020 and of the necessary increase in the EU budget guarantee but regrets that any comprehensive impact assessment has been made, so the Commission has little evidence that the proposed increase is justified;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Reinforces the additionality of the projects supported under EFSI to enhance the geographical coverage and reinforces the take-up especially in areas with high level of unemployment in order to have a strong impact in the employment figures; highlights the need to develop further the investment in cross-border projects;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Highlights that investment situation in Europe is slowly improving but the pace is still timid and can be reversible; investment levels are still below the pre-crisis level and the investment gap remains wide; in that sense EFSI must be oriented to any kind of projects that lead to job creation and sustainable growth and development;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1e. Highlights that initial results reveal that Member States with greater technical and administrative capacity, as well as financial institutions, are taking greater advantage of the EFSI; underlines that a greater role must be played by the EIB and the Commission in supporting those lagging behind through greater technical assistance and enhancing the capacity of some countries in taking advantage of the EFSI; notes that approximately 63% of total EFSI financing within the Innovation and Infrastructure Window was granted to three Member States, while the EFSI strategy foresees a maximum geographical concentration of 45%; notes that the situation is less problematic when it comes to the SME Window, but even here, only three Member States account for 54% of total EFSI financing;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the Commission and the EIB to continue their local/national campaigns to help explain and promote the benefits of Investment Plan across the Union; welcomes the opening of new offices by the EIB in the Member States to provide more support and also enhance cooperation with National Promotional Banks contributing to generate more projects in areas of high level of unemployment that have been less covered so far;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls for the EFSI to operate in closer conjunction with the ~~Structural Funds~~European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) and other Structural Funds; this articulation must be further simplified and administrative obstacles must be removed;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Recalls that the EFSI remains without an assessment and analysis of the causes of the investment gap and the market needs and how to best address them; in that sense, calls on the Commission to provide this assessment;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Considers itmore than disappointing that the Commission’s assessment of the EFSI has failed to record the number of jobs created to date under the Fund; calls on the Commission to studied and assess the impact of these projects on the number of jobs created and the real impact of these investment in direct and indirect jobs;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Recalls the importance that new figures and updates are released regularly, including independent assessments, drawing on the experience collected so far; regrets that in terms of the objectives relating to growth and jobs, no targets have been set for EFSI; Calls on the monitoring of indicators relating to growth and jobs, as these are the ultimate objectives of the investments;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to lay down more clear-cut investment priorities and to draw up projects in collaboration with the European Investment Advisory Hub; the EIB should ensure a proper feedback loop of information with the European Commission regarding eventual regulatory barriers which may be preventing good projects of taking place at the different levels; calls on the Commission to work in closer cooperation with Member States in the European Semester process in order to help them begin as soon as possible to implement the recommendations, in particular by carrying out economic and social reforms, thus removing national barriers to investment; these reforms identified in the country- specific recommendations are an important condition to sustain and increase investment levels in Member States, taking into account national specificities.

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Welcomes that the Commission will, in close cooperation with the EIB, further strengthen the communication on the EFSI and the Hub in order to raise awareness of the availability of funding and technical assistance across the Union; suggests that information on funding solutions, technical assistance and procedures, including through good practices examples and case studies, can stimulate new ideas and boost investment initiatives;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2064(INI)

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. As recalled by the European Parliament resolution of 28 April 2016 on the EIB - annual report 2014 there is a need for the EFSI to function in an effective, fully transparent and fair way, in that sense insists in the need to achieve the highest levels of transparency and institutional accountability by ensuring the disclosure of exhaustive and sound budgetary information and access to financial data related to projects funded by the EIB;

2016/12/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2062(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the Commission’s communication on ‘An Aviation Strategy for Europe’; stresses that action is needed to reinforce the social agenda and create and maintain high-quality jobs in aviation; believes that ensuring a level playing field in the sector is crucial;

2016/09/09
Committee: EMPL

2016/2062(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to come forward with ~~legislative~~ initiatives to prevent flags of convenience, rule shopping and unfair competition in aviation, including a ban on zero-hours contracts and pay-to-fly schemes;

2016/09/09
Committee: EMPL

2016/2062(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to invest in education and training in all parts of the aviation value chain recognising the need to address any skills gaps which emerge;

2016/09/09
Committee: EMPL

2016/2062(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Believes that a network of aviation training institutes under the auspices of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Virtual Academy would help to establish common training and safety standards;

2016/09/09
Committee: EMPL

2016/2062(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Recommends that common standards regarding competences of aviation safety inspectors should be established;

2016/09/09
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Acknowledges that the implementation of the principle of equal pay for the same work and for work of equal value is crucial to reducing pay and pension gaps and to eliminating the risk of poverty; recognises also in this regard that key to preventing and mitigating the gender pension gap is women's access to the labour market, improved work/life balance for both men and women and addressing gender segregation in education and employment;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that pension policies shall be combined with adequate labour and active ageing policies to reduce gender pay and pension gaps; highlights in this regard vulnerable position of women and men of racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic minority origin; stresses the importance of fight against gender stereotypes in employment;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for an adequate public minimum pension not related to previous working life to eliminate coverage gaps; stresses the importance of shifting towards individual, rather than ~~family~~spousal-related, pension entitlements; highlights however the important role that survivor's pensions can play in protecting many older women from the higher risk of poverty and social exclusion they face compared to older men;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to carry out a substantive analysis of the best practice to assist Member States in the calculation of such minimum pensions;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Jana TOOM, Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Asks the Member States to increase minimum wages as~~Recognises that minimum wages or sectoral collective agreements in the Member States can play an important ~~tool for~~role in narrowing pension gaps;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to introduce ~~or reinforce pension credits for career interruptions resulting from caring, whatever the family and/or marital status;~~ 'care credits' through labour and social security legislation for both women and men as equivalent periods for building up pension rights in order to protect those taking a break from employment to provide informal, unpaid care to a dependant or a family member; Calls on the Commission to come forward with a proposal for a Carers' leave directive which offers the carer adequate remuneration and social protection;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Believes that policies which reconcile work and family life such as paid maternity, paternity and shared parental leave as well as access to affordable childcare and long term care could counteract gender inequalities in economically active years which may impact on the gender pension gap in later life and encourages Member States to make provision for such policies; Calls on the Member States to effectively implement the Barcelona targets by 2020 and to endorse the 2014 quality framework on early childhood education and care;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that the sustainability of pension schemes can be reinforced by ~~complementing social security with tax contributions~~ensuring equality of access to all pension pillars for women; in this regard encourages the Member States to devise awareness raising information campaigns to encourage and facilitate women's access to second and third pillar pensions, particularly in feminised sectors where take up may be low;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Commission to support the development of gender disaggregated statistics and research to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of the effects of pension reforms on women's prosperity and well-being;

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2061(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Ivo VAJGL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Urges the Member States ~~to reverse any reforms of pension systems that aggravate imbalances in pensions (espec~~when examining the adequacy and sustainability of their current pension systems to carry out an ex-ante gender impact assessment to address potentially gender ~~imbalances)~~bias that could aggravate imbalances in pensions.

2016/10/06
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas guaranteeing universal access to medicines presents a m~~yriad of~~any challenges but nonetheless must be our common goal;

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital B

~~B. whereas people living with disabilities are the most vulnerable and need medicines the most;~~deleted

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)

- having regard to the Report of the United Nations Secretary-General's High- Level Panel on Access to Medicines

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the EU will need to oversee improvements in a range of fields that have an impact on how medicines are produced and distributed as well as ensuring the right of patients to all relevant information;

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Recommends that each Member State should be free to set its own innovation policy in the field of cutting- edge technologies, possibly with the aid of EU funding~~Believes that co-operation between Member States along with the sharing of expertise, leads to greater synergy in the field of innovation policy and recognises the importance of EU funding in supporting such initiatives;

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the high prices of innovative medicines conflicts with the patients' and national health systems' ability to pay for pharmaceutical expenditure and hinders the fundamental right of citizens to health and medical treatment;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recommends that EU health research programmes should ensure greater knowledge sharing and that the rules for participating in EU research programmes could include possible mandatory conditions for licencing that preserve public policy objectives;

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

~~7. Reiterates that part of the reason why businesses are becoming less competitive and why welfare spending is so high is that EU rules – including rules on drug pricing – are too burdensome.~~deleted

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the Commission to find solutions to bring unprofitable but medically necessary drugs in to production;

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the growing expenditure in the pharmaceutical sector prompts European cooperation and new policy measures at both EU and national level to enable selective investment in efficient and effective healthcare;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Calls on the Commission to increase research for neglected diseases;

2016/09/07
Committee: EMPL

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the aim of intellectual property is to benefit society, guaranteeing investment returns to promote innovation, and ~~whereas there is concern about the abuse/misuse thereof~~to diffuse knowledge;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the aim of intellectual property is to benefit society, ~~guaranteeing~~ incentivise investment ~~return~~s to promote innovation, and whereas there is concern about the abuse/misuse thereof;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the Commission has had to introduce incentives to promote research in areas such as rare diseases, and whereas 25 000 people die each year in the EU owing to lack of ~~access to~~ adequate antimicrobial drugs;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the prices of medicines are usually negotiated by means of bilateral and confidential negotiations between the pharmaceutical industry and Member States, following rules set out in national reimbursement and pricing legislation;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas the EU will need to oversee improvements in a range of fields that have an impact on how medicines are produced and distributed as well as ensuring the right of patients to all relevant information; particularly in the case of public health vaccination programmes;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, José Inácio FARIA, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the entry of generics and biosimilars onto the market is an important mechanism to reduce prices, and ~~whereas there are clear concerns about the strategies to delay this entry~~contributes to ensuring the sustainability of healthcare systems, and whereas market entry of generics and biosimilars should not be delayed;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Recalls that the EU pharmaceutical industry is one of the most competitive and strategic industries in Europe and that quality innovation is key to improving its competitiveness;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes that over 7000 innovate medicines are in the development pipeline with much expected therapeutic benefit for patients; considers that some current pricing strategies for innovative medicines and their combined budgetary impact pose a threat to the sustainability of health care systems and therefore might not be accessible for those who need it;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Notes with concern the recent scientific trends that lead to investments being steered to low volume, high priced medicines, leaving other important areas neglected;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Notes that in a context of highly priced medicines in the innovative pharmaceutical sector, market research data show that R&D investment is often substantially lower than sales and marketing expenditure; Highlights the fact that this puts at risk the sustainability of European healthcare systems and indicates the persistence of inappropriate market rewards which should be corrected;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2d. Calls on Member States to build on the example of existing initiatives in Europe to place negative incentives on the marketing expenditure by the pharmaceutical industry such as a contribution system towards an innovation fund aimed at promoting independent research in areas of interest for the National Health Services that are insufficiently addressed by commercial research, (e. g. antimicrobial resistance), and for patient populations normally excluded by clinical studies such as children, pregnant women and the elderly;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Marian HARKIN, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses that more transparency ofin the ~~cost of development and clinical trials is crucial in order to set a fair price;~~ proportion of publicly funded research is needed, and that when assessing the total cost of a drug, it is necessary to take into account the costs for research and development, including research failures and clinical trials, and the whole pharmaceutical value chain;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that robust clinical trials are necessary to assess the efficacy and safety of medicines;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Marian HARKIN, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that it is in the interests of the pharmaceutical industry ~~favour short trials and~~and patients to ensure fast access to the market for innovative medicines both in-patent and off-patent;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the adaptive pathways pilot project and the PRIME scheme by the European Medicines Agency as a way to ensure timely access to medicines for patients with unmet medical needs, without compromising on patient safety;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls on Member States to develop closer collaboration to fight such market fragmentation, namely to develop shared Health Technology Assessment processes and results, and to work on shared criteria to instruct price and reimbursement decisions at national level;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Considers innovation in the pharmaceutical sector to be crucial in order to address unmet medical needs;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Recalls that IP rights allow a legal monopoly, which needs to be carefully regulated to avoid conflict with the right to health protection ~~and to promote quality of innovation and competitiveness~~; calls on the competent authorities to carefully apply the principle of the originality of patents, and to therefore avoid pandering to the market strategy (by always giving patents the green light) of pharmaceutical companies to keep a patent for a medicine for as long as possible by making non-essential changes, for example by adding bulking agents, to be able to continue holding the monopoly over that medicine;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Recognises that a balanced and strong, functioning and effective intellectual property environment, that is line with international commitments of the European Union, is important for supporting and promoting access to innovative, safe, effective and quality medicinal products in the European Union;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Emphasises that most medicines are not examples of genuine innovation, but often ‘me-too’ or ‘everg~~Recalls that incremental innovation for patented molecules such as repurposing, reformulation and the development of new medicines for the same indication ("me-too" substances) may offer incremen~~ing’ products, whic~~tal value to patients, to patients sub-groups and to health care ~~permitted notably by complementary patent extension~~systems; believes that the added value of such medicines should be carefully assessed and measurable benefits should be demonstrated prior to price and reimbursement decisions; warns against the potential misuse of IP protection rules allowing for the "evergreening" of patent rights;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Recognises that medical innovation is also coming from known off-patent molecules through finding new indications, drug reformulations or new innovative combinations and stresses the importance to deliver to patients more customized treatments delivering better efficacy, less side effects, better adherence and better quality of life, to avoid disease exacerbations and costly therapeutic escalations;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that better regulation will promote competitiveness; also recognises the importance and effectiveness of antitrust tools against anti-competitive behaviours such as the abuse or misuse of patent systems and of the system for authorisation of medicines, in violation of Articles 101 and/or 102 of the TFEU; calls on the Commission to carry out an in- depth analysis of the existing Intellectual Property legislation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on divergent interpretation and litigation cases and, where necessary, to bring forward a legislative review to ascertain legal clarity and the correct implementation and use of legal provisions in order to safeguard legitimate intellectual property and patent rights, as well as public interest;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Commission to revise the Transparency Directive with a focus on guaranteeing timely entry into the market for generic and biosimilar medicines, ending patent linkage according to Commission's guidelines, accelerating pricing and reimbursement decisions for generics and precluding the multiple reassessment of the elements supporting marketing authorisation; Believes that this will maximise savings for national health budgets, improve affordability, accelerate patient access and prevent administrative burdens for generic and biosimilar companies;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Calls on the Commission to monitor regularly patent settlement agreements that may restrict generic market entry into the market in exchange for benefits transferred from the originator to the generic company;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9c. Calls on the Commission to introduce a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) manufacturing waiver to Regulation 469/2009 allowing the production of generic and biosimilar medicines in Europe, with the purpose of exporting them to countries without SPCs or where these have expired earlier, without undermining the exclusivity granted under the SPC regime in protected markets; believes that such provisions could have a positive impact on access to high quality medicines in developing and least developed countries and on increasing manufacturing and R&D in Europe, creating new jobs and stimulating economic growth;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)

9d. Highlights that some Member States have achieved particularly low prices by the use of large-scale tendering in generic medicines; Notes with concern that excessive focus on short-term cost- savings may lead to medium- and long- term unintended consequences such as market concentration in the generic industry, and increased risk of shortages due to lack of redundancy in the system and lack of financial motivation to produce low-profit margin medicines, as well as low-volume drugs;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 f (new)

9f. Considers that pricing and reimbursement decisions need to consider the added value of innovative medicines while avoiding unilateral appropriation of such value; stresses that new and fairer pricing models should aim at shared and balanced stakeholder benefit, by ensuring payers' sustainability, patients' health gains and proportionate industry profits;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Notes with concern that data supporting the assessment of the added value of innovative medicines is often scarce and not sufficiently convincing to support solid decision making on pricing;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Considers that independent and good quality evidence is crucial to determine the cost-effectiveness of new medicines;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Highlights the technical nature of Relative Efficacy and Effectiveness Assessment (REA) and of Therapeutic Added Value (ATV) procedures; Notes that differences in methodological approaches and quality of evidence required at Member State level contribute to unnecessary fragmentation and increased burden for industry;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Calls on Member States and the Commission to pursue efforts to develop shared capacities, data and methodologies; Calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal for a common framework for REA and ATV to be carried out at European level, with the participation of expert representatives from Member States; Believes this should be done within the existing institutional context and in respect of national competences concerning social and economic considerations within pricing and reimbursement decisions;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Believes that a fair price ~~should cover~~for a medicine delivering additional benefit to patients should take into account the cost of the drug development and production~~, plus a margin of profit~~;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Stresses the importance of transparency, including as regards clinical data, R&D costs and public funding, marketing strategies, actual prices and reimbursement levels, to improve access to medicines with relevant additional benefits for patient and health systems;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Encourages Members States to engage in early dialogue and horizon scanning with industry, patients and payers and to anticipatorily incorporate in their determination of the cost- effectiveness of new medicines the forecasted evolution in the pharmaceutical innovation pipeline while giving due regard to budgetary impact considerations;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Highlights the European procedure for joint procurement of medic~~ines used for the acquisition of vaccine~~al countermeasures for serious cross border health threats in accordance with Decision No 1082/2013/EU;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Frédérique RIES, José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls for EU-wide measures on the pharmaceutical market to reinforce the negotiation capacities of Member States in order to achieve fair prices for medicines, such as the initiative of the Benelux countries and Austria on rare diseases;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Acknowledges that the incentives put forward by the Paediatric Regulation have not proved effective to drive innovation in medicines for children, namely in the fields of oncology and neonatology; calls on the Commission to examine existing obstacles and propose measures to promote advancement in this area;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 e (new)

20e. Acknowledges the significant development of medicinal products with the orphan designation following the incentives put in place by the current legislative framework on orphan medicinal products; notes that such medicines are also used off-label, or repurposed and authorised for additional indications allowing increased sales and returns; calls on the Commission to examine these occurrences and to monitor the volume of sales of such medicines to ensure balanced incentives without discouraging innovation in this area;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Calls on the Commission to rev~~iew~~ aluate the regulatory framework for orphan medicines, to define clearly the concept of unmet medical needs, to assess the impact of incentives to develop effective, safe and affordable drugs compared to the best available alternative and to promote the European register of rare diseases and reference centres;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Calls on the Commission to guarantee safety and efficacy in any fast- track approval process and to ~~introduce the concept of conditional authorisation based on effectiveness~~ensure that such approvals are admissible in exceptional circumstances where a high unmet medical need has been identified;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Commission to set up a framework to promote, guarantee and reinforce the competitiveness of generic and biosimilar medicines, guaranteeing their faster entry onto the market and monitoring unfair practices in accordance with Articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU, and to present a biannual report in this regard;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Gesine MEISSNER, Frédérique RIES, José Inácio FARIA, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Calls on the Council to increase cooperation between the Member States as regards price-setting procedures, in order to share information about prices, reimbursement, negotiation agreements and good practices and to avoid unnecessary administrative requirements and delays, ensuring faster patient access to innovative medicines;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Frédérique RIES, Gesine MEISSNER, José Inácio FARIA, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls on the Council to promote rational use of medicines across the EU, such as avoiding overconsumption of medicines, in particular antibiotics;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Jana TOOM, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Call on the Member States to ensure accessibility of pharmacies, including their density in both urban and rural areas, professional staff number, appropriate opening hours, qualitative advice and counselling service;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Frédérique RIES, Marian HARKIN, Lieve WIERINCK, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Calls on the Commission and on Member States to ensure full implementation of the pharmacovigilance legislation;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Jana TOOM, Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28b. Call on the Member States to ensure that for the protection of health and life and in the interests of consumer protection information notes accompanying medicines are provided by retailers in widely used languages of a particular Member State in addition to official language or languages;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

Lieve WIERINCK, Frédérique RIES, Gesine MEISSNER, José Inácio FARIA, Marian HARKIN, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jana TOOM, Jasenko SELIMOVIC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Calls on the Member States to enter into dialogue with all the relevant stakeholders, such as patient organisations, paying agencies, healthcare professionals and industry, with the aim of establishing short-, medium- and long term holistic strategies for access to medicines, ensuring the sustainability of healthcare systems and a competitive pharmaceutical industry, leading to faster access for patients and affordable prices;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Calls on the Commission to examine and compare the actual prices of medicines in the EU and to present an annual report to the Council and to the European Parliament in this regard;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2057(INI)

José Inácio FARIA, Jasenko SELIMOVIC, Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI, Marian HARKIN, Jana TOOM

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Calls on the Commission to analyse the causes of shortages, to establish a list of essential medicines and monitor compliance with Article 81 of Directive 2001/83/EU on shortages of supply, to explore mechanisms to address the withdrawal of effective medicines from the market purely for commercial reasons, such as remarketing for new indications, and to promote the supply of generics;

2016/10/21
Committee: ENVI

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas several studies from the Commission have clearly shown that the link between the patent box and R&D ~~is in most cases~~can be arbitrary and/or artificial; whereas this inconsistency may lead to the assumption that these schemes are in most cases set up for tax avoidance reasons; whereas tax incentives for incomes generated by R&D, chiefly patent boxes, often result in large decreases in tax revenue for all governments, including those engaging in such a policy;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Urges the Commission to come forward with a proposal for a common corporate consolidated tax base (CCCTB) which would provide a comprehensive solution to harmful tax practices within the Union; believes that the consolidation of the CCCTB is essential and is becoming increasingly urgent; calls on the Member States to promptly reach an agreement on this and to swiftly implement it;deleted

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the fact that the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, ~~has categorised transfer pricing as a particular focus area for state aid cases, as it is reported to be a common tool used by~~is using state aid to investigate whether MNEs ~~for~~use tax evasion schemes ~~such as inter-group loans~~;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission to come up as soon as possible with a common Union list of uncooperative jurisdictions ~~(i.e. a ‘blacklist of tax havens’)~~, based on sound and objective criteria, including full implementation of OECD recommendations, BEPS actions and Automatic Exchange of Information standards, and welcomes the Commission’s intention to reach an agreement on such a list within the next six months; calls on the Member States to endorse that agreement by the end of 2016;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the Member States to renegotiate their bilateral tax treaties with third countries in order to introduce anti- abuse clauses and thus prevent ‘treaty shopping’; ~~stresses furthermore that this process would be expedited considerably if the Commission were mandated by Member States to negotiate such tax treaties on behalf of the Union;~~

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Recommends introducing an EU- wide withholding tax, in order to ensure that profits generated within the Union are taxed at least once before leaving it; notes that such a proposal should include a refund system to prevent double taxation;deleted

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Notes that until now, patent, knowledge and R&D boxes have not proven sufficiently effective in fostering innovation in the Union, but are, rather, used by MNEs for profit-shifting through aggressive tax planning schemes, such as the well- known ‘double Irish with a Dutch sandwich’; considers that patent boxes are an ill-suitedconsiders that patent boxes in line with the OECD Modified Nexus Approach can be suitable tool for achieving economic objectives; ~~insist~~believes that R&D can be promoted through subsidies which shcould be given preference over patent boxes, as subsidies are less at risk of being abused by tax avoidance schemes; observes that the link between patent boxes and R&D activities is often arbitrary and that some current models lead to a race to the bottom with regard to the effective tax contribution of MNEs; therefore calls on all Member States to ensure that their patent boxes are in line with the OECD Modified Nexus Approach;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

~~20. Calls on the Member States to integrate a Minimum Effective Taxation (MET) clause in the Interests and Royalties Directive and to ensure that no exemptions are gran~~deleted;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. ~~Notes the continuing lack of~~Calls for improved transparency of the working methods of the Code of Conduct Group~~, which is preventing any concrete potential improvement in terms of tackling harmful tax practices~~;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Calls on the Commission, in case of an unsatisfactory response on the part of the Member States, to present a legislative proposal to incorporate the Code of Conduct Group into the Community method;deleted

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42

42. Calls on the OECD to ~~start work on an ambitious BEPS II, to be based primarily on minimum standards and concrete obj~~focus on the full and effective~~s for~~ implementation of BEPS I;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2038(INI)

Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46

46. Stresses the need for a comprehensive ~~EU/US~~international approach on the implementation of OECD standards and on beneficial ownership; ~~stresses furthermore that good governance clauses and the full BEPS action plan should be included in the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP)~~ in order to ensure a level playing field, create more value for society as a whole and combat tax fraud and avoidance;

2016/06/02
Committee: TAX2

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that the 2017 budget ~~has to be key~~should play a key role in enhancing the Union’s contribution to growth, the creation of jobs and combatting poverty, particularly child poverty;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Regrets that the unemployment rate among young people ~~still remains too high and calls on the Commission to provide enough~~is unacceptably high in many Member States and calls on the Commission to work with Member States in utilising the financial support tos for those programmes targeting youth unemployment;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses that the budget should support programmes creating jobs, in particular, for those with multiple disadvantages in the labour market, such as women, long-term unemployed, elderly unemployed, people with disabilities and people from minority backgrounds;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers that the EU budget should invest in education and vocational training to provide opportunities, especially in the areas most affected ~~areas~~ by youth unemployment and in order to integrate migrants inand refugees into the labour market;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Points out the potential of digitalisation generating new business models and new jobs and calls for coherent budgetary efforts to provide appropriate ~~recognition,~~ training and re-skilling in the ICT sector;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Highlights the importance of the budget in promoting entrepreneurship initiatives including social entrepreneurship, innovative social enterprises, employee financial participation and self-employment;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the budget should ~~promote~~reinforce a high level of workers’ protection and prevention culture across the EU and help to address new challenges to health and safety at work;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Considers that the EU budget should support efforts to upskill and retrain workers in areas where there are skills shortages as well as in the healthcare and care sectors and the ICT and digital sectors;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2024(BUD)

Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Ivo VAJGL, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Considers that the EU budget should support the inclusion of people with disabilities in all employment programmes;

2016/05/12
Committee: EMPL

2016/2017(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Motion for a resolution
Citation 41 a (new)

- having regard to the Eurocarers Carers Strategy, 'Enabling Carers to Care' 20141a, __________________ 1a http://www.eurocarers.org/userfiles/files/p olicy/Carers%20strategy%20- %20Enabling%20carers%20to%20care.p df

2016/06/14
Committee: EMPL FEMM

2016/2017(INI)

Renate WEBER, Angelika MLINAR, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas achieving a genuine work- life balance requires not only comprehensive policies including measures for reconciling work, caring for and spending time with family, and time for leisure and personal development, but above all a cultural shift in society, changing its gender attitudes so that work and care are more evenly shared between men and women; Whereas in 2014, the EU 28 employment rate for men (aged 20-64) was 75% while it reached only 63,5% for women, despite the fact that women are better educated; Whereas promoting women's participation in the labour market and their economic independence is crucial for meeting the Europe 2020 headline target (75% of the population aged 20-64 employed by 2020), counteracting the shrinking of the working age population in most European Member States, and boosting growth; whereas GDP per capita losses attributable to gender gaps in the labour market have been estimated at up to 10 percent in Europe; whereas the number of women in the workforce is even lower when considering employment rates in full-time equivalents since the share of part-time employment among women is very high in some Member States, due to constraints such as the shortage of care services and unequal division of unpaid work, or low financial incentives to take up full-time work;

2016/06/14
Committee: EMPL FEMM

2016/2017(INI)

Marian HARKIN, Renate WEBER

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas access to childcare services for young children is ~~the main~~an important factor influencing the participation of women in the labour market; whereas only 11 Member States have met the first Barcelona target (childcare available for at least 90 % of children between the ages of 3 and the mandatory school age) and only 10 Member States have achieved the second target (at least 33 % of children under three years)19 ; __________________ 19 Progress report on the Barcelona objectives of 29 May 2013 entitled ‘The development of childcare facilities for young children in Europe with a view to sustainable and inclusive growth’ (COM(2013)0322).

2016/06/14
Committee: EMPL FEMM

2016/2017(INI)

Renate WEBER, Angelika MLINAR, Filiz HYUSMENOVA, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

Fa. Whereas Member States and social partners together have the responsibility to find solutions and possibilities to improve the work/life balance;

2016/06/14
Committee: EMPL FEMM

2016/2017(INI)

Renate WEBER, Angelika MLINAR, Filiz HYUSMENOVA, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Beatriz BECERRA BASTERRECHEA, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that the EU is facing unprecedented demographic cha~~lle~~nges – ~~an ageing population~~rising life expectancy, lower birth rates, ~~changing family structures~~new forms of relation-building and (co)habitation and migration; is concerned that austerity measures have had a negative impact on the sustainability of public finances needed for work-life balance policies and services that foster demographic renewal;