48 Amendments of Corien WORTMANN-KOOL related to 2012/2256(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Euro area as a whole is experiencing a double-dip recessionrecession caused by sovereign debt and financial crisis;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas it should be recalled that, in 2007, at the start of the crisis, the average public deficit for the euro area stood at only 0.6 % and was on a declining path towards equilibrium;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the sharp deterioration of public deficits and debt, which has been seen since 2009 in many Member States, has been mainly triggered by the reaction of governments to the crisis, in the absence of European anticyclical instrumentsneed for the public sector to bail-out the financial institutions in the interest of financial stability;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the Commission forecasts for 2012 have been successively revised downwards from 1.8 % in spring 2011 to - 0.4 % in autumn 2012 for 2012; whereas in its autumn forecasts the Commission predicts a GDP growth of a mere 0.1 % for 2013; whereas there are serious doubts as to the accuracy of these 2013 forecasts, since they are likely to be based on an underestimated fiscal multiplier, thereby underestimating the negative effect of current fiscal contraction on economic growth;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas each Member State is suffering from the consequences of its own fiscal tightening and of the synchronised rapid consolidation conducted by the other Member Statespursuing a different fiscal strategy according to its own bugetary situation nevertheless taking into account Euro area as a whole;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas this fiscal tightening strategy forces down demand, wages and prices while driving up unemploymentaims at keeping public expenditure growth below the rate of growth of medium-term trend GDP;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure (MIP) scoreboard for 2011 illustrates the hugesubstantial imbalances inside the European Union, especially in the eurozone; the 3-year average of Current Account Balance as % of GDP shows strong surpluses for only three countries (Luxembourg and the Netherlands at +7.5 and Germany at +5.9), with the majority of the other countries in negative positions;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas this shows that the gains from the internal market and common currency are spread very unevenly across the Member States, reducing the margin of manoeuvre of the weaker economies in response to crisis;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas austerityconsolidation measures adopted by several Member States have reached an unprecedented dimension: the fiscal stance for Greece from 2010 to 2012 amounts to 18 points of GDP, for Portugal, Spain and Italy respectively 7.5, 6.5 and 4.8 points of GDP without any significant signs of improvement of the economic and fiscal situation and with huge social disruption, calling for a new assessment of the policies imposed;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas surplusall countries should have been asked to share the adjustment burden by stimulating their internal demand, notably by adjusting wageimprove their domestic fiscal frameworks;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas the Commission has been unable to make a convincing case that the policy options imposed will deliver over time and that they will impact on society in a fair and acceptable waproposes medium- and long-term growth- enhancing measures in order to improve the competitiveness of the European economy;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas lending to the private sector remains weak and privatis key to financing the credit flows are subduedal economy;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Welcomes the spirit of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) 2013 as presented by the Commission; Believes that it is an adequate follow up to the European Semester 2012 in general and the AGS 2012 in specific; Welcomes in particular the increased clarity in country-specific strategies that the Commission has introduces by prioritizing progress in the euro area countries as well as progress in structural terms rather than nominal terms;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the recognition in the AGS 2013 that growth is necessary in order to exit the crisis, but doubts whether the positive signs of recovery seen by the Commission are accurate; warns of the risk of a continued contraction of economic activity over the com; stresses the solutions specifically targeting the current sovereign and financial crisis should go hand-in-hand with growth-enhancing ymear suresulting from the aggregate negative effect of significant and simultaneous procyclical budget cuts across the euro area in order to improve the competitiveness of the European economy and regain confidence;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to study seriously the possibility of spreading fiscal adjustment over a longer period, thereby providing additional temporary room for manoeuvre to re-ignite growth as soon as possible;.Deplores the lack of implementation in the member States of policies and actions agreed at the EU level, which prevent the agreed measures from unleashing their full potential;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to admit the self-defeating nature of the prevailing policy stance and to reviseremain vigilant about its policy stance and, if needed, to revise and further clarify its policy recommeandations for next year , as contained in its AGS;.
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges Member States to correct their excessive deficits by the deadlines set by the Council;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3b (new)
Paragraph 3b (new)
3b. Encourages the Member States to improve their domestic fiscal frameworks with a view to promoting efficient and sustainable fiscal policies;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Underlines the fact that Member States should pursue differentiated strategies according to their bugetary situations and insists that Member States must keep their public expenditure growth below the rate of medium-term trend GDP growth;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. BWelieves thatcomes the recent debate on the size of the fiscal multiplier, notably following the IMF analysis on this matter in its latest World Economic Outlook, has been unduly downplayed by the Commission, while a broad consensus has been emerging on this but cautions that estimatter from recent theoretical and empirical work in the existing economic literature; considers this matter to be of central importance to policy-making, as wrong fiscal multipliers can lead to massive policy mistakess of fiscal multipliers are strongly dependent on assumptions and can at best provide partial case-by-case and country-specific policy guidance; calls on the Commission, therefore, rapidly to open its macroeconomic modelling o cooperate closely with other official and independandt forecasting to serious and systematic scrutiny by independent institutes on a regular basibodies on a regular basis in order to ensure the best possible accuracy in the interest of achieving adequate policy recommendations;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomUrges the recognition by the Commission of ‘a possible’ adjustment in the deadline for the correction of the excessive deficits as being justified, in full respect of the spirit and the letter of the Stability and Growth Pact; considers, however, that this recognition is already overdueMember States to respect the Stability and Growth Pact;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to reassessspect the Member States' situation in the light of the exceptional circumstances they are facing – ‘an unusual event outside the control of the [Member States] which has a major impact on the financial position of the general government or periods of severe economic downturn as set out in the revised SGP (…)’;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission and the Council to ease the path of consolidation for Member States with excessive deficits due to exceptional circumstances while ensuringnsure that ‘annual budgetary targets [...] are consistent with a minimum annual improvement of at least 0.5 % of GDP as a benchmark, in its cyclically adjusted balance net of one-off and temporary measures, in order to ensure the correction of the excessive deficit within the deadline set in the recommendation’, as formulated in the preventive arm of the SGP;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and the Council to balance productive private and public investment needs with fiscal discipline objectives by accommodating public investment programmes in its assessment of Stability and Convergence Programmes and excessive deficit procedures;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to start developing as a matter of urgency a plan which would ensure that elements of fiscal discipline are in parallel followed up with concrete proposals onBelieves that a firm commitment to sustainable fiscal discipline and structural reforms is the pre-requisite to solidarity among Member States an; welcomes the enhanced democratic legitimacy as part of the Interinstitutional Agreement owithin the European Semester;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Council to improve substantiallyadequatly revise and improve the quality, the national specificity and the adequacy of the country-specific recommendations, notably through a competent interpretation of the macroeconomic imbalances exercise;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to agree on a Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) as a matter of urgency, ensuring that its role is reinforced as a source of much- needed investment;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission and the Council to revise the recommended fiscal adjustment policies whenever economies move into recession,Member States to guaranteeing minimum levels of social welfare, and to safeguarding basic labour rights and avoiding a recessionary spiral; calls on the Commission and the Council to propose Union instruments for social protection and minimum social standards;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls also on the Commission to come forward with a holistic approach to tackling growth, which should include a genuine European industrial policy and the guarantee that Europe will use all its strength and influence in its external trade relations; calls on the Commission to exploit to the full the sources of growth stemming from trade with third countries and establish reciprocity as well as fair trade; calls on the Commission to include strong social clauses in trade agreements on the basis of International Labour Organisation labour standards;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Is worried by the fact that many Member States are falling behind in terms of productivity; insists on the role of structural reforms in tackling this problem;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the European Parliament to adopt quickly the so-called "2-pack";
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – title
Annex - Part 1 – title
RECOMMENDATION 1 CONCERNING AN ALTERNATIVEGROWTH-ENHANCING STRATEGYIES
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – introductory paragraph
Annex - Part 1 – introductory paragraph
The Commission and the Council should adopt a new six-fold alternative strategy as set out belowprioritize the following strategies:
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 1
1. The fiscal consolidation should be delayed and spagreaed in due respect of current EU fiscal rules. Instead of nearly 130 billion euros of consolidation effort for the whole euro area, a more balanced fiscal consolidation of 0.5 point of GDP, in accordance with treaties, the SGP and even the fiscal compact , would give for 2013 alone a concrete margin for manoeuvre of more than 85 billion euros. By merely delaying and capping the path of consolidation, the average growth for the Eurozone between 2013 and 2017 may be improved by 0.7 point per yat EU level should be implemented by the Member States in order to restore confidence in the sustainability of public finances in the Euro arear.
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 2
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 2
2. The speculation on the sovereign debt of Member states must be stopped. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) must be brought as soon as possible into the community management structure with the ECB as a backstop; The reformed crisis management mechanisms should substantially curb harmful speculation on distressed sovereign debt in the euro area.;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 3
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 3
3. The persistent and long-lasting cumulative imbalances that have been increasing throughout the functioning of the common currency due to the asymmetric impact of common policies across different economies need to be adequately addressed through specific convergence instruments to foster the competitiveness of lagging economies, in particular by increasing the conditions for growth-enhancing investment in the latter.
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 4
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 4
4. Lending by the European Investment Bank must be significantlyshould be increased as well as other measures (notably the use of structural funds and project bonds), so as to genuinely advance the European Union growth agenda. The Compact for Growth and Jobs has to be urgently transformed into concrete investshould be implementsed.
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 6
Annex - Part 1 – paragraph 6
6. A close coordination of economic policies must aim at reducing excessive internal imbalances in the EU and in the Eurozone in particular. The adjustment must not only rely on deficit countries. Surplus countries must also take measures to boost their internal demand and receive recommendations from the Commission accordingly.
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 2 – paragraph 1
Annex - Part 2 – paragraph 1
Reiterates the need to fully involve Parliament – the only supranational European institution with electoral legitimacy – in economic policy coordination and in the Annual Growth Survey;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 2 – paragraph 2
Annex - Part 2 – paragraph 2
Recalls that the European Parliament must be recognised as the appropriate European democratic forum for providing an overall evaluation at the end of the European Semester; believes that, as a sign of this recognition, representatives of the EU institutions and the economic bodies involved in the process should provide information to the European Parliament when asked to do so; demands that the EP democratic control be enshrined in the Inter Institutional Agreement on the European Semesteron a regular basis.
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 1
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 1
Using consistently credible sources the resulting estimate of tax evasion and tax avoidance in the European Union reaches approximately €1 trillion a year. Tackling both tax avoidance and tax evasion is possible only if Member States are willing to consistently implement actions that build on introducing: country-by-country reporting, a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base, a thorough accounting reform, a change in corporate accounting disclosure for tax purposes, more investment in tax audits staff and an upgrade and extension of the European Union Savings Tax Directive.
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 3
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 4
Annex - Part 3 – paragraph 4
This will have to include adequate EU- wide agreements with key non-EU countries currently providing platforms for financial institutions facilitating tax fraud and evasion activities from within the EU, such as Switzerland.