30 Amendments of Mercedes BRESSO related to 2017/2279(INI)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas cohesion policy aims to promote harmonious development of the whole Union, leading to a strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion, in a spirit of solidarity and with the aim of promoting growthsustainable growth and quality jobs, and reducing the backwardness of the least favoured regions;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas public investment in the EU is still below its pre-crisis level with major gaps in some of the countries most affected by the crisis as the public investment in the EU fell from 3.4 % of GDP in 2008 to 2.7 % in 2016;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas cohesion policy in the 2014-2020 programme plan supported 1.1 million SMEs, leading directly to the creation of a further 420,000 new jobs, helping more than 7.4 million unemployed people to find a job and helping in addition over 8.9 million people to gain new qualifications;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers it crucial that cohesion policy should continue to adequately cover all European regions and remain the European Union’s main investment instrument, with a budget commensurate with the challenges;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that cohesion policy investments provide European added value by contributing to European public goods and tohat they are a fundamental tool in order to achieve the Treaty objective of reducing disparities;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Reiterates its commitment to shared management which should be maintained and strengthened for post 2020 and the principles of partnership and subsidiarity, which contribute to the added value generated by cohesion policy; stresses that the added value of this policy stems primarily from its ability to take account of the needs and specificities of each territory and to bring the European Union closer to its citizens;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that European added value is also reflected in European territorial cooperation, in all its dimensions; calls for an increase in its share of the budget allocated to cohesion policy, while improving coordination between different programmes to avoid overlaps; reminds the importance of macroregional strategies in the achievement of the cohesion policy objectives;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines the need to develop a “Cost of non-Cohesion Policy” methodology in order to provide additional quantifiable evidence on the European Added Value of Cohesion Policy, following the example of the work done by the European Parliament on the "cost of the non-Europe";
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas in all their diversity, by valuing their potential, improving transport connectivity and very high-speed broadband and providing support to help them meet the challenges they face: rural desertification, social inclusion, lack of job opportunities, population loss, the destruction of city- centre communities, areas without health care, etc.;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of supporting rural areas in all their diversity, by valuing their potential and supporting projects which boost local economies, improving their transport connectivity and very high-speed broadband and providing support to help them meet the challenges they face: rural desertification, the destruction of city- centre communities, areas without health care, etc.;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for greater account to be taken of certain specific territorial characteristics, such as those of island, mountain or, rural and border regions, when investment priorities are set; underlines the importance of exploring the possible launch of new specific agendas, following the example set by the Urban Agenda for the EU and the Pact of Amsterdam, in order to face the challenges of specific territories and to formalise a structured approach towards those territorial specificities;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for greater account to be taken of certain specific territorial characteristics, such as those of island, mountain or border regions, and of territories in which people are required to travel long distances to avail themselves of essential services (e.g. health, education, collective mobility) when investment priorities are set;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Recalls that, in order to support the middle-income regions and to offer solutions to their problems, the future cohesion policy should properly cover, support and include them in the next programming period; furthermore, the Commission should reflect on an alternative system of categorization not based on a rigorous separation, but instead guided by a continuum principle along which all the different regions might be properly placed; in this context, recalls the importance of complementary indicators to the GDP in order to offer a more precise picture of the socio- economic conditions of these specific regions;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that social and fiscal convergence help to foster cohesion while improving the functioning of the single market; takes the view that divergent practices in this area may run counter to the objective of cohesion and are liable to cause further problems for territories which are lagging behind or are the most vulnerable to globalisation; considers that cohesion policy could contribute to the promotion of social and fiscal convergence by providing incentives; calls on the Commission to take better account of this aspect in the European Semester and to properly involve local and regional authorities in order to increase efficiency and ownership of the process;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that social and fiscal convergence help to foster cohesion while improving the functioning of the single market; takes the view that divergent practices in this area may run counter to the objective of cohesion and are liable to cause further problems for territories which are laggfalling behind or are the most vulnerable to globalisation; considerspoints out that cohesion policy could contribute to theis geared to promotion ofng social and fiscal convergence by providing incentives, economic and territorial convergence; calls on the Commission to take better account of this aspect in the European Semester;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Supports a strong thematic concentration on a limited number of priorities linked to major European political objectives, leaving managing authorities the task of drawing up their territorial strategies on the basis of their needs; stresses that employment, social inclusion, innovation, support for SMEs, climate change and the circular economy should constitute priority areas for cohesion policy in future;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Supports a strongthe thematic concentration on a limin appropriated number of priorities linked to major European political objectives, leaving managing authorities the task of drawing up their territorial strategies on the basis of their needs; stresses that employment, innovation, support for SMEs, climate change and the circular economy should constitute priority areas for cohesion policy in future;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the adoption of the European Pillar for Social Rights, which represents a step forward in building a social Europe; reiterates its commitment to the ESF as part of the ESIF, the Youth Guarantee and the Youth Employment Initiative in view of their role in meeting the challenges of employment, social inclusion, learning and vocational training;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Emphasises that future cohesion policy should focus more on protecting and supporting communities and territories adversely affected by globalisation (plant relocations, job losses) and also by intra- EU similar trends; calls for the scope for coordination between the Structural Funds and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to be explored and for the creation of a similar adjustment fund for intra-EU delocalization cases to be considered;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that vulnerability to climate change varies widely from one region to another; considers that the ESI Funds should be used as effectively as possible to help the EU meet its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement; insists that funding under the solidarity instruments for use in the event of natural disasters should be made available as rapidly as possible; reminds that cohesion policy needs to take into account the COP21 agreement on climate change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Underlines that Investments through the ESIF fund support other political priorities such as research, digitalisation or combating climate change as well and stresses therefore that not only the poorest regions need support in these areas but all regions and a concentration of Cohesion policy on only the least developed regions would hinder progress in these political priorities in the whole European Union;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Stresses the need to promote further investments in quality education, training and vocational training, further improvements in the labour market for the creation of quality jobs and to tackle youth unemployment in particular; welcomes a promotion for social inclusion and to be more ambitious to combat poverty and any form of discrimination; supports the development of cultural and creative industries that are closely linked to innovation and creativity; highlights the investment priorities of research, technological development, innovation and creativity; investments in SMEs and start-ups and investments in digitalisation of industries and societies;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Stresses that although cohesion policy has mitigated the impact of the recent economic and financial crisis in the EU, and that of the austerity measures, regional disparities, as well as disparities in competitiveness and social inequalities, remain high; calls for strengthened action to reduce these disparities and prevent the development of new disparities in all types of regions, while maintaining and consolidating support for the regions so as to facilitate ownership of the policy in every type of region and to achieve EU objectives throughout the EU; considers, in this context, that more attention needs to be paid to making regions more resilient to sudden shocks;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that the 7th Cohesion Report highlights the need to take account of indicators complementary to per capita GDP for the purpose of allocating funds, in line with the challenges and needs identified, including at sub-regional level; notes the importance of taking as a basis data which are of high quality, reliable, structured and available; supports the use of social criteria, in particular the unemployment rate and the youth unemployment rate;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Believes that it is both legitimate and necessary to establish a link between cohesion policy and the guarantee of an environment conducive to investment, effectiveness and the proper use of funds is also helpful for the achievements of the cohesion policy objectives, while stressing that cohesion policy is not meant to be reduced to an instrument for serving priorities without reference to its objectives; expresses its support for a balanced link with economic governance where this helps to maximise the impact of ESI Funds; calls on the Commission to overhaul the European Semester to strengthen its territorial dimension and take account of other factors which contribute to the achievement of cohesion objectives, such as real convergence;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls for the smart specialisation strategies to be continued, and acknowledges the importance of ex-ante conditionalities, which have proved their worth, but stresses that in specific cases they have been a source of complexity and delays in the development and launching of programming; calls on the Commission to reduce the number of ex ante conditionalities and, in this field, to improve compliance with the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, making maximum use of existing strategic documents;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Underlines that the most effective simplification comes from the stability and continuity of the procedures and regulations, to which the interested subjects and managing authorities are now familiar with; calls therefore for the next cohesion policy regulations to be changed only where strictly necessary;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Calls for the single audit principle to be strengthened, the implementation of e-cohesion to be speeded up and the use of simplified and standardized costs to be adopted across the board;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Considers that cohesion policy can help to meet new challenges, such as security or the integration of refugees under international protection, with due regard for the sovereignty of the Member States; stresses, however, that cohesion policy cannot be the solution to all crises, and opposes the use of cohesion policy funds to cover short-term financing needs outside its scope;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Welcomes the positive results of the Juncker iEuropean Fund for Strategic Investment plans (EFSI); stresses that cohesion policy and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) are complementary, but that one cannot be a substitute for the other, irrespective of the level of development of the regions;