26 Amendments of Roberts ZĪLE related to 2018/2033(INI)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, according to the Commission’s forecasts, the GDP growth rate for the euro area was 2.4 % in 2017 and willis projected to dip slightly to 2.3 % in 2018 and to 2 % in 2019; whereas economic growth is still fragile and is expected to slow down in the face of many challenges such as higher oil priceubdued and significant differences in growth rates across the EU remain; whereas growth is challenged in the face of many challenges such as increasing trade protectionism, higher oil prices and other global events;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in 2017 the youth unemployment rate in the euro area wasthe unemployment rates in the euro area, including the youth unemployment rate, are steadily falling, yet still high and in May 2018 the seasonally adjusted rates stood at 8.4 % and 186.8 %, and respectively; whereas in 2017 the youth unemployment rate was particularly high in Greece (43.6 %), Spain (38.7 %) and Italy (34.8 %);
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the public debt level in the euro area is falling, but still high; whereas at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 86.7 %;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas in the fourth quarter of 2017 the seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 0.6 %;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the Commission’s 2018 country-specific recommendations (CSR); and the Commission’s claim that since the outset of the European Semester in 2011, over two-thirds of CSRs have been implemented with at least ‘some progress’; urges the Member States to improve the track-record in the implementation of the recommendations that still falls short of expectations;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates the urgency of carrying on the fight against the inequalities thatbetween and within the Member States that can hamper economic growth;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers thatNotes the calls for growth- orientated fiscal policies are needed at the European level, alongside an appropriateexpansionary monetary policy, in order to strengthen the European economy; stresses that Member States, especially those with high debt and deficit levels, are responsible for observing fiscal self-restraint;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that the current economic environment provides a favourable window of opportunity for Member States to build fiscal buffers and to step up and carry out the necessary reforms in order to strengthen the resilience of their economies;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Warns against the increasing trend whereby countries are granted extra time and leeway to bring down the budget deficit within the permissible thresholds;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. SupportsNotes the calls for flexibility in the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact as proposed by the Commission in 2015; consid in order to also help implement structural reforms; warns, howevers, that too much more flexibility is required to boost investmentrisks undermining the very idea of Stability and gGrowth in the EU; calls, therefore,Pact and the wider euro area macroeconomic framework; notes the calls for a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact and the introduction of an aggregate euro area fiscal stance; stresses, however, that the concept of an aggregate fiscal stance does not imply that surpluses and deficits in different Member States offset each other;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes the importance of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP) and its objective of preventing imbalances within Member States with a view to avoiding negative spill-over effects to other Member States;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Reminds that the Excessive Imbalance Procedure (EIP) is an enhanced surveillance mechanism to ensure compliance with the MIP; is of the view that EIP should be consistently applied to countries that significantly and constantly experience imbalances and fail to take adequate actions to correct them, regardless of the type of imbalances;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes the view that the development of new budgetary tools aimed at stabilisation and convergence in the euro area would be extremely important for the economic governance of the Eurozone in order to help avoid, as far as possible, the re- emergence of events already experienced during the years of the financial crisis; notes, however, that it is first and foremost the responsibility of the Member States to choose adequate and sustainable fiscal and economic policies;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recalls that government debt levels are excessively high in some Member States; stresses the importance of bringing down overall debt levels, especially as monetary policy conditions are expected to normalise in the near future;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls the importance of access to quality public services endowed with sufficient resources; notes that ageing population risks challenging the sustainability of the welfare programmes in a number of Member States;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. RecallStresses the importance of efficient supervision and regulation of the banking and financial sectors to help forestall any new crises; urges the Member States to step up anti-money laundering efforts;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Notes that tax evasion is still a problem in a number of Member States and fight against it, combined with improved tax administration, would help increase fiscal space;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Stresses the need to step up the fight against cross-border VAT fraud which deprives Member States of significant tax revenues;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Welcomes the fact that employment level in the euro has confidently surpassed the pre-crisis level and is at its highest level ever recorded; notes, however, that skills shortage, loss of jobs due to automation, ageing societies as well as a number of other challenges put a strain on employment growth and reduction of unemployment levels across the Member States;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Stresses that gaps persist in the rate of participation of different population groups in the labour market;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes with concern the recent rise in oil prices which generallycould weakens growth and raises inflation; stresses that, rather than relying on seasonal factors for its recovery, the only way to make the European economy an area of prosperity is to encourage public investment ande need for public and private investments and, in Member States with fiscal scope, promoteion of domestic demand;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls the need for stronger surveillance of the employment and social situation in Europe and appropriate and constant follow-up at every step of the European Semester in order to help boost quality job creation and thus achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Shares the Commission’s concerns regarding developments in the housing market in some Member States; stresses that rising interest rates and housing prices are having an impact on household private debt; underlines that this debt plays a role incan affect the stability of the euro area; calls on the Commission to take initiatives in this area in line with recommendation 19 of the social pillar;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Deeply regrets the proposed cuts in cohesion policy, especially for the less wealthy euro area Member States, as set out by the Commission in its MFF proposal; insists on the fact that a decrease in structural funding runs counter to the EU’s objective of strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion, puts at risk the key importance of the ESIF in stimulating public and private investment, and would send a negative signal to citizens; recalls that the EU cohesion policy has a direct impact on citizens’ lives;
Amendment 288 #
22. Stresses the key importance of structural funds, especially for the EU's Eastern Member States, for the stimulation of public investment, taking into account their strong multiplier effect;