18 Amendments of Younous OMARJEE related to 2013/2178(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
– having regard to Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which confers a special status on the outermost regions (ORs) and provides for the adoption of 'specific measures' enabling the full application of the Treaties and the implementation of common policies,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, in pursuit of these strategies, the volume of structural and investment funding being provided to the ORs for the purpose of closing their economic and social development gap with the rest of the EU is not large enough to enable them to play a role commensurate with their full potential in addressing the major challenges facing the EU;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the ORs can become regions of excellence, to the benefit of the EU as a whole, in areas such as biodiversity, environment, adapting climate change, dealing with an observing extreme weather events, research, innovation, space, the aerospace industry, oceans, maritime governancespatial planning and maritime governance, seismology, volcanology, health, renewable energy, transport, telecommunications, emergency humanitarian assistance outside the EU and culture;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to set up a contact group made up of the relevant Commissioners and the Members of the European Parliament representing the ORs to meet twice a year to review the progress of programmes planned and/or introduced for the ORs;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Criticises the failure to provide sufficient support for OR projectsct that OR projects, which face serious difficulties in meeting some of the requirements for securing Community funding, have for that reason not received sufficient support under the 2007-2013 programme for research and development, which has resulted in low levels of participation and a weak OR presence in European research networks;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that, if cohesion policy, Europe 2020 and Horizon 2020 targets are to be fully met – something which cannot be achieved by ERDF funding alone –, the Commission will need to streamline, guarantee and promote OR access to the Horizon 2020 programme by setting up dedicated programmes that can help to foster greater OR inclusion in European and international research and innovation networks; points out in this connection that the Horizon 2020 programme itself, in its 'Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation' section, acknowledges that there are significant disparities in terms of research and innovation performance, as identified in the Innovation Union Scoreboard, and introduces specific measures for spreading excellence and widening participation in low-performing Member States in terms of research and innovation, and these possibilities should be adequately exploited by bodies and institutions in the ORs;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for OR universities to be expanded and promoted in order to help, in synergy with Horizon 2020, to raise the European and international profile of those universities, their research centres, their researchers and their students; points out that all the programmes promoting inter- university mobility – for students, teachers and administrative staff – are seriously compromised in the ORs owing to the extra costs arising from distance and isolation;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that the ORs have some of the highest unemployment rates in the EU and that youth unemployment rates in the EUare worse still; welcomes, therefore, the ORs’ eligibility for funding under the Youth Guarantee programme, as well as the introduction of the Youth Employment Initiative;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Synergies with trans-European networks (transport, telecommunications, energy) Draws attention to the Teixeira report on the role of cohesion policy in the outermost regions of the European Union in the context of EU 2020 (2011/2195(INI)), which called on the Commission to establish a specific programme in the field of energy, transport, and information and communication technologies, based on the POSEI schemes, and in particular to lay down a specific framework providing for transport subsidies in the ORs, particularly for public transport and to develop shipping services between islands;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Stresses that the ORs are dependent on the fish stocks in their EEZs, which are biologically highly vulnerableand ecologically highly vulnerable, and believes, therefore, that biogeographically sensitive OR zones need to be properly and effectively protected, not least through exclusive access granted to local fleets using environment-friendly fishing gear; emphasises the need to ensure that those stockfishery resources are used in a balanced and sustainable manner; calls for proper account to be taken of the long-term interests of local people when EU fisheries agreements are drafted and negotiated;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Deplores the fact that the POSEI Fisheries programme, which established a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of OR fishery products, has recently been absorbed into the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and thus ceased to be governed by a self-contained regulation aimed specifically and exclusively at the ORs, a fact which waters down the importance of the positive discrimination that the ORs are entitled to enjoy under Article 349 of the TFEU;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Stresses that the POSEI programme has proved its worth and has shown itself to be particularly well-suited to conditions in the ORs, but is hampered by chronic underfunding that needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Supports the introduction of protected designations of origin and local labels in the ORs, and hopes that promotion policy will be tailored to the needs of the ORs and that GIs will be safeguarded;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Calls on the Commission to take greater account of the impact that trade agreements concluded with non-EU countries have on OR economies; calls for impact studies invariably to be conducted in advance and for products considered ‘sensitive’ to be protected as such, wherever justified and on the understanding that fair compensation must be provided for the losses incurred in given sectors;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Draws attention to the fact that social exclusion, and poverty and violence are a major problem in the ORs; points out that thematic objective 9 of the new cohesion policy covers social inclusion and action against poverty and all forms of discrimination and that support for the most deprived sections of society is an ERDF investment priority;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Points out that thsome ORs are faced with major housing shortages as a result of strong population growth; advocates the establishment of a social housing investment scheme and the introduction of special measures enabling state aids to be used in support of investment in social housing in ORs; points out that other ORs are facing growing desertification, which is also leading to deterioration of their characteristic built environment, and that this latter problem has to be tackled by supporting urban regeneration and stimulating economic activities suited to the localities concerned, so as to encourage the population to remain there;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Points out that thsome ORs are located in areas in which industrial competition is fierce, in particular owing to low labour costs and an abundance of raw materials in neighbouring countries; draws attention to the fact that thematic objectives 3 and 8 of the new cohesion policy cover action to enhance SME competitiveness and promote high-quality sustainable employment;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Notes that thsome ORs are highly multicultural societies and points to the need for cultural interchange between the ORs and mainland Europe; calls on the Commission to allow projects from ORs to be funded under the Creative Europe programme;