51 Amendments of Younous OMARJEE related to 2016/2250(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
— having regard to Article 107(3)(a) TFEU, which definesstates that aid to promote the economic development of the outermost regions asmay be compatible with the internal market,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9
Citation 9
— having regard to all the joint contributions and technical and political documents of the Conference of Presidents of the Outermost Regions of the European Union, in particular the final declaration of the 21st conference of 22 and 23 September 2016, and the Joint Memorandum of the Outermost Regions entitled ‘Towards increased vigour in implementing Article 349 TFEU’, adopted in March 2017,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Article 349 TFEU recognises the special economic and social situation of the outermost regions, which is compounded by factors (insularity, remotenessremoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate, dependence on a few products, etc.) the permanence and combination of which severely restrain their development;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, in its judgment of 15 December 2015, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice gave a complete interpretation of Article 349 TFEU which puts an end to a long-standing and recurrent conflict over its interpretation which had led the Commission to adopt a restrictive view of that article;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas in that judgment, the Court confirms, above all, that legal acts with the aim of introducing specific measures for the outermost regions may be adopted on the legal basis of Article 349, that this legal basis makes it possible to derogate both from primary and from secondary law, and that the list of areas covered in the wording of Article 349 is not exhaustive, since ‘the authors of the FEU Treaty did not intend to lay down an exhaustive list of the types of measures that may be adopted on the basis of that article’,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the principles of equality and non-discrimination justify a difference in treatment in the case of distinct situations, in the interests, in the end, of equality in the application of European law,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recalls that the Treaties also confer on the Commission the right of initiative, and that it is therefore for the Commission to initiate regulation in favour of the outermost regions making it possible to implement Article 349 in EU policies and programmes;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that this interpretation by the Commission has damaged the capacity of the outermost regions to take full advantage of their belonging tof the Union and to develop in a way which takes full account of their specific characteristics and structural constraints but also of their assets;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls that POSEI (Programme of Options Specifically Relating to Remoteness and Insularity) is the only autonomous programme covered by a regulation of its own based on Article 349 TFEU and on the dual principles of the outermost regions’ belonging to the Union and the full adaptation of a common European policy to the realities of the outermost regions; considers that new POSEI programmes relating to other EU policies should be planned;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Deplores the fact that the various European strategies for the outermost regions have so far been only partially implemented and fleshed out; considers that the outermost regions have wasted much time on defending the implementation of Article 349 and the upholding of specific policies for them; considers that confidence nenew impetus must, for that purpose, be stimulateds to be restoredconsolidate the confidence between the outermost regions and the European Institutions;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls therefore on the European Union Institutions, in concert with the outermost regions, to open a new chapter in relations between the EU and the outermost regions, based on a genuine new European strategy for the outermost regions which is resolutely innovative and ambitious, and takes full advantage of the possibilities offered by Article 349 TFEU, particularly for the creation of specific programmes and policies appropriate to their sustainable development needs;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to adopt a long-term overall common strategy detailing the approach to the outermost regions, accompanied, in the case of each outermost region, by a specific legislative package by dedicated joint mechanisms and instruments in the areas and policies that are key for their development, including appropriate funding; calls for this overall strategy to be accompanied, in the case of each outermost region, and in consultation with them, by specific laws, strategic frameworks and appropriate, precise, attainable and assessmeasurable objectives, taking into account the geographical situation and the economic, political and social context of each outermost region;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Recalls that the proposals made by the European Parliament and forwarded to the Commission in the European Parliament reports of 29 March 2012 and 26 February 2014 still hold;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Considers that POSEI has been very successful ever since it was established;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Deplores the fact that the successive reforms of the common organisations of the market (COMs) have not sufficiently taken account of the specific characteristics of the outermost regions or anticipated their impact on the outermost regions;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Observes that the disappearance of quotas and guaranteed prices which began with the reform of the COM in sugar in 2005 is damaging cane sugar producers in the outermost regions; calls foremphasises the need to put on a permanent footing all the specific instruments put in place within the framework of Article 349 TFEU in the interests of the sustainable competitiveness of that sector; calls for the establishment of additional mechanisms to support operators in the sector in the event of new difficulties linked to its liberalisation and the establishment of a support scheme for sugar-cane growers in the event of a fall in world sugar prices below a specific reference threshold;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Considers it is necessary to adopt a legal framework, on the basis of Article 349 TFEU, for products under the organic label, and a legal framework concerning sanitary and phytosanitary issues that take into account the characteristics of agricultural in the outermost regions, in a tropical context;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Commission to include the outermost regions formally in the negotiations conducted within the framework of agreements concluded with third countries situated in their regional areas;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to be painstaking and act with due care and attention in the defence of the interests of the outermost regions in the negotiations on Brexit;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Commission, in accordance with the commitment it made in its Communication of 20 June 2012, to systematically produce impact assessments relating to the outermost regions before initiating any trade negotiations and to systematically adopt a policy of protecting the products of the outermost regions in trade agreements;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Deplores the fact that to date no study has been conducted on the consequences of free trade agreements on the agricultural sectors of the outermost regions; deplores, too, the fact that the outermost regions have not been taken into account in the report by the European Commission on the cumulative economic impact of trade agreements, of 15 December 2016, contrary to the regulatory provisions laid down by POSEI;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls for the system of tolerance of imports to be abandoned which makes it possible for goods to enter the Union that have been treated with active substances not authorised there and for inspection measures to be stepped up;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Rejects European aid that might contribute to the deforestation of the Amazon, or the protected forests of the outermost regions;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Considers essential to set up a support system for the fisheries of the ORs based on Article 349 in the light of what is done in agriculture with POSEI;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Union to remove all the regulatory obstacles, to authorise aid for the renewal of traditioartisanal fishing fleets in the outermost regions, to increase investment which is needed for the sustainable development of local fishing and to protect sensitive fishing grounds of the outermost regions, within the fishing capacity limits laid down for each region;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Welcomes the creation in the 2014-2020 EMFF of the plans for compensation of additional costs (PCACs), compensatory aid making it possible to support the operations of fisheries in the outermost region, but considers that the PCACs will not be operational until legal certainty has been obtained, involving the prior approval of these plans by the Commission, and until the scheme is no longer limited in time, in order to avoid breaks in funding when each new regulatory framework starts, which are particularly detrimental for operating aid;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Calls on the Commission to lay down, for each outermost region, exclusive fishing grounds for local boats and to extend the area reserved exclusively for the local fleets of the outermost regions from 100 to 200 sea miles;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Stresses that both the wealth of the oceans and the technological advances currently being made and to come in the future are able to open up unprecedented growth opportunities for the outermost regions; considers that sustainable ‘blue growth’ constitutes an opportunity to mitigate the structural inequalities between the outermost regions and continental Europe; considers, also, that it can help to make the outermost regions the focus of a future-centred European policy;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30b. Points out the importance of marine protected areas in the outermost regions;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Recalls that Article 349 TFEU provides for specific access to structural funds for the outermost regions and that, on that basis, all the outermost regions should be regarded as ‘least developed regions’ and as systematically eligible for the maximum level of support;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. In view of the principle of subsidiarity and the responsibilities of the Member States, calls upon the Member States to fully implement the pre- conditions, with regard, in particular, to investment in the areas falling within their jurisdiction, so that European funds and policies in the outermost regions perform as well as possible;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Considers that, for the next programming period, the outermost regions should be able to define some of their priorities for the use of the structural funds in line with the priorities set out in the Commission’s strategy for the outermost regions; calls for the continuation of budget allocations to the outermost regions, of compensation of excess costs, and of all derogations intended to compensate them for their structural disadvantages;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Recalls the shared objective of twofold integration of the outermost regions; calls for all schemes concerned with cross-border cooperation between the outermost regions and third countries in their geographical regions to be intensified and made operational, in particular by maintaining and improving synergies between the legal and financial provisions of the EDF and EFRD regulations;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Deplores the fact that the wider neighbourhood policy which the Commission had committed to implementing for the outermost regions has never seen the light of day;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Regrets the fact that the most important fund for training and employment, the European Social Fund, has never taken into account the structural nature and critical levels of unemployment in the outermost regions, particularly as Article 349 TFEU grants the outermost regions the right to specific access to the Structural Funds; calls, therefore, for the creation of an additional allocation within the framework of the ESF in order to support employability, mobility and training in the outermost regions;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Stresses that, given the remoteness and small size of their markets, strengthening the derogations to competition law obtained on the basis of Article 349 TFEU and Article 42 TFEU is not liable to affect trade between Member States, nor to destabilise the internal market;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Deplores the fact that the initial proposals for simplifying the GBERs and RSAGs did not from the outset and upstream make any provision for altering the rules so as tofor the outermost regions so as to successfully ensure the economic and social development of the outermost regions;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Calls for the creation of a specific framework for state aid to the outermost regions, with a view to avoiding the regulatory inconsistencies currently experienced between the various instruments and policies in the outermost regions;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 b (new)
Paragraph 39 b (new)
39b. Calls on the Commission to step up its action to combat the large monopolies in the outermost regions, which contribute to the increase in the cost of living for local people, particularly in the sectors of imports that compete with the development of the local economy, energy, transport and telecommunications;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7
Subheading 7
Research, environment, transport, mobility, energy and telecommunications
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Does not consider that any of the Union’s horizontal programmes provides for access conditions specific to the outermost regions; regards this situation as particularly discriminatoryon research, the environment, health, transport, energy or telecommunications provides for access conditions specific to the outermost regions, but that, on the contrary, the current eligibility conditions prevent the outermost regions from responding to calls for tenders; regards this situation as particularly discriminatory while, in fact, the assets of the outermost regions could be promoted by the Union’s horizontal programmes such as Horizon 2020, LIFE and IEE;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Questions the determination of the Commission and Member States to integrate the outermost regions, apart from in annexes, into the trans-European transport, energy and telecommunications networks; calls on the Commission to use the trans-European networks to eliminate the isolation of the outermost regions, and to pave the way for their genuine integration into the European Union;
Amendment 269 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46a. Deplores the fact that in spite of recital 37 of the Erasmus+ regulation, which states that ‘the constraints imposed by the remoteness of the outermost regions of the Union and the OCTs should be taken into account when implementing the Programme’, the amounts of the Erasmus travel allowances are often insufficient to cover the real costs of travel to the mother country for students receiving the allowance who come from the outermost regions, undermining effective and fair access for them to this flagship European programme; calls on the Commission to adjust the amounts of the Erasmus allowances to the real travel costs incurred by citizens living in the outermost regions within the framework of the programme;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 b (new)
Paragraph 46 b (new)
46b. Calls on the Commission to extend the new mobility instrument targeting young people, ‘Move2Learn, Learn2Move’ to European citizens living in the outermost regions and to adjust the amounts paid to cover the travel costs offered to them to meet the real costs involved in travelling between the outermost regions and continental Europe; welcomes the Commission’s decision not to restrict this instrument to travel by rail only, which would marginalise young people from overseas;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Recalls that the European Court of Auditors in the Special Report 01/2017 considered that "Significant progress is needed from the Member States and further efforts by the Commission to better contribute to the ambitious objectives of the EU's biodiversity strategy for 2020";
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Suggests that an impact study be carried out regarding the possibilities of applying the Natura 2000 programme to the French outermost regions, with a view to establishing the most appropriate tools for the protection of the biodiversity and environment of these regions;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47b. Recalls that the mid-term review of the EU Biodiversity Strategy published by the Commission in October 2015 and mentioned by the European Court of Auditors in the Special Report 01/2017 concluded that, although significant progress has been made since 2011 in implementing the measures under Objective 1, the most significant challenges remain the completion of the marine element of the Natura 2000 network and the guarantee of effective management of the sites and funding needed to support the Natura 2000 network, both of which are important factors for ORs";
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
Amendment 284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)
Paragraph 48 a (new)
48a. Calls for the POSEI approach to be extended to the fields of industry, the digital sector, transport and tourism, which would make it possible to develop consistent sectoral EU approaches in these fields for the outermost regions;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 b (new)
Paragraph 48 b (new)
48b. Calls for a genuine European industrial strategy to be deployed in the outermost regions, generating jobs that cannot be outsourced, and based on the capacity of businesses to consolidate their local roots;