42 Amendments of Christel SCHALDEMOSE related to 2015/2089(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas the proper transposition, implementation and enforcement of consumer rights and law is essential in order to achieve a high level of consumer protection in the EU;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
D b. whereas one of the main priorities of the European Consumer Summit 2015, an annual forum gathering key European and international policy-makers and stakeholders, was the importance of better implementation and enforcement of the law;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that improving single market regulation should be both a priority and a shared responsibility of the Union institutions; believes that good legislation shouldcan contribute to competitiveness, the creation of sustainable jobs and growth, and must high level of consumer protection and should do so in a way that stimulates, rather than frustrates, the European economy;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Understands ‘better regulation' in the context of the whole policy cycle, whereby all elements and all institutions involved contribute to efficient and effective regulation; recalls in this context the importance of transparency and accessibility of information; regrets that while documents of the European Parliament are accessible for the citizens, Council documents are not and remain restricted;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the principle of subsidiarity is an essential element and must represent thone of many important elements that should be starting point for policy formulationken into account in the governance of the single market;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that the responsibility for subsidiarity extends beyond the Commission, the Council and Parliament, and includes a role fore role of national and – where appropriate –regional parliaments; believes that the input of the national and regional parliaments should be given appropriate weight and consideration in the context of the subsidiarity mechanism, but also as regards political dialogue;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the deadlines involved in the subsidiarity mechanism sometimes are too short to ensure that national parliaments always have time to consider in detail aspects of implementation or other practical matters; and coordinate amongst each other whether proposed Union legislation is in conformity with the subsidiarity mechanism; considers, therefore, that parliaments should be afforded more time to respond; considers, as well, that a stronger ‘red, to make sure the yellow card' procedure should be introduced, allowing proposals to be rejected on grounds of lack of conformity with subsidiarifunctions according to the intentions of the Lisbon Treaty;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that where the need for European regulation can be demonstrated, the institutions should jointly undertake to ensure that the principle of proportionality, as well as the principles of simplicityall the institutions involved in the legislative process should jointly take responsibility to ensure that the principle of better regulation, transparency, coherence and respect for fundamental rights, are reflected in the drafting of the relevantEU legislation;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that single market legislation should be to the benefit of competitiveness, innovation and growth, andreation of sustainable quality employment, competitiveness, innovation and growth; believes that it should protect the consumers as well; views effective impact assessments as an importantone tool for informing policymakers on how best to dbesign regulation to achieve these aims and their single market objectivest draft legislation in order to achieve these aims; recalls that the aim of impact assessments is to evaluate the social, economic and environmental consequences of a legislative proposal;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that in order to be effective as tools, impact assessments should be prepared on the basis of strong evidence; believes that careful consideration of scientific advice should form part of the impact assessment process and, in particular,based on comprehensive, objective and complete information and evidence; therefore calls on the Commission to take a truly holistic approach on impact assessments and not focus on competitiveness alone; believes that careful consideration of scientific advice will allow well-informed political decision and substantiate how or why policy choices have been made in preparatory phases, which will assist the political process;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that the impact assessment accompanying a proposal should be seen as a ‘living document' that is kept up to date andcarried out at the beginning of a legislative process, and if deemed necessary, if substantial changes have been made during the political decision making process so that it corresponds to the choices made by the co-legislators at the various stages of negotiations before the final political decision is taken; ; emphasizes that clear and transparent rules should be set out under which conditions such additional impact assessments should be made; points out that political decisions must be taken by the co-legislators, not by authors of impact assessments;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers it necessary to empower a body, shared among all three institutions, to conduct independent scrutiny of istrengthen the independence of the Impact aAssessments, taking inspiration from experiences in the Member States, including the Netherlands; believes that such a body could be composed of a group of independent experts and include representatives from each of the institutions Board and to define its role clearly, if such a body has to be set up;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Recalls that according to Article 11 (2) TEU, all EU institutions are required to maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations, civil society and social partners;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its position that consultation processes should be opened up and expanded to include submissions on draft impact assessments; believes this is equally important for secondary legislation, which is of great consequence for the implementation of single market regulation and which therefore requires greater transparency and scrutiny, transparent, meaningful and involve a broad variety of stakeholders; considers that consultation should be expanded to include submissions on draft impact assessments; believes it is important with more transparency and scrutiny in secondary legislation as well;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers consultation to be an ongoing processthat a holistic approach should be taken towards stakeholder consultation, which should be an ongoing process throughout the whole legislative cycle, rather than an occasional exercise; reiterates, in this regard, its calls on the Commission to consider the establishment of a Stakeholder Forum;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Believes that by making public consultations available in all of the official languages, improving their accessibility and intelligibility, the higher corresponding participation and more transparent access to the consultation process will be achieved;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Emphasizes the importance of correlation tables to monitor correct implementation; calls upon the Member States to draw up their own correlation tables and to publish them;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Considers that, ifor the many benefits thatof a fully functioning single market can offer are to be realised, efforts should be made to learn from the experiences of, and the practical challbest practices and experiengces posed by,gained in the implementation of specific regulations or requirements,Union legislation in order to ensure that the aims and objectives are not frustrated as a result ofof specific legislation is not lost due to poor or inconsistent implementation across the Member States;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Believes that the analysis should also undertake to identify instanterm gold-plating should be precisely defined and it should be clarified that gold-plating does not refer to cases where Member States exercise their right to higher standards in inter alia consumer protection; regrets that the practices of gold- plating, which can present similar challenges for peoplecitizens and businesses seeking toin understanding and apply law originating at EU leveling Union legislation; call upon the Member States to clarify and identify in implementation documents what is Union legislation and what is national requirements;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. Believes that a systematic screening of consumer markets at EU level would detect in a more timely manner emerging trends and threats to consumers and businesses; highlights in this context a positive role of all involved stakeholders, including consumer organisations;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23 a. Regrets that Parliament's access to relevant information relating to pre- infringement and infringement procedures is limited and calls for improved transparency in this regard, with due respect to confidentially rules;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the Commission to undertakelaunch infringement proceedings where evidence exists to demonstrate a failure of implementation and where reasonable efforts to solve problems through tools such as EU Pilot or SOLVIT have failed; considers that while action should be taken in all applicable cases, the Commission could further prioritise action to tackle those infringementother pre-infringement mechanisms that are most significant in economic termsve failed;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Undertakes to play its role in this area, includingexercise Parliament's role in the enforcement of Union legislation inter alia by reviewing the implementation of legislation and through scrutiny of the Commission, in particular through engagement by Parliament with annual, or at least more detailed, reporting by the Commission on work programmes relating specifically to enforcement;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Stresses that in its resolution on the implementation of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC, the European Parliament called on the Commission to compile and analyse data on penalties applied by Member States as well as on the efficiency of enforcement regimes in particular with regard to the complexity and length of enforcement procedures; calls repeatedly on the Commission to provide the Parliament with results of these analyses;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 c (new)
Paragraph 25 c (new)
25 c. Notes that cooperation between enforcement authorities is essential to ensure that consumer rights legislation is equally applied cross the internal market and to create a level playing field for businesses; stresses the importance of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) in this area; stresses that following Article 21a of the CPC Regulation, the Commission shall assess the effectiveness and operational mechanisms of this Regulation and submit report to the EP by 31 December 2014; urges the Commission to fulfil this commitment as soon as possible;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 d (new)
Paragraph 25 d (new)
25d. Acknowledges a positive role of the EU sweeps actions, launched by the Commission in order to enhance enforcement throughout coordinated control actions in the online environment; believes that EU sweeps could be broaden also into the offline sector;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Welcomes the regular review period, and the introduction of sectoral analysis under the REFIT programme, both of which have the aim of improving single market regulation and ensuring that legislation is "fit for purpose";
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Considers, however, that analysis should be improved as regards to whether the legislative steps taken so far have contributed effectively to achieving an aim, and whether they still remain necessary; believes, in this context, that a rolling target for administrative and regulatory burden reduction can make a positive contribution to ensuring that aims are met in the most efficient way possibleemphasises also the importance of transparency in the REFIT process; encourages the Commission to identify REFIT proposals as such in the Commission Work Programme in order to enable the Parliament to address issues before Commission presents a concrete proposal;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes that the cumulative cost of unnecessary regulation often represent barriers for participants in the single market, particularly for SMEs; welcomes, therefore, the commitment by the Commission to examine this issue; underlines, however, that any such analysis should only address economic factors and should not be equated with a broader impact assessment, which includes assessments of other elementsreduction of unnecessary burden and red tape should not jeopardize consumer protection, workers´ rights and environmental standards, which are an overriding aim of legislation;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Commission to improve its understanding of the factors influencing the achievement of policy objectives, such as the impact of complementary or clashing policies adopted at EU or national level, but also the impact and costs of non- action, in order to directimprove policy making in a better way and, ultimately, to contribute to improvedbetter single market regulation;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Notes that legislation, once adopted, remains largely static and that incentives to respond to, and repeal, outdated legislation are often lacking, while consumer issues and market problems rise and fall as conditions change; considers, therefore, that sunset clauses should be used more often, whereby the institutions could commit to keep legislation up to date and in place only where necessary; views safeguards as a necessary meansexceptionally be considered if the issue that the legislation addresses is a temporary phenomenon; encourages the Commission to establish ex-post evaluation mechanisms, which should involve all European Institutions and Member States, and be based ofn ensuring that essential legislation does not lapsevidence based data from national authorities and relevant stakeholders;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Considers alsoEmphasises that improving single market regulation does not means removing all regulation, but ratherunnecessary regulation and negative impacts, while ensuring that the purpose of the legislation is achieved and delivering a competitive regulatory environment that supports employment and enterprise within Europe;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Stresses that aimproved single market that does not over-burden or frustrateregulation encouraging production, innovation and commerce is a structure that will bring jobs and growth back to Europe that previously would have been located outside of it, where standards are lowerone tool to generate jobs and growth;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas there is a low level of knowledge and awareness among both citizens and businesses of various assistance services such as Your Europe, SOLVIT;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas there is a lack of sufficient indicators and data for measuring successful implementation of legislation in Single Market areas;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas such indicators and data for measuring successful implementation of legislation in Single Market areas could clarify the aim and purpose of the legislation;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Understands ‘better regulation’ in the context of the whole policy cycle, whereby all elements contribute to efficient and effective regulation; considers, therefore, that specific indicators for measuring the success of the legislation should be included already in the initial impact assessment and used throughout the whole policy cycle, including the implementation of the legislation when it enters into force;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes that the "Smart Single Market Regulation"(http://www.europarl.europa. eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/563442/I POL_STUD(2015) 563442_EN.pdf) study commissioned by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee suggests that the European Parliament and the Council might have valuable insights to contribute to the Commission's impact assessments; calls on the Commission to explore ways in which to include the European Parliament and the Council in the process regarding the impact assessments;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recognizes the proposals for an increased strategic programming phase in the "Better Regulation Package" such as inception impact assessments; considers however that there is still a lack of overviews of the Commission's working process; Calls on the Commission to make road maps outlining policy initiatives in specific sectors more visible, and to facilitate their use;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers the input from citizens and businesses into the different assistance services such as Your Europe, SOLVIT to be of great importance to the legislative process, therefore calls on the Commission to evaluate the data of the input coming from these services and take it into consideration when reviewing the relevant legislation;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Considers that services such as SOLVIT represent a useful, low-cost alternative to legal action; notes that the present take-up of these services is very low, in particular by the both by the citizens and business community; calls on the Commission, in order to resolve this problem, to improve further awareness about these tools, while examining whether the outcomes and responses from those tools are adequate for users; calls furthermore on the Commission to work on better co- operation between the various assistance services such as Your Europe, SOLVIT; to increase the user satisfaction;