4 Amendments of Iuliu WINKLER related to 2015/2074(BUD)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the cohesion policy represents the main EU investment policy in the real economy; highlights that in some Member States it is the main source of funding for investments developing synergies and having a multiplying effect in economic growth and job creation; stresses that the main objective of financing through the structural and investment funds is to close the gap between regions;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that the cohesion policy, which accounts for almost a third of the total EU budget, provides – through the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) – the appropriate framework for meeting the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy; stresses that the role of the European Fund for Strategic Investments is to attract private investment into the public sector, providing a supplementary contribution to cohesion policy investments, and accordingly calls on the Commission to expand the entities eligible for EFSI financing to include public authorities;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is seriously concerned about the recurrent problem of the backlog of payments, especially under the cohesion policy, which creates a de facto debt in the EU budget, and stresses that there is a danger of perpetuating the ‘snow ball’ effect of accumulating unpaid invoices at year’s end unless a tangible and sustainable solution is found, as fast as possible, by the budgetary authority together with the Commission; regrets that the suspension of payments after errors are detected leads to payment deadlines being delayed, and calls on the Commission to study the possibility of continuing payments where minor errors have been detected;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Demands that the payment plan to be agreed between Parliament, the Council and the Commission, in line with the joint statement of December 2014 of the Parliament and of the Council in the framework of the agreement reached on 2014 and 2015 budgets, be implemented without any further delay; calls, to this end, for sufficient payment appropriations to be provided under heading 1b within the 2016 budget, with a view to decreasing the level of the backlog as much as possible by the end of the year; underlines the urgency of addressing this issue in a proper way, as the situation of outstanding payments undermines the credibility, effectiveness and sustainability of the policy; points out that delays in launching the cohesion policy in the current programming period are leading to payments being deferred, and calls on the Commission to consider staggering payment appropriations in 2016 so as to prevent them from accumulating.