Activities of Alain LIPIETZ related to 2008/2334(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
European Economic Recovery Plan (A6-0063/2009, Elisa Ferreira) (vote)
Amendments (18)
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. Whereas the responses to the economic crisis cannot be disconnected from those to be given to face the ecological crisis, and the commodities shortage crisis,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the EU recovery plan must combine stability in the short term with a longer-term restructuring of the financial, taxation and energy systems,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. Whereas the facilities granted by the revised Stability and Growth Pact makes it easier to finance high-quality public investments, such as those ones aiming at the de-coupling of growth from energy consumption, transport and the use of resources, as well as investments needed to meet the Kyoto targets,
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Takes the view that the European economic recovery plan must take the form of a "New Green Deal", the overriding objective of which must be to tackle a three-pronged 'crunch': the present global financial crisis, climate change and the rapid depletion of oil;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to protect citizens of the Union from the effects of the financial crisis, as they are the most strongly affected whether as workers, as members of households, or as entrepreneurs; reasserts that an encompassing programme to fight climate change is part of the solution to counter an economic recession;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Underlines that the Recovery Plan must serve the purpose of delivering a fair and equitable international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012; such an agreement must, inter alia, give poorer countries the opportunity to escape poverty without fuelling global warming by helping to finance massive investment in climate-change adaptation and renewable energy;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. restates its endorsement to the flexibility offered by the revised Stability and Growth Pact, as a way to conduct anti-cyclical policies to address the economic recession, considering the impact of the financial crisis on the real economy; however, calls on the Commission to give clear guidance on the interpretation of the flexibility clause of the revised Stability and Growth Pact, namely when addressing short-term investment decisions which are compatible with medium-term budgetary targets and conducive to sustainable growth andthe achievement of long-term Lisbon goals as well as the objectives of the climate-energy package;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. welcomes the short-term measures adopted to return confidence to the financial system; recalls that those emergency measures are insufficient to tackle the fundamental problems at the source of the crisis, namely excessive risk- taking, leveraging and rewarding short- termism; in the long run, considers especially in this context that closing down tax havens and ensuring strict control of remuneration scheme are of utmost importance in order to restore financial stability;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. considers that although the European Central Bank (ECB) has a role to playno official supervisory mandate, there is a need to enhance its role as regards monitoring the macro-economic and financial stability in the European Union, while ensuring political accountability;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. underlines the need to guarantee minimum living standards for all citizens of the Union and calls for adequate emergency measures to be taken; calls for social policies to be adapted to cope with the recession, supporting active labour market policies, living conditions (in particular in the housing market and access to quality public services) and paying special attention to the most vulnerable members of society; urges also the Member States to implement a shift of taxation from labour to environmental degradation as a way to promote employment and more generally to target fiscal stimuli towards social and environmental objectives, such as reduced VAT for labour-intensive services and locally supplied services, energy-saving materials, and energy-efficient appliances and equipment;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. believes that a strong public investment policy, aiming at creating a "low-carbon economy" is of utmost importance to face the economic recession; considers, however, that the way in which the EU economies have been managed, which is far removed from the constraints of an "ecological budget" (one that focuses on "pollution" and the ability of forests, soils, and seas to absorb "carbon emissions"), cannot be a sustainable response to the effective relaunch of the economy; urges the Member States, therefore, to refrain from a traditional simplistic demand management approach to relaunching the economy, which ignores the limits of ecosystems;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. deplores the fact that taxation policy is a tool which is hardly used at the EU, in view of the rule of unanimity applied at the Council; takes the view that fiscal stimulus and a common strategic approach to environmental taxation has a major role to play in the economic recovery plan and the achievement of the climate-energy package, considering that green taxation is a flexible policy instrument for addressing industrial competitiveness, providing incentives for technological innovation, addressing climate change (namely by internalising environmental externalities in transport) applying the 'polluter pays' principle or achieving a reduction of pollution at source; in this respect, calls on Member States to undertake reforms in their fiscal regimes for ensuring that certain sectors like agriculture, transport and energy, which impact so heavily on the environment, perform sustainably;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. calls on the development of recovery instruments and policies both at European Union and at Member State level, capable of boosting demand and confidencerestoring confidence and re-orientating production patterns, private expenses and behaviour across the European Union, in accordance with a common set of priorities within the Lisbon strategy and the climate- change and energy package, such as: investing in education, skills and lifelong learning, energy efficiency and green technologies, broadband networks, urban transport, creative industries and services, health services, and services for children and older people;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. calls for European Union initiatives in the field of education and training, and access to risk capital, credit and microcredit facilities in order to boost qualitative growth and convergence throughout the European Union;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. considers that involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is crucial and that a large share of lending referred to in the Recovery Plan is within its competence; welcomes the Member States' agreement on a capital increase for the EIB; recallsinsists that the Lisbon-Göteborg Strategy remain the guideline for the selection of priorities regarding the distribution of EIB funding for a knowledge-based and climate-friendly competitive economy; recalls, in this respect, that there is a need to develop environmentally friendly funding criteria, in line with the EU's strategic goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions; recalls also that some of the EIB interventions also require support from the EU budget, but that this is not currently provided for in the Recovery Plan;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. considers that since banks appear reluctant to finance the real economy, despite the support granted to them by Member States and the ECB, the most straightforward tool at the disposal of the EU recovery plan is the EIB, whether to meet the Kyoto goals, in particular as regards SME activities, or the Millennium goals; considers that those objectives can be achieved both by State Guaranties permitting refinancing by the ECB at a low interest rate, and through subsidies reducing the interest rate to the firms when financing Kyoto-linked investments;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. recommends a flexible approach to the European budget spending structure, reinforcing its internal social and cohesion dimensions; strongly supports the mobilisation of unspent EU fustresses that the current crisis should not be used as a pretext to delay a much- needed reorientation of spending towards 'green' investments, but should rather be used as an additional incentive to press ahead with such reorientation; reiterates, in this context, the importance of the budgetary review planned for 2009, which should not be limited to a theoretical vision what the budget could look like after 2013, but which should include bold proposals for a shift in programming at the time of the mid-term review of the multi-annual programmes to responds to priorities identified under a cohesion framework; the current crisis, promoting sustainable development and taking into account the challenges posed by climate change;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. considers that the present crisis must not preclude the European Union's responsibilities as regards promoting international development and combating world poverty; warns that the risk of a fallback to protectionist policies must be avoided; underlines that the worldwide recovery effort could be greatly enhanced by the timely conclusion of the Doha Round of trade negotiaexpresses its deep concern about the effects of the financial crisis on the EU's commitment to meet the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals; urges the Member States and the Commission not to postpone their international obligations related to the fight against climate change and poverty; points out, on the contrary, that their efforts to provide development aid must be substantially increased to tackle the side- effects of the financial crisis on people's living conditions in various international forums and institutions;