Activities of José GUSMÃO related to 2020/2079(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Economic policies of the euro area 2020 - Employment and social policies of the euro area 2020 (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the employment and social policies of the euro area 2020
Amendments (29)
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the COVID-19 crisis isproduced a symmetric shock affecting all Members States, though the impact of the crisis is set to be uneven having a stronger impact on the more than 109 million citizens already living at risk of poverty before the pandemic;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas effective European economic, social and health policy coordination with the European Semester at its core is crucial for mitigating the effects of the crisis; whereas a stronger involvement of the European Parliament in the Semester will ensure a more democratic economic governance;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas social investments are essential to ensure sustainable development, poverty eradication and inclusive societies; whereas the decision of the Council of 23 March 2020 of activating the General Escape Clause should lead to a revision of the Stability and Growth Pact in order to better tackle the consequences of the pandemic as well as the causes for the imbalances between Member States;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas austerity policies resulted in less protective and underfunded social and healthcare systems, which were not sufficient to proportionally and adequately support people experiencing poverty and inequalities aggravateding the effects of the pandemic in certainthe majority of Member States;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas those Member States that will be benefitting from the proposed Recovery and Resilience Facility should establish plans in the context of the European Semester with clear targets on social progress based on the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas reinforced social protection systems are crucial for the fight against poverty and inequalities;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the euro area unemployment rate is expected to increase from 7.5 % in 2019 to about 9.5 % in 2020, with substantial differences among Member States, impacting differently youth, low-skilled, non-standard and other precarious workers;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the crisis is leading to a degradation of the labour market conditions which risks to limit increases in wages and reinforces the declining of collective bargaining power;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the crisis will have a significant impact on social conditions, in particular for vulnerable groups, including workers on temporary contracts, persons with low qualifications, involuntary part- time and self-employed, platform and migrant workers widening inequality and the risk of poverty;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas progressive taxation is crucial to fight inequality in order to finance more inclusive welfare systems;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas the Country Specific Recommendations do not have a clear focus on wealth taxation and on progressive income taxation;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas fair living wages, strong collective bargaining systems, andequate social protection and investment in public services can reduce in-work poverty, decrease inequalities and generate demand;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas a variety of minimum income schemes exist in the majority of Member States in order to establish a safety net for those living at risk of poverty; whereas a European directive on minimum income would be welcomed;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the Commission’s 2020 country-specific recommendations (CSRs); expresses its concern that Member States have made limited or no progress in six out of 10 CSRs addressed to them in 2019; and progress is uneven across Member States and policy areas; points out that the focus on CSRs in labour market deregulation, procyclical economic policies and privatizations have left several Member States with significant vulnerabilities when facing Covid-19 economic and social crisis;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned about the devastating social effects of the COVID-19 crisis, in particular on vulnerable groups increasing inequality; stresses that only a decisive and coordinated European response will offset the social consequences of the current crisis;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Considers that despite the announcements about the urgent necessity of balancing economic and social dimensions and foster upward convergence, the European Semester does not have a concrete agenda and actions to fight poverty and therefore a concrete strategy with a set of targets and a monitoring process should be established;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that in the current crisis, the Stability and Growth Pact has proven to be inadequate, not allowing Member States the fiscal space they need to absorb imbalances and mitigate the social consequences, which made the activation of the escape clause necessary; demands that social and ecological objectives be given the same legal enforceability as fiscal consolidation and financial stability; calls in that regard on Member States to make full use of the fiscal flexibility made available by the General Escape Clause by establishing a ‘golden rule’ on social investment in order to finance quality jobs, public services, the fight against poverty and the green transition;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomeCalls for a more ambitious Next Generation EU, the and EU’s recovery plan; stresses that, without own resources, the recovery fund is basically a debt instrument, as it is guaranteed by future budgets; calls on the Member States to make use of the general escape clause and invest in people and social welfare systems; calls for specific social progress plans to ensure more effective and stronger welfare states;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the importance of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the European Recovery Plan; stresses that in order to fuel the recovery, the EU’s investment effort through the Recovery Plan and MFF must have a strong social dimension, particularly by investing in stable social security systems, healthcare, education, housing, employment, culture, justice and adequate and accessible public social services with the objective of combating the social impact of the crisis and definitively tackling poverty eradication;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that financial assistance is only provided to undertakings not registered in tax havens; Member States should furthermore ensure that financial assistance is only provided to undertakings that respect the applicable collective agreements. Member States should ensure that recipient undertakings refrain from making share buy backs or pay dividends to shareholders and bonuses to executives;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to improve the scoreboard by integrating further indicators and clear targets reflecting all 20 principles of the EPSR, and to develop mandatory social targets namely on poverty reduction;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Is concerned about the increased rate of unemployment, which will especially affect youth and workers in low- skilled positions and precarious employment; calls on the Commission to propose a permanent EU unemployment reinsurance scheme and a more effective and inclusive Youth Guarantee; calls on the Member States to adequately invest in effective active labour market policies to, namely through the better targeted use of existing and future funding instruments, such as the European Social Fund, to tackle and prevent long-term unemployment;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that the successful implementation of the EU Recovery Plan requires a proper social dialogue at all levels and effective involvement of the social partners; calls on the Commission and Member States to support capacity building of the social partners in order to strengthen social dialogue and collective bargainingtrade union density, social dialogue and civil society participation and to extend collective bargaining coverage in order to ensure a democratic and socially just recovery;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is concerned about limited intergenerational social mobility and increasing income inequality; stresses that national tax and benefit systems must be designed in a way that reduces inequalities and discrimination, promotes fairness and provides incentives for labour market participation;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to present an EU child guarantee in 2020, a rights-based, comprehensive and integrated anti-poverty strategy, an EU framework on national homelessness strategies,In the context of a European rights-based, comprehensive and integrated anti-poverty strategy, calls on the Commission to present in 2020 an EU child guarantee, an EU framework on national homelessness strategies, a long- term post-2020 EU Disability strategy, a renewed EU Roma Integration Strategy, and to conduct a comparative study on the different minimum income schemes in the Member States, and to highlight best practice cases with a view to presenting a frameworkdirective in this regard;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to introduce bindinga directive on pay transparency measures, which should include strong enforcement measures, such as penalties and sanctions for employers that violate the right to equal pay, and urges their swift adoption in order to avoid further gender-based inequalities;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for accessible and affordable quality childcare and early education services, as well as short- and long-term care services, including for the elderly and people with disabilities and the promotion of independent living;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 373 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Member States to improve the quality, accessibility and inclusiveness of their education systems, and to ensure high-quality basic skills training with tailored support, especially for the most marginalised groups in society with a specific focus on early school leaving which was aggravated by the pandemic;