19 Amendments of Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ related to 2019/2028(BUD)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that effective and carefully considered social and employment policy enhancements reflectingies, reflecting socio-economic, demographic and automation challenges and macro-economic imbalances among Member States, accompanied by well- targeted investment strategies and responsible fiscal policies, continue to be an important precondition for sustainable growth which is the key factor leading to quality employment and boosting upward social convergence;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that effective and carefully considered employment policy enhancements reflecting demographic and automation challenges, accompanied by well-targeted investment strategies and responsible fiscal and social policies, continue to be an important precondition for sustainable growth which is the key factor leading to quality employment and boosting upward social convergence;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that the 2020 budget should contribute towards achieving the Europe 2020 targets in the social and employment area, which seem to be within reach as regards the employment rate target but remain far from being achieved as regards the target of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion; stresses that more and more working people are at risk of poverty, and that 20 million children in the EU are living in poverty and social exclusion; stresses, in this regard, the need for comprehensive policy reforms and integrated approaches that combat youth and long-term unemployment and the often neglected issue of elderly employthe employability of the elderly and persons with disabilityies;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the proposal for the draft general budget for the European Union for 2020 seeks to continue supporting strategic investment and sustainable growth in order to improve economic cohesion and create jobs, in particular for young people, the elderly and persons with disabilities; whereas, in this regard, it is important also to focus on enhancing women’s potential in all sectors of economy, including the digitalised economy, information and communication technologies (ICT) and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and on reducing the gender employment and pay gap;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that the 2020 budget should contribute towards achieving the Europe 2020 targets in the social and employment area, which seem to be within reach as regards the employment rate target but remain far from being achieved as regards the target of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion; stresses, in this regard, the need for comprehensive policy reforms and integrated approaches that combat youth and long-term unemployment and the often neglected issue of elderly employability; highlights the need to progressively align the strategic orientation of EU policies and programmes with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the social agenda outlined by the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), which should be fully integrated into the programming provisions of the EU Funds and the European Semester;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises the crucial role of the European Social Fund (ESF), the Youth Guarantee (YG), the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD); stresses the need for these programmes to receive an adequate level of funding in 2020 and until the entry into force of the next MFF programming phase, ensuring that no gap in the financing of such important instruments is ever to take place; highlights, in this regard, that the activities implemented in these areas should always result in strategic measures with clearly defined objectives and targets and that efficient and effective spending is equally as important as the total budget ceilings;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Highlights that the programming funds in the social and employment area should create synergies to help reduce social divergences and inequalities that have been exacerbated by the crisis; warns that any reductions in the budget for these areas will only create difficulties for these policies to be effective and reach their targets;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses in particular the role of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) as an essential tool to fight youth unemployment, which remains unacceptably high and with significant disparities across the Member States; welcomes the commitment by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines to strengthen the Youth Guarantee by turning it into a permanent instrument with an increased budget and regular reporting; with regard to this, takes note of the Commission proposal to increase YEI allocations in 2020 by EUR 116 million, but considers such a figure insufficient; calls therefore for an increase of YEI payment appropriations by EUR 600 million;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need to continue all actions focused on preventing and combating all forms of violence against women, children and young persons in the framework of the programme that will replace the REC in the next MFF period, with an independent budget allocation for Daphne and specific attention to combat trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Acknowledges the forthcoming rationalisintegration of the current ESF, the YEI, the FEAD, the EaSI and the European Health Programme underwithin the ESF+ as of 2021; calls on the Commission to present financial information in a manner that makes it comparableand budgetary allocations in a manner that makes ESF+ figures and thematic concentrations comparable with the current envelopes of the above mentioned programmes, as well as with performance information; expresses concerns on the substantial decrease (by EUR 5 million) proposed by the Council on the PROGRESS axis of EaSI; stresses, in this regard, that all legislative and budgetary revisions should be based on evidence, understanding of their impacts and in line with the better regulation agenda, as well as related recommendations of the European Court of Auditors;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that, in the context of ongoing budgetary constraints, it will be critical to make the best use of the 2020 general budget, including future skillswhich should be overcome with an ambitious investment strategy to re-launch the European economy in the aftermath of the economic crisis, it will be critical to make the best use of the 2020 general budget, especially when it comes to policies capable of supporting sustainable economic growth and quality employment creation, such as future skills policies, vocational and educational training (VET), upskilling and reskilling policies and measures to support labour market transitions and better adjustment to demographic change, particularly by improved integration of potentially vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the labour market;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that, in the context of ongoing budgetary constraints, it will be critical to make the best use of the 2020 general budget, including future skills policies and measures to support labour market transition and better adjustment to demographic change, particularly by improved integration of potentially vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, the elderly and persons with disabilities in the labour market;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need to adopt measures aimed at reducing the gender pay and employment gap;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomStresses the continuation ofimportance of adequate funding for the Youth Employment Initiative in order to combat particularly high rates of youth unemployment; calls for equal participation of girls and young women in the measures covered by that initiative to be ensured and that special attention is paid to quality offers of training and employment for them, including in the digitalised economy, ICT and STEM sectors;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Awaits the publication of the feasibility study on the Child Guarantee; calls on the Commission to fully take into consideration the proposals for implementation of the Preparatory Actions on the Child Guarantee, adopted in the annual budgets 2017, 2018 and 2019, which go beyond the feasibility study and which have a level of funding which will allow the implementation of a proper experimental phase of the Child Guarantee in the next programming period 2021-2027; with regard to this, welcomes the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's commitment in her Political Guidelines to create the European Child Guarantee in order to help ensure that every child in Europe at risk of poverty or social exclusion has access to the most basic set of rights like healthcare and education;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Call for adequate funding for EURES operations to be ensured in 2020, in particular stresses that the entry into force of the European Labour Authority (ELA) should not result in a reduction of resources and capabilities for EURES, which plays a pivotal role in facilitating labour mobility of Union citizens and offers services and partnerships for jobseekers and employers, Public Employment Services (PES), the social partners and the local authorities; insists that the ELA, being a new body, requires fresh resources to run smoothly; highlights therefore the need for maintaining clear and separate budget lines for both ELA and EURES;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Recalls that the EU is in a context of near-stagnation and insufficient wage growth and that both the Commission and the ECB recommend a general increase in wages and an improvement in the quality of employment; stresses, furthermore, that the budget lines supporting the European social dialogue and measures for the social partners are of prime importance when it comes to strengthening the social partners’ involvement, for example in the European Semester and in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and therefore calls for increased appropriations as regards industrial relations and social dialogue; highlights that well-functioning industrial relations systems have a positive impact on productivity, employment creation and maintenance, jobs quality and decent wages;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls the important role of the European Institute for Gender Equality and calls for the Institute’s budget, staff establishment plan and independence to be maintained, which will ensure the smooth running of the Institute.
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Reiterates that pilot projects (PPs) and preparatory actions (PAs) are very valuable tools to initiate new activities and policies in the fields of employment and social inclusion and could be used for data and evidence collection in order to improve future Union employment policiesthat several ideas of the EMPL Committee have been implemented successfully in the past as PPs/PAs; encourages the full use of the margins available under each heading;