16 Amendments of Rolandas PAKSAS related to 2011/2071(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the European Council and the Commission to focus more, within the European Semester, on the Single Market which constitutes the economic pillar of the EU, in order to tap the full potential of the services sector, attract private capital to finance innovative projects, modernise standard setting and promote efficient use of energy; stresses that the Single Market must be at the heart of a European Economic Governance focused on the aim of fostering growth, employment and social cohesion by overcoming internal imbalances and producing converging competitiveness dynamics;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that resource efficiency and energy efficiency are fundamental to promoting sustainable growth and combating climate change, and arewhile improving energy security and consumer access to energy; considers, therefore, that in the medium and long term, efficient energy and resource use has to be a key components of Europe’s economic competitiveness;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that recent Commission estimates suggest that the EU is on course to achieve only half of the 20 % objective and that current plans by Member States risk falling far short of the overall 20 % energy efficiency target set in the Europe 2020 strategy, which would lead to lost opportunities for growth across many sectors and regions and loss of employment-creation possibilities; calls on the Commission to lay down guidelines on the method of setting national targets; calls on the Member States to take greater responsibility for meeting the energy efficiency target and to supply more detailed information to the Commission;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Suggests involving the European Institute for Gender Equality more closely in the European Semester; hopes that as soon as it becomes operational the Institute will be able to address the problem of a lack of systematic and comparative data broken down by gender;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises that the European Semester concerns Articles 121, 126 and 148 of the TFEU, relating respectively to economic coordination and employment policy, which are based on two distinct legal procedures; recognises the importance of having a broader overview of Member States' economic and budgetary situation, particularly in the preparatory stage, ahead of important budgetary decisions in the Member States; supports the Commission's decision to bring its recommendations into one integrated text, providing, however, that it does not undermine the integrity and coherence of certain EU policies;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the crisis and the increasing disparities in competitiveness since the introduction of the euro have highlighted the need for the Union to coordinate economic policies more closely at an early stage and improve budgetary surveillance of major budgetary decisions in the Member States at the preparatory phase,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that the national goals are not ambitious, that an excessive importance has been givenCalls on the Member States to set more ambitious national goals and to give less importance to short-term results, and thats, in most areas, the EU is still far from attaining the EU key goals agreed by the European Council; regrets the fact that the Member States use different methods for setting national goals, and calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of drawing up guidelines in this area;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – indent 2
Paragraph 6 – indent 2
– the economic dialogue, as a key element of the European Semester, should aim at reinforcing the democratic legitimacy of the process and better coordinating the common EU agenda and measures taken by individual Member States, and ensure that at every stage an adequate decision- making method is applied through proper parliamentary scrutiny, involving both the European Parliament and the national parliaments, and that interparliamentary dialogue and cooperation are promoted;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. While stressing the need for much more ambitious goals, notes the common target to reduce early school leaving to lApproves the Europe 2020 strategy target of reducing to under 10% the proportion of 18-24-year-olds who leave the education system, and urges the Member States to bring forward, as soon as possible, practical reform measures and plans for achieving that target; stresses than 10% by 2020 ande need for much more ambitious goals in the future; urges the Commission to consider the vast differences among the Member States and therefore ensure that any criteria that measure achievements are comparable and that it takes into account the long-term perspective;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission, taking account of the individual Member States’ progress in achieving the main EU objectives, to increase support for SMEs which form the backbone of the Single Market economy in accordance with the findings of the Annual Growth Survey, and by means of a package of measures to eliminate the obstacles arising from differing systems of rules within the EU with which SMEs have to contend when accessing funding.
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – indent 5
Paragraph 6 – indent 5
– transparency should be recognised as a key element of the process, and the Commission and Council should commit to making their positions and decisions public at every stage and explain them in Parliament when invited to do so by the relevant parliamentary committees;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Encourages universities to conduct more basic research, which forms the foundation for a knowledge- and innovation-based economy, where the number of young people with a university degree or diploma must be increased to 40% by 2020.; is concerned by the finding in the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey that the Member States’ targets and measures for realising the overall EU target of increasing the proportion of young people with a university degree or diploma to 40% by 2020 are insufficient; urges the Member States to review their commitments in this field, given the need to have enough workers with degrees or other qualifications to promote innovation and sustainable growth;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on Member States which have not set national targets, or which have not sufficiently committed themselves to taking the necessary action to help meet the overall EU objective of achieving an employment rate in Europe for men and women of 75% by 2020, to undertake to pursue this objective and remove obstacles on the labour market, focusing, in particular, on tackling the key European structural weakness, namely the low participation of certain population groups in the labour market;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. WishesAssumes that the European Semester will contribute to stepping up dialogue and cooperation between EU and national institutions, in particular parliamentary institutions, and ensure better coordination of the common EU agenda and measures taken by individual Member States;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Stresses the importance which it ascribes to setting ambitious national ultimate objectives in the Member States aiming at the implementation of the five main EU objectives, and to the political commitment to attain those objectives; considers that this must be done by means of close dialogue with the Commission, having regard to national situations and using national decision-making processes; notes that Member States determine national objectives using different methods and calls on the Commission to consider drawing up guidelines in this field;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Member States to provide information which is as detailed as possible on the measures and instruments provided for in the national reform programmes to attain the national objectives set, including the deadline for implementation, the expected effects, the risks of unsuccessful implementation, the costs and, if applicable, the use of EU structural funds;