23 Amendments of Jürgen KLUTE related to 2012/2150(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Regrets the absence of a wide, credible and frank public debate on the European Semester process; believes that this absence is at odds with national practices, where economic policy orientations are openly and democratically debated; warns, in particular, against setting up the Annual Growth Survey as a bureaucratic act which lacks the approval of the European Parliament and underlines the need for a democratisation of the European Semester through stronger roles for both national parliaments and the European Parliament in all phases of the European Semester; recalls the EP’s proposal that the EU institutions agree on an interinstitutional agreement; recalls that Article 13 of the Treaty on ‘Stability, Coordination and Governance in the EMU’ provides for the organisation of a parliamentary conference of the relevant committees of the EP and representatives of national parliaments; emphasises that the EP Budget Committee is one of the above-mentioned relevant EP committees;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that setting the public budget is one of the key responsibilities of the parliament in our democracies; considers that the loss of power of Member State parliaments over their budgets requires immediately perceptible democratic compensation, which must go hand in hand with a strengthening of Europe-wide debates; notes that the lack of transparency in decision-making and opinion forming processes, particularly in the European Council and the Council of Ministers, is undermining citizens’ trust in European integration and the democracies of the European Union and is hindering the exercise of active, constructive control by citizens; calls, therefore, for all consultations which take place during the European Semester to be held in public, in order to satisfy the requirement for transparent and democratic decision-making processes and improve citizens’ awareness of economic correlations in the economic and monetary union;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the Commission to prepare the next Annual Growth Survey 2013 on the basis of solid heterodox expertise, sound, ambitious and unbiased economic data which reflect the actual macro-economic situation of Member States as well as the macroeconomic imbalances between them;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
- having regard to its Resolution of 12 December 2011 on the Scoreboard for the surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances: envisaged initial design;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2.a Notes that, so far, rigorous fiscal consolidation efforts have not triggered the desired effects; asks the Commission, therefore, to fully assess the fiscal and economic effects of the completed Semester procedures; with a view to the 2013 Annual Growth Study, asks the Commission to review the current prioritization of fiscal consolidation, irrespective of the prevailing macroeconomic environment;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission, in its next AGS, to fully address and underline the role of the EU budget in the European Semester process by providing factual and concrete data on its triggering, catalytic, synergetic and complementary effects on overall public expenditure at local, regional and national levels; believes, moreover, that funding at EU level can generate savings for the Member States’ budgets and that this should be emphasised; considers that, in order to successfully reduce macroeconomic and social imbalances throughout the Union, the EU budget must play a vital role;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomNotes the Commission’s country- specific recommendations for the euro area; expects these recommendations to, which will form the basis of the Spring Council’s recommendations;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is confidenDeplores the fact that the measures proposed are conducive toin order to achieve sustainable public finances, increased competitiveness, higher growth and improved are based on the privatisation of public services, an increased tax burden and the undermining of labour laws. These priorities will not promote growth, investment or employment;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. warns, in particular, against the set-up of the Annual Growth Survey as a bureaucratic act and expresses its deepest concern to the fact that the democratic assessment of the functioning of this instrument is not guaranteed by the European Parliament at any time, not even at the level of consent;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. NotDeplores the Commission’s insistence on conducting growth-enhancing structural reforms to allow the EU to get to grips withwhich have failed to promote growth. Without growth and job creation, it will be impossible to overcome the crisis and for the EU to regain its preeminent role in the world economy; supports the Commission’s efforts to correctchoices and priorities have exacerbated stagnation, unemployment and the macroeconomic imbalances within the euro area;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Asks the Commission to better point out the role of spill-over effects at all steps of the European Semester procedure. Considers that, in order to successfully reduce Europe-wide macro-economic imbalances, excessive current account surpluses must be tackled and respective recommendations must be clearly stated and enforced;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that most of the structural reforms are concentrating on a small number of areas, such as labour marketincreasing the insecurity of labour relations, the taxation system, restructuring the banking sector, removing unjustified restrictions on regulated trades and professions, liberalising certain industries, improving the efficiency and quality of public expenditurereduction or privatisation of public services, avoiding unnecessary layers of government, combating tax evasion, and reforming mortgage and real estate markets;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Commission to be more explicit in its recommendations and to monitor recommendations made in the past, i.a.carefully monitor recommendations made in the past, i.a. by assessing the effects of implemented recommendations as well as by providing more detailed explanations and evaluations in those cases where the Commission thinks a country has only partially followed the recommendations; asks the Commission to review, before setting up 2013 Annual Growth Study, national and Europe-wide effects of the completed Semester procedures with a special view to the current prioritization of fiscal consolidation irrespective of prevailing macroeconomic environment;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Encourages the Member States to strictly follow the rules set by the Stability and Growth Pact, as modified by the ‘six- pack’, in order to render public finances more resilient, ensure that the European economy becomes more sustainable and reduce pressure from the banking sector; expects the Commission and the Council to enforce these rules in a strict manner; firmlycarefully taking into account the macro-economic situation of the country as well as potentially harmful effects on growth and poverty induced by aggressive and frontloaded austerity policies; believes that fiscal discipline and fiscal institutions should be strengthened at both national and sub-national level and that government expenditure should be shifted towards long-term investment, which would foster sustainable growthinvestment in sustainable infrastructure and energy, education, health and employment;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Invites the Commission to complement the Scoreboard for the surveillance of macroeconomic imbalances with upper and lower thresholds as required in Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Invites the Commission, when presenting complementary indicators and related thresholds for the financial sector by the end of 2012, to include further indicators, namely on R+D expenditure, private and public investment, inequality and energy efficiency;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the end of excessive deficit procedures for several Member States; hopes that more procedures can be brought to an end in the near future; and that the resolution of ongoing procedures can be based on the promotion of policies for growth, with a view to achieving sustainable public accounts in the medium term;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Highlights the important role the Union budget must play in order to successfully reduce macroeconomic and social imbalances throughout the Union and thereby restoring the conditions for a sustainable monetary union;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Lauds the economic dialogue held so far between Parliament and national representatives, and wishes to conduct further dialogues that must be an important element of reinforced Europe- wide debate on economic and social priorities and instruments;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Reminds that the setting the public budget is one of the key responsibilities of the parliament in our democracies. Considers that national parliaments' weakened control over budgetary planning requires perceptible democratic compensation which must go hand in hand with a strengthening of Europe-wide debates;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Notes that the lack of transparency in decision-making and opinion forming processes, particularly in the European Council and the Council of Ministers, is undermining citizens' trust in European integration and the democracies of the European Union and is hindering the exercise of active, constructive control by citizens. Asks therefore for all consultations which take place during the European Semester should be held in public in order to satisfy the requirement for transparent and democratic decision making processes and improve citizens' awareness of economic correlations in the economic and monetary union;