Activities of Kerstin WESTPHAL related to 2016/2248(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the Annual Report on the Single Market Governance within the European Semester 2017 PDF (304 KB) DOC (63 KB)
Amendments (29)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 21 October 2015 On steps towards Completing Economic and Monetary Union (COM(2015)0600),
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas delivering a deeper and fairer single market will be instrumental in creating new jobs, promoting productivity and ensuring an attractive climate for investment and innovation as well as a consumer-friendly environment;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, following the economic crisis which began in 2008, the EU is still having to face a period of stagnation with sluggish economic recovery, high rates of unemployment and social vulnerabilities; whereas, on a more positive note, the motto of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) for 2016 was ‘strengthening recovery and fostering convergence’;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the European Semester aims to increase the coordination of economic and fiscal policies across the EU in order to enhance stability, promote growth and employment and strengthen competitiveness in coherence with the objectives of social fairness and protection of the most vulnerable in society;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates its call for the creation of a real single market pillar with a social dimension within the European Semester, with a system of regular monitoring, identification of the country-specific barriers to the single market and evaluation of single market integration and competitiveness; insists that the evaluation of the state of single market integration should become an integral part of the economic governance framework;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reminds of the importance of the new approach taken by the Commission which grants great attention to the social fairness; reminds also of the importance that Member States pay greater attention to the contribution of national social partners as well as of the Commission´s commitment to prepare a social impact assessment for future stability support programmes;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its call on the Commission to take full account of the key growth and job-creation areas for building an EU single market fit for the 21st century, as previously identified by the Commission and further specified in the study of September 2014 entitled ‘The Cost of Non-Europe in the Single Market’ and including services, the Digital Single Market and in particular e-commerce, the consumer acquis, public procurement and concessions and the free movement of goods;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges the Commission to carry out systematic monitoring of implementation and enforcement of the single market rules through the country-specific recommendations (CSRs), in particular where those rules make a contribution to structural reforms;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights that among the goals of the Investment Plan for Europe are removing unnecessary barriers, increasing innovation and deepening the single market;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that improving the investment environment means strengthening the single market by providing greater regulatory predictability and by reinforcing the level playing field in the EU and removing unnecessary barriers to investment both from within and outside the EU; notes that several work strands have been launched at EU level, as laid out in the Single Market Strategy, the Energy Union and the Digital Single Market, and considers that this EU effort needs to be accompanied by an effort at national level;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Shares the Commission´s view that convergence efforts compatible with the Single Market must be based on best practices on lifelong learning strategies, effective policies to help the unemployed re-enter the labour market, modern and inclusive social protection and education system;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that despite the abolition of tariff barriers in the single market, a vast number of various unnecessary non-tariff barriers still exist; highlights that strengthening the single market requires urgent action at both EU and national levels in order to address those unnecessary non-tariff barriers in a way which is compatible with the promotion of social, consumer and environmental standards;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its call on the Commission to improve governance of the single market by developing a set of analytical tools including social indicators to more properly measure its economic and regulatory performance within the framework of the single market pillar of the European Semester; believes that such an analytical tool could provide useful input for the CSRs, the AGS, the European Council’s guidance to Member States, and the national action plans aimed at implementing the single market guidelines;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Reiterates its call on the Commission to introduce quantitative targets for the reduction oftackle unnecessary administrative burdens at European level; asks that these quantitative targets bbest practices are considered in the Commission’s new initiative on reducstreamlining administrative burdens;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the market surveillance mechanism to detect unsafe and non- compliant products and remove them from the single market; calls again for the immediate adoption of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package by the Council of the European Union;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Acknowledges the positive role of the ‘EU Sweeps’ actions, launched by the Commission to enhance enforcement through coordinated control actions to identify breaches of consumer law in the online environment; believes that ‘EU Sweeps’ could also be broadened to the offline sector;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Recognises the importance of better regulation principles and the REFIT initiative, ensuring more coherence in current and future legislation while preserving the regulatory sovereignty and the need for regulatory security and predictability, when designing new legislative initiatives;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Stresses the importance of better transposition, implementation and application of single market legislation; stresses, in this context, the need for further actions at national level, including with a view to reducmaking administrative burdens procedures more efficient and avoiding adding unnecessary additional requirements when transposing directives into national law (‘gold-plating’), such as tax barriers to cross-border investment;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Stresses that the single market should continue to work for all actors - EU citizens and in particular students, professionals and entrepreneurs, as well as SMEs - in all Member States, who should remain in permanent dialogue and should be committed to assess what works and what does not work, and in what way single market policy should be developed in the future; highlights, in this context, the role of the Single Market Forum organised annually by the Commission in cooperation with local partners such as national authorities, civil society stakeholders, social partners, chambers of commerce and business associations;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 16 November 2016 on the Annual Growth Survey 2017 (COM(2016)0725),
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) for 2017 reiterates the need for the EU to strengthen its economic recovery and emphasises the necessity for Europe to invest strongly in its youth and jobseekers, as well as in its start-ups and SMEs;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas a strengthened economic recovery must benefit all, notably the weaker parts of our societies, and strengthen fairness and the social dimension of our single market;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas despite economic recovery, unemployment remains far too high in many parts of Europe and the prolonged period of high unemployment is taking its social toll on many Member States;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reiterates that the single market is one of the foundations of the EU and is the backbone of Member States’' economies and of the European project as a whole; stresses that for the EU to successfully strengthen its recovery and, foster convergence and support investments in its youth and jobseekers, as well as in start-ups and SMEs, the single market plays an essential role;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the Commissions efforts to ensure that benefits of globalisation and technological change are distributed fairly across different groups in society, notably among young people; calls for raising awareness at all levels about the impact of policies and reforms on income distribution, guaranteeing equality, fairness and inclusiveness;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Highlights that among the goals of the Investment Plan for Europe are removing unnecessary barriers, increasing innovation and deepening the single market while fostering investments in human capital and social infrastructure;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Supports the Commission’s call on Member States to redouble their efforts on the three elements of the triangle of economic policy, and in so doing, put the focus on social fairness to deliver more inclusive growth;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises, in respect of the single market in services, that there is a clear need to improve the cross-border provision of services while maintaining the high quality of these services; welcomes the Commission’'s intention to present a proposal for a services card and for a harmonised notification form; welcomes, furthermore, the Commission’'s intention to review market developments and, if necessary, take action in connection with insurance requirements for business and construction service providers;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its call on the Commission to improve governance of the single market by developing a set of analytical tools including social indicators to more properly measure its economic and regulatory performance within the framework of the single market pillar of the European Semester; believes that such an analytical tool could provide useful input for the CSRs, the AGS, the European Council’'s guidance to Member States, and the national action plans aimed at implementing the single market guidelines; stresses in this respect the necessity to consider social policy as a productive factor so as to give Member States sufficient room to redesign their social protection systems, to improve the promotion of labour market participation and provide adequate employment security and income replacement;