30 Amendments of Dominique RIQUET related to 2013/2145(BUD)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that the EU budget contribution to the transport-related agencies should be commensurate with the additional responsibilities allocated to them by the EU co-legislators; underlines, in this regard, that the EU decisions on surveying marine pollution and offshore oil and gas installations, in the framework of the competences of the European Maritime Safety Agency, should be matched with adequate budgetary funding; in view of the entry into force of the Fourth Railway Package, stresses the need to establish the conditions for the European Railway Agency to prepare for the new tasks which will be entrusted to it; deplores, therefore, the proposal to reduce its budget by 5% compared to 2013 (from EUR 24 871 400 to EUR 23 573 064);
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Furthermore, recalls that there are EU Agencies such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to which the legislator has assigned tasks that are fundamental for the functioning of the European Union and its industry; up to 80% of EASA´s budget and staff is financed by fees and charges paid by the aviation industry; requests, in this regard, that the Budgetary Authority take this into account and limit the budgetary and staff reductions to the part of the budget financed by the EU, thus allowing EU Agencies such as the EASA to recruit the necessary human resources to be able to carry out the tasks requested and paid for by the industry;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that the Council has introduced cuts in both CA and PA in all headings; notes that the most affected ones are Heading 1a (-0,36% in CA and -3,6% in PA as compared to the DB), Heading 4 (- 0,21% in CA and -2,5% in PA as compared to the DB) and Heading 5 (-1,78% in CA and PA as compared to the DB); notes that these headingsHeadings 1a and 4 contain programmes and initiatives responsiblethat are instrumental for the delivery of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy and are priority areas for Parliament or appropriations ensuringthe EU external policy agenda, which are priority areas for Parliament; condemns also the proposed cuts in administrative lines, which would clearly prevent the successful administrative and operational support for the implementation of those programmes;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls the incoherence between the financial cuts proposed by the Council to the Connecting Europe Facility in the context of the MFF, CEF and TEN-T negotiations and the long wish lists of large transport infrastructure projects also proposed by the Council; notes that the Connecting Europe Facility should make it possible to support projects with high European added value and that it will help to boost growth and employment in Europe, both directly, through the jobs created by the projects themselves, and indirectly, when the infrastructure is used, with anticipated benefits in terms of competitiveness for the Union and its Member States;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Rejects the Council's argument that the proposed cuts correspond to under- implemented or low-performing programmes, since they also affect programmes showing not only good implementation rates but even over- implementation (e.g. the Common Strategic Framework for Research and Innovation, Galileo, Customs and Fiscalis under Heading 1a, ESF, ERDF and the Cohesion Fund under Heading 1b); emphasises the fact that such criteria, in particular, that such cuts in payment appropriations completely disregard the multiannual character of the Union's policies, and of cohesion in particular, and the structure of draft budget 2014, wherefact that 52% of the payment appropriations are devoted to the completion of 2007 - 2013 MFF programmes ;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes the declaration on payments adopted by the Council in its position on the draft budget 2014; is not convinced, however, that it could serve as a guarantee for a sufficient and adequate level of payments for all headings; welcomes the statement by some Member States that a better balance between commitments and payments should be sought in order to avoid the situation where the Union cannot meet its legal obligations; is comforted that several Council delegations have started raising vocally the same concerns that the European Parliament has strongly put forward over the past budgetary procedures;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that innovation and research, particularly in the areas of behavioural change, modal shift, accessibility for all, integration (interconnectivrmodality, interoperability, intermodality, interoperability) and sustainability (climate protection, reduction of gagrated ticketing and sustainability (reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and noise emisspollutions), are of crucial importance for the transport and tourism sectors; stresses, therefore, the importance of defending the amounts allocated to transport in the corresponding budget lines under Horizon 2020;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls, therefore, for the mobilisation of the fFlexibility iInstrument for an overall amount of EUR [XXX million] in commitment appropriations to reinforce the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, to provide further support for humanitarian aid in the Middle East; considers that - in Heading 1b - the Flexibility Instrument will reinforce the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, pending the final outcome of the negotiations on the legal basis that needs to reflect the MFF political agreement of 27 June on the overall allocation to this Fund, and towill grant additional assistance to Cyprus from the Structural Funds, as agreed by the Heads of States and Governments at their meeting of 27-28 June 2013n expression of European solidarity, that will enable it to mitigate the negative impact of the severe economic crisis and in accordance with the June 2013 European Council request to the budgetary authority; considers that - in Heading 4 - the Flexibility Instrument will provide further support for humanitarian aid in the Middle East;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for interoperability between all modes of transport and for the further development of intelligent transport systems, allowing for, in particular, the smart use of logistics and the development of the requisite infrastructure for electric mobility, including trains, tramways, trolleybuses, electric bikes and e-cars; believes that financial resources and innovative technologies will be needed for the transport and tourism sectors to achieve sustainable greenhouse gas reductionincluding ERTMS, RIS, VTMIS, SESAR and ITS, in the road transport sector, which allow for rational use of logistics, a reduction in the environmental impact of transport and a reduction in costs for transport users; calls for the development of the requisite infrastructure for electric mobility, including trains, tramways, trolleybuses, electric bikes and e-cars;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Considers that - particularly this year - the Council's position to leave an artificial margin of EUR 1 billion under the 2014 payments ceiling serves no purpose, and cannot be justified in any way, especially given the magnitude of the expected carry over of outstanding payments at the end of 2013;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the fact that the Council position does not take account of the dramatic shortage of payments, notably in the field of the cohesion policy, with some estimates pointing to a likely lack of payment appropriations; points that, on the basis of the revised Member States' forecasts (September 2013), as screened and, accordingly, an implementation deficitdjusted by the Commission, a carry-over of some EUR 20 billion is expected at the end of 2013, even with the second tranche of the draft amending budget No. 2/2013 (draft amending budget No 8/2013) adopted in full; recalls that the outstanding payments carried over from 2013 will have to be deducted from - and consequently reduce - the level of payment appropriations available for 2014; stresses that this will put 2014 budget under tight pressure, not the least, against the background of an the unprecedented level of unpaid claims and, more generally, of the outstanding commitments (RALs);
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reiterates its support for the establishment, in all modes of transport, of passenger rights harmonised at EU level, which should lead to the drafting of a common charter with which everyone is familiar; regrets, therefore, the 38% reduction in commitment appropriations proposed by the Commission under the corresponding budget line (from EUR 26 150 000 to EUR 16 019 000), given that this is a particularly sensitive subject for European citizens;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Is confident that the interinstitutional meeting on payments that was held on 26 September 2013 will help both the European Parliament and the Council to find a common position during the budgetary conciliation; reiterates its position that Parliament will not give its consent to the MFF regulation or will not adopt the 2014 budget until the new amending budget, c, without any unnecessary dispute overing the second tranche of draft amending budget No 2/2013, has been adopted by the Councilize and quality of figures provided by the European Commission;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the adoption by the Commission of draft amending budget No 8/2013 (second tranche of draft amending budget No 2/2013), which provides for additional EUR 3,9 billion for 2013 outstanding payments and calls for its swift adoption by Council; reiterates its position, as set out in its resolution of 3 July 2013 on the political agreement on the MFF that Parliament will not give its consent to the MFF regulation or will not adopt the 2014 budget until the new amending budget, covering the second tranche of draft amending budget No 2/2013, has been adopted by the Council;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Believes that better use should be made of innovative financial instruments, which could play a decisive role in the implementation of certain infrastructure projects; points out that such instruments can be used to mobilise private capital, thereby compensating for the scarcity of public money as a result of budgetary consolidation efforts at national and EU level;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses that part of the Council's cuts notably affect programmes identified as those strategic for growth and economic recovery by the European Council, namely Horizon 2020 (EUR -43.7 million) and COSME (EUR -0.5 million); deplores the fact that this openly contradicts the spirit and the letter of the MFF political agreement as regards the setting up of thethat includes arrangements for specific Fflexibility instrument forto tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Supports the creation by the Council of a specific sub- line under Erasmus for All+ aimed at ensuring adequate transparency and funding to the youth actions under this programme; amends however the level of appropriations proposed to set them back at roughly the 2013 levelnd makes a budgetary transfer of 11,5 % of the original Erasmus+ allocation in favour of the dedicated line to youth; deletes the sub- line created by the Council ensuring operating grants for national agencies;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recalls that Heading 1b is responsible forcarries the biggest part of the current outstanding commitments (around EUR 20 billion payment claims are expected to be rolled over to 2014); emphasises the fact that cutting the level of payments for 2014 would also lead to a strong increase in the level of RALs by the end of next year while, depending on the leftovers from the 2007- 2013 period, both in terms of overall RALs and unpaid claims, some extra payments will still need to be made available to clear pre-2014 commitments;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Creates two new dedicated budget lines for technical assistance to the Union strategies for the Baltic Sea andmacro-region, acknowledging its successful implementation in the current programming period, as well as for the first time for the Danube macro-regions (with EUR 2.5 million in commitment and payment appropriations each);
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Welcomes the agreement on the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) reached in the framework of the MFF 2014-2020 negotiations; considers that an adequate level of funding is necessary to ensure its timelyimmediate launching; approves, therefore, the frontloading and the, which becomes imperative given the increasingly high levels of youth unemployment; approves, therefore, the frontloading of appropriations for the YEI, as well as the corresponding back-loading of appropriations for the YEI,from the European Territorial Cooperation as proposed by the Commission; reiterates that additional appropriations will be needed as of 2016 to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Recalls that Heading 3, though the smallest heading of the MFF in terms of financial allocation, covers issues of key concern to Union citizens and security;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Deplores the Council's cuts to Heading 4 (-0,21 % in CA and -2,5 % in PA), which was already one of the most heavily affected by the decrease in DB (-12,5 % in CA and - 8,2 % in PA) as compared to the 2013 levels; reiterates the fact that although it takes up less than 6 % of the total Union budget, Heading 4 is the projection of the EU imageengagement abroad;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Considers the cuts by Council to Parliament's priority lines unacceptable and proposes to restore DB on the lines decreased by the Council and to even go above DB in commitment appropriations for some lines of strategic importance for EU's external relations to a total of EUR 233 million (Humanitarian Aid, European Neighbourhood Instrument, Development Cooperation Instrument, Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights); calls in this context for increasing the appropriations for geographic and thematic areas covered by the Development Cooperation Instrument, in view of getting closer to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Paragraph 49 a (new)
49a. Believes that for an effective implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy, greater support must be ensured for partner countries committed to building democratic societies and undertaking reforms; taks into account the ongoing difficult political situation in some of the partner countries greater support must be also ensured to promote confidence building and other measures contributing to security and the prevention and settlement of conflicts;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Recalls the importance of transparency as an underlying budgetary principle; calls, therefore, for a split of the EUSRuropean Union Special Representatives line to allow for a better overview of the allocations for the individual EUSRs; proposes to fully transfer the budget lines for EUSRs to the EEAS budget;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Proposes the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument for EUR 50 million in order to finance the real needs for the Union's contribution to the Middle East peace process; reiterates, therefore, its support for long term programming and sufficient funding for assistance to United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Palestine and the Peace process; suggests however to put the EUR 50 million of additional appropriations in reserve in UNRWA/Palestine line pending an assessment from the Commission of the sound management of the aidEU funds by the Palestinian authorities and the measures taken by them in the fight against corruption;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Calls for an increase of the payment appropriations for the Emergency Aid Reserve (EUR +147 million) in order to avoid the repeated situation where the Commission is not in a position to react timely to emerging humanitarian crises;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. NotesIs surprised by the Council's cuts to Heading 5, amounting to a total of EUR - 153.283 million in commitments and payments (- 1,8 % compared to DB levels), where the highest cuts are in Pensions and European schools (EUR -5,2 million , -3,2 %) and on expenditure related to officials and temporary staff in policy areas (EUR - 69,7 million or -3,5 %);
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. NotesPoints out that in its draft budget, the Commission already largely included the savings brought about by the new Staff Regulation and the 1 % reduction of posts, as agreed by the institutions;