23 Amendments of Gaston FRANCO related to 2009/2215(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the recommendations adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) at its sixth plenary session, held in Amman on 17 March 2010,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is a means of boosting the regional and multilateral dimension of Euro-Mediterranean relations, opening up fresh prospects for the establishment of an area of peace, security and prosperity for 800 million people, and offers the ideal framework for addressing the social and economic challenges, promoting regional integration and guaranteeing the co- development of the partner states,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the ncomplementarity between bilateral cooperation policies under the European Neighbourhood pPolicy conducted with the Mediterranean countries has its limitations and, by placing the emphasis on bilateral relations, is proving imbalanced and unable the one hand, and policies with a regional dimension under the UfM on the other, should be strengthened in order to contribute to a shared process of significant reform in the region,
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas Mediterranean regions are directly affected by transnational issues such as water management, pollution, access to energy and security of supply, road and maritime networks and migration flows, and whereas local and regional authorities play a key role in facilitating the development of sustainable spatial planning policies and the implementation of practical projects,
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the projects announced by the UfM – de-pollution of the Mediterranean, maritime and land highways, civil protection, the Mediterranean Solar Plan, the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean university and the development of SMEs – have suffered from general underfunding since the Paris Summit, which is partly delaying their implementation,
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Remains concerned by the absence of a clear definition of the EU’s Mediterranean policy or of a long-term strategic vision for the development and stabilisation of the region, despite the creation of the UfM; calls for the Euro- Mediterranean integration process to become a political priority for the EU once more;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 - point 2
Paragraph 4 - point 2
- developing communications to ensure the visibility of the UfM’s activities, informing citizens on the UfM’s major projects and progress, in particular via a comprehensive website; clarifying the criteria for approving, funding and implementing major projects;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 - point 3
Paragraph 6 - point 3
- welcomes the steps taken by financial institutions at national, European (EIB- FEMIP, EBRD) and international (World Bank) level which are already active in the region, emphasises the need to identify synergies in connection with major projects, and proposes that a Euro- Mediterranean investment and development bank be set up to consolidate the North-South parity basis on which the UfM operates;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 - point 3 a (new)
Paragraph 6 - point 3 a (new)
- emphasises the role of the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is coordinating three of the six priority projects (de-pollution of the Mediterranean, the Solar Plan and the maritime and land highways); notes that the EIB’s role in the UfM funding mechanisms must be promoted, strengthened and adapted;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 - point 3 b (new)
Paragraph 6 - point 3 b (new)
- underlines the need for effective financial instruments to strengthen investment and cooperation in the Euro- Mediterranean region;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 - point 3 c (new)
Paragraph 6 - point 3 c (new)
- awaits the conclusions of the group of experts on the Facility for Euro- Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) in order to draw inferences from the progress and limits of this mechanism; calls for the most effective mechanism to be identified in order to support the UfM’s major projects, among which are the possibility of creating, for example, a Euro- Mediterranean investment and development bank;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 - point 2 a (new)
Paragraph 7 - point 2 a (new)
- reforms intended to improve and simplify the performance of contracts, which, due to red tape, takes on average more than two years;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 - point 2 b (new)
Paragraph 7 - point 2 b (new)
- access to credit, which remains excessively limited for SMEs, due to the guarantees required by banks and the inadequate provision of credit options suitable for small enterprises;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises the strategic importance of issues such as agriculture, food security, water and rural development in Mediterranean countries, and calls for cooperation in the farming sector to be made a political priority; encourages the UfM member countries to work on harmonising their positions in the context of WTO negotiations and to move towards greater convergence among Euro- Mediterranean agricultural policies, taking into consideration the requirements of sustainable development and the maintenance of jobs in the agricultural and related sectors;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the partner states, as part of the UfM’s major transport projects, to improve infrastructure in order to encourage a sustainable transport policy, taking into consideration the requirements of sustainable development, greenhouse gas reductions, energy efficiency and intermodality; emphasises that such efforts must be carried out in connection with environmental, industrial, public health and land planning policy; emphasises the need to develop maritime highway projects in order to encourage modal shifts and create safe, clean and sustainable commercial shipping routes;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10b. Emphasises the urgency of developing stronger cooperation in the field of civil protection in the Mediterranean region to combat natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, floods and forest fires; encourages the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean forest fires institute;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is keen to see new projects in the cultural field put on the UfM’s agenda in the very near future; suggests that priority be given to setting upencourages the initiatives intended to promote mutual understanding and dialogue between cultures and supports the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Arab World Institute; calls for the implementation of a Euro- Mediterranean junior Erasmus programme called ‘Averroës’, as a way of stepping up exchanges between secondary school pupils in UfM member countriesstrategy for cultural affairs and especially for higher visibility of the audiovisual programme established by the UfM through the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM); supports the EuroMed-News project aimed at informing the populations of the Mediterranean countries about EU-supported actions in the region;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the choice of Marseille- Provence as European Capital of Culture in 2013: the project has a strong Euro- Mediterranean dimension intended to bring together the peoples on both sides of the Mediterranean; emphasises that the purpose of this highly symbolic cultural project is to drive concrete, innovative action to improve the dialogue between the cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Welcomes the formation of the Euro- Mediterranean University EMUNI into a network; emphasises the importance of devoting a significant proportion of the UfM’s activities to education, school and university exchanges and research as ways of bringing the peoples on both sides of the Mediterranean closer together; therefore requests: - the setting up of a Euro-Mediterranean junior Erasmus programme called ‘Averroës’, as a way of stepping up exchanges between secondary school pupils in UfM member countries; - that adequate funding be devoted to strengthening academic exchange programmes such as ‘Erasmus Mundus’ and providing better information on existing exchange programmes that students are unaware of; - the development of a fully-functioning Mediterranean knowledge triangle – that is, greater coordination between training, research and innovation, and the creation of a genuine Euro-Mediterranean higher education, science and research area; - more structured cooperation in the field of higher education and research; - that the recognition of qualifications, the introduction of joint qualifications and common graduate schools be promoted; - improved mobility for researchers and efforts to fight the brain drain by improving universities’ attractiveness and quality; - that emphasis be placed on dialogue between universities and enterprises and on public-private partnerships in the field of research;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Recalls that the purpose of the EMPA is to become the legitimate democratic parliamentary assembly of the UfM, and it must therefore be closely involved in defining the areas of work and in monitoring the projects undertaken; states its wish to give full power and visibility to this assembly;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the recent establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) and calls for efforts to ensure proper coordination between the ARLEM’s activities and those of the EMPA, in particular through joint meetings or reciprocal invitations for members of their respective bureaux to attend working meetings; emphasises the need for these assemblies that bring together elected representatives from both sides of the Mediterranean and promote the exchange of best democratic practice;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for civil society, the social partners and the numerous professional and socio-professional networks developed as part of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership to be consulted regularly and involved in the UfM’s activities and projects; particularly in: - encouragesing the establishment of a Mediterranean business leaders’ forum andprofessional networks aimed at developing sustainable business relations, investments and business partnerships between both sides of the Mediterranean, such as the Invest in Med Programme; - improving cooperation between the enterprise confederations of all the partner countries through the Union of Mediterranean Confederations of Enterprises, BUSINESSMED, especially in order to adopt and spread good economic and social practices for enabling improved convergence and integration between the enterprises of the Union for the Mediterranean; - extending the industrial cooperation group for implementing the Euro- Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise to include representatives of SMEs so that it can become the tool which will enable the removal of obstacles to growth and to the development of SMEs; - debating the need to establish a Euro- Mediterranean economic and social council;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the Council of the European Union, the President of the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the co-presidency and the secretariat of the UfM, and the governments and parliaments of the partner states.