Activities of Nuno TEIXEIRA related to 2010/2206(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Tourism in Europe (debate)
Amendments (28)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the Treaty of Lisbon grants new powers to the European Union with regard to tourism, particularly with a view to enhancing that sector’s competitiveness and capacity for dynamic and sustainable growth; stresses the importance of developing the tourism sector in order to strengthen the regional dimension within the EU and consolidate a sense of European citizenship;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the tourism sector accounts for 10 % of GDP and 12 % of total employment, making it the third most substantial socio-economic activity in the EU, and is largely made up of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and plays a key role in the EU’s economic development and social, economic and territorial cohesion and in achieving the goals of the EU 2020 strategy,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the European Union is the world’s No 1 tourist destination in terms of international arrivals and this lead position must be reinforced by tackling the challenges created by, firstly, greater global competition and a market demand that is continually changing and secondly, the need to ensure increased sustainability, given the impact of climate change, the energy supply, water shortages, and population ageing, and secondly, the need to ensure increased sustainability, variety, and quality where tourist products are concerned,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas tourism contributes to promoting Europe and its cultural and linguistic heritage, while still respecting diversity, and to maintaining shared values and consolidating a sense of European identity, European belonging and European citizenship; whereas tourism development has a key role to play in enhancing the regional dimension within the EU,
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises that tourism has a tangible impact on the economic, social and territorial cohesion of all the Member States; stresses also that tourism represents the main resource of some EU regions that are lagging behind economically, and that it has a direct impact on growth in other sectors; makes special note of island, mountain and sparsely-populated regions, and the EU's outermost regions, where tourism is crucial to the development of local economies; considers that the specific characteristics of these territories must be borne in mind when drafting a European framework for the tourism sector, as well as those of the outermost regions whose special circumstances are recognised in Article 349 of the TFEU;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, under the Lisbon Treaty (Article 195), tourism has become a specific competence of the EU allowing the latter to support and complement actions within the Member States, with the proviso that, in so doing, it must never infringe the subsidiarity and proportionality principles,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the policy strategy presented by the Commission, which sets out 21 specific actions to reinvigorate the sector; urges the Commission to lay down a timetable for their implementation and calls on the Member States to contribute by submitting national programmes for each action; considers that this document and its implementation plan provides a solid basis from which to develop an EU policy on competitive, modern, good quality and sustainable tourism accessible to all;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that the basis for a EU tourism strategy lies firstly in a packaget of specific measures solely concerning the tourism sector, and secondly in a precise assessment of how measures in other sectors impact tourism; notes, given the cross-cutting nature of tourism, that tourism-related measures need to be coordinated with a range of policies in other fields including transport, competition, the internal market, consumer protection, public health, environment, employment and training, maritime affairs, culture, external relations, and rural and regional development;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates that the development of sustainable forms of tourism would provide local economies with a lasting source of income and a means of promoting stable employment, while at the same time making it possible to safeguard and enhance the landscape and the cultural, historical and social heritage of every region; supports the creation of synergies between the promotion of tourism and regional arts and crafts, which can contribute to revitalising local and regional economies;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Agrees with the Commission’s proposal that a ‘European label’ be developed in conjunction with the Member States and with national tourism agencies, under which, while respecting territorial diversity, the concept of Europe as a whole should be promoted worldwide as a tourist destination; calls on the Commission to launch publicity campaigns and encourage participation in international events, as well as promoting the ‘European label’ through the activities and the image of the European External Action Service;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission proposal to group actions promoting tourism under four priorities; considers, however, that the development of a new political framework for tourism in Europe requires an integrated approach and efficient coordination of Community, national, regional and local policies able to use to advantage the synergies created amongst different areas of activity with a direct or indirect impact on tourism, in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the ‘European heritage label’ initiative as a tool giving prominence to, and complementing, some of the important sites in the history of European integration, and notes that it has to be based on a specific body of selection criteria; stresses the need for coordination between this initiative and the UNESCO heritage and Natura 2000 sites in order to avoid overlapping and discredit that hasve no added value;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission, the Member States and the local and regional authorities to encourage and support the development of networks and the creation of partnerships for the exchange of good practice; calls for active participation by regional and local bodies, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and partnership; hopes that concrete initiatives will be undertaken in support of innovation and the development of new information technologies, and that access will be facilitated for stakeholders in the tourist industry, and particularly small– and medium–sized enterprises, to the relevant financial instruments;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers it necessary to counterbalance the effects of seasonal tourism by diversifying tourism, including via support for new forms of tourism such as health tourism, especially spa tourism, and socially-responsible tourism, in particular when aimed at people with reduced mobility, young people and the elderly, who constitute a market with huge growth potential, stresses the importance of competitive and sustainable marine and coastal tourism and calls for this to be included in strategies for macroregions;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Points to the importance of ensuring regional mobility and connectivity, particularly in the regions with poorest access, in order to ensure that tourism policies genuinely succeed in all the EU's regions;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Recalls that the new tourism framework should take into account the global challenges currently faced by European regions, such as climate change, energy security, an ageing population and competitiveness at an international level;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Asks the Member States, in view of various emergency situations that place tourists abroad in danger, to consider whether it would be appropriate to codify a uniform procedure for issuing notices advising against travel, creating a single European code for the seriousness of the situations concerned and acknowledging in worst case scenarios the right of operators to apply for Community aid, within the limits of the funds available; calls on the Commission to rethink the crisis management measures to be applied in unforeseen circumstances such as disruption caused by volcanic ash so as to enable damage to be kept to a minimum at all levels;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Member States to make optimum use of the European financial instruments available for the current financial programming period, in order to develop the competitiveness of the tourism sector and of tourist destinations; hopes that, as part of the cohesion policy review, the role of tourism as a means of redressing the social, economic and territorial balance will be upgraded and that tourism policy will be duly taken into account in the next multiannual financial framework period; hopes that every form of funding the EU provides for tourism will be tied to the provision of services of excellent standard and quality.
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission, in collaboration with the Member States, to exploit and promote vocational and university training schemes already existing in the tourism sector and to network and further encourage them, and also to encourage mobility, maintaining close contact with the world of research and business;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Considers that Community programmes such as ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ and, ‘Leonardo da Vinci’, Grundtvig, and Comenius present unique opportunities for acquiring professional and training skills and should therefore be further developed and promoted;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Asks for improved mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the tourist industry so as to allow both those already working in the sector, and those planning to do so, to find the best job opportunities, and to enable professionals to benefit from mobility;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Urges the Commission to promote the use of more sustainable means of transport and to pay particular attention to connections with islands, rural areas and mountainous areas, the outermost regions, and, more generally, with less accessible destinations;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Welcomes the Commission’s readiness to diversify the types of tourism available and in that way offset the effects of seasonality; stresses, in particular, the importance of the collaboration already underway with the Council to promote cultural, historical, religious and environmental tourism by means of themed routes which not only exploit our continent’s historical and cultural roots, but also contribute to the development of an alternative style of tourism, one that is sustainable and accessible to all; considers that the use of sustainable means of transport, including cycling, should be encouraged in connection with several routes;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Considers that socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable – and responsible – tourism is central to diversification of the European tourism offering, laying emphasis on cultural, historical, religious, sports, and gastronomic tourism while seeking to promote the balanced development of Europe's regions, and that it must be taken into account in the various regional policy objectives, especially those assigned to the future strategies for macro-regions, the interregional programmes, and the European groupings of territorial cooperation;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Encourages the Commission to foster a progressive reduction in the seasonal nature of tourism by continuing to build on the results, so far positive, of the preparatory action ‘Calypso’; recommends that the ‘Calypso’ action be gradually opened up to European citizens living in non-EU countries who satisfy the criteria laid down in the programme, since this would help to promote the ‘European label’ in their countries of residence and enable them to be associated with the European identity; calls, furthermore, on the Commission to press ahead with an exchange programme allowing specific categories of people, starting with the mostespecially people with reduced mobility, people with disabilities, the elderly, and disadvantaged young people, to take holidays, particularly during the low season and even travelling across national borders;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, 2011 being the European Year of Volunteering, to encourage young people qualified in the relevant fields to volunteer for programmes restoring, preserving and protecting sites of historical or environmental interest with a view to improving their accessibility to tourists, and at the same time to help volunteers to broaden their education and professional expertise;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Insists on the need to ensure pilot projects in the tourism sector continue to be supported post -2011, and if necessary to evaluate new ones to assist in the realisation of the new strategy; calls on the Commission to promote the existing initiatives, for example the EDEN programme, with a view to raising their profile and bringing them to the notice of European citizens;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46 a (new)
Paragraph 46 a (new)
46a. Calls on the Member States to bear in mind the adverse effects of the growing tendency to subject tourists travelling to the EU or within Member States to higher rates of, for example, fuel tax, security charges, and airport, city, and port taxes;