Activities of Nuno TEIXEIRA related to 2013/2178(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on optimising the potential of outermost regions by creating synergies between the Structural Funds and other European Union programmes PDF (228 KB) DOC (95 KB)
Amendments (66)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
– having regard to Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which confers a special status on the outermost regions (ORs) and provides for the adoption of 'specific measures' enabling the full application of the Treaties and the implementation of common policies,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
– having regard to Articles 349 and 355(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which confers a special status on the outermost regions (ORs),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the Joint Memorandum of the Outermost Regions of 14 October 2009 on ‘The Outermost Regions in 2020’,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the assets, resources and potential of the ORs, as highlighted by the Commission in its 2008 strategy and 2012 communication, which lie in areas of key importance to EU research, innovation and growth, and whereas they attract too little support and financing under the EU funds and programmes lying outside the scope of cohesion, agricultural and fisheries policy;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, in pursuit of these strategies, the volume of structural and investment funding being provided to the ORs for the purpose of closing their economic and social development gap with the rest of the EU is not large enough to enable them to play a role commensurate with their full potential in addressing the major challenges facing the EU;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the current economic and social crisis is having a particularly serious impact on the outermost regions of the European Union, particularly in terms of competitiveness and employment, and both the need for economic growth and the unemployment situation require urgent and appropriate responses in the forthcoming financial and programming period;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the ORs can become regions of excellence, to the benefit of the EU as a whole, in areas such as biodiversity, environment, adapting climate change, dealing with an observing extreme weather events, research, innovation, space, the aerospace industry, oceans, maritime governancespatial planning and maritime governance, seismology, volcanology, health, renewable energy, transport, telecommunications, emergency humanitarian assistance outside the EU and culture;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the ORs and the overseas countries and territories (OCTs) are located in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Arctic and Antarctic maritime basins and make the EU the world'’s largest maritime area, with exclusive economic zones (EEZs) covering a total of 25 million square kilometres; whereas their geo-strategic location helps the EU to exert influence worldwide; and whereas their exceptional natural, marine and fisheries resources account for 50% of the world’s biodiversity;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the ORs and the OCTs are a special case, forming a common entity that is both inside and outside the EU at the same time; whereas and which the Commission should promote and support closer integration of the ORs and OCTs, including through the implementation of common policies;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas in order to maximise the potential of the ORs and OCTs, the closest possible synergies need to be created between all EU instruments, funds and programmes;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that the ORs’ lack of access to the various sources of EU funding will, in the long run, indirectly have a negative impact on the EU as a whole and challenges the approach advocated at European level whereby the cohesion policy alone should be used to finance virtually all the ORs' needs;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Endorses the Commission approach of implementing policies seeking to make the ORs more self-reliant, economically robust and better able to create sustainable jobs by capitalising on their assets and taking practical, imaginative action, not least in the area of energy, ICT and transport, on the basis of Article 349 of the TFEU and of ad hoc instruments introduced for each EU fund and programme that can help turn the ORs’ assets into economic development;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Takes the view that Article 349 TFEU provides an appropriate legal basis for the adoption of specific measures for the outermost regions but regrets the limited and scant use made of this article, which enshrines the possibility of special arrangements determined by outermost region status;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses also that it is necessary and important for the ORs for there to be basic tax and customs instruments for promoting, inter alia, diversification of the OR economies and job creation;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to set up a contact group made up of the relevant Commissioners and the Members of the European Parliament representing the ORs to meet twice a year to review the progress of programmes planned and/or introduced for the ORs;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that, by virtue of the fact that they lie far away from mainland Europe, the ORs and the OCTs help to spread the influence of an EU that is becoming increasingly aware of its global dimension and the role it has to play in a rapidly changing world;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that particular attention must be paid to the ORs in the event of a natural disaster, in the light of their particular characteristics and Article 349 TFEU, which allows for the possibility of adopting specific measures, while also bearing in mind that it is important to coordinate the structural funds with the European Union Solidarity Fund;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls for investment in ICT, transport, water and energy through services of general economic interest to be given priority in these regions and recommends a more consistent framework for state aid in the ORs in order to implement the EU2020 Strategy;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes there to be a close correlation between the EU’s awareness of the global role it can play and the attention it pays to the ORs and OCTS; believes the fact that the Union has disregarded or underestimated the importance and implications of its strategic investment decisions regarding the ORs and OCTS to be indicative of a more general failure to accord suitable importance to the Union’s global dimension;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Points to the importance of a macroregional perspective and the development of strategies for the macroregions that include the ORs, as instruments for encouraging synergies between the structural funds and the Union's other programmes, taking advantage of those regions' characteristics and resources;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Calls on the national and regional authorities to draw on a multi-fund approach and establish links between the structural funds and the financial instruments provided under the European Union's other programmes, wherever this is possible and more efficient;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to introduce a global strategy for ‘European overseas entities’ and set up an EU-OR-OCT joint forum; extend the EU’s strategy in respect of the ORs so at to enable the development of those region’s assets while taking into account their permanent structural constraints; calls on the Commission, in this connection, to act on the proposals made by the ORs, including those contained in their action plans;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Criticises the failure to provide sufficient support for OR projectsct that OR projects, which face serious difficulties in meeting some of the requirements for securing Community funding, have for that reason not received sufficient support under the 2007-2013 programme for research and development, which has resulted in low levels of participation and a weak OR presence in European research networks;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that, if cohesion policy, Europe 2020 and Horizon 2020 targets are to be fully met – something which cannot be achieved by ERDF funding alone –, the Commission will need to streamline, guarantee and promote OR access to the Horizon 2020 programme by setting up dedicated programmes that can help to foster greater OR inclusion in European and international research and innovation networks; points out in this connection that the Horizon 2020 programme itself, in its 'Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation' section, acknowledges that there are significant disparities in terms of research and innovation performance, as identified in the Innovation Union Scoreboard, and introduces specific measures for spreading excellence and widening participation in low-performing Member States in terms of research and innovation, and these possibilities should be adequately exploited by bodies and institutions in the ORs;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for OR universities to be expanded and promoted in order to help, in synergy with Horizon 2020, to raise the European and international profile of those universities, their research centres, their researchers and their students; points out that all the programmes promoting inter- university mobility – for students, teachers and administrative staff – are seriously compromised in the ORs owing to the extra costs arising from distance and isolation;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Emphasises that competition in the ORs is not of the same ilk, in practice, as competition elsewhere in the EU. The market for most services of general economic interest (SGEIs) cannot function as a free market in those regions because those SGEIs are unattractive to private investment. A supply of quality products at competitive prices can only exist in the ORs if sufficiently subsidised by the state. The provision of SGEIs in the ORs needs to be urgently assessed by the Commission, with a view to injecting greater flexibility and enabling the current EU legislative framework to be adapted to the actual situation in the ORs.
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to publish a guide for small and medium-sized enterprises in the ORs and on their contribution to the internal market, taking account of the various European programmes and funds in force in the ORs;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that cofinancing is to be provided for innovative environmental conservation and climate change projects under the LIFE+ programme for 2014- 2020; points out that thematic objectives 5 and 6 of the new cohesion policy also cover these areas, and that it is therefore vital for the ORs to be afforded genuine access toto consolidate the participation of the ORs in the LIFE+ programme;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to draw up a specific Natura 2000 programme for the ORs on the basis of Article 349 of the TFEU and the achievements of the BEST preparatory action;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission to introduce a renewable energy development strategy for the ORs that is geared to achieving energy self-sufficiency and meeting the Energy 2020 targets and reminds the Commission of its proposal that a specific programme be established in the field of energy to reduce the costs due to remoteness, infrastructure and provision of services in the ORs in order to promote renewable energy policies, based on the POSEI programmes and with the best possible synergies with other EU strands of action;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that the ORs have some of the highest unemployment rates in the EU and that youth unemployment rates in the EUare worse still; welcomes, therefore, the ORs’ eligibility for funding under the Youth Guarantee programme, as well as the introduction of the Youth Employment Initiative;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Stresses that the ORs have some of the highest youth unemployment rates in the EU; welcomes, therefore, the ORs’ eligibility for funding under the Youth Guarantee programme, as well as the introduction of the Youth Employment Initiative; nevertheless regrets the lack of any special provisions for the ORs in the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on the EIB to include the ORs in its youth employment initiative and its ‘Investment in Skills’ programme;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Notes that the new Erasmus programme is intended to foster the development of a knowledge society; stresses that it is essential for this goal to be met if the Europe 2020 strategy, under which knowledge is viewed as the primary driving force in Europe’s economy, is to be a success; points, accordingly, to the need for greater synergies to be achieved in the ORs between the Erasmus programme and the ESF in the ORs, and between the EURES programme and the ESF, in order to maximise local human capital and expertise, which are powerful driving forces for growth; maintains that distance constraints, especially where transport costs are concerned, should be factored into the amounts allocated for scholarships, the object being to ensure that OR students can take advantage of European exchange and training programmes and that OR universities could seek to derive greater benefit from the Erasmus Mundus programme between the Member States and the rest of the world;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Supports the further development of universities in the ORs and the establishment of new centres of excellence, with a view to giving OR universities a higher profile aLinguistic amend menhancing their drawing power in Europe; supports the establishment of partnerships between OR universities and the opening up of such partnerships up to universities in non-EU countries with which ORs have a special relationship; calls for transport costs arising in connection with OR-EU exchange programmes to be covered by Erasmus funding;t not affecting the English version
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Synergies with trans-European networks (transport, telecommunications, energy) Draws attention to the Teixeira report on the role of cohesion policy in the outermost regions of the European Union in the context of EU 2020 (2011/2195(INI)), which called on the Commission to establish a specific programme in the field of energy, transport, and information and communication technologies, based on the POSEI schemes, and in particular to lay down a specific framework providing for transport subsidies in the ORs, particularly for public transport and to develop shipping services between islands;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to includeinclusion of the ORs in the trans-European networks, but regrets that most of the ORs have been excluded from the priority corridors and hence also from CEF funding;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to include the ORs in the trans-European networks and points out that investment in transport is vitally important to enable the ORs to cope with isolation and the fact of being islands;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Points to the need to review the state aid framework for sea transport in order to enable public support to be provided for links between ORs and countries outside the EU;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30b. Points to the need to adjust the classification system for regional airports, given that, as far as the ORs are concerned, passenger flows and profitability cannot be the sole criteria;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Considers trans-European telecommunications network links between mainland Europe and the ORs to be essential; believes that, in view of the digital economy’s importance, the digital divide between the ORs and mainland Europe is hampering the ORs’ development and competitiveness; points out that this digital divide, which is a result of delays in the roll-out and modernisation of ICT infrastructure in the ORs, is adding to the problems already faced by the ORs because of their geographical remoteness; suggests that the development of ICTs in the ORs should be stepped up by extending and modernising networks, exploiting synergies with the ERDF and granting easier access to EIB funding for projects in this area, and also points to the need to grant the ORs priority access to the GMES and Galileo programmes;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Points out that, as a result of the ORs and the OCTs, the EU is the world’s leading maritime power;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Calls on the Commission to take greater account of Europe’s global maritime dimension, the importance of the sea, the oceans and blue growth to the EU as a whole, the strategic location of the ORs and the OCTs, and the role that they can play in ensuring that seas, oceans and coastal areas are used in a sustainable way, as well as in global maritime governance and the development of a knowledge economy based on the sea;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Draws attention to the lack of synergies between cohesion policy and the CFP, which still takes too little account of conditions in the ORs, maintains that a POSEI scheme for fisheries has to remain in place, and proposes that research and innovation be developed within the maritime economy, as this is a potential source of growth;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Stresses that the ORs are dependent on the fish stocks in their EEZs, which are biologically highly vulnerableand ecologically highly vulnerable, and believes, therefore, that biogeographically sensitive OR zones need to be properly and effectively protected, not least through exclusive access granted to local fleets using environment-friendly fishing gear; emphasises the need to ensure that those stockfishery resources are used in a balanced and sustainable manner; calls for proper account to be taken of the long-term interests of local people when EU fisheries agreements are drafted and negotiated;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Deplores the fact that the POSEI Fisheries programme, which established a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of OR fishery products, has recently been absorbed into the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and thus ceased to be governed by a self-contained regulation aimed specifically and exclusively at the ORs, a fact which waters down the importance of the positive discrimination that the ORs are entitled to enjoy under Article 349 of the TFEU;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Points out that farming is a thriving industry which provides jobs and plays a role in the development of activities with a high added value; also points, however, to the specific characteristics of agriculture in the ORs that markedly effect farming there, such as the small scale of farm holdings and the limited market; draws attention to the fact that objective 3 of the new cohesion policy covers the development of SMEs in the farming sector;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Stresses that the POSEI programme has proved its worth and has shown itself to be particularly well-suited to conditions in the ORs, but is hampered by chronic underfunding that needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Stresses that the POSEI programme has proved its worth and has shown itself to be particularly well-suited to conditions in the ORs; stresses, in this connection, the economic, social and environmental importance of certain OR products such as bananas, rum, sugar, milk and meat;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Stresses that the POSEI programme has proved its worth and has shown itself to be particularly well-suited to conditions in the ORs, and therefore maintains that the POSEI system should continue to be encompassed within its own self- contained framework;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Supports the introduction of protected designations of origin and local labels in the ORs, and hopes that promotion policy will be tailored to the needs of the ORs and that GIs will be safeguarded;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Calls on the Commission to take greater account of the geo-strategic importance of the ORs and OCTs, which stems from their proximity to other continents;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Calls on the Commission to complete the wider neighbourhood action plan, on which it has been working since 1999; draws attention in this context to the particularly close historical and cultural relations with non-EU countries and to the potential for developing economic, trading, and cooperation relations in various parts of the world;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Calls on the Commission to take greater account of the impact that trade agreements concluded with non-EU countries have on OR economies; calls for impact studies invariably to be conducted in advance and for products considered ‘sensitive’ to be protected as such, wherever justified and on the understanding that fair compensation must be provided for the losses incurred in given sectors;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Draws attention to the fact that the ORs and OCTs can be a real asset for the EU in connection with building humanitarian response capacity and deploying it when natural disasters occur; calls, in this connection, for a European civil protection force to be set up;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Draws attention to the fact that social exclusion, and poverty and violence are a major problem in the ORs; points out that thematic objective 9 of the new cohesion policy covers social inclusion and action against poverty and all forms of discrimination and that support for the most deprived sections of society is an ERDF investment priority;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Draws attention to the fact that social exclusion, and poverty and violence are a major problem in the ORs; points out that thematic objective 9 of the new cohesion policy covers social inclusion and action against poverty and all forms of discrimination and that support for the most deprived sections of society is an ERDF investment priority;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Points out that thsome ORs are faced with major housing shortages as a result of strong population growth; advocates the establishment of a social housing investment scheme and the introduction of special measures enabling state aids to be used in support of investment in social housing in ORs; points out that other ORs are facing growing desertification, which is also leading to deterioration of their characteristic built environment, and that this latter problem has to be tackled by supporting urban regeneration and stimulating economic activities suited to the localities concerned, so as to encourage the population to remain there;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Points out that the ORs are faced with major housing shortages, not least as a result of strong population growth in some ORs; advocates the establishment of a social housing investment scheme and the introduction of special measures enabling state aids to be useunder which aid in support of investment in social housing in ORss not considered to be State aid;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Points out that thsome ORs are located in areas in which industrial competition is fierce, in particular owing to low labour costs and an abundance of raw materials in neighbouring countries; draws attention to the fact that thematic objectives 3 and 8 of the new cohesion policy cover action to enhance SME competitiveness and promote high-quality sustainable employment;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Points out that, although they show a healthy start-up rate despite the crisis, very small and small and medium-sized businesses in the ORs are finding it increasingly difficult to gain access to financing, and that this is jeopardising their development and future survival;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Welcomes in this connection the objectives set for the future COSME programme, under which support will be provided to European SMEs, in particular as regards access to finance and to new markets; welcomes the decision to maintain the Progress Microfinance Facility; calls on the Commission to ensure that these programmes coverare efficiently implemented in the ORs as well;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 56
Paragraph 56
56. Welcomes in this connection the objectives set for the future COSME programme, under which support will be provided to European SMEs, in particular as regards access to finance and to new markets; welcomes the decision to maintain the Progress Microfinance Facility; calls on the Commission to ensure that these programmes cover the ORs as well and welcomes the possibility of dialogue with the EIB and the European Investment Fund in order to explore avenues for improving access to financing for OR SMEs with a view to setting up local investment funds in each OR and developing regional investment capital markets;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59
Paragraph 59
59. Stresses that tourism is a key economic driver in the ORs; considers it essential therefore for joint ERDF-COSME support to be provided for efforts to expand and modernise the ORs’ hotel network, in order to diversify and develop the tourism services on offer in the ORs;Linguistic amendment not affecting the English version
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Notes that thsome ORs are highly multicultural societies and points to the need for cultural interchange between the ORs and mainland Europe; calls on the Commission to allow projects from ORs to be funded under the Creative Europe programme;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
62. Calls on the Commission to draw up a strategy for the development and dissemination of the ORs' cultural heritage, using the Euromed Heritage IV programme as a model;Linguistic amendment not affecting the English version