Activities of Luís Paulo ALVES 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 (60)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
Amendment 5 #
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 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11
Citation 11
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15
Citation 15
– having regard to the final declarationjoint contributions and technical and political documents of the Conferences of Presidents of the Outermost Regions of the European Union, in particular thate final declaration of the 19th conference of 17 and 18 October 2013,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the ORs comprise a group of archipelagos, islands and a region that forms an enclave in the Amazon forest that are defined by specific common constraints which differentiate them from other particular geographical circumstances in the Union (islands, mountain areas and sparsely populated regions);
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the ORs are regions of excellence that can makemaking a significant contribution towards meeting the objectives the EU has set as part of the Europe 2020 growth strategy, the Horizon 2020 strategy, the Energy 2020 strategy, the LIFE+ and Natura 2000 programmes and the trans-European telecommunications, transport and energy networks;
Amendment 14 #
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 enoughmust be closely monitored and adjusted or supplemented to enable them to play athe role commensurate with their potentialto which they aspire in addressing the major challenges facing the EU;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas Article 349 of the TFEU also provides a means ofshould be used as the legal basis enabling the ORs to take their rightful place in the various EU programmes that can properly and effectively harness the potential that they are recognised as having;
Amendment 20 #
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, blue growth, maritime governance, volcanology, health, renewable energy, transport, telecommunications, emergency humanitarian assistance outside the EU and culture;
Amendment 23 #
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 they are characterised by their exceptional natural, marine and fisheries resources account for 50% of the world’s biodiversity;
Amendment 25 #
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; whereasich the Commission should promote and support closer integration of the ORs and OCTs, including through the implementation of common policies and the adoption of specific measures;
Amendment 27 #
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 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that improving the ORs’ lack of access to the various EU programmes and sources of EU funding will, in the long run, indirectly have a negative impac make a direct contribution to the benefit onf the EU as a whole;
Amendment 34 #
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 on the basis of Article 349 of the TFEU and of ad hoc instruments, notably in the fields of energy, transport and ICT, introduced for each EU fund and programme that can help turn the ORs’ assets into economic development;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses, further, that it is important and necessary for European policies to contribute to promoting and diversifying the economic base in the outermost regions and creating jobs;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to set uppromote the setting-up of a contact group made up of the relevant Commissioners responsible for the inter-service working party that coordinates policies involving the ORs and the Members of the European Parliament representing the ORs to meet twice a year to review the progress of programmes introduced for the ORs;
Amendment 43 #
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 47 #
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, improved synergies in investment and programmes being essential in order to promote international cooperation on the part of these regions, as outposts in the world;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes that the ORs have the wherewithpotential to be at the forefront of research and technology in the areas covered by the Horizon 2020 objectives, such as space, the aerospace industry, biotechnology, observation of natural hazards, marine research, biodiversity, renewable energy, health, adaptation to climate change and smart transport solutions;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that the primary– inter alia – the aim of the new cohesion policy 2014-2020 is to step up research, technological development and innovation efforts;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Criticises the failure to provide sufficient support for OR projects underct that the ORs have not sufficiently benefited from 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 61 #
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, guaranteeadapt and promote OR access to the Horizon 2020 programme by setting up dedicatedthrough programmes that can help to foster greater OR inclusion in European and international research and innovation networks;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Recalls that research and innovation programmes should have a sufficient degree of flexibility to enable them to adapt to new frontiers and new challenges for knowledge, such as the sea-bed with its significant potential in the case of the Atlantic;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Highlights the growing economic interest in the immense riches of the ocean depths and the enormous biogenetic, mineral and biotechnology potential of the outermost regions, which must be included in the ‘Renewed Strategy for the ORs’ with the aim of developing a knowledge economy based on the sea and the creation of value-added economic activities in areas such as medicine, pharmaceuticals and energy, among others;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Points out in this connection that, in terms of competition, the circumstances are not the same as in the rest of the European area, since in the ORs a free market is not possible in most sectors of activity, the bulk of which cannot attract private investment; notes that the supply of high-quality products at competitive prices in the ORs can only be ensured if their circumstances are adequately offset; notes that the provision of these services in the ORs requires urgent assessment by the Commission with a view to providing greater flexibility and adapting the legislative framework to these specific circumstances;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to enforce the competition rules more strictly in the ORs in order to guard against monopolies and cartels;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to look into the issue of the additional costs and high cost of living in the ORs and to take this issue into account in its initiatives for shaping European policies;
Amendment 74 #
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 thatto the creation of synergies with thematic objectives 5 and 6 of the new cohesion policy also cover these areas, and2014-2020, noting that it is therefore vital for the ORs to be afforded genuine access to the LIFE+ programme;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Deplores the Commission’s refusalfailure to make the BEST preparatory action a fully- fledged programme for the ORs and OCTs, in spite of the views expressed by Parliament and the Council conclusions of 25 June 2009;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Commission, to introduce a renewable energy development strategy for the ORs that iaking as its starting point the positive examples and results achieved by some outermost regions in the field of renewable energy, to encourage measures geared to achieving energy self-sufficiency and meeting the Energy 2020 targets;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Draws attention to the need to promote action to harness the renewable energy potential of islands, where fossil fuel dependency is aggravated by distance and geographical isolation, whereby account should be taken of the need to include instruments in European energy policy that will make it possible adequately to address the challenges posed by isolated energy systems;
Amendment 83 #
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; deplores the fact, however, that there are no specific provisions for the ORs in the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Stresses the need for synergies to be created in the ORs between the trans- European networks, the Connecting Europe Facility, the Civitas and Horizon 2020 programmes and ERDF and Cohesion Fund funding for transport, telecommunications and energy projects;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Points out that accessibility plays a key role where the development of the ORs is concerned, frequently requiring a complex internal and external network of sea and air transport services and creating difficulties as regards mobility and accessibility, bearing in mind that the ORs have no alternative to air or sea transport and also have to cope with increased transport costs, a fact which in itself entails adverse economic and social effects;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to include the ORs in the trans-European networkNotes that the ORs are being included in the trans-European networks, but deplores the fact that most of them are excluded from the priority corridors; calls on the Commission to look again at their exclusion when considering its strategy for the outermost regions;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. deplores, nonetheless, the fact that progress with the sea highways has been hampered by the priority given to short sea links, given that this approach discriminates against the ORs; calls on the Commission to look again at the exclusion of the ORs when considering its strategy for the outermost regions;
Amendment 104 #
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 in terms of scale and potential;
Amendment 106 #
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 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Criticises the fact that the OR, given the situation in some ORs, that those regions will not be granted fleet renewal aid under the new CFP;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Points out that farming in the ORs is grappling with the challenges of diversification and competitiveness with neighbouring countries, as well as with new challenges which include globalisation, market liberalisation, food self- sufficiency and sustainable development;
Amendment 117 #
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 ORshas to remain in existence without any distortion of its character, given that the programme has proved its worth and is well-suited to conditions in the ORs; points to the need to provide POSEI with the means necessary to compensate OR producers for the market liberalisation being called for, especially in the milk sector;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Calls on the Commission to bolster local agricultural production and facilitate the promotion and marketing of OR agricultural products abroad;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Deplores the continued lack of a proper linkage between EDF and the ERDFthe European funds, the EDF, the ERDF, and ETC, in particular as regardsin cross-border cooperation projects, despite the fact that this is essential if the funds’ objectives are to be met;
Amendment 129 #
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 stem from their proximity to other continents;
Amendment 132 #
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, for instance by setting up machinery for consultation with OR regional authorities;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Calls on the Commission to negotiate the inclusion in all trade agreements with ACP countries that lie close to ORs a specific section on the creation of an exclusive OR- ACP market, with a view to integrating ORs more closely into their geographical neighbourhood;
Amendment 136 #
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, using the ORs as springboards for EU humanitarian operations;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51
Paragraph 51
51. Draws attention to the fact that social exclusion, poverty and violence are a major problem in the ORs; points out that thematic objective 9 of the new cohesion policy coversone of the strategic priorities charted by the Commission in its strategy for the ORs (COM(2012)0287) is to strengthen the social dimension of development in the ORs; believes that if such action is to succeed, it will also be necessary to take into account the problems of social inexclusion and action against poverty and all forms of discrimination and that support for the most detheir effects and lay down specific measures to help create jobs, foster skills, imprioved sections of society is an ERDF investment priori educational attainment, reduce school drop-out rates, and combat poverty;
Amendment 141 #
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;
Amendment 144 #
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 new2014-2020 cohesion policy cover action to enhance SME competitiveness and promote high-quality sustainable employment;
Amendment 146 #
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 148 #
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 effectively cover the ORs as well;
Amendment 152 #
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 boost, diversify, and develop the sustainable tourism services on offer in the ORs;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Notes that the ORs are highly multicultural societies and points to the need for cultural interchange between the ORs and mainland Europe; calls onfor the Commission to allow projects from ORs to be funded underORs to participate on a larger scale in the Creative Europe programme;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61
Paragraph 61
61. Notes that the ORs are highly multicultural societies and points to the need for cultural interchange between the ORs and mainland Europe; calls on the Commission to allowfor a higher number of projects from ORs to be funded underparticipate in the Creative Europe programme;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62