11 Amendments of Antigoni PAPADOPOULOU related to 2013/2277(INI)
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the economic situation and recent developments in some Member States have compromised the quality of employment, social protection and health and safety standards; economic growth and financial stability have in addition been seriously damaged and strong deterioration of the government deficit and debt position is observed in some Member States.
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the economic adjustment programme measures in Cyprus (June 2013) primary designed and defined by the IMF, the Eurogroup, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Commission, have had a serious direct and indirect impact on the Cypriot economy, banking system, entrepreneurship, and growth levels;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that, in May 2011, Cyprus lost access to international markets due to the significant deterioration in public finances as well as the large exposure of the Cypriot banking sector to the Greek economy and Eurogroup's decision for bailout of public debt in Greece which cost Cyprus 4.5 billion (that is 25% of its GDP) approximately. Eventually, in June 2012, Cyprus has requested a financial assistance programme and on March 25 2013, after a long period of hard negotiations, Cyprus and the Troika (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) agreed on a €10 billion financial assistance which featured an unprecedented haircut on uninsured deposits in a bid to recapitalize the Popular Bank and the Bank of Cyprus, which are the island's largest lenders; at the beginning of the EU- IMF assistance programme in 2013, speculations about the systemic instability in the Cypriot economy had been ongoing for a long time, owing inter alia to the exposure of Cypriot banks to overleveraged local property companies, the Greek debt crisis, the downgrading of Cypriot government bonds by international rating agencies, the inability to refund public expenditure from the international markets, and the initial reluctance of the government to restructure the troubled financial sector;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the initial request for financial assistance was made by Cyprus on 25 June 2012, but that differences of positions as regards the conditionality, as well as the rejection of an initial draft programme by the Cypriot Parliament, because it was contrary to European law as it envisaged haircut of small deposits of less than 100,000 Euros, delayed the final agreement on the EU- IMF assistance programme until 24 April (EU) and 15 May 2013 (IMF), respectively, and on 30 April 2013 the Cypriot House of Representatives finally endorsed the ‘'new’' agreement; whilst the Central Bank of Cyprus and a Ministerial committee were heavily involved in the negotiation and the design of the financial assistance program, and finally the CBC Governor co-singed the MoU with the Minister of Finance, it must be noted that there was extremely limited time to further negotiate in detail aspects of the MoU, and the controversial application of the bail-in instrument on bank deposits, was actually imposed on the Cyprus government which was forced to accept this measure under conditions of blackmail.
Amendment 379 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Deplores that since 2008 the income distribution inequality has grown above average in the four countries and that cuts in social benefits and rising unemploymentand unemployment benefits resulting from austerity measures, as well as the wage reductions due to structural reforms, are raising poverty levels;
Amendment 400 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Points to the fact that the adjustment policies and structural reforms have led to dramatic unemployment rates and unacceptable level of youth unemployment in the four Member States under assistance programmes; points especially to the sharp increase in youth unemployment in Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal and the increased "brain drain" observed;
Amendment 410 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Regrets that, in all four countries the most vulnerable groups – the long-term unemployed, women, migrant workers, pensioners and the disabled – have been strongly hit and are suffering from higher unemployment rates and income reduction than the national average.
Amendment 559 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Notes that in Cyprus unemployment levels increased by 10% between 2012 and 2013; progressive taxation, budget cuts and austerity hamper economic activity and increase gaps between the poor and the rich.
Amendment 684 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Notes the serious side effects of the application of the bail- in instrument, which include the imposition of capital controls; stresses that the real Cypriot economy continues to face major challenges. The severing of credit lines is bearing down on the productive sectors of the economy and unemployment is on the rise; regrets the fact that there was no previous assessment of the consequences in each programme country by means of impact studies or coordination with the Employment Committee, the Social Protection Committee, the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) or the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs; regrets, too, the fact that, despite the important social implications, the consultative bodies established by Treaty, in particular the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR), were not consulted;
Amendment 709 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37a. Regrets that Troika is not democratically legalised, and its actions are not based on community law; therefore, there is no clear balance, transparency or accountability on the important decisions it takes for which the European citizens are not aware; underlines that the different philosophy and perceptions of the three different institutions, ECB, European Commission and IMF as well as the lack of appropriate infrastructure within the Eurozone to combat the crisis led to premature and unbalanced decision- making for the MoU programmes imposing strict austerity measures without growth and investment to the aforesaid Southern European countries.
Amendment 807 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
41a. Stresses that, there is a need for a balance between fiscal consolidation, structural reforms and incentives for growth and employment; therefore, the current synthesis/form of Troika should be dismantled and changed in favour of more solidarity, democratic legitimacy and transparency.