57 Amendments of Paul MURPHY related to 2013/2277(INI)

Draft opinion
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas the troika interventions in the programme countries displayed a serious democratic deficit, people were effectively subjected to economic blackmail and diktats by unelected, unaccountable and non-transparent bodies;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas public spending in Portugal rose from 42% of GDP in 2000 to 51% in 2010 owing to the crisis, as a result of moves to stimulate the economy whose main approach was defined by the EU; whereas in 2011 spending on social protection stood at 26.5% of GDP by comparison with an EU-28 average of 29.1%; whereas in 2007, before the international crisis, the public deficit stood at 3.1% and public debt at 68.3%, values close to those imposed by the rules of the Maastricht Treaty (and close to those recorded in countries such as Germany);

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas Portuguese public debt has virtually doubled since 2007; whereas Portuguese public debt shot up with the Memorandum of Understanding, rising by EUR 25.3 billion per year in 2011 and 2012, i.e. at a pace 6.4 times higher than that recorded between 2001 and 2004 and 2.7 times higher than that recorded between 2005 and 2010; whereas in August 2013, according to the Bank of Portugal, general government debt reached EUR 254 638 million (155.2% of GDP) and public debt according to the Maastricht criteria, which do not include the whole debt, reached EUR 214 880 million (131.4% of GDP), an unprecedented level;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Draft opinion
Recital H b (new)

Hb. whereas the "success story" around Ireland exiting the programme has very little to do with actual accomplishments that have an impact on people's lives; whereas this story is mainly empty spin designed to support the Irish government's policies, and use Ireland as an example to force working people in southern Europe to accept more austerity; whereas in reality Ireland has the highest net emigration rate of all member states, investment as a percentage of Irish GDP is at 10.6%, the lowest rate in the EU, with the average at 20%, Ireland is still left with an unsustainable debt to GDP ratio of 125% and personal consumption is down 12% compared to 2008;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas studies show that reducing Portuguese public debt to levels close to 60% of GDP, as provided for in the so- called fiscal compact, will be possible only if two conditions are met at the same time over the next 20 years: significant economic growth of around 4% of nominal GDP and a positive primary balance of around 3.5%;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Draft opinion
Recital H c (new)

Hc. whereas, despite of claims by the Troika and the Irish government, Ireland has not regained "economic sovereignty" since exiting the programme; whereas Ireland, in addition to being subject to EU 'economic governance' like all other EU countries, is also still subjected to "post- programme monitoring" by the IMF and "post-programme surveillance" by the Commission which include formal inspections and the power to impose further austerity; whereas the same will apply to other countries when they exit their programmes;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that the EU institutions (the ECB, the Commission and the Eurogroup) are fully co-responsible, together with national governments, for the conditions imposed under the economic adjustment programmes, and therefore for their social consequences;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)

Ag. whereas the weaknesses of the Portuguese economy, exacerbated by successive policies supported by the EU, in particular the so-called SGPs (from 2010 onwards), have had a recessionary effect and led to spiralling interest rates, and blackmail and extortion by banks and investors in sovereign debt;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital A h (new)

Ah. whereas the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding dramatically worsened Portugal's economic indicators, causing a sharp drop in GDP and public investment, which fell below 1980s levels, as well as in public and private consumption; whereas household consumption has fallen considerably and agricultural, industrial and energy production has declined, as has trade; whereas overall employment has fallen by 8.1% in the past two years and 400 000 jobs have been destroyed;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital A i (new)

Ai. whereas the Portuguese people are being made to suffer increased poverty, unemployment, extreme deprivation, the collapse of various public services and emigration, and more than 220 000 Portuguese people have been forced to leave the country in the past two years;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital A l (new)

Al. whereas the Memorandum of Understanding with Portugal is geared to attacking workers' rights and their wages and pensions, destroying public services and cutting jobs in this sector; whereas unemployment has reached extremely high levels, particularly among young people, and thousands of SMEs have gone bankrupt; whereas worsening social conditions and increased worker exploitation contrasts with the rise in the number of millionaires and the size of their fortunes in Portugal since the Memorandum of Understanding came into force;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Deplores the fact that Parliament has been completely marginalised during all phases of the project: the preparatory phase, the development of mandates and the monitoring of the results achieved by the programmes and related measures; Notes that the European Parliament supported the same kind of neoliberal austerity policies, e.g. through its acceptance of inter alia the 2-pack, 6-pack or European Semester .

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that the ~~adjustment policies and structural reforms in the four countries have~~neoliberal austerity programmes in the four countries have further worsened the effects of the structural capitalist crisis and led to dramatic unemployment rates, historically high rates of job losses and worsening working conditions; points out that the consequences for activity rates~~, in particular as regards the sustainability of social protection and pension systems,~~ are even more serious because the gap between the Europe 2020 targets and reality is rapidly growing ever wider;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes with concern that the troikas have imposed cuts across the board in public sector pay (even doing away with holiday and Christmas bonuses) and in retirement pensions and unemployment, sickness, and other welfare benefits, as well as imposing longer working hours, adding to the exploitation of workers; points out that wages in Portugal have fallen on average by about 9% in real terms; points out that many thousands of public sector jobs have been shed in the countries being bailed out and that labour law has been amended so as to make redundancy schemes easier to implement and cheaper;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Notes with great concern~~Deplores that it is young people who are suffering the highest levels of unemployment, with the situation in countries such as Greece, where the rate is over 50%, or Portugal and Ireland, where it is in excess of 30%, being quite devastating; regrets the fact that even those who do find a job often find themselves working under precarious conditions or on part-time contracts, 43% of young workers are working with a part-time contract compared to 13% of adult workers, which make it hard to live independently;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Notes with great concern that it is young people who are suffering the highest levels of unemployment, with the situation in countries such as Greece, where the rate is over 50%, or Portugal and Ireland, where it is in excess of 30%, being quite devastating; regrets the fact that even those who do find a job often find themselves working under precarious conditions or on part-time contracts which make it hard to live independently; points out that the much-vaunted fall in Portugal’s youth unemployment rate (36% in the third quarter of 2013) was influenced by the increase in young emigrants and by active employment policy measures based on insecure contracts;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses that the sharp rise in living costs due to budget cuts, privatisations and lack of investment in public services, has also made it more difficult for young people to find the financial means necessary to live independently from their families; stresses the need for massive investment in public services to make living independently a reality for young people;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers, as regards the decision taken in some of the four countries, that it is unacceptable to increase the social security contributions payable by workers while lowering the contribution rates payable by companies, bearing in mind that this constitutes a setback for fairer redistribution of income and will jeopardise the sustainability of public social security systems;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the most vulnerable groups – the long-term unemployed, women, migrant workers and the disabled – have been strongly hit and are suffering from higher unemployment rates than the national average; points out that high unemployment rates put pressure on working conditions, as workers do not know whether their jobs will be preserved or whether there will be alternatives to fall back on, they are more likely to suffer, and are more vulnerable to, violence, mobbing, and sexual harassment, they are made to multitask – in the sense of executing numerous tasks for which they have no aptitude – and, as a result of mass redundancies, are obliged to take on additional tasks previously performed by other workers;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Recalls that the Europe 2020 strategy accurately states that the figure to watch is the employment rate, which indicates the availability of human and financial resources to ensure the sustainability of our economic and social model; regrets that the slowdown in the unemployment rate is confused with the recovery of jobs lost; recalls that in the last four years job losses have reached 2 million in the four countries, which is 15% of existing jobs; stresses that new jobs need to be quality jobs, meaning jobs with good wages and conditions and full trade union rights, so that employment is a guarantee for workers, and particularly young workers, for a life in dignity;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the ~~economic situation and recent developments in some Member States have compromis~~Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have reinforced the neoliberal policies, aggravated the economic and social situation in Member States , had a massive negative impact on wages, pensions, lead to a decline of domestic demand and public investments and have downgraded the quality of employment, social protection and health and safety standards;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas the economies of Member States under Memoranda of Understanding are characterized by continuous recession, increase of government debt and decline of the GDP. Indicatively in Greece, the public debt in 2009 was 129% of the GDP while now is at 178% of the GDP, during the period 2008-2013 the Greek GDP decreased by 25%, which is the biggest percentage reduction in peacetime and the Greek economy has been in recession for the sixth consecutive year;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, Paul MURPHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Stresses that to reach full employment a radical break with neoliberal policies is necessary; radically different measures should be implemented, including a general reduction of the working time without loss of pay, the lowering of the pension age and a massive plan for public investment in socially useful, quality jobs; stresses that these measures should be implemented in a democratically planned way and funded through a system of progressive taxation aimed at making the super-rich and big business pay for the crisis they have caused;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas the Task Force for Greece was set up to strengthen the capacity of the Greek administration to design and implement structural reforms to improve the functioning of the economy and society and create the conditions for sustained recovery and job creation, as well as to speed up the absorption of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds in Greece and to provide critical resources to finance investmentestablished ,on the substance, to strengthen the enforcement of austerity measures and to ensure the implementation of unpopular reforms imposed by the memoranda of understanding; having as a pretext the structural reforms to improve the functioning of the economy, the Task Force contributes to the full deregulation of the labour market, to the loss of social and labour rights, to the liberalization of the markets, to privatizations and to the clearance sale of the public wealth;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, Paul MURPHY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Is ~~concern~~outraged that, among the conditions for financial assistance, the programmes include recommendations for specific cuts in fundamental areas of the fight against poverty, such as pensions, basic services, health care and pharmaceutical products for the basic protection of the most vulnerable; highlights the fact that the main impact of these measures is on the fight against child poverty;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas the programmes and especially the Greek program, were in the short run primarily meant to avoid the transmission of the sovereign debt crisis to the European banks and to the rest Member States. Whereas the medium- term objective was the forced redistribution of income against the middle and low income people in Member States under Memoranda of Understanding

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Recalls the tragic and sharp rise in suicide rates, most notably in Greece where suicide figures are estimated to have risen by 43% between 2008 and 2011; stresses that experts point to the crisis and the devastating effects of austerity measures as one of the key contributing factor for this rise;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Stresses that the rise in poverty, exclusion and uncertainty amongst the vast majority of the people living in the programme countries is mirrored by a sharp rise in wealth for a small minority; e.g. in Ireland since 2007 profits have increased by 21% and according to the Revenue Commissioners, the number of people earning more than €500,000 a year has grown to 3,443 in 2012 with a combined income of €1.8bn, while over 1 million taxpayers out of 2.16 million had incomes lower than €30,000; Similarly in Portugal 75% of pensioners receive pensions less than €419.22 while the 870 Portuguese millionaires increased their fortunes by €7,5 billion since 2012;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Notes with concern that cases of hunger and malnutrition have increased, many families have had their water, electricity and gas supply cut off, people have lost their homes (because of bank repossessions or evictions), increasing numbers of families no longer have enough money to pay for crèches, kindergartens and old people's homes, for thousands of children the only meal of the day is the meal provided for them at school, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of requests for help from social institutions, which are unable to cope with the growing number of applications, and the public funds available to support groups at risk of poverty are increasingly scarce;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the fact that in those studies the Commission recognised that only a strong reversal of current trends will make it possible to meet the Europe 2020 targets; Considers however that these targets are insufficient and suggests that the aim should be the full elimination of poverty;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Regrets the fact that, for Greece, Ireland and Portugal at least, the programmes included a number of detailed prescriptions on health system reform and expenditure cuts, despite the fact that Article 168(7) TFEU prohibits such intervention; notes the example of Ireland where an additional €618 million will be cut from the Health Service Executive in 2014; stresses that this is a danger to health and safety of patients as hospitals had already lost 20% of their budget since 2009;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Notes with concern that cuts in public funding for primary and secondary education have worsened significantly – including through the dismissal of tens of thousands of teachers in each country – and this has practical implications for the quality of education and the material and human resources available in schools; notes that these measures are leading to growing class sizes, the reorganisation of curricula, school mergers and increased concentration, with schools being closed in the most remote and rural areas, with the result that many young people are being deprived of access to public education; stresses that, as a result of this situation, public education is to a greater and increasing extent being replaced by private education, which only some people can afford, and this is adding to social inequalities among pupils;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 17

17. Welcomes the fact that tertiary education attainment levels have been rising in ~~all f~~some of the bailed-ourt countries; notes, however, that this is partially explained by the need of young people to improve their future labour market chances; points out that in Portugal the number of students starting further education has fallen for the fifth year in a row, and this decline is inextricably linked to the increase in fees and other costs and the fact that access to social measures in the field of education is severely limited;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Stresses that for education to be truly accessible for all it should be public, democratically run and free at the point of use;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Supports unions that refuse to be made co-responsible for implementing austerity by accepting 'fairer cuts' and insist on their role to independently voice the interests of workers in rejecting neoliberalism and austerity;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Points out that, in the sphere of health, the austerity measures imposed by the troikas and implemented by governments have resulted in the closure of hospital services and facilities, the elimination of or cuts in local healthcare provision and the consequent reduction in preventive care and access to diagnosis, the withdrawal of support for the transport of patients – with the result that they are missing out on vital consultations and treatment – and a sharp rise in charges for public health services, and these measures have had the effect of restricting access to health services;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Points out that unemployment, cuts in social benefits, poverty and a lack of prospects for the future are among the factors that may cause or worsen cases of depression which may lead to suicide attempts; notes that deteriorating working conditions and the increasingly precarious nature of employment are leading to a rise in psycho-social factors and a rise in depression among workers;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Points out that the November 2013 ILO report 'Tackling the jobs crisis in Portugal' advocates a strategy based on job creation and productive investment, preserving jobs and supporting unemployed people and vulnerable groups, better-quality jobs, social protection, higher wages, and the revitalisation and expansion of collective bargaining and the social dialogue;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 23

23. Calls on the EU not to apply ~~such institutional and financial solutions in~~austerity measures in the future, and to put in place mechanisms enabling the EU institutions to achieve the social goals and policies set out in the Treaties, in particular those relating to the individual and collective rights of those at greatest risk of social exclusion;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Commission and the Council to give ~~the same~~primary attention to social imbalances, and to correct~~ing~~ them~~, as it does to macroeconomic imbalances, and to that end to put EPSCO and its priorities on an equal footing with ECOFIN and the Eurogroup~~;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls for an immediate end to austerity policies;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, Paul MURPHY, Jürgen KLUTE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Considers it imperative that fundamentally different, socialist policies are implemented to solve the social catastrophe caused by capitalism and the crisis; Stresses therefore that a truly progressive taxation system should be put in place, that the banking sector should be taken into democratic public ownership to be run in a democratically planned way and help fund a mass plan of investment in public works and services to create quality employment and services for all;

2014/01/17
Committee: EMPL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that, in the case of Greece the economic data deviate significantly from the objectives of the programmes of Memoranda and the considerations of the troika. Indicatively, in Greece the forecast for unemployment in 2011 was 15% and finally reached 20.7%, for 2012 was 15.2% and stood at 26%, the deficit forecast in 2011 was -7.5% and stood at - 9.5%, while for 2012 was -7.3% and stood at -10% and the recession was estimated at 5.5% for 2011 and was 7% and for 2012 was estimated at 2.8% and stood at 6.5%.

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, Paul MURPHY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Regrets that the programmes for Greece, Ireland and Portugal comprise a number of detailed prescriptions for health systems reform and expenditure cuts and dismantle wage bargaining systems; regrets that the programmes ~~are not bound by~~violate the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Treaties, including Art. 168(7) TFEU;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Deplores that since 2008 and during the implementation of Memoranda of Understanding , the income distribution inequality has grown above average in the four countries and that cuts in social benefits and rising unemployment are raising poverty levels, resulting to social regression and humanitarian crisis;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Paul MURPHY, Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, Inês Cristina ZUBER, João FERREIRA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Condemns the deregulatory measures for the labour market that are being promoted through the Memoranda of Understanding which lead to reductions in wages, constant undermining of collective bargaining agreements, facilitation of dismissals and reinforcement of flexible forms of employment.

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Stress that the rise in poverty, social exclusion and uncertainty amongst the majority of people living in the programme countries is mirrored by a sharp rise in wealth for a small minority; e.g. in Ireland since 2007 profits have increased by 21% and according to the Revenue Commissioners, the number of people earning more than €500,000 a year has grown to 3,443 in 2012 with a combined income of €1.8bn, while over 1 million taxpayers out of 2.16 million had incomes lower than €30,000;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Paul MURPHY, Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, Inês Cristina ZUBER, João FERREIRA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Condemns the major cuts in spending on health care system promoted by the memoranda of understanding within the fiscal austerity context.

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Believes that the "success story" around Ireland exiting the programme has very little to do with actual accomplishments that have an impact on people's lives; whereas this story is mainly empty spin designed to support the Irish government's policies, and use Ireland as an example to force working people in southern Europe to accept more austerity; whereas in reality Ireland has the highest net emigration rate of all member states, investment as a percentage of Irish GDP is at 10.6%, the lowest rate in the EU, with the average at 20%, Ireland is still left with an unsustainable debt to GDP ratio of 125% and personal consumption is down 12% compared to 2008;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Paul MURPHY, Nikolaos CHOUNTIS, João FERREIRA, Inês Cristina ZUBER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19b. Is of the opinion that whereas, despite claims by the Troika and the Irish government, Ireland has not regained "economic sovereignty" since exiting the programme; whereas Ireland, in addition to being subject to EU 'economic governance' like all other EU countries, is also still subjected to "post-programme monitoring" by the IMF and "post- programme surveillance" by the Commission which include formal inspections and the power to impose further austerity; Stresses that this will also be the case if other countries exit their programme;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Considers that the Memorandum of Understanding with Portugal has offered the banking industry and big business a millionaire support and guarantee package and delivered up public resources to usury and financial market speculation;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Deplores however the sometimes over- optimistic assumptions made by the Troika, especially as far as growth is concerned, but also the insufficient recognition of ~~political resistance to change in some Member State~~the negative economic and social impacts; deplores the fact that this also affected the Troika’'s analysis of the interplay between fiscal consolidation and growth; notes that as a result fiscal targets could not be fulfilled;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. notes that in Greece although the wages, the pensions and the allowances have been decreased dramatically, despite the rising of the unemployment at historically high levels, the reducing of social spending, the dismantling of the state and the social welfare, it didn´t lead neither at a substandard level to the estimated recovery nor to the desirable development.

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. notes that in the case of Greece the public debt to GDP ratio since 2009, has increased by approximately fifty percent (50%) and according to the Report of the OECD in 2020 the public debt will stand at 157% of GDP versus 124% which is foreseen by the Memorandum of Understanding

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)

38a. Calls for the Memorandum of Understanding with Portugal to be cancelled forthwith and for the Troika to be disbanded; recognises that the Portuguese public debt is unsustainable and calls for a process to begin without delay with a view to renegotiating the debt as regards the amounts, due dates, interest rates, and terms of payment, which should be brought into line with the economic and social needs and the economic and social development requirements of the country and the Portuguese people;

2014/02/03
Committee: ECON