Progress: Procedure completed
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | ECON | FERREIRA Elisa ( PSE) | |
Committee Opinion | DEVE | ||
Committee Opinion | ENVI | ||
Committee Opinion | EMPL | MORIN-CHARTIER Elisabeth ( PPE-DE) | |
Committee Opinion | REGI | ||
Committee Opinion | ITRE | ||
Committee Opinion | INTA | ||
Committee Opinion | BUDG | GARRIGA POLLEDO Salvador ( PPE-DE) |
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54
Legal Basis:
RoP 54Subjects
Events
The European Parliament adopted 526 votes to 105 with 22 abstentions, a resolution on the European Economic Recovery Plan. It welcomes the Commission initiative to launch the Recovery Plan as a reaction to the serious ongoing economic downturn, noting that the Community dimension of that proposal amounts to 15 % of the budget for the recovery programme, which needs to be implemented urgently. The top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to stimulate the economy and competitiveness of the EU, and to avoid increased unemployment. Members insist that all financial aid be timely, targeted and temporary, and warn of possible crowding-out effects and dissolution of EU competition policy. They call for a return to sound state finance as soon as possible in order to avoid putting too much burden on future generations. Parliament stresses that temporary exceptions and deviations from Community competition policy must be reversed, and normality restored, in clearly defined time perspectives.
The Recovery Plan must serve the purpose of delivering a fair international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, which must give poorer countries the opportunity to escape poverty without fuelling global warming by helping to finance massive investment into adapting to climate change. Parliament recommends, as an essential requirement for effectiveness, that the coordination of national recovery plans allows for each programme to be tailored to each country's specific needs, but taking into account the common interest, the common strategies defined in terms of fight against climate change, and the assurance of the strongest possible multiplier effect, in particular as regards employment.
Members call for coordinated action between Member States allowing for general and explicit national bank guarantees covering liabilities, but excluding equity capital, in order to reduce uncertainty in the credit markets and facilitate the functioning of those markets. Parliament invites Member States, and in particular those belonging to the euro area, to examine the possibility of a major European loan guaranteed jointly by the Member States.
Safeguarding the savings of, and credit provision for, individuals and undertakings is the overriding justification for the current exceptional public intervention in the financial system. Prime consideration must be given to recovering to normal levels of credit extension by banks when considering any new regulatory environment particularly in the interests of reviving the securitisation process as essential to the recovery of finance for mortgages, car finance and credit card funding. The Commission is asked to produce a clear analysis of the impact of the rescue package on the competitiveness of the financial sector and the functioning of the interbank market.
Parliament goes on to make a series of recommendations for more effective regulatory and supervisory structures. Whilst the European Central Bank (ECB) has no official supervisory mandate, there is a need to enhance its role as regards monitoring financial stability in the euro area. Members recommend that the ECB should be involved in EU-wide macro-prudential supervision of systemically important financial institutions. They regret the absence of clear EU instruments and policies by which to address, in a thorough and timely manner, the asymmetric impacts of the financial crisis among Member States inside and outside the euro area.
Parliament recommends that sufficient access to credit is urgently guaranteed across the EU to SMEs, citizens and those sectors in which a sustainable future is endangered due to the crisis, in particular due to the lack of credit. In the current climate where SMEs face severe cash-flow problems and restricted credit access, public authorities and private clients should respect a maximum 30-day period for payments to SMEs. Members also call for the effective launch of a comprehensive European employment initiative, by ensuring that an undertaking can be set up free of charge anywhere in the EU within 3 days. They make detailed recommendations on boosting employment and want the EU employment initiative include an early intervention in order to reduce the risk of people becoming excluded from the labour market. However, Parliament warns against the undue loosening of the EU competition rules, as this might weaken the internal market.
Parliament goes on to ask the Council to approve the proposal to give all Member States the option to apply a reduced VAT rate for labour-intensive and locally supplied services, and Member States should consider the possibility of reducing labour taxation in lower incomes in order to increase the purchasing power and stimulate demand for retail products.
Members stress the importance of territorial cohesion goals within the framework of proposed stimulus arrangements, given the clear asymmetric impact of the crisis across the European territory, and they call for smart and sustainable structural reforms.
The resolution calls for improved coherence between the present recovery plan at Member State level, the Lisbon Strategy goals and priorities, the integrated policy guidelines and the National Reform Programmes as well as the use of the flexibility facilities granted by the revised SGP. It puts forward a series of suggestions for the Spring European Council in March 2009, including the establishment of a binding framework for Member States within which they consult each other and the Commission before taking major economic policy decisions.
Lastly, Parliament stresses that the current crisis should not be used as a pretext to delay a much needed reorientation of spending towards 'green' investments, but should, rather, be used as an additional incentive to press ahead with such reorientation.
The Council adopted a key issues paper outlining the main policy objectives to be set for 2009 as concerns economic and financial affairs (Ecofin) (see document 6784/1/09 REV 1 ).
The paper focuses on the following key issues:
financial markets: how to stabilise the markets and restore functioning in the short term, and how to develop global financial governance in the longer term; European economic recovery plan: implementation of fiscal stimulus plans; public finances: consequences of expansionary budgetary policies in the member states, and how to ensure sustainable fiscal and macroeconomic policies.
In view of the ongoing financial and economic crisis, the European Council is expected to:
take stock of progress achieved in ensuring greater stability and better supervision and transparency of financial markets, and will consider further measures as necessary, particularly in the light of Commission analysis and proposals based on the recommendations of a high-level reflection group chaired by Jacques de Larosierel; assess implementation of the European economic recovery plan that it approved in December; reiterate the commitment of member states to return to sustainable budgetary positions as soon as possible; e mphasise the increased importance of making renewed progress in implementing the EU's Lisbon strategy on growth and jobs;
underscore the determination of member states to adhere to the principles of the EU's single market; establish the EU's position with regard to the G-20 summit to be held in London on 2 April 2009.
The Council held a public policy debate on the present financial and economic crisis, and especially its employment implications, in order to prepare the 2009 Spring EU-Summit, on the basis of questions suggested by the Presidency.
Against the background of rapidly deteriorating perspectives on the EU labour markets, Member States agreed that timely, temporary and targeted measures are necessary to stimulate employment, to limit as far as possible job losses and to mitigate their social impact.
The Ministers considered that helping people to keep their jobs , for example by introducing short time work, and assisting the unemployed to find new ones was crucial in the current economic situation. In addition, the Ministers considered that efforts should, in particular, be targeted towards the most vulnerable people , such as less qualified persons and workers with a low income. They underlined the need to stick to the principles of flexicurity , but at the same time warned of its abuse by weakening social rights .
However, Member States also shared the view that the current crisis could constitute an opportunity for better matching the offer and the demand on the labour market . In this respect, Ministers considered it important to reinforce training measures (for example, by using the European Social Fund or when the workers are doing part time work), especially with regard to sectors with an expected potential of creating jobs as environmentally friendly technologies.
All Member States agreed that the short-term measures should be fully in line with the long-term objectives of the Lisbon strategy. Despite the need for short-term measures, the structural reforms on the labour market should continue . In this context, some delegations stressed the need to ensure long-term sustainability of public finances.
Furthermore, delegations shared their experiences and gave insights with regard to their own recovery measures, calling for the coordination of these measures at the EU level. They strongly rejected any attempt of taking the crisis as an opportunity for nationalism and protectionism .
Several delegations stressed the importance of amending rapidly the rules of the European Social Funds and of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund in order to mobilise their resources faster and make full use of them.
All Member States welcomed the opportunity to further take stock of the developments in employment and social area at the Informal European Employment Summit on 7 May in Prague.
Key messages : the Council adopted the following key messages in the fields of employment and social policy and agreed to transmit them to the Spring European Council:
(1) Employment and social policies in times of economic crisis : the economic and financial crisis is hitting hard and calls for urgent, timely, temporary and targeted measures to stimulate employment, to limit as far as possible job losses and to mitigate their social impact:
building on solidarity and allowing social protection systems to fully play their role as automatic stabiliser, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable and to new risks of exclusion; enhanced coordination between economic, employment and social policies , taking into account the territorial dimension: in this context, a strong EU coordinated response should mobilise all available instruments, including the Community resources, and fully integrate growth, employment, social inclusion and social protection strategies; direct responses to the crisis should be coherent with longer-term objectives and sound public finances ; the reforms and policy mix needed to meet the long-term economic, financial, employment and social and environmental challenges of the EU should be more coherent and mutually reinforcing .
(2) Preventing and tackling unemployment while keeping labour market reforms on track : Members States are urged to give immediate priority to:
supporting access to employment and easing transitions within and into the labour market in order to shorten any spell of unemployment. The common principles of flexicurity provide, in this context, useful guidance to further modernise labour markets; reinforcing access to training and active labour market measures for the unemployed, workers at risk of dismissal and other vulnerable groups in order for them to remain active, improve their employability and ensure they are ready to take-up new job opportunities brought by recovery. In this regard, lifelong learning strategies should promote the upgrading of skills; improving anticipation and matching of skills with labour market needs so as to facilitate transitions towards new business activities generating labour demand; supporting employment and job creation through measures to stabilise the economy, promote the transition towards a low carbon economy and strengthen investment in research and development as well as in fast-growing sectors; avoiding measures that induce premature withdrawal from the labour force , such as early retirement schemes or age barriers to training opportunities.
The Council will make every effort to limit the increase in unemployment and to avoid any rise in long-term unemployment. It invites the Employment Committee to further survey labour market trends until signs of recovery become visible.
(3) Strengthened commitment to the social inclusion and social protection objectives : against this background Member States would aim in particular at:
pursuing poverty reduction and social cohesion, through reinforced comprehensive strategies to combat and prevent poverty and social exclusion of children, the emergence of new groups at risk of exclusion such as the young, and new risk situations, including over-indebtedness; sustained efforts to tackle homelessness as an extremely serious form of exclusion, address the multiple disadvantages facing the Roma people and their vulnerability to social exclusion and promote the social inclusion of migrants ; addressing long term adequacy and sustainability of pension systems through appropriate reforms, including inter alia the achievement of the Lisbon target of 50% employment rate of older workers and the improvement of the position of low wage earners also in the economic downturn; improving efficiency of healthcare systems and reducing health inequalities through increased attention to primary care, prevention, promotion, quality and safety, better coordination and effective use of resources including e-health; delivering quality of long-term care , to ensure healthy and dignified ageing, creating a solid financing basis, improving care coordination, including coordination between health and social care services, and ensuring the availability of skilled human resources; supporting informal long-term carers and continuing to promote active ageing ; taking actions to support people’s income , to mitigate the direct impacts of the financial crisis on households and individuals, while investing in social and health infrastructure; pursuing the monitoring of social impacts of the economic crisis and of policy measures taken or planned to cushion or limit these impacts; enhancing the essential role of the Social Open Method of Coordination by mainstreaming social considerations in other policy areas through the strengthening of the social dimension of impact assessments, by devoting increased attention to the quality and continuity of stakeholder involvement and by evidence-based national target-setting, while the decision on setting national quantified targets and their definition remains a core responsibility of the Member States.
The Council held a policy debate on ways of responding to the current economic downturn , and unanimously adopted the following set of key messages and recommendations to be sent for endorsement by the next European Council in Brussels on 19 and 20 March.
In order to respond pro-actively to the economic downturn, the Council considers that the European Union and Member States must act in a concerted, ambitious and comprehensive manner. The Council therefore proposes a large number of short-term measures to improve the economic conditions for business and contribute to the creation of more jobs.
These measures focus on five priority sectors:
a fully functioning internal market without barriers; putting into effect the Action Programme on reduction of administrative burden on businesses; improving the framework conditions for industry, with special focus on innovation and SME competitiveness; enhancing the level and the quality of investment into knowledge and research; strengthening the external dimension of competitiveness.
All of the measures are set out in detail in the annex to the draft Council recommendations .
The Council examined proposals aimed at providing additional support, under the European economic recovery plan, for investments in the field of energy and infrastructure.
The Council acknowledged the need to reach an agreement on the proposals, which require a joint decision of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, as soon as possible and before the parliamentary recess in the run-up to the European elections in June.
The Commission's proposals, which provide for an additional EUR 5 billion investment in energy and infrastructure, consist of:
a draft regulation with a list of energy projects totalling EUR 3.75 billion, including EUR 2.1 billion for gas and electricity interconnection projects, EUR 1.15 billion for carbon capture and storage and EUR 500 million for offshore wind projects; a total of EUR 1.25 billion for rural development , of which two thirds are for broadband internet infrastructure and one third for tackling challenges such as climate change, renewable energies, water management, biodiversity and measures to accompany the restructuring of the dairy sector.
The president of the Council concluded the debate in the following terms:
as regards the list of projects, many delegations expressed support for the Commission's latest proposals, although further adjustments of certain aspects would still be necessary; on financing, use of the margin under the 2008 ceilings of the EU's 2007‑2013 financial framework could not be envisaged. The Permanent Representatives Committee was therefore requested to examine the options available under the EU's budgets for 2009 and 2010.
The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted an own-initiative report drafted by Elisa FERREIRA (PES, PT) on the European Economic Recovery Plan. It welcomes the Commission initiative to launch the Recovery Plan as a reaction to the serious ongoing economic downturn, noting that the Community dimension of that proposal amounts to 15 % of the budget for the recovery programme, which still needs to be implemented urgently. The top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to stimulate the economy and competitiveness of the EU, and to avoid increased unemployment. Members insist that all financial aid be timely, targeted and temporary, and warn of possible crowding-out effects and dissolution of EU competition policy. They call for a return to sound state finance as soon as possible in order to avoid putting too much burden on future generations. It is imperative that Member States continue to follow the revised Stability and Growth Pact with a view to tackling the present exceptional circumstances effectively on the one hand and to guaranteeing a firm commitment to bringing normal budget discipline back on track as soon as the economy recovers.
The Recovery Plan must serve the purpose of delivering a fair international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 , which must give poorer countries the opportunity to escape poverty without fuelling global warming by helping to finance massive investment into adapting to climate change. The report recommends, as an essential requirement for effectiveness, that the coordination of national recovery plans allows for each programme to be tailored to each country's specific needs, but taking into account the common interest, the common strategies defined in terms of fight against climate change, and the assurance of the strongest possible multiplier effect, in particular as regards employment.
Members call for coordinated action between Member States allowing for general and explicit national bank guarantees covering liabilities, but excluding equity capital, in order to reduce uncertainty in the credit markets and facilitate the functioning of those markets. Safeguarding the savings of, and credit provision for, individuals and undertakings, including SMEs, is the overriding justification for the current exceptional public intervention in the financial system. Prime consideration must be given to recovering to normal levels of credit extension by banks when considering any new regulatory environment particularly in the interests of reviving the securitisation process as essential to the recovery of finance for mortgages, car finance and credit card funding. The Commission is asked to produce a clear analysis of the impact of the rescue package on the competitiveness of the financial sector and the functioning of the interbank market.
The committee went on to make a series of recommendations for more effective regulatory and supervisory structures. Whilst the European Central Bank (ECB) has no official supervisory mandate, there is a need to enhance its role as regards monitoring financial stability in the euro area, notably in terms of supervision of the EU-wide banking sector. The report recommends that the ECB should be involved in EU-wide macro-prudential supervision of systemically important financial institutions.
It recommends that sufficient access to credit is urgently guaranteed across the EU to SMEs, citizens and those sectors in which a sustainable future is endangered due to the crisis, in particular due to the lack of credit. The Commission should ensure exchanges of best practices in this respect. Members also call for the effective launch of a comprehensive European employment initiative, by ensuring that an undertaking can be set up free of charge anywhere in the EU within 3 days. They make detailed recommendations on boosting employment and want the EU employment initiative include an early intervention in order to reduce the risk of people becoming excluded from the labour market. The Council is asked to approve the proposal to give all Member States the option to apply a reduced VAT rate for labour-intensive and locally supplied services, and Member States should consider the possibility of reducing labour taxation in lower incomes in order to increase the purchasing power and stimulate demand for retail products.
Members stress the importance of territorial cohesion goals within the framework of proposed stimulus arrangements, given the clear asymmetric impact of the crisis across the European territory, and they call for smart and sustainable structural reforms particularly in sectors like agriculture, transport and energy, and investments, in the fields of energy, the environment and infrastructure to support sustainable development, help the creation of high-quality jobs and ensure social cohesion.
The report calls for improved coherence between the present recovery plan at Member State level, the Lisbon Strategy goals and priorities, the integrated policy guidelines and the National Reform Programmes as well as the use of the flexibility facilities granted by the revised SGP. It puts forward a series of suggestions for the Spring European Council in March 2009, including the establishment of a binding framework for Member States within which they consult each other and the Commission before taking major economic policy decisions.
Members move on to state that involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is crucial and that a large share of lending referred to in the Recovery Plan is within its competence. Lastly, the committee calls on the Council and the Commission to seek Parliament's views on the G20 Summit to be held in London on 2 April 2009 before agreeing on a negotiating position for the Summit.
On the basis of a Presidency questionnaire, the Council held a public exchange of views on the social impact of the crisis, the employment situation and monitoring of the implementation of the Social Agenda.
All the delegations welcomed the Commission communication entitled "A European Economic Recovery Plan" and stressed the added value of an approach coordinated at European level.
To prevent the economic crisis from becoming a social crisis, the delegations advocated employment support measures, taking care not to neglect social protection and to protect the most vulnerable in particular . In that context, several delegations stressed the advantages of the flexicurity approach for which the Council defined common principles at its meeting on 5 and 6 December 2007.
The ministers also argued in favour of measures to reinforce social cohesion . The majority of delegations also supported reinforcing the open method of coordination for social protection and social inclusion . Several delegations considered that short- and long-term measures should be combined and stressed the importance of having the Member States continue with the reform of their social systems.
The majority of delegations supported the idea of facilitating payments by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund . Some delegations wanted a monitoring system to be set up to monitor labour market developments in the EU.
Many Member States outlined the measures taken at national level to deal with the economic crisis and advocated maintaining a balance between the European initiative and those national measures. The presidency trio comprising Spain, Belgium and Hungary (the countries holding the EU presidency from the beginning of 2010 to mid-2011) requested the ESPCO Council to adopt conclusions at its next meeting on 9 March 2009 relating to the employment section of the European Economic Recovery Plan and wanted the plan extended to include considerations on social protection and inclusion.
The ministers' public debate followed on from the discussion on the effects of the crisis which took place with the European social partners at the Tripartite Social Summit on 15 October 2008.
The Council also approved the following opinions:
the Employment Committee opinion on the "European Economic Recovery Plan" and the impact of the financial crisis on EU labour markets; the Joint Social Protection Committee-Employment Committee opinion on the Renewed Social Agenda; the Social Protection Committee opinion on the Commission communication: A renewed commitment to Social Europe: reinforcing the Open Method of Coordination for Social Protection and Social Inclusion (see COM(2008)0418).
The Council also approved the conclusions of the Social Protection Committee on the application of Community rules to social services of general interest. Moreover, it took note of the report by the "flexicurity" mission and several Commission initiatives:
the Commission communication: a European Economic Recovery Plan; the document on new skills for new jobs: Anticipating and responding to the skills requirements of the labour market, which is to be adopted on 16 December 2008 by the College of Commissioners; the proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006 on the European Social Fund (ESF) to extend the types of costs eligible for a contribution from the ESF.
PURPOSE: to present a European economic recovery plan in response to the current economic crisis.
CONTENT: this European economic recovery plan is the Commission's response to the current economic situation. Given the scale of the crisis we are facing, the EU needs a co-ordinated approach, big enough and ambitious enough to restore consumer and business confidence. It needs to bring together all the policy levers available at EU and national level.
The strategic aims of the recovery plan are to:
swiftly stimulate demand and boost consumer confidence; lessen the human cost of the economic downturn and its impact on the most vulnerable; help stem the loss of jobs; and then to help people return rapidly to the labour market, rather than face long-term unemployment; speed up the shift towards a low carbon economy.
This European economic recovery plan proposes a counter-cyclical macro-economic response to the crisis in the form of an ambitious set of actions to support the real economy. The Plan is anchored in the Stability and Growth Pact and the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. It consists of:
1) An immediate budgetary impulse amounting to EUR 200 billion (1.5% of EU GDP), made up of a budgetary expansion by Member States of EUR 170 billion (around 1.2% of EU GDP), and EU funding in support of immediate actions of the order of EUR 30 billion (around 0.3% of EU GDP). These timely, targeted and temporary measures should be consistent with the flexibility offered in the Stability and Growth Pact.
2) A number of priority actions , grounded in the Lisbon Strategy, and designed at the same time to adapt our economies to long-term challenges, continuing to implement structural reforms aimed at raising potential growth. The Plan sets out a comprehensive programme to direct action to " smart" investment . Smart investment means investing in the right skills for tomorrow's needs; investing in energy efficiency to create jobs and save energy; investing in clean technologies to boost sectors like construction and automobiles in the low-carbon markets of the future; and investing in infrastructure and inter-connection to promote efficiency and innovation.
At the same time, the ten actions for recovery included in the plan will help Member States to put the right social and economic levers in place to meet today's challenge:
The launch of a major European employment support initiative : the Commission is proposing to simplify criteria for European Social Fund (ESF) support and step up advance payments from early 2009, so that Member States have earlier access to up to EUR 1.8 billion in order to: i) within flexicurity strategies, rapidly reinforce activation schemes, in particular for the low-skilled, involving personalised counselling, intensive (re-)training and upskilling of workers, apprenticeships, subsidised employment as well as grants for self-employment, business start-up's and ii) refocus their programmes to concentrate support on the most vulnerable, and where necessary opt for full Community financing of projects during this period; iii) improve the monitoring and matching of skills development and upgrading with existing and anticipated job vacancies. The Commission will also propose to revise the rules of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund so that it can intervene more rapidly in key sectors. Create demand for labour : Member States should consider reducing employers' social charges on lower incomes to promote the employability of lower skilled workers. The Council should adopt, before the 2009 Spring European Council, the proposed directive to make permanent reduced VAT rates for labour-intensive services. Enhance access to finances for business : the EIB has put together a package of EUR 30 billion for loans to SME's, an increase by EUR 10 billion over its usual lending in this sector. The Commission will put in place a simplification package, notably to speed up its State aid decision-making. It will temporarily authorise Member States to ease access to finance for companies through subsidised guarantees and loan subsidies for investments in products going beyond EU environmental standards. Reduce the administrative burden and promote entrepreneurship : Member States should: i) ensure that starting up a business anywhere in the EU can be done within three days at zero costs and that formalities for the hiring of the first employee can be fulfilled via a single access point; ii) remove the requirement on micro-enterprises to prepare annual accounts; iii) accelerate the adoption of the European private company statute proposal; iv) ensure that public authorities pay invoices, including to SMEs, for supplies and services within one month; v) reduce by up to 75% the fees for patent applications and maintenance and halve the costs for an EU trademark. Step up investments to modernise Europe's infrastructures : for 2009 and 2010, the Commission proposes to mobilise an additional EUR 5 billion for trans-European energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure projects. To make this happen, Council and Parliament will need to agree to revise the financial framework, while remaining within the limits of the current budget. To give an immediate boost to the economy, the implementation of the structural funds should be accelerated. By the end of March 2009 the Commission will launch a EUR 500 million call for proposals for trans-European transport (TEN-T) projects. In parallel, the EIB will significantly increase its financing of climate change, energy security and infrastructure investments by up to EUR 6 billion per year. Improve energy efficiency in buildings : acting together, Member States and EU Institutions should take urgent measures to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock and public buildings. Member States should set demanding targets for ensuring that public buildings and both private and social housing meet the highest European energy-efficiency standards and make them subject to energy certification on a regular basis. In addition, Member States should re-programme their structural funds operational programmes' to devote a greater share to energy-efficiency investments, including where they fund social housing. The Commission will work with the EIB and a number of national development banks to launch a 2020 fund for energy, climate change and infrastructure. Promote the rapid take up of green products : the Commission proposes to reduce VAT rates for green products and services aimed at improving in particular energy efficiency of buildings. It encourages Member States to provide further incentives to consumers to stimulate demand for environmentally-friendly products. In addition, Member States should rapidly implement environmental performance requirements for external power supplies, stand-by and off mode electric power consumption, set top boxes and fluorescent lamps. The Commission will urgently draw up measures for other products which offer very high potential for energy savings such as televisions, domestic lighting, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, boilers and air-conditioners. Increase investments in R&D, innovation and education : Member States and the private sector should increase planned investments in education and R&D (consistent with their national R&D targets) to stimulate growth and productivity. They should also consider ways to increase private sector R&D investments, for example, by providing fiscal incentives, grants and/or subsidies. Member States should maintain investments to increase the quality of education. Developing clean technologies for cars and construction : to support innovation in manufacturing, the Commission proposes to launch 3 major partnerships between the public and private sectors:
- in the automobile sector, a 'European green cars initiative', involving research on a broad range of technologies and smart energy infrastructures : this partnership would be funded by the Community, the EIB, industry and Member States' contributions with a combined envelope of at least EUR 5 billion;
- in the construction sector, a 'European energy-efficient buildings' initiative: the initiative should have an important regulatory and standardisation component and would involve a procurement network of regional and local authorities. The estimated envelope for this partnership is EUR 1 billion;
- to increase the use of technology in manufacturing, "a factories of the future initiative": the objective is to help EU manufacturers across sectors, in particular SMEs, to adapt to global competitive pressures by increasing the technological base of EU manufacturing through the development and integration the enabling technologies of the future, such as engineering technologies for adaptable machines and industrial processes, ICT, and advanced materials. The estimated envelope for this action is EUR 1.2 billion.
High-speed Internet for all : the Commission and Member States should work with stakeholders to develop a broadband strategy to accelerate the up-grading and extension of networks. The strategy will be supported by public funds in order to provide broadband access to under-served and high cost areas where the market cannot deliver. The aim should be to reach 100% coverage of high speed internet by 2010. In addition, and also with a view to upgrading the performance of existing networks, Member States should promote competitive investments in fibre networks and endorse the Commission's proposals to free up spectrum for wireless broadband. The Commission will channel an additional EUR 1 billion to these network investments in 2009/2010.
The European Commission calls on the European Parliament to lend its full support and it calls on Heads of State and Government, at their meeting on 11 and 12 December 2008 to endorse this European Economic Recovery Plan.
PURPOSE: to present a European economic recovery plan in response to the current economic crisis.
CONTENT: this European economic recovery plan is the Commission's response to the current economic situation. Given the scale of the crisis we are facing, the EU needs a co-ordinated approach, big enough and ambitious enough to restore consumer and business confidence. It needs to bring together all the policy levers available at EU and national level.
The strategic aims of the recovery plan are to:
swiftly stimulate demand and boost consumer confidence; lessen the human cost of the economic downturn and its impact on the most vulnerable; help stem the loss of jobs; and then to help people return rapidly to the labour market, rather than face long-term unemployment; speed up the shift towards a low carbon economy.
This European economic recovery plan proposes a counter-cyclical macro-economic response to the crisis in the form of an ambitious set of actions to support the real economy. The Plan is anchored in the Stability and Growth Pact and the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. It consists of:
1) An immediate budgetary impulse amounting to EUR 200 billion (1.5% of EU GDP), made up of a budgetary expansion by Member States of EUR 170 billion (around 1.2% of EU GDP), and EU funding in support of immediate actions of the order of EUR 30 billion (around 0.3% of EU GDP). These timely, targeted and temporary measures should be consistent with the flexibility offered in the Stability and Growth Pact.
2) A number of priority actions , grounded in the Lisbon Strategy, and designed at the same time to adapt our economies to long-term challenges, continuing to implement structural reforms aimed at raising potential growth. The Plan sets out a comprehensive programme to direct action to " smart" investment . Smart investment means investing in the right skills for tomorrow's needs; investing in energy efficiency to create jobs and save energy; investing in clean technologies to boost sectors like construction and automobiles in the low-carbon markets of the future; and investing in infrastructure and inter-connection to promote efficiency and innovation.
At the same time, the ten actions for recovery included in the plan will help Member States to put the right social and economic levers in place to meet today's challenge:
The launch of a major European employment support initiative : the Commission is proposing to simplify criteria for European Social Fund (ESF) support and step up advance payments from early 2009, so that Member States have earlier access to up to EUR 1.8 billion in order to: i) within flexicurity strategies, rapidly reinforce activation schemes, in particular for the low-skilled, involving personalised counselling, intensive (re-)training and upskilling of workers, apprenticeships, subsidised employment as well as grants for self-employment, business start-up's and ii) refocus their programmes to concentrate support on the most vulnerable, and where necessary opt for full Community financing of projects during this period; iii) improve the monitoring and matching of skills development and upgrading with existing and anticipated job vacancies. The Commission will also propose to revise the rules of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund so that it can intervene more rapidly in key sectors. Create demand for labour : Member States should consider reducing employers' social charges on lower incomes to promote the employability of lower skilled workers. The Council should adopt, before the 2009 Spring European Council, the proposed directive to make permanent reduced VAT rates for labour-intensive services. Enhance access to finances for business : the EIB has put together a package of EUR 30 billion for loans to SME's, an increase by EUR 10 billion over its usual lending in this sector. The Commission will put in place a simplification package, notably to speed up its State aid decision-making. It will temporarily authorise Member States to ease access to finance for companies through subsidised guarantees and loan subsidies for investments in products going beyond EU environmental standards. Reduce the administrative burden and promote entrepreneurship : Member States should: i) ensure that starting up a business anywhere in the EU can be done within three days at zero costs and that formalities for the hiring of the first employee can be fulfilled via a single access point; ii) remove the requirement on micro-enterprises to prepare annual accounts; iii) accelerate the adoption of the European private company statute proposal; iv) ensure that public authorities pay invoices, including to SMEs, for supplies and services within one month; v) reduce by up to 75% the fees for patent applications and maintenance and halve the costs for an EU trademark. Step up investments to modernise Europe's infrastructures : for 2009 and 2010, the Commission proposes to mobilise an additional EUR 5 billion for trans-European energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure projects. To make this happen, Council and Parliament will need to agree to revise the financial framework, while remaining within the limits of the current budget. To give an immediate boost to the economy, the implementation of the structural funds should be accelerated. By the end of March 2009 the Commission will launch a EUR 500 million call for proposals for trans-European transport (TEN-T) projects. In parallel, the EIB will significantly increase its financing of climate change, energy security and infrastructure investments by up to EUR 6 billion per year. Improve energy efficiency in buildings : acting together, Member States and EU Institutions should take urgent measures to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock and public buildings. Member States should set demanding targets for ensuring that public buildings and both private and social housing meet the highest European energy-efficiency standards and make them subject to energy certification on a regular basis. In addition, Member States should re-programme their structural funds operational programmes' to devote a greater share to energy-efficiency investments, including where they fund social housing. The Commission will work with the EIB and a number of national development banks to launch a 2020 fund for energy, climate change and infrastructure. Promote the rapid take up of green products : the Commission proposes to reduce VAT rates for green products and services aimed at improving in particular energy efficiency of buildings. It encourages Member States to provide further incentives to consumers to stimulate demand for environmentally-friendly products. In addition, Member States should rapidly implement environmental performance requirements for external power supplies, stand-by and off mode electric power consumption, set top boxes and fluorescent lamps. The Commission will urgently draw up measures for other products which offer very high potential for energy savings such as televisions, domestic lighting, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, boilers and air-conditioners. Increase investments in R&D, innovation and education : Member States and the private sector should increase planned investments in education and R&D (consistent with their national R&D targets) to stimulate growth and productivity. They should also consider ways to increase private sector R&D investments, for example, by providing fiscal incentives, grants and/or subsidies. Member States should maintain investments to increase the quality of education. Developing clean technologies for cars and construction : to support innovation in manufacturing, the Commission proposes to launch 3 major partnerships between the public and private sectors:
- in the automobile sector, a 'European green cars initiative', involving research on a broad range of technologies and smart energy infrastructures : this partnership would be funded by the Community, the EIB, industry and Member States' contributions with a combined envelope of at least EUR 5 billion;
- in the construction sector, a 'European energy-efficient buildings' initiative: the initiative should have an important regulatory and standardisation component and would involve a procurement network of regional and local authorities. The estimated envelope for this partnership is EUR 1 billion;
- to increase the use of technology in manufacturing, "a factories of the future initiative": the objective is to help EU manufacturers across sectors, in particular SMEs, to adapt to global competitive pressures by increasing the technological base of EU manufacturing through the development and integration the enabling technologies of the future, such as engineering technologies for adaptable machines and industrial processes, ICT, and advanced materials. The estimated envelope for this action is EUR 1.2 billion.
High-speed Internet for all : the Commission and Member States should work with stakeholders to develop a broadband strategy to accelerate the up-grading and extension of networks. The strategy will be supported by public funds in order to provide broadband access to under-served and high cost areas where the market cannot deliver. The aim should be to reach 100% coverage of high speed internet by 2010. In addition, and also with a view to upgrading the performance of existing networks, Member States should promote competitive investments in fibre networks and endorse the Commission's proposals to free up spectrum for wireless broadband. The Commission will channel an additional EUR 1 billion to these network investments in 2009/2010.
The European Commission calls on the European Parliament to lend its full support and it calls on Heads of State and Government, at their meeting on 11 and 12 December 2008 to endorse this European Economic Recovery Plan.
Documents
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2009)3244
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T6-0123/2009
- Debate in Council: 2930
- Debate in Council: 2925
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0063/2009
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A6-0063/2009
- Committee opinion: PE418.157
- Committee opinion: PE418.302
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE419.871
- Committee draft report: PE418.250
- Debate in Council: 2916
- Non-legislative basic document: COM(2008)0800
- Non-legislative basic document: EUR-Lex
- Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2008)0800
- Non-legislative basic document published: EUR-Lex
- Non-legislative basic document: COM(2008)0800 EUR-Lex
- Committee draft report: PE418.250
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE419.871
- Committee opinion: PE418.157
- Committee opinion: PE418.302
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0063/2009
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2009)3244
Activities
- Martine ROURE
Plenary Speeches (2)
- Daniel COHN-BENDIT
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Joseph DAUL
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Elisa FERREIRA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Gunnar HÖKMARK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Alain LIPIETZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Hartmut NASSAUER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Vittorio PRODI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Martin SCHULZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
Votes
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 51 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 6 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 7 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 57 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 11 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 58 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 28 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 12 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 59 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 23S #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 24 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 69 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 70 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 71 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 72 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 113 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 39 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 40 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 42/1 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 44 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - am. 45 #
Rapport FERREIRA A6-0063/2009 - résolution #
Amendments | Dossier |
306 |
2008/2334(INI)
2009/01/22
EMPL
15 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the establishment of the European economic recovery plan and stresses the importance of a coordinated response from the European Union that reflects the European social model; notes the commitment of the Member States to coordinating their efforts with a view to restoring the dynamism of the European economies;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Welcomes the fact that in some Member States there has been increased interest by consumers in transferring their custom to financial institutions based on mutual and ethical criteria;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the proposals for adapting the regulations of the European Social Fund, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the European Regional Development Fund
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Expresses its support for gearing efforts towards employment, in key sectors of the European economy, particularly through the European globalisation adjustment fund, including by improving and speeding up its procedures to enable the swiftest possible intervention in strategic sectors affected by job losses;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Member States to ensure that measures taken in the short term to alleviate the effects of the crisis are accompanied by additional efforts towards the implementation of structural reforms in the context of the Lisbon strategy, in particular those aimed at supporting SMEs, promoting jobs, innovation, research, education and training, concentrating on the better harmonization of training and labour reintegration programmes in accordance with the changing needs of the current economy;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 a (new) Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 9 9. Stresses the importance of implementing common principles of flexicurity while guaranteeing adequate social protection for all, in particular a social security system that provides basic security for all;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Nevertheless notes the inadequacy of the European recovery plan, and hence calls on the Member States, and in particular those belonging to the euro area, to examine the possibility of a major European loan, guaranteed jointly by the Member States, of around 3 % of the GDP of the European Union, from which each Member State would be free to draw its share;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for a set of measures in the context of the Lisbon Strategy, in particular in the social and employment field, which should be coordinated, and should be backed up by linkage to the monetary and budgetary spheres; stresses that employment and social policies must play an active role in the response to the crisis and that such measures should also take account of the EU’s commitment to the reduction of poverty and the development of quality jobs;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Is extremely concerned at the number of jobs lost in the European Union as a result of the negative prospects for the coming months and notes that these will be at all skill levels and that there is likely to be a significant gender impact in certain sectors, and stresses the need to continue working towards lower unemployment, to support social inclusion through employment and to protect European workers from the negative social consequences of the crisis;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Is extremely concerned at the number of jobs lost in the European Union as a result of the negative prospects for the coming months, and stresses the need to continue working towards lower unemployment, to support social inclusion through employment and to protect European workers from the negative social consequences of the crisis; in order to achieve these aims considers it essential to set clear targets in terms of sustainable job creation and maintenance;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses that there is a need for early intervention at the time that jobs are actually lost, not least in order to reduce the risk of people becoming excluded from the labour market; such interventions will require significant investment in training, including an increase in training providers, and should not only use short-term measures but should also endeavour to make high-level qualifications possible in order to increase the overall skill levels within the EU;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Stresses that it is essential to include groups which are already vulnerable in the labour market and to maintain efforts to include them, especially in times of crisis;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Calls on the Commission and Member States to use all means at their disposal to support European undertakings, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to promote job creation and boost the confidence of European investors, employers, workers and consumers, and to ensure that when providing such assistance social and territorial cohesion remain a priority in order to avoid asymmetric development within the Union;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Calls for the effective launch of a comprehensive European employment initiative, on the one hand by ensuring that an undertaking can be set up free of charge anywhere in the European Union within three days, and that the formalities for the hiring of first employees can be fulfilled via a single access point, and, on the other hand, by reinforcing activation schemes, particularly for the low-skilled, through personalised advice, intensive training/retraining and upskilling of workers, apprenticeships, subsidised employment and start-up grants for the self-employed and businesses;
source: PE-418.326
2009/01/26
REGI
31 amendments...
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Strongly welcomes the adoption of the European Economic Recovery Plan outlining coordinated action by Member States and the Commission to tackle the economic crisis. The Plan is based on the principle of solidarity and social justice and is in line with the Lisbon Strategy. Its proposed measures will contribute to deeper and long-term structural reforms and shall work towards the recovery of EU´s regions, including those with permanent handicaps;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1a (new) 1a. Requires the Commission to closely monitor the economic measures taken by Member States, so as to ensure that these do not violate free market competition, which has been an essential pillar of European integration and economic development since its foundation;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1a (new) 1a. Considers that the EU Cohesion Policy, as the largest source of investments in the real economy, makes an important contribution to the European Economic Recovery Plan; recalls that more than 65% of its total allocation for the period 2007-2013 or EUR 230 billion in financial terms is already "earmarked" for investment in the four priority areas of the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, namely people, business, energy and infrastructure and research an innovation; strongly believes that those investments are essential in order to provide an effective response to the current financial crisis;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Stresses the fact that the Structural Funds are powerful tools, designed to help regions in their economic and social restructuring
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Stresses the fact that the Structural Funds are powerful tools, designed to help regions in their economic and social restructuring and thus to implement the actions under the Plan's four priority areas in order to boost the economy, and endorses their use, rather than precipitating the invention of new economic tools; notes that these actions complement those undertaken at the national level
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2a (new) 2a. Welcomes the Commission's legislative proposals which are parallel and complementary to the European Economic Recovery Plan, to amend three of the existing Structural Funds Regulations 2007-2013; notes that the purpose of these legislative changes is to improve cash flow and liquidity in the Member States, facilitate the use of financial engineering instruments, simplify and broaden the use of flat rates and lump-sums costs, and expand the possibilities for support to investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy in housing; fully endorses these proposals and believes that their implementation can have an immediate positive effect on the ground;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Supports the proposed changes to the implementation rules aiming to increase
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Supports the proposed changes to the implementation rules aiming to increase the flexibility of the Structural Funds and to adapt them to meet the needs of the extraordinary economic circumstances with a long-term perspective; nevertheless,
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Supports the proposed changes to the implementation rules aiming to increase the flexibility of the
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3a (new) 3a. Urges the Commission and Member States to ensure that the measures adopted to accelerate, simplify and make more flexible the implementation of the structural and cohesion funds do not diminish their responsibility to control their implementation.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3a (new) 3a. Highlights the important role that grass-root organisations play in promoting social cohesion and inclusion particularly during times of an economic crisis; calls on the Commission to ensure that any simplification of the Structural Funds will include measures to reduce administrative burdens on such organisations;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3a (new) 3a. Welcomes the establishment by the Commission of the expert group ("task force on simplification") working on further possible simplification of procedures for the implementation of Structural Funds; eagerly awaits further simplification proposals from the Commission foreseen for the beginning of 2009;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3b (new) 3b. Is particularly concerned by the asymmetric territorial impact of the crisis across the European territory, and urges the Commission and the Member States to take due account of the territorial cohesion objective in planning and implementing concrete measures to combat the economic crisis; asks, in particular, the Commission to ensure a suitable geographical balance when presenting the list of specific projects, requested by the European Council for strengthening investment in infrastructure and in energy efficiency;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Considers that measures, such as acceleration of payments, the use of lump sum payments and flat rates will stimulate the implementation of projects especially in infrastructure
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Considers that measures, such as flexibility and acceleration of payments, the use of lump sum payments and flat rates will stimulate the implementation of projects especially in infrastructure
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Considers that measures, such as acceleration of payments, the use of lump sum payments and flat rates will stimulate and accelerate the implementation of projects especially in infrastructure and the energy and environmental sectors, and soft ESF projects;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Underlines the importance of employment and business support measures for a successful economic recovery; calls for decisive action to support the demand side of the economy, as well as measures to assist small and medium enterprises and local and regional authorities in order to maintain cohesion and to safeguard key investment and infrastructural projects; calls on Member States to make wide use of Structural Funds to promote job creation, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Underlines the importance of
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Underlines the importance of employment and business support measures for a successful economic recovery; calls on Member States to make wide use of Structural Funds to promote professional training, job creation, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Underlines the importance of employment and business support measures for a successful economic recovery; calls on Member States to
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5a (new) 5a. Stresses the importance of social economy enterprises such as cooperative financial institutions in contributing to sustainable economic models and promoting financial inclusion; calls on the Commission to support such enterprises by reducing bureaucratic obstacles in obtaining Community funding;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5a (new) Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Encourages Member States to make more frequent use of the possibilities made available by the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and in particular the financial instruments JESSICA and JEREMIE, as well as the recently created Jasmine Initiative to develop microfinance institutions in Europe in support of growth and employment; underlines also the importance of JASPERS for project preparation;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 6. Encourages Member States to make more frequent use of the possibilities made available by the European Investment Bank and in particular the financial instruments JESSICA and JEREMIE; calls on the Commission to consider simplification of conditions for funds’ allocation from the last two instruments; underlines the importance of JASPERS for project preparation;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Encourages the Commission to increase technical assistance to Member States in order to improve the projects' quality and efficiency of project implementation; stresses the immediate need for dissemination of information to local and regional authorities on the modification of the strategic and operational plans by the authorities on this matter;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Encourages the Commission to increase technical assistance to Member States in order to improve the projects' quality and efficiency of project implementation and proposes the development of a Europe wide emergency fund, in order to help the Member-States to address future crisis of the nature of the current one;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 7. Encourages the Commission to increase technical assistance to Member States and to encourage the exchange of best practices between regions in order to improve the projects' quality and efficiency of project implementation;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7a (new) 7a. Calls for adequate detailed criteria and standards to be developed for close monitoring and permanent reassessment of the effectiveness of the recovery plans at national and regional level, bearing in mind that the full extent of the crisis cannot yet be totally assessed;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Commission to monitor the effects of the changes in the implementation of the Structural Funds, and to
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Commission to monitor the effects of the changes in the implementation of the Structural Funds, and to take its observations into account in the mid-term review
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
source: PE-418.386
2009/01/27
BUDG
29 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Citation - 1 (new) - having regard to the increasingly negative impact of the gas crisis on the development of the financial and economic processes in the Member States,
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Acknowledges the predominant role of the European Investment Bank
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Acknowledges the predominant role of the European Investment Bank in contributing to financing investments
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Notes that the Commission proposes to increase the financial instruments put in place by the EIB under the 2007-2013 multi-annual financial framework (research facility, TEN-T guarantee fund, loans to SMEs); asks the Commission to supply a first evaluation of the activities already undertaken and to state its intentions regarding their future actions, in particular regarding a possible contribution from the EU budget to reinforcing these instruments;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Notes that the Commission proposes to give the EIB new financial instruments so as to support initiatives such as the green cars initiative, the factories of the future initiative, the energy-efficient buildings initiative or its participation in the 2020 fund for energy, climate change and infrastructure; asks the Commission to indicate to the two branches of the budgetary authority the extent to which these new instruments will require intervention from the EU budget; further notes that the increase in the tasks conferred on the EIB and the EBRD poses significant questions with regard to the democratic scrutiny of the projects being financed, when funds from the EU budget are at stake;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 c (new) 3c. Underlines that the current crisis should not be used as a pretext to delay a much needed reorientation of spending towards "green" investments, but should rather be used as an extra incentive to press ahead with such reorientation and reiterates, in this context, the importance of the budgetary review planned for 2009, which should not be limited to a theoretical vision of what the budget could look like after 2013, but which should include bold proposals for a shift in programming at the time of the mid- term review of the multi-annual programmes to respond to the current crisis, promoting sustainable development and taking into account the challenges posed by climate change;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 d (new) 3d. Recalls that some of the EIB interventions also require support from the EU budget, but that this is not currently provided for in the Recovery Plan; considers that this could be achieved either through the blending of grants and loans or in the form of joint risk sharing instruments such as the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF) and the Loan Guarantee Instrument for trans- European transport network projects (LGTT); points out that, in the latter case, which should be extended to include availability based PPPs, the EIB could contribute with its own reserves which could multiply the leverage effect;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Regrets that the
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Regrets that the decision on the proposal to invest in trans-European energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure projects was in vain because of lack of budgetary agreement within the Council
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph - 1 (new) Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Asks the Commission to extend the EUR 5 000 000 000 proposed for trans- European energy inter-connections and broadband infrastructure projects to the trans-European transport (TEN-T) infrastructure, which are at an advanced stage of preparation and should benefit from the greater availability of this appropriation;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls for the consideration of the possibilities for a targeted financing and the accelerated development of an internal gas transmission network of the European Union that would ensure security of supply;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Calls on the Commission to provide an evaluative analysis of the impact of the gas crisis on the Member States and to propose concrete measures and projects for the financial support of the most affected Member States and appropriate projects to be submitted for implementation, including also proposals for the provision of alternative possibilities for gas supply, coordinated with the Bulgarian Government;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Recalls the joint declaration agreed at the conciliation meeting on 21 November 2008 on "Implementation of the cohesion policy" highlighting the benefits for the economy from accelerating the implementation of structural and cohesion funds and on "Payment appropriations" supporting the financing of new initiatives particularly regarding the economic crisis; notes that the amount of additional advance payments foreseen in 2009 on the basis of the Commission proposal on the financial management of the ESF
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Asks the Commission, however, to take into account the budgetary and regulatory difficulties in the implementation of actions such as JASMINE, JASPERS and JEREMIE and to find solutions to them; recalls that the implementation of these programmes follows on from pilot projects and preparatory actions adopted by the European Parliament in the framework of the annual budgetary procedure and that Parliament gives them particular importance; stresses that their contribution to the recovery of economic activity in the European regions could be decisive;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Underlines the added value of the trans-European transport network programme (TEN-T) for the achievement of the Lisbon strategy, the Union's climate change goals and for a greater social, economic and territorial cohesion, while also providing timely support for sustaining aggregate demand in Europe; underlines the importance of the 30 TEN- T priority projects - especially the cross- borders corridors - for re-launching the economy and for meeting the increasing demand for a better, more environmentally friendly, co-modality; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop new methods of financing transport infrastructures and to increase substantially the budget for the TEN-T projects in the next EU Financial Perspectives and in the European Economic Recovery Plan;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 b (new) 7b. Recalls that the Commission estimates the contribution of the European Fund for Rural Development to the measures to combat climate change at EUR 3 000 000 000; asks the Commission to provide more details of this contribution taking account of the place of climate change issues in the Recovery Plan;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 c (new) 7c. Emphasises that the Economic Recovery Plan proposed is a temporary measure and the budgetary stimulus should be consistent with the flexibility provided by the Stability and Growth Pact; monitoring procedures should prevail in order to ensure the efficiency of this Plan;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 d (new) 7d. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to bring forward from 2010 to 2009 EUR 500 000 000 in investment in transport infrastructure; nevertheless, strongly urges the Commission and Member States to include urban transport and TEN-T priority projects among those eligible for the additional EUR 5 000 000 000 fund to be mobilised under the Recovery Plan; considers that in particular those TEN-T projects at an advanced stage of implementation should benefit from the greater availability of appropriations;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 7 e (new) 7e. Calls for a urgent examination by the Parliament, Council, Commission and the European Investment Bank of the benefits which would derive from a feasible European sovereign debt fund whose debt servicing cost would be lower than for the equivalent aggregate of national debts, which would be temporary in nature and transferred after a period of time to national debts and which would be reserved for transport infrastructure projects part-funded by public/private partnerships;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph - 1 a (new) - 1a. Stresses that some elements proposed in the Recovery Plan are too vaguely formulated; asks the Commission to supply the two branches of the budgetary authority without delay with all the detailed information they need to take a decision; also stresses that several elements included in the Recovery Plan require a modification of the existing multi-annual programmes; recalls in this regard that these changes must be made in full compliance with the powers of the European Parliament;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph - 1 b (new) - 1b. Stresses that as a result there is a risk that the implementation of the Recovery Plan as proposed by the Commission will take a considerable time and urges all the institutions concerned to adopt the necessary decisions as quickly as possible, given the very difficult economic situation the European Union is currently in;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph - 1 c (new) - 1c. Stresses that most of the Community measures proposed by the Commission are based on a budgetary redeployment of allocations already programmed and not on the mobilisation of new budget resources; calls on the Commission to draw all the necessary conclusions from the very bad economic forecast it published in January 2009 and to reassess it budget proposals in the light of these new forecasts;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.Welcomes the Commission European Economic Recovery Plan and related initiatives, and recalls that any new expenditure not foreseen in budget 2009
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Emphasises that the Economic Recovery Plan proposes multi-layered coordinated action to strengthen Europe's economies; reiterates Parliament's readiness to enter into negotiations with the Council for the EUR 5 000 000 000 revision of the MFF 2007-2013 proposed by Commission and any other modification of instruments that would have a budgetary impact; considers that negotiations should concentrate on extending the area of projects supported within this budgetary revision, in accordance with Member States’ priorities;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Acknowledges the predominant role of the European Investment Bank in contributing to financing investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); points out that contributions by the EU budget to EIB operations have the potential to create a substantial leverage effect on investment and wishes to examine how the EU budget could contribute further to bringing about such effects, also with regard to the proposed new 2020 Marguerite fund for energy, climate change and infrastructure, either via specific legal and financial instruments or by increasing contributions via already existing financial programmes, but in any case accompanied by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission, the Council , the European Parliament and the EIB on the priorities for investment, ensuring that these are geared towards truly sustainable projects;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Acknowledges the predominant role of the European Investment Bank in contributing to financing investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); notes that more than 50 % of the Community measures proposed in the Recovery Plan fall within the sphere of the EIB; expresses concern at the growing tendency in the Council of Ministers and the Commission to confer on the EIB and the EBRD many extra duties without having first provided all the necessary economic and financial guarantees that the EIB and EBRD will be able to carry out these duties successfully;
source: PE-418.435
2009/01/29
ECON
223 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 10 Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 33 Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. points out that the recapitalisation approach by buying up preferred banking stock must be steered towards a sustainable nationalisation of banks’ assets, with a view to the full socialisation of the banking sector and the constitution of a publicly owned financial pole that steers credit towards socially and environmentally useful investments; considers that decision making on the banking sector’s credit policies must come under democratic public control, with democratic participation by employees and consumers;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. recalls the necessity for regulators and appropriate Member States' authorities to scrutinise the banking and bankers' activities over the last months in depth, so as to determine whether criminal behaviour contributed to the banking meltdown and to ensure that the public intervention and monetary policy decisions, in terms of interest rates, has been able to reverse the credit squeeze;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. recalls the necessity for regulators and appropriate Member States' authorities to scrutinise in depth the bank
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. recalls the necessity for regulators and appropriate Member States' authorities to scrutinise the banking and bankers' activities over the last months in depth,
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution Subtitle 2 Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11.
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. insists on the need for conditionality to be attached to the banking sector rescue plans in terms of dividend distribution, remuneration policy, provision of credit, lending conditions, restructuring of the sector, activities in off-shore centres and protection of social policy terms;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. insists on the need for conditionality to be attached to the banking sector rescue plans in terms of
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. believes that the development of microcredit, which is recognised as an efficient tool with a strong multiplier effect, should be encouraged, in particular by making it a requirement for commercial banks that have benefited from public support;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. insists that prime consideration must be given to recovering to normal levels of credit extension by banks when considering any new regulatory environment particularly in the interests of reviving the securitisation process as essential to the recovery of finance for mortgages, car finance and credit card funding;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 34 Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. insists that rescue packages to financial institutions must be made conditional on their retreat from tax havens and offshore financial centres;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. underlines the importance of ensuring that central interest rate cuts are passed on to borrowers;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. calls on the Commission to produce a clear analysis of the impact of the rescue package on the competitiveness of the financial sector
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. considers that the European Central Bank (ECB) has
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. considers that although the European Central Bank (ECB) has
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. considers that the European Central Bank (ECB) has a role to play as regards monitoring the macro-economic and financial stability in the European Union; urges the ECB to launch instruments which can facilitate liquidity management for Member States that are not members of the euro area;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. considers that the European Central Bank (ECB) has a role to play as regards monitoring the macro-economic and financial stability in the European Union; considers that the ECB should be involved in EU-wide bank supervision;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. considers that the European Central Bank (ECB) has a role to play as regards monitoring the macro-
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. calls on the Commission and the Member States to close down tax havens, tackle the problems created by offshore financial centres and introduce taxes on currency transactions (Tobin Tax) and on stock exchange transactions;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 35 Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 b (new) 15b. reiterates its call for the Commission to analyse the effects of the behaviour of banks that moved their assets from the more recently acceded Member States after adoption of rescue plans by other Member States and to examine carefully the speculative action (short-selling) on the currencies of the more recently acceded Member States;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16.
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. encourages the Commission urgently to put forward relevant proposals to tackle the issue of cyclicality of cross-border flows
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. encourages the Commission
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. encourages the Commission to acknowledge that Member States that have more recently acceded to the EU and that are not members of the euro area might have to prohibit the short-selling of their currencies, in case of massive speculation by outsiders, as a means of averting further financial instability;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. strongly urges an increase in the effectiveness of financial supervision at Member State and EU level; suggests that the de Larosière Group
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. strongly urges the de Larosière Group to take on board the recommendations put forward in Parliament's previous resolutions, relating to financial market supervision; urges the Commission to endorse its contributions to create a stable and efficient structure of regulation and supervision, which may prevent or limit the adverse impacts of future crises; calls on the Council duly to take into consideration the position that Parliament may express on these conclusions before endorsing them;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 a (new) 17a. proposes the establishment of a public EU Credit Rating Agency in order to overcome conflicts of interest which impair the credit rating process;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. reaffirms that
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 36 Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. reaffirms that more transparency and better risk-management provide most of the solutions to further crisis-prevention and that the regulatory reform must be all- encompassing, applying to all actors and transactions in the financial markets;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. reaffirms that more transparency and better risk-management provide most of the solutions to further crisis-prevention and that the regulatory reform must be all- encompassing, applying to all actors and transactions in the financial markets;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. reaffirms that more transparency and better risk-management as well as coordinated supervision provide most of the solutions to further crisis-prevention and that the regulatory reform must be all- encompassing, applying to all actors and transactions in the financial markets;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. reaffirms that more transparency and better risk-management provide most of the solutions to further crisis-prevention and that the regulatory reform must be all-
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. calls for an assessment of the measures contained in the national recovery plans as regards their immediate impact on purchasing power and social justice; believes that measures supporting the social housing sector and specifically targeting the low income sector are the most effective and should therefore be promoted;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. calls for the Council to approve the proposal to give all Member States the option to apply a reduced VAT rate for labour-intensive and locally supplied services; considering their potential employment and demand- boosting effect, encourages the Council to promote a common and coordinated reduction of the VAT rates on the labour-intensive and locally supplied services, as well as on energy efficient goods, in order to have a multiplier effect;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. strongly recommends that sufficient, affordable and reasonably secure access to credit is urgently guaranteed across the European Union to SMEs, citizens and to those sectors in which a sustainable future is endangered due to the
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19.
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. stresses that, in the current climate where small and medium enterprises face severe cash-flow problems and restricted credit access, public authorities and private clients should respect a maximum 30-day period for payments to small and medium enterprises; urges the Commission to take over this issue when revising the Late Payments Directive;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. asks Member States to consider the possibility of reducing labour taxation in lower incomes in order to increase the purchasing power and stimulate demand for retail products;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 37 Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. considers that credit rating agencies should close information gaps and reveal uncertainties as well as conflicts of interests;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 b (new) 19b. calls for full enforcement and accelerated implementation, both at the European Union and national level of the Small Business Act recommendations;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20.
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20.
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20.
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20a. insists on the need for a revision and improvement of accounting policies;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21.
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. underlines the need to guarantee minimum living standards for all citizens of the Union and calls for adequate emergency measures to be taken; calls for social policies to be adapted to cope with the recession, supporting active labour market policies, living conditions (in particular in the housing market and access
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 38 Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. underlines the need to guarantee minimum living standards for all citizens of the Union and calls for adequate emergency measures to be taken; calls for social policies to be adapted to cope with the recession, supporting active labour market policies, living conditions (in particular in the social housing market and access to quality public services) and paying special attention to the most vulnerable members of society;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. calls on the Commission urgently to assess the recession risks affecting industrial sectors across Europe
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. calls on the Commission urgently to assess the recession risks affecting industrial sectors across Europe
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. calls on the Commission urgently to assess the recession risks affecting industrial sectors across Europe in order to pro-actively
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. calls on the Commission urgently to assess the recession risks and real financial losses affecting industrial sectors across Europe in order pro-actively to intervene at European Union level, if needed;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. calls on the Commission urgently to assess the recession risks affecting industrial sectors across Europe in order
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 a (new) 22a. warns against the undue loosening of the EU competition rules, as this might weaken the internal market; is concerned that national responses to the economic downturn may lead to protectionism and distortion of competition, which, in the long term, would seriously undermine the economic prosperity of the citizens of the Union;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 a (new) 22a. stresses that guarantee schemes and loans to private companies must be based on strict conditions such as job guarantees; underlines that public loans should be provided only in return for stock in the companies concerned, enabling the state to have a say in company decision-making and receiving benefits from future rewards;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23a. underlines the added value of the trans-European transport network programme (TEN-T) for the achievement of the Lisbon strategy, the EU's climate change goals, and greater social, economic and territorial cohesion, while providing timely support for sustaining aggregate demand in the EU. Underlines the importance of the 30 TEN-T priority projects - especially the cross-border corridors - for re-launching the economy and for enabling the increasing demand of a better and more environmentally friendly co-modality; calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop new methods for financing transport infrastructures and to increase substantially the budget for the TEN-T projects in the next EU Financial Perspectives and in the Recovery Plan;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 39 Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 23 a (new) 23 a. Supports mobilisation to promote employment in key sectors of the European economy, in particular by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, including by improving and speeding up its procedures to enable the swiftest possible intervention in strategic sectors affected by job losses;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. welcomes all the Commission proposals that simplify and accelerate access to the available cohesion instruments, and speed up project implementation, namely through anticipating funds, temporarily increasing community support rates, and improving technical assistance and accelerating payment procedures;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. welcomes all the Commission proposals that simplify and accelerate access to the available cohesion instruments and project implementation, namely through
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 a (new) 27a. believes that a strong public investment policy, aiming at creating a "low-carbon economy" is of utmost importance to face the economic recession; considers, however, that the way in which the EU economies have been managed, which is far removed from the constraints of an "ecological budget" (one that focuses on "pollution" and the ability of forests, soils, and seas to absorb "carbon emissions"), cannot be a sustainable response to the effective relaunch of the economy; urges the Member States, therefore, to refrain from a traditional simplistic demand management approach to relaunching the economy, which ignores the limits of ecosystems;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 b (new) 27b. deplores the fact that taxation policy is a tool which is hardly used at the EU, in view of the rule of unanimity applied at the Council; takes the view that fiscal stimulus and a common strategic approach to environmental taxation has a major role to play in the economic recovery plan and the achievement of the climate-energy package, considering that green taxation is a flexible policy instrument for addressing industrial competitiveness, providing incentives for technological innovation, addressing climate change (namely by internalising environmental externalities in transport) applying the 'polluter pays' principle or achieving a reduction of pollution at source; in this respect, calls on Member States to undertake reforms in their fiscal regimes for ensuring that certain sectors like agriculture, transport and energy, which impact so heavily on the environment, perform sustainably;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. calls on the development of recovery
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. calls
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Recital -A (new) -A. whereas the international economy and global markets have been able to deliver an unprecedented and historically unique growth the last 25 years, with a capacity of production that has established prosperity for more people than ever before, a capacity that needs to be readjusted in an economic slowdown followed by decreasing demand,
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. calls
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 28. calls
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. welcomes the Commission's proposal to bring forward from 2010 to 2009 and investment of EUR 500 000 000 for transport infrastructure; stresses, nevertheless, that the Commission and the Member States must include urban transport and TEN-T priority projects among those for the additional investment, to be mobilised in accordance with to the Recovery Plan; considers that those TEN-T projects at an advanced stage of implementation should, in particular, benefit from the greater availability of appropriations;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. Stresses that in the current, very dire, circumstances, access to EU funds is necessary for Member States that have more recently acceded to the EU and that are not members of the euro area; those funds would be the required budget stimulus for countries which do not have the room for manoeuvre of the Member States in the euro area, or because they are running large budget and current account deficits;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. asks the Commission when presenting the list of specific projects applying for EU budget financing, and as requested by the 2008 European Council on 12 December, to take into account the need to increase the competitiveness of the EU economy with a long-term perspective, advancing infrastructure projects already decided and planned;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. calls on the European Union and the Member States to launch important and effective plans for the realisation of transport infrastructure at national level, with the aim of improving national traffic flows, in particular in areas where there are bottlenecks, and to connect them in an effective manner using trans-European assets, possibly through the application of measures introduced by the proposal of Parliament and Council, which establishes the general norms for the granting of Community financial aid in the area of trans-European networks in transport and energy and which also modifies Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/95;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 a (new) 28a. calls on the Commission to consider possible measures for the improvement of the energy security through the accelerated development of an internal gas transmission network of the European Union that would ensure the security of supply;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 b (new) 28b. with the aims of overcoming the negative impacts of the energy crisis and ensuring security of supply, calls for the implementation of projects, including those proposed by the Bulgarian government, providing alternative possibilities for gas supplies;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 28 c (new) 28c. calls for the timely adoption of the third legislative energy package on gas and electricity, paying particular attention to the gas sector in order to overcome shortages and to prevent a disruption of supplies due to instabilities in supply and transmission prices;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 29. calls for European Union initiatives in the field of education and training, and access to risk capital, credit and microcredit facilities in order to boost qualitative growth and convergence throughout the European Union;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Recital -A a (new) -Aa. whereas the main reason for the ongoing downturn of the international and the EU economy now is the lack of confidence and trust on the financial and capital markets, created by the failure of systemic crucial financial institutions, thereby undermining credit markets, hindering capital flow, investments and trade as well as putting downward pressure on prices and values, eroding solidity and capital assets needed for financial institutions to lend and for companies to secure their own financing,
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 29 a (new) 29a. stresses the need to reduce the bureaucratic burden on investment projects co-financed by private companies; therefore calls on the Commission and the Member States to take measures that accelerate and facilitate investments;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 31 a (new) 31a. calls for pro-active guidance by the Commission on the National Reform Programs in light of its growth forecasts;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 32. calls for adequate detailed criteria and standards to be developed for close monitoring and permanent reassessment of the effectiveness of the recovery plans by the Commission, especially as regards the reality of the announced investments, bearing in mind that the full extent of the crisis cannot yet be totally assessed;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 32. calls for adequate detailed criteria and standards to be developed for close monitoring and
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 32 32. calls for adequate detailed criteria and standards to be developed for close monitoring and permanent reassessment of the effectiveness of the recovery plans, bearing in mind that the full extent of the crisis and the requisite remedies cannot yet be totally assessed;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 33.
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 33. considers that the present
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 a (new) 33a. calls for an urgent examination by the Parliament, the Council, the Commission, and the European Investment Bank of the benefits which would derive from establishing a European sovereign debt fund, the debt servicing cost of which would be lower than that of the equivalent aggregate of national debts; suggests that such a debt fund should be temporary in nature and transferred after a period of time to national debts; suggests also that such a debt fund should be reserved for transport infrastructure projects that are partly funded by public-private partnerships;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 33 a (new) 33a. considers that due to rising public debt levels the political pressure to allow for higher inflation in the medium term will rise; underlines that the ECB is fully independent and follows the goal of price stability;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Recital -A b (new) -Ab. whereas this problem should be the primary and main challenge for EU policy makers in the short-term, in order to get the financial and capital markets back to function, by coordinated actions in the framework of EU legislation regarding competition and State aid, thereby not distorting competition between companies or creating an imbalance in financial market security between the Member States,
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - introductory part 34. calls upon all relevant parties - Parliament, Council, the Commission and the social partners at European Union and national level - to work together on the basis of the following suggestions
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - indent 1 - the development of mutual reinforcement of stability, and growth-oriented macro- economic policies by making stability policy and investment a matter of common and mu
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - indent 2 - the establishment of a
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - indent 2 - the establishment of a binding framework for Member States within which they consult each other and the Commission before taking major economic policy decisions, based on a common understanding of problems
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - indent 2 - the establishment of a binding framework for Member States within which they consult each other and the Commission before taking major economic policy decisions, based on a common understanding of problems and priorities while accepting some national specificities;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - indent 5 -
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 - indent 5 - the strengthening of the economic governance of the euro area in line with the recommendations set out in its resolution on the EMU@10;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 34 a (new) 34a. calls for the adoption of an effective European Energy Security Policy, that would take into account, inter alia, the outcome of the forthcoming High Level International Energy forum "Gas for Europe - security and partnership" on 24 and 25 April 2009 in Sofia;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution Subtitle before paragraph 35 European Inve
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 35. Considers that involvement of the
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 13 Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Recital -A c (new) -Ac. whereas the problem of the functioning of financial and capital markets should be solved in order for other targeted actions to be able help the EU economy returning to growth, investments and new jobs,
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 35. considers that involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is crucial and that a large share of lending referred to in the Recovery Plan is within its competence; welcomes the Member States' agreement on a capital increase for the EIB; recalls that some of the EIB interventions also require support from the EU budget, but that this is not currently provided for in the Recovery Plan; calls for the allocation of more financial resources from the credit and project lines in favour of the private sector and, more specifically, in favour of the SMEs;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 35. considers that involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is crucial and that a large share of lending referred to in the Recovery Plan is within its competence; welcomes the Member States' agreement on a capital increase for the EIB;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 35. considers that involvement of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is crucial and that a large share of lending referred to in the Recovery Plan is within its competence; welcomes the Member States' agreement on a capital increase for the EIB;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 35 a (new) 35a. considers that since banks appear reluctant to finance the real economy, despite the support granted to them by Member States and the ECB, the most straightforward tool at the disposal of the EU recovery plan is the EIB, whether to meet the Kyoto goals, in particular as regards SME activities, or the Millennium goals; considers that those objectives can be achieved both by State Guaranties permitting refinancing by the ECB at a low interest rate, and through subsidies reducing the interest rate to the firms when financing Kyoto-linked investments;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 36. calls on Member States to consider Eurobonds as a
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 36. calls on Member States to consider the implications of Eurobonds as a low-cost financing instrument for major European political
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 36 a (new) 36a. stresses that issuing joint government bonds to cover public debt up to 60 % of the budget, as referred to in the revised Stability and Growth Pact, thus ensuring solidarity and surveillance, would reduce the spreads and allow the euro to play a stabilising role as a global currency; calls on the Council and the Commission to set up a task-force urgently in order to decide on an appropriate institutional framework to that end; strongly urges the Commission and the Eurogroup to consider such a proposal;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Recital -A d (new) -Ad. whereas the causes of and reasons for the financial crisis were lax monetary policies and politically enforced increased credits for housing as well as macro- economical imbalances mainly between the US and emerging economies, such as China; underlines the need to develop further EU competitiveness and investments in infrastructure and research as well as in new companies and new markets,
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 37 37. calls, once more, for the urgent
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 38.
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 38 38.
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. strongly calls for the European Union per se to play a leading role in international fora, notably in the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), and at the coming meetings of the G20; considers it especially important to strengthen the multilateral surveillance of currency areas and financial market
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 39. strongly calls for the European Union to play a leading role in international flora, notably in the
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 39 a (new) 39a. recalls the importance of the next G20 Summit to be held in London on 2 April 2009, when it is anticipated that statements will be converted into decisions; insists on the fact that not only financial considerations should be agreed upon but that the heads of States and governments should also reflect on how to correct global imbalances and agree to coordinate the various, recently adopted recovery plans; calls on the Council and the Commission to listen to Parliament's view before agreeing on a negotiating position for the Summit;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 40 40. strongly recommends that the impact
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the unprecedented dimension of the current financial crisis and the depth of the ensuing downturn requires a
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 40 a (new) 40a. calls on the Council and the Commission to intensify consultation and foster cooperative relations with the European Union's commercial partners, and, in particular, with the newly appointed US administration;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 41 41.
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 41 41. considers that the present crisis must not preclude the European Union's responsibilities as regards promoting international development and combating world poverty; warns that the risk of a fallback to protectionist policies must be avoided; underlines that the
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 42 42. instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee and the president of the Eurogroup.
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the unprecedented dimension of the current financial crisis and the depth of the ensuing downturn requires a
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A A. whereas the
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. Whereas the responses to the economic crisis cannot be disconnected from those to be given to face the ecological crisis, and the commodities shortage crisis,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas the European Union does not only face a financial crisis but a severe economic crisis, caused by the over- accumulation of capital which has led to overcapacities in more and more industries; whereas the regulation of financial markets alone is not sufficient to overcome the crisis,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A b (new) Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas the consequences of the financial crisis on the real economy result in exceptional economic circumstances that require exceptional measures and decisions and whereas public intervention, although inevitable
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas the consequences of the financial crisis on the real economy result in exceptional economic circumstances that require exceptional measures and decisions and whereas public intervention, although inevitable, drives a wedge between the
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 16 Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas the consequences of the financial crisis on the real economy result in exceptional economic circumstances that require
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas the most recent data provided by the Community on 2009 prospects indicates a rapid deterioration of economic conditions in the entire EU and an insufficient policy response on the part of the Member States,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas Member States have the ultimate responsibility and capacity in all sorts of crises for guarantying stability,
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas in order to prevent the socialisation of speculative losses, the European Union and the Member States have to make sure that those who have benefited from financial speculation in recent years now also pay for the losses; whereas a redistribution of wealth is necessary to reduce social inequality and tackle the roots of the crisis,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas the short-term actions initiated by individual Member States require comprehensive EU coordination to guarantee a joint-multiplier effect on the one hand and to avoid spill-over effects
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D a (new) Da. whereas short-term actions must fit in with and support the long-term objectives of making the EU the most competitive knowledge economy, not undermining future trust and confidence as well as ensuring macro economical stability,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D a (new) Da. whereas the EU recovery plan must combine stability in the short term with a longer-term restructuring of the financial, taxation and energy systems,
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Member States’ different
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas Member States’ different capacities to engage in recovery programmes should be recognised; whereas a sizeable complementary European Union approach with strong focus on
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. Whereas the facilities granted by the revised Stability and Growth Pact makes it easier to finance high-quality public investments, such as those ones aiming at the de-coupling of growth from energy consumption, transport and the use of resources, as well as investments needed to meet the Kyoto targets,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 17 Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas joining the euro has proved to enhance economic stability in the Member States; whereas, however, citizens expect, particularly in a time of economic recession,
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) Fa. whereas it is of the utmost importance that confidence is restored in order to allow for an orderly functioning of the financial markets and to dampen the effects on the real economy,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) Fa. Whereas Member States that have recently acceded to the EU and that are not in the euro area are badly affected by speculation against their currencies, capital flight and the freezing of international credit markets,
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F a (new) Fa. whereas the financial crisis has revealed the dilemma that on the one hand regulatory competence for economic policy is an essential matter to be tackled at EU level, and, on the other, economic stimulus plans are the business of Member States' authorities,
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. welcomes the Commission
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. welcomes the Commission's prompt initiative to launch a European economic recovery plan (Recovery Plan) as a reaction to the serious ongoing downturn;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. welcomes the Commission's prompt initiative to launch a European economic recovery plan (Recovery Plan) as a reaction to the serious ongoing downturn;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. welcomes the Commission
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Takes the view that the European economic recovery plan must take the form of a "New Green Deal", the overriding objective of which must be to tackle a three-pronged 'crunch': the present global financial crisis, climate change and the rapid depletion of oil;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 19 Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. agrees with the Commission that an immediate budgetary stimulus package of EUR 200 000 000 000, representing 1,5 % of GDP, is necessary to counter the downward trend in the economy; insists, however, that this expenditure package should be mobilised at EU level and must be complemented by similar public investment programmes of the Member States, worth 1 % of their respective GDP with priority given to investments that also strengthen the long-term potential of the economy, for instance energy saving technologies, social housing, education, health and social services, the creation of a public employment sector and sustainable modes of mobility;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to set up a stable financial framework through effective regulations and to protect citizens of the Union from the effects of the financial crisis, as they are the most strongly affected whether as workers, as members of households, or as entrepreneurs;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to protect citizens of the Union from the effects of the financial crisis, as they are the most strongly affected whether as workers, as members of households, or as entrepreneurs, and to assist them through any necessary transition to new and rewarding areas of employment and endeavour;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to protect citizens of the Union from the effects of the financial crisis, as they are the most strongly affected whether as workers, as members of households, or as entrepreneurs; reasserts that an encompassing programme to fight climate change is part of the solution to counter an economic recession;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. stresses that the top priority of the Recovery Plan must be to protect citizens of the Union from the effects of the financial and economic crisis, as they are the most strongly affected whether as workers, as members of households, or as entrepreneurs;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. insists that all financial aid be timely, targeted, and temporary so that it ceases once the worst of the crisis has been overcome; warns of possible crowding-out effects; urges for a return to sound state finance as soon as possible as foreseen in the revised Stability and Growth Pact in order to avoid putting too much burden on future generations;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 21 Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. insists that all financial aid be timely, targeted and temporary, so that it ceases once the worst of the crisis has been overcome; warns of possible crowding-out effects; urges for a return to sound state finance as soon as possible in order to avoid putting too much burden on future generations, to avoid, to the greatest extent possible, and to restrict to the shortest time possible, distortions to the EU markets;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Underlines that the Recovery Plan must serve the purpose of delivering a fair and equitable international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012; such an agreement must, inter alia, give poorer countries the opportunity to escape poverty without fuelling global warming by helping to finance massive investment in climate-change adaptation and renewable energy;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. strongly criticises the Commission for linking its Recovery Plan to deepening neo-liberal ‘structural reforms’ and to strict compliance with the revised Stability and Growth Pact; insists that liberalisation policies must be stopped and overcome and that instead of promoting more flexibility in labour markets, the European Union needs to take the concept of ‘good work’ as its central reference point;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. underlines the need to keep actions in the framework of financial stability and competition legislation, exceptions and deviations from the common rules and goals must be turned into normality in clearly defined time perspectives;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. calls on the Commission to develop a plan with defined timings for the disbandment of temporary departures from EU competition policy so as to restore, as soon as practicable, the fair competitive market defined in the Treaties;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 c (new) 2c. stresses that actions aiming for restoring trust and confidence on the financial markets must be taken as the first steps of the Recovery Plan, making other actions relevant and meaningful by a functioning market for financing, housing and investments;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. recommends the massive and rapid deployment of labour market policies aimed at getting money to those who need it most; asks the Member States to invest an additional 1 % of GDP in order to strengthen unemployment benefit systems, provide training and lifelong learning and to set up social economy employment programmes;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 26 Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. recommends, as an essential requirement for effectiveness, that the coordination of national recovery plans allows for each programme to be tailored to each country's specific needs, taking into account the common interest, the common strategies defined in terms of fight against climate change and the assurance of the strongest possible multiplier effect, namely on employment;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. recommends, as an essential requirement for effectiveness, that the coordination of national recovery plans allows for each programme to be tailored to each country's specific needs, but taking into account the common interest and the assurance of the strongest possible multiplier effect,
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. emphasises that proposals to cut labour taxes and social security contributions are not efficient tools to raise demand in the economy in a rapid and sustainable way; stresses that the EU now needs to accept real wage growth and also embarks on a redistribution aimed at increasing the wage share in Gross National Income; calls on the Member States to establish a lower limit in wage developments of no less than 3 % in order to take prevent a deflationary wage spiral; calls on the Commission and the Member States to agree on EU-wide targets on minimum income schemes (60 % of the national median equalised income) and on minimum wages (60 % of the national or sector-specific average wage) in order to combat poverty and social exclusion; points out that higher real wages will help to stabilise internal demand and thus contribute to countering the downturn;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. strongly calls for new horizontal initiatives at European Union level, given that different national capacities and margins of budgetary manoeuvre may generate very asymmetric outcomes across Europe; recalls, however, the responsibility of each Member State to exercise fiscal discipline and structural reforms;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. calls for the establishment of a European Sovereign Investment Fund and for the issue of European bonds through the European Investment Bank (EIB); stresses that central and eastern European Member States are not to be left at the mercy of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that the EU should provide its own emergency lending and do so in a sufficient way without blindly following the IMF conditionalities;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. strongly advises against the risk that the solutions implemented become a sum of national policies
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7.
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7.
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 27 Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7.
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. restates its endorsement to the flexibility offered by the revised Stability and Growth Pact, as a way to conduct anti-cyclical policies to address the economic recession, considering the impact of the financial crisis on the real economy; however, calls on the Commission to give clear guidance on the interpretation of the
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. calls on the Commission to give clear guidance on the interpretation of the flexibility clause of the revised Stability and Growth Pact, namely
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. underlines that government intervention in the credit market should be temporary and that the strategy for government retraction must be clear from the outset;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. notes with concern the rapid rise of public debt and budget deficits; concerned that public debts may become an excessive burden for future generations;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 b (new) 7b. calls for coordinated action between Member States allowing for general and explicit national bank guarantees covering liabilities, but excluding equity capital, in order to reduce uncertainty in the credit markets and facilitate the functioning of those markets;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. welcomes the short-term measures adopted to return confidence to the financial system; recalls that those emergency measures are insufficient to tackle the fundamental problems at the source of the crisis, namely global imbalances, excessive risk-
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. welcomes the short-term measures adopted to return confidence to the financial system; recalls that those emergency measures are insufficient to tackle one of the fundamental problems at the source of the crisis, namely ex
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. welcomes the short-term measures adopted to return confidence to the financial system; recalls that those emergency measures are insufficient to tackle one of the fundamental problems at the source of the crisis, namely excessive risk-
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 28 Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. welcomes the short-term measures adopted to return confidence to the financial system; recalls that those emergency measures are insufficient to tackle the fundamental problems at the source of the crisis, namely excessive risk- taking, leveraging and rewarding short- termism; in the long run, considers especially in this context that closing down tax havens and ensuring strict control of remuneration scheme are of utmost importance in order to restore financial stability;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. warns of possible overregulation of the financial sector which might render innovation in the field of financial products impossible and reduce the attractiveness of EU financial markets, diverting financial flows towards third markets;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. notes the lack of security in the energy sector, especially in terms of gas, and its increasing negative impact on the development of the financial and economic situation in Member States;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. warns of possible ill-considered, over- hasty and excessive regulation of the financial sector which could render economic recovery and innovation in the field of financial products impossible and reduce the attractiveness of EU financial markets, diverting financial flows and enterprises towards third markets;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. underlines that a stricter regulation of financial markets is needed to prevent systemic risks caused by new and risky financial products, stresses that those products must either be prohibited or their trading severely restricted and monitored; stresses that strict limits on leveraging for all financial institutions must, furthermore, be introduced as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Underlines that, in order to ensure that Euribor rates better reflect the costs of borrowing for prime banks and are not contaminated by fragile institutions, the definition of member banks included in the fixing of these rates could be revised;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. restates that safeguarding the savings of, and credit provision for, individuals and undertakings, including SMEs, are the overriding justifications for the exceptional public intervention in the financial system; reminds Member State governments of their responsibility and accountability to parliaments in the use of public money for rescue plans and strongly recommends that a set of adequate incentives and sanctions be introduced and coordinated at EU level to ensure the achievement of such goals;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. restates that safeguarding the savings of, and credit provision for, individuals and undertakings, including SMEs,
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. believes that in order to limit contagion risks between banking institutions and avoid the distortion of interbank prices and volumes during episodes of financial distress, the creation of a clearing house for interbank lending, financed by fees paid by borrowing institutions and backed by appropriate government guarantees should be considered;
source: PE-419.871
2020/08/01
REGI
8 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Welcomes the Commission's approach that one of the ways of reacting to the economic crisis should be by means of increased sustainable public investment; emphatically shares its view that green investments and investments in green technologies and jobs are the best means not only to deal with the immediate crisis but also to ensure that we embark on a sustainable development path and adapt our economies to the demands of climate protection (low-carbon economies);
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Takes the view that the Structural Funds are in principle a good framework for public investments because the Structural Fund regulations, with their obligations of strict compliance with Community legislation on the environment and climate protection, of transparency and of the involvement of partners, provide a comparable standard in all regions for investments under the Structural Funds;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Stresses the fact that the Structural Funds are powerful tools, designed to help regions in their economic
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the requirements of Community law, and particularly of Community legislation on the environment and on climate protection, are adhered to in full despite possible new procedures for simplifying and accelerating Structural Fund implementation;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Calls on the Member States and the regions to guarantee that the partnership principle laid down in Article 16 of the General Regulation on the Structural Funds is fully applied and that the requirement of full involvement of partners is complied with;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Considers that measures, such as acceleration of payments, the use of lump sum payments and flat rates will stimulate the implementation of projects especially in infrastructure and the energy and environmental sectors
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Welcomes the proposal that investments in energy efficiency and renewable energies in the housing sector should be eligible for ERDF funding throughout the EU; urges the Member States and the regions to make comprehensive use of this new possibility and to adapt their operational programmes accordingly;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Points out that some alternative financing instruments or models, including public-private partnerships, are having difficulty in proceeding with planned projects because of the crisis in financial markets; takes the view that conventional project funding through the Structural Funds is the safest and at the same time the most democratic way of making public investments;
source: PE-418.324
|
History
(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)
committees/0/associated |
Old
TrueNew
|
committees/2 |
Old
New
|
committees/3 |
Old
New
|
committees/4 |
Old
New
|
committees/5 |
Old
New
|
committees/6 |
Old
New
|
committees/7 |
Old
New
|
docs/0 |
|
docs/1 |
|
docs/3/docs/0/url |
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/EMPL-AD-418157_EN.html
|
docs/4/docs/0/url |
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/BUDG-AD-418302_EN.html
|
events/0/date |
Old
2008-11-26T00:00:00New
2008-11-25T00:00:00 |
docs/0/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE418.250New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/EN&reference=PE418.250 |
docs/2/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE419.871New
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/EN&reference=PE419.871 |
docs/3/docs/0/url |
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE418.157&secondRef=02
|
docs/4/docs/0/url |
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE418.302&secondRef=02
|
docs/5/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2009-0063_EN.htmlNew
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2009-0063_EN.html |
events/2/type |
Old
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single readingNew
Committee referral announced in Parliament |
events/4/type |
Old
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single readingNew
Vote in committee |
events/5 |
|
events/5 |
|
events/11/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20090311&type=CRENew
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/EN&reference=20090311&type=CRE |
events/12 |
|
events/12 |
|
procedure/legal_basis/0 |
Rules of Procedure EP 54
|
procedure/legal_basis/0 |
Rules of Procedure EP 52
|
committees/0 |
|
committees/0 |
|
committees/3 |
|
committees/3 |
|
committees/4 |
|
committees/4 |
|
docs/5/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2009-63&language=ENNew
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2009-0063_EN.html |
docs/6/body |
EC
|
events/5/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A6-2009-63&language=ENNew
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-6-2009-0063_EN.html |
events/12/docs/0/url |
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2009-123New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-6-2009-0123_EN.html |
activities |
|
commission |
|
committees/0 |
|
committees/0 |
|
committees/1 |
|
committees/1 |
|
committees/2 |
|
committees/2 |
|
committees/3 |
|
committees/3 |
|
committees/4 |
|
committees/4 |
|
committees/5 |
|
committees/5 |
|
committees/6 |
|
committees/6 |
|
committees/7 |
|
committees/7 |
|
council |
|
docs |
|
events |
|
links |
|
other |
|
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee |
Old
ECON/6/71636New
|
procedure/legal_basis/0 |
Rules of Procedure EP 52
|
procedure/legal_basis/0 |
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
|
procedure/subject |
Old
New
|
activities |
|
committees |
|
links |
|
other |
|
procedure |
|