2013/2173(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas population ageing, ~~incentives for early retirement~~changing workplaces and working conditions, the financial crisis and changes in production patterns require strong responses to enable older workers to remain active in the labour market by choice;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the European Social Fund (ESF) is a key financial instrument intended to help Member States achieve EU employment policy and social inclusion objectives, and reliable data are necessary to assess how effectively ESF resources are spent;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas the European Social Fund (ESF), which during the programming period 2007- 2013 accounted for 8% of the EU total budget, is a key financial instrument intended to help Member States achieve EU employment policy objectives, and reliable data are necessary to assess how effectively ESF resources are spent;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas maintaining the employability of older workers as well as keeping a high proportion of the population remaining in work until later age is crucial to address demographic challenges and reach the EU target of 75% of the 20-64-year-old population in employment by 2020;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the lifelong learning measures promoted by the ESF are on the whole well suited to keeping people in employment (e.g. by employability training or retraining);

Amendment 14 #

Sari ESSAYAH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Regrets that no complete and reliable data are available to assess the effectiveness of ESF spending on older workers; takes the view that the use of ESF appropriations must be transparent and that, when the annual financial statements are drawn up, this information must be available to citizens in an easily accessible manner on a public website, and must include the objectives of the funded programmes and the original amount budgeted, as well as indicators and the possibility of verifying, using easily accessible analytical tools, the achievement of the objectives and the distribution of the funds to their various purposes;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Regrets that no complete and reliable data, including data disaggregated by gender, are available to assess the effectiveness of ESF spending on older workers;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the implementation of the ESF must comply with the EU Financial Regulation and, in particular, with the fundamental principles of sound financial management such as effectiveness, which should be understood as attaining the specific objectives set and achieving the intended results;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States, for the next programming period, to apply and complement as appropriate the common indicators provided for in the ESF Regulation in order to establish how many older workers have ~~gained new qualifications, improved their situation on the labour market or found a job after having benefited from projects financed by the ESF~~participated in ESF measures with a focus on workplace adaptation, acquisition of skills, improved labour market situation for the individual, or finding a job;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Member States, for the next programming period, to apply and complement as appropriate the common indicators provided for in the ESF Regulation in order to establish how many older workers, disaggregated by gender, have gained new qualifications, improved their situation on the labour market or found a job after having benefited from projects financed by the ESF;

Amendment 19 #

Joanna Katarzyna SKRZYDLEWSKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to rely more on quantitative and quality data when analysing the socioeconomic situation of older workers ~~and to provide for a causal link between actions identified within operational programmes and the objectives pursued~~;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas population ageing, incentives for early retirement, the financial crisis ~~and~~, changes in production patterns and demand for increasing competitiveness require strong responses to enable older workers to remain active in the labour market;

Amendment 20 #

Sari ESSAYAH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to rely more on quantitative data when analysing the socioeconomic situation of older workers and to provide for a measurable causal link between actions identified within operational programmes and the objectives pursued;

Amendment 21 #

Joanna Katarzyna SKRZYDLEWSKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to rely more on quantitative data when analysing the socioeconomic situation of older workers and to provide for a causal link between actions identified within operational programmes and the objectives pursued, which would facilitate verification of consistency between identified needs, chosen strategy and specific goals set ;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to rely more on quantitative data when analysing the socioeconomic situation of older workers and to provide for a causal link between actions identified within operational programmes and the objectives pursued, since relying on these data will make it possible to accurately assess the situation going into the future;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Encourages th~~Acknowledges that, according to their different socioeconomic and demographic situations, Member States use different age groups to define older workers; regrets however that this definition is not always consistently applied throughout the whole programming process in a given Member State; encourages therefore Member States to make sure, in the forthcoming programming period (2014-2020), that the age groups used for needs analysis are the same as the age groups used in the programmes and/or in the related actions and targets;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Invites Member States to consider introducing two different categories of older workers benefiting from ESF funding, such as workers aged 45- 55 and over 55, and adapting operational programmes to specific needs identified for these two age groups;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls for a tracking system whereby providers can monitor the progress of individual participants, enabling evaluation to take place at regular intervals so that strengths and weaknesses can be judged and improvements made;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Calls for measures to target not just employability but also progress in terms of skills (including ‘soft’ skills), higher self- esteem and greater motivation; notes that imparting life skills and providing informal training can make a major contribution in this respect;

Amendment 27 #

Joanna Katarzyna SKRZYDLEWSKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Calls on the Member States to provide a broad range of activities enabling participants to make an individual choice; notes that the availability of choices forms an important part of the employment and reintegration process;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls for all barriers that hamper active aging ~~and life-long learning opportunities to be monitored and removed~~to be monitored and removed, and for life-long learning to be supported, in particular, the acquisition of new qualifications and technical skills, such as computer skills and foreign language studies.

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls for all barriers that hamper active aging and life-long learning opportunities to be monitored and removed. and for these benefits to become a regular feature of working life; calls for such measures to be constantly monitored, evaluated and improved;

Amendment 3 #

Ria OOMEN-RUIJTEN

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas population ageing, incentives for early retirement, the financial crisis and changes in production patterns require strong responses to enable older workers to remain active in the labour market;Does not affect English text. Linguistic amendment to Dutch version.

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls for all barriers that hamper active aging and life-long learning opportunities among older women and men to be monitored and removed.

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls, in the new operational programmes, for a more uniform approach to the choice of target groups and use of labour market data, in order to set ambitious but realistic targets; notes, given the future importance of the growing cohort of older workers, that preparations for the operational programmes should also include a dialogue on the prioritisation of target groups.

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas population ageing, incentives – which still unfortunately exist – for early retirement, the financial crisis and changes in production patterns require strong responses to enable older workers to remain active in the labour market;

Amendment 5 #

Kinga GÖNCZ

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas in 2012 the employment rate of people aged 55-64 was less than 50 % in the European Union and in certain Member States it dropped as low as around 30%;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas in 2012 the employment rate of people aged 55-64 was less than 50 % in the European Union and this could be caused by a number of factors such as outdated skills and qualifications, employers' attitudes towards older workers, difficulties with reconciliation of professional and family life or poorer health;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas in 2012 the employment rate of people aged 55-64 was less than 50 % in the European Union - 54.4% for men and 41.8% for women;

Amendment 8 #

Ria OOMEN-RUIJTEN

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas an older labour force and longer working lives can make a positive contribution to recovery and future growth;

Amendment 9 #

Ria OOMEN-RUIJTEN

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas older people are indispensable with a view to passing on knowledge and experience to future generations;

source: PE-523.011

2014/01/27 CONT 22 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas several years of economic and financial crisis have meant that the European Social Fund’s (ESF) measures are more important than ever as one of the tools for tackling high unemployment, and lessons learned from implementing previous measures will be vital when the new programmes are put in place from 2014;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes that the operational programmes contain no provisions which would cover incentives for employers or which would motivate employers to employ older workers, who could be an asset thanks to their many years of experience and practical knowledge;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Is of the opinion that specific groups of workers needs special adapted programmes and projects, like those working in shifts or heavy industry versus those in less physical jobs like the service industry/sectors, further points out that gender as a policy factor should be incorporated;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Strongly believes that the experience of older workers is an asset which should be used in the best possible way, not only for individual workers to remain active in the labour market in their own job but to see to it that they can use this acquired experience by and in changing jobs;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Calls on the European Economic and Social Committee to pay due attention to this Special report of the Court of Auditors and to closely monitor if the European Commission and the Member - States are giving a proper follow up to its conclusions;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Is concerned about the fact that, in the OPs for the period under assessment, ‘older workers’, although identified as a target group, did not always have their own indicators or target values, leading to a situation where it is difficult or even impossible to assess the effectiveness of the measures addressing the needs of older workers; notes that, when indicators are in fact present in projects, they refer mostly to output such as the number of participants, and results rather than to any specific impacts;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to put more emphasis on the fight against age discrimination of older workers and to use its prerogatives under the existing legal instruments to tackle blatant forms of age discrimination in certain Member- States and in certain sectors of the economy;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Welcomes the fact that the new focus of the Common Strategic Framework funds for the next programming period 2014-2020 is on results, under which any measure proposed must be designed to achieve a specific objective;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Stresses that setting clear priorities in the new programmes with a view to achieving results will enable synergies to be found between the various funds and other sources of financing, thereby helping to ensure that measures to achieve the proposed objectives are as effective as possible at both national and transnational level;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9c. Believes it necessary for the indicators used under the new OPs to include alerts in respect of financial and physical factors, and welcomes the fact that these are subject to special monitoring so that the reasons for any deviation from a given threshold in respect of the programmed objectives is analysed by the evaluation unit in cooperation with the intermediary bodies for the programmes, with a view to determining whether the deviations are caused by temporary situations or structural problems requiring more in-depth analysis or, where necessary, modifications to the programme;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)

9d. Believes it also necessary to monitor whether or not changes occur in the socio-economic context and in the national and/or Community priorities, and whether problems arise when the programmes are being implemented which require a programme to be evaluated and substantially modified;

Amendment 2 #

Inese VAIDERE

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas reliable data are necessary to determine how effectively ESF resources are spent; whereas regarding the period from 2007 to the end of 2013 neither the Member States nor the Commission can establish how many older workers have gained new qualifications, found or kept a job after participating in an action funded by the ESF;

Amendment 20 #

Inese VAIDERE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls for the systematic use of relevant performance indicators such as quantified operational goals, result targets and specific impact targets to be included from the project condition stage so that the 2014-2020 ESF programmes can improve not only the amount and quality of the data collected on ‘older workers’ in the labour market but also the decision-making process;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Welcomes the fact that MAs generally defined the monitoring data they required clearly; recalls, nevertheless, that monitoring and evaluation systems should allow for the timely and periodic verification of progress made towards the established objectives, as well as the possibility of reacting quickly to significant divergences from the established objectives;

Amendment 22 #

Inese VAIDERE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Commission gradually to rebalance and enhance its management tools so as to move from simply monitoring compliance – on the basis of legality/regularity principles – towards measuring the progress in achieving the target values and the performance of the use of ESF in the forthcoming period 2014- 2020; recalls that successfully establishing a robust performance framework, with clear and measurable aims and targets which provide accountability and results, is key to maximising the impact on growth and jobs and requires common and equivalent efforts from the Commission and the Member States;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

Ka. whereas older workers account for less than 5 % of participants in the lifelong learning activities of the ESF, which is evidence of lower levels of participation in training programmes but not of a lack of training or qualifications on the part of those workers;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas the implementation of the ESF must comply with the EU’s Financial Regulations, in particular the fundamental principles of sound financial management, i.e. economy, efficiency and effectiveness;(Does not affect English version.)

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Regrets the fact that in the OPs, the definition of ‘older workers’ is not used consistently; notes that many MAs do not use in their respective OPs the definition of ’older workers’ as defined in the Lisbon Agenda, namely any person of working age between 55 and 64 years old, but instead use different age groups, is of the opinion that the definition of "older workers" should be adapted to the maximum legal pension age in the respective Member- States;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Regrets the fact that in the OPs for the period 2007-2013, the definition of ‘older workers’ is not used consistently; notes that many MAs do not use in their respective OPs the definition of ‘older workers’ as defined in the Lisbon Agenda, namely any person of working age between 55 and 64 years old, but instead use different age groups;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Regrets~~Is concerned by the fact that in the OPs, the definition of ‘older workers’ is not used consistently; notes that many MAs do not use in their respective OPs the definition of ‘older workers’ as defined in the Lisbon Agenda, namely any person of working age between 55 and 64 years old, but instead use different age groups;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Regrets that the data necessary for evaluating the current employment situation for older workers, assessing future development and adopting measures to achieve the established objectives provided by the Member States are unreliable and of unsatisfactory quality; calls for measures to be adopted that will motivate the Member States to submit reliable and high-quality data;

Amendment 9 #