2014/2145(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Takes the view that it is absolutely vital for the democratic legitimacy of EMU to be improved substantially within the EU’s institutional framework and in line with the Community method, simultaneously obeying the existing regulations, especially the Treaty of Maastricht with its no-bail-out clause and the Stability and Growth Pact;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for an interinstitutional agreement to be concluded between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council providing for effective parliamentary ~~valid~~control and participation ofin the various stages of the European Semester, starting with the validation of the Annual Growth Survey; and proposes that — pending the revision of the Treaty — a conciliation procedure be introduced for Council recommendations regarding broad economic and employment guidelines, similar to the conciliation procedure introduced in 1975, pending the strengthening of EP budgetary powers, concerning multiannual programmes with a significant financial impact;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls for an interinstitutional agreement to be concluded between the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council providing for parliamentary ~~validation~~scrutiny of the various stages of the European Semester, starting with the Annual Growth Survey;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls for providing an adequate mechanism to ensure a more active role of national Parliaments in issues of economic and financial governance, in particular with regard to the European Semester.

Amendment 13 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Is convinced that full parliamentary scrutiny and effective participation in decision making in the field of economic and monetary policy, taxation and own resources requires a revision of the Treaty and reserves the right, under Article 48 TEU, submit proposals to the Council with a view to convening a constitutional convention;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Requests, in this regard, the adoption of the Annual Growth Survey under the codecision procedure; that the ESM is integrated into the EU legal framework and made formally accountable to the European Parliament, through the joint application of articles 352 and 136 of the TFEU; that the decision-making process within the Eurogroup operates in the interests of accountability and democratic legitimacy; and that, in the long term, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs chairs the Eurogroup;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Takes the view that the implement~~Recalling the investigation into the role and operations of the ~~economic dialogue needs to be reviewed so as to ensure that there is proper parliamentary scrutiny at all stages of the procedure~~Troika (ECB, Commission and IMF) with regard to euro area countries in programmes, believes that the democratic dimension of EMU and strengthening parliamentary oversight to require the methods of the Troika to be abandoned and negotiating power placed in the hands of the Commission, the only institution accountable to the European Parliament;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view also that the implementation of the ~~economic~~results of the economic and social dialogue needs to be reviewed so as to ensure that there is proper parliamentary scrutiny at all stages of the procedure; is convinced that it must ensure coordination of decision making between the different thematic Councils, making greater use of 'Jumbo' Councils also as an opportunity for consultation with the social partners; recommends that the results of the open coordination method be put forward for consideration;

Amendment 17 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the implementation of the economic dialogue needs to be reviewed so as to ensure that there is proper parliamentary scrutiny at all stages of the procedure, following the principle of subsidiarity on national levels as well as on EU level;;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Takes the view that the implementation of the economic dialogue needs to be scrupulously reviewed so as to ensure that there is proper parliamentary scrutiny at all stages of the procedure;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Regrets that the capacity of national Parliaments to control and influence their governments' actions in the EU are insufficient; is of the view that national Parliaments should take more active part in policymaking in terms of scrutinizing and shaping their government's positions before they are submitted to the Commission.

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Takes the view that it is absolutely vital ~~for the democratic legitimacy of EMU to be improved substantially~~and a matter of urgency to create the conditions for genuine democratic legitimacy and the principle of EMU responsibility to be established within the EU's institutional framework and in line with the Community method;

Amendment 20 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Reiterates its suggestion, contained in the report on the role and operations of the Troika, to give the European Parliament codecision powers in the appointment of the ECB President;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Believes that the elaboration of a new legal framework for future assistance programs should guarantee that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with the full involvement of the European Parliament, in order to ensure full democratic legitimacy and accountability;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the setting-up of the Interparliamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union~~; underscores, nevertheless, its limits when it comes to encouraging accountability on the part of decision-makers; points out that responsi~~ and calls for a clarification of its role and competences, even though such cooperation must not lead to the establishment of a new joint parliamentary body; Stresses that proper legitimacy and accountabilit~~ies~~y must be asensumred at ~~the appropriate~~national and EU level~~, wi~~ by the national parliaments ~~scrutinising national governments and the European Parliament scrutinising the European executive, and that such cooperation must not lead to the establishment of a new joint parliamentary bod~~and the European Parliament respectively;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the setting-up of the Interparliamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union; believes that IPC-EFG can help to reduce the evident gap in parliamentary control; underscores, nevertheless, its limits when it comes to encouraging accountability on the part of decision-makers; points out that ~~responsibilities must be assumed at the appropriate level, with~~democratic control and accountability should take place at the appropriate level, where decisions are taken. This implies that national parliaments scrutinising national governments and the European Parliament scrutinising the European executive, and that such cooperation must not lead to the establishment of a new joint parliamentary body; opportunities offered by existing structures of interparliamentary cooperation should be used;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the setting-up of the Interparliamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union; underscores, nevertheless, its limits when it comes to encouraging accountability on the part of decision-makers; points out that ~~responsi~~parliamentary scrutiny and accountabilit~~ies~~y must ~~be assum~~take place at the level where decisions are taken or implemented; a~~t the appropriate level, with national parliaments scrutinising~~dvocates therefore strenghtening legitimacy at both national and European level, by foreseeing the adoption of National Reform Programmes and possible Convergence Partnerships by national ~~govern~~parliaments a~~nd the European Parliament scrutinising the European executive, and~~s well as the adoption of an EU legal act under the ordinary legislative procedure establishing Convergence Guidelines which will provide a basis for the European Semester next to the Annual Growth Survey; insists that any such cooperation must not lead to the establishment of a new joint parliamentary body;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the setting-up of the Interparliamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union; assesses the setting-up of the Interparlamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union as non-imperative and limited to those fields of activity not to be decided on national levels, underscores, nevertheless, its limits when it comes to encouraging accountability on the part of decision-makers; points out that responsibilities must be assumed at the appropriate level thoroughly following the principle of subsidiarity, with national parliaments scrutinising national governments and the European Parliament scrutinising the European executive, and that such cooperation must not lead to the establishment of a new joint parliamentary body;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcomes~~Reiterates its support for the setting-up of the Interparliamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union; underscores, nevertheless, its limits when it comes to encouraging accountability on the part of decision-makers; points out that this responsibilit~~ies~~y must be assumed at the appropriate level, with national parliaments scrutinising national governments and the European Parliament scrutinising the European executive, and that such cooperation must not lead to the establishment of a new joint parliamentary body; recalls that the European Parliament is the EMU institution that ensures representative democracy and that it is, under its Rules of procedure, authorised to set up internal bodies for the evaluation and monitoring of monetary policy and of the euro; considers that enhanced interparliamentary cooperation should be one of the objectives of the Fiscal Compact renegotiation procedure when discussing its possible inclusion in the Treaties;

Amendment 27 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes President Juncker's proposal to create a European fund for strategic investments (EFSI) and introduce new detailed guidelines for the deduction of expenditure for the fund under the Stability and Growth Pact;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Takes the view that it is vital to distinguish between countries’ operating expenditure and their productive investments, and that it is for the Commission, with the help of Eurostat, to lay down, in advance, strict eligibility criteria that allow for more favourable treatment of productive investments that guarantee the viability of public finances in the long term, in accordance with Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU);deleted

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Takes the view that it is vital to distinguish between countries' operating expenditure and their productive investments, and that it is for the Commission, with the help of Eurostat, to lay down, in advance, strict eligibility criteria that, for the durable achievement of the objective of balancing national public finances under the Treaties, it is vital for the Commission allow for more favourable treatment of national productive investments that guarantee the viability of public finances in the long term, in accordance with Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); urges the Commission, together with Eurostat, to define the eligibility criteria in advance;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Takes the view that it is vital and urgent to distinguish between countries’ operating expenditure and their productive investments, and that it is for the Commission, with the help of Eurostat, to lay down, in advance, ~~strict~~precise eligibility criteria that allow for more favourable treatment of productive investments ~~that guarantee the viability of public finances in the long term, in accordance with Article 126(3) of the Treaty~~, which, together with the sustainability of public finances under Article 126(3) TFEU, make it possible to exclude these productive investments from Stability Pact restrictions; recommends that the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs specify the nature onf th~~e Function~~is investment by giving priority to spending ofn the ~~European Union (TFEU)~~environment and alternative energy, tangible and intangible social infrastructures and research;

Amendment 33 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Takes the view that it is vital to distinguish between countries’ operating expenditure and their ~~product~~sustainable and inclusive investments, and that it is for the Commission, with the help of Eurostat, to lay down, in advance, strict eligibility criteria that allow for more favourable treatment of ~~product~~sustainable and inclusive investments that guarantee the viability of public finances in the long term, in accordance with Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU);

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Recalls that a "Genuine Economic and Monetary Union" cannot be limited to a system of rules, but must be part of an ambitious political project, and that the necessary deepening of the EMU absolutely needs four interrelated conditions: a fiscal capacity, renewed assistance mechanisms, a social dimension, an institutional and democratic pillar;

Amendment 35 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Takes the view that the Commission communication on making the best use of flexibility within the rules of the SGP is a positive first step, but urges the Commission to extend the application of the "investment clause" to the corrective arm of the SPG, making use of a similar methodology that grounded the application of the "investment clause" to the preventive arm of the SGP;

Amendment 36 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Takes the view that the social dimension of the EMU must be fully taken into account, whereas according to the Article 9 of the TFEU the promotion of high employment and social protection have to be taken into account when defining and implementing the policies and the activities of the EU. Calls for an equal treatment between the social rights and the internal Market's freedoms in the hierarchy of norms;

Amendment 37 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that a minor change to the Treaties, i.e. the deletion of Article 126(10) TFEU, would make it possible for the Court of Justice to penalise infringements, as befits a community based on the rule of law.deleted

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 39 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Takes the view that it is absolutely vital for the democratic legitimacy of EMU to be improved substantially within the EU’s institutional framework and in line with the Community method; considers that the pieces of legislation based on intergovernmental treaties and implemented during the crisis have hampered the democratic legitimacy of the EMU and the European project;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that ~~a min~~major changes to the Treaties, i~~.e.~~ncluding the ~~dele~~creation of ~~Article 126(10) TFEU, would make it possible for the Court of Justice to penalise infringements, as befits a community based on the rule of law.~~a European Monetary Fund and Eurobonds, will ultimately be necessary to implement a genuine, efficient and democratic EMU, required for the economic and social needs of the 21st century;

Amendment 41 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that ~~a minor change to the Treaties, i.e. the deletion of Article 126(10) TFEU, would make it possible for the Court of Justice to penalise infringements~~the European Court of Justice is one of the pillars of the Community method; considers that a community of law requires judicial control (infringement proceedings against defaulting Member States and action for annulment against decisions of the institutions, thereby providing programme countries with a guarantee) and that the absence of the European Court of Justice, which has played an essential role in underpinning the rule of law in the Union, ais ~~befits a community based on the rule of law.~~ a serious shortcoming of Economic and Monetary Union; considers that the deletion of Article 126(10) TFEU would enable the Court of Justice to resume this key role.

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Stresses that the European Parliament shall fully play its part in the upcoming discussions and decisions and requests the President of the Commission to submit - an ambitious 'roadmap" outlining the necessary legislative and institutional progress to create the best future possible for the Euro Zone, the EU and its citizens.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Takes the view that it is absolutely vital for the democratic legitimacy of EMU to be improved substantially within the EU’s institutional framework and in line with the Community method; calls therefore to integrate, as soon as possible, the ESM within the community acquis and, after a comprehensive assessment of its implementation, the relevant provisions of the TSCG into the legal framework of the European Union within five years at the latest; reiterates its conviction that the conclusion of international agreements outside the EU legal framework jeopardises its unity as well as its consistency and effectiveness, does not provide for genuine parliamentary scrutiny, hence shall be avoided;

Amendment 6 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines that the Eurogroup and the Eurosummit are, respectively, informal configurations of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council and of the European Council, that they anyway took major decisions in the field of the EMU and that those decisions suffer therefore from a lack of democratic legitimacy;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Advocates, in this sense, for the establishment of a less complex, more efficient and transparent economic governance, aiming, in the long term perspective, at a deeper integration of the EU, while offering medium-term solutions to enable the Euro Zone and the Union to face the current challenges.

Amendment 8 #

Pedro SILVA PEREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS, Mercedes BRESSO, Jo LEINEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls on the European Commission, as one of the European institutions involved in defining, deciding and monitoring the compliance of national governments' economic adjustment programmes with the MoU, to regularly report to the European Parliament on the relevant decisions taken when it acts as member of the Troika;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Calls for~~Is convinced that strengthening the involvement of Parliament in the economic governance process is a prerequisite to increase democratic legitimacy and calls to explore the path of legislative and interinstitutional agreements to ~~be concluded between the European Parliament, the Commiss~~enable the European Parliament, among other things, to be more formally involved in the key stages of the European Semester, with regards notably to the Annual Growth Survey, to the Euro Zone Recommendation and to the Coun~~cil providing for parliamentary validation of the various stages of~~try Specific Recommendations in order to remedy the double democratic deficit that is aggravated by the Ecur~~opean Semester, starting with the Annual Growth Survey~~rent governance framework, both at national and at European levels;

source: 546.832

2015/02/02 EMPL 140 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Recital A (new)

A. whereas, pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union, the Union ‘shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection’;

Amendment 10 #

Georgi PIRINSKI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Draws attention to the fact that the European economic governance framework, ~~which, by~~meant to coordinat~~ing~~e policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, ~~fosters~~has not proven sufficiently effective for fostering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 100 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness ~~and focus of budget policies~~of fiscal policies, reducing poverty and enhancing fair mobility, calls on the Member States to ~~press ahead with~~better coordinate their efforts to ~~modernis~~improve their labour markets and social ~~security systems; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices~~protection systems while making sure that the structural reforms implemented in these sectors do not undermine labour standards or reduce access to adequate social protection which is a universal right and a precondition for the creation of more equal societies; with this in mind, calls on the Commission and the Member States to share best practices and to further promote mutual learning also at regional and local level;

Amendment 101 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, calls on the Member States to ~~press ahead with their efforts to~~make the moderniseation of their labour markets and social security systems subject to maintaining quality of employment and social protection as a means of ensuring social cohesion, competitiveness and resistance to economic and financial crises; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices;

Amendment 102 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, calls on the Member States to press ahead with their efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices, investing in people and enhancing European solidarity;

Amendment 103 #

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. ~~With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, c~~Calls on the Member States to press ahead with their efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices;

Amendment 104 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, calls on the Member States to press ahead with their efforts to modernise their labour markets, educational systems and social security systems through structural reforms which ensure a better match between skills and jobs; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices;

Amendment 105 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness ~~and focus of budget policies~~of fiscal policies and enhancing fair mobility in a single labour market, calls on the Member States to ~~press ahead with~~better coordinate their efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems; w~~ith this in mind, encourages them to share best prac~~hile making sure that the structural reforms implemented in these sectors do not undermine labour standards or reduce access to adequate social protection, which is a universal right and a precondition for the creation of more equal societices;

Amendment 106 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. ~~With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, c~~Calls on the Member States to ~~press ahead w~~give priorithy t~~heir efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems~~o social matters by promoting jobs with rights and decent pay and widening social security to provide universal coverage; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices;

Amendment 107 #

Georgi PIRINSKI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Draws attention to proposals to ensure active involvement of Member States in implementing the Juncker Plan by means of developing a European framework that excludes expenditures for education, research and development and professional training from national deficit targets;

Amendment 108 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Deplores the fact that the EU does not make any provision for modernisation, and its recommendations are in fact leading to a reverse trend in the social situation;

Amendment 109 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Regrets that in its attempts to balance fiscal policies, the Commission has chosen to side-line the importance of social protection systems as key instruments for stabilising the economy, as well as society;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Takes note of the European economic governance framework, which, by setting out to coordinat~~ing~~e policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, ~~fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with~~seeks to promote the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;s

Amendment 110 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Proposes to protect salary levels with regard to the inherent obligations associated with economic governance, at least at the levels negotiated in collective agreements;

Amendment 111 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Calls on the Commission to extend the wage safeguard clauses in the Two-Pack, which safeguard the right to bargain and to take action, to all existing instruments of European economic regulation; calls on social partners to increase wage coordination within the Eurozone to avoid imbalances;

Amendment 112 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. ~~So as to address~~Recommends that Member States tackle the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment~~, encourages Member States to use the~~ by implementing the youth employment initiative and using all available resources in an mutually reinforcing, effective, and focused way ~~via the introduction of the youth employment initiative, and recommends that cross-border mobility be supported via the development of the EURES portal as a vector for youth employment~~, and, in order to support youth employment, also advocates cross-border mobility, which should be provided via the development of the EURES portal and always viewed as a deliberate career choice and an alternative to national mobility, which must in any event be guaranteed;

Amendment 113 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. So as to address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment, encourages Member States to use the available resources in an effective and focused way via the introduction of the youth employment initiative, thereby boosting demand and supply on the single market; and recommends that cross-border mobility be supported via the development of the EURES portal as a vector for youth employment;

Amendment 114 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. So as to address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment, encourages the Commission to allow the Member States to use the available resources in an effective and focused way via precise, legally sound guidelines for the introduction of the youth employment initiative, and recommends that cross- border mobility be supported via the development of the EURES portal as a vector for youth employment;

Amendment 115 #

Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. So as to address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment, encourages Member States to use the available resources in an effective and focused way via ~~the intro~~investments in human capital, and particularly in education of, with a special focus on the youth employment initiative~~, and~~ in the areas most affected by unemployment; also recommends that cross-border mobility be supported via cross-border partnerships and via the development of the EURES portal as a vector for youth employment;

Amendment 116 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. So as to address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment, encourages Member States to use the available resources in an effective and focused way ~~via the introduction of the youth employment initiative, and recommends that cross-border mobility be supported via the development of the EURES portal as a vector for youth~~ , providing job-creation incentives in Member States with particularly high unemployment levels;

Amendment 117 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. So as to address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment, encourages Member States to use the available resources in an effective and focused way via the introduction of the youth employment initiative, enhanced use of vocational training as a tool for enhanced employability and a better match between skills and jobs and recommends that cross-border mobility be supported via the development of the EURES portal as a vector for youth employment;

Amendment 118 #

Brando BENIFEI, Georgi PIRINSKI, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Evelyn REGNER, Jutta STEINRUCK, Maria João RODRIGUES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. ~~So as to address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment, encourages Member States to use the available reso~~Urges the Member States to use at the fullest all available financial resources in the Youth Employment Initiative in an effective and focused way, so as to adequately address the urgent situation with regard to youth unemployment; with a view to this, considers it essential that Member States’ co- financing contributions to youth employment measurces ~~in an effective and focused way via the introduction of the youth employment initiative, and recommends tha~~, such as the Youth Guarantee, are excluded from the calculation of national deficits; calls on the Commission to put forward proposals to further support cross-border mobility, also bey s~~upported via the development of~~trengthening the EURES portal as an important vector for youth employment;

Amendment 119 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Notes that the EURES portal is not a vector for employment but simply a way of moving round work shortages;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Regrets that the European economic governance framework~~, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to p~~ has not contributed to fostering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and points out that the EU’s Annual GDP Growth is projected at below 1.5%; stresses that growth in revcent ~~major imbalances, fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;~~years has been modest or stagnated, the EU 2020 targets on employment and poverty are far from being achieved and that inequality as well as poverty are continuing to be unacceptably high; 1 a __________________ 1a EU Economic Forecast 2014 http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publ ications/european_economy/2014/pdf/ee7 _en.pdf

Amendment 120 #

Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. In the face of ageing populations and pension system reforms, calls on the Member States to give priority to action focusing on older workers; calls on the Commission to lay down criteria and step up checks on the use of EU funding for older workers and to take more action as regards the employment of older people;

Amendment 121 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Notes with grave concern that long term unemployment has doubled over the course of the crisis; notes also that this increase was even higher among low skilled workers; calls on the Commission to ensure that fight against long-term unemployment is reflected in its policies and country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 122 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Notes with grave concern that long term unemployment has doubled over the course of the crisis; notes also that this increase was even higher among low skilled workers; calls on the Commission to ensure that the fight against long-term unemployment is reflected in its policies and country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 123 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Believes that the rising levels of inequality in Europe should be given the upmost importance in the context of the Union’s Economic framework; believes that one of the best ways to combat this rising inequality is to redouble the efforts in creating more quality jobs in Europe;

Amendment 124 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)

Amendment 125 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to ~~stepping up democratic scrutiny~~ensuring full and complete democratic scrutiny of the European Semester procedure, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments and management and labour be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission.

Amendment 126 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. ~~With a view to stepping up democratic scrutiny, recommends that~~Points to the need for the European Parliament, national parliaments and management and labour to be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission in order to allow democratic scrutiny of the European process.

Amendment 127 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to stepping up democratic scrutiny and reducing the increasing gulf between the EU institutions and EU citizens, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments and management and labour be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission.

Amendment 128 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to stepping up democratic scrutiny, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments, civil society and management and labour be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission.

Amendment 129 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. ~~With a view to stepping up democratic scrutiny, recommends that the European Parliament,~~Draws attention to the lack of democratic scrutiny over the European governance framework; insists that national parliaments ~~and~~, management and labour ~~be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission~~, and the European Parliament be actively involved in this process.

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Is ~~pleased with the~~in favour of a European economic governance framework, which, bywhile coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, must fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 130 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Marian HARKIN, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to stepping up democratic ~~scrutiny, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments and management and labour be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission.~~accountability of the Economic governance as well as increasing the quality and ownership of the semester process, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments as well as civil society organisations and social partners at national and EU level be more closely involved throughout the whole semester cycle between the Member States and the Commission; stresses that meaningful and structural consultation with civil society stakeholders would not only boost the democratic legitimacy of the process and the chances of reforms being acceptable to citizens and successful in their implementation, but could also strengthen the evidence base for the evaluation of reforms;

Amendment 131 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to stepping up democratic scrutiny, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments and ~~management and labour~~the social partners be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission.

Amendment 132 #

Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Javi LÓPEZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to stepping up democratic ~~scrutiny, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments and management and labour be more closely involved in economic dialogu~~accountability and increasing the quality and ownership of the semester process, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments as well as civil society organizations and social partners at national and EU level be more closely involved throughout the whole semester cycle between the Member States and the Commission.;

Amendment 133 #

Brando BENIFEI, Georgi PIRINSKI, Evelyn REGNER, Jutta STEINRUCK, Maria João RODRIGUES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. With a view to stepping up democratic scrutiny, recommends that the European Parliament, national parliaments and ~~management and labour~~social partners be more closely involved in economic dialogue between the Member States and the Commission.

Amendment 134 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Recalls on the Commission and the Council to enter into an interinstitutional agreement with the European Parliament in order to fully guarantee the role of the Parliament within the whole Semester Process;

Amendment 135 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls for the economic governance regulations to be revised so as to make the following changes to the European Semester process: (a) before the Annual Growth Survey is published, the Commission must hold a debate with representatives of the European Parliament on the survey’s broad guidelines; (b) following publication and before the corresponding debate at the European Council meeting, trilogues must be held between the three institutions to agree on an economic framework, one for jobs and one for social policies; (c) following adoption of the report on Annual Growth Survey and before the corresponding debate at the European Council meeting, trilogues must be held between the three institutions to agree on an economic framework, one for jobs and one for social policies;

Amendment 136 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Believes that social partners should have an increased role in the economic governance framework both at European and national level; believes that such a reinforced role would increase the democratic legitimacy of the economic governance framework whilst safeguarding citizens’ rights;

Amendment 137 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Points out that Member States must at least inform their national parliaments before January of the contents of their National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and Stability and Convergence Programmes (SCPs); points out, further, that alongside these programmes they should also include the record of the corresponding debate held in the national parliament; points out that, in the absence of such a record, the Commission must return the NRPs and SCPs and deem them not to have been submitted, initiating the appropriate procedure in line with the 2-pack and 6-pack regulations; recommends that national parliaments should in any case adopt the NRPs and SCPs, rather than merely being informed of them;

Amendment 138 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Calls for it to be mandatory for Member States to include as an annex to the NRPs and SCPs a record of the opinion of the most representative social organisations and civil society;

Amendment 139 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 d (new)

10d. Calls for the official establishment of a debate between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament along with social organisations and civil society at European level between the publication of the Annual Growth Survey and the March European Council, and before the European Council approves the country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 14 #

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Is pleased with the European economic governance framework, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, fosters ~~smart, sustainable and inclusive growth~~growth, meaning that it ought to be strengthened in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 140 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Enrique CALVET CHAMBON, Renate WEBER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 e (new)

10e. Calls for the European Semester to include an obligation to draw up national employment programmes which assess the policies designed to promote job creation, the labour markets, quality employment, adequate wages and the required level of flexibility and security in labour law;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Is pleased with the European economic governance framework, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy; Is pleased that the European economic governance framework has shown progress in addressing fiscal consolidation with EU28 overall debt falling from 4.5 % of GDP in 2011 to a forecast of 3 % of GDP in 2014;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Regrets the fact that the European economic governance framework, ~~which, by coordinating policies more closely~~conceived as a tool to coordinate economic and social policies, has been solely focusing on adjustment policies; Stresses that in order to prevent major imbalances, it needs to fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Notes that the European economic governance framework, ~~which, by coordinating policies more closely in order~~can have the potential to prevent major imbalances, fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 18 #

Brando BENIFEI, Maria João RODRIGUES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Rejects the European economic governance framework~~, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy~~ because it violates the democratic and sovereign rights of peoples and Member States; proposes that the Stability and Growth Pact and the Fiscal Compact be revoked and replaced by a pact for sustainable development and social progress;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Calls on the Commission to put forward a review of the European economic governance framework, which, by coordinating Member States’ policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, ~~fost~~can delivers smart, sustainable and inclusive growth ~~in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy~~by enhancing, at the same time, the democratic legitimacy and scrutiny of the system as a whole, including a revision of the Europe 2020 employment and social targets and the European Semester;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital B (new)

B. whereas the governance mechanisms introduced with the ‘2-pack’ and the ‘6- pack’ have been unable to guarantee a balance between the social pillar of EMU (Article 148 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) and the economic pillar (Article 121 TFEU), which means it is vital to guarantee a social dimension for economic governance at the various levels of the Union, as laid down in Article 9 TFEU;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls for economic and monetary union to be made more social in order to improve economic governance, reduce unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion, overcome social dumping, and prevent a race to the bottom in terms of social standards; calls in addition for a social progress pact laying down binding common standards for employment, education, and research and development;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Deeply regrets that the Commission Communication does not do justice to the fact that the 6-pack failed and calls on the Commission to propose a revision of the 6-pack; calls on the European Commission to live up to President Juncker’s commitment to a social Triple A rating by refocussing the economic governance framework on the delivery of the EU2020 targets, with economic, employment, education and poverty and social exclusion targets on an equal footing and to put an end to those policies in the economic governance framework which have been counterproductive to achieving the 2020 targets;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines that the European Union’s economic governance framework is an indispensable steering instrument to detect, prevent, and correct problematic economic trends such as excessive government deficits or public debt levels, which have proofed in the debt crisis to cause sharp reductions in growth, enormous unemployment and which put the European economies and the European project at a risk;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Is concerned that the current economic governance framework does not give due importance to employment and social considerations, thus making it much more difficult to achieve the headline targets of the EU2020 strategy;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Expresses regret that the current economic governance policy remains focused solely on economic growth without acknowledging the need for an inclusive, rights-based and sustainable approach; stresses that the benefits of growth need to be spread throughout society for it to become sustainable and inclusive;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Emphasises, that as a principle countries in the Euro zone that received support from the partners to finance their economies must fulfil the according rules, programs and agreements; underlines that this is a matter of respect for the tax payers in the partner countries in return for their big solidarity efforts;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Agrees with Commissioner Thyssen’s statement that countries that provide high quality jobs, better social protection and invest in human capital are more resilient to economic crises; calls on the Commission to reflect this position moving forward in all of its European semester policy and country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Underlines that solidarity is the core value on which the European Union and the European Union’s economic governance framework is built on; thanks therefore the people and tax payers in Europe for showing great solidarity with the people in countries effected by the debt crisis;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Emphasizes that Member States which imposed the structural reforms negotiated via the European Union’s economic governance framework are successful in regaining competiveness in the global market, in creating growth and jobs, as well as in building up confidence on the financial markets;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1e. Is deeply concerned that slowing down structural reforms or withdrawing parts of them leads to capital flight, stock exchange crashes, sharp reductions in growth and high unemployment rates;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital C (new)

C. whereas in its resolution of 1 December 2011 on the European Semester for Economic Policy Coordination, Parliament stated that ‘any new or upgraded organisation and decision-making process within the Council and/or the Commission must go hand in hand with upgraded democratic legitimacy and appropriate accountability to the European Parliament’;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission's initiative to conduct an initial review of the current framework's effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; also suggests that the review ~~presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be deepened~~should lead to the updating of material relating to economic governance;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework's effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views with the European Parliament's committees responsible on the ways in which the framework could be deepened;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework’s effectiveness with a view to assessing the ~~effective and uniform~~ application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; a~~lso suggest~~ssumes that the review ~~presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be deepened~~will provide a basis for a critical analysis of the framework’s operating rules;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework’s effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be deepened and on such adjustments as might need to be made;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework~~’s effectiveness with a view~~; calls on the Commission to assddress in~~g the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission~~ its review also the shortcomings of the framework, including with regards to the delivery on the Europe 2020 headline targets; also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be deepened and fundamentally improved especially as regards ownership of the semester process;

Amendment 35 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework's effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission, as well as the pertinence thereof; also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be ~~deepen~~updated;

Amendment 36 #

Ádám KÓSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework's effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the existing framework could be ~~deepened~~made more effective;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework’s effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be deepened; Suggests that the review in addition focuses on measures that will enhance private trust in the economy as trust is a precondition for private investments which is a precondition for job-creation;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework’s effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Member States and by the Commission; ~~also suggests that the review presents an opportunity for an exchange of views on the ways in which the framework could be deepened;~~ recalls that in order to meet the objectives set out in Article 9 TFEU, economic policy cannot be considered in isolation from social policy, and therefore underlines the urgent need to improve European social governance, in a way comparable to the establishment of European economic governance;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 4 #

Brando BENIFEI, Maria João RODRIGUES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative to conduct an initial review of the framework’s effectiveness with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of ~~governance~~ rules by the Member States and by the Commission; ~~also suggest~~considers that ~~the~~such a review presents anthe opportunity for a~~n exchange of v~~ deep and inclusive re-evaluation of the overall prioritiews ~~on the ways in which the framework could be deepened~~and the adequacy of the economic governance instruments, with the aim of achieving a genuine fiscal union to properly run the single currency;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes, even in the absence of hindsight, that the European economic governance framework bears the seeds of its own ineffectiveness, given the highly unstable political and monetary terrain on which it is based;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Takes the view that recognition today by the Commission of the need for a massive investment programme constitutes a major shift in approach by the economic governance framework that has been discouraging investment over the last few years;

Amendment 43 #

Brando BENIFEI, Mercedes BRESSO, Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Evelyn REGNER, Silvia COSTA, Maria ARENA, Maria João RODRIGUES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Believes, therefore, that this review presents an opportunity so as to develop a new socio-economic framework with a comprehensive strategy to enforce the European social Acquis; stresses the importance of a better coordination system for the Euro Area as a whole;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights the need to develop European automatic stabilising mechanisms to address asymmetric economic shocks, such as an EMU-wide unemployment benefit scheme, as a means to maintain social cohesion, support internal demand and strengthen the sustainability of the single currency; reiterates its call on the Commission to produce a Green Paper on automatic stabilisers in the Eurozone;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Stresses in this respect the need for a favourable public-sector investment climate; calls in particular for the neutralisation of public investment in calculating Member State debt, especially given the impact of the new SEC2010 accounting standards on the investment capacity of certain public authorities; calls for European Central Bank decision making to be adapted accordingly;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis: with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social progress;deleted

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be ~~strength~~deepened and ~~deepened as an effective way of p~~given firmer democratic crevdenting a crisis: with this in mind, welcomes the Commission's proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy withals, thereby providing an effective framework for the coordination of Member States' economic and social p~~rogres~~olicies;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for ~~the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an~~a critical analysis of the European Semester, particularly as regards its effective ~~way of~~ness in preventing a crisis:; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission's proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social ~~progres~~aspects;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis: with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform ~~in order to link the market economy with social progress~~, and urges the Commission to call for practical action by Member States to eradicate the absolute poverty with which many of them are afflicted;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with the~~Advocates strongly the introduction of a European economic governance framework, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as a~~n effective way of preventing~~ potential way of balancing fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic balance with social cohesion a cr~~isi~~oss the Union and delivery on the 2020 targets; with this in mind, ~~welcomes~~calls on the Commission~~’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social progress~~ to extend its proposal beyond reductionist budget responsibility and move towards policies addressing social investment and structural reform in order to ensure that the social market economy is geared towards more social progress as well as a fairer distribution of wealth and cohesion and a better gender equality;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be ~~strengthened and deepen~~reviewed as an effective way of preventing a crisis:; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission's proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform ~~in or~~, providerd tohat they link the market economy with social progress;

Amendment 52 #

Ádám KÓSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and ~~deepened~~made more effective as an effective way of preventing a crisis: with this in mind, welcomes the Commission's proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social progress;

Amendment 53 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as ain ~~effective way of~~a bid to prevent~~ing~~ a crisis:; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission's proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and targeted structural reform in order to link the market economy with social progress;·

Amendment 54 #

Enrique CALVET CHAMBON

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis: with this in mind, welcomes the Commission's proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social ~~progress~~cohesion;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis, for post-crisis job-creation and for growth convergence within the EU; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy and job-creation with social progress;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis and foster smart, sustainable and inclusive growth ; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the social market economy with social progress and cohesion;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis and foster growth; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment ~~and structural reform~~ in order to link the market economy with social progress;

Amendment 58 #

Brando BENIFEI, Jutta STEINRUCK, Maria João RODRIGUES

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Calls for~~Maintains that the European Semester should noto be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis: with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social progressnd considers that if it remains in existence, the crisis will be exacerbated;

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for the European Semester to be strengthened and deepened as an effective way of preventing a crisis; with this in mind, welcomes the Commission’s proposal to focus its action not only on budget responsibility but also on investment, including social investment, high quality job creation and structural reform in order to link the market economy with social progress;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Is pleased with the European economic governance framework, ~~which, by~~but calls for closer coordinatingon of policies ~~more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, fosters smart, sustainabl~~in order to ensure that European governance can~~d inclusive growth in line~~ dovetail to more useful effect with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy and in that way genuinely serve to foster smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that, in view of the fragmentary, inadequate and ineffective nature of the indicators used, the very principle of the semester is out of step with the social sector;

Amendment 61 #

Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO, Guillaume BALAS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that the structural reforms introduced by those Member States worst affected have not borne fruit; urges that the austerity policy blindly followed in Europe be reviewed accordingly and public investment stepped up in response to the situation;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Stresses that a balance between employment policy and economic policy pursuant to Article 121 TFEU and Article 148 TFEU is necessary for a positive development of the EU; calls for a social protocol to the Treaties to protect fundamental social and labour rights so that social rights are put on equal footing to economic freedoms;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls for greater economic and social cohesion to be provided by strengthening the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund in order to preserve and create jobs with rights by supporting measures to combat unemployment and poverty;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Proposes that joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council be held with a view to promoting coordinated socio-economic policies geared towards strengthening competitiveness in Europe and giving ~~growth and jobs a sustainabl~~a sustainable boost to growth and jobs alike in order to create bgood jobst;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Proposes that joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council be held with a view to promoting ~~coordinated~~ socio- economic policies geared towards strengthening competitiveness in Europe and giving growth and jobs a sustainable boost;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Proposes that joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council be held with a view to promoting coordinated socio-economic policies geared towards strengthening competitiveness in Europe, eliminating endemic unemployment, and giving growth and jobs a sustainable boost;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. PStresses the need for a more balanced distribution of responsibilities and better cooperation between EPSCO and ECOFIN related bodies and therefore proposes that joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council be held with a view to promoting coordinated socio-economic policies geared towards ~~strengthen~~reducing inequalities, poverty and social exclusion as well as improving competitiveness in Europe and giving sustainable growth and quality jobs a sustainable boost towards social, economic and territorial cohesion;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Proposes that joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council be held with a view to promoting coordinated socio-economic policies geared towards strengthening healthy competiti~~veness~~on in Europe and giving growth and jobs, especially for young people, a sustainable boost;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Proposes that~~Recalls the importance of joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council ~~be held~~ with a view tof promoting coordinated socio-economic policies geared towards strengthening competitiveness in Europe and giving growth and quality jobs a sustainable boost;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Is pleased with the European economic governance framework, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, ensures fully coherent public policy, fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Propos~~Strongly believes that joint meetings between the EPSCO Council and the Ecofin Council should be held with a view tof promoting coordinated socio-economic policies geared towards strengthening competitiveness in Europe and giving growth and quality jobs a sustainable boost;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises that the social indicators scoreboard in the Alert Mechanism Report is an important first step in order to identify, in advance, the social impact of measures designed to correct macroeconomic imbalances; calls on the Commission to ~~assess its scope and effectiveness~~make the scoreboard binding for Member States and to add further indicators measuring, for example, job quality, distribution of wealth, long-term and youth unemployment, gender equality, and child poverty;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises that the social indicators scoreboard in the Alert Mechanism Report is important in order to identify, in advance, the social impact of measures designed to correct macroeconomic imbalances, the object being to ensure that no instruments or measures will be implemented without taking into account the social situation in the Member States and the differences existing from one country to the next; calls on the Commission to assess its scope and effectiveness;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises that including the social indicators scoreboard in the Alert Mechanism Report is ~~important~~a first step in order to identify, in advance, the social impact of measures designed to correct macroeconomic imbalances; ~~calls on the Commission to assess its scope and effectiveness~~stresses that this so far has no policy impact and therefore calls as a next step on the Commission and the Council to put all social indicators, including those regarding poverty and social exclusion, on a par with macroeconomic ones; calls on the Commission to assess and improve its scope and effectiveness as well as to make sure that the findings of the Scoreboard of employment and social indicators are taken fully into account when developing country specific recommendations and when assessing their implementation in Member States; calls on the Commission to put in place a system that triggers preventive and corrective actions once the social indicators reach a set threshold;

Amendment 74 #

Ádám KÓSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Emphasises that the social indicators scoreboard in the Alert Mechanism Report is important in order to identify, in advance, the social impact of measures designed to correct macroeconomic imbalances; calls on the Commission to assess its scope and effectiveness and to examine the extent to which the existing indicators and the surveys undertaken by Eurostat are effective and take into account the relevant Member State’s special features, social characteristics and results achieved in terms of their own base values (at the same time as investigating the rate of recovery, the basis for recovery and growth and their sustainability);

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that certain essential information is missing from the scoreboard, such as quantitative, qualitative and geographical data regarding job offers and business bankruptcy rates;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to present as soon as possible a revision of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure and the Alert Mechanism in Regulations 1176/2011/EU and 1174/2011/EU addressing (a) a change of indicators and thresholds, moving from cost competiveness to a broader understanding of competitiveness including the quality of human capital, labour market participation, capital costs, resource efficiency, energy efficiency and inequality (b) symmetry in the MIP procedure regarding current accounts treating surpluses similarly to deficits;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls for the specific rules on binding supervision of budgetary discipline in the euro area to include employment, redistribution and social indicators such as quality employment, poverty, child poverty or access to housing, just as there are macro-economic indicators that ensure budget sustainability and the sustainability of the social model;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Stresses that excessive inequality should be a trigger within the Alert Mechanism system as it destabilizes societies and puts cohesion as well as economic performance at risk; Stresses that an increase in inequality, as experienced in the EU and documented by the country reporting in the Semester, involves major democratic risks; points to the warnings by the IMF and the ILO that a further rise in inequalities in the EU could destabilise our societies;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Is ~~pleased with the European economic governance framework, which, by coordinating policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, fosters~~concerned that the current European governance framework, which aims to prevent major imbalances in the economic development of Member States by coordinating policies more closely, has not resulted in smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the ~~Member States to implement the country-specific recommendations so as to support growth and jobs; calls on the~~ Commission to submit to the European Parliament an annual assessment of the progress made as regards the effective implementation of those recommendations, and points out that the assessment could be included as an annex to the Annual Growth Report;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to implement the country-specific recommendations so as to support growth and jobs, first and foremost through provision for citizen’s income and a basic income guarantee; calls on the Commission to submit to the European Parliament an annual assessment of the progress made as regards the effective implementation of those recommendations, and points out that the assessment could be included as an annex to the Annual Growth Report;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to implement the country-specific recommendations so as to support ~~growth and job~~sustainable growth and quality jobs as well as social cohesion and to achieve progress towards the Europe 2020 goals; calls on the Commission to submit to the European Parliament an annual assessment of the progress made as regards the effective implementation of those recommendations, and points out that the assessment could be included as an annex to the Annual Growth Report;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the ~~Member States to implement the country-specific recommendations so as to support growth and jobs; calls on the~~ Commission to submit to the European Parliament an annual assessment of the progress made as regards the effective implementation of those recommendations and their effects on the debt and deficit and on the social indicators, and points out that the assessment could be included as an annex to the Annual Growth Report;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to implement the country-specific recommendations so as to support growth ~~and jobs~~, quality job creation and social cohesion; calls on the Commission to submit to the European Parliament an annual assessment of the progress made as regards the effective implementation of those recommendations, and points out that the assessment could be included as an annex to the Annual Growth Report;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Reminds the Commission that while wages are considered an important element in resolving euro-area macro- economic imbalances, they are not merely a tool for economic adjustment, but above all the income that workers need to live on; calls on the Commission to ensure that recommendations in the field of wages do not increase in-work poverty or wage inequalities within Member States, or harm low-income groups;

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission, in tandem with the EIB, to make it easier for SMEs ~~– the main sources of jobs in Europe –~~, which have created over 80% of the jobs in the EU and which drive sustainable and inclusive growth, to access financing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, in connection with the European Investment Fund;

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Calls on~~Urges the Commission, in tandem with the EIB, to make it easier for SMEs – the main sources of jobs in Europe – to access financing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, in connection with the European Investment Fund;

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission, in tandem with the EIB, to make it easier for SMEs – ~~the main sources of jobs~~one backbone of job creation in Europe – to access financing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, in connection with the European Investment Fund; regrets that the European Fund for Strategic Investment does not foresee earmarking or targeting of SMEs but leaves that solely to the Steering Board; calls for the European Fund for Strategic Investments to respect the existing investment principles of the Union;

Amendment 89 #

Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission, in tandem with the EIB, to ~~make it easier for~~lay down criteria that enable SMEs – the main sources of jobs in Europe – to ~~access financing from~~participate in investments financed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, in connection with the European Investment Fund; points out that if project eligibility criteria and participation requirements are laid down as soon as possible, this will allow for preparations to be made and make for better coordinated actions, also on the part of SMEs;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Is pleased with~~Deplores the fact that the European economic governance framework~~, which, by~~ has failed to coordinat~~ing~~e policies more closely in order to prevent major imbalances, and hence to fosters smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the targets set by the Europe 2020 strategy, which to date have not yet been met;

Amendment 90 #

Ulla TØRNÆS, Martina DLABAJOVÁ, Renate WEBER, Marian HARKIN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission, in tandem with the EIB, to make it easier for SMEs – the main sources of jobs in Europe – to access financing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, in connection with the European Investment Fund, while at the same time keeping the situation under review and ensuring that the funds are managed properly;

Amendment 91 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission, in tandem with the EIB, to make it easier for SMEs – the main sources of jobs and job-creation in Europe – to access financing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, in connection with the European Investment Fund; Underlines the importance of new growth and job- creation for public acceptance of the European economic governance framework, calls therefore for the Commission to take measures to increase trust in the economy and to improve the business environment with particular attention to SMEs, removal of red tape and access to finance;

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Deplores the EU’s totally contradictory attitude of imposing liberalisation of services but increasing the number of compulsory standards in a way that is bringing the SMEs to their knees rather than protecting them;

Amendment 93 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Believes that the economic governance framework must help to set up the right environment in Europe to foster entrepreneurship, particularly amongst younger people; is concerned that over the course of the crisis, SMEs have experienced a decline in employment share;

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Notes that the SMEs provide an inexhaustible supply of jobs but their financial difficulties resulting from the current economic situation have led to the increase in unemployment;

Amendment 95 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Notes that shifting taxation away from labour can help stimulate growth and increase employment rates;

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, calls on the Member States to press ahead with their efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices; points out, moreover, that optimum integration of the labour markets remains a medium-term objective for promoting social progress in a balanced, competitive environment;

Amendment 98 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, calls on the Member States to press ahead with their efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems; points out, moreover, that modernisation must not only be about lowering standards as regards protecting workers’ rights and reducing social security; with this in mind, encourages ~~them~~Member States to share ~~best~~ practices;

Amendment 99 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. With a view to improving the effectiveness and focus of budget policies, ~~call~~urges on the Member States to press ahead with their efforts to modernise their labour markets and social security systems, for instance by making provision for citizen’s income and a basic income guarantee; with this in mind, encourages them to share best practices;

source: 546.881

2015/02/11 IMCO 55 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Recital – A a (new)

- Aa. whereas, under Article 3.3 of the Treaty on European Union, 'the Union shall establish an internal market. It shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment. It shall promote scientific and technological advance'; and whereas under Article 7 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 'consumer protection requirements shall be taken into account in defining and implementing other Union policies and activities';

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the Commission should monitor the ~~completion of the Single Market and the actual~~Single Market taking account of the implementation of ~~the~~measures relevant ~~measures within~~to the economic governance framework and should report on obstacles to its functioning, taking account of the annual governance check-up and the scoreboard reporting mechanisms; whereas monitoring should assess the extent to which consumers and businesses alike benefit from the Single Market; whereas the Commission should include in the annual governance check-up and the scoreboard obstacles to the implementation of Single Market legislation; whereas monitoring should assess the extent to which consumers and businesses alike benefit from the Single Market and take in to account the challenges faced by consumers and businesses operating across the Single Market, in particular areas where Member States have not implemented or enforced Single Market legislation;

Amendment 11 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Andreas SCHWAB

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the Commission should monitor the completion of the Single Market and the quality of the actual implementation of the relevant measures within the economic governance framework and should report on obstacles to its functioning, taking account of the annual governance check-up and the scoreboard reporting mechanisms; whereas monitoring should assess the extent to which consumers, citizens and businesses alike benefit from the Single Market;

Amendment 12 #

Marc TARABELLA

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the completion of the Single Market in the field of public procurement and consumer protection would contribute to an increase in GDP of € 300 billion per year;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas a European Investment Plan is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years;

Amendment 14 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the European Union faces a profound competitiveness crisis in an increasingly challenging global economy and in the Single Market, in which only competitive economies will be able to create jobs and raise the living standards of their citizens;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph - 1 (new)

- 1. Welcomes the fact that the communication of the Commission "An Investment Plan for Europe", the communication on "Making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the Stability and Growth Pact" and the proposal for a regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments underline as a priority the need to directly link the review of the economic governance framework to the needs of the real economy and to complete the Single Market and create a Digital Single Market;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers the economic governance framework to be a key political initiative that underpins the foundations of the Europe 2020 goals and flagship initiatives which are aimed at fully exploiting the Single Market’s untapped growth potential; underlines the fact that the economic crisis has clearly shown the importance of strengthening the EU’s innovation potential by facilitating market access and mobility and combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union while fostering high-employment growth and economic convergence among Member States and bridging the gap between Euro and non-Euro Member States;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers th~~e economic governance framework to be a key political initiative that underpins the foundations of~~ at by unlocking the Single Market's untapped growth potential, in line withe Europe 2020 goals ~~and flagship initiatives which are aimed at fully exploit~~, Member States will more easily fulfil the targets embedded in the economic governance framework; furthermore, considers that the primary actors ing the Single Market~~’s untapped growth potential~~ are consumers and businesses; underlines the fact that the economic crisis has clearly shown the importance of strengthening the EU’s innovation potential by facilitating market access and mobility both for consumers and businesses and combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union; through the proper implementation and enforcement of Single Market legislation by Member States;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers the economic governance framework to be a key political initiative that underpins the foundations of the Europe 2020 goals and flagship initiatives which are aimed at fully exploiting the Single Market’s untapped growth potential; stresses that the Single Market is the key driver for growth and jobs, and that the key areas for growth are the Digital Single Market, a genuine market for cross-border online sales for goods, services and public procurement; underlines the fact that the economic crisis has clearly shown the importance of strengthening the EU’s innovation potential by facilitating market access and mobility and combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers the economic governance framework to be a ~~key~~ political initiative that underpins the foundations of the Europe 2020 goals and flagship initiatives which are aimed at ~~fully exploi~~implementing the Single Market~~’s untapped growth potential~~; underlines the fact that the economic crisis has clearly shown the ~~importance of strengthening the EU’s innovation potential by facilitating market access and mobility and combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union~~weaknesses and irrelevant aspects of the wide opened EU’s Single Market;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital – A a (new)

- Aa. whereas as a consequence of the economic and financial crisis, the level of investments in the EU has dropped by about 15% since its peak in 2007;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers the economic governance framework to be a key political initiative that underpins the foundations of the Europe 2020 goals and flagship initiatives which are aimed at fully exploiting the Single Market’s untapped growth potential; underlines the fact that the economic crisis has clearly shown the importance of strengthening ~~the EU’s innovation potential by facilitating market access and mobility and combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union~~and guiding the economy of the European Union and the Member States towards R+i, technology and knowledge, by facilitating market access and mobility and combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union; highlights the need of targeting the European Investment Plan to key areas as aforementioned and to the digital sector;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Considers the economic governance framework to be a key political initiative that underpins the foundations of~~Emphasises the need to properly articulate the economic governance framework with the Europe 2020 goals and flagship initiatives which are aimed at fully exploiting the Single Market’s untapped growth potential; underlines the fact that the economic crisis has clearly shown the importance of strengthening the EU’s innovation potential by facilitating market access and mobility ~~and~~, combating Single Market fragmentation across the Union and boosting investments in the real economy, particularly in sectors that contribute to sustainable development, resource efficiency and energy transition;

Amendment 22 #

Marc TARABELLA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Is pleased that the European economic governance framework has shown progress in addressing fiscal consolidation with EU28 overall debt falling from 4.5% of GDP in 2011 to a forecast of around 3% of GDP in 2014;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Believes that the revision of the European economic governance should go hand in hand with the revision of the overarching EU 2020 strategy and the European Semester cycle with a view to foster sustainable and competitive growth; calls therefore for a new approach to the Single Market and the Digital Single Market to be taken within the revision of the EU2020 strategy by duly incorporating priority sectors/targets of the Single Market within a new simplified set of guidelines, headlines or flagship initiatives;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the review of the framework’s effectiveness~~, with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Commission, the Council and~~ by the Member States; believes that this review should also inspire a re-evaluation of the Single Market governance framework and explore ~~possible synergy~~the objective effects between the two processes;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the review of the framework’s effectiveness, with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Commission, the Council and the Member States; believes that only where relevant this review should ~~also~~ inspire a re-evaluation of the Single Market governance framework and explore possible synergy effects between the two processes;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the review of the framework’s effectiveness, with a view to assessing the effective and uniform application of governance rules by the Commission, the Council and the Member States; considers however that putting debt levels on a sustainable track cannot be achieved through massive budgetary cuts in basic welfare systems, which has dramatic social consequences and is damaging the European recovery; underlines therefore the need for a more balanced approach between the short- term objective of cutting deficits and long- term policies; believes that this review should also inspire a re-evaluation of the Single Market governance framework and explore possible synergy effects between the two processes;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Reiterates its call for the procedures to provide for the appropriate involvement of the European Parliament in the economic governance cycle, ~~paving the way for the adoption, by Parliament and the Council,~~in line with the existing legislation, paving the way, if deemed necessary by the Commission and Member States, for the adoption of the measures necessary to strengthen Single Market governance, and in particular those which address the areas in which the Union’s regulatory framework has been established in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure laid down in Article 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Reiterates its call for the procedures to provide for the appropriate involvement of the European Parliament in the economic governance cycle, paving the way for the adoption, by Parliament and the Council, of the measures necessary to strengthen Single Market governance, and in particular those which address the areas in which the Union’s regulatory framework has been established in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure laid down in Article 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Unrealistic measures adapted to each Member State's situation;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital - A b (new)

- Ab. whereas such investment gap hampers economic recovery, job creation, long-term growth and competitiveness of our industrial sector and of the Single Market at large and poses risks to reaching the targets set by the Europe 2020 Strategy;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Reiterates its call for the procedures to provide for the appropriate involvement of the European Parliament in the economic governance cycle, paving the way for the adoption, by Parliament and the Council, of the measures necessary to strengthen Single Market governance, and in particular those which address the areas in which the Union’s regulatory framework has been established in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure laid down in Article 294 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; asks for a revision of the economic governance legal framework in order to better take into consideration the need to boost investments in the real economy;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Reiterates its call on the Commission and the Council to enter into an interinstitutional agreement with the European Parliament in order to fully guarantee the role of the Parliament within the whole Semester process;

Amendment 32 #

3b. Calls for the economic governance regulations to be revised so as to make the following changes to the European Semester process: (a) before the Annual Growth Survey is published, the Commission must hold a debate with representatives of the European Parliament on the survey’s broad guidelines; (b) following publication and before the corresponding debate at the European Council meeting, trilogues must be held between the three institutions to agree on an economic framework, one for jobs and one for social policies; (c) following adoption of the report on Annual Growth Survey and before the corresponding debate at the European Council meeting, trilogues must be held between the three institutions to agree on an economic framework, one for jobs and one for social policies;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the economic governance framework needs to be inclusive and that political priorities also have to be discussed in a more comprehensive manner, including a discussion between European Institutions and economic and social stakeholders between the publication of the AGS and the March European Council and before the European Council endorses CSRs, in order to distribute the spread of national ownership and effectively implement both economic governance and Single Market governance;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the economic governance framework needs to ~~be inclusive~~take account of national specificities and that political priorities also have to be discussed in a more comprehensive manner~~, in order to distribute the spread of national ownership and effectively implement bo~~ with relevant stakeholders whilst remaining independent from vested interests, in order to ensure national parliaments are more fully involved in the process of effectively implementing measures laid out in the economic governance ~~and~~framework and in the context of Single Market ~~governance~~legislation;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the economic governance framework needs to be inclusive and that political priorities also have to be discussed in a more comprehensive manner, in order to distribute the spread of national ownership and effectively implement both economic governance and Single Market governance; underlines the importance of new growth and job-creation for the public acceptance of the economic governance framework, and calls therefore for the Commission to improve the business environment in Europe with particular attention to SMEs, removal of red tape and access to finance; recalls in that respect the necessity to provide support to SMEs to also access non-EU markets such as the US, Canada, China and India;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the economic governance framework needs to be inclusive, more transparent and less complex and that political priorities also have to be discussed in a more comprehensive manner, in order to distribute the spread of national ownership and effectively implement both economic governance and Single Market governance;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers that the current European economic governance framework, focuses more on fiscal stability (i.e. reducing the public deficit and public sector debt) and reducing costs, while the objectives of economic recovery, sustainable growth, and the creation of more and better jobs receive too little attention;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Believes that a monetary union cannot function effectively and correctly without a fiscal and economic union, in this context, believes that current trends in respect of fragmentation of the European financial markets should be stopped (the most obvious source of financial market fragmentation is the existence of different currencies);

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the review and improvement of the economic governance framework should be based on a set of interconnected and mutually consistent policies that foster growth and employment, and whereas the full development of ~~the Single Market~~a well-functioning, effective and balanced Single Market with a strengthened industrial base is a prerequisite for this to happen;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Considers that financial integration is very important for the EU economy, considers that a well-integrated financial system facilitates the smooth implementation of monetary policy and the balanced transmission of its effects throughout the euro area, contributing to financial stability by creating larger markets more liquid and competitive, providing greater opportunities and diversifies funding risk;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Considers that a single market cannot function while there are large discrepancies between Member States; believes that , in order to be competitive, Member States should start from an equal premise, believes thus that, besides the need for the development of a monetary union, banking union, tax union and economic union an energy union and transport union should also be a top priority;

Amendment 42 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Insist~~Notes that the evaluation of the state of the Single Market should be made an integral part of the economic governance framework, laying the foundation for an annual Single Market cycle by reinforcing a pillar dedicated to the Single Market within the European Semesteris worthwhile in its own right, and should not be conflated with the different, although linked, objectives of the economic governance framework; notes that updates on the state of the Single Market on a similar cycle to those required by the European Semester could be a helpful contribution to identifying the obstacles to the functioning of the Single Market;

Amendment 44 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ, Andreas SCHWAB

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Insists that the evaluation of the state of the Single Market should be made an integral part of the economic governance framework, laying the foundation for an annual Single Market cycle by reinforcing a pillar dedicated to the Single Market within the European Semester; underlines that the full implementation of the revised public procurement directives, particularly its rules on award criteria, can help public authorities to better spend public resources and avoid in the long run unnecessary environmental and social costs, and thereby positively affect the stability of public finances;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Strongly believes that efforts must be concentrated on the key priorities of the pillars within the European Semester; emphasises the importance of focusing on areas which deliver significant European added-value in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality; calls on the Commission to work with the Member States to identify ways of ensuring these principles can be more effectively implemented;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to submit to Parliament an annual report on Single Market integration, assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the country-specific recommendations, and therefore points out th~~at the assessment could be provided as a contribution to the Annual Growth Survey~~e nonsense of such integration;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to submit to Parliament an annual report on Single Market integration with particular regards to key areas with the greatest growth potential and creation of quality employment, assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the country-specific recommendations, and points out that the assessment could be provided as a contribution to the Annual Growth Survey;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Commission to submit to Parliament an annual report on the effectiveness of the Single Market ~~integration,~~ assessing the ~~effectiveness of the~~ implementation of the country-specific recommendations, a~~nd points out that the assessment could be provided as a contribution to the Annual Growth Survey~~s well as the implementation and enforcement of Single Market legislation by Member States;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that good economic governance and the impact thereof can be effective only if all stakeholders are involved; stresses the need of an holistic approach by the EU, the Member States, the regions, municipalities, social partners and stakeholders in the implementation and development of policies; invites the Commission and the Member States to secure the democratic principle of civil dialogue through the structured involvement of relevant stakeholders in economic governance, and in particular in the European Semester process.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the improvement of the economic governance framework should be based on a set of interconnected and mutually consistent policies that foster growth, competitiveness and employment, and whereas ~~the full development~~unlocking the benefits of the Single Market is a ~~prerequisite for this to happen~~lso key to delivering these aims;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that good economic governance and the impact thereof can be effective only if ~~all~~relevant stakeholders are involved; invites the Commission and the Member States to secure the democratic principle of civil dialogue through the ~~structur~~continued involvement of relevant stakeholders in economic governance, and in particular in the European Semester process.

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Recalls that good economic governance and the impact thereof can be effective only if all stakeholders are involved, including social partners, consumer and social and environmental NGOs; invites the Commission and the Member States to secure the democratic principle of civil dialogue through the structured involvement of relevant stakeholders in economic governance, and in particular in the European Semester process.

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Supports all the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Highlights the opportunity of channelling extra public and private money to viable projects with a real added value for the European social market economy and stresses that key sectors of the Single Market - transport, energy, services and products, research and innovation - and the Digital Single Market represent the adequate (most appropriate) scale for investments to be eligible within the pipeline of investment projects;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Welcomes the new room of manoeuvre offered by the investment clause as defined by the Commission in its communication on flexibility; believes that this new possibility should be used at its utmost potential in order to encourage Member States to invest more in projects with a clear European added value such as those more closely linked to the further development of the Single Market and Digital Single Market; considers that targeted investment and reforms in key growth sectors of the Single Market and in the modernisation of public administrations - notably in relation to e- government and e-procurement - should qualify as structural reforms;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Is concerned of the lack of implementation of the Country Specific Recommendations (CSR) in some Member States, where only 12% of the CSRs were fully addressed in 2013; stresses that better implementation of the CSR is needed in order to support growth and jobs; calls on the Commission to strengthen the ownership of the CSR in the Member States by better involvement of the national parliaments; proposes that in order to increase the incentives for the Member States to adopt these policies the possibility to access the funds in Juncker’s Investment Plan will be dependent on whether the Member States deviates from the rules set out in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the improvement of the economic governance framework should be based on ~~a set of interconnected and mutually~~Member States' consistent policies that foster growth and employment~~, and whereas the full development of the Single Market is a prerequisite for this to happe~~ inside their own market and also foster their cooperation;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the improvement of the economic governance framework should be based on an holistic approach through a set of interconnected and mutually consistent policies that foster ~~growth and~~smart, sustainable and inclusive growth that create quality employment, and whereas the full development of the Single Market is a prerequisite for this to happen;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the improvement of the economic governance framework should be based on a set of interconnected and mutually consistent policies that foster growth and employment instead of focusing solely on deficit reduction, and whereas the full development of the Single Market is a prerequisite for this to happen;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the Commission should monitor the completion of the Single Market and the actual implementation of the relevant measures within the economic governance framework and should report on obstacles to its functioning, taking account of the annual governance check-up and the scoreboard reporting mechanisms; whereas monitoring should assess the extent to which consumers and businesses alike benefit from the Single Market;deleted

source: 546.648

2015/03/03 ECON 439 amendments...

Amendment 382 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 383 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 384 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 385 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Believes that the ~~structural reform clause~~reform process under the preventive ~~arm~~ and the means of considering structural reform plans under the corrective arm constitute a step forward as regards ensuring the more efficient implementation of reforms by Member States; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligiblcorrective arm should be democratically assessed by the European Parliament and the National Parliaments, in permanent dialogue with social partners; regrets that in a relevant number of Member States those reforms have in practice under ~~this~~ minewd s~~cheme; believes that a direct link to the cost, timeframe impact and value of structural reforms should also be explicit in the corrective arm of the SGP~~ocial and environmental rights, increased labour precariousness and worsened public pension entitlements ;

Amendment 386 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Believ~~Stresses that the ~~structural reform clause under the preventive arm and the means of considering~~precondition for the application of the structural reform pclansuse under the ~~correc~~preventive arm ~~constitute a step forward as regards ensuring the more efficient implementa~~is the formal parliamentary adoption of a reform~~s by Member States~~; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligible under this new scheme; believes that a direct link to the cost, timeframe impact and value of structural reforms should also be explicit in the corrective arm of the SGPcompatibility of the reinterpretation of the rules with the Treaty and secondary law;

Amendment 387 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Believes that the structural reform clause under the preventive arm and the means of considering structural reform plans under the corrective arm constitute a step forward as regards ensuring the more efficient implementation of reforms by Member States; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligible under this new scheme; believes that a direct link to the cost, timeframe impact and value of structural reforms should also be explicit in the corrective arm of the SGPmust not lead to postponement of urgently needed budgetary consolidation;

Amendment 388 #

Alain CADEC, Alain LAMASSOURE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Believes that the structural reform clause under the preventive arm and the means of considering structural reform plans under the corrective arm constitute a step forward as regards ensuring the more efficient implementation of reforms by Member States; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligible under this new scheme; believes that a direct link to the cost, timeframe impact and value of structural reforms should also be explicit in the corrective arm of the SGPn undermining of the fiscal rules as it allows Member States to obtain lenient treatment under the fiscal rules in return for merely presenting reform plans; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligible under this new scheme;

Amendment 389 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Believes that~~Stresses the structural reform clause under the preventive arm and the means of considering structural reform plans under the corrective arm constitute a step forward as regards ensuring the more efficient implementation of reforms by Member States; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligible under this new scheme; believes that a direct link to the cost, timeframe impact and value of structural reforms should also be explicit in the corrective arm of the SGP; recalls the need for every Member State to implement the appropriate structural reforms, as proposed by the Commission in the country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 390 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Believes that the structural reform clause under the preventive arm ~~and the means of considering structural reform plans under the corrective arm~~ constitutes a step forward as regards ensuring the more efficient implementation of reforms by Member States; calls for further clarification as to the types of structural reforms eligible under this new scheme; believes that a direct link to the cost, timeframe impact and value of structural reforms should also be explicit in the corrective arm of the SGP;

Amendment 391 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls for a result oriented methodological guidelines regarding the eligible reforms, including cost-benefit assessments, timeframe impact, and taking explicit account of externalities as well as social and environmental returns of these reforms; calls for monitoring mechanisms for assessing reform's contribution to updated EU2020 National targets; points out that such result oriented action should also provide guidance for the assessment of reforms in the framework of the preventive and corrective arm of the SGP;

Amendment 392 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Urges that it isn't merely the announcement of structural reforms that should constitute a relevant factor, but that a regular check of their implementation is necessary and that the Commission should not refrain from taking measures in case the reforms are not on track;

Amendment 393 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Recalls that some structural reforms lead to additional costs, but not all do so; questions the inclusion of structural reforms not associated with costs into the categories that trigger flexibility;

Amendment 394 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

~~12. Believes that structural reforms should have a positive socioeconomic return and contribute to increased administrative capacity;~~deleted

Amendment 395 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should have a clear positive socioeconomic ~~return and contribute to increased administrative capacity;~~ impact and directly contribute to the economic and social stability of the EU as well as to the Europe 2020 strategy's goals; considers that structural reforms should aim at ensuring a more fair and efficient fiscal system, where all sectors give their own contribution to the society and positive economic activities are not discouraged by an excessive tax burden;

Amendment 396 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Believ~~Notes that structural reforms ~~should have a positive socioeconomic return and contribute to increased administrative capacity~~are still essential in a number of countries; notes also the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial programmes have been able to return to the financial markets; believes that particular attention should be paid to structural reforms which have a positive socioeconomic return ;

Amendment 397 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should have a positive socioeconomic return ~~and contribute to increased administrative capacity~~;

Amendment 398 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should have a positive socioeconomic return and contribute to ~~increased~~rationalisation of administrative capacity;

Amendment 399 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should have a positive socioeconomic return ~~and~~, contribute to increased administrative capacity and promote growth and investment;

Amendment 400 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that, in the long term, shrewdly implemented structural reforms ~~should~~will always have a positive socioeconomic return and ~~contribute to increased administrative capacity~~help make administrative action more efficient;

Amendment 401 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should in the medium and long term have a positive socioeconomic return and contribute to increased administrative ~~capacit~~efficiency and efficacy;

Amendment 402 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that national structural reforms should have a positive socioeconomic return and ~~contribute to increased administrative capacity~~enhance competitiveness;

Amendment 403 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should be designed by national parliaments and governments, with full knowledge of each country's specific challenges and respect for the choices of its elected officials, and should have a positive socioeconomic return and contribute to increased administrative capacity;

Amendment 404 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should have a positive ~~socio~~economic return and contribute to increased administrative ~~capacit~~efficiency;

Amendment 405 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that structural reforms should have a positive socioeconomic return including an impact on long term competitiveness, convergence and contribute to increased administrative capacity;

Amendment 406 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Believes that ~~structur~~general economic reforms committed in National rReform Programmes should have a measurable positive socioeconomic and environmental return and contribute to increased administrative capacity;

Amendment 407 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Stresses that structural reforms shall not be based on budgetary simplistic numerical targets and shall pursue fiscal responsibility by looking at qualitative targets, such as the efficiency and quality of public spending, the transparency and accountability in the allocation of resources; the level of spending in social protection and public goods;

Amendment 408 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Recommends consequently that further proposals for structural reforms should be accompanied by a social impact assessment, that estimates their impact on the lowest income strata of society, those that are at risk of poverty and the poor, while also proposing measures that would mitigate such impact.

Amendment 409 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Deplores, however, the fact that the communication does not touch upon the nature of ‘unusual events’ falling outside the control of a Member State which could allow it to temporarily depart from the adjustment path towards achieving its MTO;deleted

Amendment 410 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 411 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 412 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 413 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Deplor~~Notes, however, the fact that the communication does not touch upon the nature of ‘unusual events’ falling outside the control of a Member State ~~which could allow it to temporarily depart from the adjustment path towards achieving its MTO~~and have a major impact on the financial position of a government; notes that the Commissioner-designate in his written answers to Parliament stated that the financial crisis of 2007-08 is an example for such an event;

Amendment 414 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Deplores, however,~~Supports the fact that the communication does not touch upon the nature of ‘'unusual events’' falling outside the control of a Member State ~~which could allow it to temporarily depart from the adjustment path towards achieving its MTO~~, as this would have led to a rather futile exercise of defining all kinds of hypothetical unusual events, with the danger of leaving out the one that will actually happen;

Amendment 415 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Deplores, ~~however,~~ the fact that the communication does not touch upon the nature of ‘'unusual events’' falling outside the control of a Member State which could allow it to temporarily depart from the adjustment path towards achieving its MTO, leaving an unacceptable margin for discretion for european institutions and paving the way for the different treatment of similar situations;

Amendment 416 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Deplor~~Notes, however, the fact that the communication does not touch upon the nature of ‘unusual events’ falling outside the control of a Member State ~~which could allow it to temporarily depart from the adjustment path towards achieving its MTO~~, recalls the general principle of law which requires that exemption rules must be applied restrictively;

Amendment 417 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Deplores, however,~~Notes the fact that the communication does not touch upon the nature of ‘'unusual events’' falling outside the control of a Member State which could allow it to temporarily depart from the adjustment path towards achieving its MTO;

Amendment 418 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Underlines that the deficit rule and the MTO rule under the Stability Growth Pact should be applied in tandem, and that for a Member State that observes the MTO rule the 3% deficit limit ensures sufficient fiscal flexibility in responding to shocks;

Amendment 419 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Commission and Council to apply and act in the spirit of the changes made to the SGP under the 6 and 2 pack, in particular the greater weight assigned to the debt rule and the enhanced automaticity of sanctions created by the introduction of reversed qualified majority voting in the Council decision-making process on sanctions;

Amendment 420 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Calls on the Commission to make the receipt of EFSI funds by a Member State conditional upon that Member State's fiscal reform record, in particular considering the compliance record with the fiscal rules laid down in the SGP and the record on the progress made in the implementation of structural as assessed by the Commission;

Amendment 421 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

~~Closer coordination and economic convergence: possible improvement of the SGP within the review of~~Possible improvement and review of the SGP and the 6 + 2 pack

Amendment 422 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

~~Closer coordination and economic convergence: possible improvement of the SGP within the review of the 6 + 2 pack~~Possible improvement of the SGP

Amendment 423 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

~~Closer coordination and economic convergence: p~~Possible improvement of the SGP within the review of the 6 + 2 pack

Amendment 424 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

Closer coordination ~~and economic convergence~~: possible improvement of the SGP within the review of the 6 + 2 pack

Amendment 425 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that more room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and in the European Semester; invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed;deleted

Amendment 426 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

Amendment 427 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and~~ the rules as laid out in the SGP clearly define the ~~European Semester; invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~remits of flexibility and calls on the Commission to ensure their strict and fair implementation;

Amendment 428 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and~~the Commission communication clarifies where room for flexibility exists under the existing legislation; welcomes the attempt to shed more clarity into th~~e European Semester; invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~is complicated field, especially by helping governments to avoid nurturing false expectations concerning flexibility when drafting their budgets; stresses however that too much flexibility will hamper the predictability, transparency and effectiveness of the economic governance framework;

Amendment 429 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and~~ the rules as laid out in the SGP clearly defin e the ~~European Semester; invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~remits of flexibility and calls on the Commission to ensure their strict implementation;

Amendment 430 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more~~there is limited room for flexibility and soft laws ~~exists~~ under the SGP and in the European Semester; ~~invite~~expects the Commission to ~~build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~enforce the already existing flexibility in line with the Commission Communication of 13 January 2015 entitled 'Making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the Stability and Growth Pact' (COM(2015)0012);

Amendment 431 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more room for flexibility and soft laws exists~~there is already adequate room for flexibility under the SGP and in the European Semester; invites the Commission ~~to build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~not, under any circumstances, to weaken that framework through additional rule changes;

Amendment 432 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and in the European Semes~~the Member States have a responsibility to respect the SGP, and stresses that the SGP was drawn up by consensus among the EU Member Staters; invites the Commission, therefore, to build on thise flexibility ~~and to propose rule changes where needed~~permitted by the existing rules;

Amendment 433 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more~~no sufficient room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and in the European Semester; invites the Commission to ~~build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~propose to the Parliament and the Council all the necessary rule changes to lead the EU out of the crisis, by boosting growth that is economically, socially and ecologically sustainable, on the basis of the considerations and recommendations outlined in the present report;

Amendment 434 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~mor~~the room for flexibility and soft laws ~~exists~~should be cut such that fiscal consolidation is achieved under the SGP and in the European Semester; invites the Commission to ~~build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~limit the degree of flexibility in the current set of rules;

Amendment 435 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that ~~more~~there is no room for flexibility and soft laws ~~exists~~ under the SGP and in the European Semester; ~~invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to propose rule changes where needed~~Underlines that economic performance in the Euro area as a whole, and in the peripheral economies in particular, strongly requires a new and flexible approach; invites the Commission to propose rule changes that allow for flexible ways of reaching economic, social and environmental sustainability;

Amendment 436 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that more room for flexibility and soft laws exists under the SGP and in the European Semester; invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to propose ~~rule changes where needed~~additional interpretative rules;

Amendment 437 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that more room for flexibility ~~and soft laws~~ exists under the SGP and in the European Semester; invites the Commission to build on this flexibility and to ~~propose rule changes where needed~~streamline and reinforce the European semester ;

Amendment 438 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Stresses that the calendar for the adoption of the Commission's opinions on Draft Budgetary Plans in application of the 2 pack 'regulation on common provisions for monitoring and assessing draft budgetary plans and ensuring the correction of excessive deficit of the Member States in the euro area' does not allow for taking into account the first notification by Eurostat of the current year's budgetary figures;

Amendment 439 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Draws in that regard attention to the possible contradiction between the SGP's aim to achieve budgetary surpluses in good times, and a very generous application of flexibility as now foreseen; fears that, if this flexibility would always be applied fully, it might cement the deficit-making attitude of some governments; urges the Commission to clarify how it will make sure that the deficits and the surpluses will be balanced over time, in line with the Pact's requirements;

Amendment 440 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Strongly regrets that the Commission's Communication of flexibility does not clearly state if the various methods to apply flexibility are mutually exclusive, or if they can be applied in a cumulative way; urges the Commission to clarify this;

Amendment 441 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Understands that the Council took note of the Commission's Communication on flexibility and underlined the need to maintain credibility and effectiveness in the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 442 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)

14d. Recalls that in 2003 two large countries avoided being subjected to an Excessive Deficit Procedure; draws the attention to the fact that several small countries couldn't benefit from this kind of leniency and had to go through painful adjustment programmes; urges the Commission and the Council to evaluate small and big countries in the same manner; fervently hopes that there is no de facto 'too-big-to-be-blamed-country' principle;

Amendment 443 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Believes that European fiscal rules should be defined within the existing communitarised economic governance framework; calls therefore for the replacement of existing intergovernmental agreements such as the Fiscal Compact which undermines the democratic control of the existing rules;

Amendment 444 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Underlines however that a revision of the legal framework would be the most appropriate policy instrument for achieving a genuinely counter-cyclical approach, requiring more rapid consolidation during upsides and more room of manoeuver during periods of negative output gap and in particular in a situation where the economy is at the zero-lower bound;

Amendment 445 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Points out that such revision could include inter alia a qualified treatment for investments by using capital budgeting methods such as the amortized cost method for accounting certain categories of high quality public investments generating large and measurable societal and environmental over periods during which unemployment and output is below its potential;

Amendment 446 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)

14d. Points out that such method would provide for a smart counter-cyclical approach by spreading the cost of capital expenditure oriented towards a more sustainable economy made during downturns over the life-cycle of the capital formation as it is a common practice in the framework of private sector accounting;

Amendment 447 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partners regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;deleted

Amendment 448 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and ~~the~~ Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliamenttake further steps to ensure Member States under the corrective arm of the SGP meet their obligations aund ~~social partners regarding the design and implementation of structural reform~~er the existing fiscal rules;

Amendment 449 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

Amendment 450 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to ~~better articulate~~radically rethink the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, ~~notably in the corrective arm of the SGP,~~ to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the ~~need to increase convergence between euro area Member Stat~~devastating unintended consequences generated by forced and accelerated convergence between euro area Member States, the need to allow self- correcting mechanisms to work in order to absorb macroeconomic imbalances and the role of national parliaments and social partners regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 451 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partners and, in the light of the allocation of powers within the Member States, the role of the regions and towns regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 452 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier and more consistent debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partners regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 453 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders~~, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partner~~ and social partners and deliberation by national parliaments regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 454 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council ~~to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP,~~ to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partners regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 455 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of the European Parliament, national parliaments and social partners regarding the design and implementation of fair structural reforms;

Amendment 456 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

Amendment 457 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks~~, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP,~~ to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partners regarding the ~~design and implementation~~ownership of structural reforms;

Amendment 458 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks and European interests that are served by it, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments and social partners regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 459 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to better articulate the fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks, notably in the corrective arm of the SGP, to allow for earlier debate among stakeholders, taking into account the need to increase convergence between euro area Member States and the role of national parliaments ~~and social partners~~ regarding the design and implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 460 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on more active role of the national parliaments in creating national reform programmes and convergence programme and in implementation of CSRs.

Amendment 461 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Stresses that fiscal and macroeconomic frameworks should also be worked out at regional levels, since economic divergence has increased not just between member states but also within them; that comprehensive regional data at par and in line with national data should be made available for such an exercise; and that a discussion of existing or emerging regional disparities should be a staple item of the 6 plus 2 pack review;

Amendment 462 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Believes that more attention needs to be devoted to how convergence or divergence between member states and between regions in the euro zone is defined, tracked and measured in both economic and social terms; that rules about how this is to be updated should be drawn up and published; and outcomes recorded on the basis of such established criteria should regularly be published as part of the European semester process.

Amendment 463 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; proposes that the country- specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRsmeaningful economic debate;

Amendment 464 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; proposes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRsStresses the importance of a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area;

Amendment 465 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed ~~and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area~~; proposes that the country- specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereofplay a key role in the decision on allocation of EFSI funds; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs;

Amendment 466 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; pProposes that the country- specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs;nnual Growth Survey (AGS) and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP),

Amendment 467 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and ~~euro area recommendation~~the overall assessment of the budgetary situation and prospects in the euro area as a whole foreseen in R473/2013 (article 7.4) must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; ~~propose~~suggests that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendationoverall assessment of the euro area should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, and issued in order to be adopted during the Spring Council, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; ~~requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs;~~

Amendment 468 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards ~~convergence~~the problems of rising unemployment and poverty in the euro area; proposes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should ~~be made compulsory~~ follow~~ing~~ a proper debate with the European Parliament, ~~with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSR~~requests that sanctions envisaged under the preventive arm, under the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) or the MIP, shall not be imposed to Countries under economic stress;

Amendment 469 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Miguel VIEGAS, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; proposes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the quality of the euro area recommendations should be ~~made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof~~checked against delivery and adequately negotiated with member States; a proper debate with the European Parliament is needed; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs;

Amendment 470 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards ~~convergence in the euro area~~the structural flaws and inequalities in the euro area and the rise in unemployment and social exclusion; proposes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be ~~made~~non- compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRand preceded by a proper debate in National and European Parliaments;

Amendment 471 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation, as well as the country-specific recommendations (CSR), must be better ~~design~~implemented and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; ~~proposes~~suggests that Member States ensure that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) ~~should be establish~~are debated oin the ~~basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP),~~ir national Parliament and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be ~~made compulsory following~~the subject of a proper debate within the European Parliament~~, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs~~ (deleted);

Amendment 472 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed ~~and put~~ to better ~~use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in~~take into account the interest of the euro area as a whole; proposes that the country- specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs;

Amendment 473 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; proposes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance and more coordinated approach between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the procedure leading to the adoption of euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, and National Parliaments with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs in a single document;

Amendment 474 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Insists that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards convergence in the euro area; proposes that the country-specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS ~~and~~, the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and are limited to the achievement of European goals of economic governance; suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory following a proper debate with the European Parliament, with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs;

Amendment 475 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Insist~~Believes that the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and euro area recommendation must be better designed and put to better use to allow for a global economic debate, notably as regards competitiveness and convergence in the euro area; proposes that the country- specific recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the AGS and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP), and suggests that the euro area recommendation should be made compulsory ~~following a proper debate with the European Parliament,~~ with incentives being offered so as to encourage the implementation thereof; requests that the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) recommendation be ~~joined together~~coordinated with the CSRs;

Amendment 476 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Calls on the Member States to base their national budgets solely on the macroeconomic forecasts compiled by the Commission for the European Semester;

Amendment 477 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Suggests that, in connection with the Macro-economic Imbalances Procedure, use should be made of additional indicators relating to regional disparities;

Amendment 478 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Proposes that the Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) should be established on the basis of striking a better balance between the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP); requests that the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) recommendation be joined together with the CSRs so as to combine surveillance of the fiscal position and economic policy coordination;

Amendment 479 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Favours an enhanced process regarding the elaboration, follow-up and monitoring of Country Specific Recommendations; believes that the Commission should identify explicitly recommendations aiming at fulfilling updated EU2020 National targets; reminds that the legislation enshrines the principle according to which Member States have to 'comply or explain' with these recommendations; calls in that perspective for Member States to explain how alternative policy measures can help achieving the National EU2020 targets in a measurable way if the recommendations are not followed;

Amendment 480 #

Danuta Maria HÜBNER, Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Emphasizes that the main shortcoming of the current economic governance framework in terms of input legitimacy is a lack of sufficient an genuine involvement of the European Parliament and National Parliaments in defining and monitoring fiscal and economic policy recommendations; advocates for the adoption of an interinstitutional agreement so as to provide for an enhanced role regarding the adoption of the main EU Semester related documents (Annual Growth Survey, Alert Mechanism Report, CSRs) as well as for an active and 'step-by-step' scrutiny role devolved to National Parliaments;

Amendment 481 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Believes that as flexibility is added to the fiscal treatment of structural reforms under existing SGP rules, more sustained political attention must also be given to the ability of the economic governance framework to monitor, foster and sustain these national-level structural reforms from commitment stage to reality.

Amendment 482 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

~~17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsidered;~~deleted

Amendment 483 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

~~17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsidered;~~deleted

Amendment 484 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

~~17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsidered;~~deleted

Amendment 485 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. ~~Asks the Commission to verif~~Insists that the current economic governance framework, especially wthe~~ther the current~~ Medium-Term Objective (MTO) of a structurally balanced budget and the 1/20 rule on debt reduction, is economically, socially and politically unsustainable; a~~nd whether it needs to be reconsidered;~~ sks therefore the Commission to propose the necessary changes and alternatives to the existing rules;

Amendment 486 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to ~~verify whether~~apply the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction ~~is sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsidered~~to ensure that debt ratios are reduced to sustainable levels in line with the SGP;

Amendment 487 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is su~~stainable and~~fficient or whether it needs to be reconsidered;

Amendment 488 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. ~~Asks the Commission to verify whether~~Considers that the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is ~~sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsider~~not viable for many of the member states and should be revoked;

Amendment 489 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission ~~to verify whether~~, considering the very slow pace of the reduction of the overall debt in the euro area to levels below the 60% threshold requested by the Treaty, to study if this is due to an insufficient implementation of existing legislation and if the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is still enough to make public finances sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsidered;

Amendment 490 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is sustainable and ~~whether it needs to~~realistic in correlation with the nominal growth rate and deficit reduction beyond what is foreseen in the new matrix included for the preventive arm of the Pact in the communication on flexibility, with regard ownership of Members States, and whether the doctrine on its practical implementation in times where inflation is far from the ECB target should be reconsidered;

Amendment 491 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is sustainable and whether it needs to be reconsidered;

Amendment 492 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is ~~sustainabl~~effective and whether it needs to be reconsidered;

Amendment 493 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to ~~verify whether the current 1/20 rule on debt reduction is sustainable~~proceed to a thorough assessment of the 1/20 rule with a view of replacing it with a better framed and fine-tuned rule; calls in that perspective for a differentiation between debt incurred for supporting the financial sector in the context of the crisis and wthe~~ther it needs to be reconsidered~~ rest of the debt stock; reminds that a significant part of that debt finds its origin in support measures provided by Member States to the banking sector since 2008; is of the opinion that such part of the debt to GDP stock should be reduced by dedicated measures putting the financial sector into contribution;

Amendment 494 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Encourages the Finance Committees of the national parliaments to systematically invite the European Commissioners responsible for economic governance to a public debate in their chambers before the draft budgets of the Member States are adopted;

Amendment 495 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Recalls that a decrease in public spending to increase the primary budget balance and reduce public debt contributes to slower growth because of fiscal multiplier and to reducing inflation;

Amendment 496 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17b. Requests from the Commission that it would re-examine R472 (2013) to draw all the needed lessons from the troika and its last developments;

Amendment 497 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Is alarmed by the rate of debt increase in countries which already have a very high level of debt; notes this is in stark contradiction with the 1/20 rule on debt reduction; requests the Commission to explain how it intends to remove this contradiction and in what time-frame;

Amendment 498 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17b. Recalls that the 3% deficit limit was chosen to reflect the 3% annual economic growth which was prevalent in the EU when the legislation was first set; wonders if this 3% limit isn't too high now that growth is substantially and consistently lower than that; asks the Commission to study if the sometimes unremarkable consolidation results might be due to this discrepancy;

Amendment 499 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Asks the Commission to proceed to a thorough assessment of the Medium term Budgetary Objective as specified in the 'six pack' framework with a view of replacing it with a better framed and fine- tuned rule; underlines that a one fits all rule is not appropriate given that ultimately the debt to GDP ratio converges towards the average deficit to nominal GDP ratio;

Amendment 500 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17b. Calls for the revision of the debt sustainability concept on the basis of a fundamental rights oriented approach aiming at preventing that debt service obligations represent an obstacle or have priority over the provision of sufficient minimum resources for financing essential services and hence for fulfilling fundamental rights obligations,

Amendment 501 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)

17c. Favours in particular an EU wide conference on debt and the future of the Eurozone to be organized in a form of a convention with a view of delivering Treaty change so as to so as to improve democratic accountability and deepen economic integration of EMU;

Amendment 502 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)

17d. Reminds the conclusion of its troika report asking to address the need to provide debt relief to Greece and to address the severe capital outflows from therein, as well as its request to the Council to activate the framework it decided on the treatment of legacy assets so as to breakdown the vicious circle between sovereigns and the banks and alleviate the public debt burden in Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus;

Amendment 503 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Invites the Commission analyse and discuss the economic results of a possible mutualisation of the sovereign debts, with particular reference to the overall sustainability of the debt itself;

Amendment 504 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 505 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Asks~~Stresses that the Commission ~~to make the~~'s three- pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, ~~more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on taxation~~substantially represents the same strategy that caused the ongoing social and economic crisis; believes that Europe urgently needs a new strategy based on expansionary policies and an ambitious financial reform;

Amendment 506 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by ~~building a fourth pillar on taxation~~enhancing the linkage between the three pillars, most importantly by making the receipt of EFSI funds conditional on compliance with fiscal rules and the implementation of structural reforms;

Amendment 507 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal ~~rules~~consolidation and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on ~~taxation~~competitiveness;

Amendment 508 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 509 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 510 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on taxation by preparing a fiscal convergence roadmap in collaboration with the European Parliament, taking account of the work done by the Special Committee on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect;

Amendment 511 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission's to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on taxation, with a particular focus on european-wide tax evasion, avoidance and arbitrage;

Amendment 512 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on taxation and a fifth pillar on social Europe; agreement on a priority catalogue of structural reforms which presuppose improvements to workersʼ living conditions is particularly necessary;

Amendment 513 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to strengthen its approach by building a fourth pillar on taxation which would include a yearly monitoring mechanism such as developments regarding tax fraud and evasion, the state of play of environmental taxation as well as measures put in place at both national and European level to address specific CSRs for improving tax justice;

Amendment 514 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Asks the Commission to make the three-pillar strategy (investment, fiscal rules and structural reforms), presented in the AGS 2015, more concrete under the euro area recommendation and in the CSRs and to ~~strengthen its~~take into account the need for ap pro~~ach by building a fourth pillar on~~gressive and common approach to taxation;

Amendment 515 #

Tibor SZANYI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 516 #

Maria João RODRIGUES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 517 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 518 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Asks the Commission to present in the AGS different macroeconomic scenarios based on upside and downside risks in the forecast, therefore allowing for some flexibility in the guidance it provides;

Amendment 519 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Calls on the Commission, when drafting the AGS, to draw upon a wide range of scientific expertise to the greatest extent possible and to integrate recommendations of the European Parliament, Member States and local & regional governments;

Amendment 520 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Calls on the Commission to identify explicitly in the AGS potential cross- border spillover effects of major economic policy measures implemented at the EU level as well as in Member States;

Amendment 521 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Underlines that the flagship initiative for a resource efficient Europe calls for environmentally tax subsidies to be phased-out; recalls the Commission assessment according to which there is large a policy space for shifting taxes from labour to environmental taxes;

Amendment 522 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Underlines that according to the Commission the subsidies and externalities of the fossil fuel and nuclear based power and heat represent a cost of EUR 262 billion per year;

Amendment 523 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Emphasizes that according to the Commission, labour taxes account for around 53% if total tax revenue in the euro area against 5.7% for environmental taxation; points out that there is a large scope for such environmentally friendly fiscal reform;

Amendment 524 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)

18d. Urges therefore that an updated EU2020 strategy as well as CSRs should include specific targets and benchmarks for both monitoring the phasing-out of market-distorting environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020 at the latest and for increasing the share of environmental taxes in proportion of the overall tax revenue by at least 5% by 2020;

Amendment 525 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 526 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Believes that national fiscal councils could play a useful role at EU level; requests the set-up of a European network allowing for~~Recognises the need for independent analysis of the economic perspective to be established as a basis for a proper political discussion among stakeholders; urges to further develop the Commission's unit known as Chief Economist Analyst, which provides an additional and independent ~~analysis of the economic perspective to be established as a basis for a proper political discussion among stakeholder~~evaluation inside the Commission of all measures concerning the economic governance, advises to increase its capacity and to formally allocate it to the Vice-President in charge of the euro and the social dialogue; demands that the Chief Economist Analyst be transmitted all relevant documents in time to carry out its tasks;

Amendment 527 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Believes that national fiscal councils could play a useful role at EU level; requests the set-up of a European network allowing for an independent analysis of the economic perspective to be established as a basis for a proper political discussion among stakeholders; recalls that independent bodies due to assess the effective and timely monitoring of compliance with the rules where created by the Council directive 2011/85/EU of 8 November 2011 on requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States; is of the opinion that an independent analysis is also needed at the EU level; reminds that the Commission's independent Chief Economic Analyst (Decision of the President of the European Commission of 28 October 2011) was designed in response to the calls for an independent surveillance of the Commission's increased discretionary powers enshrined in the 6-pack and the 2-pack; believes that the national independent bodies should work as a network, under the leadership of the Chief Economic Analyst, to monitor the fair and transparent implementation of the EU rules' framework; calls on this monitoring to be made public;

Amendment 528 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Believes that national fiscal councils could play a useful role at EU level; ~~requests the set-up of a European network allowing for an independent analysis of the economic perspective to be established as a basis for a proper political discussion among stakeholders;~~

Amendment 529 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Believes that national fiscal councils ~~could~~may play a useful role at EU level; requests the set-up of a European network allowing for an independent analysis of the economic perspective to be established as a basis for a proper political discussion among stakeholderin France, Greece, Italy and some other European Countries;

Amendment 530 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Believes that national fiscal councils could play a useful role at EU level; ~~request~~encourages the set-up of a European network allowing for an independent analysis of the ~~economic perspective to be established as a basis for a proper political discussion among stakeholders~~overall macroeconomic policy-mix in the euro area and its break- down country by country, as a complementary basis for the debate and for the determination of existence of 'exceptional circumstances' ;

Amendment 531 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Believes that national fiscal councils could play a useful role at EU level; requests the set-up of a European network allowing for an independent and pluralistic analysis of the economic perspectives to be established as a basis for a well-informed proper political discussion among stakeholders; underlines that such network should promote theoretical diversity so as to avoid group thinking:

Amendment 532 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 533 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Suggests that such a fiscal council led by the Chief Economic Analyst could provide objective, independent and transparent analyses to both the Commission and the Council as well as the Parliament;

Amendment 534 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Stresses that high surpluses in the core of the Eurozone, most notably in Germany, shall not be considered less alarming than high deficits in the periphery; recalls that the accumulation of unsustainable current account deficits and surpluses within the Eurozone was fuelled by the setup of the monetary union; insists therefore that macroeconomic imbalances must be considered of joint responsibility;

Amendment 535 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls for the harmonisation of the economic assumptions in drawing up national budgets and a common assessment of the European and national economic situation and to have more uniformity in the presentation of public accounts so as to facilitate comparison;

Amendment 536 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

~~20. Believes that the MIP must be used in a more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries with significant room for action;~~deleted

Amendment 537 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP ~~must be used in a more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries with significant room for action~~is a key tool to avoid future crisis;

Amendment 538 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. ~~Believes that the MIP must be used in a more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries with significant room for~~Recalls that macroeconomic surveillance is destined to identify countries that are likely to experience a crisis in the future and that the MIP is meant to avoid crises to happen, by launching the necessary structural reforms at a moment when it is still easy to do so, rather than when a country is in deep trouble; acknowledges that countries which have a significant room for action have begun to use this; recalls that in an open economy analysing bilateral trade balances is a meaningless exercise; considers that trade surpluses are mainly due to the activity of private firms, whilst persistent trade deficits can generally be corrected by government action;

Amendment 539 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP must ~~be used in a more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries wi~~take sufficient account of the fact that current account surpluses do not present the s~~ignificant room for action~~ame major risks as deficits;

Amendment 540 #

Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP must be used in a ~~more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries with significant room for action~~n objective manner to assess the development of key macroeconomic variables in the EU member states;

Amendment 541 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP must be used in a much more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries~~, also to address countries with significant room for action~~; calls on the Commission to specifically pursue decisively cases of current account imbalances in order to prevent increased economic divergence within the euro area;

Amendment 542 #

Michael THEURER, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP must be used in a more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, ~~also to address countries with significant room for action~~stresses that the procedure should address primarily countries with significant room for action, notably by requesting Germany and all countries with excessive surplus to stop unfair and harmful competitive practices based on internal devaluation, such as wage restraint, and to boost domestic demand;

Amendment 543 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

Amendment 544 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP must be used in a more ~~balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries with significant room for action~~efficient manner, particularly with regard to strengthening competitiveness and better taking into account the euro area as a whole, including all the spill- over effects of national policies through the scoreboard;

Amendment 545 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Believes that the MIP must be used in a more balanced manner between deficit and surplus countries, also to address countries with significant room for action; urges the Commission for a revision of the MIP so as to develop diligently a fully symmetrical rationale for current account imbalances in the framework of the macroeconomic imbalances procedure;

Amendment 546 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Recalls on the last In-depth reviews and county reports (published on 26th of February, 2015) where a number of Member States fall under excessive imbalances (category 5) and imbalance category (category 4) and requires decisive policy actions in order to remove imbalances.

Amendment 547 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Stresses the detrimental impact of an inverse age pyramid on the pension system and the ensuing need for those Member States affected by demographic change to achieve substantial trade surpluses over a long period of time in order to be able to afford a sufficient level of pensions in the future; requests the Commission to explain how this will be taken into account in its macroeconomic surveillance procedure;

Amendment 548 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Asks the Commission to propose specific policy measures, instruments and procedural steps to improve the 'very asymmetric nature of the rebalancing thus far, with weak domestic demand in creditor countries sustaining persistently large current account surpluses' (MIP AMR November 2014, p.2);

Amendment 549 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Observes that, in the euro area, the crisis has revealed that, without major macroeconomic tools at national level (exchange rate, monetary policy, more or less fiscal policy), internal devaluation could be the only solution and that it deserves being compensated at the eurozone level;

Amendment 550 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Believes that that a social impact assessment should be carried out of the long term effects that internal devaluation as implemented since 2008 has had on European peoples, especially the lower income and poor categories, which assessment should be accompanied by proposals regarding possible remedial measures;

Amendment 551 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls for a public meeting to be held between the Finance Ministers of the Member States and the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs every third quarter before the adoption of the national budgets of the Member States;

Amendment 552 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls for the completion of the Scoreboard for macroeconomic imbalances with social indicators which should be on equal footing as the rest of MIP indicators; is of the opinion that such indicators must also be able to trigger corrective action and not merely to "monitor" the overall socioeconomic situation; insists that excessive unemployment, inequality and poverty are also threatening imbalances for the Eurozone; recalls its repeated requests to adopt indicators regarding resource efficiency, indicators on unit capital costs as well as other indicators relevant for monitoring progress towards updated EU2020 objectives; including non-cost competitiveness related indicators in fields such as R&D, education, and training;

Amendment 553 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Underlines that a resource efficiency indicator to be integrated in the MIP scoreboard should in particular facilitate monitoring progress made towards the decoupling of economic development from the use of natural resources;

Amendment 554 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20c (new)

20c. Is of the opinion that the MIP scoreboard should be submitted to a proper democratic scrutiny by the EU co- legislators meaning that the MIP framework should be reviewed at least in line with the European Parliament position adopted ahead of the six-pack negotiations foreseeing the adoption of the MIP Scoreboard by means of a delegated act;

Amendment 555 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

Amendment 556 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

Amendment 557 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

Amendment 558 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to explore ways in which to better align the preventive and corrective arms of the SGP, in particular regarding investment allowing temporary deviation from the MTO, or the adjustment path towards it, within the existence of a safety margin under the preventive armNotes the work done by the Commission in interpreting the flexibility within the rules relating to the SGP and its balanced approach to investment;

Amendment 559 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to explore ways in which to better align the preventive and corrective arms of the SGP, in particular ~~regarding investment allowing tempor~~by placing emphasis on early de~~via~~tection ~~from the MTO, or the adjustment path towards it, within the existence of a safety margin under the preventive arm~~and adjustment of potential excessive deficits;

Amendment 560 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to explore ways in which to better align the preventive and corrective arms of the SGP, in ~~particular regarding investment allowing temporary~~order to avoid deviations from the MTO, or the adjustment path ~~towards it, within the existence of a safety margin under the preventive arm~~;

Amendment 561 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to explore ways in which to better align the preventive and corrective arms of the SGP, ~~in particular regarding investment allowing temporary deviation from the MTO, or the adjustment path towards it, wi~~with a strategy to enhance growth, reduce unemployment and tackle poverty and social exclusion; considers that qualitative benchmarks are more appropriate thian ~~the existence of a safety margin under the preventive arm~~quantitative ones for assessing the fiscal responsibility of a country;

Amendment 562 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Calls on the Commission to explore ways in which to better align the preventive and corrective arms of the SGP~~, in particular regarding investment allowing temporary deviation from the MTO, or the adjustment path towards it, within the existence of a safety margin under the preventive arm~~;

Amendment 563 #

Michael THEURER, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. ~~Calls on~~Supports the Commission ~~to explore ways in which to better alig~~'s approach, in line with the 6-pack, to make a clear differentiation between the preventive and corrective arms of the SGP, in particular regarding investment allowing temporary deviation from the MTO, or the adjustment path towards it, within the existence of a safety margin under the preventive arm, considering that countries that are under the preventive arm have more room for action;

Amendment 564 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

~~22. Asks the Commission to take into account all relevant factors, including real growth and inflation, when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States under the EDP;~~deleted

Amendment 565 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to ~~take into account~~continue to analyse all relevant factors, including real growth and inflation, when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States under the EDP;

Amendment 566 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to ~~take into account all relevant factors, including real growth and inflation, when evaluating~~strictly assess the economic ~~and fiscal~~ situations of Mmember Sstates under the EDP;

Amendment 567 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to take into account all relevant factors, including real growth ~~and inflation,~~, long term public investment, as well as the fairness and democratic accountability of both public spending and the taxation system when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States ~~under the EDP;~~ ;

Amendment 568 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to ~~take into account all relevant~~consider in its analyses all crucial factors, including real growth and inflation, when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States under the EDP;

Amendment 569 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to take into account all relevant factors, including real growth ~~and~~, inflation and unemployment, when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States under the EDP;

Amendment 570 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to ~~take into account all relev~~analyse all important factors, including real growth and inflation, when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States under the EDP;

Amendment 571 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks the Commission to take into account all relevant factors, including real growth and inflation, as well as unemployment rates, when evaluating the economic and fiscal situations of Member States under the EDP;

Amendment 572 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Insists on the need to clarify the way in which effective actions are taken into account under the EDP;~~deleted

Amendment 573 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Insists on the need to clarify the way in which effective actions are taken into account under the EDP;~~deleted

Amendment 574 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Insists on the need to clarify the way in which effective actions are taken into account under the EDP;~~deleted

Amendment 575 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Insists on the need to clarify the way in which effective actions are taken into account under the EDP;~~deleted

Amendment 576 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. I~~nsists on the need to clarify the way in which effective actions are taken into account~~s concerned that some member states are in risk of breach on rules of the EDP; emphasises that member states should reduce their budget deficit to three percent of GDP by the end of 2015 with structural reforms; insists on the a strict and thorough interpretation of actions taken under the EDP;

Amendment 577 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Insists on the need to clarify the way in which effective actions are taken into account under the EDP~~Stresses that the Commission's assessment of all relevant factors under the preventive and corrective arms gives primary focus to social and macroeconomic indicators. Insists on the need that the assessment of the budgetary situation is based on qualitative indicators such as the fairness, efficiency and democratic accountability of both public spending and taxation system;

Amendment 578 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. ~~Insists on the need to clarify~~Believes that the way in which effective actions are taken into account under the EDP should be based on clear, numerical and quantifiable criteria;

Amendment 579 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Insists that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, creates margins for the discretionary implementation of the SGP, as the calculation of potential growth, underpinning the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule are subject to several questionable assumptions and substantial revisions between the Commission’s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;deleted

Amendment 580 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 581 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Insists that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, as well as the concept of output gap which is extremely difficult to quantify correctly, and therefore creates margins for the discretionary implementation of the SGP~~, as~~; fears that the calculation of potential growth, which underpin~~ning~~s the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule, are subject to several questionable assumptions and can force to substantial revisions between the Commission’'s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 582 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Insists that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, creates margins for the discretionary implementation of the SGP, as the calculation of potential growth, underpinning the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule ~~are~~have been subject to ~~several questionable assumptions and~~ substantial revisions between the Commission’'s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 583 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Insists~~Points out that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, creates margins for the discretionary implementation of the SGP, as the calculation of potential growth, underpinning the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule are subject to several questionable assumptions and substantial revisions between the Commission’s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP; stresses that, in the interests of greater plannability, those divergences should be eliminated;

Amendment 584 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Insist~~Notes that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, create~~s margins for the discretionary~~d distortions in the implementation of the SGP, as the calculations of potential growth, output gaps and underpinning the assessment of structural deficits~~, and that of the expenditure rule~~ are subject to several questionable assumptions and substantial revisions between the Commission’'s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 585 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Insists that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, creates uncertainty, complexity and margins for the discretionary implementation of the SGP, as the calculation of potential growth, underpinning the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule are subject to several questionable assumptions and substantial revisions between the Commission’s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 586 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Insists that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, creates margins for the discretionary implementation of the SGP, as the calculation of potential growth and potential output, underpinning the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule are subject to several questionable assumptions and substantial revisions between the Commission’'s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 587 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Insists that the focus on structural deficits since the 2005 reform of the SGP, together with the introduction of an expenditure rule with the 2011 reform, creates margins for ~~the discretionary~~more flexibility in the implementation of the SGP, as the calculation of potential growth, underpinning the assessment of structural deficits, and that of the expenditure rule are subject to several questionable assumptions and substantial revisions between the Commission’'s autumn and spring forecasts, thereby leading to various calculations and diverging assessments as regards the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 588 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Observes that the calculation of the structural deficit or the structural budget balance is subject to significant time lags and undermined by large definition and measurement controversies;

Amendment 589 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Takes note of the fact that the Commission communication on flexibility insists on the role of the output gap;

Amendment 590 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls in that perspective on the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal for codifying in the legislation the concept of 'structural balance' advocates in particular for a more complete definition of the concept reflecting a wider theoretical background which should include inter alia the interwoven role played by the financial cycle and the business cycle;

Amendment 591 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Reminds the Commission that several monitoring requirements of Regulation (EU) No 473/2013 regarding inter alia the estimation of multiplier effects on a country-by-country basis as well as indications on how reforms and measures are instrumental to the achievement of the targets set by the Union's strategy for growth and jobs have not yet been implemented by the Commission; calls upon the Commission to act in conformity with article 265 of the Treaty so as to comply with the legal obligations referred above;

Amendment 592 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission, when evaluating the fiscal position of Members States, to include a better balance between the impact of the agreed fiscal measures and the fiscal figures based on estimated potential growth for GDP, output gaps and structural deficits that may introduce unexpected radical change at a later stage;deleted

Amendment 593 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 594 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 595 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 596 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission, when evaluating the fiscal position of Members States, to ~~include a better balance between the impact of the agreed fiscal measures and the fiscal figures based on estimated potential growth for GDP, output gaps and stru~~take account solely of those fiscal measures and structural reforms which are actural ~~deficits that may introduce unexpected radical change at a later stag~~ly being put into practice;

Amendment 597 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission, when evaluating the fiscal position of Members States, to ~~include a better balance between the impact of the agreed fiscal measures and the fiscal figures based on estimated potential growth for GDP, output gaps and stru~~be mindful of potential discrepancies between the agreed fiscal effort and the actural ~~deficits that may introduce unexpected radical change at a later stage~~fiscal impact achieved;

Amendment 598 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission, when evaluating the fiscal position of Members States, to include a better ~~balance between~~assessment of the impact of the agreed fiscal measures ~~and the fiscal figures based on estimated potential growth for GDP, output gaps and structural deficits that may introduce unexpected radical change at a later stage;~~on GDP growth, drawing from the experience of consistently optimistic forecasts for adjustment countries and the debate on the fiscal multiplier.

Amendment 599 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 600 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission, when evaluating the fiscal position of Members States, to include a better balance between the impact of the agreed fiscal measures and reforms and the fiscal figures based on estimated potential growth for GDP, output gaps and structural deficits that may introduce unexpected radical change at a later stage;

Amendment 601 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission, when evaluating the fiscal position of Members States, to ~~include a better balance between the impact~~consider the implications of the agreed fiscal measures and the fiscal figures based on estimated potential growth for GDP, output gaps and structural deficits that may introduce unexpected radical change at a later stage;

Amendment 602 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

Amendment 603 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Calls on the Commission to launch a public debate in academic fora on the methodology used to estimate potential GDP growth and the structural budget balance, and on the usefulness, the reliability, and the consequences of these estimates for the implementation of the SGP.

Amendment 604 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Believes that the credibility of the economic governance framework rests on the fair and transparent application of the rules; calls on the Commission to publish the reports of its independent Chief Economic Analyst verifying the consistent implementation of the rules; invites the Commission's Chief Economic Analyst to present to the European Parliament his/her assessment regarding the consistent implementation of the rules;

Amendment 605 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

Democratic accountability and challenges ahead in ~~deepen~~improving economic governance

Amendment 606 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes there is a strong need for less complexity, better ownership, more transparency and democracy in economic governance; believes that looking forward towards deeper integration cannot be achieved by adding a new layer of rules to the already existing onesmore national ownership and more transparency;

Amendment 607 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes there is a strong need for less complexity, better ownership, more transparency and democracy in economic governance; ~~believes that looking forward towards deeper integration cannot be achieved by adding a new layer of rules to the already existing ones;~~

Amendment 608 #

Danuta Maria HÜBNER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes there is a strong and urgent need for less complexity, better ownership, more transparency and democracy in economic governance; believes that looking forward towards deeper integration cannot be achieved by adding a new layer of rules to the already existingmore transparency, increased country ownership and democratic accountability in economic governance; believes that constructing a resilient EMU that will ensure a sustainable recovery while surviving inevitable political challenges cannot be achieved without sustained national input and parliamentary involvement at every stage of the European Semester – and particularly as regards national ownesrship of structural reform commitments. ;

Amendment 609 #

Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes th~~ere is a str~~at deeper economic integrationg need ~~for~~s less complexity, better ownership, and more transparency ~~and democracy~~ in economic governance; ~~believes that looking forward towards deeper integration cannot be achieved by adding a new layer of rules to the already existing ones;~~

Amendment 610 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes there is a strong need for less complexity, better ownership, and more transparency ~~and democracy~~ in economic governance; believes that looking forward towards deeper integration cannot be achieved by adding a new layer of rules to the already existing ones; believes, instead, that existing rules must be applied more effectively;

Amendment 611 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes there is a strong need for less complexity, better ownership, more transparency and democracy in economic governance; believes that ~~looking forward towards~~it is difficult to achieve deeper integration ~~cannot be achieved~~ by adding a new layers of rules to the already existing ones;

Amendment 612 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Believes there is a strong need for less complexity, better ownership, more transparency and democracy in economic governance; believes that looking forward towards deeper integration cannot be achieved only by adding a new layer of rules to the already existing ones;

Amendment 613 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

Amendment 614 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

Amendment 615 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

Amendment 616 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Takes the view that a more decentralised fiscal governance framework does not impair the proper functioning of EMU if Member States take full ownership of its rules and compliance with the fiscal surveillance framework can be fully ensured by EU institutions, while including sovereign default as a possible and credible last resort option;

Amendment 617 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Takes the view that implementation and an effective enforcement of the current economic governance framework is the best way forward for the EMU: stresses the need for political ownership of the common rules and tool both at EU and national level which includes a stronger commitment of national parliaments and governments to implement structural reforms;

Amendment 618 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Takes the view that in the field of EMU parliamentary control is shared between the national and the European level and insists that responsibilities must be assumed at the level where decisions are taken or implemented, with national parliaments scrutinising national governments and the European Parliament scrutinising the European executive; it is only in this way that the required increased accountability of decision making can be ensured; considers that this increased legitimacy can be ensured by foreseeing the adoption of National Reform Programmes and possible Convergence Partnerships by national parliaments as well as the adoption of European policy orientations, detailed in the Annual Growth Survey, by the European Parliament; stresses that such a cooperation should not be seen as the creation of a new mixed parliamentary body which would be both ineffective and illegitimate from a democratic and constitutional point of view;

Amendment 619 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)

26b. Considers that in the medium term, notably in order to ensure the required accountability for the ESM, a Euro area parliament will be required, under the auspices of the European Parliament, for Euro area Member States, with appropriate and inclusive mechanisms for those Member States committed to joining;

Amendment 620 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

Amendment 621 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the economic governance framework ~~must be corrected and complet~~should be reassessed in ~~both~~ the medium ~~and long t~~term, in orderm to a~~llow for the EU and the euro area to meet the challenges of convergence, long-lasting investment and relianc~~nalyse if the current framework has provided the desired results and set a timeline for returning to the principle of the no- bailout clause;

Amendment 622 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the ~~economic governance framework must be corrected and completed in both the medium and long term to allow for the~~ EU and the euro area must be able to meet the challenges of convergence, long-lasting investment and reliance;

Amendment 623 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the economic governance framework must be corrected and completed in both the medium and long term to allow for the EU and the euro area to meet the challenges of ~~convergence, long-lasting investment and reliance~~emerging from the crisis, stimulating growth, raising employment, encouraging long-term investment and improving the welfare of the citizens in the EU;

Amendment 624 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the economic governance framework must be corrected ~~and completed~~ in both the medium and long term to allow for the EU and the euro area to meet the challenges of growth, economic convergence, long- lasting investment, job creation and reliance;

Amendment 625 #

Michael THEURER, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the economic governance framework must be ~~corrected and~~simplified, better enforced and, where necessary, completed in both the medium and long term to allow for the EU and the euro area to meet the challenges of convergence, long-lasting investment and reliance;

Amendment 626 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the economic governance framework must be ~~corrected and~~ completed in both the medium and long term to allow for the EU and the euro area to meet the challenges of convergence, ~~long-lasting investment and reli~~competitiveness and sound public finances;

Amendment 627 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Acknowledges, based on the current situation, that the economic governance framework must be corrected and completed ~~in both the medium and long term~~ to allow for the EU and the euro area to meet the challenges of convergence, full-employment long-lasting investment and reliance;

Amendment 628 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

Amendment 629 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Deplores that the EP does not legally and concretely provide more input in the key moments of the European Semester, notably regarding the AGS, the overall assessment of the budgetary situation and prospects in the euro area and the CSRs; against this background, stresses that there is an increasing sense of a double democratic deficit in the economic governance framework of the Union, both at the EU and at the national levels;

Amendment 630 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Stresses, therefore, that a stronger involvement of the European Parliament in economic governance processes is a condition sine qua non for increased democratic legitimacy of the governance framework and to favour a debate on the macroeconomic situation of the EU;

Amendment 631 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls for the annual sustainable growth guidelines to be made subject to a codecision procedure that should be introduced in the next Treaty change; instructs its President to present the annual sustainable growth guidelines as amended by Parliament at the spring European Council;deleted

Amendment 632 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 633 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 634 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 635 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls for ~~the annual sustainable growth guidelines~~Convergence Guidelines, which contain four to five targeted priorities and are valid for five years, to be made subject to a codecision procedure that should be introduced in the next Treaty change; ~~instructs~~suggests foreseeing its President to present the ~~annual sustainable growth guidelines as amended by Parliament at the spring~~se during a European Council;

Amendment 636 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls for the annual ~~sustainable growth guidelines to be made subject to a codecision procedure that should be introduc~~growth survey to be made subject to a more formal involvement of Parliament based ion ~~the next Treaty chang~~a consent procedure; instructs its President to represent ~~the annual sustainable growth guidelines as amended by~~ Parliament at the spring European Council based on a resolution adopted in plenary;

Amendment 637 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls for the aAGS to be renamed Annual sSustainable gGrowth gGuidelines and to be made subject to a codecision procedure that should be introduced in the next Treaty change; instructs its President to present the annual sustainable growth guidelines as amended by Parliament at the spring European Council;

Amendment 638 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls for the annual sustainable growth guidelines to be made subject to a codecision procedure that should be introduced in the next Treaty change and in the meantime the be subject to an interinstitutional agreement; instructs its President to present the annual sustainable growth guidelines as amended by Parliament at the spring European Council;

Amendment 639 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

~~29. Recalls that legislation implemented during the crisis on the basis of intergovernmental agreements lacks democratic accountability at EU level;~~deleted

Amendment 640 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Recalls that ~~legislation implement~~the part of the legislation that was introduced during the crisis on the basis of intergovernmental agreements lacks democratic accountability at EU level, as for this part the democratic accountability is limited to the national level;

Amendment 641 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Recalls that legislation implemented during the crisis ~~on the~~was basised ofn intergovernmental agreements ~~lacks democratic accountability at EU level~~;

Amendment 642 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Recalls that legislation implemented during the crisis on the basis of intergovernmental agreements lacks democratic accountability at EU level; underlines that the 'Pringle' ECJ judgment provides a basis for bringing the ESM within the community acquis;

Amendment 643 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Recalls that legislation implemented during the crisis on the basis of intergovernmental agreements lacks sufficient democratic accountability at EU level;

Amendment 644 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Regrets, that the "Troika schemes" that were employed in several occasions to survey and provide recommendations on the economic adjustment of Member- States under a consolidation program, lacked any democratic accountability;

Amendment 645 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

Amendment 646 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

Amendment 647 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recalls the European Parliament’s request that the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) outside of the structure of the institutions of the Union represents a setback to the political integration of the Union and, therefore, demands thatat the European Stability Mechanism is based on contributions from Member States and that therefore the ESM should be fully ~~integrated into the community framework and made formally accountable to Parliament~~accountable to the Member States via the Council;

Amendment 648 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recalls the European Parliament’s request that the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) outside of the structure of the institutions of the Union represents a setback to the political integration of the Union ~~and, therefore, demands that the ESM be fully integrated into the community framework and made formally accountable to Parliament~~; recalls the bailouts packages granted through the ESM were exclusively used for the recapitalization of the banking sector; therefore believes that the ESM represents an unnecessary duplication of other existing instruments of financial support to the banking sector, available within the community framework, such as the ECB and the SRM;

Amendment 649 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

Amendment 650 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recalls the European Parliament’'s request that the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance ('Fiscal Compact') outside of the structure of the institutions of the Union represents a setback to the political integration of the Union and, therefore, demands that the ESM and the Fiscal Compact be fully integrated into the community framework and made formally accountable to Parliament, for the latter on the basis of an assessment of the experience of its implementation, as stipulated in Article 16 of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the EMU;

Amendment 651 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recalls the European Parliament’s request that the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) outside of the structure of the institutions of the Union represents a setback to the political integration of the Union and, therefore, demands that the ESM be fully integrated into the community framework and made formally accountable to Parliament; calls in the meanwhile on the ESM Managing Director to agree to answer the written questions addressed to him by Members of the European Parliament;

Amendment 652 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30

30. Recalls the European Parliament’'s ~~request~~opinion specifying that the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) outside of the structure of the institutions of the Union represents a setback to the political integration of the Union and, therefore, demands that the ESM be fully integrated into the community framework and made formally accountable to Parliament; understands that in its present form the Treaty doesn't allow for such a mechanisms to be established under Community law;

Amendment 653 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

~~31. Calls for a new legal framework for future assistance programmes in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full involvement of Parliament;~~deleted

Amendment 654 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

Amendment 655 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

Amendment 656 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls for a new legal framework for future assistance programmes ~~in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full involvement of Parliament~~which makes effective and resolute action possible;

Amendment 657 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. ~~Calls for a new legal framework for future assistance programmes in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full involvement of Parliament~~Reminds its position that the troika has to be replaced by a community based framework; reminds that Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 provides for a community framework for elaborating and monitoring macroeconomic adjustment programmes which would be consistent with a non-negotiating role of 'silent observer' for the ECB and a reviewed role for the IMF as requested by the European Parliament in its report on the troika activities;

Amendment 658 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. ~~Calls for a new~~Underlines that the legal framework for ~~future~~ assistance programmes needs to be improved in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full involvement of Parliament; stresses that Parliament should without delay follow up on its resolution of 13 March 2014 on the enquiry on the role and operations of the Troika and prepare a new, separate resolution fully dedicated to this issue drawing and building on the first enquiry;

Amendment 659 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

Amendment 660 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls for a new legal framework for future assistance programmes in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full involvement of Parliament to ensure more democratic accountability; believes there should be a logic between the nature of the stability mechanism used and the institution in charge of its mobilisation;

Amendment 661 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls for a new legal framework for future assistance programmes to be studied in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the main responsibility of the Commission ~~with full involvement of Parliament~~, acting on behalf of the Council, with full democratic accountability enacted to the European Parliament; recalls that, as long as the financial assistance is directly granted by the Member States of the euro area, these will need to have the final say in the programmes;

Amendment 662 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls for a ~~new~~ legal framework and a policy shift for future assistance programmes in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full and real involvement of European and National Parliament;

Amendment 663 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Calls for a new legal framework for future assistance programmes in order to ensure that all decisions are taken under the responsibility of the Commission with full involvement of Parliament; to ensure democratic accountability and transparency and increase acceptance of the adjustment programmes

Amendment 664 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Insists that the European Parliament must, generally and systematically, be fully informed and consulted about decisions of the Eurogroup, and must play a genuine role of democratic control in assessing them;

Amendment 665 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Reminds the Commission and the Council of its position adopted in plenary regarding Regulation (EU) No 472/2013; emphasises in particular that it has laid down provisions in this position which increase further the transparency and accountability of the decision-making process leading to the adoption of macroeconomic adjustment programmes, providing for a clearer and well- delimitated mandate and overall role for the Commission; asks the Commission to integrate such provisions in the framework of a future proposal to amend Regulation (EU) No 472/2013;

Amendment 666 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 b (new)

31b. Underlines that Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 foresees several provisions which have not been applied so far; recalls in particular the request contained in the European Parliament report on the troika that the MoUs need to be adapted in order to take into account the practice and institutions for wage formation and the national reform programme of the Member State concerned in the context of the Union's strategy for growth and jobs as set out in Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 (Article7(1)); the need to ensure sufficient means for fundamental policies such as education and healthcare (article 7(7)); as well as an effective involvement of social partners in the design and implementation of adjustment programmes (article 8); calls upon the Commission to act in conformity with article 265 of the Treaty so as to comply with the legal obligations referred to above;

Amendment 667 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 c (new)

31c. Asks for an inquiry committee on alleged maladministration and EU law infringements by the Troika;

Amendment 668 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

~~32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes;~~deleted

Amendment 669 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

~~32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes;~~deleted

Amendment 670 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

~~32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes;~~deleted

Amendment 671 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

~~32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes;~~deleted

Amendment 672 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. ~~Requests, as per~~Takes note of the opinion of the ECJ’'s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of a~~ny a~~ssistance programmes in those cases where an OMT has already been granted to the country concerned; understands it is his opinion that there is no limitation to the ECB's involvement in assistance programmes as long as no OMT was granted; reminds that the ECJ hasn't ruled in this case yet;

Amendment 673 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes or, through monetary policy-making, be indirectly involved in assistance programmes either;

Amendment 674 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes; however, taking into account the independence of the ECB, some forms of short-term financial assistance, covering immediate liquidity needs, may be provided without any previous political consent;

Amendment 675 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any assistance programmes; to avoid any unclear role of the ECB and jeopardize its credibility

Amendment 676 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form directly part of any assistance programmes;

Amendment 677 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Requests, as per the opinion of the ECJ’s Advocate-General, that the ECB not form part of any financial assistance programmes;

Amendment 678 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability; believes that in the long term the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup;deleted

Amendment 679 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

Amendment 680 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

Amendment 681 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

Amendment 682 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability; believes that in the ~~long term the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup~~post of President of the Eurogroup should be entrusted to a person who is assigned solely to that task and is appointed for a sufficiently long term, to enable him or her to act effectively;

Amendment 683 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability; bBelieves that in the long term ~~the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup;~~, a high representative for the eurozone acting through the eurogroup should be appointed with functions equivalent to those of the high representative for foreign affairs as well as with senior Vice Presidency status in the European Commission, having powers to represent the eurozone at all relevant levels.

Amendment 684 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’'s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability; bwel~~iev~~comes th~~at in the long term the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup~~e readiness by the Eurogroup President to regularly participate in the meetings of the ECON committee in the same way as the chair of the Ecofin Council, thus insuring a similar level of democratic accountability; urges to keep a clear distinction between the Council and the Commission as far as the organisation of their respective meetings is concerned;

Amendment 685 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability; ~~believes that in the long term the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup;~~

Amendment 686 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability; believes that ~~in the long term~~ the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup;

Amendment 687 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

Amendment 688 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for appropriate democratic accountability and output legitimacy; believes that in the ~~long term~~foreseeable future the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup;

Amendment 689 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Requests that a reassessment of the Eurogroup’s decision-making process be conducted so as to provide for apimpro~~priate~~ved democratic accountability; believes that in the long term the Commissioner for Economic Affairs should assume the role of President of the Eurogroup;

Amendment 690 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Notes that due to inadequate structural arrangements that contributed to crisis. the European Central Bank has been assuming and implicitly receiving powers that go beyond its mandate and that create lack of transparency about how decisions need to be taken, while increasing the political powers of the Bank; that this is not conducive to the long term stability of the system while undermining its democratic accountability; and that therefore on the Bank's board there should be representatives whose remit is uniquely that of focussing on the state of financial health of the eurozone as a whole, rather than that of its component parts.

Amendment 691 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)

33a. Recalls that the parliamentary input on economic policy guidelines is the cornerstone of any democratic system;

Amendment 692 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 b (new)

33b. Regrets, therefore, that the much- increased complexity of the current governance framework further weakens democratic accountability;

Amendment 693 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

~~34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity;~~deleted

Amendment 694 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

~~34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity;~~deleted

Amendment 695 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

~~34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity;~~deleted

Amendment 696 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) ~~cannot simply be limit~~must be based ton a system of ~~rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity~~smart rules observed and acted on by all stakeholders;

Amendment 697 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that ~~a ‘~~the realisation of a 'genuine Economic and Monetary Union’' (EMU) ~~cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capa~~would require political and democratic support of a transfer union which is nowhere to be found in the EU. As it stands, the EMU will continue to exacerbate the macroeconomic imbalances within the Eurozone, leading to excessive surpluses and corresponding excessive deficity;s

Amendment 698 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘'genuine Economic and Monetary Union’' (EMU) cannot ~~simply be limit~~be based ton a system of rules ~~but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity~~which are only enforced in a lax way; rejects the idea of a euro area fiscal capacity; reminds that the EU already has a powerful anti-cyclical mechanism in the form of the SGP;

Amendment 699 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) ~~cannot simply be limit~~needs to ~~a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity~~be based on a rules based system, which is simple, comprehensible and can be easily enforced, including automatic sanctions in the case of non-compliance;

Amendment 700 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that ~~a ‘genuin~~the Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) ~~cannot~~in the EU has remained simply be limited to a system of ~~rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity~~fixed exchange rates and budgetary rules and that a genuine EMU requires an economic and political conditions that do not exist in the EU, as well as a common fiscal capacity that is not a viable option in the foreseeable future;

Amendment 701 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity; however, the euro area fiscal capacity should not be foreseen as a separate entity from existing institutional arrangements and should only be based on stronger coordination at eurozone level; Points out that a 'genuine EMU' also requires convergence in terms of competitiveness of its Member States; labour market reforms, structural reforms and fiscal consolidation, as well as responsible public spending are essential to achieve this goal;

Amendment 702 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity with European parliamentary control and a deep economic policy coordination; believes that, as much as at national level, structural reforms are needed at the EU level;

Amendment 703 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘'genuine Economic and Monetary Union’' (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity having a relevant macroeconomic impact across the EMU and a reinforced democratic legitimacy;

Amendment 704 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) ~~cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but~~ also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity;

Amendment 705 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34

34. Recalls that a ‘genuine Economic and Monetary Union’ (EMU) cannot simply be limited to a system of rules but also requires an increased euro area fiscal capacity; Welcomes the work of the Group EU own resources, chaired by Mario Monti, invites the Commission, in the effort of strengthening the EMU, to explore possible mechanism to create fiscal capacity at EU level;

Amendment 706 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34a. Believes that there will never be genuine EMU without Treaty change and a role for the ECJ in the enforcement of the budgetary rules, according to the principle of the rule of law, as stated in article 2 of TEU; this includes both infringement proceedings against Member States failing to fulfil their obligations and action for annulment against decisions of the institutions, thereby inter alia providing programme countries with a guarantee; believes that the involvement of the ECJ may notably be a guarantee that the rules will be applied identically irrespective of the size of the Member State; states that this role for the ECJ will not result in economic governance procedures being delayed;

Amendment 707 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34a. Notes that there exist no arrangements for an orderly withdrawal by members from the eurozone, one which is democratically transparent, fair to all concerned, conscious of the need to protect the welfare of all European peoples, especially those who are less well off, and tuned to the exigencies of globalised financial, product and service markets; and therefore requests that such arrangements are discussed and eventually put in place.

Amendment 708 #

Danuta Maria HÜBNER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34a. Recalls that the functioning of the Single Market needs to be improved, in particular in areas that are vital to increasing the adjustment capacity of the euro area economies, such as the digital economy and energy. Enhancing labour mobility, especially for women and young workers, is key in this respect.

Amendment 709 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)

34a. Stresses that the flawed functioning of a Monetary Union without a State has generated and promoted unsustainably high macroeconomic imbalances within the Eurozone, leading to excessive surplus and corresponding excessive deficits; regrets that the Euro has acted as the most divisive factor for the European integration since the second world war;

Amendment 710 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

~~35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial crisis and that the same will is needed as regards a fiscal union in order to avoid a political crisis;~~deleted

Amendment 711 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

Amendment 712 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

Amendment 713 #

Bernard MONOT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial crisis ~~and t~~, but also hatd the ~~same will is needed as regards a fiscal union in order to avoid a political crisi~~aim of saving private banks at all costs, if necessary by robbing savers;

Amendment 714 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial ~~crisis and that the same will is needed as regards a fiscal union in order to avoid a political~~ crisis;

Amendment 715 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial crisis and ~~that~~ the same ~~will is needed as regards a fiscal union in order to avoid a political crisi~~political will and commitment is needed from Member States to implement lasting economic reforms and achieve sound public finances;

Amendment 716 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid afuture financial crisies and that the same will is needed ~~as regards a fiscal union in order to avoid a political crisis~~to strengthen the economic governance framework;

Amendment 717 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial crisis and that the same will is needed as regards a fiscal union in order to ~~avoid a political crisis~~enable balanced economic growth, make the EMU more resilient and avoid a political crisis; highlights the short- sightedness of continuing to rely merely on private risk-sharing as a way to ensure stability and prosperity in monetary union;

Amendment 718 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid the renewal of a financial crisis a~~nd that the same will is needed as regards a fiscal union~~s well as a way to minimise the negative spill-overs emanating from a sovereign debt crisis, and that it was meant as a necessary addition to the SGP; urges to fully implement and enforce these mechanisms in order to avoid a political crisis;

Amendment 719 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial crisis and that the same ~~will is needed as regards a fiscal union in order to avoid a political crisis~~political will does not exist as regards a fiscal union;

Amendment 720 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that the banking union was the result of the political will to avoid a financial crisis and that the same will is needed as regards a potential fiscal union ~~in order to avoid a political crisis~~;

Amendment 721 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)

35a. Reminds of the main findings of the Expert Group on the feasibility of Eurobonds, created by the Commission and led by Mrs Tumpel-Gugerell, which concluded that the issuing of debt under joint and several liability is not compatible with the Treaty, and that in the present situation of Member States still struggling with over-indebtedness a mutualisation of debt is economically unsound as well as politically not feasible;

Amendment 722 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)

35b. Warns all Member States to stick to their engagements concerning the reimbursement of the debt they have contracted; draws the attention to the highly disruptive effects emanating from announcements by governments that they do not feel bound by their obligations to pay back the debt which was contracted in a generous gesture of solidarity by the other countries of the euro area; warns that such an attitude might spell a cast on any future plan to mutualise debt;

Amendment 723 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Asks the Commission to come forward with an ambitious roadmap ~~which takes into account the need for economic governance reforms, as outlined in this report, and which should be presented to Parliament by the end of May 2015, ahead of the June European Council~~to strengthen the competitiveness of Member States' economies, including a clear link between the implementation of CSRs and the receipt of EFSI funds;

Amendment 724 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Asks the Commission to come forward with an ambitious roadmap which takes into account the need ~~for economic go~~to bring about convernagence ~~reforms, as outlined in this report, and which should be presented to Parliament by the end of May 2015, ahead of the June European Council~~of the fiscal policies of the Member States with the aim of completing Economic and Monetary Union;

Amendment 725 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Asks the Commission to come forward with an ambitious roadmap which takes into account the need for economic governance reforms and completion of the EMU, as outlined in this report~~, and which should be presented to Parliament by the end of May 2015, ahead of the June European Council~~;

Amendment 726 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Asks the Commission to come forward with an ambitious roadmap ~~which takes into account the need for economic governance reforms, as outlined in this report, and~~for the establishment of a genuine economic and monetary union, which should be presented to Parliament by the end of May 2015, ahead of the June European Council building on previous work such as the Thyssen report of 20 November 2012 "Towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union", the communication of the Commission of 28 November 2012 "A blueprint for a deep and genuine economic and monetary union. Launching a European debate" and the final Four Presidents report of 5 December 2012;

Amendment 727 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Asks the Commission to come forward with an ambitious roadmap which takes into account the need for economic governance reforms, as outlined in this report, and which should be presented to Parliament by the end of May 2015, ahead of the June European Council; Asks the Commission to make it a high priority to create better incentives for Member States to abide by the SGP rules, as this is a way to maintain the trust of the private markets, and also creates space for future solidarity and for averting economic crises;

Amendment 728 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Asks the Commission to come forward with an ambitious roadmap which takes into account the need for a new economic governance reforms based on the principle of Member States' sovereignty to pursue autonomous fiscal and monetary policies, as outlined in this report, and which should be presented to Parliament by the end of May 2015, ahead of the June European Council;

Amendment 729 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)

36a. Asks the Commission to systematically develop and carry on an Inclusive Growth Policy view, with a long- run perspective so as to avoid a short-term orientation and the dangers of jobless growth;

Amendment 730 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)

36a. Is of the opinion that a 'genuine EMU' cannot be limited to a system of rules but requires an increased budgetary capacity based on specific own- resources which should, in the framework of the Union budget, support growth and social cohesion addressing imbalances, structural divergences and financial emergencies which are directly connected to the monetary union, without undermining its traditional functions to finance common policies.

Amendment 731 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)

36a. Takes note of the new mandate given by the euro area summit, confirmed by the European Council to relaunch the debate, after the 2012 'Towards a genuine economic and monetary union' report had been shelved, with the mandate to 'develop concrete mechanisms for stronger economic policy coordination, convergence and solidarity' and 'to prepare next steps on better economic governance in the euro area';

Amendment 732 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 b (new)

36b. Considers that the analytical note 'Preparing for next steps on better economic governance in the euro area' presented by Jean-Claude Juncker, on behalf of the four presidents, at the European Council of 12 February, is surprisingly less forward looking than the most recent work on deepening the EMU, notably the recommendations laid out in 2012 in the four presidents report, in the Commission blueprint and in the EP resolution 'Towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union'; considers that the eleven questions presented in this analytical note, that have not been discussed, may not be considered as the basis of the June's 4+1 presidents' report; asks the Commission to present proposals in line with the recent proposals on EMU endorsed by the Council and the EP;

Amendment 733 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 c (new)

36c. Believes that the analytical note is almost silent regarding the challenges of macroeconomic imbalances, multipliers or spill over effects that were already identified as critical ones by the Commission Communication of 7 May 2008 on 'EMU@10: successes and challenges after 10 years of Economic and Monetary Union'; considers that the analytical notes is an inadequate presentation of the past economic policy approach since 2010 when the switch to austerity provoked a new recession and a decupling from the United States and of the nature of structural reform with a positive social-economic return; regrets that convergence is almost overlooked by the analytical note whereas it was clearly in the mandate given by the European Council and should be at the heart of any initiative to be taken to build a genuine EMU;

Amendment 734 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 d (new)

36d. Observes that the analytical note is silent on the reasons for the lack of investment in the EMU, the very low inflation, the potential deflationary effect of structural reforms, the taxation and workers' portability rights that is complementary to the functioning of the single market, and the social dimension;

Amendment 735 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 e (new)

36e. Request that the president of the Commission debates in May during the plenary of the European parliament the 4+1 presidents' report, ahead of the June European council;

Amendment 736 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

37. Invites the stakeholders in this necessary next step of the EMU to avoid left-over and to explore all options which have been well discussed and documented over a long period of time as ways of achieving a deepening of the EMU, such as: – a ‘taxation union’, – a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour mobility, – the inclusion of the ESM in Union law and a new approach towards Eurobonds, – a euro area fiscal capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions, structural reforms or part of debt reduction;deleted

Amendment 737 #

Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

Amendment 738 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

Amendment 739 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

Amendment 740 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – introductory part

37. Invites the stakeholders in this necessary ~~next step of the EMU~~revision of the economic governance to avoid left-over and to explore all ~~options~~possible options, including those which have been well discussed and documented over a long period of time as ways of achieving ~~a deepening of the EMU, such a~~the well-being of the peoples of the EU, as in the spirit and letter of the Treaties; considers that such a roadmap must be based on the following elements:

Amendment 741 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – introductory part

Amendment 742 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – introductory part

37. Invites the stakeholders in this necessary next step of the EMU to ~~avoid left-over and to explore all options which have been well discussed and documented over a long period of time as ways of achieving a deepening of the EMU~~explore all options to deepen the EMU and to make it more resilient, such as:

Amendment 743 #

Danuta Maria HÜBNER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – introductory part

37. Invites the stakeholders in this necessary next step of the EMU to ~~avoid left-over and to explore all options which have been well discussed and documented over a long period of time as ways of achieving a deepening of the EMU, such as~~(deleted) explore all options to deepen the EMU and to make it more resilient:

Amendment 744 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – introductory part

37. Invites the stakeholders in this necessary next step of the EMU to avoid left-over, to take into account foreseeable future enlargement of the euro area and to explore all options which have been well discussed and documented over a long period of time as ways ~~of achieving a deepening of the EMU~~for a genuine EMU conductive to growth, jobs and stability, such as:

Amendment 745 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

~~– a ‘taxation union’,~~deleted

Amendment 746 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

~~– a ‘taxation union’,~~deleted

Amendment 747 #

Bernard MONOT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

~~– a ‘taxation union’,~~deleted

Amendment 748 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ‘taxation union’, starting with measures to bring about convergence of the fiscal policies of the Member States,

Amendment 749 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ~~‘taxation union’,~~shift from the austerity agenda to a strategy based on counter-cyclical policy, social protection and financial reform;

Amendment 750 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ‘fiscal and taxationʼ union’, which implies greater harmonisation of the various taxes,

Amendment 751 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ~~‘taxation union’~~commitment to European-wide measures against tax fraud and evasion and corporate tax dumping,

Amendment 752 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ‘taxation union’, including a reflexion on own resources for the EMU, possibly deriving from new fiscal bases;

Amendment 753 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ‘'taxation union’' and an euro area fiscal capacity going hand-in-hand with commensurate democratic legitimacy mechanism within the European Parliament,

Amendment 754 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ~~‘taxation union’,~~ common approach to taxation including a common corporate tax base, convergence of tax rates, simpler and more transparent tax systems and country-by-country reporting for corporates;

Amendment 755 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1

– a ‘taxation union’, and support/enhance cooperation of the national tax authorities in order to exchange information regarding tax avoidance and tax fraud.

Amendment 756 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1 a (new)

- a set of measures to protect a Member State who decides to withdraw from the Eurozone from the risk of speculative attacks;

Amendment 757 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1 a (new)

- the financial union, to include the euro areaʼs public debt issuance,

Amendment 758 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1 b (new)

- a common framework to discuss a possible multilateral and coordinated break-up of the monetary union;

Amendment 759 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 1 c (new)

- a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area supporting the reintegration of workers into the job market

Amendment 760 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

~~– a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour mobility,~~deleted

Amendment 761 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension~~, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour mobility~~ under which convergence of the social policies of the Member States would be advocated,

Amendment 762 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage ~~mechanism~~floors and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour mobility,

Amendment 763 #

Olle LUDVIGSSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism, which must respect national practices and industrial relations systems and have the support of national trade unions, and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme, for the euro area, and in-depth reforms to favour mobility,

Amendment 764 #

Tibor SZANYI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for ~~the euro area~~all Member States and in-depth reforms to favour mobility,

Amendment 765 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour mobility,; a first step toward the setting up of these policies could be the institution of a European Solidarity Fund financed by a share of the revenue of the envisaged Financial Transaction Tax, and, for the non-participating Eurozone countries, by a State contribution.

Amendment 766 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms ~~to favour mobility~~reduce income inequalities,

Amendment 767 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage corridor mechanism ~~and~~, a minimum unemployment benefit scheme for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour ~~mobility~~fair and voluntary mobility with increased right's portability taking into account of the demographic challenges,

Amendment 768 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment benefit scheme ~~for the~~proper to each euro area country, and in- depth reforms to favour ~~mobility~~flexibility and mobility between professions and between Member States,

Amendment 769 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2

– a social dimension, including a ~~minimum wage mechanism and a minimum unemployment~~common approach to social benefit ~~scheme~~s for the euro area and in-depth reforms to favour mobility,

Amendment 770 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2 a (new)

- merging the deficit and debt procedures, the macroeconomic imbalance procedure and the country specific recommendations into one single instrument which is of legally binding nature with regard to budgetary discipline and economic reform and which would give Member States that are in compliance with its rules access to funds for investment projects or to Community instruments that combine economic reform with fiscal incentives;

Amendment 771 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2 a (new)

- enhanced democratic accountability mechanisms so as to ensure that all euro area National parliaments follow each step of the European semester process; as well as a generalized co-decision in all economic fields (including article 126 of the TFEU and competition policy) and regarding article 352 of the TFEU;

Amendment 772 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2 b (new)

- asymmetric shock mechanisms;

Amendment 773 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2 c (new)

- an enhanced macroeconomic imbalances procedure for the euro area as a whole aiming at preventing and correcting macro-financial divergences and aiming at ensuring an appropriate fiscal stance for the euro area as a whole;

Amendment 774 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2 d (new)

- a gradual mutualisation of sovereign debt going hand in hand with enhanced economic policy coordination and enforcement of common rules and a clear commitment to economically and socially sustainable reforms;

Amendment 775 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 2 e (new)

- a common deposit guarantee scheme.

Amendment 776 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3

– the ~~inclusion of the ESM in Union law and a new approach towards Eurobonds,~~replacement of all existing numerical budgetary targets, including the deficit and debt criteria of 3% and 60%, with new qualitative targets and social indicators;

Amendment 777 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3

– the inclusion of the ESM in Union law and a new approach towards a Euro~~bonds,~~ pean insolvency procedure for sovereigns to safeguard market discipline;

Amendment 778 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3

– the inclusion of the ESM in Union law, its use as a debt redemption fund, and a new approach towards Eurobonds,

Amendment 779 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3

– the inclusion of the ESM in Union law ~~and a new approach towards Eurobonds,~~

Amendment 780 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3

– the inclusion of the ESM in Union law ~~and a new approach towards Eurobonds~~,

Amendment 781 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 a (new)

- the introduction of a specific clause in the Treaties allowing the unilateral withdrawal of a Member State from the Eurozone;

Amendment 782 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 a (new)

- the establishment of a European redemption fund based on conditionality;

Amendment 783 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 a (new)

- - the inclusion of the TCSG in Union law,

Amendment 784 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 b (new)

- the creation of a European Monetary Fund, taking over the functions of the ESM as well as those associated with the elaboration and implementation of programmes;

Amendment 785 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 b (new)

- the introduction of exposure limits and risk weights on sovereign debt (sovereign debts can no longer be considered as a safe asset);

Amendment 786 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 c (new)

- a broad return to the no-bail-out clause, thus restoring the responsibility of Member States for their own actions, as it is explicitly foreseen in the Treaty,

Amendment 787 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 d (new)

- to increase the automaticity in the SGP by shifting the decision power inside the Commission from the political to the administrative level on the basis of independent economic analysis,

Amendment 788 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 e (new)

- a greater role given to the markets in order to achieve fiscal discipline,

Amendment 789 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 f (new)

- the implementation of fiscal breaks at the national level, as foreseen by the TCSG,

Amendment 790 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 3 g (new)

- the setting of a legal framework for state defaults,

Amendment 791 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

~~– a euro area fiscal capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions, structural reforms or part of debt reduction;~~deleted

Amendment 792 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

~~– a euro area fiscal capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions, structural reforms or part of debt reduction;~~deleted

Amendment 793 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

– a ~~euro area fiscal capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions, structural reforms or part of debt reduction~~new institutional framework allowing Member States to exercise autonomous and direct control over the fiscal and monetary policy instruments;

Amendment 794 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

– a euro area fiscal capacity ~~notably to finance counter cyclical actions, structural reforms or part of debt reduction~~;

Amendment 795 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

– a euro area fiscal capacity notably to ~~financ~~guide counter cyclical actions at Member State level, structural reforms or part of debt reduction;

Amendment 796 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

– a euro area fiscal capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions~~, structural reforms~~ or part of debt reduction;

Amendment 797 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

– a euro area fiscal capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions~~, structural reforms or part of debt reduction~~ without jeopardising the needed national ownership notably on structural reforms;

Amendment 798 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4

– a euro area fiscal and budgetary capacity notably to finance counter cyclical actions, structural reforms or part of debt reduction; this may be funded by income from financial transaction tax and by the annual profits of the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem;

Amendment 799 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Within the framework of future Treaty revision, calls for - a role for the ECJ in the enforcement of the budgetary rules; - the creation of a parliament for the Euro area, under the auspices of the European Parliament, in order to ensure full legitimacy and parliamentary control at the level where decisions are taken and/or implemented, for the ESM for example; - the merging of the deficit and debt procedures, the macroeconomic imbalance procedure and the Country Specific Recommendations into one single, legally binding instrument;

Amendment 800 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4 a (new)

- a common framework to agree on a renegotiation of bail-out debts for Member States facing difficult economic conditions,

Amendment 801 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4 a (new)

- a mechanism inspired by the European Payments Union, to restore the balance of payments in the euro area, thereby reducing surpluses and excessive current account deficits;

Amendment 802 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4 a (new)

- a euro area mechanism to allow debt reduction without hampering growth prospects;

Amendment 803 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4 b (new)

- a convergence process for social and labour standards;

Amendment 804 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 – indent 4 b (new)

- an increased external role of the euro area, including the upgrading of its representation;

Amendment 805 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)

37 a. Welcomes the leading role played by the President of the European Commission in this upcoming task;

Amendment 806 #

Michael THEURER, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

~~38. Requests that it be elaborated on the basis of a ‘4+1 Presidents’ approach, including the EP President;~~deleted

Amendment 807 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

~~38. Requests that it be elaborated on the basis of a ‘4+1 Presidents’ approach, including the EP President;~~deleted

Amendment 808 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

~~38. Requests that it be elaborated on the basis of a ‘4+1 Presidents’ approach, including the EP President;~~deleted

Amendment 809 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. ~~Requests that it be elaborated on the basis of a ‘4+1 Presidents’ approach, including the EP President~~Asks that the four Presidents report takes due note of this report and recommends measures compatible with the sound economic principles underlying it; expects the Four Presidents reports to be introduced to the European Parliament by the June European Council;

Amendment 810 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38

38. Requests that itpossible further steps in the EMU be elaborated on the basis of a ‘'4+1 Presidents’' approach, including the EP President, who should be invited to all meetings, provided with full information, and given the right to participate in the debates;

Amendment 811 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)

38 a. Notes that the President of the Commission has indicated his intention to draw on input from the President of the European Parliament in his reflections during the preparation of the 4 Presidents' reports; Underlines that the President of the European Parliament can only represent the institution on the basis and within the remit of a mandate by plenary;

Amendment 812 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

~~39. Asks its President to represent Parliament in this upcoming task on the basis of the mandate given by this resolution;~~deleted

Amendment 813 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

~~39. Asks its President to represent Parliament in this upcoming task on the basis of the mandate given by this resolution;~~deleted

Amendment 814 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

~~39. Asks its President to represent Parliament in this upcoming task on the basis of the mandate given by this resolution;~~deleted

Amendment 815 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

39. Asks its President ~~to represent~~, in close cooperation with the chairmen of the political groups or those Members specifically appointed by their groups or Parliament, to represent the European Parliament in this upcoming task on the basis of ~~the mandate given by this~~its voted resolutions;

Amendment 816 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

39. Asks its President to ~~represent~~follow closely this work and inform the Parliament ion ~~this upcoming task~~important developments on the basis of the mandate given by this resolution;

Amendment 817 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39

39. ~~Asks~~Stresses that if its President were to represent Parliament in this upcoming task, it shall be on the basis of ~~the~~a mandate given by ~~this resolution~~plenary based on a new resolution prepared by its competent committee addressing inter alia the questions in the Four Presidents' Analytical Note on 'Preparing Next Steps on Better Economic Governance in the Euro area';

Amendment 818 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)

39 a. Advises its President, in order to further strengthen his mandate, to undertake an ex-ante coordination with the chairmen of the political groups concerning his presentation of this resolution to the European Council, a practice that should be extended to all other resolutions presented there, including those concerning the AGS and the CSRs;

Amendment 819 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)

39 a. believes that some reflexion should be launched to improve the in-house analysis capacity of the European Parliament, building on the experience of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office which provides budgetary and economic information such as baseline budget and economic projections, cost estimates, scorekeeping for legislation;

Amendment 820 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40

40. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the presidents of the Council ~~and~~, the Commission, the Eurogroup and the ECB, national parliaments.

source: 549.458

2015/03/04 ECON 381 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to the 24 February 2015 Eurogroup statement on Greece for a four-month loan extension,

Amendment 10 #

Elisa FERREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)

- having regard to the Draft ECOFIN Council Conclusions of 13 February 2015,

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas in the Stability and Growth Pact Article 5 of Regulation 1466/97 it is stated that "the Council and the Commission shall also examine whether the stability programmes facilitate the achievement of sustained and real convergence within the euro area...";

Amendment 101 #

Elisa FERREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. Whereas, according to the AGS 2015, "unemployment reached 24.6 million people in August 2014 – 5 million are aged between 15 and 24. Long-term unemployment is very high. Unemployment rates strongly vary across Member States, from 5.1% in Germany and 5.3% in Austria to 24.8% in Spain and 26.8% in Greece in 2014.";

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. Whereas, youth unemployment in many Member States remains at a very high level, posing threats for both the economic recovery in the short term and for the prospects of a sustained growth in the long term;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. Whereas, low levels of inflation in conjunction with the high average Debt in several Member States jeopardize sustainability of the Debt itself, harming efforts made towards a reduction of the debt;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas a lack of investment can be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt;deleted

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, on the one hand, according to the Commission’s ~~autumn~~winter forecast, ~~investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4~~ after two consecutive years of negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to be 1.7% in 201~~2, by~~5 and 2.4 1% in 20136, and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas a lack of investment can be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debtwhereas, on the other hand, the combined impact of the fall in fuel prices, low interest rates and a monetary policy of quantitative easing are paving the way to accelerated economic recovery;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; ~~whereas a lack of investment can be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt;~~

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas a lack of investment can ~~be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt~~undermine future European economic competitiveness;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. wWhereas investment in the euro area decreased by 17 % since the pre-crisis period and, according to the Commission’'s ~~autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period~~winter forecast by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.69 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (~~1.7~~2.0 %) being ~~very~~ weak; whereas a lack of investment can be ~~just~~ as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas both a lack of investment can ~~be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt~~d excessive public debt are a burden for future generations;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16

~~– having regard to the conclusions of the Euro summit of October 2014,~~deleted

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas ~~a lack of investment can be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt~~, the revised winter forecast, substantially confirm those figures and that a recovery of investment activity remains uncertain for the next years;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’'s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, w~~ith~~hereas the expected rebound ~~rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipate~~in investment expenditure for 2014 and for 2015 (1.7 %) beremaings very weak; whereas a lack of investment ~~can be just a~~is detrimental to future generations a~~s excessive public debt~~nd worsens the prospects regarding public finances sustainability;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’'s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas both a lack of future-oriented investment can ~~be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt~~d excessive public debt are a crippling burden for future generations;

Amendment 113 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas a lack of investment can be ~~just as~~ detrimental to future generations as, especially when combined with excessive public debt;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 17 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (1.7 %) being very weak; whereas a lack of investment can be ~~just as~~ detrimental to future generations ~~as excessive public debt~~;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas, according to the Commission’'s ~~autumn~~winter forecast, investment in the euro area decreased by 3.4 % in 2012, by 2.4 % in 2013 and by 175 % since the pre-crisis period, with the expected rebound rate in 2014 (0.6,9 %) and that anticipated for 2015 (~~1.7~~ 2,0%) being ~~very~~ weak; whereas a lack of investment can be just as detrimental to future generations as excessive public debt;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the adjustment period the euro area has been going through since 2010, including with the intervention of the troika, has led to stagnation and deflation;

Amendment 117 #

Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas the public debt in the euro are has increased, more than the GDP, from 69.2% in 2008 to 92.1% of GDP in 2014 following the adjustment process;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the euro area continues to be characterised by high and persistent current account imbalances, with surpluses reaching 10.4% of GDP in the Netherlands and 7.5% of GDP in Germany in 2013;

Amendment 119 #

Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas inflation in the euro area has been consistently below the ECB inflation target for 2013 and 2014, dipping below 0 in December 2014;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17

~~– having regard to the speech of 15 July 2014 by President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker at the European Parliament,~~deleted

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

~~D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years;~~deleted

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan as an important instrument to stimulate private investment is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a EUR 21 billion European investment plan is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years based on the questionable assumptions of a leverage effect of 15 and ability to attract private investments on high-risk projects;

Amendment 123 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years; whereas this plan is only one element destined to overcome the investment gap, and that it is not meant to replace national efforts and responsibilities to enable growth- enhancing investments in a fiscally responsible manner;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years whose success also depends on the implementation of structural reforms to create an investor-friendly environment in Member States;

Amendment 125 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place to ~~raise~~guarantee almost EUR 31500 billion in ~~new~~private investments with public funds over the next three years;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place to ramobilise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place ~~to raise~~aiming at financing EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas a European investment plan is being put in place to raise EUR 315 billion in new investments over the next three years; whereas, if the proposed financial objectives of the Plan are achieved, it would only make up for a fraction of the accumulated investment gap;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas, according to the Commission's winter forecast, unemployment rate in 2015 and 2016 across the EU is expected to remain at levels above 11%;

Amendment 13 #

Elisa FERREIRA, Pervenche BERÈS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17

~~– having regard to the speech of 15 July 2014 by President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker at the European Parliament,~~deleted

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. Whereas the European Parliament has stated in its Report with recommendations to the Commission on the report of the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup "Towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union" (2012/2151(INI)) that "The ESM should evolve towards Community-method management and be made accountable to the European Parliament.";

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. E. whereas EU cohesion policy forms, with the budget of over 350 billion euros until 2020, in some Member States principal source of public investments; whereas correlation between good economic governance and absorption capacity has been confirmed in practice; objectives of enhancing growth and jobs could be achieved through a coherent interaction within the EU economic policy mix of fiscal consolidation, structural reforms and growth enhancing investment supported by cohesion policy;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas a quantitative easing program worth about EUR 1.1 trillion was launched by the ECB in order to address the risk of persistent low inflation and revitalize the real economy; whereas the 19 national central banks will buy government bonds of their own Member States and bear the relative risk; whereas the risk sharing regime is limited to 20% of the purchases, of which 12% on the bonds issued by European institutions and only a symbolic and insignificant 8% on the Eurozone government bonds, signalling Member States' lack of political will to accept both advantages and disadvantages that a true single monetary policy would imply;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas the figures on gross domestic product, investment and unemployment in the Commission's winter forecast substantially confirm those presented in the autumn forecast, reflecting that the Juncker plan and the ECB massive quantitative easing programme are deemed to be largely ineffective;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas, in spite of the unconventional measures undertaken by the ECB since 2010, the transmission mechanism of monetary policy to the real economy remains impaired, reflecting a situation of liquidity trap; whereas according to the IMF October 2014 Outlook, the risk of deflation in the Eurozone has increased up to 30% and some Countries are already experiencing deflation;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)

Dd. whereas, according to the October 2014 Outlook, the IMF estimated that the probability of a recession in the euro area reached almost 40%, and some Countries are already experiencing recession;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D e (new)

De. whereas the 2008 financial crisis resulted in a massive intervention of European governments in support of the financial sector; whereas, according to the Commission[1] the total state aid granted to the financial sector amounted to more than EUR 5 trillion (40.3% of EU GDP);

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D f (new)

Df. whereas, according to the OECD 2012 report, the sustainability of sovereign debt was significantly affected by the extent of explicit or implicit guarantees for bank debt;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D g (new)

Dg. whereas the ratios of public debt to gross domestic product across EU countries have continued to deteriorate despite the implementation of fiscal consolidation programme aimed at bringing public finances on a sustainable path;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D h (new)

Dh. whereas the cuts in public spending deriving from fiscal consolidation plans have resulted in a decline in social protection, while the families at risk of poverty and social exclusion increased to over 25 %;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission's Winter 2015 European Economic Forecast of 5 February 2015,

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D i (new)

Di. whereas aggressive tax planning, harmful tax competition and the presence of tax havens within the EU have generated billions of losses in potential revenues to the public finances of several Member States, to the benefit of large corporations, thus undermining the basis of solidarity and fair competition between EU Member States;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Underlines that solidarity is the core value on which the European Union is built on; thanks therefore the people and tax payers in Europe for showing great solidarity with the people in countries effected by the debt crisis;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Emphasises, that as a principle countries in the Euro zone that received support from the partners to finance their economies must fulfil the according rules and agreements; underlines that this is a matter of respect for the tax payers in the partner countries in return for their big solidarity efforts;

Amendment 143 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 c (new)

-1b. Calls on those Member States still suffering from the debt crisis to fully implement the structural reforms and to fulfil the obligations to regain competitiveness;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Underlines, however, that since the new rules have been introduced, progress has been made in addressing fiscal consolidation, with the EU-28 average fiscal deficit falling from 4.5% of GDP in 2011 to a forecast of around 3% of GDP in 2014;

Amendment 145 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Welcomes the Commission communication (COM(2014) 905) on the application of the Six- and Two-Pack; agrees with the Commission that the ability to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of the regulations is limited by the short experience of their operation, which in addition has been characterised by a severe economic crisis and hence leaves the rules untested in normal economic times;

Amendment 146 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)

-1b. Stresses that at the core of the economic governance system is the prevention of excessive deficit and debt levels as well as excessive macroeconomic imbalances; underlines therefore that an assessment of the application of the six- pack and two-pack at this stage remains partial as the efficiency of the system to a large extent relies on the proper working of the preventive part of it, which is precisely what remains to be proven in better economic times;

Amendment 147 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 c (new)

-1c. Welcomes the measures taken by the EU to respond to the weaknesses in its economic governance system revealed by the economic and financial crisis, namely the six-pack and two-pack; believes these represent a necessary first step to strengthen budgetary surveillance and economic policy coordination;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Welcomes the Commission Communication of 28 November 2014 on the economic governance review and shares its conclusion that the new framework has worked well so far, but that many aspects of the 6- and 2-packs cannot be sufficiently evaluated at this point, as that they are still recent additions and haven't been put to the test yet;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Insists that, based on the review clauses in the 6- and 2-Packs and the ensuing Commission Communication of 28 November 2014, the central question is whether the EMU has been made more resilient by the new Economic Governance framework, especially as far as its ability to avoid a Member State to default on its debt is concerned, while contributing to closer coordination of Member States' economic policies and ensuring a high level of transparency, credibility and democratic accountability;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 b (new)

- having regard to the analytical note 'Preparing for next steps on better economic governance in the Euro area' presented in the European Council on 12 February 2015,

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 b (new)

-1b. Welcomes the 6- and 2-Pack's broadening of the scope of the Stability and Growth Pact through the addition of procedures to prevent and correct macroeconomic imbalances inside a Member State, to shift the overreliance on the deficit criterion to that of both the deficit and the overall debt, and to try to identify and correct possible problems at an early stage, thus preventing the emergence of crises at the earliest stage possible;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 c (new)

-1c. Encourages the Commission and the Council to pursue an approach that favours an early identification and correction of macroeconomic imbalances and fiscal problems within Member States, so as to avoid a repetition of the very painful adjustments made necessary by years, sometimes decades, of accumulated imbalances, especially those where Member States ended up living above their means at the same time as their competitiveness declined substantially;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 d (new)

-1d. Underlines the importance of the scoreboard, whose carefully chosen indicators help identify macroeconomic imbalances at an early stage; advises to make best use of other indicators, such as social ones, when conducting the in-depth analysis of a Member State;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

-1e. Stresses the importance given to structural reforms when trying to overcome macroeconomic imbalances; welcomes in this regard the analysis by ECB President Draghi in his Jackson Hole speech, notably his comparison of methods to overcome unemployment;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 f (new)

-1f. Notes President Draghi's clarification, made in the Monetary Dialogues, in the EPs plenary and his Jackson Hole speech, that in the absence of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms the ECB's monetary policy would remain without effects; notes his warning in that same speech, that abandoning fiscal consolidation would be a self- defeating approach;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 g (new)

-1g. Welcomes that an increasing number of Member States are exiting their Excessive Deficit Procedures;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 h (new)

-1h. Welcomes that most Member States under a programme could exit these, often faster than initially forecasted, and are now able to access capital markets at very favourable rates, showing that they have regained the confidence of markets and investors; lauds that the structural reforms carried out in these Member States as well as the subsequent increase in competitiveness has led them to enjoy amongst the highest growth rates in the European Union, setting the grounds for a rebound of employment;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 i (new)

-1i. Is alarmed about the uneven attainment of Medium Term Objectives, with the overall debt still increasing in a number of Member States, especially in those which combine a high private and public debt with declining international competitiveness;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 j (new)

-1j. Questions, in view of the extreme efforts that had to be made to save smaller countries, the Union's ability to prevent large Member States from defaulting on their debt; urges to carry out all structural reforms as well as ensuring the sustainability of the debt well before the markets lose confidence;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 k (new)

-1k. Warns that the Pact's Achilles heel still is its weak enforcement provisions and their application by the Commission and the Council;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18

~~– having regard to the Annual Growth Survey for 2015 (COM(2014)0902),~~deleted

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 l (new)

-1l. Recalls that in the absence of a full- fledged European Political Union a number of safeguards are necessary, recalls that the Treaty centres these on the Stability and Growth Pact, the no-bail-out clause, the prohibition of privileged access to financial institutions by the public sector, and the exclusion of monetary state financing, thus in principle leaving the responsibility of their acts to the Member States; warns that failure to correctly implement these rules might put the survivability of the entire EMU at risk;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 l (new)

-1l. Doesn't expect Treaty changes to be made in the foreseeable future, thus leaving no alternative to apply the present set of rules;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 m (new)

-1m. Notes that current level of inflation is well below the ECB's stated aim of 'under, but close to 2%'; believes that this is mainly due to a number of factors that are either of temporary nature or linked to the dramatic decline of energy prices which took anyone by surprise; understands the forceful actions by the ECB is aimed at increasing prices to the intended inflation levels; notes that the typical effects of deflation such as the combination of massive and prolonged price and wage reductions as well as negative growth only temporarily took place in program countries, but can neither be observed at the euro area level nor at the EU level; understands that most forecasts predict a rebound of inflation, further increase of growth as well as a rebound of employment in the near future;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

~~1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;~~deleted

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that in the current economic ~~situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures~~ context there is a need for tools to address the risk of deflation or of lasting very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment; highlights that no specific provisions are foreseen in the current economic governance framework to take into fac~~e the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment~~count and address the risks stemming from the prolongation of a such a period whatever dimension it takes; believes that the prolongation of this situation or of a 'too little too late' answer would put at risk the existence of the euro itself;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to ftackle the ~~threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment~~problems of high unemployment, chronic lack of demand, low growth and face the threat of deflation or prolonged very low inflation;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for ~~urgent, comprehensive and decisive~~both decisive and carefully considered measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to ~~face the threat of deflation or very low~~stimulate inflation, low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to ~~face~~give additional impetus to the thalrea~~t of deflation or very low inflation, low~~dy increasing but still fragile growth and to fight high unemployment;

Amendment 17 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18

~~– having regard to the Annual Growth Survey for 2015 (COM(2014)0902),~~deleted

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face ~~the threat of deflation or very low in~~very low inflation and the threat of deflation, low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for ~~urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low~~a continuation of growth-friendly fiscal consolidation and structural reforms to modernise EU economies, restore competitiveness, foster innovation, increase growth and ~~high un~~employment prospects as well as reducing inequalities and fighting poverty;

Amendment 172 #

Bernard MONOT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth, the pressure of migration and high unemployment;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of long-lasting deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 174 #

Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation in some member states calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment caused by the debt crises;;

Amendment 175 #

Cătălin Sorin IVAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth ~~and high unemployment~~, wider social disparities and high unemployment, particularly among young people;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of deflation or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment as well as persistent current account imbalances and rising inequality;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Believes that the current economic situation calls for urgent, comprehensive and decisive measures to face the threat of the deflationary pressure or very low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that the structural reforms, fiscal consolidation and investments, lower oil prices and ECB's accommodative monetary policy created synergy effect (preconditions) for the stronger economic growth in the EU and the euro area. Forecasted economic growth (EC winter forecasts) for 2015 is up to 1.7 % for the EU and 1.3 % for the euro area, and in 2016 forecasted economic growth is up to 2.1 % for the EU and 1.9 % for euro area;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that the deflationary pressure is a serious hazard to economic recovery and long-term prosperity; highlights in this context that recent actions by the ECB may need to be accompanied by fiscal measures to combat deflation but that the current economic government framework hampers this strategy

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)

- having regard to the Study of the European Parliamentary Research Service of September 2014: "Common unemployment insurance scheme for the Euro area - Cost of Non-Europe Report",

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Acknowledges that the evaluation of the 6 and 2 packs regulations and of the SGP cannot be isolated from the interlinked package of the economic governance, including the European Semester, the TFEU and the Fiscal Compact;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Considers that the assessment by the Commission of the implementation of the new economic governance framework including the 6 and 2 pack regulations gives a picture on the way the different tools and procedures have been used outside any global euro area economic perspectives;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Is of the opinion that the EU is still trapped in an exceptionally long severe economic downturn initiated in 2008; points out that the output gap remains too wide leading to hysteresis and a permanent loss of capacities; believes, that urgent and additional and coordinated fiscal and monetary policies are required if the purpose is both to avoid a debt deflation trap and to create new capacities geared towards the ecological transformation of the EU economy;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Asks in that perspective for a far reaching Green European investment programme for Europe geared towards the social and environmental transformation of the EU economy;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that economic governance in the Euro zone set out with two simple rules to enforce sustainability of public finances, namely in terms of GDP a maximum 3 % threshold on the annual government budget deficit and a maximum 60 % threshold on the stock of government debt (Art. 126 TFEU in conjunction with Protocol (No 12) on the excessive deficit procedure and Art. 125 TFEU);

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Notes further that the two rules were complemented by two enforcement mechanisms, namely the possibility to impose sanctions for breaches of the 3% deficit threshold and the possibility to refuse bailouts by other member states based on Art. 125 TFEU;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. recalls that article 3 of the Treaty of European Union (TEU) states that the Union, based on a highly competitive social market economy, "shall combat social exclusion and discrimination"; underlines therefore that budgetary policies must also tackle the poverty and social exclusion suffered by Europe's most deprived citizens, as not wasting human resources is a crucial component of competitiveness;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that the return to sound government budget policies and structural reforms were prerequisite for Member States to regain access to financial markets and kick-start economic growth;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 b (new)

- Having regard to the January 2013 Note of the Directorate General for Internal Policies about the "Legal Options for an Additional EMU Fiscal Capacity",

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework ~~does not allow for a proper debate on the economic persp~~needs to be improved to deliver on the objectives of ~~the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing~~fiscal stability, economic convergence and proper democratic accountability;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that, while the current economic governance framework ~~does not allow for a proper debate on~~contains the eco~~nomic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing~~rrect instruments, they are not always used to sufficient effect;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework does not allow for a proper debate~~Believes that it is too early to determine the true impact onf the economic ~~perspective of~~governance framework on the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance ~~and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing~~;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework does not allow for a proper debate on the ~~economic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fis~~alternatives to bureaucratic budgetary rules based on arbitrary numerical sta~~nce and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing~~rgets, as well as for a debate over the long-term sustainability of the monetary union and proposals for planning an orderly break-up of the Eurozone;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework ~~does not allow for a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing~~aims to prevent and correct developments such as excessive public debt which can lead to low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 195 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework ~~does not allow for a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing~~generally suffers from a lack of ownership at national level and limited attention to the international economic perspective and challenges of the euro area and the EU;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework does not allow for ~~a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area or on~~ an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework does not ~~allow~~provide for a pprop~~er debate on~~riate democratic accountability mechanism regarding the assessment of the economic perospect~~ive of~~s within the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not ~~address~~provide for a sufficiently democratically accountable monitoring process for assessing the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework does not allow for a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing; 3% deficit threshold was violated more than a hundred times by Euro Area members since 1995, yet sanctions were never imposed although the Council had, in 1997, agreed to always impose sanctions when excessive deficits were not timely corrected; concludes that the current economic governance framework needs a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area under a common monetary policy and sovereign national fiscal policies;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework ~~does not allow for a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance and does not address the different~~seeks for stronger involvement of all stakeholders in the member states, involved in policy and strategic formulation, and those involved in implementation of the measures to fight economic crises, as well as National Parliaments, in order to define best solution for each specific economic and fiscal situation~~s on an equal footing;~~.

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

~~– having regard to the~~ deletter of 3 July 2013 from the then Vice-President of the Commission, Olli Rehn, on the application of Article 5(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies,d

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 19

~~– having regard to the speech of 22 August 2014 by President of the ECB Mario Draghi at the annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole,~~deleted

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Highlights the fact that the current economic governance framework ~~does no~~must allow for a proper debate on the economic perspective of the euro area or on an aggregate fiscal stance ~~and does not address~~by taking into account the different economic and fiscal situations on an equal footing;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Takes note of the debate launched on the 'neutrality' of the euro area's aggregate fiscal stance in a context when national economies cannot unilaterally adjust through the exchange rate, when the ECB is running out of conventional monetary policy instruments due to the zero lower bound, when much of the private sector is liquidity-constrained due to deleveraging, when some Member States have considerable fiscal room for manoeuvre and when the leverage and multiplier effects from public expenditure are recognised as favourable factors for stronger investment;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Recalls that, according to a recent economic paper published by the Commission, simultaneous fiscal consolidations in euro area countries following the expansionary policies agreed by the G20 in the aftermath of the failure of Lehman brothers, had 'large negative output effects' and 'significant negative spillovers'; recalls that, according to the IMF, the effect of simultaneous fiscal policy contraction across Europe and the tightening of budgetary policies in 2012 has provoked a double-dip recession significantly underestimated until early 2013;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Is concerned that the Commission's recent national budget review is deviating from the principle of equal treatment, having granted three Member States a further reprieve not provided for under current rules;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Deplores that the existing economic governance framework under the SGP together with the strengthened rules of the 6-pack and 2-pack, constrain the Member States' vital fiscal policy space, depriving them of the only effective macroeconomic tool, in a context of depressed internal demand and ineffectiveness of monetary policy;

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Believes that the overall economic governance framework is based on the false assumption that fiscal profligacy was the cause of the increase in deficits and debt levels experienced by most Member States; recalls the causal link between the financial crisis and the swift increase of deficit and debt levels determined by the bailouts; stresses that a financial sector based on short term private debt, leverage and systemic risks poses the highest risks on the sustainability of public finances;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes that simultaneous fiscal consolidation unintendedly contributed to reduce total output and thus to the overall increase in debt level;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Takes the view that the rules known as the Six Pack and the Two Pack are not balanced and have not been particularly effective, since they are excessively biased towards monitoring and punishing budgetary deviations, which have generally been the consequence rather than the cause of the financial and economic crisis. Budgetary stability cannot be seen as an end in itself unless it contributes to economic growth and the revitalisation of employment. The desirable reduction in public deficits and debt is more likely to be achieved through robust real GDP growth rates than through Draconian tax hikes and cuts to public and social spending;

Amendment 21 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 19

~~– having regard to the speech of 22 August 2014 by President of the ECB Mario Draghi at the annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole,~~deleted

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses that public investment is crucial to correct structural imbalances within the European economy and ensure the transition towards a socially and environmentally sustainable economy;

Amendment 211 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Believes that high surpluses in the core of the Eurozone, most notably in Germany, are just as alarming as high deficits in the Eurozone periphery and therefore insists that macroeconomic imbalances must be considered of joint responsibility;

Amendment 212 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Finds that changes in economic governance have not fostered European solidarity, but instead resulted in great tensions and divisions between income groups and between surplus and deficit countries.

Amendment 213 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. Believes that internal devaluation such as wage restraint is just as harmful to the collective of the euro zone as excessive debt;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Deplores in particular the Eurogroup decisions taken behind closed doors without transparency and proper accountability; calls for the minutes of the Eurogroup meetings to be published; recalls the conclusion of its report on the troika activities deploring the absence of EU-level democratic legitimacy and accountability of the Eurogroup when it assumes EU-level executive powers;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Recalls the conclusion of its report on the troika activities deploring the blurred scope of the 'technical advising' and 'Eurogroup agency' roles devolved to both the Commission and the ECB in the framework of the design, implementation and assessment of assistance programmes; deplores, from that perspective, the lack of any clear and accountable case-by-case mandates from the Council and the Eurogroup to the Commission; as well as the potential conflict of interest within the Commission between its role in the Troika and its responsibility as guardian of the Treaties;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights the fact that excessive deficits contributed to government debt levels surpassing the 60% debt ceiling for all Euro area members except Finland, Slovakia and Luxemburg, with many countries being close to or even far beyond 100% of government debt and some countries having reached debt levels which they were unable to sustain without a bailout;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Stresses, however, that excessive debts and large macroeconomic imbalances accumulated in some Member States were directly caused by systematic violations of the existing EU fiscal rules;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that major policy initiatives which included policy recommendations were based on economic forecasts that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced and have not fully taken into account the underestimation of the size of the fiscal multiplier, the importance of spillover effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation and the deflationary impact of cumulative structural reforms;deleted

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 20

– having regard to the opinion of 14 January 2015 of the European Court of Justice Advocate-General, Cruz Villalón, regarding the legality of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme of the ECB,deleted

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Note~~Recalls that major policy initiatives which included policy recommendations were based on economic forecasts that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced and have not fully taken into account the underestimation of the size of the fiscal multiplier, the importance of spillover effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation and the deflationary impact of cumulative structural reformseasures destined to prevent countries from defaulting on their debt included policy recommendations that needed to be revised at regular intervals, as the events took place in an environment of internationally deteriorating growth and due to the cumulative effects of countries experiencing a sovereign debt crisis and the provision of statistics which in at least one case were highly incorrect, (deleted) all taken together resulting in economic forecasts that couldn't possibly anticipate the low growth and inflation experienced, requiring amongst others to repeatedly adjust the fiscal multiplier to these new realities; Warns therefore against measuring the results of the adjustment programmes against the effects initially expected;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that ~~major policy initiatives which included policy recommendations were based on~~ economic forecasts ~~that~~ had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced and have ~~not fully taken into account the~~ underestimat~~ion of~~ed the size of the fiscal multiplier~~, the importance of spillover effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation and the deflationary impact of cumulative structural reforms~~ ;

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that major policy initiatives w~~hich included policy recommendations were bas~~ere implemented oin economic forecasts that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced and have not fully taken into account the underestimation of the size of the fiscal multiplier, the importance of spillover effects across counthe time of severe financial crisis and the financial distries ~~in a period of synchronised consolidation and the deflationary impact of cumulative~~s called for structural reforms;

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Notes~~Finds it unacceptable that major policy initiatives ~~which included~~largely based on the Commission and Troika policy recommendations were based on biased economic forecasts ~~that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced and have not fully taken into account the~~and flawed economic models that failed to predict the decline in internal demand, the increase in unemployment, negative growth and historically low inflation experienced; warns that the calculation of the output gap is based on a flawed and obsolete methodology, as reflected in the frequent substantial revisions of the Commission's estimates; highlights that fiscal consolidation and structural reforms have significantly underestimat~~ion of~~ed the size of the fiscal multipliers, the importance of negative spillover effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation and the deflationary impact of cumulative structural reforms;

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that major policy initiatives which included policy recommendations were based on economic forecasts that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced a~~nd have not fully taken into account the~~s a consequence of frontloaded austerity measures and largely underestimat~~ion of~~ed the size of the fiscal multiplier, in a context characterized by a severe financial turmoil as well as by the importance of spillover effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation ~~and~~combined with the deflationary impact of cumulative and fast- tracked structural reforms;

Amendment 228 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that major policy initiatives which included policy recommendations were based on economic forecasts that had not anticipated the low growth and inflation experienced and have not ~~fully~~ taken into account the underestimation of the size of the fiscal multiplier, the importance of spillover effects across countries in a period of synchronised consolidation and the deflationary impact ~~of cumulative~~ structural reforms, leading to the failure of those initiatives;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 20

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Observes that the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure settled in the 6 pack has not conducted to a European economic global approach but to fine- tune a bilateral approach between MS and the Commission on structural reforms and the design of Country Specific Recommendations;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Considers that the asymmetric approach to current account surpluses and deficits taken in Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 and applied in the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure should be corrected in light of actual experience, while countries with current account deficits have undertaken significant adjustment over the past years, when countries with large current account surpluses have not done enough to strengthen their domestic demand and growth potential, resulting in a larger- than-forecast current account surplus for the Euro area as a whole, deflationary pressure, low growth and persistently high unemployment;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Is concerned that convergence during the crisis years on reduced national budgetary deficits and improved current account positions has been accompanied by unprecedented divergence on many real economic indicators, including growth, unemployment, household income; highlights persistent divergence in nominal labour costs within the Euro area, which is due to long-standing wage moderation in some countries with high current account surpluses as well as to pre-crisis labour cost increases driven by massive capital inflows in a number of other Member States; highlights that such divergences weaken the Economic and Monetary Union and reduce the benefits of single monetary policy;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Notes that the complex procedures of economic governance have failed to adequately take into account the cumulative, Europe-wide effect of policies pursued at national level, in particular of the aggregate fiscal stance and of the deflationary implications of certain measures;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that in the wake of such cumulative structural reforms which in effect amounted to an internal devaluation, economic institutions and entrepreneurship at micro and regional levels have been weakened, not least due to an increase in general risk averseness, business pessimism about future prospects and greater prudence by lending institutions;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Notes that there exists an inherent ambiguity regarding the formulation and design of Country Specific Recommendations, and this with regard to whether they should reflect the overall interests of the euro zone as a whole, or of the national entity to which they refer, or to a balance between the two, and if the latter, as to what guidelines should be followed to secure such a balance;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that the methodology adopted for the calculation of Output Gap, fundamental in assessing Countries and formulating Country Specific Recommendations, differs significantly from methodologies used by other international Institutions, such as the IMF and OECD;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Emphasizes that coordinated efforts by other member countries and by the ECB have prevented sovereign defaults at the cost of invalidating the no-bailout clause in Art. 125 TFEU as an enforcement mechanism;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Highlights that the cuts in public spending had not expansionary effects as expected, and have resulted in an increase of public debt to gross domestic product ratio, reflecting the self-defeating and pro-cyclical effects of fiscal austerity in a context of economic stagnation;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 21

~~– having regard to the announcement by the ECB of 22 January 2015 of an expanded asset purchase programme,~~deleted

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Draws attention to the fact that the strongest negative spill-over effects, including on non-European countries, are those resulting from belated correction of macroeconomic imbalances and fiscal problems;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Invites to compare the results of the adjustment programmes to the catastrophic situation that would have arisen if Member States had defaulted on their debt;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that the burden of the adjustments has been essentially borne by Member States with entered the crisis with high current account surpluses and high debt to GDP ratios creating and overall a deflationary bias;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Points out in particular that the frontloaded and unbalanced austerity measures and the budgetary cuts in basic welfare systems across Europe have not only had dramatic social consequences but have also damaged the European recovery and ultimately unnecessarily aggravated public debt to GDP levels in comparison with a necessary but more gradual and better designed long-term strategy for fiscal consolidation; underlines that some far reaching austerity measures are inconsistent with the the obligations referred to in the Treaty and the EU Charter for Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase~~proper implementation of the current economic governance framework, with special emphasis on the national ownership of the measures aggre~~gate demand, improve fiscal su~~ed; supports the Commission's three pillar approach consistain~~ability and allow for fair and sustainable~~g of fiscal adjustment, structural reforms and ~~related~~ investments~~) and for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious faul~~ in order to promote growth and to attract linvestments in the ~~economic governance framework;~~EU member states

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable~~proper implementation of the current economic governance framework and the necessary improvement of the national ownership of the measures agreed; supports the Commission's three pillar approach consisting of fiscal adjustment, growth-enhancing structural reforms and ~~related~~ investments), a~~nd for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework~~ll aimed at enhancing growth and creating jobs;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for closer and inclusive economic coordination (to ~~increase aggregate demand,~~ improve fiscal sustainability and allow for ~~fair~~targeted and sustainable structural reforms and related investments) and fmor ~~swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework~~e decisive use of existing instruments;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable structural reforms and related investments) and for~~ swift reactions ~~so as~~ to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable structural reforms and related investments) an~~a radical and a comprehensive strategy change and the urgent abandonment of austerity and harmful structural reforms; insists on the need for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 25 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 21

~~– having regard to the announcement by the ECB of 22 January 2015 of an expanded asset purchase programme,~~deleted

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer and inclusive economic coordination (to~~ increased aggregate demand~~, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable structural reforms~~ and related investments) and for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer and inclusive~~ economic coordination (to ~~increase aggregate dem~~restore trust, boost private investment and, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for ~~fair and~~ sustainable structural reforms and related investments~~) and~~, as well as for swift reaction~~s so as~~ to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance ~~framework;~~

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability ~~and allow for fair and sustainabl~~, encourage structural reforms and ~~related~~boost investments) and for swift reactions so as to ~~correct the most obvious fault li~~improve the effectiveness inof the economic governance framework;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable structural reforms and related investments) and for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework: the fact that the Member States of the Euro area do not currently sufficiently consider the Euro area as a whole, and this lack of/or misguided implementation of the rules;

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, favour convergence between Member States, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable structural reforms and related investments) and for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for ~~closer~~enhanced and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability and allow for fair and sustainable ~~structural~~ reforms and related investments) and for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 256 #

Romana TOMC

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses that the current situation calls for closer and inclusive economic coordination (to increase aggregate demand, improve fiscal sustainability and ~~allow for~~ensure fair and sustainable structural reforms and related investments) and for swift reactions so as to correct the most obvious fault lines in the economic governance framework;

Amendment 257 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Is therefore of the opinion that a legislative revision of the economic governance legal framework is not only needed regarding the budgetary rules but also to provide a basis for a quality investment framework with a view to achieving a binding broader socio- economic convergence process towards the fulfilment of updated EU2020 objectives; disagrees therefore with the Commission assessment according to which the current economic governance framework has been successful and hence that no revision of such legal framework is currently required;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Believes that ensuring the credibility of the framework is key to enhancing its democratic legitimacy; stresses that credibility can only be assured by a consistent and fair implementation of the framework across countries and over time;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Insists that the economic governance framework should not prevent Member States from adopting the necessary counter-cyclical actions aimed at stimulating internal demand, countering high unemployment, low growth and low inflation;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22

– having regard to ECB Occasional Paper No 157 of November 2014 entitled ‘The identification of fiscal and macroeconomic imbalances – unexploited synergies under the strengthened EU governance framework’,deleted

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Takes the view that the Eurozone needs to be seen as the economic reference unit when setting the corresponding aggregate stances, in particular fiscal and balance of payments stances. In this sense, the political dialogue with the Commission should first be established at Eurozone level, and then extended to Eurozone Member State level, based on the above aggregated economic stances.

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes that the economic coordination for improving fiscal sustainability should follow an inclusive perspective for the Member States; The Member-States that follow the guidelines of a special fiscal consolidation program should not be excluded from the European Semester;

Amendment 262 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Believes that the crisis tools promoted and implemented by the European institutions and Member States have resulted in a decline in internal demand and consumption, which has subsequently led to deflation, negative growth and an increase in unemployment, particularly among young people;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Recommends further strengthening of the cooperation in the field of economic governance;

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Notes that the 1997 Stability and Growth Pact obliged all member states to achieve a balanced budget (or a surplus) in the medium run and that member states agreed that under a balanced budget here would be sufficient flexibility across the business cycle to keep the deficit below 3%;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Notes that the balanced budget objective fell prey to German and French pressure in the 2005 SGP reform, allowing member states to define even the medium term objective (MTO) for the deficit as nonzero but not greater than 1% of GDP;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Notes that the 2005 SGP shifted the focus of deficit surveillance to the concept of "structural" deficits and obliged member states to reduce the structural deficit by 0.5% of GDP per year if the MTO had not yet been reached, unless lesser efforts were justified by economic reforms or "bad times";

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Highlights that member states off their MTOs failed on a large scale to reduce their structural deficits by 0.5% per year, notes that during the 10 years between 2005 and 2014 only Malta complied in at least half of the years considered while all other countries which had not yet reached their MTOs more often than not reduced their structural deficits by much less than 0.5% per year or even increased their structural deficits; emphasizes that despite of this no sanctions, let alone fines have been imposed;

Amendment 268 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Warns that the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework co~~Stresses the importance of simplex and ~~not~~ transparent e~~nough, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework~~conomic governance procedures;

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework complex and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework;economic governance framework undermines the relevance of democratic choices made at the national and local level which is in contradiction with the primacy of local parliaments, social partners and citizens.

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

- having regard to the ECB's Occasional Paper no. 129 of September 2011, The Stability and Growth Pact, Crisis and Reform,

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the complexity and lack of transparency caused by the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework complex ~~and not transparent enough~~, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners ~~and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework~~, local and regional authorities and citizens;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the ~~accumulation~~complexity of procedures ~~makes~~concerning the economic governance framework complex and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this frameworkas well as the lack of transparency on their implementation at national and European level makes it less efficient;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework complex and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework; acknowledges that this complexity is, because of the incompleteness of the EMU, the product of the urgent multiple attempts to face the crisis by making the framework smarter by taking into account economic conditions while postponing the establishment of a genuine EMU;

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework complex and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework; underlines therefore the need for legal revision that would simplify the complex and often overlapping surveillance and reporting procedures while increasing democratic scrutiny and accountability of the EU Semester framework;

Amendment 274 #

Michael THEURER, Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures, the proliferation of escape clauses and the shift in emphasis on conditional (as opposed to unconditional) compliance makes the economic governance framework complex, less predictable and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to its effectiveness and the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures that is due to the nature of its creation makes the economic governance framework complex and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance ~~by parliaments, social partners and citizens~~ of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework by parliaments, social partners and citizens in Member States;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework complex and not transparent enough, which is detrimental to the ~~ownership and~~ acceptance by national parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms ~~stemming from this framework~~;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Warns that the accumulation of procedures makes the economic governance framework complex ~~and not transparent enough,~~ which is detrimental to the ownership and acceptance by parliaments, social partners and citizens of guidelines, recommendations and reforms stemming from this framework;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Points out that the Six-Pack and Two- Pack legislations of 2011 and 2013 widened the scope of economic governance to various types of macroeconomic imbalances providing detailed specifications for their prevention and correction as well as a great amount of flexibility in the form of escape clauses for structural reforms, temporary violations, infrastructure investments and adverse business cycle conditions;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Notes that these legislations constitute a further increase in complexity and decrease in transparency of the economic governance framework;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 23

~~– having regard to the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis policy brief of July 2014 entitled ‘Structural budget balance: a love at first sight turned sour’,~~deleted

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Notes that under the Two-Pack and Six-Pack legislations member states are still obliged to reduce their structural deficit by 0.5% per year as long as they have not reached their MTO while in the case of excessive debts the reduction must be "higher than" 0.5% per year;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5d. Emphasizes that in terms of deficits there is some evidence for compliance in 2012 and 2013 mostly in crisis countries, but that the fiscal efforts are again expected to be broadly insufficient in 2014 and 2015; also emphasizes that other Country Specific Recommendations have largely been ignored by Member States;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Highlights that the national ownership of the reform programmes must be increased. Member States should not outsource their national responsibility for the reforms;

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes the absolute necessity of subjecting the collection and publication of statistical information gathered by the Member States to regular quality audits and of taking corrective measures where necessary to ensure that the measurement of social and economic indicators is accurate, transparent and sustainable;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Suggests, in light of the fact that 16 of the 28 country-specific recommendations contained provisions relating explicitly to the competences of local and regional authorities, that these authorities should be more involved in line with the partnership principle governing the structural funds;

Amendment 285 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Observes that the current timetable, content and format of the CSR lack ownership by Member States; stresses that, in general, appropriation mechanisms have to be upgraded;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Believes that the economic governance framework has not been able to alleviate the negative social impacts of the crisis and has in some cases prolonged the crisis for ordinary people;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the Commission to be clear on the European interests and goals that are served by the economic governance framework and limit its recommendations for national policymaking to achieve these goals;

Amendment 288 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 23

~~– having regard to the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis policy brief of July 2014 entitled ‘Structural budget balance: a love at first sight turned sour’,~~deleted

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Acknowledg~~Deplores that no progress has been made with a debate on the ~~Medium-Term Objective (MTO) and a better ownership of the national debate in euro area Member States, also thanks to~~sustainability of the deficit and debt criteria, including the Medium-Term Objective (MTO) of a structural budget balance and the 1/20 rule on debt reduction, despite the deleterious effects on the econ~~tribution of the national fiscal council~~omic and social conditions;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Acknowledges that progress has been made with a debate on the Medium-Term Objective (MTO) and a better ownership of the national debate in euro area Member States, also thanks to the contribution of the national fiscal councils; Calls on the Commission to present an overview on the structure and the workings of national fiscal councils in the different Member States and how better cooperation between these councils can improve ownership in Member States;

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Acknowledges that progress has been made with a debate on the Medium-Term Objective (MTO) and a better ownership of the national debate in euro area Member States, also thanks to the contribution of the national fiscal councils acting as independent bodies monitoring compliance with fiscal rules and macroeconomic forecast;

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Acknowledges that some progress has been ~~made with a debate on the Medium-Term Objective (MTO) and a better~~in terms of ownership of the national debate in euro area Member States, also thanks to the contribution of the national fiscal councils;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Points out that concepts such as "structural deficits" are not directly observable such that their definition involves degrees of arbitrariness, their quantification involves judgemental issues, both opening up room for unwanted and unwarranted discretion;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Points out that the interpretation of current account deficits as "imbalances" may not be warranted if these deficits are used to finance investments which give rise to current account surpluses at a later point in time;

Amendment 296 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6c. Insists that deficit financing is at the heart of most investment activities and that the Eurozone should encourage investment rather than discourage or control its external financing through questionable rules in the macroeconomic imbalance framework;

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6d. Is worried that the multitude of social indicators in the scoreboard will lead to a lack of clarity and distract emphasis from fiscal sustainability;

Amendment 298 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 e (new)

6e. Concludes that economic governance has yet to show that the highly complex set of rules currently in use are more likely to induce fiscal discipline and debt sustainability than the simpler rules of previous years which did not work well because enforcement mechanisms like sanctions, fines and the no-bailout clause were discarded;

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Regrets that the Commission policy recommendations on structural labour market reform resulted in a boom of temporary and part-time jobs with a dramatic impact on unemployment rate, wages and access to bank credit, thus exacerbating the social discontent and people's sense of insecurity;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9

– having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2014 on the enquiry on the role and operations of the Troika (the European Central Bank (ECB), the Commission and the International Monetary Fund) with regard to the euro area programme countries9 , __________________ 9deleted Texts adopted, P7_TA(2014)0239.

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 23

– having regard to the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis policy brief of July 2014 entitled ‘Structural budget balance: a love at first sight turned sour’, and the 'European Economic Governance' report of the Dutch Court of Auditors published on 9 September 2014;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Finds it regrettable that consensus over structural reforms based on fiscal austerity has remained strong in spite of their self-defeating effect on the debt-to- GDP ratio; deplores that, on the contrary, a consensus over a structural reform of banks and a stronger regulation on the financial sector remains weak and uncertain, neglecting the enormous incidence of the too-big to fail problem on EU governments' public finances;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Urges the Commission to assess the impact of the new ESA 2010 rules on the investment capacity of the public authorities and to ensure compliance with the principle of non-discrimination between public and private investments in accordance with Article 345 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

WCha~~t best use of the flexibility of existing rules?~~llenges and perspectives of economic governance in the view of built-in flexibility

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

~~What best use of the flexibility~~Fault lines of existing rules?

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

~~What best use of the~~Application of flexibility ofwithin the existing rules?

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -7 (new)

-7. Recalls that the Stability and Growth Pact aims at a balanced budget over the medium term, allowing for budget deficits during downturns and expecting surpluses to be achieved during economic good times, thus compensating for the deficits;

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines all the existing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure an anti-cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;deleted

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Underlines all the exist~~Notes that the EU and the Euro area ing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure an anti-cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemploymentarticular is in a difficult economic situation where growth is unsatisfactory, job creation is low, unemployment in some Member States is high and inflation much lower than targeted such that a prolonged period of stagnation or recession coupled with deflation is possible;

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines ~~all~~ the existing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure an anti-cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemploymentalready guarantee adequate economic flexibility;

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines ~~all the existing provisions under~~that the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which haves been put in place to ensure ~~an anti-cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment~~the fiscal sustainability of the Member States participating in the Economic and Monetary Union, thus specifically allows Member States to conduct an anti-cyclical policy when necessary, and allowing for the necessary fiscal room for the automatic stabilisers to work properly; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use, as most Member States failed to achieve a surplus while their economy was booming;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 24

~~– having regard to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Paper No 977 of 6 July 2012 entitled ‘Implications of output gap uncertainty in times of crisis’,~~deleted

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Underlines all~~Acknowledges the existing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure an anti-cyclical policy; ~~finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;~~

Amendment 311 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines ~~all~~that the existing flexibility provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place ~~to ensure~~are too discretionary and in practice have not provided for a sufficient and a~~nti-cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment~~ppropriate counter-cyclical framework; reminds that in god times several Member States did not consolidate counter- cyclically; finds it regrettable that the margin of discretion foreseen in the legislation was not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment; underlines that as a consequence these discretionary flexibilities have become the rule instead of the exception as these end up being systematically and inefficiently used after the social and economic hardship has already been done;

Amendment 312 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Underlines~~Notes that all the existing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure an anti-cyclical policy; ~~finds it regrettable that~~were not put to full use in previous years, highlights however that, even if put to full use, theose provisions weare not ~~put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth~~sufficiently flexible to ensure an anti-cyclical policy based on the a discretionary use of fiscal policy by Member States facing economic downturn and high unemployment;

Amendment 313 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Underlines all the~~Emphasises the need to respect and apply all existing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure an anti- cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put toin full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment;

Amendment 314 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Underlines all the existing provisions under the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which have been put in place to ensure a~~n anti~~ counter-cyclical policy; finds it regrettable that these provisions were not put to full use in previous years, in the context of low inflation, low growth and high unemployment, even more so in the case of the countries under adjustment programmes;

Amendment 315 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 316 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Considers that the consolidation bias of the current framework is detrimental to the financing of structural reforms and of overdue investment necessities, and can lead to contradictions in terms of policy recommendations when it comes to meeting EU 2020 targets; recalls that international institutions consider that, if not decisively addressed, the investment gap in Europe could lead to a prolonged period of anaemic growth and unacceptably high unemployment rates, leading to significant loss of competitiveness;

Amendment 317 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Believes that sufficient flexibility is built in the existing provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP); stresses that the application of flexibility should solely be based on numerical criteria and quantifiable targets leaving no room for political bargaining;

Amendment 318 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Acknowledges that progress has been made to strengthen the preventive arm of the SGP: stresses that any new flexibility in granting deviations from the Medium Term Objectives should not endanger this preventive nature of the Pact over the economic cycle and that any deviation should include a real safety margin for all Member States to reach their MTO in the given timeframe;

Amendment 319 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7c. Requests the Commission and the Council to include an explicit reference to the required fiscal effort for the current and the upcoming year in the relevant recommendations under the preventive and corrective arm of the SGP; Requests furthermore that all underlying analysis regarding the implementation of the SGP should be published;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 24

Amendment 320 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Believes that since public accounts are not kept according to a coherent accruals systems, provisions under the SGP should give a differentiated weighting to all public investment commitments in the national budgets, so that such investment is not treated in the same light as recurrent expenditure.

Amendment 321 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Regrets that the historically low interest rates which followed the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union were only rarely used to decrease the sovereign debt, and in some cases even misused to increase the debt on the false grounds that borrowing would cost nearly nothing;

Amendment 322 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission acknowledges that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms;deleted

Amendment 323 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission ~~acknowledges that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing~~includes investment flexibility and emphasises the Member States’ responsibility to implement the appropriate structural reforms;

Amendment 324 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcome~~Regrets the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission ~~acknowledges that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms~~creates additional loopholes in the current fiscal rules, indicating a willingness to afford enhanced leniency to Member States on an ex-ante basis, before structural reforms are properly implemented;

Amendment 325 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, "Making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the SGP", the Commission ~~acknowledg~~notes that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial ~~in bridg~~as it explaings the lin~~vestment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms~~k between investment, structural reforms and fiscal responsibility;

Amendment 326 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission acknowledges that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted ~~is crucial~~can be one element in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms; notes that the Communication makes no changes as far as the calculation of the deficit is concerned, as no investment is exempted from the deficit calculation; instead, certain investments can justify a temporary deviation from the Medium Term Objective (MTO) of the concerned Member State or from the adjustment path towards it; notes that the investment clause cannot be activated if the investment would lead to an excess over the 3% of GDP reference value for the deficit;

Amendment 327 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcomes the fact~~Notes that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission acknowledges that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms; recalls that also the correct interpretation of economic data, a sound methodology and appropriate economic models are crucial and hence should be radically revised;

Amendment 328 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 329 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes the ~~fact that~~recent acknowledgment from the Commission in its interpretative communication on flexibility, ~~the Commission acknowledges~~ that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is ~~crucial in~~instrumental for bridging the investment gap in the EU and facilitating the implementing growth-enhancing, s~~tructural~~ustainable and socially balanced reforms;

Amendment 33 #

Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Rina Ronja KARI, Fabio DE MASI, Marisa MATIAS, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Citation 25

~~– having regard to OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Paper No 163 of 9 December 2014 entitled ‘Trends in income inequality and its impact on economic growth’,~~deleted

Amendment 330 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcom~~Notes the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission acknowledges that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms;

Amendment 331 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcom~~Notes the fact that in its interpretative communication on flexibility, the Commission ~~acknowledg~~states that the way in which the current fiscal rules are interpreted is crucial in bridging the investment gap in the EU and implementing growth- enhancing structural reforms;

Amendment 332 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 333 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Reminds that expansionary fiscal policies are limited by the degree of flexibility built into the current economic governance framework; warns that flexibility should not be increased by changing the current set of rules since this would compromise debt sustainability as the ultimate goal of economic governance;

Amendment 334 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Stresses that it is important to take into account that the Member States need to have adequate fiscal space so as to manoeuvre in their anticyclical policies; fiscal space requires not a dogmatic view for primary surpluses but a more flexible view that allows Member- States to have room also for institutionally controlled and adequate fiscal deficits, if necessary;

Amendment 335 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines that it is possible to increase investments even in an environment of an overall reduction of public spending, as called for by ECB President Draghi in his Jackson Hole speech; urges to follow his appeal to shift expenditures towards growth enhancing investments; underlines that this was successfully done in EU countries in their struggle to escape the crisis;

Amendment 336 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Considers that in order to ensure the long term sustainability of national public finances, it is of the utmost importance for the Commission to check the quality and relevance of public finances, in particular that national budgets are future oriented, by identifying, together with Eurostat, and encouraging the investment expenditures rather than the consumption expenditures, in accordance with Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Amendment 337 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission to encourage the use of ESI funds by prolongation of the fiscal adjustment period, especially were they would be used as a flanking measure for structural reforms and increase of investments;

Amendment 338 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Considers however that persisting poor economic performance should lead to a serious debate on those fiscal rules and their capacity to serve economic performance, job creation and fiscal sustainability;

Amendment 339 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Miguel VIEGAS, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Insists that the economic governance framework - in particularly the SGP - must not prevent Member States from adopting the necessary counter-cyclical actions aimed at stimulating internal demand, countering high unemployment, social exclusion and low growth;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 25

~~– having regard to OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Paper No 163 of 9 December 2014 entitled ‘Trends in income inequality and its impact on economic growth’,~~deleted

Amendment 340 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines the importance of taking into account the overall economic situation in the Union in interpreting fiscal rules, as clarified by the EC communication on flexibility;

Amendment 341 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 342 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports all the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communicationUrges extreme caution on creating incentives for Member States to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments, as such incentives may lead to political interference in the allocation of EFSI funds and create loopholes for Member States to circumvent compliance with fiscal rules;

Amendment 343 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports ~~all the~~ incentives to finance ~~the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP; calls for further clarification regard~~new investments. Believes that all investment should be regarded as fiscally neutral as regards the SGP. Believes, however, that the primacy of private investors ing the ~~concrete~~ European Fund for Streat~~ment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication;~~egic Investments (EFSI) implies an unequal distribution of risks which puts additional costs on taxpayers

Amendment 344 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports all the incentives proposed by the European Commission to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards t~~he SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete tre~~o the attainment of the Medium Term Objective, thus not modifying the required fiscal adjustments; Draws the atmtent ~~of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication~~ion to the SGP's vital contribution to confidence building when attracting foreign investments;

Amendment 345 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 346 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Supports all~~Considers the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), ~~mainly~~ by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP~~; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication~~ as a positive step forward; believes that the same treatment shall be granted to all public investments which would have a great impact on the internal demand, job creation and growth;

Amendment 347 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports ~~all the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral~~the fact that the National contributions to the European Fund for Strategic Investments will be considered as being fiscally neutral by the Commission as regards the SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the ~~new paradigm~~interpretation of the SGP rules set out in the communication;

Amendment 348 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports ~~all~~ the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions ~~in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication~~;

Amendment 349 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports all the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication; stresses at the same time that EFSI-funded projects must, under no circumstances simply replace investment already planned and that net investment must, on the contrary, be effectively increased as a result;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 26

~~– having regard to the IMF staff discussion note of September 2013 entitled ‘Towards a fiscal union for the euro area’,~~deleted

Amendment 350 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Supports all the incentives~~Takes note of the investment clause to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP; warns that contributions should not be made at the expense of the 3 % deficit threshold, and therefore calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication;

Amendment 351 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports all the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by making national contributions to the fund fiscally neutral as regards the SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication; takes the view, further, that the EFSI should be placed on a more permanent footing beyond 2019, thereby becoming the European Union’s anti-cyclical mechanism;

Amendment 352 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Supports all the incentives to finance the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), mainly by ~~making~~not taking into account national contributions ~~to the fund fiscally neutral as regards~~when defining the fiscal adjustment under the preventive or the corrective arm of the SGP; calls for further clarification regarding the concrete treatment of these contributions in accordance with the new paradigm set out in the communication;

Amendment 353 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 354 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses in particular the importance of the regulatory component of the investment programme for an improved investment climate;

Amendment 355 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Regrets however that to establish the EFSI, instead of drawing on fresh public and private money, recourse has been had to drawing on funds that had been earmarked for research, when research is a key element in laying the foundations for the investment of the future;

Amendment 356 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. notes that the national contributions will be fully calculated as expenditures and thus count towards the deficit, but that the Commission proposes that non- respect of the 3% deficit rule, or the 60% debt rule, would not lead to an Excessive Deficit Procedure to be launched if this is solely due to the EFSI contribution, as long as the excess over the reference value is small and is expected to be temporary;

Amendment 357 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Stresses the crucial role of the use of the EFSI for SMEs that consist the backbone of the EU economy representing approximately 99% of the EU companies;

Amendment 358 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Warns that, given the current size of government debts, debt sustainability will become even more pressing an issue when interest rates in the Euro area come back to normal levels;

Amendment 359 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Warns that high level of government debts which are not sustainable at "normal" interest levels may force the ECB to suppress interest rates for the indefinite future at the expense of wealth owners and entailing the risk of increased levels of inflation;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 26

~~– having regard to the IMF staff discussion note of September 2013 entitled ‘Towards a fiscal union for the euro area’,~~deleted

Amendment 360 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9c. Emphasizes that under the current set of rules, the economic governance framework provides ample space to provide fiscal stimuli;

Amendment 361 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 d (new)

9d. Warns that fiscal stimuli cannot replace structural reforms and that fiscal stimuli are not likely to be successful in an environment where structural reforms have not yet unfolded sizable effects, thus warns to press for even greater stimuli just because growth is not picking up;

Amendment 362 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 e (new)

9e. Is concerned that the desire to fully exploit the flexibility of the current set of economic governance rules may reinforce the perception that economic governance is unable to impose fiscal discipline on member states; asks the Commission and the Council to credibly commit to the enforcement mechanisms of sanctions, fines, asks national governments to insist on the no-bailout principle of Article 125 TFEU;

Amendment 363 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 f (new)

9f. Affirms that a credible commitment to the principle of no-bailout would enforce fiscal discipline on member countries without much need of further rules of economic governance, thus reinforcing the sovereignty and responsibility of member states in terms of economic and fiscal policies;

Amendment 364 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 g (new)

9g. Concludes that a return to the principle of no-bailout and free, decentralized fiscal decisions of member states should be the overarching objective of the European Union's policy of economic governance;

Amendment 365 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 h (new)

9h. Emphasizes that regulatory reforms like Basle III along with the asset quality review, the stress tests of the banking sector and the banking union can be viewed as increasing the credibility of the no-bailout principle, points out that further measures could be designed if there are concerns that these safeguards are still insufficient;

Amendment 366 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 i (new)

9i. Emphasizes that adherence to the no- bailout principle reinforces the ties between responsibility and liability which are at the heart of a market economy;

Amendment 367 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 j (new)

9j. Points out that this is in no contradiction to the principle of European solidarity since the European Union has well-established funds for regional development, cohesion and social policies which may aid countries in need of special support;

Amendment 368 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 k (new)

9k. Stresses that the level of debt alone does not warrant the solidarity of other European countries as high debt does not indicate an underdeveloped economy or insufficient incomes of parts of the population but rather the fiscal irresponsibility of elected governments;

Amendment 369 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)

- having regard to the ECB's Governing Council proposals of 10th June 2010 entitled 'Reinforcing Economic Governance in the Euro Area',

Amendment 370 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Believ~~Notes that the communication ~~rightly~~ broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans- European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the correcmore flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP;

Amendment 371 #

Marisa MATIAS, Rina Ronja KARI, Matt CARTHY, Fabio DE MASI, Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO, Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Believe~~Regrets that the communication ~~rightly~~ broadens the scope of the investment clause, a~~llowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion poli~~nd allows countries to obtain additional leniency, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans- European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP the application of the fiscal rules in return for merely presenting reform plans;

Amendment 372 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the communication ~~righ~~does not sufficiently broadens the scope of the investment clause, and does not allow~~ing~~ for sufficient flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans- European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed, both in terms of broadening the scope to all investment programmes and of a similar treatment in the corrective arm of the SGP;.

Amendment 373 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the communication rightly broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans-European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that th~~is approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP;~~ e investment clause is the appropriate way to use the Pact as a countercyclical economic policy tool while maintaining fiscal discipline in the EU;

Amendment 374 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Believes~~Is extremely concerned that the communication ~~rightly~~ broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans-European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP;

Amendment 375 #

Alain CADEC, Alain LAMASSOURE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the communication ~~righ~~insufficiently broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, ~~in particular as regards~~limited to expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans- European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co- financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to ~~be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP~~include in the investment clause all public investments that are deemed to have a positive economic impact on internal demand, job creation and inclusive growth and to generate positive social spillovers;

Amendment 376 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the communication ~~rightly broadens the scope of the investment clause,~~ allow~~ing~~s for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans-European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co- financing under the EFSI; ~~believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP~~points out that a Member State subject to the corrective arm of the SGP may also contribute to the European Fund for Strategic Investments; maintains that this contribution must not under any circumstances hold back the implementation of structural reforms by the Member States;

Amendment 377 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Believ~~Notes that the communication ~~rightly~~ broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP ~~to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States~~in the form of a temporary deviation from the MTO, provided the deviation does not lead to an excess over the 3% deficit reference value and an appropriate safety margin, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans- European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; ~~believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP;~~

Amendment 378 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the communication rightly broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans-European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP; takes the view that the investment clause should also cover all such measures, i.e. including those carried out by the Member States and which do not take the form of loans or capital contributions, regardless of whether or not they are co- financed by the European Union;

Amendment 379 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Believes that the communication rightly~~Points out that Commission communication on the flexibilities aims at broadensing the scope of the investment clause, allowing for a certain degree of restricted flexibility in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans-European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A8-0000/2015),deleted

Amendment 380 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 381 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Believes that the communication ~~rightly~~ broadens the scope of the investment clause, allowing for ~~flexibility~~a temporary flexibility under strict preconditions in the preventive arm of the SGP to accommodate investment programmes by the Member States, in particular as regards expenditure on projects under structural and cohesion policy, including the Youth Employment Initiative, trans-European networks and the Connecting Europe Facility, and co-financing under the EFSI; believes that this approach must be urgently reassessed to be symmetrically applied to the corrective arm of the SGP;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission Recommendation of 25 February 2015 which aims at granting highly indebted countries further time to consolidate their budgets,

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10

~~– having regard to its resolution of 12 December 2013 on constitutional problems of a multitier governance in the European Union10 , __________________ 10~~deleted Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0598.

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission's sixth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion entitled 'Investment for jobs and growth: promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion in the Union' of 23 July 2014 (hereinafter 'the Sixth Cohesion Report'),

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 b (new)

- having regard to the communication from the Commission of 13 January 2015 entitled 'Making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the stability and growth pact' (COM(2015)0012),

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 c (new)

- having regard to the Council conclusions on the sixth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion: investment for jobs and growth, adopted by the General Affairs (Cohesion) Council on 19 November 2014,

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas the SGP was initially set up in 1997 to enable the coordination of fiscal policies among Member States aimed at avoiding unsustainable fiscal policies which could lead to sovereign debt crises in Member States with detrimental effects on the EMU as a whole;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital –A a (new)

-Aa. whereas a reform of the original SGP took place in 2003-2005 which introduced a number of refinements and increased flexibility, for example through the introduction of escape clauses in the EDP, whereas this reform did not address the problem of weak enforcement provisions, nor reach agreement on the satisfactory pace of debt reduction;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital –A b (new)

-Ab. whereas the legislation previous to the 6- and 2-Packs did not provide the necessary instruments to analyse all factors and effectively and timely correct the problems which may lead to a sovereign debt crisis;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital –A c (new)

-Ac. whereas before the adoption of the 6- pack there was no formal framework to deal with possible macroeconomic imbalances building up within a Member State, except for the informal discussion within the Eurogroup; whereas no action was taken despite repeated warnings made by ECB President Trichet during the meetings of the Eurogroup thus further jeopardizing the economies' resilience against external shocks such as a financial crisis;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital –A d (new)

-Ad. whereas by 1991 public debt averaged almost 60% of GDP in the first twelve euro countries, but almost as soon as the euro had been introduced, consolidation fatigue set in, and a number of Member States went into expansionary expenditure policies, whereas this period can be characterised as wasted good times during which the foundations were laid for the present crisis in the EMU, whereas the decision to stop excessive deficit procedures towards Germany and France fell into that period, triggering a general leniency in the implementation of the SGP;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A e (new)

-Ae. whereas in view of the current debt dynamics and additional contingent liabilities for the budget, e.g. those stemming from population ageing, will require almost all euro area countries to conduct major fiscal adjustment over a long period of time in order to insure fiscal sustainability;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A f (new)

-Af. whereas until now every monetary union has failed, whereas one of the main causes of their demise was a strong lack of fiscal discipline;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 12

– having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2011 on the financial, economic and social crisis: recommendations concerning the measures and initiatives to be taken12 , __________________ 12 OJ C 33 E, 5.2.2013, p. 140.deleted

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A g (new)

-Ag. whereas several countries were only hours away from a default on their debt, which would have resulted in a world- wide spread of the crisis that might have triggered a depression worse than that of 1929, a situation that could be averted by putting in place ad-hoc mechanisms such as the EFSF and the EFSM, whereas conditions were attached to the help in order to make sure the loans could later be paid back, which is necessary in order to avoid an infringement of Art. 125 TFEU (no-bail-out clause);

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A h (new)

-Ah. whereas, in order to avoid a reoccurrence of this kind of crisis, as well as the spreading of the crisis to other countries through the banking sector, a number of measures were taken, which included the creation of the Banking Union, the ESM, an improved economic governance legislation in the form of the 6- and 2-Packs, the TCSG and the European Semester, all of which must be considered as a package;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A i (new)

-Ai. whereas the primary reason behind the creation of the European Semester was to enhance the ability to identify possible future strains on the finances of a Member State and to correct them through peer pressure before starting the national budgetary procedures (the National Semester);

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A j (new)

-Aj. whereas the main aim of the SGP and the economic governance framework has thus always been and remains the avoidance of a sovereign debt crisis and its detrimental effects on EMU through responsible policies at national level and policy coordination at the EU level;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A k (new)

-Ak. whereas , based on the review clauses in the 6- and 2-Packs and the ensuing Commission Communication of 28 November 2014, the central question of the review is whether the 6- and 2-pack have reached their objectives of avoiding unsustainable fiscal policies, the early detection and if necessary correction of macroeconomic imbalances and strengthened monitoring and surveillance for Member States threatened with or experiencing serious difficulties;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A l (new)

-Al. whereas the review furthermore analyses to what extent the 6- and 2-pack have contributed to progress in ensuring closer coordination of economic policies of the Member States while ensuring a high level of transparency, credibility and democratic accountability;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, after two consecutive years of ~~unanticipated~~ negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by 0.8 % in 2014 and by 1.1 % in 2015, meaning that the ~~pre-crisis growth rate will not be regained this yea~~the first signs of economic recovery are clearly visible and need to be strengthened further;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’'s autumn forecast, after two consecutive years of unanticipated negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by 0.8 % in 2014 and by 1.1 % in 2015, meaning that ~~the pre-crisis growth rate will not be regained this year~~economic recovery is slowly gaining ground;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’'s autumn forecast, after two consecutive years of unanticipated negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by 0.8 % in 2014 and by 1.1 % in 2015, meaning that the pre-crisis ~~growth rate~~GDP level will not be regained this year and the output gap will remain large; whereas most recent forecasts foresee a meaningful risk of very low inflation for an extended period of time;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 20 November 2012 on 'Towards a genuine EMU', the Commission Communication of 28 November 2012 entitled 'A blueprint for a deep and genuine economic and monetary union Launching a European Debate' and the Four Presidents' report of 5 December 2012 entitled 'Towards a genuine EMU',

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’s ~~autumn~~latest winter forecast, after two consecutive years of unanticipated negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by 0.8 % in 2014 and by 1.13 % in 2015, meaning that the pre-crisis growth rate will not be regained this year;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’s ~~autumn~~winter forecast, after two consecutive years of unanticipated negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by 0.8 % in 2014 and by 1.1 % in 2015, meaning that economic recovery remains fragile and that the pre- crisis growth rate will not be regained ~~this~~in the next year;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’s autumn forecast, after two consecutive years of unanticipated negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by 0.8 % in 2014 and by 1.1 % in 2015, meaning that the pre-crisis growth rate will not be regained this year; whereas recovery is not strong but will continue, according to the IMF, which estimates a growth of 1.2% in the Euro area 2015 and 1.4% in 20161 a ; __________________ 1a IMF World Economic Outlook UPDATE,20.01.15, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2 015/update/01/pdf/0115.pdf

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas, according to the Commission’'s ~~autumn~~winter forecast, after two consecutive years of unanticipated negative growth, gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area is expected to rise by ~~0.8~~1,2 % in 2014 and by 1.1,8 % in 2015, meaning that the pre-crisis growth rate will not be regained this year; but the economic recovery is expected to catch up in 2015 ;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Eurozone has a common monetary policy but each of the Eurozone members is sovereign in its fiscal policy decisions;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas heterogeneity among member states and asymmetric shocks may require very different economic policy responses in member states, whereas this provides a permanent challenge for the monetary union unless heterogeneity among member states can be reduced, fiscal and economic policies can be coordinated and the likelihood of severe asymmetric shock can be reduced;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas global economy growth is estimated to be on a low level for 2015 and 2016: according to the IMF, 3.5% this year, compared to 3.7% 20161 a ; __________________ 1a IMF World Economic Outlook UPDATE,20.01.15, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2 015/update/01/pdf/0115.pdf

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas the Eurozone has always tried to achieve convergence among member states using a rules-based approach, whereas these rules of economic governance have undergone many changes moving from a set of a few, easy to comprehend rules to a highly complex framework today;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission’s Sixth report on economic, social and territorial cohesion of 23 July 2014 (COM(2014)0473),

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas many rules of economic governance have been disrespected many times, most prominently the no-bailout clause of Article 125 TFEU, whereas European facilities which provide credits to Member States unable to finance themselves on private capital markets violate the spirit of Article 125 TFEU;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the sharp fall in oil prices can be an additional boost for the economy of many EU Member States;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas for the first time since 2011, there has been a small increase in full time contracts and improvements in the situation of young people; whereas however, many of the new jobs created are part-time or temporary1 a ; whereas EU employment is foreseen to start growing, leading to a decline in the overall EU unemployment rate towards 9.5 % by 20161 b; __________________ 1b Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2014, European Commission, 15th January 2015, http://ec.europa.eu/social, pages 15-17

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas the labour market situation has improved for young people, with significant reductions in unemployment rates in most Member States; whereas nevertheless, youth unemployment remains very high in countries such as Greece and Spain, regardless of the level of education;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas economic governance in the Economic and Monetary Union necessarily, on the basis of solidarity, operates in accordance with national disciplines and the maximising of sustainable growth in all parties to the Stability and Growth Pact;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the Stability and Growth Pact is the organic text underpinning the entire structure of the European Semester; whereas its spirit of pacta sunt servanda and its interpretation, in particular in relation to the flexibility criteria, may not derogate from the fundamental requirements of solidarity and responsibility;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. Whereas there have been substantial revisions in the potential growth estimates in successive Commission's forecasts;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the concept of potential GDP growth – which underpins the Medium- Term Objectives, the expenditure benchmark, and the definition of severe economic downturn – remains unclear and questionable;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas, according to article 2 of the TEU, the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences will continue to prevail between the Member States, also following the Troika’s intervention, with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland reflecting increasingly undermining growing internal divergences ;deleted

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

- having regard to the conclusions of the European Council meeting on 23rd October 2011,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge macroeconomic differences ~~will~~ continue to prevail between the Member States~~, also following the Troika’s interven~~ in terms of debt ratios, deficit ratios, unemployment levels, current account balances and levels of social protection, w~~ith fo~~herecas~~ted~~ GDP growth rates in 2014 ~~rangi~~are likely to range between - 2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland, reflecting ~~increasingly undermining~~ growing internal divergences and a potential to undermine the monetary union;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences ~~will~~ continue to prevail between the Member States~~, also following the Troika’s intervention,~~ with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland reflecting ~~increasingly undermining growing internal divergences~~ differences in the origins of the crises as well as in the national ownership when implementing the measures agreed between the Institutions and the Member States concerned;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences will continue to prevail between the Member States, ~~also following the Troika’s intervention,~~ with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland reflecting ~~increasingly undermining growing internal diverg~~differences in political will and ownership to implement necessary reforms to increase competitivencess and productivity;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas ~~huge~~ differences will continue to prevail between the Member States~~, also following the Troika’s intervention,~~ with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland reflecting ~~increasingly undermining growing internal divergenc~~the will and ambition of different Member States to reform to regain competitivenes s;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences will continue to prevail between the Member States~~, also following the Troika’s intervention,~~ with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland reflecting ~~increasingly undermining growing internal divergenc~~necessary post- crisis adjustments in some Member States as well as the success of the financial consolidation in other member States ;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences ~~will continue to prevail~~ between the Member States, a~~lso following~~re still present, and the situation has not deteriorated further due to the Troika’s intervention, with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland ~~reflecting increasingly undermining growing internal divergences~~ ;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences will continue to prevail between the Member States, ~~also following the Troika’s intervention,~~ with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.68 % in Ireland reflecting increasingly undermining growing internal divergences;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences will continue to prevail between the Member States, also following the Troika’s intervention, with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.68 % in Ireland reflecting increasingly undermining growing internal divergences;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas huge differences will continue to prevail between the Member States, also following the ~~Troika’s intervention~~implementation of the programmes, with forecasted GDP growth rates in 2014 ranging between -2.8 % in Cyprus and +4.6 % in Ireland reflecting increasingly undermining growing internal divergences;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 15

~~– having regard to the conclusions of the European Council meetings of June and December 2014,~~deleted

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas economic governance will be successful only if, in line with Article 125 TFEU, no Member State will feel pressed to assume liabilities or commitments of central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of another Member State;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas, according to the Commission's winter forecast, unemployment rate in 2015 and 2016 across the EU and the Eurozone is expected to remain persistently high to alarming levels above 11% and close to 10% respectively;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas since 2008 regional disparities in employment, unemployment and per capita GDP have increased considerably between and within the majority of Member States;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the negative output gap for the euro area, as estimated by the Commission, reached 3% in 2013, the highest level since the peak of the crisis in 2009, and may decline only slowly in 2015;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the euro area current account surplus has increased by nearly 3 percentage points since the pre-crisis years to reach 2.8% of GDP in 2014 according to the Commission's winter economic forecast, while the current account surplus of the EU as a whole is expected to reach 1.3% for 2014;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas, according to the Annual Growth Survey 2015, the aggregate fiscal stance in the euro area will be broadly neutral in 2014 and 2015;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)

Bd. whereas six euro area countries still were under Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) at the end of 2014 while other Member States had considerable fiscal space to encourage domestic demand;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)

Be. whereas sixteen Member States have a debt-to-GDP ratio above the 60% threshold;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B f (new)

Bf. whereas at the end of 2013, poverty and social exclusion concerned 122.6 million people (24.5%), rising in a large number of Member States and reaching a third of the population in 5 of them;

Amendment 99 #