2014/2221(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the fact that moving towards a truly sustainable economy will help contribute to ~~achieving~~wards the achievement of the Union’s environmental goals, ~~to restoring the European economy’~~and towards competitive ~~edge~~ness and tojob creati~~ng quality jobs; deplores the fact~~on; regrets that the lack of a European strategy for sustainable development during the ~~crisis has kept growth in the EU well below its potential~~economic crisis may have further limited growth;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the fact that without stronger investment the Union will fail to achieve its Europe 2020 targets for sustainable growth and its 2030 climate and energy targets; calls, therefore, on the Commission to orient the new investment package towards investments which contribute to sustainable development and resource efficiency by promoting the latest technologies;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes that, according to the European Commission Energy Roadmap 2050, decarbonising our energy system would cost 260 billion euros anually and would generate savings of obove 310 billion euros;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Acknowledges that energy is an important factor for economic competitiveness. Stresses the need to eliminate barriers to the single energy market, promoting energy independence. Asks the Commission to assess progress in this domain both at European and national level supporting measures to tackle fragmentation and implementation difficulties;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Stresses that investments in renewable energy production, energy distribution and deep renovation of buildings present high labor intensity and will therefore contribute significantly to tackling unemployment, while shielding European growth from future energy imports and energy price fluctuations;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Recalls the targets of the EU2020 strategy on renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Stresses the need to promote an interconnected infrastructure and a closer integration with the transport sector as a cost- efficient manner to deploy sustainable power generation technologies.

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3 e. Stresses that reducing the EU's dependence on external energy sources must be part of the EU's growth strategy; reiterates therefore the need to diversify external energy supplies, to upgrade EU's energy infrastructure and to complete the EU internal energy market as key priorities of EU energy security strategy;

Amendment 16 #

Elżbieta Katarzyna ŁUKACIJEWSKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the fact that national policies which are coordinated under the European Semester procedure must be consistent with the European sustainable development strategy; ~~reiterates, therefore, the need to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and to shift taxes away from labour to polluting activities~~acknowledges in this context the Commission's country-specific recommendations in the field of environmental taxation;

Amendment 17 #

Elisabetta GARDINI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 18 #

Andrzej GRZYB

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the fact that national policies which are coordinated under the European Semester procedure ~~must~~should be consistent with the European sustainable development strategy; reiterates, therefore, the need to phase out ~~fossil~~ environmentally or economically harmfuel subsidies and to shift taxes away from labour to polluting activities;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the fact that national policies which are coordinated under the European Semester procedure must be consistent with the European sustainable development strategy; reiterates, therefore, the need to phase out ~~fossil~~ environmentally or economically harmfuel subsidies and to shift taxes away from labour to polluting activities;

Amendment 2 #

Jadwiga WIŚNIEWSKA, Bolesław G. PIECHA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the fact that moving towards a truly sustainable economy and that the greening of EU economies and putting at equal stand the Europe 2020 targets will contribute to achieving the Union’s environmental goals, to restoring the European economy’s competitive edge and to creating quality jobs; deplores the fact that the lack of a European strategy for sustainable development during the crisis has kept growth in the EU well below its potential;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the fact that national policies which are coordinated under the European Semester procedure must be consistent with the European sustainable development strategy; reiterates, therefore, the need to phase out ~~fossil~~ environmentally or economically harmfuel subsidies and to shift taxes away from labour to polluting activities;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission to assess the potential of green jobs creation within the framework of EU's climate and environment policies and set indicative employment targets for each Member State;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Highlights the need for reforms in educational systems to enable coming generations to prepare for the needs of future growth labour markets, such as green technologies and health care;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Stresses the importance of achieving full implementation for the current waste framework and the need to agree on a new ambitious waste policy at EU level in order to boost~~Underlines the relevance of the waste package currently being negotiated in contributing to green growth and job creat~~e jobs~~ion; calls on the Commission to refrain from withdrawing theis proposal ~~for the review of the EU’s waste policy~~;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses the importance of achieving full implementation for the current waste framework and the need to agree on a new ambitious waste policy at EU level in order to boost green growth and create jobs; underlines the crucial and cross-cutting importance of the Circular Economy Package covering numerous policy areas which will be a key driving force for the transition to sustainable economic growth and job creation; calls on the Commission to refrain from withdrawing the proposal for the review of the EU’s waste policy;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses the fact that the efficient use of resources, reducing foreign energy dependence and the induction of production patterns and more sustainable consumption patterns, involves promoting entrepreneurship and job creation with the efficient implementation of international targets and objectives as well diversification of revenue sources, in a context of fiscal neutrality and economic competitiveness;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Emphasises that in order that the Member States boost their employment by exploiting the employment potential of the green economy, action in required on three main fronts: boosting labour demand in eco-industries through adequate levels of investments, anticipating and managing skills needs in both green and greening sectors, and ensuring job quality for high-, medium-, and low-skill occupations; from the point of view of labour market policy, enhanced attention should be dedicated to devising adequate training programmes to tackle specific skill shortages, and to considering the dynamic interaction between skills supply and age structure of the workforce in green and traditional industries;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

~~6. Underlines the fact that the European Semester should be a tool for safeguarding high quality and efficiency in national health systems.~~deleted

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

~~6. Underlines the fact that the European Semester should be a tool for safeguarding high quality and efficiency in national health systems.~~deleted

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Underlines the fact that the European Semester should be a tool for safeguarding high quality and efficiency in national~~Stresses, with regard to the health sector policies, the need to strengthen the efficiency and sustainability of health care systems.

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that the European Semester debate is of particular importance to the need to find a new model of development of structural reforms and selective investments, investing in strategic areas;

Amendment 30 #

Elisabetta GARDINI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the fact that the European Semester should be a tool for safeguarding high quality and efficiency in national health systems. also by identifying and addressing the inefficiencies of the patient journey and the health delivery models that serve them;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the fact that the European Semester should be a tool for safeguarding high quality and high efficiency in national health systems.

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the fact that the European Semester should be a tool for safeguarding high quality and efficiency in national health systems.; calls therefore on the European Commission to ensure the sustainability of social protection and healthcare systems while enhancing their effectiveness and adequacy in meeting social needs, as well as reducing inequalities and poverty;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Recognises that health is a value in itself and a prerequisite for economic growth and that investing in health contributes to better health, economic prosperity and social cohesion;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Underlines the fact that ensuring equal access to health care contributes to social cohesion, to social justice, to tackle social exclusion and it contributes to a sustainable development as it adds to intergenerational solidarity and can correct negative population health externalities;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Welcomes measures that make the European Semester process more effective and democratic. Acknowledges that the implementation record is better in the area of public finance where surveillance tools are stronger. Calls for a balanced integration with employment and socio- economic indicators that enable a more effective response to the divergence between some Member States regarding employment and their socio-economic situation as demonstrated in the accompanying Joint Employment Report to the Annual Growth Survey 2015;

Amendment 36 #

Andrey KOVATCHEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. recognizes that effective healthcare systems are directly linked to economic growth, contribute to healthy workforce and job opportunities in the Member States, and that weaker healthcare systems result in migration within the EU and slow overall economic growth;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)

6 e. Stresses the importance of the sustainability of the healthcare sector which plays an important role in the overall economy as it accounts for 8% of the total European workforce and for 10% of GDP in the European Union; for being able to provide equal access to healthcare services for the citizens, as health is an essential factor of stability, sustainability and further development of Member States and their economy;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)

6 f. Urges the Commission to better take account in the European Semester of the targets of the EU 2020 strategy concerning employment, R&D, climate change and energy sustainability, education and poverty and social exclusion, assessing progress towards a more sustainable society and proposing measures to reach those goals in a more effective and timely manner;

Amendment 39 #

Andrey KOVATCHEV

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)

6 g. Underlines that the European semester should be a tool for achieving commitment from Member States to strengthen their healthcare systems to ensure high quality, accessible and equitable healthcare for all citizens

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Underlines that the European Semester, introduced in 2010, is setting up a yearly cycle of economic policy coordination with a detailed analysis of EU Member States' plans of budgetary, macroeconomic and structural reforms in order to achieve the Europe 2020 targets for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, amongst others in the field of climate change and energy, social exclusion and fighting poverty;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)

6 h. Calls both Member States and the European Commission, in this period of economic crisis, to avoid most damaging measures like short-term savings which will lead to high costs in the mid to long- term and instead to concentrate on further development of high-quality and high-efficiency health care systems.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission to consider incorporateing a European strategy for sustainable development, ~~including as regards~~with a particular focus on resource efficiency and the circular economy, into the European Semester procedure;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Welcomes the Investment Plan for Europe as proposed by the Juncker Commission on 26 November 2014[1]. Stresses, however, that given the comparatively small volume of the funds to be mobilised, the generated resources may fall short of what is required to create the necessary economic dynamism; (1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014 DC0903&from=EN)

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Is concerned for the lack of clarity on how the proposed plan will prioritize areas fostering sustainable development, such as education, and infrastructures supporting research and innovation;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the ~~fact that without stronger investment the Union will fail to achieve its~~role of market-led greening of EU economies and stronger investment in proven green technologies in achieving the Europe 2020 targets for sustainable growth and ~~its~~ 2030 climate and energy targets; calls, therefore, on the Commission to orient the new investment package towards investments which could contribute to sustainable development;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Stresses the fact that without stronger investment the Union will fail to achieve its Europe 2020 targets for sustainable growth and its 2030 climate and energy targets; calls, therefore, on the Commission to orient the new investment package towards investments which contribute to sustainable development in order to maximise its short term impact on economic activity and job creation, as well as its long term impact on the sustainability of growth in Europe;

source: 544.343

2015/01/19 ECON 241 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard the Communication of the Communication of 28 November 2014 on the 'Annual Growth Survey 2015' (COM(2014) 902),

Amendment 10 #

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. Whereas in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis the eurozone in particular stands out as an area of unsatisfactory growth while the rest of the world is recovering;

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Points out that the main problem in a number of Member States is that fragmentation of the financial markets results in a shortage of financing and increased financing costs, especially for SMEs;

Amendment 102 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Considers that the EIB and the ECB could play a more active role in overcoming fragmentation so as to promote SME financing, entrepreneurship, exports, and innovation, all of which are vital for economic growth;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines the fact that the overall indebtedness of Member States in the euro area is not only an obstacle to growth but also puts a huge burden on future generations;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Welcom~~Notes the ~~ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully~~efforts made by some Member States to implemented adjustment programmes ~~or financial sector programme~~, but points out that those efforts have not been ~~able~~enough to rget~~urn to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates~~ growth moving; stresses, furthermore, that it is not structural reforms that have brought government bond yields down but the policies pursued by the ECB;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Welcomes~~Notes that the ambitious structural reforms i~~mplement~~ntroduced by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates have not borne fruit; calls therefore for a review of the austerity policy in Europe and, given the context, for the encouragement of public investment;

Amendment 106 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Welcomes the ambitious~~Underlines that structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis~~; welcomes as well the fac~~ have caused severe social hardship and a backlash on gender equality; points out that those Member States that have ~~successfully implemente~~implemented austerity measures and adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have ~~been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates~~set in motion a downward spiral whereby public investment is being curtailed, including in vital services such as childcare and dependent persons care;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Welcomes the ambitious~~Expresses concern about the structural reforms imp~~lement~~osed byin those Member States most affected by the crisis; ~~welcomes as well~~although the fact that those Member States ~~that~~ have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes ~~have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates~~, almost all imbalances remains unsolved and social impacts have been dramatic;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Welcomes the ambitious~~Notes the structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; ~~welcom~~Notes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets~~, where they now access capital at low interest rates;~~. Regrets however that these reforms have failed to create economic growth, jobs or to reduce poverty and promote inclusion across Europe.

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates; deeply regrets the social cost of these efforts undertaken by the Member States. Is therefore convinced of the need of more flexibility in the future economic governance reforms.

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

~~B. whereas the investment level has fallen by EUR 470 billion since the peak of the crisis, and the investment gap is EUR 230-370 billion compared to its long-term trends;~~deleted

Amendment 110 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN, Petr JEŽEK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates; insists that due regard should be given to the social and employment impact of reforms;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates; finds it regrettable that the Member States in the rest of the euro area are less ambitious in modernising their economies;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the ambitious structural reforms – which also take account of social aspects – implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that after the announcement of the OMT program, some of those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Welcomes the ambitious structural reforms implemented by those Member States most affected by the crisis; welcomes as well the fact that those Member States that have successfully implemented adjustment programmes or financial sector programmes have been able to return to the capital markets, where they now access capital at low interest rates; Points out, that important reason behind this return were the actions taken by ECB.

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Points out that Member States that have carried out significant structural reforms are now manifestly harvesting the fruits of their labour, being rewarded in the medium term by increased economic growth falling unemployment and greater confidence; notes that structural reforms are still necessary in a number of countries in order to achieve this objective;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Deplores the fact that many Member States are failing to make the appropriate structural reforms; points out that even a single Member State can undermine the entire economy of the EU; insists, therefore, that each Member State has the responsibility to introduce structural reforms aimed at fiscal consolidation and economic recovery;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Emphasises that a more relaxed European Central Bank monetary policy can never be a substitute for ambitious structural reforms by the Member States;

Amendment 118 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Underlines that those reforms are also causing a backlash with regards to gender equality as women lose jobs in the public sector, undermining years of progress towards women's integration in the labour market and that this contrary to the EU's own objectives, notably the 75% employment rate of women and men by 2020;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to ~~make their~~support labour markets ~~more efficient, to modernise~~with active job creation policies and avoiding downward pressure on wages to strength social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses th~~at structural reforms need to be complemented by well-targeted~~e need for, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the investment level has fallen by EUR 470 billion since the peak of the crisis, and the investment gap is EUR 230- 370 billion compared to its long-term trends which clearly demonstrates the need to encourage consistent private and public-sector investment to support recovery and create jobs;

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to make their labour markets more efficient, to modernise social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that structuralsafeguard and enhance the inclusiveness sustainability and fairness of social protection in particular for those most in need and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that jobs must be of quality, to counteract in-work poverty, and should address the gender pay gap; underlines that economic reforms need to be and complemented by well-targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. ~~Calls on~~States that the Member States ~~to make~~are likely to benefit if they choose to reform their labour markets to become more efficient~~, to~~ and modernise their social protection systems, including pensions, and toif they improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that structural reforms need to be complemented by well- targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to make their labour markets more efficient, to modernise social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; ~~stresses that structural reforms need to~~thereby leading to a decrease in operating costs within the national economies, not least with regard to the operating costs of SMEs and traditional industries. Stresses that structural reforms need to lead to real, sustainable and socially balanced growth, employment, strengthened competitiveness and increasing convergence and should be complemented by well-targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 124 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to make their labour markets more efficient and geared towards job creation, to modernise social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that structural reforms need to be complemented by well-targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to continue the process of deep and sustainable structural reforms to make their labour markets more efficient, to modernise social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that structural reforms need to be complemented by well-targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT ~~and~~, sustainable energy and human resources;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to make their labour markets more efficient without lowering wages and making the entire jobs market insecure, to modernise social protection systems, including pensions, and to improve and streamline the legal and administrative environment for business investment; stresses that structural reforms need to be complemented by well-targeted, longer- term investments in education, research and development, innovation, infrastructure, ICT and sustainable energy, which should no longer count towards the EU limits;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls for rapid reforms regarding the development of broadband and Internet, a single telecom market, and leadership for speeds and capacity by pan-European services and a functioning digital market;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Notes that pensions are primarily a matter for the Member States and that efforts at European level should focus on Member States that have not yet introduced a sustainable system for their own citizens;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the investment level has fallen by EUR 470 billion since the peak of the crisis, and the investment gap on a conservative estimate is EUR 230- 370 billion compared to its long-term trends;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses that the EU cannot in any way compete on cost~~s alone~~ in the global market, but needs to increase productivity through sustainable investment in research and development, education and skills, and resource efficiency, at national as well as European level;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses that the EU cannot compete on costs alone, but needs to increase productivity through sustainable investment in research and development, education and skills, and resource efficiency, at national as well as European level; notes that the effectiveness of education policies is not only related to its relative spending, but also on the quality of the educational system, high rates of school leaving in some Member States show that there is a wide room for improvement.

Amendment 132 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses that the EU cannot compete on costs alone, but needs to increase productivity through sustainable investment in research and development, education and skills including the prevention of early school drop-out, and resource efficiency, at national as well as European level;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Underlines that the Member States should pay particular attention to youth unemployment when making reforms in order not to deprive young people of their opportunities from the start;

Amendment 134 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Underlines that leadership regarding productivity and the knowledge economy requires increased spending for research, development and science, calls on the Commission and on governments to give these priority in their budgets;

Amendment 135 #

Sirpa PIETIKÄINEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. European growth is dependent on innovations and resource efficiency as indicated in Europe 2020 strategy. To support the implementation of the growth target, resource efficiency should be added to the macroeconomic imbalances indicators.

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Points out that EU financial assistance to certain Member States, provided on terms combining solidarity with conditionality, has proved to be most successful when there was a strong ownership and commitment to reform; reminds the Commission and the Member States that they need to explore ways of bringing the financial assistance under the EU framework;deleted

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Points out that EU financial assistance to certain Member States~~, provided on terms combining solidarity with conditionality, has proved to be most successful when there was a strong ownership and commitment to reform~~ has to be complemented by long-term investment in the fields of education, research, innovation and sustainable energy; reminds the Commission and the Member States that they need to explore ways of bringing the financial assistance under the EU framework;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Points out that EU financial assistance to ~~certain~~the Member States, provided on terms combining solidarity with conditionality, has proved to be most successful when there was a strong ownership and commitment to reform; reminds the Commission and the Member States that they need to explore ways of bringing the financial assistance under the EU framework; is to be avoided; calls on the MS to commit themselves to economic reform.

Amendment 14 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Michael THEURER, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the investment level has fallen by around EUR 470 billion since the peak of the crisis, and the investment gap is estimated at around EUR 230- 370 billion compared to its long-term trends;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Points out that EU financial assistance to certain Member States, provided on terms ~~combining solidarity with~~of conditionality, has proved to be ~~most successful whe~~disastrous in ther~~e was a strong ownership and commitment to reform~~ms of the social and gender impact; reminds the Commission and the Member States that they need to carry out a social and gender impact assessment while exploreing ways of bringing the financial assistance under the EU framework;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Urges the Commission and the Member States, to incorporate financial assistance and the ad hoc system of the Troika into an improved legal structure compliant with the EU economic governance framework and community law, thereby guaranteeing democratic accountability; stresses the importance of ensuring the follow-up of the Troika reports adopted in March 2014 by the European Parliament in particular in view of recent economic developments; calls on the Commission to implement the conclusions of these reports;

Amendment 143 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12b. Believes that the trend towards more skill-intensive and demanding jobs, high unemployment and weak employment demand may increase. Therefore, matching skills supply and demand better, as well as job and career guidance will be of great importance in the future; believes that more mobility may help to reduce the high levels of unfilled job vacancies that persist alongside high unemployment;

Amendment 144 #

Pervenche BERÈS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls ~~for urgent action to be taken by the Commission~~the Commission to swiftly propose a set of measures to fight tax fraud ~~and~~, tax evasion~~; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent~~ and aggressive tax planning and to ensure greater transparency; calls the Member States to adopt these measures by the end of 2015; reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to c~~onsumption~~apital and energy efficiency;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion; calls for a tax system that is simple, fair and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to ~~shift taxes from labour to consump~~introduce more fiscal fairness by taxing increasingly the financial sector and financial transactions;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion~~; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to~~, in particular in the light of the events in Luxembourg; calls for a simple and transparent European tax system; draws the Commission’s attention once again to the need to introduce arrangements for shifting taxes from labour toand consumption to the financial sector, in which a large proportion of wealth has been concentrated to date;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud ~~and~~, tax evasion and to set up a list of tax paradises; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; ~~reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to consumption;~~urges the European Commission to review the legislation on audit companies.

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion as well as over-taxation; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to ~~shift taxes from labour to consumption~~reduce the role of labour taxation in their tax systems;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion and calls on the Member States to reach an agreement on the proposal on a common consolidated corporate tax basis as an important instrument in that fight; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to consumption and environmental taxes;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. having regard to the social and human toll and the poor economic results of the austerity policy within the Union;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. ~~Calls for urgent act~~Urges the Commission to be take~~n by the Commiss~~ urgent action to fight tax fraud and tax evasion; calls for a tax system that is harmonised, simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to c~~onsumption~~apital;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax dumping, tax fraud and tax evasion; calls for a swift adoption of an ambitious FTT with a broad tax basis, a mandatory CCCTB, country-by-country reporting, an obligation to disclose tax rulings, with a minimum tax rate, calls for a swift implementation of the recently agreed parent-subsidiary directive and for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to consumption; and socially and environmentally harmful activities;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to consumption; Notes, that the measures to fight tax fraud and tax evasion should not undermine the prerogatives of the Member States. Welcomes, however, effective cooperation of tax arrangements at the European level;

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls for urgent action to be taken by the Commission to fight tax fraud and tax evasion; calls for a tax system that is simple and transparent; reiterates its call on the Member States to shift taxes from labour to consumption and stresses that tax incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises to promote innovation continue to be of major importance;

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Believes that reforms in order to enhance the effectiveness of finance ministries in fighting against fiscal evasion and avoidance, as this is a constraint in the fiscal consolidation of some Member States.

Amendment 156 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Notes that high energy costs due to a lack of reforms and excessive subsidies are dragging down the economy in some Member States.

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

~~14. Believes that the Member States and the Commission have not yet delivered on their commitment to complete the single market, especially the single market for services and the digital economy;~~deleted

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Believes that the Member States and~~Criticises the fact that the Commission haves not yet delivered on their commitment to complete the single market, especially the single market for services and the digital economy;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that the Member States and the Commission have not yet delivered on their commitment to complete ~~the~~a well regulated single market, especially the single market for services and the digital economy;

Amendment 16 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas youth unemployment has to be addressed as a matter of priority, enhancing the current framework of cooperation between national authorities;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Reiterates its call on the Commission to improve the governance of the single market; urges the Commission to align the aims of the Single Market with those of the European Semester; believes that analytical tools, composed of indicators measuring the implementation of the single market,meditate the European Semester; believes that a thoughtful analysis of the effects of imposed austerity policies can provide useful guidance for country-specific recommendations and the Annual Growth Survey;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Reiterates its call on the Commission to improve the governance of the single market; ~~urges the Commission to align the aims of the Single Market with those of the European Semester; believes~~believes it important to review thate analytical tools~~, composed of indicators measuring the implementation of the single market, can provide useful guidance for country-specific recommendations and the Annual Growth Survey~~ used, which have proved inefficient and inaccurate, with continuous downward revisions;

Amendment 162 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Reiterates its call on the Commission to improve the governance of the single market; urges the Commission to ~~align the aims~~ensure consistency between the monitoring mechanism of the Single Market with those of the European Semester; believes that analytical tools, composed of indicators measuring the implementation of the single market, can provide useful guidance for country- specific recommendations and the Annual Growth Survey;

Amendment 163 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK, Michael THEURER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on the Commission, as guardian of the Treaty, to make full use of all measures provided for in EU law to support the enforcement of the implementation of the European Semester;

Amendment 164 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK, Michael THEURER, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Is concerned about protectionist tendencies in certain Member States; points out that the Treaty does not provide for the restriction of the free movement of people, services or capital, and recalls that the Commission must safeguard and enforce these freedoms;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

~~16. Underlines the fact that the absence of a well-functioning internal labour market and of a balanced approach to immigration is hampering growth in the EU;~~deleted

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the fact that the absence of a ~~well-~~functioning ~~internal~~European labour market ~~and of a balanced approach to immigration is hampering growth in the EU~~is one of the main causes of economic inefficiency in the EU and has severely undermined the European social model; points out that the social situation is further complicated by the lack of a joint approach to immigration; calls accordingly on the Commission to submit at the earliest opportunity a European plan for an integrated approach to immigration;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the fact that the absence of a well-functioning internal labour market ~~and of a balanced approach to immigration is hampering growth in the EU~~; reiterates the urgency of legalizing the administrative situation of current undocumented women and men who are living in and contributing to the European economy, providing cheap labour without the safety nets of the European Social Model;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the fact that the absence of a well-functioning internal labour market that maintains the integrity of the European social model and of a balanced approach to immigration is hampering growth in the EU;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Underlines the fact that the absence of a well-functioning internal labour market ~~and of a balanced approach to immigration~~ is hampering growth in the EU;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the response to the euro sovereign debt crisis and the revealed failure of the European institutional framework has been substantial, but not sufficient to give a strong enough momentum to the euro area economy in order to exit the recession it entered 6 years ago;

Amendment 170 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Underlines the importance of investing in the employability of female workers and young people, especially in the context of emerging technologies and new sectors, given that these sectors hold the potential for job creation

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Reiterates the importance of ~~ensuring labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectoral), enhanced labour pro~~labour market policies supporting collective bargaining and limiting the use of precarious work, preserving the necessary scope of work security, improved educati~~vity (connected with skills trainings to improve employability) and labour market flexibility, while preserving the necessary scope of work security~~on and training opportunities for workers (on and off the job), enhancing labour productivity, and ensuring opportunities for labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectorial);

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Reiterates the importance of ensuring ~~labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectoral), enhanced labour productivity (connected with skills trai~~a quality workforce within the EU and ensuring full respect for the right to health and safety at work; recalls also the urgent need to adapt legislation concernings t~~o improve employability) and labour market flexibility, while preserving the necessary scope of work security~~he posting of workers in order to put an end to the unacceptable practice of social dumping within the Union;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Reiterates the importance of ensuring labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectoral), and enhanced labour productivity (connected with skills trainings to improve employability) and ~~labour market flexibility, while preserving the necessary scope of work security;~~ of putting an end to the current process of internal devaluation and preserving the necessary scope of work security, so as not to undermine consumer confidence and expectations still further;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Reiterates the importance of ensuring labour mobility (both cross-border and cross- sectoral), enhanced labour productivity (connected with skills trainings to improve employability~~) and labour market flexibility,~~ while preserving the necessary scope of work security and social protection; reiterates that failure to set EU standards with regards to maternity rights hampers women's mobility as workers and urges the Member States to unblock the current deadlock on the Maternity Leave Directive;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Reiterates the importance of ensuring labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectoral), enhanced labour productivity (connected with skills trainings to improve employability) and labour market flexibility, while preserving the necessary scope of work security; stresses the importance of putting an end to social dumping within the EU in order to achieve an internal labour market which is fully functional and effective;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Reiterates the importance of ensuring labour mobility (both cross-border and cross-sectoral), enhanced labour productivity (connected with skills trainings to improve employability) and labour market flexibility, while preserving the necessary scope of work security; taking into account the growing number of young people who go to work to other places of the Union, legislative proposals should arise at the European level to enhance and make easier this mobility, particularly regarding social security and pension mobility.

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Calls for more determined action on fighting youth unemployment; urges Member States in this regard to use the available financial means, including those under the Youth Guarantee, more rapidly and efficiently

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas surplus countries should have taken much earlier symmetrical action to stimulate demand and ensure faster growth of nominal wages and prices; to respond to the revealed failure of the European institutional framework;

Amendment 180 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

Fiscal ~~responsibi~~politcy

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Welcomes the strong decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; notes that due to this fiscal improvement the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in the coming years; expresses its concern, however, about the still very high indebtedness of a number of Member States in the euro area, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial risk in case of possible future shocks;deleted

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Welcom~~Notes the strong decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; ~~notes that due to this fiscal improvement the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in the coming year~~draws attention to the fact that, in the countries in which public spending is being cut with the sole aim of coming within the limits set by the EU, consumption has fallen off, and this is having an adverse impact on GDP and on growth forecasts; expresses its concern~~, however,~~ about the still very high indebtedness in relation to GDP of a number of Member States in the euro area, which has been made worse by austerity policies and a deflationary spiral, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial sustainability risk in case of possible future shocks;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Welcomes the strong~~Notes the decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; notes that due to this fiscal improvement the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in the coming years; expresses its concern, however, about the still very high indebtedness of a number of Member States in the euro area, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial risk in case of possible future shocks. Expresses however concerns about the level of long-term unemployment which is still dangerously high (just above 5% of the labour force in the EU 28 corresponding to some 12 million people having been unemployed for a year or more);

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Welcomes the strong decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; is concerned, however, at the use of measures which, disregarding social aspects, were an attempt to extricate certain Member States from the excessive deficit procedure but which increased the burden on the poorest; notes that due to this fiscal improvement the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in the coming years; expresses its concern, however, about the still very high indebtedness of a number of Member States in the euro area, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial risk in case of possible future shocks;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Welcomes the strong decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; notes that due to this fiscal improvement the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in 2015; asks the cCom~~ing years~~mission to ensure that the EU fiscal stance is compatible with the required level of investment; expresses its concern, however, about the still very high indebtedness of a number of Member States in the euro area, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial risk in case of possible future shocks;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Welcomes the strong decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011; notes that ~~due to this fiscal improvement~~ the fiscal stance in the EU is now expected to remain broadly neutral in the coming years; expresses its concern, however, about growing inequalities, decrease in spending power and the still very high public and private indebtedness of a number of Member States in the euro area, a circumstance that not only hinders growth but also constitutes a substantial risk in case of possible future shocks and with regards to the long term negative impact on social cohesion; point-out that pro-cyclical policies over the years before and after the crisis have substantially worsened the debt sustainability of the public and private sectors in most Member States;

Amendment 187 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Refers to the ECB's repeated injunctions to the euro countries to achieve structural economic reform and steer inflation in right direction;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Draws attention to the need to reflect on the large number of countries that were under the excessive deficit procedure – 24 among 28, and note that the decrease in the number of countries under the excessive deficit procedure – down to 11 in 2014 from 24 in 2011 was not accompanied by an improvement in the performance of the economies that remain without growing, with high unemployment and some of them suffering deflationary processes;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission to a adopt a prudent and conservative interpretation of the growth indicators and to review the quality of economic forecasts as previous Commission forecasts have too often been revised downwards;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Notes that growth in 2014 is more broadly based; believes, however, that the recovery is still fragile and should be enhanced if it is to d~~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; believe~~r substantially more growth and jobs~~s, that urgent and additional and coordinated fiscal and monetary policies are required inf the ~~medium term~~purpose is to avoid a debt deflation trap;

Amendment 190 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission to urge Member States to introduce a guaranteed minimum wage in order to meet the Europe 2020 target for fighting poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. In light of those facts, urges the Commission to launch a process of reform of the Stability and Growth Pact in order to make it more adapted to the needs of economies and more oriented to growth and employment;

Amendment 192 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; i~~Invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to ~~consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private~~increase public investment and promote higher wages, with a view to stimulate public and private consumption and investment;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; invites Member States ~~with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment~~to switch the burden from labour to capital in order to stimulate job creation and economic recovery;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly~~Takes the view that Member States need to make growth the priority, ahead of fiscal consolidation; invites Member States ~~with sufficient fiscal space~~ to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment and growth;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Agrees with the Commission~~Notes that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; ~~invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space t~~Calls on the Commission to come up with concrete recommendations to the Member States, including those still under the economic adjustment programmes so that they do not only address fiscal consolidation but also econ~~sider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment~~omic growth, supported by sustainable and socially balanced structural reforms that lead to, quality employment creation, strengthened competitiveness and increasing convergence;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation~~; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment~~ by fully using the Communication of the Communication of 13 January 2015 on 'making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the stability and growth pact'; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to use it to enhance long-term growth;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States ~~need~~, would benefit if they choose to continue to pursue growth- friendly fiscal consolidation~~; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment;~~.

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider ~~reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to~~ stimulating private and public investment;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; ~~invit~~urges Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment and boosting labour supply;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)

- having regard the Communication of the Communication of 13 January 2015 on 'making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the stability and growth pact' (COM(2015) 12),

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that growth in 2014 is more broadly based; ~~believes, however~~Points out, that the recovery is still fragile ~~and should be enhanced if it is to deliver substantially more~~or problematic and it has clearly failed to deliver growth and jobs in the medium term;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment; as well as to tackle all kind of fiscal and social fraud in an appropriate way.

Amendment 202 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK, Michael THEURER, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that most Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment; stresses the fact that special emphasis should be placed on growth-enhancing reforms and policies;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Agrees with the Commission that ~~most~~ Member States need to continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating private investment;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Agrees with the Commission~~Points out that most Member States need to ~~continue to pursue growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider reducing taxes and social security contributions with a view to stimulating~~implement a long-term strategy for a growth-friendly and counter-cyclical fiscal policy; invites Member States with sufficient fiscal space to consider adopting measures for increasing both public and private investments;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Observes that the active intervention of the ECB is resulting in artificially low interest rates on government bonds; urges all Member States to make good use of the time it has thus given them to effect structural reforms;

Amendment 206 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Notes the excessively high public debt levels, particularly in the euro area; urges Member States and the Commission to address the debt overhang by establishing a European debt redemption fund based on conditionality combining structural reforms with fiscal incentives; points out that such a debt redemption fund needs to go hand in hand with an insolvency procedure for sovereigns safeguarding market discipline;

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Commission to avoid promoting double-standards when it calls for the need to invest in growth by imposing as a precondition for a "growth- friendly fiscal consolidation" the existence of fiscal room of manoeuvre; stresses that back-loading of fiscal consolidation must still be taken into account as it could leave more room for counter-cyclical investments;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Notes that where financial consolidation has taken place, private investments have increased because of higher credibility and lower interest rates, while where governments have tried to stimulate the economy through deficits and increased public spending, investments have fallen and unemployment risen;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’' draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; ~~insists on the~~asks for a strict application of fiscal rules ~~and on~~, with adequate flexibility towards (productive) government investment as one of the components of the effort to re-launch the economy, and for respect for the equal treatment principle;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that growth ~~in 2014 is more broadly based; believes, however, that the recovery is still fragile and should be enhanced if it is to deliver substantially more growth and jobs in the medium term~~did not materialise in 2014; believes, however, that if substantially more growth and jobs are to be delivered in the medium term expansionary fiscal policies need to be introduced in the Member States hardest hit by the crisis;

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’' draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance~~; insists on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principl~~ and provide a long-term vision for more Europe, which would address immediate challenges and national shortcomings; Points out that the right political and social environment needs first to be created for investments which will then lead to growth in Europe;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’ draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; without, however, insistsing on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principle, so as to leave room for targeted investment and tax cuts that will boost domestic demand;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’ draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; insists on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principle; voices its concern over the fact that the Commission, in its most recent examination of Member States’ budgetary plans, departed from this principle in the case of three Member States, once again granting them additional time;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’' draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at fostering sustainable finance~~; insists on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principle~~ to meet real needs for an inclusive and sustainable society and that gender budgeting tools are applied in conformity with the EU's objective on gender equality and gender mainstreaming of all policies including budgetary policies; calls the Commission to take full account of the current serious economic downturn when updating its CSRs;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’ draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; insists on the ~~strict application of fiscal rules~~importance of applying fiscal rules, including by using existing flexibility and on the respect for the equal treatment principle;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’ draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; insists on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principle; is concerned, however, that the Commission decided permitted additional time for certain member states to further examine their draft budgetary plans;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Notes the Commission assessment of the Member States’ draft budgetary plans; stresses that the examination of draft budgetary plans should aim at sustainable finance; suggests however that the Commission should take note and respond to fallacies in the calculation of some key economic indicators; insists on the strict application of fiscal rules and on respect for the equal treatment principle;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. ~~Is concerned~~Notes that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP);

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. ~~Is concerned~~Notes that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), which shows how ineffective and difficult to apply these measures are;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that growth ~~in 2014 is more broadly based; believes, however,~~has remained weak in 2014; believes that the recovery is still fragile and should be enhanced if it is to deliver substantially more growth and jobs in the medium term;

Amendment 220 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. ~~Is concerned~~Takes note that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP); underlines that in the current severe economic downturn excessive austerity measures are self- defeating and worsen overall debt ratios given their large negative effect of nominal GDP growth;

Amendment 221 #

Pervenche BERÈS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Is concerned ~~that only five Member States~~by the fact that there were only five Member States that presented draft budgetary plans which were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) according to the Commission's forecasts;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Is concerned that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) which questions again the reasonableness of the stability pact rules;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Is concerned that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP); insists that the PSC was developed by consensus among the EU Member States and that all parties are therefore obliged to respect it fully and completely;

Amendment 224 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Is concerned that only five Member States were found to be fully compliant with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), underlines that all Member States, independent of size, must adhere to it, with the risk of otherwise undermining economic stability and growth not only for themselves but for the whole Union;

Amendment 225 #

Richard CORBETT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Underlines that the worst form of austerity is when governments have to spend a high proportion of their expenditure on servicing their debt instead of on public services and investments; accepts therefore that deficit reduction in highly indebted countries remains necessary, but such fiscal consolidation must take place in a way that protects vulnerable users of public services, protects public investment and raises revenue in an equitable way;

Amendment 226 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK, Michael THEURER, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

Strengthened coordination of national ~~policies~~and international policies, and improved democratic accountability

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Welcomes~~Is concerned about the Alert Mechanism Report~~; welcomes the gradual reduction of internal imbalances in the EU economy; draws attention to the external imbalances, including the large trade surplus~~ and the effect it will have in perpetuating austerity and prevent member states to choose their own development policies;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Alert Mechanism Report; ~~welcomes the gradual reduction of~~points to the need for internal imbalances in the EU economy to be reduced; draws attention to the external imbalances, including ~~the~~Germany’s large trade surpluses;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the Alert Mechanism Report; welcomes the gradual reduction of internal imbalances in the EU economy; draws attention to the external imbalances ~~including the large trade surpluses~~;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Notes that growth in 2014 is more broadly based than in previous years; believes, however, that the recovery is still fragile and should be enhanced if it is to deliver substantially more growth and jobs in the medium term;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the Alert Mechanism Report; welcomes the gradual reduction of internal imbalances in the EU economy; draws attention to the external imbalances, including the large trade surpluses; urges Member States with no or limited imbalances to increase their efforts to reach more difficult targets such as the reduction of poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Amendment 231 #

Ernest URTASUN, Ernest URTASUN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the Alert Mechanism Report; welcomes the gradual reduction of internal imbalances in the EU economy; draws attention to the external imbalances, including the large trade surpluses; Underlines, that the Commission should apply a symmetrical treatment between countries with a current account surplus and those with a deficit;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. ~~Welcomes the~~Takes note of the latest Alert Mechanism Report; ~~welcomes the gradual reduction of internal imbalances in the EU economy; draws attention to the external imbalances, including the large trade surpluse~~draws attention to the internal and external imbalances, including the large trade surpluses; recalls its repeated requests to enrich the scoreboard of macroeconomic imbalances with social indicators and indicators on resource efficiency; calls for a symmetric rationale regarding current account imbalances and recalls its demand for the integration in the scoreboard of an indicator of unit capital costs;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Welcomes the Alert Mechanism Report; welcomes the gradual reduction of internal imbalances in the EU economy and calls on the Commission to enhance coordination to avoid an asymmetric policy response of member states; draws attention to the external imbalances, including the large trade surpluses;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 235 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)

22a. Emphasises that current account surpluses do not present the same major risks as deficits, and calls for due account to be taken of this when macroeconomic imbalances are being assessed;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Points out that the objective of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure is not only meant to avoid strong negative effects on growth and employment inside a country, but also to prevent the effects of ill-designed national policies from spilling over into other Member States in the euro area;deleted

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

Amendment 238 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Michael THEURER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Notes the announcement of the December 2014 European Council to move the debate on closer coordination of economic policies in the EMU forward in 2015, through the four Presidents' report; in this context, highlights the need to streamline existing procedures of the European Semester, including its timetable, and to increase the involvement of national parliaments, with a view to strengthening national ownership of structural reforms.

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal on the single external representation of the euro area based on Article 138 TFEU;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notes that the challenge today is to address both cyclical, short-term as well as long-term problems; underlines that short-run pressures can lead to measures of a transitory nature which could undermine the long-term capacity to grow; underlines the need to ensure that short and long-term policies reinforce one another

Amendment 240 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Stresses that the European Semester must in no way jeopardise the role of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments; urges the Commission to ensure the proper formal involvement of the European Parliament in all the steps of the European Semester process in order to strengthen democratic accountability to the European Parliament;

Amendment 241 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Petr JEŽEK, Michael THEURER, Marian HARKIN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)

23b. Reiterates its view that the current economic governance framework is lacking sufficient democratic accountability in the application of its rules and of the institutions and bodies involved; calls on the Commission to make the necessary proposals to address the lack of proper democratic accountability in EU economic governance;

Amendment 25 #

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Notices that the Annual Growth Survey 2015 does not satisfactorily address the underlying reasons for economic stagnation in the euro area;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcomes~~Regret that the Commission’'s Annual Growth Survey 2015, ~~which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; support~~did not focus its analysis of the true causes of the crisis; questions the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members Statesrecovery;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, ~~which endeavours~~but does not believe that enough has been done to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; ~~supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment,~~calls for a clear break with the approach based on accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States, which has shown itself to be totally bankrupt and counter-productive;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the Commission’'s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery~~; supports the~~ under three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) ~~as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes~~; takes note of the Commission’'s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, ~~considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;~~including more and better consultation with national stakeholders, particularly civil society; calls for the adoption of guidelines to ensure genuine accountability and meaningful dialogue with civil society organisations and trade unions, making national and European Parliament equal partners

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures ~~and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;~~.

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the ~~economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 but has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even better in~~Commission did not anticipate the significant decrease of inflation and the slowdown of the economic recovery in the EU in the course of 20164;

Amendment 30 #

Nils TORVALDS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only ~~10-15~~around 9 % of the Country Specific Recommendations ~~are~~have been fully implemented by the Members States; in 2013; calls on the Commission to come forward rapidly with robust data for the implementation of CSRs in 2014;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’'s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; ~~welcome~~Supports the Commission’'s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms which take account of social aspects and pursuing responsible growth -friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcom~~Notes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals and thus should be better reflected in the adopted Country Specific Recommendations; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;

Amendment 35 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Welcomes the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which endeavours to promote a return to higher growth levels and to strengthen the recovery; supports the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friendly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve these goals; welcomes the Commission’s suggestions for improving the European Semester by simplifying procedures and increasing national ownership as needed, while also facilitating a more meaningful horizontal exchange, considering that only 10-15 % of the Country Specific Recommendations are fully implemented by the Members States;

Amendment 36 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Highlights the importance and added value of the Single Market integration reports in the previous years, contributing to the overall priorities set in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey and the identification of country-specific recommendations in the context of the European semester; finds it therefore most deplorable that the Single Market Integration report has been omitted for 2015;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Believes that there should be a role foreseen for the European Court of Justice in EMU in case a Member State does not respect the rules, which would allow a Member State taking another Member State to court over the non- compliance with the rules;

Amendment 38 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses concern that most Member States are still losing market shares globally and have a growing negative net international investment position; believes that the EU economy as a whole needs to boost its competitiveness further in the global economy, particularly by increasing competition in the product and services markets in order to enhance innovation-dRegret that the Commission's Annual Growth Survey 2015, did not focus its analysis of the true causes of the crisis; questions the three main pillars approach (boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and pursuing responsible growth friven ~~efficiency, while keeping labour costs in line with productivit~~dly fiscal consolidation) as the right way to achieve recovery;

Amendment 39 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses concern that almost all Member States are still losing market shares globally and have a ~~growing~~large negative net international investment position; believes that the EU economy as a whole needs to boost its competitiveness further in the global economy, particularly by increasing competition in the product and services markets in order to enhance innovation-driven efficiency, while keeping labour costs in line with productivityfocus on development and on boosting markets and domestic consumption;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 ~~but has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even better in 2016;~~

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Expresses concern that most Member States are still losing market shares globally and have a growing negative net international investment position; believes that the EU economy as a whole needs to boost its competitiveness further in the global economy, particularly by increasing competition in the product and services markets in order to enhance innovation- driven efficiency, while keeping labour costs in line with productivity whilst acknowledging the contributions that wages make to sustaining social security systems ;

Amendment 44 #

Dariusz ROSATI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Takes note of the Commission's communication on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact which strengthens the link between structural reforms, investment and fiscal responsibility making the best use of the flexibility which exists within its rules.

Amendment 45 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Welcomes the proposal by the Commission to streamline and reinforce the European Semester in order to increase political ownership, accountability and acceptance of the process. Points out, however, that the Commission should not carry forward one-size fits all approaches that quickly become economically and socially counter-productive;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by ~~low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of~~excessive austerity biased policies, and lack of aggregate (public and private) demand;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by ~~low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand~~the little progress made within the Council on fiscal union, eurobonds and revising the Treaties to allow the expansionary fiscal policies required to encourage private investment;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by low confidence, high indebtedness, ~~slow deleveraging~~the risk-aversion of the private sector, the absence of measures to encourage productive public investments and subdued expectations of demand;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging ~~and~~, subdued expectations of demand and a lack of appropriate financing capacity;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas ~~the economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 but has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even better~~in 2014 there was no sign of an economic recovery and social disparities grew; whereas, furthermore, there are serious doubts about the capacity for growth in 20165;

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand; as well as difficult access to financing.

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by low confidence, high indebtedness, fragmentation of the financial markets, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by excessive fiscal consolidation, low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging ~~and~~, subdued expectations of demand and the fact that in many cases the Member States fail to take proper action against these factors;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by ~~low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand~~a multiplicity of interwoven factors including inter alia cyclical patterns such as low confidence, excessive austerity, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand as well as structural patterns such as the financialization of the economy;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the lack of investment is caused by a lack of competitiveness, low confidence, high indebtedness, slow deleveraging and subdued expectations of demand;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses that the Stability and Growth Pact rules requiring appropriate deficit to GDP measures made governments reduce investment commitments rather than cutting recurrent expenditures; recommends therefore the technical assessment of SGP rules in order to give greater incentives to public investment decisions. Considers the Communication of the Commission on 'making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the Stability and Growth Pact', as a first step into the right direction.

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines that the investment gap can only be bridged by significantly higher levels of investments in private companies and in European business, calls for reforms facilitating a new entrepreneurial climate stimulating new business, new investments and innovations, with the possible returns on investments as a crucial factor for attracting financial capital to the European economy;

Amendment 58 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Stresses that increased financing of investments calls for a well-functioning financial system where increased stability and existing cross border institutions can facilitate liquidity and market making, especially for small and medium sized enterprises, underlines that reforms regarding banking structure must not hamper liquidity making;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcomes~~Expresses its concern about the Iinvestment Pplan ~~for Europe, which is an important instrument for increasing private and publ~~of President Junker, in particular regarding the assumptions under which the creation of the European Fund for Strategic iInvestment~~; notes that the~~ (EFSI) is built. This plan, is ~~meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidence;~~ insufficient, and does not contain a single cent of fresh money and is based on an exercise of creative accounting and financial engineering without any credible basis.

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 ~~but has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even better in 2016~~and there is great uncertainty about economic recovery in the EU despite the substantial fall in oil prices;

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the Investment Plan for Europe, which is an important instrument for increasing private and public investment; notes that the plan is meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidenceCriticises the fact that the Investment Plan for Europe presented by the Juncker Commission is by no means an effective instrument for increasing private and public investment and making a significant contribution to growth; the plan falls far short of what is needed to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidence and is too heavily focused on major projects that will not boost employment and alleviate poverty;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcomes~~Notes that the Investment Plan for Europe~~, which is an important instrument for increasing private and public investment; not~~ might trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and increase confidence. However, it is far too early to meaningfully assess th~~at the plan is meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract in~~e actual impact of the plan. Warns that boosting investment should not be seen as an alternatives to~~rs and restore confidence;~~ reforms

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcom~~Notes with interest the Investment Plan for Europe, which is an important instrument for increasing private and public investment; notes that the plan is meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidence;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the Investment Plan for Europe~~, which is~~ and i~~mportant instrument for~~ts aim of increasing private and public investment; notes that the plan is meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidence; is concerned by the content of the legislative proposals for delivering the outlined plan and establishing the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) as it shifts and repackages already foreseen EU funds under unrealistic leverage assumptions and raises serious concerns regarding the democratic accountability as funds are shifted from democratically controlled EU programmes to a less accountable mechanism

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Welcomes the Investment Plan for Europe, which is an important instrument for increasing private and public investment; notes that the plan is meant to trigger additional investment, develop new projects, attract investors and restore confidence; underlines the need for appropriate targeted resources from Member States and the importance of the flexibility clause thereto. Believes that the EU investment plan should focus in the first place on projects with a European added value which are not eligible for banking finance yet.

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that the implementation of the Commission investment plan is key in order for it to carry the desired added value; emphasises that the investment projects need to be carefully selected to avoid the plan failing to deliver sustainable jobs and growth in Europe; reminds that the results of the Commission investment plan should be rigorously judged, especially on how the investment fund will select and prioritise projects, and avoid privatising profits or nationalising losses;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Stresses the interdependence between the lever of the Investment Plan and the actual projects being undertaken; underlines that the aim of achieving a high lever should not come at the expense of the project selection, including their geographic location

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 ~~but has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even better in 2016~~, whereas most recent forecasts foresee a high risk of deflation for the euro area as a whole for the next quarters;

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Underlines the need to specifying in the legal texts to be adopted under the ordinary procedure a high quality governance and selection process as well as a democratically accountable monitoring and evaluation framework underpinning the EFSI;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that the Member States in the adjustment programme expect the Investment Plan significantly to enhance and to facilitate grants and loans for small and medium-sized businesses, which have borne the brunt of the crisis;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Believes that the investment plan should not be used to spend taxpayers money in projects with no-economic return or without a positive cost-benefit analysis. The model settled by TEN-T networks in Transport and Energy should be swiftly extended and replicated in order to invest in projects with real European added value.

Amendment 73 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Calls~~ Questions the ~~Members States actively to support the Investment Pl~~principle of using public money to leverage an,d a~~nd to contribute to the European Fund for Strategic Investment, supplementing the amounts provided through the EU budget and by the EIB, in order to gu~~ttract additional private capital and draws attention to not feed the illusory idea a~~nd encourage the private sector to invest; welcomes the principle of using public money to leverage and attract additional private capital;~~ccording to which the creation of a climate of trust alone will be enough to resuscitate private investment.

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Members States actively to support the Investment Plan, and to contribute to the European Fund for Strategic Investment, supplementing the amounts provided through the EU budget and by the EIB, in order to guide and encourage the private sector to invest; ~~welcomes the principle of using public money to leverage and attract additional private capital~~stresses that once again public capital is being used to offset the risk-aversion of the private sector by taking on the role of venture capital; recalls in this respect the very mixed results of the TLTRO operation launched by the ECB in 2014;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Members States actively to support the Investment Plan, and to contribute to the European Fund for Strategic Investment, supplementing the amounts provided through the EU budget and by the EIB, in order to guide and encourage the private sector to invest; welcomes the principle of using public money to leverage and attract additional private capital; encourages Member States and the Task Force to maintain an adequate balance in the number of private and public projects included into the pipeline, stresses in that respect the importance of the criterion concerning the projects' potential for leverage of other sources of funding;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls especially on those Members States with a high surplus, to actively to support the Investment Plan, and to contribute to the European Fund for Strategic Investment, supplementing the amounts provided through the EU budget and by the EIB, in order to guide and encourage the private sector to invest; welcomes the principle of using public money to leverage and attract additional private capital;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Members States actively to support the Investment Plan, and to contribute to the European Fund for Strategic Investment, supplementing the amounts provided through the EU budget and by the EIB, in order to guide and encourage the private sector to invest; ~~welcomes the principle of using~~points out that the use of public money to leverage and attract additional private capital needs to be strictly limited to providing financing for projects delivering high social and environmental returns in a measurable way and hence avoid crowding-out and reshuffling effects; emphasizes the need to take explicit account of the employment potential of the projects selected in Member States experiencing high rates of unemployment;

Amendment 8 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the economic recovery in the EU slowed down considerably in the course of 2014 but, according to the European Commission, has a prospect of catching up in 2015 and of doing even better in 2016;

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Underlines that Member States must ringfence their investment funds in their national budgets in order to take part in the European Strategic Investment Fund. Stresses that it is important that the European funds will lead to additional investment, not just replacing national investment funds that would go to consumption;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Emphasises that whilst well-targeted public investment is necessary for example to improve education standards and develop infrastructure where needed, long-term growth is not achieved by only increasing public expenditure which would necessitate increasing the tax burden on already hard-pressed individuals and businesses or by making more debts which affects the financial fragility of already highly indebted MS;

Amendment 82 #

Pervenche BERÈS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Is strongly convinced that the EU needs to strengthen the visibility on the carbon price to boost public and private investment;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Emphasises that all the measures based on the Fund must serve to bring about a real increase in the level of investment and not merely to substitute co-financed European projects for nationally financed ones;

Amendment 84 #

Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN, Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Michael THEURER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Insists in this respect on the establishment of a favourable climate for the development of public- sector investment; wishes in particular the neutralisation in calculations of the debt and deficits of public-sector investments made by public-sector operators of the Member States, in particular in view of the impact of the new accounting standards SEC2010 on the investment capacity of some public authorities; calls therefore for the European Central Bank to take appropriate decisions in this connection;

Amendment 85 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes the importance of investment in in broadband networks in achieving priority goals and objectives in the key area of the digital market; recommends devoting a substantial part of the Investment Plan to targeted and strategic investments in the digital sector;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Points out that the effectiveness of additional investment is dependent on the competitiveness and efficiency of a country's economy and on investors' confidence in the sustainability of a country's public finances, and therefore believes that a country should only be eligible to receive funds under the European Fund for Strategic Investment if the Commission in its assessment of Member States' Draft Budgetary Plans deems that: i. the country is in compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact or the Excessive Deficit Procedure recommendations; and ii. the country has made sufficient progress in the implementation of its Country-Specific Recommendations.

Amendment 87 #

Nils TORVALDS, Philippe DE BACKER, Sylvie GOULARD, Cora van NIEUWENHUIZEN, Petr JEŽEK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Underlines that the Investment Plan for Europe will not work without the availability of commercial investment and projects able to attract capital by offering return on investments;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Stresses that there should be a special regime for SME:s to the Investment Fund in order to create a level-playing field as SME:s easily are put into disadvantage due to their size and market position.

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Stresses~~Criticises the fact that a lack of access to finance, ~~particularly~~above all for SMEs, is one of the greatest obstacles to growth in the EU; ~~believes that alternative~~deplores the fact that the funds tohe bank ~~financing are needed, especially by improving the business environment for venture capital, but also, more broadly, by improving the efficient allocation of capital through capital markets~~s have received from the ECB have not been invested in the real economy, which has resulted in lending being choked off, and that the terms which the ECB has imposed on the banks are unnecessarily penalising the traditional banking system;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas after five years of the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, the euro area is still facing record unemployment levels over 12%; whereas weak growth has compounded disinflationary trends;

Amendment 90 #

Zigmantas BALČYTIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that ~~a lack of~~ access to finance, particularly for SMEs, is one of the greatest obstacles to growth in the EU; considers it deplorable that, at a time of continuing recession, the banks have tightened up their business lending to SMEs; believes that alternatives to bank financing are needed, especially by improving the business environment for venture capital, but also, more broadly, by improving the efficient allocation of capital through capital markets;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that a lack of access to finance, particularly for SMEs, is one of the greatest obstacles to growth in the EU; believes that alternatives to bank financing are needed, especially by improving ~~the~~a well regulated business environment for venture capital, but also, more broadly, by ~~improv~~creating the conditions for an efficient allocation of capital through capital markets;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that a lack of access to finance, particularly for SMEs, is one of the greatest obstacles to growth in the EU; believes that alternatives to bank financing are needed, especially by improving the business environment for venture capital, but also, more broadly, by improving the efficient allocation of capital through capital markets; deepening of the single market for capital markets is fundamental to achieve these objectives in the short and medium term.

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Stresses that a lack of access to finance, particularly for SMEs, is one of the greatest obstacles to growth in the EU; believes that alternatives to bank financing are needed, especially by improving the business environment for venture capital and peer to peer funds, but also, more broadly, by improving the efficient allocation of capital through capital markets; calls on the Commission in this respect to prioritise work on alternative sources of financing for SMEs, in particular through private sources;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Supports the Commission’s moves to continue building a single capital market;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes in this context the importance of promoting alternative forms of lending to SMEs, such as credit unions;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that the financial system of today, and its institutions, will be crucial for investment and growth in the European economy for a foreseeable time. It is characterised by an increased security and stability through new legislation, higher capital requirements and better supervision, the systemic risks must not be forced out of this framework to shadow institutions with less supervision and weaker rules for stability, the existing banks and credit institutions will be crucial for the development of a Capital Markets Union;

Amendment 97 #

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

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 99 #

Ernest URTASUN, Ernest URTASUN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Is still concerned about the lack of progress in reducing excessive private debt levels; points out that this is not only a concern for financial stability, as it also limits the EU’'s growth potential and makes the ECB’'s monetary policy less effective; calls on the Commission to make further proposals for ~~the preparation of effective procedures for private sector deleveraging~~facilitating the deleveraging of excessive indebted sectors while fostering a fair and transparent burden sharing of costs , including harmonized bankruptcy and insolvency procedures, as the huge debt burden weighing on companies and households is one of the key factors limiting private investment; reiterates the need to implement the Commission's recommendation to ensure access to a basic and affordable bank accounts for all.

source: 546.670

2015/01/26 BUDG 49 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Emphasises that the principle of budgetary accuracy in public accounts shall govern the drawing up of national budgets and the EU budget so as to ensure convergence and stability in the EU; is convinced that said accuracy is one factor in the response to the crisis of confidence existing between the Member States and between said Member States and the citizens of the European Union, a loss of confidence which has increased since the recent financial crisis struck;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls for the mid-term review of the MFF to identify better the value added by EU funding to the goals of competitiveness, growth, employment and energy transition set by the European Union; calls on the Commission to adopt a clearer methodology for better tracing the EU funds expenditures related to Europe 2020 goals in order to allow for improved impact assessments; also demands more transparency in the Member States' and Commission's publishing of the use of EU funding data, in order to enhance accountability;

Amendment 11 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls for the mid-term review of the MFF to identify better the value added by EU funding to the goals of competitiveness, growth, employment and energy transition set by the European Union; calls on the Commission to embed this in a broad view on how public investments, national en European, effectively contribute to these goals;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls for the ~~mid-term~~post electoral reviewsion of the MFF to ~~identify better~~enhance the value added by EU funding to the goals of competitiveness, growth, employment and energy transition set by the European Union;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls for the mid-term review of the MFF to ~~identify better~~analyse and take due account of the value added by EU funding to the goals of competitiveness, growth, employment and energy transition set by the European Union;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Welcomes the Commission's commitment to streamline the European Semester through a comprehensive single economic assessment per Member State and streamlined reporting; calls on the assessment to emphasise the need to use funds from the EU Budget to implement Country Specific Recommendations and stresses the need for enhancing Member States' ownership of the European Semester;

Amendment 15 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls once more on the Council to agree with Parliament and the Commission on a common method for assessing real payment needs in accordance with commitments made by the two arms of the budgetary authority; furthermore calls on the Commission to report on the potential impact that delayed payments issue would have on the commitments taken by Member States in the context of the European Semester;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls once more on the Council to agree with Parliament and the Commission on a common method for assessing real payment needs in accordance with commitments made by the two arms of the budgetary authority; underlines that de- commitment is not a solution to the payment crisis;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls once more on the Council to agree with Parliament and the Commission on a ~~common~~ method for ~~assessing real~~calculating the level of payments ne~~eds in accordance with~~cessary to cover the real needs commitments made by the two arms of the budgetary authority;

Amendment 18 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. CNotes that the Council systematically underestimates real payment needs, thereby creating the first stage in the payments crisis process; calls once more on the Council to agree with Parliament and the Commission on a common method for assessing real payment needs in ~~accordance wi~~order to meet the commitments made by the two arms of the budgetary authority;

Amendment 19 #

Zigmantas BALČYTIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Notes that in many Member States public administration has to date not been made more efficient, even though improvements in that area would serve to achieve savings by rationalising organisation and cutting red tape for businesses and citizens;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for greater uniformity in the presentation of public accounts so as to facilitate comparisons; calls in particular for the way in which Member States enter their contributions to the EU budget in their accounts to be standardised; is of the opinion that any operating expenses financed by borrowing ought to be shown as a separate figure which is added to investment expenditure when calculating the deficit;

Amendment 20 #

Flavio ZANONATO, Daniele VIOTTI, Pina PICIERNO, Pier Antonio PANZERI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Council and the Commission to undertake, together with Parliament, a draft revision of the current budgetary procedure so as to consolidate the role of the two branches of the budgetary authority and the executive role of the Commission;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

Amendment 22 #

Jean-Paul DENANOT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

Amendment 23 #

Jean ARTHUIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Regrets once again that Member States persist in viewing their contribution to the EU budget as an adjustment variable in their consolidation efforts, which in turn leads to an artificial reduction in the volume of payments available in the EU budget; proposes therefore that when examining national budgets, the Commission shall enter in the calculations of deficits each countryʼ’s share of unpaid invoices in order to draw attention to the true state of affairs concerning liabilities attributable to each Member State; stresses that this would be in line with the flexibility advocated in the Commission communication of 13 January, which offers favourable treatment for national contributions to the strategic investment fund; points out that the credibility of this fund is based on the solidity of the EU budget, and consequently on a reduction in the number of unpaid invoices;

Amendment 24 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. RNotes that the MFF is designed with a system of multiple ceilings to give it stability and predictability over the whole of the programming period; regrets once again that Member States persist in viewing their contribution to the EU budget as something which can be used as an adjustment variable in their consolidation efforts, which in turn leads to an artificial reduction in the volume of payments available in the EU budget; proposes therefore that when examining national budgets, the Commission shall enter in the calculations of deficits each countryʼs share of unpaid invoices in order to draw attention to the true state of affairs concerning liabilities attributable to each Member State;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Regrets once again that Member States persist in viewing their contribution to the EU budget as an adjustment variable in their consolidation efforts, which in turn leads to an artificial reduction in the volume of payments available in the EU budget~~; proposes therefore~~ and thus the implementation of important projects in favour of growth and jobs in the whole EU; recalls that wthen examining national budgets, the Commission shall enter in the calculations of deficits each country’s share of unpaid invoices in order to draw attention to the true state of affairs concerning liabilities attributable to each Member State; EU budget is an investment budget and invites therefore the European Commission to consider that GNI based national contributions to the EU budget are to be covered by the "investment clause" as interpreted by the Commission in its recent Communication on "making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the stability and growth pact " (COM 2015 -12 final) ; calls in that respect for the way in which Member States enter their contributions to the EU budget in their national budgets to be standardised;

Amendment 26 #

Amendment 27 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point a (new)

(a) Very much welcomes the interpretation of the ´´investment clause" put forward by the Commission in its recent Communication on "making the best use of the flexibility within the existing rules of the stability and growth pact " (COM 2015 -12 final); welcomes in particular the fact that national expenditures on project co -funded by some EU key programmes to foster growth and jobs will fall under "the investment clause", but highlights that this clause will only have real economic effects if and only if the EU budget is sufficiently equipped in payment appropriations to pay the bills linked to the implementation of these projects;

Amendment 29 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point b (new)

(b) Welcomes the fact that the Commission has underlined the economic significance of the European Structural and Investments Funds ( including the youth employment initiative) in its Annual Growth Survey 2015; recalls that these funds represent 10 % of total public investment on average in the EU but that the situation varies across countries and that in some countries, they can represent as much as 80 % of the public investment; emphasises that Structural and Investment funds constitute a good example of the synergy between the European budget and the national budgets on the basis of commonly agreed objectives enshrined in partnership agreements on growth and investment according to EUROPE 2020 Strategy; supports every effort in the direction of an intelligent pooling of European and national budgetary means in order to achieve efficiency gains, economic stimulation and lower national deficits thanks to a positive effect of shared resources;

Amendment 3 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls for greater uniformity in the presentation of public accounts so as to facilitate comparisons and prevent excessive macro-economic imbalances; calls in particular for the way in which Member States enter their contributions to the EU budget in their accounts to be standardised; is of the opinion that any operating expenses financed by borrowing ought to be shown as a separate figure which is added to investment expenditure when calculating the deficit;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point c (new)

(c) Recalls that the existing system of own resources is complex, unfair and incomprehensible to citizens; underlines that the fiscal situation of Member States can be eased through a new system of own resources that will reduce GNI contributions, thus enabling Member States to meet their consolidation efforts without jeopardizing EU funding; stresses, therefore, the importance it attaches to the high level group on own resources and supports the debate on a new own resources system, which should lead to a true reform of EU financing, without increasing the taxation burden on citizens;

Amendment 31 #

Jean-Paul DENANOT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Highlights the urgent need to tackle effectively the tax fraud which is potentially depriving the EU budget of substantial resources;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the EUR 315 billion investment plan presented by Commission President Mr Juncker to offset on the one hand the deficit in public and private investment brought about by fiscal consolidation efforts, and to stimulate economic activity on the other; calls on the Commission to present a report on the impact of redeploying funds from EU programmes such as Connecting Europe Facility and Horizon 2020 on the potential beneficiaries of those funds by assessing the number of beneficiaries affected and economic impact;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Welcomes~~Notes that the EUR 315 billion investment plan presented by Commission President Mr Juncker ~~to offset on the one hand~~falls far short of what is required to offset the deficit in public and private investment brought about by fiscal consolidation efforts, and ~~to stimulate economic activity on the other~~cannot possibly restore confidence, stimulate economic growth or reinvigorate employment and investment in Europe;

Amendment 34 #

Jean-Paul DENANOT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the EUR 315 billion investment plan presented by Commission President Mr Juncker to offset on the one hand the deficit in public and private investment brought about by fiscal consolidation efforts, and to stimulate economic activity on the other; questions, nevertheless, the 1:15 multiplier proposed by the Commission, and calls for the EIB to be asked to do more to make the plan credible;

Amendment 35 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. Welcomes the EUR 315 billion investment plan presented by Commission President Mr Juncker as the first step to offset on the one hand the deficit in public and private investment brought about by ~~fiscal consolidation efforts, and to stimulate economic activity on the other;~~the reduction of public spending in a context of economic crises, and to stimulate growth and job creation on the other; fears, however, that this plan will not be able to target some specific investments needed to foster the EUROPE 2020 Strategy (e.g. energy efficiency, education, public infrastructure)

Amendment 37 #

Flavio ZANONATO, Daniele VIOTTI, Pina PICIERNO, Pier Antonio PANZERI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Hopes that, following the presentation of the report by Mr Monti's High Level Group on Own Resources, the Council, Parliament and the Commission will, without delay, take steps to introduce and implement a system of EU own resources designed - in the long term - to replace current national contributions;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Considers that shifting the Union to a more sustainable and socially inclusive economic model requires additional EU public investment, which is the only way in which projects having an immediate benefit for its citizens can be financed over the longer term;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Believes that, given the exacerbation of economic differences between Europe’s regions since the beginning of the economic crisis, the European Strategic Investment Fund should be able to prioritise regions in crisis for part of its funding;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to offset any democratic deficit in the semester by means of the package of measures announced for 2015 on deepening economic and monetary union; reiterates its demand that any additional funding or instruments, such as a solidarity mechanism, shall fall within the scope of Parliamentʼs budgetary oversight;deleted

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11c. Notes that in December 2014 the eurozone was in deflation for the first time since October 2009; considers that it is now more urgent than ever to give back to the Member States the fiscal leeway needed to stimulate economic activity; proposes extending the flexibilities in the stability pact suggested by the Commission in January 2015 by not including contributions to the structural funds and national contributions to the EU budget in public deficit calculations;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Confirms its willingness to examine with the utmost vigilance how financial commitments by the EU and the EIB to the European Strategic Investment Fund are entered in the budget and in the 2015 budget in particular; draws the attention in this respect that the EFSI should finance projects with equal or greater value than the one that would have been financed through the EU programmes from which funds are being drawn in order to set up the EU guarantee for the EFSI;

Amendment 42 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Confirms its willingness to examine with the utmost vigilance how financial commitments by the EU ~~and~~to the EIB tofor the setting up of the European Strategic Investment Fund are entered in the EU budget and in the 2015 budget in particular; confirms its intention to closely monitor the way the EIB will engage its own funds in the ESIF;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Member States to top up this fund and welcomes the Commission's intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations; rejects the idea of any attempts to renationalise the fund or argue for a fair return which could ensue from nationalDoes not believe that the Member States have any interest in topping up this fund, notwithstanding the Commission's intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations; considers that European countries are unlikely to invest in a fund in the absence of any guarantees that it will be used in the countr~~ibutions; wishes to see trans-European and supranational projects chosen so that citiz~~y making the investment; considers it therefore more reasonable not to reckon on such investments ~~may be able to associate the benefits arising from these projects with action by~~in evaluating the Stability Pact, which is weighing heavily on the economic recovery of the Member States and the European Union. itself;

Amendment 45 #

Jean ARTHUIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Member States to top up this fund and welcomes the flexibility announced by the Commissionʼs in~~tention to exclude~~ the treatment of national contributions ~~from~~with regard to the stability pact ~~calculations~~; rejects the idea of any attempts to renationalise the fund or argue for a fair return which could ensue from national contributions; wishes to see trans-European and supranational projects chosen so that citizens may be able to associate the benefits arising from these projects with action by the European Union.

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Member States to top up this fund, which seeks to maximize the impact of public spending and attract private investment, and welcomes the Commission’s intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations; rejects the idea of any attempts to renationalise the fund or argue for a fair return which could ensue from national contributions; wishes to see trans- European and supranational projects chosen so that citizens may be able to associate the benefits arising from these projects with action by the European Union.

Amendment 47 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Member States to top up this fund and welcomes the Commissionʼ's ~~intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations~~proposal to show flexibility with regard to the national contributions to the EFSI in case those lead to a small and temporary breach of the 3% deficit threshold for a Member State; rejects the idea of any attempts to renationalise the fund or argue for a fair return which could ensue from national contributions; wishes to see trans- European and supranational projects chosen so that citizens may be able to associate the benefits arising from these projects with action by the European Union.

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Member States to top up this fund and welcomes the Commissionʼs intention to exclude national contributions from stability pact calculations; rejects the idea of any attempts to renationalise the fund or argue for a fair return which could ensue from national contributions; wishes to see ~~trans-European and supranational projects~~riskier projects that have not found financing means so far and that serve the political ambitions of the EU and in particular the achievement of the EUROPE 2020 Strategy be it at local, regional, national, or trans-European level, chosen so that citizens may be able to associate the benefits arising from these projects with action by the European Union. ; insists that the EFSI must be clearly and unequivocally additional to existing EU programmes;

Amendment 49 #

Jean ARTHUIS

Draft opinion
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Underlines the importance it attaches to the new high-level group on own resources, which should lead to a true reform of EU financing; stresses that the Member States’ budgetary situation can be improved through a new system of own resources to finance the Union budget that will reduce GNI contributions, thus enabling Member States to accomplish their consolidation efforts without jeopardising EU funding and its credibility; points out that the adoption of consent to taxation gives parliaments their institutional authority.

Amendment 5 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 6 #

Vladimír MAŇKA, Isabelle THOMAS, Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it vital that the European Parliament and the national parliaments collaborate more closely ~~in the context of the European Semester on economic and budgetary governance~~; undertakes to deepen its relations with the national parliaments in a spirit of constructive partnership in order to enhance parliamentary oversight of the Commission and the Council on the one hand and national governments and government bodies on the other; ~~hopes to see~~doubts, however, that the 2015 European Parliamentary Week and the conference referred to in Article 13 of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance can in any way contribute to this goal;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that the principle of budgetary accuracy applies to the EU budget too and insists on there being sufficient financing for approved commitments; ~~note~~regrets that in spite of Parliamentʼs warnings, this principle is being compromised by the current level of outstanding payments and the growing gap between payments and commitments~~; regrets that this is proving detrimental~~ leading to an unprecedented amount of unpaid bills of 24,7 billion euros ; recalls that the overall ceiling of payment appropriations as foreseen in the current MFF is historically low; deplores that this insidious debt undermines the credibility of the EU and is in contradiction to the goals set at the highest political level for growth and employment – notably youth employment – and fears that this will deepen the gulf between the European Union and its citizens;

Amendment 8 #