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 #